Needless to say, it threw me into a fit of panic. A slew of questions wouldn’t stop nagging me, questions like “What do I want with my career?” “Why am I not a manager yet?” “Why don’t I have a freaking car yet? Or my own place?” “Do I want kids? Marriage? Oh good lord please don’t make me think about marriage. If I want kids, I should get them before I’m thirty because it’s hard to conceive past that age right? But if I want a baby by the time I’m thirty, I should take all the risks I want and travel the WORLD like…NOW. Unless I go for adoption, which is a wholly different story. “

ANYWAY. I digress.

Point is, I have realized, now more than ever, that time time really does fly. Thus I made a solemn promise to myself that I will make this year count, in terms of career plans and personal growth.

And so, I dub 2012 as my Quarter Life Crisis Year. Join me on my anti-aging obsessions, home and body makeovers, travel plans and other such panicky things expected from a twenty-five year old girl trying to keep up with this fast paced world.

2012 will be amazing. Whatever the stars say, I will make it so.

I respect astrology in general, and I take note of the warnings, but I refused to let that dictate how my year was going to go. The two previous years were already bad enough, there is no way I was going to let 2011 be as bad.

Surprisingly enough, 2011 has been one of the best years of my 24-year-old existence.

If 2009 was Breakup Year, and 2010 was my Wildchild Year, 2011 is the Career Year. For the first time ever, I finally felt like my life had direction and purpose. Majority of the note-worthy events that happened the past year was work-related. I suppose I was just hell-bent on proving to everyone that I made the right choice when I decided to forego being a professional nurse and try my luck with something else that made my first year in the corporate world a rather exciting one. (At least, for me.)

Why my 2011 was a blast? Let me count the ways.

I joined the corporate world.

- Being a licensed nurse, everyone who knew me expected me to fly abroad and get rich off of nursing. I was a pretty decent nurse (I think?) but a few months of practicing the profession made it clear that being good at something didn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be happy doing it.

From RN to Sales & Marketing

I didn’t exactly plan on seeking a new career, nor did I actively look for a different path, but the opportunity for change landed on my lap (thank you Karmela Dua and Stella Alamil), and I was smart enough to take it. There’s room for improvement, sure, but overall I am now happier in my professional life than I ever thought I’d be.

I got regularized in three months. 

- Fuckyeah. If that’s not an achievement, I don’t know what is.

Best letter I've ever received.

I managed a band.

- I am not a musician, but I do love music and I think I know a good song when I hear one. I’ve never really “managed” anything before this either, so when I got the offer, I was rather hesitant to do it.

I did it anyway. Unfortunately, we recently lost two members (one from health reasons, and another from family reasons), crippling the band entirely. The remaining members decided to go on hiatus in the meantime while we searched for worthy replacements.

Band-ing around

BUT, I just might resume this role soon. Good things await the band this 2012, stay tuned.

I got inked.

- I had a fear of permanence, probably rooted to being afraid of long-term commitment. I thought I’d get a nose ring first before I’d get a tattoo (and mind you, I hate facial piercings), since I can easily get rid of piercings if I didn’t want them anymore. But…well. Things change, don’t they?

I’m rather happy with my first tattoo though, even if nobody can seem to tell that it’s a fox at first glance.

It's a fox, not a gumamela.

I got the first bill under my own name.

- Huzzah for one further step into independence and adulthood! I subscribed to a Globe post-paid plan, landing a purple Blackberry along with it. That’s one thing off the The Great Splurge List  too.

Say hello to Halle Blackberry

I finally got my iTouch.

-  I don’t fracking care if everyone’s getting psyched over Siri, I’ve never been much of an iPhone fan. Helena, my six-year-old 5th Gen iPod Video’s 30GB is no longer enough to contain all the new music I’ve accumulated in the past few years.

This is yet another thing off The Great Splurge List. Thank you, 13th month pay.

And this one here is Anna Molly

I [kinda] tried an extreme sport.

- I attempted to ride a longboard. It was just once,  and I didn’t do much, but I didn’t die so that’s still an achievement for me.

Pretentious lang ako

I organized a corporate event. 

- This damned event defined my whole September, the most stressful, albeit most productive month of my year. I learned Photoshop, PR skills, and organizational techniques in a span of four weeks, all for this one, day-long event.

My stress alopecia acted up during the planning phase of this thing, but it was all worth it in the end. And hey, the company CEO commended us for our good work so all’s well that ends well.

He knows my naaaame T_T

I flew domestic for the first time ever.

- I’ve been to Canada and back, but I’ve never traveled domestically outside of Luzon. I’ve always wanted to, but I never had the resources to do so.

Last October, I flew to Davao for a business trip, and I’ll be going back there this January. Flight and accommodation all paid for by ze company.

And people expect me to go back to nursing? HAH.

Aaaand lastly….

I went from open dating to exclusivity.

Some time ago I wrote about an Unexpected Kiss. I thought that wouldn’t result into anything, because he never followed-through.

Several months later though…

Da who ang boylalou?

Oh dear. What have I gotten myself into? Hahaha!

So cheers, to the year of taking chances and leaping before looking. May 2012 be as exciting as its predecessor. I’m looking forward to a whole lot of things this 2012…but that’s for a different post.

Happy New Year, y’all! ^o^V

This, plus the fact that road and human traffic during the Christmas season seems to triple, makes Christmas shopping seem more likely to turn you to a Grinch than raise your holiday spirits.

SO. I almost always end up buying something similar (in bulk) for everyone, to save both time and money. I make up for it by getting them something a little more personal on their birthdays. )

BUT HEY. I TRY not to get anything TOO generic or passe. They may all be similar, but they’re always something passably stylish or useful. Or both. (Err…I hope.)

This year’s panic-shopping haul: statement accessories.

In my humble opinion, accessorizing is something that a lot of Pinays could improve on. Being a third world country, accents and little things like these are the least of our priorities when we have bills to pay and mouths to feed. I’m personally horrified at the idea of spending more than PHP 200 on accessories. I s’pose this is because I’m used to Quiapo-and-Divisoria prices, which are my go-to places for tipid-shopping.

Anyway, sharing with you some of my finds during my last panic-buying session:

1) Statement Necklace + Earrings Set: They’re bright and bold and can instantly add some color to plain outfits.
Wallet Damage: PHP 80-100/set (gift box not included)

2. Charm bracelets: With safe colors and just a hint of sparkle, these bracelets go well with daily office wear or even casual garb.
Wallet Damage: PHP 50-100/piece (gift box not included)

3. Cocktail rings: You see them all over Tumblr and Lookbook. Cocktail rings can instantly make an outfit seem more polished.
Wallet Damage: PHP 25-50/piece (gift-box not included)

Optional: Gift boxes. Yep, Quiapo has ‘em too. For people like me who don’t have the skill patience for gift-wrapping, these are perfect for you. Just re-pack the goods and you’re all set.
Wallet Damage: PHP 10-15/box

Ready for distribution!

Bear in mind though, that since they’re not too costly, I couldn’t say much about their durability. That isn’t to say that they will break after a few uses, but they wouldn’t last years either. They’re not too bad for daily use though!

I hope the girlfriends liked their presents! ^o^

Oo na, I live under a rock. >_<

Apparently, these were gift cheque-like things that you can use almost anywhere (they have a wide variety of partners stores). I got my first one during our company Christmas party last week.

And this is where I spent mine on:

Cosmo December 2011 Issue, Marionnaud Premium Slanted Blush Brush, Eyeshadow Brush and Slanted Brush, In2It Pink Alert Palette and a variety of accessories

I’ve been a little too petiks lately to really bother dressing up and do my makeup properly. Recent pow-wow sessions with my lady friends have reminded me that I still am a girl, and may need to keep myself looking like one lol.

So, I added some new tools to the trade. Le girl bible Cosmo, Marionnaud Premium brushes, a pretty new palette from In2It and other pretty, shiny things.

Can I just say, I’m a little disappointed with Cosmo; it’s not telling me anything I didn’t already know. Sad, because I used to devour its pages.

But then again, being the Internet troll that I am, hardly anything on printed magazines these days are new to me.

Very happy with everything else. Many thanks to Nicole and Liz for the recommends, the brushes and palette have been very useful! Will be experimenting quite a lot with these babies over the holidays.

Did you get anything awesome recently?

Filed under: Shopping ]]> http://chenyl.wordpress.com/2011/12/18/revisiting-my-kikay-self/feed/ 1 chenyl http://chenyl.wordpress.com/2011/12/17/peanut-butter-is-not-just-for-kare-kare/ http://chenyl.wordpress.com/2011/12/17/peanut-butter-is-not-just-for-kare-kare/#comments Sat, 17 Dec 2011 05:32:30 +0000 chenyl http://chenyl.wordpress.com/?p=442 ]]> Let it be said that I enjoy food.

I’m not really fussy as to where, or whether or not the food is made from gourmet ingredients.  Hello, I grew up on street food sold around the UST area; my stomach isn’t really sensitive to things like, say, cholera. (I KID.) Be it plain ol’ isaw from the kanto vendors to unpronounceable French dishes, as long as they agree with my uncomplicated taste buds and budget, you can call me a happy foodie.

I’m not a cook nor a culinary specialist either so don’t expect very detailed comments from me. BUT I did grow up to my mother’s cooking, which is quite excellent. I think I know good food when I taste it.

Enter Peanut Butter Co., a small-ish restaurant along the Ground Floor of Mall of Asia’s North Parking building. From the outside, you can see the minimalist white-and-brown interior, past a display case of various “flavored” peanut butter jars.

Photo credit: dessertcomesfirst.com

Despite its placement in a traffic-heavy location (right outside SM Hypermarket!), I’ve never seen it full. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the notion of eating actual ulam seasoned with peanut butter (that isn’t kare-kare) IS pretty sketchy. However, being the peanut butter fan that I am, things like “chili peanut butter” and “green tea peanut butter” piqued my interest further instead of dampening it.

I’ve been meaning to try the place out since September, but time and budget constraints hindered me from doing so. I was finally able to try it out after a particularly bad day at work, to give myself a bit of comfort.

Majority of their menu consisted of a variety of sandwiches, from the familiar Peanut Butter & Jelly to the more adventurous choices like Crunchy Sardine Jelly Sandwich. If you want something heavier (though I hear their sandwiches are rather generous in size), you can always choose from their pasta or rice dishes, and a few side dishes like wings and potato chips (mojos).

Starving as we were, my good friend and I opted to go for a pasta dish and the chicken wings.

Le Appetizer: BBQ Chicken Wings (PHP 125 for 3 pcs)

Their chicken wings are cooked in classic sweet-smoky barbecue sauce, drizzled with chili peanut butter to give it that zing. Maybe I’m biased towards peanut butter, but I honestly think that the chicken and barbecue sauce went well with the nutty taste. I can see myself getting a box (or five) for movie night.

If you’re into sweat-inducing Buffalo style wings, this may not be the best choice for you since it isn’t really all that spicy. For someone like me, whose tolerance for spicy things is quite meager, this is actually perfect.

Le Main Course: Chicken Curry Spaghetti (PHP 150)

Curry would be a pretty safe choice to start with if it’s your first time trying Peanut Butter Co., since nutty tastes blend in well with curry and wouldn’t be too weird.

Their noodles were cooked just right, surprisingly firm even, and not overcooked the way some establishments are guilty of doing. The peanut butter added a rich, creamy sort of texture to the curry sauce, making it a hearty entree. It would’ve tasted better with a stronger curry taste and more sili in my opinion though.

Presentation: Presentation-wise, their entrees are pretty much fuss-free. They’re all served in ready-to-go cartons (similar to Yellow Cab’s takeout boxes), which I found convenient and environment friendly.

Price Range: PHP 100-200 per person. Pwede nuts!

Serving Size: Err. Well, my friend and I shared both the pasta and wings, and left the place with no more room for dessert. I suppose the serving size is good enough for two persons of average appetites!

I am annoyed at the limited capacity of my stomach that made me feel too full to try out their sweets but overall, I’m pretty happy with my experience here so far. I’m definitely going back to try out their other stuff.

Holler if you wanna come with!

Now, what you must understand is that there is a certain amount of pressure to win the presentation. Our BU has won the competition for three consecutive years, making them undefeated champions of the annual Christmas parties.

This year’s theme: Oscars Film Awards Night. The competition: a short film.

It took several brainstorming sessions, coming up with spoofs for romantic comedies, horror flicks and even Memoirs of a Geisha. We scrapped all the ideas we came up with, thinking none of them were award-winning at all. I proposed the idea of using The Godfather, with our big boss (whom we fondly called “Papu”) playing the Don, but sadly, none of the original members of the committee were too psyched with that idea either, so we scrapped that too.

And then, just when we already made the consensus NOT to join at all, the big boss heard of The Godfather idea and was all for it. Apparently, he’s a HUGE fan of the iconic classic. Very much so that he agreed to playing our version Don Corleone, as long as he didn’t have to memorize lines. He didn’t even object when he found out we’ve been calling him “Papu” behind his back all this time. He came up with the main “plot” of the short film as well, offered his place for the shoot  itself and even tweaked the script a little as we went along.

Our official poster. We have an Italian version too, entitled "Il Papudrino"

It was a last-minute project, involving a day-long shoot and several days worth of sleepless nights of editing. Several shots of Jack had to be consumed for our cast to get the Italian accent right.

Confidence boosters!

Admittedly, it was rather rushed, so none of us really expected to win. We had a blast making it though and we made a load of hilarious memories in the process. It was something of a bonding experience for us, being the first time we “hung out” with our big boss in his own territory, and caught a glimpse of his non-work personality.

The Consiglieri, The Don and The Pet

Dramatic shots courtesy of Melabear, and Leme Cam

We spent a huge chunk of the shoot giggling at the idea that The Godpapu’s pet is a wooden elephant.

Say hello to Dumbo

TOO FUNNY OMG

Win or lose, we all agreed that this project held a special place in our hearts.

BUT it seems that our attempts at being artsy were well-appreciated by the competition’s judges. We bagged four awards for our short film, including Best Trailer, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and the grand prize for Best Picture.

Congratulations to the Familia!

Pressure’s on for next year, then. The tradition lives on! Congratulations to the team!

Onwards, then!

1. Desk organizer: We recently just moved to a new office location,  and I want to revamp my station. A pretty station keeps me motivated, k. Hush.

Desk Organizer from Refresh Fashion (clicky on photo to view site)

2. Geekcessories! When I fangirl, I fangirl hard.

Top: Time-Turner (Harry Potter) and Evenstar (Lord of the Rings) necklaces from noblecollection.com; Bottom: The Deathly Hallows + Mockingjay pendants; Alice in Wonderland pendant from Wickedclothes.com

 3. New mugs for the office. I consume a lot of caffeine and water, one mug is rarely ever enough.

Mugs! Gamer-reference mugs much preferred

4. Books/Graphic Novels. Self-explanatory. I doubt if these will ever leave my wishlists.

Clockwise from left: Sandman series; Fables series; Neil Gaiman books; Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

5. World of Warcraft hoodies. LOOK at how sexy those are. Yes, I want both Alliance and Horde hoodies, because I love my Night Elf hunter (Lurline) and Tauren shaman (Arrabelle) equally. And yes, I just described something WoW related asa sexy.

Clicky on photo to see the rest of the shop

6. Any accessory with an opal.Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find something with an opal that doesn’t look like it belongs to a grandmother??

Siobahn's Wish by Etsy.

Last, and most out of place of all…

7. An out of town trip. Somewhere quiet and remote, somewhere that I’ve never been to before where all I have to do is relax, enjoy beautiful scenery and LIVE.

Can I just say, that this year’s list is the geekiest one that I’ve ever come up with? )

What do YOU want to get for your birthday?

Where I work however, when they said team building, they actually meant it. I’m talking conferences, mental games and a makeshift amazing race kind of thing.

This year’s theme: Kaizen. From what I understood it basically means taking what you have and stepping it up a notch. The change doesn’t have to be huge, just as long as it’s for the better. It’s minimizing wastes, and maximizing productivity, and taking the initiative to improve oneself.

Sounds like some cheesy corporate pep talk I know (which, it is actually), but I like the idea. I have some pretty ambitious dreams for this new road that I chose to take, and I’ll do whatever it takes to move forward, no matter how cheesy and cliché those techniques are.

We held the team building in Club Balai Isabel in Talisay, Batangas. You must’ve heard of the place before, it’s a popular choice for celebrity weddings.

Accommodations were simple, nothing too fancy. The bathrooms could use some work also but overall, I’d still like to go back there.

What is so remarkable about Balai Isabel is the scenery. No wonder that it’s a favorite among high-end weddings; Balai Isabel has so many picturesque spots that are perfect for those occasions. Seems like a good place for personal retreats too. If I can afford it, I can see myself going there alone or with a small intimate group, just to detox from the many stresses of the city.

A view of Taal Volcano

But I digress.

The activities included a conference, a few games, a couple of dinners and an Amazing Race. I reckon that the Amazing Race was the main event, as it is a whole day affair and it involved the most team work (pun slightly intended).

Corporate Jargon woop!

Of course SOME drinking was involved.

Let it be said that this is the first team building that I’ve been to. I didn’t get to experience anything like this during my hospital days. The last event that I’ve been to that was even remotely similar to this one was a leadership training during my senior year in college. Thus, I have no point of comparison as to whether this event went well or not. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the activities thoroughly; they were all built to test wits, guts and physical prowess.

The only activity we managed to take photos of

Most memorable for me were all the heights-related challenges. You see, I kinda have a fear of heights. I don’t mind being on planes, but being strapped onto a swing with a few flimsy ribbons? Climbing the side of the building using a swaying rope ladder? Yeah, really not too keen on that.

BUT, I had to do what I had to do, so I did all the challenges given to me. I may have screamed myself hoarse and punctured a few eardrums in the process, but in the end, what matters is that we were able to complete most of the tasks, and even ended up snagging second place.

Too bad everyone was so into the Amazing Race that nobody thought of bringing a camera along. We had some pretty memorable experiences with the challenges that would’ve been great if caught on film.

The event ended that weekend, but the Kaizen mindset has just begun. I’ve already started by taking a crash course on Photoshop, and I’m planning on learning so much more than that.

Huzzah for initiative!

I loved the entry so much that since then I try to catch at least one entry every year.

Milo Tolentino has always been one of my favorite mainstays in Cinemalaya, mostly because I love his light-hearted approach to making films. The first work of his that I ever saw was award-winning short film “Andong”, and it was that same entry that made me such a supporter of Cinemalaya.

This year, I was fortunate enough to catch the gala screening of Nono.

The plot is simple enough. Toto, a tremendously outspoken kid with a cleft lip (and palate it seems, by the sound of his speech), wants to join his school’s declamation competition. But because he has a speech impediment, people think this notion is ridiculous.

Okay yeah, you’re probably thinking “meh, another underdog story”, and maybe it is, up to some extent. I never felt an inkling of pity for Toto, though. From the beginning, it was clear that he understood that he was different, that people’s reactions to his defect vary and that he can learn to roll with it. (That is, if he didn’t know how to already. He’s incredibly sharp for someone so young.)

The plot was simple and straight to the point; it was the story’s characters that really sold it for me. As always, Milo did a great job with the kids, managing to portray a sense of normalcy and yet made all the actors shine in their own right. The audience immediately fell in love with Toto from his introductory scene alone. The side-stories involving the deaf best friend Ogoy, the frienemy Badong, and even the bizarre love story of Toto’s mother and a well-meaning Ilonggo were all equal parts funny and endearing, and just enough to tug even at my frozen heart’s strings.

I was unable to see any other Cinemalaya entries, but I’m really glad I caught this one.

More details on the movie can be found here.

Like boxes you store in the attic, locked and hidden from the rest of the world, away from prying eyes. It’s nothing horrible, really. It’s just that you keep them where there’s less chances for people to stumble upon them and ask awkward questions.

You go back to open them once in a while, brushing off the layers of dust, rummaging through each box, examining the contents one by one, remembering what they all meant to you, asking yourself if its worth keeping them there.

There’s this one box that I’ve been keeping in the attic for a while now.

But I guess it’s time to take one last look, and throw it all out.

Photo by Planet Game