SARITAONLINE's BLOG-A-BLURTZ

Our Post-Christmas Celebration at Nanshan Ski Resort

2011-12-28T18:32:00.001+08:00

Valentine, me, and Marl at Nanshan Ski Resort

Yesterday was one of those days that started off wrongly but ended up really great. I wasn't feeling so well, but made it a point to go on with the plan because Marl has been very excited about it since last week. We woke up at 7AM and took the breakfast buffet.

The jinx started when I left both of my iPhone and Blackberry in the hotel. We were already in the taxi when I found out about it and it was too late to go back to the hotel. All the information about the Nanshan Ski and the booking number for shuttle bus ride and tickets were all in the SMS on my Blackberry. I felt soooo bad and sick but we had to move on. But seeing the long traffic going to Wudaokou, where we would be meeting up with our friend Valentine and taking the shuttle bus from, we opted to take the subway train. But since I didn't have my iPhone with me (where I have the Beijing subway app), we took the wrong line. I got really confused and my mind just stopped to work and I was already getting frustrated as we transferred to 3 different subway lines just to get to Wudaokou. We were scared to miss the shuttle bus because we'd be left with no choice but to waste all our effort of waking up and going through all the hassles and stress.

But it started to get better when we met up with Valentine, who looked so radiant morning. Her smile and soft-spoken voice that was filled with excitement turned everything around. And I knew then that everything would get better. And yes, we were able to catch the shuttle bus!

The shuttle bus ride was around an hour trip to Nanshan Ski Resort and we had to pay RMB 20 each for a one-way trip. When we reached the ski resort, we got all excited and we even bought gloves to get ready for some action. But we encountered another dilemma: we would need to deposit RMB 400 for each person and we didn't bring enough money for that! Ridiculous! Good thing that Valentine could speak Chinese and was able to call her friend to find out about it. Turns out, we'd only need pay individual deposit of RMB 200 + RMB 120 for a 2-hour skiing and ski equipment rental. Oh, plus RMB 10 for the locker. :)

This was my second time to ski. My first skiing experience last Winter with my friend was so much fun though I did some tumbling stunts most of the time (view the funny video HERE). Well this time wasn't different at all. I struggled with my Lumix camera (attached to a vanity monopod) most of the time because it wouldn't fit perfectly in my jacket's pocket. But I did try the slopes twice - and I fell twice! LOL! My camera ate some snow and I was thinking, "Oh, my camera will hate me today!". After a bad fall on my second try, I felt a cramp on my right thigh and hip so I decided to just give it up. I took off my skis and just walked all the way down the hill. Marl did some tumbling stunts, too, and so did his Sony Alpha camera. LOL! On the brighter side, Valentine certainly enjoyed it and surprisingly, she is a natural skier, although it was just her first time to ski. As for me, it's not a sports for me. Nah-ah. I'd rather go bungee jumping. And hello?!?! I'm not a sports type of a girl. I've always had great compliments that I'm the girl that can do almost everything. But now they can finally rejoice and add, "except skiing". LOLLL!

Anyway, after skiing, we had lunch at the restaurant there. We all looked exhausted and tired. I surely got tired from "Rolling In The Deep" hahaha!!! We took a taxi to the bus station at RMB 30. Another blooper that happened was we hopped in on the Bus 980 which would take us to back to Beijing. We had some moment of confusion as to how much we'd be paying for the ride. We thought it's RMB 40 per person. It took around 2 minutes until we finally understood that it's actually RMB 14 per person... and it was sooooo funny to hear and see how relieved the whole bus was when finally understood. Hahaha! We got off at a subway station and just went back to the hotel at around 4PM. But I couldn't rest because I have lots of inquiries regarding the Wondlan products. Geeezzzz!

I really had soooo much fun spending time with Valentine. She's like a sister to me and we will surely miss her and her radiant energy. Watch out for our cool photos and fun video. I can only edit the video when I'm back in the Philippines. Busy packing now. Three more days left in Beijing. No, three more nights and two more days... Time flies soooooo fast!!!

Wondlan dealership extends until Malaysia! :)

2011-12-28T16:11:00.004+08:00

Three more days in Beijing so we're busy packing. Anyway, got a good response and support from friends and loved ones on the new venture that we have - being the authorized dealer of Wondlan products in the Philippines. In fact, I have a few inquiries not only about the prices but also about how to be resellers/retailers. But surprise surprise! Just got the hard copy of the certificate yesterday and learned that the Philippines is not our only market... also Malaysia! Wow! Now this really calls for a celebration! Weeeeee! :)

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I'm now an authorized dealer of US Wondlan products!

2011-12-27T02:26:00.002+08:00

The blessings are just keep on pouring - one after another!!! I ain't complaining. In fact, I'm so thankful and grateful, I just had to acknowledge them!!!

Anyway, few weeks ago, I was in search for a good DSLR stabilizer because the videos that I made with the Nikon D7000 appeared to be a bit shaky that I had to remove a lot of clips from my final video. I wanted to buy the handheld stabilizers but the prices of the famous brands were out of my budget. I'm referring to at least US$500 per piece!

Well, maybe it's just my luck when I met a sales representative named Rebecca from a company that makes cheaper handheld stabilizers that deliver the same result as the previous ones I mentioned before. And eventually, we became really good friends. I expressed to her how happy I am with my purchase and would like to help to promote it in the Philippines, where a lot of videographers are recently growing and multiplying. They know that I'm going back to the Philippines after our current booking in Beijing. Then the company offered me a dealership - an authorized dealership in the Philippines. In fact, it's a special dealership that would be easy on my part. And thank goodness, I wasn't that crazy to just let it go. I asked around and even talked about it with my hubby Marl, then reviewed the terms in the contract before signing in and finishing off a deal.

Wondlan Pegasus Handheld Stabilizer

And this week, I just signed the deal! Therefore... the company SMC REPUBLIC - estabished by me and my hubby Marl in the late 2007, is now an authorized dealer of US Wondlan products that are manufactured by Wondlan International. The said company manufactures professional camcorder and DSLR camera kits and accessories for making professional films and videos. This is very good for those video hobbyists (like me) or those who are intending to turn seriously professional and want to make short films, music videos, documentaries, etc. As of now, we are starting off with the handheld stabilizer product called Pegasus which we have stocks on hand - a stabilizer that would support camcorders or DSLRs that weigh 2.2 kgs and below. We are looking forward to expanding to more of the Wondlan products in the coming year 2012!!! This is gonna be exciting!!! Wish us luck!!!

P.S.: I'm really thankful for all the countless blessings that are coming our way. Greatly humbled by all of these great things around us and all the support from our friends and loved ones... :)

UPDATE: Not only in the Philippines, we also have dealership for Malaysia! Read more about it.

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Babushka Christmas 2011 in Beijing!

2011-12-26T07:26:00.002+08:00

Left: During Christmas eve at Shangri-La Beijing
Right: At The Place with the giant LCD canopy

Christmas eve at the bar was surprisingly busy than expected. In fact, we got pretty good Christmas tips from the guests, too. Isn't that cool? :) We were supposed to finish at 11:45AM, but since everyone was in a celebratory mood, we just extended a little over after midnight. Then we hurriedly changed into our casual clothes and went to the Westin hotel where our friends, the Soundforge band, has prepared a little Christmas meal for us to share together. And we just had fun eating chicken adobo, sotanghon, and biko for noche buena while talking and just sharing stories. We went back to the hotel at 5AM, which is already considered a bit late since we've started sleeping at 3AM last night.

Christmas Day... and we're off! Yessss! We woke up past noontime and we chatted with our unica hija, who's actually vacationing with my friends Claire and Dior and the latter's kids. Selena is really having a good time there. I'm happy because she has some friends to play with and spend time with during this Christmas vacation. My mom is sad that her granddaughter won't spend this Christmas with her, but I know she understands. :)

Anyway, we went out to go to this mall with a huge LCD canopy - it's actually like the one in Las Vegas, but then again I can't compare because I haven't been to Vegas yet. But we had a great time, I took some videos. I got all emotional when they showed a Christmas presentation for a few minutes. It was beautiful and it felt so magical! I just wished that Selena was with me to see it... she would have loved it. In fact, I sent her an SMS right after that, only to know that she's enjoying herself watching DVD movies with her friends, too.

We then went to Wangfujing and strolled along the famous Wangfujing road which was filled with malls. We went to one of the malls to find a Skechers shop to get Marl's Christmas shoes. Yes, I got him a pair of Skechers Shape-Ups for Christmas! He wanted it after knowing about it from our friend Jonathan, so he's happy about it. He got me a Blackberry anyway and I'm happy about it even though I don't have a local sim with BIS that would go with it. Can't wait to get a Globe simpack for it when I reach Manila. :)

So there we have it... I guess, I had a good and peaceful Christmas this year. Not the best one, but it's good to keep it lie-low sometimes. Maybe I'm growing too old for parties and such. Nahhhh, I'm forever 25! I can't turn old, not a hair! Oh wait, lemme take care of that grey hair for now. LOL! Hope you guys had great Christmas celebrations and parties with your loved ones, families, and friends.

Next celebration in line which I'm very very very excited about is the New Year's Eve!!! I can't wait to spill it out and let you all know about it... but let's keep the excitement hangin' there for a while, okay? :) Five more days left in Beijing... time flies so fast indeed...

Working on Christmas eve

2011-12-24T20:37:00.001+08:00

It's 8:30pm and we've already done two Christmas sets at the Café Chá restaurant of Shangri-La Beijing. We have two more sets at the Cloud Nine Bar, but thankfully, we're gonna be finishing off before midnight. Big cheers and salute to the hardworking musicians and other people who are workig on Christmas, too! Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Getting (Black)Berry Busy This Christmas

2011-12-24T04:01:00.001+08:00

I have been an avid Apple/iPhone user since 2007. And hubby has been a Blackberry user for more than a month now. He was so happy when got his Blackberry Bold 9780 because it reminded him of being a Palm user for years - before switching to iPhone.

He knows that I'm curious about the world of Blackberry and he certainly knows that I'm gonna be verrrrry busy in the Philippines with all the things I want to do. And that's why he decided to give me Blackberry Curve 8900 this Christmas - because he thinks it's a perfect tool for me and of course, wants to share his happiness with me. Also, most of our friends are using Blackberry phones in Malaysia and the Philippines. Now I'll be able to get in touch with them through BBM or Blackberry Messenger.

This is also in preparation for our long, indefinite break back home. We found out that there's a great Blackberry prepaid plan from Globe called BBMAX wherein a Blackberry user can enjoy unlimited email, BBM, social networking (Twirtter, Facebook, etc), instant messaging, and mobile browsing for 30 days - all for only 600 pesos! Great deal and great savings for us!!! But the promo runs until end of December 2011 only, so I hope we will still be able to reach the irresistible promo!

Oh my! My dear hubby just made my life (black)berrrrry busy! I ain't complaining, though! I love gifts and blessings! Thank you, my dear!!!

PS: I'm not a switcher. I still have my iPhone and love it. Guess sometimes, it's just great to have the best of both worlds, eh? :)

Have a Merry Airbrushin' Christmas!!!

2011-12-22T02:49:00.000+08:00

Few more days and it'll be Christmas 2011! And this is what I got for myself for Christmas in advance... my Dinair Studio Beauty kit!!! I've been wanting to own an airbrush makeup kit in the past but never had a chance, because I have other priorities.

And since we're going back home for an indefinitely long stay, I've been thinking of things to do. I want to do things that I love doing. Of course, I'll still sing. In fact, I've been contacting some people and asking around with the local gigs there - because I haven't experienced doing local regular gigs before. If there are some modeling shoots or projects for me, then I'd be more than glad to do it.

But another option for me is to do some makeup gigs - as a traditional makeup artist and an airbrush makeup artist. I know there are lots of events here and there and I would love to experience being a makeup artist = off the shoot. I would really love make other people beautiful in their own events like debuts, weddings, and maybe divorce! Just kidding! LOL! I already have quite an enough mix of makeup tools and products in my makeup trolleys and I think I have the skills. I've always been the makeup artist in Mar Silverio's shoots and other photographers' shoots, too. I just have to add more gigs and experiences for my makeup portfolio. And I thought that adding an airbrush kit will help me achieve that.

That's why when I knew that my model-friend Valentine would be going back to the California for a couple of days for her boyfriend's birthday, I thought of a perfect gift for myself to cap this beautiful year off. I asked her to buy the Dinair Studio Beauty Kit... my airbrush makeup kit! It was fun shopping online with her during Black Friday because there were lots of crazy deals. My kit came with loooots of freebies and boy, I was like a kid getting a gift from Santa on a Christmas morning!!! I'm just sooooo happy! Thank you, Valentine & Richard! :)

First thing I did was watch the instructional DVD that came with it before ripping them off from their separate packages. And finally, I have tried it this weekend at work (and at play) and it was really great on skin. It felt like I wasn't wearing any makeup at all!!! I have tried it onstage - with no powder or retouching - and it lasted hours even after my gig! I'm really happy with it!!! Can't wait to try it on others... because hubby won't let me practice on him! Hahaha!

I was so happy unboxing it that I took out my camera and took some products shots with my D7000. I will post some of my portrait shots wearing my airbrush makeup. LOL! Oh, by the way, you're forgiven if you'd be drooling on my new goodies, no worries! *wink*

My whole Dinair Makeup Studio Beauty Kit - with lotsa freebies!!!

The airbrush kit "usually" comes with only just 4 small bottles of foundation...

...but because of Black Friday sale... I got 12 bottles of them!

It also came with a small Airtan bottle (for tanning), Moist&Dewy
(to add a dewy look), and a practice color (for practicing)

Comes with blusher/bronzer and for eyes (eyeliner)

My Dinair Airbrush machine, adaptor, and battery pack

The kit comes with an instructional DVD, stencils & stencil catalog,
brochures, complimentary lesson, and gift certificate of $5! :)

It is indeed a merry airbrushin' Christmas for me! Weeeeee! :-)

Text to help... CDO

2011-12-20T04:59:00.001+08:00

It has been a very sad weekend in the Philippines as we have lost a lot of lives in Cagayan De Oro City and Iligan City from the typhoon Sendong. It's even sadder to think that this had to happen a week before Christmas.

I know a lot of you, like me, would like to do your part in helping the victims. There are different ways to help. To those who are in the Philippines, let us help our brothers and sisters in Cagayan De Oro City and other affected areas by typhoon Sendong. We can donate by SIMPLY TEXTING.

BY SMS
Text RED<space>AMOUNT to 2899 (Globe) or 4143 (Smart)

BY G-Cash
Text DONATE<space>AMOUNT<space>4-digit M-PIN<space>REDCROSS to 2882

You can donate the following denominations:
Globe: 5, 25, 100, 300, 500 or 1000
Smart: 10, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 or 1000

Here are other ways to donate or help:

Through Philippine Red Cross, click here

Through Sagip Kapamilya: Operation Sendong, click here

Love the Facebook Timeline?

2011-12-19T17:55:00.004+08:00

Do you like the Facebook Timeline? I'm still having a difficulty in choosing which stuff to read between left and right posts. But I guess that's why it's called TIMELINE - you just follow the "line" in the middle that divides the left & right posts and has a "period" indicator to see which post was posted first.

The only thing I love about it is the cover. Hubby made a nice cover for our Facebook. Lovin' how to it is related to our profile thumbnail which looks like he's pointing his camera to me. Because that's what we are... The Photog and The Muse. :)

Feeling the Christmas spirit in Beijing

2011-12-18T23:45:00.004+08:00

On the way to the Philippine Embassy Christmas
party where I had so much fun with friends :)

I guess nobody can argue on the fact that no one celebrates the real Christmas like Filipinos do. And I'm proud of that and I'm always flattered whenever foreigners say that. Of course! Filipinos have a special way of celebrating Christmas. Back home, you can already hear Christmas songs being played everywhere and Christmas decors being sold in shopping places as early as September. We'd always refer the 1st of September as the start of -BER months and that would sometimes mark the start of the countdown to Christmas. We'd all start putting up Christmas trees and decorations right after All Saints' Day on the 1st of November, doing some early Christmas shopping by mid-November to avoid the Christmas rush. And when December comes, you'd get invited to different Christmas parties here and there - where you will really appreciate and see the joy and happiness that the holiday season would really bring.

For some of us who have always been away from home for quite some time, we have already learned how to deal with the extreme sadness and homesickness we feel when December comes around. Some generous families would often offer their abodes to be the venue for Christmas parties. This year, I have already been to two Christmas parties. And even though we are the ones who live the farthest, we made sure to attend those parties.

The first Christmas party we've been to was organized by some Filipinos we haven't met, which was held at a restaurant they have rented. We just got invited to attend and join the Kris Kringle or Exchange Gift or Monito-Monita. Basically, you'd draw names before the occasion and you'd shop for gift for the person you have drawn. We haven't met both of our 'monitas' personally so hubby and I just bought some cute portable speakers as our gifts. Hubby got a Hard Rock Cafe cap while I got a very nice Zara shoulder bag. Most of our musician friends in Beijing attended the party and we all had such a great time chatting, drinking, and singing.

The second party was organized by the Philippine Embassy in Beijing. It was well-attended by Filipinos and non-Filipinos. In fact, you won't have any idea how many Filipinos live in Beijing if you missed the occasion. There were lots of performances - very typical of Filipinos. The funny and witty host, Omar Lacap, who has always been the host of Filipino gatherings in Beijing, has made the party more engaging and entertaining. There were party games which I joined in for the sake of fun. One of the games was the "pambansang laro ng Pilipinas" (national game of the Philippines) --- Pinoy Henyo. My funny friend Darren and I joined the said game and it was really fun! We almost won but have tied with another team. Oh well, it was my first time to play Pinoy Henyo ever and I really had great fun! :)

Not even the most expensive hotel dish can beat the
satisfaction I had when I had these Filipino dishes! :)

There were also raffle draws of roundtrip tickets courtesy of Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines - which we didn't win again. There were free food like arroz caldo, pancit bihon, tokwa and dinuguan, sponsored by some generous individuals, and although they weren't the best dishes I have tasted ever, they became the highlight of my Christmas. Why? It's the essence of what it was for --- Christmas food. And sharing the moment with your good friends is something that even the most expensive hotel dishes can't beat. :)

Even though Christmas is exactly one week away from today, I can say that I have already celebrated it during the two Filipino gatherings we've been to. Iba talaga ang Paskong Pinoy! :)

PS: To those who have been waiting for the photos that I've taken with friends this year, I will be posting them soon on our Facebook profile! :)

Definitely Decembrrrrrrrr

2011-12-17T03:12:00.001+08:00

It's -12°C in Beijing as of this writing. Probably the lowest temperature I've encountered this winter. Oh yes, it's JUST the beginning of winter. I can't imagine how cold it will be in January and February during the winter peak season.

When we went out yesterday morning to run for some errands, we noticed the biting or burning feeling on our skin. It's as if a pack of ice was put against our skin! It wasn't a good feeling at all!! It's important to moisturize the skin and drink lots of water to hydrate. I wouldn't want my skin to start cracking because of severe dryness.

I'm so glad I'll be back to the tropical weather soon!!! Can't wait to get out of here! Brrrrrrrrr!!!

Townhouse in Cebu - for rent! :)

2011-12-14T03:22:00.005+08:00

Our long-time tenants have finished their long stay with us for the past 5 years. An American guy married to a sweet Cebuana have rented our townhouse for the past 5 years and they actually wanted to buy the our townhouse earlier this year. But this townhouse has its sentimental value to us, it's our first investment when we bought it in 2003 and the first fruit of our "Shangri-La labor" (Katas ng Shangri-La). Friends refer to it as the "Jollibee house" since we had it painted with bright orange a few years ago - now it's painted white. :)

Because we were busy and away, we weren't able to take care of looking for possible tenants after our tenants finished their contract last month. No one has occupied our townhouse for more than a month now. So hopefully, we can get new tenants to move in as the new year 2012 starts.

If you are interested or you know someone who would be interested, just let me know. Our townhouse is located at BF Better Homes in Lawaan 1, Talisay City, Cebu. It's just along SRP and very close to Talisay City Hall. It's also near public markets, churches, schools, and beach resorts. Here are the other information which we will be posting on different sites online:

TOWNHOUSE IN CEBU FOR RENT

2-storey townhouse in BF Better Homes
98 sqm lot area; 186 sqm floor area
3 bedrooms, 2 toilet&bath, 1 maids quarter
1 car garage, 2 balconies
Spacious living & dining room
Dirty kitchen and laundry area
Facade is now painted white (not orange like the photo above)
Subdivision amenities: 24 hours security, basketball court, chapel
For inquiries, please send an email to saritacarreon (at) gmail (dot) com

POSSESSED - The Conclusion (a Noytube video collab)

2011-12-11T02:56:00.001+08:00

I love doing video collaboration projects with my friends, especially with my fellow Noytubers! Noytube is actually a community of Filipino channels on Youtube... piNOY-youTUBE = NOYTUBE... gets??? If not, click on this link and just let the video load in the background while you continue reading my blog. :)

I'm so excited to share this recent video collab of the founder of Noytube, Jason Telmo a.k.a. chinaeyes22. Jason and I started a great friendship online through Youtube. This talented director, producer, and video editor is actually making his passion his living... he works at ABS-CBN's media department and he does the promo plugs of the network. And he's one of the persons that I'd really meet up whenever I go back to the Philippines... he's my idol-bestfriend, hence we call each other "idolbes".

Jason likes to keep the Noytube community active, hence he would do video collab projects that includes characters from different parts of the world. And this recent video collab project called "POSSESSED" is just one fun series to look forward to.

When he did the pilot episode for this series, he also asked some of us if we can do our bit and act really silly like being possessed by his character, chinaeyes22. Of course I said "yes" and fully committed myself to it. And then... he sent our different "possessed" parts. And I was like... WOOAHHH-KAYYYY... DAMMIT! Hahaha! But knowing Jason' funny touch and great abilities in video editing, I gave him my full trust. Just like the rest of the Noytubers he had asked favor from. And boy, I had soooo much fun doing my crazy bit! =)

So without much further ado, here's the the video that I'm talking about. And I would really recommend you to watch the whole of it. But if you're getting bored and wanna see my 'possessed' bit, jump to frame 3:28 until 3:36. No one has ever made me to act like this on camera... only my idolbes, Jason. So now, you can witness the silly, possessed side of Sarita. Laugh if you must. LOL!

Through The Lens of Jay Ismail

2011-12-06T06:05:00.002+08:00

I first met Jay Ismail online through one of the modeling sites I usually frequent to where one can be connected to different creative people in the fashion, photography, and modeling industry. His sophisticated approach that goes into intricate details made me fall with his photography. Then 2010 came, and finally, we had a chance to work together. And I was able to finally meet and know more about this talented photographer from Malaysia. It was really fun working with him. And we've been very good friends since then.

When we had a quick trip to KL last June, he's one of the few people we had met up. Of course, we met up in his studio where Marl asked him thousand-and-one questions about shooting billboard (in preparation for Marl's billboard shoot with Ara Mina). This guy shoots billboards for some known brands like Ed Hardy. And of course, we had a very quick shoot again. I just love shooting with him because I KNOW that he'll do a great job with it. :)

Yesterday, he tweeted me at around 3-4AM and sent a BBM to Marl, too. He said that he woke up in a middle of a good sleep because he dreamed of something weird... that he was visiting a zoo with Marl, Selena, and me. The weirdest part of that was... he was speaking Tagalog fluently. Hahaha! So he wasn't able to go back to sleep and played with some of my old photos in his archive. And damn!!! They turned out really great and really portfolio-worthy! I totally love his work!!! Thank you, bro!

Visit his website at www.jayismail.com to view some of his great shots. But, tell me, what do you think about these shots? Leave a comment below or tweet me! :)

Where Will Happiness Strike Next?

2011-12-02T16:47:00.001+08:00

I just cried a bucket of tears watching this new video from Coca-Cola. It's part of the project they did for the modern heroes of the Philippines - OFWs or Overseas Filipino Workers - this Christmas. Why wouldn't I cry? I'm an OFW myself! It's a known fact among our friends and relatives that I have worked overseas and left our daughter with my mom when she was just two months old. But guess, life really has its rewards. And I'm ever so thankful for the the countless blessings that endlessly coming my way. Anyway, here's the said touching video:

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2011

2011-12-02T05:16:00.003+08:00

This pic ain't from this year's recent show, though. But who cares? :)

Wowww!!! It's Victoria Secret season once again. And being a self-confessed-but-not-fatally-obsessed fan of VS and all their gorgeous angels, I made sure that I wouldn't miss this year's rocking fashion show. I have always loved their annual shows. Why not? The sexy lingerie on the winged angels' bodies, the performances of famous artists, creative concepts of the designers, and a whole lot party feel of just pure fun that would make you want to be there - onstage or among the audience - at that time! This year's performers were Kanye West, Jay-Z, Maroon 5 and Nikki Minaj. They all rocked it!!!

And I have a confession to make. Every time I watch their annual fashion shows, I would always feel so inspired and sexy as I strut in my lingerie right after a steamy, hot shower. And yes, I'd be in my 4-inch stilettos while I walk in a next-to-my-birthday-suit manner... inside the room! LOLLL!

And wanna know the reason why I stopped buying expensive lingerie? Because they always never last on my body. They would always end up to their usual J.Lo-ish destination... on the floor. :)

Here's the Youtube link of the full show - no commercials. I hope it won't get blocked or removed. I tried embedding them here but it's not allowed to be posted on websites. So just click on the link above. I'm sure you're gonna love it, too!

December Freebies!

2011-12-02T03:49:00.002+08:00

Yes, December is here and in a couple of weeks, it'll be Christmas! :) And yayyyy... I got my first freebies from my friends in Qingdao, Rhoda and Donna!!! They are actually working for a company that makes awesome fashion accessories for exporting to major bands.

Four years ago, they also gave me some samples of wonderful fashion accessories. I was supposed to start selling accessories in my small RTW store, which didn't last long that's why the plan to sell accessories was scraped off. I really love their accessories! I still use some of them till now. They are mostly in sets of necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings. I promised them that I will use this new collection for my future shoots and gigs. :)

And yes, I guess I really am a lucky girl... look at how beautiful these accessories are!!! Who wouldn't be jealous of that??!!! Even Marl is jealous! Hahaha! Thank you so much to my "vaklush" friendships... Rhoda and Donna - the unbeatable tandem hahaha!

click to appreciate it more :)

Sars The All-Arounder

2011-11-28T19:33:00.000+08:00

Left: Me in action (with my rig) from yesterday's shoot
Top right: Vain me. Top left: My baby Nikki D.

I love being infront of the camera, strutting my stuff infront of a lens. But I also love being behind the lens and being the one behind a great production, video, or photoshoot. Lately, we've been working with some foreign models here in Beijing. While Marl is the photographer, I found myself being the one with lots of job behind the scenes - makeup artist, hair stylist, stylist, creative director, assistant/VA or lights(wo)man, and BTS videographer. And I ain't complaining! In fact, I LOVE it! :)

Watch out for my next blogs where you will be able to see the great images of the models I have worked with. :)

Sarita goes to... Summer Palace

2011-11-22T18:45:00.000+08:00

Here's the video that I've taken my sweet time in editing of using Final Cut Pro. I've been reading quite a lot on DSLR videography and I know that I still have a loooooot of things to learn about it and the whole Final Cut Studio. And I must say, I'm proud that I was able to come up with this output. Here's a travelogue video of my trip to Summer Palace here in Bejing. Please do watch it in HD (720p) and let me know by your comments and suggestions! :) ENJOY!

The Wrong Selena

2011-11-14T16:55:00.002+08:00

In 2008, I posted a video of my 9-year-old-then daughter Selena singing the song "And I'm Telling You" from the musical/movie Dreamgirls. It was her grand final performance in her school's contest where she won the second place. It was the first singing contest she had ever joined, so getting the second place was really a big surprise for us.

Three years later, the video is still getting views more than ever. Apparently, the fans of the famous teen star Selena Gomez have mistakingly viewed my daughter's video, thinking it was THEIR Selena's video. The comments are just soooo funny (see the comments here)! They've been debating about it and now the video is ACCIDENTALLY garnering more than 42,000 views!

Anyway, here is my daughter Selena's video when she was still 9 years old... she surely has come a long way since then. I'm so proud of my mini-me! :)

11.11.11

2011-11-11T05:06:00.000+08:00

Woahhh! Time flies so fast indeed! I remember that I just had my birthday then suddenly now it's almost mid-November. If we don't get extended here, that means we only have six weeks left here in Beijing. My oh my!

Well, I haven't been blogging for quite some time, breaking my own promise to blog everyday about anything. But you see, I've been very very busy. Since I got my Baby Nikki D., I've always been buried with my tutorial books and videos. I somehow have learned a lot on video editing already, but I still need to learn a lot more. I know I have backlogged on lots of our adventures, but I want the current video that I'm editing right now to have the right 'treatment'. My next video is distinctively different with last video that I posted - which was actually just a test shoot for my Nikon D7000 during the China Opens 2011

But of course, even if I haven't been blogging, my daily adventures continue on Twitter. I guess, that's a good excuse to not blog so often... "I'm tweeting anyway". :)

Anyway, here are my recent photos posted by Marl on his Facebook page for his 365 Project. So if you want to get updated with his posted photos of other people, too, better go and 'Like' Mar Silverio's page. But it's okay if you don't. You can always continue viewing them here on my blog. Be my guest! :)

Happy November!

2011-11-02T04:02:00.000+08:00

Block Eye Peace :)

Today, I'd like to share with you a photo that hubby and I did last night after gig. Since he has loads of studio (and outdoor) lighting equipment, he's experimenting on different lighting setup almost everyday. And he's so lucky that he has a model-at-hand whenever he wants to shoot.

All for art's sake :)

What's special about this shoot is that after retouching my gig makeup to make it finer for the shoot, I realized that since hubby wants me to do this pose, I would need to paint my 2 nails with a dark color. But I don't have any dark colored nail polish as I'm not really a manicure-and-pedicure kinda kikay girl. I only have some light colored nail polishes and nail coats.

But I needed to paint them dark.

So what I did was I took a black marker pen and marked my 2 nails with it. It sure looked unattractive and blah so I put some glittery nail coat over it. Voila! Instant black nails! :)

But the problem came the next day after. I couldn't get it off since I don't have nail polish remover or acetone. So I resorted to painting the rest of my nails with a black marker but I couldn't find where I put it last night! LOL. So I had to endure performing tonight with only 2 painted nails! LOLLLLL!

All for art's sake, huh? :)

Plants vs. Sars :)

2011-10-31T19:45:00.000+08:00

I've spent the last 30 minutes trying to upload this photo to be my new 'display picture' or 'profile photo' on Twitter. But it just won't get uploaded! Too scary, maybe? :) Anyway, here's Marl's successful creation to make me ugly and scary. I gave him full right to do that to me... for Halloween's sake! :)

Plants vs Sars

Problem with my visa extension... solved!

2011-10-28T03:54:00.004+08:00

The wait is finally over after waiting for my new passport for six whole weeks. As I have previously blogged, I had to renew my 1-year old new e-passport because it got torn. And the Philippine Embassy in Beijing was kind enough to shoulder all expenses in replacing it. They didn't let me pay for it! Hooray! :)

So anyway, already got my new passport and they also gave me back my old passport with punched holes (for cancellation) and was asked to surrender my old passport once my visa has been transferred to the new one. I kept my passports in the safe while waiting for the hotel to take them for our visa extension.

Our lounge manager took our passports on Monday afternoon and gave me a shocking news just before we went to work. There's a problem with my passports and visa! Oh my!!! Apparently, the Chinese government strict rule about renewed passports is that you would have a 10-day allowance for me to transfer my current visa (in my old passport) to my new visa. WHAAAAT?!?!?! Nobody informed me about that!

For the past three nights, Marl and I have been talking about the worst possible scenario that would happen if my problem won't be resolved... that is to go back to Manila wayyyy before schedule when our current visa expires on October 31st. We even contacted our friend who has a courier company in Shanghai and sent couple of boxes of our stuff. And we even have slowly packed our stuff, too. LOL.

Not the kind of star where you
can say, "Look Ma, I got a star!"

Yesterday, we went to the Police Security Bureau (PSB) where we would be applying for our visa extension, together with a representative from the hotel's HR department. And I was told that in usual cases, I'd pay a fine for "breaking the rule" on visa transferring. I told them that it was an honest mistake and I really didn't know about this and had I known about it, I would have gone to the PSB directly after getting my new passport. I gave the certificate that the Philippine Embassy issued along with my new passport. I even wanted to pull a Christopher-Lao and say, "I should have been informed!". But guess my lucky star never left me and was even shining on me even at noon time... the bureau officials just gave me a 'warning'. They made me sign a paper in Chinese character with a big red stamp with a big star. And I didn't have to pay a fine at all! Weeeeee! But I better be careful next time.

Anyway, our visa extension has already been processed and we will have our passports back next week. Thank God! Now, time to unpack again and just cherish my remaining working time here in Beijing while I still can... until the end of December!

China Open 2011 (Nikon D7000 test video)

2011-10-24T14:30:00.003+08:00

Two years ago, we had the chance to meet the top superstar tennis players during China Open 2009. They were all staying in our hotel and it was the coolest time of the year 2009 for me. What made it more special was meeting Novak Djokovic and his team and partying with him when he won the China Open title for the first time.

This year, we were so excited to see him again. But unfortunately, due to a serious injury, he wasn't able to come and play to defend his title this year. Most of the more famous ones didn't play like Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray. However, we were able to meet other coaches, organizers, and players during the whole 10 days that there were staying in our hotel. In fact, we would often see them in the tables next to ours during dinner. Ohhhh, I got really starstruck whenever I'd see Anna Ivanovic! :)

I can say that our 'avid' guest that we had was the father and coach of the No. 1 in women's tennis, Carolina Wozniacki. His father, Piotr Wozniacki, would often come to the bar and enjoy our music. And for the first time in my whole career, we sang the Beyoncé song "Halo" and "Hotel California" more than 3 times in one night. I had to sing it 6 times on one night and then there was another night when I had to sing it 12 times!!! Marl sang "Hotel California" 7 times in an hour! No kidding! But of course, he was generous enough to compensate us with tips for each song that we did for him.

Luckily for us, we met the No. 3 in men's double, Nenad Zimonjic, during dinners at the hotel restaurant. And during the finals, he invited us to watch his game. I was soooo happy and excited that I felt like accepting a marriage proposal when I said "Yesss!" after asking me if we'd like to watch his finals match. LOL! That was also the night that hubby told me that we'd get my birthday gift, Nikon D7000.

So without much further ado, here's the Nikon D7000 test video that I took during China Open 2011, with the help of Marl of course. I used a Tamron Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro Lens during that time because that's the big-yet-light zoom that hubby has. He has bigger lenses but it's heavy for me to carry around. I used Final Cut Pro, Motion in editing and Compressor to export this video - after two years of not touching it! FINALLY! =)