bread, meat, cheese, hold the typhoon please.

now that i'm through with september, i'll start with october's festivities.  from my knowledge there weren't any big reservations or events in october except for my uncle's birthday party, and that wasn't supposed to happen until the 23rd.  i figured i'd have a good chunk of the month to get myself organized, find a house, figure out closet space, do a few dives and just take on everyday tasks.  i was completely sent into shambles when events started rolling in, and as usual, i took on more responsibility than i should have.

for those who may not know, the philippines was hit with typhoon ondoy in late september leaving millions homeless, hungry and lost.  my staff organized themselves, and offered to donate portions of their service charge towards the cause.  a few of our guests also joined the efforts.  and i threw myself into the efforts whole heartedly.   i'll do a post about this soon.

in the 2nd week of october my uncle asked me to help with something called 'world bread day'.  a local bakery was the principle sponsor so JEDCO, our family's mother company (distributor of imported meat, deli items and seafood), co sponsored as well since it was publicity through one of the major grocery stores.  at first it was just going to be the owner of the bakery who was going to do the preparation of all the food.  i had a meeting with her and she openly admit to me that she didn't know how to cook, only how to bake.  uhhhhhh...  yeah, so that's how i got thrown into the whole thing.  

there was no cost to the restaurant since all of the ingredients were donated by the grocery store, JEDCO and the bakery.  i simply threw together a few sandwiches and pasta salad in order to highlight the both the bread and deli items.  the produce, i didn't care about highlighting.    the organizer of the event was a dumbass and sent a text to everyone that she was sick, the day before the event and that she wouldn't be able to do anything anymore.  then, on the day of the event shows up to boast about what a great success the event was.  to this day, i still want to kick her.  oh!  AND after the event was over she and her mom went into the back preparation area with grocery store plastic bags in hand to bring food home.  these ladies tag teamed with one pouring the pasta salad and the other holding the bag, then took a quick shuffle step around one of my guys to take handfuls of jamon serrano, cheese and bread.  wow, you're so classy.  

here are some pictures from the event taken by a photographer hired by the grocery store:

kathy cheng of kate's bakeshop (the one who doesn't cook, she only bakes)

the socialites of cebu.  it's like that sesame street game, one of these things is not like the other

the spread

doggie yoga.

usually i let the dogs sleep in my room with me, but ever since i started waking up with my eyes swollen shut, i had to keep them outside.  they don't really love me, they just love my air conditioner.  this morning i didn't hear scratching on my door so i figured they were already out running around.

when i opened the door, this is what i found:

barack sleeping

now i can't figure out how barack's leg got all the way up to his head or where he tucked his other leg since i've never seen a dog in this position before.  i figured he could have been watching my aunt do her yoga video and opted to join in, got tired and just plopped down to sleep.  if i had a wider lens on my phone you would have seen johnny (bravo), our other dog, standing in front of barack just staring at him.  

dancing in september.

i've been horrible about the blogging.  september and october have been incredibly busy months for me, forcing me to push the blogging aside.  i guess it's the fact that by the end of the day i literally plop on any bed i can find, fully clothed, eyeliner still intact and sleep.  only to wake up 3 hours later and do it all over again.  lately i've had a love hate relationship with this lifestyle, but the make up sessions are amazing, so i'll take it.

since the last time i blogged was early september, i must use this entry to recap on the memorable events of september, with the most important, and only, being my birthday (of course).

i opted out of a big party considering i still have enough alcohol in my system from last year's party.  i kept it low key, but my staff really made it special for me this year, surprising me with a series of small cakes throughout the day and topping it all off with a big cake at the end of the night.  then they drew on our com (communication) board, wishing me a happy birthday.  i never realized how truly blessed this business is to have a staff like this. 

here are a few pictures from my phone:

i felt loved.

p.s.  as a birthday gift to myself, i bought myself a new pair of sally's.  they are beautiful.