Goojje, made in China. This page looks kinda familiar — I just can’t put my finger on it

Very inspired

This knockoff was a response to Google’s statement that they will cease Google.cn operations and shut down their China offices due to major censorship issues. The wannabe website shouldn’t come as a surprise to many — it reminded me of the issue with Plurk and Microsoft China, which I wrote about some weeks back. I checked the Microsoft site in question, and what do you know — it doesn’t look like Plurk anymore! Click click here  >> Club MSN

I tried accessing www.goojje.com but got this  message instead:

A communication error occurred: “Connection refused” 
The Web Server may be down, too busy, or experiencing other problems preventing it from responding to requests. You may wish to try again at a later time. 

YAY! My boyfriend’s blog is finally up! www.rationalsoul.com is his first foray into blogging and as his tagline says, he aims to “rationalize spirituality, religion and the paranormal”. Esoteric?

Well, I didn’t know anything at all about these things before I met him, and was not interested in learning about them; but now I find myself reading a lot  about mysticism and the paranormal.  He didn’t used to go to church before he met me. Now we go together regularly, and we do talk about spirituality and mysticism every now and then. Boring? The point is, we have accepted the differences in our beliefs and are open to learning more.

It is not a common ‘hobby’ of most people, I suppose — but it’s something I find interesting, something that was out of my circle 5-something years ago. But I do think it’s worth knowing too, and if you are interested in learning more, please subscribe to his blog via RSS or bookmark the page so you’re always updated whenever there’s new content.

Clickety click >> www.rationalsoul.com

Last year, RFM Corporation released its latest health drink called Alo Youth. I kept seeing their billboard near EDSA-Kalayaan, the one with (crush) Chris Tiu and Camille Villar (the daughter of the guy who is tunay na mahirap) but never bothered about it (except for Chris Tiu’s face). According to their website:

Alo Youth is a refreshing new beverage for healthier and youthful skin. It contains real natural Aloe Vera bits, not only for added mouthfeel, but also as a source of health benefits. Each bottle of Alo Youth contains 500mg of Collagen. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body. It gives the skin its elasticity and firmness. Alo Youth also contains Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant and 200mg of L-Carnitine.

Among many benefits, aloe vera helps regulate circulation and helps repair damaged tissue. Collagen makes our skin more elastic and supple (I have a recent collagen addiction, haha). L-Carnitine has weight loss benefits. I got two bottles of this drink yesterday (in mango and apple) and I loved the taste. They have this in lychee too. It’s really refreshing, not too sweet and the aloe vera bits are not slimy at all. I thought they were nata de coco bits, because they were quite firm and not smushy/slimy.

A bottle of Alo Youth retails for P22 at 7-11; I think this should be P1-2 cheaper in groceries. Here’s to youthful skin: kampai!

**Edit** I hate that their bottles are a little difficult to open >_<

Alo Youth aloe vera drink

Info and photo credit: RFM Corporation

Like many women, I always make it a point to remove the hair on my upper lip. It’s unsightly and as my parlorista said “Sa lalaki lang yan”. I always go to my favorite David’s Salon for threading, but sometimes I am too busy to drop by. Actually, I’ve been sporting an upper lip fuzz since January. Ugh.

Alternative to facial hair threading

Good thing, I discovered Epistick! Or Magic Hair Wand. Or Epicare. From Ebay, of course. I got this from the very nice seller, Yunashai. I got my L’egere Multi White BB Cream from her and was browsing through her other items when I noticed this particular item that everyone seems to really like.

Depilatory creams might cause allergies or chemical burns on the skin. Shaving, on the other hand, will make the hair grow thicker, making it even more unsightly. This product claims to be a good alternative to facial hair removal.  Like threading, it takes the hair from the roots so hair grows back slower and finer. If you are used to threading, then this should be fine for you. It does not hurt more than threading does.

Use it on hairs on your upper lip, forehead, cheeks and chin. It is small enough so you can bring it anywhere.

I got mine and was able to use it last night. It takes some getting used to, but after 5 minutes, I felt like a pro. It didn’t hurt at all! The prob was, I developed some redness in that area, and it looked like I have a red moustache. Ahahah. Watdapak.

I iced the area and after a few minutes, the redness was gone and I was moustache-free. Yaaaay!

Yunashai sells the Dono Super Wand for P240 (plus P50 shipping for Metro Manila).

Here is a quick video of how to use Epistick, or Epicare or Dono Super Wand (whatever the brand is) in English:

Now, in Japanese. Haha.

Oh BTW, are you one of those who think a stubble is HAWT, and guys with moustaches are SEXY? Click READ MORE below because I have a surprise for you ^_^

I’ve always admired the Japanese for their fresh, glowing skin. I have been meticulous about my skincare routines, but somehow, my skin is still not as supple and dewy as I want it to be. But I made a vow that I’m going to really stick to my Chizu Saeki-style skincare and use tried-and-tested Japanese skincare products and supplements. Just this week, I came across this video from Oprah’s website — it’s all about Japanese beauty secrets, so obviously, I was intrigued.

Hail the secret beauty weapon!

After watching the video, I immediately bought myself a can of Meiji Amino Collagen drink, hahaha. According to the video, collagen supplements are very popular in Japan. These come in different forms – powder, tablets and liquid. The vid featured Meiji Amino Collagen, which is in powder form. You just take one spoonful of it and mix it with any liquid: water, juice, tea, coffee, milk, soup. One tablespoon contains 5,000mg of collagen and is enough for one day.

Another not-so-secret secret is…nightingale droppings! Yep, bird poop on your face. And expensive poop at that. The poop has been treated with radiation (?) so it is free from bacteria Apparently, even Western celebs like the Beckham couple swear by bird poop facials. Yesh. I won’t try it for now, it’s a little expensive and I have gone over my budget for 2 months already. >_<

Aside from the Meiji powder, I also got this popular supplement called DHC Nameraka Smooth. It is one of DHC’s best selling supplements and promises smooth, supple skin. Many women all over the world swear by it. Mine is supposed to be delivered today and it should be waiting at the lobby when I get home tonight. Wipee! I’m going to roadtest these two — not at the same time, though. I want to see how each will work for me and post the results after 1 month of use (that’s roughly the amount of product contained in each package). Fingers crossed, I hope this is the holy grail I’ve been looking for!

Happy weekend!

I can smell it…it’s almost here. It will be here faster than you can say ‘Take that!’. (I hope.)

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth

The lastest in the popular Ace Attorney series, this game features Miles Edgeworth, prosecutor extraordinaire and rival of Phoenix Wright. Don’t get me wrong, I love Nick, but Edgey-poo beats the pants off him. There’s something very attractive about men who wear ruffles.

A bit of info about the cases:

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth is composed of several lengthy episodes. In the first episode, an argument in Edgeworth’s office results in a mysterious murder. Edgeworth, coming back from a one-month business trip, enters his office and encounters the body of the man who was shot. He is then threatened by someone who is presumed to be the suspect with a gun from behind. In the second episode, Edgeworth wakes up after being knocked out due to an air pocket accident inside a luxury airliner flying through turbulence. Shaken by the flashback of nightmarish past memories, he opens the onboard elevator’s door, only to find a male corpse. At this very moment a cabin attendant witnesses the scene and Edgeworth is made a suspect of murder! Play-Asia.com

I already placed my pre-order from Play-asia.com — Edgey is too special; I am NOT playing this as a downloaded ROM.

To pre-order this item, click on the image below to go directly to this game’s page at Play-Asia.com

I will be away starting tomorrow. Boyfie and I will be up north for a bit of couple time.   YAAAAAAY! So excited. Same time last year, we were in Tagaytay and in July, we went to Bohol. We have a list of places in the Philippines (and some abroad) that we want to visit together – from the most popular ones to the unheard-of. And we LOVE budget traveling!

There’s this one place that we’ve been dying to visit and now, we finally have the chance:

Manong, waaaaiiiit!

We missed their town fiesta — they had it last week! But what the heck, we’re finally going there! Itte kimasu!

Photo credit: Aboex Travel & Tours

What is the phone number to send my updates?

Sounds like a person, huh? But no, gladlyCast is a service that allows one to update Twitter or Plurk via mobile phone with just a simple SMS. I just registered (for free) last week and tagged my mobile phone to my Plurk account. That easy. I was happy to have found a way to Plurk even when I’m offline. Yeah, I Plurk and have long abandoned Twitter. It’s just not as fun!

Hooray for gladlyCast!

From the gladlyCast website:

To send updates from:

• Singapore, use +65 8406 3952
• Malaysia, use +60 12 795 9876
• Philippines, use +63 929 106 0211

What is the cost involved?

You pay your local carrier for SMS charges if required. Our numbers are not premium numbers. No payment is being made to gladlyCast.
If you have free local SMS package from your carrier, it would mean this service is totally free for you.

It’s been a sucky day so far…and I am again at that stage where I want to quit my job. But I’m not going to waste my time ranting about that; I just thought I’d make myself feel a lot better with a song. A song that I think fits our love story

HEAVEN
Artist: Nina

Never been any good at love
Never could find no one that I dreamed of
I must’ve been too blind to see
That you were always there waiting for me

But then the spell was broken, my eyes opened
Starting believing in love again
Just when I gave up on miracles
You rescued me and showed me the way

CHORUS:
You must be an angel
Feels like I’ve gone to heaven
And it keeps on getting better baby
Caught up in your love spell
Feels like I’m in heaven, heaven

Never thought I’d see the day
A special guy like you would come my way
I wish I knew the reasons why
You gave me the strength for one more try
How could love at first sight
Work out so right
I can’t believe this is paradise
Just when I thought love would never come
You came to me swept me away

BRIDGE:
Suddenly my whole world changes
I found the kind of love that I’ve been thinking of
I know that dreams come true coz
My heaven is waiting to take me
Take me when I’m with you

That basically sums up how I feel about him right this very moment.

YOU, yes, YOU. I know how you found my blog. Ma-echos ka talaga. Haha. Wala na akong magagawa dun, ganun ka ata talaga. Anyway, enjoy reading, I guess. At least you will get to know a bit more about me — di mo kailangan mag-rely sa kwento galing sa boyfriend ko o kung kanino man, haha. May bago ka na namang source ng ichi-chismis sa little friends mo.