Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen

I would still choose a regular existence over a "lifestyle of the rich and famous" frill given the chance to live my life again. Although I'm sure that most of us were dragged by our parents to auditions and castings when we were younger. Admit it! Sinong sa inyo nag-audition sa Ang TV? (hahahahaha!) Well my brother JM did (I swear he'll kill me once he reads this). Because of that audition though he got regular stints on different local TV shows and movies when he was still in grade school. I can't even recall how many, and I won't bother to name a few because he might never forgive me but I'll give you one proof.

Pangako Sa'yo (Pilot Episode) 2:19-2:37

"Tay, Nay may bata!" - Caloy (Jay Manalo)

With Nanay Belen and Tatay Isko

Ang pagkakapulot kay Ina (Kristine Hermosa) sa basura!

Now I have to resort to bribe him with something just so I can enter our house when I go home for vacation. (For the nth time, I swear he's going to kill me). This is good material though JM, I can't resist blogging it (lol). In high school though he stopped attending to this kind of stint because he felt he was too old for it, in short nagbinata. 

Enough about him, I've no plans of dying young. Last week I blogged about the Dubai Jazz Fest 2011, I've mentioned that a photographer from a magazine took photos of us. I wasn't really expecting the photos to be published. So here's my short brush with fame..

February 21-Monday, I saw this on www.timeoutdubai.com

Last night, as we were walking through our neighborhood in search for food, we stopped by Spinney's and I saw this on the mag stand!

Spinney's

TimeOut Dubai Feb 24-March 2 issue

Excited si Inday! :)

This is it!!! Nay, tay nasa Magazine ako! Hahahahaha :))

PAK!

Paparazzi, fans, globetrotting, private jets and oh yes, bodyguards..these things got me dreaming just a little bit. My life out in the open for everyone's entertainment.

Rockstar? Why not! (rak na rak si ate!)

A Fashion ICON!! Oooh lalaaaaa (hahahahahhaha!!!)

The Richella of all Richellas! (kabog!)

My love life! (oh, tumaas kilay ng marami LOL)

The last cover suits me well. To even think that I want to be all those is vague. I'll just be content with a smile and with a song. This world is indeed so vague.  I'm happy with what I have.

Love at First BITE: Dubai International Jazz Festival 2011

The Dubai International Jazz Fest is a music event held annually, particularly in the months of January to February seeing that the weather is pleasurable during this time. Held this year from 20th January to 18th February, we got a load of great music artists featured by Chillout Productions.

The schedule of events this year are as follows:

•The Jazz World (January 20th-28th) – The Walk JBR

•The Jazz Garden (Feb 8th-5th) “excluding the 14th”– Dubai Media City Amphitheater

•The Main Concerts (Feb 16th-18th) – Dubai Media City Amphitheater

I was really attempting to make an appearance on all dates, however my schedule (work, ugh.) made it fairly impossible. So immediately, I checked on the list of performers and I was ecstatic to see this: 

February 16 - Mica Paris, Alison Moyet and Jools Holland 

February 17 - Mindi Abair and Peter White, Macy Gray and Lifehouse

February 18 - Jessy J., Joshua Radin and Train

Without thinking twice, I picked Feb. 17 because of MACY GRAY! I love her eccentric husky voice, unique singing style and fabulous fashion sense. In fact she was named VH1 and Vogue's Most Fashionable Female Artist at the 2000 awards.

The final performer for that night was Lifehouse. I am not a big Lifehouse fan, I just find myself humming to Hanging By A Moment every now and then. Considering that the lead vocals (Jason Wade) was rather cute, I settled to give this band a chance. So GO na tlaga to!!!

So 2 nights ago my friends and I strutted to the Dubai Media City Ampitheater and here goes our night!

The Venue

Food and Beverage Stubs

Food Stand

What's a concert without alcohol? =)

Kuya photographer from Ahlan and Time Out Dubai took photos of us for the Mag! =)

Chat and I waiting patiently for the show to start

Rockin' it with Kuya Aris

The Crowd

Clad in her signature white floor length dress with black feather boa, Macy Gray looked amazing!

This is Macy Gray's cover of Creep by Radiohead

"Which one do you prefer? Love or sex? I have a song which sums up a little bit of both." - Macy Gray intro before she sang I TRY

This is just a portion of the song, an annoying mobile phone gets in the way of the view. She ended the song with a line from Bob Marley's hit, No woman no cry.

Jason Wade of Lifehouse

He is an EYE CANDY!!

The crowd went wild! Didn't know there were a lot of Lifehouse fans in Dubai

Love is indeed what I felt at my first bite on the festival. I couldn't forget Macy's performance, the audience went crazy, singing and swaying.  I was amused when she said that she heard people in Dubai drink too much, which is great  because it made them sound better. I didn't know a lot of people here were into Lifehouse. I gave them a chance though, and I have to say Jason Wade can sing and he is really charming (hahahaha! chaka ng comment ko, hinde kasi ako mashadong na-amaze sa kanila eh, steady lang ganun).

I hope next year's line-up would offer as much hullabaloo as it did this year.  I can't wait. 

The Italian Job

The Italian Job is a 2003 film which stars Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Seth Green, Jason Statham, Mos Def and Donald Sutherland. This for me is the perfect heist film. I honestly wanted to be part of a posse of thieves who executes flawless robberies (hahaha bad!) The Mini Cooper became my dream car and Italy (where the heist was executed) became my paradise. After watching the film for about a million times, I couldn't stop dreaming about going there.

"I trust everyone. It's the devil inside them I don't trust."- Stella

Last year, my friends and I made a vow to make this Italian trip come true by fervently saving to fund this tour. January 13th of this year, my fab friend Kristine told me about a contest by Motorola Middle East that would send off the winner to Milan. The first thing I remembered telling her was "Tara! Sige! GO!". I was really unsure of my reaction. I mean me and Tine, we almost always take this kind of things frivolously. It never occurred to us that we stepped into something unimaginable.


Most of my friends knew how hesitant I am in joining popularity contests. I'd rather work sidelines but I would never let myself be the bait and suffer humiliation. Maybe because I wasn't confident enough. This is one of my "I'm surprised of myself" moments. Perhaps I have this inkling that we'll grab it. It was the beginning of our journey.


Jan. 13th 2011 - The day we entered the contest. This is our entry:

Michelle (Contestant 22) and BFF Kristine were born on the same day --- only on different years which is probably why their personalities are so alike, like TWINS!

Their hearts deepest wish is "to walk the streets of Milan on the eve of their birthday, like true Fashionistas" which they have been saving up for since last year. Help them have the grandest birthday of their lives.

This was my first call for help:

Our official Kick them to Milan CAMPAIGN TEAM Dubai Chapter! H-Club + Rezaly = da best! We all looked kind of serious, FB and messenger chatting became a serious matter.

 

  

This is the best part..my friends from all over campaigning for me. They never grew tired of posting the link on their walls. Some of them are complete strangers. We are indeed lucky to have supportive friends and family. (Incomplete screen captures, sa sobrang dami hinde ko makumpleto)

Yesterday, I was at Starbucks with my good friend Patur. The usual chika chikas and catching up over a cup of hot chocolate and emote naming dalawa. My phone rang and Tine was screaming on the other line.."BABE!! Nanalo tayo! Namamatay ako, namamatay ako, namamatay ako!!" She repeated that about 50 times. I understood what she said I just didn't believe it. All that I could uttered was "WEH??". And she answered again with "Namamatay ako!" for 50 more times. When we hang up, my BBM, YM, FB and Twitter icons on my phone were all flooded with notifications. Then finally I saw this on the FB news feed:

We WON. We're going to Milan. We did it. We did it because of our family and friends. I couldn't come up with the right words to express my gratitude to all those who helped us. You made it happen. To our cheerleaders in times of doubt and worry, thank you. To our campaign team here and in Pinas, thank you. To our long lost friends, catching up with you was the best thing ever. To our new friends, soooobraaang daming new friends, thank you!

This was my status on Facebook last night.

More skeletons in my closet: ROCK MY STYLE!

This is really not some dark secret from the past that I hope to take to the grave with me. My closet actually reveals my style, my influences and my great love for shopping (ayun na!) The decision to unveil my closet in such a public way came from friends and family members who believed (chos!) in my taste. Clothes, bags, shoes and accessories that I will feature here are all hand picked by yours truly and these are definitely included in my wardrobe. In this public display of myself, I have in fact accepted the reality that not everyone will appreciate how I dress. If you like what you see, you are most welcome to place an order and if you don't like it, (you can) LUMP it.

Each style will run for two weeks in my blog. You can get information, place an order and get confirmation from me within those two weeks. After which, I shall ship the merchandise. If interested you can send me a PM on my  Facebook account (Michelle Jassen Madla) and I shall respond to your queries promptly. 

Now, without further ado the skeletons in my closet that I am proud of. 

ROCK MY STYLE!

Style no. 1

Rolling Stone black top by H&M

Shorts by American Eagle (not for sale)

14 hole red boots by Doc Martens ( not for sale)

Mulberry Anthony Messenger bag (unisex)

Gucci Medium Messenger Bag (Blue)

Accesories (rings, bangles) by Forever 21

Style no. 2

Smurf top by H&M

Flowery ring by Forever 21

White shorts by American Eagle (not for sale)

Rayban Aviator shades (not for sale)

Style no. 3

The Beatles shirt by H&M

Hi-cut black sneakers by Juicy Couture

Accessories by Forever 21

Style no. 4

The Beatles Yellow Submarine shirt by H&M

Black skirt by DKNY (not for sale)

Yellow oxford shoes by Shoeology (not for sale)

Style no. 5

Black and White checkered top by Forever 21 (belt not included)

Hi-cut black sneakers by Juicy Couture

Accessories by Forever 21

Excessorize it!!!

All accessories (rings and bangles) are from Forever 21

Thank you to my Fab 3 Slashies! Rona Puquiz, Rachell Bonanza and Kristine de Leon. All these wouldn't be possible without you. I love you to the bones! Mwaaah!

There. I shared it. It is out in the open, the skeletons in my closet. Send me a private message on my Facebook account (Michelle Jassen Madla) for questions, orders, feedback..even brutal reactions are welcomed. I feel much better now. =)