Online Space of Alvin Jimenez
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Jovit Baldivino ‘got talent
Mar 26th
Nowadays, if I’m not watching my wedding video during the occasional mid day lull, I usually turn to Youtube for inspiration. Naks.
Now this guy, Mr. Jovit Baldivino, is something else. This bit on Pilipinas Got Talent is so inspirational, that not even Kris Aquino’s self centered banter was not able to ruin it. So again, Mr. Jovit Baldivino, I dedicate this online space to you, and I have no doubt in my mind that you will fulfill your dreams.
Planning an Out of Town Wedding | The Nitty Gritty
Mar 4th
Needless to say, everything was a blur from the moment we set foot back in Manila. You can even say we encountered a lot of “resistance”.
Having the wedding out of town meant not being able to invite everyone in the family. My older sister’s comment actually struck me at first — If you have your wedding in the Philippines, that means you are obliged to invite a lot of people, and if it’s out of town, it has to be immediate family only. My attitude towards this was pwede bang in between? In the end, we came up with an initial list of 60, which somehow ballooned to as much as 120. So much for keeping it small.
Aside from the guest count, we had to find out if our suppliers would be available out of town. Fortunately, our esteemed photographer was, as well as our designer who actually lived in Cebu (how convenient!). Mariel’s makeup artist was not however because of a previous engagement the same night. But no problem, we were able to find another suitable and able replacement. You can say that having built a few years worth of contacts in the magazine industry did have its perks. One thing we had to do though was let go of P30,000 worth of reservation fees and down payments. Oh well…
The next challenge we encountered was one of the most time sensitive of all — the flights. If you’ve booked any flights online (be it Cebu Pacific, PAL, or Zest), you would know how frustrating it is to see a good price one minute, and see it immediately increase a significant amount the next. Imagine the urgency to disseminate all the wedding details to our invited guests even though details of the wedding were not yet final. The plan of action? I had to send out a “sort of” invite (The actual ones weren’t printed until the 3rd week of January!). In a span of 3 weeks, we were able to coerce our friends and family to purchase tickets. I hope this can also serve as our “sort of” apology to everyone (specially those who live abroad) for not being able to give out the invites and details sooner.
Since we were coordinating everything in Manila, someone had to take care of our business in Cebu. Fortunately, we found someone who frequented Manila once or twice a month. Bong Abella of Koncepts and More was our first and last choice actually (because we were able to meet with him personally right away). We had already decided on the Archbishop’s Palace and made a reservation when he informed us that they did not allow Sunday weddings there. Stress! After scouring the interwebs and looking for an alternate venue, we had settled on the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. You’ll find out later why this turned out to be one of the most pleasant accidents in our planning.
From Manila to Cebu | A Wedding
Feb 28th
After months of preparing for my wedding, I am very relieved to say that the stressful few months leading up to February is finally over. I got married to Mariel, my fiancee’ on February 21st, and now I can finally talk about it.
For those who don’t know, Mariel and I were supposed to get married at Shrine of Jesus near SM Mall of Asia. When we found out our desired date was still available, we immediately shelled out 50% of the required payment then and there just to block off the date (Upon reserving, people were given a week to come up with the initial payment just in case we changed our mind). The place back then felt perfect. The church wasn’t too old, and it wasn’t too big either.
The next thing we decided to take care of was the reception venue. We had gone around and visited a number of places, but I personally found it too expensive to rent a venue and still have to worry about the caterer. While looking for a possible food supplier, we chanced upon then newly opened Oceana Events Place. The establishment allowed us to remove the venue rental from our costing, and was under the CCA umbrella (we had little doubt that the food would be great). Since it was also a few minutes away from the Church, it would be convenient for the friends and family as well.
By June of 2009, we were almost done with the planning stages of our wedding. Since Mariel and I once belonged to the magazine industry, our main suppliers were some of her close friends. The deeply talented Kate Torralba was going to take care of the gowns for the bridal entourage (including my suit). Barbi Chan was going to do her makeup (if you get to read this Barbi, it was too bad our schedules didn’t work out), but Peddy Acebo was perfect. Pat “”Worth every penny” Dy (you’ll find out later why Kate coined this nickname for him) was going to be our photographer. We decided to do away with the video since there was no more room for it in the budget. Also, we weren’t the type to make guests sit through a video of our wedding.
It was in November of 2009 when all these plans suddenly changed.
Cheers to 2009! Yes, this blog is still alive..
Jan 15th
October 25 to November 29 – Running, running, and more running. I had to write it down thrice because in a span of 30 days, I was able to “run-walk” my way through three 10K marathons, and decide to move my wedding from Manila to Cebu.
November 30 to December 18 – Work. Traffic. Work. Traffic. Traffic. Last minute gift shopping. I think that applies to everyone during the Christmas season.
December 19 to January 7 – Four words — God of War Collection. I’ve played through both God of War 1 and 2, but just didn’t mind playing through both games all over again. Believe me, playing through both felt like going through them for the first time. The 720p treatment did this game a lot of good. Besides, you’re probably going to need a refresh before God of War 3 comes out in March.
And oh, this blog turned two, and yours truly turned 30 this year.
Here’s a virtual cheer for 2009!
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-10-23
Oct 23rd
- Adidas King of the Road 2009: Race Kit claiming FAIL http://ping.fm/ErwHB #
- #trafficmanil julia vargas still clear. stay away from cmwealth n balara #
- To those who haven't picked up your Adidas KOTR kits, wala pang tao dito. Parking is a pain though. #
- So there are carolers outside. Isn't it too early? #
- Now I know why it was hard to come by Century corned tuna at groceries. It is made of WIN. #
- Wouldn't mind having this in case the rains hit #Ondoy http://bit.ly/1cgabA #
- From Mighty to Magic. $69! Expected Apple's new mouse to be more expensive, but who's complaining? http://ping.fm/wesnf #
- Ran a 5k today in 35 minutes. In other words, I'm not prepared for #KingoftheRoad on Sunday (lol) #
- So who's responsible for clogging the toilet in the managers' area? Si __________ yung last na nakita kong lumabas dun…
# - Didn't finish last season's House, and now he's in a mental hospital? I know I only missed a few EP's, so wow, what a surprise. #
- @MaiaNuguid hindi pa ako nakakabili ulit! hehe #
- KFC drive-in fail. I think I lined up before 2 cars that ordered 10 bucket meals each. #
- Surfing the net, eating dinner, watching basketball, and playing videogames… and people still wonder why I have a short attention span. #
- I have my doubts whether #windows7 will be able to make people forget about the mess that is #windowsvista. #
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-10-23
Oct 23rd
- Adidas King of the Road 2009: Race Kit claiming FAIL http://ping.fm/ErwHB #
- #trafficmanil julia vargas still clear. stay away from cmwealth n balara #
- To those who haven't picked up your Adidas KOTR kits, wala pang tao dito. Parking is a pain though. #
- So there are carolers outside. Isn't it too early? #
- Now I know why it was hard to come by Century corned tuna at groceries. It is made of WIN. #
- Wouldn't mind having this in case the rains hit #Ondoy http://bit.ly/1cgabA #
- From Mighty to Magic. $69! Expected Apple's new mouse to be more expensive, but who's complaining? http://ping.fm/wesnf #
- Ran a 5k today in 35 minutes. In other words, I'm not prepared for #KingoftheRoad on Sunday (lol) #
- So who's responsible for clogging the toilet in the managers' area? Si __________ yung last na nakita kong lumabas dun… #
- Didn't finish last season's House, and now he's in a mental hospital? I know I only missed a few EP's, so wow, what a surprise. #
- @MaiaNuguid hindi pa ako nakakabili ulit! hehe #
- KFC drive-in fail. I think I lined up before 2 cars that ordered 10 bucket meals each. #
- Surfing the net, eating dinner, watching basketball, and playing videogames… and people still wonder why I have a short attention span. #
- I have my doubts whether #windows7 will be able to make people forget about the mess that is #windowsvista. #
Adidas King of the Road 2009: Race Kit Claiming Fail
Oct 17th
- No, this isn’t mine, but I wish it was.
I was supposed to pick my race kit for the Adidas King of the Road marathon on October 25. It just so happens that today is also the 2nd day of their usual 3-day sales. I was informed that Adidas had alloted specific times for race kit pick ups, and having joined the 10k, I ended up going to the mall shortly before 1230. I had a quick meal at Sbarros, and was on my way to Megatrade Hall 2 when I saw a small crowd forming outside. So I said to myself, they’re probably just taking long because of the stubs that have to be submitted.
Well, I was wrong.
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-10-16
Oct 16th
- Just got back from Megamall. Why do I suddenly feel sick? #
- After installing #SnowLeopard, my HD space jumped from 5GB to 16GB. Sweet! #
- must put… controller.. down… #
- The Cleveland Cavaliers signed me to a 10-day contract, oh yeah. #NBA2k10 #
- Adidas King of the Road on Oct 25. Just registered, the singlet itself is worth the P500 reg fee. #
- So after #SnowLeopard installation, all my MS Office docs are being opened using IWork. Sneaky sneaky. #
- Trying out something here… #
- It's only 6pm pero parang 8pm na.. #
- Ginebra vs San Miguel. Mark "The Spark" is back baby. #
- When will the rain ever stop? Take care on the road ppl #
- Can't delete any Twitter created posts on Wordpress c/o #Twittertools. Pffft. #
- #trafficmanila any katipunan updates? #
- Will try to go home kahit traffic. Goodluck nalang sa daan lols. #
- #trafficmanila Edsa Northbound moving steadily. Stay away from Meralco ave/white plains intersection #
- At the rate ppl are going to the mall, you wouldn't think tinamaan tayo ng bagyo. LOL. #
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-10-16
Oct 16th
- Just got back from Megamall. Why do I suddenly feel sick? #
- After installing #SnowLeopard, my HD space jumped from 5GB to 16GB. Sweet! #
- must put… controller.. down… #
- The Cleveland Cavaliers signed me to a 10-day contract, oh yeah. #NBA2k10 #
- Adidas King of the Road on Oct 25. Just registered, the singlet itself is worth the P500 reg fee. #
- So after #SnowLeopard installation, all my MS Office docs are being opened using IWork. Sneaky sneaky. #
- Trying out something here… #
- It's only 6pm pero parang 8pm na.. #
- Ginebra vs San Miguel. Mark "The Spark" is back baby. #
- When will the rain ever stop? Take care on the road ppl #
- Can't delete any Twitter created posts on Wordpress c/o #Twittertools. Pffft. #
- #trafficmanila any katipunan updates? #
- Will try to go home kahit traffic. Goodluck nalang sa daan lols. #
- #trafficmanila Edsa Northbound moving steadily. Stay away from Meralco ave/white plains intersection #
- At the rate ppl are going to the mall, you wouldn't think tinamaan tayo ng bagyo. LOL. #