An Apple a Day

The Big Three-Oh!

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:19:00 +0000

One of the things a lot of women fear is getting old! When I was a kid I always teased my Ate that she was olddd! Our age difference is 16 years, so when I was 4 she was already 20, in college and I would always tease her, "Ate you're old!!!" And I guess because of that I dreaded the time that I would be in my 20's. And sad to say that whole decade for me just seemed to be oddly disastrous.

When I was about to turn 30 I welcomed it with open arms. I even had an all-pink party to celebrate it. To me turning 30 signified a whole new chapter in my life. I firmly believed that the tide was going to change and everything was just going to be better. And I was right! I thought it wasn't possible to have the best of both worlds. I always thought that I was lucky with work, but unlucky with love. But with much prayer and faith everything just eventually evened out.

So I can honestly say I'm very happy to be in my 30s already! But!!!

But with all the joy came a lot of realizations and I had to do a lot of adjustments.

1. Metabolism - I used to be able to gulp down a Big Mac + large fries + McSpaghetti + large Coke every single day of the week WITHOUT gaining weight. Now that seems just to be a legend. I was barely a hundred pounds when I celebrated my 30th birthday, but now... but now the automatic 10 pounds they said you gain from where I work now has permanently resided in my thunder legs and now I have love handles!

2. Agility - So I'm not really malikot nor athletic, but I used to be able to move around faster, go malling for hours, but I am no Energizer Bunny anymore. I have to rest in between boutique hopping and I used to be able to hop from one province to another easily. I just can't be up and running like I used to. Sad fez.

3. The Youthful Look - When I was in my late 20s I was always mistaken to be a college student! And I guess as the years passed and I took on more responsibility at work my look turned into "so you're 28 na?" Well at least it's still a few years younger than my age now, but I have just simply aged! Noooo!!!

4. Fashion - I was never really daring with what I wear. Make it standard, plain and simple and I'll wear it (think t-shirt and jeans). I also need my best friend to remind myself to fix myself up. There are things though that don't fit (by look) anymore when you are in your 30s. But I still like Mickey Mouse and other cartoon character stuff so I don't really care.

5. Gimmicks - Unlike in my 20s when I just couldn't seem to plant my feet in just one place, now I prefer to stay home. The yellow-urine-like liquid doesn't attract me anymore and I prefer quiet dinners, coffee over going to rowdy, jampacked places. Actually, the couch + me-laptop + a DVD movie is more appealing now.

But I have to be honest, at some point I guess I allowed myself to just wither away. Everything was running smoothly in my life and I felt I didn't need to push any farther. BUT! I got a huge scolding from my best friend (that's the story behind this video) and that got me up and about. I went through retail therapy (a.k.a. shopping) and kinarir ko ang pag-Ponds! And the past two weeks I could help but smile (and be kilig) over these comments -

A college department head, "You are obviously an alumna of this school, you're so kikay!"

A taxi driver after asking me what I was going to do at MOA, "O ma'am! Akala ko maglalakwatsa lang kayo, kala ko college ka pa!"

My cousin who's just a year older, "Bruha ka! Bakit ikaw ganyan pa rin itsura mo eh ako nanay na nanay na!"

Sweetie, "Di kita nakilala. I thought you were someone else!" and then he gave me a bouquet of flowers. I felt like a beauty queen!

And my all-time favorite -

A high school principal, "Alumna from high school 19xx? Oh I thought you just graduated last year!"

There's hope for me after all!

A Fishy, Fishy Day at the Manila Oceanarium

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:25:00 +0000

Lazer Tag

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 04:50:00 +0000

I could barely get out of bed this morning because I felt like dismantling. I played 2 games of lazer tag last night at LazerXtreme at Market Market. I missed the play set-up by Benj a few weeks ago, but I told myself I was going to try it out.

Yesterday morning I brought the kids to LazerXtreme to play lazer tag. We missed celebrating Miguel's birthday so I thought it would be fun to get the kids hungry by playing lazer tag and then have a hefty lunch at our all-time-favorite Max's Restaurant. They didn't have an idea what I put them up to, but after the first game they were all excited to share their experience inside the "field".

I didn't join the kids coz I was scheduled for an evening run since Kuya Andrew's here from Davao. Most of those who said will join eh nang-indyan (should I name them here??? hehe)! Anyway we decided to still play even though it was just Sweetie, Drew, Juned and me.

Despite reading several blog posts about the game I still didn't really know what to expect. I felt like I stepped in a ship on Star Wars when we entered the cool sliding door. Since three of us were noobs we went through a short briefing session where the guide explained how the game was played. After that we entered another room where the lighted vests were located. We got our vests, wore it and had a photo taken.

There were so many other players in the first game and I unfortunately became the bait! Argghhh!!! I found out too late that I was holding the phasor the wrong way and that prevented me from tagging. Gah! But my game improved a lot in the second game. We played free-for-all, meaning we had no teammates and you could just tag anyone. It was a crazy game and I had a hard time hiding since my light was pink! I ended up second (out of 4) and secret ko na lang how I got that score hehehe.

I definitely had a grand time and despite all the muscle pains I'm experiencing now I'll definitely go and play again!

LazerXtreme
4th floor, Activity Center wing of Market! Market!
Fort Bonifacio, Manila, Philippines.
Telephone: +63(919) 4652654 or +63(2) 8566467
E-mail: info@lazerXtreme.com.ph

Caught by the High School Principal!

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:55:00 +0000

I haven't been to my high school alma mater for more than a decade now (whoops! buking ang age ko!) and I guess I just never had a reason to visit. The last time I visited was when I got my yearbook.

I was quite excited to visit when I got an invitation. I was so atat I arrived 30 minutes before my appointment and asked permission to go and explore the campus first before settling down for the meeting. I wanted to bonk my head for wearing heeled shoes since I couldn't move around the place as fast as I could. I just had a chance to go check out the high school department and wasn't able to peek at the new buildings at the grade school area.

While walking around I couldn't help but remember the mundane things I used to do back when I was a kid.

The field where we would hang out after eating, marched during CAT, held field dances and where I usually got dizzy whenever we had Misa ng Bayan.

The hall where we held carpentry and electricity class. My alma mater's an all-girls school so you can just imagine how many times we blew up the fuse box because of our lamp projects. I was also in this area when the 90s big earthquake happened.

The stairs where I slipped several times. It's also near the prayer room which I visited every morning before class. And that door at the bottom of the stairs was my homeroom when I was a junior in high school.

Both grade school and high school memories came flooding back when I passed by the hall where my grade 4 classroom was. I couldn't help but look for the lunch counter where I ate with my high school friends everyday (and I still hang-out with them actually). Each step I took on the stairs (where I slipped several times) brought back a lot of happy memories and memories of feeling anxious due to Physics, Geometry and my-all-time-not-favorite Filipino-Balarila class. I even felt like I was wearing my uniform once again (I'm sure it wouldn't fit me now because I'm so huge already).

The classrooms were closed. Back in high school we only had aircons in AVRs, so I felt like the place was deserted. When I started walking towards the high school principal's office I automatically straightened my back, patted my hair down and walked the way we were taught ("carry your shoes girls! don't drag it!"). I saw a nun walking towards me and I felt a bit sheepish. I was loitering around and I thought I was going to get a scolding, but then she smiled, said hello and asked if I was looking for an office. I realized too that high school was already half my life ago and that I am my own person now. So I smiled back and introduced myself as an alumna wandering around. I was glad to meet the Sister Mikey, the current high school principal.
I'm sure my teachers from grade school and high school would be surprised on how I turned out. I was a shy, gawky kid with braces (ala Betty Lafea? LOL!), who'd go tongue-tied during speech classes and I never really raised my hand to recite (and here I am forcing my kid to do it ha-ha-ha). Well I'm still the same, just a bit crazier! I realize though that if it wasn't for my third grade teacher who scolded me a lot about my English compositions I don't think I would've pushed hard to learn how to write better. Or if not for my super bait and matyagang speech class teacher I wouldn't have that teenie-bit of self-confidence to believe that I could actually do speaking engagements "when I grow up".

LOL. So much drama, but ya-know I'm sure it's what you'll feel too if you have not gone to your high school alma mater for more than a decade.

Have you visited your high school recently?

The Zen of Malling

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:13:00 +0000

A few years ago when I went to see my doctor he asked me what kind of exercise I do. I said in a sheepish, little voice, "Malling." He didn't quite get what I said since he's Singaporean and well I didn't speak up so he asked again and then I said in a louder voice, "Malling."

And then he said, "Very good." I was quite pleased with myself coz he agreed that the exercise I was doing was good for me. Who would've thought? was my balloon thought. We were half-way through my check-up when he asked again what exercise I did and then he paused when I said, "Malling" and he said, "Malling? Malling? What's that?" It was my Kuya who explained that I normally just walked around the mall to go window shopping on weekends as my exercise.

My doctor burst out laughing and then promptly scolded me. LOL.

Is there such a thing as being "zen" in a mall? My good friend Juned keeps reminding me to relax and just "be zen" since he knows I've been quite stressed lately. So yesterday I brought the kids (Miguel and 2 nephews) to the Mall of Asia. Miguel was scheduled for a lesson at the Lego Mindstorms Robotics Center while his cousins didn't want to go with their Mom and sisters to Glorietta. So I was in-charge of three boys yesterday.

When we arrived I was curious why there were a number of policemen, security guards, a medical team and a lot of people lined up outside of the Adidas store. After seeing a couple of posters we found out that Gilbert Arenas, a NBA player, was going to visit the Adidas store. I shuffled the boys away from the store since there were a LOT of people and I was quite scared that I might lose one of them to the crowd. Anyway, after lunch we got to about a foot away from him and I caught him on video! Here it is -

The boys thought that the experience was "Really cool Tita!" I was quite pleased with myself after that compliment. After that I left them at the SM Science Discovery Center. I had about 3 hours to myself and I actually didn't know what to do. So I went malling. I walked and zipped in and out of different stores. I've been so used to having someone with me whenever I go to the mall and the experience of just going wherever I wanted to go without anyone in tow was quite refreshing.

At some point, of course, my feet got tired. So I debated with myself whether I was going to go to the spa or get a magazine and hang-out at Kopi Roti. I did neither since Time Zone was just in front of me and the Simpsons pinball machine was beckoning me to play a couple of games. I indulged myself and was quite pleased about my game. My feet were still killing me after the game. I decided already on heading towards Booksale, but then the tram stopped right in front of me. So I jumped in and for the next 15 minutes I just enjoyed observing people walking around the mall. I think the other people in the tram found me quite weird since I was busy taking photos and I guess I looked pretty happy with what I was doing.

That 15-minute tram ride actually relaxed me a lot. After I got off the tram, I got a magazine at Booksale and parked myself at Kopi Roti. I bidded my time at the coffee shop before I went back to pick-up the boys. I had nothing to worry about anyway since they had a grand time at the center.

I should window-shop more often then. (And stay offline on weekends). LOL.

Monster Mom

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:25:00 +0000

I was looking forward to watching a funny movie yesterday afternoon. So I had the brainiest idea of suggesting to Sweetie that we watch "Monster Mom". The trailer showed on TV indicated that it was going to be a typical fun and entertaining movie.

I was wrong. And good thing Sweetie still loves me!

I did not count on experiencing almost 2 hours worth of shouting, screaming, and cursing. I waited for a resolution. A point where the lead was supposed to realize that her behavior was causing her family and community distress. That never came and it seems that the message of the movie was, "I'm a monster-b**ch, take it or leave it". Do we really want to encourage people to become bungangera?

I thank God that my Mom is no Monster Mom! When we went out of the movie house our ears were ringing and it took awhile before the pain subsided. And what I'm saying is not exaggerated! If you want wax to clear out of your ears on its own, watch the movie.

And the last few paragraphs above are probably the meanest words I've churned out in this blog. I'm sorry, but the only pambawi I could say is, "The movie was directed well (I love JJR movies!) and the artists played their part appropriately". I hope the producer (if ever he gets to read this post) takes my comment constructively.

Which also brings me to the realization that sometimes we bloggers could get so spoiled and bratty. We churn out criticisms, comments and what-not like a machine gun. We think that the world exists for us. Condescending indeed.

Humility, after all, is a virtue.

Happy Sunday everyone, hope you hear mass.

Beauty at Taste Asia (the Pond's Party)

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 05:49:00 +0000

Ask me about beauty stuff and you'll surely get me stressed out. LOL. I've never been to the derma in my whole life and I think I fear going to one more than going to the dentist. I just wash my face before I sleep, drink lots of water and I honestly just put on moisturizer whenever I go out. And our friends from Pond's were promptly shocked when I said this.

I was quite happy that Pond's offered to host a party for bloggers. It definitely shows that big brands are already willing to experiment with doing more online stuff (so let's help them guys ha). Pond's is quite a niche market and geared more towards women and I was quite surprised that a lot of girl bloggers actually turned up at the party last night.

I was enthralled with how they managed to transform Taste Asia. From orange it became very pink! And despite the rains a lot of people still turned up and a number of newbie bloggers from far, far away also came.

There was a number of games! And the star of the night was Poyt! Here's the debut of her singing career -

Also get a chance to win an iPhone! Join the Pond's beauty blog contest. More details at the SM Hypermarket blog. (I wonder if I can join? I actually tried out the cream they gave out last night! Teehee).

We capped the event by having cozy fun at Starbucks.

Some more reads/photos `bout the party. Let me know if you have one too!

An Apple a Day
Rock ko toh! Photos
Ronald Guanzon
Something Sweet & More
Phaelun
Travel Tayo
Halo-halo Pinoy
Ken Pun
Rockerfem
Ken Pun Photos
An Apple a Day Photos
Abbie unReal
Xeemomma
Brinknotes
AJ's Flickr
Tiohem
Tom's Library
Fritzified
Fritz the Paparazzi
Poyt's Photos
Mistervader
Schnuppi
The Life of a Breadwinner
La Bubbly Chica
I'm Roanne
All the Vanity
Brown Pinay
JayDJ's Photos
A Doll's Mask Unmasked
Christa Uy's Photos

Introducing Pinoyvloggers.com

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:17:00 +0000

I've shared before that I had been wanting to learn how to edit videos and after doing some experiments and getting the push and support from friends I created YouGotTech.com. Eventually I started to experiment doing video blogs for my travel experiences and have since done a number of other studies.

I also organized a small workshop for vloggers (and wanna-be vloggers) with Buddy Gancenia and attended the CBTL workshop on video blogging. It was really helpful since they gave a lot of techniques and ideas on how to create videos. What's great though about video blogging is you're quite free to do stuff on your own since at the end of the day it's the number of views you get on your video that would dictate if your work is relevant, entertaining or boring.

For me though it's just about having fun and learning new things.

So one day I got curious and checked if the domain PinoyVloggers.com was available. It was! So I got it without knowing what I was going to do with it. It was my good friend, Andrew, who brought up the idea of creating a community site for Filipino video bloggers and we've been collaborating the past few weeks about it. If you're a video blogger (whether you have a blog with videos or just a video channel) then you might want to join us, but if you just love watching videos then maybe you can come over and see what Filipino video bloggers are up to.

PinoyVloggers.com!

Many exciting activities for Filipino video bloggers are happening! If you're a vlogger or maybe want to become one then maybe you can join these contests to jump start your vlogging career -

1. Buhay Coke

2. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

3. Google has one too! Check out this video -

I'd like to issue a challenge though to the following video bloggers and wanna-be video bloggers to join these contests!

Cokskiblue, Poyt, Juned, Marcelle, Micamyx, Noemi, Jeric, Ria, Winston, Jehz, Azrael, Fritz and

Youtube Pinoy superstars -

Komikero, Trebornoican, Jaywalkur, Mhelpogi and MoymoyPalaboy.

Ano na? Dali! Mag-vlog ka na! I'm sure it's the next big thing!

My Choice for the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs of 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 08:37:00 +0000

I've been having a difficult time choosing my Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs of 2008, I'm just about half-way coz I just realized that some of my other choices did not meet the cut-off. So I'll probably update this post as soon as I find others I'd want to include in this writing project.

1. You Got Tech - this is a shameless inclusion! LOL. But I know that this project is something that would help non-techies become techie too.

2. Food Blog for Hungry Bachelors - I've been enthralled with the posts the guys have been making! Reading it was easier though and more friendly when they had it on Blogger.

3. Conrad Miguel - I met him when I was at the Davao F.A.T. last March and I must say that this kid is going to go a long way just like Winston.

4. Bloggers Da Who - it's a fun read, though I hope the blogger can post consistently :)

5. Manila Foodistas - great reviews and posts about dining in Manila.

6. Eye in the Sky - the posts make me feel like I'm traveling too.

Update:

After careful review I have finally managed to complete my list. Here it is:

7. Fritzified - a witty blogger and a mobile phone photography-fanatic, check out his Plurks too!

8. General Santos.com - is the "idiot's guide to GenSan". There's really much to discover about the 7,100+ islands in our country and I'd definitely love to go back to GenSan.

9. Davao Deli - I have been very vocal about how I love Davao and their food! Blogie provides great write-ups about Davao's yummy food nooks.

10. Blasted Brains of Billy Coy - I was gunning to include a blog written in Filipino but he did not make the cut-off date so I looked for another blog written in Filipino that's easy to read. Billy Coy's quite entertaining and very Pinoy!

Happiness = Coca-Cola

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:17:00 +0000

I've been drinking Coke since I was a baby. My Mom shared that she used to make me taste Coke when I was about a year old. I also have a photo where I was drinking Coke from my milk bottle (I was about 2 or 3 years old then). Okay... I'm a Coke addict!

Coke has always been part of our lives at home. We always have a bottle in the fridge! Totoo yan! And that's why I was really excited about the "Buhay Coke ng Bloggers" party. It was just simply a party (more of a mixer) to bring bloggers together and launch Coke's video blog's contest. Ooohhh!!! I wanna join! I wanna join! But then again... I can't!

Here's a video to set the mood for the contest -

Full contest details are at the SM Hypermarket blog (and if you're already a video blogger or want to be a video blogger you might want to check out PinoyVloggers.com).

I have yet to process the photos and videos I took of the party since I just got home, but if you already have a post and photos you'd want to share to the rest of the barangay, please leave a comment so I can put in a link here.

Thank you so much to Coke and SM Hypermarket for for hosting the party! And thanks for everyone for attending!

Don't forget, there's another party next week!

Updated, 2:50 a.m.

I just realized I'm going to have a really busy weekend (have a 12 noon speaking engagement tomorrow plus more bookings! aargghhh!!!)... so I thought I should upload my photos already, and here they are... feel free to download if you wish, but please follow the usual yada-yada if you're going to use the photo for your blog.

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Posts

An Apple a Day, Happiness = Coca-Cola
Jehzlau Concepts
Ka Edong
Azrael's Merryland
Macuha.com
Love in the Time of Coca-Cola
Mistervader
Godiane
Galwin Fabian
Websaytko
Fritzified
Jester in Exile (in his new home)
BrownPinay.com
AWHoldings (Plurk's Arbet Loggins)
Baratillo.net
Think of Me
Momblognetwork
Kape ni Lattex
Brighter than Sunshine
Something Sweet & More
Pinoy Life at Large, Arpee Lazaro
Pinoylife
Melo Villareal
Xeemomma
Rockerfem
Brian Ong
Micamyx
Jason King Ong (the Banana Dancer)
Cigarette Girl
Ade Magnaye
Pinoyfood
Animetric
Rockersworld
La Bubbly Chica
Tanggera
Prudence and Madness
Kutitots
Nicely's Travelogue
Aethen
Bakla Ako
Kel's Magic Rope Act with Charmelle
Blogkadahan Inc.
Coffee and Blunder.com
Sharmskee
Arbet
Aaron Roselo
Brinknotes
Jimmy Screamed
Billy Coy
Mistervader
The Accidental Teacher

Photos

An Apple a Day Photos
Superbong
Hrudu
Micamyx
Fritz the Paparazzi
Juned
Juned's Flickr
Noemi's Photos
Nina
Byahilo
AJ's Flickr
AJ's Multiply

A Taste of Beauty at Taste Asia

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 16:01:00 +0000

If I were a Disney princess I'd probably be Cinderella. Not because I'm maltreated and have wicked sisters (I have an Ate and Kuya who are loving and supportive!), but I feel I'm like Cinderella because I usually end up working and doing so much stuff that I simply just don't bother with fixing myself up. But I'm not losyang!!! I'm not just the type to spend so much time in front of a mirror and you'd only probably see me all dolled-up when I'm being a professional abay (a.k.a. bridesmaid na naman!). So unless it's a ball and a fairy godmother does things to me you'll just see me in my usual simple, casual get-up (I seriously believe in #9).

Anyway, I got a scolding from my best friend a few weeks ago since she noticed I have resorted to a shirt & jeans ensemble whenever I go out (even to speaking engagements! bah!). Okay, okay, fine fine and the subject also came up when friends from Ponds brought up the subject of doing a party for bloggers. And before I digress even more, I just want to share this invitation being extended to all bloggers by Ponds (feel free to blog about it too) -

For: All bloggers
What: Taste of Beauty at Taste Asia (party!!!)
When: July 4, 2008, Friday, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Taste Asia (beside SM Hypermarket) at the Mall of Asia

It's a party about being your best! Want an iPhone? I heard they're planning to host a contest and the "I" gadget was mentioned!

The party is open to guys and gals! Guy bloggers must bring a girl friend and girl bloggers must bring more girl friends! To join, REGISTER HERE. (I'm really excited to see how they'll dress up Taste Asia!).

So back to my kwento, I Twitted and Plurked about a strange dream I had last week and here's the story -

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Happy Birthday Miguel

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 17:00:00 +0000

14 years ago there was a typhoon when Miguel arrived at 8:07 in the evening. It was no easy feat since I labored for about 37 hours. I don't remember the pain at all, but I do remember fainting right after seeing that I had borne a boy and not a girl! And so came my angel, the 8th apo, the love of my life, Miguel.

A lot of people mistake us as siblings coz that's how we are. Sweet, malambing and we're buddies. We do have our moments too, but it's all done with love (I usually end up crying whenever I have to scold him).

I have so much to say about this kid of mine, but I don't want to end up embarrassing him with sweet lit'l-mommy-nothings. So I'm just going to say that I'm very, very proud of him especially since he has achieved a lot at his age. When I was just 13 I was still busy playing with my Barbie dolls and creating havoc on my Mom's floor creating Lego cities, but Miguel at 13 already won a robotics competition and did a public demo on robotics. To a lot of people he seems to be shy (I was like that too!), but he's very articulate, well-read, writes (by leaps and bounds) better than me (he likes writing stories better than blogging) and is a very loving person.

I could go on and on and on, but I'm going to stop here and just say HAPPY BIRTHDAY pero secret yun!>. Mommy loves you very, very much! =)

CD Fever

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 16:26:00 +0000

I bought 16 albums, 2 DVDs, 1 VCD and a cassette tape for less than PhP1,800. I would've spent only about a thousand had I resisted buying for my Mom the CD collection, DVDs and the cassette tape (I'm sure she'll love `em, I wrapped it up coz it's a surprise). Most of the stuff I got cost between PhP20 to PhP100.

What brought about this crazy CD shopping was Sweetie's invitation to go to Universal Records' annual "CD Fever" where they take 90% off the cover prices of audio and video CDs they distribute/produce. Inasmuch as QC is far, far away from where I live I knew I just had to go and take a look. Yeah, I took a look and went crazy since they had a wide array of stuff available, from pop to jazz to classical to the stuff-my-parents-love-listening-to, movies, TV series collections and cassette tapes for as low as PhP2.00! I loved it and methinks I'll probably go back soon.

Curious? Go visit the sale at the 10th Floor Universal Towers, 1487 Quezon Avenue, Quezon City (Smart Wireless Center). They're open from 10 am to 7 pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from June 13 to July 13, 2008.

Buy only original! =)

Buhay Coke ng Bloggers with SM Hypermarket

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:47:00 +0000

Hear ye! Hear ye! Much ado about Plurkin' (well go through my Plurks if you wanna find out why)! Coca-Cola Philippines and SM Hypermarket is inviting bloggers to a party!

What: Buhay Coke ng Bloggers with SM Hypermarket (party ito!)
When: June 27, 2008, Friday, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Taste Asia (beside SM Hypermarket) at the Mall of Asia
Why: Para magsaya! Loads of prizes up for grabs!

Come in an angel or devil attire (or wear black, red or white) and get a chance to win more prizes!

To join, kindly REGISTER HERE. All bloggers who register and come also get a case of Coke Zero 330ml.

Okay, so I'm a self-confessed Coke addict (the beverage of course!) -

A Night of Mariah

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:30:00 +0000

I know a couple of friends who are fanatics of Mariah Carey and for good reason. She's got multiple hit songs (more than Elvis Presley) and was recently one of the artists to be featured in the American Idol. Her latest album, E=MC2 ("squared"), hit gold within 8 days of release here in the Philippines and garnered awards too in other countries.

MCA quickly put together an "E=MC2 Victory Party" which was promoted through word-of-mouth and the internet (yup no tri-media ads!). The party was packed!

Anyway, I was feeling sheepish with my Blogger t-shirt and jeans outfit since I did not expect that there would be a red carpet thingy (beauty angst alert!) and that everyone seemed to be dressed up and all dolled-up. Anyway, good thing Sweetie and I found seats, so I just kept myself invisible the rest of the night.

MCA artists performed the whole evening, starting off with Zoo (the band which Arnel Pineda was part of) and they sang "Always Be My Baby". Miguel Escueta looking a bit peeved followed, and then came Diane Elise, Pedicab, Chicosci and Richard Poon. Each gave their own rendition of a Mariah Carey song. (I'd like to add that I think singing her songs is really difficult, much more when one sings it in a different version).

Chicosci's "jam-like" rendition of Hero was notable (they were just actually playing around). It was extremely hard to take photos of Chicosci since the lead singer moved around a LOT. It was a good thing I thought of putting my cam on "sports mode" and it worked!

t was Richard Poon though who sang the best Mariah Carey song. He did his own version of "My All" and I would like to believe he floored the audience. He's come a long way since he launched his album last February and is just getting better and better. Here's his version of Mariah Carey's "My All".

At the ToyCon

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 14:12:00 +0000

I was excited to attend the ToyCon after attending the Mangaholix a few weeks ago. I've been seeing a lot of talk about it especially from Azrael and my boys were set on going. Miguel and I tried to find something we could wear, but lost time since school started already. Anyway, as Miguel and I approached the Megatrade Hall we saw a looooot of people lined up dressed up for the cosplay event. There were even boys dressed up as girls (too bad I got shy to take a photo).

Anyway, here are the photos I took yesterday -

Photos available for download in my Multiply site.

Nyoy Volante Launches Heartstrings

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:17:00 +0000

I met Nyoy about 15 summers ago. We were kids having fun in a theater workshop in our community and that's where we became tinikling partners! LOL. I'd never forget that day because my foot got caught in the bamboo while we were performing. A painful experience I'd never forget, but I smiled through that since we were, uh, performers that night. Even then Nyoy had a golden voice. He was the rave in the community and nearby communities.

After that summer most of us went our own way. Went through college. Started working. Some went abroad. One thing though for those who stuck together - we surely were Nyoy's fans. He doesn't know it but we've watched some of his concerts, but were too shy to say hi. I bumped into him a couple of times through the years, but I never expected to come face-to-face again with him since we're obviously in two different worlds.

Sweetie surprised me with a copy of "Heartstrings" a couple of weeks ago. We both didn't expect that there would be an album launch, but I made an album review anyway for Titikpilipino.com. Another surprise, Sweetie got invited to attend the album launch and guess who tagged along? Me! Too bad my best friend's in Cebu, he would've wanted to go as well.

I felt quite sheepish when Nyoy suddenly waved at me while he was being interviewed on-cam. Entertainment media icon Mario Dumaul even looked back to check who Nyoy saw. Meeh. Hehe (covers head with a paper bag). Anyway, I must say that Nyoy is still very much the same guy I met when we were kids and I'm so proud that he continues to produce great music. In this video he talks about his new album "Heartstrings".

And below is the carrier single of his album, "Because". I asked Nyoy if he were to choose one song from the album that would describe his life now what would it be. He chose "Because" coz he thinks that's what one should do, "to love and just make someone happy". In love? Yihee. Anyway, he knows where I live, so before he comes and bonks my head for that quip here's the video:

For more info about Heartstrings and to order online please go here. My album review can be found here.

A couple more songs I got during the launch:

No More Lonely Nights
more coming!

Plurk, Plurk-Plurkan Na!

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 06:39:00 +0000

I received an invitation to join the newest craze in the blogosphere - Plurk.com - through a Twitter message (thanks Rom!). I tried signing up immediately but for some strange reason it wouldn't accept my registration, so I let it stew for awhile until I got an email invitation from AJ.

I'm now "plurking"!

So does this mean I'm going to abandon Twitter? Hmmm, I'm not really sure yet though a lot of my friends from Twitter have signed up on Plurk as well.

I've just been using Plurk for a couple of hours but it's been fun so far and here are the things I like about it:

1. It's easy to catch up if you went offline for a couple of hours.
2. You can just scroll through the plurks and you see it on a timeline.
3. Like Gmail, plurk-back (or answer backs) are threaded together.
4. I like the interface, it's not boring.
5. It's easier to add/remove friends.

So what do you think of Plurk? And what do you call people who Plurk? Plurkers? Plurkaholics? Plurkanoids? Plurkees?

Maybe if I get a new set of hamsters I'm going to name them "Twitty" "Plurkee" and "Jaikee". Heh.

Miguel Wins the Dr. Heartbeat NXT Robot Competition

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 03:00:00 +0000

I am one super duper proud momma! My 13-year old son, Miguel, won first place in the Dr. Heartbeat NXT Robot Competition. This is the very first non-sport competition he has joined (most were in school during intrams).

Here's my vlog post about it -

I just couldn't describe how happy I am! I felt my heart was about to burst when he finished first three times in a row during the elimination round. I felt like crying since just yesterday we were both hesitating to join since he has not completed all the lessons at the Lego Mindstorms Robotics Center, but thought that he should still join for experience. Just before he went in the Lego room I wished him luck and told him to just enjoy himself. I was awed with the results of the first round.

Manabat - 125
Salvador - 175
Apolo - 400
Dee - 125

Miguel had a big smile when he went out of the room. I asked him how he felt and, as usual, he just gave a big smile and said he was happy about it. I was feeling really mushy and wanted to give him a long big bear hug, but he was reading so I just left him alone and watched the second batch. The second elimination round was pretty intense. These were the kids who went to a summer robotics camp in their school so I know how important the competition must be for them.

The third round had the top two winners in the previous elimination rounds. I hugged Miguel before he went inside and reminded him to just have fun. The contestants were put under time pressure to complete a task. Miguel was the third one to go up and successfully completed the task with the least amount of time. Here's the result of the final round -

G. Salvador - 3 balls 3 mins. 20 sec.
V. Salvador - 1ball, 4 mins.
M. Apolo - 3 balls, 2 mins 50 sec.
C. Pambuan - 2 balls, 3 mins.

Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!

Here's a list of the winners for the two divisions:

Division 1: 6 to 11 years old
1st Place: Antonio Sales
2nd Place: Christian Ayala
3rd Place: Mildred Saquing

Division 2: 12 and up
1st Place: Miguel Apolo
2nd Place: German Salvador
3rd Place: Christian Pambuan

Special Awards
Mr. Congeniality: Marco Ayala
Most Patient: Joseph Tamayo
Most Inquisitive: Daryl Tongson
Best Engineer/Programmer: Alfonso Sales
Most Enthusiastic: Christian Ayala

I appointed myself as Miguel's personal paparazzi so here are the photos:

It's downloadable at my Picasa Web Album.

This definitely tops Miguel's summer vacation.

Thank you Lord! =)

Filipino Indie Film: Gusto Kita Too

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 02:00:00 +0000

I managed to watch Rica Arevalo's short film "Gusto Kita Too" the other day with Sweetie. The film is bundled with "Sa Pagdapo ng Mariposa". Rica said that it's the first time in Philippine cinema that a short film is featured with a full length film.

Anyway, after watching "Sa Pagdapo ng Mariposa" we had to wait awhile to see "Gusto Kita Too", so make sure you stick around after the main film. The film was spunky, cute and straightforward. It successfully managed to fit in a lot of noteworthy messages in less than 10 minutes.

Fil-ams feel disjointed about not knowing how to speak Tagalog.

I have a lot of friends who were born and bred in the US and don't speak Tagalog. It's a wonder that most of them are enrolled in speak-Tagalog classes. There's also a strong feeling of being "incomplete". They are aware of their heritage, but know nothing of it. My niece in the US is bent on learning a lot about her heritage and is a better tinikling dancer than me now.

Parents of Fil-ams want them to hook-up with non-Filipinos.

"Sorsi ikaw ba ito?" Just read her blog and you'll know what I mean. I guess there is that preference among those who toiled hard to be able to migrate to the US. I just noticed though that a lot of my Fil-Am guy friends prefer homegrown Pinays. Mas maalaga daw kasi.

Anyway, the short film shows us a glimpse of what it is to be Filipino born and bred in another country. The fact that they long for home is undeniable and a stark reality. It's sad, but you know we can always bridge the gap by providing them with Filipino culture rich content (that's what I'm trying to do with my blog). O dibah?

Here's the interview I did with "Gusto Kita Too" writer and director, Rica Arevalo -

What inspired you to do this film?

I took a one-month vacation last December in California just to enjoy and explore the entertainment scene there. At the back of my mind, there was this yearning to do a short film. I purchased a Sony HDV camera but I was not yet sure of what story to tell. So I just immersed myself with the "culture" there. I had some cool cousins there who are Fil-Ams and cannot understand Tagalog. One of their angsts was their parents spoke in English while they were growing up (for them to adjust since they are immigrants) and they took their native language for granted. They regret not speaking in Filipino now.

Everyone falls in love so I wanted a story that most people can relate with---light, fun and entertaining. Since we are Pinoys, I wanted to incorporate the old/modern Pinoy style courtship.

How long did it take for you to do this film? What was your thought process in doing it?

I shot my short film, two days before I flew back to Manila. I asked some relatives and friends to be my actors. So all of them are first-time actors! It was labor of love for everyone. I never imagined that our theatrical run at Robinson's Indiesine would be extended!

I wanted to interview Rica on-cam, but she said that I'd never see her in front of a camera. Anyway, if you watch the film you'll get to see a glimpse of her, well not her, but her twin. I also interviewed her for You Got Tech about video blogging, so watch out for that post too.

"Gusto Kita Too" as I said is spunky and straightforward. I am sure a lot of people would be able to relate with it. And for the Pinoys, I'm sure the torpes would be able to pick up some tips on how to make ligaw. It's still showing together with "Sa Pagdapo ng Mariposa". Here's the schedule :

June 4-10 IndieSine, Robinson's Galleria
June 11-17 Robinson's Ermita

Dali! Nood na!

Mangaholix (MangaMania 2008)

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Sat, 31 May 2008 17:03:00 +0000

Miguel and I went to the Mall of Asia for his lessons at the Lego Mindstorms Robotics Center and wondered why there were quite a number of people dressed up in costume. I thought that there was probably a cosplay photo-shoot or something by the bay area. After his lessons we saw more and more people dressed up in costume and eventually Sweetie asked someone if there was an event at the SMX. We had planned to go to the World Trade Center after having lunch to take a peek at the trade event, but upon hearing that there was a huge "Mangaholix" event at the SMX we decided to spend sometime there before going to WTC.

I've never experienced this kind of event since I only experience manga through some friends and Miguel's stories. I was already dazed even before we entered the hall. I've never seen so many people dressed up as manga/anime characters in my whole life. And well it was a totally different experience for me. My boys were simply in heaven ha-ha. They both got some comic books and I was so green since I left empty handed. (I should've bought a character hat! I could wear it during ToyCon, oh well... I'm trying to convince the boys to wear costumes during ToyCon... asa pa ako). It was mighty fun and here's my vlog about it -

Photos available at my Multiply site.

We did go to the trade event at the WTC. The event was zzzzz... so let's not talk about that anymore coz we were sorely disappointed with it. We caught the first part of the World Pyrolympics on the way home and decided to park first and watch. Here's a bit of what I managed to capture on video using my mobile phone:

Filipino Indie Film: Sa Pagdapo ng Mariposa

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Fri, 30 May 2008 08:32:00 +0000

I've been invited countless of times to watch Filipino-made indie films, but it was only at the invitation of high-school-laboratory-partner-turned-multi-awarded-film-director (Rica Arevalo, Cinemalaya best director for "ICU Bed #7") that I succumbed to watching. I'm not much of a movie-goer so that's the main reason I haven't gone to any of the Cinemalaya festivals.

So for our monthsary, Sweetie graciously agreed to accompany me to watch Rica's short film "Gusto Kita Too" which was bundled with "Sa Pagdapo ng Mariposa". He didn't have any idea what he was getting into heh.

I saw AJ's plug-post about "Sa Pagdapo ng Mariposa" a few weeks ago so I had an idea what to expect. The film was about the struggle of Carlito Mariposa (Josh Deocares) in finding his true self. Being a physical therapist he becomes the caregiver of the paralyzed Agustin Vergeire (Marcus Madrigal) and that's where the conflict starts. Carlito falls in love with Agustin but struggles in accepting it since he grew up believing that he should stick to the traditional role of men and men do not fall in love with other men!

The storyline was very interesting. It's nothing new to me since I have a lot of friends who went through the same struggle (yup, I'm a fag hag! and proud to be one). Things were going on smoothly with the story, moving back and forth from past to present but this is what unleashes Carlito's angst about his true self. One would be tricked into thinking that after the gripping introduction that the story would end like how the sun sets, slowly and with the same steady beat it had acquired when Carlito showed up as a 25-year old caregiver. BUT! There's a definite twist at the end. I ended up gripping Sweetie's hand in the last few segments because I didn't expect the Carlito to end up like that. All I can say without giving anything away is "Poor, poor Agustin".

The story was very good and interesting. I just felt that they could've paced it faster, an hour and a half just seemed like forever. There was also quite a number of scenes that made me dizzy because the camera kept bobbing up and down. Made me think that whoever was holding a camera was pasmado. I don't know though if it was really presented that way, but it really made me dizzy.

The film also had a lot of songs played in it. They were great songs (Sa Ugoy ng Duyan was sung by Kuh Ledesma), I just hope they didn't need to finish the full length of the songs, it probably contributed to slowing down the pace.

The actors? Let's just say that Carlito scared me real good and I don't want to bump into him anywhere since I can't forget what he did in the last part of the movie. That's means they were effective actors.

Sa Pagdapo ng Mariposa is an interesting film, definitely indie but I have a feeling if you put celebrities as the actors it would be something that a lot of people would watch. I just cannot imagine any of the famous actors playing the roles though because it would probably get controversial.

Sa Pagdapo ng Mariposa and Gusto Kita Too show schedules

June 4-10 IndieSine, Robinson's Galleria

June 11-17 Robinson's Ermita

Up next: Gusto Kita Too and an interview with it's director Rica Arevalo

Pork Barrel

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Wed, 28 May 2008 23:30:00 +0000

No, I'm not referring to the political term. I'm referring to Portico's yummy pork barrel which I fortunately sampled during the Spot.ph bloggers food tour.

And I'm posting about it just now! Arggghhh!

I know, I know it's been a pain to start posting about my experience in the Spot.ph bloggers food tour which happened last April. It's been a pain, not because it was not fun, but because I ended up accumulating too much content and I got overwhelmed with it all. There was also iBlog4, the Juned Sunido Manila Tour and our visit to the Manila Ocean Park which coincided with the food tour.

Well, enough with the excuses. Here's my first installment of the food tour and I don't really know when I'm going to finish the series (perhaps with 18 Trinoma establishments and 24 from Serendra and Bonifacio High Street I'll probably finish by November hahaha).

Here's a short vlog about my experience at Portico:

My review of the establishment can be found at Lakwatsera Ako.

Isker! Isker! A Horror Video

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Mon, 26 May 2008 23:44:00 +0000

There's so much content online and there are days when my muse is MIA I just think of becoming a lurker again for the rest of my life. LOL.

Here's a great short horror-film by Mr. Gerry Alanguilan, a famous comic book writer, artist and publisher who has worked with international comic book publishers Marvel and DC (he also has his own published comic books). Gerry is popularly known as the Komikero in Youtube.

Ah, get ready to get shocked.

He's got more videos in his Youtube channel worth watching. Enjoy!

Twitter Unplugged

noreply@blogger.com (Aileen Apolo) — Mon, 26 May 2008 08:25:00 +0000

I was offline most of the weekend and to summarize my weekend this is what I twitted -

the weekend. sm science and discovery center. lego mindstorms. indiana jones. burger king. kopi roti. french baker. and a fever.

I was stuck in bed the whole day on Sunday and I was extremely bored so I went online to check out what was happening in cyberworld and lo and behold Twitter was down! Sad face.

I don't know how many times I twit in a day, but these are things I missed when it was down and not available on Gtalk:

1. I could not do a quick rant.
2. I cannot share what I was eating.
3. I could not plug my new blog posts.
4. I could not bug other twitterers and see who's online.
5. I use twitter as well as a means to discover new reads.

Oh well, I do have a Jaiku account and FriendFeed. I love Twitter, but I hope they'll become stable soon.