I can’t believe it’s May already! My birthday is in a couple of weeks… my last birthday as a “miss”. Which also reminds me that we have more or less 6 months to go before our wedding! *panics*

Last year, I (together with 2 other colleagues) was sent to Lyon, France for a project assignment. I stayed in Lyon for 6 months while the other 2 stayed until the end of the year. Within those 6 months I was able to visit 16 cities in 8 different countries! First city & country we visited (besides Lyon of course) was Geneva, Switzerland. Since it was only a couple of hours away by train (and we still haven’t saved enough money from our allowance :P) we only went there for a day trip. We were told that Geneva is considered one of Europe’s priciest (meaning expensive) so to save we brought some snacks and drinks. It was a bit hassle to travel while you have a backpack on you especially if the backpack also contains a water bottle But it was a sacrifice I was willing to take so that I don’t get to spend a lot. I think I intended to spend only around 100 Swiss Francs which when converted to Philippine Pesos is around 4,000Php.

The “walking” tour began as soon as we had our Euros changed in to Swiss Francs. I’ll just list down the places we visited:

1. Jardin Anglais (English Garden) – famous for the flower clock.
2. Old Town – it was a bit tiring to walk around here since it  is situated on a hill and was quite steep.
3. St. Pierre Cathedral – the highest point in Old Town

The “walking” tour ended after lunch. We had to ride the bus and tram to get to these places:

1. Ariana Museum – has a huge collection of ceramics. There were also several flower arrangements on display at the lower ground when we went there. One disadvantage of having a backpack or a big bag is that we weren’t allowed to go in the museum without having to leave our bags in their locker room. We had to rent the lockers (I just could not remember how much) but being resourceful we tried to fit all our bags (5) in one locker! Haha!
2. The United Nations Museum – We did not bother buying a ticket to go inside because we were told by the guards that we cannot go in the garden which we really wanted to see.
3.  The Red Cross Museum – Unfortunately, it was closed and undergoing renovations.  On the way back to the bus stop we saw this giant broken chair.
4. Broken Chair – it was installed to urge all countries to sign the Mine Ban Treaty and to honor Handicap International’s commitments to help mine victims and to clear mined areas.
5. CERN – the birthplace of the World Wide Web. The first WWW server can be found here.

We passed by the Jardin Anglais on the way back to the train station and saw the monumental Jet d’Eau. It is a fountain that pumps water into the air upto 140m

That more or less sums up our day in Geneva. Here are some pictures of our trip:

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something. So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life. Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it. Make your mistakes, next year and forever.
- Neil Gaiman

Christmas is my favorite holiday because people are more giving and forgiving Although, people can get a bit impatient especially on the days before Christmas. Despite the cooler weather, people tend to be more hot headed. And since Christmas is my favorite holiday, I don’t let others affect my good mood. So I do my Christmas shopping ahead, around 1 week before Christmas. LOL! I make it a point to arrive at the malls as soon as they open so there are less people and also less traffic This year, I’ve completed my Christmas shopping in two days! It helped that I had listed down first the names of the people I’d be giving gifts to and as well as what I’d be giving them. For some reason, that list has also trimmed down. This is probably the least stressful Christmas for me and this would also probably be my last Christmas as a “girlfriend” next year I’ll be a “wife” Yep, I’m engaged!

Ever since I had the chance to travel in several places in Australia & in Europe, I’ve always wanted to live and study in Germany because of my German Dad. Unfortunately, my Dad was not too patient to teach my sister and I the German language so we only speak to our Dad in English. That’s another reason why I want to study in Germany- to learn the language. I have taken up several classes a few years back but I can only remember a few words. I still think its best to learn a language when you are actually living in the country of the language you’re trying to learn. You’re forced to study and speak the language. It would probably be hard especially if you’re living alone in a foreign country and not to mention the foreign language but that’s how you’ll learn (I think!). I mean you would want to know if people are talking about you, right? This was also my motive when I worked in Lyon, France for 6 months. But since I was with other Filipinos, I did not get to learn the language. I only knew a few words (verbs) thanks to my French teammates who tried to teach me during break times.

I’m happy to introduce my first (and maybe only) guest blogger, future lawyer, entrepreneur and most of all the very best sister in the whole wide world – Jules.

Hi there! Its my first blog ever, so please be kind to me.  Here it goes!

So I’ve been preparing for the bar exams since April of this year and I’ve always liked studying at cafes. The music and ambiance is kind of conducive to my learning – although I must say, there is always a moment of forced breaks when the clock hits 3PM.

My countless days and hours of study at Starbucks finally paid off! One day, Kuya Chris (Store Manager) approached me and gave me 2 invites to their 2012 Kick Off Party. Of course, I took it as an opportunity to relax after almost 6 months hiatus from the world.

Last November 3, my boyfriend and I went to said event at Starbucks Bonifacio High Street. It was scheduled to launch at 5PM but started around 530PM. The theme of the night was ”REKINDLE”.

The ticket has 4 parts in it:

1. Raffle Coupon – which entitled you to win special gift packs and one of the 10 planners
2. Red Pong Game – where you can win a Christmas Cookie/Free Tall Drink/SB Key Chain
3. Photobooth – for the memories!
4. 30% Discount – on tumblers and other SB merchandise.

Activities included a live band (Special 1 song appearance of Barbie Almalbis), paint the cup red (by SB partners), buy 1 take 1 SB drinks of your choice, special discount on add-ons, free coffee samples and food, and my favorite: PHOTO BOOTH!

Since I love photo booths, I’ll be talking about theirs. Well, you should have a coupon to take home a photo. You get 2 shots, and 1 of them you can choose to post. There is this space where you place the other half of your photo with a message on “What is your favorite memory of Christmas at Starbucks?” They will also choose a winner for the best message I guess. Since we had 2 coupons, we only posted 1 photo and was able to take home the 3 others! Yay for us!

We were not able to play the red pong game because the line was too long, and we wanted to avail of the drinks instead, despite the longer line at the counter. If you are familiar with Boni High Street, we started queuing at Kabisera, and it took us more than an hour before we got our drinks. But it was all worth it!

This years Christmas Drinks are:

1. Toffee-nut Frappe – my boyfriend said it tasted like leche flan?
2. Dark Cherry Frappe – my FAVORITE! It was offered I think 3 years ago, and I’m so glad its back!
3. Peppermint Mocha Frappe – taste like your typical frappe with a hint of mint.

I guess the highlight of the night for many was the announcement of the winners of the raffle. They gave away 10 Starbucks Planner. Initially it was only 3, but i guess management changed its mind. Unfortunately, we suck at raffles. But we did not go home empty handed, the staff and crew gave us free Christmas Cookies!

As for me, one highlight of my night was taking a photo with a mascot. I hate them, I cant stand to be with them, but it was Santa! So forgive me if I had to set aside my fears to take a photo with every child’s biggest mystery.

Also, my boyfriend and I always wanted to go on a date at Boni High, so the event paved the way. Although there were free food, we checked out a steakhouse and had dinner. Food was fab!

In a nutshell it was a great experience and I’m glad to be a part of it. I would like to thank Starbucks Philippines for making me part of it. Advance Happy 15th Anniversary Starbucks Philippines (they will turn 15 here in PH on the 4th of December).

Pictures galore!!

The first time I heard about this kind of boxes was last year back in Australia. I came across this website and thought it was a good way to discover different beauty & lifestyle products. So when I got an e-mail from the BDJ team regarding the BDJBox, I quickly signed up. The 12 month subscription was tempting but since I wanted to try it out first so I settled for a 3 months subscription instead. The 3 months subscription costs Php 1400, I actually saved Php 40. Before actually purchasing the box, I had to create my profile. I also had to answer a BDJ quiz and I the questions were mainly regarding my skin, hair, sense of style, lifestyle, etc. I think this was their way in determining which products to put in my BDJBox.

So here’s the unboxing of my October BDJBox

Loved the packaging!

Neatly packed

Greeting card from the BDJ team

This Month’s Beauty Picks

All laid out

Inspiring stickers

The products that I’ve been using regularly are the Garnier products (facial scrub & moisturizer). I have to say that the moisturizer does work as promised. I’ve noticed some of my dark spots lighten after a week of using it. It’s either that or the mixture of the facial scrub, Dickinson toner & Body Shop’s Tea Tree concealer that I’ve been using every morning.

Now I can’t wait for the November BDJBox!!

If you want your own BDJBox, just head on to their website.

So here’s my initial thoughts/tips:

• I love how lightweight it is.
• The loop is actually useful. Its just a bit too large.
• If you own an old iPod Touch and would like to transfer all your files, purchased apps etc. to your new device: Make sure to sync it first with your apple ID or create a back up on your computer.
• If you’re a bit clumsy, wait until cases are available before buying. (Unless you have a spare case or pouch that would fit the device)

Overall, I’m loving the new iPod Touch. Despite not being able to use it frequently (still waiting for a case to be available). I can say that it’s definitely a good buy and worth spending Php16,490^*. Next on my list… the Macbook Pro or Macbook Air!

Here’s a comparison that I saw from this site between the iPod Touch 5th gen and the iPhone 5:

How about you? Were you disappointed with the iPhone 5? Are you getting the iPod Touch 5^th gen instead?

So what have I been up to? As mentioned in my previous post, I’m currently in a 7-month work assignment here in Lyon, France. Since my arrival, I’ve been to a few places here in Europe and UK. I intend to write a separate blog post for each city/country I’ve visited. But for the meantime let me just share the places I’ve been to and plan to go to:

• April 2012 – Geneva, Switzerland
• May 2012
  • Saarbrücken, Germany
  • Paris, France
• June 2012
  • Venice, Italy
  • Rome, Italy
• July 2012
  • Barcelona, Spain
  • Nantes, France
  • Bordeaux, France
• August 2012
  • Brussels, Belgium
  • Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • London, United Kingdom
  • Milan, Italy
• September 2012
  • Nice, France
  • Marseille, France
  • Berlin, Germany
  • Paris, France

I’m definitely going to miss travelling around Europe once my work assignment ends next month. But I also miss my family and friends in Manila the most =)