• Revamp my blog – My blog has started to become this thing that even I don’t visit very often. I have decided to make my blog more like a portfolio instead of being just a repository of whatever I feel like writing or posting. I’ll look for an awesome Wordpress template I can use and go from there.
• Clean and organize my laptop hard drive – Whenever I copy or save files to my laptop, I tend not to care about any naming conventions or file organization scheme. This is a bad habit and I’m planning to undo a year’s worth of damage. This should be a pretty simple thing to do… I just have to go through all my files, create some kind of organization scheme and archive old files to an external hard drive. I have to remember to maintain this filing scheme as well. Whew.
• Backup my old PCs – I’ve got loads of precious files in my old PCs. I know, I should have backed these up before placing these CPUs in storage. I’m going to have to get these out of storage, hope they turn on, and get all my files.
• Layout photos from South Korea trip and have photo book printed – I want to give a photo book with pics from our Korea trip to my parents. This won’t be done in time for Christmas (printing takes 2 weeks according to the vendor) but at least I hope I could give it to them by January.
• Clean my room – 4 is a bad number so I’m adding this last bullet for good measure. My room is a bit messy right now so I’m planning to give it a good clean-up this December.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

YEAR ONE – This was a disappointment. I never expected anyone to be brave enough to parody the Bible, but apparently these guys who created this movie were. Essentially, it’s a plot-less attempt to get cheap laughs. At times the dialog redeemed the movie, but still I wish they could have done more to make make this movie more than just a brainless mishmash of scenes. [2 out of 5]

LAND OF THE LOST – This is worst than Year One. Although there was a plot, it was a bad plot. The special effects (if you could call them that) were terrible to the point that I think they did that on purpose. What a waste of movie money. [1 out of 5]

G.I. JOE – If you want your movies action packed, funny, and easy to follow, then this one’s for you. The plot is simple and sometimes flawed, but the action is awesome. I only didn’t like the final twist at the end. It didn’t make sense to me. [4 out of 5]

SURROGATES – This one’s a pretty good, but I saw a lot of flaws in the movie’s main concept (having a robotic surrogate live your life for you). However, I still the found to movie very interesting and action packed. I love the movie’s surprising twists and was never bored throughout the entire movie. [4 out of 5]

FAME – I was looking forward to seeing this movie because of the early hype it received. Maybe I expected too much that’s why I wasn’t that impressed with it. As a disclaimer, I know nothing about the play it was based on. Still, it was just a collection of stories of the kids on this high school. You are basically just taken through their experiences during their short 4 years of high school. [3 out of 5]

THIS IS IT – I’m not a big MJ fan but I really liked This is It. It was really something else. I was totally in awe the whole time! It’s just like watching his concert and at the same time getting all the behind the scenes stuff for every song. Being someone who dabbled into events styling and management, I was really interested in the whole behind the scenes part. The thoughts and effort they all placed into this production really amazed me. [5 out of 5]

ASTROBOY – Again, I knew nothing about the cartoon series this was based on. Despite this, I really liked this movie. It was a good thing too that my boyfriend was familiar with the cartoon so he was able to give me some added commentary. [5 out of 5]

2012 – I have nothing against the whole mass destruction movie concept, but it does get boring at some point. I mean we all know what will happen in the end right? But to this movie’s credit, they did went all the way with the special effects. The did make the end of the world look good. [3 out of 5]

NEW MOON – I read the book this was based on and I didn’t like it. Still, I was curious about how the book would be interpreted so I went ahead and watched it. I think they were able to faithfully interpret the book, which meant I also didn’t like the movie. Still, I loved Jacob’s character on the book and I think Taylor Lautner was able to portray the character well. [3 out of 5]

The top two DSLR makers are of course, Nikon and Canon. I regard both with equal respect since they both have been in the business longer than I’ve been on earth (meaning: they both have been making cameras long enough to know what they’re doing). If you’re looking to buy your first DSLR but want to take a step above the lowest entry level models, the Nikon D5000 and Canon 500D are both great options to consider:

Spec-wise, both cameras are pretty much equal. They’re equally priced too at around P40000 for the body and an 18mm-50mm kit lens. It all boils down to your personal preference. You’ll have to visit a store and try holding both to see which one feels better on your hands. One thing’s for sure though, you can’t go wrong with either of these cameras.

These are my personal favorites:

Mark Salling – “Sweet Caroline”
Dianna Agron – “Keep Me Hangin’ On”
Glee Cast – “Somebody To Love”

These two videos are my favorites:

Geisha Halloween Tutorial – here’s a very modern and chic interpretation of a Japanese Geisha

Barbie Transformation Tutorial – another great tutorial for an avant garde look, which you can definitely use for Halloween

2NE1 – FIRE
2NE1 – I Don’t Care
4Minute – Hot Issue
After School – Amoled (feat. Son Dambi)
Brown Eyed Girls – Abracadabra
Jewelry – Vari2ty
KARA – Mister
KARA – Wanna
So Nyeo Shi Dae – Genie (Tell Me Your Wish)
T-ara – Lies
vs. Girls Paradiso – Patron Tequila (Instrumental)

The video remix is as awesome as the audio. K-pop fans shouldn’t miss this!

Planning your wedding can be fun, exhausting, exhilarating, stressful, exciting and frustrating. Here are 20 tips that you should never do whilst planning the party of the year.

1.) Never book any venue without seeing it. My only exception to this is if you have a wedding planner working your behalf and doing the scouting for you.

2.) Never work with any vendor without a contract. Ever. This includes Aunt Jan and Uncle Marty. Contracts put everyone’s expectations and obligations on paper.

3.) Never start planning or interviewing vendors without a budget. You will waste your time and the time of the vendors you meet. Whenever a potential client says “There is no budget” or something similar, they are not impressed. The red flags go up.

4.) Never start your wedding planning in the “middle”. In other words, start at the beginning and work your way down with tasks and duties. Find a planning timeline to help you figure out where you should be in your planning process. Don’t start designing your floor plan when you haven’t chosen a venue.

5.) Never be afraid to speak up with your vendors. If you have questions or concerns, ask while changes can still be made as opposed to being stuck with something you will regret on your wedding day.

6.) Never take your family and friends for granted. Using the “But it’s my wedding” carte blanche will get very old, very fast. Your bridesmaids and groomsmen will spend a small fortune to participate in your day. Please treat them nicely.

7.) Never believe anything you see on the wedding shows. Ever.

8.) Never choose a dress under the condition you will lose weight to fit in it later. Stress eating is a huge monster during wedding planning. It is easier to take a dress in than it is to let it out.

9.) Never forget what you are planning for—your wedding, which is the birth of your marriage. I encourage you to plaster pictures all over your planning binder of you and your honey. That is your motivation.

10.) Never pick a vendor that has poor communication skills or makes you feel silly, “cheap”, “spoiled, or otherwise about your choices. Period.

11.) Never put your registry information on or with your invitation. Times may have changed and “some” etiquette rules can be bent. I don’t feel this is one of them. You do not want people to feel like there is a cover charge for your wedding. This information needs to be sent word of mouth, on your wedding website/newsletter or with your bridal/couple shower invite.

12.) Never choose a photographer with your budget solely in mind. This is the only thing that will preserve your memories for your special day. Please choose someone with style, talent and charisma so that you can remember your day fifty years from now as if it were yesterday.

13.) Never go to your catering tasting starving. Everything will taste good. You need to be discerning with mingling flavors and scents…and be able to appreciate them.

14.) Never go to your florist without a concept. There are several breeds of roses, lilies, and orchids. Your floral designer will be more than happy to provide you with inspiration, guidance and ideas, but you need to know where the destination is before you get in the car.

15.) Never assume a vendor’s “retainer” is the same as a deposit. A deposit is refundable. A retainer is not.

16.) Never think you will be able to make everyone happy with your decisions. Don’t try to make them all angry either. Ask for ideas, and find ways to incorporate everyone into the wedding. Nothing will make your FMIL beam brighter than to point at something and say “I picked that!”

17.) Never try to micromanage your day while wearing the gown. The day will be a blur anyway, it will go by so much faster (and harder) if you are playing the starring role and the director. Enjoy your day. Save your sanity. Please get a wedding coordinator. If you do, let her/him do her/his job.

18.) Never withhold the final payment from a vendor with the belief that this will pressure them to show up. If you have chosen to hire professionals for your wedding, this will never be an issue. The wedding industry thrives on reputation, and several vendors have reputations that precede them. Many have the philosophy if you do not pay them on the due date, they will not be there, and you will be without the vendor anyway.

19.) Never lose sight of the fact that you will have several hundred people at your wedding with different tastes and likes. While you cannot make them all happy, as a host, it is your job to make it enjoyable and comfortable. Remember this when it comes to design, location and food.

20.) Never forget to read this blog. (ok, I was really running low. Shameless plug over).

Here’s a simple but gorgeous hand-tied Calla Lily bouquet.

This one’s a classic: red roses in a circular arrangement

This video shows you how to use orchids in your bouquet

ANGELS AND DEMONS – I don’t really want to compare this to The DaVinci Code because they are two different movies and I won’t. Although some of my friends said they disliked this movie, I would have to disagree. Since I didn’t read the book before watching it, I truly enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot. I really liked Ewan McGregor’s character; he made this movie that much better for me. [5 out of 5 stars]

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2 – In my opinion, this sequel was a hundred times better than the first movie. I almost didn’t want to see this because I didn’t like Night at the Museum. It’s a good thing we went ahead and saw it anyway. And I still enjoyed it the second time we saw it. You really can’t take this movie seriously. It’s light, funny and entertaining. [4 out of 5 stars]

TERMINATOR SALVATION – Would you believe that this is the first Terminator movie I saw? I saw it with my boyfriend who thankfully is a fan of the series and was able to explain to me everything I didn’t understand. And I liked it! In fact, I really enjoyed the movie. I half-expected it to be a bore but it surprisingly wasn’t. [4 out of 5 stars]

TRANSFORMERS 2 – Since the first Transformers was such a hit, it was natural that this installment will have a lot of hype surrounding it. My co-workers and I decided to make an event around seeing this movie and watch it together (all 14 of us). We even had to reserve seats because we were planning to see it on a weekend and we wanted to make sure we can get tickets. It’s a good thing we did because the theaters were packed! Anyway, the movie itself was ok. It started out kinda boring, but picked up around halfway through. However, I really hated how Megan Fox was pimped in the movie. I mean I get it, she’s hot without even trying. So why did they have to try so hard to make her look hot in the movie with rear-end shots, slo-mo running shots, etc.? [4 out of 5]

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE – I was in Singapore when this was premiered and I just had to see it immediately. At first, the Chinese subtitles annoyed me but minutes into the movie I didn’t even notice it anymore. I love this movie! We’ll I’ve loved all the other Harry Potter movies (except the fifth one, that one was just ok) but this one is one of my favorites. I think this is one of the best adaptations from the Harry Potter books (the Prisoner of Azkaban is another fave). [5 out of 5]

THE PROPOSAL – At this point I haven’t seen a romantic comedy in a long time. This movie was just in time. Sandra Bullock is a terrific actress and Ryan Reynolds is awesome as well. Fun fun fun! [4 out of 5]