Call Me Purple

I’m sitting down at a cafe juicing up on free wifi connection when I suddenly realized a horrific fact. I WAS PURPLE. I was wearing a purple blouse, had along my purple laptop bag and had on my purple earphones. Yep, I was purple. Don’t get me wrong, I do love purple, hence the purple items…but I’m not one to mix and match.. as in everything red or blue or pink. Or in my case, everything purple. Argh! So frustrating…and humiliating.

"Dial M" For a Not So Funny Joke.

How can we take these people seriously when they don't even take
themselves seriously? How can a former government official go on
national TV, lambast known politicians on air, in the midst of a
grueling campaign season and then say that the whole darn thing is one
big fat joke, when pushed against the wall by a senatorial hearing. His
talk show is a comedy show after all.

FYI, no one is laughing at your "joke", everyone is laughing at you.

Cosmo's Hongkong Summer Spectacular

MECHANICS

1. This promo is open to all Cosmo.ph and Cosmopolitan Magazine readers in Metro Manila, aged 18-30 with a valid passport that is valid until February 2012 and is available to fly to Hong Kong from August 29 to September 1, 2011.

2. To join, Cosmo.ph and Cosmopolitan Magazine readers must do the following on the ‘Visa go HK Super Shopper Promo’ on Cosmo.ph
Answer the question: “What's your fashion-forward style tip for Hong Kong visitors this summer?”
Include a link to a photo of themselves in their most "fashion forward in HK" style with a June AND July 2011 issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine.
Please make sure that your photo is viewable. Either paste the link after right-clicking the 'Copy link location' or give the 'download' link.

Missing My Mom's Handwriting

I remember my mom's handwriting vividly. She had beautiful handwriting.
It's a gift she failed to pass down to both my sister and me. It was
lovely and charming. Girly yet powerful. Mostly I remember her writing
when she made excuse letters for me when I got sick and had to miss
school. I remember how I loved the way she wrote my name...(Please
excuse Karen from being absent...) her capital K was so feminine yet
strong... I never liked my name. I always thought it was so short and
simple. I felt it wasn't special enough. But not when my mom wrote it, I
felt she scrawled my name with all the warmth and love in the world. I
felt special.

I also remember her staying at our kitchen table writing long letters to
my dad who was working overseas. This was way before the age of emails
and chats. It was during a time when only a privileged few had the honor
of owning telephones in their homes. Writing was their only way of
communicating with each other. I never thought of my parents as sappy
and romantic, but in their own way I guess they were.

She would write on her thick yellow pad using an old metal fountain pen.
Its ink bottle, still in its original box all blotched with ink stains,
always ready by the side, in case she needed to refill. She wrote in
beautiful and seamless longhand. I always admired how she wrote her long
letters, and believe me they were long... She kept our father up to date
with the daily humdrum of our household, the quizzes we had and how we
did, who got sick with what and even the latest scandal in showbiz and
the local news.

I guess miss my mom's handwriting because it mostly reminds me of my
youth. I miss how things were.

Mostly I just really miss my mom.

New Philippine Peso

These are the new Philippine currency. They are not yet in full circulation but they are slowly being eased in society. After all the brouhaha of wrong data and illustrations, our new peso is now here. Thankful I was able to grab hold of the whole set when our photo booth, BK Pixels Photo booth was rented last May at a kiddie party. The celebrant’s mommy worked at BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) and she paid us all in new bills. Yey!

It was kind of weird counting the bills though, I had a hard time. It might need some getting used to. Although I loved the more vibrant colors, I found it disturbing to find some of the former presidents’ faces younger… almost virginal, hahaha!

Tigers love to tug on purple ducks

Tigers love to tug on purple ducks

Acoustic and Bossa Girls

Recently I’ve been bitten by the music bug. I’ve gotten into pop songs revived by young girls who added on their own vocal stylistics. Or maybe it was just LSS… Whenever we go to events for our photo coverage or photo booth rental, these songs are a staple fare. They are actually current pop hits like Just the Way You Are and Fireworks sang ala-bossa or acoustic. While the crew is just setting up we are treated to the girls’ gentle crooning… we just fell in love with the genre! I guess we are actually late getting into this since in fact acoustic and bossa songs are enjoying a new surge of appreciation for some time, this accounts for the reason for the records sprouting left and right from virtual unknowns hoping for a shot at the big time. Oh well, the more the merrier I always say =)

My current faves are Sabrina and Yasmin de Pereira. Another popular singer is Suy , but I don’t have her album yet so I can really pass judgement on her songs. In my book, Sitti has always been the Filipina Queen of Bossa and she is yet to be toppled from the throne.

Now excuse me as I do my Saturday load of laundry with Sabrina in the background singing Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars.

Super Sale at Rockwell Tent 2011

Ready for the best summer sale? With various stores carrying brands we all crave for?
It's almost here, at the Rockwell Tent on May 20-22 2011.

CLICK HERE AND REGISTER

To get your FREE Entrance tickets to the

SuperSale Bazaar happening on May 20 - 22, 2011

A Treat for Ayala Cinema's M-Pass holders

Ayala Malls Cinemas’ M-Pass cardholders are in for a treat as they get to watch an exclusive screening of Disney’s “Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides” on May 20, 2011 at Glorietta4 Cinemas. Being invited to special movie screenings is part of the wonderful perks of being an M-Pass cardholder!

Other privileges of M-Pass are exclusive movie promos, birthday treats, access to online food order and a lot more!

M-Pass is a prepaid service that allows one to pay for his movie tickets ahead of time. With the M-Pass, the cardholder gets past the long lines in ticket booths and conveniently goes straight to the cinema of choice to his preferred seats. One can even take his own sweet time in getting to the movies as with the M-Pass, your seats are definitely guaranteed.

Ayala Malls Cinemas also offers other exciting promos to its moviegoers. Watch Disney’s “Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides,” at any Ayala Malls Cinemas and enjoy any of the the following treats.

Buy tickets in advance and get a collectible magnet and get a chance to win other cool premium items for every advance purchase of two tickets, promo runs until May 22. Metro Manila ticket holders will also get a chance to meet and take a photo with the characters inspired by Disney’s “Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides.”

“Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides” opens May 20, 2011 in all Ayala Malls Cinemas. Also in Disney Digital 3D™.

Visit www.sureseats.com for more details on the movie and how to get your M-Pass card.

Weight-loss Insanity

I read somewhere that a symptom of insanity is doing something over and over the same way but sincerely hoping to get a different result. Yes,
it's the story of my life.

I often refer to my college days as the good 'ole days. Sure, I had the most fun with my friends at that time plus I did so well in school. But
these are not the reasons why I loved that era. I loved it for the simple reason that when I graduated from college, I weighed exactly the
same way as I weighed on my first year there. I was thin! My cheekbones were visible even with my face at rest, (no sucking in the cheeks just
to check if I still HAVE cheekbones) My collar bones were ever present! I was a medium and I can buy clothes in free size.

After I graduated, I took on an office job that I didn't really like, but many approved of. Being the "good girl" that I am, I stayed on,
thinking I'd eventually like it...This must've had an effect on my psyche. Depression set in and pounds started to pile on. Slowly but surely, 20 pounds crept in. After I got
married, my excess pounds welcomed their friends who invited other friends and soon they have a party on my thighs and midsection. I nearly
had a panic attack when I realized one day that I tipped the scales at almost 200 pounds!

To say that I've had trouble keeping the pounds off is an understatement. I have tried various ways of losing weight, from going
vegetarian, going to the gym, trying fad diets, drinking protein shakes etc. If I weren't budget-constrained, I'd probably gone off already for
a liposuction.

I'd binge, I'd gain weight, I'd be remorseful, I'd try to lose weight. I'd lose SOME weight, I'd binge, I'd gain MORE weight than I initially
lost, then I'd feel remorseful and the vicious, frustrating cycle begins again! What's pathetic is I start my latest diet/exercise regimen with
the pure intentions and strong determination... until I fall again into the temptation that comes in the forms of pizza/chocolates/chips etc.

Hopefully someday I find the determination to permanently choose to be healthy... then probably the insanity will end... probably.