I Blog, Therefore I Am.

Slumdog Millionaire may be the slammin' winner of this year's 81st Oscar's; and Kate Winslet may be the most deserving winner of the night (it's about time after her numerous nominations beginning with Sense & Sensibility and Titanic), but it was the wedding-inspired gowns of several celebrities that almost stole the spotlight.

Whether it's ballgown, vintage or minimalist, these celebrities channeled their inner brides with fabulous made-for-altar outfits. Two were stunning stand-outs but there were also a couple of disastrous ones. This year's favorite Oscar's fashion proved that you don't have to be a bride to wear white (or off-white or beige or ecru). Bring it on!

Who's your favorite bridezilla?


Best Supporting Actress Penelope Cruz in vintage Pierre Balmain



Sarah Jessica Parker in Dior
(Carrie Bradshaw will be proud of this gown! Except for the overly
exposed bosom of SJP that's not so obvious on this photo. Try this one.)



Marisa Tomei in Versace



Jennifer Aniston in Valentino
(This is a late addition to my entry. Can't find a photo of her earlier.
Love her simple outfit! Love her! Jolie-Pitts, who?)




Melissa George in Dolce & Gabbana
(Hello, Sadie! You are missed at Grey's Anatomy!)



Taraji P. Henson in Roberto Cavalli



Anne Hathaway in Armani Prive




Miley Cyrus in Zuhair Murad


Here are some more favorites in different colors and styles:


Angelina Jolie and Evan Rachel Wood both in Ellie Saab



Alicia Keys in Armani and Best Actress Kate Winslet in Yves Saint Laurent by Stefano Pilati

I have mixed feelings about Kate's gown with all that black lace in the lower portion. But the mix of blue and black colors made the outfit dramatic and it compensated for the weird laces.

Photo Credit: Yahoo! Movies

Thanks for being my soundboard for the last five years. I can't believe that we've been together since 2004 (longer than any of my past romantic relationships). Thanks for sticking and witnessing the last five years of my life - which ironically were also the most important ones.

You're such a great buddy. You've always been there for me even if I neglected you in the past. I know that you still haven't forgiven me for almost ditching you when I was stressed and overworked at Goodyear three years back. But I also know that I more than made up for that when I won you the Pond's Age Miracle Blog Writing Contest last year. People were so happy about you that I've been asked twice to join other blog writing contests by a couple of PR firms since winning in July. I unfortunately have to turn it down because I don't have the energy and time to devote on it. I was also asked just recently to test some blogging platform but you and I both know that I cannot do it because of obvious conflicts. :)

People are always asking me why I keep you. My reasons varied in the last five years - from keeping an on-line memory repository to keeping my sanity intact by having a "venting machine". But I know now why you are here. I just learned recently your purpose. Writing and publishing something about me is for my future generations. I know for sure that no one will be interested to write my story ala "Diary of Anne Frank" so I figured that I should just do it myself through you. It would be great for my future kids to read how I lived and loved. It will hopefully teach them what to avoid in the future (eg. men with commitment issues, mean colleagues and bosses who doesn't give a sh!t about you, etc.). If in case I will not be married or have kids, I am sure that my niece Gabbie will have a riot reading you and learning about my friends, our adventures, my crazy antics, food loving, and fun travels.

You are definitely one of my most precious possessions. I often read your archive especially when something is bugging me. I often search it for insights whenever I need to decide on something or if I am confused. My memories are kept alive because of you and for that I am grateful.

I vow to keep you as long as I can. Thanks for all that has been and for all that will be! Happy Blog Birthday!

Love,
Abbie

P.S.
Isn't it weird that you share the same birthday with one of my ex-beloveds? I started you six months before he came into my life. Now I wouldn't be able to forget his birthday because of YOU. Sheesh.

Facebook is the new battleground for memes, surveys and quizzes. A certain meme is making the rounds among friends and I was tagged to do it by no less than 17 people. I finally succumbed to it tonight and answered it.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged.

1. I have a very long name, Anna Vida Theresa, and I love it. I hate it when people do shortcuts on it or omit one of the names in documents. I want it long and complete.

2. My mom told me recently (like a month ago) that I almost died when I was 7 months old. She said that I had non-stop diarrhea and they even had my IV on my infant head!

3. I am generally a nice person. I am also very optimistic. I am the epitome of sunshine!

4. My mother is the most important person in my life. Period.

5. I have a very weird personality. I am very extrovert, loud, and can talk non-stop for hours BUT I also enjoy being alone and just staying at home. I often prefer eating or watching movie alone. I definitely want to shop alone.

6. I am literally a "dreamer". I always have vivid dreams when sleeping.

7. I chose the right course in college. I know what's my calling even then.

8. I have gazillion friends and acquaintances but I learned in the last few years that quality is better than quantity. I am still friends with a lot of people but I hang-out with just a few.

9. My favorite time of the day is early evening. Creative thoughts and ideas usually kick in at 7:00 at night and it can last until 4:00 am. I am usually mentally "dead" in the morning!

10. My first love is reading. I read everything from carton boxes to hard-bound novels. One of my resolutions this year is to read more. Six months into the new year and I already finished The American Wife (Curtis Sittenfeld), Sisters (Danielle Steel) and I am currently reading Living History (HRC's autobiography).

11. I've been blogging since mid-2003. It was Aileen who influenced me and I plunged into it because I need an outlet for my then 'quarter-life crisis'. My entries evolved since then and gone now are the drama and love dilemma posts of my 20s. My posts now are happier but less personal.

12. I won in Pond's Age Miracle's 7-Days of Beauty blog writing contest last year. My prize? A 3G iPhone.

13. What to know what I'm up to at this very moment? Try Twitter.

14. I religiously download the following shows every Friday night for my weekend watch: Grey's Anatomy, Brothers & Sisters, Gossip Girl, Privileged, 90210 and American Idol. I am also watching old West Wing episodes via DVD.

15. I am very OC when using punctuation marks and small/upper cases/capital letters in writing. i hate seeing small letters in beginning letters in sentences like THIS sentence. I also hate seeing "I" in small letters.

16. Two of my ex-boyfriends got the same name. How weird is that?

17. I enjoy driving! After years of procrastination I finally learned how to drive in May 2005. My fastest driving speed is 140kph at The Skyway on my way to Makati; and my longest drive was 5 hours straight to Quezon then back to Laguna again for another 5 hours of drive (with only 3 hours of rest interval).

18. I've been wearing my hair long and straight (with the occasional layers) since 2001. I am not going back to short hair...ever!

19. I got myself a new toy last Christmas: a Canon DSLR. I'm fascinated with food photography and it's something I want to delve into. I am going to enroll myself in a Basic Photography class but I can't find time to do it at the moment.

20. My word of the year is "collaboration". Last year's was "project" and 2007's was "celebration".

21. I am a closet politics fan. I don't express my views and opinions often but I am fascinated to hear what others think. Politics is fun!

22. I am an information junkie and a history buff. I usually spend at least an hour a week reading Wikipedia or other information sites on random topics, policies, views, opinions, scorecards, statistics and articles. Last week's topic was the evolution and history of Roe v. Wade.

23. The last three weeks at work were super busy ones. A new job function that was given to me is making me anxious but excited. I am literally tired from working BUT I am not complaining and is actually grateful about it. I love my job! :)

24. The opposite of love is not hate but indifference. Too bad I'm indifferent about love at the moment. Heh!

25. I am such a great believer of love and all the neat things it can do to people. I was fortunate that love found me in the least expected moment in my life. Unexpectedly love also went away and broke me into pieces. I've longed moved on from the pain and hurt and is cool about it. Despite everything I am still a big believer of love...I am just too damn scared to fall again.

Some of the items above were actually taken from the former memes I had before. I recycled some because thinking 25 random things about you in one go is a bit narcissistic for me. :)

Now it's YOUR turn! Tag, tag, tag to anyone who wants to do this!

I closed another busy week with a fabulous dinner last Friday with friends. I was all fired-up and inspired last week to work despite having to stay late at the office for several days. Everything is actually quite cool despite the new work, targets, and responsibilities that were given to me and my group last week. But work is not what this post is all about. I digress.

I met up with Olen and Dansel, my super girlfriends from Honda, for some bonding and heart-to-heart at Greenbelt last Friday. It's been quite a while since I last saw them. I wasn't able to attend our yearly Christmas/New Year gathering so I also brought with me my gifts for their daughters, Nicole and Bela, who are both my Godchildren.





I love these two women to bits. They were with me in some of my "development years" post-college. Olen and I used to share a condo before in Salcedo Village when I was still with Honda. She's one of those unfortunate people in the planet who knows me very well. Dansel was the late addition in our little group. Some common experiences and feelings in the past brought her to us to form a lifelong friendship. It was really nice seeing them both last Friday.

Now on to the food! We initially planned to dine at A Veneto, a favorite of Olen's, but it was so full that night thus we decided to look for another restaurant. It was good that we skipped A Veneto since I just dined there the previous Thursday with my geek boylets. We ended up at Teriyaki Boy in Glorietta for some appetizers and dinner at Greenbelt.

Teriyaki Boy used to be one of my favorite el cheapo Japanese places. My friend Tin and I dined there a few months back and I hated it since. There was something new, raw and weird on the dishes they served that night. I haven't been to TB since then until last Friday where we had California Maki and Ika Fry for appetizers which were fortunately not so bad that night.


California Maki


Ika Fry

Dans wanted to eat somewhere nice and quiet so we decided to check out the new restaurants in Greenbelt. We also wanted some salad, pasta and pizza so we eventually ended at Madison in Greenbelt 5. They had the usual Friday crowd so we dined al fresco.



Madison specializes on steaks and ribs but they also have pasta, salads and pizza. There was an enticing Wagyu Rib Eye on the menu but we decided to stick with greens and noodles. We shared a Crab Caesar Salad, Grilled Seafood Linguine and Meatball & Herbed Roasted Tomatoes. I love the seafood linguine but I admit that it's not too different from the other seafood pastas I've had before.


Crab Caesar Salad, Baby Romaine Hearts, Bacon & Boiled Egg


Grilled Seafood Linguine, Tomato Vodka Sauce


Artisan Pizza
Meatball and Herbed Roasted Tomatoes

I've been experimenting with a lot of restaurants and food lately (check out my previous posts) and it was mainly because of my new camera. My shots are improving but I will definitely try to schedule my photography class this February to have more post-worthy shots on this blog.

I wonder where we will eat next Friday. Any suggestions? :)