More than blessed: My 27th Birthday

27 years and counting...I have been more than blessed in the past 27 years of my life and I am so ready for more! I can't thank God even more for bringing me where I am now. I got my family (though was faced with multiple challenges in the past) who has always been there to support me. I've got a lot of mentors who have taught me a lot in this life. And of course, the best set of friends anyone could have.

Looking back, it has never been an easy ride. I've been through a lot of challenges, and a lot of instances where I tried to prove myself to people. But growing up, I have learned that I shouldn't do things to please people, I should do what I want and what I think is right, with or without the approval of others. There will always be people who will judge you no matter what you do and you don't owe them any explanation for being who you are. I would always be thankful of my past experiences because they made me stronger and more knowledgeable about life.

I couldn't be any luckier because just before I turned 27, I have already graduated from my Masters Degree, I got a new job that's more than I have prayed for, and I still have my family, friends, and God on my side. My 27th so far was indeed one of the most memorable birthdays I've ever had. Here's how I spent it:

April 23 - Dinner with my girl friends in Cafe Mary Grace, Greenbelt

April 24 - Wine and cheese with a few friends in Las Flores, BGC

with Ana and Gary (my older friends :p)

April 24-25 - When the clock ticked 12, I was surprised by my friends with cake and sparklers at Privé Luxury Club. A friend even bought me bottles for my guests. Thanks to Wonderland Thursdays (Models' Night) at Privé and to their photographer, Rich Sarto for always taking nice photos of us in the club.

my sweetest girl friend, Angelia

royciepoisie (must be "i" instead of "y" haha)

Lady and Dianne

with my good friend, Lady

my beauty queen friends

girl friends forever

new friends, Lady's co-models/beauty queens

for keeps! pretty ladies :)

thanks Gary for the champagne! :)

Then at night, my bestfriend and I just had dinner at a Japanese resto in Glorietta.

I also saw Anna, my sorority sister ('cause she works with my BFF)

April 26 - My Morning Crew family (friends whom I met through CrossFit) had a get-together and they surprised me with a Starbucks cake that night.

Morning Crew at Marga's place

happy kid :)

Since my family was abroad, I didn't get to celebrate with them. That's why I've been extra thankful to my friends for making my birthday extra special. They're definitely for keeps!

Now I'm ready for another awesome year! Bring it on! :)

CloseUp Forever Summer: Alesso in Manila

I've been so busy that I'm posting this entry really late. I just wanna share our Alesso experience at the CloseUp Forever Summer held in Globe Circuit City last April 5.

I got a free ticket from one of my bestfriends who got it from Unilever. I went there with my friends who love to party. Some of them even flew in from Bacolod and Iloilo just to party as Alesso spins live.

Had lo load up with a medium-sized bottle of Bushmills Irish whisky prior the show as the drinks in the venue would be very expensive and a lot in demand. So we got in during the set of DJ Ace Ramos, one of the country's sought after DJs, and also a friend of ours. Next who played was Helena, but I wasn't really familiar about her so I didn't really pay much attention during her set. I spent that time mingling with my friends instead.

my boy buds: Dennis & Arvin

Bushmills

at first I thought I was drinking alcohol, but it was purely juice LOL!

it was my friend Ecel's birthday

Then it was Alesso's set. The crowd went crazy, most especially the kids. Well by kids I meant, the high school and college students who were all dressed up like "close to naked"  (for girls) and like "macho without the muscles" (boys) LOL. I wonder why these kids are in a rush growing up. But I'm glad that even if I am 10 or more years older than them, they still look older than me. HAHA! Well that's probably because I wasn't in a rush when I was their age. Anyway, Alesso was good and popular but quite overrated. I think he's a hype these days 'cause of his music that has gone mainstream and is being continuously patronized by the youth. He produces EDM (electronic dance music), which I can say is actually today's music. To my ears it sounds like an electronic pop, pop house, progressive house pop, techno pop or something like pop + (insert another genre here). EDM is one of the genres I listen to a lot, and that's probably why I came out to attend this event.

fireworks :)

Alesso

top from H&M, shoes from Vans

party peeps!

my bodyguards: Puch & Elmer (LOL)

My driver and PA: Arvin & Dennis (LOL)

 But I must admit, I felt ecstatic as Alesso played "City of Dreams" and "If I Lose Myself", my top two faves. Of course, there's "Years", "Calling", and his collaboration with Calvin Harris, "Under Control". He also introduced his latest mix, "Sweet Escape".

Manila-Bacolod-Iloilo friends

Alesso's set took more than an hour. He was then followed by Deniz Koyu, the last DJ to perform that night. I wasn't really much familiar of him before, but I was surprised how good he was when he played there. Since a lot were not familiar of him, 20-30% of the crowd has already disappeared before he even started his set. But I was glad my friends and I stayed 'cause we enjoyed dancing to his music. With 30mins left on his set, my friends and I already left to avoid traffic. We also headed to Rufo's Famous Tapa at Makati Avenue for some quick early breakfast.

Now officially ticking Alesso off my must-see DJs list. Must now continue my quest for Hardwell. :)

VOTE for ANGELIA ONG as MS. MANILA PEOPLE'S CHOICE 2014

Hi everyone, I hope you could support my good friend, Angelia Ong as she joins Miss Manila 2014. We'll need your help so she could win the People's Choice award.

To vote for her, just type, MManila 9 and send to 5656 (Smart and Sun subscribers only). 

Coronation night is on June 24 at the PICC. See you there!

Please spread the word! Thank you so much!!!:)

Top 5 Reasons Why You'll Love HEADWARE

Headware is definitely a must-have! Here are the top 5 reasons why you'll love Headware:

5. It chooses no gender. No matter what your gender is, Headware is for you!

4. There are many designs and colors to choose from.

3. It's very useful, most especially for those who love the outdoors.

2. It is a fashion statement.

1. Hey, there are 21 ways you can wear Headware!

For more info, visit www.theheadware.com

Thanks Headware!:)



xoxo,

city girl

Clean & Clear: Certified Made for Teens

Thanks to Clean & Clear for this colorful loot!

Clean & Clear is certified made for teens!

Clean & Clear Foaming Facial Wash

With antibacterial ingredients that are effective in drawing out impurities for a really clean and refreshed face.

You'll love the rich lather that is really gentle on the skin so it doesn't leave you feeling dry.

Clean & Clear Fruit Essentials Brightening Lemon

This unique gel formula contains anti-bac ingredients that fight teen skin problems (like pimples, blackheads, and oil) without drying your skin. Plus it has lemon bursting beads that brighten overall skin tone leaving your skin so bright.

Clean & Clear Fruit Essentials Energizing Berry

This unique gel formula contains anti-bac ingredients that fight teen skin problems (like pimples, blackheads, and oil) without drying your skin. Plus it has berry bursting beads that leave a fun sensation on your skin, leaving your skin energized.

FMFA 2014 Experience: Day 3 Cancelled

The trip could've been perfect, but FMFA Day 3 got cancelled and it kinda ruined everything. It was cancelled even after it has already started due to some deaths of attendees that occurred the previous night. Apparently, some people got overdosed on party pills at the ASOT650 night so the Malaysian police insisted on the cancellation of Day 3. They even promised to give us a refund of 1/3 of the ticket price. However, we didn't think Day 3 was worth 1/3 of the total ticket price because it was the day with the most loaded and the best line up supposedly. If I would assess, that's worth 60% of the ticket.

the commotion outside the event grounds

Anyway, we just decided to move on from what happened so we all headed to Bukit Bintang to have some food trip. From there, some of us headed back to the hotel while some of us checked out Zouk. Apparently, it's too crowded there so we just ended up at an Irish pub for a chill session. I was surprised to see how expensive the liquors and cigarettes there. I think it's because it's a Muslim country and that they discourage vices. We even became friends with the Filipina waitress there.

in the train on our way to Bukit Bintang

Bukit Bintang

streetfood dinner

group photo at Petronas

our first out of the country trip together

Petronas Twin Towers at night

third wheelin' this couple at an Irish pub

Ate Mylene, the Pinay waitress all dressed up for St. Patrick's

The next day, we transferred to the Arenaa Star Hotel, where Angelia and Mark checked in 'cause they're staying at KL longer. Then we had lunch at a nearby cafe called Lokl and they served us really good food. Anyway, a Chinese friend I met in Seoul who's based in Kuala Lumpur met up with me there. She took us in the hawker's place in Bukit Bintang at Hotung in the basement of Lot 10 Mall. She said, that food court houses the best food  choices from all over Malaysia. Since she wanted us to try the best ones, she took charge in ordering food and even paying for the bill. In fact, it's an advantage that we went there as a group because we got to try and share more dishes together.

Lunch at Lokl

my friend June from KL

the best dishes of Malaysia under one roof!

After our early dinner, we went shopping at H&M (one of my mandatory stops in every country I go to); then we headed back to the hotel, got our stuff, and went straight to the airport to catch our flight back to Manila.

off to the airport

It's not one of the best trips I had, but I realized, fun really comes from the people's you're with. Sometimes it's not about what you do and where you go that matters most, but who you're traveling with. I was just thankful that I went there with a fun-loving group of people so the cancellation of Day3 wasn't really that bad at all.

I couldn't present much in detail how much I've spent on this trip like how I used to do in my previous travel posts, but so far, I was actually able to survive with a really low budget. Here's a quick rundown of my expenses in peso:

Airfare - Php 7,000
Festival Tickets - Php 5,000
Hostel - Php 1,500
Food, Transpo, etc. - Php 5,000
Replacement Battery for my Camera - Php 2,000
Shopping - Php 1,500
Total: Php 22,000

And of course, thanks to my friends for some free food and booze.:)

I'm not sure if I would ever plan again a trip to KL, but probably my next trip to Malaysia will be just to visit Legoland and that might happen in one of my trips to Singapore soon.


xoxo,

city girl