I haven't been posted anything this week because every Christmas party was jam packed in the entire week. We even had to skip the party last Friday because a.) we're tired b.) teammates will skip it c.) we'd rather work from home. I am glad to say though that my 12.12.12 did live up to be the most memorable and once in a lifetime event that I hoped for.


[R-L Clockwise]

• I came to the event knowing I'll get a chance to get a photo taken with Ramon Bautista. I'm no super fan but I really think he's intelligent and hilarious. Smart minds, for me, are sexy and such a turn on. That enough made me take that chance when he was at the side of the stage, getting a photo taken with another Groove friend, Dada. *cue memory snippet*
  
  Jenn: *makes my you're-the-only-other-person-in-the-world-right-now eye contact* Hiiiii! Pwede rin ba akong magpa-picture? *pa-cute smile*
  RB: Ang ganda mo naman!
  Dada: *sisingit* Thank you!
  RB: Ay hindi ikaw, siya! *points to me*
  Jenn: *slowly dying while getting our photo taken*
  
  And this is a highlight of my 12.12.12 night why? Because you know, abandonment issues can also make you feel really ugly, insecure, not worth it, plus every other negative thing, ALL AT ONCE. So really, this made my night in ways you can't imagine.


• Being that the production team sucked, we were not able to do tech runs on the stage, which eventually posed a lot of issues later that night. But being the sport that we are, we tried to enjoy the event and warm ourselves up before the opening dance segment. We did this by singing and dancing to the company bands' songs at the side of the stage. It was fun, even though everyone else in the audience probably didn't enjoy their performance as much as Groove did.


• The only action shot that I have from all the albums that surfaced so far. It's not perfect, projection-wise but I love seeing that my hair has gone this long. 

The POREfessional, Benefit

When the weekly getting drunk since November routine already showed it's effect on my skin, a.k.a. large pores, tiny bumps, coarse skin, and pimple scars, I immediately thought, "Shit, pano na yung mukha ko sa photos?" Then, I remembered that my BDJ Box subscription did include a renowned primer as a freebie on the first box!


I took it out of the box and lugged it into my makeup kit before I ran late to the call time in MOA SMX. Yes, this part of the blog post is still about the same day, 12.12.12.

After the last few rehearsal runs, we proceeded into getting our hair and makeup done. Everything was DIY so I had to pretend I know what to do in that hour. After I washed my face, I looked for my moisturizer and ta-da! It wasn't there so I skipped on to the primer.

From this recent episode of Apartment 23 (Yes, shortening it to that because the title is such a mouthful. And yes, I know explaining this took longer) James Van Der Beek's character, an egotistical version of himself, broke the fourth wall... (If it's even more possible to do that) to explain his frustration of how his Dancing with the Stars routine got cut short.


"Hello! I hope you enjoyed this episode of Apartment 23... because I didn't. Do you have any idea how hard I had to work to learn that dance routine? And the producers cut it down to, like what, 20 seconds? Uh-uh. No way. Not on my watch. You're welcome, America."

I have so much love for this show. If you're looking for a TV series with depth, this is not it. It's a feel-good show that has a lot of throwbacks to the days when we were still growing up, and a lot of Dawson's Creek. Even though Chloe can be a little extreme, she can be quite relatable for me in ways I can't even dare to discuss. Haha.

Fun fact: Dawson's Creek, among other many shows, is something I only got to watch after I moved out of Palawan for college and then, work. It's because my conservative household didn't let me watch these shows growing up. Heck, I had to go to the neighbors to watch TGIS.

Or any other niche blogging theme.

Early this year, I attended a company-sponsored hobby class with Mr. Anton Diaz, the mind behind Our Awesome Planet, Mercato, Mezza Norte...you get it. The class was kinda about how you'll become a better at blogging and the secrets into making it big online. One tip was to find a niche and build up on it.

1. I can take photos of what I buy but it's hard for me to follow through with a review, unless of course I strongly feel something about this product. It's either I truly love it on me or I hate it and it was too horrendous that I just had to share my thoughts so you'd stay away from it too. 


2. I talk too much. Sometimes to the point where my segues become a new topic on their own, totally different from what I was originally talking about. Lest you are a friend in real life, I don't see how my lengthy babble would endear any stranger.


3. I am interested in too many things and I can't be limited to just posting about a certain topic. 


4. I am lazy often. If only you could see how many draft posts I have right now. I have everything in my head: a carefully thought out topic, a mediocre title and photos that I snapped. But really, where do you get the time? Hopefully now that my love life's bleak, I can squeeze an hour or two. 


5. I don't have the money to finance possible blog themes. Truth be told, writing a fashion blog, a travel blog, a food blog, a beauty blog, and so on, requires that you have something to write about and preferably, something that you experienced first hand. Scratch that. Not just preferably, but mandatory. Imagine posting a review about the food served in Spiral when you haven't even eaten there.
   
   But then again, nothing stops you from making an all-DIY beauty blog or a homecooked meals blog or an ukay-ukay fashion blog. All good ideas if you have time. (If you have one, I'd love to read them! ^^)


6. I easily get bored.


7. I am self-absorbed and I won't apologize for it. Notice that everything in this enumeration starts with an "I"? Yeah, me too. And as much as I want to share the actual consumer experience, a post usually becomes a journal entry of how I eventually managed to buy this or do this. 

The one blogging tip that I'm trying to follow religiously now is to post frequently. Last month, I set myself a goal of two posts per month and I achieved it. This month, I'm just aiming for a higher post count than November.

*This is me looking into your soul

I'm doing this blogging thing since it has quite proven to be a good distraction from the urges of giving up to this quarter-life crisis I'm in. And since what usually gets me into misunderstandings is when I get overly expressive about my thoughts that the words I say comes out unfiltered, I thought I'd just divert them into something that I could also benefit from. Sometimes, I don't even mean it but my mouth just HAD to say it. So hopefully by writing, I'll get to limit myself from tactlessly spurting out words without enough consideration.

Also, it is actually fun to do.

I have already come to a conclusion that this will forever be a personal blog, one which contains multi-topics that have my candid views into everything I encounter, being that I'm a probinsyana and all that naivety. (Yes, I'm still doing that persona haha) Although, I really must sort out my labels for those who are selective in what they read.

To the people who message me or leave comments saying they were able to endure all the blabbing I do, thank you for the appreciation.

*On an unrelated note, here's a random self-portrait to keep the vanity alive. Also TL;DR posts make me sleepy as well.

No, this is not another attempt to purchase makeup from Sephora. This post will be updated with the progress report.

CURRENT STATUS: Packages Delivered [12/20/2012]

Last Saturday, a friend begged asked me to buy stuff from Amazon. I obliged with the promise that I can also buy what I want, without having to share the shipping fees. Win-win!

Okay, I didn't say they're not makeup-related;

December 2

• I placed an order using the Gcash Amex debit card.
• A few minutes later, I received a text saying I successfully paid Php 42.12. (This must be for the $1 card verification charge equivalent to $1. I read that this was refundable but as of this date, no refund yet.)

December 3

• I received a text saying I successfully paid Php 2519.19, a lot less than my purchase total.
• I found out that one item out of the five ordered was shipped separately. I think it was because it came from a seller that's nowhere near the other four.

December 4

• I received another text saying I successfully paid Php 42.12. 
• I received another text saying I successfully paid Php 84.24. 
• At this point, I already started to wonder what these charge were for. Apparently, Globe Gcash Amex doesn't have ONLINE billing statements for the ONLINE purchases it was solely created for. How ironic. 
• I called.the Globe Gcash hotline at 2882 to verify if the information as to which merchant I paid is obtainable for its customers-- I WAS TOLD IT WAS, BUT ONLY IF YOU CALL 2882. Then, I had to be on hold for a good 10 minutes before my questions were answered. Both Php 42.12 and 84.24 were for Amazon and Paypal verification, respectively. Amazon charged twice, one was for the initial use of the card, the other one was for the Amazon Prime trial (opting in the free trial allowed me to get the products shipped in just two days for free to Burbank, California where the My Shopping Box, US cargo forwarder associated with Globe GCash Amex, is located.) 
• Later that night, I received a text saying I successfully paid Php 1216.84. This was the payment for the 5th item that was separated on shipment #2.

December 5

• By 11:23 PM, Manila time, both packages have been delivered to My Shopping Box.

December 6

• At 8 AM, Manila time, My Shopping Box still hasn't updated the package tracking site. Maybe my packages still hasn't been keyed in? 
• As of writing, no refunds has been issued for all the verification done.
• I called the MSB hotline and was told that it will take 2-3 days of inspections and weight checks before the package is uploaded in my MSB profile. Good thing, I opted to use the Amazon Prime 2-day shipping.

December 8

• At around 5 PM, I received the shipping invoice from MSB and woaaah, this sucks.
  
  
• Freakin' USD 83.86 for things that are super light but bulky in nature. Almost twice the price of the items I ordered.  
• I checked with Johnny Air and apparently, they have the same computation, which is to use the volumetric size of the package for the nature of the items being shipped, instead of the weight. So whether MSB or Johnny air, the shipping cost would be the same as they also use the same rates.  

December 9

• Tonix, are we really gonna push through with having them shipped via Air travel? Should I try to shamelessly beg for a discount first? 
• Tonix responded with a 'go'.

December 17

• LOL haven't updated for more than a week. Been really busy. As of today, the status is still "ORDER DEPARTED US"
• The packages are expected to arrive this week according to their customer service representative.
  
  
• Tonix share: Php 6088.4432 (breakdown to be posted later; converted based from 42.12 exchange rate)

December 18

• I woke up with this text message.
  
  

December 19

• I woke up around 5PM. The first thing that came out from my mouth was "FRAAAK!" Haha I remembered that the packaged was supposed to be delivered. 
• I called MSB hotline, got transferred from one line to another until I got a representative who gave me the exact progress. "The package is already on the way to you."
• But after I hung up the phone, a few minutes later, I was called by said customer service representative and told me that the delivery will have to be rescheduled the next day. The delivery vehicle broke down and will not be able to reach me. 
• I was promised that my package will be prioritize on Thursday. Sad, but I can live with it.

December 20

• I called MSB at 10AM to follow up. In verbatim, in a very jolly voice I was told, "Miss Jennever? Ako po yung nakausap niyo kahapon! On the way na po dyan yung packages niyo. Hintayin niyo na lang po." 
• Now, I haven't even told her my tracking numbers nor my name. It's not everyday that I receive that kind of personal customer service so I was really thankful. I wasn't able to understand her name because it was kind of inaudible, but whoever you are, I shall be calling back and give you a commendation.
• An hour after, here they are! The lightest boxes I've ever carried. Such as waste of volumetric weight space, if you ask me. 

These two boxes only contain FIVE items. Placed the 1L water bottle for size reference.

Both boxes came sealed so you know your packages haven't been snooped in.

Lesson 1: Don't EVER order stuff that are bulky as they will be measured in volumetric weight. And if luck doesn't go in your favor like us, the volume will be 9 freakin' times the actual weight of the package. In this case, you will be invoiced using the higher chargeable weight. My Shopping Box and Johnny Air have the same rules, even the same rates.

Lesson 2: Even if they are sent to the cargo forwarder on the same time and date, using the same Amazon sales order number, if the items are arrived in two separate boxes, they will be tagged by MSB as two separate packages, no excuses. It's so they can be tracked separately. In our case, the 5th item came from Kentucky, which is roughly 2795 kilometers away from Nevada, so Amazon really had to separate this shipment. If you want to avoid this from happening, you can send them to relative/friend first so they can reorganize stuff.

Order Details
(Edit as of April 16, 2014: I converted the dollar values so it would be easier to understand. Please only consider those in red font.)

Shipment #1

Php 2519.19  deducted by Globe for Amazon box #1
Php 42.12 deducted by Globe for Amazon card verification; equivalent to $1
Php 2270.69 MSB shipping to Philippines charge of box #1

Shipment #2

Php 1216.84  deducted by Globe for Amazon box #2
Php 42.12 deducted by Globe for Amazon Prime verification; equivalent to $1
Php 1261.45 MSB shipping to Philippines charge of box #2

--------------

Edit: So I guess the figures above were indeed confusing. The total amount I paid for was Php 3820.27. And I got the $2 back after 1 month. It was the charge for the Amazon card verification and the Amazon Prime membership verfication.

Edit: The total amount I crossed off on the first edit was the amount I paid to Amazon for all our purchases, not my share. Thanks to the commenters for pointing this out to be sorted

To read the GCash Amex FAQs, click here.

The Bad News

Multiply is shutting down the social networking aspect which includes photo and video sharing and blog posting. Why? Because everyone has moved on to Facebook so essentially Multiply has been wasting their precious server resources hosting all of our memories for free.

(Even I can attest that the only reason I go to Multiply this past couple of years is to do online shopping. It's convenient and has many payment options available, and it's our local version of an eBay. Seeing this move now makes me think if they regret the times when Multiply was THE social network and they shut down online shops because they were considered a "misuse" in the Terms and Agreements policy.)

Exporting blog posts was easy. All I had to do was follow the instructions for migrating your blog posts to your provider of choice: Tumblr or Blogger. (Visit the links below to see the instructions.)

http://(INSERT USER ID).multiply.com/export-to-tumblr

In an effort to backup my photos and videos, I followed the instruction via the Download Media tool that they provided.

http://(INSERT USER ID).multiply.com/download-media

I tried using Chrome and Mozilla Firefox but it was hopeless. I kept on receiving an error.

Proxy Error
The proxy server received an invalid response from an upstream server.
The proxy server could not handle the request GET /image/TnpooPCsa2ASoFo+xVjkhA/photos/1/orig/2008/IMG-0130.JPG.
Reason: Invalid Content-Length from remote server

I gave up a day before the deadline, thinking it would be too time-consuming to manually download everything.

The Good News

According to the press release, everything social networking-related will be shut down on December 1. It is now December 2 and they are still live. (UPDATE: Deadline is extended until December 31! #GoodGuyMultiply) Early this morning, I read on Twitter that Kath was able to download her photos via the Media Locker. She gave me this guide from Nico.

At first, I had a problem locating the Media Locker. My account did not have that tab on Nico's guide.

Instead of the Media Locker tab, mine has Stock Room

Then, Kath, being the helpful girl that she is, gave me her link and fortunately for me, it worked!

It was helpful for the recent photos but it didn't work on the photos uploaded on 2009 and older. Instead of thumbnails, these was what I got.


(I know this is supposed to be the good news section so please bear with me. Haha!) Again, I lost all hope. It was already 6AM. I thought the photos and videos will go down at 12noon just because it's the end of December 1 EST. So I thought, "Hey, maybe I'll just browse the photos, take it in and burn everything into my memory." Then, fate became kind. There was actually another way to download every album into a zip file!

Here are the instructions, in case you are encountering the very same issue.

1. Click on an album.
2. Start a slideshow. (Click that Slideshow text on the upper right corner of the photo)

   Hindi uso ang makeup sakin noon.

3. When the slideshow is up, click on the Download button on the uppermost right corner.
   
4. Click on the Download entire album as a zip file option and voila!
   

So that's it, that the good news. I was able to salvage everything in no time. Did you get to save your files with no problem? I'd like to hear the issues you encountered. :)

I always wake up late, always past noon so when it gets interrupted, I automatically rage. There is, however, one sleep interruption that I can tolerate forever and those are the delivery guys bringing me packages and purchases online. Just this Friday, November 30, one arrived and it contained the 2nd BDJ Box I ordered on prepaid.

Calvin Klein Beauty Perfume 100mL. Php5498

Shiseido Extra Gentle Cleansing Foam 150mL. Php 1850 | Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Resist 24 Day Cream 50mL. Php3100

Physiogel Hypoallergenic Intensive Cream 50mL. Php517. This is a full-sized sample, you guys!

L'Oreal Men Expert Hydra Energetic Multi-Action 8 Cleanser. Price not indicated, but I know just the most vain guy to give this to!

Yuka Non-Acetone Wipes, 35 sheets. Php68 (full-sized sample)

L'Occitane Extra Gentle Milk Soap 250g. Php595

Garnier Overnight Whitening Peeling Cream 20mL Php99. Not really a fan of whitening creams but hey, it's full-sized!

Garnier Light Complete Whitening Cream 50mL Php229 Yet another whitening cream!

Three gift cards from Shiseido: Free product sample, Free quick facial and a 15% discount voucher

Strip voucher for Free Upper Lip Waxing

Azta Urban Salon discount coupons for Inoa Hair coloring, and digital perm and rebonding services

10% off discount coupon for purchases of P1000 and above in L'Occitane