Just a typical afternoon at work when our Operations Manager, Sir Ryan asked me where everybody is. Sure thing, the floor was empty. He said he'll give whoever comes to him first a gift! He was holding a box (like that of a DVD player?) and since I was the only one there, I'd get it! Euke and Jen emerged from the door leading to the comfort rooms just a few seconds after the announcement was made.

Anyway, inside the box were ... Drum rolls please! Powdered juice from Tang! Our OM decided to equally divide the contents to everyone on the floor: teachers, writers, himself, and TL.

Each got 6 packs of these

Very nice, right?

Until someone asked us to look at the expiration dates.

My phone's crappy camera.

I have six packs of three's! Minus the pineapple. Orange + mango all night long!

I don't know why I'm reminded of girls with excessive make-up whenever I type or write "parlor day". Maybe it has something to do with "foundation day"?

My Sunday was very well spent. I was able to to everything on my to-do list and those are:

• Clean our bedroom
• Go to the salon
• Watch movies, and
• Skip fast food

Too bad Aj got bruises on his right leg during a basketball game and he had to pay for the salon. Good times!

Oh, and I learned from Jhen (who took care of my mani, pedi, and foot spa) that I have a mole on my left foot! I would have dozed off if me and my sister weren't chatting. The place, the songs, the massage, everything was soporific! I can probably do these stuff by myself, but it's just nicer when other people do them for you.

That's my newly discovered mole! And that's Jhen. I think she's quite pretty!

A girl sitting across from me is talking on her cellphone loud enough to be heard by everyone inside the jeepney:

Girl: How can I marry, if I'm not singleness? Yes, that's why. I can't marry because I'm not singleness.

Then she added that 'fixing' her problem only costs 10, 000 pesos. I hope she's talking about annulment and I hope she's right about it.

I was slowly losing my head while reading a manual for an activity tomorrow (grammar stuff, instructions on how to properly "proofread"/mark an essay, etc.) when the phone rang. Up to now, I couldn't tell which one of the two phones we have on the floor is ringing unless you pick one up and be able to talk to someone on the other end. Anyway, I missed the call and for some reason checked out the missed-call list and decided to call back the most recent number. It was from the front gate and they called to ask if there was a "Maya de Castro" in our department. "Me! Me! Me! That's Me.", I told the lady guard quite stupidly. She said I've got a package!

My online purchase has finally arrived! Wootwoot!

Tina said that it looked like a pack of plastic (those used for making 'ice'?) when I showed her my package.

My first _______ this year:

• online purchase
• bought accessory
• necklace after the one I always wore (given to me as a gift by an aunt) was nabbed at Buendia in Taft
• most expensive accessory (won't be the last definitely)

I finally got my Mary Kay products! My cousin took charge of my mini-makeover last week and I loved the results so I ordered some of her products. If I had the money to buy the products I want, I would probably bought everything in the brochure! Of course I don't have the money so I settled for the "starter kit": a cleanser (bar), an anti-aging moisturizer, liquid foundation, and concealer.


Can't wait to try them! Let's see if there'll be improvements after two weeks. This set cost me around 3, 600 pesos! My most expensive purchase on skin care products and make-up ever! I've been an Avon and Maybelline girl for as long as I remember so this better make me goddamn pretty. For skin care, I haven't really tried anything fancy but I've been using Dove, Olay, or Nivea for quite a while now. I told myself that I'll start splurging investing on really nice products and start seeing a derma soon (yikes!) for that nice skin I want.

Wish me luck!

(Another long due post. I've posted this photo in facebook and thanks to all those who liked it and posted some nice stuff, too.)

I know that my cousin Freagn is into beauty stuff but I never thought she'd be so serious about it (she's taking make-up classes!). Anyway, she came over to our place last Sunday to introduce me to some good stuff.

She started with cleansing my face, moisturizing after, trimmed my brows, scrubbed my hands, then a mini-makeover!

Let's not bore you with what she used (not yet because I'll have to try them first if they really work wonders) but here's the finished product:

I took photos right after she finished doing the make-up but the photos' quality wasn't that nice so this is me--oil, sweat, and all-- after we went to SM (and played virtual bowling at Tom's word with Julian).

I loved the products right away! The moisturizer was really light and non-greasy. She used a matte liquid foundation (we have the same shade!) which blended just right with my skin tone and it wasn't heavy on the face. The concealer was nice (a bit like what I'm using from Maybelline). It wasn't too heavy on the eyes 'cause that's where I usually put it and it doesn't cake up. I'm not a fan of Mascaras as they're such a pain to remove at night. The eyeliner stick wasn't too impressive. I prefer the felt-pen type from Maybelline that's like a cross between a stick and a liquid liner, doesn't smudge and easy to apply.

The best part of it would be what she did to my brows! She painted me new brows! It's the one thing I can't do myself and I felt like a totally different person after she's done. I'll definitely learn that.

It was a nice to see her again after a long while and I think we both enjoyed our "kikay" time. Plus she convinced me to buy some of the products she's selling. So excited!

What do you think?

I forgot to take a picture of what the establishment looks like and where it's situated, but if you're from Bilibid (yep, that's where I live!) Tapa Express is probably the third business who occupied the spot (I forgot what was there before the meat shop, then Tapa Express) or the fifth?

Anyway, the spot has some sort of bad luck if you ask me. Why would businesses keep on closing if there's none?

One night we decided to grab some dinner from Tapa Express. The first time we bought food there was okay, nothing bad, nothing special, just okay. But our purchase that night was really awful.

Tocilog for me and Julian. Tapsilog for Aj.

I thought Julian was just full that night and being 'maarte' again because he refused to take another spoonful. I found out why when I dove in the bowl. It sure tasted like dead person's meat (it was that bad!).

I even sent my sister these photos and we both thought they're delicious. 7-11's preservative-filled-and-suspicious-looking version is even better!

Back to Tuding's and Pampanga's Best!

... for my sister by Coca Couture.

First design.

Second design.

My sister's getting married this year on December. She's been talking about it as far as I remember but the real stuff (contacting suppliers, signing contracts, making down payments, etc.) started early this year.

We spent Sunday afternoon at SM Tunasan. Paid bills, bought some stuff, ate, and played.

He's incredibly pissed whenever the puck shoots in his lot. He'd rather play alone.

It must have something to do with whatever's on the TV.

We love him when he's like that, annoyed at something really petty.

When: January 30, 2011, Monday What: Jorlie's 35th birthday (according to Joe) Where: A Plus conference room (where else?) Happy birthday Jorlie!

A super pretty heart-shaped cake from Euke, KC, and Jen / The birthday gel with Jen / Party people! Or not? Hungry  people! / We love pizza!

*Photos taken using BB curve 8520 (can give you really nice photos if you have the right lighting) and cake photo from Euke.

We love birthdays! Free food! Well aside from that they're a really good break from daily tasks and we can goof all we want in the conference room. Good times.

Thanks for the food Jorlie. Happy birthday!

NOTE: This is not a sponsored post by Manang. Everything and anything we ate were all paid for by us.

Kwek-kwek, banana que, turon, lumpiang shanghai, lumpiang toge, nilagang mais, biko, spaghetti, palabok, siomai, carioca, and pancit malabon. I hope I didn't miss anything!

Manang's the man! Any food that is not from our canteen is probably better, except for my (probably Andrew's too!) favorite bagnet! I've heard about Manang's but was too lazy to walk from our floor to her spot. I finally got the chance to have a taste of her food when we had our two-week (9-day) training. It was held at the newest building in our compound and is just a few steps away from Manang's spot!

I tried the turon (my favorite), lumpiang toge, lumpiang shanghai, carioca, and banana que. What makes Manang's food a hit? Sulit! The food is cheap yet delicious. The only drawback is that she doesn't sell any drinks, so you can bring your drinks to Manang's, take your food and eat somewhere else, or eat slowly and try not to choke. Oh and Manang is available between 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM (you're lucky if she stay 30 minutes more but that's really rare).

What cafeteria/canteen stories do you have?