On “The One”

During a “catch up” dinner last weekend with my small circle of college gal pals, I was asked (more like bombarded with) a number of questions relating to my current relationship status: engaged to be married. There was a mix of giddy girly questions, as anyone would expect from a group of ladies, and a sprinkle of serious, hard-hitting, real life questions. One of my friends asked me, “Are you scared?”. Much to their surprise, I candidly answered, “Of  course!” Naturally, I got the follow up questions of: “Are you scared that you’ll change your mind? You’re sure he’s ‘The One’, right?” due to my controversial answer.

This “The One” deal can be quiet a challenge to navigate through, let alone understand and accept for others. I don’t plan to present a case for or against it here, but simply share a little about what I’ve observed about it in relation to the big M. I answered my friends’ latter question with a more emphatic “Of course!” and after, added “but I don’t think finding ‘The One’ is enough to have a good marriage.”

The elusive search for ‘The One’ we see in TV series, movies, and sometimes even hear from our friends may seem well and good compared to getting in and out of relationships, but I don’t think finding Mr. Right or Ms. Right assures anyone of a strong, happy, and growing marriage. It’s not enough, simply because Mr. Right is still human, no matter how perfect his hair appears to be (trust me, that’s got to have some hair product somewhere!).

Perhaps my thoughts may not be considered valid since I haven’t taken the plunge just yet, but the reason I can even gather the courage to step onto the diving board is because marriage promises selflessness on paper. I assure he who wants to make me his better half, that I will make mistakes. In fact, I can easily, without qualms or difficulty, promise him tons. But I find the confidence to reveal all my imperfections to this “one” because this other imperfect individual will not have to work on a marriage with me simply for me. He will work on it because we’re not going to be the only ones in the boat.

I believe that a life-long commitment can work, last, and survive because the commitment is not only made by imperfect humans to other imperfect humans. Rather it is made along and to a perfect God who will be the relationship’s ultimate source of love, forgiveness, new beginnings, and strength. Without him, there is nowhere humans can draw supplies to last a lifetime commitment. And without him, there is no reason to.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

- 1 Corinthians 13:3-7 MSG

-RC

*Photo from The [Haute] Collective

Are you posting too much about yourself on the Internet?

I recently interviewed gaming and blogging guru Carlo Ople of New Media and Waukster Online about teenagers and the use of Internet. I pitched this feature to 2bU because I noticed the youth’s alarming poor social networking usage, posting personal information, photos, and even negative or critical opinions which are all viewed as “normal” these days. Status messages and tweets containing cuss words, comments berating personalities and personal friends, and sexual hints are considered as “acceptable” and surprisingly, even conventional! Young people have a false notion that the Internet and social networking is for “expression,” which defines no limit thus resulting in much negativity. Sadly, it is accepted as status quo.

The story “Are you posting too much about yourself on the Internet” was published last Saturday, June 26 in Philippine Daily Inquirer’s 2bU section. Read more about why the youth need to learn to use Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and the like wisely, and when too much is too much online.

“TOO MUCH INFORMATION!” THAT’S what we shout when cautioning friends against sharing much more than what we need and want to know about them.

We’ve all read our share of “random” and “innocent” posts, status messages and photos of contacts broadcasting thoughts and information best kept to themselves.

Many of us have this incredible urge to check on friends and acquaintances on Facebook, and to use the updates to guess a contact’s state of mind and being. There are people who wear their heart on their sleeve—or their status message.

For the full article, please click here. Please do pardon the misspelled word in the article.

Whether you still consider yourself as part of the youth bracket or not, everyone can stand to learn a thing or two from Carlo’s advice. I hope you find something useful in this article!

-RC

Are you listening?

It was another usual day of work for me, writing articles, scheduling shoots, and editing pages, but at the end of the seemingly normal work day, I was still pondering about listening and learning after an incident. One of my other top five strengths as identified by the Strengths Finder 2.0 book by Tom Rath is that of being a “learner,” or one who always wants to learn anything and everything. My learner theme ranks even higher than my futuristic theme, (see related post “No fear“), and I already think the latter is exercised more often. My fiance would probably beg to differ, as he’s already so accustomed to (another way of saying possibly tired of!) my daily “I want to learn (fill in the blank)!”

We often hear the wise saying to never cease being a student, and that life is just a a big classroom, but can learning only be done through books and experience? I wish it were enough. Today I realized that listening goes hand-in-hand with learning. If we don’t know how to listen, we can miss out on the whole and learn only a percentage of the lesson.

A lot of today’s young people need to practice the skill of listening, especially since most of our past times involve our self-expression rather than absorption. Today, kids and young adults have the loudest voice in society in comparison to generations past, but it has hindered us from valuing the experiences of those before us. Because we are used to “being heard” and “having a say,” we have delusions of being right most, if not all the time. (Of course the “I’m unstoppable” teenager quality doesn’t help in this area at all.)

In conversations, are we mostly talking about ourselves and others or are we listening? Have we become so used to self-expression and voicing our opinions, that we have become unteachable? Do we feel, now that we’ve graduated and begun to earn salaries and pay taxes, that everything we think, say, and do is right because we are “adults?”

Learning entails listening and more often than not, it entails humbling oneself.

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. – Proverbs 12:15

-RC

Sexy mama

I met Barni Alejandro during a previous interview for LOOK magazine. Back then, she was still developing The Sexy Chef’s new diet programs, which includes a post-pregnancy diet to get mothers’ pre-baby body back. A few months later, I interviewed Barni, Rachel Alejandro, and Nadine Tengco for a feature in the magazine which is out in LOOK magazine’s May/June 2010 issue with Camille Villar on the cover. The best part of the diet is it allow mothers to continue breastfeeding because the diet is malunggay-fortified (moringa), which aids in producing breast milk.

Here’s a link to the article which was reprinted last Friday, June 4, in Inquirer Lifestyle’s Fashion and Beauty issue.

Sexy mama

Return to your pre-pregnancy body with Sexy Chef’s latest program, Body After Baby—without giving up breastfeeding

SOME WOMEN HAVE ALL THE LUCK. Some belong to the rare breed of mothers who look like they never grew a belly.

But let’s face it: Most women struggle with pregnancy weight gain that takes years to lose completely, if at all. Many never regain their old figure.

Other women dread the expected trade-off of weight gain for a bundle of joy.

While the pains of childbearing are said to disappear once you behold your child for the first time, the weight unfortunately doesn’t go away so fast.

It is because of stories of frustrated mothers who try in vain to lose post-partum weight that the Sexy Chef duo, Rachel and Barni Alejandro, developed one of their three new programs for 2010, Body After Baby.

Photos by Jovel Lorenzo

-RC

Beauty line is fruit-juice based

I’ve been wanting to switch to an all-organic skincare ever since I began learning about the chemicals and toxins in regular skincare lines. Thankfully, I was assigned to interview Alain Thompson of Juice Beauty whom I was able to ask about making the big switch. Her advice? Stick to the product for at least 30 days, because the breakouts might mean your skin is just purging itself of the toxins it’s accumulated! I’m about two weeks into my switch, there are still some bumps (literally and figuratively!) but I do hope that the organic skincare works out. Got to think long term!

Not everything marked ‘organic’ is so. Juice Beauty’s Alaina Thompson spills insider secrets
WITH THE GREEN lifestyle’s increased popularity, it’s quite a surprise that there is only one law that regulates organic beauty products, the California Organic Product Act, which requires at least 70 percent organic content.

Despite the growing trend, which has made going green or being environmental the latest trend in lifestyle changes, Juice Beauty’s Global Marketing and Sales Manager Alaina Thompson reveals, organic beauty products are not tightly regulated.

“When someone calls a product ‘organic,’ most people believe it, and you would like to think that you could believe it; but unfortunately, it’s not always that authentic,” says Thompson.

Read the rest of the article here and visit Juice Beauty for more info on the brand.

“I have one of those jobs I can’t explain to my parents” – Younghee Jung, Nokia

On a media trip to Bangkok last February, I was both beguiled and amused with one of the speakers, Younghee Jung. She is a design research leader at Nokia, and quite frankly, a breath of fresh air during a morning of short talks. Her unique and curious sense of fashion caught my eye, as she was the only one dressed in fashionable garb, and being the only Asian speaker that morning must have also had something to do with my piqued interest.

Her presentation, too, about how Nokia researches on languages, symbols, and signs, that are universal and easy to use for their software, was interesting as well. I never realized how much research goes into the symbols on our mobile phones’ menu screens! And just how many people have to do that.

Fortunately, I was able to interview her about her cool job. The story, “Cool job: Design research leader for mobile phones” was published last April in 2bU, Inquirer.

WALKING UP THE PLATFORM IN A BLACK jacket with a large ruche detailing at the back, a white top, and a pair of black exaggerated jodhpurs, Younghee Jung lit up a morning press presentation of Nokia in Bangkok with her bright smile and kawaii Asian accent and mannerisms.

Her chic black and white ensemble may initially have grabbed people’s attention, but it was her sense of humor and energy and passion for design coupled with her fun job description that kept one’s interest in her. “I have one of those jobs I can’t explain to my parents,” Nokia’s research leader jokingly said.

It may be hard to explain but it sure is worth the possible confusion-filled holiday meals and family get-togethers. She contributes to software design for Nokia by researching on how to create one that’s easy for users, such as learning what gesture would be the simplest to do to instantly switch a mobile phone to silent mode without pressing any buttons. She looks into the future of communication, mobile phones, and people’s lifestyles daily, to create design that will be useful in at least three to five years.

I posted the link above, with the article’s full title. Enjoy!

-RC

Photo courtesy of www.picnicnetwork.org

Return to Boracay

I have been to Boracay only four times, and on the third visit I declared I had seen Boracay enough to last me a lifetime. I was recently assigned to write a story on a newly-acquired resort and contrary to my last visit’s sentiments, found myself enjoying my brief 3-days-2-nights stay. The food was delicious at Boracay Garden Resort and their bed was insanely comfortable, especially for its barkada-friendly price.

Read my story, Boracay is both party place and relaxing getaway, which was published today.

NOTHING COMPARES TO THE white powdery sand, clear blue waters, and distinct spirit of Boracay. It is no wonder that even with all the new resorts sprouting around, Boracay remains the favorite vacation spot.

There are two unique draws to Boracay—the infamous party scene, and the quiet getaway relaxation.

Whatever attracts you, the newly renamed Boracay Garden Resort is perfect for guests who want the most mileage for their hard-earned money.

Definitely a place to consider booking for a budget-friendly yet enjoyable Boracay trip.

-RC