Calling all hand and foot spa addicts!

I had an errand-ful day. That's my newly coined word. If there's an eventful day, why not an errandful day? I guess for one, errandful does not look nice at all. Nonetheless, my day was filled with errands. And I'm proud to say that I did all of them well. Or at least most of them because the other one was out of the way and I decided to do it next Monday. Still, I think I did a pretty good job in everything else that I did today. :) Congratulations to me!

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There are times when images of Tien still pop in my head especially when I blog because let's admit this -- she has the most number of beautiful comments in my entire two years of being a blogger. When I read her comments, they reflect how she truly read and understood my posts.

Unlike during the first few days, when sadness would win over all my other emotions, the thought of Tien and the way she lived her life simply inspire me. She's probably one of the happiest people who lived her life and even in her death, she can still make people feel happy despite being initially sad, of course. Although she can never leave any comments now, I just feel her positive presence.

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Because it's [blog] tradition, I am writing before I leave for my second '08 summer vacay. My youngest sister, Ling, passed UP Medical school, whoopee! And because I like basking in other people's glory, I am going on a vacation with her. Actually, she's joining me and my good friend, Sassy, who planned this trip a few months back. (Sassy's the one responsible for those photos on the sidebar and that photo of me praising the sky up there). So yes, expect more photos when we return. :) Girls are out to have fun in the sun!

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To all hand and foot spa afficionados out there... here's a little something :)

NAILCRAFT 62 Hand and Foot Spa
2nd Level Torre Venezia, 170 Timog Avenue corner Scout Santiago, Quezon City
(02) 3320917 / (02) 4976644
Opens at 1pm. Closes at 10pm.

One of the things I did today was try the newly-opened NAILCRAFT 62, Hand and Foot Spa . As a lover of foot spas and toenail polish, this is my bi-monthly indulgence. Removing all biases and subjectivity because the owner is my friend, I tried it out for the first time and truly loved it. When I arrived, I didn't tell anyone that I knew the owner so I'd be treated like all other clients.

As I stepped in the reception area, I was already laughing with the receptionist and all the other staff. Yes, laughing and not just saying warm hellos and exchanging smiles. We had that precious bonding moment because of a door.

From the outside, I could already see through the door made out of glass surrounded by purple panels. Because smiling is my default setting, I was already smiling at the staff from the outside. I tried to open the door by myself -- pulling and pushing but it didn't budge so I finally thought there must be a special lock system where the receptionist pushes a button from her seat to unlock the door. I waited for that buzz sound. She was signaling something to me but I didn't quite get it until she was already approaching and opened the door for me. Apparently, it was a sliding one.

So there you go, I laughed at myself and instantly clicked with everyone there. They greeted me warmly and apologized for the door but I was really more amused than anything. I took a look at the menu, smiling but trying not to show how familiar it was to me because my friend and I actually spent some time writing it. I was happy to find out that the receptionist knew the names so well (Cleansing Charm, Herbal Incantation, and all those magical sounding names) and answered me candidly when I explained what treatment I wanted. I really like the fact that she knew all the services by heart but I still kept mum about everything.

After I was seated and after being treated nicely, being offered magazines and drinks, I casually asked if my friend was coming over. From there, I admitted that I helped out with the menu and I saw the place when it was still under construction. And they were as nice to me as they were at the start.

As for the service, I had Weng take care of my toes. When she showed me the nail polish collection, I thought to myself "I'm coming back to try this and then this and that." After choosing the right color for me and making my toe nails squarish just the way I like them, I am now declaring that Weng is my new toe angel, haha.

Nailcraft just opened a month ago and not many people know this place yet. I'm sharing this new find with YOU! Try it and I hope to bump into you girls there one day because I'm going back there again and again and again!

Here's an unaltered photo I took while waiting for my toenails to dry :)

I wish I took photos of all its well-thought of corners but I think it's best if you discover them by yourselves! ;)

Tienrose

rests in peace and continues to be our sunshine...

This news surprised and saddened me a couple of hours ago.

One summer day, a girl named *T* left a message in my blog. Since that day, we've been exchanging stories and updates on each other's lives. She has always been supportive about the things and dreams that I shared in this blog. Likewise, I've always appreciated that way she lived life. Her adventures have inspired people.

She invited me to access her personal updates and I've truly felt that blogging makes the world smaller and allows us to meet beautiful people far away. I don't think Tien and I actually lived that far away from each other because her stories would sometimes include places that I could probably go to in less than an hour.

Whenever I have new posts and find "pisos" in my jar, it would more often than not be *Tien* or *T*. But today, as I visited her site again, I learned that she passed away. I could not pinpoint what exact day it was although I could guess because of what visitors wrote on her site.Until now I don't know the full story and I have my own set of questions but it's okay. I'm sure answers will just come. I also believe that everything happens for a reason.

Tien has lived such a FULL life. She has always been full of happiness, positive outlook, hopes, and dreams. She has also been honest about sadness, losses, and grief. Because of all these, she is as REAL as REAL can get. I will deeply miss her entries and her replies to mine. They've always been filled with sweet thoughts and inspiring words.

When I used to host before, she hoped to watch one day. When we had to run a marathon for a child, she wanted to help. When I began writing for a magazine, she even got her copy and took time to read what I wrote. Those little gestures mean so much to me. And I'm certain she has touched so many lives in even BIGGER ways. I can't just help but see the purity of her soul.

Tien, I've always felt I shared a part of me with you. And I feel so blessed that I've known a part of you too. My post before this seems to be so apt for you, dear. Across the universe, I'm sure you're making your very own sunshine.

Across the Universe

Holy Thursday.

I'm back to blogging on a quiet day. No big announcements. Just a few updates.

The real world has been good to me. I said farewell to my students as they graduated from Transition class. I wrote each one of them a letter that they could hopefully read again years from now. The "Mommies", "Daddies", and I can now call each other on a first name basis as one of them has suggested. After one school year of teaching their kids how to read/write/add/subtract, how to differentiate right from left, how to differentiate right from wrong, how to differentiate the first right from right, how to express one's self through art, play, and language, I think we ALL did a great job. Kudos to us!

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Summer has been welcomed. I've felt truly relaxed and at home during the past days.




Summer means short breaks for me. It's mainly for focusing on my proposal. I'm back to being a student again and climbing my personal rock. This will be quite a long break from teaching kids because I want to explore other career paths I have in mind. Oh, I'm not closing doors completely. I'm just leaving it ajar for a while.


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I watched the film "Across the Universe" last night. I'm amazed how the writers patched a good number of Beatles' songs to write a story and create a musical about the Vietnam war. It touches on several issues of people and youth -- young love, death, drafting, drugs, revolution, and deeper love for humanity. The characters' names were based on the songs and their nationalities also represent different people of the world. The movie ends on a rooftop where the Beatles also held their last concert. I couldn't agree more that in this universe, all we need is love.

I recommend everyone to allot two hours of free time to watch this film because like the Beatles' lyrics and music, this film remains to be relevant even up to this day and age.