Rick Astley and Roderick Paulate

The 80's icon Rick Astley is in the Philippines for his concert "Here and Now" at the Araneta this Friday, August 1, 2008. For some reason, Roderick Paulate comes to my mind when I hear the name of Rick Astley.

Watching Rick on the news today momentarily flashes me back to Roderick singing "Never Gonna Give You Up" in promotion of his movies in the 80's like "Ako Si Kiko, Ako Si Kikay" and in his show with Carmi Martin, "Dick and Carmi." He was linked to Jackie Aquino back then. Darn, my age is showing. In fairness, Roderick can sing and his voice was often compared to Rick. It's just that being in the Philippines, I see Roderick more often than Rick that listening to Astley songs brings Roderick dancing his way to the picture.

By the way, don't believe the rumors that Bo Derek's surname is Paulate.

Propa-GANDAH!

Here are the promotional campaign materials for my beauty blog:

My fans

Being a Head Turner

Front Page

Mall-wide promo

Angelina Jolie is now my fan?

Lol.. You don't need to be famous or a master of the photoshop to land on billboards. Just check out Photofunia.com to fulfill your vanity wishes. Got this idea from fellow GT blogger Miemiemie.
Enjoy! :)

David Cook And Other Hollywood Biggies Support Cancer Cause

David Cook, Meryll Streep, Charlize Theron and sports hero Lance Armstrong are among those who pledged to help bust the big C in the upcoming TV fundraiser, called " Stand Up To Cancer".

The show will air commercial-free simultaneously on 3 US TV networks: ABC, CBS, NBC on primetime which is rare on television history.

Being a cancer patient myself, I am happy that influential people are taking part in important causes such as this.

Almost everyone today knows someone inflicted with cancer that it becomes a personal battle to hep find ways of stopping it. It is no longer limited to people with genetic predispositions. Anyone can be afflicted with it. It is not only a physically and emotionally distressing disease but financially draining, as well. So please, if you can find ways to help, please do.

Other celebrities expected to appear are Jennifer Aniston, Salma Hayek and Sally Field. Mark your calendars on September 5, 2008, 8 PM.

Making Your Web Presence Felt

I do have the habit of searching my name on the net, just for the heck of it. Since my surname is uncommon, I am easily lead to sites that have something to do with me and not people with similar names.

While fellow doctors are cited on webs for their exemplary researches and other works, searching for my name leads me to sites that showcase my flair for the brushes as a makeup artist. My medical persona does appear on pages when I passed the physicians’ board exams and my accreditation with philhealth. Other than those, it’s mostly about makeup. But I don’t mind at all coz it's just my passion making its presence felt. That's the other side of me.

If you’re a professional wanting to promote your services, the internet is a good vehicle. Creating a personal web page is the most convenient way for your clients to check on your goods and reputation. That’s how I let them view my portfolio for makeup works.

Start by building your professional online profile thru look up page so you won’t be confused with other people. They would know that you’re the right guy for the job and not some porn star bearing the same name. That’s part of your online reputation management. If someone does a name search on you, it will appear on top position in google and you can also track who your potential clients are.

Double The Dose

Lately, I noticed celebrities have been giving birth to twins. This holds true not only in Hollywood but also locally, here in the Philippines.

Here are some Hollywood couples with twin blessings:

• Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony
• Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
• Rebecca Romjin and Jerry O'Conell (still expecting come winter)
  
• Julia Roberts and husband Danny Moder
• Marcia Cross and husband Tom Mahoney
• Patrick Dempsey and wife Jillian

On Philippine Shores, we have:

• Charlene Gonzales and Aga Muhlach
• Carmina Villaroel and Zoren Legaspi
• Broadcaster Vicky Morales and husband King Reyno
  

The offsprings of these Filipino celebrities have been making waves in TV commercials because of their natural charms and good looks inherited from their parents.

What's with these celebrities causing this twin boom trend? Fans are wanting to follow suit and have twins for themselves, to the point of considering fertility pills. Well, having twins does sound cute but multifetal pregnancy poses more risks to the mother and the babies.

When I was doing ultrasound during my residency training, I dreaded scanning a twin pregnancy because it was more tricky to trace. But it was exciting to break the news to the mother. The mom would either welcome it gleefully or paint a worried look on her face calculating the double costs later in these kids' life. It's probably why twins are lately given to celebrity couples, because they can afford raising these double bundles of joy with their million dollar incomes, don't you think?

Missing Boy Found Begging

Last week, a blog was circulated regarding a 3 year old boy named Matthew "Chu-chu" David Samudio abducted in Festival mall in Alabang. His aunt asked for the help of fellow bloggers to help find her nephew. It got around fast that the media picked up the story. The surveillance camera showed the boy being escorted by an impoverished looking teenage girl out of the mall.

Last Friday, the kid who was an only son was reported found around Sta. Rosa Commercial Complex in Sta. Rosa, Laguna begging with the girl. The boy who lived a comfortable life was turned into a beggar! He is a sickly kid due for surgery next month for hydrocoele. He was wearing a new set of clean clothes. The girl speeded out upon seeing the security guards who saw them.

There was no ransom asked but people are speculating that it was a syndicate responsible for the abduction. The family of the boy is thankful for their miracle. They have learned a valuable lesson and tells other families to take care of their precious kids. In this day and age, you can't trust public places to be safe.

Thanks to the power of the internet and bloggers who moved heaven and earth to find the boy.

Event Displays

Working on weddings as a make up artist, I can't help but be amazed at how they pull of a grand design for the reception place. My regular events organizer, Jane, is good in that. Even my friend in Manila, Dylan, who organizes weddings and other occasions have a flair for tasteful arrangement of venues.

It's amazing that even with a limited budget, talented people can manage to make an event look prestigious. For those in the US, there's this company in Texas, that can help you with your needs on your special day. They have cute table covers for different occasions. Their trash can cover caught my fancy. I find it amazing to have a utility often ignored like a trash can, dressed up looking so elegant.

If you're a wedding supplier planning on trade show exhibits to showcase different services offered, or if you're looking for fashionable ways for a table top display of your merchandise, check out the designs on their site. You can put your portfolios for potential clients to see.

From banner designs, to flooring and lights for your event, they got you covered. You need not go looking some place else. I wish they had something like that back here in CDO.

My Secretive Phone

My phone is giving me the cold treatment. The N76 lucky phone which I won in last year's nokia passions promo suddenly stopped alerting me for messages. The next thing I knew, my inbox was flooded with messages which I failed to check earlier, including an invitation to a photoshoot.

I guess it had to do with being exposed to the ice cold water I brought in my bag. The phone accidentally laid near it. It probably got a frost bite or something. I tried to make it work by checking on the profile settings, volume, etc. Nada. Calls still make sound but it doesn't alert me for messages received. Other than that, it's still fully functional. I just have to keep checking it every now and then for important sms. I have to trust my gut feelings to sense a message worth checking.

I hope I could get it working again. It's a very special phone to me. Sentimental values and all, despite that it's a little heavy and the camera isn't that fab. For some reason, I loved the pictures produced by my Nokia 6600 before, even if it had a lower resolution than the 2 megapixels in nokia N76.

Looking at the positive side, I used to complain about text messages sent by morning people. It woked me up before my usual waking hours. Now I don't have to deal with that. I just hope I don't miss out on work opportunities texted to me.

Doc Frankie

Today is the 2nd death anniversary of my favorite doctor, Dr. Frances Dizon. We lost her to breast cancer. With new lumps surfacing on my affected breast, these are the times I wish she was still alive. She was the most compassionate and understanding doctor I knew, not to mention intelligent and beautiful. Probably too good for this world. Unlike other doctors who scold and alienate their patients for not doing as told, Doc Frankie respects the decisions you make but patiently waits for you to come to your senses.

Today I included Doc Frankie in prayers during the mass I attended. When the light strangely lit up the other night, I don't know why Doc Frankie came into my mind. I searched my previous entry of her and realized it was almost her 2nd death anniversary. What I did not mention in my blog about the mysterious light switching was that I palpated another lump in my left breast minutes before the strange occurrence. An unwelcome reprise to the saga I thought was long over.

Strange Night

I slept late last night like I usually do. Past 2 am, I went to the living room to switch off the internet connection after surfing the net thru wifi in my room. Normally, I leave it open when I doze off to sleep. I don’t know what entered my mind to suddenly be conscious of energy conservation. On my way, I turned on the light in the kitchen. Switching off the internet modem, I prepped myself to sleep and turned off the kitchen light on my way back. Just after stepping inside my room, I heard a click and the kitchen lit up again! I thought it was either my mom or dad who woke up to get something in the kitchen. I turned around, took a peek and noticed there wasn’t anyone around. Instead of heading to the CR, I rushed towards my husband sleeping.

I told him my story and being the ever loving hubby, he escorted his terrified wife to the CR. I kept convincing myself that it must have been a lizard which crawled over the switch but then it has to be very precise not to tap the other light switches proximal to it. And the click was too loud.

If it were some strange creature, it was probably warning me to sleep earlier. My alternative medicine doctor has been constantly urging me to sleep during 9 to 2 AM because those are the hours when the body repairs its cells. I’ve been trying to, only to keep tossing in bed unable to sleep. My creative juices pour in usually in the wee hours of the morning, hence I take this time to write and plan my next move. Back when I was still a medical student, I chose these hours to study because my brain tends to be more receptive to voluminous information at these times.

With my diagnosis of cancer, I am compelled to employ a healthier lifestyle but some habits are harder to break. It takes a strange circumstance to prompt me to sleep earlier. That should do make me sleep earlier tonight. Don’t want to mess up with lights that have a mind of its own. On second thought, it probably irked the mysterious creature that his internet connection was suddenly cut off. He must have been in a middle of a chat when I turned it off. Geez.. I'm creeping myself out.

European Tour

If given the chance, I would want travel with my husband to Europe. Who knows? I'm excited just browsing over the possible places to visit. It must be difficult booking a decent, affordable place to stay. I've been told by my friend Isobelle that in case I'd plan to travel abroad, to search and make my reservations months before the travel date. I was wondering, what if suddenly decide to travel, would it be impossible to find a decent place to stay abroad?

When it comes to traveling, I usually search the net for information on the place I'll be visiting. I know most of you do, so this might be of help the next time you pack your bags on a grand vacation. Perhaps you're considering a honeymoon in the romantic city of Paris, a visit to the hometown of The Beatles in Liverpool, a pilgrimage to the Our Lady of Lourdes in or a tour just about anywhere in the world. You can check for Paris hotel and travels to book online. Whether you prefer luxury or budget rooms, you can choose from a variety of hotels to stay. France travels and hotels need not be expensive. They offer the lowest rates that if you ever find a cheaper alternative, you can always contact their customer service so they can adjust their rate! So is true if you're likewise hunting for a Liverpool accommodation.

Whether you take a side trip to the place where Dao Ming Si lost his precious memories of San Chai, in Barcelona, Spain or watch the famous bullfighting in Madrid, no worries on the last minute booking. For your travel to Barcelona and hotels, all you have to do is to let your fingers do the talking. Browse and reserve online. In searching for Madrid hotels and accomodations, there are apartments for family travelers and hotels that include free breakfasts or hotel parking. They instantly confirm your reservation, providing a whole more convenient option for you.

Hmm.. if I wish hard enough, my dreams of a Eurpean tour could actually come true. Eiffel tower, here we come!

The Lone Picture Of My Dearest Puppy

I regret not being able to take pictures of my puppy when she was still alive. My hubby warned me not to take pictures of her because of superstitious beliefs. I wanted her badly to live so I obeyed. She left us a month ago due to parvo. Luckily, I found a picture of her on my nieces' camera. She just took a bath in this photo that's why her hair's still a little wet.

This is my chinky-eyed puppy. I miss you, Kimrox! Darn, I still get teary eyed typing this.

Hana Kimi Hearthrob Visits The Philippines

Wu Chun, of Hana Kimi Taiwanese version and Romantic Princess fame, is in our country right now together with his co- Fahrenheit member Calvin Chen.

The two are visiting in promotion of their television series, "Romantic Princess" which currently airs at ABS-CBN. They are the half of the 4 member band Fahrenheit. The others being Jiro Wang (who reminds me of Mark Bautista) and Aaron Yan.

Wu Chun and Calvin Chen guested earlier this evening at the Pinoy Dream Academy season 2 performance night. It was refreshing to know that they can speak good english and learned a few Filipino phrases like "mahal ko kayo". They sang "Xin Wo", the theme from Romantic Princess.

The first time I saw him was in Hana Kimi where he was perfect for his role as the hearthrob/ athlete who inspired a girl (Ella Chen) to go great lengths just to be close to him, including enroling in an all boys' school. I was laughing my gut out while watching the series. Jiro Wang was in it, as the funny guy who suffered identity crisis by falling in love with Ella Chen's character. The ending left us all hanging and wondering if there would be a sequel to the hit series.

Wu Chun will also be starring with Meteor Garden's Dao Ming Si, Jerry Yan in the most awaited asian TV series called "Hotshots", a basketball drama which will soon be aired through ABS CBN as well.

Beauty Blog

I'm currently working on a beauty blog called Make Up Artist In Scrubs, taking after my winning entry to the nokia N76 passions contest last year.

It will contain tidbits about beauty and fashion. I've been thinking of putting up a make up tutorial here in cdo but considering how stingy people can get, I decided to work on my tutorial little by little for free via that blog.

If you have any questions you've been dying to ask about beauty, don't hesitate to ask me. I'll try to offer some help and feature it in my website. Check it out soon!