My First Investment Account with BPI

I am a loyal Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) client. I started with a Kiddie Savings account when I was still in grade school (I deposited to the bank what was left from my school allowance). Now I already have both savings and time deposit accounts with BPI. Recently, I decided to add an investment account to my financial portfolio since I found out that BPI had lowered their minimum initial investment amount to 10k, which means I can now afford to invest on their UITFs and mutual funds. So last Tuesday, I used BPI Express Online to open a UITF account. I just provided my basic info & settlement account and took the Client Suitability Assessment test to determine what kind of investor I am (e.g. conservative, moderately aggressive & aggressive). FYI, BPI will only allow you to invest on UITFs/mutual funds that match your risk appetite. After that I printed the forms and submitted them to my chosen BPI branch. On the next day, the BPI personnel who assisted my application gave me my UITF account no. that I use to enroll my investment account online. Now, I can subscribe or redeem UITF shares anytime through BPI Express Online, more convenient than actually visiting a branch to do the same transactions. Based on the result of the test I took, I can only invest on BPI Premium Bond Fund and BPI Short-Term Fund. I decided to invest 10k to BPI Premium Bond Fund (low risk, low return). I will just let it grow for 10 years since bond funds are for long term investments.

What will I do with my investment returns in the future? I plan to use it for future travel with my future husband and kids :)

Hair Rebond Experience @ Tony and Jackey

My hair had been relaxed for 6 years already (twice a year) and the process made my hair dull and unmanageable. Since my hair is naturally wavy, I thought why not try digital perming instead? So I did my research and found out that Tony and Jackey is one of the most highly recommended salons in terms of digital perm service. I also found out that they have an ongoing promo - 5k digital perm (any length) with hair treatment, haircut and hair manicure (hair cellophane).

Without thinking twice, I went to Tony and Jackey (SM San Lazaro branch) @ exactly 10AM to have my digital perm. As soon as I entered the salon, I was greeted in unison by their friendly staff. I told the salon manager/interpreter that I wanted the 5k package (Loreal product) digital perm. The first thing they did was to check the condition of my hair and then started my hair treatment. After the treatment, Mr. Isaac (korean hairstylist) and two assistants applied some perming solution on my hair, leaved it for a few minutes and then attached my hair to the curling machine which made me looked like an octopus with more than 8 tentacles. What I like the most about this salon is that the staff are very attentive to the needs of their clients. While waiting for my digital perm to finish, they offered me coffee to drink and some magazines to read (FYI: their mags are updated unlike in other salons). After about 20-25 minutes, they removed my hair from the curling machine and I was amazed because my curls were so gorgeous (like Goldilocks' hair)! But after they applied the neutralizer and washed my hair, to our surprise, the curls were instantly gone :( So they repeated the entire process for the 2nd and 3rd time but my hair was still so stubborn it won't curl. Mr. Isaac finally told me that my hair was extremely strong (plus it was previously relaxed) that's why it didn't curl but he was very amazed because after repeating the digital perming process for 3 times, my hair was still not damaged or turned brittle. I asked him if I can have my hair rebonded instead and after doing a hair strand test, he started rebonding my hair. It was actually my first time to undergo hair rebonding treatment so I was quite excited to see its difference from hair relax. The whole rebonding process just took 3 hrs. to finish for my medium-length hair. After that, they applied some hair manicure solution to my locks to make them shinier. Finally, they washed and blow-dried my hair. TADAH!!! I now have a super straight, shinier and softer hair courtesy of Tony and Jackey salon. My hair never looks this good for a very long time! I'm really satisfied with their service and I will definitely go back to their salon for my next rebonding session (need to save enough money first). I left the salon at exactly 9pm. That was the longest time I'd spent in a parlor and my butts were aching from sitting too long but it didn't matter because the output was really great =)

Valentine's Date @ Manila Ocean Park

Since boyfriend and I wanted to try something new this Valentine's day, we decided to go to Manila Ocean Park for some under the sea experience (not literally of course, I can't swim). We arrived there at around 10:30 AM and we're lucky that the queue to Oceanarium was still short. I only saw a few tourists, kids who were on a field trip and some lovey dovey couples like us.

The Oceanarium is actually divided into 7 stations. The first station is called Agos (Flow) where you can see a simulated waterfall that flows into water tanks containing various kinds of fish. Its jungle-inspired atmosphere made us feel like we were trekking in a real forest. We even saw two medium-sized crocodiles below the wooden bridge. The highlight of this station is the collection of starfish of different hues and sizes. The Oceanarium guide allowed us to touch the starfish but we were not allowed to remove them from the water (too bad I can't take home one of them as a souvenir).

Is that you, Patrick the starfish?

Next is the Bahura (Coral Reef) station where you can see several smaller tanks decorated with colorful coral reefs and sea creatures. Among the creatures that caught my attention are the garden eel (they look like worms), the King Crab (it's the largest crab I've ever seen) and the clownfish a.k.a Nemo.

Worm-like sea creatures called garden eel

I am the largest crab of them all (King Crab)

The third station is the Laot (Fishing Ground). There are four large aquariums in this station that displays bigger fishes. I saw some treasure chest on each aquarium, probably to depict a sunken ship theme. I was not amazed with this station because there are only few fishes which made the large tanks seem empty.

Buhay na Karagatan (The Living Ocean) is my most favorite station. My boyfriend and I simply loved the mini underwater tunnel with lots of marine animals that's why we took some time to record a video of this relaxing scene. It really made us feel like we were under the sea.

Cutest fish I've ever seen (look at those antenna and pouty lips)

I didn't like the station called Ang Kalaliman (The Deep) because it is just a single tank with a single type of fish swimming in unison. The next two stations, Pagi (Stingrays) and Pating (Sharks), are worth mentioning because they are the main attraction of the entire Oceanarium. The large stingrays are so beautiful to look at when they glide gracefully in the water. On the other hand, most of the sharks were sleeping by the time we arrived at the sharks station yet they were still very scary (I can't remove the image of a shark attacking a human from my mind).

Sleeping sharks (yes, they sleep with their eyes open)

That was the end of our Oceanarium journey and for the price of P400 per adult I don't think it worths our money because the tour was just very short. Also, if you want to try their other attractions like the Dancing Jellies, Fish Spa and the Glass Bottom Boat Ride, you still need to pay P150 each (I thought they're already included in the P400 entrance fee). Overall, my boyfriend and I gave Manila Ocean Park a rating of 7 out of 10 because we believe that they still have a lot of things to improve (e.g. more diverse and bigger fishes). We are also looking forward for the opening of MOP (Manila Ocean Park) Mall, probably by the end of this year.

Belle de Jour Power Planner 2010

My lovely Belle de Jour Power Planner 2010

Aside from the brand new Sony Cybershot digicam, my beloved boyfriend also gave me a planner as a Christmas present. No, it's not just an ordinary planner that I usually get as giveaways from stores. It's also not a Starbucks planner that is rather popular among the young professionals nowadays. It is the Belle de Jour Power Planner 2010 - the most stylish planner in town for women. It's an all-in-one planner especially designed for women that's why it also has a supplementary page where you can track your menstrual cycle. There are also pages where you can list down your goals for this year and your monthly expenses. Plus, you can read beauty and self-help articles every month to bring out the best in every woman like me. Belle de Jour Power Planner costs around P600, a bit pricey for a planner but it really worths the price. I think what made it expensive is because there are lots of discount coupons inside it that you can use in different clothing stores, food establishments, spas and salons. Honestly, I'm not the type of person who uses a planner daily but now that I have a Belle de Jour Power Planner I'll definitely be more motivated to organize my schedules. I'm even using it as a mini diary ^_^

I won in Project Runway Philippines Promo!

I received a call yesterday from a Solar Entertainment representative that I won in their Project Runway Philippines promo. The said promo is sponsored by Pond's Philippines. This morning I went to the 11th floor of the Solar Entertainment Tower to claim my prizes. I gave my company ID to their guard for validation and after a few minutes he came back with a stylish paper bag bearing the logo of Project Runway Philippines. I immediately took a peek inside it and saw the following items: Pond's Age Miracle gift pack, a notebook and an item X (I don't know what it is, it looks like a hook).

Project Runway Philippines stylish paper bag

Pond's Age Miracle Gift Pack

Project Runway Philippines notebook with item X

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Solar Entertainment for having this contest for Project Runway Philippines fans like me. I also would like to thank Boy Kuripot because it was through his blog that I saw this promo.