How to Fix Your iPad --- After Dropping It

When we arrived at Araneta Coliseum for the Jason Mraz Concert, the first group of seats we found were good but my friend found ones right at the center so we moved. Almost settled, when stood up to transfer, I forgot that my iPad was on my lap so it fell. It fell and so I picked it up and shoved it in my bag. When the concert was about to start, I took it out, hoping to take a photo with it and I discovered that the colors on the screen had been inverted. The black background is RED, the white was CYAN --- the images looked pixelated, I got slightly depressed.

During the first 10 minutes I was unable to enjoy the event. But Jason's lovely singing took me out of the trance, and I suddenly forgot about it. I forgot about my broken iPad until it was time for me to drive home. While waiting for the parking to clear out of cars, I went through my iPad.

Do you remember this?

This was my broken iPad from just 8 months ago, so when my iPad was broken again, I thought: "Tough luck!". I inspected it --- the screen wasn't broken or cracked --- not at all. I looked at it, it looked repairable, so I told myself: "I will bring it to a Mac Center tomorrow, if it's a goner then let's decide if it's worth it to get a new one". You have to understand, I love my iPad so it is painful for me to just let it go.

Anyway, I was a woman with a plan. But when I got home, I immediately searched online to find out if someone else had a similar problem --- I just wanted to know if there was any hope. I typed in: "I dropped my iPad, the screen is now red", and I got gazillions of links to forums and YouTube videos, but I clicked one forum and loaded one video. Both the video and the forum gave me the same answer. Apparently, when you drop your iPad the way I did (vertically), you can shake the pixels inside and that's what happened to my toy. They said all you have to do is to hit it again --- and the video showed how the man hit his iPad with a hammer several times to bring it back to normal. Understand that at that point I was thinking: "If it doesn't work, who cares? My iPad's busted anyways so I've got nothing to lose. If it works, however, I'd be ecstatic." ---- so I took the risk. I got the remote control, tapped it lightly at the bottom --- and then a little harder when I realized the instructions said: to tap it hard, and slowly the screen came back to normal.

I couldn't believe it. I revived my iPad! I didn't have to buy a new one! I've had two lucky streaks with my iPad ---- I hope I don't get a third.

In my sadness and hopelessness, I failed to take photos of how my iPad looked when it was broken, but imagine it looking like that. Please understand, I was much too depressed to even think it was worth documenting. Sorry. Just trust me, it worked. As long as you didn’t break the LCD screen, just shake it, tap it, hit it with a hammer --- problem solved!

Let’s Go Zumba!

I visit the gym two to three times a week. If I'm not busy in the clinic, I endeavor to go more times because one of my resolutions this year is to give importance to health and fitness, not just because of the biggest loser competition I started with friends, but also because it's nice to be fit and healthy.

I suffered a two-year lazy streak and did not see the gym for long, but it doesn't matter anymore because I'm back. I'm back and I do about 2-3 hours of Zumba sessions a week (apart from Les Mills, Body Sculpt and Street Dancing). You see, I am not really a "workout on your own" kind of girl. If I go in the gym and workout on the treadmill or the elliptical, I'd stay on for a maximum of 30 minutes, but that's all. If I try to workout on my own, following a DVD, it doesn't work as well. I easily get distracted and just do not have the patience. I know it works for some people, but not for me --- I’ve tried, many times. 

Attending a class is fun. I like group classes because you are working out with a group of people, there’s a proper venue for dancing and exercising with large mirrors so you can see yourself move, and there’s a teacher to motivate you to do the work. Working on my own is not easy but working with a class is so effective for me and I attend Zumba classes because it is an amazing cardio workout. Zumba  is fun, especially if your teacher is awesome with his/her song choices and her choreography. Zumba is fun, for me most especially, because I love to dance and when I do it, it hardly feels like a WORKout. As a matter of fact, an hour can go by without me noticing, but my shirt is already soaked, my hair in a great mess and my face flustered. 

On the 26th of May, an amazing ZUMBA FITNESS PARTY is happening at the Bonifacio Global City’s Track 30. It is a 3-hour zumba event that brings together over thousands of zumba enthusiasts. I usually do 2-hour workouts in the gym but this will be a bigger challenge for me because it is a 3-hour straight dance marathon to be led by top Zumba instructors: Prince Paltuob, Madelle Enriquez-Paltuob, Kristie Enriquez, Gino Ong, and David Velez.

If you love to dance and you enjoy working out, it is the perfect event for you to try with friends. Join  Zumba Fitness Party @ the Park and feel even better about yourself because part of the proceeds of the event will be given to the  ICANSERVE Foundation to provide adequate support for their projects and services such as breast cancer early detection and awareness clinics and campaigns and in the aid and recovery of breast cancer patients and survivors.

ZUMBA FITNESS PARTY @ the PARK

Registration Fee: 350PHP (inclusive of a Zumbathon kit)

Date: May 26, 2013

Time: 5pm to 8pm (REGISTRATION starts as early as 2pm)

Tickets are available at SM Tickets or you can contact the organizers through these numbers +63 916 697 3271, 893-6075

I will be coming to the event, with my best friend --- hope to see you there! Let’s all have fun and get sweaty and fit, TOGETHER!

I Love You Jason Mraz

I only love a few artists. I appreciate a wide variety, but my ultimate faves will include songs that are "relaxing", often dramatic and always well-written. I love artists who are great writers, maybe because I used to write poetry and I have respect for that kind of talent. 

Now, I don't know when my love affair with Jason Mraz began, but somewhere between "Geek in the Pink" and "I'm Yours", I fell in love. For years, I have collected album after album of Mr. A to Z and to this day, his songs serenade my patients while they lie on the chair. I have been a fan but the first time Jason Mraz was here, I missed it --- what kind of fan am I, huh? A friend of mine saw it and said he was brilliant, so I couldn't believe I just let it pass --- that was wrong! So when I was given another chance to watch him perform live, I made sure to be there.

I saw the concert with some friends and I had the grandest time. Everyone at the concert venue was just having the time of their life --- a friend even suggested that it would have been best if the chairs were beach lounge chairs instead, so we could pretend to be by the sea, a glass of cocktail in one hand --- the life! 

I arrived at Araneta around 6pm, after performing a tooth extraction on a patient just an hour prior, and waited for my friends to arrive. We had dinner and rounds of laughter, then headed to the GREEN GATE to enter the Coliseum. At exactly, 8pm Jason Mraz came out and he introduced his opening act, ZENDEE, a Filipina singer who apparently was discovered singing "And I Am Telling You" at a karaoke store in Megamall. A passerby, Yuan Juan, posted her video on YouTube and then "random mystery girl" was invited to The Ellen Show. 

After Zendee’s performance, people continued to come in and by the time Jason finally came out at 9pm, the coliseum packed. 

Jason opened the night with "Everything is Sound" and ended his concert with a medley of "I'm Yours" and "Three Little Birds" (By Bob Marley). In total, he sang twenty songs, two for his encore, after everyone at the Coliseum chanted "one more song". While I am disappointed because he missed some of my favorites: Geek and the Pink, Wordplay, Sleeping to Dream, Sleep All Day and No Stopping Us ---- among his 20 songs were The Remedy, Butterfly, You and I Both, Living in the Moment, Lucky, Make it Mine, Live High, Only Human, A Beautiful Mess, I Won't Give Up, Song for a Friend and I'm Yours.

Jason Mraz is an amazing performer. He is an A-W-E-S-O-M-E singer and while performing “I'm Yours”, I got goosebumps all over my body. I’m in a Jason HIGH right now! With the elections forced out of my head, I shall leave you with one of the songs he played last night:  

"The Woman I Love".

Maybe I annoy you with my choices
Well, you annoy me sometimes too with your voice
But that ain't enough for me
To move out and move on
I'm just gonna love you like the woman I love

We don't have to hurry
You can take as long as you want
I'm holdin' steady
And my heart's at home
With my hand behind you
I will catch you if you fall
I'm just gonna love you like the woman I love

Sometimes the world can make you feel
You're not welcome anymore
And you beat yourself up
You let yourself get mad
And in those times when you stop lovin'
The woman I adore
You can relax
Because, babe, I got your back
Mm, I got you

I don't wish to change you
You've got it under control
You wake up each day different
Another reason for me to keep holdin' on
I'm not attached to any way you're showing up
I'm just gonna love you like the woman I love
Yeah I'm gonna love you, oh, yeah
I'm gonna love you
You're the woman I love

Live high, live mighty, live righteously…

Giving Wakeboarding Another Try

Last year, my best friend and I tried wakeboarding for the first time. We went on a bad day, though, because for some reason everyone else planned to go to Republic Wake Park in Nuvali too. We got there a little after lunch (after carbo-loading at Solenad 2) and a long line of beginners welcomed us. We thought a two-hour pass would be more than enough, but with the crowd it was just enough to allow us one go at the cables. Two hours. We waited TWO hours behind everyone else waiting for their turn, and when I finally got there, I fell. I stayed a second on the board and fell.

After that unfortunate round, we vowed to try it again. Mabeth was able to give it another go in Calatagan last month, and then I invited her to join my cousins and sister the other day. My cousins tried it last month and got hooked. So doctor/dentist Mabeth and Crix, left Manila and went wakeboarding. Mabs is pretty awesome already, even my younger cousins. I still need a lot of practice, because I may have no natural talent with watersports, but I’ve improved since I last tried it, so that shows some potential. Haha!

In this particular trip, I brought BINKY with me. Always stuck in the clinic, I was happy to find out that Republic is “pet-friendly” so she tagged along, in her pink cage and watched us zoom with the board. I tied her on a pole, left her beside her cage with some food and water, and she just stayed there --- enjoying the breeze.

 

All the while, we each took turns at the at cable and board --- it was amazing!

We, unfortunately, didn’t have so many photos. We were only able to take photos of one round we had because everyone was having their go, we didn’t really have anyone who could be assigned to take photos. Hopefully the next time I improve and get to show you in a photo that I did. Haha!

Till then,

Let's Instagram It!

I created my INSTAGRAM account last year, when I got my iPad, but I never used it. We set it up so we could stalk people’s posts (mainly celebrities) and people started adding me cus it was linked to my Twitter account --- but it was empty for more than a year. I post photos straight to Facebook or Twitter. The program I use for Twitter is Twitpic and whatever that program is that’s built-in on my Blackberry so I never found the need to bother with Instagram. Anyway, fastforward to a few weeks ago, I finally posted my first pic. I don’t remember why I decided to do it, but I did and just like with anything I do --- I’m at it quite aggressively, now.  I told my sister, “You know me. Once I pop, I can’t stop” so I may have flooded people’s feeds --- my apologies. 

A late-bloomer, yikes, I am having a great time and I post all kinds of things on Instagram:

In our biggest loser competition, we are instructed to take photos of our workouts and ever since I got on Instagram, I post the photos I take of my trips to the gym, too. Some kind of workout diary, but I also take pictures of my gear --- and in this shot, my new shoesies, NIKE FREE 4.0 V2. They’re very nice --- light and free! Haha!

I also post photos of events. This is actually a repost from a cousin’s feed. This photo was taken at my cousin’s lovely wedding reception at Enderun. I have very pretty cousins. We all got it from our mommas --- lucky us! Do you love my dress? I love it, but I'll blog more about that in another time.

‘

I am not really a fashionista but I love clothes and I somehow make an effort to dress up and look good. Sometimes I take photos to showcase details about my outfit for the day. No, I am not exactly an #ootd kind of girl so do not expect that to happen, but when I remember and when I see something remarkable about what I am wearing, I will take a snapshot and show you.

Of course, expect to have some BINKY pictures because she is so cute and she is just fun to take photos of. She is so smart and as I’ve mentioned a few posts ago, she has some posing talents. On this one I was trying to take a series of photos with her, with me trying to kiss her. It was great, but after a few shots, I think she got annoyed na with me so I got blocked. Hahaha!

I am a girl, after all, so expect some vanity shots like this one, although I am not sure if this can be classified as a vanity shot. I took this photo while I was in the passenger seat, bored to death. On our way to lunch, I just stepped out of the shower and didn’t have time to look at myself in the mirror, I was actually using the iPad as a mirror --- and then those happened. Haha!

You can also expect some food posts. I love to cook. I am not exactly an awesome cook, but I love to pretend that I am, so after finishing a dish, I will share it --- and give you the recipe if you want, just ask. This is "Hoisin Tofu and Vegetables". Using firm tofu, red bell peppers and pechay, I made a sauce with hoisin and a mixture of other ingredients which I have forgotten right now. 

Of course, you can expect for me to post photos relating to my dental practice. I am a dentist, if you do not already know that and sometimes I will post photos about my clinic, the things I do, and perhaps some tips. This is a photo of the clinic's latest Colgate supply. Ever since we opened, we have been supplied by Colgate so I have not bought a single toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash for years --- for my personal use because apart from the bunch which is meant to be given to patients, they give us some stuff to try.

My sister has a thing about posting “words” on Instagram because she says it’s a venue for photos and not texts, but I am one of those. When I find something relevant and inspiring online, I will share it with you. This is one bible verse that I really love. There’s a praise song of this verse and it’s one of my favorite songs to sing. It lifts me up and keeps me going. 

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So, are you on Instagram? If you are, add me: poohsteazo. If you wanna stalk me, or if you wanna know what’s going on with me --- it is more updated than this blog, so go ahead and follow. I don’t really flood people’s feeds. I was just exaggerating when I said that. 

Throwing a SPA-rty for the Bride-to-Be

My cousin got hitched yesterday and it was a lovely wedding, but before she took to the aisle, we came together to give her a beach-themed send-off. Tini, the ultimate beach bum, deserved a beachy affair so best friend, cousin and MOH Aissa designed the whole thing to bring the beach to Manansala Towers at Rockwell. The room was decorated colorfully by leis, fruits, summery colors and she even dressed the bride-to-be in a grass skirt with matching bao-bra. 

Last year I told you about the not so wholesome bachelorette we had at White Bird. This time, we went a different route and organized a SPArty (a spa event that conveniently fits the theme and the event to come). We booked spa services for the guests and Tini: foot spa, manicure, pedicure and massage. This idea is good because:

 

1. It is perfect for a more wholesome crowd. A gay bar even is fun, but too much of the supposedly unseen could be a bad idea for someone who would rather have their eyes closed. It is simple but fun, and every girl loves to receive some pampering so a spa event or party can be a very good thing.
2. It gives the bride a chance to relax. I don't know if you know this but planning a wedding is not easy, especially when you have just a few days left before the event. By throwing the bride-to-be a spa party, you give her a breather --- a chance to just relax and enjoy some pampering a few days before.
3. It saves everyone time and effort. Before any big event, most women are expected to go to a nail salon for a mani-pedi. As all the guests will be coming to the wedding anyway, organizing a spa party will save everyone time and effort, because they can get their mani-pedis at the bachelorette along with everyone else.

Anyway, Tini's SPArty was really amazing. Everything about it was GOOD. 

The Food.

The food was ordered from Dulcelin, home of the famous Mango Torte. We had fresh mushroom pasta with truffle oil, porcheta and beef belly roast beef. Desserts were all great as well, cupcakes from Dolce, lemon squares from Mary Grace and mochi ice cream. 

 
The Games.

The games were new and fun. We had a panty game, which Tini did really bad in. The guests were asked to bring pairs of panties each that best describes them and Tini was supposed to guess which panty was brought by whom. We had a sexy, kinky and wedding themed charades with words like vibrator, vaseline and push-up bra (tsk tsk). We had a carve the cucumber game (according to what they thing Pat's patootie looks like --- haha!). We had a handbag game to find out which one of the guests come prepared, all the time. We had a sexier version of "pin the tail on the donkey" and called it: "mark your kiss on the sexy guy", so we colored our lips and tried to kiss the pin-up while in a blindfold. 

The Entertainment. As it was a bachelorette anyway, we arranged for some "entertainment". A shocking surprise for Tini, we had a talented and flexible guy over who danced for us. Ready with our 100-peso bills, we sat around the room and tried our hardest to slip the bill into his underwear without touching him. Haha! During this part of the party, we did a lot of screaming and laughing.

 

All of these happened last Friday. Yesterday, Tini and Pat exchanged vows and "I dos". 

Congratulations Tinigurl,