Thank you, Marlboro

A few months back, PMFTC (Philip Morris) sent us (the participants) a CD of the pictures and videos taken during ‘The Marlboro eXperience’ (TMX) event.

When I saw this picture, I was really sure that it was me in the photo. But some of my friends didn’t believe me. Anyone can claim naman daw na sila un, with the mask and helmet on. Hahaha!

Then today, after receiving a couple of daily newsletters (and I really mean daily) from Marlboro, I was surprised to see a familiar face in the header (mast head?) of the newsletter.

I wanted to shout, “AKO YAN!!!”

For fun, I forwarded the newsletter to some of my friends just to prove that it was really me. Well, with the high-res photo, no one now can deny that it’s really me! (And how many times do I need to say the line, “It’s really me!”? Hahaha!)

I don’t know why, but the newsletter made me smile.

Thank you, Marlboro, for the post-Christmas gift.

Lucky Me!

Modesty aside, I think some of my friends envies my luck in winning prizes from different contests. It all started with my GKNB stint (Yes, I joined Kris Aquino’s game show. This deserves a separate entry.) in 2005. Since then I’ve been lucky to win various prizes, mostly courtesy of online contests.

Not to brag so much about this, I wanted to list down all the prizes I have won the past year or so. I'll include lang the major prizes and few details for other minor prizes. I decided not to include all (specifics), baka these sponsors / sites block me na sa mga contests nila. hahaha!

• Red Bamboo Spa Gift Card, worth Php3000 (courtesy of Summit Media's YES! Magazine)
• Free movie tickets from Citibank just by answering their online survey.
• Premium items (cap, shirts, etc) from movie tie-ins, umbrella
• Overnight stay in Discovery Suites, Php2000 Cash (both courtesy of my previous employers)
• Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil (details here) from Ems Express
• Nescafe Gift Packs, Cutex Nail Care Kit, 2010 BDJ Planner, Cocomo beachwear, among others.

I’ll also list down na lang the prizes my friends have won because I entered them in the contests. J

• Alice In Wonderland premium items for T
• A pair of Bronze tickets for Ne-yo's Concert for M
• Inception premium items for K
• I Want Romance (Rom-com DVDs, I think) for X
• Pacquiao vs. Hatton DVD for T (again)
• A pair of premiere tickets for Twilight, which I gave to Ira
• Complimentary passes to Ace Water Spa (4-hour massage) that will be enjoyed by X for his birthday. 

I hope this inspires you to join these online contests, and be diligent in checking out these websites for ongoing promos.

Thank you, Spot.ph, Stylebible.ph, Clickthecity for most of the prizes here. :)

P.S.

I also got an invite from Marlboro to join TMX last August.

Another P.S.

I got inspired to write about this because I just won another prize this morning. This prize also deserves another entry. I'll post full details as soon as I claim / avail it. I'm so excited!

The Marlboro eXperience

THE MARLBORO EXPERIENCE.

X was invited by the Marlboro to join a super fun-filled, exciting and thrilling event. He was also entitled to bring a +1, which explains my presence in the event. :)


When we heard about this, we were a bit hesitant to believe that it's really happening. We didn't join any contest, fill out an application form of some sort, but then they're saying We just want you to have The Marlboro eXperience.


Come July 31, we found ourselves in TGIF's having breakfast after we registered for the whole event.

That's not us. :)

After some welcome remarks, we were ushered to a coaster that will take us to a version of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, but this time a factory full of cigarettes and minus the Umpa Lumpa.

The RED team

It was a quick trip as we had road escorts (is that how you call these cops?). We were in Batangas in less than an hour.

That's Me & X on the third row

Another briefing was needed to inform us of the house rules, and the fun-filled activities we will be having the whole day.


We went for a plant tour (I have few pictures, which was provided by the event organizer), as we were not allowed to take pictures during the tour.

The Different Types of Tobaco (right?)

After the tiring yet very informative plant tour, we were treated to a sumptuous lunch buffet.


A briefing on the do's and don'ts of Karting and Remote Control (RC) Racing was held right after we had lunch.


We were all excited to head out the race track, the soft drizzles was not a hindrance to up our energy levels.

Complete gear, with raincoats on.

Our team first tried the RC Racing. When looking at it, it looked easy and boring. But believe me, when you're holding the controller, you'll be wildly running after your mini 4x4. It was super-fun!


Next stop was the race track. It was also my first time to try karting and I was a bit scared and excited at the same time. We were allowed to do a few laps for practice. While I was driving, I thought I was going too fast and was major scared that my kart will spin or something (Yeah, I know I'm really scared and paranoid). After driving, X told me that I wasn't that fast. "Ang bagal mo kaya!".

Here I Am!

Am I Really That Slow? :(

We can take home everything except the suit. :)

It was almost dinner time when we had the awarding. Too bad our team didn't win. But it was still a great experience to do the karting and RC racing.

More Giveaways!

You think that's all there was? You're wrong, we were again ushered to the coaster to go to Pontefino Hotel where we'll be staying.

The Room

After a few minutes of rest and relaxation, dinner came. Then we went to Alexie Bar & Resto to party! Bottomless Drinks. Overflowing Pica-picas. Live Performances. It surely was a great night!

But wait, there's more. We were shuttled back to our hotel to enjoy a good night (err, good morning) sleep. Breakfast was waiting when we went down the hotel lobby.


Come lunch time, it was time to say "Bye bye hotel".


Whew! So much fun, right?


And just when we thought it was over, I received a call from Marlboro asking for the correct spelling of my name, and where I wanted to have my giveaways delivered. Last Tuesday, I got these freebies!

More FREEBIES!

I hope you, too, can experience The Marlboro eXperience next time. 

Thank you, Marlboro.