kimono Originally uploaded by annalyn. Am now a proud recipient of a kimono like this one, but there's no picture of me wearing it since am still trying to figure out how to. Actually it's a Japanese yukata (summer kimono) in a black and white fan-like design with an accompanying maroon obi. According to this website, the basic premise is to "wrap the right side of the kimono over the body, then overlap it with the left side." But other than this, you also need to put on white tabi socks, Japanese sandals (most often the zori), the white collar that goes ... Continue Reading...

pacquiao Originally uploaded by annalyn. I know this post is late in coming but here's my take on why Manny Pacquiao's win against Erik Morales was one big Pinoy moment: 1. He showed to the world he's one hell of a slugger. 2. He's a perfect example of one poor lad who made it good and made it this far. 3.Filipinos need a modern-day sports hero, and he's it. 4. Filipinos need to be inspired that one can strike it rich by dint of 'bloody' hard work, not by stealing, winning the lotto, or engaging in illegal rackets. 5. He's the only ... Continue Reading...

Image004 Originally uploaded by annalyn. Anna meets Annal. It doesn't matter that weeks before she came to Manila, my Norway-based tokayo (in Pilipino, meaning a person with which you share the same first name) Anna Lyn and I were in constant YM conference, discussing plans about shopping in Divisoria and meeting with our high school classmates whom we haven't seen in 20 years! But as it turned out, we were too busy for our own good - me with my work and she with touring the islands with her family. It took extraordinary determination on both our sides to ... Continue Reading...

If there's anything good that came out of my horrible vacation that just passed, it's the fact that I got to be reunited with a few important people in my life: my college friends, members of my immediate family who came from the US, and my long-lost half-sister Jinky. I don't know what it is about reunions which give me the greatest joy. Aside from the obvious fact that you miss the persons concerned, there's the excitement in starting again where you left off, the sharing of all the juiciest anecdotes you can remember, all the laughter and the food, plus physical ... Continue Reading...