Projects Archives | Oh My Janey

Seoul Budget Hostel: Hotel Maui in Dongdaemun

May 16, 2017

After two long years, I was finally able to go back to Korea and fulfill my Kdrama dreams. I’m pretty you can imagine how happy I was to be back. It was my fourth time in Seoul, and instead of staying in the same hostel, I decided to try a new budget hostel in the middle of the bustling city. There are tons of affordable accommodations in Seoul, and I’m glad my sister and I ended up staying in one of the bests!

Hotel Maui in Dongdaemun is relatively new, but I have to say that they definitely set the bar when it comes to budget accommodations. It has everything I am looking for in a budget hostel and then some. Seriously though, they offer quite a lot more than the other accommodations stayed in did.

How do I even start raving about this hostel? From the location to the rooms to the host to everything–we loved every minute we spent in it. [Read more…]

Fall in Korea Day 2: Fried Chicken Night at Gwangalli Beach, Busan

February 24, 2015

When I think back on our travel to Korea, I always fondly remember our night at Gwangalli Beach.

It was the last destination for a very tiring day. After being disappointed that we failed to arrive at our previous itinerary stop before closing time, we were desperately hoping that the beach wouldn’t disappoint. There are tons of beaches in Busan, and we decided to head to this one first.

Despite lacking sleep and energy, I can’t help but think it’s definitely one of our best nights in Korea. We didn’t really do anything in Gwangalli Beach, we just sat there and talked and ate and laughed and sang our hearts out. I guess we’re the group of friends who just can’t keep quiet when we’re together. We’re actually a bunch of introverts, but we bring out the extroverts in each other. That’s probably the sweetest thing I can say about my friends, heh.

There were no stunning scenery nor were there attractions. We couldn’t even take decent photos since it was too dark out. Yet, I only have warm and happy memories when I remember that night. This probably sounds so sappy, but it was indeed such a good memory. [Read more…]

Awkward Saturday: I’m Not a Boy, GG!

February 1, 2014

Flashback to college, freshman year.

It was the first day of my PE1 class and my teacher was doing the roll call. I was a nervous New Freshman who was scared of any form of attention. So when my teacher mistook me for a boy, it was mortifying. It was the first time I realized that my name is a bit different from others.

“Oh, you’re a girl?” she asked, glancing back and forth from my name on the class list to me. I shyly nodded. I wanted to say that I’d rather be called Jane, but I got a bit tongue-tied. Good thing I had my chance during the self-introduction.

It’s the first of the many times professors would express their shock once they see me. One time, my Math11 instructor announced that there’s only one male among the students who scored the highest in our exam. Me. I was the only male among the top 5 students. She couldn’t look at me in the eye when she handed me my blue book. Though it took away the happiness I felt for getting a good grade in a Math exam (the last and only time I’ll get a good grade in Math! Haha), it still makes for a funny story. Besides, it can be a good conversation starter.

Yes, I’m a girl with a boy’s name. Yes, it’s the reason I only use my second name (Jane) and not my first.

As a kid, I’d often express to my parents my desire to change my name one I get older. I think it hurt them so I stopped saying how much I hate my name. I’m older now and should have been a lot more mature about it, but I still cringe when I hear people say my first name. One time when I’m already working in Makati, I met an elementary classmate at the bus station. She enthusiastically called me by my first name. I almost died. It reminded me of the horrible grade school days when no one in school called me Jane.

If you’re wondering, my first name is Rodlen. Only elementary teachers and classmates and college professors called me by that name. Well, friends who enjoy teasing the heck out of me know perfectly well that calling me by that name is enough to get a rise out of me. It doesn’t help that when Koreans pronounce my name, it becomes Ro-deu-len. </3

So this is the story behind my insistence to use the name Jane even though it’s the most common name in the world. Don’t get me wrong, I no longer hate my name. But don’t expect me to introduce myself as Rodlen anytime soon. Hell no.

P.S. Awkward Saturday is a new series in my blog. This way, I’ll always have something to post on a saturday! It’s a story-telling of sort and very random, too. I also somehow feel like this blog isn’t personal enough. Hopefully, this can help me revert to my old style of blogging, even if it’s only every Satuday. As an awkward adult, I have a lifetime full of awkward moments to post a little something every week. ^^

P.P.S. Have an amazing February, everyone! I’m feeling a bit under the weather. Not the best way to start the love month, but I think I’ll sleep early tonight.

P.P.P.S. Please check out my other blog, especially when you’re into Asian stuff. Thankssss.

The Lake Monster

October 3, 2013

I had this delusion that anyone can be a fashion blogger. But of course, I realized that apparently, it’s only something that someone who’s dedicated to fashion and to looking good everyday can do. I am obviously neither. I do like dressing up but not to the extent that I do it everyday On most days, I just want to throw on a baggy sweater or a loose blouse and call it my OOTD.

Posing also isn’t my strongest suit. I can neither pose like a normal person nor a model, so how in the world would I even manage to be a fashion blogger? My now defunct fashion blog, The Sloppy Mess, proves that I’m just an average citizen who has more misses than hits when it comes to dressing up. Though posing is something that I do comically, I still enjoy doing it. Obviously.

Besides, 75% of my clothes are either thrifted or bought from Divisoria or St. Francis or just some random stall. It will be awkward to label my clothings “No brand” all the effin’ time! Like the one I’m wearing in the photos. The shirt and skirt have no brand, while the shoes are Keds. 90% of my photos would be labeled as such if I ever decide to be a full-fledged fashion blogger (which will never happen now!).

In Hanoi, we saw tons of people having a photo shoot. Jinky and I decided to have a go at it and here are the resulting photos. They’re no fashion blog-material. But I enjoyed it, and isn’t that what matters?

My friend once asked me why I act so stupidly when posing in the camera. Well, it’s because no one will take me seriously if I pose decently. Because I am a wacky person, and wacky poses are the only thing I know how to do. The ‘V’ is also ever-present in my photos. I’m a fangirl and I always make sure it shows. Haha.

It’s not like I’m aspiring to be a model, so why would I even try to pose like one?

Fashion is still something that continuously baffles me. Though I have to say that my fashion sense have tremendously improved over the years, I’m still far from being stylish. I’m not exactly someone you’d call well-dressed. I’m just glad, however, that my sister no longer cringes when she sees what I’m wearing. She used to do it a lot back in college. Hehe.

Deciding what to wear isn’t exactly easy for me. I wasn’t (and sometimes still not) very comfortable with my body type, and even know, I blame my boobs for limiting my fashion choices.

Once upon in high school, I abhor having boobs and resorted to wearing baggy clothes. I desperately try to hide them by slouching which developed into a bad posture. I go for loose clothing so I could hide my curves.

But I have far, far removed myself from that stage. Though I still don’t dare wear anything that shows cleavage, I no longer deliberately hide what I have. I still don’t wear tight-fitting clothes, but I no longer stupidly hide my curves. Most of the styles I want to try are still mismatched with my body type. But hey, I have learned to embrace the clothes that can supposedly flatter my figure.

I still have insecurities, and there are days when I don’t feel comfortable in my own skin. But I think it’s normal and not just because I’m a girl. I don’t have to feel pretty everyday, and I also don’t have to dress up to feel like a woman. I welcome good hair days with arms wide open, and curse the pimples that decide to appear on special occasions.

I’m not exactly sure what I’m trying to say with this post, and I’m quite at a lost on how to end it. So I’ll just leave it as is, okay. └（★ｏ★）┐

Company Team Building at Camp Tipolo Rizal

May 22, 2013

Camp Tipolo is a training camp of sort where companies can organize their team buildings. Last saturday, my team was fortunate enough to experience the rough training in the camp. There were a lot of screaming, splashes, laughter and trash talk. It was pretty fun. Haha.

I’ve been to a few team buildings but this one was probably the most intense and challenging. I got to try so many things such as the Tarzan Jump which I sucked, the tight rope which I was good at and the mud crawl which was just plain dirty. What’s exciting about it all was that you know you could end up failing but it’s okay because you’re not the only one. Haha! I didn’t try the the Balancing Log, though, because first step onto the log and I was already quivering. Balancing simply isn’t my thing. [Read more…]