blog changes + salon review + aria in manila

Greetings! Have you noticed anything different with the blog-- other than that it's been updated with a new post after forever? I've fixed the layout and the header a bit and added some links on the side! I felt a bit odd when someone referred to my blog as a fashion blog, because it's not exclusively that. I hope y'all don't think this is a fashion blog, because then I'd feel guilty talking about homework and traveling. This is more of a personal blog and it just so happens that I like fashion a lot. Anyway, I've put up links on the side for when you want to read about a specific topic and do not want to go through all my posts whining about school and all that!

Consider this a blog make-over! I've browsed through all the past posts and realized how lame it was when I used to do short reviews on practically all collections. It was a bit much wasn't it? Well I've stopped doing that, if you noticed, and I guess I'll just do them for the really special collections. Also, I know I used to let out a lot of angst on here, but I have figured out a way to make it all private, so rest assured that this blog will be more polished now, and I can guarantee there will be less "angry-teen-with-a-blog". Also, my blog titles appear in comic sans sometimes even though I made the font different, and it appears right sometimes, but it appears comic sans other times. This is really embarrassing and I'd like to officially state that I am not that kind of person who uses comic sans.

Alright, I've sort of just decided to make a post to tell you about the blog changes, but now I have nothing else to say other than that. Hm, let's talk about what I did this week. Well, I'm officially on summer vacation (since three weeks ago) and I've been doing nothing but sleeping and eating and going online! Yay!

I suppose I can talk about how I got my hair straightened. It'll act a a salon review too! I really was iffy about getting my hair rebonded again, because I wasn't sure how I'd look with it, but I was just so sick of my hair and getting it rebonded would mean less maintenance, so I went for it. My mom told me about a salon near her office called Hair Philosophie and she bought me a coupon for hair rebonding, and I went in last Friday. I got there for my appointment at 10am, and the place was very pretty. They start on me immediately and the guy who did my hair was very nice. He was very chatty, but it wasn't the annoying kind of chatty, he was very warm. They gave me iced tea and gave my maid iced tea too, while she waited for me. He asked me if I had my hair colored and I told him that I did it myself. He said that my hair was very dry and that before rebonding it, we should put a protector. Since I was there alone, I had to call my mom who was paying for everything, and since we know nothing about hair care, and the guy was very insistent on it, my mom said yes to the P1000 protector serum they put on my hair. After that, they went on with the medicine that reeked. The guy who was lathering it on wasn't even wearing gloves, so it couldn't have been that harmful or strong. They got on to the ironing and the whole thing. It lasted around 3 hours-- short compared to my past rebonding in Antonio's which lasted around 4 or 4 1/2. Before he started he asked me if I should get my hair trimmed, and I said I just got a haircut a couple months ago. He said that we should see if I should get a trim when we finished with the process. So when we did finish, he asked me again if he should trim my hair, and I said I'd rather not, because I didn't want it to get shorter. He said he'd just trim the dry ends and kept saying "konti lang" ("just a little"). So I kept bargaining for him to just take out the tiniest bits, and he said yes. So he did that for what was literally 3 minutes and he trimmed a bit of my bangs and he was done. So I thanked him, and got to the car while my mom paid and tipped and all that. I was happy with my hair, but hoped that it would have more of a body after a few weeks. (Btw, I told him beforehand that I wanted a semi-rebond, so I'm hoping that my hair doesn't stay stick straight or else I will be so mad) When we got home, my mom said that my hair looks the same length and I told her of course it does he didn't really cut it. Then my mom told me that they charged P650 for a haircut because she thought I had asked for one. I told her I didn't and the guy just literally took a few snips at the ends. I mean, I've had my hair rebonded and I get treatments at salons and usually when they ask if you want your bangs trimmed or when they insist to get your ends trimmed they don't let you pay for it? I could be wrong, but it just didn't seem like the "haircut" I got was worth what I paid. Other than that, though, it was a fine salon experience. It's just that it's a deal breaker when the salon keeps offering me things and making it seem like I need it or else I'll turn into Medusa. The staff was extremely nice though. My maid, who has been wanting to get her hair colored, was offered a discount price, but she didn't go through with it because my mom objected (lol).

Something very exciting: my family discovered that our favorite restaurant in Boracay has put up a branch here in High Street!

I don't know, I thought this post needed at least once photo, so that's my brother with the restaurant behind him.

So the food was obviously amazing, but the service was terrible! The waiting staff were very kind and apologetic, but they just took forever with everything. The food took so long and it was served one by one, so dad's food wasn't so hot anymore by the time everyone got their food. Dad was ordering beers, but they were taking forever and we decided to just cancel the order rather than wait. But the experience wasn't ruined by the service! The new leg of High Street was so very beautiful. My brother said it looked exactly like the town square in Play Station Home. It was so great there too, because it was breezy and not as crowded as the other parts of High Street. It was a fun Maundy Thursday (whatever the hell that is) considering we all thought everything would be closed.

Well that post turned out really long! xx

The Tree of Life

I don't think I have ever seen such a wonderful trailer. This was what made me want to watch The Tree of Life. That and the fangirling of my favorite director, David Fincher, for this movie. The movie won Best Picture at Cannes, so I figured that this is definitely a must see!

So, I went with my mom and brother to the cinema. My brother was against the idea at first, but my mom convinced him that to be a good writer, which he's convinced he is, he should be able to enjoy serious films such as this one.

The first few minutes were good, but then things got weird. I'll divide the movie into two parts: the amazing and the weird. I can't really keep track of time when I'm watching a movie, so I'll just say that an estimated 20 minutes of this movie consisted of just a bunch of scenes from The Discovery Channel. Don't get me wrong, it was absolutely visually stunning, but I just didn't understand the relevance of it to the plot. I would raise an eyebrow whenever the whispering started. The dinosaur bit was a bit random. Also, the almost ending (I'll try not to spoil it, but it's from the beach scene onwards) was just a huge blur. I guess those are the weird scenes. I mean, they were really random, but they were beautiful to watch. Now the amazing parts were the parts which actually made sense (to me). I was crying so much throughout the film. I don't have a father like Brad Pitt, but there was definitely a point when I hated my Dad, maybe not as much as Jack hated his, but I still felt very angry. I kept crying, because I saw how the father would treat his children and the mother would just sit there and watch helplessly. It was difficult how the father loved his family and had good intentions, but only ended up hurting them. I cried, because of how much Jack's questions mirrored my own- about life and God.

I definitely have to see it a second time for me to properly give an opinion, but I know people only see a film once for them to decide if they have to see it again (wow, did that make sense?) so I'm telling you guys what I think of this movie so that if you've decided it's shit, maybe I can convince you that you need to re-watch it to be able to form a decent opinion (wooh longest sentence ever!).

I am sure this movie took a long time to make. Malick is one director who goes into extreme detail with him film making. Knowing that, I am convinced that this is actually a very loaded film, but I just wasn't able to take in all it was giving. That's why I am going to do a re-watch. From the beginning of the film, I've actually tried to look at every single event and try to understand what it could symbolize. I was rewarded by a headache. I actually do this thing where I compile a list of movies that I'm going to see when I am mature enough to appreciate them (a bunch of Von Triers are on the top). I realize that I'm never going to be able to appreciate the movies if I don't watch them. So, The Tree of Life, definitely a difficult movie to appreciate fully, but the more I think about it and analyze it and listen to people who love it, I realize how it all comes together. This is a start maybe? The next time I watch a film such as this, maybe I wouldn't need a re-watch to digest it all? I hope so. I really live on the moment when a film ends and it leaves you in a daze of emotions.

Even without understanding fully all the symbolic mumbo jumbo, I still have to say that The Tree of Life was a good film, just based on how it impacted me. I was a blubbering mess for a portion of the movie. I was also confused (the good kind) in some parts.

The film was a long 2 hours and several minutes. I really hope that I get to understand all that nature shit, because I will be pissed if I realize that that was just a bunch of stock videos put in to make the movie more ~artsy. The cinema was packed when the movie begun. An hour in, the cinema was only 2/3 full. When people thought the movie was almost over (it only seems like it is, but it actually still has a good half hour left) only half the people were left. When the credits finally rolled, a bunch of people laughed and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It was actually pretty hilarious how everyone in the cinema was like "ah, fuck it" and just laughed it off. Ah, Filipinos! (This is not meant to be an insult.) My mother claimed the movie gave her a headache and she did seem tired the rest of the day. This is just a warning.


I have to say Brad Pitt is probably my favorite actor now. And that kid who play Jack is beyond amazing. I mean just superb!!! Plus, their mother is divine. I don't think she could get any prettier. Sean Penn though.... what are you doing in this movie. I did not feel your impact. Also, third brother. What was your role?

So I won't put in any conclusions on this post as I have no concrete opinion of the movie yet. I must say that the more I read on it, the more I understand and like it. I will definitely update after my re-watch (in the hopes that you still care)

PS. (not really a spoiler) I don't know what's happened. I was just reading some reviews on the movie when they brought up the scene where Brad Pitt's son tell him to be quiet and Brad freaks out. I just started crying, because that is EXACTLY how my dad gets mad. He doesn't push my mom or brother to get at me, but his face and his voice and the "what did you say?" and then sudden change in voice to extremely angry. I just... ugh. I'm 18 years old and yet I'm still terrified just thinking of that voice.

Friday Night Films

Bonjour! Je suis etudiant en francaise! Ca va?

I'm sorry it's horrible! I'm only a few classes into my French, but I'm enjoying learning very much! Usually I am pretty good at accents, but I've come to realize that accents that don't require the English language are difficult (My good accents are Irish, British, Southern, etc).

I've been re-watching The Dreamers so many times and I'm trying to pick up their accents. Every time I watch it, I'm left amazed. I've seen it countless times. I never get tired of it. Whenever I watch it, I feel as though I am transported to another world--their world. It's such a wonderful film and I suck for not being articulate enough to convince you, but I am posting the trailer here anyway.



Okay, that does NO justice to the film at all, but if you found the trailer wonderful, then you will be blown away by the film. It didn't really garner an overwhelming score with Rotten Tomatoes (just saying for those of you like me who consider the site the best basis for movie ratings). I haven't really tried to dissect the movie and look at the cinematography and script and just all the things that critics usually look to to see if it's a worthy movie. Whenever I watch it, I just watch and it makes such an impact. I guess that's why I love it so much.

It's not a film for everyone, but for those who love film, Paris, history, then it's worth checking out! I want everybody to check it out! If you do watch it, please comment and tell me whatever you thought of it (love it or hate it, whatever!).

TV taught me how to feel, now real life has no appeal

Gossip Girl returned a few weeks ago and I have been watching it religiously. Maybe it's the dreariness of my own life that makes such a lame show so exciting in comparison. Maybe it's that I don't care about the mindless plot lines anymore and just watch for the unrealistically amazing outfits. Whatever the reason for my persistent following for this show, the fact remains that it is part of what I look forward to every week.


I am tired of shows that just switch main characters as love interests of each other, but I never thought a Dan/Blair tandem would get me so excited!

Look at them. That's sexual tension right there!

These two are probably my favorite characters out of the main cast and I never thought of them as a couple, but it works! Granted that they don't have an actual love story yet, but they have given us a taste and we want more! It's actually sad that this episode (Panic Roommate) didn't have any Dan/Blair scenes. I'd like to think the idea hasn't been scrapped because I've already envisioned what they would be like as a couple. Saturdays spent lovingly bickering over where to go- Dan wanting to go to a poetry reading in Brooklyn while Blair urging to watch at the Metropolitan Opera. (Obviously I am too emotionally invested in this so the writers better not kill off this love team!) Dan/Blair will be the most intelligent, most cultured couple in New York!

Another thing that's new on the show is Raina (did I spell that right?) and Thorpe Enterprises.

I really couldn't care less about all this Empire hoo-ha nor do I care about Chuck's love life (I mean really? The reformed bad boy image doesn't work anymore. Chuck has fallen for so many girls in the past that we've lost interest.), but I am a wee bit interested in this Raina girl. I'm sure either she turns out to be a traitor or she ends up with Chuck. I am just so bothered by the fact that the show is writing her as an identical version of Chuck, except with ethnic diversity and a vagina. I mean, come on. They have the same hiding place? Lame.

Now for the Ben thing. I really don't have much thoughts on it. Whenever there is a scene with Serena, I always just take a second to examine her whole outfit (the only good thing about this character) and then my attention focuses on something other than the show. I just find Serena's character to be so daft and it gets boring to watch her after a while. I do think Ben is hot though!

Also, someone needs to explain to me the scarf and gown combo. Is this a thing?

The show needs something fresh! Kill someone. Give someone herpes. Make Serena poor and deformed. I don't know. Something!

I do enjoy the show's guest stars. They had Rachel Zoe, Stefano Tonchi, and this week it was Florence + The Machine (which is one of my fave bands!).


No matter how many complaints I have for this show, I'll still continue to watch it every week. No other show delivers such great fashion.