My HAIR and I

For a very long time, this was what I used to look like...

...and now I'm totally missing my long straight locks.

When I broke up with my daughter's real father last year (May 16, 2011), I wanted so bad to cut my hair. I dunno why but many of us girls feel that way. It's as if a new hairstyle would give us a new life, a new beginning. It's like for us, we show the world that we have finally moved on when we sport a new look.

But for me, it was no drastic change. I took little baby steps. 

BANGS

It happened one night... I don't remember exactly what was going on inside my head. Maybe I was going crazy that time. I just suddenly had an idea to cut my own hair... to have BANGS! So I ended up looking like this:

So I was "BANGS GIRL" for a couple of months. Now, I can say (and I am sure) that it was that  hairstyle that suits me the best. But I didn't know that then. I continued experimenting. By that time I have quitted my job as an online English tutor and got hired by an international software company.

BOB

wearing a fedora hat with my bob

By the end of July last year, my  bangs have grown and I started going out with Bryan (my current boyfriend who I'm going to marry next year ^_^). To celebrate my new love life, I felt that it was time for another hairstyle. I decided to cut my own hair... again! It took me quite a couple of hours to decide how to cut my hair. But those nasty split ends helped me made up my mind. After a few snips of the scissors...BOOM! I had a BOB!

I thought I was happy with it... but no. It only took me less than a week to realize that. I wanted to cut my hair again... and that's when Bryan interfered. He advised me forced me to get a proper haircut from a professional hairstylist. He has some amazing convincing powers so I obliged. It was a weeknight and we had to go to work (we work for the same company) but I was having a hair emergency, HEHE! In just a couple of hours before our shift started, I found myself in a hair salon called Hairspray Spa and Salon inside our subdivision just near our home. So there was no turning back. I wanted my hair really short. I wanted to look like Halle Berry in that James Bond movie. And the hairstylist started doing his own magic! TADAAAAAAAAAH!

If I wasn't wearing a dress or girly clothes, I kinda looked like a boy. I even used the men's toilet a couple of times and got away with it. LOL!

I was truly grateful that Bryan had convinced me to go to the salon for that particular haircut. If it wasn't for him stopping me from cutting my own hair again, I would have gone bald! HAHA! I was loving my new look. I've always wanted to look boyish... and it finally happened that night so we decided to celebrate by drinking a few bottles of beer before heading to the office. I felt great working that night because of the tipsiness... just kidding! I meant I felt great because of the hair! LOL (but seriously, I really felt good while working that night and I strongly believe that it was because of the alcohol in my system. You oughtta try it too, just for the experience...HEHEHE).

I did enjoy my short hairdo for a few months... wash and wear! Works well for a lazy me. But of course hair is hair and it has to grow. Before I knew it, my hair was almost reaching my shoulders again and I started looking like this:

 

in the office with my newly dyed hair

A couple more months passed and I could finally tie my hair into a ponytail again. But I'm still pretty bored with it. So one fine Sunday, as my daughter and I were staying at Bryan's family's residence in Pureza for the weekend, I made up my mind to go on a trip to the nearest hair salon there - CUT Salon and Spa (Teresa - Stop and Shop branch). Their services are really affordable and got my hair dyed for only 290 pesos (that applies to any length) and I chose the color ash blonde. I even managed to convince Bryan to also have his hair dyed (he originally just wanted a haircut) and I chose the color copper brown for him. And because my daughter is too young to get her hair dyed, we just had her get hot oil treatment for her hair so she can join in the fun too! Now my hair looks like this:

Still I can't wait for my hair to grow longer. I wanted to have my long locks back. But I'm opting for the wavy look this time. Long hair can easily be styled. Here are some of the cool stuff I used to do with my long hair:

PIGTAILS (for sunny days), TIGHT BUN (for sports, physical activities), BOHEMIAN LOOK (for gigs and night outs)

wearing assorted hats (like caps, beanies, and cartoon character headgears) looks awesome with long hair

... and I'm really missing all of the above! Come on hair! You can grow faster than that! :P

Flooding in Metro Manila

It was like Ondoy was back.

On the morning of August 7th (Tuesday), Bryan and I left the office right after our shift ended. It was a rainy morning and at first everything seemed normal. But as we stood under one of the shelters in the loading zone waiting for a PVP bus, we were slowly realizing that something was wrong that day. We were wondering why Ayala Avenue wasn't crowded. It was like a Saturday morning on a weekday. Where are the people? Not many vehicles. No traffic. We waited for about half an hour... no PVP bus. So we decided not to wait any longer, just take a bus headed to Baclaran and get off on Taft Avenue where we can take another bus or jeepney that will take us to Santa Isabel College.

On the bus on our way to Taft Avenue, we were still speculating why we were only seeing a few people on a supposedly busy day in Makati. Then as our bus was traveling along Senator Gil Puyat Avenue, our speculations were confirmed. It was flooded and people were having a difficult time coming to work. We then remembered how it was raining so hard the night before until dawn. Bewildered, Bryan and I took some photos from inside the bus using my cellphone. Here are the pics: 

I had a feeling that Taft Avenue would not be different and I was right! We got there and it was barely passable. What to do? We need to get home. The rain was not stopping and there were signs that it would get heavier. We don't wanna be stranded there so we made a choice to take the LRT from there instead. So from LRT Buendia Station, we got off at Doroteo Jose Station where we took the link bridge to LRT Line-2 Recto Station. While walking the link bridge, Bryan took these photos:

From Recto Station, we got off at Pureza Station where we were caught off guard by the next scenario that greeted us: more flood and so many pedicab drivers shouting their lungs out. It was like they were having a yelling competition to get passengers and it was like people at the LRT station had a choice. Who would wanna get soaked in the deep, dirty, stinky waters? The pedicab drivers were our heroes at that moment. They charged us 100 pesos for the safe ride home... I guess they're not really heroes after all... LOL! Anyway, Bryan took this picture of Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard while we were in the pedicab:

When we got home, we found out on television that those flooded areas we've seen so far are sooo nothing compared to other places like Marikina, some parts of Quezon City and other nearby provinces (such as Rizal, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Pangasinan). We also learned that aside from classes, the government suspended work too (including private sectors) that day. It was also emphasized that employees can report their employers if forced to go to work. So we just stayed home the entire day and throughout the night watching rescue operations being done in many affected areas.

The following day (August 8th), it has not stopped raining and everything was quite the same on the news. However, it was announced that work has resumed. We also got a text message from our HR/Admin Officer that our boss was expecting everybody to report to work that night. Darn! So we prepared for work early to avoid hassle going to the office. But we were skeptical so we decided to find out first if the roads/streets that we were going to take were passable. We went outside and got our answers from the pedicab drivers so we decided not to go. Leaving and traveling in the evening were just too risky. However, knowing our boss, we needed evidence so Bryan took this picture outside their house: 

Then we sent a text message to our boss and HR/Admin about our dilemma and that we won't be able to come to work. And that day marked the first ever absence of Bryan since he started working for the company more than a year ago and my first absence this year (my only other absence was last year when I had a molar extracted). Anyway, earlier this week, we filed that day as a 'leave' so we still get to be paid.

I feel bad for all the other people who have lost their homes, vehicles and loved ones (including pets). Until now, a lot of schools haven't resume classes because they were turned into evacuation centers. It's just really sad that this had to happen. How many more Ondoy-like situations do we have to endure? No more, I hope.