Just Press (fore) play

Just Press (Fore)Play

By ANA KRISTINE B. VALENZUELA

MOD December 2009, Love lowdown

HE leans closely, whispering gently into your left ear. His lips touch your nape as his fingers brush through your hair. He moves back, catching a glimpse of how you react. Consequently, your eyes lock with his. You to him, at that very moment, are incomparable in beauty and individuality.

The unspoken spark between you two can be sensed. The understood intention silently agreed upon. Both of you want each other, want to make love.

Meant to heighten sexual arousal, foreplay is about connection and intimacy. It increases the emotional comfort between you and your man. Foreplay tends to become ever more physical and intense as both of you move closer to sexual contact. For women, foreplay is a phase that arouses, to get ready and lubricated for sex.

Foreplay can begin with wearing sexy clothes and even with a wink. Without the intimacy and sexual connection, the interaction made is misleading. It’s simply called flirting or leading someone on.

MOD COLLECTION

Fire for Foreplay

Start It Up. Making a simple contact such as asking him about your day, him smelling your hair, and holding hands are starters. It is all on how you carry the conversation and make that certain moment move to the next level.

Suggest. Tease him as you describe what you want to do in bed, like the way you want his hands touch your body and or his fingers run through your chest. Do remember that the brain is a major sex organ. The way he visualizes it can certainly intensify his sexual pleasure.

Touch. The use of the sense of touch can heighten sexual excitement. Massage and caress certain parts of his body. Stroke his erogenous zones, located in his ears, neck, armpits, chest, lower back, fingers, and his most sensitive part.

Kiss. Used to express affection, kisses should be long, slow, and gentle so as to elicit passion. Feel his response and do not be too aggressive.You can try taking after his kissing style.

Communicate. Don’t just walk out on him, especially after having a mind-boggling orgasm. Tell him how good the experience was. Make him feel wanted through kisses and cuddles. Talk about new stuff you want to try with him the next time you engage in the activity.

Ask. Ask for his wildest sexual escapade or even ask for his wildest sexual fantasy. Then do it. If he says Princess Leia in Star Wars in Jabba the Hut’s lair, tie your hair in buns and make yourself a costume just like the imprisoned princess.

Role-Play. Fool around as Edward and Bella in Twilight, or an undercover spy and a wanted criminal, a teacher and a naughty student, or even as a dominatrix boss and her male secretary. Be imaginative when role-playing.

image from the time traveller's wife

Miss Earth 2008 Karla Paula Henry

Miss Earth 2008 Karla Paula Henry

‘Everything That We Do Affects the Environment’

By ANA KRISTINE B. VALENZUELA

Mod Decemeber 2009

AS the 2008 Miss Earth, Karla Paula Henry has been occupied with programs and events as an ambassador of the environment. Doing relief operations for the recent typhoon victims and cleaning up beaches are some of projects that she is now involved in—all while looking good.

Bigger Picture. One good thing about Ondoy is that Filipinos have realized calamity change. Sana naman ma-realize nila na everything they do affects the environment. Ondoy made me realize more that there is so much more to be done. The relief goods—those are temporary. The bigger picture and the first thing that needs to be done is how we going to convince the people na unahin natin ang pag-aalaga sa kalikasan.

Go for Zero. The government is somehow doing its share with the Clean Air Act and Republic Act (RA) 9003, which aims for waste management. We really have to segregate our waste. For those biodegradable materials, we can dig through our backyard and use them as fertilizer, while those recyclable materials can be relayed to junk shops. Whatever you can do, aim for zero basura.

Clean Up. As Miss Earth, I participated in a lot of environmental projects, the most recent of which is the Boracay Cleanup which was in preparation for the Miss Earth pageant. Plus, sustainable cleaning din ‘yan. It’s not only for the Miss Earth candidates but also for the residents of Boracay as well as making Boracay a destination focal point here in the Philippines. We want to focus more on Boracay being an environment-friendly place.

Green-Minded. I was honored when I was invited to the Miami Fashion Week and I enjoyed it a lot. I attended the show of the Piña collection of various designers. Even here in the Philippines, designers are pushing for green fashion. It’s really up to us, on how we are going to patronize this type of clothing.

All in the Mind. To be beautiful, you need to get enough rest. Never stress yourself. If you have a positive outlook, it will reflect on you. If you think that you look good, you will look good. It’s all psychological.

Plans. After I turn over my crown, I plan to go back to school, possibly next semester because of time constraints. I hope to be able to juggle school and work.

Club Balai Isabel

Stepping into a Glorious Escape: Club Balai Isabel

Text by Ana Kristine B. Valenzuela

Published: What’s on & Expat: Destination, January 13- 19, 2008

Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu once said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” These words were blaring out of the shirt of Nelson Terrible, owner of Club Balai Isabel in Talisay, Batangas. And to put truth to what can be read on his gray shirt, he did begin his journey – to set up one of Talisay’s famous resorts- one step at a time.

It wasn’t an ordinary journey as he accompanied a group of writers around his resort and its nearby attractions. Surrounded by nature’s bounty, it offers a panoramic view of the Taal Lake.

The Club Balai Isabel, which sits at the lakefront of the world famous Taal volcano would not have been discovered if not for a soft drink company which was scouting for a place as a venue for its teambuilding activities.

Terrible, a real estate developer saw the potential and prospect for growth of the placeand instantly took the challenge of constructing a resort and gallantly transforming the 3.5 hectare property from a simple hut into a trailblazing resort. A few months later, the resort in Talisay, Club Balai Isabel, was built and named after his daughter Isabel who now manages the entire place.

Now, the resort is fast becoming a home to corporations and family outings wanting to host special occasions. Its proximity to Taal’s famous attractions – it offers a vantage view of the Taal Lake and volcano and its verdant surroundings is the resort’s big draw. Furthermore, guests also choose to hold their special functions like weddings, debuts and anniversaries in the resort as no less than Makati Skyline is catering the resort’s food.

Short Retreats

If you want to have a short retreat from the noise of the of the city, Club Balai Isabael is highly recommended. This resort, with a homegrown feel to it, is furnished with rooms and villas built like with five star standards yet it has a pleasant functionality of a condo unit complete amenities. Guests can opt to rest, or engage themselves in the resorts range of activities – a good game of basketball, a round of either tennis or badminton or they can challenge themselves through the rope swings and tunnel hoops in the obstacle cours. For the sporty types, kayaking in the lake is a fine option.

For sailing enthusiasts, the club even offers boats for this sport. The resort has partnered with the Taal Lake Yacht Club for this purpose. Guests can either leisurely direct the winds with the rigger, rudder and dagger and speed up the boat along the lake.

Pool of the Lake

Guests, they can have a dip in the water with the resort’s unique inflatable pool. The inflatable pool or mobideep was invented by a Frenchman and presently this kind of pool can only be found at Club Balai Isabel. The mobideep is one of a kind innovation, it’s a cluster of floating pools within the lake. One can play water games and host cocktail parties in the mobideep inflatable pool. Guests can simply dive into clear and clean water, said to be clean enough for drinking. The pool filters the water up to six micron. With the mobideep safely sitting on one of the biggest lakes in the country, guests can really enjoy sunbathing and swimming amid the distinctive environment.

Apart from the unique amenities, Club Balai Isabel is also taking steps to maintain a clean environment. They have formed a bantay dagat (guard the sea) team to monitor the activities of the lake in Talisay and keep the lake water unpolluted along with the local government.

“Best Service Possible”

Club Balai Isabel is continuously expanding and improving its facilities, with the objective of “never to be boring and providing the best service possible to its clients”, outside the resort is Paseo de san Guillermo, a small trade fair and a complex area managed and operated by Club Balai Isabel. They recently obtained the next-door resort, plus more cottages being built by local carpenters.

Not even a year old, the place has already accommodated as much as seven thousand guests in 2007. Most of the guests have known about Club Balai Isabel through the favorable blog entries from previous guests, proof of the place’s hospitality and unique ambience.

Trailblazing Resort

People are starting to regard Taal not just with Tagaytay but also with Talisay. Little by little, what first comes to mind when Talisay is mentioned is Club Balai Isabel; and Club Balai Isabel is fast becoming synonymous with Talisay.

For Reservations: (02)776-1521 or (043)728-0307

How to get there:

From Santa Rosa, Laguna and Carmona, Cavite, the trip takes only an hour and 15 minutes if traffic is light.

At the Tagaytay Rotonda, you turn left and after 6 km turn right to Ligaya Drive, a well-paved zigzag with subdivisions and communities along the way. The 9-km road leads right to the town proper and the lakeshore.
http://www.balaiisabel.com/

New Scents from Lewis and Pearl

New Scents from Lewis and Pearl
By Ana Kristine B. Valenzuela
What's On and Expat November 11, 2007

One’s scent is a first impression on another person. Like the Greek used to please their gods by the wonderful fragrance they send to please their deities, a scent can invoke diverse sentiments and even memories. Together with Lewis and Pearl Cologne, makers of vibrant and refreshing scents, Iris Go, one of the less than five hundred noses or what they call perfume experts, spearheaded the first fragrance appreciation workshop in the country. The fragrance appreciation is for Filipinos to say more than ‘it smells nice’ to the tropical weather whiff of the country. After all during the renaissance the perfume is considered as a status symbol. Only those who were affluent and well to do were the ones who had the chance to wear expensive fragrances. The cologne and the perfume is almost a blessing as new fragrances are introduced everyday and as almost anyone can have it. Many Filipinos favor the lighter and fruitier scents probably suggestive of the tropical warm weather. “What they’d probably say is that it smells like a burst of citrus rinds rising like the hot Eastern sun with droplets of orange and tangerine oils dripping over skins aglow, that gives a sense of urgency that escalates with each sniff,” describes Go on a scent recently launched by Lewis and Pearl. Among the new scents launched by Lewis and Pearl are Chill, Fantasy, Dream, Happy, Twist, Summer, Dew Drops, Rain and Ice Water.

Hagedorn’s Dogeaters Staged

Hagedorn’s Dogeaters Staged
By Ana Kristine B. Valenzuela
What's On and Expat November 25, 2007

Considered the “vanguard artist’ of her generation, Jessica Hagedorn has come to the Philippines and PowerBooks has sponsored the balikbayan author’s book signing last week. Highlighted at the event was the author’s play and book “Dogeaters.” The work is a mix of comedy and tragedy, which echo many different aspects of the Filipinos’ experience, like the influence of America through radio, television, and movie theaters. It also demonstrates the complexities of the love-hate relationship that many Filipinos feel toward their identity, culture and past. Most importantly, it reflects the struggle that went on during the Marcos era. The play’s last run is on December 2 at 3 pm, Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati City. For ticket information call Atlantis Production (02) 892-7087 or 840-1187 The book “Dogeaters”, along with other works of Hagedorn: “Burning Heart,” “The Gangster of Love” and “Dream Jungle” can be purchased at all PowerBooks specialty store.