Ah yes, saturday morning cartoons 80s. It was the life.

Back on those days, I remember waking up early every Saturday morning. And I mean EARLY. Like 7 or 8 in the morning. Because when 9 settles in, I will immediately go to my grandfather’s room and he would let me watch cartoons from 9am till lunch. Yes, that long. I do remember each cartoon taking half an hour to finish and I will be very happy to end half of my day in cartoon land only to take a short nap before doing another cartoon marathon in the afternoon.

*sigh* The life of being a kid. I TRULY miss those days.

Of course, right now, I wouldn’t possibly each and every cartoon I watched back then but I would like to list down the few I still remember and take a leisure stroll back down memory lane.

NOTE: These are not just cartoons found in the mornings. I added up cartoon viewed in the afternoons since I couldn’t possible remember their schedules. And some might come from the early 90′s since those were also a part of my crazy cartoon days. ^_^

The Adventures of Popeye

Popeye is a favorite of my dad’s. Yes, it’s that old! This series revolves around episodes of Popeye defending the honor of his beloved Olive Oyl from his all-time nemeses, Bluto. Similar to Donald Duck’s brood of naughty nephews to add spice to his episodes, Popeye has two nephews named Wimpy and Pappy.

The Best of Scooby Doo

Created for Hanna-Barbera Productions, Scooby Doo garnered a lot of versions, merchandise deals, and movies from their fun synopsis of Scooby and four teenagers, namely Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy driving around in their Mystery Machine van solving mysteries involving ghosts, monsters and crooks. Later versions of Scooby-Doo featured different variations on the show’s supernatural theme, and include characters such as Scooby’s cousin Scooby-Dum and nephew Scrappy-Doo in addition to or instead of some of the original characters.

Beetlejuice

The story revolves around a recently deceased young couple, who haunts their quaint and quiet house on a hill overlooking a town of Winter River in Connecticut. When a family from the city moves in, the ghosts seeks help from an obnoxious, devious and mischievous “bio-exorcist” named Beetlejuice from the underworld in order to scare and drive the city-dwellers out of the house. This is where the craziness starts.

Bravestarr

On a planet called New Texas, Marshal BraveStarr, together with his talking horse, Thirty-Thirty, and the sidekick Deputy Fuss, preserves order and justice with the use of his super powers (strength of the bear, speed of the puma, eyes of the hawk, ears of the wolf). Thirty-Three is a mechanical horse with the ability to transform into humanoid form. BraveStarr also has a wise, elder Shaman, as his advisor.

BraveStarr’s enemy, Tex-Hex, is the evil leader of the Carrion Bunch, a group of outlaws under the control of the mysterious group Stampede. They sought the valuable Kerium that BraveStarr protected. Tex-Hex has guns that can turn people into half-human/half-dog beings called “Dingos.”

Candy Candy

Candy Candy is originally a japanese novel (manga), which was later translated into an anime series. The main character, full name Candice “Candy” White Ardlay, is a blonde worn in pigtails with bows, has freckles, large emerald eyes and has a happy demeanor always around her.

Candy feels love in the series but the recurring part of the story is Candy’s love for Pony’s home, a place where she constantly goes back to when life becomes to hard for her to bear. It is there where the story begins, and the story ends.

Carebears

The Care Bears live in a cloud city named Care-A-Lot. From there, they monitor the world for bad feelings. Whenever something bad is sensed by the Care-O-Meter, they race down to earth in their Cloudmobiles and Rainbow Rollers to help. They meet to discuss important matters in the Hall of Caring, led by Tenderheart Bear. The Care Bear Cousins are similar to the Care Bears, except that they are different animals and they live in the Forest of Feelings, led by Braveheart Lion. The symbols on each of their tummies have special powers. When they unite, they can use the Care Bear Stare to send good feelings to someone or to defeat evil. Some villains they have faced are No Heart, Professor Cold Heart, Shrieky, and Beastly.

Dennis the Menace

Dennis is a young boy who is usually well-meaning, but ends up annoying his neighbor, Mr. Wilson, or getting himself into some kind of trouble along with his big white dog, Ruff. He is a good kid really but has a wild, mischievous streak.

Denver, The Last Dinosaur

The show revolved around the adventures of Denver, the last dinosaur, who was released from his egg by a group of interracial modern California teens: Jeremy, Mario, Shades, Wally, and Casey, along with tag-along older sister, Heather. The kids taught Denver the finer points of skateboarding and other pastimes while protecting him from concert promoter Morton Fizzback who wanted to use the dinosaur to make money.

Dino Riders

The series told the story of the Valorians, a peaceful race of telepathic humans whose home planet was conquered by the Rulon Empire. 400 survivors escaped on a space ship and time traveled to prehistoric Earth using the experimental Space-Time Energy Projector (also known as the S.T.E.P). But Emperor Krulos and his lead commanders accidentally followed them into the past when a tractor beam locked onto the Valorians’ ship during the time jump. Stranded in the past, the two groups recruited the planet’s dinosaur population into their struggle. The Valorians used their telepathy for taming dinosaurs to ride and for domestic use. The Rulons captured dinosaurs with ‘brain boxes’. These were large metal helmets which fit onto dinosaur’s heads and control their brains. Both Valorians and Rulons would often fit dinosaurs with huge arrays of laser and weapon platforms, upon which people could ride, and attack one another. Battles were mostly motivated by the Rulons’ desire to steal the S.T.E.P. from the Valorians (to get back to their time), and almost always inconclusive, seldom accomplishing more for either side than restoring the status quo from the beginning of the episode. One of the recurring trends throughout the series was the Tyrannosaurus Rex getting de-brain boxed by the Dino-Riders.

Ducktales

Of course, Disney will not fall behind with their classic animations.

This Disney series followed the adventures of millionaire Scrooge McDuck and his nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Other characters include the pilot Launchpad McQuack, butler Duckworth, inventor Fenton Crackshell and his alter-ego Gizmoduck, and the rival millionaire Flintheart Glumgold.

Ewoks

The cute, fuzzy ewoks from the Star Wars trilogy return in animated form as teenagers. Debuted on ABC in September of 1985 with Droids: The Adventures of R2D2 and C3P0 and combined with Droids on March 1, 1986 to form The Ewoks and Star Wars Droids Adventure Hour. Renamed The All-New Ewoks at that time.

The Flying House

This Japanese series (Tondera House in Japan) aired on the Christian Broadcasting Network alongside another religious cartoon, “Superbook”. It covered various stories from the New Testament of the Bible. The two main characters were children who stumbled across a house in the woods where they found Professor Humprey Bumble (in Japan, Dr. Tokio Taimu), his robot, and the professor’s time machine. An accident involving the time machine, sends the house and everyone in it back in time where they experience biblical events.

Ghostbusters

After losing their jobs at Columbia University, a trio of misfit parapsychologists—Peter Venkman, Raymond Stantz, and Egon Spengler—establish their own paranormal exterminator service, “Ghostbusters.” The business, operating out of an abandoned fire station, gets off to a slow start, but just as they run out of money, the Ghostbusters are contacted by the upscale Sedgewick Hotel to investigate a haunting. At the hotel, they successfully (albeit chaotically) capture their first ghost and deposit him into a “containment unit” of their own design located at the Ghostbusters office. Paranormal activity appears to be on the rise in the city and business skyrockets for the Ghostbusters, who become local celebrities and hire a fourth member, Winston Zeddemore.

G.I. Joe

Following the broadcast of the 1983 and 1984 animated miniseries, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero I and II, it was evident enough interest existed to launch a daily animated series in 1985. The former action figures and comic book heroes daily fought for right against the forces of COBRA, a terrorist organization, led by such villains Destro and the Baroness. In the 1989 five-episode miniseries, a COBRA special mission force attempts to master the power of Dragonfire—a natural energy like electricity, only infinitely more powerful—found in the underground “lakes of fire.” Their mission is to tap the most powerful, existing under Sorcerer’s Mesa, an Native American site in New Mexico.

He-man and the Masters of the Universe

He-Man is a heroic character featured in the Masters of the Universe franchise. In most variations of the franchise, he is the alter ego of Prince Adam and also the twin brother of She-Ra. He-Man and his friends defend Eternia and the secrets of Castle Grayskull from the evil forces of Skeletor.

Jem and the Holograms

Jem, also called Jem and the Holograms, is an American animated television series that ran from 1985 to 1988 in U.S. first-run syndication. The show is about music company owner Jerrica Benton, her singer alter-ego Jem, her band the Holograms, and their adventures.

Legend of Zelda

The series loosely followed the NES Zelda games, mixing settings and characters from those games with original creations. Thirteen animated Zelda shorts were featured within the show’s 65-episode run. The show’s incarnations of Link and Zelda also appeared in various episodes of Captain N: The Game Master during its second season.

My Little Pony and Friends

Its various incarnations told the adventures of the little ponies and all of their friends as they lived in the beautiful Dream Valley. There were literally dozens of ponies of all different colors and they were divided into Earth ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasus ponies. All were fundamentally magical beings and each had a small picture on her back that reflected her name or personality. The ponies’ most cherished friend is Megan, a young girl of about 13 who was brought to Ponyland to help them in their darkest hour. She continued to visit her friends and often served as leader when trouble struck. Eventually, her younger brother Danny (probably 11) and sister Molly (around 9) met the ponies, and the three of them came to stay in Ponyland for extended visits.

Rainbow Brite

Rainbow Brite and the Color Kids fight to protect the world’s color from the evil Murky Dismal and his inept sidekick, Lurky. Rainbow Brite, whose real name is Wisp, has a talking horse named Starlight. The color sprites mine color crystals, which Rainbow uses to add color to the world. Twink is the head sprite who often accompanies Rainbow on her adventures.

Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs

This show was originally titled “Star Musketeer Bismarck” when released in Japan. World Event Productions purchased the rights and rewrote the show, using much of the original material, and it became the popular space-western Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs. The good guys used their robotic transportation to transform into a gigantic robot named Ramrod whenever they had to take on a Desperado unit, another type of large robot. Saber Rider is the leader of the brave Star Sheriffs, including Colt, April, Fireball and Commander Eagle. The Saber Riders protect the planetary pioneers from the Outriders. The Outriders are strange spirit/gas-like beings from space.

She-ra

With the success of the popular series He-man and its toy line, Mattell worked with Filmation to produce a series and corresponding toy line aimed at young girls named She-Ra: Princess of Power. She-ra was introduced in the animated feature “The Secret of the Sword”. Princess Adora was kidnapped as a child and taken to the planet Etheria, where she was brainwashed to do the bidding of the evil Horde. He-Man entered Etheria to look for his lost sister, Adora. Eventually she learns who she is, the real nature of the Horde is revealed, and Adora turns against them. She gains the Sword of Protection, which allows her to turn into She-Ra. As She-ra she demonstrates incredible strength, speed, and agility, can telepathically speak to animals, and can heal with a touch. Adora chooses to use her newfound power to free Etheria from the grip of the evil Hordak and his Horde. Her allies include Glimmer, Bow, Lightrope, Madame Razz, and Kowl. Episodes included a “Where’s Loo-kee?” segment, where children were encouraged to find the creature in a scene. At the end of each episode, Lookee would show up with a positive message for kids.

Superbook

The first series (Anime Oyako Gekijo) began at the home of a young boy named Christopher Peepers (Sho Azuka in Japanese) who discovers the magical Bible “Superbook” (Timebook) that speaks and sends him, his friend Joy (Azusa Yamato), and his toy robot Gizmo (Zenmaijikake) back in time to the early events of the Old Testament. Gizmo can walk and talk, but only for the duration of the adventure (and he still needs to be wound up regularly).

Super Mario Brothers Super Show

This video-game based show aired as a segment of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, alongside The Legend of Zelda. It features the adventures of two NYC plumbers who are sucked down a sewer pipe and into the Mushroom Kingdom. There, they must fight King Koopa and save Princess Toadstool.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Pizza-eating, fun-loving, mutant turtles Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, and Raphael use the art of ninja to fight crime under their teacher Splinter (a mutated rat). Other characters include Shredder, Krang, April O’Neil, and Irma.

Tigersharks

Using the “Fish Tank”, the protectors of Water-O become half-man/half-fish superheroes to stop Captain Bizarrly from destroying the Wateriens. Their ship, the Sark, can transform into a plane, submarine, or spaceship. Only lasted one season.

Transformers

More than meets the eye!

This popular series, created to market the toys of the same name, features robots that can transform into various forms, such as vehicles, weapons, animals and more. The transformers were broken into two factions: Autobots (good) and Decepticons (evil). The two warring factions left their home planet of Cybertron in search of energy. Various events bring them to the planet Earth. The Decepticons, led by Megatron, want to strip the planet of its energy resources. The Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, work to keep Earth safe from the Decepticons.

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light

“It is a time when magic is more powerful than science and only those who control the magic control destiny. They are the Visionaries.”

“Far away in a distant galaxy, the people of the planet Prysmos lived in an age of great technology. They had taken control of all of the sources of energy, and enjoyed a life of comfort and ease for 7,000 years… but this was not to last, for the realignment of the three blazing suns of Prysmos signalled the end of the age of science and technology. When all of the electrical energy had been depleted from the world, an age of magic began. But it would take some time before man would believe this. Years passed, and as the old order collapsed a new more primitive order rose from the rubble. Knowing that the balance of power between Darkstorm and Leoric could easily be tipped, both frantically searched for a military advantage.”

During the stalemate the wizard Merklynn offers a challenge to the two nations offering to teach magic any who survive the journey up his mountain. Only fourteen survived the journey and are rewarded with animal totems which are based off the traits they showed during their quest. Those who carried a staff were granted further power. Each staff was granted a unique ability: Wisdom, Strength, Speed, Knowledge, Decay, Fear, Destruction, and Invulnerability. Those who didn’t carry a staff were able infuse magical powers into vehicles and pilot them. The surviors split into two groups: the Spectral Knights led by Leoric and the Darkling Lords led by Darkstorm. And the battle for the world began anew. [special credit to TWiSTeDMeTaL and Prysmos.com]

Voltron, Defender of the Universe

This anime series was also known as “Voltron, Defender of the Universe” and “The New Adventures of Voltron”. The first season featured the “Vehicle Voltron”, where Voltron was comprised of numerous space vehicles. In the second season, Voltron was a mighty robot who defended peaceful planets and justice. It seemed invincible until an evil witch, Haggar, in an effort to destroy it, split it into 5 parts, each a large robotic lion. One day Keith, a space explorer, found the parts and reassembled them. With his friends, Voltron was revived to protect the planet Arus once again from evil forces.

I’m sure there are many other cartoons I’ve missed so please don’t slap me if I forgot your favorite series! *hides* I’m only human too you know XD

Don’t hesitate to share titles if you want to.

But majority of the day was spent with us talking and talking and talking and talking…

What else can you expect from two talkative individuals such as me and Jenny. Fortunately, Paolo is a very good gentleman to take everything like a sponge and offer tidbits and advises on issues we raise.

With me and Jenny recently struggling with heart issues, it couldn’t be helped for the discussion to revolve around relationships. We were very happy to have Paolo with us for he didn’t hide anything from us regarding how male minds work and how men perceive things differently from women.

Much as I want to release detailed historical on what brought about the discussion, I’d rather not as it will delve in too much within personal lives and might raise some issues when seen publicly by the ‘wrong’ people.

I could only give information on tidbits we learned on how relationships ‘should’ have been and how male minds work.

Not all information here is applicable to everyone. This is based on what me and Jenny are experiencing at the moment and I hope these knowledge will be helpful to many.

* Men will always hold on to their male pride and ego. It’s not only a question on how society dictates it but they were made that way. To conquer that part of them will be hard but there are ways to get around them.

* Women in a sense ‘lose’ more for every broken relationship. In a relationship, every step women take is a struggle to reach the end, to reach a commitment, and in doing so, their emotional investments take a toll and breaks down when being dumped (especially harshly) by their partner. So to females, we must make it known to our male friends, family and relatives just what it entails for us to be in a serious relationship. Many men have no idea about this.

* Commitments means to sacrifice something special to you. This is where ‘efforts’ comes in. Just because one can do things for you means that is effort enough to stay within a relationship. What if that perceived ‘effort’ was easy on your partner’s end? An effort should have been something that made him sweat and act a bit out of him comfort zone for him to show his sincerity.

* Women should strictly take the role to be CHASED. Men are the hunters, They want to HUNT. Let them. Make things hard for them. Let them sweat, bleed and sacrifice a bit. It is only at that time you will know they are sincere or if they are just looking for a pastime or a plaything for short term.

* Women are emotionally stronger than men. Have you ever wondered why more males die from heart attacks? It is because they keep everything into themselves. Women know how to release through years and talking with close friends.

Here are a bit of info I learned from the men’s side.

* Men, because of their PRIDE and EGO, will most often than not, not tell the real cause of their actions. Pffft.

In many scenarios, they will lie to escape confrontations, especially if they know they will do the hurting.

MY COMMENT TO THE LATTER STATEMENT: These are NOT ‘Men’. These are ‘Boys’.

* Men also have their bonding moments and these moments are coursed through drinking. With the aid of alcohol, they gather enough courage to tell their friends their real emotions. Unfortunately, this does not apply to ALL men as most will still keep most to themselves.

* Men are seriously physical in nature. A girl’s appearance is the first trigger for admiration. Women goes otherwise.

And more information on relationships:

* When a girl gets into a relationship fast, she could easily get out of it.

* An aggressive woman, who is making the moves on someone can come out suspicious. It could be she is just looking for a past-time.

As I can see it, there is no way to make a commitment if both sides wouldn’t make it known how to deal with each other. Bottom-line, COMMUNICATION.

Unfortunately, if one has too much pride to say anything or the other is just taking in whatever he or she gets, that is where the problem lies.

Withdrawal can refer to any sort of separation, but is most commonly used to describe the group of symptoms that occurs upon the abrupt discontinuation/separation or a decrease in dosage of the intake of medications, recreational drugs, and/or alcohol. In order to experience the symptoms of withdrawal, one must have first developed a physical dependence (often referred to as chemical dependency).

Generally, a person will start to feel worse and worse, hit a plateau, and then the symptoms begin to dissipate.
~ Wikipedia

No, I don’t take drugs nor do anything illegal intakes.

But I think I could put the term ‘withdrawals’ into simple layman’s term.

Withdrawals is like alcohol withdrawals, when a task is abruptly cut off from a routine with, the body takes on the tendency to go into unknown convulsions (too deep a word?) or seizures (exaggerated I guess) or any non-usual mechanisms to show the effects of separation.

So what possible alcohol withdrawal-like withdrawals could have happened to me if I never had any vice?

For a whole day there was no electricity. Meaning, I had no INTERNET for one whole freakin’ day.

And I ended up feeling very restless. I spent the day reading, sleeping, eating, you could say it was a perfect day to be a bum. But I wasn’t able to forget the fact I couldn’t go online to facebook, twitter, google, email accounts, etc. Much of my online life is very dear to me, to stay connected is a MUST.

But oh well, what could have I possibly done against a blackout but wait wait wait. I ended sleeping the day off since it was a useless case and the electricity came back twelve (12) midnight.

Never fear though, just because I’m an internet addict would mean I’m foaming in the mouth when I don’t get online. I do have a life you know. I love to read, try out new restaurants, hang out with friends, etc.

But of course, I will not deny one of my favorite places to hang out is online. It’s my digital cyberspace, my digital haven, where I can be who I am without any criticism. Or rather, I feel more confident online. Is that a good thing or a bad thing, I don’t know.

What I’m sure on is, I reach more people online. Friends and relatives abroad, online friends I became close with, relationships that grew stronger despite distances… these and all are I cherish thanks to the Internet. And these are what I want to keep. <3

Everyday, I NEED to check my updates, my friend’s updates, status’, horoscopes, ads (yes, even ads!), mail etc.

Yes, indeed, nothing will beat face-to-face communication but not everyone can get that access especially if, geographically speaking, it is impossible to face each other.

And yet, I have to be thankful that these social networks actually exist. I can be the ultimate homebody and not everyone is accessible to be in constant communication with. Facebook has become a number one source of updates or ‘gossip’ to my friend’s lives. I love it, I cherish it, I adore it.

So I beseech some of my FB friends to please do make an effort to update.

My point is…

If we are close, then knowing what is happening to you every moment is part of my responsibility and pleasure to be your friend.

If we are only friends, it doesn’t mean I don’t care. In one way or another, I’m sure we met for a reason and we can support and avail something from each other.

If we are mere acquaintance, maybe we became friends in FB to discover something from each other, which will benefit both of us.

Bottom line, our lives are connected in some way and I would like to know more about you, even if we can’t be always physically together. Update me and I’ll update you.

Let’s be FRIENDS.

My dad is a very strict and domineering father. During my childhood, I never understood why he prohibited me on doing many things, why he constant scolds me for little things and why I was never left to do things on my own.

It does sound cliche but it is true what they say, you will never understand how it feels to be a parent until you become one.

No, I am not a parent. But ever since my mom left the house and being the eldest child, the responsibilities of the house rested on my shoulders. Now, I have to consider the welfare of my family. I have to worry about my father’s health, my sister’s late night outs, the house property issue, family squabbles, the house maintenance etc. Then, did I understand the weight of stress and responsibility carried by my dad and by other parents especially if finances aren’t that well to start of.

So to my dad, I may not be the showy daughter but I am doing my best to support you in any way I can. I cannot give you the full financial aid to ease our way of living, I cannot help you with your vices if you won’t stop yourself, I cannot give the full emotional support you need especially now that I am experiencing a lot of problems within myself…

But I am sure of this…

I love you enough to support and help you in any way I can now. I’m not going anywhere yet. I’m still here and I’ll help in any way I can. Please remember that.

And this is for my dad. <3

So to all fathers out there… HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

I was yesterday with Jennifer de Asis, Chloebelle de Asis and Paolo Fresnoza at Megamall to attend the 9th Philippine Toycon convention. When Chloebelle told me about this event a few weeks ago, I immediately agreed to go with them since I haven’t been into any anime / toy / cosplay related convention for years! As much as I know how much could have changed through those years, I knew the same expected fun things will be there… like tons of toys, amazing cosplays, anime and manga related products and mingling with fellow ‘geeks’. Haha!

When we arrived at Megatrade Hall, there was already this long line of attendees which started from the entrance, went to a loop around one of the floor’s elevator then down the stairs of lower levels. Yes, that was how long it was. Fortunately, it didn’t take a long time for the line to move since it was morning and the place wasn’t as jam packed as expected compared to later in the afternoon and evening.

Inside, while my companions were waiting for Chloebelle to register her toy photography entry, I went around to get shots of the stuff found inside (while I still could tolerate the slowly congesting wall-to-wall bodies and smells).

Even if I was never an action figure or toy collectible enthusiast, my eyes oogled over the tons of merchandise displayed and sold. It wasn’t the toy quantities which amazed me but more of the variety of options for various personalities to choose from and from exquisite details crafted on many displays.

Regardless that Toycons are made to largely display action figures and collectibles, which usually market to boys, there were merchandises for girls such as clothes, hats, cute plushies, etc. No one will feel left out in not buying an item for I’m pretty sure anyone could get something from there.

Only I ended up not buying anything. Hahaha! I’m proud to have stopped myself from purchasing or I might have ended up no money for food!

Of course, there were tons of cosplayers roaming the place but there was this one particular group that caught my attention. They were just awesooooooome! Sure enough, a crowd formed around them as fans took many pics while they did a lot of poses. Just imagine a semi-circle of crowd fawning over stars. They were like the “untouchables”. XD Unfortunately, I don’t remember the title of the series they were cosplaying. If anyone can help me remember, please don’t hesitate to comment.

After being on a fan-mode for a few minutes, we decided to take a break from the Toycon and have some late lunch at Luk Yuen found at the lower ground of Megamall.

And as everyone in the group agreed, it was a time for gluttony. Near the end of our lunch feast, we then made a session of fortune telling. Jenny reminded me beforehand to bring my Titania fortune telling cards to have her fortune told. In doing so, and since we were already there, I did readings for all of them and we guffawed in laughter from making up hilarious divinations ranging from wishing on a genie to being locked in a castle tower by a dominatrix.

On a serious note, all readings I did made everyone ponder since I seemed to have pointed out stuff that they themselves only thought about and knew and was suddenly brought out in the open because of my readings. Wow… I must be getting good at this. ^_^

We also did this funny video of Paolo making a “tindera” or “waitress” impersonation. ^_^ What a funny guy!

After lunch and meeting some of my friends’ cosplayer friends, we went back to the Toycon to view the toy photography entries which included the one Chloebs submitted earlier. I never thought the concept of toy photography even exited but seeing the entries made me wonder if I could try my hand on one… provided I could find the toy that would “speak” to me so I will be inspired.

By this time though, Megatrade hall was so congested, I became woozy from the slight heat, smells, jostling of bodies etc. After taking a few more shots of the place, viewing the photo entries, we decided to get out and breath! LOL It was sardines in there seriously.

Jenny and I decided to leave the place since she has to go somewhere else and I seriously needed to rest. Paulo and Chloebs stayed to meet some friends.

Whew! It was a very tiring but at the same time accomplished day of Toycon, bonding and food trip! I can’t wait for the next one! See you soon again guys!

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All humans have many insecurities. It is a matter of discipline and positive outlook that we strive to get along with others and still be “US” among the multitudes of personalities.

I went with the tide of life. I was a quiet being, observing and studying the world for what it is, what it can do, what it can accomplish as its own entity. I was part of the “slow revolution”, leisurely taking in what life will throw at me, cultivating what I deemed I only can cultivate, silently expressing only in my inner world.

I was a contented wallflower. I was contented with the simple life.

I still am contented with the simplicity of what life really is. I realized it is only the circumstances that complicates it. And I realized, I could be more even if only in my world. Because MY WORLD is the greatest home I’ll ever have.

For the transformation that happened these past few months, the rebirth of a phoenix has happened. Old and new friends had sprung hidden from the shadows, my family is still doing well despite tribulations, people I didn’t expect to stay with me are still beside me, and a confidence born from sorrows has completed the cycle.

I am no wallflower anymore.

I am now a DIVA (Deliriously Inspired Vivacious Aphrodite) and a BITCH (Babe In Total Control of Herself).

And this is just the beginning…

Let’s see what else is there to come since the chapter has not yet ended…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By Mercedes Marie L. Calayag
* This article was created from a request by a member for the July Event. I found the article inspiring and uplifting I just had to share it with everyone.

Oh and for those who would ask… yes, the article is about ME.

But yesterday had been one super mall-hopping girl adventure day!

I wouldn’t necessarily call it a shopping spree as each one of us didn’t buy a lot of stuff but the “girl-urge” to enter each store searching for the right outfit or shoes for the upcoming “July event” is just amazing.

The day started with me and Jenny meeting in Landmark to shop for baby clothes as gifts for Kuya Raymond’s baby. We’ve been invited to the baptism but we were able to catch up only with the reception because we had been side-tracked by these outrageously beautiful Parisian shoes in SM Makati. We spent quite some time trying out various high heels and each ended with a purchase, which absolutely drained our wallets but fed our ‘girlish’ hunger for high-heel style. XD

Taking a bus and a jeepney to Alabang Town Center, we spent our lunch in Max where the baptism reception was held with mutual friends, talking and enjoying each others company. For Jenny and me, it was like an eat-and-run moment but nobody seemed to notice anyway and we had fun eating. Ahahahaha!

Later parting ways with everyone, Jenny and Me, together with Chloebelle went to Metropolis Alabang to check out cheap clothes we could use for the July event. We ended up buying a few items for personal usage but we were quite disappointed with the lack of styles the stalls provided. I ended up purchasing this really cute top and leggings.

MY PURCHASES

Not to delve in disappointment, we decided to go to Festival mall since Chloebelle has to look for a skirt to match her planned outfit for the event. She was able to find what she needed but the boots she wanted did not come in her size. We all loved the boots she found and grrrrr… it was so outrageously stylish!

After taking a light snack of nachos, pasta and quesidillas and resting our tired feet, Chloebelle and Jenny suddenly got this great urge to go to South Mall in hopes of finding the same boots in Chloebelle’s size! Now that is vain! Ahahaha! And since I’m in the area and I want to see more clothes, I went along with them.

Unfortunately, the boots weren’t there. Darn!

To cap it all off, we went to six malls in one day!

Landmark Makati, SM Makati, Alabang Town Center, Metropolis Alabang, Festival Mall and SM Southmall. Now THAT is mall hopping! In two places of NCR!

XD

Ha! Now THAT is MALL-HOPPING!

Looking at clothes and shoes, we each felt the excitement for the July event. Even I feel it and that is something since I’ve never been this VAIN! There are still lots of preparations to do like place reservation, make-up purchases, clothes, shoes and accessories selection, etc. We’re really prepraring everything for July. Gaaah! Can’t the days go any faster? Ahahahaha!

Watch out for it! Our July event!