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In Uncategorized on
February 27, 2015

Vacation Mode On

Hello!! Sorry I wasn’t able to say goodbye properly. It has been a hectic week. We are currently waiting for take off and I’m posting this thru my phone. 





I’m just letting you know that I would probably be extra “quiet” here for the next few weeks. We’ll be vacationing with the family in L.A. Woot!! #excited! 

It’s going to be our first time and I’m sure it’s going to be loads of fun. I’ll be updating my Instagram and Facebook, so you can check us out there using the hashtag #abmetravels

See you on the other side! 

Signing off … 

In Uncategorized on
February 16, 2015

The Ultimate Mash Up : Thinking Out Loud / I’m Not The Only One

Oh gosh! Can I just say … this is perfect! I’m totally loving Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith songs lately and this is jus what I need. Youtube singers Sam Tsui and Casey Breves did the ultimate mash-up. So much feels!

Enjoy. And you’re welcome.

— with that, I’m going back to my cave. 😀

In Uncategorized on
September 2, 2014

I no longer have Patience …

Update and Correction – The below quote is from José Micard Teixeira and not from Ms. Meryl Streep. 

meryl streep

I no longer have patience for certain things, not because I’ve become arrogant, but simply because I reached a point in my life where I do not want to waste more time with what displeases me or hurts me. I have no patience for cynicism, excessive criticism and demands of any nature. I lost the will to please those who do not like me, to love those who do not love me and to smile at those who do not want to smile at me. I no longer spend a single minute on those who lie or want to manipulate. I decided not to coexist anymore with pretense, hypocrisy, dishonesty and cheap praise. I do not tolerate selective erudition nor academic arrogance. I do not adjust either to popular gossiping. I hate conflict and comparisons. I believe in a world of opposites and that’s why I avoid people with rigid and inflexible personalities. In friendship I dislike the lack of loyalty and betrayal. I do not get along with those who do not know how to give a compliment or a word of encouragement. Exaggerations bore me and I have difficulty accepting those who do not like animals. And on top of everything I have no patience for anyone who does not deserve my patience.” – Meryl Streep

 

I’ve seen this quote/article going viral in social media today and it really hit me hard. Big time. I’d like to think I am half way there. I am practicing the “art of dedma“, most of the time. But of course, there are times that I still can’t stop myself from caring, from saying my piece. I still react to things/situations by instinct, and most of the time, harshly. Which makes matters worse, really. 

But then again, I feel that if I just keep quiet then I’ve already accepted defeat. (and I am not one to back down, I tell ya.)

I had a conversation with Mr. A a few weeks back. I was telling him about another conversation I was having with a friend. I wanted to get his opinion on the matter. (Thinking about it now, it was not his opinion I am after but rather his validation that I do have a point and that I am right … hehe, narcissistic much?) Of course, Mr. A did not side with me nor with the other friend (so typical of him!). He is very objective like that.  — yes hon, I am praising you on the blog. LOL!

One thing he said that made me shut up was :

“Did you lose anything when you weren’t able to answer back?” (Not sure if I translated it right… medyo mahirap sya ha!)

I had an AHA! moment right there. Why should I bother insisting my point when clearly this other person is closed-minded? 

And just like Queen Elsa, I have to learn to : Let it go. Let it Go!

 

Credit: I got the quote and photo from this blog

 

In Uncategorized on
August 26, 2014

Ice Bucket Challenge: I got challenged and why I’m not doing it

icebucket     I have been nominated to do the Ice Bucket Challenge earlier today. While I admire people who do the challenge as it is for a good cause, I will not douse myself with ice-cold water and here is why:

  1. I am in the middle east for crying out loud! Water is more expensive than petrol in this place. I did the calculation! 1 liter of water is about 2 AED while 1 liter of petrol is 1.7 AED (ok, it’s not much but you get the point). I have to correct myself on this. Water is almost the same price as the petrol, not necessarily more expensive. — Apparently my calculation is wrong … or I’ve been buying expensive drinking water. 😀
  2. There are places in the world that are experiencing drought … California is experiencing this right now! Why should I waste water??

I know that my argument is not as strong and some might say that it’s just a bucket of water…the world will not end, but I am making a stand. I’m trying to make a point as well. (Edit to add: it is not just one bucket of water. If there’s 1 million people doing this bucket of water challenge, then that’s 1 million bucket of ice water wasted, yes?)

A bucket of ice water on your head will not help this cause unless you actually give.  Those who do the challenge and then make a donation, well done. Those who take the challenge and just passes on the challenge to 3 other people without donating … well I don’t know what you’re trying to achieve. And to those who say I’m a douche for not participating … well, at least I made a donation.  

ALS

If you really want to raise awareness to ALS, go to www.alsa.org and make a donation. Now I challenge my readers to do the same. 

PS. Thank you for my cousin who tagged me to do the challenge. 

PPS. I started a conversation on my personal FB profile about this and someone suggested since petrol is cheaper, I should just do the #GasBucketChallenge. HAHA! I won’t because I might explode since I am hot. LOL. 

Another suggested that I just do the KFC Bucket Challenge instead. Hmmm.. That’s a thought. 

Guys, please donate! 😛

In Uncategorized on
May 6, 2014

Of Dirty Laundry and Floors

Sorry for being so random all of a sudden. I just realized that I am very lucky to live in a generation that most households have washing machines! I remember when I was younger, washing clothes required lots of preparation.

 

Of course first thing is to separate the coloreds from the whites. Then you pre-wash starting with the whites. You then wash with a bar detergent while smashing your clothes with a wooden paddle (yeah, so old school … right?). I also remember that they used to soak the clothes in soap then let it dry under direct sunlight. After a few hours, you then wash with clean water until there’s no more soap. AND we didn’t have fabric conditioners then. Imagine how stiff the clothes were!

So glad that they are now products that help ease the process of washing clothes. (FACT: I used to waste almost a whole day just doing the laundry!) We have a whole range to choose from. There are powdered detergents and fabric conditioners. Then they got more innovative and mixed the detergent with fabric conditioners! Have you tried the liquid detergents? Not sure if it’s better than its powder counterpart but it’s definitely something out of the box.

Take Persil Abaya for example. This was introduced in 2007 which is for specifically for black clothes (especially Abaya’s which are very delicate). When black fades, it doesn’t look good. Your clothes look worn out and old. But with Persil Abaya, they get revived! Then Persil White was introduced in 2010 which is a heavy duty detergent that keeps your whites very white. There’s also Persil Gel – another heavy duty detergent for all colors in your wash basket.

I’m just so lucky to have new innovations like these!

What about the floors (and walls!)? We used to just clean the house using soapy water. I hated the smell of disinfectants back then. Too strong for my taste. Now we have disinfectants (that are more affordable and just as effective!). Plus, with the right formulation, you can actually see that the product works!

*Persil and DAC are just a few brands from Henkel Products. Both are available in most supermarkets in the UAE.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. For more info, please check my Disclosure Policy

In Uncategorized on
December 17, 2013

Photography

The photographs are beautiful representations of ideas and thoughts.

Photography is the art of making the moments last a little longer, than they actually do. It is an interesting process involved in many spheres. One of those simply does not exist without it.  For example, advertising is the relatively new industry that constantly co-works with Photography. There is always a New York advertising Photographer taking pictures of a bottle of coke, later to transform it in a new advert. There are so many super cool ideas and effects, the photos are all about today. I have seen a lot of funny ads that have hours of working and planning behind them. People put so much work into creating photographs, because they simply care. The pictures are beautiful representations of ideas and thoughts. A photographer gets to think creatively before pushing the button of the camera. It is all about hard work, dedication, talent and desire. Behind every photo, there was a desire to put out something in the best possible way. It is just the same for the simple amateurs. An average girl that has a profile on a social network makes like 30 pictures of her in order to choose only one that is portraying the best look of her, in order to post it. Photographers at weddings make hundreds, thousands of photos just to get a few good pictures, which are the best. It is our desire and passion that keeps photography going on. Every image is taken with a special purpose, except the ones your phone makes accidentally in your pocket, but sometimes even those have some pretty colors or lights, it depends.

I caught myself so many times thinking about how important is for me to have a specific picture. The girls put make up on and do duck faces, because they want to look good in a picture. Of course every person has an individual idea about what is looking good. In the end, we all try our best for a photo. Photography is a big part of our lives today, we simply cannot ignore it. It is part of our weddings, birthdays, advertising campaigns, fashion magazines and it has a little place inside our souls. I am not trying to be silly right now but photography has what it takes to make a moment infinite. It can make you fall in love, it can make you cry or it just gets your attention for a while.


Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. Photo is provided by the sponsor.