It is difficult to ignore our past, but it is more painful to see our "love scars" haunting the present relationship.

- Paulo Coelho

Happy Birthday, Tita Annabelle!

the Orphans from the House of refuge hold a special place in my heart. that's the reason why, upon meeting them on my birthday as i spent it with them,, i felt the urge to find reasons to make them smile even more.. As early as August, i've had meetings with Timezone, Everyday is Your Birthday Foundation and Tita Annabelle to hold an outreach party for the orphans to be held in October for Tita's bday. As October neared, everybody got excited --- but then again, Ondoy happened and the orphange was in deep waters. These kids, who have already been through sooo much already, had to go through this tragedy. They swam through the floods just to save themselves and their fellow orphans to go to a neighbor's house that was higher that the orphanage. Thanks to angels like Vince & Patricia Hizon who gave them shelter for 3 days before they could find a new apartment to stay in, they all survived.


A few days after the Ondoy Typhoon, Patricia tweeted me a picture of the kids talking excitedly about the upcoming party, as they were really looking forward to it more than ever. The picture touched me in so many ways i cannot even explain.

A few days before the party, Tita Annabelle kept asking me what she had to do, what she had to bring, what she could donate for these kids... Tita was as excited to bond with these orphans as they were. I was reminded later on that she, too, spent some time in her childhood in an orphanage,, so this party really meant something for her..

Come party day, the kids all arrived on time, full of energy... We were supposed to have an hour and a half of playtime, but thanks to Timezone's generosity, they let us play for more than 3 hours... The kids even had a special song number & violin playing for Tita Annabelle!!

At the end of the day, everyone was so exhausted, but with smiles in their faces... I couldnt wipe the smile off my face seeing the happiness in their faces...

So once again... thank you so much Ana Benitez and Raffy Prats of TIMEZONE for all the generosity -- for the unlimited playing cards & lootbags, to all the food from Texas Grilled Bbq House, Oliver's Super Sandwiches & Krispy Kreme who served really yummy treats, and to Everyday is Your birthday Foundation for setting me up with the House of Refuge... also thank you Lorenz Manalang for being the one who set up my meeting w Timezone :)

Thank you Jun Lalin, for helping out with the invites, and the coverage that made other people even more aware about the House of Refuge.. Thank you for those who went --all the Royale Era talents! i saw how much fun u guys were having with the kids... Thank you Doc Cielo Adajar of Adajar Dental Services for the dental packages you sent over for the kids... Chard & Tita Annabelle for the cheque donations and Ate Ruffa for the boxes of clothes and toys for the orphans...

And to the orphans, thank you so much for touching my heart in a way that no one else has ever done so....

the Class of 2009

our little barkada was featured on Philippine Star's SUPREME for it's Anniversary issue last September 27... we shot this right before heading to my bday dinner weeks before (it was also Francis' actual bday that day)...

here's the feature:

TWICE THE FUN: THE NEW SCHOOL IS THE NEW COOL

MANILA, Philippines - A wise lady once told me that no matter how old we get, always remember that it all boils down to high school. Now, that should simplify the complications in our lives. But wait, what was once complicated is now simple and what was simple is now...

It all boils down to high school.

Okay, before we continue with any complex compounds, let’s proceed to a trendy theorem. Cute people plus artist types plus artistas plus cool kids equals a fresh, new scene.

Supreme gathered the new and the now and put them all together for this special shoot. You usually see them inside your favorite nocturnal hot spot or at the pages of your favorite magazine. Why, most of them you even see on TV. But gathering ALL 16 of them for a photo shoot is another thing!

This class photo has all the ingredients — comedy, drama, gloss, grit and a few foreign languages in between. It never lacked social studies, and the fashion sense alone can make you pass geometry. Their chemistry is one-of-a-kind and they’re not so bad with home economics, either.

This batch boasts of good moral standards, better manners and the best conduct. Supreme gives them an “A” for A Very Bright Future.

The Prom Queen

Georgina Wilson

Most likely to: Live all over the world and make the Philippines proud.

Class Sexy-tary

Belle Daza

Most likely to: Be an all around “It” girl

The Actress

Anne Curtis-Smith

Most likely to: Win acting awards and live forever

The Principal

Raymond Guttierrez

Most likely to: Become a multi-awarded TV host and edit the society pages of a top fashion glossy at the same time

The Fashionista

Liz Uy

Most likely to: Fashionably get over from a breakup while setting new trends

The Good Student

Bea Soriano

Most likely to: Be a model and have a few heartaches in between before meeting “The One.”

The Foreign Exchange Student

Adrien Semblat

Most likely to: Fall in love and settle in the Philippines

The Jock

Francis Ricafort

Most likely to: Be a top model in Asia and then shift careers to banking

The Cheerleader

Bubbles Paraiso

Most likely to: Become everyone’s big sister and hands down favorite party partner

The Artists

Erwan Heussaff

Most likely to: Shift to hotel and catering management and then travel the world in style

Solenn Heussaff

Most likely to: Become an artist’s muse while being an artist and designer herself; will have a string of magazine covers and weaken men’s knees

The Class Adviser

Carla Humphries

Most likely to: Enter the ballroom wearing the biggest gowns and out sing everyone in karaoke

The Teacher’s Pet

Nicole Anderson

Most likely to: Live abroad and win in every single quiz night in your local pub

The Bully

Franco Daza

Most likely to: Join Star Magic and be the resident bad boy in teen movies

The Freshman

Fargo Baillet

Most likely to: Study film in New York and win the Best Director plum in Cannes film festival

The Nerd

Michael Concepcion

Most likely to: Have a blonde girlfriend named Kirja and then live the corporate life while enjoying weekends at his beach house.

the day before...

no one was able to predict the tragedy that was Ondoy.. that's why we were all unprepared.

The day before it's wrath, Sept 26, was a day full of birthday celebrations... from Venice's "fairy" 5th birthday to Ynna's "Grease" debut to Sen. Bong's birthday party.. it was a night filled with fun, who knew that the next day would be such an eye-opener that led volunteerism to new heights?

Anyway, these pictures are long overdue so i decided to post them already...

PARTY # 1
VENICE's 'FAIRY' BIRTHDAY

Only the kids were required to wear costumes, but i decided to wear something 'fairy inspired' for fun.. i mean, when else would i be able to have an excuse to wear a poofy pink skirt? :)

skirt from Glitterati

w Tomas as Batman, Chard & Kuya Pao

PARTY # 2
YNNA's "GREASE"-themed DEBUT

it wasn't a very formal affair so guests were required to wear something a bit retro... i decided to wear this cute peplum dress and pink shoes to go with the theme :)

Glitterati dress, Zara shoes

w Mitch & Carla

PARTY #3
Sen Bong's Bday in Whitespace

we dropped by after the debut and stayed for a few minutes....

w Tita Annabelle, Carla, Ate Ruffa, Miriam

Relief Operation in Marikina..

Last Wednesday, I, together with some friends & colleagues joined the Kapuso Foundation's Operation:Bayanihan distribution of relief goods in San Isidro Parish in Greenland, Marikina...

Since Mond, Lorenz, Nik & I were running late to our 2:30pm meeting time in GMA, we then went straight to the location and made the rest of the group go ahead..

On the way, i saw how the once cleanest city has become full of filth. It was incredoulous. I could only imagine what went on when the typhoon was happening... The areas we passed seemed so devastating,, and you would see how the people from there were trying to rise up after that.. they were all busy cleaning their shops, houses, etc... It made me realize even more how lucky i was. yes, my house also got affected by Ondoy, water on the first floor was till my thighs, but it was nothing compared to what these people went through.

As we reached the church and got briefed, we watched as the truck filled with goods open.. and everyone in the crowd cheered. We then proceeded to the frontline and started giving out the relief goods by pairs.. it felt so good distributing those bags.. i wasnt even able to take pics anymore when we got to the frontline -- i wanted to give out as much bags as possible.. (i was only able to take one shot when i was waiting for the bag i was gonna give)

Ondoy may be over, but the threat of Pepeng is alive... people havent even recovered yet. It is a sad, sad reality.. but right now, all we can do is pray... then when the rain stops falling, it's time to put my rubber boots back on and start helping..

furniture obliterated by the flood

the black car was actually ON TOP of the red one

mud everywhere :(

check out the barko!

inside the church, getting ready to go to the frontline :)

people cheered as the truck opened up revealing all the goods

this couple made all of us go "awwwww..."

other volunteers helping to get the goods ready for distribution

heading over to our positions...