DIY: Mini-Traffic Cone

Ok! I am currently in one of those good moods towards wedding preps. I need to strike while the iron is hot! yay!

So last night I made one of my fantasies into reality - my very own mini-Traffic Cone paper mache!

Sorry for the picture resolution, I just used my phone camera. And it is still a work in progress.
I also need to secure D approval for this one. Oh yeah he is in charge for everything male-related. :)

What's this for? Hmm I can't really tell now. I have so many ideas on how to use it. Wait and see.

unleashing the fangirl

DISCLAIMER: Brace yourself for some fangirl post. :)

I seldom get artista crushes. I find it weird for people to go gaga over someone they just see on TV. In fact, my cousin branded me kontrabida every time I made fun of her because she went to this Hanson fans club's meet and greet. And how she went crazy every time Hanson brothers were in town. IMO, just get the real deal. I mean, get someone who can notice a commoner like you. Fairytales only happen in movie, so I speak. Oh well, to each his own.

Not until I noticed this guy from The Morning Rush with Chico and Delamar. Oohh not Chico! hahaha.

BTW, I am an avid fan of rxtmr for as long as forever. Just give me FM radio or internet, you can see me laughing my ass off Chico's sleazy jokes and Delle's innocent retorts. I regret that I'm not listening the day Delle announced her pregnancy, but I was there when the new guy filled in. That was Gino leaving the Awesome Twosome with Fran to join the show. I was surprised that the new 'loveteam' clicked like crazy! I was loving every day of their gay-ness. When Delle returned from maternity leave, I was afraid that the Chichi and Gigi tandem might be over. But yay! Gino stayed! And so then the birth of the Kikay Barkada. As well as the creation of my twitter account @yoshyin.

emo attack :S

'Coz I'm missing you so bad now that you're not by my side
I guess you could say it's me who's hurting so bad 
After all this time, after all that we've been through
Baby aren't you hurtin' too?

Haaaayyyyyy. :S

My emotions right now. No details whatsoever. Read between the lines.

#wrongtiming

This is not a wedding post. But somehow, there is a connection.

4 years in the IT industry and all I ever wanted was to be deployed onshore. It comes with condition of course. I want my deployment to be short but sweet. I am scared to be alone in a foreign land. aww. Thus, I want to be accompanied with a fellow Pinoy worker. So we can talk to each other everytime we feel homesick. Yay!

And then in a very unwelcome time, it came. And it came really really big. The deployment is set to be only for 11months and we will be deployed as a team. All my criteria were met. The client is so big, i mean really famous. Think - unlimited starbucks at the office, free iphone, free macbook, blah blah. The only downside they told us was that the working hours would probably be at least 60 hours per week. But still this is a very tempting opportunity.

Sadly, I have to decline. The travel period will coincide with my wedding. I cannot go home unless my leaves will be approved by the client (which is very unlikely) AND I will pay my own plane tickets for the vacation. So that's it. I cannot do it. Specially now that my wedding is almost prepared and we already spent a lot of money on non-refundable downpayments. And how the hell am I supposed to do it abroad? I can only imagine D doing everything. arghh. It's not that I do not trust him. It's just that I know he has so much in his own plate too.

So i guess I'll just live by Ms.Benz thought - If it is for me, I'll get it effortlessly.
Hopefully I can do it next year. I just wish the 'fruit' is still there. And looking at the bright side, next year I can bring along D as my dependent too.

Come on positive vibes :)

Gown Maker - CHECK!

If there's one thing in my wedding that I do not want to splurge on, it will be the gown.

I'm not really particular in wearing designer clothes. In fact, my everyday office wear were sourced either from cheap mall stores or in tiangge. I like tiangge clothes better because they have great range of rare vintage pieces. So going back, I said i will only wear that wedding gown once. But it will be in every pictures of my special day, so i still want it to be somehow unique.

With that thinking in mind, I spent more than a year in sourcing supplier for wedding gown and entourage gown. I shortlisted Boy Kastner Santos, Emil Ocampo, Ryan Sarangay, Ms. Magda, Jeff House of Fashion and some Divisoria dressmakers. Some of them didn't suit my budget so I have to let go. Until finally, the only choice I got was to look for a trusted divi supplier (i chose Vangie Suva that time) or Melanie Reyes from Grace Gown and Barongs.

Some months ago, I already talked to Mel and haggled the price. They were affordable compared to the price in the w@w market, but a bit steep compared to Divisoria prices. I was concerned with the distance from my home. You see we've had bad experiences in dealing with some dressmakers in Divi and they took a lot of time to return our altered dresses. I don't want that stress on my wedding. So that was my deciding factor. Mel's shop is just a few steps away from our house so no hassle on the location. With regards to her craft, Mel has proven it to us. My cousin Iya joined their school pageant wearing Mel's creations. Same with my god daugther Jayna. Well, Jayna wore too many of Mel's creations that even her sister knew our Jayna. Most of her works are made of satin and silk. I just hope she can also do wonders on chiffon and tulle.

gracegownandbarongs.multiply.com

So last Saturday, we finalized everything. So there! I have a new supplier - Melanie Anorma Reyes of Grace Gown and Barongs.

North Luzon Loop - CHECK!

Before anything else, I would like to defend ourselves for not inviting anybody to join us in our ride. hehe. This has been an on-going issue with our rider friends.

1st - I wanted to go to Calaguas but they said it's a long travel. Most of them only have at max 2 days off from work on holy week.

2nd - As I said, that was a long vacation. imagine 5-day vacation? And I can only use 2 days out of it? hell NO!

3rd - The ride was unplanned. The decision came just hours before we took off. We initially planned to go to Hundred Islands - Baguio. But I assumed since we will be going during the most peak season of the year, enjoying that tour would be impossible since the place will surely be packed with tourists.

4th - Since Hundred Islands-Baguio is off the list, I suggested we go to Pagudpud. D agreed since it will also be a great chance to retrace the route where he once crashed (the reason why I was not allowing him to join long rides anymore).

5th - It would definitely be a great bonding experience for D and I.

And we actually sent out invitations! Well not formal invitation but D mentioned it in one of the threads in our FB page. I guess they thought it's a joke since we posted it just before we sleep the day before.

Ok enough of being so defensive. haha. Let's start with the Ride Diary!

DAY 1: Pasig - San Juan, La Union

We woke up late! waaaa. We initially planned to rise at 3am so we can take off at 4am. Dang! We woke up at 6:30am ang took off at 8am. aww  

we are late! aww

Bye baby!

A really heart-breaking disease struck my baby! aww
Hey not literally baby person but my one-year old Canon 450D DSLR.

I noticed these black blotch on my pictures a few months back. But i just ignored it because the occurences are not patterned and they rarely appear. I thought it was only lighting issues.

I started to get worried when the blotch became very distinct and they were appearing on consistent spots on the pictures. Plus they never disappear now.

see that black spot near the fan?

same spot with different orientation

 I thought these were just dust particles outside the camera - something I can easily wipe out.

I carefully observed the parts -
I checked the viewfinder first. Not there.
I detached the lens from the body, blew some air inside the body where the mirror-like thing is located. No effect.
I next checked the lens itself and took a peek inside. It was there. I saw where exactly the black blotch came from - and definitely somewhere beyond my reach.

The dust (or whatever it is) changes as I turn the focusing lens wider or tighter. I took a picture where the dust was more defined:

no! this is defintely not birthmark

Everyone from Google advised to never open the lens on my own. Always seek professional help.
Good thing my baby is still covered with 3-year warranty.

I brought my baby to the new Canon Service Center in Eton building fronting Robinson's Galleria. Grace (the girl who attended to me) diagnosed my baby with fungus infection. She said there are fungus formation from inside the lens and focusing screen. Her advise was to have my baby confined for 'Internal Cleaning with fungus in lens and focusing screen'. I really hope the problem can be fixed with cleaning because any parts replacement will get me to shed money since it is not covered with the warranty. aww

bye baby :(

For now, let's wait for 14 loonnnngggg days.
After that, I have to make a mental note to myself to always use my camera. Interestingly, seldom usage leads to fungus formation specially if the camera is stored unprotected in a very humid place.
I guess I have to take care of my baby more now. DIY drybox.? Yes!

The Evolution of Sisig Boys

I can't believe it. My babies has grown up to be action stars!!! Yay!

I was there when Sisig Boys' career bloomed. In short I tolerated their stupid stuffs. hah!
It all started with the desire to help our helpers from work. With the money the company earned from the votes, we were able to extend some financial help to those custodians.
They didn't mind picking their faces off the ground just for that cause. And for that I salute them.
We lost the contest by the way. But in our own people's mind, they were already winners.

People thought they disbanded - with the transferring of work and all. But as we all know, distance does not matter with real friends. I never find it very surprising to watch a get together video - i know them, they are bound to create great sequels. And here it is! More magnificent production than ever!

And for those interested enough to watch, this was the video that started it all:

Ok guys you can laugh now :))

What's in the box?

Of course you can guess. And I will not give anymore clues. The picture speaks for itself! :)
Just so happy! I am really getting married.
And this is really an upper to resume my preps. Yey!

Pamamanhikan - CHECK!

Oh well. This was one thing I always dreaded. D's family meeting mine.
Why? Because I know for a fact that his and my family have conflicting personalities.
One noticeable thing is the volume of our voices. D's family speak in normal volume, sometimes in low volume. While my family always and will forever speak in full blast. D always complain on how I always shout even though we are just seated beside each other. But would you believe I have the softest voice in the family? :) So I was always afraid that his family might be overwhelmed by our loud voices and innate talkativeness.
Only secondary to that is that we live in a crowded neighboorhood with no parking space.

And also I have to talk my family out of inviting the whole compound. It has always been our custom to have the whole clan present during pamanhikan. But since D will only be joined by his mama and ate, I opposed the whole clan setup.

only 3 of them

The 'talk' was more of kwentuhan only as expected since most of the wedding details are already prepared. Actually, the pamamanhikan thing was just a formality. The topic was more on Ate's pregnancy. We will be seeing our first nephew in a month. Yey! :)

And more than the kwentuhan, the food was the center of everyone's attention! :)

brought by D's family

prepared by us

And now we can proceed with blessings from our parents. :)