CandyMag.com

Since there are only a few hours to go before the month of March officially starts, let me be the first to greet all you Candy girls a very happy birthday!

Candy magazine celebrates its ninth year this month. The very first issue (with Amanda Griffin on the cover) came out in March 1999. Incidentally, March is also my very own anniversary month because it was in March 2005 when I first started working for Candy!

As I was reflecting on what to write for this blog post, I realized that being part of the Candy team is a lot like being in high school. I've made some of the best memories ever and learned a lot of new things. But I've found that it's really the people (my "classmates" and "teachers") who have made my stay in Candy truly worthwhile.

Here's a shot of the Candy team when I was merely a freshman. Being the newbie, I was a bit shy at first. I was very grateful though because the girls made me feel right at home!

In my sophomore year, some people graduated and new classmates came in. Here's a shot of the team in 2006 during our shoot for the prom issue.

In my junior year, being older and hopefully wiser, I've become one of those who welcomes the newbies! As with every year, I dread when people graduate because it means saying goodbye. And yet, I know that even as people grow up, change hairstyles and boyfriends, gain weight or lose weight, these gals will be my friends forever.

Now that I'm entering my fourth year, I'd like to propose a toast… Here's to more years of friendship and cheers to the sweetest mag on the planet. I'm so lucky to have been a part of it.

Angel

P.S. Grab a copy of the March issue and let us know what you think. We'd love to hear your thoughts and birthday wishes for Candy.

Posted in Candy | 15 Comments »

Hey, Candy girls!

So much is happening with the music scene this weekend. For two nights in a row beginning tomorrow, awesome American singer Ne-Yo will be performing his hits at the Araneta Coliseum. Then on Sunday, he’ll be heading to SM Megamall to sign autographs for his fans. If you’re a fangirl, be sure to watch the concert and have your albums signed.

I admit I didn’t know much about him (all I knew was that he sang “So Sick”), but after reading his biography online, I was definitely impressed. Apparently, aside from singing award-winning songs, he has written a bunch of hits for musicians like Beyoncé (“Irreplaceable”), Rihanna (“Unfaithful”), and Mario (“Let Me Love You”). Unbelievable, right?

During the press con, Ne-Yo shared that after his dad left his family (Ne-Yo was only five then), his mom gave him a pen and paper so that he could write down and express his anger. I guess we have his dad’s sad departure to be thankful for because without it, we would never have experienced Ne-Yo’s music.

Moving on to the local music scene, Marla, Roch, and I are excited to attend the Treehouse Productions’ major launch tomorrow (February 29, 9 pm, at 19East in Parañaque). Come join us if you’re not doing anything!

For just P150, you’ll get to watch up-and-coming bands such as Hansom, Melany, and Sourberry, as well as see hit-makers Rivermaya, Julianne, Mayonnaise, Hale, and Sponge Cola perform side by side to raise money for the Bluesky Foundation. The first beneficiary of the musicians-formed foundation is the Asociacion De Damas Filipinas, a temporary shelter for orphaned children and the like. Read more about this worthy cause at and feel free to join their group!

Mimi

Posted in Candy, Candy Rap, Love | 6 Comments »

Hey, Candy girls!

Last Friday, we had another Celeb Chat on the sweetest channel this side of the Net. It was with Candy's January-February 2008 cover girl, Cheska Ortega!

Most popular question was "How is it like working with Sam?" or "Do you have a crush on Sam?" Ha ha! And the most common message was "You're so cute!"

The entire Candymag.com team was present during the chat! That's Beam, our super talented Web Designer who made the cute emoticons in ChitChat, me, Mel, our resident star kid (read: genius!) programmer, and Roch, my partner-in-crime. We also took a snap with Cheska and David (who hid behind the Jan-Feb ish!) after the chat.

After the chat, Cheska hung out at the Candy HQ to watch the behind-the-scenes video at her cover shoot. Want to watch the video of her saying thank you to all those who joined the chat? Log on to ChitChat now and see it!

`Til the next Celeb Chat (you're going to love the next one in line!),
Macy

Posted in Candy | 4 Comments »

Hi, Candy girls! How was your long weekend? I spent mine in Baguio with my family for this year's Flower Festival. I've always loved the City of Pines (Macy and I had a blast when we went there last September), and every visit is special, but this particular trip had its own highlights:

1. Eating ice cream in Camp John Hay. We were freezing our butts off, but when my sister-in-law Trina told us she was craving for strawberries and ice cream, we all wanted dessert too. My sister Marcy had a strawberry sundae, Trina and my brother Timo shared the strawberry parfait, and I split a banana double dutch combo with my brother Macu. Yum! Who says eating ice cream in Baguio isn't a good idea?

2. Drinking tsokolate de batirol. Macy and I discovered this quaint spot serving this special drink on a spontaneous hunt for breakfast last year, and I'm so glad I was able to go back with my family. Hot choco + the cool Baguio weather = perfection!

3. Watching the Flower Festival Float Parade. It was raining, the street was crowded, and it wasn't that easy to take photos, but here are a couple of shots I managed to take. Look closely—that huge gingerbread man is made up entirely of flowers!

4. Taking funny photos with the statues at the Igorot Stairs. Macu hangs out with the security guard while Marcy chats with President Cory and Cardinal Sin. Haha!

5. Bonding with my family. Notice how there are so many of us, there's always bound to be one panira person (not smiling, making a weird face, eyes closed, etc.) in the picture. Hehe.

Hope you had a great long weekend as well, Candy girls! I'm already looking forward to the next one.

Big hugs,
Marla

PS: Baguio is so photogenic! Check out this lovely pic.

Posted in Candy, Reality Bytes | 3 Comments »

Last weekend, my friends and I went to Corregidor Island to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our mountaineering club. It was a lot of fun during the daytime—we had an amazing race around the island and we were able to take a tour of the old cannons and military barracks used during the war. Little did we know that at night, we would be haunted by ghosts of decades past.

As you might already know, one of the most celebrated battles of World War II took place in this tadpole-shaped island more than 60 years ago. 

These were the old military barracks, which served as the quarters of some 2,000 U.S. officials, including Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

This was the old army hospital, which incidentally, is also the sight of a massacre of around 300 Muslim soldiers during the Marcos era. To this day, you can see their names etched on the walls, serving as an eerie reminder of the atrocities that went on in that place.

The highlight of the trip though was the night tour of the Malinta tunnel, which served as the center of American operations during WWII. This passage was converted into a hospital, arsenal, and fuel reservoir, where thousands of Filipino, American, and Japanese soldiers died.

Here I am before entering the tunnel… I wasn't sure though if I'd still be smiling when I got out. 

Our guide took us to the tunnel's innermost laterals. I had no idea that this underground hideout could be so huge. It was like a maze in there! Some of the laterals were converted into clinics and offices.

We spotted this old broken-down typewriter and telephone. Freaky!

Sometimes, we had to stoop down to enter the areas where the rocks had caved in when the tunnels were bombed during the war.

Along the way, we stumbled upon some human bones. Can you spot them?

According to our guide, psychics say that the spirits of the old soldiers still lurk in the tunnel. Imagine our trepidation when our guide led us to one of the tunnels and told us to turn off all our flashlights and start walking in pitch darkness!

Most of us were thankful when that tour was over. After saying a short prayer for the souls who passed away in the tunnel, we happily camped by the seaside and slept easy knowing we would be going home the next day. But it turns out, Corregidor had more surprises in store for us. The waves were much too strong and the boat couldn't make it out to sea so we had to stay another night.

We were given free food and accommodations at the Corregidor Inn. Since there were about 60 of us and there were only a few available rooms, six people had to stay in one room. Well, it just so happened that one of the people I was with had a third eye—and he could see things. He went to the bathroom to take a shower, and then after a few seconds, he came out again and told us, "Guys, is it okay if I keep the door open while I take a bath? Because there is someone in there…"

Of course none of us wanted to take a bath after that! Unfortunately, we had no choice. I did take a bath eventually, and while I was in there, the lights went off! I was so freaked out! (I started imagining the movies, Turista and Psycho! Good thing I didn't see anything myself though. Hehe!) To top it off, it was really really windy outside so in the middle of the night, the windows just blew open, like three times. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep that night.

When the sun started to rise, my friends and I packed our belongings and took the first boat out of the island. Despite these experiences though, I would still recommend that you visit Corregidor. It's a pristine yet mysterious island  with so much historical significance. After leaving, I actually felt a sense of awe and renewed respect for those who died fighting to defend our country.

Now tell me, what was your freakiest ghostly encounter? Let's swap stories!

Scared silly,

Angel 

Posted in Reality Bytes | 2 Comments »