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Sob. I just heard the news that aside from The Ex List (which had a short-lived four-episode run), Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money are now being axed!

The Ex List

Pushing Daisies

Dirty Sexy Money

I have so many questions about the remaining shows and the storylines themselves: Will they continue to air the remaining ep in the US or will these go straight to DVD? Will the dilemmas of the major characters be resolved or will they leave the fans of these shows hanging? (It’s like reading a good book then discovering mid-way that the latter pages of the book are just blank. Que horor!)

I feel so bad because I’ve invested so much time in each show. I’ve grown to love Bella and her funny set of friends and ex-boyfriends, Ned and his lovable murder-solving Pie Hole gang, and the rich and fabulously dysfunctional Darling family. I still want to see how Bella finds with her One True Love. I can’t wait to know how Ned resolves his issues and lives happily ever after with Chuck. And I want to discover who killed Nick George’s dad. (Was it really one of the Darlings?)

Have you ever felt this TV-terrible before? The last time I did was after watching the last episode of My So-Called Life. I was dying to find out who Angela Chase (Claire Danes) would pick: dreamy Jordan Catalano or nerdy Brian Krackow. But the show was axed and I never got around to finding out. ;_;

Sigh. Some good things never last…

Mimi

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Christmas is always a time when people are extra-generous… when we feel the need to give back and do something for the less fortunate. This year, we can do it while having a sip of our favorite coffee or tea at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf!

When you visit Coffee Bean, you’ll be given a card with 12 empty spots. Every time you get a drink, you get a stamp. When you’ve filled up all the spots, not only do you get a really pretty notebook (with art work by our national artists), Coffee Bean will also donate a certain amount in your name for your chosen charity.

Here are the 12 charities you can help by supporting Coffee Bean:

Philippine Band of Mercy
What they do: Provide Filipinos who are physically disfigured at birth with the opportunity to avail of medical help and support for reconstruction, rehabilitation, and medical treatment.
What Coffee Bean can do for you: Donate P8,000 for the operation of a child!

Caritas Manila
What they do: Help prisoners and members of their families in all jails in the Archdiocese of Manila.
What Coffee Bean can do for you: Donate P1000 for values formation classes of an inmate.

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)
What they do: Prevent cruelty, alleviate pain, fear, and suffering in animals.
What Coffee Bean can do for you: Provide medicine for the animals.

Cartwheel Foundation
What they do: Bring education to the country’s indigenous people (IPs) who have been neglected and overtaken by development.
What Coffee Bean can do for you: Donate P8,000 for a student’s tuition, educational materials and teacher training.

Haribon Foundation
What they do: Conserve Philippine Biodiversity.
What Coffee Bean can do for you: Adopt a seedling under your name!

Kythe
What they do: Alleviate the anxiety of pediatric patients and their families and help them cope with the challenge of hospitalization.
What Coffee Bean can do for you: Provide the kids with an unforgettable outing!

Kagabay
What they do: Address poverty reduction through social, political, and economic empowerment of women in communities.
What Coffee Bean can do for you: Donate P600 per child to aid in their education needs.

Autism Society Philippines
What they do: Empower persons with autism spectrum disorder to become self-reliant, productive, and socially-accepted members of the community.
What Coffee Bean can do for you: Donate P2000 for books needed by the kids to study.

Bahay Tuluyan
What they do: Provide street children with services like alternative education, research, training, and advocacy.
What Coffee Bean can do for you: Give a birthday present worth P250 per child to give them birthday memories they will treasure.

Resources for the Blind
What they do: Ensure that blind students have access to the same information as sighted students.
What Coffee Bean can do for you: Donate P1000 for Braille textbooks.

Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP)
What they do: Instill a culture of corporate citizenship in its member companies to improve the quality of life of Filipinos.
What Coffee Bean can do for you: Sponsor a child for a medical consultation worth P200.

Philippine Cerebral Palsy, Inc.
What they do: Assist and aid cerebral palsy victims within the Philippines by providing facilities, equipment, and supplies for treatment and rehabilitation.
What Coffee Bean can do for you: Donate P1,800 per patient per month to help fund their medicine and rehabilitation.

So what are you waiting for? Grab a drink at Coffee bean (try the new Double Chocolate drink!) and get a chance to give back to one of these 12 awesome charities.

Addicted to caffeine and caring,
Angel

P.S. If you complete 12 cards and give to all 12 charities, you get a year’s supply of coffee from Coffee Bean!

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I’ve noticed that there have been a lot of foreign artists coming here in the Philippines to perform this year and I was fortunate enough to watch 4 of them(3 of which I got to watch for free). Months ago, I’ve been hearing rumors that Chris Brown will be coming over late this year. I said to myself, whatever happens, I’m going to watch him dance live on stage. So when I found out that it’s going to push through, I researched where and when is it going to be, and how much the tickets would cost. Discovering that it was a back-to-back concert with Rihanna made me more excited. Not even thinking twice, I purchased the most expensive ticket I’ve ever bought in my 24 years of existence.

November 16 came and I was playing Chris Brown and Rihanna’s songs while dressing up for the big event. My friends would attest on how excited I was for that day to come. My friend and I arrived 3 hours before the concert so we could have time to eat and walk around a bit. Bonifacio High Street and Serendra were packed! Little after 6PM, we went inside the concert grounds to have a feel of the place and settle down a bit. People were coming in by the minute. Come 8PM, MTV VJs Kat Alano and Maggie Wilson enter the stage to give a brief introduction. After the lights went off, the crowd went wild! Chris Brown was amazing! I just couldn’t stop myself from shouting whenever he dances. I personally love his Michael Jackson Medley and his dance showdown in the tune of “Freeze.” Everyone was singing along with Rihanna when she sang “Take A Bow.” What a way to end the concert seeing Chris Brown and Rihanna together on stage with “Umbrella” and “Cinderella” remix.

Even though I went home all sweaty, I can truly say this was the best concert I’ve watched ever in my life.

A ‘Forever’ Fan,
Roch <3

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Three minutes without air, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food—I’ve been told that’s roughly how long humans can survive without those necessities. I could be remembering it wrong, but I do love how nifty this rule of thumb is. Three, three, three for three utmost essentials. It gets me thinking of my own set of utmost essentials, my necessities for maintaining a high quality of life. Things like:

My Antidote to Bad Days
I was sungit one day last week after work because less important things kept horning in on this one important thing I was trying to finish. I couldn’t shake off my “hothead” mode, even after the 15-minute drive from my office to the mall. So I headed straight for Zara while waiting for my guy to meet up with me (he was buying movie tickets). I was still frowning over a couple of black blouses when he walked in. But all it took was one joke (he touched my forehead and made a sizzling sound) and I was smiling. One more joke (he impersonated Sungit Mia at her work desk) and I was laughing out loud! All this under 3 minutes.

My Nesting Tendencies or What Makes A Room My Room
When I moved into another bedroom in my house a few years back, I marveled at how quickly my old, once-cherished room morphed into a room I had no attachment to. Back then, I figured it was the happy color scheme that made me feel right at home in my new room. And maybe it was. But now that I’ve had to move all my things out again (I had my room repainted a couple of months ago, haven’t completely moved back in since), I’m quickly learning which things of mine I need inside my room for it to feel like home. At first, I was reveling in all the glorious uncluttered space—I only had my bed and my nightstand while my shelves and desk stood completely empty. But just when I was seriously considering leaving my shelves empty for good, I began to feel I was living in someone else’s apartment, a guest in my own bedroom. The first thing I needed back? My stack of books in current circulation, on my nightstand. Next came the framed photo of my guy and me taken on his grad day. And then my pink mug with my pens and pencils, followed by my newer stacks of magazines, plus my purple piggy bank. In less than 3 days, I had begun to move back in without meaning to!

My Monthly Dose of Happy
My best friend has a busier schedule than mine, so coupled with my unpredictable one, we’re used to not seeing each other on a weekly basis, while keeping in touch online or over the phone. But just last month, while she was on vacay-slash-working in Hawaii, I began to feel out of sorts and a wee bit mopey. Like I needed to talk to someone, but not just anyone would do. And that’s when it hit me—I missed my friend and the way I could spend an entire day with her and count on two things for sure: that I’d be happy and that I’d be at ease. She’d been gone too long, for what felt like an eternity, when really, it was only (you guessed it!) 3 weeks.

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Hi, Candy Girls!

When I was about to graduate from high school, the prospect of studying abroad never once entered my mind. I guess you could say I was so scared of the fact that I’d have to leave the comforts of my home, temporarily say goodbye to the people I’ve known for more than 17 years, and call a strange country “home.”

These days, I look back and wonder what would have happened if I studied abroad, maybe in Sydney (my tita used to live in Australia) or London (I totally dig the Brit accent, which explains my Ed obsession!). Would I still have pursued a degree in Communication Arts? Would I still have joined a theater organization? More importantly, would I still have had as much—or even more—fun with a diverse group of friends?

If you’re considering studying in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, or the United Kingdom, you should drop by the Dusit Hotel Nikko, Makati on November 21 (Friday, 1 – 6 pm) or November 22 (Saturday, 1 – 7 pm). “Global Education Alternatives 2008: A Commonwealth of Choices” will be a great venue for you to meet with well-respected education representatives from the mentioned countries and explore your options.

Admission is free. (Yay!) Just don’t forget to bring your grades, your questions, and an open mind. Who knows, you might just be jetting off to another country to study by next year!

Thinking of studying again…
Mimi :book:

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