Visual DNA

I'm a sucker for personality tests.

I recently took the Times Visual DNA test.

Here are my results:

YOU ARE CULTURE CURIOUS

You have an innate ability to see beauty in things of all shapes and sizes, and your love of the arts doesn't prevent you from having a warm down-to-earth attitude and a calm, peaceful outlook on life. Nature is close to your heart, and you are equally likely to find art in the outside world as you are in a gallery. You are an emotional spirit and you make really strong connections. Good friends and lots of laughs are the recipe for really happy days. And nights!

You're sophisticated and inquisitive with a real passion for art and culture. You pride yourself on being an early adopter of the latest music and films and always like to have a good book on the go. Your ability to bring together very diverse and even dissenting opinions is rooted in your appreciation for all points of view. You believe in immersing yourself in interesting experiences that make you look at people, places and opportunities from new angles. Being sensitive and creative you want to feel connected to the world around you and actively seek out opportunities to explore it. It's all about broadening your horizons and living life to the full. Anything else would not fulfill your curious nature. You'll love the list of The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made, the Critics' Picks and Arts Beat.

Whacha think? Sounds pretty close ya? 

Making my way home (Singapore) 

Inside Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam) 

Love love love flowers (Amsterdam)

Rolls upon rolls of colours textiles (Seoul) 

Airport Musings

I'm thinking I've blogged about this before, but thought it would be worth repeating, only because it never fails to stress me out each and every time. I HATE CUTTING IT CLOSE FOR A FLIGHT.

I have friends who don't like wasting their time sitting in an airport, but I love love love it. There's a wonderful sense of anonymous limbo when you're inbetween 2 destinations. I like meandering through shops, reading, grabbing a cup of coffee, getting a foot massage, listening to music, etc etc.  he best part is that no one is bugging you (usually) and that you get to spend some quiet me-time before the whirlwind of activity waiting for you when you land.

Thanks to the recent loss of my wallet (and thus, the employment pass I usually need to have with me everytime I enter / exit Singapore), I finally understood what all the hullaballo was about changing passports so they would be machine-readable.

Getting through immigration recently has been a breeze, thanks to the passport reading machines! 20 seconds, tops! I kid you not! You step up to the machine, scan your passport and finger print. If all is well, the little screen personal personally welcomes you to Singapore or wishes you bon voyage. Love it!

Never noticed they had these when going through immigration in Singapore before. And if the Philippine government asked Filipinos to get these recently (ok, not so recently), does it mean they have these machines in the Philippines as well? Why do I doubt that they do? Anyway, yes - I wonder what the parameters are about when we can (or can't) use the machines.

Couple of things I'd like to blog about, including finishing up my Summer '11 series plus 2 trips over the last 2 weekends. Have a pretty busy next few weeks but hopefully I'll get around to it soon.

.... & friends

In one of my barkadas, we used to heckle each other about the other being the "& friends" in the...

(insert famous person's name here) & friends

.... equation. Naturally each of us claiming to be the name used in the "insert famous person's name here" part of the equation. 

Ehm... so as evidenced in picture below... I guess must level up next time around? lol.

Thank you to my "insert famous person's name here" for sending me this picture - grabbed from a Malaysian newspaper if I'm not mistaken (source unsure). 

Firsts

Prepping my lunch for tomorrow and I found myself googling this:

I can scramble an egg. I learned last year how to poach an egg. 

Yet how to boil an egg? Yeesh. Beats me. I may have well googled "how to boil water". lol

Finally living by myself (for real this time! not "live-by-myself-for-5-days-then-go-home-over-the-weekend-to-have-my-laundry-done-&-bring-some-food-back-to-my-studio" living by myself), I'm coming face to face with a number of "first time" experiences. 

There are the big things, such as, looking for a place on your own, that really scream "INDEPENDENCE!" - but it's the smaller things, the things you take for granted, that really solidifies your status as a self-sufficient human being.  

So simple that when you actually need to do it yourself, you realize... wow.. THIS is a first!

Some things that come to mind:

• Buying a mop - that was first. lol
• Slicing a cucumber (ya ya - i don't cook, so what)
• Sewing (ok - so I put a hole in my favorite pants recently, and I have yet to actually sew up the hole, but you get my drift)
• Choosing the best all-purpose cleaner
• Burning my first pan 
• Buying my first frying pan & cooking pot (only to realize that they don't work on an induction cooker... grrr)

Thankfully, other things, such as paying for my bills, cleaning the bathroom, weren't too new for me. 

I'm sure the list will continue to grow. Can't wait to add things like: roast my own chicken (in my oven toaster! ya!), change my first light bulb (no idea how I'm going to do that, but i'll cross that bridge when I get there). 

Apple Packaging

I find it amusing that rather than praising the genius of the iPhone, I'm going to spend this entry praising the  genius of the packaging of the iPhone.

• Love it's compact size
• Inspite of size, everything is organized by layer and compartments
• I love that tiny little "key" that you use to push open the sim drive
• I love the little folder that comes with the manuals
• I love the makeshift tab that helps you lift the layers to access the compartments underneath 
• I love how even the PLASTIC that they use to wrap the components are specially cut and made to suit that particular element 
• I love how the plug has a little bed with holes so the prongs can be inserted properly and the entire plug compartment is secure

Amazingness!!!

WC Signage

Ever since I got a little taste of signage and way finding, I've taken a strange interest in bathroom signage- at how people can take universally known symbols and make them just a little bit more interesting.

Sustainable design at Anvaya Cove, Bataan - i love how the shape of the figure matches the shape of the signage.

@ Fluid Post, a sound studio in Manila. All of their room identified in a similar manner. Very awesome.

@ a hotel in Korea. Wala lang. It was so uninspired, that it was inspiring. If that makes any sense. lol. 

@ Ion Mall in Singapore. Takes on rounded lines & bright blue LED-ish type lighting of the primary signage.

Outside the bathroom door at my new work place.

Inside the same door. My favorite to date only because it's so makulit. lol 

Be Right Back

Over the weekend I walked out of store with 2 bags, realizing 10 seconds later I had originally walked in with 4.

Yesterday, I walked out of a convenience store with the tongs for the siopao / siomai steamer.

Today I brought my lunch box with me to the bathroom, instead of the office's green toiletries basket.

Thank God for moments of clarity shortly after.

Ay yay yay. I'm hoping my mind returns from its over extended lunch break sometime soon. 

Where Do I Begin

In a few weeks:
... I'll be turning 29
... I'll be celebrating 1-year at this design firm that I love
... I'll be starting a new chapter in my life

No, I'm not pregnant, lol.

A universe of emotions are whirling in my head, so strong I physically feel it. So many blessings to be thankful for, so many things to do, so sad, so nervous, so excited. So overwhelming.. i wanna crawl into bed and not think about anything, lol.

No, but seriously, God's timing, while sometimes amusing, is perfect.

Life can mosey about at such a yawn-inducing pace. At this lazy stride you can see everything, plan everything, anticipate everything. Then BAM.

Gosh, where to begin, where to begin.

Baguio

Last time I was in Baguio was Concert Tour '99. I was 17 and in 11th grade, traveling with fellow show choir members during the school's yearly outreach program. While other groups were planting veggies at the GeoFarm or building homes with Habitat.. us "artists" performed in public schools throughout a group of pre-selected provinces.

Before that, was Baguio with my family in 9th grade.

What do I remember about this popular mountain getaway? Aside from the country club, cool weather and strawberries.. not much. So when the opportunity arose to roadtrip with friends to sing for a wedding of another friend's sister, I said YES!

It was a weekend of flowers...

purple blooms!

i think i must've exclaimed at every. single. plant. and. bloom

...food...

succulent ishtrawberries & delightful local yogurt

finally! strawberry taho! 

...friends.. 

Brea goes to Baguio 

our lovely and ever-gracious hosts for the weekend

and fun. 

you'd think we'd tire of singing.. 

silly fun @ Minesview Park

We witnessed a beautiful wedding...

t + n + k

beautifully done event! 

.. did some sight seeing.. 

pasalubong shopping @ Little Flower Convent

poor pink horsey :( 

.. and spent a lot of time laughing and enjoying each other's company. 

who needs tsinelas when you've got an awesome pair of stacked heels?!

fun is never without food

oh the laughter that filled our bedroom that weekend!

All in all, an awesome weekend :)

Hopefully, I don't have to wait another 12 years before getting an opportunity to go to Baguio again! 

Mcdo Packaging

Colleagues were lunching on Mcdonalds during a Saturday office-wide meeting last week. My eyes wandered to the packaging bunched up on the table and was instantly amused with what I saw.

Perhaps it's been a while since I've ordered a Mcdonalds item that came in cardboard packaging or perhaps this is a relatively new gimik?

I'm thinking this is the fastfood giant's way of trying to trick reassure their customers that their food is made with the ehm.. most natural of ingredients?

Regardless, I found the icons rather darling. lol.

Chocolate Oranges

What's this?

Hmmmmm...

*BAAAM*

Nom nom nom...

Thank you Dani for my orange-infused (& orange-formed!) chocolates from Terry's & Thorton's. Delish!

Neat Freak

I love things that are uniform and organized. Nothing thrills me more than seeing books neatly stacked and arranged by height and color. Or spools of ribbon organized from darkest to lightest. Or pails over-flowing with taffy, split up by color. Or clear boxes each full of one particular button shape. Groupings of similar items or.. things organized in rows.. or.. or.. or... ya.. shut me up before I froth at the mouth.

I have absolutely no idea why I am so amused and delighted and absolutely tickled by this. Thought it was a strange fixation. Turns out, I'm not alone.

A friend reblogged a photo from a a tumblr site called: thingsneatlyorganized.tumblr.com.

As a friend said when she saw it, porn for the obsessive compulsive... orgasmic organization. Check it out and tell me.. are you not writhing with so much giddiness that you don't know what to do with yourself?!?!

Email Etiquette

One big part of being a design manager is liaising with clients - so I spend a lot of time fielding calls and emails. Sometimes I find myself staring at my screen for hours (ok.. exag.. maybe an hour at most) writing emails.

The most challenging ones are those where you have to relay a negative message, but still packaged professionally, and in a way that doesn't piss off your client (too much). It's not just about stringing words together, or punching out a email - its about crafting messages targeted at certain personalities that effectively communicate your objectives.

My boss is EXCELLENT at composing these types of emails. In fact, she's so good at it, that her emails sound like the clients are hearing what they think they want to be hearing - even though in reality, it's what my boss wants them to hear. Lol. Then again, I do work in an industry where communications is supposed to be our expertise, so I guess I shouldn't expect anything less from my boss.

Point of my post? I guess to share my amazement (amusement?) that something as seemingly simple as email writing is actually a potent communication tool.

Weddings & Whatnot

Coordinated my first solo wedding recently and it totally served me a huge chunk of anxiety that I never thought I could have.

I remember rushing to the chapel to set up by myself and already feeling pretty harassed. As I started distributing the printed misalettes onto the benches, the fans that were on kept blowing them away. I remember feeling very alone at this point, with nothing but my own shoulder to cry on. Yes, very dramatic of me I know, lol..  but seriously, this is exactly how I was feeling.

Then I remember getting ready to pin the corsages on the ninongs / ninangs and learning that the corsages from the florist DID NOT COME WITH PINS. It was one of those smaller details I never thought to ask about.. I always assumed corsages would come with pins?!

I remember trying to round up the ninongs / ninangs with the bridal entourage. It was a little nuts- half of the party wasn't there, those that were there kept milling about, it was looking to rain already and I was being asked a million and one questions. I remember wanting to just curl up into a fetal position and rock myself to sleep.

Then in the middle of the ceremony, it started to rain... hard. I had no idea how on earth I was going to move the party from the ceremony to the reception. Eeeeeeep.

So there were a bunch of these episodes that occurred prior to and during the wedding. Regardless of how I felt, I needed to smile, push forward and concentrate on getting the job done well.. or at least to the best of my abilities.

While I'm griping about all these small details that made my experience, well.. interesting.. in the greater scheme of things, things went relatively smoothly. The family has been very generous with their appreciation so at the end of the day, if they're happy, then I'm happy too.  Some moments that seemed pretty horrific at the time will probably (hopefully) be remembered with great fondness over the years. Shortly after the wedding I remember reminiscing already with some members of the family and erupting into a fit of giggles as we recalled the "voice of God" (ie: the laptop that was hooked up to the sound system) announcing the time in middle of the rites of marriage.

Times like these.. it's so easy to get lost in the details. Greater effort is required from your end to remember why you agreed to do something like this in the first place. During these trying times, you realize just how annoying useless others can be but in the same regard, you really REALLY appreciate the people who do their job well, and those who go out of their way to help you, even if its not their job to do so.

what the: nickname

I have one of those names that can shortened / abbreviated, which is actually amusing because I have a really short name to begin with.

My shortened nickname is probably my most common nickname.  I didn't give myself the nickname, nor do I introduce myself using that name. People who call me by this nickname are people whom I've known long enough to be comfortable around them.

Thats why I'm always really thrown off when I meet someone new and they immediately start calling me by my nickname.

May tawag dyan.... :) 

Smart Snack

You gotta agree - this is absolutely genius, having all your favorite chips mixed together in one snack pack?! Genius I tell you, absolutely genius. 

Two Months In

Two months in and the accounts I have on my plate include:

• Environmental graphics & signage and wayfinding for 2 retails establishments and a hotel group
• Coffee table book
• Branding requirements, marketing campaign and environmental graphics for a new property development
• Name & logo development and brand application for a hotel group and private corporation
• Christmas installations for two districts

And have finished, or in the process of finishing:

• Collaterals for a foreign expo 
• A museum exhibit
• A book
• An AVP for the first pseudo-public event for a new property

Busy months? Yes. Unnaturally so. Boring months? Not at all. 

All sorts of projects ranging in an array of complexities, in an assortment of industries where I get to meet all sorts of people. Realizing how the familiar was very unfamiliar 60 days ago is also always pleasantly surprising. Recognizing the miles of progress I'd like to make on a number of different facets is really exciting. 

Entering a new month, my third month. Going to pick up the pace on all fronts. Let's do this!