Like most girls in the world, I love fashion! I love clothes, bags, shoes, make-ups, travelling, And well, let's be honest, girls love eating too! I made this blog to share everything that I learned in life. To help and empower women. I mostly give tips here but I sometimes write about my feelings about relationships and just everything under the sun too!
I've mentioned in my WCOPA 2015 Journey Part 1 blog that we arrived in LA on July 8. The competition week for WCOPA formally started on July 10, so we had the whole day of the 9th and the 10th to rest, stroll nearby Long Beach streets and adjust to the time difference to our delight.
Orientation and Registration Day: July 11
You know that feeling you get when it's the first day of school and you are so excited to meet your new classmates and when you finally meet them, you immediately take a mental note on who to bully, who to befriend with and who to not get in the circle of your squad? That is exactly what I felt when I entered the Centennial Ballroom of The Westin where the orientation took place. Along with Team Philippines, delegates from 52 countries swarmed the room. Team Philippines got its first medal that day for winning 3rd place on the Group Production contest.
Registration Day
Christian Bahaya of Y-Fi and Juliet Bahala, excited for the Orientation
Selfie for your life!
Team Philippines being awarded as the third placer for group production. Yay!
After the program, WCOPA officials handed us our handbooks and yearbooks. Since there were a lot of us, it took some time to distribute the kits which was good because I got to meet and befriended delegates from other countries.
Indonesia
Puerto Rico
France
Canada
Austria
New Zealand, who are Filipinos btw! :)
Brunei
with my WCOPA kit and yearbook
Parade of the Nations: July 12
This day was nothing but fun! Aside from having Mr. Jed Madela himself, being the main performer for the program and 5th Gen pumping up the crowd with their awesome number, Philippines bagged 2nd place for the Best in National Costume. Other countries also showcased their national costumes. They were really fun to watch.
5th Gen with Jed Madela
5th Gen on stage
Philippines
One of the best Filipiniana gowns I've seen worn by fellow delegate from Manila and Gold medalists, Princess
with the very beautiful Stella from New Zealand :)
Pueto Rico bagged the best National Costume
pretty!
with one of my favorite people in the world and Davao delegate's father in the US, Sir Cacho
Competition Day 1: July 13
My roommate and co-Davao delegate Juliet Bahala along with Rigel Micolob, Manila delegates and Cebu delegates ages 16-17 and 18-24 competed on this day. There were over 50 delegates from 52 countries for over 10 styles that it took the whole day for everyone to compete. I spent most of the day watching and supporting for Team Philippines but jet lag got through me by 3pm that I had to go upstairs and sleep. LOL. But Team Philippines was very supportive of each other that my absence was not a loss at all.
Juliet's outfit for her winning performance in opera style design by Mr. Benjie Panizales
Rigel in her outfit for her winning performance in Rock RnB style
Competition Day 2: July 14
I finally got to compete this day and I was more than ready. My contenders were really good, especially Jamaica and Hongkong but I was very confident that I was able to deliver my styles really well. Our Junior category delegate from Davao, Jona Soquite also got to compete after our category who also rocked the stage.
I didn't have the time to take pictures of my outfit and I now regret it but I took a selfie right before my performance and this outfit was what I wore for my winning performance in contemporary style
Jona performing "Home" for broadway style
After our competition, the Philippines hosted the "Filipino night" or the Champion Circle Night for the very first time. It was held at the Worldstars Village in front of Long Beach Performing Arts Center. There were a showcase of Filipino Talents that evening. Davao's very own Zhalia, Y-Fi and Rigel Micolob were among the performers that night. Of course it wouldn't be a Champion's Circle Night without 5th Gen and Jed Madela who unsurprisingly wowed the crowd with their powerful voices and awesome production numbers.
Jed Madela
a very vague picture of 5th Gen's performance. Sorry, I just grabbed these photos from Rigel, so blame her. Hahaha!
YFi, Zhalia and Rigel
The Ms. Congeniality awardee of WCOPA 2015, performing on Filipino night, Rigel. She's a crowd favorite!
Competition Day 3: The Semi-Finals July 15
Results for those who got in in the semis were scheduled to be released at 7AM that day so we woke up really early for it. Among the Davao delegates, only Y-Fi, Zhalia and Jona Soquite got in.
Y-Fi (Young Filipinos)
from left: Christian Bahaya, Darwin Divino, Jr Estudillo, Joemark Tumala and Archie Udaundo
Zhalia
from left: Jetz Tacsanan, Shaira Opsimar and Julia Serad
Davao Delegate's baby, Jona Soquite
Although I am really happy and proud for my fellow delegates, I got extremely sad that day. I spent most of the day crying and eating Nutella. HAHAHAHA! What? I needed happy endorphins! Of course I expected to get in to the finals. I went to the US to compete and was aiming to win so my reaction was normal, really. But it only lasted for I think 8 hours because my lovely mom made me eat at In and Out burger (which is a California thing apparently) and brought me to Downtown Disney. And since I have shallow happiness, my day ended up really well in spite of myself.
me at Downtown Disney
Only Y-Fi and Jona Soquite among the Davao delegates made it to the Finals which is what I am gonna talk about on my next blog. ;)
Link to Part 1 is already in the first sentence of this blog. Part 2 is poorly written because I was so tired the day I wrote it but I linked it anyway because I am classy like that. Hahaha!
In my previous blog, I talked about how I got in to this competition and the highlights. But I also don't want to miss you out on the small but important things that happened in the competition week. For those who do not know, I am one of the Philippines' delegates for the WCOPA2015 that was held in Long Beach, California from July 8-19, 2015 and I want to share to the whole world this wonderful experience.
Took a selfie right before we landed LAX in my Team Philippines Jacket sponsored by Folded&Hung because why not? :p
THE ARRIVAL AT LAX
As if the overwhelming feeling of touching the grounds of the American soil, passing through immigration and just being fascinated by how beautiful the Los Angeles International Airport were not enough, we were greeted with a very warm welcome by DOT to our delight. Amidst the jetlag and thanks to the food served by PAL during our flight, I found enough strength to pose and manage to smile for what seemed like eternity for the photo ops with Team Philippines, our National Director Mr. Gerry Mercado and Jed Madela himsef, a popular Filipino singer who is a World Champion Superstar. After the photo ops, two buses provided by DOT were already waiting for us. And God bless Mr. Henry Sanchez, one of Team Philippine's sponsors for years, for handing out sweet donuts for the trip to Long Beach. I don't know if you believe in signs, but those donuts were my divination that everything about that week is going to be S-W-E-E-T.
Yas!
The whole of WCOPA 2015 Team Pilippines carrying the DOT banner
Mr. Henry Sanchez, handing out donuts to everyone
THE WESTIN HOTEL
Our hotel was the PERFECT location for the delegates. Restaurants, Walmart, pharmacies, Starbucks, train stations and even the venue for our Finals night were just a walk away. And I must say, the staff were all courteous. From the front desk, to the bell boys, to the cleaning ladies, everything were well trained to treat their customers in a professional manner. In fact, when I called the lobby about the fridge that was not working, they immediately sent a new fridge. Same thing happened when I called about the lock in the bathtub. To date, that was the longest time I had ever been in a hotel (10 days) and I am so glad that I had a fantastic time while staying.
with my roomate, Juliet Bahala, in our hotel room. :)
I feel like this is such a poorly written blog so I have to stop. LOL. It was an exhausting day. In fact, I thought about writing this tomorrow but I couldn't sleep so I did it anyway. I promise to be better on my writing for tomorrow's blog because it is all about what happened in the competition week and trust me, you wouldn't want to miss it! ;)
As of real time, I am writing this blog in my Mom's New York house. It has been three weeks of total chaos as far as my schedule is concerned (being the organized freak that I am when it comes to my schedule) and I got so used to it that having been idle for a couple of days now is driving me crazy. I was dying to do something; so I thought of blogging again since I didn't blog for awhile now. For those who do not know, I am one of the delegates from Davao who represented the Philippines as a vocalist for WCOPA or World Championships of Performing Arts that was held in Long Beach, California this year. We left NAIA on July 8 at 11:30AM, arrived LAX around 7AM on July 8, 2015 PST.
with Christian Bahaya of Y-Fi in our Team Jackets at NAIA while waiting for our flight to LAX
JET LAG
I originally planned to write about my WCOPA Journey as soon as we land in the States and blog real time or daily but jet lag and schedules got through me. Jet lag, boy, that sh*t is serious! I didn't know it could last for a week. I was at my weakest on our competition week because of this condition. I missed all of the celebration because I was too tired all the time. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed our competition week. I just wish I was a bit more of alive than zombie-ish.
Selfie at LAX ;)
THE AUDITION
To be honest, I didn't give it too much of a priority when I was informed about WCOPA late last year (2014). To me, joining WCOPA and going to the US is like so fetch: It's not going to happen.
So imagine my anxiety when the video auditions and the live auditions for Davao finally happened. I can still remember it vividly. I was not feeling well on live auditions day. I had the worst laryngitis and I didn't get enough sleep the previous night, but, I sang my heart out, as I always do in every song. Below is the video of all the Davao delegates' audition.
I was in the mall buying a water heater two weeks later when I received the text from Mr. Jeremy Sarmiento, Director of Muzic'sKool and the official Davao Talent Scout for WCOPA that I got in. To my delight, my music family Zhalia, Y-Fi, Juliet Bahala, and Rigel Micolob got in too! Another talented kid for the Junior division was added to the group, Jona Soquite, who turned out to be a real darling.
Mr. Gerry Mercado, the National Director of WCOPA Philippines who is also the manager of Mr. Jed Madela, personally went to Davao to orient the local delegates. It was such a thrilling experience! My dreams were slowly coming true.
Briefing day with Mr. Gerry Mercado. Photo grabbed from WCOPA Philippines official instagram account
THE PROCESS
Everything happened so fast but it didn't come easy! But of course, nothing worth having comes easy. We needed money for our trip. We individually sent out sponsorship letters while Muzic'sKool organized events to raise money for our allowances aside from their sponsorship. Mrs. Katrine Sarmiento, wife of Mr. Jeremy Sarmiento, along with the rest of the MuzicsKool staff made it easier for all of the Davao delegates. They went as far as organizing a Peak Performance workshop with Mr. Rob Rances and a dress rehearsal for us to be confident on stage.
Peak Performance workshop with Mr. Rob Rances
I have soooo much to share that I can't share it all in one blog, else, you'd get dragged at and eventually get bored with my endless stories. LOL. This is only first of the series of blogs that I have yet to write about this wonderful experience.There were a lot of interesting things that happened but the highlight of my WCOPA Journey was me bagging medals on ALL of the styles that I joined. I won GOLD for Contemporary, SILVER for Pop, and SILVER for Variety and it was such a wonderful feeling. I've waited for that moment for 12 years! I will never, EVER forget this journey. ;)
Well at least if you are within the area of Cabantian, Davao City.
Services that are affordable with great customer service are so rare nowadays that when I find one, I always make sure to blog about it. Zen Passion Massage and Spa had me at hello.
I am a very busy person that it takes me weeks before I can have my nails done because all salons are already closed by the time I'm done with my dailies. So imagine my delight when I found out that there's a nice nail spa in my area that is open until 10pm on weekdays and 11pm on weekends.
It's also a massage parlor
Whole Body Massage experience was superb
Foot Massage with my favorite therapist, Ate Maritess
They offer other services plus free wifi. Yay! :)
Con is that they only have two therapists and they both do the massage and nail care so you can't expect to be taken cared of right away when you get there. What I do is I call their phone numbers and ask for my favorite therapists' availability to avoid wasting time.
They also serve green tea for free in a green tea pot. Lovely!
It's okay to achieve your goals and work for your life but it's also nice to take care of yourself; not just sometimes but always.
