Ms Bubbles goes to Cirque Du Soleil

July 20, 2011
4:30 p.m.
Patricia Torres and I agree to meet up at her house to go to her Bubble Show in Museo Pambata. I was alalay for the day.  We brought her car and she drove us to Manila.

Important note: THERE WAS NO BUBBLE SHOW. I had gotten us tickets to Cirque Du Soleil’s Varekai as a late birthday gift. She had no idea.

July 20, 2011
6:00 p.m.
We get to Museo Pamabata (which is in need of major renovation, by the way) and we park on the other side, near Manila Ocean Park and the Cirque tent. Patricia was in pigtails. See video.

July 20, 2011
6:15 p.m.
We decide to get our pictures taken near the tent just for fun.  After taking my picture, I hand her my clutch with the Varekai tickets on top. Reaction:

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

Happy Ms Bubbles ♥

The Grand Chapiteau. Beeeyutiful.

We weren’t allowed to take photos inside.  This was the tent of the receiving area.

Even the heavens cooperated. Sigh.

July 20, 2011
9:30 p.m.
Photo after the show:

UUUgleh. It was that AWESOME.

HAPPY GIRLS!!!!!! Tricia’s winner line: “I’m so happy I married you!!!”

Belated happy birthday, wifey!!!!!!!!! Lovelovelove!!!♥

My father, the cassava man

I knew that when my dad ended his 19-year love affair with advertising the house would never be the same. I would always find him tinkering around the house, finding things to repair and decorate. He took our antique sewing machine, broke it apart, turned one half into a table top and the other half into a table base. He was always at antique shops looking for “new” furniture to add to the house. Thank God my mom–a professional artist–had some sense to bargain with my dad so our house wouldn’t look like a museum.

A few years later he got into insurance. His friend was one of the head honchos so he gave it a shot. In a span of 6 months he was already considered “Rookie of the Year” because he had surpassed everyone else’s quota. Six months later he found himself bored again so he left.

Shortly after, it was ice cream. Turns out one of the owners of FIC (Fruits in Ice Cream) is my dad’s cousin. My mom also does all the logos, advertisements and shoots for FIC since they started so I guess you can say that they try to keep some things within the family. (Side note: the bowls and utensils you see on all the ads are most likely ours haha) Given that, my dad decided to get a couple of FIC franchises and put 2 booths in SM North, 1 in Landmark and partnered with Wham Burger. I think we supply the ice cream for their shakes.

At this point I am really starting to think that I am my father’s daughter. We’re both either fickle, headstrong or we just really want to fuel our own ideas as much as we can while we still can.

Back to my dad. Now that the ice cream business has been up and running for a few years now, he’s found yet another thing to obsess about: CASSAVA.

A-WHATTA, you say? Yes. My dad woke up one morning and decided to scour every cassava-serving establishment and try their products. He was not satisfied. He met up with his friend and, after weeks of discussing, they decided to start making their own cassava. They got a friend to start concocting cassava recipes and, being the family who loves and supports him, we tried every single batch. We were having cassava every day for months. They were all very good, don’t get me wrong, but I really had to stay away.

Months after the cassava hype, we were served less and less of it. They had found the recipe! My dad mentioned he was already supplying for DEC, the Chinese convenience store. Yay for him! He also told me about a little kitchen they opened somewhere in the San Juan area. Oh, and he also mentioned that if I wanted to, I could offer it to mommies as an alternative to birthday cupcakes. UHM, NO.

I didn’t have a party yesterday so after church I decided to go with them to the kitchen in San Juan.
KITCHEN BA YAN???? I was so shocked. It was a real store!

Magazine Feature. They say I look like my dad. Can you tell?

A new batch was being made.  This one’s the special cream that goes on top of the cassava. Mmmmm. Fatness.

Cassava mixture

Voila! Freshly baked cassava creme!

Box of 6

I tried the cassava with langka. Sarap! They also have macapuno.

with de sister

Drop by our store at P. Guevara!

The Hills Are Alive!

Last June 24 and 25, Resorts World Manila together with The Ultimate Entertainment Inc. held auditions for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Sound of Music.  I hadn’t auditioned in so long so I felt quite rusty, but I knew I would be stupid to pass up this opportunity.  Alongside Disney movies, Sound of Music was a staple in our VHS player when I was growing up.  I remember being so fond of the do-re-mi carriage scene (the one with all the counterpoints) that I attempted to take down the lyrics manually (wala pang google noon), pausing and rewinding it for parts I didn’t write fast enough.  Safe to say it was this show that got me hooked on musical theatre.

Gotta love Julie Andrews.

I grew up wanting to be a Von Trapp.

I remember flipping when my mom told me Maria Von Trapp was a real person. Found this just recently. *tear*

On the day of the audition, a bunch of us made our way to Resorts World, not knowing where to go exactly.  We decided to go to the Newport Performing Arts Theater, assuming auditions would be somewhere close by.  We entered the theater and were greeted by this:

HOO BOY.

Thank God there were maintenance people there to give us directions and stop us from falling to our knees in awe.

We got to the venue, signed up, waited, waited some more and finally, we were up.  And just like that, we were done. It was nerve-wracking alright, but not as much as the part that came next: waiting for their call.

After 1 audition, 2 callbacks and lots of waiting…

I was cast as Sister Sophia!!!!!!!  Yayyyyyy!!!! Even better, I’ll be working with a bunch of people I loooove to bits. Double yayyyyy!!!

“Sister” Carla and MAIN Postulant Mikkie ;p

Rolfe!!!

Shows will run from Oct-Dec at The Newport Performing Arts Theater at Resorts World.

I am beyond overwhelmed. God is good.♥ ♥ ♥

Still here.

It’s me again. Still alive, I promise. You know the feeling when all you want to do is write and write until you’ve juiced all your thoughts and memories out? It’s as though every single thought, no matter how trivial, had to be chronicled. I’ve had those days. The past few weeks, however, gave me no room for that. Turns out there are also days when all you need to do is be in the moment and soak up on the world. I’ve been on sponge mode the past few weeks and am just about ready to be squeezed. (sounds so wrong) I can’t wait! Soon. 🙂

HOMAYGAAAAD.

My mom mentioned a few days ago that a bunch of her friends (on separate occasions) have been congratulating her for seeing my name mentioned in Lea Salonga’s article.  I dismissed it and told her it must have been from last year’s article.  Thinking that her tweet was more than enough,  I didn’t think she’d write about it anymore..

I don’t think I’ve ever flipped out this much on a tweet.

And then just a few minutes ago, at around 2 in the morning, I decided to google it JUST IN CASE there really was one:

WELL WADDYA KNOW…

Excerpt taken from:
Backstory
Why hubby wanted to meet Angel Locsin
By: Lea Salonga
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Read the full article HERE

Speaking of which …

My little princess celebrated her 5th birthday with a tea party, with family and a few friends. The guests decorated hats, cookies and cupcakes, got glitter tattoos, played games (even us grown-ups did!) and partook of wonderful merienda fare.

Special thanks to Clowning Around (and their fearless leader Jill Peña) for creating such a wonderful atmosphere for everyone, and to amazing ninang Steffi Inocentes for helping out with our invites and loot bags.

Happy birthday, Nicole! Oh, where have those years gone, time flies way too quickly!

 

OMGMRFWDEJSFHKFSLOEWDJSLKSDGRITYFSLJPOJDAP.

 

Dear Lea, I doubt you’re ever gonna read this, but thank you for adding oomph to my otherwise lackadaisical week. Oh, and I LOVE YOU. See you next year!!!♥

Friendship Over

Look what finally got here…

Hello, babies. ♥ ♥ ♥

I intend to finish all these before season 2 starts.

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE:

I FINALLY got CIV 5 to work on Andie.

SIMS + CIV5 = Kalimutan muna ng friendship

 

 

New Idol

I know someone told me that Kate Middleton’s family was involved in party planning but I didn’t pay much attention to it.  Then came the royal wedding (which I missed completely, by the way), what with all the beautiful gowns, funny looking hats and cute flower girls.  I only got to see the video days after and while watching I kept asking myself who the gorgeous maid of honor was.  I knew that a “Pippa Middleton” was to be the Maid on Honor but I never saw her until the day I caught the video.

my reaction: “YAN si Pippa?!”

She thoooo purrrty. *googly eyes*

So I googled her after watching the wedding and found this:

HOMAYGAD.  She’s a reaaaal party planner ngaaaa!!!! *kilig*

The Middleton family runs Party Pieces, a UK-based party planning company that encourages do-it-yourself parties for all ages.  Their website is structured much like an online shop, but everything party related. It’s like an ebay for party-planning moms.  SOO CUTE.

They also have an online party magazine called “The Party Times” which is run by–you guessed it–Pippa.

“Carole Middleton founded Party Pieces in 1987 after finding it difficult to source fun, simple party products for her children’s parties. Now more than 23 years on the company is still going from strength to strength”
— http://www.partypieces.co.uk/thepartytimes

AND THEY ALSO STARTED IN 1987, like Clowning Around.  OMG.  Tita Ella is my Carole Middleton.  I knew it.

One day I shall make contact.  There’s a “Feature Your Party” section on the magazine and my new wish is to one day be in it. LEVEL UP. Hahaha.

Oh, and becuase I feel so close to her already, I hope that rumors of her breaking up with her long time beau are true so she and Prince Harry can get together for realz. ❤

I ❤ PIPPA.

They’re not shoes (they’re sandals)

Meet Clowning Around’s Official Footwear Partner this 2011:

“Sanük is a young surf brand. Sanük was founded and is owned by Jeff Kelley, a Huntington Beach grom who started out making sandals out of inner tubes.  He’s sick, but that is a Fundamental in our business.  Jeff’s first commercial effort was a sandal constructed out of indoor-outdoor carpet.  When Jeff gave one of our prominent surf retailers the first ever preview of a Sanük sandal, he said. “where did you get the idea?” Jeff replied, “hey, its outdoor carpet, just like my back yard.”  The retailer said, “you’re nor for real?”  Well he was.  Today, the Fur Real is a standard, especially in the ugly green color.  We still have that Trailer Trash design flair, as anyone can plainly see.

Sanük has gained one of the more sought after market positions in specialty surf retailing authenticity.  The Sanük sandal collection is designed for the global surf and water community.  The simplicity of architecture and the unusual sense of color and style have made Sanük the inside choice for the surfers around the world. 

The Sanük product array is really different from the mundane wall of black that you see on the conventional sandal wall.  Where else can you find Jellies, indoor-outdoor carpet flip flops, Tarzan prints, Guatemala blanket thongs, or super cushy, super commercial sandals? How about very cool variations of indigenous folk art themes on leather sandals?  We look for the consumer who has a different slant on life.”  — http://sanuk.ph

With the success of its main collection, Sanuk has just launched its latest project to promote its children’s line:

Lil Del Mar

Doodle

Nautilus

Army Brat

Lil Laurel

Sanuk is giving away a free pair of Sidewalk Surfers to Clowning Around celebrants starting this June!  Every Character Host Package that you avail of entitles your kids to a free pair AND a chance to meet the official Sanuk mascot!

For more information, visit http://clowningaround.com.ph

 

Brought to you by the party specialists since 1987:

Siraan ng Diet

Dieting is such a hassle.  You know you’re in trouble when you start to have longing feelings for pork.

SO HUNGRY!!!

I.WANT.FOOD. No, wait. I WANT FOOD FROM CEBU.  Hendrison Go! I miss Cebu!!!!

Just how much? Let me count the ways…

1. Zubuchon – THE best lechon in Cebu

2. Balamban liempo (if I was at Hendri’s this would be walking distance from his house…)

3. Carcar chicharon with sukang pinakurat (shet)

4. Ngohiong – Cebu’s version of our lumpiang shangai, only dipped in batter and deep fried.

5. Lilo-an halo-halo with dried mango bits

6. Puso (pronounced as “pusô”) – coconut leaves woven together to form a 3d diamond, after which bigas is slipped into the small holes and dunked into hot water to cook. Voila! Diamond-shaped rice you can eat without kubyertos! Genius!

7. Mango Strawberry Slush from Hendri’s coffee shop, EastWest (imba shake!!!)

8. Mango Smoothie from Shang Mactan

9. Pizza from Acqua in Shang Mactan

10. The sweetest mangoes in the world!

Nice. Now I’m even hungrier. Must find sustenance downstairs.

On Wasting Words. And Swallowing Phlegm.

Have you ever had cough of the worst kind?  Think dry, throat-wrenching, insomnia-inducing cough.  Now think about all that phlegm. Yes, phlegm.  Green, itchy and sticky phlegm.  Phlegm phlegm phlegm phlegm phlegm.  If you had listened to your parents, you’ll remember how they’ve constantly reminded you to spit it out as soon as it comes.  Makes sense.  After all, nobody in the right mind would prefer to keep it swiveling inside their mouth.  Fine.  But what if you don’t have any place to put it? What if there aren’t any trash cans, restrooms, (heaven forbid) ashtrays around?  Would you temporarily spit it out on a 2-ply tissue paper and stuff it in your bag until you can dispose of it?  What if the only semblance of paper you have in your bag at that moment is a receipt?  More importantly, what if you don’t have time?  What if you cough 5 seconds before you see Ed frikkin Westwick walking towards you to chat you up?  WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

YOU SWALLOW.

Unless you’re a jeepney/taxi driver along edsa, you WILL swallow the nasty bugger.  Ewww.  Gross. Disgusting.  Yuck.  Kadire.  What happens after?  Save for a few good seconds of self-loathing, you realize you’re perfectly fine.  That glob you just swallowed has made its way down your esophagus and is being digested in your stomach.  As opposed to phlegm wrapped in tissue and left out on the table to mix with the air everyone breathes (read: airborne disease alert), swallowed phlegm actually contains antibodies and lipoproteins that help neutralize bacteria.  Technically speaking, you’re better off swallowing your phlegm than spitting it out.

So why all this talk about something so trivial?  No, this isn’t an entry about my newfound advocacy for mucus.  (although I may have found a new advocacy…)

I had a conversation with a friend one day and the topic of phlegm came up (HOW it came up, beats me).  Why do we have to spit out phlegm?  Why run the risk of having someone step on it, touch it, or worse, pick up your used tissue, mistake it for theirs and catch whatever it is you have?  Why spread all the germs when you can just stop obsessing over it, swallow the damn thing, allow the body to digest it, absorb whatever nutrients it may have and just crap it out in the end.  When we got over the grossness of the conversation (it took a while), I got to thinking that I seem to have infected so many people because of all this… phlegm.  Allow me to expound.

Have you ever been in a less-than-ideal situation and felt the need to say something?  Have you ever lost your cool, complained to a friend, bashed a colleague, made an empty promise, criticized an ex, lamented over a failed relationship?  Chances are, everyone has.  We all have baggage we want to get rid of, problems to address, negative emotions to let out and opinions that need to be heard.  We find it cathartic being able to verbalize all these thoughts in our heads, fervently hoping that you get it out of your system and be done with it.  We always feel the need to “say it for what it’s worth”.  But really, after all that bashing, complaining and sharing, do we really feel better?  On the one hand, both common sense and psychotherapy suggest that the best way to feel better is to share your pain with others.  “Sige, Ilabas mo lang.”  I agree to a certain extent; that’s what I’d been doing for the longest time.  After a while, though (most especially when that issue just won’t go away), doesn’t it seem counter-productive?  I, for one, feel much worse.  Not only are you tormenting yourself having to talk about it over and over and over again, you also run the risk of infecting your friends and hurting the people you care about.  I may have the best set of friends in the world, but they can only take so much.  They joke about it, yes, but I know they’re just as exhausted.  Arguably, I also happen to have the greatest best friend in the world, but because of my incessant need to expel all this phlegm, we aren’t talking now.  SEE.  And just like that I knew.  All these words of despair, hate, anguish and fear are like the same disgusting, virus-spreading globs of phlegm we intend to let out for everyone around you to absorb just because mommy tells us to get it out of our system.  As difficult as I know it is, and as appalled I am by everything that’s happened, I knew it was time.  Time to swallow the huge glob of phlegm and let it take its own course.  Not exactly looking forward to it, but it’s high time to shut up.

No more wasting words.  A word loses its impact if used too much.  Ever wonder why so many people say “awesome” to just about everything? (eg. Mcdo Twister Fries are back: “Awesome!”) Then when something truly awesome comes up, say a meteor shower or the most beautiful sunset on manila bay, it feels like the word doesn’t quite fit anymore? WASTING WORDS.  Or when someone curses like commas to a compound sentence– don’t you find yourself less affected when you hear them curse when it really counts? WASTING WORDS.

Coincidentally, I’ve been reading this book called “:59 Seconds: Think a little, Change a lot” by Richard Wiseman and his views don’t seem too far-fetched:

“From a psychological perspective, talking and writing are very different.  Talking can often be somewhat unstructured, disorganized, even chaotic.  In contrast, writing encourages the creation of a story line and structure that help people make sense of what has happened and work towards a solution.  In short, talking can add to a sense of confusion while writing provides a more systematic, and solution-based, approach.”

Ranting is for the uncreative.  I don’t want my words to be wasted anymore.

To my friends– thank you for listening to all my rants.  I’m pretty sure we hit the thousands there. ;p  Thank you for the navi cries and the hoedown throwdowns; for the banana boys and the dating games.  Seeing that none of us can control anything in the near future, I am sparing you from all this heaviness and am coming to terms with myself.  Not unless something life-altering happens (oh God tama na please), not a peep from me. JOY.RISE. I mean it. Otherwise, SLAP BET.

To my best friend– I hate that we’re not talking, but you’ve been exposed to all this for as long as I can remember and have occasionally drowned in the gunk of it all.  I don’t know if you’re ever going to read this, but I hope things get better.  You have work to do and I will hold you to that, but this time, so do I. You can hold me to that, too.

To make to the swallowing of the phlegm.  Here we go…