I MISS YOU.

:)

Dateable: Are you? Are They? :)

If you're shopping and a particular item caught your eye and you decided to buy it there and then, you might be a compulsive buyer. But, if you're living on student allowance, you might spend loads of time just thinking whether you'll buy that item or not. You use 30 minutes just to convince yourself that the item is worth it. That's me most of the time. Oftentimes, I'd leave the shop without buying. However, there was a time I decided to plunge. And I'm still happy I did. :)

It was a fine evening and my roommates and I decided to go to the mall to buy some random stuffs. Like me, the two girls I'm with (Lorelyn and Genevie) are also very thrift when it comes to spending. Without seeing anything that's worth our money, we decided to go to Book Sale. Book Sale is a store here in the Philippines that sells second hand books at affordable prices. After a few minutes of scanning, a book caught my attention. The title "DATEABLE: Are you? Are they?" grabbed me like 'whoa!' I took the book and scanned it. Written on its precious pages are advice for teenagers about most of the things they need to know about the opposite sex. For a 17 year old girl, it was love at first sight. I decided then and there that I would buy it.

........until I saw the price. P200! (Okay, now, for a student who's living on a P1500/week allowance, her budget has no room for a P200 book). 

I was like "No! I need to buy this one!" 

My brain said "but it's P200. That's 4 meals and 5 sachets of shampoo!" 

I must admit I resorted to sourgraping. 

"Tsk, naah, this book must not really be so great" I randomly opened it and I saw a page that shouts "How to increase your Dateability!"

"Nope, this is not worth my P200!" I then started to scan through other pages and saw words like "Guys Will Lie", "Girls Will Lie", "If I Will do it for You, I Will do it to You" "What does he say when you're not around?" The more pages I flipped, the more I became convinced that I should buy the book. I took a deep breath, went to the cashier, and paid for the book.

It's been 4 years since that day and up to now I have no regrets that I bought Justin Lookadoo and Hayley DiMarco's "Dateable" book. I always think it's Heavenly Father's blessing to me. I was a young girl in a big city full of boys. I was clueless and felt like the 16-going-on-17 girl from the Sound of Music. The book helps me A LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT when it comes to dealing with the opposite sex.

This book has helped not only me but also four other girls who once had this in their possession. Whenever I hear a girl clamoring about a boy, I would tell her "Hhhmmm, I have a book I would let you borrow. It would help you decipher the baboon (JK)." I wish all the girls will have the chance to read this book. There are a lot of realities listed in here and if girls would only take time to read them, they'll have a better perspective.

My family also fell in love with "Dateable". Even my father said it's a great guidebook to use as a resource for speaking to the youth. Because of our love for it, my Mama bought this book:

Yes, after Dateable, Hayley DiMarco wrote a book together with her husband. The book's entitled "Marriable". This book is a "let's-get-down-to-business" masterpiece. This biblio tells us that after being Dateable, the next step is to learn how to be "Marriable". Also, I guess it implicitly reminds us that we SHOULD get married. We're not forever gonna stay in the dating scene. :)

These are really AMAAAZZZIINNGGG reads and I am lucky I got a hold of these. I feel like Alma of the Book of Mormon. If only I were an angel, I would definitely share the things I got from these books to other people so that they'd know as well. But I'm just a mere blogger who can only write and hope that the next time you see these books in a shop, you will never hesitate to buy it. :)

Heart Break?! Piece o' Cake!

Whitney Houston once asked this question: "Where do broken hearts go? Can they find their way home back to the open arms of a love that's waiting there?"

I, myself, am wondering about that. How does a broken heart heal? Or, what does a person do to lessen and alleviate the pain? How can one cope up in the easiest way? Everyone has their own way of mending a bruised and shattered heart. However, no matter what strategy one has, it's still undeniable that getting over a heart break is quite not listed in "Top 10 Easiest Things to Do!"

Out of curiosity, I tried to ask 3 people about how they ease the sting of a break-up or a disappointing love story. Let me introduce them to you first.

First is we have "The Girl with Tons of Suitors". She's in her mid 20's and she is absolutely stunning. She is also smart, fashionable and funny. With these qualities, some might think that heartbreak is not really for her. However, she also knows about the "pains brought about by love". When I randomly asked her how she gets over disheartening situations, she told me "I would drink a lot of Coke, eat loads of chocolates and tell myself it's not very often that I experience a broken heart. I must treasure the feeling. I just tell myself 'Whatever will be will be' and I eventually feel better..." She jokingly added "I know I sound like a masochist." I think I agree with her "que cera cera" philosophy. Sometimes, we tend to plan ahead of everything else and then expectations will start and when expectations aren't met, hearts are shattered. If we learn to live life without expecting too much, it will be less stressful. :)

The second person I interviewed was a young mom. When she was a teen, she was the Queen Bee. Bee's knees, I should say. Pretty, intelligent and confident. I knew since we were teens that the only guy she seriously adored was her first love (her husband now). When I asked her how she copes up with bitter, broken feelings, she said "I usually spend two days in isolation. I would stay inside my room most of the time and would drown myself in my tears. I listen to really sad love songs so that I would be able to cry. After crying, I would feel a whole lot better. Then, after two days of just staying inside, I would pamper myself to a spa, have my nails manicured, have a total beauty treatment. I want to show him that the break up did not really affect me and I'm still beautiful even without him..." True that. It's a given that having someone to love can bring happiness but it should not make us lose our love for ourselves. I guess that's the best way to start the "moving on" process: loving yourself first.

The last person I inquired about was someone of my age. We grew up together and I've seen how positive she is in life. Also, I have seen her cry. She's single now. I don't think she has any plans to have a boyfriend anytime soon. When I asked her "What did you do during those times when you were devastated because of a failed love story?" She laughed and answered me "You should know it isn't easy. Of course, you can't get over it for just one day. You need to take one day at a time. There were times that I felt so down and hopeless. What I did is I knelt and prayed to Heavenly Father. I poured out my heart to Him. Whenever I felt heavy inside, I would just talk to Him. After quite some time, the tears stopped. It's natural that you will miss the person and the things you did together. What's different is that although you might miss him, you can now move on without him. Heavenly Father listens. You are His daughter. A Father won't allow His daughter to just be taken for granted..." (Agreed. This is what I also believe in. Heavenly Father only wants the best for His daughters and sons. Maybe that person isn't really best for her.)

One of my favorite quotes bears this message: "A heartbreak is a message from God that He saved you from the wrong one..." Yes, I know that heartbreaks are not really easy but when you slowly start to fight and move on, the pain will lessen. You would also start to look at it as a blessing in disguise. It will help you. Annnnd, the best part, make you grow. :)

(DISCLAIMER: I don't usually ask weird questions like this. Hehehe) :)

Girl's Eye View: The Boy Pose

It's already given that girls are naturally camera fans. If they have the chance, they can take loads of pictures a day and they already have invented tons of creative poses.

I'm a girl and I love taking pictures. I mean, who doesn't? :). You can be funny in photographs and you can be somebody else. Both of these are the exact reasons why I decided to have a little photoshoot tonight.

As a Facebook user, I have also observed that the love of taking pictures isn't only limited to girls. Heck, some guys are even prettier than I. Some boys also love to take images of themselves. These are some of the poses that I have seen some guys do:

The "I'm too lazy for this but I will try" pose.

The "Yeah, dude, I got money in the bank" pose.

I have a friend who does this every time we're going to have a picture. It's important to add "swag" to the smirk.

The "I'm a little creepy. Is it okay to ask for your phone number?" pose.

The "Girl, look at my biceps! I work out!"

"My shirt is cool" pose.

Hahaha. I think this pose is the funniest.

The "Louie" pose.

Named it after my brother because he loves doing this.

The "Is the camera ready?" pose.

"Oh, a car window! Oh, a fitting room mirror! Let's take a picture" pose.

Although the way they project themselves isn't too flamboyant compared to how the girls do it, boys can still be vain ( and yes, can be prettier than girls). :)

That One Friend

Have you ever had an experience where everyone is way excited and the photographer would say "Okay, now, everyone, I want you to do a candid pose for me and I don't want anyone looking at the camera. Appear as if you don't know I'm taking a picture of you. Ok, one, two, three, smiiiiiiiiile!" Everything seemed to be perfect until you see the outcome of the photo:

There's always that one friend who always doesn't get the memo. 

That one friend would be smiling while everybody else is trying so hard to project a crestfallen face.

Or that one friend who wears a blouse of a different color when you planned the day before that you will be wearing white.

My friend, Bambi, seems to be this "one friend". She would often get "what?! I just said candid!" and "You didn't follow the plan again..." and most of the time "Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!" Hahaha.

But she makes the taking of photos more fun and exciting. This "one friend" adds spice to the picture because she's different.

Imagine if all of you decided to follow the memo. Do you think there's something you can laugh about? :)

That Time of the Month

Once a month, a girl turns into a monster.

It's not easy being a girl. If boys thinks we're complicated, they have no idea what we think about ourselves. Even us girls admit that we are sometimes hard to spell out.

...especially when "the visitor" comes.

This "visitor" loves to inflict so many emotions in a girl's heart. One moment you are happy, one moment you feel that your heart is being held on ice-cold hands. One moment you feel like dieting then eventually you find yourself looking for that pack of potato chips.

Today, the visitor decided to make me feel sad without apparent reason. Google told me that this is normal and that my hormones are just undergoing some stabilizing that usually confuses the brain. Great. Also, this morning, instead of giving 101% attention to my English teacher, I caught myself whispering to my friend "I want some leche flan. And some spaghetti. And some pizza and carbonara with mango shake..."

But honestly, I think these effects are better compared to other reactions one might give when the visitor is present. For example:

Girl 1: He texted me! He said good night to me! *giddiness level 100*
Girl 2 : (who has a crush on the guy who texted her friend) Ohh, really?! That is so sweeeet!!!! (Secret translation: Nooo way. He texted me, too. This is so heartbreaking)

Some situations that she can just easily shrug off during the normal days become more important to her during that particular time of the month.

Every time I tell my friends "I am sooo sad. I don't even know the reason why." They will then simply reply to me "Yeah, your hormones are confused" or "Tsk, PMS". :)

Girls usually don't go through an easy phase during their period. They become more emotional, more irritable and their extreme love for food goes up. Now, what can make girls more confusing? :)

Confidence Booster #2: Exercise

Yes, people. Exercise does not only burn calories, it ignites self confidence, too. :)

When I was a freshmen in college, I lost a lot of weight because of my braces. I didn't do any dieting or exercise. It was a surprise weight loss even for me. I was happy. I fitted in my old clothes without having to worry about a belly bulge. I ate a lot and didn't gain much of a weight

until the inevitable happened

I guess our body has a natural (and very treacherous) way of dealing with eating habits. During my sophomore year, I started to gain a lot of weight. It started when we went to Cebu and ate loads of food. When I noticed I don't fit in my old uniform anymore, I shrugged it off thinking "Oh, maybe the body will decide to burn the calories itself. I'm not going to worry." But the body didn't and my sophomore year stress made me eat more junk foods. I didn't really mind people calling me "chubby" because I know it was the truth. The word never really hurt my confidence. What made me feel bad about myself is that I know I'm eating a lot of junk and I'm not stupid not to know that these junk would definitely add calories to my body. I felt "heavy" inside. I would spend a lot of time in the mirror looking at my very obvious belly bulge and then tell myself "I have to lose this. I have to. I will start exercise tomorrow." But like any other girl who promised herself an exercise, it was always postponed.

until the motivation came

There came a point when I said to myself, "Well, I need to be serious with losing weight!" I set a goal for myself. During that time, we were preparing for a Young Adult Dance. My Tita had this really beautiful dress with a slim waist and a medium armhole. I wanted to wear this to the dance, I told myself. When I tried it, ahhhh, the belly bulge grabbed the spotlight and my arms were screaming "Dang, I can't breathe!" So, I decided to finally get into serious business with trimming down.

All I did was to perform some dance exercises. For 15 minutes a day, I did some high intensity dance work-outs. I loved them. I then discovered one thing from it. When I do exercises, when I sweat, when I push myself, I feel a lot lighter (and not just physically). I felt like I was the master of myself and it comforted me that I was able to shed off some bad calories. Plus, working out gives me a natural glow. I can't even explain why. But, to cut the story short, I got my confidence again. I know I'm on my way to being lean and healthy. As a result, I got to fit into the dress. Ha!

Currently, I am active in doing various exercise depending on the time available. If I feel like it, I do Zumba, or follow some exercise videos in Youtube, but my favorite of all is Les Mill's Body Combat. It's like kickboxing. :)

There was a time when I shared the exercise to one of my classmates, Bryan. When one of our friends saw that he plans to exercise, she said "Maniwang ka man na Bry?" (trans: Will you lose weight from that?) and to that he answered "Weng, exercise is not just to lose weight. It's about feeling good about yourself!" and I agree with him!

The saying that goes "You're beautiful no matter what" is true. Nothing is wrong with being chubby or being overweight. But don't let that saying justify you for not improving yourself. Exercise and feel good. So what if you don't immediately lose weight from it? What's important is you'll feel good about yourself and that shows you're committed to become a better you. :)