Product Review: St Joan Coconut Milk Conditioner

I was browsing along the shelves of the local grocery store hoping to find a new shampoo or conditioner to try for a change (yes people, I shop for hair care products in the grocery store) and I found this yellow plastic bottle of conditioner with the words coconut milk printed boldly on it. As a normal shopper would do, I flipped the tab on the bottle and smelled the conditioner, and it was good. I decided to buy the thing and try it out as soon as I reach my room. And boy oh boy was it nice! It smelled real good on my hair and it was absolutely fantastic. It made my hair softer and shinier after using it, even with a dandruff shampoo! It was well worth the investment.

Don’t Jump on the Bed!

Have you stayed in a hotel lately? Well, have you tried staying in a hotel for a long period of time? How about, more than a month? I have, and it’s not such a ball.

I have tried an instant when after a day in the office, I go to my room and see all my things, and I literally mean all, well arranged, even the shirts I wore in the past days. Could you think of a better way of making your guests’ stay a teeny bit more comfortable? Even arranging used clothes? Hmm, joy.

I also experienced elevator operators just stopping the elevator on a floor, and just stopping there to eat! Which was of course, not allowed, but I did not write the report anyhow.

I also have gone thru days when I just wanted to get out of the building and just feel the breeze on my skin, see other normal people taking a stroll in the mall, enjoying their walks, enjoying their free time.

And have you tried eavesdropping? Hearing things and sounds you were not really supposed to hear? Ahahaha… I have. News have wings and walls have ears. Tata!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

I was watching this movie last night in one of the cable channels and as the movie progressed into the scenes where The five kids were already inside the factory and they were being rid of one by one, I couldn’t help but think that I will never again eat chocolate because of how eerie Willy Wonka was turning out to be. Hmm, not eerie enough I suppose. I still love chocolate.

Johnny Depp was Willie Wonka in that movie, and he just brought out the correct level of strangeness and coyness in his character. The kids were fantastic also, and Charlie, the protagonist was a charming young boy. Overall the movie was great. You all should watch it also.

Other movies by Johnny Depp:
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) - Captain Jack Sparrow
Deep Sea 3D (2006)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) - Captain Jack Sparrow
When the Road Bends: Tales of a Gypsy Caravan (2006)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) - Willy Wonka
Happily Ever After (2005)
Happily Ever After (2005) - Stranger
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2005) - Voice of Victor Van Dort
The Libertine (2005) - John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester
Finding Neverland (2004) - Sir James Matthew Barrie
The Secret Window (2004) - Mort Rainey
Breakfast With Hunter (2003) - Interviewee
Lost in La Mancha (2003) - Himself
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) - CIA Agent Sands
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) - Captain Jack Sparrow
Blow (2001) - George Jung
From Hell (2001) - Fred Abberline
The Man Who Cried (2001) - Cesar
Before Night Falls (2000) - Bon Bon/ Lieutenant Victor
Chocolat (2000) - Roux
The Ninth Gate (2000) - Dean Corso
Sleepy Hollow (1999) - Ichabod Crane
The Astronaut's Wife (1999) - Spencer Armacost
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) - Raoul Duke
Cannes Man (1997)

Donnie Brasco (1997) - Donnie
The Brave (1997) - Raphael
Dead Man (1996) - William Blake
Arizona Dream (1995) - Axel Blackmar
Don Juan Demarco (1995) - Don Juan DeMarco
Nick of Time (1995) - Gene Watson
Ed Wood (1994) - Ed Wood
Benny & Joon (1993) - Sam
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) - Gilbert Grape
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
Cry Baby (1990) - Cry-Baby
Edward Scissorhands (1990) - Edward Scissorhands
Platoon (1986) - Lerner
Private Resort (1985) - Jack Marshall
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - Glen Lantz
Children of the Revolution - Himself
In Search of Ted Demme

Auditing Ain't a Piece of Cake

When you're working for a corporation with full-blown politics being practised from every step of the corporate ladder, it's difficult to blend in. When you're one of the auditors of the said company, then it's much worse.

Take for example my case. I'm an internal auditor of this company for about six months now, and the youngest auditor right until the start of February when the company decided to hire someone younger. I'm now 22 and trying to work hard, the way I knew how real auditing is done. As of this entry, I am feeling quite uncomfortable because a report I released just this afternoon turned out to have one word too many.

I think the use of the word "assumed" hurt them most, especially the auditee. They say I did not do my job correctly. Well for their information, I did. I kept on pushing for the auditee to provide me with information as early as possible, but it seems they try really hard not to mind. I kept on asking, still, no immediate action nor reply. Even the final audit report was released 2 1/2 weeks overdue, just waiting for them to update me or something to that effect.

But needless to say, any additional information or supporting document they might give which are dated past the date of the document being audited is surely irrelevant. They should think about this concept because this is the core of the audit process. Supporting documents should be dated before and/or on the date of the transaction or document being audited. Any sane person with a background on auditing and accounting knows this and this should not be taken for granted. Otherwise, auditing becomes a nuisance and not a value-adding task.

Apparently, even the higher authority takes this lightly in the effort to save their sorry behinds.

Living with the Dreaded Thing Called Acne

Other blog posts usually say the same thing. The common cures are placed on three broad categories, over the counter medications, home made cures or herbal medicines, and dermatologist-prescribed medicines. Well, based on my personal experience, I would try to shed some light on the said topic, acne.

Let me first give you a tiny introduction to the categories.

Over the counter medications. The common over the counter medications for acne have the following ingredients: sulfur, benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, retinoic acid, clindamycin, and erythromycin. Some of them cause redness, peeling, discomfort, but they are also very effective acne medications. Examples of these: Benzac AC, Panoxyl, the much celebrated ProActive, and others known to the pimpled community.

Homemade cures/herbal medicines. These include the use of ingredients available in the comfort of our own homes, like milk, lemon, baking soda, vinegar, oatmeal, toothpaste, and even lipstick. Some of these work for some people, but then we really cannot tell if its generally applicable to everybody.

Dermatologist-prescribed medicines. These are those that are usually prescribed by our dermatologists, most of them brewed by the clinics themselves. Some cost us really big bucks to maintain, and so we result to over the counter versions of such.

Now, let’s discuss my personal regimen.

Hmm, first things first - facial wash. Currently, I’m using Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser. But at times when I ran out, and it’s not available in the convenience stores in the vicinity, I rush to the department store and look for these brands that have proven to go well with my skin type and does not tolerate the appearance of pimples: Clearasil Daily Face Wash and Celeteque Facial Wash. Cetaphil and Celeteque are made for sensitive skin, non-oily and noncomedogenic, whereas Clearasil is specially for oily and acne-prone skin (it has salicylic acid). I also switch brands because I believe my skin grows immune to the ingredients of one of the facial washes as time goes by, and pimples start to reappear.

Exfoliation. I use only one type of exfoliating cream, and that’s St Ives Apricot Facial Scrub, either the plain one or the medicated version for acne-prone skin which also has salicylic acid. I don’t use it often because frequent exfoliation aggravates the acne. The most frequent exfoliation I’ve done so far is 4 times a week, before going to bed.
Toning. I’m not really a fan of toners. I had a bad experience with a toner once; it made my pimple angry and flare up. I’d rather use a facial cleanser like Eskinol. But I also don’t use it often because it dries out my skin.

Medication. I started “treating” my face when I was still in high school. What I did was to pore through a magazine that had an article for pimples and acne. I forgot the name of the mag, but what I remember is that it was a local magazine. And there I first read that there are such things as benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, etc. So I tried one, it was a benzoyl peroxide based facial wash, it worked but it made my face darker so I had to change routes. I looked for an alternative and bought Benzac AC, it’s a cream with 5% benzoyl peroxide. It works really well, it dries up the spot and after a day or two, the bump disappears. Just be careful not to put some of it on sensitive areas like the eye area and corners of the lips because the drying effect may cause irritation.

Moisturizing. Now this one I didn’t know to be very effective. I really thought it just makes your skin oilier but I was so wrong! Moisturizing brings out the glow out of the skin, giving a whole new meaning to “blooming”. The first moisturizer I tried was the Myra E Facial Moisturizer which I was not very fanatic about. I didn’t like the smell because it reminded me of a sanitary napkin. So I tried another brand, Celeteque. It’s odorless, non-greasy, and noncomedogenic also, just right for sensitive skin. And it works so well for me. My face regained its natural tone (I’m a little fair in skin color), evened out some spots, because I already have these blemishes and scars from years of pinching out zits from my cheeks and jaw line. I put on moisturizer after applying my face med...

So there guys and gurls, I’ve shared with you some of the products I’m using for my face, hopefully in the next post, it will be about my make-up routine. See ya around!

Frustrating...

This is fairly frustrating...

I'm tryin to edit my template but it doesn't budge at all!!!

Anyway... here's my first post ever to this blog...

See ya Around!