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Dear Candy girls,

Rainy days are here again—and you know what that means. In a few days, you're going back to school! In fact for some of you, school may have started already. To get to school, you probably ride the school bus, commute, drive, or even walk, if you live only a few minutes away. But can you imagine waking up at 3 am and walking 20 or more kilometers barefooted through rice fields and dirt paths lined with sharp rocks and grass, just to get to school? Unfortunately, this is a reality that children living in remote areas in the Philippines face every single day. For them, the hardest part about getting an education is just getting to school. 

Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to join the Big Brother Big Sister Community Outreach. It was organized by members of different mountaineering groups and its main goal is to bring backpacks and school supplies to children in inaccessible communities. This year, we went to a little town in Tanudan, Kalinga. To get there, we had to ride a bus from Manila to Tabuk for 12 hours. Once there, the road became very rough so we had to ride a truck, which kept breaking down, for another six hours. Finally, when we reached the jump-off point, we had to trek for two hours to get to the school, while carrying the backpacks we were going to give the kids.

Here's a shot of my group while trekking. See that town in the distance? That's where we're going! 

We all had to cross this rickety old bridge to get to the school. One at a time only or else it might collapse!

When we finally got there, we took a much needed rest and prepared the backpacks for distribution. The next morning, the kids started to arrive. First, we played some games with them and gave away lots of prizes! Here's a shot of my group after winning one of the games.

After that, the kids regaled us with a performance of the Kanyao, a traditional northern dance. They were so adorable!

And finally, the moment we all came here for—the distribution of backpacks! Even under the heat of the sun, the kids waited patiently for their turn. 

The kids happily receive their packs!

One student’s school set contains seven notebooks, four ballpens, four pencils, writing pads, crayons, a sharpener and a ruler. Looks like they're all excited to use them!

At the end of the activity, it's time for the kids—and the volunteers—to start the trek home.  If you look closely at this picture, there's actually a set of stairs beside the waterfalls. That's where most of the kids pass to go home. (See the kids carrying their colorful backpacks?) 

On the trek back, we took some time to take photos, admire the view, and drink water, of course! These are my college friends Plim and Philip. They've never climbed a mountain before but I managed to convince them to go. All for a good cause!

The adventure doesn't end there though. On the way back, our truck broke down again… and again.. and again. It was so bad that the driver asked all of us to go down and start trekking while they tried to fix the truck! As if that wasn't bad enough, it started to rain—HARD. We were all soaked to the bone. We couldn't even get our raincoats because we left them in our backpacks on the truck. We were tired, wet and hungry, but the amazing thing was, most of the volunteers still had smiles on their faces. It was all a big adventure! I wish I could have brought out my camera to capture the funny moments—like seeing the boys trying to pull the truck out of a ditch—but I had to shield it from the rain! 

We finally made it back to the town at around 11 pm. After having a very, very late dinner, we took quick showers and got on our bus. We reached Manila safe and sound by noon the next day. Though there were moments during the second day when I thought I wouldn't make it home in one piece, looking back, I realized that these are the moments I will remember forever. (What an amazing story to tell my grandkids, right?) But of course, the most important thing is the fact that we were successful in our mission to bring—not just school supplies—but also hope to the children of Tanudan. Seeing their happiness at receiving their packs and knowing they will make good use of those school supplies, for at least a year, gives me enough reason to go back and do this again next year!

Preparing for my next adventure,

Angel 

I love flip-flops! I think I have more than 20 pairs of flip-flops in my door shoe pockets. I find it really comfortable and I can wear it with any kind of outfit. When the Oscars gave away special edition of Havaianas for the nominee gift basket, people started to talk about it. They're known to be the most comfortable flip-flops ever made. The last time I counted, I have 10 pairs of Havaianas but I’m missing 1 so that makes it 9. But something happened that made my count go down to 8 ½. Wonder why? Read on.

Me, Mimi, Marla, Angel and the whole CoC 7 went to Summit Studio for a shoot last Wednesday. I was wearing a white shirt, bermuda shorts and my super favorite pair of Havaianas from my “collection”.  If I’m going to the grocery, buy something from the mall or even go to church, it would always be my first pick. Actually, the sole is already worn out and it’s obviously over-used but I don’t care.

While waiting for the models to dress up, Angel and I were standing in a corner while talking about the Pupil event that happened the night before. I was leaning on the wall and when I lifted my right foot, I suddenly felt something snap out! I immediately said “OMG! I think naputol yung strap ng slippers ko!” I didn’t want to look down but I have to. Oh and yes! The sight that I dread to see… the strap was like sliced from the rubber thing at the bottom to keep the strap in place. I wanted to cry as I see my love give up on me. Mimi was in shock when she saw my slippers! She just mentioned earlier that day that she has the same slippers as mine and I said it was my favorite. And in one second, it’s gone.

I was even more upset when I realized I don’t have anything to wear for the rest of the day since it was just only 3:00 in the afternoon and the shoot will not end till 6. I was asking the Manong in the studio if they have thumb tacks or push pins thinking I could do a little repair for the meantime. Well, unfortunately my idea didn’t work since the pin didn’t hold the base and the strap together tightly. While Angel was checking the drawers at the studio, she saw some straw strings and thought of an idea. She got the broken pair and started to work through the holes of the slippers just to keep the strap in place temporarily. Angel asked me to try it on to see if the strap was tight enough. Good Job Angel!! Well at least I had something to wear on my right foot for the rest of the day. I can’t even walk properly because I might displace the strap from the hole since it’s just tied up. Well, what can I say, Angel’s innovative plan worked well. Thanks Angel!

I love that pair. Too bad they don't sell that kind of design anymore. Mimi even suggested to send the pics to Havaianas Philippines to prove that their ever so famous flippies are not sturdy haha! Well, there are only 2 solutions to my problem: 1.) ask Havaianas Philippines if they could replace the strap, or 2.) glue it together using Mighty Bond. Haha pathetic I know but I don’t want to give it up just yet.

Still Hoping,

Roch <3

Hey, everyone!

Last week, I attended the opening of Bestsellers in Galleria with Mia, Angel, Jennie, and our intern Maia. While checking out the rows and rows of books, I told the girls how much I love young adult fiction, and that I don’t think I’ll ever outgrow all these coming-of-age novels. It turns out Mia loves that genre too, and we ended up talking about one of my all-time favorite titles, PREP by Curtis Sittenfeld. This book took me by surprise because I was expecting it to be nothing more than a light, fun, chick-lit read. But Sittenfeld is such an amazing writer that she totally blew me away. She writes so beautifully that at random paragraphs, I have to stop reading and just let her words sink in. I actually wish I had read this book when I was still in high school, because I can relate so much to the all the little quirks and major issues of the main character, Lee Fiora. Sometimes, it seems like Sittenfeld has reached into my mind and transferred my thoughts on paper. Yes, she’s that good.

Going back to young adult fiction—I love this genre so much that for my thesis in my senior year in college, I chose to work on the more challenging creative project rather than the standard research paper. I wrote a collection of short stories for teens entitled Corridors. It took me about six months to write five stories: “Run,” “Staged,” “Breakfast with Angela,” “Traps,” and “Friends Forever, and Other Clichés.” For those six months, I was completely obsessed with my characters and the lives they lead. When I couldn’t figure out what direction the plot should take, I’d get cranky and I wouldn’t be able to sleep for several nights. At one point, when the girl had to break up with her boyfriend, I even found myself crying, getting tears all over my laptop while I furiously typed away! Haha. Now that I think about those six months, I realize how much I miss writing fiction. Someday soon, I’ll find enough time and inspiration to sit down again and write another story. And maybe, if I’m brave enough, I’ll even share it with all of you.

In the meantime, I’m still on the lookout for new stuff in young adult fiction. I’m thinking of reading Things Left Unsaid next—it’s a story of a high school girl told in poems and it looks pretty interesting. Any other titles you can recommend?

Big hugs,
Marla

So many things happen in a week, that I often fail to take a breather and appreciate the lil’ things that come my way. This week, my post is a tribute to these things that have—in one way or another—made me smile.

1) Completing a game of Solitaire on my iPod without cheating. Looks like my luck has finally changed. (Yes, we have a winner!)

2) Watching a movie for free and cozying up to M&Ms Shrek and Puss in Boots. (Thanks for the free chocolates and tickets, Tin!)

3) Trying out new nail polish (like Pennacotta—haha!) and liking the way it looks on my footsies. Kawaii!!!

4) Getting a brand-new CD of an artist I really, really like. (Thanks for the CD, Ebet!)

5) Finding out that my favorite book series is being turned into a TV show. Woohoo! (We’ll spill the details on our gossip page soon.)

6) Receiving a big bear hug from a totally adorable boy (that’s singer-actor Makisig Morales from the pint-sized boyband, Mak and the Dudes. They just launched their album yesterday, so be sure to give it a spin!)

7) Buying two necklaces I fell in love with. One took me back to my Romeo + Juliet movie obsession, while the other reminded me of beautiful Paris. (Check out her other designs at tesori.multiply.com.)

8) Eating a happy meal. Get it?

So what made you smile this week, Candy girl?
Mimi

Hi, Candy Peeps!

Yesterday, I went to a super interesting event, together with Ana G. from the Council of Cool. It was called, "Scrap and Tell" and it was all about scrapbooking! Fun!

I was really into scrapbooking back in high school. I would cut out letters and pictures from magazines and buy art paper, stickers, colored pens, and other materials to decorate my scrapbook. But now, scrapbooking has really gone a whole new level—thanks to the All About Scrapbooking team!

Here, Ces talks about the basics of Scrapbooking. (Check out her cute nametag. We all got one of our own!)

They gave us a scrapbooking kit which contains a scrapbook, acid-free papers of different colors and sizes (since it's acid-free, it preserves the pictures and helps them last longer), embellishments (such as pins, stickers, ribbons), and materials like scissors, glue, and a ruler. 

I was so excited to get started! They showed us how to create this cool paper pouch with pockets. (It's now stuck on my bulletin board at the office!)

There's so much you can do with these punchers, wiggly scissors, pliers, and other materials!

After the event, they even allowed us to print some of our pictures on this Canon Selphy printer. If you have pictures on your phone, all you have to do is send them via bluetooth and the printer will automatically print them! Pretty cool, I say!

They also gave us these digital scrapbook pages with our pictures in a frame. I was so excited to go home and start scrapbooking again!

So for all you scrapbooking enthusiasts, or if you haven't tried it yet and want to give it a shot, drop by the Glorietta Activity Center on June 3 for READY, SET, SCRAP!—a grand scrapbooking fair open to everyone! You can learn more about scrapbooking through various workshops, shop 'til you drop for fab scrapbooking finds, test your creativity, and get a chance to win great prizes in the Scrapsport and Scrap Exclusive competitions! 

You can get your tickets at participating National Book Store branches or at the venue itself for only P200 each. Each ticket entitles you entry to the fair, a goodie bag of scrapbooking supplies, one entry to the Scrapsport scrapbooking competition plus a chance to win fab prizes in the raffle draw. Good deal, right? See you there!

Ready to start scrapping, 

Angel 

P.S. Thanks, Ana, for taking these pictures! 

P.P.S. Watch out for a scrapbooking feature in the magazine. We'll teach you how to do it and give lots of cool tips! ;)