Congratulations, President Obama!

An ambitious and optimistic citizen of a struggling democratic country salutes you!

We trust that you'd continue to unswervingly inspire all nations with your admirable moral fiber.

10 Reasons Why I Should Smile Today

1.) Halloween weekend was divine.
2.) I'm currently in a complex process of renewing my faith in God.
3.) Blessings come in all shapes and sizes.
4.) It feels dandy knowing I was able to help someone in dire need.
5.) Cetaphil is a miracle cleanser.
6.) Each day is an opportunity to start all over again.
7.) I'm a sucker for simple pleasures.
8.) My husband thinks I'm the sexiest thing alive.
9.) I won the lottery! (Just kidding.)
10.) The Smile Stone Award from Enchie.

With mirth, I flash an iridescent smile at the following famed bloggers who light up their readers' lives and the ruckus-filled blogosphere: Ria, Bingkee & Mel.

The Truth Behind Bridal Showers

Every woman's dream is to be the right man's blushing bride. This year, Rolyn Sac is about to turn her world upside down by confidently saying "I do" and settling down with her dream guy and close friend, Henri Fernandez.

But, before we let that happen, a bridal shower is, of course, a MUST!

If I haven't told you yet about how they met, let's just say it was a story of guts and glory for dear Henri dating back to our awkward high school days. He adamantly wooed her for seven years, and when it finally paid off, he never let her go. The proposal, as you know, was also something out of a fairy tale.

And now, this is what girlfriends ought to do at least two weeks prior to giving up their gal pal to marital rapture...

What: Rolyn Sac's Bridal Shower

When: October 25, 2008, 6:00 p.m.
Where: Astoria Plaza Hotel, J. Escriva Drive, Pasig City, Philippines

The day officially began at the local mall where we had to pick up some food.

Buddies since pre-adolescence (from left to right): Moi, the soon-to-be-bride, Rolyn, her maid of honor, Ayesha, Shiella & Isabelle

The party's just about to start

What's the first thing on our minds when we got there? CHOW!!!

Photo-op in one of the bedrooms

Playing 'Taboo'

It's time to 'Dress Up the Bride!'

The winner with the real bride to be

And the drinks poured in!

Ghie, Rolyn's sister, concocts her world-famous mix.

Rolyn in the 'Hot Seat'

We couldn't help but bombard her with questions about her and the future groom.

At last! The moment we've all been waiting for!

Here comes the males stripper -- the evening's grand finale.

The November bride with her longtime friends

From left to right: Ayesha, Sarah, Rolyn, Shiella, yours truly, Isabelle, & Henri's sister, Brenda

The night ended with a huge bunch of young women in high spirits, and along this all-female fete come several bits of poignant insight:

1.) Most often, only your real friends and family will show up at a gathering like this.
2.) Instead of drooling over the male stripper, you'd probably feel sorry for him (which some of us did) regardless of how sexy he is. Especially if he's the type who won't go all the way unless the lights are dim and no cameras are in sight.
3.) Enjoy the palette of dishes, but go easy on 'em. Celebrations like this are an avenue to weight gain. You don't want your wedding gown to shrink.

4.) This is indeed a good time to get inebriated.

Honored for the Nth Time

On October 20th, 2008, Monday, a British-Filipina named Ria bequeathed two fab, schmab awards to me:

Hence, I culminate a laid-back Sunday by expressing my zealous appreciation to an excellent blogger, and pass on the Brillante Weblog Award to Ham, who rightfully deserves it, and the I Love You This Much badge to my good pals, Enchie, Isabelle and Bingkee.

Gotta get back to the Land of Nod. I still have a wicked hangover from a booze session at a bud's swanky bridal shower (Watch for the next equally dazzling post). Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of your weekend! :-)

Us versus the 'Dora' Generation

Perhaps, we're lucky to have an even luckier brood.

Today's kids have technology in the palm of their hands. Back in the early '90's, we only had the 'almighty' television and the trusty radio to turn to when we're bored. We've heard of the Internet, all right, but the 'Sesame Street' generation wasn't able to utilize the world wide web's full potential until its boom towards the end of the 20th century. Nowadays, children are born straight into the inimitable grip of YouTube, MySpace and Wikipedia. Unlike them, we didn't have access to a much broader understanding of the world at the click of the mouse in kindergarten.

I have a three-year-old who could take impeccable pictures with a digicam, and I know a lot of toddlers who can tinker with their parents' PDA's. Some may think it's unfair that we never had the same kind of liberty. Nontheless, I'm always fascinated when I wonder how William Shakespeare would've written Romeo and Juliet if mobile phones and SMS (short message service) already existed in his time. If Friar Laurence was able to send Romeo Montague a text message saying ''Juliet's supposed death is a bluff. Thou shall meet her at the Capulet tomb in Verona so the two of of you can escape to Mantua, post-haste, and live in peace," would the star-crossed lovers' fate still end in tragedy?

In the 1980's, Nintendo dominated the gaming scene with the Game & Watch and the Family Computer. Then came another cynosure in the in early '90's called the Super Family Computer or SNES, which is a mere upgraded version of the first Famicom. Alongside these gadgets' popularity, the Game Boy and a couple of others stepped in. The Generation X's contraptions were superb, without a doubt, until the Sony Play Station series entered the scene, making the pioneer video-games pale in comparison. This is where web plays another crucial role to the 'Dora' generation's advantage (and ours as well). In the past, you had to shell out money for the games, now, you can download the latest version of the SIMS from the net. What more can technological evolution do in the future that could render my era less cool?

Let's Not Count the Candles, Please...

I like the fact that Christmas comes almost right after my own special day.

How come when you're eight, you'd give anything to be eighteen? The moment you finally reach the legal age, you wonder how it feels like to be 21, and when you enter the realm of twenty-somethings, you begin to start thinking if you're too old to do some stuff despite your personal aplomb that you're young enough by most standards.

Several years ago, I was a a Barbie doll-toting, cherry lollipop-sucking nine-year-old, and I didn't give a toss about growing old. As the years unfurled, opportunities thrown at my feet and brazenly explored, I saw how the world tried to shun being labeled as, well, 'old.'

Unless you're a piece of furniture, it's a status symbol to be 'antique.' Humans don't take more candles on their birthday cake kindly. They reveal the real numbers and use every credible anti-wrinkle cream built up by bamboozling advertisers.

In the spirit of turning a year older (and indubitably wiser), I wanted to delve deeper into the ancient fear of aging. Then again, I guess the answers will remain varied and inconcrete since age is nothing but a state of mind. And I'm too young to be tackling gerascophobia, so let's scrap that and celebrate my prolific several years on this crazy planet.

Thank You for Reminding Me I'm Maudlin

Criticisms and praises don't really define you, but rather your reactions towards such. When people comment on your eccentricities, shenanigans or just the average you simply trying to breathe, they tend to create ripples in your life. Obviously, only the ripples you set free can change you for the better or mutate you for the worse.

In terms of pristine sarcasm, I'm not one of the fortunate benumbed ones who can shrug off nasty remarks in the blink of an eye. I learned enough not to let them disable me like there's no tomorrow though. On the other hand, when the admiration comes pouring in, I make it a point to keep my feet on the ground.

In the hodgepodge of malevolent and benign words, modern-day saints and outright bitches, what counts is that there are individuals who willingly take every journey with you. Those who encourage and inspire you without an air of pretense, notwithstanding distance and time.
Okay, before it gets too mawkish, I'd like to thank Ria for passing on this shimmering Friendship Award, which is the sole point of this post:


This plaque represents a connection and a promising alliance that goes beyond writing. I appreciate it to the core.

And as a means of diffusing the love, I give this plaque to friends with noteworthy personas, not to mention their blogs have gist:

• Enchie
• Isabelle
• Bingkee (I know you already have this, but I think you deserve one more)
  

Caution: Some Text May Not Be Visible with IE

An annoying realization hit me whilst revamping my site this morning -- the current template DOES NOT work amicably with Internet Explorer. Bummer!

The sidebar was a horrible mess, a number of captions were missing, the whole page was appallingly out of place. I had no choice but to do minor alterations, which of course, subtly compromised the original concept for refurbishing this domain.

Still, I assure you you'll get a better viewing experience with Firefox. So please upgrade now, now, now!