Weird Night

Just as i was about to log off, I heard this sound of an airplane passing by.

Inistially I was, Oh, okay. But then I rememebered, Hey wait a minute! I do not live anywhere near the airport! Why... wha... what the freak?!!!!

Without looking outside, I can tell you that the plane took about 1 minute at least of flying over our airspace based on the sound it emitted and it was very near because it created that sonic boom that airplane usually creates nad it was flying very low for me to have hear it on top of Ewan McGregor's Your Song.

Gee... it elicited memories of 1989 coup d' etat with the choppers and those whachamacallit planes hovering over our area since we were near Blue Ridge and QC!

Freaky man! Nothing could wake up someone better than that memory. I was a kid, but I could remember being afraid that bullets would enter our roof and being hit by it due to the coup.

Panic Mode

This is one of those moments that will go down in history and and stay there if I can help it! ...One of those days I wish I had Dory's 6-second memory so I forget it soon enough except for certain highlights:

1. We were able to go to the Monasterio de Sta. Clara in QC and offer the eggs for that job I want and my Statistics class. My friend was able to offer for her thesis.

2. I was able to swim and practice my kicks, jumps and punches in the pool. Based on movies, there's an advantage on practicing your moves when there's resistance. It makes you faster. thus, after a few laps, I did several kicks, blocks, punches and combination of stuff. But I was only able to do that for 30 minutes since I noticed that the other females in the pool area slowly went pffft! (note: do not try pronouncing this word unless you know it's correct pronunciation. it's not "pooft". it';s simply "pfffft!" .

3. I picked up my friend's parents from the airport (with her of course) and I got nervous that her dad would make her nervous and make her not drive well.

4. I discovered where she got some of her physical characteristics :) hehehe. the wonders of genetics!

5. I finally got my halo-halo and deep-fried noodles!!!!!

6. My cell phone got lost, then my good friend called it and found it. we'll pick it up tomorrow! and to think that i was told that they found my cell phone while listening to mandy moore's Only Hope (i'm pathetic, i know. but hey, i share my C with my 8-year-old-niece who's sick at the moment, y'know!) thanks, Sts Jude, Anthony and everyone who prayed for me today!

7. listening to Ewan McGregor sing Your Song as per Moulin Rouge and to Matbox20's Push gives your otherwise none-tension-filled-until-nighttime-day a great ending.

btw, i just found out, when i'm stressed, it takes me 1 whole day before i feel that the knots have tied themselves up ;) In short, i'm fine the whole day, but when at night ... i get into my b****y, reckless vampire mode

Does this mean i get a free t-shirt that says, "B****y, reckless vampire mode coming soon... real, honest-to-goodness soon... as in now na!"

eh albs?

"Soliloquy"

Cameron Diaz plays Soliloquy, a lawyer who finds her principles being questioned at her law firm. She then flies to Hawaii to visit Linda (Jennifer Aniston) who was surprised to see her. Over the radio, she hears the voice of Jeffrey (Woody Harrelson), and she falls in love. The assassin Bailey (George Clooney) is hired to kill Soliloquy, but she survives the attack in an epic martial arts battle.

What's your journal's Hollywood blockbuster? Created by chickenbarbecue Enter your LJ username or your first name: Male Female

Of isaws and sisigs

Went to UP yesterday to help out my friends with their thesis... and ate isaw!!!!

First, we went to eat lunch and while alba wanted her taste of sisig (she seems to know the place better than i do - me, the one who is taking a class in UP!), there weren't any. And so, for the first time in my life, I tried on a BBQsilog!

I'm sure the Filipinos out there have an idea what I'm talking about. But first, let me tell you that I have only heard of tocilog (tocino, garlic rice and egg), tapsilog (beefjerky, garlic rice and egg), longsilog (longanisa, garlic rice and egg), I have never in my entire life heard of BBQsilog (pork kebabs, garlic rice, egg). BUt it was sure delicious!!!

and then i had to go to my taekwondo classes, which is why my body is in serious pain right now.

okay, I have never really gone through the isaw-phase present in every FIlipino's life. I have never been compelled to buy them stemming from my mom's warning on how unhealthy that type of food is. but then, once in a whiel when i go to my store, the building guard offers isaw. I have tasted chicken isaw form womewhere near my place and i did love it. still, i wasn't compelled to buy it every so often.

But last night... when we picked up our friend, we went on to grab some isaw!!!! we went to someplace called lang-Ilang bought our isaw and sorbetero ice cream to go!!!! Rememebr those sorbetero men ringing their bells wehen we were kids?! ahhh! It was well worth it. i loved my isaw and cie cream dinner, though i'm still craving for halo-halo. lol


Judging from its taste, i know that I like the taste of the chicken isaw place near my store.

aren't I the lucky one?!

some comment I made to another friend from the blogging community:

since i'm neither a right-brained nor a left-brained person, let me tell you what my palns are:

1. Get another MA degreee while working for a development NGO or IGO (if i get UNCTAD, for that matter)
2. establish several small businesses along the way. one in every region of the Philippines. it's gonna be so small and yet so profitable that politicians and big businessmen won't know that it's earning a lot.
3. Establish several businesses in other countries - Filipino stores ;)
4. Take up Law
5. Get my specialization in law
6. Get an MA in law focusing on either Environmental Law or Conflict resolution
7. That would be with me still working for the IGO and managing my businesses on tghe side
8. Get a PhD on International Relations and Conflict Resolution
9. Get some vacation sometime
10. Go back to the Philippines so i could teach in a university.

... makes your plan seem easier, when I think about it. Want me to pursue your plans instead? ;) lol

your cat's a Hugger

That's right, your cat's the type to stay near you 24/7 (or at least know where you are at any given moment). They might even be closer to you than your own shadow! It's not that they're needier than others, it's just that they're driven by so much affection to spread, they can't wait to share it with you — whether you're on the sofa, or making the bed, or running a bath...

What's your cat type?

... and i don't even have a cat nor am i one for keeping pets ;)

Unexpected Movies

I am a gypsie.

I swear I can seriously tell what's gonna happen in a film with the way things are going even before it happens. I think it's really just the cynic in me, the writer/director in me or else i have just been watching too much tv/movies that i know the basic plots tken from Sophocles and Eurepedes.

After 1 whole day of nearly not eating something coz I had to accompany my poor friend who nearly got taste of my wrath - ( hehehe ;) lol ) if i weren't thinking about how traumaic getting lost could be to one person - I had the chance to see a movie. Since Once Upon A Time in Mexico has already started, we decided, against our better judgment to go see Gigli (pronounced with a "j" at the beginning and the rest rhymes with "really").

I never thought that I would like it - mainly coz although I listen to J Lo's music sometimes when I need a break from my alternative, pop rock and classical taste, I was never really into J. Lo like any other girl could be - buying her cds and all that. Plus, I don't like Ben Affleck that much - not coz of anything, but I just feel like it's all Hollywood stuff and frankly, I only like watching actors and not really into them with the exception of Matt Damon, Tom Cruise, and Michael Weatherly of course :).

Anyway, I enjoyed Gigli it didn't pull the rug from right under you like I like my films to do. the ending was pretty perdictable. However there were some "spices" of the movie...

1. Like the deranged captive being able to rap. that was funny. Hats off.
2. J Lo's "friend" whose 2-7 minutes of "airtime" was well worth it. THAT was enjoyable. I have to say that the actress did well.
3. Pulling half the rug from under me. I had actually thought that J Lo's personality was a ploy. But then again, she never retracted her statement. That was not only shocking. It was unpredictable and refreshing.
4. Checking out the girl. Now this scene was definitely funny.
5. An eeewww moment. I hate blood.
6. The mom's thongs! that was eewww! disgusting and totally funny.
7. Baywatch Babe and Brian.

Men on a Need To Know Basis

While wreaking havoc around the city through alba's roadtrip, I have established certain ideas on men that might be good things to put in a book:

1. I shall marry the guy I like talking to.

I know, I know. this is in some Indian tantra or something. But after talking about nothing and everything with a certain someone, I realized the importance of this statement. I cannot believe that my lack of knowledge of medical terminologies can actually be amusing to anyone. Nor the fact that I DO tend to create my own dictionary along the way maybe thinking that my being made in the image and likeness of the Supreme Being has given me powers to rename both animate and inanimate objects?! ;)

2. I shall marry a guy who listens to me while I blabber.

Let's face it, women - damsels in distress or not - babble a lot. Even the most benign object is a topic of conversation. Since I am talking about babbling here, there's really no point in any of such conversations, but for a guy to stick by you and listen or at least appear to listen... for a guy to think its funny that you do what you do and say what you say while babbling, THAT SAYS A LOT.

Now, now. This is not a one-sided affair, at least not in my book. Guys tend to be the quieter specie, though this is more of a generalization than a 99% tried-and-tested theory. I am not talking about guys hanging out with their friends. I am talking about putting a guy and a girl in the one rooom or one place. Who do you think would talk first? In all probability, it maybe the girl or at least, it's the girl who would talk more. Guys tend to keep things to themselves and women tend to fill in the void or dead-air.

Which is why in this case, I'd prefer to listen when the guy talks or says something... even if it's just some little pain in his foot due to a biking accident a few days back or the sunburn he got from watching baseball at the stadium with his ticket winning a signed jersey, but the jersey now being a property of an old man with whom he exchanged seats with. I would listen and in those few moments, I would try to extract as much as I can about anything and everything related to those two injuries.

3. Guys like being Prince Charmings, Knights in Shining Armours, etc., etc, whatever the heck you wanna call them.

Guys don't like clingy girls (unless the guy is clingy too). Personally, I am no guy, but I don't even like clingy friends so... I think that says it all. In any case, guys like a girl who can fend for herself. However, the age-old patriarchal society has not yet ended its rule in certain aspects. Guys still fall for damsels-in-distress or at least they like knowing that there are situations wherein they could be the Clark Kents or Supermen of the world... even if the world is just a little thing happening to you or around you.

4. Guys like to be babied.

No, not a contradiction. while they like to be in-charge and be supermen, the superman complex has a threat to it - kryptonite. So the Supermen of this world like having kryptonites through a sore toe due to some running they did or a bike accident because they were not looking at where they were going...

And they expect to come home and receive a hug much like anyone experiencing something traumatic needs one... someone taking the kryptonite away and keeping it out of the vicinity while they regain their strengths.

5. Lastly, there are rare men who fit the right guy description. There are those who are boyfriend material, there are those for display, there are those who are husband material, father figures... you name it and they're all there.... But they're not perfect. A guy like Landon or Clark Kent only exists in movies, books and tv shows. So if you think you've found one, you're right. He IS too good to be true!

I like a guy and he likes me too, but it's not getting anywhere coz we're both level headed and pretty mcuh not wanting to waste our friendship in addition to certain other barriers present these days. He's not perfect, but hey, he's my friend. I have never been able to have a bestfriend nor a guy friend that has been that close to me. I don't think I can call him my bestfriend. I don't think we're at that level. And besides, I've never had one and the term just doesn't fit. I don't think we are such. But he knows almost everything about me - except the fact that I like him too. All I do know is he has told my friend, we're beyond friendship. What it means...

who knows? It doesn't change anything

...Only it changes everything.

Adventure for Today

As I am sure alba will see it, we had a great adventure today.

She went through the horrendous 9-am-re-routed-traffic scheme along Ortigas Avenue arriving at my house by 10:45am. We went to Palm Doctores where it was confirmed that my Tungsten has a problem with Windows XP since there was a man who also has the same problem with his Palm 515m. In any case, they will be able to help me when I am in front of my computer so I need to call them.

Next stop was her house and then Landmark. We were able to buy alba's new pair of pants for her date with Michael Buble. Here are bits and pieces of our conversation with Alab driving Bundi... este Bembol :)


Alba: Why do they flick their lights at me?!
Me: because you're flickable!

Me: $*%$?!!! Ano ba yan?! Nakikita namang may dumadaan eh! (rough translation: What the heck is that car doing?! We have the right of road!)
Alba: Sayang, gwapo pa naman yung driver! (Too bad because the driver is goodlooking!)
Me: (turning my head with lightning speed to look at Alba) What do you mean gwapo yung driver? (the driver is good looking?) Pano mo nalaman? (How did you know?) I didn’t even notice if it were a guy or a girl!!

Going out of the parking lot walking to the mall. The minute we came out of the parking lot (which was the basement of a garden in front of Glorietta)

Me: (looking around looking very lost) Where are we?
Alba: (snickering)
Me: (still looking around for the familiar department store named Landmark) seriously. Wait. I can’t – Where are we?
Alba: (my name)! Glorietta.
Me: Oh right. Let’s walk.

After buying the pants and getting our Twister fries and my caramel sundae,

Alba: you know what? I also didn’t know where we were a while ago when we went out of the parking lot.



But before Alba told me that last bit of info… we went and opened the car ready to get out of Glorietta 3’s parking lot. Once again, we are being followed by the Dementors of Glorietta 3 parking lot – the security guards in their motorbikes roaming the parking lot probably for the safety of the place, but they are just making new drivers nervous by hanging around waiting for the enw drivers to park nicely and fast.

In any case, I heard a knock on my side. Rolling down the window, I saw the same security guard and thought, What now?

Salcedo: Ma’m flat po.
Alba and me: huh? (confused, shocked, didn’t-know-what-to-do-look)
Salcedo: Di nyo po ba napansin?
Me: hinde. (I got out of the car thinking.. oh it’s probably just a soft and we can have it repaired by stopping at the next station and putting air in it)

Lo and behold! The flat was seriously, seriously flat – there was no air between the lower part of the mags and the rubber of the tire! I can honestly see Plasticman lying on the floor under a the door of the kitchen.

The kind security guard helped us. Alba showed us the tire and we both pulled it as I thought about how wonderful it is because I shall be able to change tires now!

Much to my dismay, we couldn’t even pull the dang tier out! We had to ask the guard to get it for us…. All because it was screwed to the car as we later found out. And then, the guard helped us in finding the jack… after finding the tools, it turns out that the jack was too small for the car! It couldn’t lift Bembol.

I could see Alba was not panicking as she texted bundi who only laughed ather peril. My solution? I asked her to call her dad since the guard, after bringing in a huge jack from their stockroom and finally lifting the car, could not unscrew the tires. After 5 minutes of trying to unscrew the tires and after Alba’s dad laughed at her too, screw gave way and so the changing of tires began.

I could see that the not-panicking alba was sweating so hard as we both carried the flat tire back into the compartment. We finally left Glorietta with me doing horrendous things just to get her to talk. Horrendous means me getting worse that demented ;)

And although something else happened after Alba brought me home and left for her date with Buble, I think these are all part of the grand plan of learning how to drive. It is, isn’t it?! ;) LOL.

Went Ahead and Called

After some time contemplating on whether I should go out at night because Globelines happen to not be able to activate the IDD at home, I a was able to call and inquire on the Geneva thing. As it happened, I was only able to talk to my mom's friend and not to the one working in UNCTAD. In any case, she did tell me she's going to call me back.

And so I boarded a jeepney late at night 9:45pm on my way home excited that the friend of mom will call back any minute.

...After 10 seconds of waiting. I looked back to see what was wrong. Seeing that there's none and that the driver was trying to move his jeepney, I tought it was just the fact that other jeepneys were trying to get people to ride them too, thus creating a traffic that shouldn't be there...
20 minutes, the jeepney was still where it was 10 minutes ago and on the verge of moving, but I had to sneak a peak behind it again to see what was wrong since there were no more jeepney. I saw people coming in to take their seat. fine...

1 minute, now what? the jeepney was still on the verge of moving. I was looking at the driver thinking there must be something wrong with his jeepney since it is not going anywhere, but let's give it more time...

5 minutes, why did I ever pay as soon as i rode the jeepney?

30 minutes, what the freak?!!!! What the hyeck is wrong now? He has been trying to move this jeepney from this sanme spot 30 minutes ago! !@#$#$%?!!

After 30 minutes of horerendous waiting wherein in there was apparently nothing wrong whatsoever in this god foresaken jeepney, it began to move. Less than 5 minutes later, I was home.

Dang all these jeepneys!!!! What the heck was the driver doing making it go a centimeter forward for 30 minutes?! If he had only turned off the engine to indicate that he is not moving from that god foresaken place until all 18 passenegrs are seated UNCOMFORTABLY behind him, then I would not have paid him right away in the first place and would have ridden the faster moving jeepneys around him!?!

UP is interesting

I had an exam and I just pray to God that I pass it.

In any case, As I have promised myself, I went brisk walking in UP again today after class. I was on my third round when I saw this guy who looked like bundi. but this guy had long hair. He really looked like bundi except for the fact that he's not at the passenger seat of alba's car. ;) So I sent an SMS message to alba so she could tell bundi ;)


Anyway, I am sooooo nervous. My mom told me the wedding of the person who will give up her job is still in December, which means we probably won't hear from her friend till October or November. Arrrrrgggghhhh! I know. I know. It's old news. BUT I AM NOT A VERY PATIENT PERSON.

I have never been this nervous in my entire life! I HATE, absolutely DESPISE waiting!

Jogging

I need exercise!!!!

That's what I told myself. And so today after my class in UP, I went jogging about 1/4 of the perimeter of the sunken garden and brisk-walked the other 3/4. I cannot believe how huge... simply HUGE the sunken garden is! I was only able to accomplish 2 rounds within 1 hour of jogging and brisk walking! The good thing about it is I spent some quality time with my wee old self and was able to get some semi-fresh air.

To top it all, I saw an old friend - one who's about 2 years ahead of me in Political Economy and it turned out that she is simply as averse as I am against this certain moron . Who would have thought that 2 UA&P students would see each other in UP?! :)

In any case, I have thought, mulled and turned everything upside down and I sooooooo want this Geneva thing to work out. God can't be so bad as to give me a taste of it and not let it push through, is He?!

Not a Very Patient Person

...that's me. I hate waiting.

So I got to talk to my mom's friend and understanding that she is, she asked me to email my resume and not to stay too much on the phone talking due to the cost of the phone bill. I know she got my email since I always ask for a reply when i send emails. Now the waiting just about kills me!!!!

You don't know how much I want this to happen! I mean, it's Geneva, Man!

PYEN

allow me to indulge...

...stands for Philippine Youth Employment Network. It is a youth-led non-government agency using a top-down bottoms-up approach. The Youth Employment Network (YEN) is an idea of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. It was his response to the emerging problem of youth employment. After the Youth Employment Summit in Alexandria, Egypt, the UN togetehr with ILO and World Bank put up YENs in 10 different areas. In Southeast Asia, they put up a YEN in Indonesia. However, the Philippines' YEN is not put up by the UN, but by people from the youth sector themselves.

'nuff said.

Young Once

LOL

Okay, so today wasn't really a cultural exchange, but it was one heck of a singing session!

After a tedious day discussing Sustainable Youth Employment, we headed to the Manila Polo Club for dinner. Since I was the youngest among the delegates of the Senior Officials Meeting, I actually thought that this would be a rather nice quiet dinner with the company of our ASEAN Partners.

Lo and Behold, after learning that it was the birthday of one of the delegates from Indonesia, Professor Jalal, everyone started singing and each country had an impromptu song number. Some people even danced - including the ASEAN Secretariat!

In any case, I had a nice time talking about PYEN and enjoying the company of these people whom I shall say are very young at heart!