Oh My Janey

Cinemalaya Opening Night

I don’t get to watch Filipino indie films as much as I want. Having lived and studied in Laguna most of my life, my only chance to see indie films were when they show it in Elbi. I remember watching only 2 full-length indie films in college: Kubrador and Manoro. I didn’t understand both. Haha! But when I attended a screening in UPLB of multiple indie films about kids (Andong‘s my favorite!), I decided to watch as many indie films as I can.

When I finally moved to Makati for my first (and current huhu) job, I thought I’d have more time to attend indie film screenings. That didn’t go according to plan. Though I had all the chances in the world, I have failed to go to screenings. But this year, I made plans with friends to attend the opening night of Cinemalaya and I’m glad our plans pushed through! Well, they’re regular attendees, anyway, and I just tagged along.

We braved the harsh weather and trekked our way to CCP. Jinky, Kimpee and Sarah were already there, and Ate Marco, Ayessa and I arrived later. I was just glad to arrive whole at CCP, wet, but whole. It was my second time at CCP and I felt as if my drenched self was a bit out of place. The place was lovely, of course.

We didn’t get to see the opening program but we were just in time for Laurice Guillen’s introductory speech of Mario O’Hara’s Babae sa Breakwater. I enjoyed the film but it gave me mini-heart attacks every other scene. It was just incredibly intense and incredibly depressing, too. I guess that’s what a movie reflecting the lives of millions of Filipinos can do to you. I talked more about it here.

After the movie, we saw tons of celebrities in the lobby. We had a picture taken with Sir Lou Veloso who was in the film. Laurice Guillen was doing an interview so we didn’t have the guts to approach her. I heard Tita Gretchen and Tito Tony Boy were there, too, but I missed them. Huhu. [Read more…]

Fangirling in Hong Kong

It’s like a whirlwind romance (with Koryan boys, of course).

I learned about the KPOP Festival: Music Bank in Hong Kong last May and in less than a week, Haszelle and I ordered our concert tickets online. But we couldn’t immediately buy plane tickets and had to wait about two weeks before we could book our flight. After about two more weeks, we made a reservation for a hostel in Tsim Sha Tsui. So on June 22, I jumped on a plane that will take me to where the love of my life for 8 years would hold a concert.

Before I say more of my weekend affair at Hong Kong, let me explain how this came to be. I just got back from Korea when I heard about the concert. A part of me was happy that I finally went to the land of the oppas, but another part was incredibly sad that I didn’t get to see any oppa. So despite being almost broke, I made an impulsive decision to watch this concert. And I’m glad that Haszelle is as impulsive and as in love with DBSK as I am. It’s also lucky that she’s YunHo biased and I’m ChangMin biased so seeing TVXQ (despite JYJ no longer in the group) felt as if it’s the right thing to do.

A lot of people were against my decision. A lot of people were telling me to think about it long and hard before I do anything rash. But it’s not a rash decision, you see. I had been waiting for that opportunity for the past 8 years and I felt as if I’d have to do it then. I don’t think I’ll ever see the 5 of them at the same stage in this lifetime, but I’d be fine to see ChangMin and YunHo perform live. Though of course, I’d love to see JaeChunSu in concert, too.

But once I explained that it’s something that I’ve wanted for a long, long time and that I promise to not grow old without savings, friends and family had been supportive. I can never thank them enough.

It was an exciting and nerve-wracking experience. It was Haszelle’s first time to leave the country so it made me feel all grown-up and responsible. But it was weird because responsible is a word that people won’t use to describe me. But I had no one older to depend on the way I used to, so I had to act a bit more independent.

It was also the first time I went out of the country without my sister. She’s often the one who holds our pocket money and keeps the passports. Her not being there made me all paranoid. Heh. I really wanted her to be there for tons of reasons, actually. First, she’s my travel buddy! But I did not (and do not) have enough resources to fund for us both. Second, she’s the first person I fangirled with over DBSK! We both wanted to see them live but she said she’d be more bitter if YooChun was there. Ha! And third, well, she’s my sister.

I’m pretty sure there’ll be a next time, though, and by that time, I’m pretty sure my sister will be rich enough to treat me. Hohoho.

[Read more…]

Never Again, Ensogo

Having a film camera is something that I’ve desired for quite some time now. So when Ensogo offered an Waterproof Lomo Camera for only 429PHP last May, I grabbed the chance as fast as I could. Since it’ll be cheaper to order the assorted set (3 cameras in three different colors), Ate Karen and Marj and I just decided to share the payment.

We paid through Dragonpay, an over-the-counter payment at BDO. Another officemate, Ayessa, ordered the same product and paid through the same process. When she received through e-mail a confirmation of her payment and we didn’t, we started to get worried.

We sent Ensogo multiple e-mails, with complete details of our payment transaction, saying that we didn’t receive a confirmation e-mail of our payment. But did we receive a reply? No. Then we sent some more and still received no reply. Then we sent another one through here, thinking that maybe our message would have a greater chance to be noticed. And still, we didn’t receive any reply. Oh, we tried calling, too. We called a lot of times and they happened to not pick it up.

The start of the shipping date was on the 4th of June. That day, Ayessa received her camera. The three of us didn’t. Then we worried even more.

Ate Karen once again tried to call Ensogo and finally, they answered. They didn’t give us an explanation on what happened, why they ignored our messages. They just kept saying sorry. But they did say that our payment didn’t register. They said they’d do something about it. We waited for them to do something about it. But did we receive our cameras?

NOOOOOOO. The last day of shipping (July 4) came and went, and the cameras didn’t come.

And this is why I’m fuming. This is why I’m irritated with Ensogo. I could understand our payment not being registered. I could understand that the products might be defective so they stopped sending them out. What I don’t understand is why they kept us in the dark. Why didn’t they inform us? Why didn’t we receive anything from them, saying that we should no longer expect our cameras to be delivered?

If we didn’t call to inquire about it, would we be informed that our cameras won’t be delivered? Or are they hoping that we’ve long forgotten the cameras? Because if they have known long before that the cameras were defective, then we should have been informed early on that we shouldn’t expect anything, that they couldn’t make the deliver. And I guess they didn’t inform the customers about the unshipped cameras so they do not have to refund it. Yes, it’s just a silly assumption. But they’re not offering any explanation and not making any efforts to make up for it, so I’ll continue making assumptions. Thank you very much.

They said they’d just refund it, but what ways did they offer for our cameras to be refunded? They wanted us to go to their office personally and present our deposit slip. REALLY? We even have to make that effort? HA!

Yes, I wrote this incredibly long post because I felt as if I’ve been robbed off my 429PHP. But it’s not just that. A part of me no longer cares about that 429. A greater part of me is pissed because they let us wait, they let us pine on our dreams of having our own film camera. We made some efforts (half-hearted they may be) to go to the bank to pay, to send e-mails to complain again and again, to call their office a couple of times. And what do we get in return? Some half-assed apology.

Frankly, the main reason I’m pissed is because they ignored our e-mails. Would it take so much of their free time to reply to at least one of the tons of e-mails we sent them? My pride was hurt, okay!

So yes, I wrote this impassioned blog post for a petty 429PHP. You know what I could buy/afford with that 429? A paperback from National Bookstore, 8 books from Book Sale, a meal for two, a freaking full-body massage, a 10” pizza from Yellowcab, tons of clothes from an ukay-ukay, and a bunch of other things! See? That 429PHP isn’t that cheap. That’s 8 meals from a Jollijeep, already! Also, we ordered a set so multiply that 429 three times and that’s how much we paid. Argh.

And if you want to know more how messed up their service is lately, read this.

I don’t know much about running a business and as a customer, I have only paid for 3 vouchers from Ensogo. But I do know that it’s their job to inform their customers if the shipment wasn’t made. It’s their job to make sure that the customers weren’t displeased. And if the customers are already displeased, then they should at least make some efforts to appease them. Sadly, Ensogo failed to do all that. It may be okay to avail vouchers for meals, services, etc. from Ensogo, but when it comes to products? I don’t think I can trust Ensogo again.

I may be just one customer, but if Ensogo won’t get their shit together, they’re about to lose more.

Gelato Date

For some people, eating gelato is something they do on a regular basis. For some people, eating gelato is no big deal. But for people like me, eating gelato is something out of the ordinary that I just have to document it.

My officemates happen to be cheapskates like me. Eating gelato is not something we do on a whim. It’s something that one has to suggest, something that we could only do after payday. Would I normally eat gelato? NO. But it’s something that you have to try at least once, right? Steve asked us to eat gelato with him about a month ago and my first reaction was: “ANG MAHAAAAAL.” But I  soon realized that I should probably stop being a cheapskate, once a month. And he showed us the website and told us other things to just go along with the plan. Hahaha.

So come payday, 8 of us trooped to Greenbelt 5 to try the gelato at Gelatissimo.

Ate Karen and I. In-edit out ko pimples namin. Haha!

(L-R) Eunise, Ayessa, Ate Marco, Ate Joycy! 🙂

When I found out the price of one scoop, I wanted to back out. 110PHP for  one scoop! WHAT IS THIS FUCKERY. But I looked at all the flavors and ordered 2 scoops (165PHP I think). Haha. Hey, my appetite functions more than my brain, okay. I just couldn’t pick one flavor! So I chose Coffee (of course) and American Chocolate. Both taste amazing, okay. But next time, I’d choose two flavors in different colors so I won’t be confused which is which. My taste buds are all messed up, y’know. [Read more…]

Day Four in Seoul (Part 2)

Our Myeongdong adventure continues!

After our very filling lunch, we averted our attention from the glorious store displays. My sister and I immediately wanted to start shopping but we had to look for the Myeongdong Cathedral first. We asked for directions again and learned that it was right where we though it wasn’t! That sounds confusing but the point is, we were almost there when we thought we made a wrong turn then headed back and eventually got lost. Haha.

When we reached the cathedral, we thought it was closed because all the doors were closed. Then somebody came out and we realized that a mass was going on. It was a Sunday, which was why we went there in the first place. We entered the church and the mass was in Korean so we didn’t understand anything. Heh. But we finished the service, and I realized that it was the quietest mass I have ever attended. It was the most solemn one, too, I think. And my parents couldn’t stop raving at the discipline the Koreans were showing, even in church, especially in church.

Once the mass was over, we wanted to take photos inside since it was so pretty! But we were too shy and we felt as if we’re disrupting something sacred even though the mass was already over. So we just took some photos outside but it was raining and we couldn’t really pose that much because of the cold (which is pretty obvious in the photo haha). If the church looks familiar, it’s because it was used in You’re Beautiful!

It was around 3 in the afternoon and we were already so cold, as you can obviously see in the photo above. We had to walk really fast and couldn’t even glance around the place that much. We walked back to the shopping district and the first shop we went was the one selling KPOP goodies! Of course, of course. We’re in the land of the oppas, it’s quite stupid to not enter a DVD store.

I saw so many DVDs and CDs of DBSK and I wanted to buy so many things! But we were on a budget and I opted to buy Shut Up! Flower Boyband’s OST album and CNBLUE’s Earfun. Not the special edition but they had the special edition and I so wanted to buy it! But as I’ve said, we were on a budget and I felt bad to spend too much money on CNBLUE. Huhu.

[Read more…]

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