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Showing posts from July, 2011

[Daily Doodle] July 31, 2011

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Looking back at Phuket FantaSea: The restroom that made me smile

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See related posts: Looking back at Phuket FantaSea Looking back at Phuket FantaSea: The animal attractions Looking back at Phuket FantaSea: The restaurant and theater I've decided I was done with my posts on Phuket FantaSea. But I just couldn't resist showing you an extraordinary restroom that had surely put a huge smile on my face. It was the restroom near the park's exit, and it was just downright charming. So see for yourself.

Looking back at Phuket FantaSea: The restaurant and theater

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See related posts: Looking back at Phuket FantaSea Looking back at Phuket FantaSea: The animal attractions In this post I'll show you Phuket FantaSea 's gigantic buffet restaurant and the show's extraordinary theater. Our tickets covered both the show and a buffet dinner at Golden Kinnaree. I already forgot how much it cost but as of writing, it's at 1,900 baht according to their website. You also can purchase tickets for the show only if you don't fancy having dinner there. There are also options for upgrade to a seafood buffet dinner and for the show, a "gold seat" upgrade, which guarantees you premium seats. Golden Kinnaree boasts of an impressive facade, consistent with FantaSea 's grandiose and detail-oriented design. Gold paint is, of course, very prominent here. The restaurant is fronted by water, with fake giant lotuses afloat. The huge -- and I mean really huge -- catfish, however, are real. A footbridge leads you across the wa

[Daily Doodle] July 30, 2011

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[Project Look Book] Friday, July 29, 2011

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It's been a fun day. There was food and more food. Even when there was work to do, the atmosphere seemed light. Oh how I love fridays. And of course, My Bibe 's home now, back from Iloilo. My outfit today was pretty simple with just jeans and a polo shirt. The polo was one of about four or five that I got from a Giordano store in HK last year. I just thought I'd wear some color today. The jeans are Topman that I folded around the hem. I'm also wearing sneakers by S***r (Swear) and a striped red belt from Polo Ralph Lauren. And after five straight days of wearing contact lenses, I thought I had to rest my eyes a bit, hence, the glasses from Kenneth Cole. More photos after the jump.

[Daily Doodle] July 29, 2011

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[Project Look Book] Thursday, July 28, 2011

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The weather was back to it's fickle-minded self today. It was sunny, then it rained, then sunny again, then more rain -- it was totally unpredictable! The typhoon has already left the country but it obviously is still messing up with our day. And there's another one approaching. Oh well. Today I wore this green pullover from Topman. That thing hanging around my neck isn't a scarf but part of the sweater that's meant to function like a scarf. Paired it with my Anthony Nocom metallic gray pants and shoes from Traffic. And that was pretty much it. But I have a couple more photos:

Giveaway convenience

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I was rummaging through my closet for something to wear for tomorrow when I came across this t-shirt: It was our team's Christmas gift to ourselves and to everyone else in our department last year. But I haven't been able to wear it ever. I think it's because I was disappointed with it. What were supposedly bright neon colors in the design ended up as faded and washed-out letters when the shirts were delivered. Yes, they were obviously inspired by the t-shirts worn in Glee's season 2 pilot. I was reminded of the not-so-easy task of finding good quality but affordable apparel, not to mention the right supplier to translate our design into reality. How I wished it were that easy, like a one-stop shop like  gopromos.com , where you can find all sorts of promotional items for sale. They've got all kinds of apparel from t-shirts to hoodies and caps. There are also bags, calendars, keychains, mugs, and calendars. And yes, they also offer customization of your or

[Daily Doodle] July 28, 2011

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[Project Look Book] Wednesday, July 27, 2011

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It was a wet day. It's been raining nonstop because of a typhoon yet again (hope everyone stays safe). But I think we've seen worse yesterday when it was raining really hard and traffic was hell. Well, traffic was still hell today but to a lesser extent. On the bright side -- at least as far as my personal and trivial vainglory goes -- I was able to capitalize on the weather. I finally got to wear this military jacket from Urban Outfitters that I had for several months now. It was just too thick for the kind of weather we have here, so it was left confined to my closet ever since it arrived. Oh well, the downside of online shopping. I only had a v-neck shirt underneath since I never intended to take the jacket off in the first place, plus I didn't want to end up dripping in sweat either. The trousers are from Topman and the shoes, Aldo.  Here are a few more photos:

[Daily Doodle] July 27, 2011

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[Project Look Book] Tuesday, July 26, 2011

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This morning was terrible. I already had to contend with the difficulty of finding a cab for a morning commute since our car had to be serviced ( see why here ), and the heavy rain only added insult to injury. Here in Metro Manila when it rains, it's not uncommon for most people to take a cab over every other mode of public transport, for comfort presumably. Oh well, I stood in the rain, moving from one side of the road to the other, moving forward and backward, for more than an hour. Surprisingly, I didn't flare up. Maybe it's the Lacoste polo I was wearing that's so neon highlighter-yellow, like it kind of helped me defy the weather or something. And then the maroon jeans from Zara. What a color combination it was! Good thing I brought a jacket (also from Zara) because it was so cold at the hotel where we were having a Human Resources cascade. And I had to wear a stupid sticker with my name on it, which I forgot to take off when I had my photos taken for t

[Daily Doodle] July 26, 2011

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[Project Look Book] Monday, July 25, 2011

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Yesterday was hell. What started as a fine, sunny day suddenly morphed into a wet and stinky nightmare. My Bibe and I just visited his dad in Malabon and we were on our way to the Malabon Zoo. I was rearing to see and if possible, pet, their three newborn tiger cubs. It started to rain, and before we knew it, the road was flooded. We were fine at first even if the water was already knee-deep until a jeepney further ahead of us stalled. Water started to seep in the car and I was shouting and cursing. But it was hopeless. We couldn't move. It was a one-lane road and there were a couple of vehicles behind us as well. The water inside the car was almost up to our seats already. Eventually the vehicles behind us moved back, which allowed me to move a bit, enough to make it to a dirt road towards a dump site, which was on a bit higher ground. We waited for the water to subside before we moved on. I was just thankful that our car didn't stall. Otherwise, I wouldn't ha

[Daily Doodle] July 25, 2011

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Looking back at Phuket FantaSea: The animal attractions

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See related post: Looking back at Phuket FantaSea I made it clear yesterday that everything at Phuket FantaSea  is all about grandeur. Simplicity simply does not exist in this theme park. Apart from the rides and shops, the park also has a place where guests can check out some fauna. How they present them to the viewing public is just over-the-top! I was thrilled to see baby elephants and for (I think) 500 baht, photo op! Well, they did build a backdrop. The pachiderms were just so cute even if they smelled. My Bibe was a bit uneasy. She said, even if they were babies, they were still elephants that could trounce you with ease. Me? I was just happy. Look at my smile. We went inside what the park dubbed as "Tiger Jungle Adventure." Upon entering you're welcomed by the sight of t-shirts, stuffed toys, and all these merchandise for sale.

[Daily Doodle] July 24, 2011

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Looking back at Phuket FantaSea

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A few weeks ago, I started blogging about my Phuket experience ( see the posts here and here ) while on a reminiscing mode about beaches and vacations. Well, my Harry Potter fanaticism was rekindled when the last film came out, and so I failed to follow up with more posts. So I'm back at it starting with the first of four posts about  Phuket FantaSea . We bought a pair of tickets to Phuket FantaSea from a tourism counter at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok while waiting for our flight to Phuket, which was delayed. I already knew about FantaSea somehow from the internet, and the tickets they were selling us were a bit cheaper than the price I've checked on the internet. What's more, we got a complimentary half-day city tour around Phuket. Sweet deal! I only thought FantaSea  was a Las Vegas-style production that featured elephants. I was surprised it was more than that -- it was actually a cultural theme park of sorts. There were a couple of rides, shops, a glammed-

[Daily Doodle] July 23, 2011

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[Project Look Book] Friday, July 22, 2011

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Obviously, I'm still in such a Harry Potter mode. I'm basically just clad in jeans and t-shirt today. The tee, which I had for a seriously long time now, is from Diesel. The jeans are Topman, and are slim enough to allow me to tuck them in my Aldo boots. But what really got me into this crazy shoot today is this cardigan I got from yesstyle.com . The extended length makes me feel like I have a cape or something, that it's so much fun moving around. I'm thinking Voldemort's graceful and fluid movements here. Or Snape's to some extent. Anyway, I unwittingly got myself stuck with loads of photos. Then there was the selection process. Then the editing since I had to make magic out of a chopstick. But I enjoyed it, no doubt. So here goes...

[Daily Doodle] July 22, 2011

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[Project Look Book] Thursday, July 21, 2011

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There's not much to my look today. It's just a plain white shirt and brown pants, both from Dansen at SM Department Store. The only zing to it would probably be the shoes, which are from Pedro. I wasn't feeling well this morning but I managed to go to work after lunchtime. I was a bit swamped so I only had my photos taken earlier this evening. And I don't like it because the fluorescent office lighting is always not enough and I'm not a fan of using the built-in camera flash. We used the flash anyway.

[Daily Doodle] July 21, 2011

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[Project Look Book] Wednesday, July 20, 2011

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Though it's not the ideal shade, I'm so Slytherin with green today. I finally got to wear these single-pleated army green pants from Topman that I scored for just 999 pesos (around $23) because they were on sale. It's a carrot slim-fit cut, and I like the slightly slouchy upper part contrasted by the narrow bottom. I was undecided on what shirt should go with the pants, though, until My Bibe suggested this gingham number from G2000. I finished off the look with brown shoes from Zara and a brown leather belt from SM.

[Daily Doodle] July 20, 2011

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[Daily Doodle] July 19, 2011

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[Project Look Book] Tuesday, July 19, 2011

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It suddenly feels a lot like summer here since last weekend. It's extremely hot when it's supposed to be the rainy season already this part of the globe. On second thought, it's always summer in the Philippines. It only becomes a wet summer during the monsoon season. It's the only season I think we have. So today I wore something light, a floral-printed white shirt from Bangkok and pants from Merger. I love this shirt; it makes me look so thin (haha!). For footwear, I originally thought of wearing brown leather shoes but I changed my mind. I slipped into these ombre Zara lace-ups instead. And I'm still wearing my horcrux  ring . I wanna show you the shirt's print up close.While some roses are printed perfectly, others are made to look less perfect, which I actually like. Comments, anyone?

[Project Look Book] Monday, July 18, 2011

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I'm still on a Harry Potter high. And while all of Voldemort's horcruxes have been destroyed, I got myself one: It's My Bibe 's, actually. She gave it to me just last Friday because it keeps coming off even her middle finger already. It's made primarily of white gold contrasted with a small portion that's yellow gold. The kitty cat ring is so horcrux material, right? Already, an officemate was asking how it can be destroyed. I told her, only a shard from the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, Denmark can destroy it. Anyway, I wore a black shirt today from Tyler, paired with gray pants from Topman, and a pair of plaid shoes from Pedro. I felt like accessorizing, hence, the Aldo necklace and of course, the horcrux  ring. We tried shooting outside and it was abnormally very windy. The wind just kept flattening my hair! So this was what I could salvage:

[Daily Doodle] July 18, 2011

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Deathly Hallows 2: biggest U.S. weekend opening ever

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After mentioning in a  post last night  that  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2)  now holds the best single-day U.S. box office haul ever, the eighth and final Harry Potter film has now also scored the biggest U.S. weekend box office opening ever. I am ecstatic! Deathly Hallows 2  earned a whopping $169.2 million from Friday through Sunday (originally estimated at $168.6 million), a record previously held by  The Dark Knight , which took in $158.4 million. Even if box office receipts for Sunday are still based on estimates (as final figures are yet to be released), I don't think the figure will drop by $10 million if ever it does. So Harry and Voldemort are secured of their spot. For now, of course, until another mega-blockbuster knocks them off and steals their record. It remains to be seen, though, whether  Deathly Hallows 2  can surpass  Dark Knight 's domestic haul of $533.3 million, considering that only two Potter movies made it past the $

I wish J.K. Rowling would...

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First off, I'm happy that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2)  has just broken the record for the biggest single-day box office gross (in the U.S.), which was previously held by The Twilight Saga: New Moon . Deathly Hallows (Part 2)  earned $92.1 million on its opening day, close to $20 million more than what that vampire-werewolf movie made when it opened. It's just wait and see until tomorrow if it knocks off The Dark Knight  (my all-time favorite movie) for the biggest opening weekend ever. I really don't care much except that I hope that this last Potter movie will be the one to finally breach the $1 billion mark for the franchise. It's like there's a protective charm around that figure. I hope Voldemort breaks through that just as he tore through the web of charms around Hogwarts. Moving on, we all know that Potter author J.K. Rowling has promised no more Harry Potter books. Okay, fine. But I do wish that she still write stuff, not necessarily ab

[Daily Doodle] July 17, 2011

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[Daily Doodle] July 16, 2011

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[Project Look Book] Friday, July 15, 2011

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Accio, Zara mint green jeans!  I still have a Harry Potter hangover from last night. I loved the series so much that I went into reminiscing mode yesterday. And that state carried over into choosing today's outfit somehow because I looked into items in my closet that I haven't worn in a while. So the mint green jeans from Zara. These jeans were last seen on me in January, I believe, which I paired with a pink polo. I thought about gray, white, blue, and a different shade of pink to use this time around but I ended up with brown. I realized it's also something I haven't worn for some time now. I know it's from People R People, a gift perhaps back in '07. Anyway, my choice was further cemented when I saw it had stitching that were the same color as my jeans's. Purely coincidental but very much welcome. Good thing it was sunny the whole day because I wore espadrilles from a stall called OTOP in one of them gasoline stations along SLEX. I had my photos ta

[Daily Doodle] July 15, 2011

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[Movie Night] Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2)

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And that was the end of it all, a decade of Potter madness that permeated my mind and of countless others. While it's undeniable that splitting J.K. Rowling's seventh book into two films was a money-making move by Warner Bros., I say that with what director David Yates gave us, it's justified. Although I am a fan, I'm taking a step back to afford a more objective view of the film I just watched. By watching  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2) , it's already assumed that either you've read all the books, or you've watched all seven films preceding it, or both. There's no time here to explain things anymore. Having been too familiar with the series already, it's a bit difficult to say whether someone with no Potter  knowledge whatsoever will enjoy the film. Okay, so maybe not. They may be in for the ride but they surely will only end up asking tons of questions. Who's Harry? Why is Voldemort so mad at him? What are horcruxes ? Why c

In retrospect: my Harry Potter fondness

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Unlike My Bibe , who's a voracious reader, I don't care much about books. So at the turn of the new millennium when Warner Bros. announced that they have cast the three lead roles for the film version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone , I had no idea what it was. It was only when the film was about to debut that I got intrigued and borrowed a copy of the book. The moment I started reading, I was under its spell and didn't let go of it until I was finished. I was suddenly a child again. During the same time, J.K. Rowling's "baby" was much lauded for getting kids all over the world to read again. But hey, don't count the kids-at-heart out. Potter also got me reading again (at least at the time)! I became a fan but far from the rabid kind who put up fan sites and stake out before book launches and cinema screenings. I was just so into the world of "the boy who lived," fanatic enough to engage in office conversations with fellow fans

[Project Look Book] Thursday, July 14, 2011

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It's another movie night with My Bibe later with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, and I'm in a casual mode. I'm wearing a blue and gray pullover from Emporio Armani, something I got from Hong Kong last month. The rest of the ensemble are black pants from Sahara at SM, metallic blue and gray lace-ups from Zara, and blue striped socks bought online. I also brought a jacket but I didn't get to wear it anyway. I tinkered a bit with Lightroom but I'm not sure about the results. Anyway, here are the pre-Lightroom photos:

[Daily Doodle] July 14, 2011

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[Project Look Book] Wednesday, July 13, 2011

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I thought of wearing one of my Rajo Laurel for Wharton shirts today. I last wore it in February , so I believe it's hight time that this shirt venture outside my closet already. Where last time I paired it with gray pinstripe pants, I chose my Anthony Nocom metallic suit for today. I wasn't actually intending to wear the jacket but I didn't have any other jacket ready. So to dress it down, I wore my gray high-top sneakers from Zara, a white leather belt from Bangkok, and ditched the idea of wearing either a bow or necktie. I was so relaxed in my outfit today that it was fun to move around. Felt like dancing, actually, at one point. We also got to shoot outdoors today and I couldn't decide on which photos to post even after several cuts. Anyway, I ended up with ten. Kinda self-indulgent but here are the rest of the bunch: