My BIG 2010...

Soon and very soon, I will wake up to my 30th birthday giving thanks for yet another day of life. I had never felt better or more alive. I no longer take my days for granted ever since I learned that appreciating everything and every person sent to accompany me on my journey was a very satisfying way to live. Even more magical, the more I give thanks the more I seem to have to be grateful for.

I am having a brief historical flashback of all the significant points in my journey that had brought me to being 30, especially all the achievements and pioneering activities I had done. I marveled at it all. I try not to dwell on past negativities because they do not resolve anything, neither do they help my future because they are already gone and I am still here; still able to change my actions if I wish, to reach for the skies and beyond and still as fabulous as I can be despite the dreaded feeling of being asked of my age.


Though sometimes I get the temptation of feeling that birthdays are a bitch. No, this is not a rant about growing old and about the death of idealism
So here we are 30....

Like a first date gone badly, this a tad awkward. I can already tell we’re going to require a transition period as we get to know each other, Just go easy on me: No aches and pains to remind the body of my advancing age, no beer belly as my metabolism slows down even further, and please no surprise like a receding hairline as I enter my fourth decade.

The truth is being 30 doesn’t bother me too much. Since I act (and some might say look) like I’m still 25 or even younger, I figure I’m okay for the short term. Plus, in times like these I am comforted by a Rolodex of clichés by which to live. Age is just a stage of mind. You are only as old as you feel. Blah. Blah. Blah. I feel nominally better. Though we all know that if by some tragic mishap, I had procreated in my twenties (Good Lord I didn’t!), I’d be feeling and acting very old by now.

Age 30 is a moment of truth when certain realities of life firmly take hold.

This brings me to what does concern me about leaving 29 in the dust. I don’t know…

Yes, here we are 30. It sure isn’t what it used to be. They’ve even got a new trendy name for it. There are four traditional phases of life- childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. These have been replaced by at least six according to New York Times columnist David Brooks (whether we like it or not)- childhood, adolescence, odyssey, adulthood, active retirement, and old age.

What is the “odyssey” stage? According to him, this is the decade of wandering that frequently occurs between adolescence and adulthood. During this decade, as Brooks explains, “20-somethings still go to school, take breaks from school or probably most have already graduated. They live with friends abd they live at home. They fall in and out of love. They try one career and then try another.”

Yep, that pretty much describes it, except for living at home part. I’d also like to extend “20-somethings” into early “30-somethings”, but only until I am completely done with graduate school (when will that be…? huhuhuhuhu…) After that is when I move back in with my mom and my sisters, who as I would say confidently that it is a joke (nyahahahaha… I feel like they already have a hint that I am living with my “significant other”)

Still, I wonder- and fear- whether Brooks is just trying to make excuses for my generation, giving a name to the wanderlust that so many of us fall willing victim to. Odyssey sure sounds better that aimless. But I also think there is a hint of envy in his words. He speaks for a generation that by-and-large married earlier, stayed closer to home and stuck with one career. Far fewer lived independently, and I am curious about what, if any, effect that may have as the baby-boomers approach their golden years.

As far as I can tell, there’s no specific date when odyssey years are supposed to end, though I cant shake the feeling that today is one of those artificial benchmarks when decisions must be made. To that, I can challenge the symbolism of today to take its best shot, hoping that I can effectively dodge all bullets.

So hello thirties and goodbye to my twenties….

So, with the knowledge that my 30th year is the beginning of the rest of my life, which I intend to make the BEST of my life, I am really going to enjoy the journey. It’s not my heyday just yet but my years have been truly wonderful and now life goes on as I welcome my adult years as I continue to enjoy the gift and true blessing that is my family and my Mikey. CHEERS to another glorious year!

"I have made a birthday resolution. I will still be a dreamer, but a more realistic dreamer..."

The Coming of Age...

When I look at a solitary oak,

I think of the patriarch of the woods.

It will outlive my forgotten age

As it outlived that of my grandfather's.

If I caress a young child,Immediately I think: farewell!

I will yield my place to you, For I must fade while your flower blooms...

On My Honey's Birthday...

I am broke.. and I am penniless.. Hon, i am sad i cannot throw a party for you on your birthday nor buy something expensive that you'd really love...I can only give you as a gift on your birthday a renewal of my vows of eternal LOVE...

Here's how it goes...

My Honey, It always feels great to start the day by looking at your sweet face and listening to your soft voice. I know that by the time you usually hear my good morning, most of the people are out in the streets, facing the traffic and being surrounded by a multitude of problems in the middle of the hustle-bustle of the metropolis while we are only about to rest after hurdling yet another set of graveyard workhours. Yet your morning greetings give me the strength to face insurmountable tasks.You, wishing me the best of everything, always give me the motivation to decipher any dillemma because it fills me with so much love and courage. That is why it feels so wonderful to find you by my side everytime I wake up. You are the reason of my worries and at the same time the source of my courage. Without you around, adversities would not be as easy to overcome and my life would have been the same lonely piece of story where I go gome after work and do nothing but stare at the blank ceiling and feel the deafening silence of my loneliness. You always give me the motivation to always look ahead with confidence and determination in the pursuit of milestones in my life.Even when my days don't run as smoothly as I would like them to be, I don't feel down because I will be coming home to your caresses and be greeted by your warm smiles. Even when I face some problems during the day, I always keep in mind your morning wish, your "good morning" and I try to overcome any problem just so that I can see you again soon and enjoy true peace, warmth, and love in your arms. I love your "good morning" just as I love every night and every hour we spend together.

Happy Birthday my honey! You are one of the most precious gifts sent by heaven to me.I love you and I always will...




dion..... :-)

The Miss Universe 2008 Heat is On...

The 57th Miss Universe beauty pageant, will be held at the Crown Convention Center (Diamond Bay Resort) in Nha Trang, Vietnam on July 14, 2008 where outgoing titleholder Riyo Mori of Japan will crown her successor. 80 contestants are expected to compete in the event which will be broadcast via NBC and Telemundo to TV outlets in more than 180 countries. The final presentation show is on July 8, the dress rehearsal on July 13 and the live telecast on July 14 (Manila time). Most activities are being held successively in Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi, Da Nang, Hoi An, Ha Long and finally Nha Trang.

The contestants shooting pageant swimsuit footages at the pool of Vinpearl Resort

Three special competitions were already held: One is the National Costume Competition last June 22 were 10 contestants were picked by Samsung (one of the sponsors) as the winners although the Best in National Costume Award will be determined by online votes. The other is the Best in Vietnamese Traditional National Costume (Áo dài) during a fashion show held last June 24 were the 80 delegates donned the Áo dài in different designs. Venezuela's Dayana Mendoza easily snatched the award with her impeccable skills on the ramp. Could this be a prelude to the main title? Last July 2, a swimwear fasion show was held as the third of this year’s Miss Universe mini-competitions. The 80 contestants strutted on the catwalk in BSC swimsuits. The spectacular show ended with Mexico’s Elisa Najera headlining the top five girls – including Miss India, Miss USA, Miss Colombia, Miss Spain – at the event organized by Thanh Nien at the Vinpearl Land Resort on one of Vietnam’s most beautiful islands – Tre Island. Though this competition is not included in the preliminary judging score, the performaces of the delegates as well as the results already made an impression all the way to how the final outcome will be.

Misses Venezuela, USA, Puerto Rico, India, Mexico, Norway and Australia are among the current top picks of most online bettors and top pageant aficionados worldwide.

Misses Singapore, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania in their National Costumes

Venezuela

Bolivia

Brazil

Mexico

Peru

USA

The contestants in specially-designed Vietnamese Traditional National Costume (Áo dài)

Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela winning the Vietnamese Traditional National Costume (Áo dài) Competition

The Vinpearl Swimwear Fashion Show

Mexico's 6'0" tall Elisa Najera winning the Swimwear Fashion Show with others in the top 5 Miss India, Miss USA, Miss Colombia, Miss Spain

The Philippines is represented by the lovely 22-year old Jennifer Barrientos of San Mateo, Rizal. The 5’8” beauty, a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas, won the Bb Pilipinas-Universe title last March earning her the right to represent the country. Compared to the past Philippine delegates, Jennifer was not sent to Colombia for training. This young lady hopes to end the eight-year drought of the Philippines in the Miss Universe pageant. The last placement was in 1999 when Miriam Quiambao was First Runner-up, the closest finish after Margie Moran in 1973.

The Mikimoto Crown(first worn by Russia's Oxana Federova in 2002)

The crown for Miss Universe 2008

For Miss Universe 2008 a new crown was unveiled. Rosalina Lydster, a Vietnamese-born jeweller now based in the US, created the crown for Miss Universe 2008. Valued at $120 thousand dollars, it is made of 18K white and yellow gold. It is comprised of over 1,000 precious stones; including 555 white diamonds (30 carats), 375 cognac diamonds (14 carats), 10 smoky quartz crystals (20 carats) and 19 morganite gemstones (60 carats). The colors of the jewels chosen for the crown have great significance: The yellow luster of the gold represents the prosperous thriving economy in Vietnam. White, light pink and cognac are the main hues in the crown, which represent inspiration and feeling. Each piece was designed to represent an important attribute of the pageant. The curves of inlaid precious stones represent the strong development and potential of each country. The image of the crane (Lac Bird) symbolizes Vietnamese spirit and culture. The image of the heart represents unified breath, rhythm and vision, which are powerful internal forces that stress faith, hope and unity. But this Vietnamese crown will be used in this year's edition only and the Mikimoto crown will return next year.

The final leg of the preliminary competitions will be the Interview with the judges and the Presentation Show where the 80 contestants will be judged in the swimsuit and evening gown competitions. The personality Interviews with the judges will be in July 6 and 7 and the Presentation Show will be on the 8th. After the scores of the judges and the Miss Universe staff in these 3 categories are averaged, the semi-finalists will be revealed on the Finals and Coronation to be held 8 AM where Jerry Springer and actress/singer Mel B will be hosts of the Final Event.The 2008 Miss Universe Pageant will be seen live on NBC (simulcast on Telemundo) from the Crown Convention Center in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa, Vietnam on Sunday, July 13th at 9:00 p.m. EST (delayed PT). The Philippine live broadcast will be on ABS-CBN July 14, 9 AM.

Finals Night Hosts Jerry Springer and Mel B

PRELIMINARY PAGEANT JUDGES:
ROSALINA TRAN LYDSTER, Vietnamese Jeweler
ADEL CHABBI, French Hair Stylist
LEIGH ROSSINI, American Publicist
DEAN McFLIKER, Vice President of NBC Primetime Special Projects

FINALS NIGHT JUDGES:
JENNIFER HAWKINS, Miss Universe 2004 from Australia
NADINE VELASQUEZ, American actress and model
DONALD TRUMP JR., EVP of Trump Organization
ROBERTO CAVALLI, Italian Fashion Designer
LOUIS LICARI, Celebrity Hair Colorist

The reigning Miss Universe, Riyo Mori of Japan

Charice Pempengco...

Talk about popularity that zoomed up in supersonic speed, that must be Charice Pempengco. From her humble beginning as just a runner up in ABS-CBN' Little Big Star, she charmed her way to the legendary producer David Foster, evidenced from the Las Vegas show where David seemed like dying to produce an album for her. This should be good news for all, sealing the proof that Filipinos are among the most musically talented people in the world.

The legend of the big voice coming out of the tiny body of this little diva started when her videos where posted in Youtube by some strange secret fan. And then she got invited by Ten Songs Productions, a record company based in Sweden. She then travelled to Stockholm, Sweden to record seven songs, and then the rest was international music history for her. She guested in Korea's Star King Show and the biggest of them all were her American stage exposures. She wowed Ellen de Generes after which to honor her for bringing pride to the country, no less than big little sister(?) in Malacañang President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo invited her to perform before the Chief Executive office. Then came London were she received standing ovations in Paul Grady's show. And yes, take a big breath, Oprah. Her breathtaking Oprah performance seemed like her big ticket to making waves in the US.

Not enough, her performance in the grand opening of MGM Grand at Foxwoods in Connecticut with David Foster, Alicia Keys, Jamia Simone Nash, Nick Cannon, John Mayer, and Josh Groban among others gave her again another standing ovation. Following this was the big night at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show featured Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Buble, Peter Cetera, Brian McKnight, Kenny G, and former American Idol finalists Katharine McPhee and Michael Johns. Can you believe it? She wowed these big people in the music industry and thus received standing ovations fron the audience.Mikey and I had goosebumps watching and listening to this spectacular and soulful voice from a little diva with such an amazing stage presence. David Foster praised Charice by saying, "A star is born tonight!". Josh Groban on the other hand said, "Charice has one of the most beautiful voices I have heard in a long time". And to cap it all, the legendary Andrea Bocelli said, "In realtà il mondo è pieno di grandi voci e ho avuto la fortuna di cantare con tanti artisti, da Christina Aguilera a Bono. Ma, se proprio dovessi trovare una nuova interprete, punterei su Charice, una ragazza delle Filippine che a soli 15 anni è una versa forza della natura. Ne sentiremo parlare." or "In reality, the world is full of great voices and I had the opportunity to sing with so many artists, from Christina Aguilera to Bono. But, if I would like to look for a new voice, I would push for Charice, a girl from the Philippines that only at 15 yrs old is a flush force of nature. That we shall be hearing."

Yeeehaaaaa..... Here's to an amazing Filipino talent Charice Pempengco!

Miss Universe Record Holders

The three highest scores in the history of the Miss Universe pageant with judges' scores revealed on TV. The gorgeous Carolina Gomez of Colombia sashayed in that elegant evening gown number in Manila, the Philippines in 1994 earning her an average of 9.897. The brilliant and eloquent Lara Dutta of India wowed everyone in her replies to the initial interview of semifinalists in Nicosia, Cyprus in 2000. This earned her a near perfect score of 9.95. In the swimsuit category, a previous record of 9.85 swimsuit average score by Veruzka Ramirez of Venezuela (1998, Hawaii, USA) was broken when the breathtaking Oxana Federova of Russia began her phenomenal walk during the swimsuit competition in Puerto Rico (2002). Oxana got a whopping average score of 9.88!

Latin American Beauties Who Almost Made It...

Undoubtedly, Latin American women are always a force to reckon with. In the Miss Universe pageant, they are always standouts. A lot of Latin American women have coveted the title of Miss Universe, the last being Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico. The following women, though they did not win, were almost an inch away from the crown and it can never be denied how they gave the eventual winner tough competition. Here's a tribute to those amazing Latinas who were as outstanding as the winners in their respective years...

Maribel Arrieta, Miss El Salvador 1955

The three Colombian first runner up, from left to right. Paola Turbay (1992), Paula Andrea Betancourt (1993) &

Carolina Gómez (1994)

One hard record to beat are the three consecutive years when Colombia could have produced 5 winners putting it on top of the Miss Universe winners tally. Paola Turbay was a huge favorite in Bangkok in 1992 along with fellow Latina Carolina Izsak of Venezuela but the crown went to a blonde and statuesque white African, Michelle Mclean of Namibia. Another Paola the following year, Paola Betancourt was a huge favorite in Mexico City again along with fellow Latina, Milka Chulina who eventually was the second runner up. At the end of the night, an equally gorgeous Latina, Puerto Rico's Dayanara Torres, won the third title for her country. 1994 in Manila, Colombia vowed to avenge the past two years' losses with the breathtaking Carolina Gomez. At the start of the pageant activities, Carolina started to make waves as an early favorite. She was consistently in everybody's prediction list and she proved it by topping the preliminary pageant. Later in the finals, she would register the highest ever Evening Gown score in the pageant's history of televised judges' scores. But alas, at the end of the night, the brilliant and enigmatic Sushmita Sen of India (hardly noticed during the pre-pageant events) surprised everyone and emerged as the darkhorse to win the first title for her country.

The land of beautiful women Venezuela is of no exception. With Maritza, Irene, Barbara, and Alicia winning the title , this country is always a force to reckon with every year in the Miss Universe. But prior to these four women winning the title, there were already two women from Venezuela who almost made it, Mariela Pérez Branger who was first runner up to USA's Sylvia Louise Hitchcock in 1967 and Judith Josefina Castillo who was first runner up to Israel's Rina Messinger in 1976. Then came Marena Bencomo who almost made consecutive wins for Venezuela in 1997 just after Alicia Machado won the first title for Venezuela after 6 years but a woman from Hawaii, Brooke Mahealani Lee, edged her out with her refreshing beauty, engaging personality, and quick wits. Then in the following year, Venezuela sent a head-turning beauty to avenge Marena's defeat. The venue? Hawaii! The land of Brooke who defeated Marena. Veruzka was a sure winner. Armed with a very beautiful face, a perfectly shaped body(she registered the highest swimsuit score before the new millenium), and an aura of a confident winner, Veruzka was almost number 1 in everyone's list. But then again, she finished second to Wendy of Trinidad and Tobago. To end the millenium, Venezuela did it again when Claudia Moreno was first runner up to the unstoppable Lara Dutta of India. Had these Venezuelans won the crown, it would have been a record extremely difficult to break in any international pageant- having 3 consecutive winners.

The new millenium produced four more "close-to-the-crown" beauties" except for Panama's Justine Pasek who took over Oxana when the latter was stripped off the title. Mariangel Ruiz in 2003 had a neck to neck battle with fellow Latina Amelia Vega of Dominican Republic who eventually won. Cynthia Olavarria of Puerto Rico was every inch a winner but the crown went to Canada's Natalie Glebova in 2005, same year when Latinas ruled the semifinals. Surprisingly, Puerto Rico's Zuleyka Rivera succeeded in the following year what Colombia and Venezuela failed to make, avenging the near win of their delegates. Surprisingly again in 2007, Japan did what Puerto Rico did the past year. Riyo Mori of Japan, armed like a samurai, avenged Kurara's defeat to Zuleyka. The last first runner up from Latin America is Brazil's Natália Aparecida Guimarães who was almost there. Following the sequence of events(first runner up this year, winner next year), will Brazil win this year's Miss Universe Pageant in Vietnam. Let's find out....

Photo Credits:

elanecdotario.com

signonsandiego.com

imageshack.us