Sweet Says...: August 2011

Who Else Wants to Help Play Pilipinas?

I have always been fond of helping others in my own quiet ways as an anonymous ambassador who simply love to pay it forward.

However, as quiet as I want to be, I cannot help but create an announcement on this one. I feel like this will be a big contribution to a noble project.

Mai-Mai Magtira, my classmate way back in high school posted a message on her Facebook wall. She is currently connected with an NGO that needs different scrap metals to help build charity playgrounds.

They currently need the following items:

Bicycle Tires
Car Tires
Truck Tires
Plastic Drum Containers
Bamboo
Tarpaulins
Scrap Woods (preferably 300mm w 2-3 meters length)
Chain Links
Paints
Old Garden Hose
Bolt & Nuts
Cement

You may email her at maicenmag@yahoo.com

Kindly indicate the quantity of whichever item you can give.

Mai is open for donations and/or buying these materials at a discounted rate.

Click here to know more about Play Pilipinas

PLAY PILIPINAS 2011

is the Philippines' First International Festival on Children's Play. This will be held on October 21 to 23, 2011 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City, Philippines.
It is founded by PlayUniversal Co., a social enterprise that promotes the importance of play for children in the Philippines.
Their mission is to promote, enrich, and cultivate the benefits of play at home, in school, and communities among children in Asia.
Their vision is to be the prime mover of play and its value to all children.

Sweet Says... Let's help build a wondrous recreation area for these kids. A simple act of kindness and generosity is an enormous contribution to every child's future that will benefit this playgrounds. Let's share our blessings :)

6 Interesting Blog Picks for Nuffnang's Blog Day 2011

I officially declare myself, A BLOG JUNKIE.

I got more vigilant in people, events, and things around me than I normally did. I took more photos, I read more books, I visit more links, I listen more intently - because everything around me is just "bloggable" - please excuse me, I know there is no such term. I am sure that somewhere out there, another person may be interested to know about different things - pancakes, goodwill, a scratch paper, junks - pretty much everything in the world to at least one person just like Mike Rowe in Dirty Jobs.

I came across with an invitation thru email about Nuffnang's Blog Day 2011. I was curious about it at first. I got anxious next, whether or not to consider submitting an entry. Finally, since tomorrow is the deadline of submissions, I told myself at 5:30 in the morning, "What the heck? Why not?" Isn't it just exciting to share the blogs you follow so that more people would discover how crazy beautiful their ideas are? How their personal lives, opinions, perspectives, were very different from yours? How talent, views from a different camera and for another country, passion, taste, makes us feel overwhelmed with appreciation to a wonderful life and the idea of learning new things every single day.

Below are my 6 picks, a few description, and why it rocked my blogging experience:

Duane's Dartboard

"Sometimes my ideas hit the bullseye. Sometimes they don't"

owned by Duane Hallock

I am a digger of blog description and the "About Me" section. My first impression on Duane's is that he knows what he was doing, and he do "this" because it inspires him first, and the others next. Both brief and thorough author description are awesomely inspiring already. When I read about his latest post entitled "Two years, 124 posts and 10 observations", I simply thought it was brilliant to share what this blogging experience actually taught you. So I asked myself, what did it (blogging) teach me? I will post my answer to that one on my 1st blogging year. :)

Uppercase Woman

"Living life out loud one day at a time"

owned by Cecily Kellogg

Learning a new word a day is one of my secret hobby. I feel geeky sometimes when my "word of the day" becomes 12 words. Most of the time, i forgot about them altogether too. But now, when I stumbled upon Cecily's blog, not only did the catchy title, the pink theme, and her daughter Tori get me, but also a word I'd like to add to my personal dictionary - "Conundrum" It means, (1) a confusing and difficult problem or question; (2) a question asked for amusement typically one with a pun in its answer; a riddle. (via Dictionary.com)

Color Me Katie

owned by Katie Sokoler

This is one of the less descriptive blogs I have seen, BUT, the photos were so heavenly colorful that you'd love to imagine yourself living in this kind of world. It shows happiness on different angles. It is a gift to the readers to share her talent in photography. Her keen eye evidently connects with the passion to bring out the best in every moment. When I saw her Radar Eleven video (courtesy of Babelgum) I consider Katie one my color angels who unknowingly inspires me with her eagerness to make a difference in other people's lives.

Not Dead Yet!

"The diary of an oldie who refuses to go quietly"

owned by Judith Taylor

Judith claimed to be a proud elderblogger. Believe that it's true because I found a few more blogs other than this (her main one) and she broke the stereotype by blogging despite old age. I didn't realize that a grandma her age would be interested to upload pics, share stories, and now even busy with videos about the Granny Turismo project she is involved with. She is a retired secretary from Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, and is very open with her continuous quest in finding who she is now. Her optimism and willingness to learn daily inspired me as a woman. The idea of an old me while blogging is vivid to me, but Judith's blog reminded me of "Say NO to age discrimination"

Gumnut Inspirations

"Spark and fuel to stoke your creative fire"

owned by Nutty

The name Gumnut itself intrigued me. I love the inspirations she brought by sharing her art, and divulging a bullet-point description of Who is Gumnut? It makes her readers feel like she's a neighbor just across the street who is willing to help you with your life projects. Her honesty is entertaining. I'll sure give Melissa Dinwiddie's 15-minute Creative Challenge a try.

one80three60

owned by Kim

This is the most sleek blog I've seen. The pictures were great and got my jaw drop twice on some shots. One of the things most unique about 180|360, which I consider very difficult on my part, is that it is an ad-free blog.

Sweet Says... "I aspire to become a blogger of my own passion, of anticrastination, of helping others. These six new blogs I have discovered will be my set of inspiration to help me achieve what I will become in the following days. To Duane, Cecily, Katie, Nutty, Judith, and Kim -- THANK YOU so much for sharing your passion, your light, your experiences, your joys, your brilliance, and ingenuity. More power!"

Zoe Jacques (Zoe Kerenza Lim) New Friendly Stalker

My friend, let's call her "Daria" repetitively exclaims "I heart you" for an hour now.

She was telling it to her laptop, with Zoe Jacques on its screen.

Photo courtesy of Stokedinc
"Stoked Surfergirl Zoe Jacques: British School Manila represent!"

Flashback.

Liked "Stoked Fan Page" in Facebook.
Saw "Zoe Jacques" picture. pictures.
Found a LinkedIn profile. Then Tumblr.

Googled her.
Asked a friend about her.
Checked Paolo Ruiz' website.
Watched a video clip of her.

Checked her pictures again.
Was planning to share the link of her video on her FB account.
Can't stop herself from saying how sexy and pretty Zoe is.

Left a side comment on how good a photographer Paolo Ruiz is.

She suddenly stopped when she realizes that I am blogging about her unbecoming hype, which I never witnessed from her when she looked at Angelina Jolie.

Sweet Says... "I think that admiring a fellow chic is normal, as long as the beauty she has is not envied and unnecessarily criticized. However, today's case is totally different. Daria is officially hooked. A straight mom of one got a HUGE crush on Zoe so I'm spilling the announcement here. Soon, Daria may try to convince me to delete this post to avoid Zoe's discovery on her new friendly stalker. I'm just curious though, if you were Zoe, how would you feel about this kind of admiration? Or do you sometimes wish that you were as pretty-sexy-cool as Zoe? Or even if it's not Zoe, think of another person of the same sex that you have or had a crush on. I'm also curious if guys on the other hand could also be so engrossed with another man's good looks without being gay."

Put Your Fear on Hold

Yesterday morning after taking a bath, I got cornered by my mom on our mini coffee table. I prepared my coffee as she started to explain some updates on a few of our family issues. While mom was talking, it occurred to me that her life is a pretty challenging story to write on a book. But I thought, it's gonna be too long and tedious. Plus, who's gonna read it anyway? When the lessons came in sinking in my head, it is definitely a good story to tell. The question is, how will I do it?

Then this morning, while browsing my Facebook homepage, I encountered Ali Pittampalli's inspiring video from Positively Positive. It's a quick video that everyone should give a chance to tune in to.

video courtesy of Positively Positive

Did it make you think? I did. I am usually the type of person who loves asking this kind of question because I am interested in learning more about other people. But this time, when I felt that the question was directed to me, I don't know what to think of. It caught me off guard especially the astronaut thing, because the truth is, I dreamed of becoming one when I was a kid. Now I'm wondering if most people wished just the same when they were younger.

Sweet Says... I think that these 2 mornings are callings. A shout of creativity and a challenge at the same time. I didn't really rank my dreams with scrutiny, but I tried to think where does my writing-a-book dream comes place? Okay I want to write a book. That's gonna be one of the tough missions I have to start doing now. I need your help coz I have no idea what to do. :) Flood me some comments and I'd love to know what you wanna do.

Do You Want to Have A Great Hair Day for FREE?

After being "dugyot" for two days, I took a bath this morning with my new set of L'Oréal shampoo and conditioner. I used different hair products already and I enjoyed the others but not for too long. Either I'd get a dandruff, got my hair dry and frizzy, or just basically on a "bad hair day" on a daily basis. I don't know if it's just me, if I shampooed my hair wrong like using more or less the right amount, or whatever. What I know is that I am just a typical girl who'd wish for a nice-looking-hair that would make me pleasant enough to look at.

I encountered one retweet from Anne Curtis about L'Oréal's new promo for their Shampoo & Conditioner for only Php99 each. I know for a fact that they have a very good marketing strategy. Get people's attention first through a very pretty endorser then promote the product for a lower price so that old time users and the new patrons alike will continue to buy them when they go back to the original market price. So YES, I admit that despite knowing these, I was still convinced to try it. But before I did, I read out all, I mean ALL, Facebook testimonies about their experience. So when I happened to be at Mercury Drug - Amorsolo St, Makati last Sunday, I bought these with much hope.

Can you see me smiling on the P99 sticker?

When I used these this morning, I was thinking, "Okay, it smells good, what now?" Then I asked myself "Why did I buy these again?" I remembered, "Oh yeah, I'm giving it a try" because I know that every product has a promise and I am giving them a chance to prove it.

And since I am feeling so generously happy today and thought that someone else may want to try having the same L'Oréal experience, I am giving away a pair of L'Oréal Smooth - Intense Caring Shampoo and Conditioner for FREE.

Easy Steps on How to Join:

#1: Follow @iamsweetreyes on Twitter.

#2: Submit your email address to "Sweet Says More" located at the top right corner of my blog.

#3: RT this once a day from Aug. 16-22: "Have A Great-Hair-Day for FREE! Visit http://sweetsays.blogspot.com/" You need a total of 7 tweets. The more the retweets, the better!

#4: Write on this particular blog's comments box below the reason why you want to have these L'Oréal Smooth - Intense Caring Shampoo and Conditioner + Twitter account name.

Note:

Philippine residents only.

One entry per person only.

Write your entries on the comments box below AND NOT on Twitter.

I will announce the lucky winner on August 22, 2011, 8pm Monday Manila.

Have a great day everyone!

"Rent A Person": a short film by Kurt Kuenne starring James Haven

While writing "Validation: a short film by Kurt Kuenne", I was able to encounter another remarkable short film by the same director, Kurt Kuenne. "Rent-A-Person" is a romantic musical comedy about a men's room attendant who founds an organization who revolutionizes rush hour traffic, starring James Haven, brother of Angelina Jolie. This is another worthy short film in approximately 12 minutes.

"Rent A Person"

via hughnewman1024 on YouTube

I really liked the concept of the two short films being connected. WOW! It simply tells me that nobody usually focuses on the cameo characters on a movie. I was too focused on Validation's main character that I was surprised to know they are merged stories. These are just awesome. I'd love to see more uplifting films like these. Don't you?

Sweet Says ... most of the time, we seek too much that we tend to overlook what is already right in front of us. However, even if we fail to see the things we want clearly, let us try and count the experience then move forward. We will be able to achieve our dreams in no time.

Validation: a short film by Kurt Kuenne

I was studying a portion of an online tutorial when I stumbled upon this video. It is a fable about the magic of free parking. The writer/director/composer Kurt Kuenne is a genius. The film is so inspiring that I stayed smiling on its entirety. It's less than 20 minutes and I guarantee you it is worthy of your time.

"VALIDATION"

via hughnewman1024 on YouTube

Sweet Says... This is exactly what everyone of us need to remember. We have to "validate" our own capacity to touch other people's lives most importantly ourselves. We are uniquely designed and truly important. Our contribution to another person, even if it's just a simple "Hi!", makes a whole lot of difference. Keep smiling everyone! YOU ARE AMAZING!

"Change begins with a whisper" The Help tag line: Emma Stone new movie

Enough with superhero movies for now and peek at what's coming up next!

The Help starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis, and Octavia Spencer, is a wonderful new movie released in theaters today. It is about three women in Jackson, Mississippi who strike up an unlikely friendship. According to Viola, through an exclusive IMDB interview with Emma Stone, it is unlike any other movie that is out now or probably in the next 5 or more years. She said that it about women of different color, sizes, and ages. Viola added that it is a "very unbelievably, deeply-moving, and funny human-story" that we're gonna see.

The Help Movie Poster via IMDB

WATCH THE HELP MOVIE OFFICIAL TRAILER

Sweet Says... "Change begins with a whisper" now that's a perfect tagline for this movie. Having said this, I am thinking of a tagline for my own life, or just this present time. The first thing that popped in my head was pretty lame but here you go, "blogger monster". I'd love to know what's yours! Feel free to post a comment.

My Pancake Art Says It All

A few weeks ago, I wrote "You Can Do It in 30 Days" and from that day on, decided on my first 30-day-challenge, which is to write 30 blog posts in 30 days. I was so happy that I was able to keep it going on a daily basis. After exactly 14 days, I wasn't even able to open my blog. I wasn't able to write something for a week! It is a very heavy family issue that I don't even know if any of you could relate to or understand. I will write about it in the future, meanwhile, I only wanted to say one thing.

one of my pancake arts

With everything that has happened and will happen, I know for sure that HE will always be there to carry my loads, and that I only need to surrender them to HIM. The past few days had been exceptionally overwhelming with tears of joy and of pain. Now I am certain that with patience and faith, everything will fall into its place.

I will write more in the following days to keep up with the challenge.

For now,

Sweet Says ....

PS: Sweet is a pancake art fanatic. No pancake will be eaten unless designed. :)

My Top 3 Favorites from Nestle Philippines Kasambuhay Habambuhay Short Film Anthology

I cant explain how utterly impressed I am with the entire production of the Nestle Philippines Kasambuhay Habambuhay Short Film Anthology.

After seeing the series of short film they have in celebration of Nestle Philippines 100 years, I can proudly say I got wowed. I was touched, moved, and inspired. And I honestly cried a few times.

The videos below are my TOP 3 FAVORITES:

#3: "Unplugged"

"Unplugged"

courtesy of NestlePH via YouTube

#2 "Sali-Salita"

"Sali-Salita"

courtesy of NestlePH via YouTube

#1 "Tingala sa Baba"

"Tingala sa Baba"

courtesy of NestlePH via YouTube

Sweet Says... These three did it. Touchdown! I am astonished with the magic the directors used to serve quality films in practically short 10-minutes. The lessons each film conveyed are very simple yet hard-core that it made me identify or acknowledge myself as a part of something big. It is clearly a reminder that whatever i do and whoever I am is a contribution to the world. So are you.

Procrastinator's Handbook: A Glance

When I posted about procrastination before, my office mate felt guilty about one of the things that she always wanted to do but never does. She is ironically procrastinating on reading a book about procrastination. It is Rita Emmett's "The Procrastinator's Handbook: Mastering the Art of Doing it Now".

She said that when they moved from their old house, she saw this book from his dad's stuff, got curious and planned to read it. After a few months and having read other books available, she still haven't found the time to read it. So I told her to lend it to me and then I'll read it first. I will inform her whether or not the book is good and is worthy of her precious time.

The next day, she brought the book and I immediately scanned it. I knew just from the first page that I will like it. I can't wait to end my shift and focus on reading it. During our meeting, I glanced on the book and was tempted to read the first chapter. And I did. Then I told my office mate that I'll buy it for Php50. It was an old book after all, from their shelf of books, unnoticed. It was a cue for her that it is worth it. I am not sure if i bargained too low that she declined the offer, or that she thought that selling a what-seemed-to-be a great book is not a very good idea.

the book with my yummy oreo cheesecake from Starbucks 6750

After my shift, I read it on my way home and about half an hour before I decided I should go to sleep.

Sweet Says... I am still not finished reading it, but I promise I am not procrastinating on it either. This is the type of book whose lessons I'd love to absorb by not rushing til the end page. It is the realization that I'd want to apply in my life to improve it and be a better person. I will create another post on this after I read it. Promise!

Are You A "Sign Seeker?"

A couple of days ago, my brother from Dubai shared a cute video on Facebook. It was a film by Carlo Directo, which is part of the "Kasambuhay, Habambuhay: Short Film Anthology of Nestlé Philippines.

"In celebration of its 100 years in the country, Nestlé Philippines kicked off its many exciting offerings with its centennial TV commercial themed Kasambuhay, Habambuhay (Companion in Life, For Life). Sharing stories of how Nestlé has been a Kasambuhay to Filipino families for generations all told just in seconds via the TV commercial, the company is now taking its celebration to the next level with its 100 minute anthology of 10 short, entertaining and creative films directed by a select roster of commercial directors who have helmed Nestlé TV commercials."

via nestle.com.ph

This short film starring John Lloyd Cruz and Solenn Heussaff, is entitled "Sign Seeker". Go ahead and watch this video below before I spoil you.

via nikuotabimasen

Did you like it? I did. I see myself like that before. But there was this time when I told myself I have to stop seeking signs. Why? Because I felt manipulative and sometimes oblivious. Manipulative that I tend to wish obvious signs, like a free doughnut from Krispy Kreme. Oblivious that sometimes I have the sign surrounding me but I am too busy to notice. There were also times when I realized it is a sign but is too scared to acknowledge it as one. And of course, there were times when you misinterpret something to be a sign. I don't seek signs as often now. Doing so is like depending on a Magic 8 Ball to decide on every situation. But that's just me.

I think some people seek signs because they want confirmation of the truth, they want to have an occasion to excuse their unbelief, they are simply curious thrill-seekers, or they hope to get something for themselves.

But when a sign is given, what do you actually do next? Do you seek another sign or do you act on how you interpreted it?

Sweet Says ... I cannot really answer for you whether or not signs are true. I think what matters is what you believe in and what step you take to move forward. These signs may be an inspiration, a calling, a distraction, a complicated puzzle than an answer. I hope we'll be wise enough to distinguish it rather than impulsively deciding on a matter.

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