The Probinsyana Diaries

April 4, 2017

Dear Diary,

How have you been?

Recently, the past few days have been so hectic & rough but extremely fulfilling with my job as a nurse. I admit, in some days, I don't feel like going to work and my bed seems to be the happiest place on earth. However, whenever I'm reminded of the opportunity to take care of the sick and ill, I suddenly feel the surge of energy like I'm suddenly wearing the long red cape minus the red brief.lol. As a modern day working Filipina, I brave the urban life each day with enthusiasm and purpose knowing that I get the chance to SAVE a LIFE each day as a NURSE.

I've been working as a nurse for the past 5 years and I've seen it ALL. When I say ALL, I mean ALL. Working in public health for 2 years I could say that those years were one of my most memorable events as a nurse. I've been assigned to mountainous, far-flung and impoverished area in my community. But after the long and bumpy ride on the 'habal-habal' (a motorcycle used as transportation for people living in the mountains) and teaching mothers about health , I feel that I accomplished something very important-IMPART KNOWLEDGE. Yeah, #IAmUrbanBrave.

Whenever I travel, I make sure I have these basic essentials : a sturdy and spacious back-pack where I put my notebooks/laptops and cellphone for that well-prepared slide-show health presentation, a huge tumbler/water container to keep me hydrated and of course a coffee and tea travel press to keep me up and awake:)

Urbanize Scout Tote Bag, Espro Coffee Travel Press, Hydrapak
(Click here for Urbanize)

Currently, I'm working as a STAFF NURSE in a public hospital. The stress is sky-high but the rewards are overwhelming. I'm not talking about tangible and material rewards, I'm referring to the self-fulfillment you get whenever a mother and baby survives after a risky pregnancy, a Cancer-stricken patient felt happy and contented during the remaining days of her life and a most of all receiving a simple 'thank-you' and a smile from that grumpy old patient.

My table's so messy because I was so busy but I still managed to SMILE.

As a staff nurse, you need to be strong physically, emotionally and mentally. That's why you also need to take care of yourself because these means you can take care of others more. You need to carry essential and useful items with you every time you go on duty and to make you equipped and ready for any emergency/stressful situation. For me, these are the things I carry: A stylish backpack, a hair-tie, a coffee mug especially during night-shifts.

Fjallraven's Kanken bags, Popband Bubble Gum, Limited Edition Angel & Devil tumbler

These are my TOP 5 Urbanize must-have items. What's yours?

Visit their facebook page here for URBANIZE PH.

Being a Nurse in the Philippines is no joke. You should have the conviction to stick to your principles and the heart to serve. The current situation in the Philippines has caused Filipino nurses to go abroad to look for greener pasture. So I should say, all those who stayed deserves a pat on the back for managing to provide selfless service albeit the meager monetary compensation. Kudos everyone, we are all #Urbanbrave.

Ever since College, I've already decided to stay and serve my fellowmen even this means I would sacrifice a lot of things because #Iamurbanbrave. I may opt not to buy expensive stuff but being able to acquire a few of these items is definitely a must for any nurse like me. Because we all deserve to treat ourselves once in a while, right?

Love,

THE POBRENG-PROBINSYANA

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March 29, 2017

Dear Diary,

Recently, I got hooked watching videos on Youtube. They're no ordinary videos since they are like reality tv since they feature videos made by 'real' people. These videos are called VLOGS. According to google.com, a vlog is defined as a blog in which the postings are primarily in video form.

They're a breath of fresh air from the usual soap operas you watch on t.v. and from typical music videos you usually watch on youtube.

I appreciate the fact that these people can finally share they're opinion, talent, and views without being connected to a network and without being hired by them. This means these videos are raw, REAL and unaffected by whatever restrictions implemented by ABS-CBN or GMA or other network giants in the country. Meaning, they're free to do WHATEVER they want to say & do and for me it's MORE entertaining:)

When you watch vlogs, it seems like a person is inviting you to be a part of his/her life and journey. As I've said, it's like you're watching a reality tv show. It can be a travel vlog, events vlog, interview, the list goes on.

I've listed down my TOP 5 FAVORITE FILIPINO YOUTUBE VLOGGERS, namely:

TOP 5 HALEY DASOVICH

Haley Dasovich is the sister of Wil Dasovich,also a youtuber who's known for his recent stint in PBB. Haley's channel (click here for the link) contains a variety of travel & personal vlogs. I was amazed at how she managed to quit her job in the States to pursue vlogging in the Philippines. She's very smart, opinionated and stylish too :)

(photo credit: YOUTUBE)

TOP 4 JANINA VELA

She's a superstar in her own right. This 17 year old is bursting with positive vibes and aura. Her innocence and blissful spirit radiates on her youtube vlogs (click here for the link). She shares make-up tutorials and also vlogs about her day-to-day experiences. Did I mention that she's a youtube star? With over 200,000 youtube subscribers this girl is a force to reckon with. Her fans call themselves VELA-FAM and they really support her all the way. Recenty, she is going to do a collaboration with Miss Lea Salonga in a Disney Concert.

(photo credit: YOUTUBE)

TOP 3 CORALEEN WADDELL

Coraleen Waddell is my favorite female youtuber not because she's pretty and all but because she uses her voice to influence positive vibes to the people around her. This former PBB housemate is also a friend of Wil Dasovich even prior to their PBB stint. He was the one who influenced her to try out vlogging (click here for the link). At first her channel was quite awkward and her editing skills were mediocre compared to others who already established themselves in Youtube. Months later, her content and editing skills improved and her number of subscribers grew fast with over a 100,000. Since she was part of the PBB dream team, she rarely uploads new videos but when she does you're sure to have some great vlogs from her.

(photo credit: YOUTUBE)

TOP 2 DANIEL MARSH

Daniel March is a Filipino-Irish Vlogger who happens to speak Cebuano. His youtube vlogs are well thought of and his editing skills are excellent. I think he is an underrated vlogger and he deserves to have more than a 100,000 subscribers (click here for the link).

(photo credit: YOUTUBE)

TOP 1- WIL DASOVICH

He is my TOP 1 Youtube Vlogger because he has over 400,000 subscribers. Hehe . Kidding aside, Wil's vlog is all about having FUN. I think the reason behind the success of his vlogs is his innate nature and personality. Although he is raised in the US, his truly Filipino character-humble, funny, family-oriented ; is very evident in his vlogs. He loves his family so much and I personally think these simple reasons separate him from the rest. I don't if he has been vlogging longer than others but his youtube content are well-edited, opinionated, and of course funny. I think his edge among other is his good sense of humor.

(photo credit: YOUTUBE)

So these are my My Top Five Favorite Filipino Youtube Vloggers :) I hope you enjoy watching them as much as I do.

Do you also have favorite Filipino Youtube Vloggers who's not in the list? Make sure to leave some comments below.

Love,
The Pobreng-Probinsyana

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Hey you guys! How are you my fellow Probinsyanas and Probinsyanos? Ang iniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit na noh? Summer is here guys and I can't wait to share to you soon all my future summer escapades.

We all know how hard it is to find the perfect summer outfit so let me share to you some tips on what to wear this summer.

Today I will make history. Lol. I'll be posting a Summer #OOTDs for the first time.These are my go-to Outfits of the Day during summer.

1. The Short, Floral and Dainty dress (brand: H&M Divided)

You will never go wrong with floral. What better way to imbibe the summer feel than expressing yourself by wearing bright and happy colors.

I've always been a fan of anything white. So when I found this cover-up from one of my Ukay adventures, I immediately fell in love with it. White is classic and you should always have one in your wardrobe. It makes you pop-out of the picture especially when your backdrop is a magnificent view like this sunset/ rock formation.

Okay, okay I hear you guys. We all need to capture these Summer #OOTDs and immortalize them in our social media accounts (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat, etc. ) I mean, who doesn't, right? We took a lot of time planning for our summer outfits for our summer outings. It deserves to be photographed well.

Do you know why OPPO F1s would be the best camera phone to use in taking your summer OOTDs? It's because of its newest features:

OPPO F1s has a 16MP Front Camera

More Light, More Detail

The OPPO F1s uses a front beauty camera with a 1/3.1-inch sensor and an F/20 aperture. This allows more light to enter the camera, and enhance its sensitivity. So you can take natural-looking selfies even in low-light conditions.

Beautify 4.0

Naturally Beautiful You

Using facial data from millions of users, Beauty 4.0 allows users to capture their very best looks. Blemish reduction has been refined to ensure beautiful, natural-looking shots that are eye-catching for all the right reasons.

Selfie Panorama

Users can simply rotate the phone from side to side to take a wide-angle selfie. the F1s automatically stitches together the photos to make sure that the whole party gets in the shot.

13 MP Rear Camera

Wonderful Night Shots

The F1s sports a 13 MP rear camera with an industry-leading imaging chip. A 1/3.06-inch sensor allows the F1s to maximize light sensitivity, making for wonderful nighttime performance. The large pixels also work to bump up the dynamic range and give pictures a vivid depth and detail for capturing exceptionally clear and detailed photos.

Design

Clean, Fluid Design:

The F1s sports a 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 4 Screen. This uppermost protective layer of glass is seamlessly bonded to the display below for a smooth and fluid look. The device’s rounded edges extend over an arc of only 10 mm, giving the 5.5-inch phone a pleasingly light and thin feeling, while also contributing to a matchlessly comfortable grip. Meanwhile, the F1s is built to resist both drops and wear, so it’s nowhere near as delicate as it looks.

Flash Touch Access

Fast Unlock Speed:

You’ll know the finely crafted fingerprint reader is snappy, sensitive and durable the moment you first touch it. Though the reader button is a mere 0.1 mm thick, its sensor is snappier and more accurate than ever. With our self-learning arithmetic, the more frequency you use, the more sensitive it can be. It unlocks the phone just long enough for you to prepare your gasp of surprise. And a glossy protective coating on the reader button adds to the phone’s luster while also preventing left-behind fingerprints, so that your privacy is never compromised.

Power Saving

When the phone is in use, background apps will be dynamically suspended to save both battery and data. While the screen is off, the phone will automatically monitor all power consuming activities and kill apps with abnormal power consumption behaviors.

Security Center:

Privacy protection allows you to simply designate any contacts, apps, files, etc. as private. Then, when you activate the feature (for example, when lending the phone to a friend or colleague), all private info will be hidden automatically.

The F1s’ virus scanner runs an engine designed by Avast, for providing industry-leading protection in automatically monitoring and detecting threats to your phone’s security.

All-New ColorOS 3.0

Faster, Steadier, Better:

Based on Android, ColorOS 3.0 is seamlessly responsive, providing smooth and efficient performance, and offering more memory and power to users.

Icon:

– 150 optimized scenarios

– 41% faster app launch time

– 32% faster photo album boot speed

Fast and Light:

According to user habit research, OPPO has optimized 150 common scenarios for an amazingly fluid experience. For example, the launch speed of our photo app has been boosted by 32% and the launcher now loads 35% faster.

OPPO is the best camera-phone there is in the market and people are raving about its camera similar to the Iphone's. With its budget friendly price tag , we'll never miss out capturing our favorite Summer #OOTD anymore . Let's all unleash our inner fashionista mga ka-Probinsyana/Probinsyanos.

This has been your Probinsyana,Nina. I hope we all have a blast this Summer 2017 .

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The Probinsyana is a CERTIFIED Online Shopaholic

I'm one of this generation's so called shop-'til-you-drop online shopping addicts and I already have numerous transactions with online shops. And as a self-confessed online shopaholic, I think it's my duty to share some useful reviews about my experiences in online shopping.

What is SHOPEE?

Recently, I've come across a new shopping platform-it's called Shopee. It's an application that you can download. (If your an android user you can download it here and if your an apple user, you can download it here.)

Why buy in SHOPEE?

Unlike Zalora, it's not limited to fashion items like clothes, bags, shoes and accessories. Shopee is a one-stop shop that offers a variety of products from premium Home and Living products to hard to find Korean beauty products.

What I like about Shopee is it's Cash on Delivery system that you can avail with just a minimum of 250 pesos of purchase. You can pay as soon as the item is delivered to you!

Useful features in SHOPEE:

1. Better/organized search results

Whenever I search for an item on Shopee's search button, I narrow down my options by clicking on Top Sales. This way, I will know which items are fast-selling (meaning they're good quality) and which shops are trusted by most customers.

2. Chat features

You can chat sellers and inquire about a certain item and you can also see if they're online or not (Yes, just like facebook's messenger.

3. 'Make an offer' feature aka 'tawad button'

Oh yes . You can feel the Filipino thrifty spirit in Shopee because there's a feature wherein you can ask a mark down of prices for the items you want to buy. The seller will decide whether she will accept or decline the offer. How cool is that? I've tried it several times especially when I'm going to buy in bulk. It will save you some bucks plus you'll get to buy extra items .

4. Free-shipping and C.O.D (cash on delivery)

Shopee and LBC has partnered so sellers can offer free shipping to customers. If your order has reached 250 pesos then you'll avail of free shipping. What's even more convenient is you can also pay on a cash on delivery basis. They deliver anywhere in the Philippines. I bought numerous items from Shopee and they all arrived in good condition.

5. Shoppers can rate the sellers

Shoppers can finally rate the seller. Of course most online selling platforms has review sections for buyers. But unlike other websites, customers create their own account and are subject for verification. You can only rate a product once you bought it.

6. There's so much products to choose from-from food/goods to cosmetics/make-up to household items

It's vast variety of items makes an online shopaholic like me get addicted and hooked to online shopping. You can browse and 'heart' a certain item you like. It serves as a bookmark and you can also automatically place it in your virtual cart.

THE PROBINSYANA'S RATING:

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As you know, the Philippines only has 2 seasons-dry and wet. And by dry season, we mean Summer. Usually, it begins by the month of March and ends by May. It's the most awaited season of the year,mostly by students because it signals the end of the school year and the start of summer get-aways and adventure. For young professionals like me, I look forward to relatives from abroad or other cities going home, whom I only get to see this time of the year.

This year, my cousins living in urban cities are itching to go to the beach. Since most of them are into posting photos on instagram or facebook, I decided to bring them to the picturesque Canigao Island in Matalom Leyte.

Canigao is an islet located in the Philippines, near the municipality of Matalom, Leyte. The area is known for abundant fishing grounds and scenic coral reef areas suitable for diving.

It's similar to other islands found in other areas of the Philippine islands only that it's uninhabited, featuring a lighthouse as it's only significant man-made structure. The beaches have white sand, with sea creatures and extensive coral reef in the surrounding waters making it suitable for scuba divers. The crystal clear blue water and powdery sand of Canigao Island attracts more and more tourists each year.

It took us less than an hour to travel by multi-cab, from my hometown (Maasin City) to Matalom, Leyte. For commuters, there are several buses going to Matalom. A one way ride will cost you around Php 50.00.

This hidden gem is accessible only via pump boat. We were made to wear orange life vests of course for safety purposes. I'll be updating this blog and will post the fees for the pumpboat ride.

The sky was a bit gloomy when our pumpboat sailed. Thank God, It didn't rain!

Beach-goers enjoying the clear blue waters basking in the heat of Mr. Sun

Another tourist watching the island while waiting patiently to arrive.

Hi there! It's me wearing a blue (swim)suit. My favorite color:)

I even had my back tattooed . (music+science=love) There's a (hena) tattoo artist on the island. Price starts at Php 50 per tattoo. So for those who want to show off some skin and tan lines, a tattoo will complement it.

That's me enjoying a walk.

Meet my cousins. Aren't they cool?

The island is not just about sand and sea. It's also surrounded with a lush, green and virgin forest.

There are several awesome rock formations on the island too.

...and another one.

Blue skies, clear blue waters, beautiful weather= perfect summer getaway.

Canigao Island, is a must-visit hidden gem in the South. It's a place you'll want to come back over and over again .

PS: By the way, I failed to mention that fresh sea foods are also available at an affordable price (I forgot to take pictures of it). If you're a seafood gastronome like me, then it's definitely the place to be.

Love,

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These are my TOP 5 Urbanize must-have items. What's yours?

Visit their facebook page here for URBANIZE PH.