The BLAAAAHs

We were lucky to have been able to celebrate Miguel’s 30th birthday together, let alone to dine out in one of the restaurants we’ve been meaning to visit before this pandemic hit.

Dinner was in Toyo Eatery. Full Course Tasting Menu – 8 course meal. It took me back to familiar Filipino flavors and traditions embodied in meals that parades originality and flavor. A Filipino eatery I would…

Dinner at the Helm // Photo Blog

Attention to detail, perfect execution and an interesting menu, the Helm aims for a top-notch experience.

Click on the pictures below for a better viewing experience.

Shanghai 2020 // Photo Dump

Day 1 – Rode the Shanghai Maglev Train from the Airport, had dinner at Din Tai Fung in Xujiahui

Day 2 – Attended mass at St. Ignatius Cathedral, visited Longhua Temple, and visited Tian Zi Fang. We also had hot pot in Haidilao ❤

Day 3 – Visited the market and went to the Bund.

Day 4 – Shanghai Disneyland ❤

Day 5 – Had dinner in Nanxiang

Day 6 – Saw the circus and had a Takoyaki party

#ProjectPaPa is my friend and I’s version of everyone’s #BalikAlindog program and more! PaPa could mean Papayat, Papalakas, Papagaling, Papaganda, Papayaman, or Papasa (hi Ras!) it’s basically a ’Love Yourself by Putting Yourself First’ kind of thing. I can’t stand to think how my life is going by so fast and I’m not really living it.

I kicked off this project about three weeks ago with…

Self love.

One of the best essence qualities I developed in the past two months. And so as my greatest act of vulnerability I decided to get a makeover! Something I wasn’t comfortable to do from the start (hehe until now)

So here are photo sets, taken by my dear friends Nik Perlas and Basia Joaquin with the support of Lui Banta and my mom, Grace Riveral, celebrating a beautiful, and a happy…

I am a Strong and an Independent Woman in Constant Need of Hugs

Last Monday I woke up with a fever. I knew it but I had to work around it, if it meant avoiding my parents so they won’t notice how hot I was, then I stayed as far away from them as possible. I worked so hard on my presentation for that afternoon and in my head, I was thinking, ‘nothing can stop me’.

That night my fever was gone. 

I woke up with chills at midnight. I can’t be sick, it was just…

On Being Number 1

I always wanted to be number 1, but most of the time I find myself aiming to be number 2. In my head being on top means, you cannot make mistakes, or that you have to be perfect cause people look up to you. I didn’t want the responsibility ‘I associated’ with the idea of being the best.

But these past few weeks, I learned that all things I mentioned above are not entirely true. People on top…

A Letter to the Person Who is Deeply Scared of Failing

My coach, Dappy San Juan, taught me an important lesson on values. She made me realize how important it is to remind myself that the things that I do each day are not tasks that I tick off to get to 100%, it should be about purpose. I should not just be doing things, but I should be experiencing myself differently every moment and every day.

So here’s a letter to the person who is deeply scared…

This past week, as an act of vulnerability, I tried to open myself up to the thing I try to avoid as much as I can, confrontation. One of the many breakthroughs I had in the past several weeks was to talk about my experiences, the things that I buried so deep I tried to mask them with strength.

One of the reasons why I hated to open up and to trust people is my fear of being betrayed. The idea of…

Finding the Right Reasons

Last Wednesday, I was sitting at my workstation as I read my messages, music blares in my ears. I drink my coffee, stared at the window, and smiled. And then the craziest thing happened. I cried. For thirty minutes, I cried. Not because I was sad or hurt, but because I felt overwhelmed by the love and the support that people are giving me. I have so much to be thankful for.

I used to think that…

I trust and surrender to my greatness. That is my declaration. Being vulnerable doesn’t mean I’m weak, it means that I am opening myself to love and to be loved, to accept my weakness, to open myself to feedback and to put my trust in people especially, to myself.

I am still in the process of reeling from the incredible week that has passed after LEAP’s 1st intensive, and the team is already on to showing us its phase one plan for our culminating event, the LEAP Night. At this point, our plans seem to be doing exceptionally well, AND I AM SO PROUD. My biggest hurdle is to be a failure, which I usually associate with me being weak. I know for a fact that I…