One hot lazy afternoon...

This scorching hot weather seems to be drying me up!

Not only that I grow thirsty every minute, I cant think of anything to write.

I'm suppose to finish a draft about alcohol and drinking, but I can't. I am full of ideas as drinking has been a constant recreation of mine for more than a decade.

I'm supposed to make a Zalora wish list, too. They have this contest for bloggers wherein the winner can have her 5 items from Zalora wishlist. Being a fan of good fashion and a die hard shoe addict, I would like to join.

The thing is, I'm too lazy....

  

And bored...

From a recommendation of my dear friend Cherish, I have discovered what they call the living barbie doll, Valeria Lukyanova , she is making waves these days because of her interesting barbie doll looks:

Here's one of my favorite image of hers:

Most of her looks are creepy, too plastic. I even watched one of her video and got inspired to make an eye-do for today. 

Of course I cannot make a gothic look because later tonight I'll be having video class with a little girl.

I made a wide eyed-look instead: more like Angelina inspired eyes and lips:

Because of the uber hot weather, I cannot wear a good coverage foundation. All I'm wearing is my Myra Vita Glow Moisturizer in ivory.

To make a good set of brows, I used an eyeshadow and applied them with my precious Hugo Boss brow brush.

The dark brown from this Estee Lauder Silky Eyeshadow Duo in Ginger is the one I used for both my brows and my eyelids.

For the base and blush though I have used my ever favorite and reliable palette from Elizabeth Arden. The Color Intrigue warm eye and cheek palette.

I lined my eyes with the rich and creamy Clinique cream shaper for eyes in chocolate luster.

Applied two coats of Estee Lauder Sumptuous mascara, both on my upper and lower lashes, to make my tiny eyes look bigger.

And finally, Clinique high impact lipstick in in a nutshell, to create a nude pout.

There you go! Out of boredom I have answered Cherish's question: "Ate Ja, what's your eyeshadow?" and a lot more... LOL

And I'm happy with the look because it compliments my 

 Miley Cyrus for Max Azria shirt.

The birth of Punk

Though the nickname Punk originated from one of my friends in Duty Free, I can say that Punk was actually born in Dasmariñas, Cavite sometime in the early nineties.

As I remember, I was 5th or 6th grade. That time, Sabang can be considered a very simple countryside barrio. We have electricity, of course, but we don't have telephone lines yet.

And we don't have cable TV! So Dad, who was working as an architect in the Middle East, bought a satellite disk.

It was the coolest thing that I have ever seen!

My brothers and I were the first ones among our circle of friends to watch channels from other countries!

 We have MTV!!!!

How cool was that?!!

 And we also have [V]

We especially liked MTV's top 20 that time. Back then, music is so much cooler.

Music makes sense.

That was the start of my appreciation of rock music. I remember how I patiently wait for Meatloaf's I Would do Anything for Love.

As a child, I didn't find the video scary. I find its gloomy nature enticing and awesome. I watch every detail of it. While other singers just make themselves pretty in front of the camera, this for me was a breakthrough.

 MTV got me.

I know most people won't agree with me with my high regards to Meatloaf. He was just another face. I don't even remember meeting any fans of him. I'm not a fan either. It's just that his music video opened up and widened my views about music and television viewing.

The world is not as sissy as I thought.

Then came Aerosmith's sizzling hot 'Amazing' video. It was really cool! The concept is great, the guy is sooo hot! and Alicia Silverstone is such a goddess!
That was when I asked dad to buy me a cassette tape. My very first one: Get a Grip.

Then Kurt Cobain died, then came a new set of influences: Seattle grunge  bands!
Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Candlebox and later Bush (fronted by uber hot Gavin Rossdale).

And as wikipedia puts it:Grunge  is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged as a fusion of punk, alternative, and heavy metal during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song dynamics, and apathetic or angst-filled lyrics. The grunge aesthetic is stripped-down compared to other forms of rock music, and many grunge musicians were noted for their unkempt appearances and rejection of theatrics.

from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grunge

The last sentence may be the reason why up until now, I'm so stuck with grunge and 90's alternative music. It never dies.

Attitude never dies.

It's not about beauty or skills or how much an effin' guitar cost, it's about expression and freedom. 

And this is how Punk was born.

My Nerd Days

Having a new student who books for free talking classes is indeed a blessing for me. Not only that it adds to my bread and butter, I LOVE talking. I love talking about anything under the sun. I love talking to the point that sometimes my family finds me way too annoying.

I have let out Miss Smarty Pants a little too much, so the student was impressed and somehow asked me that he'll ask some help in writing his paper about the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)! Oh for Christ's sake!

I think I have heard about that, so I might take a look at it on the internet to learn a thing or two.

As I remember, NATO was associated with the United Nations and all I need is a short trip to Wikipedia to refresh my memory once more. As I skimmed through the details, something unexpected happened:

I found myself reunited with my old nerd self. Memories that I have long tried to erase flooded and made it's way through all the information overload that I'm getting reading NATO and UN stuff. I remember Janice, the nerd.

Yes, that was me. I was the class valedictorian of Sabang Elementary School Batch '94. I was a NERD! I join all sort of inter-school quiz bees. Math, Science, History... name it!
They know me as someone who always brings trophies and medals to the school. And here I am now, holding a bottle of Jack Daniel's Whiskey instead.

While nowadays I frequent bars and gigs, most of my childhood is spent in the school library or in a vacant room with my coach preparing for an upcoming quiz bee.

I wonder where did they kept my trophies that I have won in those contests, or whether they ever kept them for so long. I should've taken them with me when I graduated. 

Or is it just a good idea not to hold on to those? Those are reminders of what my parents thought to be my glory days.

They aren't.
They may have brought honor and pride to my parents. Those trophies may have made me known, not only in our school but in other public elementary schools as well where I compete.

I do admit that during those times I thought that being the smartest in class is the best thing that can ever happen to a student. I realized after a few years that I have missed out on a lot of things:

What I really want during those years is to join the school programs, dance to the tune of 'My Girl", do the things the AngTV kids do, learn to skate, play Nintendo, ride a bike, or just be a kid, just like everybody else.

Though I get to play a few rounds of chinese garter and jack's stone, but only after I finished reviewing for an upcoming competition.

I cannot say that I was deprived of a happy childhood, it's just that I was so shielded from the outside world, I didn't know what "cool" means.

 

My idea of being the best back then was to be the smartest. I have to be number one in class. I have to be provincial champion for the United Nations quiz bee, though deep in my heart I want to be Miss United Nations instead.

While nowadays, one of my ultimate dreams is to be in a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert, back then joining David Celdran in Battle of the Brains is my greatest dream.

Some people might wonder where's the nerd Janice now? Some might like my old self better. Mothers may wish to have a very smart child, one who always bring home the bacon in any inter-school competition.

Sorry to disappoint folks, Janice is now Janis.

Along with my changing of name comes a change in perspective. I want to live life to the fullest and have fun, expressing myself rather than impressing others.

Well, learning is a life-long process and I'm still interested in learning lots of things. There are still tons of trivia yet to be known, and I'm a voracious reader until now.

As I age, I have learned that there are lots of things to learn from cool people. Being exposed to rock musicians and the underground music scene makes me realize that smart people actually come in interesting packages: goateed, pierced, tattooed.

I may not have lived up to the expectations that such wizz kid would turn out to be very successful in life. Others, like my mom would have want me to be a CEO or something. 
Of course I want to be a hot shot someday, but this is who I turned out to be.

I'm just living a mediocre life. And I am so damn happy!

A Little Reflection for Holy Week

I'm supposed to write something about alcohol and drinking for this week's blog post. However, with regards and respect to Catholic traditions in the Philippines I skipped the topic and will not publish such until after lent.

As always, I don't want to sound preachy, I don't want to be too anarchist either. Let's just say that I'm in stand-bye mode (bait baitan), plain and simple: no okrays, no patola, no lady gaga make-up, no bitterness whatsoever.

What I'm trying to say is that, it is not about the food we eat but on how we live our lives. How can we consider eating seafood a sacrifice when they are more expensive than meat?

God does not want us to hurt ourselves but He will be more than happy if He can see us helping each other. That, for me is better than hurting oneself in the streets by lashing. 

Both images below are amazing, the efforts and devotion of these men doing penitensya is really astonishing. Whatever drives them into this kind of religious vow is something huge.

However, if we will take a look into the second picture and see what the old man did. It was relatively simple and easy. But what matters is how this simple act helped the homeless girl. And how, this picture touched others to do good as it circulated in the internet.

Okay, the whipping and self infliction of pain can be a moving act. You may inspire others to repent. But in most cases, it doesn't. Others may be amazed, shocked or even entertained, but believe me, it will not do any good to others.

I am not saying that they are doing something wrong, I'm not in the position to judge their beliefs. This is how religion brought most of us up. Though most devotees do it with good intentions, others still take advantage and exploit such traditions.

I wish everyone a blessed week, and, though old religious folks forbid us to enjoy, I still hope that everyone will find great time with our families.

*this is my point of view, at any point that you disagree or felt that I have offended one way or another, do let me know. I might learn a thing or two from your comments.

Korean Food Trip

'twas a rainy Saturday, March 24th. An unlikely day for me to go out, and in an unfamiliar place to hang around, too. The place is not very far, but I have little clue about the convenient transportation route going there.

      Well, this doesn’t sound like Janis at all, but I used to belong in a Christian church youth fellowship. Believe it, or not ;)

      I met Kuya Obeth when I was in high school when I joined the youth group. After a few years, Ate Lorna came into our church and become one of our advisers. The two of them always give advice to me, as well as other members of the youth group.

     

      After a while, I got busy with other things, school and friends, hanging around in gigs, and later got a job in Manila. Time came when I no longer fit in the youth group’s nice image and I don’t attend those fellowships anymore. Later, I heard that Kuya Obeth doesn’t go to the same church anymore and has been very busy managing several canteens and other businesses. Ate Lorna stayed and continued guiding the new generation of youth members.

      Thanks to technology and the internet, I found them on facebook. By November of last year, we planned to go out and bond, though the original plan is to gather as many youth fellowship members as possible. That plan took four months to finalize.

      So, here we are, finally. I was uber excited to see them! The place is called M Bul Go Gi, located at the lower level of Terraza Dasma, Robinson’s Place in Dasmariñas, Cavite.

      This is not a review whatsoever of the place and the food. I’m not very good in publicly criticizing things. This is all about the wonderful experience of eating out with my long-lost friends.

 

      Kuya Obeth knows a lot about Korean Food. He has been an English teacher for Korean students for a long time. Most of the time he eats out with his Korean students, and he stays in Dasmariñas, where a lot of Koreans live. Some of them are students while others are businessmen and executives of some manufacturing companies.

      This is my first time to ever eat in a Korean restaurant, though they don’t categorize themselves as one. Said they are just fast food.

      I must agree that the interior fits a fast food outlet, as well as the reasonably priced menu.

       But the service is really nice as well as the taste and quality of the food, unlike most fast food outlets. 

      The first thing that Kuya Obeth ordered is Samgyeopsal. Pork slices grilled on a hot plate with slices of onion and garlic. This is very yummy. It should be eaten in a particular way: on a lettuce leaf, wrap a piece of pork, slice of onion, garlic and chilli pepper, season with dipping sauce of soybean chilli pepper paste and sesame oil. Then pop it all in your mouth. Yum Yum...

      Another exciting dish is a common Korean street food, tukbokki or dukbokki, mainly served as a snack or appetizer. It consists of rice cakes, fish cakes, spicy sauce, some leafy vegetables and sprinkles of sesame seeds. It is very yummy and filling. Something that I look forward to eating again soon.

      Kimbap or gimbap is another popular street food. It is a bit similar to a sushi roll. A bit bigger, though. I was really excited for this one, mainly because I have been fond of Japanese food for a long time. It was nice and I liked it, however I like maki better because of the wasabi dip.

        Using the chopsticks is also a challenge in handling these big sized sushi rolls. The stainless steel sticks are not very easy to use compared to the flat wooden ones. And I’m holding the camera, so forgive me for the uber close-up.

     Bulgogi may be the yummiest of all the food that I have tasted that night. Thinly sliced beef seasoned just right. Sweet, savoury, aromatic, I don’t know. I’m not very good in describing taste specifically. It can be compared to my favourite Jap dish beef tepanyaki. It is sweeter and doesn’t have the sharpness of onion leeks, it is unique in its own way. Due to my excitement, I already have enough kimbap, dukboki and ramyun (which were served before the bulgogi), I have to take the order of bulgogi home and share with Ricky. 

      We have ate what seemed to be too much for three people. We are all full and satisfied.

      After our meal, we were handed some markers so that we can write something on their walls. I actually took the opportunity to plug my recently created blog and wrote the address near one of the dinner tables, hoping that out of curiosity someone might take a look. And as promised, I made a post. The waiter even took our picture so that they can stick it up next to our handwriting, which I doubt they would remember where.

      Kuya Obeth promised that we will eat again next time and in a better restaurant. They told me about a place near De La Salle, said that the ambiance is more Korean, hence more authentic experience. Though I’m looking forward to it, I’m pretty sure that this night will be more memorable. The food is good, but seeing two friends is so much better.

      Oh this is so goddamned wholesome, I’ll be sick. But for the love of friendship I'll be serious this time. I dedicate this post to my dear friends, Lorna and Robert.

SMOKING: I want to, but I just don’t know how.

           I don’t smoke, though in this picture you can see me holding a stick.

          You might as well guess what the scenario is. Well you just have to guess who among my friends has a strict parent (or husband), and fair enough, “Janis looks like the smoking type, so might as well hold this cigarette for me”.

            It is not the first time that happened, but this is the only evidence I got ;).

I have been with a bunch of sweet-looking cigarette smokin’ gals who are ashamed or afraid to let people see them smoking or holding a lit one. So, Punk always comes in to the rescue.

            Only two of these beautiful ladies don’t smoke. And would you believe I am one of the two? With the image that I have, the party gurl, rocker chick, hot babe that I’m projecting, well who would have guessed that I’m nicotine-free.

I’m not trying to preach against smoking.

I’m not encouraging it either. It’s just that, I don’t know how! I really want to learn how to smoke. It looks good and glamorous and cool, oh my God, and it’s a good reason to go out for a few minutes. “tara, yosi break!” And when I’m upset, I just can go out and smoke, take a deep breath, curse a little, smoke, deep breath again, then smoke again... and on and on it goes.

Johnny Depp can make even the most mundane activity super cool and sexy... yes, playing a piano is something, but who else on earth can make smoking such a big deal? Only Johnny! A bunch of guys can strip tease in front of me and I won’t be giving them a damn if Johnny will be there doing nothing but smoke a cigarette.

I’m not sure if Ricky can pull it off just like dear Johnny, or late great Kurt.

Though I don’t have information if Alanis Morissette do smoke, she makes flicking a cigarette sound really cool, as cool as giving a peace sign.

Those are just a few reasons, and I shall say shallow ones, why I’m dying to learn to smoke. The reasons why I SHOULDN’T still outweigh all of the above, and here they are:

Yes, I’m aware of it. And I’m really afraid of that kind of death. In my opinion, the consequences of smoking is worse than what I’m doing, speeding helmet-less in my scooter that doesn’t have a brake. If at any moment I crash, I get to spare myself of that slow and painful death PRINCE (cigarette) warns us about. I’m not gonna post those gross pictures of body parts damaged by smoking, I’m pretty sure we’ve all seen them flooding our facebook news feed to warn smokers of the bad effects.

Another, and I guess one of the biggest factors, is that in my family nobody smokes. My dad and all of my grown-up brothers don’t smoke. Well I just hope that the youngest, Jerome wouldn’t. But if he feels like it, then it’s up to him. I myself wanted to, but was just very “unfortunate” not to learn how.

It would be quite a shame if I’m be the only daughter in our family and I’ll be the first one to smoke.

Dad said he didn’t smoke by choice. It was not an easy choice to make since he grew up in a tobacco farm. The turning point would be a story when he was thirteen years old. Said he wanted to try smoking, just like his grown-up cousins. Grandpa caught him, locked him up in a storage barn and gave him a pack of cigarettes, said that he cannot go out until he finished smoking all of them.

Though I found out that the story was exaggerated back then, what’s actually happened is that when he got caught, Grandpa lectured him about the bad effects of smoking and asked him how can a young boy in a farm would afford to buy such vices. Grandpa actually set himself as an example, a bad example. After the lecture, he gave dad some cigarettes which he refused because of shame. He didn’t light a stick since.

Smoking may not kill me instantly. Abstaining, on the other hand doesn’t assure me of a long life. I have to make a choice that will at least extend my life long enough to see little Siouxsie grow into a beautiful lady.