I haven't done this blog raffle in a while and I was actually a bit surprised to find that I've gotten the Starbucks planner before December hit. I swear that Starbucks card is so convenient, especially when I've forgotten my lunch money and the card is all I have. So yeah...I pretty much grab my lunches at Starbucks whenever I am at Benilde.
Since I don't have much use for planners now that I'm dependent on my smart phone, I would like to raffle off this gorgeous baby:
And the nice thing about this is the sticker that says this on the box:
In order to enter the raffle, you'll mostly need to share your personal reflection about the year 2013 in the comments section below. It could be about anything that struck you most in the past year.
UPDATE December 18, 2013: I just finished my second sticker so this raffle has been extended, though the first winner will be claiming her prize today.
Again, like most of my raffles, this runs by point system so you can earn points through this (first two are required): a Rafflecopter giveaway
Those who've already submitted their entries in the comments section during the first run but didn't win, you still have a chance to re-tweet or re-post on FB. No need to re-enter your reflections in the comments section. I'll be manually combining the old entries and the new one.
It's time for that monthly contest again, so here we are, supporting positive thinking. Or finding joy in the littlest of things. Those who still haven't joined the contest, I urge you to join. Those who tried this before and didn't win...well, you should try again. :) Contest details are at the end of this post.
Meanwhile, here's my August 2013 list of things that made me fangirly giddy. I noticed that a lot of it has to do with milk and cream. Hehe.
When my gastroenterologist told me that I should no longer drink coffee, it felt like he just told me that he was going to amputate my arm. I have this love-hate relationship with coffee, wherein I'd go back to it but then it would result in me running back to my doctor after a few weeks. But I discovered Kopiko's Low Acid coffee a couple of months ago. It shone like a beacon in that aisle and I found myself drawn to it. It kinda disappeared for a while (always sold out?) but then it returned and I kinda hoarded it in case it disappears again.
It's time for July 2013's 5 Bits of Happiness (and contest). This time around, I won't just be concentrating on food. About two activities made it to my list and am I ever so thankful that I have been given such wonderful opportunities.
As for those who are interested in participating in this contest, you can scroll down at the very bottom of this post for the rules. Anyway, my list:
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's pasta selection. I love their menu and I'm glad to see their options are consistent in all their branches. I have yet to try any pasta of theirs that I did not appreciate (especially their Spinach and Cheese Ravioli). Pictured here is the Tomato and Herb Linguine, which costs about P170ish.
I have always been talking about a regular raffle for this year and I've had an idea that could also help me get rid of my blog backlogs. I'm such a supporter of the two-birds-one-stone concept. So instead of me writing full-blown reviews of restaurants that I've been in months ago or small, amazing items that don't really look like they need a full-blown entry, I'll just compile a list of the things that made me giddy with delight (not necessarily all food). I plan to do this on a monthly basis.
And because I want everyone to exude a positive aura on a regular basis, this raffle requires participants to talk about their "5 Bits of Happiness" for the month. Let me start with mine:
TWG Silvermoon Tea. This was introduced to me by my then associate producer and I've been hooked since. This batch was a Christmas gift from my room mate. Lovely aroma and the taste is like a piece of heaven. It's apparently made from red woodland berries and vanilla bouquet. So far, I have not tasted anything that compares to this.
All's well that ends well.
(And to celebrate, I will be having a New Year contest. Details below.)
This was how the email with Facebook went:
When they did not respond to my shameless begging, I thought of creating a new profile and making that the admin of Skysenshi's Hermitage. I just simply wanted my news feed back. And the ability to greet/congratulate my friends, to be able to share FB stories with my family on the breakfast table, and be tagged by my complaining relatives. ("It's not letting us tag you by your real name!")
Just after I added friend #200 on my new profile, I logged out so that I could add the new profile into my FB page's administrators. Lo and behold! FB did not take me to my sad and lonely hermitage, but instead showed me a news feed.
I literally slapped my face, thinking that I must be seeing things. In fact, I went out for the whole day and did my activities before logging back just to check that I was not imagining what I saw that morning. A colleague even texted me that he saw my original profile, so that must mean it's true.
I happily deactivated my new account after that.
And now, to celebrate the return of my identity (I'm still having a rough first week of 2013 but I know things are gonna get fixed), I'm going to hold a New Year 2013 Giveaway.
Share your 10 Goals for 2013
and win gift certificates of your choice: Starbucks, Powerbooks, National Bookstore, Blade (car accessories), SM or Rustan's.
Optional: If you want to be more detailed, you can blog about it like I did, and post the link to your entry on the comments section. Sample blog entry could be similar to this. You can be a lot more creative. It's up to you.
Wow. Didn't know that the guessing game for this session is going to be slightly difficult. We actually only have one winner because he was the only one who got all three correct. BUT I'm still rewarding two runner-ups for the best captions submitted.
First things first, the identification of the three guardians:
Charmander from the role-playing game Pokémon
Om Nom from the casual game "Cut the Rope"
ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam / Freedom / X10A --> this turned out to be the most difficult guardian to identify because it closely resembles Strike Freedom (X20A), whom it preceded. The difference between the two models is that Freedom's HiMAT wings (pictured below) have ten parts/blades/talons(?) while Strike Freedom's wings have eight. Of course, since the Strike Freedom is newer, it is the more powerful mobile suit and all eight parts of its wings are detachable.
And now, the winners:
Captioned by Jonathan Lansang, who guessed all three correctly. He gets Starbucks gift certificates worth P500.
Runner-up Molly Tamola Velasco, who guessed two correctly and also came up with a winning caption. She gets Starbucks gift certificates worth P200.
Runner-up Emiliana Sison, who also guessed two correctly and whose caption wins as well. She gets Starbucks gift certificates worth P200.
For the winners, you can send me a private message via my FB page, Skysenshi's Hermitage. I will ask for your phone number, mailing and email addresses.
Congratulations and I hope y'all had fun with this contest! Thanks for participating!!! =^.^=
I totally missed the Human Nature Pinay and Proud campaign because I'm currently at my busiest. I will probably have enough time to get back on track by August. This blog entry is probably the only contribution I can make for this effort. :(
As I was reading through the campaign, I was brought back to the time when I was defending my doctoral dissertation proposal (November of 2011, defended/presented the results in June 2012). My topic is about Filipino Women Social Gamers and my panel members asked me to define the word "Pinay". Apparently, you have to differentiate these terms because "Filipino Women" could mean something different from "Pinay". The former exists in reality while the latter is a concept defined by social construction.
Plus, I'm not sure if a lot of women are aware, but I have been wielding my nerdy pen in defense of the Pinay ever since I noticed that the keywords "Pinay" and "Filipino women" seem to produce...less than desirable Google results. While doing my research, I am bombarded with nasty images and descriptions of Filipino women and sadly, a lot of those are from Filipino men who are self-proclaimed geeks and new media practitioners. Tsk. No wonder you cannot walk the streets of Manila without receiving catcalls and whistles. If educated men can openly promote the sexual objectification of women online, you cannot expect the uneducated ones to behave better offline.
Anyway, after reading the campaign, I am suddenly curious as to how our readers would define the word "Pinay". And since it has been months since I've been wondering what kind of contest I could run so I could give away my Human Nature lipsticks, this gives me an opportunity to hit two birds with one stone.
So, in this blog, let us begin to raise better images of the Pinay!
Here's my contest:
In the comments section below, define the word "Pinay". Best answer wins.
Additional points will be awarded to those who like/join Skysenshi's Hermitage FB Page and/or share this blog entry to Facebook and Twitter (of course, please leave the link below your answer as well).
It's that simple. I will pick the best comment on 12 August 2012, at 11:59PM.
Good luck!!
WINNER ANNOUNCED:
Thesa Ursal! Your comment wins. Please send me your name, contact number, mailing address and email via this form:
http://www.sarimanok.ph/contact-us/
I know that maybe a lot of people don't know Kenkoy -- I mean, my maternal grandparents had yet to meet when it first came out -- but I see this as an opportunity to reminisce about our artistic roots and culture during the American occupation. (Funny how the creative industries consider comics and animation to be such a "baby" when these forms of art had been around longer than most of our great grandparents.)
Kenkoy was the brainchild of the Father of Philippine Cartoons, Tony Velasquez, and its humor was very pop and meant to be a caricature of the Filipino. Kenkoy was probably the very first jejemon brought to life through visual art...
Which is why I was actually stunned when I saw how classy the ad campaign is.
Contest Alert!
I'm giving away a free Solo x Kenkoy shirt to the person that best answers the following question: "Have you ever read Kenkoy comics? If so, tell us about your favorite strip."
(This might take a bit of research because even my parents weren't born yet during the height of Kenkoy's heydey. Hehe. But I'd be interested to see how resourceful everyone can be. =^.^=)
Post your answers in the comment box below. You can have multiple entries as long as they're not about the same strip. You can also blog about your answer and then post the URL of your entry here. Contest ends on September 25, 2011 and I will be announcing the winner the next day. Good luck, everyone!
I think I'm going to make a habit of this Guess the Guardian thing, although that would depend on how many times my office desk guardian changes. Hehe. Last month, I had my first Guess the Guardian spur-of-the-moment contest (because I was so aliw). I suppose it's my way of saying that, hey, I'm still here even if I've been consumed by work. Even my studies became secondary to my work (in fact, my thesis has changed entirely and I'm now focusing on games that my clients play).
Anyhoo, so here's my Guardian for June 2011:
Here's a little bit of a clue: Even though there are five robotic cats in the picture, they form only one entity. Right now the universe she defends is mine. (I insist that these are female robots because they have no hair. Cats of these type only have hair when they're male. LOL.)
I'm going to modify the mechanics for a bit this month. The first time around, I awarded the first person who guessed correctly. This time around, I'm awarding the most informative guesser who posts his/her answer on the comment box below.
Let everyone know more about this Guardian. Best answer wins a couple of Starbucks gift certificates. I'll be judging the winner by Sunday of next week. =^.^=
For those who didn't notice, I actually ran a mini-contest a couple of weeks back. Hehe, it was on a whim and it was on a first-correct-answer basis. I asked my readers to guess who my office desk guardian is. And I have a winner:
Keane Rush was the first commenter and he nailed it!
My guardian is Illidan Stormrage from Warcraft. Keane gets a couple of Starbucks gift certificates.
And now for the Cream Silk Winners:
Hazel Dela Victoria, who was born with naturally beautiful hair. Ooh, I'm envious. I'd normally pick the ones that need conditioner the most but I like what she said about being confident. Plus, she urges everyone to feel good about themselves, regardless of their hair condition. Aaaaand of course, to stay away from too many chemical combinations.
Our next winner is:
MJ Meting. She's the only curly-haired person who submitted an entry. Come to think of it, her hair is a lot similar to mine, although hers look so much more manageable. Haha!
Both girls win 5 bottles of Cream Silk each, plus PhP500 gift certificates.
To all winners, please email me via this form with your name, contact number and mailing address. (You can also PM me via FB.)
To those that didn't win, don't worry. I still have more contests coming up. I might also actually do random raffle draws for all members of Skysenshi's Hermitage or for those who have participated in the past but haven't won yet. Soon. (Still not running out of giveaways.)
Remember my blog entry about Venus Raj? I actually didn't know that that was going to lead to a contest that involves five variants of Cream Silk conditioners. So, I guess...yay for pleasant surprises? xD
I'm a conditioner addict myself, since that helps me tame my hair into submission. Well, somewhat. (So I pretty much feel for Ms. Raj because I heard she has naturally curly hair that is probably more stubborn than mine. Thank goodness she's very beautiful and she can carry any kind of hair.)
Anyhoo, I won't be able to use all of these since one of the variants is for straight hair. And...you guessed it, I'm giving these away. To up the ante, I'm also giving away two gift certificates.
I will pick two (2) winners, and each winner gets 5 Cream Silk conditioners + PhP500 SM GC. (So you can buy more conditioners at Watson's, haha!) How will I pick the winners? Read on.
Mechanics:
At the Skysenshi's Hermitage Facebook page, upload a photo or video of yourself, concentrating on your hair. Just generally talk about your hair: Love it or hate it? Any tips to share? Or do you need tips?
Have people like and comment on your photo.
Basically, I will be judging your entries based on the following criteria:
Quality of entry (interesting photo and caption OR video) = 70%
Quality of comments on your photo or video = 20%
Likes = 10%
And as always, I shall give bonus points to those that spread the word about this contest via social networks. (FB, Twitter, Multiply etc.)
Contest ends on June 11, 2011 and winners will be announced on June 12, 2011.
Rationale:
There are two things about this contest that I'm really gunning for:
To build a community where we share hair problems and solutions (as this hair woes have always been the bane of my existence).
For me to find out how I could help you guys in the future. I've done extensive blog entries about hair (I really take this seriously, haha!) and there might be some problem areas that I can research about and share with my readers.
I'm hoping that this contest can help me gather information regarding my readers' hair and scalp needs and how I can be of help.
Gosh. I am so sorry for this delay. I had exams and Monday night was horrifying, because I ate bad empanada that went to my head so I was taking my exams while I was actually sick. (As if the test questions weren't excruciating enough.) I swear I will be staying away from empanada for a while...
Anyway, because of that, I had to ask my best friend Cris for help with the decision of who the winner will be. So without further ado, the winner of the Solo gift pack that contains a pair of shades, a bracelet and a bottle of perfume is...
esviminfaelnar
That was a very descriptive, creative and cheerful contest entry, with photos that accompany the eco-friendly, family-oriented narrative. Her complete entry can be found here. (You can actually attach photos on the comments section of skysenshi.com, if you don't have a blog.)
Congrats!
You can view the other Solo contest entries on this page. Anyhoo, for the winner, please contact me via this form, so we can talk about sending arrangements. (I actually prefer to give it in person since I'm afraid for that fragile perfume bottle, but if you don't live in Metro Manila maybe we can arrange things.)
As for those who are still hungry for contests, I have one up my sleeve (hair related + gift certificates) that I will be rolling out as soon as I'm done with exams. Hm. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever run out of stuff to give away. There are still unclaimed items here that I plan to raffle off to all members of Skysenshi's Hermitage.
Plus, don't forget to try for a PS3, an HP Mini or a Casio G-Shock watch through the Snickers Hungerlings Attack game. That contest is until May 15.
I actually have 12 winners, when I'm only supposed to choose 10. We have ties for both the Original formula and Anlene Gold. (Those bonus points really upped the ante.) Since I'm chasing after a deadline, plus, I can still give out one more of each formula anyway...I just let the ties be. (I'm currently drinking Anlene Gold even though it's supposed to be for my parents. It has more calcium ehhhh.)
So our winners are:
ORIGINAL FORMULA:
Carla_guillermo
melandriaromero
gessa marie condino
pearl
Jonna B.
LOURDES ESPANOL
GOLD FORMULA:
d a e a S R
Spageti Sows
Hotie_shockz
puri jc
czaroma
Katherine Sicat
CONGRATULATIONS to the winners! Please contact me via this form with your full name, email address, contact number and mailing address.
Itching for more contests?
My Solo Goodie Bag contest (containing: a pair of shades, a bracelet, and perfume) is still up and I will pick a winner by May 7. Just answer my very simple question at the end of the blog entry.
Aaaand if you're interested in winning a PS3, an HP Mini, or a Casio G-Shock Watch, you can simply saunter over to my Snickers Hungerlings Attack post. You just need to play the game (maybe obsessively) and try to beat the high score. Now, that's fun. And finally, something for the geeky men!
I'm also going to come up with another contest for Cream Silk and it just might involve showing me your hair's condition, just like Venus Raj did. Hehe. I'm thinking of throwing in two SM gift certificates so watch out for this.
*Ahem* Don't mind the kitteh. I was doing test shots of the Anlene packs when Kirara emerged from her refuge behind the blinds. As you can see, she has that "my human is doing product shots again" look on her face.
Anyway...
It's been a while since I last posted about bone health and I've been wanting to promote the information I've learned about calcium from the last Anlene event I went to (with guest speaker Senator Pia Cayetano). It's a good thing Franco of Bridges sent me a package of Anlene boxes to help me boost awareness. He left a sweet note that reminded me to drink milk for stronger bones and to remember that osteoporosis is preventable. I'd like to share this fact with my readers as well.
Coincidentally, my parents and siblings were talking about the benefits of full cream milk versus skim milk when I unearthed the boxes of Anlene. My Dad, being a senior citizen, was delighted, while my Mom regretted the fact that she had just bought cartons of another brand.
We have a loooot to give away (because I don't think we could finish all of them before they expire). How to get hold of them? Read on.
What we have here are two kinds of Anlene. There's the regular one, which is recommended for people aged 19-50 years. Then there's the Gold one, which is recommended for people aged 51 onwards.
I'm giving away a total of 10 Anlene packs:
5 Anlene Gold
5 Anlene original formula
The mechanics: On the comment box below, please share your bone health / calcium story. (Basically why you want or need Anlene.) Of course, you need to state which type of Anlene you want. That's it.
I'll be picking the 5 best answers for Gold and 5 best answers for the original formula.
Additional points:
Link to my blog entry about bone health in your social networks.
(+1 for Facebook, +1 Twitter, +1 on blogs, etc.)
Spread the word about this contest, also via your social networks.
(+1 for Facebook, +1 Twitter)
Contest officially ends on May 1, 2011 at 5PM. Good luck!
One of the things I learned about our bones is that they start to deteriorate at age 25. You can read more about that, plus tips on how to stimulate their growth from my old post about bone health. That was a fun event/seminar and I really would like my readers to be as informed as I had been on that day.
Since I don't seem to be running out of giveaways (and my mom is complaining that half of my room is already full of freebies, leaving me with 1/4th the space), I've decided to hand out some of them in one go.
I will be celebrating my birthday on March 5, so I'll let this contest run until midnight of the 5th then announce the winners on the 6th. Here's the thing. I actually want to give the stuff away personally so I'm also thinking of treating the winners out to coffee and snacks (thanks to a few foodie gift certificates still lying around here). So maybe I can hand them over on the 12th of March?
Anyway, here are the goodies.
For the girls, I'm giving away two sets of bath products. Each set contains: Beyond Bath body butter, Beyond Bath shampoo or body wash, Asian Secrets Lulur body scrub and Human Nature Love Minerals tinted lip balm (a new favorite, which I will be reviewing soon).
For the boys and the girls: an SM gift card worth PhP1,000.
I'll be picking the three best contest entries but they'd be ranked. Top entry gets the SM gift card while the remaining two will get a bath set each.
Next: In the comments section of that photo, tell me if this blog has helped you in any way, what particular post was it that helped, and how/why that post has been useful. If you're usually just here for useless information/trivia (which I provide a lot of, haha), you can just state which blog post is your favorite and explain why.
One valid comment is equivalent to one entry. You can have an unlimited number of entries. This contest is open to those who reside in Metro Manila.
If you can't remember what it was that got you here or kept you staying, here's a listing of this site's contents to jar your memory. The most creative entries win.
Additional points:
Spread the word about this contest. TagSkysenshi's Hermitage, so I can keep track of you.
Blog about this contest or simply spread it through various social networks.
Have people like your entry/comment. Although I prefer to look at the quality (content) of your entries, the number of likes your entry garners may help a little.
Again, contest ends on March 5 and winners will be posted on March 6, 5PM. I do hope to meet the winners in person so we can talk about YOUR interests over coffee this time.
DocB (Dr. B. Lapa) is crazy cat lady, a behavioral scientist, an indie game producer/designer and has been a web author since 1997. Her vocation is teaching, so she is a Full Professorial Lecturer at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde and a Higher Education Professional at Asia Pacific College.
Contact me
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1
-
GENRE: Role-Playing PLATFORM: Playstation Vita CREDITS: 2014 IDEA FACTORY
SHOPPING: Neptunia Top Sellers Neptunia Games Neptunia Art Books Amazon.com
Descr...
