Monologue Bickering

Central Park, New York

2006-06-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

Every time I post something here, I feel like I'm starting anew. I think about all the unfinished posts and updates I should have finished but life and work always gets in the way.

A quick rundown of what had happened since January 2006.

Our noses first newsletter got finished.
I received news that I got this grant I was hoping to get.
I have started the necessary preparations for this new venture I'm putting up with or without the grant.
My proposal got accepted to Round 1 of BiD Challenge.
My proposal did not get accepted to Round 2 of BiD Challenge, but I'm revising it hoping it will be chosen as a wild card.
I went to KL for 5 (I think. I forget now how many days exactly) grueling days of workshop.
I found out I got the Fellowship.
I prepared for our website launching.
The website was finished in time, but now we're revising its format according to feedback.
I have been in New York since April attending classes at Columbia and enjoying may stay at this institution housing me.
Ludo's is great! You should all go there when you're in downtown Manhattan.
Went to Stanford and it was great...

I think I ought to tell more about what has been happening, but I just don't have the time to go over each and everyday here.

Some thing I learned, though:

1. People have been calling me a New Yorker just because I work in the same pace or maybe more than the ones in new York do.

2. Never mix a red shirt with your whites, yellows, beige.

3. Never wash your dark colored clothes in warm water.

4. Washing clothes in warm water can turn your good cotton-lycra t-shirt into a wide-cannot-be-used cotton-lycra t-shirt.

5. Plants need water as well as sunshine.

6. If you want to live in New York, be ready to walk miles and miles and miles.

7. Cleaning your own apartment is a lot of hard work so better not create trash or else you've more stuff to clean.

8. You DO meet all sorts of weird people traveling by bus so if you're not up for it, take the Amtrak or fly.

9. Most people are not friendly, but you just need to be to give them the opportunity to warm up.

See yah next time!

2006-01-17T18:43:00.000-08:00

Proposals, proposals... proposals

...not the kind you think.

This was what I was writing as I went around the city will alba looking for wireless internet connection and eventually landing in Manila Pen. We had better get that grant.

From the day after Christmas, I have been doing nothing but thinking about our organization everything related to it. Because we don't have money, I've been trying to look for ways and emans to get grants for our organization ergo proposals . Thus, proposals have to be passed and hopefully we get some grants this year.

The only problem is, I am the only one making them which means that I have to insert it in my days outside normal working hours - not that I'm complaining. After all I can't expect other people to have as much vision for the organization as I have. Sometimes I think I'm the only one who believes that THIS CAN and WILL work. We just need a bunch of dedicated people.

Unlike others in the same position, I don't believe in abandoning my work just because no one else believes in it. I know that this will gain ground and eventually people will be looking for those who were pioneers at the sort of work we do. I mean, the world doesn't have any other choice, now, do they?

2005-12-15T09:17:00.000-08:00

What's with Thursday Nights?
Saving the world in Starbucks on Thursday nights...

It's Thursday night again. I found myself with the same people in Starbucks - Albs and Denise. For some reason, this has been the second week in a row when we've talked about how we'll help the country's development by working with the youth.

There's something about the smell of coffee, tea and Starbucks atmosphere that makes our mind work more in a more relaxed manner. I don't think we've accomplished much in terms of talking about specific stuff, but I saw albs plan out the weeks for her project. I can almost see Denise's mind work in order to present this other project that will help high school students this time.

My work here is NOT yet done, but it's solely getting accomplished.

And it feels sooooo good to finally have people see the potential of the organization without me dragging everyone to work for it.

2005-11-25T12:18:00.000-08:00

Tunis, Pre-WSIS

I love Middle Eastern Airlines!!!

First, I'm quite sure that no one would decide to hijack the plane - or else the whole middle east would prosecute that particular Muslim and send him to a den full of wolves... err tigers perhaps. LOL. That is, if he's still alive. Hmmm... maybe they have something to prosecute families too?! just kidding!

Anyway, second, the leg ROOM. It's simply amazing how PAL seem to not realize than not all Filipinos are that small so we need more leg room. I think they may have patterned the PAL airlines to that of the jeepney. So, I can't help but marvel at the leg room available in the middle eastern airlines.

well, I do have a lot of things to say about the backrest. It would kill you if you ever have to sit on it for more than five hours. It's so curved at the wrong place that people with back problems will experience torture. And it doesn't help that your next flight is 7 hours away in an airport so small that you can literally see the people overcrowding the dutyfree shop below. Boy am I glad the airport was crowded on our way back so we had to stay for nearly an hour inside the plane so I didn't have to spend 3 hours in the stop over wihtout any chairs to sit on.

Enough about the airlines: Tunis.

As I said, Tunis is simply amazing. It's very European and you can see French Architecture everywhere. It has a great railway for going around the city plus a better train route to other cities. Transportation is cheap and if you have the WSIS ID, then you can even go for free! :)

It has Tunis has one Cathedral, which is also the only Church in the city. In nearby Carthage, there's another Cathedral, but I wasn't able to attend mass there so I don't know if it's being used.

The security was sooo tight that everyday, we had to take the 07:30 buses to Le Kram or else we won't have any other transportation to the WSIS venue. The hotels were packed with metal detectors and security service like you wouldn't believe. It wasn't until I got to speak with a Tunisian that this was tight not just because of the officials attending the WSIS, but because of the Jordan incident and due to a whole lot of other political economic reasons that I finally understood why the security was such. I mean, you see security forces on the streets carrying assault rifles - who wouldn't be scared?!

I got addicted to mint tea. They make the best ones in Tunis - so far.

I've never drank so much red wine in my entire life! IFunny thing is, it has only managed to keep me warm and give me some of those allergic effect people get when they're not used to taking in so much alcohol. I can honestly say I didn't feel any effects of it aside from the red spots probably due to the weather. I even set my foot and bought a new coat since I couldn't stand the temperature anymore! And sometimes even when there's some sun, it's still not enough to keep you warm without a coat.

I've met some great people. Darn! I wish I could show you photos. It doesn't seem to be working nowadays.

Will give you more info during WSIS and post-WSIS.

2005-11-15T15:40:00.000-08:00

Tunis

Tunis is such a great place! The influence of the French when they took over Tunisia can be seen in the infrastructure though the outskirts of the town proper does show some of the middle eastern dwellings. The people are not friendly, though which makes the whole thing really terrible.

I seriously feel like I'm leaving in the Marcos era. I see guards all around the city carrying rifles your wouldn't see the police nor military in Manila carrying. I think if you so much as walk up the barrier around Le Kram you'll be stabbed to death or they would surely kill you.

You see pictures of the President everywhere and the flag everywhere. Then they get to shut the whole conference place for half a day just because their president was going to cut the ribbon!

Whatever. I hope the picture gets uploaded this time.

2005-11-02T09:50:00.000-08:00

Rewards

I believe in God. That's just something I can never shed off.

God provides.

I don't know how else to say it. I mean, after all these things that's been going on, I knew I needed a break form it all.

First good news: Albs passed UP's MA in Literature. wow! I knew she coudl do it!
Second good news: I was able to think of a way to make helping young people putting up their businesses be profitable for those who help them. woohoo!
Third good news: I won an award from an international organization because of what I have been doing in the NGO.

And that's not all. I get to go to Tunis, 15mins away from Carthage (oh how I love ancient history!). All expense paid - roundtrip tickets, hotel accommodation, allowances for incidentals... and a cash prize to go with the award!

When He decides to shower you with blessings, it's simply over and beyond what you ever imagined it to be!

2005-10-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

Open Forum

Everything that needs to be said has been said.

Someone actually told me that all she's tired of being "plastic" the way that she has been with me. She seems to have a lot of things buried in that head of hers about me. This, from the same person who said that I know a lot more than she does and that she could never reach where I am now.

I'm like, huh?! I've never been plastic with anyone - civil, yes. Polite, yes, but not plastic.

Figure it out.

Oh and one other thing: another person said that she was only talking behind my back because I did not respect her.

Hmmm... I just can't believe how people would mast being tattletale with the petty excuse such as, that's because you did not respect me. Excuse me?! What did I ever do to you? I have never ever looked down at anyone in my entire life. Some people may get offended by my authoritative tone and a strong personality. But I have never, consciously and viciously, created a web of lies about anyone or stare at them in the face and then talk to someone else about it.

As far as having that "authoritative tone", which I really can't seem to take off of me since I was a kid (and believe me, I've tried) still working on and and I may well continue to work on it till the day I die. As far as making others feel inadequate or that they can't live up to my "level" - I don't have a level. Beats me. Maybe I should talk to albs about it and to my best friend to see just what my "level" is supposed to be. Pourth Ploor anyone?! LOL

Someone asked me if what happened was effective. I have to say that I think it was. But then again that's because I went there with an open conscience and an open mind. After everything that's happened, these are the things I can say:

Very few people grasp the idea that when you say you don't bother with what's going on in their heads or you'll grow crazy, you don't really mean that you don't think about what they would feel. What you're only saying is, you're not paranoid. They may think badly about you or other people, but so long as your conscience is clear that you're not doing anything against them then that's it.

What you feel about yourself reflects on what you do. If you feel your some Neanderthal that no one should bother themselves with, then that will show in your appearance, the way you carry yourself, etc. If you are at peace with yourself that will show in how you carry yourself. If you're insecure, that will show too. If you're bitter about the world, about people and generally about life, then you'll continue to create a web of bitterness all around you.

I'm not one to want to always be sad or bitter about life. I want to be happy. The only one I have control over is myself - probably my authoritative tone nor my competitive spirit - but what I do with my life - if I want to live a happy and fulfilled life or not.

I have made that decision years ago. I'm grateful for my life. I know that everything has a purpose and as much as I continue to rebel against it, my will will not always be done. The only thing I can do is to decide to be happy, try not to think of evil thoughts, help others and do something good each day.

If others don't want to be happy, it's their choice.

2005-10-19T08:02:00.000-07:00

For Want of Self-Knowledge

http://www.colorgenics.com/sps/results.cfm?d=1&colors=15204637&name=&email=

... like enough of it already! :)

2005-10-19T06:23:00.000-07:00

Popular People Highschool Style

Remember all those supposedly "popular" people in highschool who thinks and made others think the world revolves around them? They're not that far from the work place.

There are those people who volunteer because they like volunteering. There are those people who are making pa-bibo. If these qualities are used correctly and with the right precaution, these people can become an asset to their organizations.

Then again, there are those who are, according to my supervisor, nagmamaganda. And according to her, "Kung magmamaganda ka, siguraduhin mong maganda ka!" These are the modern day or workplace epitome of the highschool popular people. Ironically, these people are usually NOT involved in whatever issues there are in the workplace. They are mere spectators who have nothing have nothing else to do, but make others feel the misery they feel in their own lives. They sugar-coat what they do trying it make it appear like everything they're doing is for the good of the organization or society. The ones who are directly involved in work-related issues are usually mature enough to talk things after letting their emotions pass. These are the self-destructive individuals who eats into an organizations which would later on, if not nipped at the bud, lead to its destruction. I think what makes them do all these things and what irritates them is that no one would otherwise notice they exist.

They usually want to get the higher management positions. Most often than not, they almost always seem to get it only to fall short come judgment time. Then, they wonder why they never got the position they want. I think they always forget that the walls have ears and immaturity always shows itself in one way or another.

Someone told me not to mind such people since we're not moving in the same circles - that people who are not educated act this way. I ahve always believed in equality among men. I've never believed in "circles". So, my friend, I beg to differ. I would lean towards my aunt's explanation. She said that there are people with breeding. And those without it, can never acquire it because they've closed their minds to that possibility. I guess my other friend is right, sometimes you REALLY just have to be the bigger person.

I can say this. I let strike one pass. Strike two is a little harder to let go. DO NOT WAIT FOR STRIKE THREE.

Those who have experienced STRIKE TWO never liked it.

Whoever said I was a good person?!

2005-10-17T02:48:00.000-07:00

Personality Test

Some people (like me) just love test-taking. Here's another one.

Main Type	Overall Self

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test

Enneagram Test Results

Type 1	Perfectionism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	74%
Type 2	Helpfulness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Type 3	Image Focus	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	42%
Type 4	Hypersensitivity	\|\|	10%
Type 5	Detachment	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	46%
Type 6	Anxiety	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	78%
Type 7	Adventurousness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	78%
Type 8	Aggressiveness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	74%
Type 9	Calmness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	74%

Your main type is 7
Your variant is social

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test

2005-10-13T06:46:00.000-07:00

People Just Don't Get It

I don't know why it affects me when it shouldn't.

I read about an article over at MSN (surely all my pol eco pals are right now raising their eyebrows at why I'm even reading news from MSN) about Condaleeza Rice, Hillary Clinton and Angelina Jolie being in one HIV/AIDS event of the United Nations. The article seem to imply that Hollywood actors are NOT at all affected by issues of this world and are only after the publicity they get out of promoting issues or else they run for government. Whereas, politicians and government officials are trying so hard to look as glamorous as Hollywood actors in order to gain more publicity... And maybe this time around get the presidency. It appears that for the writer and the editor of the article, there is a very defined line between Hollywood issues (what actors ought to be concerned about) and government (what the government should be doing). It also stereotypes actors as senseless, dumb, and lazy dimwits who only care about themselves.

While it is a given that politicians and actors need the publicity, that doesn't undermine the fact that these ARE people. As such, they can be affected by issues like regular normal people. And like normal people, they have a right to do as they want with their lives. If that means using their fame and fortune to let people know more about certain issues, then so be it! If it means using their names and having their pictures taken in events as if promoting brands, then that's their prerogative. There's nothing wrong with using the resources in promoting your cause. There's definitely nothing wrong with actors - weather educated or not - asking for help on issues they feel strongly about.

If these politicians are acting like Hollywood actors in trying to promote their agenda, then that's their call.

It's hightime MSN and its editors learn that: first, Hollywood actors are normal people and are affected by normal issues. Second, not all of them are dumb. Third, efficiency is making use of the scarce resources available to you in order to achieve your goal in the fastest time possible. Fourth, there are a lot of problems in this world already. People should just try focusing their resources on helping in solving them rather than bashing people who are trying to do something about it. If you don't want to help, then just shut up and leave those who are at least trying to help solve this world's problems alone.

2005-10-08T22:59:00.000-07:00

Amazing Show

To liberate themselves from the errors in film-making, they produced this unprecedented work of art.

http://www.hahahumor.com/funny-movies/matrixpingpong.wmv

2005-10-07T11:04:00.000-07:00

Money Matters

The first rule I created for myself when I started looking for work right out of university was: NEVER THINK ABOUT THE MONEY.

Everyone needs money since it's the medium of exchange people use everyday. You can't eat, go to work, pay your bills, help out some people in dire financial need without money. However, having been bombarded with values and ideas on how money can be the root of evil, I have been warned against thinking only about getting more and more money. The practical me, as I have said in some interviews, know and would admit that money is important since it's difficult to help yourself and help others without any means. Money is important ONLY as a means to achieve a greater objective - which for me means helping others.

Just last week, something happened that reinforced this idea.

I went to work earlier as per my supervisor's request. I was happily doing my job for at least 3 hours when a colleague arrived for work. I have access to my supervisor's profile since we have almost same functions. I guess you could call me her protege - if I even deserve the title.

This other colleague of mine who had the same access went and sat informs of my supervisor's desk and started clicking away. All of a sudden, she got up and started throwing tantrums telling the whole group under our supervision how much she worked hard during the pay period only to find out that her overtime were not correctly counted. Since I am authorized to look at the payroll (I do it sometimes), I took a look at it and asked what the problem was.

She informed the whole group that she did 20 hours or so of overtime only to have less than 20 hours counted in her payroll. I tried to assure her that we could still have it fixed and we could inform our supervisor about it. I also informed her that it happened to me before and what was lacking was usually added to the next payroll. I had hoped that it would end at that. Clearly, she had other ideas.

She went to her desk, threw her stuff against the "wall" around her desk, slid the chair backwards and then started sobbing. Then she started blabbering about how she was working her a** off and how her mom was getting angry at her for going home late... et cetera, et cetera.

I told her that it must be a mistake since I was still chatting through MSN with our supervisor when she was making the payroll at around 3 AM. I told her she can dispute it. Another co-worker also told her that it will be credit to her next payroll.

She did not stop there, though. She went on to sobbing like it was the end of the world and continued blabbering about the whole deal.

By this time I was getting pissed. I told her that I was going to re-do the whole overtime Tracker we have in order to facilitate the payroll next pay period.

Judging by the way she continued acting, it was as if everyone was out to get her and she was some damsel in distress faced with an insurmountable obstacle. Come to think of it, damsels act more lady-like. She was downright childish, unprofessional and disrespectful. moreover, it was affecting the work place's morale. It wasn't that she was saying anything directly against our supervisor, but the way she was acting made it appear like our supervisor was either incompetent or else she was out to get her.

I was so freaking pissed that I wanted to tell her, "Would you please freaking stop?! Stop actong like a child! This is a freaking workplace d#$%?%! This can be fixed, you know!" I swear, God must have zipped up my lips to prevent me from muttering a sound. It wasn't as if it was done intentionally.

I understand the fact that she was upset about not getting paid as she rightfully should be. I understand that she needs the money. What I do not and will never understand is how she acted about the whole thing.

I mean, what the f%@#?! It wasn't just unprofessional. Someone said it correctly for me - Mukhang pera! To sacrifice friendship, professionalism for money?! It wasn't as if she needed it because her baby needs an operation like one of our other co-workers do. She needed it because she was going to goddang freaking Boracay! what-the-freaking-shit-up?!

She didn't say anything derogatory except for cuss words which were never explicitly directed towards one person. Her actions were derogatory and mean.

Oh and have I said that she didn't stop there? Oh no, sir! She sent an SMS message to our supervisor about how upset she was because of the payroll. My supervisor, who has had only one-hour of sleep at that time, called us at work and told her to resend a corrected payroll.

And when payday came, she went on to send an SMS message about how unsatisfied she was with the pay that she got.

It's money for crying out loud! It pays your bills, buys you things, but that's all it's for. At the end of the day, Money is JUST money. Nothing more, nothing less.

2005-09-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

Ramadan

...A word associated with one religion - Islam. I don't know much about it, but I do have a few Muslim friends. I guess they're what you would normally call modern Muslims because they don't wear traditional clothing and well... Some other culture-specific tradition they don't practice.

Frankly, the religion fascinates me - how can it possibly exist for such a long time? But then again, nature worship has existed far longer.

At the same time, it does create a lot of apprehension and fear. Particularly when you are In a society wherein those considered as wise would use it to instigate fear among the younger population. Then there's the fact that some extremists manipulates the religion to fit their distorted image of life and reality in order to gain more followers... tsk, tsk!

I can only imagine what my friends would say to those supposedly learned scholars advocating coercion and sometimes physical harm just to satisfy their own need for power masked as love for Allah.

Like it or not, as a religion, its tradition has some similarities with other religions - such as Ramadan.

From what I know of it, it's supposed to be a cleansing period. I can only associate it with Lent. In that case, then it's supposed to be a cleansing period to atone for any wrong doings one would have against one's self, others and God. What I find intriguing though is with Lent one should try to keep one's self from inflicting emotional, spiritual and physical maladies against one's self, others and God not just during the period but in the future as well, is it the same with Ramadan? Or is Ramadan just an excuse to party all night since they felt the pang of hunger the whole day?

I certainly hope not.

2005-09-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

Wake Up Call

At 11 am, I was still in bed relishing on the fact that my work starts at 2 pm. As usual, I was roused from sleep by the sound of rubber slippers squeezing its way in and out of the bedroom and my feet being pulled by small hands. As much as I am not a morning person and would probably bite the head off of anyone trying to wake me up when it's just 9 am, I couldn't do that to a baby.

Determined to sleep until 11 am, I continued to lie on the bed. My phone then sounds off to inform me that there is an SMS message. When I checked out who it was - probably someone calling in sick again. I was jolted out of the fog called sleep by the name appearing on my phone.

It was a short message: "Did you call me" - no punctuation, no nothing, just a short message.

What could I say?

The only logical thing: "Nope. Checked with my phone but I didn't accidentally dial your number. Have a great night!"

Am I a loser or what?! Arrrrgh!

2005-09-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

Over Coffee and Apple Pies

Had merienda and dinner with a friend today. It's been soooo long since we last saw each other that it just had to be my treat! :) When I say long, I mean REALLY long. The last time I saw her was in 2003. I can't believe how much things change... and there are still things that will always remain the same.

...like how ambiguous I am when talking to her about names of places, things and events. I always remember what happened and the people who were there, but not the names of places, things and events.
(Well, I've never been good with memorization. I even confirmed attending a UN event without knowing which hotel it's going to be held at! I had to call my mom so she could read it off the letter for me!)

...like how I could talk to her about anything and everything and always find myself cringing every time she pops up the question - "Are you seeing anyone right now?" -after asking me mundane questions. Believe me, if you knew her, you'd know it's NOT a normal question for you'd think she'd ask and you'd know why.

...like how "lola-like" she could be when asking about a guy I like and how I have to make sure that this guy is supposed to be like this and that.

...like how she literally could read my thoughts and lay it out in the open for me concretely and nonchalantly with one question and how this question could map out the entire course I want my life to take in the next couple of years without me saying anything.

Of course, I was thinking about it. And of course, I knew the reasons behind my choices and what I hope would happen. But how could she know?

She was like, "...So if given a chance, you'd like to get a longer scholarship to get to know this guy, right?"

...like how I would literally put off all other plans with other friends just to have coffee with her and talk about our friends and what has been happening in everyone's lives including ours.

...like how she always ends up having "utangs" every time we end our conversations - with me asking her for information that she would have to call me back for.

...like how she would tell me about her family and certain things that I know she wouldn't normally tell others.

I felt like I could talk to her about anything and everything. Scratch that. I REALLY COULD talk to her about anything and everything. Very, very few people can put me in the hot seat and SHE can. Yet, I can STILL talk to her about anything and everything under the sun. This clearly baffles me since I'm usually guarded around people.

I miss her, no doubt.

So to K, I had a great time having coffee and apple pie with you! And I'll keep in mind what you asked me to.

2005-09-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

Going Back in Circles

As someone who wants to start a business, I guess I should have given Murphy a little more credit.

When I suggested catering food to offices/businesses to my friends, I did it because:
1. We needed to put our energies into something more productive
2. We could earn from it
3. it would be a good project for all of us and we could learn from it

Little did I know that we were going to end up right here.

Last Thursday, we met at the office (located in Taguig) in order to travel all the way to Novaliches (some place I've never been to before) and talk with another company our other friends are working for so we could supply packed meals.

I had initially called the company's HR department to ask about the procedures and was asked to just drop by and deliver the letter to their office. We were also informed that it takes about two weeks before we could begin setting up our business venture.

We drove for what seems to be hundreds of miles (I have no idea how far Novaliches is from Taguig) where I found myself in unfamiliar territory and arrived at the company's office. We were immediately informed that someone else won the bidding for food catering and we could not be entertained anymore.

One of my persistent friends asked the guards to at least ask the HR personnel if we could talk to one of them. After about 5 minutes, the guard informed us that the HR personnel on duty was busy with his work and could not come down to the reception to entertain our question. My friend was trying to convince the guard to convince the HR to at least see us, but I have had it. I pulled her aside and told her that we should just go since the HR personnel is apparently a spineless piece of %&*#! Who doesn't even know how to face people he had asked to travel halfway around the world to say NO to.

I immediately made a call to my sister asking if we could cater to them and asked for the requirements. But I didn't hear back from her until today.

This morning, I was informed by my friend that she has spoken with our HR department and was informed they just need a letter from us. Also, the management of the company we work for would allow us to sell food at no extra charge!

Our "field research" which started in Taguig led us to...Taguig.

What an expensive trip to take with the cost of gas and all. Plus there's the fact that I ended up driving from 10 am - 4 am the following day without having slept in between.

2005-09-20T02:39:00.000-07:00

Movie booboos

Just some things to snicker about...

Chinese Movies:

You'd think after Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon, they would learn a lot about movie-making.

But nothing beats the picture of GWB holding a book upside down in a classroom full of kids. i wonder if those kids have followed their leader and has now learned how to read upside down infront of the press.

2005-09-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

Law School

I was browsing through the web a week or so in the office when a realization hit me.
I was looking for scholarships and MA programs I could apply for since I already have a specific area of study in mind when I realized... I want to go to Law School!

...If I can pass the LSAT, that is.

See, a lot of my friends ask me for help and I mediate for them or write response letters regarding personal and work-related problems. They also ask me for advice on labor-related issues, so why not make everything legal (so to speak), right?!

Since I tried looking for LSAT reviewer thinking there ought to be one here and found out there's none, I've relegated to getting Civil service and college entrance test exams for practice until I can get my hands on those LSAT reviewers. :)

2005-09-15T10:39:00.000-07:00

Ramblings

Yikes! I saw the counter and it's only 100 days before Christmas!!!! My favorite time of the year!

2005-09-11T04:28:00.000-07:00

Best Friends

So my best friend lives all the way in NJ since January 2004. This is a girl that I grew up with from kindergarten. A person who became my bestfriend when I was in 5th grade. We were schoolmates and best friends even through university!

The weird - or blessed - thing about it is we are never really truly apart. Yeah, yeah this is not one of those mushy tear-jerker kinda $%^$! It's true. No 6-months passes that we don't see each other.

See, way back in 2001, she graduated the four-year course while I tried to pursue the MA degree. We never really saw each other during the semester, but we would always end up seeing each other every three months - watching movies, shopping or sometimes just spending time together in school or in Eastwood when I'd visit her at work. This was not some sort of unwritten rule either. Somehow, we just end up calling each other up and going out every three months. So when she left for NJ to live with her husband, I knew it would take us a long time to see each other again. In fact, I was prepared for it.

Lo and behold, she rang me in March and even cried at how unhappy she was because people there didn't have time to make friends and she was home most of the time since it was so cold outside. We talk for one-hour straight! I can just imagine her telephone bill.

Then, I had to go to Mexico in October of 2004 (the one and only time we were ever apart for 9 months since starting kindergarten) for a conference and I took the opportunity to visit her. We spent two blissful days with one warning from her husband - no crying when it's time to leave.

She arrived in March 2004 and I swear! If I could strangled her through the phone. She called me while I was on my way to work to tell me she's already here! We went out a couple of times, though we were both busy - she with her sewing school and me with work. I told her I got a scholarship for a three-month stay in NYC in March 2006.

Just a few weeks ago, I got a message from her informing me that she's coming back this month with her husband for one-month's stay due to her husband's work.

Yehey!!!! We get to spend time together again! And in a couple of months, we'll get to spend more time together when I go for my scholarship!

Pray for me!

2005-09-11T02:49:00.000-07:00

Manic Monday

Never have I thought of those two words outside their "corny" connotation at work (since one of our Managers prefer calling Monday as such due to the number of absenteeism during that day).

Since it was Labor Day, a cinema was rented on our behalf so we could watch The Longest Yard (a very very funny film)... for free! Since my friends and I planned on watching the movie, anyway, why not watch it for free, right?!

So, I decided to go home first, get some clothes for a conference I'll be attending the next day and go back to work - I can always sleep in one of our beds at work. On the way home, I saw a missed call on my phone. I sent a text message asking why she called me. She sent me a text message stating she could not go home due to floods. Naturally, i asked her to spend the night at home. I waited for her for about an hour at home and sent her several messages asking what time she's arriving and kept trying to reach her via cellphone. I had dinner rpepared for her. I then got a text message that she slept at work. So, I told her to hold her horses and I'll come and pick her up.

I went back to work and got my ride since I'm supposed to pick up some other friends. I think I had the guard confused when I arrive since he just saw me leave about 3 hours back. I went to pick up my friend and went around RCBC for an hour and thirty minutes at least. Then I went to her place to ask the guards where she was and was and was informed she's not home yet.

At that point, I decided to pass by Claudine's (not her real name) place to pick her up for the movie before going back to circling RCBC for another 30-45 minutes. We again went back to my friend's place to check on her. This very rude guard wouldn't let me park so I can go up and check if she was indeed home. Until finally, one of the guards verified that my friend's car arrived a few minutes past 11pm.

First I felt relieved, then I was irritated for not receiving any information that she was home and sound asleep.

That's the first part of the night.

Murphy's Law

I know everyone must have had some bad things happening to them... or at least something going wrong at specific points in time.

Now to the second part of the night:

So Claudine and I went back to our workplace. It wasn't until about 1am that we found out that it wasn't for all the employees. Since another friend of ours was already there with us, I asked my boss for an additional ticket to be picked up for the 5am screening.

All the "merry-go-round" we did at Makati must have worked her appetite since Claudine told me she was hungry and wanted to get somethign to eat. Yes! She informed me after we had gotten the ticket and found a good parking space. So off we went. The first part of the problem is the parking ticket. I didn't want to pay a third time for a parking ticket. So I went and left an ID with the attendant. They were gracious about it since they knew that we would get it back.

Our first destination is McDonald's at The Fort Town Center. It was closed. We drove to Chowking, but it was so dark inside that it was quite obvious it was closed. We went to Starbucks to get coffee and it just closed. We saw that Jollibee was open, but Claudine didn't want to eat at Jollibee.

A great idea came to us - we should go to Jupiter since there are a lot of food palces there! We drove off and saw this gerat place Claudine knew so we looked for a nearby safe parking lot. Since a lot of the parking lots at the back of the buildings were closed, we had to settle for a side street that looked safe - at least we convinced ourselves it was safe.

When we were about to get out - and after congratulating myself for doing very well with parallel parking, it started to rain. Having brought her own small, company-sponsored umbrella, Claudine went to open the back door of the Revo to find a bigger umbrella for me. In those few seconds of looking for an umbrella along a dark side street of Makati at 2:00 am, mother nature decided we needed a bath and a few droplets of rain segued into a heavy downpour that drenched Claudine's pants and had me deciding not to walk all the way to the restaurant for an early morning dinner, a late night breakfast or whatever you may want to call it.

Stuck in the Revo, we were laughing our heads off. Knowing that we were being told rather bluntly that we were not meant to be in Makati at that time of the night. After a few minutes, we decided to settle for Jollibee. Wouldn't you know it?! When we arrived at Jollibee, they were already closed!

Not to worry, Claudine! I knew there was another Jollibee at the Shell Station along C5 so I drove to our new destination. Whenw e arrived, we filled up some gas and drove to Jollibee where we a sign screaming at us, "Sorry, we're closed"!

Still determined not to let the night have its way with us, I drive to the one palce I knew Jollibee was 24hours. We went around 3 different cities for a meal of chicken soup, peach mango pie, fries and iced tea. I did saw the Chowking and wanted the Black Gulaman, but then the chairs were all on top of the tables and it was closed... or so we thought. After Claudine had her meal and I had my iced tea, I was going to get coffee from Select. We passed by the Chowking front door and saw in huge while letters against a red background, "OPEN".

I was sooo frustrated that Claudine treated me to a glass of Black Gulaman. hehehe. And off we went back to work to get our tickets.

...Some thought our night of adventures ended there.

But just as we were about to go up the flyover connecting Pasig and Makati, Claudine remembered that she forgot her other peach mango pie in Jollibee. And so it was quite natural for us to turn anf go back to Jollibee to get the pie.

I was soooo nervous I might be caught bringing in someone from another department! Hehehe. But then we got to watch the movie, slept on bunkbeds attached to each other.

Tuesday is yet another story. :)

2005-09-11T02:43:00.000-07:00

Birthday Thing

Your Birthdate: March 13

Being born on the 13th day of the month should help make you a better manager and organizer, but it may also give you a tendency to dominate people a bit.
You may be more responsible and self-disciplined than you realize.
Sincere and honest, you are a serious, hard working individual.

Your feeling are likely to seem somewhat repressed at times.
You are apt to be much more practical, rational, and conscious of details.
Your intolerance and insistence on complete accuracy can be irritating to some.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

2005-09-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

Got My Package

I received the piece of paper indicating I needed to go to the postal service last tuesday. Wednesday couldn't come sooner. By daylight, I was off to the postal service... well, let's say it was about 8am and those who know me also knwo i only wake up at 8am on special occasions since my works is still at 11am.

Anyway, I went there, paid the 30 bucks whatever fee and Lo and behold! The box that contains just about anything and everything I could dream of!

I knew about the Harry Potter book, of course. I was told I'll get one about two weeks before this.

Anyway, other contents of the box are:

3 towels: dark green, red and maroon
and

Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy Sleep stuff

2005-08-30T23:35:00.000-07:00

Frankenstein

Last year, I accompanied alba when we took an intern shopping in Greenhills. He was amazed at the cheap prizes (which makes me wonder how thrifty I am since I always thought Greenhills is expensive and I go somplace else cheaper to get clothes and stuff).

He's back in Manila for just a couple of days and went to Market! Market!

Naturally (?!), alba asked me to go with them. And boy was I in for the shock of my life! Greg haggled with the prices like no there was no tomorrow. He paid PhP 500 for a pearl set originally sold for PhP 700, PhP 2000 for 2 pearl necklaces and got 1 pearl necklace free. He bought a necklace sold for PhP 350 and only paid PhP250.

We created a bargain monster!

2005-08-30T23:08:00.000-07:00

Stress Relief

After stressing on whether or not the barong would fit, I finally got my answer. The barong arrived on 29 August 2005 at 8:30am EST. It wasn't signed. I don't know why they didn't require a signature. I was afraid that someone may have gotten it if they left it at the door.

Luckily, I was informed that it arrived earlier than he did - since he went to his brother's for the weekend and visited the family and the new baby. :) He told me it fits! But then, he was wary about the length.

The first thought that came to my mind was to ask him to ask his friend who knows about barongs to go and check it out to verify if it IS too long or not. Then, I remembred the website where I got the pictures, downloaded them and sent it to him so he could compare and check out if the barong fits him or if it's still too big.

So I got an email today telling me that based on the pictures, the barong is the right size for him. And then he told me that he saw some of the pictures buttoning up the barong until the collar, but feels funny about: 1) the barong being long coz he's not used to such a long shirt; and 2) not wearing a tie. I can't imagine anyone wearing a tie with his barong. LOL

Oh and I'm expecting another package. Good thing I wasn't informed about it until now, I would have stressed about it too. www.theupsstore.com tells me it's supposed to arrive on 1 September 2005. Such a long wait! Now i'm wondering once again why it wasn't sent through Global Express of USPS since it takes lesser time than UPS - and it should be less expensive. I think UPS is doing a con job by letting the ones using Mail Boxes Etc. use their service instead of Global Express. hmmm...

2005-08-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

Chinese Proverb?

Saw this posted on the side of the elevator in Cityland Pasong Tamo a few months back in a paper that says Chinabank:

ABILITY is what you're capable of doing. MOTIVATION determines what you do. ATTITUDE determines how well you do it.

2005-08-29T03:22:00.000-07:00

Politics

A good friend of mine received a letter of complaint from a co-worker. She takes care of the initial solution to their clients' problems and was asked by a consultant to do something beyond her scope of responsibility, which she verified several times with her co-worker. The end result, as is th case when people take their work on a personal level was a complaint from that co-worker.

Since she was vying for a higher position, she was, of course, threatened by the complaint and had asked em to help her craft her response to what was being instigated in the complaint. After mulling over the whole situation, here's what we came up with:

Dear _________,

I received your letter regarding the incident report filed by (jealous co-worker) on 19 August 2005.
On 6 August 2005, I received a call from Miss customer who informed me that she ran the Anti-Spyware and Ad-Aware on Safemode several times in her computer in order to remove pop up ads. However, the customer was frustrated since the Pop-up was still in her computer despite the initial troubleshooting done by the previous agent.
I checked the security settings – firewall, anti-virus and windows update. I called (jealous co-worker) and was initially advised by Mr. Jealous co-worker to download program. When I got back to the customer, Mr. Jealous co-worker called out to inform me not to download program and instead do a system restore. I overheard Another co-worker and the other Department representatives advising Mr. jealous co-worker that we, are not allowed to install program, which I knew from the very beginning. At this time, Ms. Customer became very irate.
I followed his instructions. However, this did not solve the problem since the last system restore was done in May and System restore will only work if the system was infected by spyware recently. I assisted the customer in cleaning up the malicious files in the Add and Remove Programs and registry editor, particularly the Run key and BHOs. When we restarted the computer for the third time, the spyware was still in the system due to ABI Network which can only be removed by program. In addition, the customer was receiving pop ups ads and error messages. After almost two hours of troubleshooting and verifying the procedures with Mr. Jealous co-worker, I followed his instruction and downloaded program. After downloading the program, Ms Customer gave me her permission to close the case and verified with the customer if she was satisfied. She said yes.

On 12 August 2005, Ms. Customer called again to ask for assistance in downloading another program and sent an email to confirm that the issue was resolved thereafter.

On the offense against Policies and Procedures:

I believed, and as documented on the case, I followed the necessary troubleshooting steps. I brought the matter to the attention of our department because I found out that Ms. Customer has an ABI Network installed in her computer that can only be removed by program which is outside my support boundary.

I did verify with Mr. Jealous co-worker the procedures I am supposed to take several times. I verified with him if the call should be escalated. This was because I wanted to make sure that I’m following the procedures and the problem is resolved for the customer since at that time, we did not have a protocol on removing spyware for our customers. I am unable to recall the number of times I approached Mr. Jealous co-worker asking about downloading program. Once again, I was doing this to make sure that the matter is resolved for the customer in the most efficient manner. Since I am being asked to do something I am not trained nor authorized to do, I kept on verifying this with him since he is the one trained to handle such matters. I was not arguing with Mr. Jealous co-worker. As stated, I was merely verifying his instructions since downloading MyPC Tune-up is outside my support boundary.

I tagged the case as resolved only after the customer had downloaded the program and only after Ms. Customer gave her permission for me to do so. Ms. Customer also stated that she was satisfied with the resolution.

As for what I said about my AHT, I apologize if it sounded like I was escalating the call and not taking ownership of it. I wanted to bring to the attention of Mr. Jealous co-worker that the call is unnecessarily taking long since I knew that downloading program is the only way to resolve the matter. I also wanted him to note that the customer is irate since none of the steps we have been going through is solving the problem. In fact, I stayed with the caller for about two hours precisely because I wanted to resolve the issue for the customer.

On the offense against team members and co-employees:

I would like it noted that Meriam-Webster defines harassment as to irritate or torment persistently and to impede and exhaust an enemy by repeated attacks or raids. Whereas Mr. Jealous co-worker may have been irritated by my numerous questions, I was asking them to verify that I am following the correct procedures and I was doing that in order to help the customer and not with the intention of irritating nor tormenting him. It was not my intention to irritate or torment him persistently nor attack him in any way. I also believe that by verifying procedures with Mr. jealous co-worker, I did not prevent him from doing his work normally, infringe on his rights as an employee of Company. In fact, I believe I am incapable of harassment.

****

In the end, my friend "won" the battle and Mr. jealous co-worker received a sanction.

In the end, this corporate setting is merely a reflection of what goes on in our everyday lives. People don't like being questioned, particularly if they hold higher positions. But then, if no one "checks" on those in the leadership role, who else will? If our so-called leaders are left to manage us and we remain passive receipients of their every whim, where are we to generate new ideas? Where are we to exercise our reason, our rights and our responsibility? We will all be left to rot in a hellhole of our own making.

2005-08-29T01:59:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from work and from trainings

First picture: training in Quezon City togerther with the graduates.

Second picture: this was our version of a masquerade ball back inn February 2005. Look at our rubber shoes.

2005-08-28T22:45:00.000-07:00

Barong Tagalog

Okay, this is not about the guy in the picture, but about the shirt.

For those who don't know what a barong tagalog is, it's the traditional clothing worn by Filipino men which I think started in the Spanish colonial era when Filipinos are prohibited from wearing the "amercana" or suit to maintain the status quo. These days, barongs are worn as a formal wear as an alternative to the suit or more commonly worn during weddings. Of course, there's what we call the polo barong, which most guys wear for work.

His sister attended a Filipino wedding in Ohio and she raved about the barong. So, I had to get a barong and ship it off asap since he's attending a Filipino wedding on September 2. This is the first time I was going to get one and so I asked for the necessary measurements. And since I could only use a long sleeved shirt as a reference (the one worn under a suit)... it could prove to be a disaster. You can't imagine how many people I asked on what type of measurements are needed.

Day 1: I asked for the collar, chest and arm measurements only to find out that we have a different references for each part that needs to be measured. I think I ended up asking for the masurements at least three times. I found out that the arm measurement in the US is from the middle of the neck until the wrist whereas we measure the shoulders and then we measure the arm.
Day 2: I had to go down to the barong center and ask the girl what kind of measurements are needed and how the measurements are done. Good thing my work place is within a mall. At this time, I was thinking barongs cost like PhP 10T. I also ended up hunting for Onesimus and Tesoro's since those are the only two places I know which sells barongs. Actually, albs just recommended Onesimus. How she knew there's barong there, I don't know. I thought it sold clothes like the ones one could find in Van Huesen.
Day 3: I asked some friends to help me pick out a barong since I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO CHOOSE A BARONG. I also thought that any round-necked shirt would do, but it turns out that the undershirt should be a camisa de chino. I know most people may find this weird, but there are just too many different styles and I don't know which ones can be considered as one that looks good. It provved to be beneficial as well since one of them tried on the barong for me to see how it fits.
I realized then how overpriced it is to order it online. $89.99 for barongs alone!
Day 4: Sending the barong was a feat! I didn't know how to fold it. I didn't know how to pack it. I didn't know how not to wrinkle it. I was getting harried over the whole packaging and all the other stuff I need to send. So I sent the barong, the shirt and some other stuff that I don't want him to find out in case he gets to read this.

Oh and I got the cream-colored one :)

2005-08-28T22:38:00.000-07:00

Help!!!

up till now, i still couldn't figure out how to manipulate this blog. i couldn't seem to make the side bar information run normally. grrrrrr! where's alba when you need her friends? I don't really need her for her help in manipulating this blog, but I need her friends' expertise for that.

heard that albs?!

.... okay, i just looked at my blog and it's okay now. weird!

2005-08-20T01:29:00.000-07:00

It felt like years...

Ages and ages ago... in a land far, far away... I started this blog. hehehe.

It was meant, I suppose as most blogs are, to be a journal - sharing my thoughts and adventures with anyone who wishes to read them. But then life had a nifty way of intervening with our plans and I stopped updating it... not that a lot of my friends still had time to read about what has been happening to me recently. and so i totally forgot about it until now.

someone brought up a blog of her friend and I decided to read...and update this.

The letter was a great one... one that we (women in general) would probably cry over just from the heart-wrenching emotions overcoming us while reading it. However, it lacked one main point: those who love others are normally descriptive not of the smiles, hugs and sms messages, but of the personality... or a person or the way a person reacted on an event... Love is not about drinking coffee, hugs and kisses...

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

I was thinking about it because it does sound like preaching. But then again, reading it... it IS true. It's the most perfect of all things in this world.

Some people wait their whole lifetime for someone they love - not knowing whether they can expect them or not.

2004-11-03T21:39:00.000-08:00

Featured Online

Here's an article in TakingITGlobal. I know. I know. It's about me, but you can always look through TIG's website through it. I just thought I'd promote the article. LOL. http://www.takingitglobal.org/themes/ye/profiles.html?profiles=audrey

As for the events that transpired during my Mexico trip, I might go through that next week. and post some pics also. LOL.

ciao

2004-09-26T02:21:00.000-07:00

Veracruz, Mexico Here I come...!

Finally! my ticket payment has finally been sent to the travel agency and I am off to get my passport nad visa to from the Mexican Embassy on Tuesday. Hopefully, and if everything goes well, I shall be getting my US visa as per the Philippine government before I leave by Sept 30... or else I shall have to have a new ticket re-issued via another airlines. I sure hope I would be able to go via PAL. i mean, the miles... the food... what more can you say?!

I'm gonna be out of the country for 2 weeks and I hope to enjoy my stay in both Veracruz and Monterrey.

ciao!

2004-09-01T20:24:00.000-07:00

After My Long Hiatus
It's been so long since I last posted that this seem very alien to me.

What can I say? Life caught up with me and it turns out that i have a lot more things to do. I've recently attended the Regional Workshop of the Millenium Development Goals for the Asia-Pacific Region and while I was staying at one of the best hotels in the country, maybe even the world, I was so tired from the workshop that I wasn't able to go to work and opted to sleep off my. I was running after my AST, as a friend put it so aptly - Average Sleeping Time. :)

In any case, I was so afraid during the workshop since it felt a lot like I didn't belong there. I mean, who would have thought I'd be discussing the Philippine situation with the UN Resident Coordinator (Philippines), right?! OMG! It was amazing and even having Jeffrey Sachs - whose work I would only read for classes - do an interactive video conference with us?!!! talk about overwhelming!!!!!

In any case, I survived the workshop and managed copntribute my 2 cents' worth that placed my organization right at the heart of the Philippine policy on MDGs and the Regional forum as well. Free advertisement, what can I say?! I think I may be one of about 4 people on the category of 25-and-under in that workshop, though.

On another note and lest I am unable to post again before I leave at the end of the month, I shall be on my way to Veracruz, Mexico on September 30, 2004. The conference I'm attending starts for me and for about 64 more people on October 1 and ends on October 8, 2004. I hope that my visa will be approved and that the necessary transit visa will be given by the US since the most economical way to travel would be to go through LAX and then get a connecting flight to Mexico City and then another flight to Veracruz.

Hope we all have funa dn work our $%^&# off! :)

2004-05-16T21:24:00.000-07:00

Troy

Been a while since I last posted here. I was afraid I might have forgotten my password by the time I logged in just now.

Last night, I watched TROY at the Eastwood with mom. I cried through some parts of the movie. hehehe. I think Brad Pitt did a great job in putting on Achilles' shoes and so did Eric Bana when it came to Hector. What I really liked were the battle scenes, particularly those of Hector and Achilles. The writer and the director and the creative team did a great job conveying how good a leader Hector was and how good a strategy Troy had, how good a warrior Achilles was and how evenly matched Hector and Achielles were.

OMG! do i miss Iliad! I think I'm gonna scrounge up my book and re-read it. If I can't find i8t, I would probably go ahead and buy it for my own sanity's sake.

2004-04-11T06:44:00.000-07:00

The Passion of the Christ

I have wanted to watch this movie ever since I got emails regarding the reviews done on it mainly because I don’t like judging something based on someone else’s judgment… except when I trust that person to have a mind of his/her own and we share more or less the same POV. So I went to Eastwood with my mom to watch this top grossing Mel Gibson Movie.

I have very few things to say since I believe the positive reviews on are right on target.

First, it was not really anti-semitic as critics said it was. I mean, let’s face it, Jesus was a Jewish and he was condemned to death. History has presented several people who were also condemned to death by their own nations. No one said they were anti-(whatever that nation is). Mel Gibson wanted to put into film how one Man opted to die for mankind and he was successful.

And here’s my second observation, it was a well researched film. As bloody as it was, the filmmaker really looked for the things used by the Roman Empire at the Scourging at the Pillar and even the crowing with thorns. This is the first Jesus Christ movie I watched that showed how they had to break His arm in order for his other hand to fit the hole for the nail and indeed, that was what happened in history.

Third, I liked the way that Mary was portrayed. She didn’t say much and if you read her life, she really doesn’t say much.

The parts I cried were mostly the mother-and-Son scenes the only exception is the scourging part. It was undoubtedly the most gruesome scene to watch because of all the types of devices used by the Romans at that time as punishment.

2004-04-07T12:16:00.000-07:00

Judgment Day

Yesterday was judgment day for all of us. Out of 37 people, only 23 passed the whole assessment programme.

The bad thing about it was we were asked to wait for a long, long time just to call on us one-by-one and inform us of our personal status. Out of the 16 people they called individually, 14 failed and then they distributed our papers and scores at random - for those who passed.

The good thing about it was, eventhough there were smaller groups who would hang out together, the class pulled through to push for a reconsideration of all those who failed to meet the "standard". As of today, I am about to head out to a meeting with everyone and help those who didn't make it study for another exam that they need to take. This exam - theoretical and hands-on will determine whether they can be reconsidered and stay with the company or not. I just hope that a lot of them will make it.

2004-03-25T05:30:00.000-08:00

What Do You Do?

what do you do when your trainor admits to being intimidated by you?

Nothing, I suppose.

My immediate reaction was, it's not my problem you can't communicate well. I was only trying to elarn as much as I can from my training.

True enough, it really isn't my problem. However, had I said that to his face it would surely be unprofessional. But then again, it's his fault that he takes everything personally... like when a "classmate" suggested that he mention where we are at so that she could follow PowerPoint presentation. She had a point because the class was so disorganized and the trainor could not explain the subject well. At the same time, maybe my "classmate" could have adjusted her learning style and followed the class on her own. But then, isn't it the trainor's job to make sure that the class gets the message across?

As a person who trains others (on a different subject), I would definitely say it's the trainor's problem since it's his job. But then again, no one is forcing anybody to stay in our class, are they? I only wish the company would review this trainor's performance.

...and guess what I did?

I told him what I always tell everyone I know: Not everything is about you. The reason why we frown or ask question is because we're confused. We don't ask them to taunt anyone. If the trainor thinks we're doing that, I believe that there's a lot of psych majors who can help him out.

2004-03-21T07:13:00.000-08:00

50 First Dates

Whoever thought Adam Sandler could be so charming? Certainly not me.

Admittedly, I've watched several of his movies and he never failed to make his viewers laugh at his antics. Of course some of them are slapsticks like the things he did out of anger when he played Happy Gilmore or the way Winona Rider's friend got beaten up when she pretended she was being mugged.

Then there's Drew Barrymore whom I have admired when I was a kid and I saw firestarter (I wanted to be a firestarter!). It never fails to amaze me how she went through all the things she did and came out with her own production company and being one of the sought after actresses in this day and age (particularly after playing the heroine in Ever After).

These two actors have done at least one film together although I didn't get to watch it.

This time around, I was in for a surprise. I had thought I'd be laughing my heart out as I watched this film. I never thought that this was one of those very few films these days that would prove me wrong.

For those who haven't watched 50 First Dates, please be mindful that there will be spoilers if you read on...

I never quite got the importance on how the film started. Of course the numerous women talked about Henry (Adam Sandler) and how this guy made their visit to Hawaii memorable. At that point, I thought I'd see Sandler as a jerk who loves one-night stands and fooling women. The film tried to establish that and it seemed that they did. Except for the part that the character build up wasn't able to live up to my expectation. There should have been an epiphany when Henry met Lucy (Drew Barrymore). But the film failed in emphasizing this. Instead, Henry immediately turned from a one-night stand kind of guy into a guy who likes Lucy. In any case, the failure to establish Henry's womanizing days wasn't all that bad although it did make the opening scene quite irrelevant.

The parking lot scene where both Lucy and Henry caught each other dancing after flirting with each other the whole morning, was a good prelude to what was to come. Since there didn't seem to be anything wrong with Lucy, I expected some accident to occur as she drove home.

There wasn't.

In fact, it wasn't until the next day when Lucy gave Henry the cold shoulder did I get any idea on how the writer wanted the story to go. As was the case, Lucy called onto the chef-cum-Lucy's-bodyguard to get the pervert Henry out of the place. It was then that I got to know all about Lucy's day and how her family loves her.

Some questions arose, though. How many copies of the Sunday paper did Lucy's dad had the printer make. If her short-term memory was to be permanently impaired, then how much of the Sunday paper would last during Lucy's lifetime? Then, how does her family ever get to work? If they do the same thing over and over again, I don't suppose her dad and brother could afford to go out of the house to catch fish and make a living. And by God, if I were the one watching Sixth Sense over and over again, I'd probably puke at the sight of it.

As the story went along, you'd wonder why (if Lucy's brother and dad were that dedicated to her) they didn't bother to have her car's registration renewed. And why her mom's best friend would allow current newspapers to be stacked just outside her restaurant. And the age old question, why didn't Lucy's dad and brother or even her doctor ever try to do what Henry eventually did - make a video for her to remember some important events on a daily basis so she could watch it in the morning when she wakes up.

In any case, the way Henry admitted his feelings for Lucy and the way Lucy asked was really romantic . It wasn't the roses nor the place although the beach is considered as a romantic place. But Lucy was shooting a video. Then she asked - it was a serious question asked in an off-hand manner - the way some people tend to ask important questions as they try to hide their embarrassment. It was perfect! And kuddos to Drew and Adam for doing a great job in capturing the sentiments of the characters in that scene.

I have to admit that I cried. Right from the moment that the doctor told Henry that Henry only thinks Lucy remembers him because Henry wants to think of it that way. After all, in watching such movies, we always want the Happily-ever-after, right? It was here that the movie finally established that under no condition would Lucy improve. It was here where the hope that I still had (even after the doctor said it's permanent) of Lucy getting cured was crushed. It was final. Even though I expected a cure or even henry being a cure, it was establish that the injury was permanent. no cures. I was crushed!

From then on, things went into expected turns - Lucy breaking up with Henry so Henry could live a fuller life. Henry helping Lucy erase her memory of him as she went about recording and printing her journal. Henry leaving her place after one last first kiss. Henry deciding to leave Hawaii and go after his research dream since there wasn't anything for him… Lucy's dad and brother saying goodbye to Henry.

But then, the music from the CD given by Lucy's dad told Henry something that I, likewise never saw coming. When Henry decided that Lucy's dad was telling him indirectly that Lucy can remember him, he went back and rushed to the Callahan Institute. When he finally came face-to-face with Lucy adn asked her about him, I thought Lucy would say she remembers him. After a few suspense-filled moments, I was again put down by Lucy's response. She does not know Henry. Henry's response was realistic enough, "This sucks!" But Lucy took him to her studio and showed him her work. It was the first time in my life that I was ever grateful about all these talks on the sub-conscious.

I don't personally adhere to believing and banking too much on the sub-conscious nor do I know much about the medical field to know if this can happen to someone with a damaged temporal lobe, but I do know that it was one time in my life that I was hailing the sub-conscious.

In the end, they lived happily ever after. Lucy's face, when she saw her kid, was priceless.

I was captured by the story, not because it was any unique plot (i don't think that after Sophocles and Eurepedes and several Greek and classic writers a unique plot can ever exist). I was taken from my seat and guided towards quick unexpected twists and turns and brought back down to end up wishing I could find a guy like Henry.

I have to two things to say to the cast and crew of 50 First Dates

"You did a great job!"
"Thank you for surprising me! Very few films, no matter how good, can do that to me these days."

Some questions still remain, though. How many hours would Lucy have to spend in front of the tv when she reaches 65 just to update herself on her life?

Another thing I noticed, the person after whom the sickness was made published his research findings after four years because he, himself, was suffering from damage in his temporal lobe. Ergo, I'd conclude that any short term memory could still have been converted to long term memory. It may take a while, but it could happen. if the good doctor was able to finish his study, it could happen.

2004-03-18T08:18:00.000-08:00

Work and DA

Working again is taking its toll. by the end of the day, i'm too tired to really do anything much. I guess the good thing about all this is i get to wake up early again. Also, there's the satisfaction that at least I'm earning something while I'm waiting for my own version of milk-and-honey.

On another note, I didn't know there's a Dark Angel DVD available here! And I do mean the Complete Season 1 DVD! arrrrghhhh!!!! It took my colleague to recognize my fanaticism when it comes to Dark Angel stuff for me to realize that there are in fact DVDs here! arrrghhhh! now i won't be able to get them due to some actor named Bong Revilla! Grrrrr!

hint: Greenhills

2004-03-12T18:41:00.000-08:00

Quotable Quotes from the workplace

Non-Disclaimer: These are unedited version of the responses. I swear, I wanted to go ahead and shoot myself! It was like Ms. Congeniality only worse...

Comment on: "You are what you read"
Answer: I read a lot of books!

Comment on: "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks"
Answer: If you love a person, you should tell them. If you're angry at your mom, you should tell her.

Question: Are men like dogs? Do they mark their territories?
Answer: We (men) are dogs. As homosapiens, we are on top of the animals in the planet. We like having our own room in our house.

Question: If you are to become the President of the United States, give a sample of your speech.
Answer: I, (name), the President of the Republic of the united States...

Question: What is the best color in the world and why?
Answer: Green because it's the color of plants. It's ecology.

Question: What makes you the best creature in the planet?
Answer: Most probably because God made me as... (tada!!!!) MYSELF. I'm beautiful, intelligent. most especially, I ahve a kind heart.

Question: Don't you find it weird when people say that your life is in the hands of the doctors, but they call what they do practice?
Answer: (she didn't even understand the question at first and the trainor had to explain that it's aclled a medical practice) Yes, I find it weird because some doctors experiment on their patients.

Comment on: "Children never lie"
Answer: Children are very innocent. They are young and small. So they never lie.

Question: What is the standard of beauty. Do you agree with it or not?
Answer: beautiful is not in the physical beauty. I'm in favor of being beautiful for the innerside of the person.

2004-03-06T18:10:00.000-08:00

Look what i got from the bowl containing our Lord's words for me today...

Belive me, if you trust and do not falter... you will receive all that you prayed for, provided you have faith.

--- Matthew 21:21

makes me feel better and gives me a bit of patience.

2004-03-03T04:17:00.000-08:00

almost a heart attack

It's hot. No doubt about it. I think it's 27 degrees Celcius. The worst part for Alba is we have to drive around the city for errands... in a car... without airson. I can't say that the day went any better for me, either.

The horror of horrors is when she had to go pick up an affidavit duly notarized at her uncle's office. Since we went circling around the block for about 3 or 4 times just to find a parking lot without any success, she decided to just park in front of a "reserved" sign, dash into the building and get the documents in a flash so we could finally get out of the Makati City area.

Since she parked in front of a bank, I didn't mind. After all, she went into the building, right?! Lo and behold! about 2 minutes after she left, a horrendous blue Mazda decided he/she wants to park in that "reserved" parking spot. What convinced me I wanted to strangle someone was the security guard got the "reserved" sign and took it out so that car could park. What the-?! Since Alba's car was aimed right at that spot, there was no choice but for me to drive the car out of the spot. The horrendous-looking-shade-of-blue Mazda went on a honking spree while I sweated out trying to figure out how to get out of the spot without hitting the back bumper of the Honda CRV in front of us.

Honk! First the clutch. Honk! Then the gear shift. Honk! I had to go on 1st gear. Honk! I immediately turned the steering wheel towards my left seeing that there were no cars coming up behind me except for this annoying one. Honk! Then, I looked at the front right side of the car and immediately concluded that no matter how much I turn the wheel, I should first back up in order not to hit the CRV. Honk! So I had to adjust my seat, look at the back (in case I hit the good-for-nothing honking horrendous blue Mazda). Honk! After seeing that there was enough space for me to back up, I pushed the clutch, reversed the gear, let go of the handbreaks and ever so slowly with my heart racing to my death, I pressed on the gas and I backed up just enough for me to have space to maneouver Bembol. Honk! Then hit the clutch and the breaks and go neutral. Honk!

Honk! Then, I had to look forward, check my side mirrors for incoming traffic. By that time, all motorists seem to have gotten the news that I was driving along that area so they had filled up the one-way road. So i had to let go of the breaks, go to first gear turn the steering wheel to the left, and step on gas as i tried to park the car beside the CRV instead of behind it - with the hazard lights blinking. Honk!

I was cursing the driver of the honking Mazda, the security guard of the financial institution and praying to God that no MMDA officer shows his face along the driver's side windows and tell me, "This is a strictly no-double parking zone, ma'm. Can I get your license please?" Wha- What license?!!!! I DO NOT HAVE A FREAKIN' LICENSE!!!

I was sweating my a** off as I await the officer who shall indict me for my crime under the ehat of the Manila sun with no air conditioner in the car...

until, at last, I saw alba running towards the car. Halleluia!

2004-02-29T09:30:00.000-08:00

Defining and measuring risk is the key to controlling it

---H.J. Blommestein, OECD

2004-02-27T23:12:00.000-08:00

To All Those In The Know

I did not go for my visa interview because I was called 2 days earlier by my mom's friend. She advised me not to get my visa yet because the organization suddenly froze hiring. It has something to do with security measures. I was advised to go there as soon as hiring resumes. My mom's friend will call us to inform us when this happens.

How sad.

Given that, I have decided to do some things first and not leave everything unfinished. Hopefully, hiring resumes ASAP.

2004-02-22T06:39:00.000-08:00

pancake syrup

maybe i wanted to exercise my cooking skills again. maybe i wanted to feed my niece... or maybe i was just desperate for something to do.

since i was stuck at home caring for my niece for a couple of days, we went from watching tv, grocery shopping, watching tv, playing Cross Mary Shake, watching tv, making the beds, watching tv, cleaning the house (meaning my room since i won't let the helper touch it and my mom's room since we were eating on the bed and stuff), watching tv, cooking, watching tv and making pancakes for my niece.

after going through the ordeal of actually making the pancakes instead of buying your usual Gold Medal or Maya pancake mix, I had to mix all the ingredients on my niece's desk in (guess where?) my mom's room (please don't tell her coz she doesn't know). and finally when the ordeal was finished and the batter was ready, I was hyped up on eating pancakes. and so i told my niece to give it to the helper so it can be cooked.

my ever not-so-obidient-sometimes niece did as she was told since of course, she was excited on eating pancakes for afternoon snacks. who ever said i was a healthy cook?

a few minutes later, my nose got the whiff of the pancakes and my stomach grumbled. my niece placed a plate-full of pancakes on her desk (again in my mom's room) and told me to wait for the iced tea. i was, of course, feeling like i had died and gone up to heaven. once the drinks were inside the room, she got the plate and told me she had a surprise and that i should wait for the pancakes. knowing we recently bought some preserves and chocolate spread, i was certainly looking forward to the improvised pancakes via my niece. she came backa dn asked me to close my eyes and so i did. after all, what harm can a few pancakes make right? she gave me a fork to hold and asked me to eat the pancake on it without looking at it. so i did.

BLEH!!!

the pancake was soaked AND I DO MEAN SOAKED!!! in maple syrup.

oh well, it was still a good gesture on her part. i guess i just have to look at it that way.

2004-02-12T22:04:00.000-08:00

Singapore Trip

...the pictures at last! i found a new host for the pics.

Singapore: a plant shop in Chinatown, views from a cable car to Sentosa Island, Underwater World, Cable Car, the Esplanade Theater and the East Coast Seafood Place.

Indonesia: famous bridge in Batam, some lunchtime entertainment, chinese temple nearing chinese new year.

Malaysia: Muslim temple

2004-02-12T12:33:00.000-08:00

The ~~land~~place of the few

... these are days when even *I* get to be in cloud nine. here's a segment of my convo with a friend:

The movie was great, [edited]! And Matthew Goode is soooooo good for your eyes and the *ahem* heart! ;) Grabe, I was melting on the spot! He's soooo hot!

It wasn't within the realms of A-Walk-To-Remember kind of melt in your heart. This guy, you wanna melt while kissing. hahaha!

Anyway, it's a good movie particularly in spreading the cuddly, wanna-stay-at-home-with-my-guy-and-cuddle-in-front-of-a-fireplace kinda feeling. Seriously. Even the sucker for Mandy Moore that I am, I wasn't expecting to want to watch the movie again on Sunday and stay in the movie house for 2 film showings, which i shall be doing, by the way...

I guess that proves it.

Matthew Goode dispelled the thought that very few, if not none at all, good looking guys come from UK. After Orlando Bloom and Matthew Goode, I swear all great looking guys come from England!

2004-02-11T06:12:00.000-08:00

Another one struck my ~~heart~~ eyes

I knew from the moment I saw the trailer of Chasing Liberty that it was bound to be a good movie. i never expected it to be THAT good. Let's face it, A Walk to Remember was heart-warming, but the lead actors still needed more experience in acting.

Most of all, the glimpses I had of Matthew Goode told me he's indeed good.... looking. I was wrong. He was better-looking to the point that I shall watch the movie again this Sunday.

ahhh... life is good.

2004-02-11T06:02:00.000-08:00

Three years ago, my best friend and I decided we wanted to run an export business selling accessories, raw materials and even incorporating native materials into fashionable dresses and what have you.

My friend is now based in New Jersey and is up for apprenticing in Liz Claiborne in NYC in a few months or weeks, I’m not so sure.

And guess what? Last January, she emailed me asking if I could possible send her my bags, accessories (those that I make - beads and stones - and those that are submitted to us as samples), belts, raw materials etc. She’ll be sending me her creations so I can have some people execute it. At long last, I get to look at her portfolio!

Since she shall be participating in various bazaars, I have started to make my accessories (in sets), designing my own stuff (for belts and stuff) and even re-establishing contacts with suppliers.

I guess this means that we’re starting to make our business a reality. here are some of the sets i made:

2004-02-06T05:07:00.000-08:00

Winning

I have never done anything that would make everyone in the whole of Metro manila know that there is such a person named... well my name - including my surname.

Today, I got picked up by (who else?) alba. We were listening to the radio and she has just informed me of her jason Mraz request the previous day when we heard the DJ announce that there are tickets up for grabs for the 1st one to send SMS message to their station answering the question, "Where is the advanced screening of Chasing Liberty going to be held?"

Again, the sucker for Mandy Moore that I am, I immediately typed the SMS message as soon as alba gave me the go signal. I then went to the Reg office to get my grade in a subject I cross-enrolled and when I came back, viola! I won! I actually W-O-N!!!

I have never won anything in my entire life - at least nothing in the realms of radio station gigs - since I have never joined any radio station contests before. But now... boy does it feel so good!

So on Monday, you'll be seeing us in the advanced screening of Chasing Liberty. The guy is gwapo, by the way, judging from the trailers, the guy is good looking. I ahve yet to prove it when get to watch the advanced screening.

2004-02-06T04:47:00.000-08:00

words of wisdom you find chatting with a friend

friend: I think I wanted to become a doctor just for the money. ;-) Now, it doesn't appeal to me as much as it did when I was younger. I'm a pretty shallow person. :-)

me: lol. if you want money, you can always take up nursing ;-) or better, yet, be a banker

friend: yeah, I was thinking about that. being a nurse. really great hours, great pay.

me: not really shallow. more like practical. everyone wants to have money enough to splurge on everything we want but can't get coz our parents can't afford it or won't let us have it

friend: yeah. :-) Do shrinks get paid well?

me: ergo, choose the profession that gives you more money. but then as you go through college and even after college, you learn that not everything is about the money.

friend: ooh. words of wisdom.

me: lol. not words of wisdom. i think im just getting old ;-) but well we get to learn all these things

friend: maturing, you mean. two different things.

... who has the words of wisdom, now?

way to go, angel!

2004-02-06T03:24:00.000-08:00

The danger with philosophy is staking your life on one particular portion of reality.
--- Soliloquy. 06.ii.2004

2004-02-04T07:13:00.000-08:00

ever had someone tell you...

There's this guy... why does this phrase make me think i'm 16 years old again? ... He likes me. I know that. My friends knew that even before i knew about it. He obviously knows that.

What do you tell a guy when he tells you: he misses you, he virtually gives you a hug, and tells you he thought about you all day?

Any normal person would know the answer to that question. And If I were to put myself into my bestfriend's shoes in those horrible moments, she would have taken a magazine, curled it up and bring it right down on my non-golden crown.

So what do you do? do you...

... 1. ask him, "really?!" - with a huge smile on your face?
... 2. give him your rapid fire interrogation, "when? what were you doing [when you thought of me]?"
... 3. inquire on "whatever happened to remind you of me?"
... 4. just die beacuse you forgot to say thank you during your whole conversation?
... 5. better yet, end the whole conversation without even eliciting a response that would somehow convey your elation, delight and the joyous rapture of your heart for being thought of during the day even when you're miles and miles away

I knew there was a reason my bestfriend was put on this world! I just hope she manages never to find my blog or I'll never hear the end of it.

2004-02-01T00:02:00.000-08:00

Which LOTR Character Are You?

Congratulations! You're Legolas!

Which Lord of the Rings character and personality problem are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

...but I don't wanna be Legolas! I wanna be as beautiful as Arwen, but let my leading man be Legolas or Faramir!!!!

2004-01-31T06:08:00.000-08:00

People don't need to give you compliments coz they'll give you one if you really are.

2004-01-31T01:53:00.000-08:00

Living in my non-home

disclaimer: the following post is rated 35 and up. If you read it and you're not 35 yet, don't blame me for whatever pictures would haunt whatever it is you find between your ears..

As is usual these days when I’m not so busy with work or have a lot of spare time on my hands, I am again bunking in with a friend. If you bother to go and ask my mom, she'd probably tell you that I moved out of the house since September 2003 and that I merely use it as a hotel of sorts complete with maid service and everything else when I'm not out braving the Manila traffic with my non-good non-friend.

Change comes gradually as most poets have written in their, uh, poetry. And now, I have once again proven the romantics of this world right.

Up until today, I never noticed that my abhorrence for seeing any small amount of flesh that should be covered with clothing - (clothing hereby implies a shirt with sleeves and a pair of pants, shorts or skirt) - has been slowly deteriorating. I could actually stand being in a room while friends, or a friend for this matter, exchange stories with me with only a towel covering their otherwise naked chest... I normally squeal my heart out and beg my friend/s to please cover themselves up like normal people do. I am, after all, not their moms. I am a guest. A guest! Who socializes with guests clad in a towel?! Don't get me wrong, my friends are not my friends (hehehe), but... talking to me ina towel is simply... too surreal and... I never do nor do I intend to do that. That is, I USED to scream my heart out and cry for mercy!

Or how I could exchange non-intellectually stimulating, but sarcasm-filled conversation while watching tv and then stand up, walk towards the middle of the room before informing everyone, "i gotta &*%" and then walking off merrily into the bathroom.

Then, there's waking up and staying in bed because I'm too lazy to actually get up ergo having my friend try to conduct another one of those intellectually stimulating, but most hated conversations meant to wake me up. And believe me the topics range from the the comparison between Brazil and Philippines, Philippine Elections, the comparison between the US and UK debates on the War on Iraq, Policy formulation and implementation, Books (both academic and fiction) and the ideas it gives us, the types of make-up and what sorts of fluids to apply on your face at various times of the day and for various occasions while cursing my former professor to hell. Dude, before September of '03 and you wake me up from my deep slumber... during weekends... to try and talk about all these things before my 11am wake up time which means you're supposed to start talking to me only at 1pm, you're sure as hell gonna get an earful from me or have me shut the door in front of your face!

There's the classic: having to walk into the bedroom as I talk to my friend who, I thought, was brushing her teeth or taking off her contact lens, inside the bathroom. Just as I'm about to push the door open, I hear a deafening squeal coming from the other side of the unlocked door which informs me that I shouldn't go in there because my assumption on what she's been doing there is clearly wrong.

Finally, I can now, in all honesty, mischief (evil grin) and full of sarcasm, ask my friend, "do you wanna go with me to the bathroom and talk to me while i $%^?!" and once again walk in all confidence and rather gleefully into the waiting bathroom doors.

Certain green-minded puns might still escape me. And I may still be uncomfortable when a newly bathed roommate wrapped in a towel talks to me and suddenly lets the towel fall to the floor while i'm facing her ergo I suddenly have to look at the tv across the room to prevent shocking the wits out of myself. OMG! Who bares her soul right in front of you, right?! I have those myself, thank you, and I don't need to stare at someone else's! This was when I went for a seminar last November and there were 3 of us sharing the bedroom and we're not even good friends, just acquaintances!

As for my friend, she thought she could shock me before. And indeed she did everytime she pulled those eeky statements. But these days, change is a bliss!

...at least until someone strangles me after reading all these you-don't-need-to-know information. :evil_grin:

2004-01-28T08:09:00.000-08:00

Random thought

If there are contests for all those damsels-in-distress who loves the color pink, wearing dresses, doing stuff with their hair, putting on make-ups, bringing their kikay bags, and do nothing but stand or sit and try to make themselevs pretty so they could get a boy friend...

... shouldn't there be contests for those who hate having the term damsel-in-distress applied on women, prefer to change (or at least try to) their own car's tires, love dressing in jeans and shirts and sneakers and do not know how to put on make-up?

If there's a hail-to-the beautiful-damsels-in-distress-whose-answer-to-the-world's-problems-is-world-peace contest, there should be a hail-to-the-beautiful-women-who-follows-their-goals-and-do-not-have-to-wear-make-ups-and-dress-up-in-frilly-clothes contest!

Can't the creative departments of these ontest makers come up with something?

2004-01-28T07:54:00.000-08:00

dude, what happened to my your car?

I never thought that sitting alone inside a car you don't own while listening to the radio can be dangerous. That is, not until last night.

I was brought home by alba. Since it was getting late, I asked her to sleep over instead of going all the way home at that time of the night.

But see, asking albz to sleep over means going back to her place so she can get some clothes and her toothbrush even after offering some of your clothes for her use and an unused, ergo unopened toothbrush meant for guests. (She gave the contact lens excuse, but both you and i don't really believe her, do we?! hee.)

We had to drive all the way to her place and park her car in front of the building - deliberately right beside the NO PARKING and NO WAITING sign. There was no way we could actually leave the vehicle in this area and so she went inside the building to her place to get her contact lens case and glasses - at least i thought she did.

Since I was pretty confident that I could drive her car around should some policemen or patrol guy come by (of course, this would be if they didn't ask for my driver's lisence first which I don't have). And lest something happens to me while inside the car, i made sure that all the locks were secure. Furthermore, to prevent my catastrophe-thinking mind (paranoia, you understand) from doing just that - thinking of possible catastrophies and ghost stories (yes, it was that late), i turned on the radio, sat down and relaxed.

You can just imagine my shock when i felt Bembol shaking hard as if there was an intensity 7 earthquake rocking Pearl Drive! Of couse it took but a milli-second to note: This is not an earthquake! A goddang car hit Bembol and I'm alone, inside the car, which is not mine, without a driver's license, parked along a NO PARKING AREA! F***ing SH*T!!! These thoughts raced through my mind and I had not even turned to see what hit the left rear of Bembol.

F*&%^&* S%#T!!!

I didn't want to, but i had to - turn my head, that is. It was so surreal. I thought of all the things Albz would shout at me for not taking good care of her baby and not looking out for her beloved, much-in-need of cleaning and a paint job, Bembol.

I saw this Black or dark blue Pajero perpendicular to bembol's rear. I opened my door at the same time that the Pajero's driverside door opened and out came this girl, probably my age or a bit older, almost running towards me and crying, "Oh my God! I'm soooo sooooorreeeeee! I'm gonna pay. I'm gonna pay!" You're dang right you are!

Seeing that the very late night traffic of about 4 cars behind us was building, I had to tell the girl, "You might want to park your car first."

I know. I know. this is a serious no-no when these thigns happens. However, Alba's building's guard saw everything and had started jotting down plate numbers and car make and was on his way to call Albz from her place so she could come down and talk to this very frightened girl.

And so she parked her Pajero from where it was before - when i was still listening merrily to some alternative music over the radio. She walked and repeated the same tantra oevr abnd over again. I asked her in my most friendly manner (smiling eventhough i'm quite afraid of alba's distress when she sees this) if she was sleepy. She told me no, but that she actually DIDN'T SEE a red Nissan Sentra Parked in front of the Building one lane across from where her Pajero was parked eventhough I got a glimpse of her walking somewhere near Bembol when I looked earlier on the side mirror.

Great.

I thought, explain that to Alba. Where the heck is she?

Out comes Alba carrying a pair of shorts that I had used the previous night and her overnight toiletries. After putting the stuff into the backseat, she got a chance to talk to the girl, who explained everything with my help. What the - ! Albz was smiling and talking calmly with this girl who lives all the way in Pampanga and whose middle name is the same as Alba's last name. After exchangign the numbers and names and plate numbers and with the girl promising to pay for the damage, everything was fixed. The guard even asked us if we wanted to blotter the accident, but of course, there's no need since the girl did say she's gonna pay for it.

And so off we went again to Never neverland so we could rest our bones on each of the bed in my room at home.

You might ask, what's the point of going back and then sleeping over at my place, right? Well, there you go... that's Alba.

Ask Monk.

2004-01-28T07:14:00.000-08:00

fear factor will give me a heart attack

i looooovvvveeee fear factor.

it's gross. i love calling those mean contestants names for bragging about beating their opponents only to leave the place because they can't get the job done. it's gross. i love seeing people eat balut (a delicacy here in the Philippines) and feel queasy about it when I know that most people here look forward to eating it. it's gross. i love watching people cross from one place to another 25 feet above the ground. it's gross. i love seeing a married couple get rouches from a heart-shaped container and transfer it from one another using only their mouth. it's gross. i love seeing people nearly puke on liver juice, goat's eyes and worms. it's gross.

i hate roaches. i'm afraid of heights. i hate worms and anything that crawls. i eat balut(only the yellow part). i think i belong to the only family who loves liver. this does not only refer to my immediate family, but to the whole clan of my mom's side.

fear factor is gross and i simply love it.

2004-01-28T07:03:00.000-08:00

Can she please keel over and die now?

what si ti with this girl? what is it with these types of people? why do good people die early and bad people live for at least two centuries? ...errrr, most of the times anyway. I guess what I wanna tell this girl is, "ang bait bait mo! sana kunin ka na ni Lord!" ;)

heee.

2004-01-26T06:55:00.000-08:00

The Multiple Intelligence Test

...you're smartest when it comes to visual/spatial intelligence

Others may take their environments for granted but not you. Because of your visual/spatial intelligence you really see the world around you. This strength often helps you better appreciate the beauty and detail in everyday things. From shapes in nature to the structure of a fine automobile, a countless variety of things hold your interest.

Having this particular kind of heightened awareness can allow you to form accurate mental images of existing places and objects. In extreme cases, one might call this strength a photographic memory. Being visually/spatially intelligent also means that you likely have a vivid imagination that can be put to use in a variety of creative or professional endeavors.

2004-01-24T06:50:00.000-08:00

Power

I received several emails from the current President and Chairman of the Board of our organization asking me if i would like the position since he's resigning and I guess they'll have to settle for me rather than have that corrupt person in there.

Thing is, I don't want it. I am quite comfortable with my position now, thank you. besides, he's the one who started the organization. i believe that until we've achieved some of his vision of what the org can and will do, we shouldn't change officers.

I hate this Filipino crab mentality thing. And for what it's worth, this psycho of a eprson is just wreaking havoc in our organization because we found out all her lies and misrepresentation. So Carl, I believe that our organization is better with you as President and chair and I shall back you up.

All the scoundrels of this world ought to bury their heads 6 feet below the ground or I swear I shall not be responsible for what I shall do to this B**ch who's only after power adn who has been black-listed (as of lasy month) from the Department of Foreign Affairs so the international community shouldn't be seeing ehr face representing the country anytime soon.

2004-01-24T06:41:00.000-08:00

Busy Week

that's the constant excuse I have for everybody these days after coming home from our Singapore trip.

In any case, if you wanna know what happened, you can just go check the itinerary from alba's blog.

A few days after returning from Singapore, my niece broke her wrist. That's alsoa few days from her 9th birthday... in fact, it was exactly a week - 7 days - after her birthday. I don't know what happened, I wasn't there so don't you go sending the police to my house for questioning.

Anyway, I had to bring her to the pediatrician who gave us the prescription for pain killer and a recommendation so we could have an x-ray and then bring her to the referred (if there is such a term) orthopedic doctor. Two days after, we found out from the doctor that she had a fractured wrist and the doctor needed to push it back and then put a cast on it. by Wednesday afternoon during the past week, she was confined into Mediacl City and was on the verge of crying and laughing in hysteria. I could not help but smile at her - not because of her predicament, mind you, but because of the way she was acting like she was on stage and gasping in horror at what would be her plight. And in between her acting prowess (e.i. crying out loud that she's going to die) and the doctor's explaination of the procedure, she was glancing behind her back and giving me faces and putting out her tongue as if to spite me. For whatever reason, I can only imgine. But it had me laughing the whole time we were with the doctor.

Thursday, I had to bring her home, but her mom was there to pick her up and so I went home. It was to my surprise that she was brought home by my mom who was ready to strangle my older sister, Adrielle's mom, to death for dropping adrielle to her (mom's) office instead of at home just because my sister was on her way to Enchanted Kingdom (a theme park) with her friends. To put icing on the cake, my sister didn't even bother to feed Adrielle some lunch and it was already 2pm. So off again, we went to the nearest eating place and grabbed some chicken and spagheti and sundae at Jollibee.

Then two of my friends stopped by to sign her cast.

2004-01-16T06:41:00.000-08:00

great holiday

just got back from Singapore.

It was amazing! I'm sure to go back and maybe include Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta when i do so.

Will post the pictures some other time.

2004-01-12T05:12:00.000-08:00

L O T R: Return of the King

I watched Lord of the Rings again.

Orlando Bloom looks greater than ever. My friend even described his stunts from LOTR 1 and 2 as comparable to Jackstones whereas in the return of the King, his stunts were
C H I N E S E G A R T E R. hehehe.

But my heart was thumping whenever they showed... F A R A M I R ! ! !

OMG! I thought I was gonna have a heart attack right there and then.

So gals, I'm lending Orlando bloom to y'all, but David Wenham is mine!

... my preciiiioouuuusssss!

2004-01-12T04:56:00.000-08:00

birthday girl

this post is dedicated to...

C A N D Y ! ! !

ha-ber-day to you...
ha-ber-day to you...
ha-ber-day, ha-ber-day....
HA-BER-DAY TO YOU!!!!

H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y, C A N D Y C A N D Z ! ! !

2004-01-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

country hopping

i thought that i would only be able to hop from one country to another while circling Greenpark Village here in Pasig (the street names are cities in different countries). But at long last, my much awaited vacation after nearly 7 years has come. We're bound to leave for Singapore on Tuesday, 13 January; Malaysia on Wednesday, 14 January; and Indonesia on Thursday, 15 January. Of course, our hotel is in Singapore and we'll more or less stay within the city the whole time.

I am so excited tog et the tickets!!!!

but first things first. i need to get my lay-outing job done by Monday.

2004-01-10T09:21:00.000-08:00

niece's birthday

today is the family celebration of my would be 9-year-old-niece-on-January-12's (same day as Candy's) birthday. It was nothing extravagant. We just had spaghetti, grilled chicken, 2 types of cakes, and some grilled fish and grilled pork which were still being grilled by the time we left the house. i think i over-ate spaghetti. and as much as i only had a small square piece of the chocolate cake, it was still so heavy (and when i say chocolate, boy do i mean chocolate!). but the point is, my sister - my niece's mom did not even show up for he daughter's birthday.

i can remember now what my niece said last Christmas - how her mom didn't give her a gift and to think she's her mom's daughter. She said that even my good friend sent her a gift and my friend doesn't even know her.

what a bummer, huh?! i never thought i'd meet such a mom until my sister had a kid.

but you know what? i'm thankful for my mom. she bought some clothes for adrielle for her birthday and she said that one of them was given by my niece's mom. For those who sometimes watch the movies at the hallmark channel, this is the epitome of Hallmark for me.

2004-01-07T03:36:00.000-08:00

Power corrupts

What do you do with people who misrepresent your organization?

In the past few months, our organization has been having problems with its country coordinator. She has not been very visible in our meetings and we’ve had very few updates from her, which I can count in one hand. She informed us that the international organization has appointed her as the country coordinator. Right after the change of officers and Board members, she told us that she has relayed the information to the international organization including the names of the new board members. The bad thing in all these is we’re dealing with several government agencies as well as NGOs. She has not been able to bring in resources for our disposal as what she should have done ages ago. There have been cases wherein we’ve received complains since she has not given our partner agencies the information and resources that she has promised in behalf of our organization. In fact, there’s a sticky situation wherein a government agency has been insulted since she has relayed several invitations to NGOs and localities without informing the national government. And although she attended the national convention, but has not resurfaced until this December when we gave her an ultimatum. To top it all, she misled us into thinking that she’s irreplaceable.

Since we’ve been having problems with her, the Chairman contacted the international agency directly. Lo and behold! Not only do we have the authority to replace her, but the international agency did not even choose her. She volunteered and so they accepted. But at any time at all, we could replace her. In fact, the international agency mentioned that it was high time we had a change in officers and even representatives. The agency also informed us that they were never informed of the change in officers. And once we have already replaced the country coordinator, who kept insisting she didn’t want to be country coordinator anymore and has told the international agency such, there arose another problem.

Apparently, she talked to a former volunteer and told him we instituted her replacement behind her back. She also informed him that we had some personal grudge against her. And now she’s even talking about how the Board members were illegally placed and whatnot wreaking chaos and havoc into the organization. And she says she wanted out as country coordinator. What’s up with that?

Whoever said that power corrupts, you're right. Absolute power does corrupt absolutely.

2004-01-03T19:44:00.000-08:00

Of Resolutions and New Years

Yesterday, I was asked if I made a New Year’s resolution.

Well, I didn’t.

Come to think of it, ever since a New Year’s resolution has not been required by my school, I have never bothered making one… or many as some people do.

When I was in elementary, the teachers in my private nun-filled school, would always remind us to make our New Year’s resolutions and try to keep them. No. They never asked us individually what our resolutions were, but it was more of every 1st day of school after the Christmas holiday, our teachers would remind us that we made some resolution and we should keep them. Since this was a tradition, I got into a habit of making a New Year’s resolution for the same of having something I could strive to keep for the whole year.

Now, don’t get me wrong. These resolutions I made were real resolutions. However, the one pushing me to make them is the desire to have a resolution in mind so that when our teachers reminded us to keep our resolution, I have something to live up to. Yadayada. I know.

What twisted mind I have?! *snicker*

But for the last couple of years, I have never made any resolutions. And it wasn’t because New Year didn’t matter. I guess it’s because every minute, second or even millisecond of everyday is a time to change and make yourself better. And if only we would see that and remember that, then I think all these fuss about New Year’s resolution will be replaced by the natural high everyone gets in moments of epiphany. Maybe then the festive mood we experience around the world during New Year will be experienced everyday and people won’t feel the need to throw stones at each other. But who am I to tell how everyone should be, right?

As for me, I would bet my checking account to fulfill plans rather than resolutions – if I had one, that is. It’s the three-year planning as well as the long time planning, which is better. Your have the first year to start your plan, the second year to make it work and the next year to help make your plan sustainable and plan for the next three years.

2004-01-03T19:13:00.000-08:00

things you learn from crazy female driver-turned-instructor

Since alba could not survive being locked up in her place for 24 hours, we went out last night to give her a breather from her thesis. The breather consisted of 2 huge packs of Barbeque-flavored Oishi Ridges, 2 cans of Q-Shandy and some pears and an apple for me.

After going to the mall, eating dinner and coming back to Ortigas Center, Alba decided that it was yet another night for my driving prowess. We exchanged seats along Josemaria Drive. Well, all I can say is I was more afraid of people crossing than anything else. I would go into 3rd gear again, which is really a great phenomenon since it’s me who’s driving. My usual range is second gear at most. Hehehe!

Anyway, just a few things I should consider:

1. Don’t be afraid to press on the gas pedal. The car won’t move if you’re not pressing on it and putting in power into the gear. (Now, why didn’t I think of this before?!)
2. Learn how to go to neutral from 3rd gear and then change into 2nd gear when going over a hump. The car bounces more if you would change into 2nd gear before the hump.
3. Remember your signals.
4. It should take only 3 seconds to look at all three mirrors in checking out other cars and not three minutes.
5. Never stop just because a pedestrian is crossing 5 meters away from you. Slowing down if (and only if!) you’re using the high gears will do.
6. Beeping when crossing the entrance of a basement parking lot is not necessary for your safety. You’ll know when someone wants to park since you’re bound to see anyone turning into the lot.
7. It’s not necessary to make a full stop when turning at curves. Just slow down and you’ll do fine.
8. When causing traffic as you make your three-point turn, remember that the car won’t move if you don’t let go of the clutch.

I might need to digest this some more. Oh and I don't think I frightened the wits out of her this time... or did I, albz?! *snicker*

Honestly speaking, I think I did pretty well.

2004-01-01T23:28:00.000-08:00

New Year and New Skill

New Year's day was spent as usual at my cousins' place. Alba was with mom, Adrielle and me since she didn't have her family here in Manila and January 1st was also my cousin’s birthday.

We were at a farmland where 4 of my mom's siblings' family live - 3 live right beside each other while the forth one lives along the street perpendicular to the rest.

Alba and I drove what we call an "owner-type" of jeep. It’s seemingly like the ~~Cherokee~~ Wrangler Jeep, but it's stainless and it doesn't have any cover nor does it have the usual headlights along one of the top bars between the front seats and the backseat.

And this is how the great adventure began...

First, we had to get gas since this Jeep is usually used for practice driving and so it rarely has a lot of fuel. And since Alba was the only licensed driver, she drove it to town, which is a bit far. Now the jeep only had 1 liter of gas. It didn't have power steering for a steering wheel either so she pretty much sweated it out while I rode in front and my cousins - Jun-Jun and Chasy - rode at the back. Anyway, it was pretty wacky at first since she wasn't used to driving it.

About 20 minutes or so into driving, we were near the gas station when the jeep suddenly stopped running since there wasn't any fuel in it anymore and so we stopped... and it was just about the time when Alba was getting the feel of it. *snicker* We pushed the jeep to the side of the road while Jun-Jun got P 60 worth of fuel so we could bring the Jeep into the gas station and put in more into the tank.

After 5 minutes of sitting our merry way, I saw Jun-Jun walking towards us. And just as he got nearer, the left front tire burst and we had a flat. Nope, we weren't doing anything. We were just sitting. uhuh. We called my aunt using my mom's cell phone since I had it with me, but no one could bring us another tire. And since 4 heads are more than one, we filled the tank with the fuel Jun-Jun bought. I drove the jeep into the side of the road and up the sidewalk. Then we went ahead and hailed a tricycle to go back to one of my aunts' houses. We got Alba's car and went back to get the jeep.

Since we only had one guy with us, he had to use the non-cross bar to take out the dirty spare tire and put it in Alba' car's trunk so we could bring it to the vulcanizing place. We then borrowed the shop's jack and brought it with us to the jeep. Jun-Jun had to carry the dirty tire and the huge greasy jack into the trunk again before we drove back to get the jeep. June-Jun then had to use the non-cross bar to take out the flat tire and boy did he sweat it out!

I have to say that I was useful since I was able to figure out how to use the jack and where to place it under the car.

Then Alba and I returned the flat tire to where the spare used to be. Boy was the tire so heavy!

Once the tire was replaced, Jun-Jun drove the jeep into the nearby gas station, added fuel and washed the dirt from his hands. Alba and I followed them and we washed our hands because we were so dirty! hmmm... come to think of it, i think Chasy was the only one who went away with no grime on her hands!

Anyway, Jun-Jun and Chasy then returned the jack to the vulcanizing shop while Alba and I tailed them. We then went to Kalayaan St. and drove along the deserted elevated road of the farmland where we were going to practice driving.

When it was my turn to drive, I was doing so well - going from 1st gear to second gear and even third gear (woohoo! this was the first time i went to third gear) until I had to make a u-turn. It was a narrow road the sides of which slants into the ditch on both sides. While I was using all the strength I could muster, Alba got frightened because of what I was doing. *snicker snicker snicker* While I knew that I turned her hair white when it almost seemed like I was going into the ditch, I also pretty much knew that I would not be going into the ditch anytime soon. *snicker snicker snicker*

I was driving and trying my luck at making a u-turn, but I couldn't understand what they were asking me to do. The jeep would die and I had to start it pressing on the clutch and the brake or else I’d fall into the ditch. But then I had to press the gas so I can back up which will lead me to the other side and yet another ditch! I thought they wanted me to let go of the clutch when it was the brake that they wanted me to let go of! what a crack! Anyway, I managed to make the u-turn and frighten Alba's wits out of her! *snicker* See, I couldn't laugh since i was concentrating on what I was doing.

And then later on, I drove back to the aunt's place. Alba beeped from behind me. Since I knew she couldn't see me from her car, I let go of the steering wheel, put out my arms and make some boxing move like I was gonna have a boxing match with her.

Then there was another beep and I place my arms out again. I was gonna do the same move, but then my cousin told me to slow down and let the other jeep pass by. Heee. I thought it was just Alba again. And then off I drove on.

It was fun spending the day driving. I even parked the jeep!

2003-12-28T07:21:00.000-08:00

Not so usual holiday

Hopefully, since I should be leaving by end of January or early February for Switzerland, this shall be my last Christmas in what has been home for 24 years… at least until I get to go back in a few years or so.

Let me tell you, Manila traffic was once again hell for the last few days before Christmas! It takes me about 2 hours to get from what would normally be 20 to 30 minutes away – a nearby place, which becomes 20 minutes away due to “normal” traffic. But from December 23 onwards, it has been smooth sailing for us. I guess with the season, the tragedy and all that, people have been spending more and more time with their families and loved ones. Thus, Manila has been on heck of a smooth ride.

Anyway, I got as expected from the wrapping, a Clinique Happy - Yay! This is one heck of a cologne that I really love – and a Burberry Cologne, which I also like. And from the same person who gave me Clinique Happy, I got the best Christmas present yet. He got me a book from one of my most recently discovered authors, Arturo Perez-Reverte’s “The Nautical Chart”.

It was so unexpected. And it’s something that I really like getting – books. And for him to think of getting me one that has not come out in the Philippines yet… that’s really something! Of course the wrapping told me it was a book and I sound like a nerd getting all happy and whatnot over a dang book received as a Christmas present. But one thing I can never get enough of is book. The more the merrier!

Anyway, I have started buying thermal clothing and even got a nice looking jacket for less than Php 500 (less than $10)! And tomorrow, I’m supposed to finalize the trip to Malaysia and Singapore for January 13 and then finalize my stuff for Geneva (and shop!) once we get back here.

I’m dying of excitement.

2003-12-22T00:29:00.000-08:00

make up and men

last saturday at 12 noon, the new helper gave me a postal notice that says i have a package that i need to pick up. the dang EMS courier wouldn't leave the package since i wasn't home last friday (burn in hell!!!! hee.) i had decided not to go thinking the courier was wrong about having office on a Saturday.

And so today, I went to pick up my parcel. I was so excited (since i love surprises and gifts and packages so much) that i woke up at 6am when i had slept at 12am. since i couldn't curtail my excitement, i decided to leave early to get the package.

when i got there, i was informed that i could have gotten it last saturday since the delivery and claims department is open on Saturdays. (dang! if only i knew then). i got my package and went on my very merry and happy and extatic way.

by the time i got the package, i was already seated on the sofa in my aunt's living room (since i had to drop something at their place).

here are the contents:
1. 3 Power Puff packages for my niece from the Power Puff fan club that my friend made her a member of (upon realizing that she loves PowerPuff Girls).
a. 2 Power Puff books
b. 2 Power Puff Books + PPG Calculator (the wonders of interntional trading system
for giving my niece a calculator made in China for a US firm sent to the Phils)
c. 2 PPG Books + PPG sunglasses

2. 2 gift wrapped stuff for me for Christmas

3. 2 Dark Angel Books entitled After the Dark for me and 1 for another friend in the
Phils. who share my passion for Michael Weatherly... este Dark Angel pala!

3. 1 botique bag containing some stuff.

the humor in all this is that 1 botique bag. it wasn't wrapped, which meant that i can open it before Christmas. and open it, i did.

See, the one who sent me the package is this guy that everyone knows likes me (even i know he likes me. kapal ko noh?!). heee. i also like him, but let's not go into the details. he's baseball buff who actually likes Sleepless in Seattle, which still amazes me whenever i think about it.

Back to the story... I opened the botique bag and saw dark bluegreen pouch inside. this of course made one eyebrow go up. i opened the pouch and inside was a huge closed plastic containing... no less than a mascara, 1 lipstick, 2 lipglosses, 1 powder and all sorts of other stuff from Clinique! Stunned is too mild a word to describe how i felt. And then I read his letter that was enclosed with the package.

He himself was having a hard time explaining all these things he had sent me since they're really a lot and well, they're not just for Christmas so I like have some stuff open and i can start enjoying them now and I still have some stuff to open on Christmas day.

This is what he wrote about the Clinique make up kit:

"But there's that one that was kind of extra and not wrapped except in the bag that i was given to carry things home in... The sles girl said to me, 'It's all inside.' Well, I can't explain it very well without giving it all away, but it's still nothing that I would have a need or use for."

heee! the thought of him getting some make up from the sales girl is enough to send me to the floor with laughter! LOL.

I am so mean!

and he was so sweet. hahaha!

2003-12-21T23:25:00.000-08:00

past few days

it's been more than a week with no updates yet.

if you wanna know what's happening, you can try spending the Christmas break in Manila. The traffic is so horrible it takes me practically 1 hour to get to the main road! But nonetheless, I love the Manila weather at this time with its summerlike sunshine combined with cold wind. I love it!

Oh and I watched Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King last 20 December. ROTK is definitely one movie to watch out for! and to all my friends who keep insinuating the slash relationships among the Hobbits... there are loads more scenes to snicker at. heee. I think I shall watch the premier again with my mom and niece at Eastwood. God is soooo good! heee.

I also watched the UA&P Chorale compete with other groups both professional and amateur. I must sy that I once gain felt like I was floating as they sang. Although they didn't win (mainly because the judges were more into the pop culture than an appreciation of the Chorale's repertoire), I must say that they were beyond good. My mom even had an unending praise for the Chorale!

2003-12-11T07:10:00.000-08:00

Egyptian Zodiac

another interesting email i got...

Ammon - God of Prophets
(January 1 to February 2)

Those born under this sign have a sure talent for recognising Mr./Ms. Right the first time they see him/her - for them it's often a matter of love at first sight. When this happens, usually at a chance meeting in public places like shopping malls or restaurants, you can attract him/her by radiating happiness. You'll find it will captivate him/her.

Suchos - God of the Sacred Nile
(February 3 to March 4)

Better known as the Crocodile god, Suchos guarded the treasures of ancient Egypt. Those born under this sign are attracted by beauty, and ancient wise men warned them not to be blinded by it. "Look beyond an attractive appearance and find the real man beneath" they warned, "Listen to your heart, instead of what your eyes tell you."

Osiris- God of Fertility
(March 5 to April 9)

If you were born under this sign, don't expect to fall in love at first sight. Those ruled by Osiris need time for love to put down roots in their hearts, but it will grow stronger until it blossoms into a romance that will last a lifetime.

Ptah God of Truth
(April 10 to May 2)

Ptah' s people are very sincere and have to be careful to avoid being hurt in romance. You'll find your Mr/Ms Right practically on your doorstep because you've known him/her for a long time. Because he's / she's a down-to-earth type who appreciates sincerity, he'll / she'll be attracted to you sooner or later, so don't be pushy when you recognise him /her.

Horus- God of Life
(May 3 to June 16)

The hawk-headed god rules a fickle sign - those born under it have roving eyes and a passionate nature. Life for them is finding a series of Mr/Ms Rights, and they have no trouble doing it. For true romantic happiness, you need a very strong, steady type of man/woman who can tame your restless spirit and still give you the excitement you crave.

Nephtaphis- Goddess of True Love
(June 17 to July 21)

Beautiful Nephtaphis watches over this most dreamily romantic of all signs. Her children are incredibly loyal to their lovers, and are actually capable of becoming one with them in body, mind and soul. For this reason they have to be careful to choose men/women as caring and considerate as themselves, or they will cruelly be taken advantage of.

Seti- God of Thunder and Lightning
(July 22 to August 18)

Like their turbulent guardian, those born under this sign have quicksilver temperaments and have to keep their thermostats lowered if they want their love lives to heat up. You need an even-tempered, understanding type who can put up with your occasional outbursts.

Anubis Protector God
(August 19 to September 21)

If you were lucky enough to be born under this sign, you can look forward to life-long romance that will never stop growing. Mr/Ms Right for you is the mystery man type who has a multi-faceted personality and will Forever be revealing new and fascinating aspects of himself/herself, Thereby continually giving you something new about himself for you to love.

Ra- Sun God
(September 22 to October 15)

You'll have no trouble finding Mr/Ms Right because you're what every man/woman is looking for - tender,understanding, passionate, and Intensely loyal. Men/Women will flock to you, so you can afford to be choosy. Pick the man/woman who is most deserving of the prize you are, and don't look back. Your only fault is a tendency to wonder if you made the right choices in the past, so keep your eyes peeled on the future.

Isis- Goddess of Miracles
(October 16 to November 9)

Those born under the sign of this ancient Egypt's chief goddess have a magic touch. With a smile, they can captivate any man/woman who attracts them. Finding Mr/Ms Right is easy for Isis' sons/daughters - they can spot him/her a mile off and snare him/her with their great charm.

Thoth- God of Light
(November 10 to December 3)

Thoth's children have a hard time displaying their feelings, especially the romantic ones. When you meet Mr/Ms Right, show him how you feel - don't keep him/her guessing.

Hathor- Goddess of Music and the Arts
(December 4 to December 31)

Hathor' s children are in love with love. They tend to fall head over heels in love with the first man that shows any interest in them, and they stick to them like glue. Keep a level head and be sure he's really Mr/Ms Right. Your type of man/woman likes harmony, and you have to show him/her that you're the one who can provide it.

***again, you rule your life. these things are fun to know though. it's a cultural exposure.

2003-12-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

boyfriend no. 2

if you must know, i am quiet taken by my new bf no. 2!

we were driving along katipunan on a very peaceful sunday morning when lo and behold, my friend alerted me. I turned my head and I saw my baby!

OH. MY. BOY. LOGAN.

it was a yellow-orange Lotus cruisin' along Katipunan and I could not help but squeal my heart's delight while I braced myself as we ran after it! My heart did a back flip and made it's split and continued to race on to look at my precious baby!

2003-12-08T20:50:00.000-08:00

Long-not-so-lost friends 3 days delayed

Ever since I met with my friend whom I have not seen for 2 long years, I have had this craving to get her that eek! Halloween miniature stuffed bat from Starbucks (mainly because I really do not know what to give her for Christmas and she did mention that such a thing should be in her possession since she loves saying eek). And so off I went longing to get that thing-a-majig from every Starbucks in Manila since I couldn’t find one from the nearby one.

If there was one thing that kept my spirits alive during a meeting I attended at Starbucks Katipunan, it was seeing this black bat smiling his way into my wallet. And so, I finally had the chance to buy I as a Christmas present for a friend (have I ever told you that I avoid buying Christmas presents in December since I get my presents for everyone whenever I find something I think they’ll like at any time of the year at all?).

Then I sent her an SMS to ask whether she’s attending the novena for Dec. 8 in our school, though I knew she was going to. And so, I decided to meet up with her and have some coffee so I could give her my gift. But I had a wedding dinner to attend to at 9pm at Libis so instead of just hanging out in Starbucks in front of the school, we went to Seattle’s Best in Libis instead. And there I found out the rest of her life story of about 2 years back and she found out the rest of my life story of about 2 years back. With the power konking in on us at Eastwood, we went strolling along the grounds and caught up even more. So now we’ve got the Return of the King planned, wouldn’t you know it, she likes Orlando Bloom! And so I might get suckered into watching the ROTK premier.

But at 9pm, I had to bring her to the parking area so she would know where to get her car and I met up with my friends for the wedding dinner.

I went to Cable Car thinking I’ll see my college friends again. When I entered, I saw my two college friends, the bride-to-be and the groom-to-be and lo and behold! It was our long lost grade school friend, Nin!

See, the bride, my friend, has been my friend since 5th grade. You know? That time when everyone went berserk over their insecurities?! Heee. We went to the same kinder, elementary, high school and university – except for Nin who went to another university. We haven’t had contact with Nin for most of college life and even two years after college till now.

After waiting endlessly for the chicken I ordered, which cable car happened to catch strolling along the streets of Eastwood the minute I ordered for it, and all of them finishing their good meal and pointing out to May where her food so she'd knwo whose plate she's eating on, we got to talk about everything. We even managed to get some barista do his spiel on every coffe and tea available at their coffee place. Now THAT is customer service for you!

And now our friend is getting married and moving to New Jersey with her husband-to-be, another friend is stuck at law school, another one is gung-ho on this guy at work, I’m waiting for my Swiss visa so I could leave January or early February, and Nin is preparing her portfolio for Art school in Paris!

OH MY GOD!
She’s really living her dream. Heck, we’re all living our dreams! Dontcha just love it?!

2003-12-08T20:24:00.000-08:00

gone on my editing mode

for the past few days, I have been tinkering and re-familiarizing myself with adobe premier, live motion, macromedia flash and director. I have been having a blast considering I had to learn how to use a Mac within 15 minutes or so.

It didn’t matter that I had to stay up all night until 5am to finish cutting the interviews and I was dead to the world afterwards. never mind the fact that the pictures do not show up well and now I need to have them scanned. never mind the fact that we’re practically running late on the deadline…

I am using a mac and having a blast with it. and to add icing on the cake, someone just told me he missed me without sounding so mushy.

Life couldn’t be this good!

2003-12-05T10:05:00.000-08:00

dinner at via mare

I had dinner with a friend tonight at Via Mare. I actually have a lot of things to say, but I don't know what they are. I cannot believe that I cannot remember most of what happened while we were having dinner.

I met her at Fully Booked, which was a haven for booklovers like me. I was able to browse through my usual Arturo-Perez fiction to the Soccer Almanac 2004 to Photography in the Digital Age to the Basics of Sketching, Watercolor and Acrylics. After 2 years of not seeing her, I immediately recognized her.

Anyway, after haggling our way on who gets to choose the place to eat, she chose Via Mare and so off we went. She of course ordered her favorite baked oysters and some pasta while i preferred the lasagna.

I can certainly vouch that she has loosened up a bit. I think her 6-month trip to New York and exploration of NYU certainly did it's trick. There's her comment on how one of our friends would be enjoying her time "with the old ladies" instead of referring to them as "mature ones" as she normally would; there's her comment on how she told someone that give her the usual mabait, responsible guy who would make her happy and she'll marry him by tomorrow so long as he's good looking enough. Oh and she also clarified that she doesn't think she'll get married anytime soon at one minute and the next she's telling me how when she was leaving Bel Air a few weeks back, she saw a top-down Mercedes entering the village and until now she has not forgotten the features of the very handsome driver of that wonderful car. And then there's her cookie-jar Christmas gift concept when she asked for my opinion about it. After asking her what, aside from the gift inside the jar, she intends to do to the jar itself to make it more "Christmas-y", she shrugged her shoulders and replied, "oh I plan on buying the gift, not making it. Besides, the jar has a box! " I, of course, had to explain that it doesn't matter if the jar has a box, it has to have a good presentation. Oh and a classic one with me telling her I can't take coffee, but i wouldn't mind having tea. She nodded and commented, "that's right. you can't have coffee because of your... kidneys, right?! and so on and so forth.

You can just imagine what I night I had!

Before we knew it, I had to leave since i needed to go with another friend to pick up someone from the airport.

I sure missed her and would look forward to many more of the same dinners in the future!

2003-12-05T09:42:00.000-08:00

Great Truths

*another funny email*

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT LIFE, THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT LIFE, THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:

1) Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge . . .mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD:

1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're downthere.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers, but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:

1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.

2003-12-03T04:38:00.000-08:00

Dear God email

*This is an email from a friend*

A Nun asked her class to write notes to God.

Here are some they handed in:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:

I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset You made on Tuesday. That was cool.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:
Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don't You keep the ones You already have?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:
Maybe Cain and Abel would not have killed each other if they had their own rooms. That's what my Mom did for me and my brother.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:
If You watch me in church on Sunday, I'll show You my new shoes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:

I bet it is very hard to love everyone in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I'm having a hard time loving all of them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:
In school they told us what You do. Who does it when You are on vacation?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:
Are You really invisible or is it just a trick?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:

Is it true my father won't get into heaven if he uses his bowling words in the house?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:

Did You mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an accident?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:
Who draws the lines around the countries?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:
I went to this wedding and they kissed right in the church. Is that OK?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:
Did You really mean "do unto others as they do unto you"? Because if You did, then I'm going to get my brother good.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:
Thank You for the baby brother, but I think you got confused because what I prayed for was a puppy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:
Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before. You can look it up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:
I want to be just like my Daddy when I get big, but not with so much hair all over.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:
You don't have to worry about me; I always look both ways.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:
I think about You sometimes, even when I'm not praying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:
Of all the people who worked for You, I like Noah and David the best.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:
My brother told me about being born but it doesn't sound right. They're just kidding, aren't they?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:
I would like to live 900 years just like the guy in the Bible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear God:
We read Thomas Edison made light. But in Sunday school they said You did it. So, I bet he stole Your idea.

2003-12-03T04:23:00.000-08:00

paintings made in heaven

I was in Megamall going my merry way along the fourth floor where the galleries are located and I was in heaven. I feel like this everytime I would pass by that place. It's just too surreal to be surrounded by such beauty and it's one whole area of galleries!

In any case, I was also being my usual self and looking into the paintings -absorbing the first impression it gives me and then moving nearer to get the details of the art work... and then of course I noticed something abotu a certain painting... and then another... then another and so on and on i went from one painting to another. appreciating their beauty ...and their flaws because beauty can never be such without its flaw.

But then, when I called out to my friend and budding artist to give my comments, she ran as far away from me as possible. I guess my one comment about the proper lighting of a certain painting of a person she knew traumatized her into staying away from me when I am ready to give my comment on such unimaginably beautiful pieces of work a man could ever create.

...and so I had to curtail my tongue and curtailing it meant that the beauty that i see in those minute details that others would see as flaws (because i do point out the flaws and proclaim the beauty despite it) stayed within me thus ruining my appreciation of the beauty for beauty that remains unshared curtails the happiness that ti gives.

but she did make up for it - she MORE THAN made up for it. she brought me to another gallery showing the works of Lani Ciani and by god is she wonderful! She has got to be the most gifted Surrealist painters I ahve ever encountered. She had uch attention to detail that the abaca ropes in her painting looks like the actual abaca that I use for my craftwork. Her foreplay with the hues and lighting produces such depth that combines realism, surrealism and the computer generated 3-D figures all in one work of art. Her work captures you into the realm of her painting with your hands and fingers almost feeling the rough burning texture of the ropes as you strum them. You ever feel almost afraid of touching the rope for the maple leaf might fall thus earning the artist's wrath.

OH. MY. GOD! I am in heaven!

2003-12-03T04:06:00.000-08:00

passports

i went to the Department of Foreign Affairs today to get my passport for my trip to india. i was issued a letter by Cel from the National Youth Commission for me to get my passport in the best possible time ever from a government institution.

Because of that letter from the NYC, I was given the courtesy lane. I was done with all the documentation requirements and payment within 3 hours. Wow! what a great feat! and I ahve the NYC t thank for that.

But I do have to say that I got a tini-bit guilty when i went down to have my documents photocopied. there were a gazillion of people downstairs lining up for in the usual line that people wanting passports have to go through. i simply cannot believe that a lot of people would want to be a part of the system and get their passports!

...except when i think about FPJ running for presidency... hmmm... maybe these people all decided to elave the country after FPJ announced his candidacy?! heee.

anyway, i'm getting my passport on friday at 4pm. wish me luck!

2003-11-30T00:01:00.000-08:00

welcome back

i arrived from Los Banos, Laguna yesterday at around 3:30pm.

what a relief! by 2nd to the last day of training, i got realy sick and started feeling unwell. it might have been because my Manila stomach could not tolerate the cleaner mineral water of Laguna or it might have been stress. I mean, ending a session that starts at 8am and ends at 11:30pm is very stressful so it could ahve been the cause of my demise.

although i was sick and running a 39.6 fever, i still had the courage, time and strength to go to WOW! Philippines since it was Surigao's turn to host and alba invited me to go with her to Intramuros... which reminds me, it was indeed SABETH and not Sabel.

So i went directly to her place bringing with me my luggage and we left for Intramuros. But then, her mom who was supposed to meet us wasn't there and so we decided to buy some of SABETH's infamous grilled chicken and some sayongsong and head to the Fort so I could buy my chicken sandwich (since my tastebuds weren't working).

We arrived home after stopping by the shoulder of C5 so we could finish our ice cream. Along the way, i told some ghost stories about the hotel room i stayed in in Los Banos and how 2 of my temmates saw this dark figure of a lady 3 times crossing from the door to the bathroom while we were meeting as a team inside the room and how my roommate heard some kind of moaning two times while she was taking a nap after lunch lady and they were shocked. heee.

anyway, we got home, ate some dinner and i slept at 9:45pm, which is way too early for me.

i woke up at 2am because it was too cold. i woke up again at 4am because the sheets were too hot and my body was burning and i had to go to the bathroom several times. then, i finally slept at 5am. but by 7am, i was up and was feeling sick again that ate alma was kind enough to buy me some medicine.

right now, it's working.

let me tell you, my body seems to have a guage all on its own because normally people would time when they needed to take Biogesic. As for me, my body would heat up and then i would know that it has been 4 hours since i last took the medicine and i need to take it again.

2003-11-26T03:05:00.000-08:00

i hate control freaks!

i'm in a seminar right now and we're located in one of the better esorts in los banos, laguna and all i can think of is how much i wanna leave this place!

it's not because of the place itself. it's one of the better resorts that i have been to and it's more like a hotel than a resort.

what i do hate are the rules and trainers.

the rules says that we cannot leave the vicinity. what the $%^$?! i am not in kindergarten, thank you! i do not need to be told where i can or cannot go. nor do i need to be told that i have to be punctual for any of the activities since i do know what i'm doing here. grrrr!

then there're the trainers who begin the session at 8am and ends at 11:30pm! they are not only boring, but they are unapproachable and do not know how to adapt to the wavering attention of the tired and sleep-deprived participants! not to mention the very scenic view of the mountain and the 5 inviting pool that i can see from our seminar room while the trainor reprimands our group for parting the curtain.

geeeez!

i have never hated trainers nor any trianing in my entire life!

2003-11-23T09:26:00.000-08:00

los banos training

yep folks, i'll be out from 24-28 November for a Training of Trainors in Los Banos so... see yah when i get back.

by the way, i just watched the CARAGA region perform in Intramuros and i had fun. Of course the roasted chicken from SABEL helped too ;) and i loved that rice cake they have!!!

see you guys on 29 november for the WOW Philippines' feature on Surigao and make sure to go and taste their food!

2003-11-22T05:04:00.000-08:00

The sucker returns

hehe.

what can i say? i saw Mandy Moore up front during the MTV Music Summit for Aids. We were at The Fort by 3pm and we lined up. I was actually shocked to see very few people around considering that the concert was for free and there were lots of other bands performing.

After making us wait for a couple of hours, the gates opened at about 5:30pm as opposed to the 4:00pm scheduled opening. The concert itself started at 8:00pm and not at 4pm as promised also.

Let me just tell you that this is the first free concert I went to... well I usually go to concerts for free, but that's coz my friends in the advertising industry invite me and give me the free tickets as well as free dinners that comes with it. But this was different.

It was a mixture of A-D crowd. Although everyone was polite about the whole thing, there are certainly some people who would have received an axe kick from me if it weren't for my unusual patience. I guess this alternative-guyband-kickass(literally)-chick can, after all, tame herself in public.

Anyway, our early arrival paid of because we were standing right in front of the stage.

First thought: kill this Nickelodeon bitchy guy ranting on-stage like he was god. doesn't he know "I AM"? The nerve! After a few more minutes, the VJs came out.

Second thought: Dang is Donita pretty! I wish I could be this pretty! :)

Third thought: What the heck is Ruffa doing in the Philippines?! Please don't say anything stupid, please don't say anything stupid!

Fourth thought: OMG is Mandy Moore tall! She's so pretty! I'm changing my wish: I wish I were as pretty (though not a look-alike) as Mandy Moore!!! Please, please, pretty please!

heee.

After the whole Mandy Moore fiasco and with no other than PGMA appearing, we went home to sleep.

2003-11-19T02:17:00.000-08:00

MOMENTS IN LIFE

this is something that a friend emailed to me and i think it's nice so i want to share it with everyone...

There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real!

When the door of happiness closes, another opens; but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one, which has been opened for us.

Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile, because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile.

Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end,
you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

Please send this message to those people who mean something to you (I JUST DID); to those who have touched your life in one way or another; to those who make you smile when you really need it; to those who make you see the brighter side of things when you are really down; to those whose friendship you appreciate;
to those who are so meaningful in your life.

If you don't send it, don't worry, nothing bad will happen to you; you will just miss out on the opportunity to brighten someone's day with this message!!!

Don't count the years-count the memories..........

Don't count your misfortunes,

count your blessings.......

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take; but by the moments that take our breath away!

2003-11-16T08:02:00.000-08:00

Just another email survey

1. WHAT FULL NAME? Soliloquy

2. WHAT COLOUR PANTS ARE YOU WEARING? white... it's my taekwondo uniform

3. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? linkin park's one step closer... my friend is playing it from her notebook :)

4. WHAT ARE THE LAST 4 DIGITS OF YOUR PHONE NUMBER? 5691

5.WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? corn on cob (don't tell my ortho)7. WHERE DO YOU PLAN TO GO ON YOUR HONEYMOON? honeymoon? HONEYMOON? what the - ? i don't even have a boyfriend right now!

9. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? alba

10. WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE GENDER? i'm a sucker for eyes

11. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT YOU THIS? hmmm... lemme think about it... LOL. of course!

12. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? tired from my training

13. FAVORITE DRINK? ice tea and hot tea, apple juice, coke light, water

14. HOW DO YOU EAT AN OREO? i get it from its pack using my fingers, bring it closer to my lips, open my mouth and bite on it

15. WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR BOY/GIRLFRIEND/HUSBAND/WIFE? ok, what part of no-BF can't you understand? ...well since i do like this guy, i like the fact that we're both honest to each other and i'm his baby

16. FAVORITE SPORT: martial arts, soccer, tennis, swimming, chess

17. HAIR COLOR? black

18. EYE COLOR? brown

19. SIBLINGS AND THEIR AGES? Celle - 28 Dong – 26

20. HOW MANY CHILDREN DO YOU WANT? 3

21. FAV. FOOD? Italian, Japanese, American... anything except Miditerranean

22. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Matrix Revolution

23. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? 21 August

24. ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT? i still believe in tradition when it comes to asking someone out

25. DO YOU LIKE SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY?happy

26. SUMMER OR WINTER? autumn eh

27. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs

28. RELATIONSHIPS OR ONE NIGHT STANDS? again i adhere to tradition

29. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? vanilla

30. DO YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO WRITE BACK? yes

31. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? don't know

32. WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? doesn't matter

33. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? The Flanders Panel by Arturo Perez-Reverte

34. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? some company logo with a calendar - supplier of my mom

35. FAVORITE BOARD GAME? chess! CHESS! i miss playing chess!

36. FAVORITE SMELL? Clinique Happy

37. LEAST FAVORITE SMELL? anything vanilla

38. FAVORITE SOUND? Anything and everything, but rap. Alternative, R&B, Pop-Rock

39. LEAST FAVORITE SOUND? rap

40. WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD? not knowing what will happen to my Switzerland thing

41. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING? it's daytime

42. FAVORITE MOVIE? Matrix, LOTR, Moulin Rouge, Anna and the King, Sound of Music, Lara Croft Tomb Raider, The Bone Collector, 10 Things I Hate About You, Italian Job, Life is Beautiful, etc., etc.

43. WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED? the floor

44. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER? 7

50. DO YOU EAT ICE CREAM CAKE WITH A FORK OR A SPOON? spoon

2003-11-15T08:27:00.000-08:00

friends

saw monch today in Glorietta after I bought my new coat. It was so refreshing to see a familiar face in Glorietta. I just had to shout her name at the top of my lungs from where I was. Of course everybody within 5 meters heard despite the noise from the early Christmas party that was ongoin, but who cares? At least I saw monch and we tried to catch up on the last two years within 5 minutes or so.

hee.

2003-11-15T08:24:00.000-08:00

i'm a sucker

i cannot believe how much a sucker i am for Mandy Moore. Me, a 24-year old level-headed woman!

Since I want to watch Mandy Moore during the MTV benefit show so badly, I have logged on to MTV, registered, joined the online contest, copied the mechanics, listed all other possible ways I can get a free ticket (since it's a benefit concert for some cause and the advertisers were rich enough to pay for the cost), and asked my friend to demand for a ticket everytime she loads up gas in her car. yep! i am a sucker!

call me cheesy, but i still would like those MTV benefit show tickets because I wanna see her perform live.

hee.

2003-11-15T01:57:00.000-08:00

tinkering with alba's cam

testing 1, 2, 3, ...

...and if you really wanna know how alba drives...

...alba checking out the guy in the car behind us

... while stuck in manila traffic.

oh and the new coat that we both liked...

i'm wearing it!!!! ...

2003-11-13T08:50:00.000-08:00

Birthdays: (Look below for your characteristics)

January 01 - 09 ~ Dog
January 10 - 24 ~ Mouse
January 25 - 31 ~ Lion

February 01 - 05 ~ Cat
February 06 - 14 ~ Dove
February 15 - 21 ~ Turtle
February 22 - 28 ~ Panther

March 01 - 12 ~ Monkey
March 13 - 15 ~ Lion
March 16 - 23 ~ Mouse
March 24 - 31 ~ Cat

April 01 - 03 ~ Dog
April 04 - 14 ~ Panther
April 15 - 26 ~ Mouse
April 27 - 30 ~ Turtle

May 01 - 13 ~ Monkey
May 14 - 21 ~ Dove
May 22 - 31 ~ Lion

June 01 - 03 ~ Mouse
June 04 - 14 ~ Turtle
June 15 - 20 ~ Dog
June 21 - 24 ~ Monkey
June 25 - 30 ~ Cat

July 01 - 09 ~ Mouse
July 10 - 15 ~ Dog
July 16 - 26 ~ Dove
July 27 - 31 ~ Cat

August 01 - 15 ~ Monkey
August 16 - 25 ~ Mouse
August 26 - 31 ~ Turtle

September 01 - 14 ~ Dove
September 15 - 27 ~ Cat
September 28 - 30 ~ Dog

October 01 ! - 15 ~ Monkey
October 16 - 27 ~ Turtle
October 28 - 31 ~ Panther

November 01 - 16 ~ Lion
November 17 - 30 ~ Cat

December 01 - 16 ~ Dog
December 17 - 25 ~ Monkey
December 26 - 31 ~ Dove

If you are a Turtle:
You are near to perfect and nice at heart. The examples of your kindness are always circulated in groups of people. You, too, love peace. You wouldn't like to retaliate even to a person who is in the wrong. You are loved due to this. You do not wish to talk behind one's back. People love the way you always treat them. You can give, give and give love, and the best part is that you do not expect it back in return. You are generous enough. Seeing things in a practical light is what remains the best trait of you guys.

If you are a Dog:
A very loyal and sweet person! Your loyalty can never be doubted. You are quite honest and sincere when it comes to your attitude towards working. You are a very simple person, indeed. Absolutely hassle free, humble and down-to-earth!! That explains the reason why your friends cling on to you! You have a good taste for clothes. If your wardrobe is not updated with what is trendy, you sure are depressed. Popular and easy-going. You have a little group of dignified friends, all of them being quality-personified.

If you are a Dove:
You symbolize a very happy-go-lucky approach in life. Whatever the surroundings may be, grim or cheerful, you remain unaffected. In fact, you spread cheer wherever you go. You are the leader of your group of friends and good at consoling people in their times of need. You dislike hypocrisy and tend to shirk away from hypocrites. They can never be in your good books, no matter what! You are very methodical and organized in your work. No amount of mess, hence, can ever encompass you. Beware, it is easy for you to fall in love....

If you are a Mouse:
Always up to some sort of a mischief! The mischievous gleam in your eyes is what makes you so cute and attractive to everyone. You are an extremely fun-to-be-with kind of person. No wonder, people seek for your company and look forward to include you for all get-togethers. However, you are sensitive, which is a drawback. People need to select their words while talking to you. If someone tries to fiddle around and play with words while dealing with you, it is enough to invite your wrath. God bless the person then!

If you are a Lion:
Quite contradictory to your name, you are a peace loving person. You best try to avoid a situation wherein you are required to fight. An outdoor person, you DISLIKE sitting at one place for a long duration. You are a born leader, and have it in you how to tactfully derive work from people. You love being loved, and when you receive your share of limelight from someone, you are all theirs!!!! Well, well... hence some people could even take an advantage, flatter you to the maximum and get their work done. So be careful.....

If you are a Cat:
An extremely lovable, adorable person, sometimes shy, with a passion for quick wit. At times, you prefer quietness. You love exploring various things and going into depth of each thing. Under normal circumstances you're cool, when given a reason to, you are like a volcano waiting to erupt. You're a fashion bird. People look forward to you as an icon associated with fashion. Basically, you mingle along freely but don't like talking much to strangers. People feel very easy in your company. You observe care in choosing your friends.

If you are a Panther:
You are mysterious. You are someone who can handle pressure with ease, and can handle any atmosphere without going berserk. You can be mean at times, and love to gossip with your selected group. Very prim and proper. You like all situations and things to be in the way you desire, which, sometimes is not possible. As a result, you may lose out in some relationships. But otherwise, you love to help people out from difficult and tight spots when they really need you.

If you are a Monkey:
Very impatient and hyper!!! You want things to be done as quick as possible. At heart, you are quite simple and love if you are the center of attraction. That way, you people are unique. You would like to keep yourself safe from all the angles. Shall your name be dragged or featured in any sort of a controversy, you then go all panicky! Therefore, you take your precautions from the very beginning. When you foresee anything wrong, your sixth sense is what saves you from falling in traps. Quite a money minded bunch you people are!!

I'm a lion grrrrawwrrrr!

...did that sound like a lion?

2003-11-13T08:28:00.000-08:00

Kapeng Malamig

translated: Cold Coffee

we went to the critics' night for this play to be held at St. Scholastica Manila. It was a great script. Man, I cannot tell you how amazing this particular scene was. They were showing a bed scene where the actor was doing a monologue while a girl lay beside him. they were standing against the black background of the stage. It was perfectly executed - with the proper blending of writing, props, and acting! The spotlight was at an angle that gives you an aerial view of the scene! by god did the director do good!

It was a great play with a few lose ends to tie up. I gave my comments that hopefully would help improve the whole play. At the start of the commentary session, there was this theater professor who did not even bother to congratulate the performers and the whole production crew. He just blurted out on how the whole thing was illogical and whatnot. He was correct in some cases - logic plays an important part of theater, everything you do on stage has to have a purpose, the acting skills and lines of particular characters needed improvement, etc., etc. What irked me was the callous delivery of his criticism. He was nasty, cruel, shameful, and down right uncaring malicious.

so i prodded my friend to give hers to raise the spirits of the downcast production people and actors. i hope our delivery was more constructive that his.

i had so much fun reliving my theater experience again. it reminded me of the countless productions i've written and directed. by the way, they had too much stuff on the stage and they weren't able to maximize it.

hmmm... maybe it's just my predilection to minimalism. what do you think?

2003-11-13T08:09:00.000-08:00

Tell me when your birthday is

Whether you write your online name or your real name, i'd like to be able to greet my friends and fellow bloghoppers on their birthdays so...

I would like to be reminded of your birthday each year using an excellent service offered by BirthdayAlarm.com.

Please click on the following link for me and enter your name and birthday, it only takes a few seconds:

birthdayalarm.com

Thank you

2003-11-12T23:28:00.000-08:00

All who love astrology, raise your hand

Pisces (Feb 19 - Mar 20)
You are an escapist - you have this knack of avoiding issues if they seem unpleasant. You delve into past memories to escape your present woes. There is also a tendency towards alcoholism and even drug abuse & you are on a search for some kind of 'high'. You also love to flirt and too much of it may send the wrong, dangerous signals out to other people. Once in a while, a dark mood will descend on you and you become rather unsociable and withdrawn.

Advice:
Trust your instincts, but also be in control of your perceptions. Whenever the escapist tendency hits you, join a seminar or get a pep talk from a friend to get your perspective right.

...who the heck gives these people the "vision" to claim that what they say is true?! I can't even relate to this!

2003-11-12T03:04:00.000-08:00

What's your Matrix name?

Call me Venus.