30 Seconds to Mars in Manila

      They say that the best things in life are free. And can I just say that last Friday was a testimony to that. Last Friday was the much-awaitd 30 Seconds to Mars in Manila Concert at the Trinoma Open Parking Lot. It was July 29, right in between my mom and baby brother's birthday. A month before the concert, Mariel and I decided not to go for we had so many things to pay for around that date -- Harry Potter Screening, Harry Potter Shirts, etc. Also, I was thinking that I would have to go home that Friday so we can celebrate my mom's and brother's birthdays. So I made peace in my heart that I wasn't gonna see Jared Leto in all his glory. Mariel and I have been fans of 30STM since we were in high school... way back when they weren't as popular.
      So anyway, the day before the concert, my friend Mado posted on Plurk that she had 2 free tickets to the concert. A friend of ours, July, got complimentary tickets from work, but he wasn't a fan of the band so he just gave it to Mado. I joked to her that she take me with her instead, and by the end of the day, I was officially Mado's date to the concert. Would you believe it, my first ever FREE CONCERT!!
      On the day of the concert, I lined up in front of Conti's at around 2:30 PM and Mado just arrived around an hour before the gates opened. I think I was the 20th person in line and my 4-hour waiting time was all worth it, for we were right at the barricade in front of the stage.

       
Mado and I in line outside concert grounds and a baller I got while waiting in line
      I was so happy we decided to buy raincoats for the concert for it was raining the entire week. As soon as we got to our place in the ground, the rain never stopped pouring the entire night. But can I just say, as soon as the concert started, it was like Mado and I forgot that we were together. We just spent the entire time staring at Jared and singing along with him.
      Despite our raincoats and zip lock for our cameras and phones, by the end of the concert, we were both soaking wet that our fingers were like raisins and we looked we just came out of the shower with all our clothes on. It was such a hassle 'coz we had to change our clothes for Carlo's birthday celeb in Malate (BTW, it was my first time to go to a gay club, and can I just say I had so much fun). But all I can say is that it was all worth it, especially since we didn't pay for our tickets. HAHAHA

       
Jared in all his glory, my ticket got torn and disintegrated after getting wet inside my back pocket

      Although the band only played around a dozen songs, I still think it was all worth it. I mean, Jared's and everybody else's energy level were so high I doubt it if I could've lasted the rest of the night if they did 20 songs. Jared Leto was so amazing I could've cried. He was a performer, more than anything else. If all singers were as good as him in terms of performance, I would lose all my money, just buying concert tickets.

My childhood has ended

      After 9 3/4 years, the last installment of the Harry Potter Series was finally released a couple of days ago. Although I've seen it twice already in the past couple of days, I'm still in denial. I don't think I can formulate the words I felt, ever. I probably won't watch it again for another 5 years or so, and even then I won't be able to explain it. There's just too many emotions and reactions for me to write about it. All I know is that my childhood has ended. We really have to move on... but I don't want to.

Mariel, Michi and I wearing our Harry Potter shirts during the UP LSAA Block Screening of HP 7.2
Photo taken by Sir Igor

What's mine is mine.

      You're not the boss of me. I don't have to answer to you or anybody else for that matter. This is my project. It was my project before you came along and got yourself in that position -- a position that was supposed to be mine. However, you being in that position doesn't give you the right to take this away from me. I've worked hard on this for months. You do not just go strutting around and taking it away. Tough luck for you, but I don't really care. So why don't you just stick your butt where it belongs and leave me alone?

SLIS@50 Opening Ceremonies

      I know it's lame and all, but I'm really proud of this event. Our team labored ourselves for almost a whole month preparing for this. We even stayed 'til 10PM in the Main Lib just to finish with the prep. I'm not complaining though. The event was such a success and all the pagod was worth it. We had so much fun during the prep and our guests really appreciated our efforts. Although I ended up crying over something worthless and being worn out, it was all worth it. The amount of people who attended and the smiles on their faces made up for everything.

SLIS@50 Log and Exhibit People the night before the event
Photo taken by Sir Igs

      But what I'm really really proud of was the programme for the event. Ma'am Rhea said that the programme will also serve as a souvenir in a way for the attendees so it had to be kinda bongga. Given our limited budget, I figured we couldn't spend much and time should also be considered since we had other stuff to do first. So I came up with this foldable thing. It opens up to show with the programme itself printed inside.

SLIS@50 Opening Ceremonies Programme made by yours truly

      I know it might look easy to make and all, but really it's not. I had to make three prototypes before getting it right. It was really hard with the logo since Photoshop auto-centers the image when you paste it on the page when I didn't really need it to be. Plus, my OCD was attacking me that week so I really needed to make it right. Not just because it would be handed out to 150 people during registration. lol

      After this event, all I can say is that I can now be a professional events planner. LOL I can even do the invitations for the event! Hahaha Anyone hiring?

X-men + Super 8 + The Hangover II + shopping

      FYI, I didn't watch all three movies in one day. Although it's not such a bad idea, staying in the mall all day hopping from one movie to another without paying for any of it. Michi, Mariel and I watched X-men First Class on Tuesday. Mariel and I had been on a movie hiatus since summer classes ended. I went home to Bataan and Mariel went to Beijing for a week. So as soon as we got back in Manila, we really wanted to catch up on the movies we've missed.



      So yes, X-Men. Well, people we're raving about it for the past few weeks on how awesome it was and after Tuesday I think I'm gonna say that I'm not one of them. I mean, yes the movie was informative in a sense on how everything started like how Professor X and Magneto drifted apart besides that one was evil and the other was good. It also showed where they met/found everybody else. But aside from that, it was like a doomed love story between Charles and Eric.
      They had so many gay/bestfriend moments we couldn't help but mock and laugh at them. The part when Eric was gonna leave and Charles stopped him, saying "You are not alone," we ended up singing You are Not Alone by Michael Jackson. And the part when they both cried, Charles sympathizing with Eric's horrible childhood memories, we laughed so hard I think the guy sitting in front of us got mad or something. But how can you not laugh at that?!? HAHAHA Everytime they both showed up we were whispering "McBender" to each other.
      I think the part that I really liked about it was when Charles tried out the cerebro and they started looking for other mutants; the part where they showed young Storm for like a split second and the other. My favorite was when they found Logan/Wolverine and he just said "Go fuck yourself" or something. Hahaha Very Wolverine of him.

      Today (Friday), Mariel and I planned on going shopping after paying for our tuition. I wanted to buy new pants and maybe a top or something to start off the school year. Mariel already a 2 pairs of pants on Tuesday on a sudden shopping urge after our movie, which I was not prepared so I said that she had to come with me when I go shopping. However, today turned out to be more than a shopping day for us. We ended up watching 2 movies, shopping and watched a little bit of Up Dharma Down's gig in Trinoma before we went home.



      We were just in time for Super 8 so after buying our food from Sbarro, we headed straight to the cinema. The movie, although had a not so unique plot, it was kind of funny having kids search for some alien/governmment secret instead of some duded with a dumb blonde on the side. It's funny how they react differently to the events/information that they find throughout the movie.
      What I liked about the movie though, are the actors. The kids were so funny and cute that it was kind of a preview of matinee idols 10 years from now. Joel Courtney who played the lead kid/guy really reminded me of Emile Hirsch. Oh and that hat kid on Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium was there too. :)
      But what really amazed me was how alike and different Elle Fanning is from Dakota. It's funny 'coz there were parts where you realize that Elle and Dakota have the same acting styles, although Dakota really is better after all those years of practice and stuff. And it's actually nice that their genre of films/roles differ so they kind of avoid being compared to each other. I mean Dakota has forever been a drama/serious actress and Elle is into the younger/action type of roles. So it's nice for Elle to be going off to a different direction and not be so overshadowed by Dakota's fame. :)
      After watching Super 8, we went straight back to the tcketing counter to buy tickets for The Hangover II. We had a 30-minute break which we spent on going to Powerbooks for me to buy the 2nd of the Mysterious Benedict Society Series, The Perilous Journey and went back to the movies later.



      Hangover II, well what else can you say besides that it was hilarious? I mean, the things that happened to them like the first one makes you wanna second guess about the ramifications of drinking and how f*cked up one night can get. But the way the movie presents it makes you think how awesome it was and that you kinda wanna be that hammered and all just to see what you might do. I can't really say which one was better, the first or this one 'coz all the shit that happened to them were entirely different given the different location and stuff. But just like the first movie, I think the best really were Mr. Chow and Allen. They were so funny and gross and weird all at the same time you can't help but love them.

      After the movies, we then proceeded to shopping for clothes and other stuff. There were so much stuff to buy we couldn't help but feel sad that we didn't have enough money to buy the stuff we want. I ended up buying a pair of pants, same as one the pairs Mariel bought last Tuesday and a new compact powder + the book from earlier in the day. Oh and yes, we did catch like 2 songs of Up Dharma Down while they were playing in Trinoma while we were walking back to the carpark. And can I just say Armie Millare has one of the most wonderful female voices in the Philippines. :D *insert fangirl flail*

      Okay, have to go start on my book now. :D

For the Love of the Game

      So Roland Garros started this week, thus marks the start of my yearly tennis insanity. Every year, my dad and I stay up 'til wee hours of the night to watch major Tennis tournaments live. Our favorite is Roger Federer and although Maria Sharapova doesn't win, we still always watch her games just to see her play with so much poise in her awesome outfits.
      I don't play tennis btw. My lungs simply cannot handle that much running for the ball and all. But for so years, my dad and I have always been fans of the game. We stayed 'til around 3AM watching Nadal - Federer fight for the 2007 French Open Finals. We know that clay really isn't Roger's forte, but we still love watching them battle.
      This year's Roland Garros has started out kind of disappointing for Tennis fans. First, the Williams sisters announced they weren't playing. Then, Ana Ivancovic loses on the first round. And Kim Clijsters, who was No. 1, now No. 2 in the World got eliminated in the 2nd round. However, this year also promises a good one for the newcomers, especially Caroline Garcia who's only 17. She had a game versus Maria Sharapova last night and although she lost, she still has a promising career ahead of her. I mean, even Andy Murray said on Twitter that she's good. I just hope that things pick up in tennis this year, unlike last year's Wimbledon which pretty much sucked.

      Our cable provider usually has Balls Channel so we usually watch on TV for tennis matches. However, this year, we do not seem to have it so I settled for live stream on the net. So for the next week, my nights will probably revolve around tennis and nothing else. With a pitcher of iced tea and popcorn beside me, I'm probably all set. :D Here's to hoping that this year's tennis season would be a good one!

      Have to end it here now. Must go back watch Federer kick Tipsarevic's ass. :D

Greenhills errands..

  nbsp   A couple of weeks ago, my parent sent me to Greenhills to buy stuff for my titas in the States. One of my uncles was home for a couple of weeks and my titas had some bilins.

• pearl necklaces, earrings and bracelets;
• daing at tuyo;
• corned beef and butter imported from New Zealand, 'coz apparently mas mahal sa States; and
• Tita Paring's Suman

Tita Paring's Suman comes in a plane-approved box
      My Tita Becky's friend Tita Anabelle told her about it and said that it was really good. It was kind of famous to Filipinos who live abroad. She told my mom about it and we actually tried it in one of our many Greenhills trips. Hmmm, how do I put this... well it wasn't to die for. Or maybe because we live in the Philippines and we eat suman every once in a while so we didn't find it special.
      So back to my story, the day my Kuya's flight to Kuwait, I went to Greenhills to buy the pearls and the suman. It was easy buying the pearls 'coz Mariel and I went there the week before already. After that, I went on to buy the suman for my titas. I bought a dozen suman for P500 for my titas and another one for me, for P45. I thought maybe I would like it the second time around. :)

suman for P45 each
      And guess what, the suman brought me more nuissance than satisfaction. When I was about to get in the MRT, the guard asked me to open the box of suman, which was packed already by the restaurant/cafe. The guard didn't even help me open the box. He just handed me a cutter to open the box and packaging tape to reseal it. Plus, he didn't even spend 2 seconds looking at the contents of the box. And then by the time I got to MRT Trinoma Station, it was raining so hard, the platform was flooding already.
      So I took a cab to prevent mydelf and the box from getting wet, but by the time the cab reached Parks and Wildlife along North Ave., it wasn't raining anymore. The cab driver even joked that it was storming in Trinoma only... yeah, funny. When I got home, I readily opened the suman. I only had brunch at 10AM that day.

Tita Paring's Suman Latik

      The saddest thing about it was that I realized I didn't really like the suman. I think that the reason it became famous is that not many people sell/make suman latik anymore. The only thing I liked about it was the sweetened latik sauce you pour over the suman itself. Haha I guess you have to be away from the Philippines for years to appreciate the food. LOL