Giving Back: A Start of An Annual Tradition (Orig4 Christmas 2013)

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Another happy post-Christmas celebration with my girls!This year, however, is a different and meaningful one. We didn't just celebrate Christmas among ourselves but somehow "passed on the celebration to others". 

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Christmas 2013 with the Family

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Merie Christmas, I mean MERRY CHRISTMAS from the Clarete family to yours! 

Unlike previous years wherein we get to celebrate this special occasion with relatives, this year we are alone as a family. We don't have the magarbong noche buena. We actually slept early. But the next day, we did the annual Christmas visit to Tagaytay for a bulalo, after attending the Christmas service that is. Hopefully next year we can go back to Bohol or Isabela to celebrate Christmas with the relatives. :) Got nothing much to say but praying that we all know the true meaning of Christmas. Now the photos...

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Coffees and Lunches

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Meeting people and eating while catching up must be one of the good things this life has to offer. I feel delighted that all throughout this year, I was able to squeeze in such meet-ups despite the corporate-slave-busyness I have. Sometimes one just need to unwind through talking to different people and maybe gain new perspectives, insights, get encouragement, or allow someone to absorb whatever emotion you may emit. Tapos ikain mo lang in between! Life can simply be that amazing. There is this feeling of being blessed with great people; this is besides having a very supportive boyfriend.

November 15, 2013

Another impromptu cocol night with my lovelies. I just got back from Hong Kong so apart from the catching up, I took it as a chance to give them my pasalubong and our “friendship necklace”. Haha! And by the way, it’s been quite a long time since we last had our coffee session in this Starbucks branch we used to frequent years back.

 

Missed my lovelies!

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Going Back Escolta

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Last Saturday, it was our second time to participate in 98B Collab’s Saturday Future Market at Escolta. And each time, I am amazed how talented and creative Filipinos can be. I can’t help but admire those people who are really into these creative stuff and let “creativity feed them”. This collaboration is indeed a brilliant idea – making room for local artists and “artsies” showcase what they got and allow them to earn from it. This is just our second month of joining but I am already looking forward to the coming months to pour our hearts out on this endeavour.

From where I stand -- Escolta

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Thankful Thursday: Thanksgiving Day Edition

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So here I am feeling American, my colonial mentality whatever hahaha participating in the Americas’ thanksgiving celebration. Well, how I wish I could also have all those Black Friday coupons. I don’t think I would mind queuing for all those good stuff awaiting their purchase at significant price drops!!

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November Wishlist

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MacBook Air || Kate Spade Cedar Street Maise in African Violet (or red or black) || Michael Kors Baguette-Bezel Watch in Rose Gold || stylish mannequin display/s || sewing machine || white grand piano (or any piano Casio or Yamaha) || iPhone 5s in gold



I'm taking November, my birthday month, as a chance to shout-out my sort of expensive wishlist. :( Most of these, which are on top of my head as I write thinking of "material wishes", are not part of my "priority list" -- obviously material wants. But hey, it's my birthday so bigay niyo sa 'kin 'to haha! 

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RV's 30th

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This post is dedicated to Renee Victoria Nievera, who just turned 30 years old!!! Weeee!! This lady is so special to my heart. Who would have thought that we will be really close. She turned out to be my confidante, an older sister I never had, and my bulliness-absorber! Hahaha! Though I bully you always, you know the reason why.... It's because I love you! Haha! I pray for more blessings for you and your family and your blossoming love life. Yikeeee! You've been composed and demure in your own ways. Stay nice, bright and positive person that you are. Keep inspiring people. HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Thank you for the sumptuous SumoSam Legacy Eat-all-you-can! Yayyyy!

Parang ako ang may birthday! Anyway, we have our birthdays close to each other :)

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Thankful Thursday: Special Edition Wear My Design 2 Win

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This is overdue but I MUST BLOG ABOUT THIS! Part of the greatest things I’m thankful for this 2013 is being one of the grand winners of Ensembles’ Wear My Design Year 2! Thus, it is apt to write a sole post for this very ultimate superb memorable event in my life!

As what my family and most of my friends know about me, there’s something about fashion that I just really love. One of my greatest dreams is to be in the fashion industry, a fashion designer in particular. It’s a frustration I can’t simply forego! Haha! But I lack in any drive and source to pursue it. So for most of the days of my way of life, I let it sit somewhere I could just pick it up WHENEVER I feel like it. Gets? Parang wala lang that I declared to myself it’s not a passion at all. I allowed opportunities pass me by, hi hello goodbye. I didn’t study when I’ve had those plenty of time. Despite all those encouragements and moral support, nada, I just left it there sitting…



One of my two entries last year

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Choco Yema Yummm

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The two ladies who didn't left me alone on my first day! 



Tuna Sandwich for lunch! So not me sandwich lang ang lunch haha!



Slice's must-try Chocolate Yema cupcake :)

Made use of company fun money and had some light lunch plus dessert at Slice High Street! How we enjoyed that one hour is beyond us! Haha! We had some sandwich for lunch. we also tried Slice's Choco Yema Cupcakes!! Make sure to try it, too when you visit Slice! It's Yema-yummmm!!! It's been a while since the last time the three of us had a lunch-out. Fun fun lunch with these two ladies!

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Me-Time Monday

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Not the best photo of my newly-dyed and cut hair by Piandre. New nail color too! After trying Piandre out, I'd still choose Falconi! Or maybe I'd give other Piandre branches a try, but I got disappointed tonight. Anyway, this is still something new.

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Thankful Thursday: Animo La Salle. Never Shall We Fail

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Hooray!! Animo La Salle!! Waited for five years, we’re back and we’re no.1!!!

Six years ago I was able to witness La Salle’s win over UE which led to their 2007 championship! A year after, La Salle made it to the finals once again; but was heartbreakingly defeated by its “greatest rival”, Ateneo. I was a student back those years. As I look back from this point, all I can say is, wow it's been a long time…

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Welcome to the Pensionados, Papa!

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We were looking forward to this date. My father has gone 10 years past the golden age and we welcomed (a one day advance welcome) him to the pension club yesterday, Sept 22. Today marks my father’s 60th year of existence. We planned a surprise which was held at Shakey’s, Times, Las Piñas. It was just a small Superman-themed kiddie birthday,but it was a huge success. We invited only a few of the people close to Papa’s heart. Sadly, relatives are miles away so mostly were churchmates, and really few relatives here in Manila. …and the kids that Papa adores haha! One of the reasons why I and Mama chose a kiddie theme is because we know that Papa enjoys seeing little kids around and true enough, his fondness of kids was displayed during the party. Sorry Pa, not the right time to have an apo yet hehehe.

Happy faces for Papa that day!! Family is love. Family is forever!

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Berks Goes Back to Canyon Cove 2013

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Week 39 Photobin

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DLSU-ADMU Do or Die Game
September 18, 2013
Yes the Tigers made it to the Final Four!

Victory Dinner Hahaha!

September 21 - Badminton Day after a looong time!



Luke paired up with Marffy for a doubles game :)
Glad to see him "competing" in sports. It's what he really likes! Haha! They won btw.



Bought our cat a tee haha! He's sooooo cuuute!



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Spontaneous Date Night with My Girlfriends

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Blessings were showered upon me and I have no means to return the favour aside from paying it forward to no other than my best and loveliest girlfriends!

My girls with their 'loots'!

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Shing's a Legit Writer!

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This is only our second photo together!! But it makes me glad haha!

One buzzing payday Friday, I rushed to the Manila International Book Fair at SMX not to shop for books but to at least see Shing (Jezreel Manugue) once again, after three years! I met her online and we’ve been strongly connected through our different online spaces and have been following each other ever since. But the main reason of “the rush” was because she’s one of the writers of the book “Beauty for Ashes” which was launched on that same day. I missed the launch but at least I got to see her on that special day! Happiness is what I felt for Shing because we could now truly say that she’s already a legit writer! Imagine, five years ago I was just reading her blog and now she’s got her name printed on a book distributed nationwide. I feel glad and proud for this accomplishment of hers! I know and I pray that this is certainly just the beginning of her writing walk and soon she would be able to launch a book of her own. So proud of you, Shing!

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Sabo-TIN!!!

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Yay!! Finally, though a quick one, an eat-out with Tin pushed through! It was one nippy lunch-out at Saboten. It was a first for the both of us and we actually liked it. Since I’m not really a fan of Japanese cuisine, it was a good experience having tried out their tenderloin Katsu. Tin compared it to Yabu but I never had a chance to experience Yabu yet so I have no basis of comparison. Pero kung sa Tokyo-Tokyo icocompare, naman, so much better hahaha! All I know is that I liked the Katsu and enjoyed the unlimited cabbage. Haha!

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Week 37 Photobin

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Lunch c/o the company. Thank God for fun money.

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One Saturday On Me

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RV and Chat with their "loot bags"

Meet RV and Chat – my greatest supporters in my Wear My Design endeavour! They were the ones whoepushed me to it and if not because of their insistence, I wouldn’t have won and maybe totally gave up that dream. I thank God for blessing me with these two.

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Thankful Thursday!

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August was a sure blast!! And there are SOOO many things to be thankful for! September started with a flare as well! And even on this fifth day of the month my heart is overflowing with joy and gratitude.

It’s been a while since I listed down here in my blog the things I’m thankful for. If I backtrack as far as the last time I blogged about it, this would be one endless post so will have to stick to the most recent ones. 

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The Heat Made Us Do It

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Nothing special. We just thought of being "healthy" for a really short while on a hot Friday afternoon! It felt like summer on August! Ang inett!! So we were Jambafied! Haha! Btw, this is Edna, my partner-in-crime, my confidante, my kadaldalan and my boredom-mate and busy-mate altogether at work. God has really blessed me with nice people!!

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Spa and Steak

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Our second bonding session since the last time we ate at Red Kimono! I got to spend Saturday with my fellow BA ladies. We decided to try-out Ace Water Spa at Pioneer, Mandaluyong. We have no photos as it was prohibited. We had fun being played by the water. It was a tad tiring though but at the end of it, we felt relaxed.

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Bumped into Jezraiah

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Book Comment: The Shack (by Wm. Paul Young)

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Title: The Shack
Author: Wm. Paul Young
No. of pages: 252
Published: July 1st 2007
Read: August 15, 2013

This book deserves a two thumbs up, standing ovation, confetti, it's just worth the time spent reading. Yes, I got carried away. However let me also state that I like books regarding spirituality, hence, this book automatically goes a notch higher. Yet, I consider this book as definitely one of my favorites. It impacted me. It touched me in a way that I cried on some parts of the book. It made me pause and utter a prayer. And since I read it, I try to live some of the words Papa uttered there like it was God who said it to me. I was able to relate to Mack at so many points. I guess all of us can relate to this book, most especially to my dear Christian friends. I highly recommend it. I give it a rating of OWN A COPY OF THE BOOK. When I say own a copy, it only means that it’s worth the money, the effort and the time!

Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation, and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his "Great Sadness," Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.

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258. Unsolicited Take: Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

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It's a holiday! Luke didn't report to work while I finished my tasks early so that we could squeeze in some movie Fridate. 

In this retelling of Rick Riordans book, "The Sea of Monsters", Percy Jackson, accompanied by his friends Annabeth Chase, Clarisse La Rue and Tyson, his half brother, goes on a journey to the Sea of Monsters to retrieve the Golden Fleece and save Camp Half-Blood. Written by Michelle Stone

My mind is in chaos. I haven’t read the book which maybe a reason why I'm left with so many questions while watching this movie. Yet again I brought with me inside the cinema my high expectations. I could say that the kids will best appreciate the movie. Nothing really complicated in the plot. The plot revolves around the adventures before, during, and after the encounter with the sea of monsters – of trying to find and get the golden fleece which is the cure to the tree that protects the place of the half-bloods. There is nothing really surprising in the turn of events or maybe I wasn’t that surprised at all. Frankly speaking, I’m disappointed with the movie and too lazy to write a decent take of this movie. Haha!

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257. Unsolicited Take: The Purge (2013)

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 It was a Saturday Spontaneous movie with Luke.

In an America wracked by crime and overcrowded prisons, the government has sanctioned an annual 12-hour period in which any and all criminal activity-including murder-becomes legal. The police can't be called. Hospitals suspend help. It's one night when the citizenry regulates itself without thought of punishment. On this night plagued by violence and an epidemic of crime, one family wrestles with the decision of who they will become when a stranger comes knocking. When an intruder breaks into James Sandin's (Ethan Hawke) gated community during the yearly lockdown, he begins a sequence of events that threatens to tear a family apart. Now, it is up to James, his wife, Mary (Lena Headey), and their kids to make it through the night without turning into the monsters from whom they hide. Written by Universal Pictures

I would classify this movie as more of a thriller, but not as thrilling as my scared bones expected. I find the plot interesting though which just fuelled the expectations of high trepidation caused by seeing the trailer. Watching the movie, my uneasiness on the cinema seat heightened as the 12-hour purge period began. And even more when one of the kids allowed a stranger to enter the family’s house. Since it’s a movie of thriller, suspense and action, it would be better left for a spectator to watch the movie. I would say that there were really heart-thumping scenes that ended worth the thumping while most were just of purely suspense.

Apart from the interesting plot, I can say that I like the family values. And I like best that no matter how bad and/or how grave injustice as human we may experience, goodness is repaid by goodness in more ways than one or better, in ways we didn’t even imagine.

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256. A Night in PJs

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It feels like we’re high school all over again!! Yes!! Just hosted a slumber party last Friday-Saturday with my girls, and some of the guys dropping by too! Apart from me, being the hostess was second to the last to arrive shame on me I know haha, everything was funnnn!!! We felt like teenagers again! The girls were cooking and the guys were watching the FIBA Asia Philippines-Kasakhstan game or maybe catching up or just plainly talking among themselves. Sorry guys, no booze if I’m the one to host hehe. And I cooked my just recent tried recipe creamy tuna pasta. I guess it’s enough to feed our tummies. Hahaha! Beng prepared her ever favourite wicked oreos! And Julie topped it off with vanilla ice cream! Yummm! We also played Kinect Xbox360 Dance Central! We enjoyed it!!! Ang saya lang talaga! But at 2AM, the guys have to go and we girls were left to ourselves.

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255: PUSO: Ticket to See You in #Spain2014

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I am OA-ly emotional of last night’s win! Ako lang ba? I bet the whole nation joined together in a tear-jerker kapit-bisig moment as we won over Korea and cut the so-called “curse-of-Korea” during the FIBA Asia 2013 playoffs! It was a sure ticket to FIBA WORLD in Spain 2014!!! Grabe the feeling!!! It was so hard to contain!

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253. To The South

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Yayyy! The last time I bonded with just SOME of my college barkada was when we  watched The Phantom of the Opera in CCP months ago. I guess we’re just too apart from each other and we have different endeavours that we find it difficult to schedule a get-together. Gone are the days that we go out of town during our really “cute” term breaks!

It was last spontaneous Sunday that Geh randomly messaged us in Facebook and two hours later we found ourselves already on our way to Sta. Rosa – I, Jec, Jose and Geh! We’re the south people of our barkada. E pwede naman palang ganun lang magkakasama na kami! hahaha! But I felt really glad that we got to catch up with each other! Thanks Geh for drinking Mountain Dew that kept you awake and hyper that we reached Nuvali and Paseo de Sta. Rosa and we were able to bond the afternoon away.

Jose/Gelo treated us at Cafe Breton, Paseo de Sta. Rosa! Oh crepe oh crepe!!! Super yummyyyy!! UL/LR - Dejavu; UR - Funtastyc; Le Manifique

So many things happened already and yet there are things that still remain. We may have “higher raison d'être” or higher motivation or reasons to do the things we’re doing now but we still laugh on shallow things and goof around. Actually, I missed them! I miss those college days!!

So thankful that this Sunday afternoon spontaneity happened!

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252. Thankful Thursdays

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A simple “Thank You, Lord” each time we are awake to our senses every day makes a big difference throughout the day. Appreciate the little things, which may actually be something big for some, like the breakfast that we eat or simply waking up under a roof, inside a room, on a bed, covered by a blanket, surrounded by a pair or three pillows.

1. Sleep is luxury. While I’m already used to sleeping five hours a day, I feel thankful that for the past days, since I was sent to ER two weeks ago, I allowed myself to sleep at least seven hours! And though I used to have the “Sleep is for the weak” mentality, having more hours of sleep makes me feel more recharged and refreshed.

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251. Afflatus Board

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250. MoDe's Photodump Week/end 31

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Art materials -- I brought out the good stuff and sketched last Monday.

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249. Lookbook: Nobody Denim S/S '13

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I just like how simple and semi-vintage the vibe of Nobody Denim S/S '13 lookbook. I would totally wear these. 

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248. Dumb Sheep

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Ever wondered why we are likened to a sheep in the Bible? If one is to think very negatively, it’s actually “insulting”. But Biblically, it overlaid that fact and signified overflowing compassion and love abundance.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³ Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

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247. Bamboo at Lee Jeans Stay Curious Event

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We had the chance to witness Bamboo live very up close at the Lee Jeans' Stay Curious Event at the New Glorietta mall last night. Aaah! Very very beautiful singing voice! Talent! The set-list was also actually really good  I could have recorded it. One lucky night!

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246. IHOPed Again

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cr: Arianne for the photo

I could very well be paid of posting IHOP eat-outs with different people! Haha! But how can't I when breakfast is the favorite type of meal of the day! Dinner time with Arianne and Sy last Wednesday! I love these two people! It was super fun spending a few hours of catching up and talking about things over FOOD of course! Sa uulitin! And hopefully we could spend an out-of-town or out-of-the-country together!!

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245. Thankful Thursday

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Not the typical thank you Thursday that I write. :) Yup, that's me up there earlier today. That's actually a screencap of what was posted in an app. Ako na nagpaalaga! Haha! But first thankful, that nothing really bad health-wise. That was me sleeping after an IV of pampakalma that was needed to be injected because of the uneasiness and restlessness effect of another drug. Grabe no? Haha! But no, it's not something really bad. That was in ER by the way and I wasn't confined. I got discharged right away too. 

Dear Lord, I know that this is a gentle reminder of taking care of myself, of my body. Thank you for providing me the means to do so.

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244. Legit VLs

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Half-a-year indeed passed by and I’m now a regular employee with my current role as a Business Analyst. What a way to celebrate is by filing a two-day VL. That was my first ever legit VL spent last Monday-Tuesday just waking up beyond the alarm and strolling around the city, got to skip the rush hour part. I was able to watch a movie and stroll inside the malls while the sun’s still up and not yet flocked with people who usually pass through after work shifts.

Monday: It’s a movie Monday and we watched Pacific Rim. If you are familiar with Ayala malls’ ticket stubs, there’s a tiny stub for Timezone and we made use of it. And while we’re in Timezone we took videos just for fun haha! And I’ve compiled the videos of some of the games we played.

Vlog: Luke&Merie at Timezone July 15, 2013 (AAR: Dirty Little Secrets) from Merie Sheryl Clarete on Vimeo.

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243. Unsolicited Take: Pacific Rim

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It's a Monday movie edition!! Yep, last Monday, I was able to watch Pacific Rim. However, we planned watching it via IMAX 3D but it's so costly for our pocket's sake, downgraded to 2D. I've seen the trailer while watching one movie and it got my mind's curiosity. 

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes - a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi) - who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind's last hope against the mounting apocalypse. Written by Del Torro

It’s a robot movie; a machine movie, heavy mechanics and electrics movie. Versus monsters. If you’re a fan of Voltes V, Daimos, Evangelion, Gundam, I think you’ll also get to like this movie. At first, I was already getting bored; the good thing about the movie is that it’s getting exciting towards the end. I find it fast paced though with a timeline and with a lot of story lines squeezed in one sitting. There was this some 20 years ago some five years ago; and then there was a father-daughter, collector, scientists, etc. At some point I felt like there is too much going on in the movie. Anyway, the main point is the robots vs. the monsters. If you ever watched any of the cartoons/animes I mentioned above and include Ultraman in that list, you’ll basically have an idea that the movie comprises a lot of combats between the protagonist mechanics versus some antagonist sea creatures. Basically, that’s it, and the movie revolves around figuring out how to defeat the monster – identifying its strengths and weaknesses, how it/they arise/s, when, where, their origin etc. On the other hand, it’s how about planning the attacks, finding the perfect pair who would control the robot, etc. Just add some factors of The Core, and the drama of Armageddon, the Pacific Rim storyline is complete. For the visuals, it’s eye candy. 

My favorite line from the movie: "Stop the clock." It's a reminder that every bad thing happening has its end.

On a moral point of view, nakssss, I liked that simple thought that we can defeat our bad memories of yesterday, our thinking and negativity caused by the downbeat past which has been bothering us and  think of the present, we have the power to control the present and eventually fight for the future.

 

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