Packing 101

(Writing this from the Honolulu International Airport. pre-boarding)

Hours ago, I purposely locked myself in my room, back hunched and brows knit--in thorough organization of my highly anticipated Manila trip. (Saying the word Manila alone makes me smile a triple-word-score smile in my head). I've been wanting this break for a long time, picturing details in my head about all the good company, good fun, and of course, good FOOD that await my return after a year of being away! :)

But then like most of us, when our head's all up in that "vacation" cloud, we don't immediately realize that speed bump called "packing"--and we all approach it differently. Some prepare weeks before, while some are just master packing experts who wing it overnight. My case however, is a cross between the two. I usually tend to start preparing for my big trips weeks before, but realize the night before my flight that I still have A LOT to manage at the last minute, therefore cramming everything into the picture. (Hassle sa muscle, right?!)

So, with this trip I tried to brush up on my organizational skillzzz and attempt to personalize my own style of packing. (Which, I should say, was defintely not a-mutha-packing-piece-of-cake! HAH, CORNY!)

Here are some tips I came up with for myself--also for future reference and backtracking (haha):

1) CHECK THE  WEATHER.

Oo na, Manila, ikaw na nga ang may severe thunderstorms, we get it.

Alright. allow me to explain why I kind of sort of digressed from my own tip of checking the weather. This premise has a negligible fine print, actuallym because weather changes WILL ALWAYS DEPEND ON THE COUNTRY you're visiting. In my case, Philippine weather can be ERRATIC. Much like Hawaiian weather could, it has a very tropical climate that pretty much bitches like your mother one minute and is a super sweet first-time girlfriend the next. So, me? I decided to play it a little on both edges. (Ang haba ng excuse just to say wala akong nilabhan na jeans to bring to Manila) Haha.

2) START WITH THE BASICS. (Yes, you learned this in Kindergarten, friends.)

Start with what is NECESSARY, that basic thing you wish to never ever not have on a trip (obviously not the 12th style of a swimsuit you wish to have brought) This cuts the packing frenzy by a quarter of your time.

In the beginning, God said, "Let there be basics." Ha-ha ;-)

Gadgets are best to tackle first just because it's a lot quicker to determine which of them you really need as opposed to clothing and accessories. It's important to know what you have to round up according to need versus what you THINK you need but end up not using. For instance, you can bring an underwater camera that can take fabulous shots even on land, which saves you space, convenience and portability, if you're not really as finicky as the next girl who has to have DSLR shots of her painted toes on the beach. As for me, I have yet to purchase an underwater camera, but since I also have a heavy lust for photography which I pretty much put a premium on more than sunscreen or clothes, I opted to pack my regular camera. Siguro nga, kanya-kanya lang yan. :-)

As seen here, I have my gadgets narrowed down to my Nikon D3100 DSLR, (price available at Cosco), my Kindle ($114, Amazon.com) to help with the 10-hr flight, my Seagate FreeAgent Go Flex external hard drive ($79.99 Staples.com), my ACER Aspire 4810T which holds all my plane movies, a 14" laptop bag ($30, Betseyville by Betsey Johnson),  my global roaming phone which doubles as my phone out of the country (Blackberry.com), and my regular, local phone for when I get back to this airport (Blackberry.com) so I can save on not having to use airport phone rates, and instead just have it nipped out of my regular phone plan.

           
Passport & Flight Itineraries are pretty much your core responsibility. Have them in an accessible place in  your purse or tote, but protect them well with a case or a plastic pouch so they're spill and tear-proof. (Hot pink plastic passport cover, 100 php, Greenhills Shopping Center)

Gentle skin care and maintenance must be easy-does-it for you at all times. The most gentle, basic care starts with a good, effective cleanser that's safe enough for sensitive skin, as well as sunscreen (yay if it doubles for both face and body) that moisturizes without the studge (sticky smudge) Ha-ha. (Cetaphil Antibacterial Gentle Cleansing Bar, $4.59, CVS) and  (Philosophy Shelter Sunscreen for Face and Body SPF 30, $25, Sephora) should be able to do that for you. In line with this, make sure you have enough sun (and rain) protection. Bring a durable umbrella for stormy possibilities, and a simple fedora for beach trips. (Umbrella, $64, Victoria's Secret; Woven floral fedora, $20, Nine West). Again, keep it simple, pimple! Easy-does-it is the way to go. :-)

Good storage space is very important when going on long trips. You go to the beach, buy souvenirs, go to interesting marketplaces, buy more souvenirs, shop for shoes or whathaveyou, or sometimes just need an extra hand with wet towels from your overnight trip! GOOD, DURABLE TOTE BAGS are as essential to your trip as shrimp fry bagoong is to Kare-Kare! You can even have it customized if you want to! (Longchamp.com) I got mine way back when Longchamp totes weren't just trendy bags you limit to using for window shopping at the mall (aka nowadays) Ha-ha! (Dark navy Aviary Woven Long handle Le Pliage tote bag, $220, and Praline Long Handle Le Pliage tote bag, $150, Longchamp.com)    

3) LIQUIDS

To adhere to common airport facility protocol, (in short, kung ayaw mong magpahuli or masungitan ng airport guards haha) we pretty much know all know that like our secrets, we keep our scents, lotions, liquid bath soaps, and all things that trickle (haha) in a clean, secure self-sealing...plastic bag. Haha! (Ziplock bags, sizes and prices available at CVS, starting at $1.99)

A whooole lotta packing paraphernalia!

 I usually like starting with a theme. Soaps together, perfumes with the like, and bath essentials following the same pattern (shower gels, shampoo and conditioner and shower scrubs all in the same bag). You know what they say--"Birds with the same feather...slack out on creativity!" Ha-ha! Laboo! So don't be too creative and waste space! Here I have my plastic bags, and a little extra box where I like to keep the miscellaneous which don't really fit exactly in any one category that I've set.

Since I'd like to keep more space for pasalubong than toiletries, I limited my bath essentials and toiletries to two bags and one miscellaneous box.

Arranged by need? Or by hue? 

4) ACCESSORIES

See, if you're female, you would know pretty well that it can be relatively difficult to pack and segregate accessories without ending up having your earrings tangled with the beads of other necklaces, or even worse, pendants tangled with their own straps! Ugh, caramba! This is where the genius of snack-sized Ziplock bags come in to the rescue. Pretty much the idea is to separate your accessories in thin, filmy, individual bags from each other but not losing your goal to use the minimal amount of storage for the maximum amount of space available for yourself.  And of course, there's no harm in theme-ing them together to make dress-up easier for you.

Layout your necklaces in a symmetry that should help you classify them as to which other accessories they match. (Keep your planned outfits in mind). Have your snack-sized Ziplock bags at hand.

     

                                       

5) YOUR "OTHER" ACCESSORIES

With the constant threats of global warming, it's inevitable to find yourself the need to feel hot on supposedly cool days, and cool on warm days. As much as you need cardigans and scarves to keep you comfortable, I hold equal merit for keeping sunglasses and headwraps handy for when the weather tilts slightly on the baking side. It's always a good thing to keep yourself fresh. 

(Headwraps, $3.50-$8.50, Forever 21; Sunglasses, $200, Tory Burch; Lens cleaning kit, $10, Sunglass Hut)

6) YOUR CLOTHING CHOICE

This is the part where it gets a little bit tricky. But if you keep some of these considerations into your clothing equation, I'm sure you'll be smiling like a master packer:

• Current weather
•  Possible Weather Changes
•  Trips planned  and terrains predicted (research a plus)
•  Comfortability
• Clothing ethics vis-a-vis esoteric traditions in your destination
• Luggage bulk factor/space manageability

I personally go for light, flowy tops that should work well with Philippine weather, and pack a couple cardigans here and there for instant adjustment. For footwear, pack something versatile, like nude flats that match anything, a pair of flipflops and at least one pair of heels for unexpected formal events or night-outs. Light, flowy blouses help so much with bulk management and work well with your packing method (which I otherwise call as "rolling")

Roll it like your mother would, baby. 

Leather Reva Ballet Flat in Fresh Tan, $195, and Caroline Ballet Flat in Camille Pink, $225, both from Tory Burch (www.toryburch.com)

If you manage your space well, you'll have more to work with for the sudden "bilins" from your mom or your friends and if not, more space for pasalubong, which makes it a win-win for everybody. :)

6) PLANNING AHEAD

Is there anything else that should help you plan as efficiently as a PLAN-ner? Hahahaha! You're right! There's NOTHING to it! So go ahead, plan ahead and anticipate some changes along the way. From trips, to budget, to appointments, to friendly visits, to life's little responsibilities, it's your every right to take it down, for purposes of having pure, successful enjoyment! Make sure you keep your planner within easy reach and remember that you don't always have to strictly jot down future plans alone. You can make daily reminders for things you need keeping track of, as well as PAST events, for retrospection and of course, memories. 

2011-2012 Planner, $28, Pink by Victoria's Secret

So there you have it! A little bit of my packing experience shared with you to have hopefully gotten a teeny bit of sense from. Ha-ha. Remember, in any place you go to, always be the traveler, never the TOURIST. (Unless you're Johnny Depp, haha!) and always make FUN a purpose, a goal and a future peg for your memories. HAVE A SAFE TRIP!  :)

 

The River--Right Smack in the Middle of the Pacific

Last week, I received an invitation to attend a casting call for the a new TV series called "The River."  It is an up and coming sci-fi thriller/adventure from ABC (creators of Grey's Anatomy), the producers of A Paranormal Activity and by the sci-fi master himself, Steven Spielberg. Brent Anbe, a producer and casting director based in LA who has worked with the second season finale of Cougar Town also leads the casting crew for this new series.

"The River" stars Bruce Greenwood as Dr. Emmet Cole, who travels the world to film a popular nature television show. He goes missing in the Amazon, and his family, friends and crew set out to find him. "The shocking truth about his disappearance is out there, somewhere, just waiting to be discovered," says a statement released by the studio. (Honolulu Star Advertiser)

Because of its similar premise and scenario, "The River" is believed to be somewhat conjured from the recently axed ABC series "Off the Map", which was written by  Shonda Rhimes/Dr. Bailey from Grey's Anatomy, Betsy Beers and Jenna Bans, also from ABC's “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice."). It tells the story of doctors trapped in the jungle, which lasted for just one season prior to being canceled. Although the two shows are similar and both brainchildren of the same network, The River, I think, somehow holds an optimistic promise to hold up a decent amount of seasons, implying the unparalleled prowess of its creators, director and producers. Like "Off the Map," The River initially shot its pilot in Puerto Rico, but later then moved to Hawaii to complete the subsequent episodes. To date, it joins Hawaii Five-O as a TV series filming here in the Hawaiian Pacific region.

With the recent struggles on the debt ceiling, the world plummeting in so many ways and issues identifiable, any industry may only havse so little definite strings to pull or tricks up their sleeves to actually sustain entertainment in a real, potentially bankable show. However though, I'm still actually optimistic and somewhat hopeful for this sci-fi project, being the first of its kind, to succeed, bearing that golden touch only Spielberg can deliver. Which he, most often than not, always turns and materializes into "quantifiable" gold in market reception--that which essentially follows in equal measure, gold in total revenue turnout.  

Dealing with such an early, almost premature series, I have no idea about anything else that might contribute to the fate of the series from here onwards, other than their criteria for casting, but fingers crossed, hopefully the people in Hawaii will patronize it because it's not a walk in the park to have a second flop in a succession of shows shot here in the island, with the same network, and given the fact that there is a bad-ass production crew weaving this altogether in the backseat.

Come to think of it, this actually raised an apprehensive scenario with the locals hating the thought of ABC shooting The River here, when their targeted setting is really, the Amazon River (see Hawaii acts as an approximation of the Amazon) They're fighting for the non-disturbance of the local, traditional Hawaiian spirits  "still" residing in the forests and bodies of water they will have to select to modify to their pegged production venue. (Ooops, there's already one angry audience prior to the completion of the series.) Whether or not this would click, or sink to the bottom of the Pacific, maybe all we could do is hope that this big Hawaiian move was far well worth it. Cause at the end of the day, as what Honolulu Film Office commissioner Walea Constantinau said, “If a show doesn’t find an audience no matter how good it is, it is going to get cancelled.”

...And everybody leaves Hawaii happier than when they came, so, it'd be good not to change that! ;-)

Why I'll always love my very own Saturday DIY brunches :)

'cause aside from being affordable and easy, I can fruit binge like a fruit ninja! :) (hawaiian rainbow papaya, strawberry and banana fruit bowl with honey and almonds, and oat and flax granola on the side) SMILE. :)

A Little Reminder to Keep You Going :)

You never know what happy, little surprises you can catch around the neighborhood. I got this while jogging around mine. :)

Tedder vs. Karen (and yes, I never thought I would ever come to choose between them, but, alas.)

Oh, Ryan Tedder. (and how you warm my gooey, chocolate-centered heart.) :) See, a few months back, I was obsessed with The Yeah Yeah Yeahs song "Hysteric"

so much so that I had conjured a fake (though almost real) vision in my head of watching that traditional cheesy lovebirds video of my own future wedding and ACTUALLY hearing Karen O's soft serenade. But now, Oh, Ryan. Why'd you have to sweep me off like this? That would probably have been the closest i can get to having Karen O. sing at my wedding (hah!)

It's a very, very tough decision, honestly. Bahaa. And I'm not even getting married yet! :)

Should I go with the lyrics instead?

That wouldn't help either. They're both so beautiful! Here are two of the more genuine "love songs" I have ever (and this is hard for me) not judged and stuck my nose up to (haha) in a long time. I'll say. A love song shouldn't ever NOT sound like these two. <3

Confessions of a Glutton in Denial

So I’m at ‘that’ time of month when my girly spirits need a teeny little lift. And while other girls turn to LaBeouf & Franco to feel sexy and happy, I, on the other hand, have sealed the deal with Ben and Jerry. :)