brown is beautiful
last saturday, i was at chinatown with schatz and mommy. we went to this particular store because i wanted to get vitamin c. after i bought my vitamin c, the chinese lady in the store showed me a bottle of glutathione and said 'ito pampaputi. ikaw puti agad.'
funny how most people have this general perception that everyone in the country wants to get fair skin. the thing is, our society has this notion that a girl is pretty if she is mestiza. that's why we glorify artistas with fair skin like kris aquino, heart evangelista, lucy torres and anne curtis. ruffa mae quinto made it to 'that's entertainment' because according to kuya germs, 'maputi kasi sya'. doesn't matter if a person has talent, ok na ang mestiza looks. that's philippine showbiz for you.
BUT what about women like angel aquino, pia guanio, tweety de leon-gonzales and goodness,hindy weber-tantoco? you can't call them ugly, can you?
why do so many pinays want to get whiter skin when westerners risk getting skin cancer by soaking up the sun?
i've been reading long forum threads on skin whitening on
girl talk and it's alarming how far girls would go to get whiter skin. one of the hottest things for sale on GT is gluta, which costs about P2,200 for 30 capsules. fyi, gluta is safe. it is actually an antioxidant and helps heal the body from inside. isa na sa effect nya yung whiter complexion. aside from gluta, there are the ubiquitous banji whitening soaps, kojic acid soaps, melika magic creams, amira magic creams (which reportedly has mercury), peeling oils, a bonne lightening products, savona soaps (as recommended by vicky belo), bleaching whatevers, lightening whatchamacallits and other whitening chuvaness.
please count me out. i'm very happy with the color of my skin, thank you very much...i've managed to even out the skin color on my limbs and now i look like i live on the beach. the only things of concern to me are how to get glowing skin and how to get rid of scars (from my childhood). i so love j-lo's glowing (fake) tan. gusto ko tuloy sabihin dun sa chinese lady na yun 'oo na, maitim na ko! pero di ibig sabihin, gusto kong pumuti noh?' imbiyerna. wahaha!
of course, the white-or-dark-skin issue has been debated and exhausted so many times over and the conclusion is, beauty is subjective. you have the right to do whatever makes you feel beautiful. just keep it safe, healthy and sane. never abuse your body and your wallet in your quest for beauty.
Posted by Unknown at 15:04
books for sale!!
my boyfriend and i just started selling stuff on ebay. right now, we only have 2 items up for bidding but we'll be adding more in the next few days. the books are in near mint condition.
currently on sale are the following:
* kitchen :: banana yoshimoto >> click
here for item details
* how to draw manga: compiling characters (volume 1) >> click
here for item details
if anyone is interested, please visit our store (seller ID is greenspan77). thanks!
Posted by Unknown at 15:37
what my birthday means
i know it's months away but what the heck...
| Your Birthdate: August 9 |
You are a born idealist, with more pet causes than you can count. You prefer be around others, both when working and while relaxing. Generous and giving, you believe you can change the world one person at a time. (omg, this is like deja vu...) You're open minded and tolerant. People feel like they can tell you anything. (yeah, yeah...)
Your strength: Your go-with-the-flow flexibility
Your weakness: Your flair for the over-dramatic (ex-cuuuuuse me?)
Your power color: Pine green (not pink, huh?)
Your power symbol: Circle
Your power month: September (uuuy!)
|
Posted by Unknown at 08:49
kwentong kulangot at taghiyawat (at iba pa)
on my way to schatz's last night, i was sandwiched between these two guys on the bus. una pa lang parang ayoko na umupo doon e. basta, i had that feeling. matino naman silang tignan and di mukhang mga magnanakaw or something. pero basta, i had a feeling that it was going to be an uncomfortable bus ride for me.
five minutes after the bus left the bus stop, the guy on the right started singing along (loudly) to the music on the radio. feeling american idol. in fairness, medyo tama ang lyrics. medyo lang. slight. ganon. the guy on the left, pa-demure effect kumanta. mahina lang.
then...this guy on the left started touching his pimples!! parang minamasahe isa-isa. e sus, ang dami nun e!! ano ba un, binibilang nya kung gaano karami at kung may nawawala? gusto kong hampasin ung braso nya at sabihing "hoy!! wag ganyan. lalong dadami yan!". and besides, pano kung pumutok at tumalsik sa akin?? the horror!!
since demure effect sya, after ilang minuto ng pagmasahe sa taghiyawat, tumigil na sya. nakahinga ako ng malalim.
pero sandali lang kasi...
ung nasa kanan naman, si rockstar inxs, started picking his nose!! OMG!! sheeeeeettt! kadiri!!!! didn't anyone tell him it's uber rude to do that?? as in feel na feel pa ata ng lolo! tapos parang di sya matapos-tapos sa kanyang 'household chores' kasi di nalayo yung daliri nya sa ilong nya e. enjoy ba sya ng husto? ano ba un, may pabrika ng kulangot sa loob? eeeewwwww!
gusto ko na lumipat ng upuan pero wala na akong magagawa kasi puno na ang bus. tiis lang ako, and tried to put even the teeniest of space between myself and booger guy.
hay...what a relief to finally get off that friggin' bus.
＊＊＊お元気ですか？＊＊＊
so...tuloy na talaga. james is also quitting. then yesterday morning, i learned from ina that another team lead is leaving. reg confirmed that it is christine. wow, 3 team leads leaving the group in one month! sobrang laki nga talaga ng offer ng iba pag talagang gusto ka no? well, sana naman wag na matuloy ito, kung sakali. parang kakatakot naman pag si christine pa yung umalis.
arol told me that she was offered more than 50% of her monthly salary. e san ka pa?? i told her to go for it. maganda ang company namin, pero it can only get you so far. arol needs to leave so she could get a finance-related job so she can easily make the transition when they finally move to oz. yun nga lang, mami-miss ko sya talaga...hay. kakainis. e kung umalis na rin ako?
oh well, that's corporate life for you. the good thing about this is that a lot of people will have the chance to move up. i'm rooting for babes. God knows she deserves a promotion. but of course, i'm also considering applying for the TL jobs. why not? i got mostly 'role model' and 'proficient' marks on my last performance evaluation. bry himself said that he wants me to go for the recently vacated jobs. he thinks i've already exceeded the requirements of my current role and i need to move up to another role. well, i will sure try my darnest. ^_^
＊＊＊お元気ですか？＊＊＊
medyo naasar lang ako kanina sa office barkada ko before lunch. pano ba naman, nagyaya ng lunchout, rockwell daw. tapos wala pa palang alam kainan sa rockwell. hello? ang babagal pa naman nila kumilos tapos nakapa-indecisive. e mawawalan ka nga naman ng gana kumain pag ganon. buti na lang niyaya ako ni m mag-komoro soba. loooooooved my sukiyaki-don!!
＊＊＊お元気ですか？＊＊＊
am i the only one who thinks havaianas are overrated? parang ang OA kasi nung pila tuwing dumadaan ako sa havs store sa glorietta. the line is always snaking in the store. kala mo tuloy sale pero hindi pala. sabi nila kasi matibay daw, di madaling mapudpod at malambot sa paa. hmmm. all that for the average price of P800? no, thanks. you could get a nice comfy pair of shoes with P800. jologs na kung jologs, i'm still not convinced and i'm one of the "hav-not's". ^_^
＊＊＊お元気ですか？＊＊＊
finally! at least one of the priests at greenbelt gave a sermon on the gospel of judas!! thanks, father dave! well, according to him, the gospel of judas is the first heresy of the church. it is from gnosticism. as in, agnostic. he said that gnostics believe that salvation is only for the intelligent.
well, looking at it from another point of view...had judas not betrayed Jesus, will it still bring forth our salvation? will jesus have died on the cross for us, if the guards did not arrest him? it was part of God's grand plan for our salvation, that this betrayal should happen. even Jesus knew of it for He told judas 'whatever you have to do, do it quickly'.
just wondering...what happened to the gospel of peter? i thought he also had one. you'd think that because he is 'the rock upon which Christ built His church', you'd find his gospel in the bible too. why don't we have it there with matthew, mark, luke and john?
these are just musings that entered my mind ever since i saw the national geographic docu. but i assure you, my faith in God still remains intact and i remain steadfast in Him. i love my Lord and i hope to serve Him with my life.
with that, ladies and gents, i wish you a blessed holy week! go to church, go to confession, reflect and pray.
Posted by Unknown at 17:21
don't be a headache...
wag mo na kaming pahirapan pa. kung gusto mong mag-resign, mag-resign ka na. kung ayaw mo ng work, di ka namin pipilitin. just be honest about it. dami pang kwento e. nakakasama lang ng loob. bago ka palang, pero sobrang pasaway mo na. i've never met anyone like you. maski si jax, baka magmukhang anghel sa iyo. ang hirap ng ganito, di ba?
mahirap kung umalis ka pa ng middle of the project season. which is coming up, by the way. matagal humanap ng kapalit at mahirap mag-train ng bagong tao. i can think of two other people who are more suitable.
we're very busy right now, maski di pa peak season and we don't need inconveniences like these.
Posted by Unknown at 16:56
fantastic weekend...
...at the zoo! after we submitted his project documentation to the school secretary, schatz surprised BB and me with a visit to the zoo. BB was very thrilled to see animals like birds, tigers, snakes and was especially amazed at how big the elephant was. hehe. cuuuuute! i will post pics once i get them. ^_^
ich liebe dich, mein schatz!! extra lang: we got 'holy blood and holy grail' as papa's birthday present. papa gave me a little trivia. two of the authors are named michael baigent and richard leigh. if you have read 'the da vinci code', you know who sir leigh teabing is. his first name comes from the HBHG author leigh and TEABING is an anagram of BAIGENT. how clever!
o, back to work na. break time ko lang kasi e. dumami pa work ko for this week. sus, di pa pinatawad, 3 days na nga lang e. bry's on leave for the rest of the week so i'll the interim team lead for now. oh well...
Posted by Unknown at 15:32
sapin-sapin
(super delayed) congratulations are in order: bonnie bryan, aileen and kristine gat on their promotions! lalo na yang si aileen. di na halos kumakain. pauso pa ni joey, ako daw ang 2nd aileen nung new employee pa lang ako. haller!
but there is another person who i think deserves to be promoted...how about brian tan??
congratulations to arol for the new job in deutsche. go girl! i'm so excited for you. kita-kits na lang ha...sa elevator. nyahaha!
***note to HR people: natapon ni bonnie ung coffee creamer kahapon sa pantry. please deduct from his salary accordingly. hehe.
＊＊＊こんにちは＊＊＊
i'm just amazed at myself. amazed at how tough i could be. just when i thought i could no longer take other people's crap, i would still push myself beyond my limits. just when i thought i couldn't take it anymore, i'd get some more strength from everywhere, and i mean, everywhere. wherever i go, i have people who love me and that's where i get my strength from. now i realize the power of the human spirit; as long as i am loved, i will never be crushed. ^_~
＊＊＊こんにちは＊＊＊
some people have class...some people are just plain crass. ick.
＊＊＊こんにちは＊＊＊
problems are problems but they shouldn't be a way of life. they're just there for you to deal with and learn from. then move on with life. dealing with problems is very easy, if you put your mind to it. think of them as bug-eyed old hags that can vanish simply by flicking your wand and saying an incantation. 'evanesco' should do the trick, according to professor snape. put all your energy into the incantation and will the bug-eyed hags to disappear into nothingness so your life can be happy again.
as the super-duper clem put it, "shit happens. life's a bitch, but so am i". ah, what words of wisdom from the fantabulous guru of yuppie public servants (wahaha!).
＊＊＊こんにちは＊＊＊
yesterday, the queen of all hags darkened our doorstep again with her presence... everyone reacted so quickly and started an all-DS group chat via msn. sus, mahigit 20 yata kami nag-chat doon. it was crazy! ikaw ba naman, di ka magugulat kung may biglang mag-appear sa chat screen na BRENDA ang name. shet, si carlo lang pala. tapos biglang papasok si GREG S. langya, si bianco naman. so dun na nag-umpisa ung palit ng palit ng pangalan. kung sino-sino na ung ka-chat namin. had a really good laugh about it. hehe. swear, i work with the coolest colleagues in metro manila. e pano mo naman iiwanan ung ganito??
＊＊＊こんにちは＊＊＊
gotta visit bibliarch later to look for papa's birthday gift. i'm planning to get him '
holy blood, holy grail' but i don't know how much that is. buti na lang, i still have some peso credits left in my ayala e-GC. sobrang di talaga convenient ung GC na un. next time nga, SM na lang ha!
speaking of papa's birthday, we had a simple lunch celebration at home last sunday. he made bangus tocho and (the dreaded ) adobong atay ng manok. kala ko di ako makakakain kasi i still have issues with liver and i don't like the sound of tocho. :P BUT the food was really great! di ko matigilan ung bangus e. kahit walang kanin, kain lang ako ng kain. da best in the west kasi magluto ang tatay ko e. kaya sya mataba. hehe. after lunch, we attacked the magnolia chocolate ice cream i bought at anson's. e ako, i don't eat chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream kasi para sa akin, di totoong chocolate un. BUT (again), i loved magnolia's classic chocolate ice cream. iba talaga ung lasa nya sa ibang chocolate ice cream like ung sa selecta and nestle. wow, hirap tigilan. swear, ang sarap ng magnolia talaga.
papa's 51 years old but he doesn't look like it. siguro genes din un kasi most of the people in my family look younger than their real ages, except for my tita na parang pinaglihi sa sama ng loob. iba rin talaga magpatanda ang sungit at sama ng loob no.
＊＊＊こんにちは＊＊＊
teta found a new job, thank God! so that's one down, many more others to help (schatz, des the confused, aya my hard-boiled egg of a sister...) i'm not about to turn into a career consultant and i'm not about to join mojica-sensei in his dream of building a recruitment and staffing office. people just like to talk to me about their careers (or the lack of it) and i am more than willing to help out. i almost found a job for des. there was someone from IBM who contacted me, asking me if i want to join their company. i told him i can't quit my job right now but would be interested in a future IBM career. naks! tapos i asked him if i can just recommend a (japanese-speaking) friend instead. he said it's very much welcome so i sent him des-chan's CV and she got an interview sked the following day. hehe. des told me she liked the job being offered to her but she can't accept it because of the expected 2-hour commute to the office. sayang talaga. pero at least she tried. i'm still helping her look for another job. sana magkatrabaho na rin sya.
Posted by Unknown at 13:56
おめでとう、schatz!
やっと！schatzは大学院を卒業することだ！長い時間と努力で終った。彼が、いっしょけんめい論文を書いて、徹夜で努めていた。いまとてもうれしい！
thank you so much, Lord and thank you so much, pope john paul II for interceding for us. God is good! graduate na po!
Posted by Unknown at 17:21
santo subito
i miss you, pope john paul...i know you're very happy where you are right now and it's more than comforting to know that.
as NBC's stephen weeke put it:
Everything about John Paul and his pontificate was super-sized, as he broke every previous papal record with his efforts in life. It’s only natural then that he should continue to go to great lengths, even in death.
couldn't have put it any better. (this pic makes my eyes go watery. i don't know why.)
visit
this site to learn more about the campaign for the late pope's beatification and sainthood. below is an english version of the prayer i got from the site. let us pray this always so we can help elevate our pope as the 'blessed john paul II'.
Prayer for asking graces through the intercession of the
Servant of God, the Pope John Paul II
O Blessed Trinity
We thank You for having graced the Church
with Pope John Paul II
and for allowing the tenderness of your Fatherly care,
the glory of the cross of Christ,
and the splendor of the Holy Spirit,
to shine through him.
Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy
and in the maternal intercession of Mary,
he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd,
and has shown us that holiness
is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life
and is the way of achieving eternal communion with you.
Grant us, by his intercession, and according to Your will,
the graces we implore,
hoping that he will soon be numbered
among your saints.
Amen.
With ecclesiastical approval
CARDINAL CAMILLO RUINIthe Holy Father’s Vicar Generalfor the Diocese of Rome
Posted by Unknown at 17:19
