December 14, 2013

Finally, after more than a year of waiting, Emil has graduated! Also means that we will be leaving Hawaii. :( We will definitely miss this place because this is where we met and started our own family. At the same time, I am very excited to start a new chapter of our lives as we start our own careers and move to San Francisco and start from scratch. :) Let's see what happens next!

Congratulations Botchogers!

Can't believe we're only gonna be in Hawaii for 12 more days! Our time to leave is getting nearer and nearer!

I accompanied Emil to the Accounting graduation banquet tonight and it was quite an emotional experience. I didn't even expect and neither did he, that he was getting a lot of awards. haha. We already knew that he was a summa because he knows his grades, the grade conscious that he was. We were also aware of the SAP Terp10 certificate because it was the dreaded exam everybody knew about. The others were so unexpected! I am very proud of my hard working, driven, patient, and smart husband!

When we got married, I didn't understand why he was so adamant on getting a job even though he still has more than a year until graduation. I didn't understand why he would need to get an A on almost all of his classes. I would even dare him to miss a class or two but he couldn't (until he became trunky during his last semester. *evil laugh*). I didn't understand why he would need to talk to his teachers after classes to ask more about accounting or just about life when  on the other hand, I was the first one out of the classroom because I was very shy to talk to anyone. haha. Little did I know that these were the fruits of his labor. I am speechless as to what he has accomplished! With the Lord's help, he was able to achieve his dreams. He was able to land the job that he wanted even before he graduates and even though he didn't have much connections to begin with. He did all he can to reach his dreams and because of this, he has inspired a lot of people including me not only to be great in what I do but as I reach for it. He is a great example of someone who always strives for excellence and I am very blessed to have his great example eternally with me. (First photo: Emil and I with Sis. Chen and her husband, Emil's Sis. Chen's teaching assistant. Second photo: Emil and Bro. Waite, one of Emil's favorite accounting teachers)

Bro. Tew: MAJOR FIELD TEST. Many thousand of students take the test every year and it has questions with regarding 9 areas of business and which only one of it is accounting. It is a very general test and we've elected to have our accounting students to take it in their final 400 level class. And this time I am very pleased to announce that two people in our graduate class were especially high. 75th percentile is Amo Li. We also have an award for the top 95th percentile, top 5% in the nation. This is very rare. Given that award at this time is Emil Amante. Woohooo! He scored 181/200.

Bro. Nemrow awards graduates with the Student Recognition award and SAP TERP10 certificate.

(for some reason I can't upload this one here so just click the link to see the video :) )

Bro. Watkins awards Emil the summa cum laude certificate.

Sis. Chen awards him the Outstanding Graduate for Fall 2013. 

Some photos from the banquet:

food for the night: pot roast, garlic mashed potato, 

rolls, teriyaki chicken, flan for dessert

as one of the students mentioned, 

he was the most decorated graduate of the night. hahaha

Congrats Botchogers! So proud of you!!! Love you!!!

Laie Filipino Community Haiyan Fundraising

It was such a great experience to help our fellow country men who was affected by Haiyan even we are miles and miles away. I can't even express how grateful I am to everybody who helped out as we prepared, cooked and cleaned during the fundraising. There were a lot of students who sacrificed their time and helped until 2am wrapping lumpia so we will have something to sell the next day. Some of our alumni also took the time out of their busy lives to put some flyer on each TVA and Hale apartment so we can spread the word about the event.

We supported Stand Strong Philippines which was organized by a BYUH alumni, ate Samantha Taylor. She along with her group will be sending out doctors to Tacloban City in December 18, 2013 to attend to the victims of Haiyan. BYU Provo also supported the cause by having a fundraising concert last Nov. 22.

beginning of the day at the Shumways

We on the other hand, had a lunch plate fundraising at the Shumway's residence last Nov. 23. Ate May and Kuya Aaron were very kind to open their home to us so we can prepare and sell the lunch plates from there. On the plates were a piece of huge pork BBQ, 3 lumpia with sweet chili sauce, 2 turon and rice. We started at 10am and I was kinda worried that there weren't so many people that knew about it so I wasn't sure if it will be a success. One customer came after the other and we even had a lot of waves according to Pateet when there will be plenty of people that will come at once. We were so grateful that it was so because it meant that we were getting a lot of orders. We were planning to end around 2pm but we still had more plates so we decided to sell until 4pm. After that, our RM's decided to sell door to door around Laie which they really enjoyed because they said they missed proselyting. haha. We stacked the plates in the car and I followed them as they traveled on foot knocking on neighborhood doors. Some of us even stopped some cars just to sell the plates! hahaha It was really quite an experience! We were holding signs so cars would stop and ask about what we were doing. It was successful! Some of them bought but too bad some didn't have cash on hand.

prep and fundraising day at the Shumways

the sister missionaries even came to help us!

Eugene, our master "ihaw-er" and AJ our grill sponsor

on our way to sell door to door

some of us selling to our friends Yengo from Congo and Kone from Ivory Coast

Emil, Liahnne and Cyril on their way to knock on doors

so proud of my husband who was so excited to 'proselyte' haha
(picture taken from inside our mobile 'stockroom')

Nathan sold a lot by knocking on doors. Good job!

We were able to raise around $2000! I couldn't believe how much we made! The plates were sold for $10 and canned drinks for a dollar and some even asked us to keep the change which was so awesome.

I am so happy to be able to help in our own little ways. I am so grateful for kind hearted people who sacrificed to provide service to our fellow men. So proud of my friends! We did it!

Sending donations for Haiyan victims

Thanks to BYU-Hawaii family and friends who donated clothing and food for the Haiyan victims in the Philippines! We are truly grateful for your kindness and concern for our fellowmen. 

Date Night with TVA friends

Last November 15 was our school's Fall Ball. Balls are usually held twice a year during Winter and Fall semesters for students to have fun and date. haha. It was quite expensive this year so we thought we would just go out have dinner and games after like we would always do when we get together at home. We were so excited to bring out friends to Kalapawai since Emil and I really loved that place. There were 12 of us so it was also hard to come up with one place that would please everybody so we thought of Kalapawai because they serve different varieties of food that everybody would like. On the way, I called them to let them know we are coming since there were 12 of us because I called earlier that week and was informed that we couldn't reserve. When I informed them we were coming, they said that they couldn't handle a party of 12 and seat us altogether. I was bummed out but we still decided to show up and maybe show our poor hungry selves so they would seat us together. haha It was a futile attempt. They said the same thing, that they can only seat 6 people max together so we decided to leave.

It was a Friday night and we didn't realize restaurants would be busy. We called a couple of restaurants nearby if they could seat us and most can't or we would have to wait for more than an hour. We couldn't wait any longer because we were soooo hungry! Emil called a place called Prima and they said they could seat us right away so we decided to go there. We checked them on Yelp too and it didn't look so bad. Most of us wanted Italian anyway so it was a go. When we went inside, the menu was very limited and the food didn't look familiar from the Yelp photos. Even so, we tried what sounded familiar and when the food came, I think everybody gasped silently! LOL It was the most disappointing octopus dish I have ever seen it my life!

The only one I liked was the brussel sprouts because it has prosciutto with it. The pizza was thin crust but it was very thin! I like thin crust but this was soooo thin and spicy (wasn't in the menu). Emil got upset and even called the place pretentious.  hahaha. Imagine him not eating even though there was food in front of him just bec he was really upset. By the way, these dishes we needed to split for 6 mouths because they were pricey. Octopus in the middle was around $20. On the good side, the spaghetti was good. It was different and flavorful. Service was okay too.

happy people despite the unfortunate experience. haha

(photo courtesy of Patricia Hernando)

Baby Riku Mateo

Finally got the chance to meet this little guy! His parents have been great friends of ours but its so sad that its getting closer for us to part since they are moving to Japan. Good to know that the world gets smaller when you know someone from the other side of the world. So excited to visit them next year though! This baby is such a cutie. So Japanese looking. haha. I watched Zettai Kareshi and thought that Riku would look like the leading man because he was also half Japanese and halp Filipino. haha.

Photoshoot with the Alombros

Its been 2 weeks since I last posted on here. I've been so busy with the demands of life (char!) but I don't think any special thing happened to me aside from the Pumpkin Carving activity and Miki's baby shower that I organized. Soon, when photos are sent, I will post something about that. It's such a pain when something happened and I don't have my camera with me! I have to wait for photos from other people. haha.

Anyway, 2 weeks ago I had an opportunity to take photos for the Alombros before we all leave Hawaii. They've been our neighbors for the past year and a half now and this coming December, its time for us to part as they are going to Colorado and we are going to San Francisco.

This day was quite challenging because it was about to rain and the sky was overcast. No sun at all and the colors looked so washed out. Good thing some photos came out better than I expected. Haha. Here are some of my favorites:

these were my favorites :)

Photos were taken at Laie Point and at the back of Laie Hawaii Temple.

Samantha Corazon and the Hernandos

I had an opportunity to take pictures for Pateet and Rap with Sam whom Pateet babysat for a few months. Last Friday was her last day to babysit so they took the opportunity to capture memories. BUT!!! All of us didn't anticipate how hard it was to take photos with a toddler! haha It was really challenging!!! I now have a new found respect for photographers who took great pictures with toddlers! Sam didn't even want to face the camera so what we did was capture her in motion while Pateet and Rap smile at the camera. We thought it would work but it didn't! haha We brought her to the playground so she would be happy and smile but she was too happy playing and ignored us! She even cried when we tried to take her out of the playground to take photos at the temple so we just didn't. haha. I thought its gonna take us 1.5-2 hours for the pictures to be taken but it only took us around 20 minutes because we needed to bring her home because she was crying. haha. Well, here are the amateur attempts to take their family photos. I was literally LOL when I was editing the photos as I remember what was going on during this time!

see, Pateet's head was even cut because 

I was running around catching which direction Sam will face! LOL

Art for a cause.

I wonder whatever happened to this shirt I designed. haha It was last year around Christmas when the Alumni Office posted a contest for a t-shirt design. The price was a $50 gift card. I thought $50 is still $50 so it wouldn't hurt if I join and plus, Christmas was approaching then and I needed money so I can buy a gift for Emil. This was my ultimate goal. Not to be known for the design but to get the $50 gift card. hahaha. I eventually got it and asked the Alumni office if I can get a gift card for a specific bag shop online since I was planning to buy Emil a leather bag for his first internship come this Winter 2013. I searched so long for this bag since I wanted something simple and at the same time something that would make him fit in the corporate San Francisco. The most important criteria, that it is budget friendly! haha Here's what I got him:

Kenneth Cole 

office satchel in black

August 17, 2012: Aj Rafael Concert

It was a great experience two days ago. It was my first time to perform as an opening act for someone that is well-known. My band and I had so much fun. Ira will tell you below why James and Jayvee weren't able to play. But definitely next time, we'll perform with the whole band and have some even better tunes with perhaps some original material. It was an inspiring experience and I feel motivated to pursue my interest in music while I still pursue a career in accounting. I guess since I was in high school I had that dream to be a musician, so little by little I guess I'll try to rekindle that flame.

Ira: Emil, Kit and Kuya Osel got to play at an AJ Rafael Concert here in the school's auditorium. They sang With A Smile by the Eraserheads (The Beatles of the Philippines), I wont give up by Jason Mraz and Charlie Brown by Coldplay.

Before the concert, we had dinner with AJ and his band. They were really nice. He tried speaking tagalog to us and gave Emil some music advice. His performance was very good too. Some of my friends didn't know him before they came but loved him after the concert. If you still don't know him, check this out: His version of Lucky by Jason Mraz with Cathy Nguyen. This was the very first video that I've watched of him and followed him ever since. Here's a few pictures that I took during the concert.

Here's Emil, Kit and Kuya Osel. Too bad the whole JELLYACE (their band name) can't play since they cannot be bigger than the main event. (James the bassist and Kuya JV the drummer weren't there to play.)

Here are the links to Emil's performances:

With A Smile by Eraserheads
Charlie Brown by Coldplay
I Wont Give Up by Jason Mraz

and Ke Alakai's (BYU-H student paper) interview with Emil:

Coming Soon: Miki and Phil 9/5/12

It was an honor to do Phil and Miki's invitation. I've know Phil since he's a Filipino and I am too? Haha. I already forgot how we became acquianted. I guess that's just how it is in BYUH. When you came from the same country, you automatically get to know each other. On the other hand, I've known Miki through the 19th ward. She's one of girls that I admire most in the ward. Usually, asians (I am asian too so this aint racist!) tend to be very quiet but she wasn't. She was the first to say hi. They are such a cute couple! Perfect for each other. I am honored to be one of their bridesmaids. 

Their motif was peach and navy. It was quite challenging for the second page since it was in Japanese! I can't seem to figure out how the typography was supposed to be since I didn't understand any of the words. Thanks to Phil's friend who helped "line upon line." Many thanks to all those who complemented the invite. :)

(Since they've distributed their invites, I now have the right to post it.) Yay to Phil and Miki! <3

front

back

mock up

May 12, 2012: The Greatest Day of Our Lives

We were supposed to get married on April 21st but because of the accident, we waited a couple of more weeks to go on with it. Well, it was worth the wait! Though Emil couldn't walk normally yet, everything else fell into the right place, and even better! I was very particular on how everything was supposed to go, but what our friend said was true, nothing else mattered after entering the house of the Lord to be sealed with your eternal companion for time and all eternity.

Our bridesmaid did a very good job on their dresses! It was very hard to look for a peach modest dress and yet they did it! they all look so beautiful!

Though our families didn't get to come, we were joined by our supportive friends.

We can't thank all of our friends enough for helping us especially the day before. We prepared all the food in our house while decorating the ballroom too. Almost all the Filipinos were there and we were told that we are very lucky to have such friends. Check out the photos from the reception. 

Even they guys helped out making these tissue pompoms. 

I think we made almost a hundred of it if not more.

I TRIED playing The Wedding Song for Emil as a surprise
but I didn't give the song any justice since I haven't played in a long time.
It was originally played by Kenny G.

Check it out: THE WEDDING SONG

Emil surprised me with She's Always A Woman to Me by Billy Joel

Our friends performing for us:

Larry as my tatay.

Our wedding photos were featured at our photographer's blog, no other than Rommel Lardizabal. Check out the link to see more of his stunning shots.