by the way…
BTW…i know it’s a pretty late post but do attend The Heights’ Art Talks event on basic photography this coming Friday, March 3, at the Berchmans AV room (that’s tomorrow pala =). I’ll be one of the speakers and I’ve been tasked to give a short talk on basic composition and digital darkroom techniques (in other words, adobo putoshop 
… ewan ko kung bat ako nasama dito… *shrugs*… Anyhow, it starts at 4pm and ends around 630ish… Here’s the poster, see you there! =)
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ps: Happy Birthday to the best news and public affairs website in this country … I can’t help but beam with pride coz I was once a part of this great company for 2 years =) … Check out their bday supplement @ INQ7 turns 5! =)
Ok commercial break muna…
Ok friends….if you’re from Ateneo and would like to learn something new, then why not drop by and show me some lovin’ support:
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Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): A Waste Reduction Strategy to Promote Clean Production and Pollution Prevention
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…as part of the requirements to fulfill my quest for higher learning, I’ll be presenting a seminar on the above mentioned topic on Monday, March 6, 6-7pm at the Lecture Hall 3 (SEC-C 201)… In a nutshell, EPR is a product and waste management system in which manufacturers – not the consumer or the government – take responsibility for the environmentally safe management of their product when it is no longer useful or discarded. In other words, a company must be concerned not only with making and selling the product, but also with what will become of the product at the end of its useful life… This would prevent packaging materials (plastic bags, shampoo sachets, styro scraps and other schtuff) from clogging our drainage systems when they are disposed away without thought, or hazardous materials from leaking into our soils and water systems when old computers and other electronic waste are junked into the garbage dumps when they become obsolete…Since companies are so aggressive in developing and selling their products, it should only be fair that they would also take the same stance in implementing environmentally sound policies that would prevent the further degradation of the environment and human health…
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Oh Shiyet… I’m just rambling on here… basta, wish me luck and see you guys there =)
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If you have the chance, do check out my other classmates’ seminars this coming Saturday, March 4:
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Student’s Area, Manila Observatory
10AM - 11AM - Life Cycle Analysis as a Tool for Decision Making
11AM – 12 noon - How is our current toxic and hazardous waste disposed?
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Lecture Hall 3 (SEC-C 201)
1PM - 2PM - Role of Microorganisms in Soil Productivity
2PM - 3PM - Mangrove Forest Rehabilitation by a Private University
3PM - 4PM - Cordillera Eco-Cultural Trail
March 9 – 6PM-7PM - Environmental Benefits of Bus Rapid Transit System
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My first lifestyle shoot with pretty people =)
I got a call last Monday a little after lunch…. The voice belonged to someone from Philippine Star and she asked if I was available for a shoot on Wednesday morning (that was yesterday) … I inquired what the shoot was all about and she said they needed a photographer for a shoot with Tweety de Leon and Amina Aranaz who they were featuring on their Allure Lifestyle section which comes out every Sunday …. I’ve never shot for the Philippine Star and I’ve never done *real* people-photography… and of all people, goddesses like Tweety and Amina agad ang ishooshoot ko?! Siyempre nag-panic agad ako =]…
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I was so tempted to say no thanks, after all, not only did I not have the skills and experience to shoot pretty people, but I also did not have the proper equipment at all… my camera suffers from extreme shutterlag and is only good for taking photos of things that don’t move, and despite all the lighting workshops I’ve attended with masters Jay Alonzo and Jo Avila, including 2 months worth of training for a soon-to-open baby photography studio I’ll be working in (abangan niyo yun =), my photography lighting skills couldn’t save me even if my life depended on it! =]
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But anyways… to make the long story short, I was convinced by my friends to grab the opportunity and shell out moolah to rent studio lights and a lights assistant for a day — after all, not every clueless newbie like me gets this kind of chance to take photos of such beautiful people right away plus have her work published in the Sunday lifestyle section of a very well-respected newspaper pa!
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We shot at the new Hyatt hotel near Roxas Boulevard in Manila and I took Tweety’s photos in their gorgeous, super opulent LiLi restaurant. Amina’s photos were taken in one of their 3 presidential suites which had a breathtaking panoramic view of the Manila Bay sunset. I was told that an overnight stay in the presidential suite costs something like US$2,000 per night. *whew*…
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Anyhow, Tweety and Amina were not at all the snobby primadonnas I had initially feared that they might be, they were actually really nice, patient and very easy to work with =) … I think my photos turned out pretty well especially those of Amina’s because by then, I had gotten more comfortable with the lights and the camera I was using, and also had more locations to shoot her in…the fact that there were less people hovering around also helped a lot since I didn’t feel so pressured to look like I knew exactly what I was doing =) …
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The shoot would not have been possible without the help of my friends — I just wanna say thanks to my girlfriends at Blow-Up Babies (Shells, Margaux, Pearl and Pam) and PeopleAsia (Tats and Sam) for urging me to do the shoot when I was thinking of turning it down … to u-know-who-u-are for going with me during the impromptu ocular inspection last Tuesday and for being super loving and patient with me despite the roller-coaster drama I was going through that day…. to Pearl and Jong for lending me their super precious kick-ass cams and to Pammy (the prettiest photography teacher I know) who was there for me the whole entire time because she knew how much I needed her there — not just for guidance and stand-in purposes, but also for art direction and super mega 24/7 tech support =) (gosh what would I do if I didn’t have friends like you? I love you all so so so much! =) (Photo at the side is Pam and our lighting guy, Junjun =)
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I’m so tempted to post the photos on my site but I’ll wait till they’re published na muna =) …. I’m told that it will come out on March 12 ata =)
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btw, I got featured at Pixelbureau.com …hehe la lang =)
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crazy spinning thing
Because I don’t want to forget the crazy, dizzy, spinning, kiddie fun rides we had last week …
My funny valentine…
Thank you… for breakfast this morning at the park… for the thoughtful present and the sweet valentine card … for spending time with me amidst your super stressful schedule… for telling me you were sorry because you didn’t have flowers for me … for letting me get away with the terrible things I texted to you when I was going home from work this evening and my inner demons started getting the best of me and I was bitching out of some sort of imaginary self-pity because I felt sorry for myself about not getting any flowers (gosh how shallow can I get?) …. And then…. For taking my breath away upon finding the bouquet of beautiful roses waiting for me when i got home…. I was surprised…no, shocked… (umm, mortified?!) to see them there waiting for me… they were in the prettiest tangerine hue I’d ever seen, each one representing the months we’ve been together …. you were setting me up all along and I fell into the trap, showing my best behavior yet =] … I didn’t know what to say to you then… sobrang pahiya … I was and still am so ashamed of myself for acting like such a shallow brat… but you forgave me despite all the bad, hurtful, terrible things I had spewed out earlier…I’ll try not to be so negatively impulsive again next time the urge to have a diva moment strikes =/ …
Happy Valentine’s day… thank you for making it so memorable… i’ll never forget this day =)
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Up, up and away…
I finally got to take photos of the much-awaited hot air balloon festival at Clarkfield Pampanga yesterday =)
… thanks to you-know-who-you-are for making it all possible =) … I had such a happy semi-weekend (sana whole weekend =/)… time with you is never enough… *big, big hug* =)
The Comfort of a Toilet Seat
Oh the things we take for granted…like the cold comfort of a toilet seat…. I wont go into detail but suffice to say, I came home last week and felt something was missing… our toilet seat had come off because the hinge that connected it onto the water closet had somehow broken off… so I had to live without one for more than a week and let me just say that every effort on the cold, hard surface of the bowl was a dreadful, direct balancing act for my tush … anyhow, the point of this blog entry is not to embarrass myself here or to make you cringe, laugh and pass gas in the process, but to, umm, remind everybody to count our blessings and be thankful for the little daily things we take for granted … mundane things like the plain, old toilet seat that kiss our ass and make our lives a whee bit more comfortable each day =)
(As of this afternoon, I have become the happy owner of a brand-new super special, extra soft, padded comfy toilet seat whose color actually matches my washroom, sink and bowl (it’s sky blue! =)…thanks bby =)
Anyhow….we watched Narnia at the cinema today =) The film is so dreamy and magical =) … Unlike other dazzling, magnificently-done films like LOTR though, whose vast kingdom map, storyline, characters and numbing fight scenes are just too darn trivial (well, for me at least!), Narnia is simple and easy to digest and enjoy (my kind of film …with breathtaking scenery, talking animals, a tragically wicked snow queen, a majestic unicorn and a fabulously big-haired lion king =) …Obviously, I’m no intellectual movie critic here and writing movie reviews just ain’t my thang but just go take my word for it and see it for yourselves! =)
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Goodbye 2005, Hello 2006!
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.Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2005 was a great year for all of you as it had been for me… it was a wonderful year thanks to all of you who enriched my life someway or another =)
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Wishing you all…
…the wings to fly…
…the vision to dream…
…the heart to love…
and the spirit to embrace all the beauty in life!
May 2006 bring you all that you have ever dreamed of!
May we all stay beautiful, healthy, happy and may we make a lot more love, money and friends than we did last year!
Cheers! michelle.
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scumbags.
im usually a very polite girl online….so forgive me if i offend some people out there who might come across this blog entry…
… the problem with pinoy policemen is that instead of busting criminals, they go around hunting for innocent, helpless victims…
this one goes out to those stoopid, ugly, asshole policemen who, on the night of the 11th, preyed upon me and my friend….
…i know things could have been worse and i should be thankful that you dickheads did not take us somewhere else and stripped us off of everything including our dignity and the clothes on our back like those horror stories i’ve heard circling around…. but still….
…i hope you and your kind will suffer miserably with erectile dysfunction problems and you wake up one day realizing that your ugly, itchy, scratchy, tiny, wrinkled balls have fallen out!
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more than a month overdue…
Finally … photos taken during my Shell stint are up =) You can check them out here =)
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