Dirty Sexy Money

With immense wealth comes great power as well as privilege, but what is money aside from being the root of all evil? or scandal? 

Meet the Darlings. 

This absurdly wealthy family residing in none other than the Upper East Side, embodies the all americanism of the Kennedy's and the Rockefeller's, or so they'd like to think. Just like any rich family, they are surrounded by various scandalous cliches that we see more often than not in our day-to-day existence.

* Mother who's had a 40 year old affair with the family lawyer who also happens to be her husbands best friend. 

* Politician son running for Senate while trying to keep his affair with a shemale discreet because of his campaign and is supposed to be happily married with children.

* Socialite daughter who has been married four times and has no intention of stopping there. 

* Priest son who's had a love child, now married with children, and is everything but sinless. 

* Twins: daughter and son who have no idea what they want in their lives other than squandering money like there's no tomorrow. 

* A father who is the head of the financial empire, but has issues bigger than his $35 billion net worth can solve. 

Enter the son of the family's Chief counsel who has harbored more than distaste for the Darlings because as he grew up, his father prioritized the affairs of the Darlings more than him. After his father's death, he found himself agreeing to be the family's new Chief counsel with the belief that foul play may have caused the death of his father and that is the only way for him to find out. Oh, he had no idea what he has gotten himself into because his father was more than just a Chief counsel to the Darlings.

I have just finished watching the first 10 episodes of this show, and I have to admit I have developed quite an unexpected fondness for it. I downloaded the pilot episode of this show out of curiosity and ended up downloaded all the rest, and now getting kind of impatient until the newer episodes will be aired this fall. I must say that this show has exceeded my expectations. Thank goodness it was picked up for the second season. I've had enough disappointments from the discontinuation of both Cashmere Mafia & Big Shots. 

I have to confess though, that I have developed a tiny 

crush on Brian Darling, the priest. At first, I hated his anal attitude but it later became endearing and I found myself looking forward to seeing more of him and Brian Jr. I also noticed that he has become way cuter by the time the show ended than when it first started. Now how is that possible? 

Just Like Marriage

-Paolo Coelho's blog

Nadia spent the whole autumn sowing and preparing his garden. In the spring, the flowers opened, and Nadia noticed a few dandelions that he had not planted.

Nadia pulled them up. But the seeds had already spread, and others grew. He tried to find a poison that would kill only dandelions. An expert told him that any poison would end up killing all the other flowers too. In despair, Nadia sought help from a gardener.

"It's just like marriage." said the gardener, "Along with the good things, there are always a few inconveniences."

"What should I do, then?"

"Nothing. They may not be the flowers you intended to have, but they are still part of the garden."

Prep prep prep.

Seriously now, all these wedding preparations are stressing me out. I know that it shouldn't be this stressful and that there's a HUGE possibility that it's just me, doing this to myself. Hmm... I wonder if it has something to do with the two big words BRIDE and WEDDING. 

This afternoon, I have managed to request for another set of proofing with Joanne of The Write Impressions because I wasn't too happy with the first set that they sent me, even though they already gave me five options to choose from. To make sure that they had a clearer idea of what I really wanted, I sent them pictures with more specific instructions. Joanne assured me they will send the second set of proofing tomorrow, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see if I was clear enough. I feel kinda guilty about rejecting the entire first set, but I figured that people in the wedding invitations industry are used to these sort of things, in fact they probably have to deal with even worse perfectionist bridezillas, which I'm thankfully not (yet!). 

Sample Layout

And finally, after millions of inquiries through phone and emails, I have finally decided on whom Art and I should have our out-of-town prenuptial pictorials with. It was a tough choice, really, and this afternoon I kinda narrowed it down na to only 2 photographers: Jaime Tee and Lito Sy, whichever had the more reasonable rate :) I called Jaime's office first and his secretary Beth told me she'd email me the rates instead of dictating it to me over the fone (I lost the printout they gave me last time). So I waited, an hour, 2 hours, then I called her again to follow up. She assured me it was being sent as we speak. I waited another hour and still no email from her, so I called Lito's office and talked to Anna who was very friendly and very helpful. In their line of business, I hope they realize how important the personality of the  secretary or assistant who entertains calls from clients is. I liked Anna, and she was able to answer all my questions in just one phone conversation. She even gave me suggestions on the possible prenup locations. I ended up blocking a date for our pictorial before our conversation ended.

Somehow, I feel like I've finally achieved something, as far as the prenup pictorial goes. Ha! ha! I have been obsessing over whom we should be having ours with for the longest time! It's been almost a year and it feels great to finally have one scheduled. As far as our wedding preparations go, I think the one aspect that I really found myself obsessing over is pictures. Who to be our main photographer, who to be our backup, who to take our prenups, who to take our postnups, and even who to take my boudoir session. Hahaha :) 

I have been very excited about our prenuptial pictorials for as long as I can remember. Some couples feel that this is too mushy and is not their kind of thing. That's them. I am mushy, and this is my kind of thing (and now it also has to be Art's). I couldn't wait to have those romantic, scenic shots where love is caught in the way the couples stare into each others eyes, the silhouette shots against the sunset, and even those corny strolling down the beach hand-in-hand shots! 

Shots by Jaime Tee

Shots by Lito Sy

Obviously, I guess I'm kind of obsessed with pictures. I love taking pictures (too bad I seem to have no talent or "eye"), but I seem to love having my picture taken more! Vanity aside, I love how pictures serve as great reminders of good times, bad times and the in between. I love how moments are immortalized and how emotions are captured to stillness. So more than striking a pose for the camera, I love stealing shots of people when they are least aware of it. I realized that there's a huge difference in taking pictures of people the way other people see them, and taking pictures of them the way they see themselves. 

Other than that, I am also very well aware that our wedding day will be over in a blink of an eye, and one of the best way to remember that special day is to have a great photographer capture the essence of our wedding day. The moments and emotions captured will illustrate our day with everlasting memories for years to come. Plus it would be great to have wonderful evidences of something that we've worked so hard and stressed ourselves out to visualize and plan.  

I'm glad that the choices we've [I've] made regarding photographers have been very good (I hope). 

Main Photograher: Pat Dy

Backup Photographer: Mango Red

Prenup Photographer: Lito Sy

Postnup Photographer: will depend on what's left on our budget ;)

Boudoir: Not one else but Pat Dy should I decide that I have the guts to have one. 

In terms of photographs, one thing I know for sure is that: Less is not always more. :) That's why, we can afford to scrimp on everything else for our wedding, but not on the photographers. On this note, I'd like to share something I've read from one of RJ Ledesma's columns about their pre wedding counselor whom he called "Manong Tigre" and he described as "galit sa sinungaling, sa tsismoso at sa mayabang". Here's one lesson from Manong Tigre that I somehow found very amusing:

CELEBRATING YOUR WEDDING IS KALOKOHAN!(nonsense)

"In my 13 years as Eucharistic Minister, I have not encountered any Bible readings that say a wedding should be magarbo and full of caprichio (caprices)!"

Manong Tigre crossed himself. "You try to spend as little money as possible on the wedding day and use it something more productive. Look at the very first wedding of Adam and Eve. Adam did not have to wear a barong made of pina! Eve did not wear a P100,000 dress that she could only wear once in her life! That is madness! I tell you! MADNESS! You know what they wore? They jus wore twigs and leaves! And because they don't have nice clothes to wear, they did not need to hire a photographer..."

Now that the issue of photographers has been settled, A much bigger question is looming on my mind:

What should I wear to our prenup shoot??? 

Love Traps

-from Paulo Coelho's blog: http://www.warriorofthelight.com

The Caliph and his wife
     The Arab Caliph sent for his secretary:
     “Lock up my wife in the tower while I’m away,” he ordered.
     “But she loves Your Majesty!” 
     “And I love her,” answered the Caliph. “But I respect an old traditional prover b of ours that says "keep your dog thin and he will follow you; make him fat and he will bite you."
     The Caliph went off to war and returned six months later. On arriving, he called for his secretary and asked to see his wife. 
     “She has abandoned you,” was the secretary’s answer. “Your Majesty quoted a beautiful proverb before leaving but forgot another Arab saying that goes: "If your dog is tied up it will follow anybody that opens its cage". 

My Latest Discovery: LIFE

Here's another show that I've recently discovered. This new drama series is about a detective who returns to the force after serving 12 years of life service for a crime he didn't commit. After being exonerated, Charlie Crews goes back to his old life, only many things have changed since most everyone in his life turned their backs on him, including his wife and partner. His new life entitled him to a huge amount of settlement money, a new mansion and a Bentley, among others. Back as a detective in the LAPD with a new partner, his eccentric behavior and prison experience seemed to sharpen his investigative and crime solving skills. Unbeknownst to his friends and colleagues, he is still secretly investigating and collecting information regarding his case, and one thing he learned so far is that- EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED. This show is really addicting as well, but then again maybe it's just me. I'm just a television show junkie. 

New Crushes

The writer's strike was a huge pain. I hated having my favorite television series like Heroes, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Prison Break, among others, put on hold. The solution? Watch the new shows!!! Thanks to my cousin, Ymae's advice, I downloaded these new shows: 

Gossip Girl

"Hello Upper East Siders!" :) This series is about the wealthy & privileged teenagers attending an elite private school in New York's Upper East Side, whose lives are somehow interconnected in more ways than being on the same high school. Watching them weather the storms of being a rich teenager and dealing with their oh-so-dramatic love lives, family scandals, among others, kept me glued to every episode and piece of gossip! I was hooked after watching one episode. xoxo! 

Samantha Who?

Winner of this years People's Choice Award for Favorite New Television Comedy, this is about a girl who wakes up from a coma with no idea who she is. After being diagnosed with Retroactive Amnesia, she goes home and meets everyone -parents, best friend, even boyfriend, for the "first" time, heck she even falls in love & has sex for the "first" time. :p 

Lipstick Jungle (NBC)

A sexy drama based of Candace Bushnell's (author, Sex & the City) best-selling book about three high powered girls leading a more-than-interesting lives in where else? New York City, of course! Among other things, the Kirby Atwood character just makes me suck in my breath whenever I see him. I can't remember the last time I had a crush like this. :D haha!

Cashmere Mafia (ABC)

I guess after Sex & the City, a lot of viewers just loved the idea of living in New York City, so here's another series created by none other than Candice Bushnell, about four women trying & successfully making it big in a man's world. Being where they are is never really easy, so when the going gets tough, at least they have each other to get going to. Pretty interesting show, too bad there's no second season for them. 

Big Shots

Here's a breather from all the girly/women series. This show is about four New York City (again) CEOs leading a less than normal life and who take refuge in each other at the end of the day. Sad that this show wasn't extended for another season coz I liked watching it.

So here are my newfound crushes!

 

Steaming hot Robert Buckley playing Kirby Atwood from Lipstick Jungle

Barry Watson's sexy new look in Samantha Who?

Chace Crawford playing Nate Archibald in Gossip Girl

My March Trip

Just arrived yesterday from a 4-day trip to Manila. For some reason I just didn't feel like going on this particular trip but I'm glad I did. Somehow the trip was very enlightening. I stayed with my former Kassel roommate, Marbz, whom I haven't seen for almost 4 years now. She now lives with her sister Sam at a condo along Dela Rosa. 

Marbs :)

                                                                                                                

During my stay, I was reminded of how much I miss condo life. I crave for the independence I once had. It was a luxury, and I only realize it now.  I miss bearing the responsibility of keeping the place clean and rushing to pay utility bills after receiving the disconnection notice. I miss being on my own, and having roommates, to talk to about my day or not talk to at all when I don't feel like it. I miss the feeling of being able to let tomorrow take care of itself. It's not easy for me to have that kind of mentality nowadays. Sitting in her sofa staring into nothingness for hours, I realized that so much has changed in my life in the past 4 years. 

One of the reasons why I went up was to see our other former roommate Marj who's here on vacation/2nd honeymoon from Vegas with her husband Jeff. It was our first time to meet him and he was funny and nice, and both of them are very much in love with each other. I just love 'em happy marriages. I am very happy that Marj was lucky enough to find someone who can make her laugh everyday for the rest of her life. Makes me believe that maybe IT exists. :)

 Mr & Mrs Cabrera

Day 1: Marj, Marbz, Kei and I went to dinner at Pasto's and from there we had a few drinks at Pier 1 to catch up for lost time and then headed to the practically empty gb3 to have a few more drinks at Ice. We didn't have much pictures that night because there were no SOs around  to take them for us. 

Day 2: we met up again for dinner at Fely J's in Gb5 because Marj wanted filipino food. This time Ayeen & Lucia joined us, as well Marj's Jeff and Kei's Charles. It was my first time to meet them both that night and I found that they are very nice guys :) they had to put up with our girl talk the whole night. Oh, and they took our pictures! 

  

Yummy Crispy Patang Bawang

After Lucia & Ayeen left, we headed to Max Brenner for some chocolate lovin' and bonded some more. Jeff & Charles seemed to hit it off good too, and both were a good sport when we teased them about being on a blind date that night.

Chemistry on their first meeting ;)

I haven't laughed like I did that night for a long time. I missed our Kassel days. Whether we were on our own little Sims world or watching movie marathons or being Lucy in the sky with diamonds ;) We reminisced and laughed about old boyfriends, bad tastes, unpaid electricity bills, among others. We made fun of ourselves, as well as anything and everything else. It was fun. If only for those 2 nights with them, I think my trip was already worth it.  

Day 3: After finishing all my derma trips here and there,  I had my haircut at Tony & Jackey, Buendia branch. My hairstylist Jinny, asked if I wanted it set straight or curled. Since I've always had it straight, I thought I'd try to have it curled for a change. Who knew you could do this to your hair with a straightening iron? I didn't.  

Vanity is my favorite sin ;)

That day I also discovered the coolness of Guitar Hero. I went home and found Marbs so engrossed in playing so I thought I'd give it a try. Plus, I watched Serena van der Woodsen rockin' it in Gossip Girl. I was so excited coz it looked so easy, but I was so wrong. 

 It wasn't as easy as it looked on Gossip Girl. 

I noticed Marbz would play seated in the chair, I told her I couldn't understand how she had fun playing that way. Isn't guitar hero supposed to make you feel like a rockstar? She gave me this weird look. 

Starting to feel like a rock star now. 

"Hit me with your best shot" by Pat Benatar

Finally, I think I got the hang of it. Kinda anyway.

Because I got so into the guitar hero that night, I was a bit late with my dinner with Aaron & Angela, who just arrived from their 3 month long vacation and I missed them so much! They even remembered to bring pasalubong for both Kaden and me, how thoughtful! Whenever I see them, I can't help thinking how lucky they are to have each other. Because of the circumstances, I might be seeing less and less of them and it really makes me very sad because they have become very dear to me. They are two people who I can say have really good hearts thats why I'm really rooting for them to end up together. Don't let me down guys. :)

Day 4: My last day really made me feel like I've had a very productive trip. I met with my wedding planner Jp Montilla, then I was off to see Jong Mesina at Write Impressions for my invites. In my 4 day stay, I was able to finalize my gown design, motif (only because I was put on the spot, by Jong) and invitation design. I was also able to fit the lining of my gown (a day after they took my measurement) and had two lovely girls on my entourage take their measurements and finalize their gown design. Lunch with Cielo was all about emoting fast because she had to get back to work. I miss our Residencia days. I always do. Starbucks emote night with Ema, wednesday ladies' night, gimik weekends, staying up till mornings talking about whatever, our endless food trips as well as laugh trips, fighting about whose turn it was to buy water, shopping shopping shopping. Life was so much simpler then. 

Cielo

I was surprised to find out that this was the first time Cielo has ever met my friend/blockmate/thesispartner Dyan. They only know of each other from my kwentos but apparently that afternoon was the first time they were ever introduced. I found that surprising because both of them had been very good friends of mine throughout college after afterwards. I would think they've met at one time or another, but I guess not. I was glad they hit it off quickly though. 

Dyan and Frederick

Out of my four bridesmaids, only Cielo and Dyan could make it to this fitting. They finally met with my gown designer, Frederick Peralta, who is one of the nicest people you can ever meet. He is very down to earth and he knows how to make a person feel at ease. I feel lucky that he will be designing my gown because he is very kind and he listens to what I want. Being the fickle minded person that I am, I couldn't really decide on what I want for my gown. I know that if it were any other designer, they would surely get pissed on how I keep changing my mind about what I want. So in the end, I left it all up to him to dress me on my wedding day, since I believe it's what he really does best. There are other designers who aren't even in half the celebrity status Frederick is in, and can show attitude. Even Cielo and Dyan noted  how down to earth he was, it could just be PR but he really made an effort to engage in a conversation with them when he clearly didn't need to. 

From his place, Dyan and I headed to Robinson's Galleria to check out this guy Gene Testa who does tattoos and body piercing. He came highly recommended and I heard he's really one of the best in what he does. I have been wanting to get a tattoo  and a belly piercing so bad and I have thought it through for some time now. That day in particular, I just felt like doing something new, something different, something that was out of character for me. The piercing sounds like something I might do, but the tattoo? Oh my parents are gonna kill me when they find out. So I plan to tell them about it after my wedding. Smart huh? ;) I had my mind and my heart set on getting inked as well as pierced that very afternoon, but it turned out that the guy Gene was out of town. I was kinda disappointed. Tsk tsk. So I just took it as a sign that I should research more on the design I want to get. I mean, this is practically a lifetime commitment right? I'm thinking maybe getting a tattoo is like getting married, only it's gonna hurt. :)

Megan Fox is hot.

I plan to have it done on top of appendectomy scar, which is slightly visible when I wear bikinis. Exactly where Megan Fox got hers, but not with the same design. I heard it hurts the most in that part of the body, but that's the only body part I really want to have tattooed as of the moment. I'm trying to convince Dyan to get one as well, so that I won't be alone in this, plus I told her it's gonna be more memorable when you get your first tattoo with a good friend. She said she's still gonna think about it some more. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. ;)

On our way home, we happened to pass by PRP. Since this was a budget trip, I told Dyan I have no intention whatsoever of going shopping or buying anything at all for myself. So we ended up piling up on clothes we had no intention of buying, along with a camera inside the dressing room. Thankfully, their dressing rooms are big enough for play :) I think we spent an hour playing dress up and taking pictures of each other. 

Too bad I ran out of memory space that afternoon. The salespeople must have hated our guts. I told Dyan I felt so guilty when we headed out of the store as empty handed as when we came in. But it was fun. LOTS of fun. Dyan is really one of a kind. She makes me laugh and forget about my issues even just for a little while, and when she listens, she really LISTENS, in a only-dyan-can-do-it kind of way. I guess I can say that I'm really blessed in that department. 

Headed to Glorietta after that to have dinner with my cousins Ymae and Tj, and my brother Rj. Did some catching up on life and shared some family luvin'. :) After dinner at Gilligan's and desert at Iceberg, we waited about an hour for a cab. We walked from there to g1 to g4, then g3 then towards gb3 then on to Ayala Ave., all the way to Valero. We finally got a cab at Starbucks, Valero. Funny thing is, I didn't even feel a bit tired from all the walking. In fact, that's one thing I miss about living in Manila. 

Cousins.

If I didn't have to go back to the condo, pack for my 5am flight, and get ready for my night out with Cielo, I wouldn't have minded walking home to dela Rosa at all :) 

We ended up in Embassy reminiscing good ol' OG times. We had fun that night, considering I only had until 3am to leave and check-in for my flight back to Zamboanga. I realized that very night too, that we really aren't the same people anymore that we were back then. Partyin' is no doubt fun, I miss it, I miss that life and I know I always will, but that's not who I am anymore and that's no longer who I want to be. Every now and then, I will yearn for that kind of life, yes, but I know I will not trade where I am right now to go back to being the party girl that I once was. I know it's enough to say that I once lived the life I wanted, though it didn't last. I will miss the hell-with-tomorrow, no-regrets-with-today me, but right now I cannot afford to be that and if I could I don't think I'd want to. Fact is, life happened, and shifted the world as I knew it to 180 degree turn. Eventhough there are a few moments where I yearn for my privacy and I wish to disappear for a minute or two, where I am right now is the only place I'd really like to be. I'm having a freakin' lemonade bar from the lemons I've been handed and I'm loving every sip of it.