Have you seen the latest Apartment 23 episode? No? For those who haven't, the title above is a quote from June when she realized that she is a victim to advertising, to what the media imposes as cool, sexy and hot. Often, we call this the bandwagon.


Well guess who just joined another one? Haha me! I just subscribed to a BDJ Box.

I've been seeing blog posts about this since October but I really didn't get hyped by it. You see back then I looked at the website and saw that the contents for the October box weren't displayed so I thought "hmm this might not be worth it since I can't compute how much savings I'll get."

Until Saab Magalona posted about it on her blog. Ack! I'm a sheep!


Check out the starred subscriptions for more value for your money! (Haha but really, I'm just hoping the free BDJ Planner will make up for this impulsive purchase.)

Quick Trivia: Len and I based our entire college thesis on a Belle de Jour planner!

Refills are priced at Php1950 in Rustan's. It comes with a sponge. Case sold separately.

I've been using this Clinique powder foundation, Clinique Derma White Bright C Powder Foundation, from the Derma White line for 3 years now so when I browsed the Clinique website, I panicked when I didn't see it listed under powder foundations. Trying to calm myself, I entered Derma White on the search bar to see if the other products under the same range were still available. They were not. I immediately thought, "OMG! They discontinued the entire line???"

Didn't bother to clean it before taking a photo haha.

You see, I've been scrimping the last of my current foundie, wherein not only have the tin can surfaced, but is edges away from being gonezo, lest it cracks first. Yup, that happened before and I still used it until I bought a new one. (Read: Ang mahal, dapat sinusulit)

So I texted the trusty Clinique number that has been sending me promo updates in Rustan's Makati and got a prompt reply "We still have it in our counter, mam!"

I'm still thinking if I should wait it out or buy right away so I'll have a backup in case this one breaks. As to whether the Derma White line is indeed discontinued, I shall find out when I go the the Clinique counter at Rustan's.

It's been 4 weeks and 2 days since I deactivated my Facebook account. Although it's temporary, I must say that doing it really didn't help much with my focus issues (read: Twitter) and since my mom has been expressing her disapproval, I might go back sooner than I planned. She say she misses my poses.

So really, there wasn't a withdrawal syndrome that happened but I can truthfully say that I didn't miss it nor did I wake up night longing for it. In fact, it even made me talk with people more in person.

Maybe it's one of those things that we think we can't live without, but given enough space and time, could just be an afterthought.

Here's a photo of a chair from the Things That Connect Us video on the Facebook login page

*cue music* Josh Verdes' original song Home; The iPhone case named Zee on his first adventure.

Whenever I'm coming home to Palawan, I have made it my tradition to listen to and sing this song on the way to the airport, and sometimes on the plane. It makes me reminiscent and somewhat tells my mind to let go of the stress.

Old airport facade as seen from the runway/plane drop-off. I forgot the target date of completion is for the new one.

I have been away from home waaaaaaay too long, even the tricycle drivers outside the airport thought I was a tourist and kept on hustling us in trike fare. Like any other local would do, without a ride waiting that is, we went outside the airport premises and flagged a trike right there. But then the tricycle driver asked how much I'd pay and there I was, clueless. It has been three years! Who could've guessed how much a regular trike fare would cost? So there I was, frantically calling my mother, trying to ask how much I should pay the driver to take us home.

Sometimes, I just want to walk out on life and enact Samantha Sweeting from Sophie Kinsella's Undomestic Goddess. How fun would it be to experience a totally uncharted territory, far away from your comfort zone? Moreover, it's the idea of finding a Nathaniel that sells this idea to me. (That part where they made love in the garden made me do things to myself haha, seriously) But then it always hits me, I DO NOT LIKE DOING HOUSEHOLD CHORES.

The only Samantha Sweeting, the housekeeper, job I would probably latch on would be cooking but seeing that I'm the only housekeeper in a huge mansion, that might not work out. Also, where can I really find a rich couple living a huge mansion around here that would be that feeble-minded. So yes, that option is out.

Before, I'd only hear about mid-life crisis and did not know that there was "quarter-life crisis" was also a thing. Because really, what would 20-something people have to worry about? It's at this stage where we are preparing ourselves to be at our prime. It's the time when our bodies will never look better. It's the time when we have the actual power to make our dreams come true.

So really, how do we get ourselves in a quarter-life crisis?

Some people get their hearts broken. And you know what they say about getting your heart broken at such a late time; you have the chance to totally ruin your life. BOOM! Quarter-life crisis!

Some people are not satisfied by where they stand in their career. Some are underpaid. Some think they are overqualified. Some know that there's more that they can give but they are stuck doing repetitive, routine-based work. BOOM! Quarter-life crisis!

Some people are in various relationship conflicts. Some feel that they need to please family because that's what's right, regardless of how they feel. Some cannot confront their feelings towards ill-worded perceptions. Some do not know how to resolve conflict so they'd rather let it brew until they get exhausted. BOOM! Quarter-life crisis!

Some people cannot live their lives because at such young age, they are expected by their families to be the sole breadwinner. Some try to be a good provider, keeping their needs and desires on hold, or until the time they finally explode with frustration. BOOM! Quarter-life crisis!

There may be more instances, some more difficult than those mentioned. But all's the same in providing the biggest hurdles you've ever encountered, so far. You get really really depressed until you just admit it and say it out loud. "Everything's wrong."

I need a hug.

In my opinion, a white pair of bikinis are the hardest to wear, swimwear-wise. (Not that I actually swim haha) I don't know if it's the simplicity that you don't have anywhere to hide the imperfections, or really just the fact that white cloth turns translucent when wet, something I learned from Cougar Town. 

Sa mga nagtatanong kung naka-register ako, short answer: No.

As much as it pains me to have undergone that waiting process and still not make the 160 people/day cut, I'd have to say that I took the whole thing with grace.

I went at the Makati Fire Station right after my shift at 2AM, without having slept from Sunday. I saw the long line but I was confident that I will make it. To show you how confident I was, here's the photo of the line in front of me. Kitang-kita naman na di aabot ng 160 yan diba? (may mga tao pa sa stairs, but still...)



I talked to my friend, Len, on the phone for almost 2 hours. I was sitting on cold parking lot concrete that my butt already started to hurt. So after I finished my potato and garden salad (lol ang dami kong baon okay?), I decided to use my bag as my pillow and catch some z's.

Yes, I slept on the Makati Fire Station parking lot, cold and hard concrete, nothing more! How many people can actually say that?

Cowboy kung cowboy. Also, I was queuing alone so naki-friends ako sa mga katabi ko. By 4AM, I felt the need to sleep and so I did. Actually, everyone in the line did. Until come 5AM, some jerk blared his car's horn until we all woke up. (Nakalimutan naming parking lot nga pala yun haha)

It was a nice nap. May stargazing effect pa nung nagising na ako.


In fairness, maganda yung boses nung kumakanta so okay lang sakin. After a while, peddlers selling food arrived. Pinaka-mabenta si Manong at ang kanyang taho.



I waited for two more hours until the office opened. I killed time by streaming Magic's Good Times on my phone until it got drained.

But around 7AM is where it gets ugly. People who looked freshly bathed and had a full 8-hr sleep started arriving, taking spots in the far front of my area. If someone were to cut in front of me, I would have shoved their asses off. But it was far from me and my energy level requires me to not talk and not move that much. People behind me were already shouting to those in front. They seemed to hear because they looked back, but they stayed put.

Then the EO started his spiel on speakerphone that lasted until 8:10AM, when the registration was supposed to be starting already. These are his points:

• Registration has been ongoing for more than a year. Why only register now?
• The COMELEC commercial have been playing in ABS-CBN, GMA and TV5 for months, did you not see it?
• There were months were they only had 5 registrants per day.
• They came to barangays but only 20 people registered
• They won't eat lunch at 12, but they will end at 4PM
• They don't get paid for overtime so they can't extend.
• There's only room for 160 people because they can only process 30 people per hour. 20 regular people/hr + 10 pregnant/disabled/elderly people/hr; Why? Because there are only 3 computers and 3 EOs and they can only do that much.
• *People in front of the building won't get any chance

At 8:20AM, a horde of people from nowhere came in front. Suddenly, an Election Officer (EO) walked by and asked the people to not mess up the line. And as if they are entitled to do so, they merged with the line that we're in. I was dying in disbelief! There are people who could be THAT selfish?

From ugly, it went down to chaotic levels! The shouts from behind became wails and what was turning to be an angry mob. Thankfully, they were only using words, nothing physical. Pano ba naman di magagalit yung nasa likod, tumatawa pa yung mga naningit. The nerve!

When it struck 9AM, it became clear that I will no longer be able to go in. Wala ng pag-asa. Lahat ng mga kasabay ko sa pila, magsstay na daw dun until Wednesday morning. I could've stayed there with them but I have a job and a medical condition that needs to be taken care of. I left.

I would have to agree that last minute registrants have a fault in this. That there would not have been a hassle if we registered earlier. But please don't reason the TV commercials that have been playing. Not all of us have television. In fact, I only knew of the registration deadline when Hagedorn, Puerto Princesa's good mayor, decided to submit his candidacy at the last minute and it reached the social media.

~*Hagedorn for Senator!*~

The thing is, people now are more dependent on the internet than TV. An awareness campaign through the internet would really help in the information dissemination. The EOs can complain and rant all they want, but it has to be a two-way street. Also, if this has been trending for quite some time, not just this election registration, why are they not doing something about it?

Kung ang mga resorts, may peak at non-peak season, pwede rin nilang i-apply dito. Pag non-peak season, instead the usual 3 people manning the registration office, gawing isa. Tapos damihan kapag peak season.

One word: Utilization.

Pwede ring may kasamang perk na mabibigay agad yung voter's id kapag non-peak season ka nag-register. Kasi may downtime naman pala ang district offices eh, bakit may mga voters na 2 years na, wala pa ring ID.
OR BETTER YET, gayahin yung appointment system ng DFA at NBI. It has been applauded by many people how the system changed for the better. Hindi naman dahil every 2 years lang nagbubukas ang registration, hindi na dapat pagandahin ang sistema. Make use of the technology. Kasi kung pwedeng padaliin ang buhay ng mga tao, registrants and EOs alike, WHY NOT?

For now my voter status is in the grace of COMELEC Chairman Brillantes, if he would decide to reopen another round of registration. I hope he will. I would very much want to vote for my mayor.

*All the people lined behind the fire station is estimated to be 300-400. If the registration line circled up into the back of Makati Post Office, we could safely assume there was more or less a thousand people who came today. That's 800+ people who couldn't register.