Wishes Granted

Every Overseas Filipino Worker wants to go home to the Philippines to be with their families and the 100 Lucky Juans contest of Cebu Pacific is making the wishes and dreams of OFWs in the United Arab Emirates come true. The winners for Week 3 and 4 were already announced and The Pink Tarha had a happy yet nostalgic time browsing through the winners' entries. 

We feel their emotions emanating through their photos, videos, and writings. It's not easy to be away from the homeland and it's never easy to be away from our loved ones. We can relate to some of the entries saying that they wanted to grant the wishes of their parents and children to come home. After all, the Pink Tarha ladies were once these children of OFWs who long to be with our fathers who were abroad for quite a long time. 

Just like Ginalyn Caputol's entry which says, "My plan for my homecoming would be to grant my father's 60th birthday wish, his wish is my presence during his birthday. I would like to surprise him and give him a big party. I've never been home for 3 years." Now that she won a free flight back to the Philippines for a vacation on October, she has a chance to surprise her father. What a tearful reunion that would be. Sigh... 

Mhea from Jumeirah, Dubai has a wish for her family on her next vacation. She wants to give her mother a treat and bond with her siblings, nephews, and nieces. "Wala akong ibang iniisip kundi ang magbakasyon ulit sa Pilipinas... Gusto ko silang ipasyal sa mga lugar na dati dati tinitignan lang namin sa magazines. Gusto ko ring magsimba kasama ang buong pamilya. Simple pero very sweet homecoming." Well, guess what Mhea! Wish granted. 

Gina Basilan, on the other hand, wishes to experience the beautiful nature of the Philippines aboard the Cebu Pacific airplane with her family. "Being unhappy is not easy. I miss my family in the Philippines. I want to visit them after four years." 

She even said that she hopes to ride with Cebu Pacific. Your wish is Cebu Pac's command, Gina! 

And finally, Suzeth Jalandoni from Sharjah, UAE gets a chance to bond with her son this October. "Sabik ako maparamdam sa baby ko yung pakiramdam ng pagiging ina. Halos araw araw ng aking buhay dito sa UAE, inaasam ko na sana kasama ko lang ang anak ko at pamilya ko... Dito ko lubos naiintindihan kapag magulang kana pala, kahit mahirap, kahit mapalayo ka, bsta mabigyan mu lang ng magandang buhay at masuportahan ang pangangailang ng pamilya, lahat nakakaya. Kung pwede ko nga lang pabilisin ang araw pra lang bakasyon ko na!" 

Start counting the days to October, Suzeth! 

All these wishes and dreams are so close to our hearts as OFWs in Saudi Arabia. Every day, we want to see our loved ones in the Philippines and if only we can teleport whenever we think of them, we'd do it all the time (work be darn! Hahaha, kidding!). Good thing, there are flights like Cebu Pacific which brings us closer to our families and friends back home. Congratulations to the winners of the 100 Lucky Juans contest! 

For those who hasn't joined yet, you still have time to submit your entries to the 100 Lucky Juans contest. Good luck! ~ Sundrenched

This entry is sponsored by Cebu Pacific. All opinions are the writer's own.

Epic Curio

Artists, I found your heaven! 

But first, let me tell you how my friends and I found it. You know how I like researching before going on a store in Riyadh right? (It actually spawned an entry on how to find your way in Riyadh.) So I found this map in Curio's Facebook page. I was feeling confident that we can find it immediately. After all, the map tells me to just turn left when we reach the intersection after Riyadh Gallery in King Fahd Street. Based on this map, the store was supposed to be on the right side...

Guess where it is? Yes, on the left side. Jam, a friend who wasn't aware at first that we're going to a store named Curio already saw in on the other side of the street while I and her sister Jou were staring at the right side. She thought, "Oooooh... Curio... niiiice!" Only when we were kilometers away did she told us that she saw it. *facepalm* But we're sooo glad she found it. Hahaha! It took a couple of U-turns and an irritated taxi driver to reach Curio. Haha! Anyway...

Curio Art Supplies in Imam Saud Bin Abdullah Street is one store you shouldn't miss. Even if you're just a trying hard artist like me, drop by and ogle at the many ways you can create beautiful arts and crafts. Students of the arts, or those doing school projects, can find something helpful and useful here. I consider this as my wasteland, a place where I wanted to buy every thing even if I don't need it. It's good for the store but bad for my wallet. I wanted to buy every thing!!!

An artist's field of gold.

We had to wait for the prayer to finish. When it opened, we filed inside like giddy little kids who just found a candy store. I was screaming in my head and ooohing and aaahing at the art supplies I'm seeing in industrial room-inspired racks and shelves. Without further adieu, here's what you can find in undoubtedly one of my favorite stores in Riyadh now:  

My kind of candy land.

I like the simple yet sleek industrial touches.

The centerpiece for me is these steel chests that has jars containing markers. The expensive kind. So if you're obsessed on marking, this is where you go to first. 

Krink highlighters and markers

You want colors?! Have more!

Krink is one of the popular brands of markers. The ones on the transparent jars are ink markers and water-based paint markers. They have a more compact kind of paint marker which can fit any artist's pocket:

Get krinking!

More paint markers for large areas.

In the corner is a shelf filled with acrylic paints from Golden Artist Colors, a company started by Sam Golden and his family in 1980 in New Berlin. Golden Artist Colors' paints known for its highest quality and consistency.

This is an artist's gold!

Acrylics that are exceptionally smooth and buttery

There are also other brands of acrylics with different finishes...

Acrylic sprays from Montana

Acrylics with velvety finish

Daler Rowney liquid acrylic in pearlescent finish

Can't get enough of acrylics eh?

Of course, what's painting without the brushes? A whole wall is devoted to brushes of all kinds and sizes.

Brushes of all sizes!

Palettes and brush sets

In the middle of the store is a small rack and shelf of more art supplies:

The middle scene

You're missing the papers and books for your art? On the lower tier are heaps of books for pencil sketching, acrylic painting, calligraphy, etc.

Papers and sketch books

A small rack is devoted to Max Oil Colors from Grumbacher Art:

For the oil painting enthusiasts

Above this rack is a place for Fimo Clay from Staedtler:

Soft clay for your projects; up to 24 brilliant colors!

Speaking of clay, there are a lot of crafts for your kids too. One huge shelf is for activities you can do for your kids. Or if they know better, leave them to it. ;)

Sets for your artistic kids. If they're not that artistic, it's never too late! ;)

Clay, markers, paints that are safe for kids to use.

Have a fun art day with your children! Oooh, I miss Crayola!

And now we come to my favorite shelf in the whole store:

I LOOOVE YOU!

Why? Because it contains my favorite things in the whole wide world! Haha! I told you I'm not an artist. Far from it. But I want to try and I find the items on this shelf the best starters for someone like me who only has a beautiful handwriting to be proud of. (Naks! Haha!)

For this alone, I am already head over heels!

The Moleskine is one of the best finds in this store. My friend and I were looking for Moleskine for the longest time! It's the legendary notebook used by famous people (Van Gogh, Hemingway, and Picasso lang naman!). I doubt using this would make you famous but just in case, your writings and drawings will last a long time because Moleskine notebooks guarantees them to last. The Moleskine in Curio is limited but I just like the ruled notebook so I'm one happy customer. (Okay basically, it's just one helluva expensive notebook.)

Can you guess what this is?

You know this!!!

Beloved Sharpie!!! You might think I'm crazy but I like Sharpies!!! (Notice how I used an excessive number of exclamation points in two sentences?! That's how excited I am in seeing these pens!) Ermn, I just like using Sharpie markers and highlighters. If I can hoard all the colors, I would!

Be mine! All the lot of you!

There are other brands of permanent pens too:

In various sizes and colors.

The Copic brand is expensive.

Those colors from Tombow! Hay, love!

Here are other medium that you can use:

Pastels anyone?

Watercolors too.

Pencils, of course!

Calligraphy pens, the reason why I'm here!

Other interesting finds in Curio:

Pens made of recycled bottles.

Rule the world!

Glue for all your project needs

Easels and boards

Paintings for sale

Books and art magazines

I even found one of the fashion illustration books I was eyeing in an online book store for quite some time:

If only I can draw this well! SR59

Curio has a lot of good quality art supplies that will satisfy the artist in you. And even if you're not quite the Picasso or da Vinci, visiting this store will awaken the artist that might be running in your blood but you're just too busy to mind. I feel like I become a notch more creative just by being in this store. Prices are a bit above average. If you want to inquire on prices, you can contact Curio (details below) and they reply fast. Don't forget to visit their Instagram account to see more available brands and products.

I'm off to the cashier!

What I took home with me.

Share with me your creations, okay? I'll be very glad to see them. I might show you my calligraphy projects too... after a few months or so. Haha! Yes, it will take me that long to learn. I'm quite worried at the result, haha! Oh well, 'creativity takes courage!' ~ Sundrenched

Curio Art Supplies 

Imam Saudi Bin Abdullah Street

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

T: +966-11-2297090

E: info@curioartsupplies.com

W: www.curioartsupplies.com

FB: www.facebook.com/curio-art-supplies

Twitter: @curioksa

IG: CurioKSA

Map to Curio

Directions: Travel in King Fahd Road until you reach Riyadh Gallery. On the intersection, turn left. Go straight. Curio is on the left side. Take the U-turn slot to reach it.

If you're looking for places in Riyadh, visit this comprehensive Riyadh Map made by the Saudi Expats Podcast team.

In and Out The Big Juan

We've written about The Big Juan on a previous entry. Just by watching its shipping to assembly video made us want to be a part of this successful endeavor to bring an A330, the first for Cebu Pacific, to the Philippines. It would have been awesome to be in its maiden voyage from France to Manila. It makes us proud to see the Philippine flag in the plane's body.

The videos from the Cebu Pacific Youtube account gave us a glimpse to what happened during the A330's delivery. Here's the blessing ceremony:

Of course, the ceremonies wouldn't be complete without the sneak peeks of the A330's sides and interiors: 

The Big Juan is really big! It can accommodate 400 passengers and it looks sleek and modern in the inside. Even the colors of the seats look neat and friendly. We're excited for those who will ride this on its first destination under the Cebu Pacific helm.

If you want to be one of the first passengers of the A330 on its first flight from Dubai to Manila, join the 100 Lucky Juans now! You'll get a chance to ride The Big Juan for free! Check the Cebu Pacific Facebook page now!

*This entry is sponsored by Cebu Pacific Air. All opinions are the writer's own.