In the "City that Never Sleeps"

Many people wish to be part of this city that never sleeps.  New York, also known as the Big Apple was the first city in the United States that I had ever visited.

I don't normally have that much time to spend in New York but I frequently get this destination on my schedule and that allowed me to see pretty much of what the city has to offer.

In this post, I want to share with you some of the landmarks that you can visit around Manhattan.  Please note that there ARE STILL a lot to see, these are just some and these are some of the places I've been so far.

1. TIMES SQUARE

I consider this as the Heart of Manhattan. Shops. Restaurants. Tours.  Sights. Name it, and Times Square has it! Shops like Sephora, H&M, Forever 21, MAC, Old Navy, Hershey's, M&M and etc are here.  When you get tired, you can just simply sit at one of the pink chairs close to Sephora and Walgreens or maybe stop at Starbucks from some coffee.

The big screens at Times Square are hard to miss

2. STATUE OF LIBERTY AND ELLIS ISLAND

Seeing Lady Liberty is very doable even if you only have a short time in New York. You can take the ferry located at the Battery Park and it will take you directly to Liberty Island. It's up to you how much time you want to spend around.  The same ferry will stop at Ellis Island on your way back to Battery Park. You can also hop off and take the next ferry back if you want to spend time in there.

Lady Liberty as viewed from the ferry

3. CENTRAL PARK

This is one of the biggest parks I've ever been to. I haven't seen everything in Central Park despite having been to New York for more than 30 times.  I suggest that you rent a bike (which I haven't done as well) and roam around the park. It's cool to do it especially now that the weather is getting better.

A part of Central Park, covered with snow

4. EMPIRE STATE BUILDING (alternatively, you can do the TOP OF THE ROCK)

If you want to see Manhattan's skyline and the surrounds, going to either the top of Empire State Building or the Rockefeller is what I suggest. Note that you can see the Empire State Building if you go on top of the Rockefeller.

The views from the top of Empire State building

5. GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL AND BROOKLYN BRIDGE

You can do these two as a combo and it's very easy.  Head to Grand Central Terminal first and from there, take a train to Brooklyn Bridge.  Grand Central Terminal is a sight on its own - its history, architecture and of course its purpose attract thousands of people.  At present, there are plenty of restaurants and cafes at the Grand Central Terminal so you can just go here to have your photo and take the rest of the time to eat or drink.

The grandiose terminal

Brooklyn Bridge is an icon for me. This is a proof of how marvelous the engineers are.  The construction took 14 years to finish.  Now 125 years old, the bridge is still passable by numerous pedestrians and vehicles.

The "marvel of engineering"

6. SPEND A DAY AT A MUSEUM 

There are plenty of museums at Manhattan. All you need is choose. To be honest, I've only been to one. Maybe if time permits and if I don't have anything to shop then I am surely going.  I've been to THE MET (METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART).  This is the largest museum in the United States and it can take your whole day to see everything.  I've seen only a part of The Met since I didn't really have the whole day to spend in there.

MET from outside

7. ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL

I love seeing churches on my layovers and even when I'm doing a personal trip.  I am a frequent visitor of St. Patrick's Cathedral.  I normally attend the mass or just have a quick stop to just have a moment praying.  The Neo-Gothic architecture of the church is a sight to behold.  The cathedral is located along 5th Avenue, just across the Rockefeller Center.  

I normally start my day in NYC with a visit at St. Patrick's Cathedral

8. 9/11 MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM

My short layover in New York allowed me to see the memorial but not to get inside the museum.  You can do both if you have time, maybe after or visit to Lady Liberty or vice versa.  We all know what happened to that one day in September, almost 17 years ago.  I don't need to elaborate.  You can see the twin reflecting pools in the memorial and the names of the people who died on that day are carved on the panels of the pool.

Some of the names inscribed on the panel

I consider New York as one of my favorite cities.  I can do sightseeing and shopping here combined.  Apart from the landmarks, there are so many "instagrammable" restaurants/cafes too! I've yet to visit each one layover at a time.  In addition, the list of the sights to see still goes on.  Despite not seeing LITERALLY everything for now, I hope this post still helps to those who want to visit this sleepless city.

My Advance Makeup Class with Pros by Props (Props Tools and Cosmetics)

Finding the right makeup products for me was a trial and error method just like in Mathematics. I was not gifted with a porcelain skin. I have a very oily skin and my pores were very visible. Also, my skin was very picky. I easily breakout. It took me several attempts to find the right makeup products that my skin would love.  I blush when I receive comments saying "you have a nice skin!"  and in return I want to answer back that it took me a lot of practices too when it comes to makeup application. Perfection takes a lot of practice and even if you already mastered something, you still need to continue learning.  I know I still need a lot of practice and while I continue to practice and make myself more familiar with makeup, a goal kicked in - I want to become a Makeup Artist!

Now that I can do my own makeup, doing it for other people was something I need to master. Last January,  I enrolled myself in an Advance Makeup Class course back in the Philippines through Pros by Props (Props Tools and Cosmetics).  The class was done over the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) at their studio in Pioneer, Mandaluyong City.  I paid 4,500 pesos for the class and this was WAY cheaper than enrolling here at my base.  Ms Janine, our instructor was really patient and easy to understand. We were asked to bring our model for two days. I have not done any makeup yet for other people and the class was my chance to start getting comfortable doing makeup to others. Props also provided makeup buffet but we were also allowed to bring our own tools and makeup. We were five in the class. Props preferred to hold only a small number of enrollees per class which was a good thing for me. I believe most of the makeup schools require only a certain number of enrollees. Mas may focus at magiging mas hands on kapag mas kaunti ang students.

I asked my friend Jaymee to be my model on the first day of class. We made three looks on the first day - day makeup, bridal and evening makeup.  Let me show you a collage of what I've done on the first day:

Top (L-R): No makeup photo, Day makeup; Bottom (L-R) Bridal, Evening makeup

MY THOUGHTS ON MY FIRST DAY HIGH: I became more familiar with assessing different face shapes since our models have different face shapes. This would be very essential when you do contouring!

Assessing someone else's face was a point for me too! I had to groom Jaymee's eyebrows at the beginning. Honestly, I could not even do it to myself. I would go to the most convenient salon to do eyebrow threading.  But with the help of Ms. Janine, I have been taught what to touch and what not to touch.

Topic: TALUKAP NG MATA -  MAS MALIIT, MAS MAHIRAP PALITAWIN ANG EYESHADOW.  Common sa mga Asians na maliit lang ang talukap ng mata or most commonly known as monolid. The challenge here would be to make the colors pop out.

On the second day, I asked my friend Reese (who shares the same passion with me - Makeup!) to be my model. We also thought it would be like a free class for her since she's going to be present for the entire time.  The first look that we need to accomplish for the second day was the pin up and after that, we have to follow an inspiration that we previously searched and that was chosen by Ms. Janine.

(L-R): Pin up and our "makeup inspiration"

MY THOUGHTS ON THE SECOND DAY: Pin up makeup reminded me of my everyday work look - winged eyes and red lips. The only challenge for me here was the application of false eyelashes. I'm still practicing on how to do it easily.

The second look (our makeup inspiration) was more challenging for me because of the falsies (again) that I had to put on the bottom lash line. It took me I think an hour to finish the look.  I was really careful to on how I put the eyeliner too! Lesson learned and challenge to do at any day? Maglagay ng falsies! It was not easy but practice could help!


OVERALL, I enjoyed the class!! I enjoyed the challenges that came with it! For someone who had never did a makeup for others, the hands on experience was really important. The class gave me a PUSH to really pursue this industry.  Mastery takes time, practice and experience. Makeup trends could change from time to time, the best would be to just continue educating yourself even if you're already confident with your skills.

Positivity at 39,000 Feet

I have been with my present company for almost five years now.  I quit my 8-5 job to savor the opportunity of seeing the world for free. If you happen to follow or somehow came across my previous blog, you will know that I once chased the dream of becoming a "flight attendant/cabin crew". As cliche as it may sound, I always wanted a job that will allow me to travel a lot and deal with different kinds of people. Yes, this might be the exact answer for most of the cabin crew applicants. I just want to be clear, I am not a cabin crew, but my work has the same perks.

In a few months time, I will mark another year in my company and it's going to be my fifth year with them. My job is easy, but flying is sometimes the other way around. I still deal with jet lag. I do feel tired from time to time; I am human but don't get me wrong, I don't put this as an excuse for such.  Additionally, I am always away from my family and friends back home and I can't escape the feeling of "homesickness".

One of my friends will always say, there is no easy job, it's just how you deal with everything that comes with it. At the end of the day, this is what I've signed up for and this is what I've prayed for (to get a job that will allow me to travel). The best to deal with every tiredness and stress is to think about the good side of the job and one of which is that I can see my relatives and friends based in different parts of the world. I don't count years to go home and see my family and friends. I just count months before my next leave to the Philippines.

Paulo Coelho said:

Life has many ways of testing a person's will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once. 

Always look on the brighter side of things. Negative thoughts will keep us weak.  A positive mind can give us strength to enjoy whatever comes along our way.

Joanna X World

I started my first account here in blogger close to thirteen years ago. I remember, my first post was even before I started my first year in college. I was able to maintain my blog for (I think) seven years. All my random ramblings about my college life was there in my first blog. All my struggles after finishing my Bachelor's degree was there too! Blogging was an outlet for me many years back. It was an open diary for me especially when I was in college when I would have the most random thoughts!

My previous blog's hiatus started when I moved out of the Philippines to join one of the known companies in the Middle East. I was able to fulfill one of my dreams when I moved in the sandpit. My job gave me the opportunity to see the world for free! I became busy with other social media accounts that I could not gather the words to express myself again through blogging. In my opinion, minsan wala ka din sa mood to express yourself or maybe (like what I've said) you just couldn't gather the words to speak what's on your mind.

After almost five years of living in the sandpit, I realized that I wanted to go back to blogging, because? Why not?! I believe I still have so many thoughts and stories to tell after all these years and besides, NO one would ever be too old to do what he/she wanted to do.

Expect more posts on my blog! Soon! Welcome to my Joanna's world.