(EZRA) 12/52: Mechanical Lullaby
Ack! Another one I forgot to post back in 2010! It’s now 2013~ Thank goodness I can edit the dates of my posts here on WordPress~
Her description:
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The thing I’m playing with is called a “Newton’s Cradle.” I got it for Christmas and it’s pretty amusing. When I’m bored I just play with it and watch it swing around (which is strangely relaxing).
The title is from a song in “Coraline.”
I’m wearing a wig in this photo because I was too lazy to fix my hair.
Thanks to my sister for taking my picture and editing it!
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It was a bit hard to get the timing of the cradle right for this shot. Ezra had to set the balls in motion and pose quickly while looking relaxed and amused at the same time XD
Week 12/52: Golden hugs, sushine kisses
Ckloy gave me a new umbrella, weeeee~ We met up at Megamall two Saturdays ago, after my MSE 225 exam. We were supposed to have lunch together with Amie, Kat and Ate Love because it was Amie’s birthday, but he couldn’t make it on time.
Any guesses where it’s from?
Here’s a quick hint:
Before anybody says anything about my Etude House obsession, I want to say that I didn’t spend a single cent in that shop that day~ (Yay me!) The only reason I was there was because Kat and Ate Love were in a makeup-shopping mood, and I suggested they check the place out. When Ckloy arrived, we were in the middle of trying out mascaras, so that’s where he found us.
He asked me to help him pick out presents for his parents’ wedding anniversary. He told me I could pick out anything I wanted in the store in return. I suggested he get the bottle of the Creamy Peach Chou Body Lotion for his mom, and picked out this umbrella for myself. I was thinking of getting the eyeshadow stick they had there, but I figured I needed the umbrella more than I need makeup, since I broke my old umbrella earlier that day.
I’ve actually been eyeing this umbrella for a while now, but I was too cheap to buy it for myself. I normally just find umbrellas at home and claim them for myself (we get a lot of free umbrellas from banks and insurance companies for some reason, so I’ve never felt the need to buy one).
I’ve been walking around campus a lot lately and the sun hasn’t been kind on my skin. I normally don’t mind a bit of sun, but the heat’s been terrible here lately, so I’ve started carrying an umbrella around to give me some extra shade when I walk. I’ve also started using a lotion with SPF! (I know, they say you’re never supposed to go out without sun protection, but I hate the sticky feeling I get when I put sunblock on, so I don’t use it unless I really need to.)
A not so happy version:
Thanks Ckloy! Mwah mwah~
A VERY LATE “New” Year’s entry
Yes, I know, it’s already the end of March, but I’ve been too lazy to sort holiday photos until now. I’ve only just finished posting our family’s Christmas photos on FB and Multiply. I decided to get started on the ones we took on New Year’s eve also. I figured I might as well make a quick entry about it too, since I failed to do that when 2010 started XD
December 31, 2009 was a double celebration for our family since it was also Bam’s 26th (27th?) birthday. He took us all to Zen Buffet where we stuffed ourselves with yummy Chinese and Japanese food.
My plate (first round). Those cheese wantons were yummy!!
Group photo
Thanks Bam! *mwah mwah*
Three down, two to go!
I’ve completed all my requirements for three of my subjects this semester. I’m praying that the effort I put in for these subjects (however little) will be enough to secure a passing grade for all of them. I hope that everything turns out alright and I won’t have to repeat them.
I thought I’d share some pictures and memories I have from these classes, to give me a feeling of closure.
MSE 225: X-Ray Crystallography and Spectrography
My earliest subject to finish this semester. We had our final exam just last week.
Our class met every Saturday this semester (except for those days when our professor was too busy to hold classes, or fell asleep in his office). We tackled one chapter of the book each week, and a problem set was assigned at the end of each class. This meant that for almost every Friday this semester, my classmates and I stayed up all night answering problems dealing with x-rays, crystal lattices and their symmetries.
Amie and I stayed up on Fridays together at my apartment to solve the problems for class. Towards the middle of the semester, the Calamba sisters (Kat and Ate Love) started joining us, which made things a whole lot easier since there were more of us. Although there were some days when we only managed to submit two problems each because we stayed up chatting all night instead of answering the problem set XD
This was taken right after Ate Love’s birthday. We had a pizza for dinner that night, her treat. Thanks Ate Love!
(Ate Love and I are actually the same age, she’s just a few months older than I am. I just got used to calling her “Ate” because of Kat, hehehe)
Sometimes Ezra would come and stay with me at my apartment (when she didn’t have to work) so I’d have some company. On Friday nights she’s in charge of making sure we all don’t fall asleep while studying. (She spends the entire Friday morning asleep while I’m in class, so she’s all energized in the evening.)
Ezra acting as a stylist while Kat solves the more difficult Math problems for us.
Ezra put Miaka-style buns on me
Looking so happy. She enjoys watching us suffer XD
Sometimes Hahriz would also spend Friday night with us. She usually does this when she has an early Saturday exam.
With Hahriz
(Yes, my place is always a mess when Friday night comes around. Luckily no one really cares as long as we can find a place to study. We clean up on Saturday mornings after our class, before heading back to LB.)
Hell Week!
Just a quick update. I’ve been extremely busy these days. The semester is coming to an end, so I’m trying to complete all my requirements before their deadlines. I’ve still got three papers to submit and two exams to study for. Students normally call this period their “hell week“, although my “hell” actually lasts for more than a week. This is what my planner looks like for now:
At least I’ve already completed all my requirements for one subject, MSE225. We had our final exam last Saturday. The exam had 6 questions and lasted for 4 hours. We all had migraines by the time the proctor collected our papers. But at least that’s over. I can only hope I did alright in that subject. Passing grade is 50%, but MS students need a score of at least 80%. I don’t know if I’ll be able to score that high T__T
To help us prepare for the test, Amie, Kat and I headed over to the library to study last Friday. When the library closed at 5pm, so we moved our study session over to my apartment, where Ate Love joined us as soon as she was done with work. By that time, our minds were already saturated, so we mainly goofed around while trying to answer some of the problems in the book (which, luckily, were some of the problems that showed up in the exam).
Quick photo of our study session. Review materials and netbooks everywhere! Kat’s already asleep while Amie flat irons her hair. Ate Love is still busy solving problems in the book.
Right now I’m busy studying for my Geol297 (Clay Mineralogy) exam tomorrow. Currently reading/scanning these two books:
Exam’s going to be “open-everything” which includes our laptops (and therefore the web). I have no idea what sort of questions to expect. Open book exams scare me O__o
Wish me luck!
(EZRA) 11/52 : Every Girl is a Princess
Something simple again. Still have loads of work to do T___T
Ezra’s description:
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I saw my sister’s old mini crown (she wore it to her senior prom) and it inspired me to do a princess shoot.
These past few weeks my SP always showed the sky so this week I wanted an SP that focuses on the ground.
I did my best to look sweet even though the grass that I was sitting on had ants. In the end my sister said I looked like a conniving princess in my picture, hehe.
I got the title from a line in Shokojo Seira (the Japanese version of “A Little Princess.”)
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Week 11/52: Pure snow, pure heart
Something simple, no time for photomanipulations this week T__T Finals will be in about 2 weeks so I’ve got tons of deadlines to meet and exams to study for.
Belated Happy White Day!! (shot this last Sunday XD)
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From Wikipedia:
White Day was first celebrated in 1978 in Japan. It was started by the National Confectionery Industry Association as an “answer day” to Valentine’s Day on the grounds that men should pay back the women who gave them chocolate and other gifts on Valentine’s Day.
Soon thereafter, confectionery companies began marketing white chocolate. Now, men give both white and dark chocolate, as well as other edible and non-edible gifts, such as jewelry or objects of sentimental value, or white clothing like lingerie, to women from whom they received chocolate on Valentine’s Day one month earlier. If the chocolate given to him was giri-choco, the man, likewise, may not be expressing actual romantic interest, but rather a social obligation.
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Ezra asked me why I love posting pictures of myself with my head cropped off. I told her I normally do this on days I’m feeling stressed or “unpretty”.
Title from the song “Pure Snow” sung by Yuko Sasaki for the anime Himiko Den.
Polka Dots and Flowers : Nail Art!
Finally found time yesterday to play with all the nail stuff I bought at Etude House earlier this week.
Weeeee~ Ain’t it purty?
I love how this looks, and it was extremely easy to do.
First, I applied my new dark purple nail polish. This took a while because Ezra kept insisting that she put the nail polish on me, and kept painting my entire finger instead of my nails. In the end I did it myself and just let her watch.
It’s not perfect, but it’ll do. I always have trouble applying nail polish because I have extremely shaky hands.
Then I took my nail stickers and just put a flower on each nail.
Ta-dah~
Ezra tried to redeem herself by volunteering to peel the stickers off the card for me. She ended up ripping the first flower in half T__T She decided to just watch me peel the stickers myself after that.
I felt like something was still missing, so I decided to add white dots on the tips of my nails:
Looks better, don’t cha think?
My dots still aren’t as round as I want them to be, but they’re fine if you don’t look too closely.
My last nail art lasted about two days before the first sticker started to peel off. This was probably because I only used a thin coat of the clear polish on top of it. A couple more peeled off as the days passed, but most of the stickers survived the week, so I’m satisfied.
This time I decided to put two layers of the clear nail polish on top. I hope it’ll last longer this way. It’s been two days and one petal has already peeled off and some of the nail polish on my right hand is starting to chip off, but I fixed it so it wouldn’t be too obvious. My left hand seems to be holding out pretty well though ^___^
EDIT: This lasted me for two weeks!! I couldn’t believe it. Of course there were some chipping on some nails, but I fixed them easily by reapplying nail polish on those areas. I also added another coat of clear polish on top of my nails after a week, which could be the reason they lasted for so long.
OUCH!
I had my underarms waxed for the first time today. I’ve always wanted to try it, but I’m terrified of pain. Besides, having my hair brutally ripped out from their follicles doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. Shaving sounds a whole lot safer, and more pain-free. This afternoon, however, Brinks somehow managed to convince me that it’ll be okay, and it won’t hurt as much as I expect it to.
We went to V-lounge to get it done. It was Brinks’ 2nd time so she was a lot more relaxed than I was. I was embarrassed at first, my underarms are not really something I go around showing people and yet there I was, voluntarily exposing it to some stranger who would examine it closely. It was also awkward (yet slightly comforting) knowing that Brinks was in the same room, going through the same painful procedure I was.
The waxer (is that what you call them?) did my left side first. I expected extreme pain, but it was actually pretty tolerable. It stung a bit after a while, but not as bad as I expected. I actually enjoyed it a little, it was somewhat relaxing. When she moved on to my right side, however, it was a completely different experience. It was like I was put through some mild form of torture (okay, I’m exaggerating a little, but it really did hurt!) I felt like my skin was being ripped off, instead of my hair T__T I didn’t want the waxer to think that I was a wuss (though I did warn her that it was my first time), so I tried to resist screaming out in pain and settled for making little “ow” noises instead.
Anyway, I’m proud to say I survived. My underarms still feel a bit raw right now, but I’m told it’ll be better by tomorrow. I’m quite pleased with the results too. I can’t remember the last time my underarms were this smooth. Brinks tells me that this will last for a few weeks, and that when I get it waxed again it wouldn’t be as painful since the hair should grow back thinner. Hopefully she’s right.
Thanks kup!
(EZRA) 10/52: We’ll Always Be Friends Forever Won’t We?
Photomanipulation again 
Ezra wanted a swing SP too.
Her description:
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I got this giant teddy bear from my boyfriend a couple of years ago before he went back to America. I named it Mr. Bear (how original, hehe).
It was pretty hard to position Mr. Bear so I had to hold him in place. My sister just edited me out using Photoshop.
I got the title from a line in the Disney movie “The Fox and the Hound,” it’s a really sad movie. Thanks to my sister for taking my picture and editing it!
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Since I was using my 50mm lens, it was quite hard to get both Mr. Bear and Ezra in the frame. So I decided to shoot them separately. Ezra had the hold Mr. Bear up to make him look in the same direction she was looking:
You can see our little bahay kubo in the background, hehe.
To create the dreamy sky effect, I simply took a picture of a cloudy sky I have in my laptop (I have a lot of them, I like taking random pictures that could be useful stock images in the future). For this particular photo, the sky photo was taken around early January, while we were at the Rose Bowl Parade in California. (I got bored taking pictures of the floats.)
I placed the picture of the sky in a separate layer, over the layer with Mr. Bear. I used a layer mask so that the I can select which parts the picture with Mr. Bear appears.
This part took a lot of time. Thank goodness I use a tablet to edit my pictures, my hands would probably die if I attempted to do this with a mouse.
I did the same thing for the picture with my sister, which I placed next to Mr. Bear’s photo.
This is what it looked like after I was done with all the masking.
After this, just add some hue/saturation layers, adjust the curves, use a soft brush at low opacity to fix the lighting, add some more clouds if you want, and voila~ You get the first image shown in this post.
This entry was obviously not meant to be a tutorial. I just wanted to give you guys a quick peek on how I do many of my photomanipulations, since some people have been asking. Obviously, the steps are quite simple, they just take a bit of time and a lot of trial and error.
If you don’t have a tablet, you can always use your mouse to do the masking. It’s a big pain in the ass, but it’ll get the job done. (Back when I didn’t have my tablet, I did all my manips using a mouse and the pen tool. But I stuck with simple manipulations then.)
Week 10/52: The Bloody Rose
A little vampire shoot I had with my sister the other day.
I started watching Vampire Knight again, and I’m enjoying it more now compared to the first time I watched it. I was annoyed at the fact that the anime is a bit different from the manga, I didn’t even bother finishing it the first time I tried it. But it’s been over a year since I read the manga, so I’ve forgotten how the story goes.
In the anime, the “Bloody Rose” is the name of Zero’s anti-vampire gun.
Obviously I’m not this pale in real life, this was all thanks to the make up (and a bit of Photoshop). Its been ages since we did a shoot where makeup was involved. When Ezra and I first started doing our mini-”photoshoots”, we played around with makeup a lot. But, in our past few shoots, we got lazy and decided to just stick with digital makeup (thank you Photoshop). But the other day I decided to open this makeup palette I had lying around in my closet. It was supposed to be a Christmas gift for a friend, but I keep forgetting to give it to her. Ezra and I have been having fun trying out the different eye shadows.
I forgot I had this shirt, it used to be one of my favorites. My mom got it for me when I first started teaching, so I’d have something nice to wear. I’m starting to wonder if it was an appropriate thing to wear to my classes XD
This was supposed to be my main upload, but my boyfriend and my sister like the other one better:
Also like this, but my hand looks kinda awkward:
All pictures were taken by my dear sister. (Thanks Ez!). Processing by me
Oops I did it again~
I didn’t play with anyone’s heart, but I did pay another visit to The Etude House yesterday O_o
I tried my best to stop myself, but I eventually gave in T__T I’ve been such a good girl the past week too, staying away from malls (or certain parts of malls), to avoid overspending. But Ezra was with me yesterday, and she wanted to try the eyeliner there. All it took was the tiniest bit of whining on her part, and I was in. I’m so ashamed of myself (well, my will power at least).
WHY IS IT THAT I CAN’T GO INTO THAT SHOP WITHOUT BUYING ANYTHING??? Everything in there is just too cute!~
<<SIGH>>
So anyway, here’s yesterday’s haul:
More nail stickers since I loved the ones I bought weeks ago.
I also bought nail art pens. Glad to see they had the black and white ones in stock yesterday. The last time I went they only had reds and pinks.
Two new bottles of nail polish. Black and a deep plum color.
New apricot stick for my mom. I let her try mine and she loved it, so I bought one for her too. I’m still deciding if I should give her my old one (the abused one on the left) and keep the darker color for myself, mwahahaha.
Alice in Wonderland : IMAX
Raffy, Ezra, Ckloy and I watched Alice in Wonderland yesterday at SM North. Ezra and I were big fans of Disney’s cartoon version, so we were really looking forward to this movie. It was Ezra’s and Raffy’s first IMAX experience, and they loved it
The movie started at 3:50pm, we arrived there around 3:00. We bought tickets as soon as we got there, but most of the good seats were already taken. We were lucky to still get seats somewhere in the middle. We bought some snacks after getting the tickets then proceeded to the IMAX theater.
Ckloy and Raffy buying snacks
I’m too lazy to write a proper review of the movie, but if I had to rate it, I’d give it 4 out of 5 stars. I love the cinematography and the character designs (especially the costumes). Watching it in IMAX made me feel like I was in Wonderland myself. But, I felt like the story lacked something. I can’t really explain it, but there were moments when I got a bit bored during the movie. I would have been a lot happier if they had just stuck with the plot of the original cartoon. Call me lame, but I think a bit of singing and dancing would have been nice too XD (I miss Disney movies where the characters randomly starts singing about what they’re doing.)
We also felt that the movie was a bit too short. We’re not used to watching movies that don’t last longer than 2 hours anymore.
Ckloy watching the credits after the movie. We loved Anne Hathaway’s role here. I was also happy to hear Snape’s (Alan Rickman’s) voice, since I didn’t know he was part of this movie.
Some pictures inside the theater:
Ckloy
Me (I wore my real glasses under the 3D ones, hehe)
Ezra had to keep pushing her glasses up because they were too big for her
Raffy
Trying to impersonate the Cheshire Cat ^___^
Ckloy’s and my feet. Converse love, hehe.
(Ezra, Raffy, Ckloy and I all wore Converse high-tops that day. Ezra and I have identical black ones, Ckloy bought his brown ones last week, and Raffy just bought his double upper layer leather *whatever you call it* ones a few days ago. Too bad I wasn’t able to take a picture of all four of our feet together)
Although the movie isn’t as spectacular as I expected it to be, I think it’s still worth watching. It made me remember the days when Ezra and I would just lock ourselves in our room and watch the cartoon over and over again
(Poster outside the theater)
Johnny Depp!! *fangirls*
I missed my nifty fifty + Mcdo with the girls
Met up with the girls yesterday for some ice cream. Since Brinks has been missing my 50mm, I decided to bring it with me (along with my 10-22mm of course). We gathered at Aprille’s house first before heading off to McDo.
I wore my bow necklace that I bought last time the girls and I went out
Aprille, stressed from planning her cousin’s vacation
Camille, looking relatively calm despite her busy schedule
Brinks, who I almost ran over with my car on my way to Aprille’s XD
(EZRA) 9/52: Hush Now
Librarian Ezra, wahehehe~ JK
Her description:
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This is my Mao-inspired picture for this week.
Mao is the vocalist of the band “Sid” which I love. Sid’s new single “Sleep” was released this week so I thought I’d do a Mao-inspired portrait for this week to celebrate.
My pose in this photo is similar to my favorite picture of Mao, which is my desktop wallpaper.
Here’s what Mao looks like:
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She’s wearing my glasses in this picture XD
9/52: Like a road crossed by light, time flows into silence
Why can’t time move faster~ I can’t wait for the semester to end! I’m getting sick of all this studying, I want to finish my studies ASAP! I feel like I’m just wasting my time doing something I’m not passionate about. I’m not even really sure if I’m on the right path anymore.
I went to the university on Monday to try and finish an exercise for one subject, but the machine we were supposed to use was acting up again, so I ended up not being able to do anything. Its frustrating because it takes 3 hours to get to the university, so I only go there when I have class or when I really have to do something. Its such a waste of time (and money) when I’m not able to do what I planned. I figured it was okay since I have an early class the next day, and I have an apartment nearby where I can spend the night. At least I wouldn’t have to wake up extremely early the next day to be able to get to class on time. So I spend the night at my apartment (alone T__T) only to wake up to a text from my professor announcing that we wouldn’t meet that day~
Of course a big part of me is happy that I’m free for another day, but still~
So I get up, eat some leftover pesto for breakfast and start my 3-hour journey home.
ANYWAY~
(Sorry for the mini-rant. It’s *that* time of the month, and I’m extremely irritable. I’m not normally like this.)
My SP this week was supposed to be something different, but I ended up not liking it, so I had to come up with something new, something related to time. (Do I look annoyed in this photo?)
Kero-Kero-Pi hat was bought at the same time as my Kupo hat, at the Otaku Expo 2010. It’s also the same hat Ezra was wearing (backwards) in this photo, we taped the eyes so they wouldn’t show and changed the color in Photoshop.
Title came from the song “Rondo” (sung by ON/OFF) from the soundtrack of Vampire Knight Guilty (Zero and Kaname~ Kyaaaaaaah!)
Thanks Ez for taking the picture~
Outtakes:
Poupee outfits the past week:
(was finally able to buy that white headband I wanted ^__^)
Nom Nom Nom
One thing I like about staying in Manila is I get to try different kinds of food I don’t normally get to eat while I’m in LB.
Last Thursday Moy took me to this place along Katipunan called Flaming Wings (I think that was the name). She told me that their chicken is really good, and that their fried oreo dessert is heaven. I ordered the set meal which includes four pieces of chicken, rice and a drink, while Moy just had dessert.
My food
Moy’s favorite dessert
Yummmm~ Oreos
Thanks Moy! My tummy was very happy~ I’ll definitely eat there again
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Yesterday, being the responsible students that we are, Amie, Kat and I headed off to Trinoma to escape the summer heat. Never mind that we had a problem set due the next day XD To cool us down even further, we had some frozen yogurt at White Hat (or White Hand as the security guard called it, hihi).
*drools* I love frozen yogurt~ Amie and I ordered the same thing, but they look so different for some reason
Then that evening, remembering that I was supposed to be giving up meat every Friday for Lent, we decided to make some tuna spagetti with the leftover pasta from last week, when Moy and I made some pesto (entry here). (Although I remembered later that I already broke that promise since I had some barbeque for lunch that day T__T)
Typical Girls Night Out : KFC + Cao Park
I met up with Brinks and Aprille yesterday night, because Brinks wanted to see some “non-office” people. She spent most of last week being busy at work, and so she needed to detoxify and rant a bit (although she didn’t complain as much as I had expected, I’m guessing there’s one “office” person she wouldn’t mind seeing outside of work XD)
I picked her up and we stopped by 101 Boutique first where I bought this adorable necklace
Sweeeeeet~ I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now, hehe. It’s a bit longer than I wanted, but I still love it <3 It’s been ages since my last visit to 101 Boutique, I should stop by there more often, they have a lot of cool new stuff for sale.
After that we had dinner at KFC while waiting for Aprille to arrive.
Brinks looking so hungry
Me looking so satisfied after finishing our meals, hehe
Aprille sorta joined us for dinner via text, hehe.
I was also able to give Brinks the BB cream she asked me to buy for her. Have you tried it yet kup? Tell me if you like, okie?
When Aprille arrived, she didn’t feel like having soup anymore, so we decided to just walk around Carabao Park and catch up on each other’s lives. Of course, being the photoholics that we are, we took lots of pictures of each other. I haven’t had time to look through them properly, but here are some I liked:
Brinks, Aps and me sitting by/in the empty fish pond
Long-legged me! Weeeeee~ Wearing my new shoes, I’m still breaking them in, they don’t hurt my feet as much now. (I missed my wide angle lens! My poor Rebel has been feeling neglected for a while. Its good I was able to take him out yesterday.)
Pesto!~
Today Moya came over to cook some of her famous pesto for me
Noodles before cooking
Moy washing the basil leaves
So serious
Pesto sauce made using Moy’s little food processor. Yum yum yum~
I wasn’t able to take pictures of the final product since we ate them as soon as they were done, we were that hungry XD
Thanks for the yummy pesto Moy! ^___^
