William and Catherine: The Royal Wedding 2011

I am running on 4 hours of sleep as I type this entry. Yes, all for the love of the Royal Wedding. While most couldn’t care less I just had to see the event as it was taking place. I will not ramble on much more, let the pictures do the talking:
 

Prince William waves to onlookers outside the Westminster Abbey

Prince Harry looks on as his brother waves to the crowd

Catherine Middleton makes her entrance escorted by her father, Michael

The dress! I love it!

No clear photos yet of the bride so I’ll have to make do with the photo above. I love her dress! It’s so simple yet it manages to exude elegance all over. People say this was inspired by Grace Kelly’s own bridal gown when she married Prince Rainier of Monaco.

Oh, and just a trivia: she isn't supposed to be addressed as Princess Catherine because she was a commoner before she married into the royal family. Hence, the reason why the Queen bestowed them title as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was for her to be officially addressed as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge after her marriage. Weird, huh? I think this rule applies within the British monarchy only. Princess Catherine would've been nice to the ears. Buti pa si Prince Daniel.

Best wishes, William and Catherine! Next up: Royal Baby Watch!

Photo Source: Daylife

He’s been a bad kitty!

"I know you want me..."

Harry Potter's ending in July so this should be one movie to look forward to in November. Don't you just love Puss-in-Boots? Antonio Banderas is a hoot! Boses pa lang, matatawa ka na. That and Salma Hayek voicing his love interest, Kitty Softpaws, should be one interesting combination to look forward to.

How Globe almost ruined my Holy Week…

Last Wednesday’s fiasco with Globe was strike two on my list. Our internet connection chose this prolonged weekend to die on us and it was pure torture. Thank goodness I still had my Blackberry. It was hard to stay unplugged when we’ve become slaves of technology. After four days of getting an earful from my calls (irate customer –> ME), technicians finally dropped by the house this afternoon to fix our connection.

So now we’re back online, but the connection is still far from satisfactory. Can anyone say dial-up?

I’m trying to catch-up big time on all the things I’ve missed for the past four days. Next week’s bound to be a very busy one for me. For one there’s The Royal Wedding – I’m very excited for this (parang a-attend naman!) but it’s a bit overkill how networks are trying to milk the event for all its worth. And please, stop with the Diana – Kate comparison. You’re not making it easy for the lady.

Today we’ve also finished buying the basic necessities I need for my quickie trip to Manila on April 30. Yes people, the trip is finally pushing through. But it’s all business, a team building of sorts as what they say. It’s a quickie trip because we fly in on the 30th and leave on the evening of May 1st. Haha! Good luck if we can squeeze in some malling in between.

So how was your Holy Week?

JJ’s back!

It’s official. AJ Cook just confirmed via Twitter that she’s signed back on for Criminal Minds for not just one, but two years!

This comes as great news for fans who were devastated when she was let go at the earlier part of the season. JJ was an integral part of the team. Not having her around was like having a gaping hole that can never be filled by any replacement they bring on-board.

Now if only they can bring Emily Prentiss back as well. I can dream, right? ^___^

Summer = Burnout?

What is it with summer and burnouts? Lately it has become a repetitive cycle in our company. People start to get bored and yearn to get out between March to May. Once it normalizes around June, those who stay now wait in anticipation of the 13th month pay and the perks of the holiday season. Then it's back to square one again when the new year comes in. 

Is it really that hard to find contentment nowadays? Or people just yearn for growth too much? All these talks about leaving make me sad. I never handle goodbyes well. More often I choose to face it blindly, as if it’s the white elephant in the room. But I know that there will come a time for me to seek greener pastures outside my comfort zone. I just hope I’ll be ready by then… and that it won’t be too hard for me to say goodbye.

16 days before the Royal Wedding of the Decade!

Forgive the enthusiasm. I don’t know why I am so fascinated with royal weddings. Is it the fashion? Is it the newlyweds themselves? Or is it presence of royal families from all over Europe arriving to to celebrate this joyous occasion with the couple?

Two weeks from now, William of Wales will marry Miss Catherine Middleton in what is touted to be the wedding of the decade. And it falls on a Friday! Bummer. I’m actually thinking of filing for a leave on that date just so I can watch the televised coverage together with my sister. Yeah, couch potatoes FTW!

But prior to the big day, Lifetime will be releasing a television movie chronicling this famous couple’s love story starting when they were students at St. Andrew’s University. Funny how TV!William barely resembles the real one even with that accent while TV!Kate’s (errr, better start calling her Catherine from now on) features are stronger than that of her real-life counterpart.

Are you as excited for the wedding as I am?

Food coma at Bigby’s Café and Restaurant

Last Saturday, as promised, I treated my sister to brunch at Bigby’s Café and Restaurant. We were in the mood for a food trip and since she wanted to eat there I gladly obliged. The thing with Bigby’s is that I can never decide what to order and when I finally do, I end up regretting it in the end. But it was cool since my sister clearly enjoyed our food coma. 

I had Deep Sea Pasta. Bad choice. I was not in the mood for aligue sauce that day. I ended up feeling bloated afterwards.

My sister had Shrimply Divine Pasta.

Dippy Doodle Doo was a bad choice; should've opted for Blossoming Spinach Dip instead.

So for dessert, off we went to Red Mango. There’s nothing like good frozen yogurt to comfort me after a week at work.

Froyo topped with cornflakes and cheesecake

Next time I’m definitely insisting that we spend it at SM since I already know Ayala like the back of my hand. Besides, I’m missing The White Hat too.

The Kennedys: the other side of America’s Royal Family

After countless searches for torrents, I was finally able to download the 2-hour premiere of The Kennedys. This 8-part mini-series chronicles America’s most famous political family during its early years and what drove Joe Sr. to live his ambitions through his sons. Prior to the premiere this series was not without a controversy. First, the History Channel refused to air it because dramatic interpretations in the script were not fit for a history brand. Reelz Channel came to rescue but it almost tanked because they couldn’t find any advertisers.

So how did the first two episodes fare? Too many skeletons in the closet. It’s no wonder prominent members of the family lobbied to have this shelved. But the casting they’ve gathered for this series is truly epic. Forget Katie Holmes. It's Tom Wilkinson, Greg Kinnear and Barry Pepper who run this show. Although underrated actors, they embody the charisma to portray the ambitious, vulnerable but cursed Kennedy men.

I missed the name of the actor who portrayed Joe Jr., but he was equally engaging as the doomed heir apparent of Joe Sr.'s legacy. His untimely death had served as a catalyst for the spare (JFK) to carry on with their father's plans of achieving political glory.

I still have 6 more episodes to go. But from what I've seen so far, this series deserves an audience. Just learn to distinguish fact from cinematic adaptation.

Thankful

Last night was judgment night, a.k.a. ‘Hello-meet-your-appraisal-letter’ moment for our department. Everyone was anxious to know how they fared for the previous year. Some were disappointed, others were satisfied. I guess it helped that I kept my expectations pretty low. I ended up thankful for the little blessing that came my way that night.

Oh why so difficult, Summer?

I seem to be jinxed when it comes to travel-related concerns. Remember that Manila trip I had blogged about a few weeks ago? Yup, you guessed it right... cancelled! Not that I'm sulking about it. I was kind of relieved actually. It's hard to push through with a trip when the people you'd be with are half-hearted about the event you'll be attending. Let's leave it as cryptic as that. At least I got to spend the money on something more useful. 

Another dilemma that came up recently was the choice of summer getaway for me and my college friends this coming May. We cannot seem to agree where to spend those two days together! Chances are, the destination will be a spur-of-the-moment choice of the group by May 26th. Oh well, I just hope this one will push through. I definitely need a breather and I could use their company even for just two days. 

Dear Summer, be kind to me. I know I'm not an outdoor-type of person but I really want to enjoy this year and I hope you'll cooperate as well.

All by myself… at Red Ribbon–Ayala Center Cebu

Red Ribbon Ayala holds a lot of memories for me. Back in college, me and my friends would usually eat there whenever we would hang-out at the mall in-between classes. I love their menu choices. Who could say no when they include a slice of cake to cap off a hearty meal?

Just this year, they decided to renovate the store’s over-all look to accommodate more customers and dine-in patrons. I’m loving the spacious interiors! So when I went to do the groceries earlier today, I decided to try out their pan-grilled pork chop meal. Yup, I ate alone. My sister was sick and had to stay at home. I even forgot to bring Yogi (our Canon 1000D) so forgive the blurry photos from my Blackberry.

The meal was quite a surprise. The vinegar (w/ chopped garlic bits) complemented the pork chop really well. I loved how the meat was so tender that it was easy to separate the bone while eating. And the cake! I chose the S’mores Chocolate Cake because it has been a favorite of ours since we had it for Christmas years ago. You can never go wrong with Red Ribbon cakes. There’s always one that will suit your taste.

Overall, I was a happy foodie by the time I was done. I’d take this over the Kenny Roger’s meal anytime. Totally worth your every cent.

I miss Sweet Valley High! (the TV series)

Goodness, if that e-Book was the real deal… please tell me Francine Pascal didn’t write the epilogue for Sweet Valley Confidential? The writing felt like it was straight out of the world of fan fiction. But then again, I sort of loved the closure for the twins at the conclusion of the book. Almost Everyone gets their happy ending and I’m not complaining. Yes, I’m still buying the book once it’s released here. Just for posterity because I will always credit that series for being a huge part of my teenage years.

 

In the meantime, let me leave you with this video I saw in YouTube. Anyone here still remembers the Sweet Valley High TV series back in the 90s? I remembered it was shown here on ABC5 (now TV5) and I used to look forward to it every Wednesdays. (or was it Fridays?) Nah, my memory’s getting rusty.

 

 

I think I lost interest in the show after Todd was re-cast. Ryan Bittle will always be Todd Wilkins for me. Jeremy Garrett somehow never captured his charm when he joined the cast for the third and fourth (final) seasons of the show.