Uploaded photos of the ladies. You may see Mica's here and Eisa's here. As for mine, you can see some of them below, hehe. I didn't load a lot of mine. Being a photographer makes me critical of my own photos. Pag-bigyan niyo ang kahalayan ng mga litrato ko, kelangan ilabas ang kalandian habang (mejo) bata pa ako at may karapatan pang magpaka-p*ta ng konti.

Was informed by Lily this morning that I could take the day off. I baked another batch of red velvet, caught up with episodes of Heroes, did laundry, made dinner for me, Mica, Andy and Eisa. Andy had a thing to go to after dinner so us girls had the apartment to ourselves. I was in a creative mood so I suggested we do makeovers and headshots. I can't upload all the photos since a bunch of them contain sensitive material hehe. I bet the neighbors who bothered looking over our kitchen window (we forgot to close the drapes!) would be amused to see girls running around in their underwear.

Make-up on all three ladies by yours truly. My photos were taken by Eisa.

It's late and I should be sleeping but I just had to show these. Good night!

Finally finished my post for this week's Project7Days. It took me about 8 hours last Sunday to research and start it and I just finished it today. I'm not 100% satisfied and I feel I could have done more if given enough time but I think it's enough given the amount of time I spent doing it. I think it's wrathful enough. Check out the site to see the post. Please note that the post is scheduled to be up at 12:01am Manila time. If you can't see it yet, check back again in a few hours. Leave comments if you can, I'd like to know what you think. I showed Louiie, Mica and Jordan the post since I've been asking them for feedback and suggestions on how to create this week's post. Jordan said I needed therapy and Louiie gave me excellent suggestions on how to make the post pop out more. I hope it gets the point across.

Making another batch of red velvet tomorrow before work so I'm hitting the sack. Sorry I haven't been writing as much. Been too exhausted lately. Till next time.

Awww moment...

Last night, after Mica was running through the doors of the restaurant to meet me and Eisa, she exhales,

"Do you know that feeling when you're about to meet up with a guy you really, really like and you're really, really excited?"

Me and Eisa: "Okay...kanino ka nakipagkita?!"

Mica: *pants* "That's the feeling I get when I'm about to meet you guys..."

Awww....

I was hosting last night so I was free to entertain my girls while I worked. The last couple of times I had visitors at work, I was unable to to stay and chat since I was serving and we were very busy. We were slow yesterday so I was only too happy to have visitors. The men at the restaurant were also pleased to see I brought girls in and I was temporarily relieved of eye candy status. I should have them over more often.

I'm so behind on all the shows I've been watching. I haven't see episodes of Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, The Big Bang Theory, Gossip Girl and more. I try to see them when I get home from work but I'm usually too sleep to finish them.

I think I'm due to post my P7d contribution next week and I'm in panic. I haven't given it the slightest bit of thought and I have no idea what I'm supposed to make for it. In my previous P7D posts, I've always had the opportunity to draw from personal experiences that's why it's been so easy. In this case, I am assigned to bring WRATH to life and I'm far from feeling that right now. I am a wrathless animal and I can't even remember the time and the feeling I had a few months ago when I was in that state of mind. Sigh...I need to think about this...

I spent all of last night and today assembling furniture and sorting out stuff. My room is looking more like a room now. Remember how it looked before we moved in?

Then when we moved in...
And now...TADA!I love my wall art. It gives my teeny room life.I have yet to organize my closet properly.
Don't mind the framed photos. Those are temp images. I will have printed versions of my photos soon. I went power drill crazy drilling holes through my brick wall to mount this workstation. It's slightly lopsided but you can barely notice it. The cup noodles was my luch since I was too busy to make a decent meal.My butsudan will be mounted on a wall with a small shelf right below it for my candles and bell. There won't be that red table below when I'm done with the room.

I was telling Ging earlier how much I loved looking at my room because everything in it ay katas ng dugo't pawis ko. Sa akin lahat ito at ilang buwan kong pinagpaguran at pinuyatan. Ang sarap sarap ng pakiramdam. GRABE.

Earlier during our district meeting, Rie, my district leader, asked me how I was then was quick to point out how tired I looked. I didn't realize my exhaustion was beginning to show. I really do need sleep...which I will do right now. G'night!

A lot of things have been happening all at once and I don't even have the luxury to sit down and tell you all about it here. Last night I think was my breaking point when I've surrendered to the fact that I'm no longer 21 and shouldn't be partying like one. My body felt like it was beaten up this morning. I had the hardest time getting out of bed. I missed my filipino SGI meeting and was unable to give/finish the presentation assigned to me.

Last night was CRAZY busy. It was probably the best night at the restaurant since I started working. From the moment I clocked in at 4pm to when I clocked out at 1am, I didn't have time to eat or even sit. I was on my feet for 9 hours straight. It would probably have been okay if I didn't just have 4 hours of sleep after having been awake 24 hours the day before! The party at Claro's stretched on until 8am and I ended up making breakfast for Eisa, Mica, Jordan and I before we all passed out. I got to Claro's a little after 2am and was semi-pleased to see that only a few people came. I was assuming it would be a melow night of just a few drinks. But a few minutes in, Claro busted out the lambanog he brought from his recent trip from Manila and made another beer run. No one was sober that night. I played DJ and every one was on their feet dancing in the kitchen. It was a night full of fun and laughs but one that I will not be making a regular habit of.

It was IKEA day today and we all went to buy the stuff we've been planning on getting for weeks. I finally have a chest of drawers, my box spring, my workstation and a few other items to organize and design my teeny room. We were on assembly frenzy as soon as we got back to the apartment. Mica cooked adobo and we devoured it like animals. I'm not finished buying everything I needed. I didn't have enough money on me so we will all go back in two weeks for round two. I have yet to buy frames for my photos, shelving and a few other items.

I'm off again tomorrow to attend my district meeting in the evening. I will finish cleaning up the room and Mica and I will do laundry. I wish I always had two days off. One day is no longer enough to do everything I need to do outside of work. Must. stay. focused.

Oo nga naman. Sumayaw nalang tayo...

EISA
New York based ARTIST

MICA
New York based DANCER

KARI
New York based PHOTOGRAPHER

This is what we can put on our resumes! Sosyal!

Eisa brought wine and I made dinner last night and we spent the night laughing, devouring my cupcakes and watching Sex and the City. I'm so happy to have such a great group of friends! We only met each other a few months ago but have formed such a great dynamic. I love it!

Party at Claro's tonight to usher in Valentines day! Good thing I work at 4pm tomorrow. It's going to be another late night.

more photos of these bad boys here

I miss my baking partner :(

*Re-posted from my Facebook.

I'm starting a new chain! This whole chain note thing is getting addicting. Typing up random factoids about yourself is a good release and helps you learn a bit more about the people around you so here we go!

Everyone has something to complain about their job so how about we write down the things we do enjoy about our daily grind? I'm not asking for a top ten list here, one would be good. If you don't even have one good thing to say then for crying out loud, QUIT. You can post your own or write it here. C'mon!

Job: Waitress

1. I love cutting tofu. it sounds stupid but you need skill to cut up tofu in equal pieces and when I finally got the hang of it, I always volunteered to do it.

2. I love slicing up veggies for the salads or lime and lemon wedges for drinks.

3. customers who say "You're the best waitress ever!"

4. Tips.

5. My boss is the nicest person EVER. You'd be ashamed to let her down.

6. Cute regulars who smile and stop to say hi.

7. I don't sit in a cubicle and write reports.

8. I don't bring work home.

9. VERY GOOD FREE FOOD. Our chef is amazing. Very short tempered but briliiant.

10. The commute and the running around already serves as my daily exercise. I don't sit on my ass all day.

11. Did I mention cute regulars?

12. Friends who visit!

13. Location! I love walking around the area during my one hour breaks.

Went to Bed, Bath and Beyond during my break and I failed my first day of Must.Not.Shop. Bought equipment I needed to make red velvet cupcakes on my day off tomorrow. I would have bought more if I didn't constantly mutter "will find cheaper stuff in Ikea" under my breath the whole time. I'm finding the need to bake and share right now. V-day is coming up and since this lady has no one to share it with and a a lot to share with, I decided to make cupcakes to take to the Valentines party salubong at Claro's on Friday night. Red velvet seems like a good valentine snack so I'm making it again. Chen and I succesfully baked one for Christmas and I believe I can make them on my own now.

Been on a weird mood since yesterday nursing a swollen ego (I'd rather not get into it though). I need the smell of baked goods coming out of the oven to help me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I have a date with Eisa (and maybe Mica too) in the evening, hopefully I get into a better zone then. I need some serious chanting.

I haven't had the time to write and even properly read my mail for days. Been so busy and tired the past several days. We had a long night last Saturday night at the restaurant. I was home by 3am then had to be up again at 7:30am Sunday to go to the city to shoot for Mica and Leo's MOVE event. I will upload the full album when I've submitted the photos to Qua2d. I also took Benny's photos Saturday afternoon since he needed new headshots for his website and to submit for his dance company's member profile. I love being in the company of artists because it's opening doors for me to pursue my love of being behind the camera. I'm exhausted but at the same time very productive so I guess it all works out.

*click links above to learn more about them

Preview from the Move event:
Below are a couple of photos I took of Benny right here in our living room. The sun shone just right through our living room window and with Mica serving as an assistant holding my off shoe flash, I managed to take decent photos.
Mica and Leo asked me to take theirs as well. I am hoping to have enough money saved up by March to buy my own set of strobes. Must. Not. Shop.

Ok, it's past 2am and I have another early day tomorrow. Until next post! I should have proper photos then.

Benny, Matt, me, Andy and Mica

My wonderful aunt from the UK sent us a housewarming present and we'd like to wish her a very Happy Birthday from all of us here in Brooklyn! Hope you have a great day!

I almost f*cked Andy's coffee table this morning by placing my very hot coffee press on it. I lifted it to pour my coffee out and was horrified by the very white ring stain it left behind. I was in mad panic and Mica suggested I use pledge. I ran to get my pledge wipes and started rubbing with fury. Nothing. I was prepared to grovel and apologize to Andy already saying I'd pay to get the table restored.

I'm a huge cross-referencer and I don't know where I'd be without Google, Wikipedia and Imdb to fuel my hunger for information. I googled tips on table stain removal and came across this tip. I grabbed Andy's iron and tried it, carefully raising the steam level since the site also mentioned that it may worsen the stain. I figured, either way, I was going to pay to fix it so I gave it a shot.

IT F8CKING WORKED! The stain is gone and no one will ever know. Well, maybe except YOU.

Mica and I were giving each other high fives. I LOVE GOOGLE!

Got home from work at 1am. Mica and Benny had Andrew over and were drinking. Andy was nowhere to be found. I still had three bottles of Stella in the fridge so I sat down and joined them. We drank, chatted (online to friends and to each other), Mica is such a chatty drunk its hilarious. I hate dried fruit but couldn't stop munching on their trail mix. We all passed out around 4am and it looks like I'm the only one up right now.

Made myself a yummy platter for lunch. Tomato, cheese and turkey sandwich with pickles on the side, carrot and celery sticks with blue cheese dressing and grapes. I've also been working on the cartons of citrus punch Rann gave us on our first day. The juice reminds me of the taste of Zesto. Louiie, I love the coffee press you gave me and I've been using it everyday. Btw, our housewarming party will be aroung the first weekend of March which means thats the weekend of our birthday. Come if you can. Although now I can't guarantee you can sleep in the house because I bet a lot of people will be crashing here after the party.

We postponed the housewarming until after our Ikea trip so we can properly furnish the house before we invite guests over. They were just discussing how we will need at least 2-3 seperate housewarming parties since all their friends won't fit in the apartment at one time. I don't have a lot to invite since the people I know are the people they know too. We're going to make an event out of it and I have assigned myself to make invites. I will even have to shoot for it! Yey! I love having such creative roommies!

My baby boy turned 8 years old today!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY OMEE!!!I kept kissing him all night and pinching his belly.

Treated Ana, Poy, Tita Chon and family at Sri Pra Phai. Awesome awesome thai food. I ate so much I'm going to burst. Omee was so cute when we left the restaurant asking me if I was going home with them. Tita Chon also had a moment when she told us to not forget about them now that we all live in Brooklyn. Ana and Poy once stayed with Tita Chon before they eventually relocated to Brooklyn.

Got the day off today and went to Target to buy some stuff I needed (laundry detergent, hangers, etc.), shopped for a few groceries and did laundry before I headed out to Queens for dinner. I was so kalat today and kept running back and forth from the laundromat to the apartment because I kept forgetting stuff. I almost fell down the stairs running to the subway station in my haste to make it to dinner.

I got home to the smell of dinner cooking. Benny and Matt made dinner for them and Mica and Andy and we all sat down together. It felt wonderful having a home of my own that I can share with great people. Mica and I bought stuff online at Urban Outfitters that were on sale. Man, I spent so much today. I will need to tighten my belt the next few weeks since I will need to go on that Ikea shopping trip in two weeks.

Andy, Mica and I after clean up

I went to The Container Store during my break (thanks graceylou for directions!) and scored a few things to help me organize my closet and also got some small items for the house. I'm saving the big blowout for our Ikea trip mid-feb.

It was snowing the whole day today so it was mad slow at the restaurant. Lili sent me home early which gave me, Mica and Andy enough time to clean and organize the house as well as throw out all our garbage and moving boxes. The apartment is slowly looking more homey. Me and Mica were on broom and swiffer madness cleaning the floors.

My closet needs more work. I will replace the boxes with decent storage bins and it won't look this cramped when I finally buy a chest of drawers from Ikea.

My room looks like crap right now.
Will fix it as soon as this blog is posted.

The kitchen looks more like a kitchen now!

I can't wait to start cooking!
That's if I manage to find the time to do so.

I decided to keep my books out on Andy's shelving units to make more room in my bedroom.

I'd like to put art on the living room walls or maybe even (ahem) my photos.
When we manage to save enough enough moolah to buy a wall bracket, we will mount Andy's plasma TV above the faux fireplace.

It's 2:30am and I have a messy room waiting for me. Excuse me and good night.