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It truly was Colin Firth's night, because (as everyone expected) he finally, FINALLY took home the Oscar for Best Actor. I love love love Colin Firth, and he's amazed me so many times. He's such a moving actor, whatever character he's playing. I'm so proud and excited for him. In the weeks leading up to the Oscars, I've been reading and reading movie news, checking if anyone was forecasting anyone taking the gold statue away from him. Thankfully, everyone seemed to be in agreement that it was gonna be Colin. When I finally saw the tweets confirming that he was now officially as Oscar-winning actor, I squealed in joy.
But of course, aside from the significance of the movies, I (along with the rest of the female population) love looking at the gowns as well. This year was about subdued nude colors or bold colors, and it was a lovely range to gaze upon. Here are some of my favorites:
Dammit, Anne Hathaway. Do you always have to look good on the red carpet? Anne Hathaway in Valentino. Of course she looked extra stunning that night--she was the host.
Really liked this deep burgundy / plum dress by Atelier Versace.
And because I'm a sucker for tuxes on girls, y'know I love this. Lanvin suit and sparkly Brian Atwood pumps. (Bow tie's a wee bit too big for me though.)
Don't you love Cate Blanchett's unique but still very feminine and lovely red carpet choices? Here's tonight's winner from Givenchy Haute Couture. Interesting details, but overall, the dress--and Cate--is so pretty.
Goodness gracious. Here's Gwyneth proving that behind her super cool, urban bohemian, Goop-writing, alternative Mom facade, she's really a rock star at heart. A metallic Calvin Klein is just perfect for that.
Marchesa AND age-appropriate. Hailee Steinfeld's been picking fantastic gowns for the red carpet.
MOTHER OF GOD, SHE'S SO GORGEOUS. Halle Berry in Marchesa. I swear to God, if I ever had a red carpet event to go to and I had my pick of any designer, it would probably be Marchesa, Marchesa, Marchesa. I never fail to fall for something Marchesa on the red carpet. You always look like a gorgeous, floating, luxurious dream.
Still not used to seeing Jennifer Hudson so payat. I wanna feed her something, haha, but um, good job on becoming healthy. I adore the color choice. So yummy, so citrus-y, so unexpected and yet so Spring/Summer 2011. Plus I'm drawn to this because I would so wear this. Oh, only if I had the waist.
Who is this Jennifer Lawrence, and why is she looking so great all the time on the red carpet? I loved the LV dress on her in the Golden Globes, and this red Calvin Klein dress is oh, sooo perfect. She's got the perfect curves for this dress and she makes it look DAMN hot. Other girls would just look okay, but she makes it WERQ.
This is why I love the 1950s. Look at how beautiful this dress is. Marisa Tomei in a Charles James dress from the '50s, and she channels vintage in her hairdo as well!
Understated but amazingly still able to turn heads. Beautiful! Perfect for a non-nominee. Michelle Williams in Chanel Haute Couture.
Still looking like a winner! Love how she (along with Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Lawrence) make red look new again. Sandra Bullock in Vera Wang <3
Once upon a time, I was but a high school girl watching The Count of Monte Cristo with my friends, expecting to fall madly in love with Jim Caviezel. (You know the story--innocent man betrayed by his best friend, sent to jail in Marseilles for several years until an inmate helps him escape and find loads of hidden wealth, then goes back to seek revenge and win back his girl. How can you not root for the good guy?) Excellent, excellent movie, seriously, and Jim Caviezel was intense, brooding, and really quite amazing as Edmond Dantes.
Instead, I fell in love with Albert Mondego--his son. The moment we saw him, all of us girls sat up a bit straighter. He was so painfully adorable that he completely stole all the attention. The movie was beautiful, but I could never, ever forget how good-looking Albert Mondego was.
Many years later, Kich introduced me to The Tudors, a Showtime series about the life and times--and wives!--of Henry VIII. Another excellent series, especially since I have a thing for history (and, you know, hot guys). Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays Henry VIII, and he made Henry VIII SO EASY ON THE EYES. <3 But Henry's best friend Charles Brandon (who he later made into the Duke of Suffolk), played by Henry Cavill, wasn't too bad to look at either. In fact, I started to like him more because Henry was an ass and Charles was such a kind-hearted, loyal, and noble person--not to mention he was boyish and did I mention hot?
After four seasons, I'm still very much in love with him. He remains my favorite character, and I have loved how he has developed and changed over the seasons, from his carefree, playboy kalbo days to his aging, morally-conflicted but eternally obedient end.
(Oo, thundercat na siya dito but love ko pa rin siya! Haha!)
Today news broke all over the world that Henry Cavill has been cast as Superman in the Christopher Nolan reboot. I was so excited for Henry Cavill because, as I said, I LOVE him. The Tudors was on cable and not very mainstream, and so I know that this is big break into Hollywood. I browsed through some of articles written about him, explaining the projects he's worked on and got the shock of my life when I realized that he of The Tudors and The Count of Monte Cristo were the same man.
My mind just splattered all over my bedspread. I never knew it, but I've ALWAYS loved him. I feel as if I just found out that the guy I'm about the marry was the little boy I fake-married in the playground. Haha, I'm so kilig!
While he's never been the bida, he's always been able to steal my attention and my (yikee!) heart. I'm glad he's finally gotten the lead role...and what a role it is! The thing is, I can TOTALLY see him doing Superman. He's got the handsome, noble good guy thing down perfectly. He's going to rock.
Not excited to share him with other girls though. I was expecting that a lot of other girls would say they watched The Tudors too, but apparently, I REALLY was first haha!
Claire Danes in Calvin Klein
Emma Stone in Calvin Klein
Amber Riley
January Jones in Versace
Jayma Mays
Jennifer Lawrence in LV
Jessalyn Gilsig in David Meister
Leighton Meester in Burberry
Sandra Bullock in Jenny Packham
Sarah Hyland in Max Azria
Catherine Zeta-Jones in Monique Lhullier
Elisabeth Moss in Donna Karan
Piper Perabo in Oscar de la Renta
Friends understand those contradictions in your nature that lead others to misjudge you. With them you breathe freely. You can be up-front with your little vanities and envies and hates and vicious sparks, with your meanness, little streaks of meanness and absurdities. And by opening them up to your friends, they are lost, dissolved in the wide and white ocean of their loyalty. They understand. You do not have to be careful. You can abuse them, neglect them, tolerate them. best of all you can still keep them. it does not matter.They like you.
-From "Three little words on life, on love, on laughs" by Francis Kong and "Bits and Pieces" by Raymond Beran"
My friend Trin posted this on her Facebook yesterday. Isn't it strange that we can be the worst versions of ourselves with some people and they can still love us afterwards? Haha. I love you, friends, for sitting through my I-haven't-had-coffee-yet mornings, my overly talkative moments, my weird crazy dancing in the middle of nowhere, my ignorance for world issues and geography, my helplessness in numbers and technology, and my insecurities. Thank you.
<3
Believe me. I do need you.
You see, I grew up with two older brothers who never left me food and refused to let me tag along, with the Spice Girls yelling "GIIIIIRL POWER!!!" with peace signs and platform boots waving in the air, with magazines insisting that I didn't need guys to feel happy and have fun, with male classmates treating me like just another one of the guys. I realized, early on in life, that guys weren't going to treat me like a princess, that I had to learn how to take care and love myself. So I did.
And now, I'm being told that the reason I haven't met you yet (or have I, and I just don't know it yet?) is because I don't make guys feel needed. Something about my personality being "too much" for guys, yada yada. (Personally, I think it's my waistline that's too much.)
While my other feminist friends are yelling "SO WHAT?! I DON'T HAVE TIME TO DEAL WITH THEIR INSECURITIES!", I choose to understand you. (See? Great girlfriend material already!) I don't think it's a male insecurity; I think it's a basic human emotion to want to be needed. Nobody wants to feel useless or unnecessary, and I imagine I'd want you to need me too. So let me assure you that you are, indeed, very much needed, and I will tell you why.
First of all, I'm not going to dumb myself up or make myself helpless on purpose. I refuse to do this and present myself as someone I'm not. It would be like lying to you anyway, and lying in a relationship is never good. I've been taking care of myself for a long time now, and so please understand and accept I am a strong, capable, independent young woman. In fact, this is one of the things that you will like in me.
I can carry my own handbag. (I hate, hate those boyfriends carrying their girlfriend's handbags. HELLO. Women like bags, and if we're going to own them and carry them, LET US. Carrying them for us means you want us to say "I carry bags just so that my boyfriend can carry it for me." Carry our backpacks, our laptop bags. BUT OUR HANDBAGS? Unless they have back problems, please don't make your girlfriends look like helpless wimps.) I can drive myself. I can read maps. I can hold my own drink.
But none of this means I'm invincible, that I don't need anything or anyone. It certainly doesn't mean that I don't need you.
I need you because (let's cover the basics first) I love you, and I love being around people I love. It makes me happy, and I like being happy.
I need you because you will be my partner, my boyfriend, and possibly my husband, and we will be together for a lot of things in our lives. As we walk through life's journey, I need you to be my confirmation. When I see a falling star and yell "DID YOU SEE THAT?!", when I discover a new restaurant and want to try a new dish, when say something that I think is funny, when I work hard for my dreams and make them come true, when I grow older and look back at everything I've done, I need you to be there. You will be my witness to my life, our life.
I need you to be my consolation, my shoulder to cry on. Life can and will get difficult, and I will need you to be there when things go wrong or awry. I need you to be that strong guy I know you are to pull me together when I fall apart. When I do something bad, you will remind me about the good in me and push me to be better.
I need you to be my affirmation, to choose me everyday, again and again. Billions of people in this world, and I need you to remind me why I'm here, why I'm one of a kind, and why you chose to be with me. You will know me, possibly better than I know myself, understand me, and remind me who I am.
I need you to challenge me. You will read my work and critique honestly, disagree with some of my opinions (but respect them) and ask me to explain and defend them, weigh the pros and cons of my choices with me, remind me to stick to my New Year's resolutions, dare me to do crazy things, encourage me to swallow my fears. You will believe in me and in so doing, you will make me stronger.
I need you to inspire me. When I look at you, I'll see the incredible man you are and know that men can be faithful to one woman, that hard work can turn dreams into reality, that people can hold onto their values even if times change. You will enthrall me with your passion, your ideas, your dreams, your English (because you know good English makes me weak in the knees), your love for life.
Yes, I love and celebrate myself, but who says I don't need you? It's true that I don't need you to be a happy, complete and fulfilled person, but I still need you to share my self and my life with. (And yes, I need you to fix the occasional glitch on my laptop.) I mean, isn't happiness fantastic when you share it with someone? It multiples joy by a hundredfold! I choose you to want to be with you, to need you, to spend my life with because you make it better, make me better.
And if you don't believe any of this, I really need you to find me so I can show you and tell you what an awesome person you are. You will make me so very, very happy. I will do everything that I said I'd need you to do here (and more!) because I want to make you happy too, as happy as you will make me. You may not realize it, but oh my God, you're incredible, and I'm going to be the luckiest girl in the world.
So get here when you can. <3
Love,
Monique
So Starbucks is getting a new logo. Personally, I'm okay with it. It's clean, subtle, pretty and meaningful. And hello--as if anyone's not going to know that it's Starbucks.
The only thing is, now my creative grad pic looks dated:
So I've ben thinking about my hair. They say that when a girl goes through something new in life, she changes her hair. Breaks up with her boyfriend (heyyy! True!), has a baby, loses weight--she does something with her hair. Well, it's the new year and I've been itching to do something to my hair. The thing is, I don't know what to do with it.
I'm not exactly adventurous when it comes to hair, but I guess it's gone through a lot of ups and downs...or longs and shorts, rather. And curls and straights!
Let's go as far back as 2004. By this time I was in college already, and I had had my hair rebonded back in high school. Because of the easiness of straight hair, I got it rebonded again:
SIGE NGA, FIND ME. HAHAHA. Hayop ang hair ko, pang-commercial.
Eventually, my hair grew out and you could see where the rebonding starts and the kulot begins:
(With the Larry Fonacier jersey I won in the ACTM auction. I almost was in tears when I thought I wasn't gonna get it.)
It got worse when I was in France. We were all too cheap to get a haircut, so while some of us grew wild bangs (the boys. HAHA), my hair became half-curly (on top), and half-rebonded.
After getting back from France, I chopped off my hair (bakit kayaaa?) and got it rebonded again. Actually, I asked to get it relaxed and my Mom told the girl at the salon to go ahead and rebond it. Uh. Okay. She paid for it, anyway.
And again: let it grow:
And for a while, I really wanted to get blue hair while I still could. I mean, I didn't want blue hair when I was in the corporate world. Apparently, blue hair on black hair is pretty hard to do. The stylists explained that for the blue dye to actually be visible on my hair, they would have to bleach it white, and then apply the blue hair. But it would only stay for three weeks. The color would slowly fade to green (ACK!), and then disappear. Oh, so complicated. So I just had blue hair extensions.
So before her:
Unfortunately for me, uso si Super Inggo at the time. Boo.
After going into work, I had my hair colored, which prompted Richard (from the office) to call me Goldilocks for a while. HAHA. Honestly, it's not that bright:
Then I took the plunge ang got BANGS! I was inspired by the blunt bangs + kinda kulot stylings of:
Kenley, my favorite from Project Runway season 5
Zooey Deschanel
Unfortunately, bangs are every curly girl's frustration. So hard to make them look fantastico without blowdrying them everyday. No matter what I did, the bangs just kept curling up.
This is what I looked like on a GOOD day, when I pushed the bangs to the side:
In my frustration I got the bangs straightened. (Funny, when I got them straightened, someone asked me "Saan ka nagpakulot?" I answered, "Oh no, I'm naturally curly. It's my bangs that are fake. HAHA.") Then I couldn't figure out how to style them.
Straight down:
Then they'd separate anyway:
So I just pushed them to the side:
(I love this picture, this is a random "Uy I have chichi" moment)
But now I'm stuck again. What to do, what to do...
Background: Today was Jaime's first birthday party, and since the theme was Olympics, guests were asked to come in their sports attire. Most people came in just simple sports shirts and rubber shoes. There was a friend of Kuya Jondi's who was dressed in taekwondo uniform. She seemed to be a good friend of my brother's, and in the photo booth, the photographer took a couple of pictures of her while she posed like a kung fu artist. Nothing exag, just like *hai-ya!* poses.
So when we got home, we were looking over the pictures:
Mom: Sino ba 'tong girl na 'to?
Kuya: Friend ko. Si Jess*.
Mom: Doktora 'to? Ganito na pala yung mga doktora ngayon.
Me: Huh? Why?
Mom: Well, noon doctors were...conservative?
Me: *thinking* My doctor friends aren't super conservative naman.
Mom: Ah. *looks at more pictures* I swear! Tingnan mo siya! Hindi ba siya weird?
Me: Weird?! Bakit weird?
Mom: Kasi naka-costume siya. (This, from my mother, who always dresses to the frigging nines in her monthly costume parties.)
Me: O, tapos? We asked them to come in sports attire nga e.
Mom: E mag-isa lang siya.
Kuya: Hindi kasi puwede yung ibang friends ko e.
Me: O, tapos?
Mom: Nag-pose pa.
Me: O, tapos? I'd do the same thing naman if it were my friend.
Mom: I know, kilala kita e. (to Kuya) May boyfriend na ba yan?
Kuya: Wala.
Mom: *looks smugly at me*
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS TO ME?!
Again: Can someone please explain why girls who are game, outgoing, and independent are considered damaged goods by guys (or why my family thinks so)? Guys, preferably.
Here are some possible reasons I've drawn up. Is it because:
A) A girl with personality is not mysterious, and guys like mystery?
B) Guys don't like being in the background and so they don't want to be outshadowed by girls with stronger personalities?
C) Guys feel that independence is inherently a male characteristic, and thus they don't find it attractive?
You may assent to one of the choices above or provide your own theories. Please help me comprehend. I've run out of things to say to my family, who is deadset on transforming me into a quiet, un-opinionated, dumb girl because they're worried I'm never going to get married. MY GOD. IS THIS MY ONLY CHOICE? TO DUMB MYSELF UP JUST TO GET A BOYFRIEND?!
Agh. But anyway. Please explain so I can understand.
*Names have been changed to protect the innocent and, apparently, the fiercely independent.
1. ...my nephew Jaime was born! January 1, 2010. Can't believe the little guy is turning ONE tomorrow. I've watched him transform to a teeny-but-really-long baby to a little chubster who can point out babies in books when we yell "WHERE'S THE BABY?", who bites us with his five teeth, and runs around too fast for us. He's adorable and I've loved watching him grow up. Going home to find him smiling has been such a joy!
2. ..Retsol turned on me. Or, maybe I turned on Retsol. Maybe because deep down, I knew I was just waiting to hand in my resignation letter. But no matter how much I tried to get my head in the game, I knew that I really hated my job. It wasn't value-adding the company or to my life, just another way of retailers passing on their expenses to us. (Sorry. It's true.) No matter how much my boss tried to improve our position as a company, everyday I woke up and dreaded going to work. Everyday I stared at my computer and asked myself, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THIS FOR?" My parents noticed that I wasn't happy anymore.
And right smack in January 2010, I remember SO WELL, things exploded. I had a Bad Day, which I wrote about:
"I shall spare you the boring details, but the Bad Day was so bad that it didn’t go away. The Bad Day, which transpired a couple of weeks ago, is morphing into a Bad Month.
Worse, this Bad Day didn’t just bother me at work. It followed me around like a parasite, sucking the positive attitude out of me and leaving feelings of irritation, panic, disappointment, and even inadequacy. Whether I was still working or enjoying my free time, my Bad Day was hanging over me like a cartoon rain cloud. I’d be typing an e-mail regarding another project and suddenly my mind would start obsessing over the Bad Day. I would be drifting off to sleep at home and BAM! One little thought about my Bad Day would creep up on me and my eyes would be wide open again."
(You can read the whole article here.) Things were never the same.
3....I resigned! A LOT of confusing and exciting things happened after I handed in my resignation letter, and some people may have gotten me to change my mind, but in the end, I knew that I had a different path. It was incredibly difficult, but now, my new life is about to start. C: Still, I miss my friends, the learning and the craziness. And the free products. Haha.
4. ...I kept on wakeboarding.
I may have not exactly been able to do ramps BUT BY GOD, I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STAND AND DO ROUNDS!
5. I had my own car, thanks to Unilever.
I shall miss you, Noli.
6. ...Auj was the first one in our barkada to get married. And she was gorgeous. He was gorgeous. The whole thing was gorgeous. And so far, she's transformed into a domestic goddess and he's a sweet guy whipping her up pancakes when she's sick. Love you both!
The gorgeous couple.
Now with our crazy barkada.
7. we celebrated our 5 Year Baboy Anniversary! It's insane to think that it was five years ago, yet it remains a pivotal moment in my life. And I still consider them some of my greatest friends. To looking back and moving forward together.
Christmas 2005
Celebrating our 5 years!
Christmas 2010 (Oh, Gena.)
8. ...my dream concerts came true. I said I was only willing to shell out big bucks for JT and Usher. Well, whaddya know. AND with Timbaland.
JT and Timbo
Ursher
9. I went through a shoe embargo until my birthday.
January: 'SUS! KAYANG KAYA!
February: Mmm. Shet. I want to buy shoes na.
March: OMAIGOD I'M DYING!!!!
April: RAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWRRRRRRRRR!!! SINO BANG NAG-ISIP NG LECHENG EMBARGO NA 'TO????
May: MALAPIT NA MALAPIT NA MALAPIT NA MALAPIT N
Ayan tuloy.
10. I TRAVELLED TO SPAIN AND PORTUGAL! (And went back to the States!) Awesome sauce.
Avila (Spain)
Salamanca (Spain)
Coimbra (Portugal)
Fatima (Portugal)
Obidos (Portuagal)
Lisbon (Portugal)
Seville (Spain)
Cordoba (Spain)
Madrid (Spain)
Barcelona (Spain)
Barcelona (Spain)
Las Vegas! (Which reminds me, I haven't uploaded my NY pics. There aren't a lot, but...for posterity!)
11. I went on a lemon diet. 10 days of nothing but lemon juice with syrup and pepper. I never, ever thought I would do something like this but when I realized I'd be going on vacation, I needed to ensure that I wouldn't come home fifty pounds heavier. And surprisingly, I survived!And it worth it because I was able to keep from gaining weight when I ate all of these:
SANGRIAAA!
Not the greatest year in my life, but going through all changes has also showed me my capacity as a person: celebrating five years with the Baboys (and the Brew Crew, come to think of it) showed me how long true friendships can be sustained. Shoe embargoes and lemon diets proved that I *kinda* have willpower. I guess as I'm forging my road to the future, I'm forging my own self.
January is named after two-headed Janus, who has the capacity to look both forward and back. Today, I realize I'm not only looking at 2010 and 2011, but my whole life before today and the life I want after today. I can see it now: Big changes are coming. Maaan, 2011 is going to rock my world.
