Soooo Blogging This!!!!

White Bedroom

2015-10-14T10:19:00.003+08:00

#wednesdaywishlist

Sea Lion Trainer for a Day

2015-10-12T23:55:00.000+08:00

The sea lion trainer for a day offered at Manila Ocean Park is a trial program and if I am not mistaken, I was the third one to try it. It’s a 5-hour program that involves a lecture and hands-on training session.

The first part of the training is a briefing and lecture about the sea creatures.

What are sea lions?

Sea Lions are sea mammals that are pinnipeds or fin-footed. Their difference from the other pinnipeds such as walrus and seals is that they have ear flaps, long fore-flippers, can walk all fours and have short, thick hair. Obviously, the fact that they are a popular attraction in zoos and aquariums implies that they are intelligent animals. Their cognitive abilities such as understanding simple syntax and commands when taught an artificial sign language make them easily trainable. In the US Navy, they are even used as part of underwater military missions working with sea divers. How awesome is that? J

Here’s us with Mark and Jhept during the lecture. And did you know that while we are doing the lecture, one of the sea lions from the pool was watching us. She’s just so cute. So eager to interact with me already. :P

How are they trained?

Operant conditioning is the basis of animal training. My further research informed me that this is a behavioral psychology that applies to humans as well. In this type of learning, the animal is conditioned from its behaviors as it acts on the environment. The philosophy is, when an animal performs a particular behavior that produces a favorable consequence, the animal is likely to repeat that behavior. Ever notice the food given to them after an act? That’s what they call positive reinforcement. But more on that later.

After the lecture and a list of do’s and don’t’s, I thought it was already time for the encounter. But nope. Part of the training is hands-on husbandry. Husbandry? I can’t even find a husband for myself – my thoughts exactly. Haha. But husbandry includes the over-all well-being of the animals. This includes routine medical examinations and overall maintenance to ensure their health. Of course to guarantee their health, it is important to have a clean environment. So we went inside their cages and inspected which one needs cleaning. One of the sea lions has poop in his area and so Jhept and I went inside to clean it using a water hose and brush. HA! And you thought it was all fun and laughter with the animals. :P But this is not new to me since I have two dogs myself back at home.

Shortly after that, Jepht taught me how to prepare their food. Sea lions are carnivorous and feed on fish and squid. For my training later that day, we needed to prepare the mackerels. We got enough frozen fish from their stock and carefully chose which ones were fresh. Okay, this is new to me since I don’t cook at home. Haha. Jepht taught me how filter the good ones and slice the mackerel into three pieces but I think I did not do so well on that. *face-palm*

And at long last, my most-awaited moment. Finally, I had Icis for myself. Eeeeeep. From what I understood, the very basic application and summary of operant conditioning philosophy is as follows: target recognition, bridging and reinforcement. For example, I will use my hand as a focal point for the sea lion to touch. He or she must identify and touch it. When it has done so, the bridge is sounded ( a whistle or clicker) and reinforcement follows (food reward). Why is bridging needed? It is needed because reinforcement must immediately follow the behavior in order to be effective. When an animal performs, it might be too far away from the trainer so the sound signal “bridges” the gap between the behavior and the reinforcement. This is the same thing for using long sticks as hand replacement for the animals.

So there I was teaching Icis different tricks. I was rather nervous at first because you really have to be quick in the bridging and reinforcement thing (Mark had to continuously remind me, haha?!) and at the same time I felt that any wrong movements might produce a negative effect on them and make them forget everything that they’ve been trained on. Yay!

Some of the basic tricks taught were saluting, clapping, shake hands, spreading the flappers, standing on fore limbs and directing to places. I think after a few practice, I was able to get the hang of it.

After some time, it came to a point when Icis and I became already comfortable with each other and she felt like kissing me already. Haha! P.S. I just showered her with too much raw mackerels here but how can you not return the passion to kiss back when she's all close-eyed like that. So romantic. Hahaha!!! Uhm, I didn't know they're such passionate kissers too. It wasn't mentioned in the lecture, lol! *plays Katy Perry's song*

My favorite part would have to be the swimming part. This time it was Yeni - another trained cow (female sea lion) in MOP. Mark taught her to perform swimming tricks with me like here below where she was pushing me and all I had to was to keep on floating and the other one was where we go round in circles. It was just so much fun. :)

After the swimming session, it was time to freshen up and watch the afternoon show. I've seen a sea lion show before and it was like yeah so, so. But this time, the feeling was different having had that interaction with the performers earlier. I was an eager and observant audience wanting to know more and for them to show me more. :D The nae nae dance trick was very impressive. Hahaha!!!

It was indeed one fun and educational experience for me - something new to learn as I turn a year older that day. I walked out of that park having so much appreciation for sea lions. I think I even love them more than dolphins now. Haha. For this, I'd like to thank the training team of Manila Ocean Park below for such an amazing experience.

The MOP is just a few kilometers away from my home so I really hope to be back soon and see the sea lions again. :) I also hope that I get to apply whatever I learned to my pets and train dolphins in the future too. It seems like a very cool job to do. ;-)

Here's a short clip of the pool training session with Icis:

Parson's Desk

2015-08-26T22:14:00.001+08:00

#wednesdaywishlist

A quick post for this hashtag. Not only would I love to have a dress with this print, it looks good as a furniture at home too? Nice no? :)

Devouring Vivaldi

2015-08-17T19:24:00.001+08:00

Came out last Thursday night to support my stylist friends/ SoFA classmates in the Devouring Vivaldi exhibit held at House Manila bar in Resorts World. The Selfless Minds featured the video exhibit of Christina Zabat and photo exhibit of the headshot master Niccolo Cosme. The girls styled some of the images as seen below. Of course our styling instructor Mr. Levenson Rodriguez was there. While it was also a reunion of sorts with the girls, it was also a good opportunity to meet some of the respected fashion designers of the country as represented by FaDAl Manila. Check out the gallery below:

The girls:

With our styling instructor:

Meeting the beauty queen/ fashion model Bea Soriano:

Meeting the designers of Fadal Manila:

Of course, being bombarded with editorials during our SoFA days, we simply wouldn't pass up on #ootd opportunities at the venue. We are sooo loving the classy vibe of this newest happening place in town. Most of the girls immediately changed their profile pictures to this backdrop as soon as the photos became available. Haha!

More #ootd pics found in my other fsahion blog here. :)

And the fun continued after the exhibit:

And for some fun proof, check out the short clip below. Haha!

A video posted by @cassey_cakes on Aug 13, 2015 at 3:17pm PDT

Military Diet

2015-07-31T23:19:00.003+08:00

#fitnessfriday

Challenge succeeded. Source here. :)

Survived Day1 of my military diet yesterday! I'm back with coffee (yey!) and I wasn't that hungry at all. I was still able to do some cardio too. All good! 👍

A photo posted by @cassey_cakes on Jul 23, 2015 at 3:32pm PDT

Day 2 of Military Diet. So far getting the hang of this portion control and calorie count thingy 👍

A photo posted by @cassey_cakes on Jul 24, 2015 at 5:45pm PDT

Aaaaaannnddd Day 3 of military diet completed! It was the most challenging bec of the least calories and lesser variety of food plus I was out with friends, lol! Pig-out day finally!!! 🐷🐽

A photo posted by @cassey_cakes on Jul 25, 2015 at 5:45pm PDT

Hold My Hand

2015-07-27T19:17:00.002+08:00

#muzikmonday

Song of the moment :)

Fight Song

2015-07-13T18:40:00.000+08:00

#muzikmonday

One of my driving-around-USA soundtracks!!! This Youtuber is brilliant for creating a 1-hr loop of this song. Lol! Aaah, so many memories. :)

Taylor Swift should've thought of this song, haha! :P

...

2015-07-07T23:29:00.001+08:00

#traveltuesday

Glimpse of my two-week absence :)

Balter

2015-06-19T01:11:00.002+08:00

#fitnessfriday

Presenting our latest retropop releases :)

Dear Future Husband...

A video posted by @cassey_cakes on Jun 4, 2015 at 3:41am PDT

Want You to Want Me

A video posted by @cassey_cakes on Jun 18, 2015 at 2:07am PDT

Rain Boots!

2015-06-12T01:40:00.000+08:00

#threewaythursday

The wet season is upon us. Catch a longer post about this boots here. :)

CKS Memorial Hall

2015-06-09T01:37:00.001+08:00

One of the famous attractions in Taipei, Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall is a national monument erected for the President Chiang Kai Shek who ruled Taiwan for 25 yrs (1950 – 1975). The monument, a white and blue structure, is surrounded by a beautiful park and is framed on the North and South by the National Theater and National Concert Hall.

As soon as we got into the place, I regretted that I skipped this part in my itinerary in my previous visit. The place is utterly beautiful. Other details of the place which I only found out as I do this post (haha!): the roof is blue and octagonal (eight being a lucky number for the Chinese) and the number of steps up the main hall is 89 to represent his age at the time of death.

The view from above the stairs is simply breathtaking.

The ground level is where you find the library and museum documenting CKS' life and the main hall is where you'll find a large statue of him. We didn't have much time exploring the place for reason below, haha!

Because I traveled with yogini friends, we realized that CKS Memorial Hall is a perfect backdrop for yoga poses. Hahaha!!! P.S. This is my greatest achievement in Taipei, to be able to do the headstand. Hahahaha!!!

Obviously, we didn't have time exploring the main hall because of the photoshoots but we were lucky enough to catch the changing of the guards during our visit - where I realize that aside from finding cute pet dogs in the park, this is also where you find all the good-looking men in Taipei. Lol!

A video posted by @cassey_cakes on Feb 1, 2015 at 1:09am PST

Black Wrap Dress

2015-06-04T23:26:00.000+08:00

#threewaythursday

Layered, with stockings or draped? :)

Cruise

2015-06-03T01:08:00.002+08:00

#traveltuesday

Well not really a "travel" per se but atleast some activity worth sharing during the weekend. More to be revealed soon...

A video posted by @cassey_cakes on Jun 1, 2015 at 2:46am PDT

Gray Midi Skirt

2015-05-28T23:48:00.001+08:00

#threewaythursday

For another look using this skirt that is blogged in detail, please click here. :)

Zendaya ❤

2015-05-23T19:27:00.000+08:00

#fabfriday

The recent epic Bad Blood music video has got my sartorial eye turned on this girl. I am actually not familiar with her then though I remember taking note of her recent Met Gala style as some of the few who actually followed the theme (seriously, see-through gowns for China?). Her recent Billboard red carpet style has got me typing "Zendaya red carpet style" on Google. I was right. She definitely needs a feature here. :)

Versatile Jumpsuit

2015-05-21T23:34:00.000+08:00

#threewaythursday

One jumpsuit, three celebrity looks! ;)

Taipei Day3: Din Tai Fung and Guang Hua

2015-05-19T23:52:00.000+08:00

#traveltuesday

This was the last day for Plok and Wen so the plan was not to go somewhere far but instead enjoy a good lunch at Din Tai Fung. Here's a Ped Xing action with the girls otw to the train station, lol!

We were quite early so we didn't have to wait long thankfully for this eternally-hungry-bunch. Lol! I think the branch we went to was the one in Zhongzhan Road.

Honestly, it's my first time to try that restaurant because I'm not much a fan of beef noodles. But I enjoyed the meal nonetheless specially my favorite sides hakaw. ;)

After that, we had to say goodbye to the SG girls and off we went to Guanghua electronics district to check out their gadgets. Not sure if he's a permanent fixture there but this Golden retriever is just so adorable staying obediently at this spot and welcoming the shop's visitors. You just couldn't resist taking a photo with him.

Look at him in action, haha!

Bong was able to buy something I believe, a power pack, something that I am in DIRE need of and yet stubbornly insisted to refuse to buy. He has an extra anyway, lol! Anyway, cutting the post short here to focus on the next place we went to on the succeeding travel post - the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. Soon, hopefully. *cross fingers* =))

Pink Maxi Pleats

2015-05-14T22:20:00.002+08:00

#threewaythursday

The second look is an unposted shot from a shoot I posted here. :)

Flying Trapeze

2015-05-10T00:28:00.000+08:00

#fitnessfriday

Sings "Aaaaammmmm goonnnaaa swiiiiinngggg from a trapeee-hiiizzzzz" Hahaha!!! I highly recommend this class at The Fort to all those frustrated gymnasts out there like me. :P

A video posted by @cassey_cakes on May 1, 2015 at 7:43am PDT

A video posted by @cassey_cakes on May 2, 2015 at 4:24am PDT

Flowy Top

2015-05-07T23:05:00.001+08:00

#threewaythursday

Stability Ball

2015-05-06T19:09:00.000+08:00

#wednesdaywishlist

Would love to have this for work. More core workouts in the day. Yes? YES!!! :D

Subic with Retropop Family

2015-04-28T23:30:00.001+08:00

#traveltuesday

Taking a break from my Taipei travelogue to give way to this teambuilding activity held last weekend at Subic with the Retropop instructors of Fitness First. Hope you enjoy the MTV we produced below. :P

Borrowed Buttondown

2015-04-23T23:11:00.000+08:00

#threewaythursday

This is another button-down that I love to borrow from my brother. Read the full post here. :)

Tamsui (Danshui)

2015-04-22T00:52:00.003+08:00

#traveltuesday

I could tell that this place is a really good getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city as soon as we stepped out of the train. Let's take in the scenery: there's Danshui river (the third largest in Taiwan per checking) and a view of the mountain (Mt Guanyin).

According to an article, the sunset here is one of the must-sees but unfortunately it was already dark when we arrived. It took us about 40 mins MRT ride from the city after all. Also, taking in everything here would take exactly a day so I guess we didn't see much of everything when we visited. Oh well...

It's not a night market but again what greets you upon arriving are rows of seafood snacks! Yes, food again! This made me question why we don't sell calamares in the streetsas snacks back in PH! That would be so fun! Lol!

One of the notorious snacks I tried here is the so-called Stinky Tofu. I swear the strong odor just simply turns you off. I'm not eating that. It's Randolph's favorite though. Haha!

We spent a considerable amount of time walking and seeing what this place has got to offer. There are free performances, coffee and souvenir shops and you can just tell that it's a really good place for a relaxing weekend stroll. You can notice old buildings too since the Danshui Old Street is a significant place in Taipei history.

From here, you can a ferry tour to Fisherman's Wharf (where sunset viewing is best), to the Bali Left Bank and Guandu Pier. We opted for Bali Left Bank which is around 10 mins sailing time.

The place is located at the foot of Mt. Guanyin and known for biking. It is actually the most recommended way to explore the waterfront. Again, unfortunately, most establishments are already closing by the time we arrived. The beach would have been fun too.

The food that caught my interest here is this oyster omelette in one of the restaurants. I ordered one for brekky the next day. Haha!

The part we enjoyed the most was tasting the different fruits Taipei has got to offer. They have sweet mangoes and makopa (wax apple) - something I hadn't eaten in a loooooooooong time!

It was a night of endless walking with barely seeing anything, lol. Plus the travel time all the way to the North coast took its toll on us. We were all really knackered by the time we reach home but still made time for some wacky shots while waiting for each other's turn on the foot massager/ eating the fruits we bought at the living room. Lol!

Tomorrow offers another itinerary-less day for us. Lol! Next!

Perfect Imperfections

2015-04-20T23:29:00.002+08:00

#mondaymusing

As if this down-to-earth and funny girl needs more reasons for us to love her, but Chrissy Teigen posted a photo that just suddenly made everyone feel good about themselves. I' m talking about this picture of the Sports Illustrated model showing not only her bruises but her stretchmarks. Yes, the muse and inspiration of 2014's Worldwide Wedding Theme Song All of Me bared her stretchies for the whole world to see. How real can she get? It's too much I know but I really ~~like~~ love her.

Yes we've got stretchies, scars, uneven skin tone, acnes, warts and all. Probably a bit too much imperfect than her but those things make us who we are. We just have to learn to love our own bodies first before others can learn to do that to us too. :)

Bruises from bumping kitchen drawer handles for a week. Stretchies say hi!

A photo posted by @chrissyteigen on Apr 12, 2015 at 9:09pm PDT