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Giveaway Alert: Cocomo

Remember the Cocomo swimsuit I wore on my recent Boracay trip?

Sorry for the washed out photo, the BF played with the ISO. I checked my camera and I have no other photos wearing this. Haha, tamad na tamad lang mag-picture.

So para ma-appreciate niyo naman, here's a product shot:

Brooklyn.

Photo from Cocomo.

Well, my friend Tisha is giving away 3 Cocomo suits to celebrate her blog's anniversary! Click this and you might get lucky! I wanna win the Black Savannah! How about you? :)

twelve again.

So who watched Taylor Swift's concert last February? I did!

Now, let me tell you about the major pain of free seating: lining up early.

The looooong line

Reminded me of the Forever 21 sale, but times two. Or three.

That's the crowd situation when we arrived. Time check: 2PM. Concert time: 8PM. Sucks, right? But we gotta do what we gotta do. We stood in line for about 4 freaking hours. Under the sun. With sweaty kids around. Suffocation 101.

This was not actually the first time I lined up for hours to watch a show. Remember these guys?

I cringe.

We were in first year highschool, I think. The Moffatts came to the Philippines to promote their new album, and of course, there was a mall show. SM Megamall Bldg A. My friends and I lined up at 10am. Show time: 4Pm. Yes, we were THAT pathetic. And when I look back now, all I can say is... sana sa Hanson nalang ako pumila! :D

But hey, the lining-up-early did pay off coz we ended up near the front row! So for our twelve-year old selves, it was a surreal moment and a huge accomplishment...even if one of us fainted in the middle of the show because of the wild crowd. Mwahahaha

So there, the lining-up-for-T.Swift wasn't such a new thing to me. You gotta work hard to get good seats, man. That's the curse of not being able to buy good tickets. Actually, when I found out that there were still Upperbox B tickets for sale, I was kinda reluctant, so I called the BF first.

K: Ui, may tickets pa sa Taylor!

M: Talaga?!!! Bili ka na baka maubos na naman

K: Eh kaya lang free seating eh, okay lang?

M: Yeah

K: Kahit na kelangan naten pumila ng sobrang aga? Kasi pag late na likod na lang ni Taylor makikita naten

M: Oo kahit gano pa kaaga crush ko yun eh

Seriously, those were his exact words. So okay lang pala ah. But after an hour of standing in line...

M: Baket nga ba ulit free seating yung tickets naten?

K: Kasi naubos agad yung Upperbox A. Pagod ka na 'no? *smirk*

M: Oo, ang tagal eh!

K: Welcome to the world of pop culture, babe.

M: O basta next time pag free seating wag na tayo manood, ha?

K: Kahit na crush mo?

M: Eh ang tagal eh!

Haha, panis si Mr. Arnis.

So when they finally opened the gates, it felt like heaven. Adrenalin kicked in pretty fast and we were scrambling with the kids to get the best seats. Hahaha! Kakahiya. Good thing my OK! teammate, Elaine, managed to get the finest seats in our level.

Gitna kung gitna! Wuhoo!

And the waiting part continues. But my iTouch came prepared. I think I was able to finish 2 episodes of The Vampire Diaries before the show finally started.

And then finally, she came out.

Salamat sa wide-screen, Araneta!

Watch her opening spiel here:

Medyo nag-effort ako sa subtitles ha.

And now, concert photos!

Hi Taylor, can I have your gold fringe dress? Super like!

Back to December. My favorite.

Dear John.

Emote kung emote.

Enchanted.

Finale: Love Story.

With Elaine and Aia

Told you we were twelve again.

Oh what a day it was! Tiring but super worth it, nonetheless! Although next time...I really want my reserved seats. Let's leave the lining-up-early to the twelve year-olds. Hahaha

Fun Find: Giant T-shirt

And to end my Boracay post, here's something we found at the tiangge:

GIANT t-shirt. Sold for P1,200.

It's super duper huuuuuge! I did ask the saleslady if may bumibili nun. And yes, meron daw. The shirt is too big, na pwede na siyang local version of The Snuggie! :D

Boracay eats and other things.

As mentioned in my previous post, Boracay's commercialization is depressing. With establishments mushrooming everywhere, I wouldn't be surprised if "keeping up with the times" can be the cause of its downfall. It's just...too much.

I was too lazy to take photos to prove my point, though. Just think Greenhills Shopping Center with a beach. High-end stores and tiangges mixed together (no proper zoning), and the dibidi guys are replaced with "Ma'am, sir, island hopping? ATV? Helmet diving???". I think that analogy will suffice. Would you believe there's Starbucks, Shakey's, and Yellow Cab by the beach?! I don't know, it just seems...wrong. Even the famous Jonah's Milkshakes in Station 1 lost its charm. What used to be a kubo-type setting (with sand on your toes and trees in between tables) now looks like a fast food chain, complete with tiles and uncomfy chairs. Sad. :(

So for the duration of our stay, we veered away from the Manila restos and revisited the local establishments we tried out before. And that became another disappointment. Yung mga dating masarap na kainan, hindi na rin masarap ngayon. Siyet.

Only two restaurants made us happy and satisfied on those five days.

One was Real Coffee in Station 1.

I'm not a breakfast person (I only drink hot Milo on a regular work day) but I like breakfast food. I can eat bacon, Spam and omelettes all day. We had breakfast in this place for two consecutive mornings.

The open kitchen.

This place is owned by an American woman but look, it's sooo Pinoy.

Various coffee mugs with names, recycled plastic containers for storage

Handwritten labels and again, recycled containers. The sugar jar was Lady's Choice peanut butter once.

Spreading happy thoughts

What we had:

Jack's omelette. Two eggs with a mix of tuna, melted cheese, tomatoes, etc. The next day we tried it with pesto (not in photo). Saraaaaaap!

Banana pancake. It's huge. Good for sharing. YUM!

Real Coffee's signature coffee. Mitor likes it with two shots of fresh milk.

Here's another must-try: Calamansi muffins. Think lemon squares but better.

Happy customer

The second one is Don Vito Italian Restaurant in Mandarin Hotel, Station 2.

Loved the ambiance, perfect for a dinner date

Cream of asparagus soup

Baked tahong with mashed potatoes

Baby-back ribs

We weren't very impressed with the food, but the ambiance and the service made up for it. Maybe we should have ordered pasta and pizza, since it's an Italian resto?

Haaaay, I miss the old Boracay.

beach bum.

Just got back from a 5-day vacay in Boracay. I've been to Bora for a couple of times already so when the BF asked if we have specific activities planned, my answer was... wala, tambay lang.

And that's exactly what we did.

We rented this Winston tent along Station 2 for P200 pesos/day and we stayed here from 10am til sunset.

Beach + Mango shake = Perfection.

I am a mango addict but compared to Mitor, talo ako. If I had two mango shakes a day, Mitor had four, at naki-inom pa siya sa akin nun. Addict, much? He buys from different fruit stands and among all the shakes we tried, we love this the most:

Paupatri's Mango Shake

Yes, it's not Jonah's... just because Station 1 is too far.

Nakakatamad maglakad. Haha!

Serving shakes with a smile

Of course, beach bumming wouldn't be complete without my gear:

Beach mat, straw hat, dry bag, Ipod touch, X-mini speakers, Shu Uemura Facial Mist, VMV Armada Sunblock, Aldo shades, Ruffles and French Onion dip

Wearing my hot pink Vibrams. Well, you don't really need aqua shoes in Boracay since the sand is so fine, but I wore them anyway. :P

I spent hours just staring at the beach. Then I'll swim a bit, take a break at the bench, close my eyes and savor the breeze. It's been a while since I had these wala lang moments. I loved every minute of it.

And I also love my Cocomo swimsuit, by the way. Haha.

Aside from sleeping and eating, I also did some people watching.

That's Mitor, swimming on his own

The German boys, getting roasted and toasted

A foreign couple, having a picnic

And then there's this guy...in his briefs. LOL

I also grabbed the latest issue of YES! Magazine and read the much talked-about 39-page Sarah Geronimo-Rayver Cruz love story. It was sooo juicy that...

...even the BF read every single page.

After I took the video, he quipped:

M: Wag mo ipo-post yan ah, wala na ma-a-attract saken nyan

K: Baket, gusto mo pa marami ma-attract sa'yo?

M: Ayaw mo 'nun, dami na-a-attract saken tas ikaw lang gusto ko?

May ganun? Hahaha.

And then on our last day, he surprised me with this:

Beauty queen flowers.

Kesong-keso!

No matter how commercialized Boracay has become (it really is depressing, to tell you honestly), I will always come back for this:

Super fine white sand and clear waters

Still, nothing compares. (In my opinion)

Forget the clubs, forget the shops, forget the outdoor activities.

Boracay's main attraction is nothing but the beach.