10 Reasons Why 2012 Had Been Good To Me

Strange haircuts aside, 2012 was a good year for me. While 2011 was a hellishly wild roller-coaster ride, it prepared me for the battles ahead.  I won most of 2012.  Let me count the ways.

10. Had another cat, the Persian-Himalayan Arya
She's kinda dumb and simple, but isn't she a beauty? Here's a photo of her being groomed by our Siamese cat, Kirara.

9. Short vacations at Boracay and Bataan.
If it weren't for the long travel time between Manila and Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar...well, I still say the trip was worth it. Especially after seeing the first UP Fine Arts building.

8. Moved to Makati
Not only did this move make it easier for me to get to Makati Medical Center (5 minutes walk), it also assured me that my entire system would get the circulation it needed. All that walking actually helped me overcome an accident (fell off a Greenbelt5 escalator earlier this year).

7. Healthier lifestyle, less hospital visits
Cooked my own baon. Well, it was mostly budget at first, but became a health concern later.

I gave myself a P100/day food allowance and upped it to P250/day when I got promoted and became the highest-ranking Producer at work. One thing about being a Producer and a PhD student at the same time...it made me so much more conscious about my health (more than 3/4th of my net salary went to medical bills!!). I learned how to balance my meals, found ways to exercise (lots of walking), learned how to calculate my liquid intake (3.5-4 liters, mostly water). The routine is still not perfect, but the food experiments have been fun.

6. Released Puzzle Pets Adventure on my birth month

5. Released Grave Mania: Undead Fever on my birthday
It also peaked at #5 in Japan and had a fairly great review rating in the US.

4. Spoke at the Youth for IT Congress
Made me realize how much I missed the academe. I still have stage fright, but knowledge sharing has always been a fulfilling experience for me.

3. Survived game development AND PhD studies
I had been (endearingly) called crazy for doing both at the same time but there were actually many factors that conspired for me to achieve this:

• I had a boss who would bake me goodies all the time. (Pastries are the best stress busters!)
• A super friend who thought I was the smartest pretty/prettiest smart girl he has ever met (di ko na to papakilala sa friends ko, hahaha, lalawak ang coverage, hahahaha!) and rewarded me for it with more stress busters (coffee, cakes, reams of paper).
• A best friend who acted like my personal assistant during critical paper submissions (and lent me her colored laser printer).
• Talented work teammates who never gave me headaches because they didn't need micromanaging.
• Friends and family who never stopped believing in me.
• Have a mother who is also finishing her PhD while working in her industry (so it kinda helped me see that I was not the only crazy workaholic nerd at the Lapa residence).

French macarons perfected by my boss (COO) Michael Carranceja

2. Grave Mania: Undead Fever and Puzzle Pets Adventure WON
Best PC/Mac Game for Grave Mania
Best Browser-Based Game for Puzzle Pets

at the Philippine Game Development Festival 2012. Was told that it was 70% jury, 30% public voting. The 70% was a result of all my teammates' hard work and dedication. Every single one of them had loads of talent, intelligence and resilience. The 30% is probably thanks to my entire family and my teammates' students. LOL.

1. Obtained my PhD in Communication
I am definitely not the sharpest tool in that particular UP shed, but I was cursed with ADHD and was indirectly told by a psychiatrist that this was actually the reason why I had been so focused on getting my PhD.

Told myself that I would graduate in 4 years or less and despite the naysayers in my previous employment (and those who thought that my ADHD would be my greatest enemy), it came to pass. I am thankful for my adviser and critic, Dr. Arminda Vallejo Santiago and Dr. Grace Javier Alfonso, who had both provided valuable readings and insights that have helped me bridge game development (my work) and research (my studies).

Truly, I have a lot to be thankful for this year. (Oooh, and RH Bill had been passed!) Thanks be to God, the Supreme Architect.

What about you? Was 2012 good to you?

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Vegetarian Kitteh

It has become harder and harder to feed Kirara these days. We suspect that it's those cheap cat food that she likes eating, much like how we regular people prefer to munch on chips than eat real food. (Here she is, resting on my lap, despite her awkward position.)

Right now we're feeding her kitty food. -_-; Because that's all she will eat.

And uh... leaves. -_-;;;

You know, like the ones you see on flower vases and potted plants. Here, she first sniffs them. It's not too obvious that she's chewing on them, but anyway, we moved that vase to another table.

And she followed it all the way to the other table.

Oh. She also eats the flowers.

It's been said that cats chew on leaves to aid with their digestion, which might actually be a wonderful thing. Sometimes I am amazed at how animals compensate for their lack of complex intelligence by knowing instinctively what's good for them. I just wish she'd eat real food to balance things out, though.

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All-Around Elixir: Human Nature Sunflower Beauty Oil

Of all the Human Nature products I've tried, the Sunflower Beauty Oil seems to be the most versatile. The packaging says that it can be used as a make-up remover and a moisturizer, and that it is best applied on the under-eye area.

I'm on my second bottle now and it's only been three months since I purchased my first bottle. Here's a comparison shot of the two beauty oils. I'm glad they changed the packaging because the new one (left) looks a lot classier now.

Anyway, aside from being organic, this beauty oil proves to be such value for money. A 150mL bottle of Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil costs about P1,300 here and lasts me for a year. The 50mL Human Nature Beauty Oil is only P119.75 and lasts me for three months. Even if I multiply its price by four (equivalent to one year), it still wouldn't reach half the price of Shu Uemura's.

The ingredients listing consists only of "premium cosmetic-grade sunflower oil" and it's said to be full of vitamins A, D & E. It's even been touted to lighten dark circles and stretch marks with daily use.

The funny thing is that I not only use this as a make-up remover, I also use it as a moisturizer for my eye contour area AND my hands AND my feet...AND my hair. Regular readers would probably know about my curly/frizzy hair woes, which is why I'm always on the look out for inexpensive yet gentle curl care products.

Now, what most of my readers are probably not aware of is that I have manly feet. I wrote about that when I was still a private blogger. My regular solution was Bobbie Cuticle Oil. I haven't gotten myself another bottle of that, since Human Nature does a good job of moisturizing not just my nails but also my super dry feet.

This product seems to be concentrated so make sure that you only use very little. It goes a long long long long way. And then on those days that I'm really tired and all I want to do is drop onto my bed and sleep? I just wipe my entire face off with this and I'm done. Zzzzzz time! (I actually fell asleep while writing this yesterday and only remembered to publish it today. Thank goodness for this all-around elixir, really.)

Kirara, with that "uh-oh, my human is shooting product photos again" look. Why is it that this cat, even when asleep, knows when a camera is being trained on her? Hm.

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The Body Shop Spiced Vanilla

I took a break from my organic bath products when Rowena gave me The Body Shop Spiced Vanilla gift pack as a surprise prize (whatta tongue twister) for being her most frequent commenter. Haha!

What can I say, I read all my friends' blogs everyday and comment every time I stumble across an interesting piece. Google Reader became my substitute for LiveJournal, especially when all my LJ friends began migrating into different blogging platforms and I needed them all to be in one interface. Reading all their thoughts and commenting on them is my little way of supporting them. I didn't expect to be rewarded for it, but I suppose it's very nice to feel appreciated somehow. Thanks, Ro! Hee.

Anyway, I remember watching Oprah and she said something about layering scents. That means, if your soap is cherry-scented, then your lotion and your cologne would last longer if they're cherry-scented as well, provided that they're all from the same brand.

This Spiced Vanilla set smells absolutely divine so you can imagine how gloriously yummy I'd feel every time I step out of the shower. Layering delicious vanilla makes my mouth water. I kid you not!

Both products, the bath & shower gel and the body lotion, have a light but smooth texture that feels heavenly on the skin. To keep the gel from running out fast, however, I use a sponge.

And uh, while doing product shots, I couldn't resist taking a photo of my cat Kira, who had that guarded look that said, "Uh-oh, my human is taking photos again...she's going to kick me out any minute now."

Yeah, Kira's the silliest cat we've ever had. She's also responsible for breaking all of my sister's Philippine Blog Award trophies...in this exact same area...

Hm. I think I just talked about three topics in one post. Hm. I think I will blame the 1,000-paged PhD dissertation my professor wrote -- which I read today -- for my current randomness. Heh.

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Christmas Kitteh greetings to everyone!

I'm actually very sick right now -- it's another one of those three-hit combos involving internal organ problems, accompanied by the flu -- but I just wanted to leave everyone with my holiday greetings. Err...through our cat, Kirara, who was so adorable this morning.

I just realized that I haven't been blogging about Kira lately. Well, ever since I moved to Blogger, that is. Which is ironic because most geeks, especially of the single woman variety, usually own a cat or two.

Sleeping on the Christmas table. (No, we don't dine there.)

I kind of envy her when she's like this.

Up close.

Sensing that her human is taking photos again.

Oh, there you are. 

"Merry Christmas!!!"

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Cubao X at Night. Libreria Launching.

Yet another late posting. We visited a shop's Cubao X launching last Friday.

The first time I went to Cubao X was during the day. I had thought that the place was asleep. Well, it looks like Cubao X isn't too awake at night either, because many of the more interesting shops started to close when we arrived.

Like these shoe stores. I was just about to drool over some lovely lovely boots when the lights went out. Nyoikes!

Hm. I don't think Cris knew that I was going to take a photo of her. She was mesmerized by the sheer number of footwear. Hehehe.

This street leads to Mogwai. That famous hangout was under renovation when I first dropped by. I heard they show art films here. I can't imagine how...it was rather noisy in there. Boisterous laughter permeated the air, along with the scent of smoke and alcohol.

We went over to the other side of the street. I took photos of the second floor of the buildings because I was curious about them. Some of the stores seemed to use their second floor as storage. Others had paintings hanging on the wall. Fascinating.

Karma, one of the really intriguing fashion stores in the area. Some of the stuff here look vintage. They look expensive, too, so I had to walk away.

I stopped in my tracks when Cris told me that a showdown -- between a cat and a rat -- was about to happen. I was so caught up in the moment that I didn't even think about using my camera's video capabilities.

We wondered why the cat didn't strike immediately. Then we noticed the size of that rat. It may look like it's cowering here, but it's almost the same size as that cat.

The cat struck and the rat ran screaming. It immediately found refuge in one of the open stores. The cat couldn't fit in the door's small opening at first.

I knew the moment the shop owner saw the rat because she ran and jumped around the room in fright. She noticed the cat then opened the door.

*Sigh* I really should have caught it on video. Now all I have are blurred photos.

When the excitement died down, we decided to go to the bookstore that Cris's older sister, Ate Barbs, was talking about. It had opened that day.

It doesn't have a signage yet, but there was this huge mirror right in front of it. I took a photo of its exterior through the mirror.

The book shop's name is Libreria. It used to be located somewhere in Tomas Morato and it used to serve coffee as well. This Cubao X incarnation of Libreria just focuses on the books.

Whew! Some of them are so cheap -- going for as low as P50 -- that we sort of hoarded.

Book shop owner Triccie Cantero, here with Ate Barbs. Ms. Cantero is also from UP-CMC...like me! =^.^=

These are some of the books we hoarded. This is actually just the beginning of our pile. We practically doubled this by the end of our visit.

A lot of bestsellers, classics and rare covers can be found here. The place is very spacious. Ms. Cantero said something about holding workshops here since the space is big enough.

Hm. I wonder if I can hold my joint exhibit with Rebie Ramoso here?

Here's another one of the interesting things you can find in this quaint little shop: hand-painted bookmarks. They're actually quite huge, which is perfect for someone like me who keeps losing her bookmarks.

Ate Barbs seems to like pop-up books a lot. That's pretty understandable since pop-ups are always full of wonderful surprises. Not to mention, they're usually very pretty, too.

Here's a closer look. It's full of pretty fairies, butterflies and illustrations of other enchanting beings.

Ah! Here's a really great find. I had been looking for an illustrated version of the Chronicles of Narnia. This actually showcases Narnia's important details in a chronological fashion.

It's called an "Interactive Timeline" because it's full of pop-ups. You'll find layers and layers and layers of pop-ups here that will surely entertain you.

Oh, and this is something we had to play with. It's a chair that converts into a stepladder. Nifty, huh? I would really like to own a lot of these. They'd be really useful to have around.

I haven't had this much fun in a bookstore. Ever. I think I'd like to go back to hoard more books and play with other odd things that might find their way here. ♥ ♥ ♥

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How did this become art? On dying dogs and animal exhibitions.

A couple of years ago, Molly Velasco, a graduate of College of Saint Benilde's Multimedia Arts program, ranted about the Exposición N° 1 art exhibit of Guillermo Vargas Habacuc. Molly -- and thousands of other humane artists -- had every right to be livid: part of the exhibit was an emaciated dog, tied to a wall.  The "installation art" was, well...all about getting to watch the dog die slowly of starvation. The artist had the dog captured by two kids so that he could use the dog, whom he named Natividad, for this purpose.

Image from Wikipedia

While Natividad was alive, people just went around and ogled him, not handing him any food or drink. This seems to be what Vargas wanted to illustrate, that dogs lead miserable lives and that people are generally apathetic about it. I've read various reasons as to why he'd do this kind of installation art and in my mind, not one of them could justify the cruelty he subjected this dog to.

Image from Softpedia News

Personally, I find it disgusting.  I'd like to know how he would feel if I tied him to a wall and let him starve to death and then I'd make an artist's statement of: "This is how miserable people live. Many die everyday and yet the fortunate ones are apathetic."

(Ironically, Vargas is a multi-awarded artist. Hm, if there's such thing as "Blood Diamonds", looks like there are also "Blood Awards.")

Some of the artists who actually agree with Vargas argue that the exhibit was inspired by Marcel Duchamp, one of the proponents of Dadaism. The Dada artists' goal is to reject what the world is becoming. Meaning, the more acceptable to the public your art is, the more it could not be considered Dada art.

All I know is that Duchamp never used live animals to prove a point.

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