tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210430392011-12-09T11:02:51.878+08:00GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.comBlogger1811100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-25116055746964315852011-12-08T01:12:00.000+08:002011-12-08T02:47:26.647+08:00

Most people don't know that I've been volunteering as a proofreader for Project Gutenberg for around a year now. I've been doing it on a casual basis--whenever I have some spare time on weekends and such.  This online volunteer community where I belong is called Distributed Proofreaders, and our task is to proofread and convert public domain books into e-books. After multiple rounds of

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-43072577686131180812011-12-07T01:41:00.001+08:002011-12-07T11:20:26.546+08:00

A year has passed, and I've managed to read more than a dozen books since my last blog entry in November 2010. (Note to self: Reading only a dozen or so books in a year is a hideous all-time low record.  Must improve in 2012!) So. Here's what I'm plowing through right now.  Not the most accessible sort of reading out there, but Joseph Campbell will always be a favorite of mine. The Mythic

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-91938574793934524442011-12-06T01:23:00.000+08:002011-12-07T02:10:07.143+08:00

Wow, I really need to start writing in this blog again. I guess having Facebook and Twitter these days got me feeling super lazy to write something longer. My last unfinished blog draft (see below) was written back in November 2010. A whole year gone unwritten. Hope I find the time to blog again. Why? Why can't I seem to drag myself away from the temptation of buying new stuff for my skin?

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-70980985397422971292010-11-02T08:48:00.000+08:002010-11-02T08:48:00.533+08:00

Well, not in a morbid way, but at least in artsy terms.Saw this in Swiss Miss, and was enamored. Like what Swiss Miss said, it's 'almost poetic how you're supposed to pull on the yarn as time goes by.'

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-24397567337066601702010-11-01T00:04:00.003+08:002010-11-01T00:45:35.069+08:00

If someone gave me the money to buy clothes from just one designer label for my entire life, I'm pretty much sure I'd go with Kate Spade.But since I don't have that much disposable income to spend on myself nor do I know any crazy, altruistic soul who would fund my shopping spree inside a Kate Spade store, I just have to resort to ogling at Ms. Kate's beautiful designs online.Since it's free to

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-89591811748944994692010-10-31T13:46:00.004+08:002010-10-31T13:46:00.429+08:00

Another find at Books for Less just this week. The book's a bit of fanciful historical fiction, the cover's pretty hokey, and I'm really not into the romance part. But the reason I bought it were the following keywords I saw on the blurb at the back of the book: 'fourteenth century England' and 'master illuminator.' Even though I'm not familiar with the author, Brenda Rickman Vantrease, I

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-68870180765036529712010-10-30T15:23:00.010+08:002010-10-30T22:27:26.154+08:00

I want to go to Egypt so badly, it hurts. I mean literally. My eyes have been aching from too much scouring on the web for the most affordable package tours to Egypt. My chest actually hurts every time I have this panicky feeling that my plans won't push through. That's just the worrywart in me, but yes, I DO plan to go to Egypt next year. I always believe that if I want it bad enough, I'll

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-84725511813358374532010-10-10T13:22:00.005+08:002010-10-10T13:30:16.235+08:00

Another great find at the Books for Less branch in my office building. I keep posting about many of these nice book finds, that I might as well have a separate blog label about it. It's a little disturbing to find a Nick Hornby book in a secondhand bookstore--but I'm not complaining.

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-30331116791793201712010-09-06T22:49:00.003+08:002010-09-06T23:12:20.572+08:00

I'm known as the vanilla girl in the office.People would kind of joke and say that they'd know it was me who had just passed by just because of the scent of vanilla in the air.I think it's a compliment. I love all things vanilla. I have body sprays, a basketful of lotions, several bottles of body wash, and even a hand sanitizer that all have that fragrant smell.So, not surprisingly, this is

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-28779355389358047122010-08-27T00:25:00.008+08:002010-08-27T01:10:02.439+08:00

Oh, yes it is.I requested a kind officemate of mine to buy a pot of Boots Original Beauty Formula Cold Cream for me while she was in Bangkok last week for vacation.I've been trying this for cold cream three nights in a row already, and seriously, my skin looks and feels healthier and more supple. (Of course, my mom and sisters think I'm unhealthily obsessed with my skin. Sorry, I'm a skin care

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-55602444961029392542010-08-26T22:52:00.007+08:002010-08-27T00:19:50.157+08:00

Just a few more interesting passages from The Ancestor's Tale:Great things grow from small beginnings"Usually, in everyday life, massive improbability is a good reason for thinking that something won't happen. The point about intercontinental rafting of monkeys, or rodents or anything else, is that it only had to happen once, and the time available for it to happen, in order to have momentous

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-19158456749871707242010-08-22T22:42:00.017+08:002010-08-23T16:42:47.009+08:00

When I was young, I told myself I was going to be a scientist. I wanted to do something exciting, like be a paleontologist or anthropologist, or even be involved in the field of genetics. But at the tender and highly impressionable age of 8, I came across a show on TV that featured a frog being dissected. Just one terrified look at the quivering innards of a frog that was cut open, and all its

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-88622016040930277442010-08-22T00:14:00.002+08:002010-08-22T00:14:00.897+08:00

One of the best "de-stressers" at work is seeing a photo like this.And I am always reminded why I love my job, and what it all means to me and ultimately, to the children.In celebration of Breastfeeding Month, UNICEF Philippines invites all mothers out there to share 1 or 2 photos capturing their precious bonding moments with their children. It can be a breastfeeding picture or a photo of you

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-60644894965087984422010-08-21T18:24:00.007+08:002010-08-21T19:41:40.891+08:00

People don't seem to have any trouble liking Jane Austen. What she writes about is so universal, you get it immediately. Never mind if the language can be dull and suffocating sometimes. Once you plow past the stiff formalities in her characters' conversations, you find yourself, rather grudgingly, liking Austen after all.To be honest, I've always enjoyed the movie adaptations more than her

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-64197726527411882322010-08-16T22:42:00.011+08:002010-08-16T23:31:50.552+08:00

Just a little break time from all those travel entries I've been posting--although I'm so happy and grateful that several people have come up to me to say they love my little posts on my Europe trip, and that these are well-written and super interesting to them. (Wow, I'm overwhelmed, because I honestly think my writing's pretty rusty and the stuff I write about are rather mundane, but thanks

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-30528300720058276402010-07-19T00:11:00.024+08:002010-07-23T14:56:50.693+08:00

I came to Florence to see art, and art I did see. Truckfuls of it.Because the city is so small, one can actually see most--or at least the highlights--of Florence in a day. As much as I would have wanted to stay for at least 3 days, I couldn't, so I had to make the most of my full day in this city. Armed with my Rick Steves travel guide and quite infected by the la dolce vita attitude of my

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-47821251129904467912010-07-18T17:02:00.008+08:002010-07-18T20:05:38.918+08:00

What would I give to have one of these. Olympia Le-Tan has created a super super limited edition collection of clutch bags that are fashioned after the first editions of these famous books. Only 16 of each style, I heard.I love this Nineteen Eighty-Four bag so much, it makes we want to cry. The price is a tear-jerker too. USD 1,500...! Lovely homepage though.

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-91008232848187060472010-07-04T18:50:00.003+08:002010-07-18T20:50:42.794+08:00

When I was much, much younger, I came up with a list of places I wanted to see in my lifetime. Being exacting, I had categories within that list. Under "Places With Lots of Ruins", I wrote down the following: Greece, Egypt, Rome, Peru's Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the Great Wall of China, and Borobudur in Indonesia. Of course, another category I had on my travel list was "Places With

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-82973439523580865342010-06-20T21:03:00.026+08:002010-06-26T23:09:01.768+08:00

Two weeks is really too short a time to see Western Europe, but given the limited time I had, I really had to figure out a way to see all the cities on my priority list. Went to 4 major ones (five, if you count Versailles) in that short time frame, so am pretty happy with myself for coming up with a jam-packed albeit manageable itinerary.Rome was the first city I wanted to go to after my

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-25501166014219642422010-06-15T00:42:00.001+08:002010-06-20T22:14:53.410+08:00

I was able to post all my Europe pictures on my Facebook account. But just in case Facebook becomes as obsolete and baduy as Friendster in the next few years, I still have my blog where I can recall those excellent 14 days I spent in Europe.Will try to post these in a series, and add as many captions as I can. Those of you who have seen these from my Facebook account can gladly skip all my

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-35866351195022809722010-06-14T16:20:00.005+08:002010-06-14T16:41:22.390+08:00

.prezi-player { width: 550px; } .prezi-player-links { text-align: center; }Harnessing Social Media: UNICEF Philippines on Digital Engagement on PreziIt's like having your first Lego set, only better--because you're not limited to working with just a few number of blocks. This was something I worked on in time for the joint UNICEF Communication-Fundraising Regional Meeting last May. Marge and I

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-60810836315276227272010-06-14T14:41:00.006+08:002010-06-14T14:58:37.398+08:00

I missed you! Haven't written in months. My bad.Struggling with a lot of work. It's gotten so stressful, I've managed to read only one book in 3 months. And I'm not even finished with it. How f*cked up is that. So the book in question is Tom Holland's Persian Fire, which is basically on the Persian-Greek wars in the 5th century (think 300 and all that). My friend Andy gave it to me while I was

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-28442327678295774882010-03-07T23:52:00.001+08:002010-06-14T16:04:22.047+08:00

The first leg of the trip is really all about business. I'm participating in the annual fundraising forum organized by UNICEF Geneva. This five-day forum promises to be really exciting; there's a whole slew of sessions that I want to cover but sadly enough, I can't divide myself into three (because there are 3 breakout sessions running simultaneously in the morning and in the afternoon).I was

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-42955329243824399952010-02-15T23:31:00.003+08:002010-02-15T23:34:41.351+08:00

Heehee. Cute but freaky concept art by Tim Burton. Kind of like the way Quentin Blake illustrates for Roald Dahl.

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-34874823169575048612010-02-14T17:31:00.003+08:002010-02-14T17:41:31.910+08:00

I researched online and discovered that when it comes to weather, the month of March can be unpredictable in Countries X, Y & Z where I'm going. So I've decided to bring a variety of coats and jackets with me: my new gray wool coat from Zara, plus some old favorites like my light cotton plaid trench coat, a warm hooded sweatshirt, a white cardigan, a brown suede jacket--and my new black cotton

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-34788270800412765972010-02-09T21:32:00.004+08:002010-02-09T21:56:14.478+08:00

Yes, I am bursting with amazing news. But it'll have to wait. Like until March, when I'm sure it's proper to tell. Don't want to jinx anything.(After reading the paragraph above, I realize people might read too much into it and think I'm pregnant. Nope, not that kind of news. Although I'm hoping a friend of mine will have that kind of news in the near future! Right, L?) Anyway, my news has

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-49105890108029495662010-01-10T22:52:00.006+08:002010-01-11T02:00:53.417+08:00

This is a long overdue post on the books I obtained in the last few months of 2009, with the first six books bought in Kinokuniya Bookstore in Bangkok back in September. Getting eight books in a span of 3 months isn't a lot by some people's standards, but then books don't come cheap these days, and I really am trying to curb my book-buying impulses.And yes, the red book on the second

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-28124056215331945802010-01-04T23:15:00.001+08:002010-01-04T23:38:33.004+08:00

Okay, I may not have gotten the Sanuk shoes I wanted yet (operative word being 'yet'), but I got a nice unexpected gift this Christmas--a Starbucks Seattle city mug!I don't go mug-shopping for myself regularly because I don't really see the point of collecting a bunch of them. Two mugs have served me well in the workplace over the past 9 years, and I never needed a new one. But now that I have

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-33074254639734068532010-01-01T22:28:00.008+08:002010-01-04T23:40:59.430+08:00

I don't know if I can accomplish this (given my busy work schedule), but here's someone who has.In his blog, Michael Surtees interviews Inaki Escudero about the latter's recent accomplishment in finishing 52 books in one year. It's not exactly a ground-breaking achievement, but then again, how many people do you know can complete one book per week for a year--especially if these books are of the

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-89694068486796780912009-12-26T16:06:00.000+08:002009-12-26T16:12:11.206+08:00

Can you please give this to me for Christmas? Wandered into Bratpack in Greenbelt 5 yesterday and tried these tan Sanuk Women's Starlet slip-ons. These Sanuks generally look ugly when they're hanging on the shelf, but lo and behold, they look great on my feet!I'm a size 5 by the way.***This is not the first time I've forgotten to publish a post. This should have been released last December 20.

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-44557898518430287542009-12-14T11:04:00.008+08:002009-12-14T11:47:39.079+08:00

My current favorite lotion. It must be the baby scent of buttermilk and coconut that makes me fall asleep at night. I used to like floral-scented stuff but as I get older, I'm leaning towards skincare products that include vanilla, buttermilk, almond, basmati rice, and coconut scents. Ah, the smell of childhood.

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-46962818048959812262009-11-28T20:03:00.002+08:002009-11-28T23:10:17.495+08:00

I'm having one of those lazy Saturdays in which the only decision-making that takes place is which fastfood to order for home delivery. McDonald's usually wins, because of its hot fudge sundaes.Anyway, a free Saturday with no plans gives me enough opportunity to catch up on reading. While I still have a ton of new books to read, I still indulge in re-reading some of my favorites.Am currently

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-80319478680725403932009-11-22T21:26:00.001+08:002009-11-22T21:46:28.613+08:00

Oh yeah, that's our Manny.It was unspeakably wonderful to watch him live (not in freakin' Las Vegas, which I can never afford) on pay-per-view inside an air-conditioned tent-slash-theater with hundreds of other Filipinos to witness his brutal victory over Miguel Cotto.And be recognized as the first boxer in boxing history worldwide to win in 7 different weight divisions.I've watched all the HBO

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-54701989266239867572009-11-08T21:05:00.001+08:002009-11-08T23:34:16.994+08:00

My latest love.I've used Moleskine for years. I use it to list all the books I buy and read on a monthly basis, to write down the books I want to read (and every time I finish one, I tick it off the list), and to make personal daily notes. Even in the age of Blackberrys and digital planners, I still find great comfort in jotting down stuff on my Moleskine notebook's acid-free paper using an

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-6200214162022651482009-10-31T19:50:00.003+08:002009-10-31T20:05:45.571+08:00

Hey, looky! I'm included in a story posted on the UNICEF UK website, along with some colleagues!Our office has a web consultant, Andy, from UNICEF UK, who will be with us until December to help us improve UNICEF Philippines' online presence. Because we're so swamped with emergency work and the upcoming holidays (which is peak season for UNICEF fundraisers), Marge, Pam and I are just so grateful

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-40305645761625665252009-10-31T19:36:00.002+08:002009-10-31T19:48:08.550+08:00

This 70-plus year-old runner and his blog inspires me so much. He literally keeps a running log of his weekly training, which I avidly follow. I'm younger, and I don't even get to run as much as he does. Guess who's the fitter one between the two of us?When I reach the age of 70, I'd still want to be able to go the distance like Old Man Running here.

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-91722076749060760042009-10-27T00:24:00.004+08:002009-10-27T00:59:07.130+08:00

And the plan is this:Week 1: Oct 26 - Nov 15km runboxing + 300 crunches5km run7km runboxing + 300 crunchesWeek 2: Nov 2 - Nov 87km runboxing + 300 crunches8km runboxing + 500 crunches10km run*with an option to do a 12km run (if I haven't keeled over yet with all this exercise)Week 3: Nov 9 - Nov 156km runboxing + 200 crunches8km runboxing + 200 crunches10km run on RACE DAYKnowing how my body

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-766484856234212312009-10-26T03:36:00.000+08:002009-10-26T03:41:20.051+08:00

I hate how the physical exhaustion one feels right after boxing becomes amplified in the next few days after the workout. My right wrist was smarting like hell during Saturday's session because of the uppercuts Ryan had me do. My right uppercut got weaker and weaker, and my frustrated self felt that the best thing to do was to compensate by doing better on my other punching moves. So there I was,

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-81713559113055744422009-10-25T00:29:00.000+08:002009-10-25T00:47:21.750+08:00

I love this film and everything that it stands for. It's one of the best movie [un]love stories I've seen. Now I'm no longer puzzled why I like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and High Fidelity so much. Most days I'm a Summer with a great discomfort in labeling relationships, but there are days when I'm a giddily happy and hopeful Tom.And when it comes to break-ups, well, we've all been

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-84629476667623572252009-10-24T13:23:00.006+08:002009-10-24T14:01:16.454+08:00

v. become normal or return to its normal stateOh, I sure hope so! The past few weeks (and weekends!) have been uber busy for me, as I've been juggling direct mail work with emergency fundraising for Ondoy & Pepeng victims. And then there's RedDot, which I totally blame for all that web work cramming until 2:00 am and at-my-office-desk stress eating.But things are starting to be normal again, and

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-367003926072842492009-10-24T11:31:00.001+08:002009-10-24T13:16:53.014+08:00

I love this film! Awesome performance from Matt Damon. Haven't watched a movie in a long, long time (and a good one at that), so it was such pure joy to run over to Greenbelt 3 and meet up with friends last Wednesday to catch the screening. I found myself laughing at intervals, because the script was so clever.The official site is here, and I get a kick out of hearing again some snippets of

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-82015710552147570662009-10-11T23:45:00.007+08:002009-10-12T01:13:35.389+08:00

I recently finished reading Tom Shippey's The Road to Middle-earth. Here are just some of my favorite parts in his book.Feel free to skip this post if you're not a fan, but I think Shippey had many interesting things to reveal about Tolkien's writing that aren't common knowledge to most people. Gnomes vs. the Noldor, Trotter vs. Aragorn[Tolkien] was stubborn to the point of pig-headedness about

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-68012575856801340492009-10-07T00:09:00.000+08:002009-10-07T00:09:00.287+08:00

I've been working in UNICEF for three years now and have heard and read a lot of distressing stories about the plight of children.But I still can't get over the fact that child marriages continue to be practiced in this day and age.From the UNICEF Press Centre:Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman on the death of 12-year-old child bride from YemenNEW YORK, 14 September 2009 - "It

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-20422679753553694952009-10-06T20:20:00.006+08:002009-10-06T21:11:00.769+08:00

Managed to have a little (just a little) breathing space in between Ondoy emergency fundraising campaign efforts and an upcoming major direct mail campaign. Sometimes I think my work life is just one urgent campaign after another. Not that I have a right to complain. Millions and millions of children are living in such dire conditions, and it is only when their needs are fully met that UNICEF

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-50817028685360600032009-10-06T18:27:00.004+08:002009-10-06T21:11:21.821+08:00

This post was in my Blogger drafts folder since September 28, and apparently, I forgot to publish it. The past few days have been crazy, with the office on emergency mode, responding to the needs of children in the aftermath of tropical storm Ondoy. Anyway, here goes: I don't have the heart to post trivialities at the moment. Too many people have died and suffered this month.Needless to say,

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-91836483592713415062009-09-19T21:55:00.004+08:002009-09-19T22:03:50.541+08:00

The answer to complete boxing happiness is worth 70 bucks. Or less. Can’t really remember. It was that cheap.I’ve been using Leukoplast tape for several sessions now to directly protect my knuckles from getting beaten up—and so far, no wounds, no swelling. What an amazingly useful thing.Leukoplast, which one can buy at any drugstore, is mainly used to secure dressings because of its highly

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-72743332087491748982009-09-15T00:52:00.005+08:002009-09-15T01:35:57.095+08:00

Yesterday morning, my first Monday back at the office after my Bangkok training, I stepped on the weighing scale--and encountered the biggest surprise so far this week. My weight is now down to 90 lbs! Before I left for Bangkok, I was at 94 lbs. Still within my ideal weight range and relatively healthy, in spite of the lack of exercise I've had the past couple of weeks. I managed to do an hour

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-69536869352419431882009-09-14T23:15:00.002+08:002009-09-15T00:35:42.211+08:00

September 13 is Roald Dahl Day. I was in Kinokinuya last week and I saw this huge poster about it. Made me actually wish I had my own children to celebrate it with.There's even a website wholly dedicated to the beloved children's author's official day: www.roalddahlday.info. Ain't it the cutest?In this website, kids, teachers, store owners, and basically anyone who's a fan can celebrate Roald

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-68579135210397606502009-09-13T21:18:00.002+08:002009-09-15T00:38:35.448+08:00

Back in Manila after 7 days in Bangkok. Had a majorly good time in the land of smiles and spicy food. Was there for training on UNICEF's web content management system, RedDot. The only description I can think of for RedDot is that it was simple and complicated at the same time. Harhar.I'm going to cheat here and just list down what I liked best about those 7 days:1. Staying in a fabulously

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-67726280206328650522009-09-01T21:22:00.002+08:002009-09-01T21:25:27.830+08:00

Just one big mess of direct mail materials and UN documents to read.Busy, busy, busy.The green mailer is my latest newsletter campaign, which will be dispatched next week to our donors (yehey!). I have two other direct mail campaigns to handle this week. Printing to start the week after (while I deal with online fundraising and a multitude of other things), and then letter shopping and dispatch

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-87927737439420772762009-08-29T00:38:00.005+08:002009-08-29T00:54:51.211+08:00

I usually wear t-shirts only during the weekends, when I'm going to the gym or something. But these funny shirts actually make me want to wear them at work, for some reason:

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-63525181514719644292009-08-28T23:14:00.012+08:002009-08-29T00:46:08.979+08:00

I finally bought the book I've been hankering for: Why Not Catch 21?: The Stories Behind the Titles.If people spent a bit of time browsing the literary criticism section of Fully Booked, they'll actually find some pretty damn interesting stuff there. Like this book!The title says it all. Author Gary Dexter reveals very entertaining facts about how the novels featured in this book ended up

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-64759423937490918832009-08-24T02:45:00.006+08:002009-08-24T02:53:40.161+08:00

Decided to go for a cleaner look with this blog. It's one of my attempts to simplify certain things in my life.We all had to clean up our own work areas in the office just a week ago, and while some didn't relish the idea of throwing stuff away, I was happily tossing old documents into the shredding and disposal bins.The whole office clean-up gave me a high, and a few days after that, I decided

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-42391819803544033042009-08-24T00:04:00.001+08:002009-08-24T00:25:02.166+08:00

The Guardian's Books section is one of the best sites ever for checking out what's new in the book scene and for reliable book reviews. One of my favorite subsections here is Writers' Rooms, (a pretty much self-explanatory title) which gives mere mortals like me some insights on where and how these writers work.Showing here the rooms of writers I read: George Bernard Shaw. I would have expected

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-67442635035514219492009-08-23T14:46:00.003+08:002009-08-23T14:50:37.469+08:00

I was standing in front of a full-length mirror this morning with hardly any clothes on (okay, that was too much information), and I realized--after months of not paying attention--that the scar in my pelvic area has faded and flattened into a pale, almost skin tone shade. Give it a year or two, and it'll hardly be visible anymore. The very vain part of me really hated this scar when it was new-

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-40656546651732134502009-08-22T00:48:00.001+08:002009-08-22T01:20:37.884+08:00

Am continuing my reading of Tom Shippey's The Road to Middle-earth at home right now, after a tiring day at work. I love reading about how J.R.R. Tolkien comes up with names of people and places in Middle-earth--names that are rich in meaning and in history and are monumentally significant to Tolkien the philologist.Here's an interesting factoid on the creative origin of the name 'Bag End' (the

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-3168352965121384922009-08-21T17:53:00.003+08:002009-08-21T17:59:19.227+08:00

These old photos of Ninoy and Cory Aquino which were posted today on Inquirer.net gave me goosebumps. Absolutely THE most inspiring couple in Philippine history.Happy Ninoy [and Cory] Day!

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-27855066548740067192009-08-19T01:06:00.002+08:002010-10-10T13:32:23.992+08:00

Every Friday, fresh batches of previously owned books are delivered in boxes to the Books For Less stall inside my office building. I wait patiently until late afternoon when I know the nice woman manning the stall is already done stacking the books--and I drop by the place to visit and browse.Normally, I don't buy previously owned books (as I've mentioned in a previous post) and I prefer them

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-30253708923978788782009-08-11T10:34:00.002+08:002009-08-11T10:37:54.767+08:00

I stood in line in Mini Stop Sunday evening to buy some salt-and-vinegar flavored chips, when I heard an acoustic song being played over the speakers of the convenience store.The singer was a high school batch mate of mine, and her newly-released album was currently making waves in the local music industry. Even though acoustic love songs weren't really my thing, she sounded really good (just

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-86972555524842880622009-08-09T23:32:00.010+08:002009-08-10T00:04:26.493+08:00

Isn't one small piece of Royce' Nama a fine work of art? I am in love with Royce' chocolates. I really am. It's pretty silly to be this much in love with a piece of chocolate, but when I'm not craving for my usual fix of Starbucks coffee, I am craving for Royce'--the Nama line in particular.The difference between the two is that Starbucks is something I can afford on a regular basis; on the

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-24194475880114500032009-08-09T21:23:00.002+08:002009-08-10T13:55:10.063+08:00

This past week has been a week of good-byes. When Cory Aquino died, the whole nation mourned. My friend Bun and I were one of the countless thousands who stood in line Tuesday night in the Intramuros area, hoping to catch a glimpse of the beloved former President on the last night of her wake.Well, we weren't able to see Cory, even though we stood in line until 2:30 am. It was raining, there

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-24661389329743332682009-08-01T11:43:00.003+08:002009-08-01T12:14:11.700+08:00

There are just some things I'm grateful for.Like the fact that even if I've had zero exercise this week, I haven't gained any pounds. I was a little hesitant to step on the scale this afternoon because I knew I had been eating, with total abandon, the following food for the past few days:two big helpings of Ado's pancit (the best pancit ever!)two chunks of puto with red eggthree big helpings of

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-5428895318726434182009-07-30T23:51:00.012+08:002009-07-31T02:41:40.517+08:00

The title of this post is actually misleading because I went and actually bought the books already! Well, 3 out of the 4 books have been on my list for quite some time, so at least I'm able to cross them out from the ever-growing list in my notebook. When I had renewed my Fully Booked discount card back in June, the customer service people gave me a 20% discount voucher which I could redeem

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-41134498764316434322009-07-26T01:13:00.001+08:002009-07-26T02:03:29.325+08:00

Oh yes, I do!I've been to this city a couple of times already, and every visit always feels new and exciting. And I am so in love with the temples.My ultimate Bangkok goal: to have my picture taken with a Buddhist monk. But this is, obviously, highly impossible.P.S. Will see you again in September, Bangkok!

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-80561454562011386072009-07-25T23:43:00.003+08:002009-07-26T01:28:32.799+08:00

Yeah!! Now that I can slightly breathe from last week's hectic work routine, am posting now my results from this race. Modest running performance. I've definitely had better runs than this. But the results are okay, considering that (a) I had not run in weeks; (b) I only had one practice run before this race AND got sick afterwards; and (c) my last race was the Microsoft IE8 Run on May 31.So...

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-61164015278702200832009-07-24T21:23:00.008+08:002009-07-24T22:08:43.117+08:00

It's mid-year review season in UNICEF.Which basically means all of the following: - overtime- barely any reading or blogging time- numbers swimming in my head- me as a possible victim of deep vein thrombosis because I hardly stand up from my desk anymore- endless presentation slides And all this eventually leads to death by PowerPoint.So to de-stress, I will do some very quick blogging here. My

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-38837775777337819402009-07-20T19:49:00.007+08:002010-10-10T13:35:52.167+08:00

In my office building, there's a small Books For Less branch right on the food podium area. So every time I get my bagel with cream cheese fix, I make sure to pass by Books For Less and do a quick scan of the new piles of previously-owned books--in the hopes that there's a great book out there that's waiting to be owned and loved by me. =)I find the whole notion of book hunting exciting (even

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-52437392408580671202009-07-17T14:58:00.001+08:002009-07-17T15:46:43.938+08:00

First, there was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Now there's Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, the latest literary spoof from Quirk Books to be published sometime in September. Is this all the rage now? Are these tongue-in-cheek parodies supposed to spark renewed interest in the classics? Is it all a clever ruse to get the children from this PSP and Guitar Hero generation to actually

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-2263244348707112432009-07-17T13:34:00.004+08:002009-07-17T13:45:42.842+08:00

Came across this old Nike commercial with Manny Pacquiao in it--along with Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Kobe Bryant and a few more star athletes.Watch him and his I'm-being-lightning-fast-as-usual punches. Way to go, Manny!

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-39854413043532169912009-07-15T01:12:00.006+08:002009-07-15T01:34:41.090+08:00

Tonight (Tuesday) was my first boxing session after getting back from Bangkok.It was tonight that I found out that my new Everlast EverGel glove wraps weren't going to protect me entirely from injuries after all. Was punching away as usual, and even learnt a new 9-punch combination. Ryan kept saying my punches remained strong even after the previous week of zero boxing, and, buoyed by that

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-44946111684470775442009-07-14T00:35:00.001+08:002009-07-14T01:47:53.856+08:00

Michael Jackson has been dead for over two weeks now, but the entire world still continues to mourn--and pay tribute--to the King of Pop in whatever way possible.The whole day of Monday looked pretty dismal in terms of the weather (it was raining the whole time), but because of the upcoming Run For Home race this Sunday, I sternly told myself to stick to tonight's practice run to stay in shape.

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-55371165361476128942009-07-13T15:27:00.006+08:002009-07-13T16:03:34.295+08:00

Something to look forward to this weekend.When I got back from Bangkok, I was happy to discover that they've extended the registration period. Signed up immediately for the 5km category at the nearest Globe Business Center.Why 5km instead of 10km? Because I'm not ready to do 10km, that's for sure. I haven't been regularly running these days due to the rain and the long work nights, so I

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-25913515173009194252009-07-12T23:51:00.001+08:002009-07-13T01:42:33.914+08:00

I have some serious blog backlog here. Just got back from Bangkok in the wee hours of Saturday morning, and I still feel a bit exhausted because I haven't exactly rested. But before I narrate the details of my Bangkok trip, I just want to share my latest purchase. Bought it the same day I landed in Manila. It's a hellolulu canvas laptop bag which I got in PowerMac Center, which, by the way,

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-50110535131881571582009-07-04T19:53:00.009+08:002009-07-04T20:24:51.627+08:00

Just a quick update on my new Everlast EverGel glove wraps.Of course, when Ryan saw them, he snickered, examined the pair with a doubtful look on his face, and predicted that my movements may be somewhat hampered by these gloves. I said to him that my punches would probably be not as quick as first, but I'd prefer to have injury-free boxing sessions and not wince every time my knuckles hit the

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-29874421698643610892009-07-04T19:11:00.009+08:002009-07-04T19:30:15.847+08:00

Finally, we managed to publish the page. So if you're on Facebook, go to the UNICEF Philippines page and become a fan!Just a few more screenshots: I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, especially with the Donate NOW! page, which I spent quite some time on. Will make a few updates this coming week, even though I'll be in Bangkok starting tomorrow.Yes, I'll be in Bangkok once more; it is

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-19363556653353213112009-07-02T22:56:00.005+08:002009-07-02T23:20:18.990+08:00

I am now the blissful owner of a spankin' new pair of Everlast EverGel Glove Wraps. Couldn't find actual knuckle guards in any of the local sports shops, but I tried on these glove wraps with gel cushioning (Php1,450 less 20%, as Planet Sports was on sale).It was love at first fit. With these glove wraps, there'll be minimal damage to my knuckles. I'm sick of undoing my normal hand wraps and

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-90916500830413905332009-06-28T19:25:00.009+08:002009-06-28T22:42:15.725+08:00

I always add new books to my "Books to Buy" list in my Moleskine every time I browse a bookstore.If I had my way, I'd buy all the new, interesting books in sight. Alas, I am only a commoner and must resign myself to a realistic, trimmed-down list until book sale season in August-September starts and I can then maximize my book-buying budget.Here are the books I plan to get very soon (as in, this

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-11786741564043872612009-06-28T00:03:00.005+08:002009-06-28T00:23:29.316+08:00

Woohoo! Saw only now the first batch of concept art for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. I canNOT wait! March 2010 is so far away. Am eager to see Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter and Christopher Lee as The Jabberwock. (Incidentally, Jabberwocky is one of my all-time favorite poems. I actually memorized it at some point in my life. Haha.)Off-hand, I think this is an ideal Burton film. When I was

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-48359180427318776552009-06-27T21:30:00.006+08:002009-06-27T22:38:06.780+08:00

This is basically a re-post of a note I made on Facebook on my all-time top 10 favorite books. Wrote this note way back in March, and I just feel that I ought to re-post this on my blog because I love making lists, and nothing is better than a list of books! Besides, I started this blog in the first place to talk about the books I read. So here's the list then.P.S. These are actually the

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-61379650661594845022009-06-27T20:08:00.002+08:002009-06-27T20:34:44.410+08:00

Spent some few after-office hours creating a Facebook page for UNICEF Philippines upon the request of Marge, who asked for my help. The page is still in the raw stages, as I'm just playing around with some features. Nothing spectacular about the whole thing, but I did want to create some customized boxes--so I had to review what little I remember of HTML (argh) and read up on Facebook Markup

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-89528632690269211442009-06-21T00:55:00.007+08:002009-06-21T01:20:49.220+08:00

Okay, that's such a Microsoft thing to say, but I just love how Apple's new Safari 4 browser epitomizes that slogan.Last weekend saw me fussing over my Safari Top Sites page (see above screenshot) for a good 30 minutes, deciding which pages I most frequent and therefore deserve to be on that Big Brother-like display. Ah, the simple technological joys in life. So aside from the ubiquitous Facebook

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-31733520237226694012009-06-20T23:31:00.000+08:002009-06-21T00:40:21.231+08:00

... having wifi in my home at last! I let my mac stay on the whole day, downloading torrents and doing software updates.But that didn't stop me from going to Starbucks this afternoon and using my other Globe Visibility unlimited wifi account. Stayed in Starbucks for six hours. If my house could smell exactly like Starbucks, I'd never have to leave home.

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-68648778346907954392009-06-14T18:04:00.009+08:002009-06-14T18:39:21.576+08:00

I turned 29 this month.Usually, I hibernate on my birthday. I've never been much of a birthday party person, believe it or not, and I'd rather spend my special day (and hard-earned cash) by going to the bookstore alone and going on an utterly self-justified book shopping spree. It's my own version of an exciting birthday bash.This year's celebration was different from the previous ones. I was-

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-3789079245121201702009-06-13T12:03:00.001+08:002009-06-28T00:19:51.458+08:00

Where oh where have you been all my life?I've been cardioboxing for almost two years already and this is the first time I'm seeing these knuckle guards. I am so ignorant.I literally can't wait to get my hands on these things. Got two new minor knuckle wounds on my right hand in last Wednesday's session, and they weren't obviously pretty to look at. (Three of my officemates actually grimaced at

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-52140496030878921442009-06-13T11:27:00.006+08:002009-06-13T11:53:35.240+08:00

Had a severe stomach ache yesterday. It must have been something I ate on Thursday evening. The only stuff I had then were beef mami noodles, oatmeal cookies and a latte frappe. I can't determine which one was the nasty cause.Friday, at 4am, I started having stomach pains and, er, gastro-intestinal disturbances. In other words, a so-not-sexy case of diarrhea.I couldn't have any coffee or ice

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-53333661497178134262009-06-11T18:04:00.009+08:002009-06-11T19:52:25.280+08:00

“At the time of the bombing, the hotel was housing many humanitarian workers there to provide life-saving assistance to Pakistan’s most vulnerable people. This is an attack on the very humanitarian principles to which Persy was dedicated, and it is reprehensible and unacceptable."Yesterday, the entire UNICEF Manila staff found out that one of our former UNICEF Philippines colleagues, Perseveranda

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-46370960616737020632009-06-03T23:08:00.007+08:002009-06-04T01:05:48.630+08:00

After more than a week of not boxing, I went to the boxing gym tonight after work. My hands were well-rested, and I was psyched to work out again with my trainer.When I got there, the place was full of people. All this nasty rain and cold weather is forcing people to work up a sweat indoors. Ryan was in the middle of training this big guy, and so I did warm-ups and punching bags first to pass

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-17111009528471202512009-05-31T22:11:00.001+08:002009-05-31T22:37:22.205+08:00

I am currently obsessed with Chocolatier 3: Decadence By Design, the 3rd installment in this popular game series. For the past few days, I've been sleeping late, truly fixated on building my chocolate empire.I wouldn't consider myself a gamer because there are basically only two games I really love: The Sims and Chocolatier. (Although I do like playing time management games sometimes--like the

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-61154600488498284432009-05-31T20:48:00.013+08:002009-05-31T21:52:30.108+08:00

It was drizzling at 5:30 am when i did my warm-ups at the assembly area of the Microsoft IE8 Run in between the NBC Tent and High Street. The rain wasn't obviously going to stop any time soon, but that fact didn't deter the crowd of participants from running. I felt particularly happy in this event, because it was being held for the benefit of UNICEF's Child Protection program (on online

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-71534819554979623362009-05-26T23:43:00.001+08:002009-05-27T00:09:15.161+08:00

I was in such a bad mood yesterday evening. To let out my anger, I did two hours' worth of boxing. One hour working on the bags and another hour with Ryan and his mitts.There I was, punching away angrily at the wall bag and delivering straight rights as forcefully as I could--that I barely noticed that my trainer was standing a few meters away from me, observing my punches. It didn't help that I

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-77351741305112316072009-05-23T20:51:00.007+08:002009-05-23T21:30:07.097+08:00

I wish I were young again, so that I could play with these.Actually, I can buy this UNICEF Transport Play Set (SRP: Php1,300) and keep it in my work area. So that when I'm feeling particularly stressed, I'll just whip it out from under my table and start playing. Haha.Kidding aside, I think it's a great toy set. It's never too early to let children be familiar with UNICEF work. =)Oh, and here's

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-30024503191849538452009-05-19T00:32:00.005+08:002009-05-19T02:06:41.286+08:00

Last Monday, May 11, my trainer Ryan had something in store for me. We boxed for an hour straight and he didn't allow me to have water in between. But he wanted me to take a conservative amount of water before the 1-hour session to prep me.No water within that 1-hour period. No water during breaks. Actually, what breaks?He only spent like a total of 60 seconds stretching my arms and then back

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-55235282007476704132009-05-18T01:18:00.003+08:002009-05-18T08:39:54.728+08:00

Because I had nothing to do this Sunday (and because I was still reeling from the mini trauma of having my possessions stolen from me in broad daylight last Saturday), I stayed at home. Spent the first half of my day Facebooking and downloading Mac software updates and torrent files.Then I saw my younger sister Karla's copy of The Time Traveler's Wife lying around the house, and out of idle

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-34124479764029813542009-05-16T23:35:00.003+08:002009-05-16T23:45:42.584+08:00

My bag--and all of its contents--got stolen today. I am so pissed off.My mobile phone was an old unit, so I could basically afford to lose that (I was planning to buy a new phone anyway), and I was able to have my SIM and ATM cards blocked, so those were taken care of. Thankfully, my wallet then just a bit of cash (Php 300 to 400, maybe) and that I had not withdrawn any large amounts of

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-33439398331727360562009-05-10T22:13:00.004+08:002009-05-11T09:57:32.123+08:00

Friday. Ran 5km in 29:53 minutes (5.9 min/km pace). Good enough, although I still need to improve. Checked my time when I hit the 3k-mark and I was at 16-something minutes. I notice that every time I run, my speed dwindles after 5km and I end up with an average pace of 6 min/km or more. Must learn to sustain a sub-6 pace in my 5km runs at least.After my run, hurried to meet up with Bun in

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-58504119493812382172009-05-07T00:02:00.003+08:002009-05-07T01:02:04.146+08:00

I have a prankster of a trainer.Ryan seems hell bent on making me laugh during boxing sessions so that I'd lose concentration and give him an excuse to holler out quasi-insults about my punches. He puts on this mischievous expression on his face and then keeps on saying things like, "Punch harder! Hindi yan suntok ng isang taong madalas mag-10k!" And while he shouts this out, he maintains this

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-87280259814023713782009-05-03T17:04:00.005+08:002009-05-03T17:18:51.504+08:00

UNICEF Philippines' website (www.unicef.org/philippines) has great, updated info and stories on children. Please check it out! And don't forget to donate! Go to the Support UNICEF page and click on the links on the right sidebar to donate either via credit card or cash/cheque.You can also donate by calling the UNICEF Philippines hotline: + 632 758 1000. Hope you can support us! =)

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-49037521483091093042009-05-02T18:21:00.008+08:002009-05-02T19:27:59.150+08:00

I know I'm being awfully boring here, but my life these days basically consists of work-box-work-run-work-box-work-work-lots more work-box-run (and some reading in between).My regional supervisor, Y, was in Manila just last Tuesday to Thursday to see our team's Q1 fundraising campaign results and to work out our budget and income from 2009 to 2012. Lord. I mean, it was a very fruitful exercise

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-78476700979085569282009-04-27T11:41:00.005+08:002009-04-27T11:48:46.329+08:00

Finally! A new race to look forward to.The original race date (as seen above) was May 24, 2009 but since there were already 4 races lined up that same day, Microsoft decided to move theirs to May 31. Which is perfect, so that runners don’t have to go crazy deciding which race to join. =)The Microsoft IE8 run marks the launch of the new Internet Explorer 8 and is held for the benefit of UNICEF’s

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21043039.post-84013562021451081172009-04-26T15:02:00.003+08:002009-04-26T15:22:42.291+08:00

I love my friends, who seem to find the best videos online. Got this from These Curious Days. "Onwards" is this pretty little video made by illustrator James Jarvis in collaboration with Nike, and it wonderfully summarizes the joy of running.My favorite parts in the video?- running up those Escher-like staircases- getting attacked by a crow (hahaha!)- running at night and into the sunrise (what

GINAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12746930418479342693noreply@blogger.com0