[Project FeeTrail July 2015]: Graduation Garden

It's going to be three years next year since I joined the Office of Public Relations. I've participated in three graduations so far.

In April 2013, I was feeling a bit bitter of not having graduated on time. But then again, if I did, it's not like I am rushing on to the next. But sometimes, the race to graduation in graduate school stings a part of me. We just watched on the sides that day. (Then I graduated October that year)

In April 2014, I am finally a certified graduate and was able to walk on stage on both graduations (Hooding Ceremonies and University Graduation). I attended every recognition day, even the graduation ball that I normally do not participate in, so in other words, I enjoyed every minute of it.

This year, July 2015, is the first graduation that happened in July since UPLB switched it's academic year to start in August. Also, this year my friends Aya and Frankie graduated at the same time. It's also my first time to really be part of the behind the scenes team, attending the Commencement Exercises meetings and so on.

Never mind that there was a little bit of a mishap. The stage was so beautiful, we had LCD screen at the back and man-made water falls complementing the lush garden, the stage was made into that day.

I just had to take a photo and it made it here.

August is coming up this weekend! I'm  EXCITED!!!

Wild Wonder: Expensive Single Behavior

Years ago, a certain family friend told me to get married to "save up". Interesting. Knowing that I work in the wedding industry and I know how the wedding budget blows up.

She said, when you are married, you no longer have to spend tons of money to go on dates, you can just be together at home, aka cheap dates, saving up for the future, blah blah blah...

Now I'm not one to write in behalf of the married ones, but I am credible enough to write about what she probably meant: The Expensive Single Behavior.

What is that, I hear you ask. Well, here it is.

• Retail therapy/Gadget band aid - Buying of feel good things such as clothes, books, shoes, make up, toys, etc. sometimes mostly on impulse. Saving up for a new gadget like the latest iphone, ipad, camera, etc. It's the thrill of saving up your hard earned money and finally being able to afford to buy what you've been lusting for a long time. But the downside after getting it is... so what now?
• Activities - when you're single you want to be busy. So engagement of activities is on this list (new activities included)
• Soul Searching aka Travel - Scouting cheap airline tickets to go everywhere, anywhere, but here. 
• Food Trip - Dining in expensive restaurants, drinking spree in posh bars, etc. It has gotten worse now social media has blown up. We all want to share where we were.
• "Coffee"- nowadays disguised as networking, but it used to be really just catching up with some old friend (like those you have not really touch based with for like, 5 years or so) and see how your lives match up. 

And trust me, these doesn't come cheap.

To be honest, I already did all that. And because I did, here are my lessons.

• On retail therapy - I end up with buyer's remorse; Gadget Band aid - The thrill is gone because in a few months something better will come along. 
• Activities - I got a life. I pursued graduate studies. I had the best time, then after graduation ,I tackled "other jobs" that is not related to my full time job and that allowed me to be myself and get creative. 
• Travel - Never tie up your vacations just because it is love life related (in my case, flying to where your significant other is, unless the person is already your beau for a really, really long time or your fiance, but never in a just dating mode/ you're not serious about). Vacations are state of minds. Lalo na if you were just talked into travelling when you're not that into it before. Now when I travel, I focus on educating my self and discovering the place as it is. I see it as my own educational field trip. The only downside of that is I tend to suffer from a vacation hangover (now that trips have become more awesome!)
• Food Trip - it went through my lips, now its on my hips. Now I need to take it out from my hips LOL
• "Coffee" - I stopped "crossing oceans for people who won't even jump puddles for me." Does these lines sound familiar? "Hey, yes,let's have coffee sometime."or "Dinner soon!" Yeah, you get my point. I think you are intelligent enough to know in your gut who actually meant it.

I'm not saying that you stop doing those. It's always different strokes for different folks. In my case, what I did was I tie up all the important factors and made sure to invest it well to things or relationships with better longevity. Not because it is the cure of the moment.

An example would be time. Since Time cannot be bought, I spend my free time with my trusted and long-time friends, where we catch a movie together, eat at an ordinary fast food chain with a $2 meal and have the best of time just hanging out at the park, or at a nearby mall.

Bottom line is, spend it well, with people those you know that matters most, not some "friends-of-the-moment". Because honestly, ang gastos talagang maging single lalo na't ang hilig mong mag pa-andar sa Facebook. Mas bad trip when you don't really have the money to pay for your expensive single behavior when you really cannot afford it. Even more bad trip when you owe someone a certain amount of money and you flaunt your expensive single behavior on Facebook and that person who you owe money to, sees it! - Wait, that's a different topic na! Anyway...

I can already hear the rebuttal: But how am I going to meet someone if I don't go out?! Again, it's always different strokes for different folks.

I keep going back to what my friend in graduate school once said: " Once you have satisfied your intellectual self, everything else is mundane. " And it is true. 

But the "intellectual self"is highly debatable and that saying depends on the comprehension of whoever the receiver is.

You know what I mean.

Befriending the unfamiliar

I took a mental note in my mind to say YES to opportunities this year, even if it's not the usual stuff that I normally do. The last few weeks were about tackling stuff I don't usually do. I took up a couple of unfamiliars.

Unfamiliar #1: Officially hosting.

Okay, I cannot really say this is unfamiliar, but usually it is something I, as much as possible, shy away from. I prefer just to be working behind the scenes. But to date, I have done 3 wedding receptions, (one of three is actually paid, just last saturday) and one piano/violin recital, my first ever paid gig, which is like two years ago.

But the unfamiliar part would be the high office of the university asking me to host a search for deanship event. Well, it's just a small audience, but then again, I know nothing about protocols and how it is done. And just got the script less than 12 hours from the event time.

I did pull through.

Unfamiliar #2: Paid make up gig.

I love make up. Sometimes this blog posts stuff about make up.

But I have never actually done a paid job. I just do my friends'make up ( Maid of honor, graduation make up and emcee gig, for free, because I love doing it.) But after doing my friend, Aya's make up for her MS graduation, I actually got a make up gig to do a home service make up. (Thank you again to my muse Aya). I know nothing about the rates that I had to do a little research first before saying yes.

I was actually sick with tonsilitis during that time, but my fever went away on the day that I am supposed to do my first ever client's make up. And the most rewarding part was she loved my work that she got inspired to wear make up to office, the next working day.

I'm not going to post the before and after photo on the blog, just on my instagram. I believe that those photos are for proper portfolio platform.

I'm really grateful for these opportunities, it really got me excited just when I'm looking for a weekend spice.

"Anything that gets your heart racing is probably worth doing."

And boy, my heart did race.

Fight Song came 5 years late

I needed this song in 2010. I first heard the mash up and searched for the original one and I fell in love with the lyrics!

Here are some excerpts that spoke to me...or like me.

“ I might only have one match, but I can make an explosion”
 “ And all those things I didn't say, Wrecking balls inside my brain” 

And of course, the chorus!!!

" This is my fight song

Take back my life song

Prove I'm alright song

My power's turned on

Starting right now I'll be strong

I'll play my fight song

And I don't really care if nobody else believes

'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me" 

Watch the embedded video. Although very twenties, very hipster, but inspiring.  (Hey I was still in my mid twenties when I needed this, but it came five years later.) 

Proof that whatever it is... it will pass. Even if you think it is impossible. 

 

The Hardworking Make Up Brushes

This year, I did the make up of one of the members of a wedding entourage and two looks for graduate school graduation of my friend. Last weekend, I was able to get my first ever paid make up gig out of a referral. I will write about that maybe some other time this week, but while I was cleaning my brushes, I decided to write about my most hard working make up brushes that I tend to use most of the time.

After I cleaned some of my make up brushes, in preparation for my first make up gig.

You can't lug these may make up brushes all the time and just because you have this many, you will not really use it on one face on one session alone. 

Here are my most used brush, when doing someone else's make up, in no particular order:

Asus Credit Card Sized Power Bank

I've had this power bank since third week of June and only got to blog about the review just now, when I intentionally monitored my usage.

Last year, part of my wishlist was to get a portable power bank for my iPhone. I got myself a powerbank from Bavin but it was bigger than my phone. I got it in a jiffy because I was afraid of running out of batteries when a storm was predicted to be coming. I learned well from the last time. 

So when my sister called and said there's a credit card sized powerbank that it the same Mah as the one that I have, and it's only for less than Php 800, I gave it ago. Actually, I was attracted to its aesthetics first then I asked my sister to get it for me online and she purchased via Lazada. 

Not exactly same size as my credit card, but come on! I think the best description would be - Cigarette Box sized Powerbank

And its Asus!

I'm no techie, but here's my review of this powerbank:

• It charges iPhone 5s four times.
• Charging time (to store energy) is 6-7hours depends on the level it was drained.
• Very handy, and I love that it came in pink. I was actually going for the gold one to match my iPhone, but they said it doesn't look as nice as the pink one.
• I wish it comes with other ports too. Therefore you can charge just one gadget at a time, unlike the Bavin one that I can charge a samsung phone while charging my phone.
• I wish it comes with a lightning cable for Apple products so I can charge my iPhone5s and iPad Air.

The Asus powerbank was designed to cater to Asus phone products, actually, but still it can be used with other brands. 

But still I love that it's not bulky and didn't take up too mych space in my already-jam packed bag. 

[Project FeeTrail June 2015]: Break in Baguio

I owe my friend a visit to her house in Baguio. When she told me she finished renovating her house (Read: Come up here, Kea!) I knew I must grab the next long weekend trip to Baguio, and I did. Besides, I badly needed a break.

I took this photo on my second night at her house's door step. I am so amazed at how her house, her space, screams her personality. It was so homey. I woke up feeling like I am in the country with this great cabin-like feel.

I wish I could show you photos, but she's very private and trust me, the photos did not do justice.

I can't wait to go back. Maybe with less tourists this time.

Of lipsticks and Hustle

Of all the photos in pinterest today, this spoke directly of me,

LIPSTICK

I finally bought Preview's Hot Stuff from the Preview x Happy Skin Collaboration last weekend. As expected, it looked good on me. I am so glad I waited for the store sale instead of rushing online. Because it would be such a total waste to get the other one (Too Cool) and barely use it. Before I was really, really lured into sales and major discounts but I've realized that the actual waste is when you bought/acquired something and you will not really use it.

I've been trusting my instinct a lot when it comes to buying online. The first Happy Skin Lip Crayons that I bought was the Forbidden Fruit collection and I loved all the colors. It covered all that I don't have or the looks that I don't really go for. I'm also glad that when I bought this one, it looked exactly what it looks like on the internet:

HUSTLE

I've been busy, crazy busy because I have events up on my sleeve both professional and personal. I'm saving more stories of that towards the end of the year. But in between hustling, I am thankful that I have reliable and good people around me, who hustle with me.

I realized that there will never be an actual dream job. And instead of staring at the window or stalking people on social media, might as well do something that you actually like. I'm glad and extremely grateful that for once, I have something on the sides that I enjoy doing and luckily getting paid for it.

I enjoy this kind of hustle. It leaves me no room and no time to see and compare what others have got.