Hotel Transylvania 2: A Cute and Fun Treat for the Family

If you read my Hotel Transylvania DVD review two years ago, you should know that I absolutely loved the movie. Well, its sequel isn't any different. As with the first movie, I found myself laughing out loud from beginning to end.

In fact, I believe I loved the sequel even more than the first because there's a toddler in it - and Dennis made the movie relatable once again, with him being the same age as my daughter and all. (Dennis is much, much smaller than my daughter for some reason, though.)

The movie isn't mind-blowing in the sense that Disney movies can be, but it is definitely a nice and fun escape from life since you won't have to think while watching it. Plus, the kids will love it, too. The whole movie is full of giggles and cuteness and will make you beg for a curly-haired red-headed child for probably the first time in your life. :p

I think the timing and the content of the Hotel Transylvania movies are what make me love them so much, but I love the morals of the movies, as well. This time around, they taught us to accept people for who they are - monster or human, weird or normal, Iglesia or Catholic. Lol. #hugot

Have you seen "Hotel Transylvania 2" yet? What did you think of it? I'd love to know! :)

We Hope, We Hope and We Hope.

At the Asia Pop Comic Con last week, there was a Star Wars booth where they basically interviewed Star Wars geeks like myself and asked a few questions. One of the questions that I had a ton of fun answering was, "What was it like watching Star Wars for the first time?"

Star Wars shirt from Forever 21 / black shorts from Gold Dot / infinity earrings from The Little Things She Needs

Allow me to geek out a lil…

Star Wars gave me my first taste of hope. Even before it was bestowed with the title "A New Hope", the first Star Wars movie was the epitome of it. And I don't mean that in the sense that Obi-Wan was Leia's only hope *cue Mandy Moore music* but in the sense that Luke was everybody's hope. Including mine.

I remember how intense that scene was where they try to blow up the Death Star by firing torpedoes into the thermal exhaust port. And like they all fly down this long Death Star trench and Rebel pilots are dying left and right, and Luke only has this one shot and my heart just kinda stops in the middle of it all and a few seconds feel like minutes and I hope so hard that it works. AND THEN IT DOES. And I feel like it does because I hoped that it would.

What did I know about how movies worked back then? How did I know that me hoping really hard it would happen actually had nothing to do with it happening? But I hoped. And I believed that my hope prevailed. And I've been hoping ever since. Thus the tattoo.

Hope is such a bitch, though. It's always there when you will it to be, even when it shouldn't be. We hope for things to look up. We hope for people to change. We hope for better jobs, better opportunities and a better life. We hope to forget our problems and our heartache as time goes by. We hope, we hope and we hope.

I used to cling onto hope with all of my being because I always believed in something better. No one wants to dwell on worst-case scenarios, after all. Unfortunately, hope is also what has turned be into this wide-eyed dork of an idealist who refuses to open her eyes to the truth: that everybody in this world is heartless and selfish and no one can truly love you and care for you but you.

Maybe people are all destined to be alone and die alone. After all, no matter how much love you have to give, the people you love the most will always choose to love someone else more - if not someone else, then at least themselves. Hope's a bitch.

Photos by Vincent Mabale.

Yoginis Unite at The Global Mala Project on Saturday

The Global Mala Project, the largest unified worldwide yoga event, will occur on September 26th, in line with the United Nation’s Day of Peace and the Fall Equinox at WhiteSpace Manila.

Dedicated to promote peace and positive change through yoga, as well as raise social consciousness and funds for noteworthy causes, The Global Mala Project is Teresa Hererra’s annual heart project, seeking to create a “mala around the earth.” (In traditional yoga, a mala is a set of beads, used to focus awareness during meditation.)

Teresa was inspired by her yoga mentor and the Global Mala Project’s founder Shiva Rea, to bring the event to our shores. As a model, environmentalist, and yoga teacher, Teresa shares the vision of her mentor in creating a positive energy through yoga that would pulsate around the world. In the recent months, she has been working closely with event producers and yoga centers around Manila to ensure the success of this event.



All of the event collaborators are doing the work completely pro-bono, to ensure that 100 % of its proceeds go to charity. This year’s event will benefit Children’s International.

“There is no pre-requisite to begin this practice. Just an open mind and an open heart. Hope to see you on the mat,” Teresa says.

For more information, like Global Mala Project Manila on Facebook and follow @globalmalamanila on Instagram.

11 Things I Realized About Relationships Because of Ted Mosby (How I Met Your Mother)

If you haven't discovered the awesomeness of the iflix app yet, then it's time to get on it. In a nutshell, iflix is this app that you can download to watch a ton of movies and TV series for less than Php150 a month. I'll write more about it another time.

The point of this article is that I was finally able to watch How I Met Your Mother from start to finish within less than a month, thanks to iflix. I had originally stopped watching the show after Barney and Robin started dating coz naive, pregnant, hope-filled me thought: "Fuck no. She belongs with Ted."

After I broke up with the babydaddy, though, and lived my life better, I realised that life doesn't work like a fairytale and gave the show another go. Obviously, I got super hooked and, funnily enough, I ended up hating the ending - the ending that naive, pregnant, hope-filled me wanted back in 2009.

Anyway, a lot of people aren't fond of Ted in HIMYM, and naive, pregnant, hope-filled me wasn't, either, but watching it with older (and I'd like to think wiser) eyes, Ted has become my favorite character. Here are 11 things he made me realize during my almost-one-month HIMYM binge on iflix:

11 Things I Realized About Relationships Because of Ted Mosby

11. We all deserve to be happy.

Whenever my friends are torn between staying with someone and breaking up with someone, I always tell them this: if they aren't happy most of the time, then it's time to either change something or move on. Everybody deserves happiness. Why stay with someone who doesn't at least try to make you happy 24/7? Life's too short to not be happy most of the time.

10. We all deserve the truth.

No matter how much that truth might hurt, it's always, always better to know than not to know. You know how other people always say it's better not to know and to blissfully live life thinking everything is perfect? That's bullshit. Don't listen to that shit. If someone's been lying to you about their family life or their education or if someone's been cheating on you behind your back, you deserve to know every single detail until people's mouths bleed telling you the truth and their ears bleed from hearing you cry. Love cannot exist without honesty. The same goes with friendships. If your friends have been hiding that shit from you, they're not your friends.

9. It's important to believe in yourself.

It doesn't matter what other people say about you or how much confidence you've lost because of repeated heartbreaks in the past, as long as you believe in yourself, everything will be a-okay. :)

8. It's perfectly okay to be weird.

This used to be a major problem of mine. Whenever someone called me weird, I'd cringe and start hiding my weirdness in a shell. Then, with the next guy that I would meet, I'd not be weird anymore and then I'd be called boring. It was a vicious cycle. Fortunately, Ted taught me that it's okay to just be myself - weirdness and all. It's okay to have a coin collection, to wear red boots because you think you're pulling them off even though you're not, to watch Star Wars religiously and to believe in true love and destiny. If someone doesn't accept you for who you are, then they're probably not right for you.

7. There's nothing wrong with putting all of your effort into things.

We've heard it from our friends: they smirk, they roll their eyes, they even LOL in your face sometimes. You go and do something for someone that you love and they call you stupid or exagg. Ted did a fucking rain dance, guys. Nothing can be more 'stupid' or exagg than that.

6. There's nothing wrong with putting your heart out there:

Let me tell you now: not everybody is going to love you the way you love them. In fact, most people won't. You can love someone with as much love as you can give, but that person could still cheat on you or break your heart in some other way. But that's okay. That doesn't mean you need to start loving people less. It just means that you know how to truly love. And there's no crime in that.

5. It's okay to be angry after a heartbreak.

On that note, not everybody is going to feel pain as deeply as you do, either. Nor is everybody going to understand your anger. Fuck them, though. Just because they don't understand you doesn't mean that you can't go on an anger rampage and hurt them with your words. Go ahead. Make them feel bad. They probably deserve it.

4. We don't need to date people to be happy.

This might sound sad, but don't knock it til you've tried it. Instead of putting all of your attention, time and effort into a significant other, try going out with your friends or your family more. Start a new hobby. Fall in love with music. Fall in love with work. Volunteer. Get a pet. I have fictional boyfriends to help me get through lonely times. Again: don't knock it.

3. We all go through some sort of rut.

You've had it. It may have happened one day while going through Facebook and seeing all of your friends getting married and having kids and it suddenly hit you that you're still dating different guys or have been dating the same guy for years without a proper commitment to marry. You start looking at everyone else's relationships and realize you've been going through the same motions your entire life. Sure, the guys change every now and then, but still: you're in a rut. You haven't moved up the ladder, so to speak. It's okay. It's not really a rut. You're just bored. Trust me. Take a barre3 class or buy even more shoes. Then, stop vicariously living through people on Facebook and remind yourself of all of the awesome things in your life. It doesn't even have to be a relationship. It can be you and your own awesomeness. You'll get over it in a few days.

2. We all make stupid mistakes, no matter what our friends say.

I'm a firm believer in making mistakes. People will always tell you when something is a mistake and most of the time, they'll be right. However, I also know that if we listen to those people, we'll forever wonder about the what if's… which is why it's always better to just make the mistakes and learn from them yourself.

1. We all have a soulmate and a love of our life.

Obviously, T.M. was T.M.'s soulmate. By personal definition, I believe that soulmates are the people that the universe brings together by twists of fate. The love of our lives? They're the ones we keep fighting to have even though the universe tells us we can't have them. They're the ones who still haunt our dreams after all those years and whose arms, if given the chance, we'd easily run back into. Soulmates trump love of lives in my book. And I'd like to believe Ted preferred his soulmate, too. Fate just works in a funny manner sometimes.

Watch the complete seasons of How I Met Your Mother on iflix. I'm currently binge-watching Once Upon a Time. Join me in my binge-watching madness? :)

Globe Tattoo Presents Alesso: Wanna Get In Without Buying a Ticket? ;)

Alessoooooo!!! Woooo!!! Forgive the excitement, but it's been a while since I've been to a party and I have never even been to the Palace Pool Club yet, so Alesso's show tomorrow is something I absolutely cannot wait for. Add to it the fact that I'll be partying it up with a birthday girl that I miss a lot and you just know the night will be unforgettable!

You know what would make it even more unforgettable, though? If you guys all joined us! ;) Woot woot!

The best part? You don't need to buy tickets if you're feeling broke at the moment. Lol.

Tattoo customers can get tickets to Tattoo Presents Alesso on September 18, 2015 at the Palace Pool Club if you avail of or register to the following Tattoo services/plans:

1. Buy a Tattoo Prepaid LTE device: Get a free headset and one (1) ticket

2. Register to Tattoo GoSURF Plan 999: Get two (2) tickets

The promo is applicable to purchases or applications made from the new Globe GEN3 store in Greenbelt 4 in Makati ONLY. Promo period is until September 18, 2015.

Hope to see you there! :D

Beyond the Box: It's Time to Get a MacBook Air!

Two years ago, I finally upgraded my bulky old school Mac to a MacBook Air and I've gotta say: it's one of the best things I've done in my life. My Air is so light and portable, it makes working practically anywhere a breeze.

It fits in my gym bag, so I get to bring it with me. :p

If you've been wanting to get an Air for a while now, but have been hesitating because of unwanted instalment costs, then September is your lucky month!

Until September 30, the MacBook Air 11" and 13" 128GB variants will be available in super easy Zero24 instalments and will be offered with three unique lifestyle bundles at no extra cost.

Free-spirited, always out and about. #iAMTRVLR

Bundle inclusions: MacBook Air + Coloud Pop, ACME Made Skinny Sleeve, and Nude Audio Speakers. 

There is no greater feeling than packing your bags and knowing you’re heading to another The TRVLR bundle is targeted at individuals who constantly travel  whether it’s for leisure or work.

Driven to succeed, a paragon of excellence #iAMEXCTV

Bundle inclusions: MacBook Air + Soundfreaq Pocket Kick, ACME Made Sleeve

Nothing compares to the overwhelming sense of accomplishment executives get at the end of each day. The EXCTV Bundle is for high achievers who lead by example and don’t settle for second best – ideal for office professionals and entrepreneurs.

Inquisitive, thirsty for knowledge #iAMSCHLR

Bundle inclusions: MacBook Air + Urbanears Plattan, Speck MacBook Air Case, JRC Keyboard Protector

The pursuit of knowledge never ends. The SCHLR Bundle seeks to cultivate inquiring minds, nurture curiosity, and aid academics in their quest to learn and educate.

This is a now-or-never opportunity to own a MacBook Air and live your lifestyle to the fullest! Visit Beyond the Box to take advantage of this promo today. 

Participating Beyond the Box Branches: Century City Mall | One Rockwell | Market! Market! | Forbestown | Resorts World Manila | Lucky Chinatown | Robinsons Ermita | Robinson Galleria | VMall | Wil Tower | Veranza