Rise to the Occasion

Easter Sunday is truly and uplifting and hope-filled celebration. It’s always a joy hearing Easter Mass because of the wonderful readings and the beautiful story of His resurrection,

This line from the Bible is truly one of my all-time favourites.

And to celebrate this Easter morning, here’s a song that captures the joy, Hope and meaning of today.

Happy Easter everyone!

Modern Tradition

Just outside our hotel, there was a Starbucks outlet that Mark and I had to try. While we’ve been in different Starbucks branches in Seoul, this was different.

First, the facade was based on a traditional Korean house. Second, there was a seating area where you’d have to sit the traditional way: sitting on the floor sans shoes. And that’s what we did.

It’s nice when modern places give a nod to ancient traditions.

FMM: Caldwell, well, well

Whilst this isn’t a Seoul post, it is a “Soul” post.

One of the biggest - and most surprising - musical acts from the 70s and 80s is Bobby Caldwell. He’s described as surprising because if you listen to his music, you’ll automatically think that he’s in the league of Louis Armstrong and Lou Rawls - really good African-American soul singers.

That’s the vibe when you hear him. BUT when you see him, that’s a totally different story. As an example, here’s Bobby Caldwell singing his huge 1978 hit, “What you won’t do for love.”

Yes, he’s white. He’s a white, soul singer, which is a rarity then as it is now.

The amazing thing is that he has SO many hit songs under this genre. And i’ll most likely devote several more Friday Magic Madness posts on this amazing singer.

Well, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Kings of Seoul

A lot of the Korean series that I follow are period pieces. Because of that, i’m familiar with the King’s throne and the screen behind it.

Those 2 are fixtures at the throne room and we often see them in scenes whenever the king makes a big decision.

After seeing it so many times, it was time to experience sitting on the King’s throne!

Tadaa! Mark and I got to sit on this throne replica at the Museum of King Sejong in Seoul.

Now, we’ve officially experienced the Joys of Jeonha!

Feeding my Seoul

Whenever I’m in Seoul, first on the agenda is a quick snack. 

So, an hour after touchdown, it was off to 7-11 for this:

With a Triangle Gimbap and Chilsung Cider in hand, it’s safe to say: Annyeong Seoul! I’m back!

Nasi, I see

Even if i’ve been flying Air Asia for many years now, one of the things that Imhaven’t tried Yet is the legendary Pak Nasser’s Nasi Lemak.

Friends and family who fly Air Asia swear by how good this in-flight meal is. 

The past few flights with Air Asia, I’ve been SO tempted to try it. But because I’m wary to take off my mask, I’ve always avoided it.

But those days are behind me. Finally, I’ve tried the Nasi Lemak on my latest flight.

Now, I see what the fuss is about.

Working Student

In my decades in the advertising industry and the academe, I've experienced many cross overs. Simply put, I've had a lot of former students who have become work mates.

Some of my them have been colleagues in the same agency, suppliers for productions, even clients.

And here's a new addition to the list.

Last month, I had the cool experience to work with Jem as a commercial model for one of our recently launched materials.

Jem was my advertising students, and I remember her as one of the strategic and creative thinkers of her batch. Back then, I knew she'd end up in advertising. And she did, but instead of behind the scenes, she's right in front of the camera as one of the familiar faces in commercials.

Times like these make me so happy to be in the advertising profession.

Sopas, so fast!

Being a huge fan if Chicken Sopas, this is giving me such a thrill!

Look! Now, 7-11 is serving Chicken Sopas!

Just put it in the microwave for a few seconds, and it’s piping hot done!

Now, there’s a faster way for me to get my Sopas fix.

Flora, Fauna, Frida

These words would be what i’d Use to describe the pieces from the SheIn x Frida Kahlo collaboration.

Aside from the pants and shirt combo that was featured before, these 2 dresses from the same collection have an interesting mix of prints.

This one has oversized flowers that are very prevalent in Frida’s works.

And this one has leaves and plants, also playing on the same color story of greens and reds.

Bonus: A Frida face print!

Another F to describe these items? Fabulous!

FMM: Maneuvering

Once again, a real-life item is the inspiration for today's Friday Magic Madness song.

It's this beautiful Inabel blanket that was given to us by Keith as a wedding souvenir.

Yes, you might think: "He's gong to play "Souvenirs" by Voyage.”

Close. But not quite. Since that song has already been an FMM song a few years back. Today's song is a lesser known souvenir-themed song from 1981. 

"Souvenir" is one of the songs of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, or OMD. Although it's not as popular as their huge hit "Enola Gay," this is a song that fans of New Wave would know.

This song and the Inabel blanket. Both souvenirs that bring back great memories.

Hey Crochet!

How cute is this crocheted apple?

Back in our elementary school days, one of our art projects involved crocheting. Back then, it was a lot of fun and I was good at it.

Maybe this apple - which i was just given to me and not made by me - is a sign to resume my crochet days!

Familia es Amor!

Spending more time with family - especially those who live afar - is one of the biggest realisations from the past 3 years.

It's something that our family from Spain is really taking to heart. Thus, they made a pact to come and visit us in MNL as often as they could.

They started March 2022, and this March, they came back! It was lovely to see them all again, and even nicer because we got to see other cousins who we haven't seen in a while. (Like Harold & Jun Jun.)

Que bueno verte y volver a verte pronto!

Outta this world!

True to its alien-esque aesthetic and vibe, the Mugler x H&M collaboration MTV is so visually delightful and conceptually scrumptious!

Looking at the clothes, I'm seeing a lot of very sharp, avant-garde and daring pieces. They're stuff that my sisters won't wear, so I won't be lining up for this collaboration. But in terms of visual impact, it's def 1000%!

And is that Jerry Hall?

It's out of this world. And I"m here for it!

Candid Camera

No, this isn’t about the iconic 70s show. But admittedly, i’m a huge fan of that.

This is about the fact that candid photos look way, way better and more authentic and heartfelt than staged ones. It’s something I’ve always believed in, and seeing this photo that was shared to me by Keith made me believe in it even more.

If a picture paints a thousand words, a candid photo paints hundreds of thousands. Or maybe more!

Scramble!

Strange but true: I haven't tasted Ice Scramble (or Iskrambol) in my life.

That said, this wafer from Lawson is going to be the closest I'll get to this iconic Pinoy street concoction:

I'm not sure how Ice Scramble really tastes like, so I'll just just believe this wafer when they say it tastes like this.

Oh, chute!

Was passing through The SM Store when I saw this really cute and cool parachute blouse.

It’s made of white cotton, has thick straps and is slightly cropped. This makes it perfect for the summer.

Then, I remembered that the Mango Culottes in “the stash” and quickly brought it out.

To complete the look, these chunky cage sandals from Primadonna.

Together, this is a very chic, summer outfit that takes the basic elements and elevates them

And it all started with a parachute blouse.

FMM: At last!

It was in 2019 when Keith told me about her wedding in the Philippines. They were planning to have a beach wedding in Bohol, and she invited me to attend. Immediately, I said yes.

The wedding was supposed to be in March 2020. Prichy and I were all set to go, even planning to be there a few days earlier. But of course, we know what happened on the 15th of March, 2020. Needless to say, the wedding didn't push through.

Fast forward 3 years later. It's March 2023, and Keith's wedding finally pushed through in Boracay! Still a beach, still has the same carefree and tropical vibe, still the same first letter of the island, still the same wonderful couple.

In celebration of this wonderful wedding, today's Friday Magic Madness is Etta James' 1960s classic, "At last."

At last! Keith and Kirby are married. Congratulations to the wonderful couple.

Merci Bocu

Bocu Lifestyle is an odd brand.

It's one of the brands under Golden ABC, but it's their only brand that doesn't have a physical store. So, unlike Penshoppe, Oxgn, Regatta, Memo and ForMe that you can enjoy both online and in-stores, Bocu is something that you can only browse and purchase through their website.

In terms of their products and aesthetic, Bocu is very Japanese-Korean. They have a penchant for basic clothes with a twist. It can be something in the seam, in the construction, a detail on the sleeve - little things that elevate the basics.

I've been checking out their website for months now, but haven't really gone around to buying something. 

That is, until last week. 

Saw on their website that they had these Uniqlo & GU type of shirts, and thought I'd give them a shot. So, after adding a shirt to the cart, it led to adding another, and another, and another.

Until it ended up as this:

Yup, it's a big bag of Bocu!

I'm hoping their stuff is as great IRL as it is on their website.

IOU

"Liquor" should be an easy word to spell, right?

Apparently not:

Someone’s confused with their “O”s and “U”s.

Proofreader please.

Personali-Tees

Last Sunday, the Spanish crew asked me to accompany them to the big Uniqlo store in Greenbelt 5. They said that the Uniqlo store in BCN isn't that big, and is expensive. And having experienced how big and more affordable Uniqlo is in MNL, they wanted to buy a "few" things.

Of course, "few" wasn't an accurate term.

We spent almost 4 hours in Uniqlo! They were browsing, then fitting, then buying, then browsing, then fitting, then buying...

In the span of time they were in the store, I had enough time to design and have these personalised shirts printed!

And, by the time these shirts were printed, they still weren't done! Harhar!

While I left the store with these 2 cool shirts, they walked out with 6 big bags of clothes.

How's that for "few"?