A Day of Self-Indulgence

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before but we have review classes this summer. It’s taking up 90% of my summer. There’s barely time for a vacation which reminds me, I haven’t blogged about our Holy Week escapade. I’ll get to that soon.

This weekend was a long one considering we had Friday off. I took the opportunity to do something I haven’t found the time for - ombre!

Den and I headed over to Azta Urban Salon at Tomas Morato after lunch to get our  crowning glories pampered. She opted for the Nounou Pak treatment which repairs split ends and protects your hair from sun damage which is perfect this summer.

I‘ve had black hair all my life. Not just black even, it’s really really black so I’m afraid that coloring jobs will take away that natural color. With Ombre coloring, it’s just the bottom part of my hair that gets colored, leaving my roots untouched. There’s an option where can get the top part and the bottom part colored too.

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08:48PM, Apr 14 2012 26 | Comment?

We’re Dancing On The Edge of the Hollywood Sign

It’s customary for high school students to have a Junior-Senior Prom. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to experience prom because I went to an all-girls high school that didn’t hold one for its students. Luckily, I got the chance to experience something quite like it during our graduation ball last March 24.

The ball was held at Grand Terrace, Commonwealth Avenue. Initially, the census was around a hundred fifty guests but it boomed to three hundred plus so it got a little crowded. Either way, the place looked magnificent and so did everyone.

Can you guess what the theme was?

My friends and I started to have our make up done at around 2pm. We ended at around 5:30 and the call time was six! We thought we were extremely late already but when we got to the venue, only half the guests have arrived. Pros? Joren was able to get a parking spot. Cons? We weren’t able to take pictures at the house.

Joren & I at the registration area. I’m holding the rose he gave me at the car. :)

More photos & more about my look after the cut.

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09:17PM, Apr 06 2012 18 | Comment?

Leaving My Undergraduate Days Behind

What better way to start the month of April than by recalling the day of my graduation? The ceremony was held last Friday at the new Quadricentennial Pavilion, UST Sports Complex. The 2012 batch is the first to utilize the area for graduation ceremonies.

This is a photo my dad took before I marched. He’s my very own paparazzi. You’ll see by the different shots throughout this post how crazy he got running around the pavilion with Padawan in hand.

Even after I did the graduation march, I wasn’t feeling as if the day was particularly special. I actually didn’t have any special preparations for the day except making sure I didn’t forget anything vital. I even did my own make up! It wasn’t until I was about to go up the stage that I thought, “this is it!”

I would’ve posted a photo of myself getting pinned but dad’s photo of Joren during the pinning ceremony was better so I’m posting his instead of mine. After the pinning ceremony, we had the imposition of hoods. Here’s my mom putting my hood in place:

All 2012 graduates get this Mission Cross from the school as a graduation gift. A souvenir from our dear Alma Mater, the Royal, Pontifical and Catholic University of Santo Tomas.

Can you find me in this sea of Thomasian graduates?

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09:16PM, Apr 01 2012 29 | Comment?

Walk To The Finish Line

Funny how there are times when only 5 minutes has passed and it already feels like an eternity. Then there are those times when years have passed and yet it feels like it was just yesterday. That was how I felt sitting with my fellow Thomasian graduates during the Baccalaureate Mass last Friday.

An almost complete class picture with our adviser, myself among the casualties

All the colleges were present and had their own thing going. Ours was green glow sticks that Joren and I fondly referred to as light sabers. Hahaha. We also had these makeshift glitter 2012 glasses.

College of Education’s huge mascots

The part I loved the most was the candle-lighting ceremony. There was something that put me in awe when we were chanting our hymn, looking up to the main building with our candles held up high. Whatever it was, it gave me the goosebumps which are not always a bad thing.

The night concluded with our walk out of the Arch of the Centuries. I was telling Joren how he would enter it again during the 2012 Freshmen Walk but that time as a medicine student.

Some might view the conclusion of our college years as the finish line but something tells me it just isn’t over yet. ;)

04:00PM, Mar 30 2012 13 | Comment?

Happy Hunger Games!

Since I couldn’t force Joren to watch the midnight premiere with me or watch at an earlier time in an SM Cinema, I settled with watching The Hunger Games on the 22nd. Thankfully he gave in to my request for the La-Z boy seats. I have a place in my heart for Gateway’s Globe Platinum Cinema whenever I watch a movie I’m highly anticipating but I wanted to try Trinoma’s for a change.

We tried Sureseats for the first time and it was easy peasy. We didn’t even have to line up at the ticket counters when we claimed our tickets.

We had lunch at the food court which now houses Pepper Lunch. Their teriyaki beef with egg is my favorite but I decided to try their classic beef pepper rice today just so I could spam the honey brown sauce.

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08:00PM, Mar 25 2012 24 | Comment?

The City Escape

Fellow Thomasians would know that we had a long break last February 22 extending towards the weekend. The 5 day break may not seem like a big deal to some people but for nursing students who usually have classes on a Saturday, it was like a vacation.

We spent the first day over at a resort in Antipolo. Our favorite attraction? This disco pool complete with party tunes and strobe lights.

There were other pools in the resort as well such as the olympic-sized pool which we had all to ourselves! It was like our very own private pool. 

I‘ve never really been a fan of night swimming since I get chills easily but it was a memorable experience because I had these awesome girls with me.

We went home at around five in the morning. Yes, the morning. I cannot even begin to describe the craziness that went down during those times. When we got home, I thought I would crash on the bed already but we still had the energy to camwhore.

04:00PM, Feb 29 2012 28 | Comment?

Sunday is Family Day

It was on the Sunday after my birthday that I celebrated with my family. It’s the only day of the week where everyone’s free so we reserve it for some much needed time together.

We had lunch at 1521, a Filipino restaurant with witty names like Munggo ng Mayaman and Potchero ni Tankeko. We actually tried the latter and it was very good.

Of course Sputnik had to come along

Top-Bottom: Tinapa Arrabiata (210php), Potchero ni Tankeko (310php), Crispy Pata (I don’t know what they call this) and Leche Flan ala Cosico (120php).

That same day I had dinner out as well but this time with a dinner family, Joren’s. We had dinner at this place that makes hand-pulled noodles called Kanzhu.

Top-Bottom: Beef Tendon Noodle Soup (135php), Siopao (80php) and Chicken Feet (80php)

I love their siomai (85php) and siopao. Definitely coming back for more of that!

By the way, do any of you guys eat chicken feet? I grew up as a child eating this and it’s so strange how many of my friends haven’t tried it. Among the 11 of us who ate at Kanzhu, only 3 of us ate chicken feet.

04:00PM, Feb 01 2012 27 | Comment?