I Blog, Therefore I Am.

Yep, you are not lost and this is indeed abbieunreal.blogspot.com!

I finally changed templates and revamped my site's blog design. I had the last one for years! This is only the third time I changed it save for the blog banner/picture collage which I regularly update.

I love my new template. It's very clean, clean, clean and organized. I love the white background and the black accents on the side bar. I've been looking at templates for weeks and I am glad that I finally found this one at Free Themes.


Goodbye, Old Blog Look!

So, why change the look?

Well, the last one was really...old. I finally got tired of looking at my face every single day for the past four years! (Yep, I've been blogging since 2003! Check out my archives!) And since Blogger was bought by Google a couple of years ago, there has been a lot of changes in terms of posting, lay-out, etc. My old lay-out was still in css and it became uber-tiring to search through the clutter of my template each time I need to update something.

Then there was the blog "monetizing" thing. Look at the lower right of the side bar and you will notice that I signed up for Google AdSense. And I highly encourage you to click on the things that fancies you. My goal is for blog advertising to help me buy this. Yey! Thanks to SEMCON '07 and for all the SEO and Google PageRank (PR) techniques. Click, click, click now!

Lastly, there's the issue of changing and moving on (here we go again). Moving on is my mantra this year and this blog is one with me in achieving that goal!

Hope you like the new look!

"I'll give my soul to hold you once again..."

Oh, Josh Groban! Truly Fantastique!

I will never forgive myself if I will not blog about my Josh Groban experience. I was one of the fortunate few who was able to watch Josh live at his Gala Night Concert at the PICC Plenary Hall last October 17. Josh Groban's first ever live performance here in Manila is part of his World Tour 2007 to promote his third and latest album, Awake.

Josh truly did not disappoint the crowd (which majority is from Manila's creme de la creme) with his great baritone voice, entertaining spiels between songs, and hunky-handsome looks. He's such a multi-talented darling who is so engaging and articulate.

When I learned a couple of months ago that Josh Groban will be performing live here in Manila, I was so excited and eager to get tickets to his concert. I fell in love with him ever since I heard Broken Vow years back. Good thing that Smart Infinity was the presentor of the event so I was able to score some awesome priced limited tickets. What I paid for is a real steal compared to the premiere P20,000 ($455) tickets that were sold.



I felt the excitement of the night as soon as my date and I arrived at the steps of PICC to join Manila's fashionable society to queue to the entrance hall. The show was about to start when we arrived so we hurriedly went to our seats so as not to miss a single note from Josh. The stage was very simple and with no fuss. There were two drum sets, a piano, guitars, several violinists, a couple of cellists and a grand piano in the middle for Josh. The show promptly started at 8:30 pm with no front acts (but of course!). Josh's first song was "You are Loved (Don't Give Up)" which I think is very appropriate as an opening number. It's a "PopOpera" and is also the second single on his Awake album.



One of the most memorable and unforgettable performances of the night was the duet of Josh with our very own Lani Misalucha of "The Prayer". Lani was a special request of Josh and she flew from Las Vegas just for the two-day concert. One of the other songs which received many cheers was "To Where You Are" which Josh described as an obscure little song which is very important to him. For Grobanites and McBeal fans, you will remember that this was one of the songs he sang when he guested at Ally McBeal years ago. Josh played Malcolm, the student-client of Ally, who asked her to his prom. He also first sang there one of my favorites, "You're Still You" (which he did not sing at the Manila concert, much to my disappointment).





Josh had three encores and was truly overwhelmed by the reception he got. He said that he was expecting a stiff and conservative audience based on the profile of the crowd but was so surprised when people continuously cheered for him with blue light sticks. The encores were also delightful! He sang old favorites like "Broken Vow", "You Raised Me Up" and Michael Jackson's "He's Out of My Life". Since he's totally enamored by Manila, he promised that he will definitely come back for a benefit concert! Yey!

Josh Groban's is truly the best concert I've been to. He was really and truly magnificent!

Click here for more of Josh's wonderful music.

Yeah, it NOW has a song! A song about addiction! Haha!
Got this from Riz (who by the way gave a great lecture at SEMCON '07)

Facebook is fast becoming one of the greatest Internet social networking inventions. The apps are just to die for!



Poke me, hug me, give me a a Nickname, nominate me for a Superlative, send me a lei, invite me to Oktoberfest, share to me your music and iTunes playlist, chuck a book at me, rate your favorite movies, give me a spell, gift me with bakery goodies, invite me to Happy Hour, send me booze, write on my wall, donate to my causes, read my interview, compare me to your other friends, answer my questions...ADD ME! ---- http://profile.to/abbie/

Step One to becoming a true Control Freak - shampoo your freakin' hair! Let the thick lather and rich fragrance empower your presence. It will stomp the curl and fight the frizz. Hair will succumb to your every demand!

The above is the product description of the fantabulous Bed Head TIGI Control Freak.

I am becoming so obsessed with my hair. Really. After the rebond I had last month, I ignored it for a couple of days so it can build some body. For the meantime, I researched about the things I can do to make it more beautiful and to maintain its softness and bounce. There are some treatments like cellophane, which is also a semi-tint, that can preserve its glow and shine. Then there is also the mid-way rebond where you can treat just the hair re-growths near the roots. But what I am looking for is a treatment or maintenance which can aid in the straightening and prevent fly-away and frizz. So, here comes Control Freak.

The Bed Head TIGI Control Freak Shampoo is a revolutionary maintenance anti-frizz hair shampoo from TIGI under its Bed Head line. I learned about it from some of the message boards I go to and it's recommended by hair stylists and experts. I tried it and it really does give a straighter and frizz control look and feel. I wished I discovered it sooner! The fragrance is Pineapple (lovely smell) and it really gives one's hair a soft and gentle feel. I truly and absolutely recommend it especially for chemically-treated hair (relax, rebond, etc). I pair it with my beloved Cream Silk White for an even straighter finish. Control Freak also got conditioner and serum products but I am too loyal to Cream Silk and Citre Shine to make the switch.

The letdown? Well, the price is kindda steep considering that it's an everyday maintenance shampoo. Plus it's not widely distributed and is only sold at professional salons even in the US. I got mine from Studio 546 at Shangri-La Mall but I heard that it's also available at Basement Salon (Powerplant Rockwell; Shangri-La Mall) and at the chic First Aid drugstore at Greenbelt. I googled the price in the US and some on-line stores are selling it a whole lot less than the price here. So, I sent an SOS IM to Mitzi! :)

This is such a great find. Try it. Invest on it.
It's definitely Goodbye, Fly-aways!

Here you go. Tag to eveyone who wants to do it!

Name Four Scents You Love
Clinique Happy
Pleasures by Estee Lauder
Raindrops and fresh grass
Coppertone and the beach

Name Four Things You Are Thinking About Now
I hate required Sunday work events
Grey's Anatomy vids in my iPod
A new blog post
I want past thoughts to go away

Name the Last Four Things You Have Bought
Masksheets from The Face Shop
A Venetto Dinner with Twigs
Cosmpolitan - October Issue (yeah, I'm buying 'em again!)
Black Formal Top from Bayo

Name Four Drinks You Regularly Drink
Iced Tea
Pepsi (yeah, not Coke; I'm kicking the habit though...again)
C2 Yellow or Red
H2O

Last Time You Said 'I Love You' And Meant It
I last wrote it in a birthday card in February 2006. Said it? Hmmm, probably sometime August 2006 but in a very-grudging-I-love-you-but-I-don't-want-to-love-you-anymore manner. Hah!

Last Time You Cried?
As in cried because of overwhelming emotions? Its been too long I cannot remember! Am I turning into a stone? However, I cried last night out of rage and pity when I saw in a report that US's The Daily Show called Cory Aquino a slut.

What's In Your Music Player?
Giga-worth of songs that defines my personality! 50% is mush and easy listening and the rest is an assortment of great OSTs, classic old OPMs and new music. I also have loads and loads of Grey's TV episodes.

What's Under Your Bed?
Memories of yesteryears, shoes and random trash.

What Time Did You Wake Up Today?
I don't know. I slept the whole day.

Current Hair?
Long, straight, black and uber-beautiuful!

Current Clothes?
Shirt and shorts

Current Desktop Picture?
None. I'm using the Windows XP Home theme

Current Worry?
Falling in love again

Current Hate?
Hate is such a strong word. I actually don't hate anybody or anything as of the moment. I am hate-free! Horay for me!

Favorite Physical Feature Of The Opposite Sex?
Eyes, upper arms, shoulders, hands

Last CD You Bought?
Awake by Josh Groban

Favorite Place To Be?
My room
Superb local destinations like Bora, Davao, Baguio and Cebu
The Mall
Dream travel places like Beijing/Shanghai, Florence, Rome, San Francisco, NY

Least Favorite Place?
My ex-loony bin. Glad I'm out of there.

If You Could Play An Instrument?
Piano

Favorite Color(s)?
Black, Red, Blue, Purple

Do You Believe In An Afterlife ?
Heaven is the way to go

How Tall Are You?
5'2" without heels, 5'4" with.

Current Favorite Word/Saying ?
Duh?!
Yeah, right!

Favorite Season?
I love the cold Christmas season and Summer

One Person From Your Past You Wish You Could Go Back And Talk To
There was this guy I dated for some months in 2003. We used to be great friends but we are not talking anymore because I did something horrible to him. He's not really a saint but he still doesn't deserve what I did to him. A friend told me that he mentioned ME again to him the other day. I owe him THAT apology...and closure.

Favorite Day?
Thank God It's Friday!

Where Would You Like To Go ?
Now? I want to go somewhere near to destress and have fun. SG or HK will do!

How Many Kids Do You Want ?
2 or 4

Favorite Car?
I want the new 07 Civic. Seriously.

We finally got our professional pictures from the shoot we had with Life Studio last July.

Here's a preview:

You may find the rest of the photographs in their colored glory at my Multiply site. Click this link to be redirected.

LIFE STUDIO is located at Unit 201 No. 94 Katipunan Rd. White Plains, Quezon City. You may contact them at 912-7840 or 0920-923-4800. Thanks again to Heidi and to the rest of the gang!