~* PHIL. ADVERTISING CONGRESS *~

Work has been pretty much hectic the past few weeks precisely because of the last minute rush regarding our Ad Congress participation. Anyway, in the end, it all went well -- and as usual, with memorable pictures to take home.

As luck would have it, Vic and I shared the same flight to Cebu last Nov. 16 with the fast-rising "it" guy of the moment Sam Milby who was catapulted into stardom when he started to become a housemate in Pinoy Big Brother. Before that, he was only vaguely known as the smiling guy with perfect white teeth in the Close-Up commercial jingle/video of Barbie Almalbis. Upon seeing Sam pass by our plane seat, I couldn't help but cue in strains of the song in my mind: "You make me feel like I... can get lost inside your eyes... I feel closer to the sky... when you save the day with just a smile...". It's official then: I was drawn into the Sam Milby fever along with the rest of the female population in the Phils. It was such a temptation to pick-up the guitar case and luggage with PBB sticker on the conveyor belt as we waited for our luggage. If a Post-It was handy at that moment, we would have left a "call me" note on Sam's guitar case. LOL.

We were craning our necks all over the arrival area and finally spotted where Sam was--amidst a sea of digital cam/celfone camera-toting females.

Sam was very amiable to everyone and gracefully accommodated every photo-op/signing request. I managed to squeeze in right beside Sam as soon as his PA said "Sam... we have to go...". The result was a picture where poor Sam didn't know which camera to look onto anymore. Oh, and his face was oily. Weh :P Somebody must show him the magic of the blue face blotter ;-)

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Days before the Ad Congress, it was already in the news that MiG Ayesa (Rockstar INXS finalist) was going to perform at the Ad Congress together with Lea Salonga. This was in keeping with the theme "Ready for the World" which showcases the world-class excellence of the Filipino. I was disappointed when I found out that MiG was gonna perform during the opening ceremony which only delegates can watch coz unfortunately, we were there as exhibitors/sponsors and not as delegates. But as they say: if there's a will, there's a way! The night before the opening, I worked my ass off talking my way into getting myself a pass for the gig. My contact at the Ad Congress secretariat was such a nice person that she gave me and Vic session passes which would enable us to attend the opening ceremonies. So the rest is "screaming" history...

MiG Ayesa totally rocked the house at 9:30 in the morning, Nov. 17. He gave such a kick-ass performance that he wowed most of the people there who probably didn't have the faintest idea as to who he was and what the hell Rockstar INXS was all about. All they knew was MiG was this cool pure Filipino rock star dude who grew up in Australia... and who happened to have hot abs and pleasant personality. And oh yes, he kicked major ass when he sang Bohemian Rhapsody that it felt totally new for me to scream "wooohoo" at the top of my lungs so early in the morning. He also sang We Will Rock You and another familiar song which - haha - I totally forgot the title of. Lea Salonga then sang some songs on stage. Later on, MiG joined Lea on stage for their Flipino-English rendition of the Ad Congress theme song.


too much hotness so early in the morning. tsss.






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Here's our team at our booth during the opening of the Ad Congress exhibit hall:





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yup, a chummy-chums pose coz he's really nice :)

{DEC. 3 update: Haha. I just realized that I totally forgot to post this pic! Hello?!? The most treasured pic from my Cebu trip... How can I forget?!? Weh. Ang dami kasing pics ever! Anyway, this was taken at the hotel lobby when MiG was about to leave Waterfront. I got a not-so-anonymous tip as to precisely what time he was to exit the hotel. Big thanks to that person!!! I was well prepared with my digicam, "casually" waiting at the hotel lobby. Thanks to Bianx for her crazy skill of taking pictures while walking :P Oh but anyway, MiG actually stopped walking naman. hehe. And yeah, you just sooo wanna hug him when you meet him coz he's such a nice guy:) }


~oO0Oo~

During the Araw Awards which was hosted by CNN anchor Veronica Pedroza on the night of Nov. 19, I was pleasantly surprised with the opening number by Bamboo. They performed F.U., Much Has Been Said and Hallelujah among others. (I think they performed a total of 5 songs...). Barbie Almalbis on the other hand, capped off the awards night which ended around midnight. She was so pretty that one guy couldn't help but express his adulation by screaming "Barbie! Isa kang panaginip!". Haha. That was one helluva cheesy line that made me laugh inside while I was aiming the digicam at Barbie.



Bamboo and Ira onstage.

a very pretty barbie onstage. dang. i luv her lulu castagnette (i presume) teddy bear tank top.

Here we are all dolled-up for the awards night:


I would like to thank Wacoal. Mare, minsan lang ako magkacleavage, haha! :P