So what is Playboy doing in my wholesome blog? Good question…
When I first read the invite of Azrael to a bloggers’ night out hosted by Playboy Philippines, I thought several times before signing up. My blog is for people of all ages and I wanted to keep to things I would not hesitate to show my family. But when Az assured me that this was simply a party for bloggers and that it would be wholesome enough for me to bring my 2 girls, I figured WHY NOT? It was another chance to bond with bloggers as well as to check out the new image of the Playboy magazine which attempts to move away from the usual men’s magazine into a classier, more sophisticated lifestyle magazine for men.
The place wasSource Bar in Ortigas Home Depot last March 20, 2009. When I got there, the place was already teeming with bloggers. There was a table with familiar bloggers — Manuel, Jonel and Dante. Others sighted that evening: Jay, Jane, Carl, Arvin, Kel, Mica, and Mike Abundo. I got to meet new online friends who I communicated with online but was meeting for the first time in person – Jennie & Jeff, Nicely, Sarah, digiscrapmom, Ryan and Edelweiza.
Playboy Philippines provided free drinks and finger food for everyone while a DJ provided the music ambience for the evening. I got to meet the Playboy Philippines team as well as some of the bunnies around. The April 2009 anniversary issue was shown to the bloggers during the party (too bad I was no longer around then). I still have to see how the magazine evolves into its new desired image. From the back issues I saw being handed out, the content was tamer than the US versions but still — definitely for mature male audiences.
I didn’t stay long. Hubby is still abroad and the two girls who were supposed to be with me that evening could not make it for different reasons. So being the single parent that I was that night, I had to head home and be an early Cinderella. Still, it was fun hanging out with the young blogger set again. Thanks, Az and Playboy Philippines!
Look into the mirror. What do you notice first? Do you immediately notice your flaws — that big nose, crooked teeth, a birthmark, freckles, wrinkles or lines?
In our society, beautiful women are those who are considered flawless. Beauty products are geared towards eliminating such flaws or at the very least, concealing these. The beauty standards women are held up to often make us feel uncomfortable going out in public without doing something about the flaws that make us un-pretty.
But last night, C1 and I attended the launch of an unusual collection of pictures and stories of ordinary women by famed fashion photographer and model, Sara Black.
Dove, as part of its Campaign for Real Beauty, collaborated with Sara Black to produce the book When I Look in the Mirror.
Featured in Sara’s first book are 50 women who, at first glance, are beautiful. A number of women featured in this book are familiar to me: Maan Hontiveros, Cris Villonco, Wilma Doesnt, Aimee Marcos. But a large majority of those featured are ordinary women just like me. And it is only upon close inspection that you realize that they are far from flawless. Each one of them has a facial mark.
The amazing thing about how they were captured by Sara though was that she captured each woman’s true beauty essence. Each portrait picture showed the woman’s unique and individual beauty. Every page of the book had the woman’s story. I leafed through some of the stories and I identified more and more with them. These women were real women with natural beauty.
We bumped into a young lady about the age of my girl C1. C1 was immediately attracted to her. “Mom, I LOVE her Oxford shoes!!!” So I approached the young lady and asked if they could have a picture wearing their Oxfords.
It was only later that I realized KC Nina Pusing was one of the featured women in Sara’s book and it was because she had a birthmark.
In yoga, my teacher told me that it was acceptance of one’s body (flaws and all) that we needed to learn. Instead of being impatient that we were inflexible or could not execute a pose as well as the one beside us, we just had to accept that this was where we were at this point in time. We are taught to push our bodies only as far as we could make it go and in time, the body would just naturally bend with more flexibility.
Sara Black’s focus on women with flaws is a definite statement for us who can enumerate a litany of defects whenever we look at our face and body in the mirror instead of seeing the beauty that stares back at us. Sara told me, as she was signing the books I held out for her, that she really admired the women for allowing her to catch them up close, flaws and all, for this book. Sara, who so often captures the beauty of people in fashion, admirably states: “This book is my reaction to working in an industry that can sometimes be so overly obsessed with perfection. Sometimes, so many alterations are made to a person’s face to remove “imperfections.” These perfect images of women put a lot of pressure on other women who end up thinking that it’s their benchmark or standard of beauty, but in reality that really isn’t how the model looks.”
I attended this event primarily to accompany C1, who was the REAL guest of Dove Philippines here as she is one of the bloggers featured in their Real Thoughts page. But after talking to Sara and after meeting a real person like KC, I came away knowing I could confidently look myself in the mirror and see my flaws but still be able to look beyond them and come closer to what yoga teaches — acceptance, contentment, love.
The photo exhibit of Sara Black showcasing the women of When I Look in the Mirror will be at The Gallery, second floor of Greenbelt 5 till March 22.
MARCH 28, 2009 — SATURDAY — 8:30 PM — ONE HOUR — LIGHTS OUT!!! Over 930 cities and towns in 80 countries, across 25 time zones are expected to power down for Earth Hour 2009.
This year, it is being taken to another level. The Earth Hour website describes how it has evolved since it first started in 2007:
Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.
In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.
We all have a vote, and every single vote counts. Together we can take control of the future of our planet, for future generations.
VOTE EARTH by simply switching off your lights for one hour, and join the world for Earth Hour.
This will be my second year to participate in Earth Hour. Last year, we turned off our lights at home at exactly 8:30PM Manila time to join the numerous countries doing so.
New Zealand will be the first country to turn its lights off and over the next 24 hours, we will see a wave of lights going off in the different time zones of Earth. Manila is a participant in this event, with Rizal Park and Manila Cathedral poised to turn off its lights and countdown events happen in different areas of the metropolis.The Earth Hour site describes Manila’s participation:
Last year in the Philippines, millions of people switched off their lights to signal their support of this global warming action. Manila, being the largest city, will be a big focus this year and Earth Hour continues to spread its positive message about the importance of energy saving. The Department of Energy in the Philippines is a supporter of the Earth Hour campaign.
Local businesses in Manila are contributing to Earth Hour and will be switching off their lights on the night. Thousands of people, around the Philippines, will be coming together to light a candle in support of this global warming awareness initiative.
(Update, 3/19): I am happy to note that not only Manila will be participating. This article shows that Earth Hour will be observed nationwide.)
What can YOU do to participate in Earth Hour 2009?
1. Register your vote with Earth Hour and join in the bid to reach 1 billion votes for Mother Earth. Sign up here.
2. Write a blog post about Earth Hour’s Vote Earth movement. The results of the election will be presented at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009, so help get the world talking! Tag your blog so others can join in, with tags like ‘VOTE EARTH’, ‘Earth Hour’, ‘Copenhagen’, and ‘global warming’.
3. Email your friends. Encourage them to email their friends and so on. Before you know it, you would have created a ripple of votes for Earth.
4. Twitter it. Say as much as you can about VOTE EARTH in 140 characters. In the countdown to Earth Hour, you can let others know about what you’re up to every step of the way. Make sure you include ‘#VOTEEARTH’ in all tweets so others can follow your messages.
5. On March 28, record your Earth Hour experience. Take a photo about Earth Hour and post it on their Flickr group. Make a video of the event and post it on their YouTube group. Write a live blog post during the event and tag it earthhour or voteearth. Update your Twitter status on the night and tag it #earthhour or #voteearth.
And the moment happened away from Manila — in Davao — at a zipline — in the presence of other bloggers.
Flashback to a couple of weeks ago…
Jay met Dine and me at Bo’s Coffee Katipunan. Dine and I were about to go to the wake of Amiel in Ateneo; he was coming from two TV networks and wanted to drop by and chat. We engaged in small talk for a while till we got around to asking Jay when he planned to pop the question to Aileen.
Jay reminded me of that day in early February when I plurked, wondering what a great marriage proposal line would be. He had replied to that plurk: “I didn’t need a search engine to find you… but i love the top result”. What I did not know then was that Jay was already in the throes of planning the marriage proposal scenario.
You can read Jay’s entire plan HERE. He wanted it to be unusual, away from Manila, a great surprise for Aileen, unexpected, and still romantic. What great timing for the Davao Food Appreciation Tour (FAT) that Blogie was organizing. Jay only told a few people. Drew was the official co-conspirator in Davao because the tarpaulin with his marriage proposal had to be done there. Of course, Blogie was in on the secret too.
How do you keep the romance burning in your marriage? If the spark had gone out, how did you rekindle it?
Do you remember your warm, fuzzy, romantic feelings when you first exchanged ‘I do’s’?
Where is it now? More often than not, once the reality of actually being married sets in, you realize it is more than just the dates and lovey-dovey-ness of it. Once the baby/ies start coming, more time is spent taking care of the little ones and earning a living. There are bills to pay, problems with househelp, in-laws to deal with, and so much more. Some couples drift apart, then find a way to come together again (love is lovelier the second time around!!!). Others are lucky enough not to lose the spark but continue to nurture and feed it throughout their life together. I get teary-eyed when I see couples in their 70s or 80s still holding hands and looking dreamily into each other’s eyes.
Whether you’ve just been married a few weeks, a few months, a few years, or lots and lots of years, HOW DO YOU DO IT?
Share your story with us, let us in on your secret, and get a chance to win this if we think your secret formula gives us the tingles! We have as many as 5 of these to give away:
Pond's Age Miracle Microdermabrasion Kit
Here are just a few rules:
1. I am opening this up to my male and female readers because I know you guys also have a story to tell!!!
2. You must be a resident in the Philippines.
3. Your entry can come in either of two (2) forms:
a. If you are a blogger, do a post in your blog on the question above (spice it up with pics or videos) but be sure to leave me a comment below with a link back to your blog post;
b. If you do not have a blog but wish to join, write your story in the comment box below. Maximum: 200 words.
4. The husband or the wife can submit an entry but ONLY ONE ENTRY PER EMAIL ADDRESS.
5. Entries must be submitted between March 14-27, 2009 (ending midnight of March 27, Philippine time). I will close off the comments box at exactly midnight.
6. The winners will be announced in this blog by March 31 and will be informed via email. Metro Manila winners will need to claim their prize personally from a Makati office. Provincial winners have to provide a valid MAILING address to which the prize can be sent.
7. I have chosen a special person to judge the entries. The decision of the judge is final.
Every year, Xavier School selects the Xavier-Kuangchi awardees from among its alumni who exhibit outstanding achievements in their respective fields.
I am very happy to find out that I know 2 out of the 3 awardees for this year.
Joaquin (or Jake, as we fondly call him) C. Yap, Jr. is someone we consider a relative. His family and that of hubby come from the same town in China. His mother (whom we call Di-kim) calls us on every occasion (Mother’s Day, Christmas, New Year) just to chat and ask about the family. Jake’s sister, Janet, who is now in Australia, was someone I knew even when she was still single.
Jake obtained his Masters Degree in Theological Studes in 1995 from the Loyola School of Theology and his Doctorate Degree in Theology in 2003 from the University of Oxford in England.
Xavier School calls him one of its exemplary alumni “for his devotion to the Catholic faith, consecrating his life to serve God through his long-term involvement with the university campus apostolate of the Servants of the Word and the teaching ministry of the Ang Ligaya ng Panginoon Catholic Charismatic Community.”
Vincent S. Perez (or Vince as we call him) is a dear friend and confidante while we were taking our Masters degrees at the University of Pennsylvania. I have many wonderful memories of Vince and the group of Pinoys I went to school with. Vince always had this never-to-be-forgotten dimpled smile and a listening ear for friends (and as one of his countless friends, I remember hours and hours we spent chatting over the telephone with topics that covered the inane to the dreams). During United Nations Day, both of us managed to borrow 2 bamboo poles from the Philippine Embassy and danced the Tinikling for our foreign schoolmates. Yes, Vince was and still is, a great dancer. Even back then, Vince had always nurtured a deep desire to serve in government and I never really imagined that one day, this friend would return from a successful investment banking career abroad to serve as a Cabinet Secretary.
Xavier School gives him the Xavier-Kuangchi Award “for his commendable service to the country as Secretary of the Department of Energy, setting a high benchmark for achievement and professionalism in government service, and earning the distinction of being the first Xaverian in the Cabinet, and the youngest and longest-serving Energy Secretary to date.”
Congratulations, Jake and Vince. I am so, so proud to know the both of you and to see you accept this award you richly deserve. May this award only serve to spur you both to greater heights for His greater glory.
These exemplary alumni will be formally awarded in “by invitation only” conferment rites on March 13, 2009, Friday, 6.30 PM at the XS Angelo King Multipurpose Center.
