A diary of a fickle-mind

A 20-ish year old wanderlust, music junkie, old soul, frustrated chef, food enthusiast, thrill-seeker, adventure lover and happy kid. Join me as I conquer the world through my rages, my dreams and my steps on life’s road to awesomeness. Forgive the misplaced punctuation marks here and there, I tend to go careless once I get all too excited but I do appreciate you taking at least a little wee minutes of your time to read what I just wrote. var sc_project=8148533; var sc_invisible=0; var sc_security="42c0bd2b";

[ddencarlobos]

Finally, a registered nurse. Thank you Lord!👍👌🙏👏 (Taken with Instagram at D house)

[ddencarlobos]

8-7-2012 rainfall

What's occuring in Manila as of this moment is heartbreaking. News is filled of videos and pictures of victims struggling to swim through the floods, babies crying, people on top of their roofs, evacuation centers full and a whole lot more of devastating news.

I was a victim myself of such tragedy, the ever famous Typhoon Sendong who took away the lives of so many, thousands I believe. I would know the feeling, the brown water eating up my house and even took away my dog's life. It was traumatic and tragic all at the same time. I wouldn't want anyone to experience that. And just barely 8 months after, here we are again facing a new feat that is taking away the homes of so many. On the brighter side, this all happened at day time, as per Sendong which was titled "The Night Eater" as it struck people while in their sleep, at least this time people were more alert since they were up and awake.

While I was on our rooftop that night, I couldn't do anything, helpless amd powerless as I was, the only thing I could do was pray, since it was too dark and I honestly wasn't expecting any rescue team to come and fetch us. The morning after was the worst part to handle, seeing our house wrecked, our stuff damaged and on the sidewalks were bodies of dead victims. I touched myself and I immediately thanked the Lord I was not one of those victims who were lifelessly put there on the streets, somehow I still saw the blessing that my Mom and I were and still are alive and breathing.

I'm sorry, I just couldn't help being sentimental about what happened to us back then. Seeing these pictures really really breaks my heart. Empathy simply breathes out from me since I could really feel what this has done to me.

                                            (photos courtesy of various Facebook accounts)

What they're doing is really dangerous, rain and live wires are not a good combination but I think it's also dangerous to swim through the flood. It's really looking bad.

The dark gloomy sky earlier this afternoon.

Statistics in comparison to Typhoon Ondoy versus today's rainfall. It's not even a typhoon and it looks really bad as it is.

 Various organizations are now accepting donations. These were found on my timeline. Yes, thank God for social networking sites. Been a great help in information dissemination. Contact these numbers and inquire on how you can help.

I think we can also send our relief goods through ABSCBN and/or GMA Stations since they have better access on where to deliver it to.

Copied this via Philippine Red Cross website: 

Ways to Donate

  Through PayPal

Through Ushare - Credit Card, Online Banking, Megalink

Through GreenPeso - PayPal, Bancnet, GCash

Through Multiply

Through PayDollar

Cash or Check Donations

Please send cash or check donations to the PRC National Headquarters in Manila. Checks should be made payable to The Philippine Red Cross. We can also arrange for donation pick-up.

We now accept cash donations for the Philippine Red Cross at any 7-11 store or Cebuana Lhuillier Pawnshop nationwide.

     Bank Deposit

Bank accounts for Donations

Banco De Oro

Peso: 00-453-0018647

Dollar: 10-453-0039482

Metrobank

Peso: 151-3-041631228

Dollar: 151-2-15100218-2

Philippine National Bank

Peso: 3752 8350 0034

Dollar: 3752 8350 0042

Unionbank of the Philippines

Peso: 1015 4000 0201

Dollar: 1315 4000 0090

All Check/Cash for the account of Philippine Red Cross (Swift Codes)

Banco De Oro

BNORPHMM

Bank of the Philippine Islands

BOPIPHMM

Metrobank

MBTCPHMM

Philippine National Bank

-PNBMPHMM

Unionbank of the Philippines

-UBPHPHMM

For your donations to be properly acknowledged, please fax the bank transaction slip at nos. +63.2.527.0575 or +63.2.404.0979 with your name, address and contact number.

In-Kind Donation

Local

Please send in-kind local donations to Philippine Red Cross - National Headquarters in Manila. We could also arrange for donation pick-up

International

1. Send a letter of intent to donate to the PRC.

2. A letter of acceptance from PRC shall be sent back to the donor.

3. Immediately after shipping the goods, please send the (a) original Deed of Donation, (b) copy of packing list and (c) original Airway Bill for air shipments or Bill of Lading for sea shipments to Philippine Red Cross - National Headquarters c/o Secretary General Gwendolyn Pang, Bonifacio Drive, Port Area, Manila 1018, Philippines.

The PRC does not accept rotten, damaged, expired or decayed goods. Though we appreciate your generosity, PRC also discourages donations of old clothes as we have more than enough to go around.

SMS and G-Cash

SMS

Text RED<space>AMOUNT to 2899 (Globe) or 4143 (Smart)

G-Cash

Text DONATE<space>AMOUNT<space>4-digit M-PIN<space>REDCROSS to 2882

You can donate the following denominations:

Globe: 5, 25, 100, 300, 500 or 1000

Smart: 10, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 or 1000

Through your generosity, we can stand prepared for disasters. We appreciate your continuous and unwavering support. Thank you.

Email us: [email protected]

Call Hotline 143

or (+632) 527.0000

NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS

Bonifacio Drive, Port Area

Manila 1018, Philippines

Email: [email protected]

Some useful flood safety tips as well:

Also, please take note of the flood after-effects, especially be wary of the ever famous LEPTOSPIROSIS. I, myself, was a victim of this disease too. Please be very alert of the signs and symptoms. Took me almost a week in the hospital. Health is not to be ignored. So remind everyone to take that prophylaxis to avoid any further complications. 

 But amidst all these pressures, Filipinos will always be Filipinos, seeing a brighter side in every darkness. I guess that's our edge, since we're more optimistic than others, we try to see the brighter side in everything. And yes, floods can't break the soul of a True Filipino, a fighter.

So let's do our part and help in every way we can. Through relief goods, donations and prayers, let's offer our best of intentions. Lahat tayo magtulongan para sa ating bayan.

xx

[ddencarlobos]

...my first trip abroad

It was around this time last year when we came back from our trip from Bangkok, Thailand. It was a really short one so we only went to just a few of the many tourist spots the the country was full of.

So allow me to be sentimental and let the photos tell you our story.

About 3AM Bangkok time, we landed safely in their huge and beautiful airport. Thank you CebuPac for that scary, bumpy 4-hour flight (there was a lot of turbulence!).

We stayed in this amazing 5-star hotel named Chatrium Suites. A 2-bedroom suite with a view to match! It was a gorgeous suite! I wanted to live there, like for good!

The view from our room the night we arrived.

And the view at morning. It was a short sleep since we had to take advantage of our limited time in Bangkok. That's Chao Phraya River by the way, the largest watershed in the country.

Their buffet was TO DIE FOR. We ate 80% of our meals here during our stay. They served the best international buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner!!! YUMMY!

Dimsum, anyone?

Fresh seafood for barbeque-ing, right in front of you while you wait. 

Mommy and I. 

Sashimi, oysters, tempura.. Living the life!

Sadly I don't have pictures of my Uncle eating his favorite fruit, Mangosteen. He ate like dozenssssssss of them. HAHAHA.

Here we ate our dinner at the topmost floor of the hotel. It was exclusive for some of the guests in the hotel so we had the privilege to enjoy this bonus. We had the chance to see the sunset all the way from the top. It was beautiful and dramatic, the sunset by the river. Chos.

Their infinity pool, one of their many pools.

Mandatory touristy picture taking.

So now, let's get lost in the city. Literally. We got lost a lot, ate up most of our time. Maybe that's what happens when you don't hire a tourist guide since we wanted to explore the city like true back-packers minus the backpacks. 

My Uncle Roy, My Auntie Joyce and my Mom.

Here we are at the Temple of Emerald Buddha, Wat Prayoon, Wat Pho, Wat Traimit and Wat Mahathat. Pictures are jumbled below. Teehee.

Thailand really amazed me with their culture. They maintained everything for hundreds of years. The architecture, the food, their style, they all left me in awe. What amazed me the most was that Thailand was the only Asian country that wasn't colonized by the Western influence. Everything they had here was done from their own making. How cool is that?

One cannot leave the country without trying their own delicacy. Thailand is famous for their really SPICY food (strong emphasis there). Don't get me wrong, I love spicy food but theirs was too much. I couldn't finish my plate, it was painful to the tongue. The Thai people finished their plates effortlessly. I couldn't even........

Too bad I missed out on the scorpions and fried cockroaches. But I did have a taste of these babies. I don't know their names, the cooking lady only showed me her paper bills indicating how much they cost. Still, they served it with really SPICY sauces but I was able to tolerate it well. Bravo me!

So here we tried to be like some Discovery Channel hosts with a map on hand and dragging our feet from one place to another. FAIL. We got lost. Poor map-reading skills I guess. Ate up most of our day but it was fun. We got the chance to ride their Tuk-Tuk which made my Uncle sick since he was allergic to the pollution and all.

This picture is not intended for picture purposes, seriously. I was really trying to find our way out from their streets since we were already walking for hours.

Now that we got a reliable travel guide/tourist package, out from the streets of Bangkok and with a 2-hour ride we went to some of Thailand's famous destinations. First up, the Floating Market.

Lots of movies were shot here. So imagine me imagining myself as a Hollywood actress taking a ride on their boat floating to the Floating Market (okay, that sounded annoying....moving on....)

FOOD! Mostly, they sold food. It was quite expensive really since the place was packed with tourists from all over the globe. 

Then we went to the dancing snakes and all (too bad we didn't have pictures from there). All I have is a picture of me and my Mom outside a temple. HAHAHA. 

Artsy hand-carved wood. They were really, really pricey but they were fantastic! Their displays were mostly about elephants, since the country's really known for it too.

As far as I can remember, this chair costs about $10,000. Yup, that price for a chair.

Hello fat me!

Going back home now. That's their airport. Cool huh?

There's a huge statue by the check-in area. That's about 20 feet high. 

And a mini garden of course. My Mom's fond of plants so yes she was ecstatic when she found this in the middle of their huuuuuuuuuuuge airport.

That's all for now. I wish we could have gone to more of their tourist destinations but we had such limited time. I loved Thailand. Hope to be back next time, this time to explore more temples and shows. I never even had the chance to shop there. I did enjoy my stay since it gave us a chance to indulge with their culture since it's what Thailand is famous for.

Hope to conquer more and feed my thirsty wanderlust soul. While writing this post, I suddenly miss my camera. I wish I could have it back but sadly no, it's too wrecked now. Okay, enough with the dramatics.

xx,

[ddencarlobos]

Another "Last Friday Night" moment

To be young is to be free, to be free is to embrace the fun, to be fun is to be with the right people and having the right people is to make life worth living. -vjc

Damn Katy Perry and her very-cliche song. Last Friday night was two of my best friend's despidida party. So the barkada had a little get-together in a small apartelle room in the city and just partied out the night with music, booze and a lot of chikas, as always. 

So here's the gang:

Freet picture!

Our men in black, Kevin and Mico.

PSG lang ang peg?

Or strippers? Hahaha! Crazy dudes!

Le boys.

It's not just about the partying with the friends that night, it's about the friends who stay true to you the morning after.

Now that we are not getting any younger, more responsibilities are coming our way. So this is probably the after-graduation phenomenon where we just have to enjoy these nights, forget about the world, let the youthfulness take over and live happy, young and free. 

Till the next time guys! 

xx,

[ddencarlobos]

Opening of Sweet Leaf Tea Cafe

Yesterday was the opening of the new, cute and artsy milk tea house near LimKetKai Mall, Sweet Leaf at Rosario Arcade. 

Right inside the tea house is the salon. So if you decide to have your hair trimmed or your nails done, what better way to do it than with a milk tea to freshen up, right? 

I love quotes on frames. I'm planning to have these in my room soon. 

The moment I walked right up to the cafe, the first thing that caught my attention was their sofas! OH EMM! People who are really close to me know how fond I am with flowery prints! Makes me wanna steal one. Hihihi ^^

Owned and managed by these two, Geli Paras and Aldrian Villegas. Both friendly and really sweet to all of their guests. Such a cute couple! (sorry for the blurred picture)

Had Wintermelon Milk Tea with grass jelly. Yum!

With my one of my best buds, Nikko who's also a fan of milk tea himself.

So grab a cup now!

xx,

[ddencarlobos]

Havaianas celebrates its 50th anniversary at MYOH 2012

HAVAIANAS, as one of the most famous brands of slippers in the world, has always caught my heart. With its fancy colors and cute trinkets, the rubber pair of flip-flops symbolizes fashion, happiness, fun and excitement that has captured the hearts of so many. Who would deny such pretty colors and dynamic designs? It has always been a trend and it's a fact that you cannot argue with.

With a few of my pairs, we have conquered the country together. From Boracay to Cebu to Iloilo, to Dakak to Pagadian to Davao to Surigao and to all the places I’ve been in the Philippines, I never miss out a moment not to bring my Havaianas with me. It’s so trendy I can pair it with any outfit I have in mind. Havaianas has always brought more wonderful memories as it decorates my feet with happiness and colors while I quench my thirst for fun and adventure.

For half a century now, Havaianas has been a part of the many journeys people like me have gone through as this year it celebrates its Golden Anniversary. Not only is it considered a summer staple but it really can be used everywhere all-year round. It's no wonder so many are really fond of these slippers and sandals.

Havaianas is not only confined to the corners of a boutique or the department store but it also invades the mall's wide open spaces for their annual Make Your Own Havaianas event. So what makes it as one of the most awaited events of the year? It’s another chance for you to grab that adorable pair of flip-flops which has been taking the world by storm, where you can add your own touch to this famous brand. There will always be that rewarding feeling you get after finishing a product from scratch and not just any product but Havaianas itself, fulfilled with pride and joy. With a variety of soles, straps and pins, you’ll always feel that happy vibe after assembling your own pair with your own design.  

What makes it different than ordinary retail therapy is that every Make Your Own Havaianas is another experience to look forward to. With different themes and approaches every year, it definitely makes it more fun and exciting! The experience also of having to do it with your friends and family is something to be treasured, worth every penny, every smile and every photograph to cherish for the rest of our lives.

So be part of this journey with Havaianas and together let us celebrate 50 years of carefree personalized fashion at MAKE YOUR OWN HAVAIANAS 2012. On August 17-19, 2012 from 10AM onwards at the Rotunda of Limketkai Mall, Cagayan de Oro City, let’s not miss this exciting celebration as this year is considered to be one of the most special MYOH events yet! Bring your camera and your loved-ones and see you there! 

xx,

[ddencarlobos]

I used to listen to this song when I was at my lowest point in life. If I had known about this remix, it would've made my life a lot more better back then. Grooves instead of tears. LOL.

But this is definitely one of the best remixes of the song so far. Awesomized! 

xx

[ddencarlobos]

CGY's FIRST ISSUE NOW AVAILABLE!

Finally! The long wait is over! This is the start of a new world, a view of what Cagayan de Oro is made of! This is the first of the many to come. 

Click HERE to see the magazine.

Enjoy guys! 

xx

[ddencarlobos]

what makes me a good scribbler

"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do things worth writing". - Benjamin Franklin

It takes great passion to be a good writer, more than a fraction for career, more than holding a huge pile of vocabulary in your IQ system and more than just putting words into pieces for it to form a suitable sentence. First, I have to disclaim that I am nowhere near to declare myself a writer. I think I’m just a frustrated amiable writer-ish of my own diary where I place it in the internet for maybe one or two bored beings to read. Writing has always been my love, my dream and a past time. I write everywhere, even on the desks of my classrooms way back college (not that I graduated that long already), and no, I didn’t just post in the cyber world that when I get bored I vandalize my desks with some weird words with drawings to match.

If it weren’t for Typhoon Sendong, I’d probably embarrass myself by posting some of my written creations back when I was in 2nd grade. I’d put together pieces of bond paper and staple them together and write short stories of whatever I could just imagine about. One time, I wrote about a Cinderella-ish story, maybe changing the plot here and there and changing the names of the main characters. Yes, at 8 years old I’m proud to say I have made maybe a dozen of fan-fiction materials written on pieces of paper and let my classmates read it. I even shamelessly put borrowing cards at the back of my so-called books and let them pay penalties if they don’t return it on time. HAHAHA! Oh my God I can’t even imagine how crazy I was back then, I mean, I was that brave when I was in grade school, with my scruffy handwriting and unforgivable drawing skills, at least some of my classmates were interested in it, unwillingly at least.

Then my Mom bought me my first diary which had a lock on it. She told me to write anything on it, containing all the significant events of my day and just whatever I wanted to write. And boy did I write A LOT. I ended up buying more diaries even until high school, all about my day, my teachers, my Mom scolding me for being too hard headed, my Dad not complaining about my early impulsive buying skills on toys and junk food, my crush/ES, where we were traveling, or eating my favourite food, reading a new book, watching my favourite cartoons, joining a new club, winning a medal from a tournament, gained a new best friend, fought with a frenemy, all the usual drama of a girl engaging in puberty, then I had my boyfriend, and yes I did write about him, which ended up to writing love letters instead. Then the spurt of a new social networking site halted all the drama my diaries couldn’t bear to witness anymore. It was Friendster.

I could remember all those silly pictures of me holding the camera way above your head and smile while tilting your head down in a silly way (sorry, I know people still do that today) and put that up as your profile picture. EEW. I hadn’t notice that coming. Then the writing language like this: “I am zooo blezzed with mah frendzzz. I lav dem zoooow matz!” sometimes even writing testimonials or birthday greetings like “hap33y burthdae fwend! G0d blezz yoooh”. But it didn’t stop there, it also infested through the new blog site where you could post not more than 200 photos in an album wherein Friendster I think it was only up to 20 or 50. The site’s name was Multiply. Yes, my shameless jejemon language even grew more there too plus more peace signs and wearing of sunglasses inside malls to pose for a snapshot.

Then the birth of Facebook came which buried Friendster to the grave far too easy (which is now a gaming site FYI).  It was already in college when this site took control of the internet so maybe I did bury my jejemon writing skills with Friendster too. I never really realized how “baduy” I really was that even with texting my Mom couldn’t understand what I was talking about. How foolish could I get? Of course here came Tumblr and Twitter, two more social networking sites I utilize so much. Tumblr's my friend since it allowed me to post whatever it was I wanted to post about plus reblog pretty pictures from other Tumblr users. Twitter was a different story. It allowed me to fart my brain for everyone to see, not realizing how much a social hazard it was since some people take your tweets way too seriously. It taught me to keep my cyber mouth shut and screen my tweets to avoid regretting what I posted.  

With Tumblr, it put my writing skills back to challenge. This time, not for my own amusement but to share to the world what I wanted for them to see, taking me to a challenge to pursue writing which I thought died on the margins of my books and notebooks. Sharing an event here and there and several brain farts that, again, maybe one or two people might have noticed which almost turned into my online diary which I realized was a social network hazard. You can never put too much information about you in the internet. That’s just like so wrong. Then again, I sometimes can’t help myself. I’m really talkative in person and in internet. And by talkative I don't mean gossipy but in a friendly and FC kind of way.

Now, I’m currently working for an online magazine which for me was a huge leap from the scrutiny of my notebooks and diaries. I get to write about real people and real events that many people will read about. It made me realize how much practice I really needed. In the middle of my agonizing Nursing life, I wanted to shift to Journalism because I wanted to be like Bianca Gonzales perhaps, a sought-after icon of the youth who I find is a responsible journalist. Seen on TV and newspapers writing feature editorials of personalities this country is really fond of. But of course I continued Nursing and thank Heavens I eventually survived the battle of duties and exams.

Maybe in everything we do in life, we will constantly learn about it. We will never be experts in what we do because we should always take it as a challenge to learn something new about it. For me, writing has always been my love. I am not good at writing, I never mentioned it anywhere that I was, I just love it as much as I love reading about anything, either from books, newspapers, magazines, blogs or tweets, I always find pleasure in learning something new. Though I may be a grammar and diction nazi, please do spare me sometimes for the mistakes I do when I write. Aren’t we all humans born to make and correct mistakes? Hihihi :o)

I think I’ve never written anything this long. It happens when you’re bored and maybe a little inspired. So, how about you? What was one thing you always loved to do since you were young and continue to try to pursue now? A penny for your thoughts, yes?

[ddencarlobos]

Join us on our grand launching at SM CDO on Saturday, July 21 5pm!!! See you there! #CGY #event #events #cgyemagazine (Taken with Instagram)

[ddencarlobos]

CGY!

WHAT IS CGY and WHY IS IT MAKING NOISE?

CGY? CGY? CGY? Sounds familiar? You may have seen this in the airport somewhere or from an online airplane ticket booking site perhaps? Oh yes, the sticker on your stroller bag you checked in from the airport from NAIA. But what do you think about when you hear the three letters CGY come into mind? It's a code which represents Cagayan de Oro from anywhere around the country.

Okay, I won't let the suspense suspend for too long. CGY is an online magazine which caters to the youth to advocate for the growing talents that surround this beautiful growing city of ours. From aspiring designers, stylists, musicians, dancers, athletes, models, photographers, young businessmen/women and to all local personalities who spread vibe with the utter of their names. 

As per our first post from our FACEBOOK PAGE (please do like), CGY is a bi-monthly compilation of the city’s most relevant events and personalities, CGY aims to renew the Kagay-anon’s appreciation for its own brand of art and culture. It is a movement that seeks to breathe life into the city’s rustic charms, a celebration of its people, places and bounty. ♥

To fully grasp what the hype is all about, join us on the magazine's launching at SM CDO this July 21, 2012 at 5pm. 

I'm so happy to be part of this family. I know you'll be as ecstatic as I am once the maiden issue is out and running on your computers/tablets soon! Let's advocate of our own! Let the voice of the youth be heard! And Thank God for the cyber world! 

See you!

x,

[ddencarlobos]

Veggie freak that I am:) #food (Taken with Instagram)

[ddencarlobos]

Doing what we do best, having fun, sharing secrets, exchanging stories and being crazy. :)

Call Me Maybe Bedtime version ala higz girls (by Thea Gerona)

[ddencarlobos]

Batanes, Coron, Vigan. Hope to see you soon. #itsmorefuninthephilippines #thoughts (Taken with Instagram)

[ddencarlobos]

The best embrace comes from the best man I'll always have in my life❤ happy Fathers' Day Daddy😁❤ (Taken with Instagram)

[ddencarlobos]

First of the many to come😊😁 Freedom Run Marathon #everyday (Taken with Instagram)

[ddencarlobos]

Steamed Lemon Chicken with Ginger Sauce by yours truly 😁 blog post coming soon!☺ #food (Taken with Instagram)