Timmy Llana and Maxine Medina: Choosing Their Wedding Rings

It's surreal to see how LOVE happens at the most opportune time. Some may call it serendipity, some may call it fate, but in the case of Dive Master Timmy Llana and Miss Universe Philippines 2016 Maxine Medina, it would have been a case of marrying "The One That Got Away".

They went to the same school and had the same circle of friends. He was smitten the first time he laid her eyes on her, but she was young, boyish, had that athletic mindset to think about relationships. Volleyball was the only thing she wanted to do that time. He drove her home a couple of times, and felt taken cared of. 

Nothing romantic came of it, but they remained friends, communicated and then didn't get to talk for a couple of years after that. Maxine then went to win the Miss Universe Philippines title to represent the country for Miss Universe pageant in 2016, right after Pia's reign and eventually, got to the Top 6. After that, she went on to became a celebrity, appearing different successful TV shows, movies, and hosting stints which she remains to do today.    

Got to talk to Timmy and Maxine at J's Diamond in Trinoma during the time they were choosing the designs for their wedding ring.

Timmy prefers the classic design (left), one that could be worn for years and doesn't go out of style. Maxine on the other hand plans to have her rings layered (right) when she wears it. She chose simple but elegant design which is currently is in yellow gold. All would be custom made by J's Diamond in white gold. The one on the far right is a diamond crusted band, she loves it and plans to pass it on for generations to come. These two rings will be paired with the existing marquise shaped diamond ring (her engagement ring), an heirloom piece she got from Timmy's family.

Here's how our conversation over lunch went:

 

Here's a short tour inside the store, and some moments with Timmy and Maxine that afternoon:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by John Bueno (@kumagcow)

 

Maxine's love for the sun, sand and the sea got her reconnected with Timmy. They felt it wasn't much of formalities and courtship that happened, the friendship just blossomed into this. She attributes it to her ability to go with the flow, they just kinda knew it was LOVE and embraced it. Timmy saw how they grew closer while doing the things they love (with so much passion), particularly diving. It just so happened that he was a Dive Master, and says they were just at the right place and the right time. 

From a friendship that spanned almost 20 years, and being in a relationship for 5 years, Timmy and Maxine plan to start a family after their wedding in October. They hope to have twins as he's had family who are too . Maxine wants to pursue A LOT of things still, and continue her showbiz career plus other businesses she plans to do in the future (quips she can multitask). She's currently doing "Magandang Dilag" with Herlene Budol and other GMA stars. She says it'll be shown next month, make sure you watch out for that!

Their story could have ended a long time ago, but you see, LOVE has its ways. This too proves how friends, old flames, the things you are passionate about can spark affection and relationships. Hope their story inspires you. I mean who knows?! That person who genuinely care for you might just be THE ONE.

 

Congratulations Timmy and Maxine! Again, thank you for the opportunity to interview and get to know you on a more personal level. I'll be cheering from the bleachers like I did during your Miss U stint!

P.S. If you want to know more about J's Diamond, just search the same on Facebook. You may also visit their official site jsdiamond.com.ph and book appointments there.

ASUS Launches Incredibly Slim 2023 Zenbook Laptops

Took the hot trip to ASUS Philippines recent event as they take innovation up a notch once again with the newest #IncrediblySlim Zenbook laptops. No question on the power and specs (I own one that's a few years old and swear by it), but the changes in these new line made me wonder, how do they make it ultra thin and light like this? Imagine, only a centimeter thick and about a kilogram... that's a lot different from laptops a few years back.

That's not all, because as soon as they put them into a smaller, thinner and lighter form factor, they made it with less impact in the environment with sustainability in mind (both on product and packaging). I love it when they take the step further. During the event, they revealed the new Zenbook S 13 OLED (UX5304), the Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (UP3404) and Zenbook Pro 14 OLED (UX6404). These are three new laptops made really slim, fit for those who would need to carry it around (students and professionals), or travel to a different place/country.

The new technology starts with its ASUS Lumina OLED Display which gives users an excellent visual experience for work and play.  Just like its recent predecessors, it's set to higher contrast and deeper blacks. It's also got 70 percent less blue light which means you'll get less eye strain if used for long hours. 

The Zenbook S13 OLED (UX5304) is also the thinnest in the world. It also uses recycled materials for the packaging and parts. They've managed to reduce the carbon footprint  to 50 percent in its production. Out of the box, it is equipped with an Intel Core i7 processor, has 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage.

The Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (UP3404) on the other hand is a work of art. It's got a body capable of doing a 360 degree fold hence the name. You can treat it as a laptop, a stand, tent or a tablet just by flipping it around. Imagine the things you could do with it especially if you need to present, small gatherings, meetings, things that could make life easier for you without lugging around a huge projector for it. I've seen it first hand and among the products released today, I had my eye on this because it could make sharing content easy especially for school or work. It also comes with an ASUS Pen that would get your drawing sessions, sketching, writing and pressing buttons quite easy than usual. It also uses the same processor, memory and storage as the previous one.

The Zenbook Pro 14 OLED (UX6404) on the other hand already impressed a lot of people, giving it a respectable award, the 2023 Red Dot Product design. The difference is the graphics hardware which uses an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 GPU. It's built for creators, uses the ASUS DialPad for Adobe Creative Software. Running programs and rendering would probably cause heat but no worries, it's got ASUS IceCool Pro thermal technology that would take good care of that. It also has a dedicated MUX Switch to make sure resources for your laptop would be sufficient for your graphics work, or a few rounds of third person shooting games that it could accommodate during your leisure time. We might have to ask for a review unit soon so I could play around with it, I bet it'll be a remarkable piece of technology. If you want to know more, just head on to ASUS Philippines social channels and their main website just by searching the model numbers we were discussing today. I'm sure it'll impress you too!

TCL Releases C Series QLED TV's

There's certainly more where that came from as TCL gives you more choices with its TCL C645. I've owned an LED in the past and it has been a great purchase, the technology just asks for better picture quality and an immersive experience while watching, their QLED C series does that and more.

From the TCL C645, C646 and C647 is capable of 4K video, Ultra HD quality and Dolby Vision Atmos plus built in Google TV with Google Assitant, smart homes will be easy to connect right from the moment you turn it on. You're getting the best in family entertainment, and a bezel less aesthetic watching your favorite shows, movies, sports events, and even gaming. It's also ultra slim which means you're not going to have problems putting this in the middle of your entertainment area or room if you feel like it.

They also come with Color Master, making sure you get the most vivid colors and accurate depiction on screen while looking at people, places and things. It also employs HDR10+ which means it'll be very detailed on screen, plus 120Hz Game Acceleration for those gripping action sequences that you do on your consoles or PC.

QLED TV's from TCL won't be too expensive, it'll be very competitively priced compared to what is out in the market. If you want to know more about these new models, go check out their official website tcl.com/ph/en as it'll be all listed there.

Beko Showcases Best Wares at PH Trade Launch

Beko, the largest appliance brand in Europe just recently concluded their 1st Trade Show in the Philippines held at the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Pasay City. It was certainly a chance showcase their best products and be seen among dealers from different parts of the country and media outlets too. Arriving at the event venue, they already had us got acquainted with the home and kitchen appliances they have brought to the country. They assure all designs, materials of products which they sell in Europe is the same as what we have here in the country. This is certainly reassuring, and from what we saw at the experience area of the trade show, there's a lot more things from Beko that the Filipinos need to have in their homes.

Dyeun Zapanta the Marketing Manager of Beko says "We want to bring BEKO to different places in the country. We innovate our products, and have your household chores not get in the way. Our goal is to empower you to Live Like a Pro."

Beko Pilipinas Corporation Country Manager Gurhan Gunal adds "We grew our patents to over 3000, and now is the top brand in Europe. We are bringing our portfolio in the Philippines to help our customers have a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Our target is to become the number one European brand in the country. We will invest digital and trad media to bring brand information in different channels. You can use smartphones to connect with our smart appliances, use sustainable materials to build parts of our products,  recycle and do water treatment on some of them. We will be expanding, doing the legwork of launching more products since we were hampered by the pandemic. We will also be utilizing the help of Judy Ann Santos to become part of the mass households, to get closer to the consumer and be present in Visayas and Mindanao too. We have Harvestfresh technology, a unique cooling feature nutrifreeze, and our next game is connecting them, for a smart home. This will happen in the next 5 years."

News about how great Judy Ann Santos as an endorser was discussed during the question and answer portion. Her being a part of the brand was brought upon a survey they did while looking for an endorser, on who people would trust, and of course, Ms. Judy Ann Santos - Agoncillo was on top! They also will be asking her to further bring the message across, to be closer in every household where Beko wants to be in. They will also be expanding in Visayas and Mindanao, also plan to build more avenues for after sales service, and experience locations in the same region. They also mentioned that there's 114% increase this year compared to last year, so business is doing good. Execution of their expansion will take place in the next 5 years, but their thrust is to stay and plan even more things in days beyond that. I've seen their line of fridges, washing machines,more small appliances and dishwashers at the event, I bet it'll be nice to see them in my own home too, go check their social channels and official website beko.com/ph-en for more information about it.