ˣ PSKHN 2014 ˣ

Paskuhan is an annual Christmas celebration in our university where there's free food, local bands and this year, they included a DJ too. It's already my 8th time though I almost missed it! Since we changed our academic year, this year's paskuhan was held during our Christmas vacation (usually, it was on the last day of classes) and at first, I was too lazy to go out. Fortunately, my high school friends persuaded me and I didn't regret going. Paskuhan never fails to amaze me.

I rarely bring my dslr with me nowadays specially I just bought a gopro. I find it soooo much easier to carry and use though nothing can compare to a dslr's quality! And yes, those are my ever-so reliable high school friends. But of course I also want to spend time with my college friends, maybe I'll be able to attend next year's paskuhan with them to think that it'll (hopefully) be our last as students haha.

The break I deserve

No, it's not a relationship kind of break but a solid one-month break from college! The last weeks of it were hell and I didn't get a proper sleep for so many days. That also explains my absence from blogging. I really regret that I posted just one entry each month last September and October, and that would probably happen this November too. But the tables have turned 'cause I have all my time this December!

By the way, I got my dream GoPro camera last last week and I absolutely love it! It's the Hero 2014 version (the entry-level one). But the files are too large, I consumed almost 9gb for just a day... so I might as well save money for an external hard drive. That's the next item on my to-buy list! Hahaha



That's a compilation video I took with my blockmates on our last day plus the opening of Paskuhan (it's like a Christmas concert/festival) lights on our University. Please watch it in 720p and it's better if you increase your screen's brightness hahaha

Our family is planning a trip to Baguio then Ilocos this December though nothing's concrete yet but I really do hope that we'll push through this plans. I don't want to waste this break rotting in my room surfing the net hahaha! But for now, I'll catch up with my favorite blogs, read books and watch series. Also, I revamped my instagram account. I deleted a lot and will just post rectangular-shaped photos in honor of my Gopro. Here's to a productive break!

Everything in Between

I still have one more month before our 1 month (!!!!!!!!!!!) semestral break and I don't know how to survive anymore. My professors are throwing plates to us every week. Don't they realize we have other courses too? Though sometimes we get lucky when classes are suspended, well that's the only time our prof won't see us and in result, can't give another plate. *insert evil laugh here*

Just Like The Real One

Uni kept me really busy for the past weeks and literally gave me no time to sleep and for blogging as well. And this week was no exception though classes were suspended today so here I am updating you with my latest plates.

Remember my M&M's packaging plate? Well it was just the first step. I had it printed on a glossy paper and assembled it to make it look like a real product and fortunately, my professor loved it and gave me a perfect grade (though I forgot to take a picture and it's ruined now :()

For the next plate, we're asked to make a tetra pak design for any fruit juice. I chose Tropicana!

And a mock up version:

Your Local

Your Local is the place where you can fully satisfy your unique tastebuds. Every dish they have is a mix of unexpected ingredients that flatters each other. The restaurant is a little obscured in the busy street of Esteban at Salcedo Village, Makati City-but you can easily find it by just consulting the ever trustworthy Google Maps ('cause that's what we did haha!).

That black door is the main entrance of the restaurant. But don't get tricked with the simplicity of their exteriors because everything inside is fine-looking.

They also have very accommodating staff. They gave us the menu in a folder clip (photo above) and left so we can choose our orders well.

For the love of chocolates

I'm taking up Packaging design right now for my elective class and for our first plate, our prof asked us to make 3 new designs for our chosen chocolate/candy. I chose M&M's cause who doesn't love and crave these chocolate candies?

The first design is limited to the original elements already in the packaging so I just rearranged everything. Then for the next two designs, we were allowed to add more objects and completely change the look and feel of the design.

I manually typed everything in the back portion and it was really hard to read those small words! I also didn't remove the character because it complements the design really well.

We also have this course called "Trade & Promo Design". There, we made a special pack with promo for a local chips. I used Clover chips and included a free reusable container. It was also my first time to make a mock-up plate. NOTE: This is not a legit promo, I just made it up. I am seriously enjoying our courses right now becuase I'm really into digital art. I love making layouts for posters, flyers and everything in between.

SHP Bibimbab Cafe & Restaurant

I think a lot of food adventurers in Manila already heard of this cute korean cafe and restaurant. And just like them, we'd like to try the food there as soon as possible. So after a stressful week in college, me and my adventure buddies (mina & leah) decided to finally try it.

We rode the jeep from UST to Vito Cruz station and started walking from there. We don't have any idea where the place is so as usual it was another walk-aton hahaha (well, getting lost is one of our goals naman so okay lang haha). We asked the security guards around if they know the place and unfortunately, they don't. Our one last option, the internet, saved us! Haha we found someone who blogged about this place and after another minute of walking, we found it!

It is located on a second floor of a green & white building in P. Ocampo St. 

The place screams "KOREA!" with its ambiance, food and even the music! It's quiet spacious with cute teddy bears in every corner. Sorry for the photo quality, I came unprepared and just brought my phone :(

Here's the food that we ordered and yes, I think it's quiet pricey but there's a free soup and kimchi when you order a gimbab (though I'm not sure with their other menu) AND IT'S GOOD!

I am definitely recommending this place for those people who loves korean food plus it's a good location if you want to study too! Hope you'll also enjoy this cafe and restaurant :)

I'm going to post more food escapades in the future with more high quality photos :) Happy eating! 

Foodstagram

School started a week ago but classes were already suspended twice because of Typhoon Glenda, hope everyone's safe! But this gives me more time to update my blog since I wasn't able to meet some of my professors and they weren't able to give us things to do hahaha *evil laugh*.

So, I noticed that my instagram is slowly turning into foodstagram. I'm like eating a lot or not eating at all, there's no in between. And fortunately, my family loves pizza too and it became a habit for us to go for a pizza at least once a week.

Shakey's Pizza 1954, Pizza Hut's, Yellow Cab's New York's Finest

See, it's like we're doing a pizza challenge for eating in different places but we don't have any particular reason. Hahaha and please tell me guys I'm not the only one who always take a picture of their food before actually eating it!

That photo in the middle was taken while I was at Krispy Kreme with my cousin right after we ate ramen & DQ's ice cream. Wow. Can't believe I'm still this thin. And right now, we're making plans on our next food trip! Hahahahahah WE LIVE TO EAT, WE EAT TO LIVE!

Show Your Work

If you read my previous post, you'll know that I applied at TomasinoWeb (online publication of our university) as a photographer but there's no result yet (or maybe I didn't qualify for the interview). For the first requirement though, they asked us to bring a creative portfolio. I really crammed this because I thought they'll just ask for a "link" not a printed one. I did everything -from designing to finding a place where they can print this- in just 2 days!

I decided to make a simple yet unique portfolio. This may look confusing at first because it's a 4-fold layout. It's the outside and inside part respectively. Printing cost me a total of P312.00 including the individual photos that I'll show you a little later in this post.

Luckily, my friend Lea suggested a shop that can print on large papers without damaging the quality! I got mine printed at XPrint Trinoma. The original size of my portfolio is 10x10", they don't have that size (as I expected) but they printed it on a 12x18" instead and cut it for me! And ta-da!

When you open it, you'll see my little bio and achievements (?) hehe

And for the highlight, you can open it again to see my shots!!!!!

Then I noticed it was a little boring leaving it like that, right? So I went to another shop to have my individual shots printed. Here they are:

Do you think my portfolio can grab people's attention? :)

Lazy afternoons x random thoughts

I lost all my "morning person" dreams this summer because I got used to sleeping really late, sometimes I'm up until 5am. Maybe my mind thinks being productive means "sleeping all day, up all night". 

My day usually starts at 12nn when my grandma wakes me up for lunch. Then I sleep again (yes) until 3-4 in the afternoon though these days, I do some abs workout every 2 pm so yay for a simple productivity everyday! 

I need films asap for my instax, I haven't use this baby for like 3 months already! Oh, I recently applied for Photography & Creatives team of TomasinoWeb. It's an online newspaper for our university. I hope I'll pass the test and I heard there's an interview too. 

Also, my brother turned 15 last monday. We just had a simple dinner celebration with our relatives. And for the first time in forever, I have weekend plans! I'll watch 22 Jump Street on friday with my cousins then we'll attend a wedding on saturday and sunday will always be a family day! Hoooray for my remaining 3 weekends before school starts again. 

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS!!!!!

Okay? NO I AM NOT OKAY

Okay, before I let out everything I felt about this movie, I just want to share other things that happened that day.

Okay, WELL I NEED TO STOP STARTING EVERY SENTENCE WITH OKAY.

My cousins and I agreed to meet at SM North by 4:30 in the afternoon so I went first to Lucky Chinatown Mall (which is a little far away from SM North) with my family. They said they'll drop me off at SM later. But we faced the heavy traffic so I was late for almost 3 hours. Huhuhu well at least I was still an hour early for the movie!

Got some ice cream at Dairy Queen before the movie! Hi Ate Pam & Aira :)

Fortunately, they bought tickets early because the cinema was really full, it was my first time to actually follow the seat number on the ticket. 

And no guys, I didn't cry, the tears just won't fall down. I'm not used to crying when I'm with someone else haha. (Hmm, I cried while watching Camp Rock before cause I was alone lol.) But I was reallyyyyy sad specially the part when Isaac read his eulogy to Augustus. I don't know, even reminiscing the story like this makes me really sad ugh. But on the positive side, Ansel a.k.a Augustus Waters is just so gorgeous and funny and everything, that role is really perfect for him. 

I don't want to talk about the story anymore because it is so beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time :( :( :( So, I'm just leaving you with some gorgeous Ansel to make your day even lovelier. 

To Go Somewhere New

We heard mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Peace & Good Voyage in Antipolo City this Sunday morning to thank God for my 18th birthday and ask Him to guide my uncle who's going back to Saudi soon to work there again. My grandpa's new car got blessed too. It's been a family tradition to go to this church for special reasons or occasions. 

As for the title, well I just figured out how much I want to learn how to drive because I always want to go somewhere new. I even included "get a driver's license" on my bucketlist! Hahaha

That's me posing and definitely NOT driving. Though I already told my dad to teach me this entire month. So hopefully, I'd gain even a tiny bit driving skill before school starts lol. I don't even know how to start a car yet!

LET'S GO!

18 & Legal!

First of all, thank You Lord for 18 years full of love, support & happiness- hope You'll continue to bless me with these things in the future! 

Before buying my Macbook (parents' birthday gift to me), we agreed to not have a celebration anymore. But my grandpa said he can't let this birthday pass without a party even if it's just a simple one. My uncles decorated our garage first (it was beautiful already!!!) and when the people we hired to decorate the tables came, the place became more debut-y vibes lol

Some photos with the family, relatives & friends. I can't upload them all here because there were like 250+ photos!!!! But if you know me personally, go check my facebook.

And again, thanks for all those who helped in the preparation of my 18th birthday!!! Thank you po!

Zac E

It's already the half of my summer vacation and I still haven't gone anywhere outside the city. Oh well, I expected this since we're still busy preparing for my mini & simple 18th birthday party in just 4 days (!!!!!). I was assigned to do a throwback AVP of myself (yes I know, this should be a surprise thingy for the celebrant but no one can do this besides me), invitation and even the tarpaulin design. Feeling artist e haha. And fortunately, I'm done with everything! 

I've been playing with Adobe Illustrator lately to improve my self-proclaimed skills. I must say that I really enjoy using pen tool and I think I can do anything with just that hahaha! And ta-da, here's Zac Efron everyone!!!!

By the way, my schedule for next semester was released last week and honestly, I am so disappointed.   I photoshop-ed it right away so it can be pleasant to look at, somehow. (Background photo not mine)

What I hate the most is 7am classes. I really find it hard to wake up way too early everyday! I also got Packaging as my elective for this sem, though I already decided to take Web Design but unfortunately,  I was late that day and wasn't able to secure a slot. 

Now I'm off to make a list of the things I'd like to do first when I turn 18!!!!!! 

Catching Up

I thought I would be able to post more interesting stuff this summer but as always, I'm stuck here at home doing random but not-so productive things. I went out with friends last month and spent all my money so I don't have any choice now but to stay indoors. Also, no vacation plans for the family because I recently asked for a Macbook, incoming enrolment for me and my brother plus a simple 18th birthday. Meaning, we don't have any remaining budget for vacations huhu dad said we'll just go next year. 

Photos above are my recent posts on my ig @mariellegnzls (shameless plugging, i know haha)

• I can't resist red velvet cupcakes ugh
• Dad's love for fishes suddenly came back so he set up 2 big aquariums on our living room
• I've been staying really late (until 4am sometimes) lately and I have the laptop & instant noodles as my date every night
• Swimming with my high school friends! I missed them so much
• Tried Don-day's (korean restaurant) famous samgyeopsal at Maginhawa
• Got chocolates from my tito who just came home from Saudi

There's still 2 months of vacation and I hope I can still go somewhere new or do something more interesting than watching dramas online. Well, let's see! 

04042014 MMA Festival

My friend Bianca saw this event on facebook and asked us if we want to come. And if you know me personally, you'll notice that I just want to try everything, go anywhere and attend every event as long as I have money. Even though I'm on my summer vacation right now, I luckily saved enough money for a one last gala haha!

So I said yes and also asked my adventure buddies Lea & Mina to come.

<--- (L-R) Bianca, Lea & Mina

The first speaker was THE Jason Magbanua. Yes, he's the one who covered Drew & Iya's wedding! He's really good with his job and can I say that he talks really well too. He also said that he has an intern right now, huhu I want that experience too in the future!

He was followed by Dee Jae Paeste. Remember the colorful paintings around High Street and at SM North Edsa's skydome? Well, he's the one behind those amazing artworks.

After the two speakers, we decided to look around the venue. There were a lot of really cool works & designs!

My friends took a lot of the artists' calling cards to check more of their works online. Ahhh we really are suckers for anything inspiring <3

More of these events please! 

FLEUR

Here's my final plate (conceptual) for our Photography class. Location: Quezon City Memorial Circle. Models: Lea De Ramos and Bianca Edwards

One of the photos above made it to "Best Photography 2 plates" for this year, uploaded by our professor. Well, I want to shoot more portraits in the future so I'm hoping there'll be many opportunities like this. :)