floating along

i'm moving

2010-10-25T22:12:00.002-04:00

Not physically though! My blog is getting a much-needed revamp, and sadly, that meant leaving blogger where I've been for the past 6 years and migrating on over to Wordpress. Catch more of my updates at ladykrystle.wordpress.com from now on! I have been able to import all my old blog entries though, so no content will be missed from my "old" blog here. See you there!

what i'll save up for

2010-10-11T17:36:00.005-04:00

Nati came down from Kingston to visit me for the weekend and I couldn't help but notice her Cartier watch. I am normally much more drawn to watches with bigger faces but something about the simplicity and classic elegance of this watch made me glance at it time and time again. I finally decided to look up the model name, and it's called the Ronde Solo de Cartier Small Ladies' Watch in Stainless Steel. I think I have just changed my mind about that big ticket item I was going to buy for myself when the time comes for me to (sadly and regrettably) leave New York. Originally I was thinking of splurging on a Chanel bag, but I think a watch is more up my alley. This will definitely make my eventual leaving New York a bit more tolerable.

happy socks!

2010-10-01T10:06:00.003-04:00

I recently bought myself a pair of Happy Socks from Nordstrom Rack where they sell them at $5 a pair instead of the usual $10. I know they're made for the men, but I couldn't let the guys have all the fun. Who can resist wearing a pair of socks as fun as these?? Only Paul Smith socks like the one Aldrich got for Ming on his birthday could match the joy one feels upon seeing these on your feet. And those cost $30 a pair! These are much more worth the money :D

boredom breeds productivity

2010-09-27T15:08:00.003-04:00

I always seem to find myself creating something when I'm bored. Maybe I should be bored more often, then I'll have much more to show for my time! Here's a little something I came up with one night last week. I was too lazy to trace the lines so the illustration's not in vector form right now. One day I will find the time (and the patience) to do that.

labor day weekend

2010-09-03T10:11:00.002-04:00

Everyone's obviously in vacation mode now. People are coming into the office at 10am instead of the usual 9:30, and the subway trains were practically empty today on the way to work. I am a bit (okay, maybe a lot) jealous of the people who are off to vacation somewhere nice for the weekend. It helps though that we get off work today at 2pm (yey!) And, we're all heading to Queens for some Thai food at SriPraPhai! It's located almost across the street from Red Ribbon, two blocks up from Jollibee along Roosevelt Ave. and it's supposed to be the best Thai restaurant in all of New York City. I'm super excited. :D

red dress up high

2010-08-31T22:11:00.005-04:00

Something about this red dress hanging off a second-floor balcony-slash-fire-escape seemed really dramatic. I couldn't not take a snapshot of it.

photo shoot at work

2010-08-24T19:35:00.007-04:00

After weeks of preparation, we finally had our two-day photo shoot for our client last Thursday and Friday! It was an amazing experience putting together all the settings with Luca (the prop stylist) and his team, ogling over the outfits Peter styled and watching as the photo assistants created lighting magic under Cyrus' direction. There was also Ludo, Mr. French digital technician, who kept a watchful eye on focus and lighting on the iMac screen whenever Cyrus fired his camera and Erin who made sure everything was going according to schedule. Everything went pretty smoothly! I'm still bummed that we weren't able to set up the green living room we had planned for the first day, but oh well. The "hobby room" and the "music room" from the second day turned out great!

It was a bit overwhelming being surrounded by so many beautiful people. One of the models who we cast as the older, slightly "not-so-pretty" guy turned out to be the hottest in the bunch. *insert Rietje's sigh here* (She had a major crush on that guy, Philip.) Even the stylists were gorgeous! Funnily enough, I found out that Peter, the wardrobe stylist, actually used to be a model himself but has since decided it wasn't for him and now styles outfits for people like Maroon 5. He has got himself an amazing job, I must say!

I was pretty flattered though when one of the models, Ming, came out wearing an outfit that looked eerily, okay, exactly, like mine! I don't think Peter had done it intentionally, but he later joked, "You're my muse!" when he saw the "similarity".

Here's me in the "bachelor pad" setting

And here's Ming in the "home office" setting with Peter

I wanted to grab so many things off the clothes racks they had brought there. They were mostly filled with goodies from J.Crew and Club Monaco. *sigh* If only we could keep the clothes! Peter said had we been in L.A., we would probably have been able to keep them. Sayang!

my summer friday

2010-08-13T18:19:00.004-04:00

This is how I spent the afternoon of my third Summer Friday! (We get four Fridays of our choice off between Independence Day and Labor Day.) I haven't touched my acrylics in almost two years... actually, make that three! I haven't touched them since I finished Color Theory class in my first semester at Parsons.

I remembered I still have a few blank canvases left over from my art student days so today I decided to paint on one of them. Before I could get started, I actually had to go out and buy a palette from Lee's Art Shop a few doors down because I realized I'd thrown away my old one. (It was probably unbearably stained.) When I got back, I then realized I only had one paintbrush left too. I was hoping I had a thinner one around but, oh well, I didn't want to go back out again, so I made do.

I'm really not a painter, and I've only used my Guerra paints for those Color Theory projects that took Cel and I forever to finish. (I still cringe thinking about the grayscale half-painting half-collage piece that took us 10 hours each to complete! Haha) I wasn't really expecting a masterpiece of any sort to emerge from these hands of mine. I was not gifted to be a painter. Haha, I must say though, I'm pretty happy with how this turned out all things considered. I couldn't really fix things that needed more detail because of the width of my brush, but I don't think I ever intended to fill in the details of my face anyway. I like doing faceless sketches and paintings; it makes life so much easier. *grins*

Sooo, this might look familiar... because it's based off the picture I posted maybe 3 entries ago, hehehe :) Now that I've finished cleaning the palette and putting all the paint back into my art box, off to other things! I'm really excited for Karaoke tonight in K-town! Jared has been talking about organizing this for over a year now, and it's finally happening! Hurray! :)

miso soup mishap

2010-08-11T17:16:00.002-04:00

Today I decided to forgo my recent obsession with Soon Doo Boo from Manna Kitchen and revert back to my former obsession of Oyakodon from Ennju. I had my bowl of chicken and egg on rice in front of me, my chopsticks in hand, and my eyes glued onto my computer screen. I was watching White Collar on Hulu during my lunch break and was well, busy swooning over Neil Caffrey (Matt Bomer, I love you, your style, your suits and your blue eyes!) Next thing I know, I had spilled a spoonful of my complimentary miso soup onto my pants, and not just anywhere, but right at the crotch! I was horrified. I had to wait a good 30 minutes for my gray pants to dry and for the spot to disappear. Thank goodness nobody needed me and had wanted me to come over to their desks! Else I would have had to stand up looking like I had peed right through my pants! *laughs* Hayayay.

ramen coma

2010-08-09T13:11:00.002-04:00

I think I might have slurped down that bowl of Shoyu ramen at Terakawa Ramen much too quickly. My tummy is not feeling all that well at the moment. The ramen, from the soup, to the noodles and that perfectly soft-boiled egg, was so delicious I just started stuffing my face with it all. Now I am regretting not taking my time with it. Food comaaaaaaaa...

my hair in a bun

2010-08-07T00:10:00.005-04:00

This is the first time I've worn my hair in a bun since I had my last ballet recital when I was, I don't know, maybe 4 years old? *laughs* It was actually fun taking all those bobby pins and just sticking them in "strategic locations" to keep the strands in place. Quite fulfilling! I still don't know how the auditioning ballerinas who I see waiting in line on 19th Street everyday on my way to work keep their buns so neat, without a hair out of place. It's definitely a learned art.

Anyway, I wore a super comfy no-fuss outfit today. I felt like I was walking around in pajamas! I really love my hot pink top, it's super soft and flowy. I remember wearing this to my brother's birthday dinner almost exactly a year ago. How time flies!

red mango graphics

2010-08-02T22:00:00.007-04:00

I know this Red Mango store has been open for almost 7 months now, but I never really got to "celebrate" this illustration that I created for the counter wall at the SM Mall of Asia. I remember working on this graphic over countless wintry nights at our poorly heated sublet apartment on W 51st Street (I would sometimes wear my puffy down jacket over my pajamas because it was so cold in there!) I've never seen this store in person, and I haven't seen the SM Megamall store either. I guess everything will have to wait until I'm back in Manila for the holidays this December.

The illustration
I was a bit bummed to see they hadn't gotten the measurements right and had zoomed into the illustration and cut away a large part of it when they applied it to the wall, especially since I'm sure I was working on the right size/proportions. Oh well. Achi said she could have it changed eventually, but I don't think we're ever gonna end up doing that. I wish the illustration didn't end up getting zoomed in this huge though (especially since I might have some curves there that aren't as smooth as I would have liked them to be! hehehe oops!)

As seen at the SM Mall of Asia store
Another thing I just finished working on last night is a new set of slides for the rotating TV menus we have at the stores. I remember having done the first set a year ago in haste because we were opening the first-ever Red Mango Philippines store at TriNoma in a few days. I've realized, now that I've done the second set, that the first set from last year looked quite bad! I guess my design sense has been taken up a notch since then! *laughs* It's funny how different you can feel about something once time turns its hands. It's amusing looking back on things you've done, things you were actually happy about or even proud of, and seeing them now and making a face thinking, "I actually thought that looked good?" Hehehe.

Overall, I guess I still retained a bit of a feel from the first set, but I've just buttoned it up a bit. And so I present a before-and-after snapshot of a couple of the slides on the menu. At the very least I think I've been able to make the slides more cohesive as a set the second time around :) Or do people think otherwise? Oopsie if they do hehe!

old town in san diego

2010-07-20T22:22:00.005-04:00

I always knew achi was bossy, but I didn't know she knew how to brandish a whip! *laughs* Poor shoti!

Some other pictures from Old Town include cute little cacti and a stretched piece of cowhide. I looooove the illustration of the Virgin Mary on the wooden bench!

my new camera bag

2010-07-16T00:03:00.004-04:00

Well, it's technically not new because it's vintage. Let's just say it's recently acquired :) I love it!

cool shoesies

2010-07-14T22:25:00.005-04:00

These shoes are so cuuute and funky! Figures that the shoes' name is Funk a Delico! They're on sale for $119.99 (originally $160) at Need Supply but I have no intention of buying them. I doubt I'll ever really wear them, I just get a kick out of looking at them, hehe. Besides, I don't have money to spare!

waiting for the weekend again

2010-07-12T16:20:00.004-04:00

Listening to: Your Love is My Drug by Ke$ha

This song is so cheery! It makes me want to let my hair down and spin around with arms outstretched, eyes closed, face towards the sky, without a care for the world.

The problem is, as I stare at the calendar on my computer, I see that it's only Monday. There will be no letting my hair down until Friday. This past weekend has been fun enough to fuel me through this week though. We went up to Greenwich, Connecticut for a barbecue pool party and all I can say about Meredith's house is wow. Infinity pool and hot tub, plus steaks, burgers and corn grilled on a Weber grill, plus a grassy yard surrounded by blue and purple hydrangeas where we ran around barefoot playing soccer and tossing frisbees equals a Saturday very well spent. I loved it, even if I did not get to swim and had to satisfy myself with wading and hanging my legs off the edge of the pool. Rainer is one lucky guy. He can come up to Greenwich whenever he feels like it now especially since his wedding with Meredith's in less than a month! So exciting :)

my skimmer design

2010-06-16T23:44:00.006-04:00

Yey! My skimmer design for punchdrunkpanda's out! Because I wasn't able to think of a name for my design, Nati ended up calling it "Magnolia". The design doesn't really resemble a Magnolia, or any particular flower for that manner, hehehe, but the spirit of it is still quite girly and I guess because of that, a flower's name works well enough. I still think the perfect name is eluding us though.

Still, I'm pretty happy with the way this turned out! Now if only Nati and Horn would give their artists a free pair/piece of whatever they designed for punchdrunkpanda as part of the compensation. *hint hint* :D

And oh, is it obvious that I love pink?

Click on the image and it'll take you to the "Magnolia" product page on punchdrunkpanda's website where you can purchase this, or click around and find other skimmers and laptop sleeves that tickle your fancy. Ayan Nati, free advertising! :)

passion pit

2010-06-09T17:12:00.008-04:00

Lately I've been listening a lot to Passion Pit. And for the longest time I couldn't sing along to any of the songs because I couldn't quite make out what he's saying. Now that I've checked out the lyrics, I'm surprised at how abstract they are. They're actually a bit hard to interpret, but that's precisely why I find them so intriguing. Here's a stanza I love that's a bit more straightforward.

Oh, I know
That whatever happens to you
whatever happens to me
I hope that I'll fall asleep
Knowing that you'll always be
The story with no ending
From Live to Tell the Tale by Passion Pit

stress.

2010-06-04T17:32:00.002-04:00

My goodness. Nakakastress. I wonder how the maleta move-in at the apartment is doing. I cannot believe they actually have 14 pieces of luggage. Well at least they got rid of all the boxes. And I guess that's actually a really good number considering 3 of those are my sister's and Andrew's and the rest hold my brother's whole life for the past 4 years at Cornell. I can only imagine the state my apartment (okay, our apartment) will be in after they cram all the stuff in. Huhu. It's going to be a "cozy" three weeks.

On the bright side, I'm glad to have family around! But you gotta admit living on your own also has its merits. No one to clean up after, no one to worry about sharing the bathroom with, no one to look for you when you're out, hehe :)

my brother's graduation

2010-06-01T23:15:00.004-04:00

The last of the Tanmantiongs has finally graduated from college! And with Cum Laude honors at that, sooo proud of you shoti! :) Hmm... I suddenly feel really old. I've just realized that I'm now 3 years out of Ateneo and a year out of Parsons! Time is speeding by much too quickly. Tsk tsk! Anyway, thought I'd post a picture of the family that was taken at Cornell University the day before the graduation ceremonies. I really love Cornell's campus. Every time I visit I can't help but think I should have gone there for my bachelor's degree just because I find the campus so beautiful! (That's assuming I'd have been good enough to get into Cornell!)

Thanks to Andrew for taking the picture!

her morning elegance

2010-05-25T23:57:00.003-04:00

Such a beautiful stop motion video for an equally enchanting song from Oren Lavie. So sweet and whimsical.

need something to do

2010-05-18T14:35:00.004-04:00

I wish I had something interesting to talk about, but I don't. I just need to be doing something other than image searching right now. I wish I could be working on something for Red Mango back at the apartment instead of trying to look busy here, hehehe. Oh well, work will pick up tomorrow. I should enjoy these rare days of relaxation (and boredom) haha!

What is there to talk about? Oh! I just finished designing a skimmer for Nati and Horn's brainchild, Punchdrunk Panda, last week. The skimmers I made probably won't be out for another few months but I'm quite excited to see people walking around with my art on their feet. Well, that's only if someone actually buys the skimmers I designed, hehe. I hope people do! If they sell well, maybe Nati and Horn will give me more projects to do. I'll post pictures of the skimmers when they're already on sale. For now, you can just check out the other designs (for skimmers and laptop sleeves) they currently have on sale at their site.

cinco de mayo

2010-05-14T21:12:00.002-04:00

I thought I'd just post a picture of the Cinco de Mayo celebration we had at our office. The interns made some pretty amazing teaser posters and decorations (which I don't have pictures of, unfortunately) and put together a playlist that really made you feel like you were in Mexico. We had sangria, tortilla chips with salsa and guacamole, and a variety of paper mustaches to choose from and pose with! It's nice to cut loose and just hang out every once in a while. I love that we're getting to do fun, bonding activities like this more and more at Landor :)

Clockwise from top right: Karen, Me, Erin and Natalie

trinkets

2010-04-30T00:23:00.004-04:00

I buy a lot of useless stuff. A lot of pretty, but useless stuff. It's not that they provide no utility, I just seem to like owning them but not using them. I have hipster glasses gathering dust on top of my dresser, brooches that sit in my drawer never seeing the light of day, and fancy rings and earrings that I couldn't resist buying but have yet to wear. I suffer the same problem with shoes, high heels in particular. All the flat shoes I buy get trodden on right away, but those skyscraper heels are another story. I buy them because they look sooo beautiful (and sexy), but I almost never wear them because I can never find the right occasion to subject my feet to the torture of the eternal tiptoe. But that's just my excuse.

I realize I must put a stop to this nonsense. Either I stop buying the stuff altogether, or I should start wearing all of them so that they don't go to waste... I've decided on the latter. I don't think I can resist the urge to buy something if it's already caught my eye, so I better just make sure I depreciate its value properly through use.

To start off this new resolution of mine, I pinned this brooch onto my blazer and wore it to work yesterday. I got this for (I think) $2 at a flea market on 6th Avenue more than a year ago. It's missing one dangling thing on the left (you can't really tell from this picture) but it's not very obvious. And I can always just take off the one on the right to make it symmetrical again, haha :)

Now let's see if I can keep the habit up!

update on my living room

2010-04-28T21:24:00.006-04:00

Here's a picture of my living room taken from another angle. The door on the left leads to my room while the door on the right leads to what will be my brother's room. :) Right now I've got some of my clothes piled onto his bed, hehe, I will have to start putting them in their proper drawers soon. He'll be graduating from Cornell at the end of May and he'll be living with me by June. I am excited to have someone to talk to at home but I am dreading having to pick up after his messes. *laughs* I hope he'll clean up after himself!

Anyway, I now have a clock and three frames hanging on the main living room wall. The leftmost frame houses a hand-painted illustration from a German costume book from the late 19th Century that I got from a bookshop in D.C.

The middle frame holds a silk scarf from the Met printed with the work of Henri Toulouse Lautrec. This was gifted to me on my 18th birthday by my dad's friend, Paul, way before I ever even imagined I would come to New York and learn about Lautrec in my History of Graphic Design class. I'd forgotten I ever had this scarf. I found it again, after 7 years, when I was home for the holidays just this past December and cleaning out my old stuff. Isn't it funny how Paul seemed to have psychic powers? I was so amused when I found that scarf, still in it's Metropolitan Museum of Art box, and still with the birthday card stuck on it that I had to bring it back with me to New York. It's now back where it came from. :)

On the right is a silkscreen poster I did for class in 2008 with silver and gold ink. This is probably one of my favorite pieces from my time at Parsons. I still have a few more prints like these tucked away under my bed. I used even blacker paper for the others; those turned out beautiful.

And of course, in the corner on the left, you can see the rear wheel of my Linus Dutchi. Because there really isn't anywhere else I can park it, my bike has to stay right there. The wheel somewhat obstructs the entrance to my room but oh well. :)

doing a little victory dance.

2010-04-23T16:47:00.004-04:00

I think I just heard what is by far the best piece of work-related news when I came into the office today. Much of the design work I've done here in the past year have not really seen the light of day. They may make it to the last round but clients never seem to choose my work, even if they're sometimes the designs that we as a company recommend they adopt. Work has to go through so many corporate hoops that it takes months to have a single logo chosen and approved. That's just the way it is.

I was my usual 5 minutes late. So after plopping my bag in the corner and taking off my cardigan, I quickly settled into my chair, typed in my network password to log onto my computer and did the first thing I do each morning. I checked my mail. There shone a single new message sent at 6:53 pm the night before, and the subject line read "Good meeting!"

Excited, I clicked to open the email that had come from one of my bosses who had been at a client's office yesterday to present a visual identity system (aka what we at Landor call a House Style) that I had worked on. They apparently had an unusually successful meeting (the client required no changes at all!) and the CEO had signed off on the design pretty quickly. So now it's time to create the guidelines for the system and get it through implementation. I will FINALLY have something that will actually live in the real world! :) Granted, this process will take another few months, and the company probably won't be able to implement the system and roll out designs until maybe early or mid-2011(?) but whatever, I'm happy :D In a year, I will be able to see the fruits of my labor at branches of this company across the city, and all the work will have been worth it. :) I'm excited!

bike snob.

2010-04-21T10:07:00.006-04:00

I found this book as I was reading through Cool Hunting and I am putting it on my wish list! It seems like the perfect primer for my foray into urban cycling. It's humorous and unpretentious with a fresh mix of historical nuggets, cycling-disaster anecdotes and straightforward bike safety information. But the 2-color line illustrations by Christopher Koelle are really what sealed the deal for me. I wouldn't be able to resist buying this book even just for the illustrations if I had seen this at a store.

Bike Snob cover

I will probably find myself ordering this online from Chronicle Books tonight when I'm sitting at my desk back home. They have a 20% discount + free shipping, which puts the original price of $16.95 at $13.56! Granted it's a small book at 5" x 7" but it's got a hardcover. I'd say that's not bad, not bad at all.

my linus dutchi!

2010-04-07T21:17:00.007-04:00

I finally bought my bike last weekend! It's soooo european retro chic :) I love it! It's even got its own little bell. :)

Linus Dutchi Single-Speed
I'm now just waiting for my Bern Watts helmet to arrive in the mail. It's equally cute! I can't wait to put it on and ride my bike through Central Park. It reminds me of those helmets Italian girls wear when they're riding down the streets in Vespas although it's really a skate helmet. They didn't have the glossy white helmet in my size so I had to order it online. My head is apparently a men's size medium! I always knew I had a big head, I'm just thankful I'm not a men's XL!

Bern Watts Summer EPS Helmet
I hope my helmet comes this weekend because I already told Henry I'd go biking with him! I did order a basket to put on my handlebars too, and according to UPS tracking it should arrive tomorrow, so I can start installing it when I get home from work. Yey! I will post another picture when I've got that basket on there.

eames rocking chair

2010-03-29T15:23:00.007-04:00

I love the Eames rocking chair. I just never thought it would make such a cool-looking tattoo! :)

Photo taken from Ethan Pines' website

first weekend of spring!

2010-03-19T15:34:00.004-04:00

It's the first weekend of spring and we're heading over to Central Park for a picnic tomorrow! I'm excited beyond belief. I'm excited by the prospect of getting to wear shorts, a skirt or a dress again without having to pull on tights or stockings underneath. I'm excited to finally put my aviators to good use under the warm rays of the sun. And I'm excited to go buy a bike! Okay, so that last one might not happen this weekend, but I will get around to doing that hopefully before April is over. I'm actually very tempted to just get one from Republic Bikes online, but I should do my research and go around the different bike stores. I should also ask where people store their bicycles in our building. I've never seen anyone bring one in yet. Hmm...

all i want for spring

2010-03-05T16:41:00.005-05:00

I am itching to go shopping, but I don't have the moolah to go buy all the things I want to right now. Luckily for me, my mom is willing to sponsor the purchase of the trench coat! So now I only have to worry about all the other items on my list. It's still going to be quite a big drain on my account. I probably won't get around to buying everything, but I plan on getting at least one of them!

Oh, and there's one more thing I need to get this spring too! I am so envious of Henry who keeps talking about riding his bike around on the weekends. I will get myself a euro-style bike one of these days! :D Here's one from Republic Bikes that you actually customize (choose colors for all the different parts) and they'll send it over to you all built. :) It's like Nike iD for bikes! I love it!

Update: I bought the Club Monaco trenchcoat two weekends ago and I've already worn it a couple of times since then! Yey for spring! It's gorgeous out this week.

my new living room

2010-02-23T22:12:00.007-05:00

Yey! :) I finally bought some rug tiles from CB2 (at $13.95 each) to complete my living room! I still want to add more frames and pretty pictures to my wall but I'm feeling really happy with how my living room turned out. All the furniture's from IKEA so the total cost for everything in this picture stands at around $550. That includes the pillows, the frame, the vase, and even the white cabinet in the dark hallway. Not too bad. :)

i love yellow and i love stripes!

things are going my way.

2010-02-18T16:37:00.002-05:00

Little reasons for happiness (however shallow they may be) are popping up here and there these days and I've been catching myself smiling out of the blue because of them.

First, I've got some money rolling in, and who says no to money? Last December, I completely forgot to change my mailing address on my employee profile so my last paycheck for the year got sent to my old apartment. I put in a request to have the check reissued and I finally got the new check yesterday! Ka-ching! More money in the bank always makes me happy. :) When I catch the shopping bug again at least I'll have a little more padding. *naughty smile* I'm not even sure what I want to buy as I've already purchased two pairs of metallic shoes in the past 2 weeks. I don't know what the deal with the metallic streak is, but I just couldn't pass them up. I can't wait for spring (or at least a sunny winter day when all the slush from the recent snow days melts away) to come so I can wear them. :D Also, I just got back a cashier's check I issued as a move-in insurance deposit for my apartment a few days ago. I'd forgotten about it so it was a nice surprise. Double ka-ching!

Second, we just got out of a meeting with some clients and they loved all the work we presented them! And it seems my design concept is going to make it to the next round :) Oh yeah! *fist pump* Hahaha :) Little victories like these make work that much more satisfying. As we always say here in our cube, "All a designer wants is to be loved and understood." A little appreciation goes a long long way.

Third, because my apartment finally feels like a home with all the IKEA furniture finally built! Woohoo :) Now if I can only go out and finish purchasing the pots and pans so I can start cooking! I did use my newly purchased microwave for the first time two nights ago though. I can already imagine myself using it for some buttery popcorn on Netflix movie nights!

Fourth, just because I'm in New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made, there's nothing you can't do here. Wahahaha, I'm actually a bit sick of that song now, but yeah, I just love it here and now I can honestly say that I'm really glad I decided to stay. :)

settling in (back in new york)

2010-01-27T16:14:00.003-05:00

It's been two weeks since I got back from my little vacation back home. These two weeks have been strange in that they feel long and yet short. So much has happened in so little time; it feels a bit disorienting. If you think about it, 2 weeks is a relatively short time but it feels like forever since I took my flight out of Manila. So much has changed.

Since getting back I've moved my stuff out of storage and into my new apartment (and not without some trouble! Boy, did I have to whip out persuasion skills I didn't know I had just to get my boxes of clothes through the door.) gone to IKEA to buy 4 pallets worth of furniture (and spending $2000!) and built about half of that furniture. The rest of them are still in boxes leaning against the living room wall. I'm excited to finally get everything up and ready but it's proving to be much more difficult than expected. My room is looking more and more like a room now though. I can't wait to finally have pictures of it when it's all complete!

weekend at cornell university

2009-11-13T19:17:00.006-05:00

So my sister and I visited our brother at Cornell University up in Ithaca this past weekend. It took a 5-hour and 30-minute bus ride to get there, and it was not a pleasant or particularly scenic ride, but it was all worth it as soon as we got off the bus, breathed in the fresh air and hugged our brother who met us at the bus stop in Collegetown. We only really had maybe 27 hours in Ithaca, and we spent maybe 10 hours of that sleeping and wasting away Sunday morning because we were so pooped. I wish I could have taken more pictures, gone around and really enjoyed the beauty of the campus, but for now I guess these random pictures will have to do. We'll be back in May for shoti's graduation anyway, so I can take all the photos I want then!

Duffield Hall at Cornell University (Below)

should i stay or should i go?

2009-10-19T21:35:00.004-04:00

I haven't written anything here in a while. The past few weeks have been crazy at work. Of course, my schedule isn't as crazy as other friends here who are in Finance, but being in a creative rut in this industry is hard when you need to produce something beautiful and worthwhile every day. I feel tired, drained and dazed. Nothing I do seems to look good enough anymore.

I don't know if I'm just feeling this way because I'm confused. I'm not sure if I should stay in New York for another couple of years when I get my work visa or just go back home for good in December. On one hand, I love it here. The freedom, the city, the wonder, the job, the experiences. On the other, all the people I love (or should I say most of the people I love, I love my friends here too!) are back home and I feel like my real life doesn't really begin until I go back to Manila. I don't think I will ever know where my life will actually lead me until I go home. It would seem like an easy choice to just up and leave for the Philippines, but something's holding me here. I don't know what it is, but I somehow can't say goodbye to New York just yet.

I wish I didn't have to make the decision myself. I was hoping God would do the decision-making for me. If I get the visa, I stay. If not, I go back. But from the way things are working out, it seems I will have to do the yes or no myself. I feel like I've made a mess of the situation by delaying the thinking I should have been doing two months earlier. Eeeepp. They say you'll just know when it's time for you to go home. But being the indecisive me that I am, I don't think it's going to be that easy for a while... at least I have only one more month left to suffer through this uncertainty. If I don't have an answer by mid-November I should just go home.

my new watch

2009-09-15T20:25:00.003-04:00

Woohoo! :) My mom bought me a Glam Rock watch that I absolutely love. I had no idea what Glam Rock was before she mentioned she got me one. She had gone along with my aunt (who loves watches) to purchase a white one and she thought I could use a black one for the fall! Yes, so I could use it for fall here in New York! *laughs* Mama's so cute.

I'm surprised the watch cost so much though considering it isn't as "famous" as, say, Philip Stein. I have to take real good care of it. I've had two watches taken out of commission and needing repairs already this year. (It wasn't my fault though! I have no idea why that Folli Follie supposedly automatic watch just stopped working and how that Toywatch broke in two places at once when I didn't even hit it against anything. Tsk tsk.)

Anyway, my only complaint about this watch is the leather strap is still too stiff and it hurts my wrist a bit. I will have to wear it for the next few weeks to "break it in"! I don't think I've ever done that for a watch, haha, but there's always a first. And I like it anyway, so no complaints. :)

tattoo design (updated!)

2009-09-10T20:47:00.003-04:00

Here's a tattoo design I made for a friend. :) I just needed to put this somewhere online so we could show the design to some of our friends before she commits to it! This key design features her initials and the New York skyline.

Update: September 11, 2009

So she finally got her tattoo made at a place called North Star, which is supposedly award-winning, whatever that means in this kind of business. I'm not sure if they have their own version of the Grammys or Oscars. *laughs* But anyway, this is how it turned out! :) So realistic! And it feels gratifying for me to know she likes it! The tattoo artist was proud of his own handiwork too. I think he did an amazing job with the shading and making it look dimensional.

curly hair and a new blazer.

2009-09-05T19:36:00.005-04:00

I was bored this afternoon waiting for Derya to come over and pick up Yessa's Electric Zoo ticket which she forgot even after asking "Do I have everything I need with me?" right before she left haha! :) After he picked up the tickets I decided to curl my hair for the heck of it! I haven't had my hair this long in a year and a half so I thought I could play around with it to help me decide if I want to chop it off again or not. (Sorry Marts, I know you hate curly hair, but haha, it was fun to have this hair for a day at least!) :) I think I'm going to keep my hair long through fall, and then we'll see what happens when I go back home to the Philippines in December.

I was amazed that the curls held even after an afternoon spent going to Borders and buying a book, having a tall iced White Chocolate Mocha and a slice of Banana Walnut Bread at Starbucks while reading the newly-purchased The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl and going to Daffy's for some bargain shopping. And I didn't even put any kind of product on my hair! Anyway, tracking back to that blazer I bought. It's a size 6; I was hoping to find a size 4 but it was the only one of its kind I could find, so I got it anyway. It's roomy and androgynous, which is exactly why I couldn't resist. I know I have way too many jackets for my own good, but, oh well! It was $29, that's not too much to pay for a blazer anyhow.

Hmm, this boredom is not very good for my wallet. I keep going out and buying stuff! Tsk tsk. Well, at least I'm not spending AND damaging my liver like I usually used to do on the weekends. At least I get something more than inebriation for my money when I shop!

Tomorrow is going to be a good day though! Biking and then afterwards a picnic at Central Park, woohoo! :) I can't wait! Those are the kinds of days that make me happy I'm in New York. Last night we went to watch a Mets game at Citi Field. I've never seen a baseball game in my life, not even on TV, so it was a novel experience! I must say, it was a pretty relaxing sport to watch. Everyone was just hanging out drinking beer, eating hotdogs (and Shake Shack burgers! I never get tired of them!), and just having a good time. :) I think I enjoyed it more for the atmosphere than the actual sport itself. *smiles*

Citi Field in Queens

boring saturday.

2009-08-30T00:05:00.003-04:00

So I woke up at 11 am. Lounged around in my pajamas for a while and then decided to take my shower so I could go out and buy some food. After I showered though I realized I was too lazy to go out so I ended up eating Cap'n Crunch Peanut Butter for lunch. I did some Red Mango work, then paid for my cellphone and our electricity and internet bills, then calculated how much Yessa and I owed each other (because we keep putting things on each other's tabs), watched Season 2 Episode 1 of Code Geass, and started looking for apartments online because our lease is up on September 30th. Hay. So it wasn't an extremely uneventful day, but it just wasn't exciting or happy.

Anyway, because I only had cereal for lunch, my stomach started grumbling at around 5:30 pm. I thought I'd wait it out for a bit, but the growls wouldn't stop so I finally gave in at around 7:00 and headed out to Saint's Alp Teahouse for some Chicken Chop and Black Milk Tea (Yum! This was what I was actually craving for more than the food!) I was so worried that my tummy would embarrass me on the jam-packed elevator on the way down! Luckily it kept quiet for at least that minute. It resumed its complaining as soon as I stepped out of the apartment building! *laughs*

So after my 30-minute subway ride and walk to Saint's Alp, I ate dinner (alone) while writing a to-do list on a sheet of paper I brought along. How nerdy and loser-ish. But, I didn't really care. I was with my jumbo mug of Black Milk Tea and everything was all right with the world. *grins*

It was around 8:00 pm when I finished eating and decided I would walk the 45 streets and 6 avenues back to the apartment. I don't know what got into me, but I was wearing comfy sneakers, it was a cool night and I was bored out of my wits. I had nothing better to do with my time (or at least, I had no work that I wanted to do at the moment. I still have some pending work lying around.) So I started on my trek uptown.

After a few stopovers at 1) a vintage clothing store with the coolest booties, 2) Aldo, which now sells these $60 MJ inspired oxfords that Yessa bought last week (love them!) and 3) H&M (where I bumped into Daniel, our production intern) and an hour and a half of walking, I finally arrived back at the apartment! The "cool evening" had disappeared because I had worked myself to a sweat from all the walking. But I must say, I'm pretty happy I got to do a little exercise.

Back at home, I again started looking for apartments that are up for sublease (and it's not easy at all!) I e-mailed a broker I spoke to before I came to New York back in late 2007. I'm hoping he gets back to me soon so he can help us out. Apartment hunting is never fun. And moving is even worse! I am dreading the day I have to box up all my stuff and move again.

Anyway, I finally gave up on the apartment search for the night and decided to do a little art project instead. I've had an empty gold frame behind my bed for a while, so I decided to finally put something in it. I cut up an Urban Outfitters paper bag and used that for the matting.

I then looked for a hummingbird picture on the internet, stylized it in pink with some gray layers, printed it and put it into the frame. And ta-da, I have new art for my wall. Yey! At least now I've done something semi-productive with my day. Now I can go to sleep. Good night!

studs studs studs!

2009-08-23T12:32:00.002-04:00

I found this gray blazer at Daffy's for $19 and thought it would be fun to see what I could do to spruce it up and make it current.

So, I bought some silver studs and decided to adorn the collar part of it. It hurts to do it with your bare hands, and my right index finger especially was a bit sore afterwards from folding down all the metal backs of the studs. But, I must say, the 2 hours spent planning and studding was worth it in the end, at least for me!

Here's how it turned out. This has been hanging on my closet door for close to a month now but it's been so hot that I haven't gotten the opportunity to use it yet. So, I guess I will have to wait for fall to come along before I do.

our new toy!

2009-08-15T21:27:00.004-04:00

My brother loves playing the guitar. And like many other aspiring guitarists, he posts his videos on Youtube to share with the world. Well, recently, my mom watched his latest video which he recorded using his 3-year old Dell's internal microphone and an external webcam while wearing his worn-out pajamas. While in person his newly acquired Taylor guitar sounds really good, on video, well, let's just say his recording method didn't do his playing any justice. His sloppy outfit didn't help matters either. "Why did you take a video of yourself while wearing pajamas?" my mom asked. She didn't comment on the playing, but that actually means it didn't sound very good because otherwise she'd be all gushing about how much my brother's playing has improved over the years.

Anyway, so when it came time for shoti's birthday, my mom asked me to do some research on microphones that would do a better job at picking up an acoustic guitar's sounds. We eventually bought my brother a Behringer Xenyx 1204 mixer and an Audio Technica AT2020 microphone over Amazon. I didn't know his Taylor 514-CE had a built-in pickup, so the microphone turned out to be an unnecessary purchase (but I can use it to record my singing if I want to! And Yessa can sing to her heart's content with shoti's guitar!) but we were excited to try things out and see just how big a difference we would hear.

After two trips to the Guitar Center on 14th Street to get the proper cables, and after hours of trying to figure out how to work a mixer (which for the longest time looked like a very scary-looking and intimidating object with tons of knobs that controlled things I never knew existed - hello equalizers, trims and gains) we finally successfully recorded a song onto Garageband and later on to Photobooth. Hallelujah! You can hear this new recording on his Youtube channel. Yey!

I also tried patching my Korg keyboard through the mixer and it recorded onto Garageband beautifully! Now I think my mom's dreams of a band are finally coming to life. Shoti and I can't wait to tinker around with the recording and possibly make a tune of our own! Wheeee! We love our new toy :D

happy.

2009-07-21T16:44:00.005-04:00

Since I'm not in the mood to write in paragraphs, I'll write in a list instead! Some things to be happy about this week...

1. I finally got my ID at work! I had been using the Guest Pass for the last 6 months (yes, 6 months!) so receiving my very own ID with my face on it is a big, much-awaited event! Now I can go into the MoMA for free (and bring one other person along for free too!) And I have yet to mention all the other cool stuff that comes with having our company ID like discounts with Apple and Verizon among others. Now if only I can get my hands on a list of these benefits so I know exactly what I can do with my new key to the world.
2. It's restaurant week in New York! We're having dinner at La Masseria (W48th St. between Broadway and 8th Avenue) tonight. I haven't heard anything about this restaurant before. Aldrich made all the arrangements (including choosing this restaurant out of the 200 or so choices) and so all the rest of us have to do is show up and eat! *laughs*
3. We're going to Lake George this weekend! There will be around 15 of us, in one house for 2 nights and 2 days! It's supposed to be a hell of an adventure and a whole lot of fun :) Our drink captains, Jolo and Claud, supposedly bought enough booze to knock everyone out for a week. While I have no plans of getting wasted (please God, never again!) it will be very interesting to see how this weekend will turn out. I'm looking forward to nights spent sharing stories and musings on life around a campfire under the black star-sprinkled sky with the scent of roasting marshmallows filling my nostrils. This is going to be good, I can feel it. :)

apple store and saint's alp!

2009-07-16T14:54:00.008-04:00

I was finally able to get my Saint's Alp Black Milk Tea fix last night when D (Diana) and I stopped by for some Chicken Chop after we attended a free AIGA/NY event at the Apple Store on Prince Street. Alicia Cheng and Sarah Gephart from MGMT. Design were there as a part of the Design Remixed series to talk about the work they've done at their studio and their process. It was pretty interesting for me to see the range of projects that they got to work on. The most famous project they've done is probably the design for Al Gore's The Inconvenient Truth book (which had around 85,000 copies printed on its first run.) I have yet to read the book, or to even watch the documentary (shame on me!) I must remember to find some time to do those things soon.

I've always wanted to read this.
Anyway, it was also great that they were real sports about showing one of their "stinker" projects to the audience. :) I found the whole presentation quite entertaining, in large part because I found Alicia's deadpan voice quite funny! She would say these half-jokes in a straight unemotional tone that somehow made whatever she said seem funnier to me. Go figure! *laughs*

What I found amazing is how they were able to keep all the different aspects of their lives in sync: their friendship, their business and their respective families. They have two children each but the way they talked and carried themselves made it seem like juggling motherhood and their careers was the easiest thing in the world. I guess it's to be expected from two Yale MFA graduates right? Now if only I were as smart or gifted... Hmmm... I have to figure out first where I'll be in the next 5 months. I don't even know yet if I'm staying here or going back home in December. Tsk tsk. I hope the answer finds me soon!

craving for milk tea.

2009-07-07T12:29:00.003-04:00

The smell of food is making me hungry. I'm not sure what I'm having for lunch yet today. And it's still much too early to grab something to eat. I usually wait until the clock hits 1pm before I go out and buy my food. I find the afternoon doesn't feel as long if I do that. And then comes the 4:30 pm trip to the kitchen for some English Breakfast Tea with milk and sugar. Yum! Although that still doesn't beat actually going to Saint's Alp Teahouse and getting myself a jumbo cup of their Black Milk Tea. Even my sachets of Lipton Milk Tea Gold are better than what we have here at the office. Maybe I should grab my stash in the apartment and stock them here instead. I'm suddenly itching to walk down to 9th street for that Saint's Alp milk tea, eep! Nooo! I musn't. It's such a waste of lunch break time. Maybe I'll ask shoti to meet me down here tonight to have dinner there instead. :) Ah yes, that sounds like a plan!

feeling geeky.

2009-07-04T22:59:00.003-04:00

I just received my Pantone Essentials Plus kit yesterday. :) Happy happy joy joy! It's very reassuring to finally know how the colors of the things on my screen will eventually turn out on paper! :) Excuse the somewhat nerdy nature of my happiness today. I just love how it comes in its own carry case. And how everything looks like it has its own place in it. Yeyyy! I'm looking forward to lots of happy color-matching moments. :) *laughs*

WD-50 tasting menu

2009-06-29T22:44:00.013-04:00

So it turns out I didn't find the time to write the review I wanted. I'll post the pictures and names of all the dishes from the tasting menu first. For now, they will have to speak for themselves!

Cobia, chinese sausage consomme, endive, sherry vinegar

Everything bagel, smoked salmon threads, crispy cream cheese
This was our unanimous choice for favorite dish of the night! That bagel is actually ice cream shaped like a bagel! The sweetness mixed with the smoked salmon threads (it's like our ma-hoo or pork floss! except I guess it should be hee-hoo because it's fish! haha) There was a bit of a boo-boo that happened to Anne's dish though. She found a strand of hair inside the ice cream bagel, so we promptly had it returned. The server was very apologetic and to make up for it, the sous chef gifted us with a bonus dish brought out later on!

Foie gras, passionfruit, chinese celery
The taste of the passionfruit filling delicately and seamlessly gives way to the richness of the foie gras. I never knew the combination could work so amazingly!

The bonus dish!
Shrimp noodles, zucchini, mousseron mushroom, chamomile yogurt

Scrambled egg ravioli, charred avocado, hamachi
This tasted like a very sophisticated breakfast dish. A bit of Japan meets America. We loved the freeze-dried bits of potato. They're so tiny but they packed a lot of potato punch. They tasted like hashbrowns or fries!

Cold fried chicken, buttermilk-ricotta, tabasco, caviar

Snails, red lentils, juniper, orange
Our least favorite dish. I ended up taking only a bite of it because it was a combination of two things I never quite liked in food, snails and oranges. Don't get me wrong, I eat oranges, I love orange juice, but I just don't like them in savory dishes. So, I couldn't bring myself to take another bite.

The server noticed my bowl was still almost full and asked "It's not your favorite?" I said no with a sheepish smile. Then she asked, "Would you like to replace it with something else?" And I said, "Okay!" So they gave me another dish in its place! This might be standard procedure for restaurants of this caliber, or it might not be, but I was so impressed by the level of customer service they've been displaying so far!

My replacement dish! So much yummier!
Smoked eel, spice bread, black radish, campari
I was so happy to be having this that I almost forgot to take a picture of it! We had almost finished picking at this new dish when we remembered. So, I ended up with a shot of the half-eaten plate instead. Shoti and Anne joked that they should have left their snails untouched too so we could all have this instead!

Duck leg, popcorn pudding, kalamansi, lovage
Who knew kalamansi jelly could taste so good with duck? We were so happy to see the Philippine lemon, our Philippine lemon, on the menu that we couldn't wait to see how he'd infuse the flavor into the dish. The jelly was a pleasant surprise!

Lamb loin, black garlic romesco, pickled ramp, dried soybean
I'm not a big fan of lamb, but this was probably one of the best (if not the best) I've ever tried. Shoti loved it, and why not? The combination of the perfectly cooked, still pinkish lamb with the black garlic romesco and the freeze-dried edamame was delightful.

Vanilla ice cream, balsamic, raspberry
I never knew the Italians drizzled balsamic vinegar on top of strawberries on top of their ice cream! This was WD-50's interpretation of the dish. Winner!

Hazelnut tart, coconut, chocolate, chicory
This was our favorite of the three desserts! Good ol' chocolatey happiness.

Caramelized brioche, apricot, buttercream, lemon thyme

Cocoa packets. Chocolate shortbread, milk ice cream.
Would you believe those packets are made out of chocolate too? Named "chocolate leather", the packets housed what tasted to me like crushed Ovalteenies! Yum! We're still wondering how they were able to make the chocolate leather... so cool!

waiting for adobe illustrator to move

2009-06-29T17:40:00.006-04:00

The thing I hate most in the world right now is waiting for Adobe Illustrator to finish saving documents. I know it must be torture for my computer to be working with such big files here at work, but it's equally torturous for me to just sit here and wait, not being able to do anything else. Such a waste of time. I could be done in half the time (maybe even less) if the saving and the moving objects, and the printing didn't take so long!

Anyway, I have a bunch of tasks that I should finish this week:
1. Design some marketing promos for Red Mango (Philippines),
2. Buy myself some Pantone guides,
3. Pick a paint color for the walls of the den bathroom,
4. Decide on the layout of our room back home,
5. Create a mood/inspiration board for our room and
6. Reply to a ton of emails!

But tonight, I am planning on doing something that's not remotely related to any of the items on my to-do list! I am going to write (or at least attempt to write) a review on WD-50 which a friend visiting from San Francisco, my brother and I tried out last night. The tasting menu set us back $170 each! (Eeeep!) So our pockets all have holes in them now (and there's no shopping for me for the next 3 weeks!), but it was a completely one-of-a-kind culinary experience so I like to think it was worth it! After all, when (and where) else will I be able to taste an ice cream bagel?

So, just watch out for my next entry which will be complete with a blow-by-blow photographic account of the 11 or so dishes we had last night! :) You'll be salivating by the end of it all. As Liz would say, "Nom nom nom!"

stripping it back.

2009-06-26T15:04:00.002-04:00

So, I decided to completely strip my blog back. I chose a template (with just a few minor tweaks in the colors) to bring it back to the simpler days. It was a bit hard to use my blog. It functioned like a bad website with links that led to dead ends so I like it much better now that it's back to the bare bones. Now if only I can bring myself to update this regularly. Not that I have anything interesting to talk about. Pfft. Ah, whatever. I just needed something to get my mind off work. It's so hard to design stuff when you don't have any good ideas. Inspiration, come and find me please!

a new look for a new year

2009-03-06T07:56:00.006-05:00

So, I decided to update my blog's look to better reflect who I am now. Yes that's me on the picture on the left. And yes, that is my pink half-filled hamper waiting for Sunday to be emptied. I'm sorry for the stripes, I'm just really into them right now. I will take pictures of my cubicle at work and post it here just to show you how far this obsession has gone! Haha

There are still some kinks that need to be worked out here, but I shall slowly figure them out. I haven't tinkered with html for quite some time now so bear with me. I've included a link to my portfolio website though right there on the left, so if you fancy a peek, be my guest!

Anyway, I thought Yessa and Cel were coming back to New York on Sunday, but apparently they won't be back until Tuesday! Tsk tsk, looks like I'm going to be getting a whole lot more "me" time! I better get creative and do all the things I haven't been able to do recently. And since the weather will be perfect this weekend, I just might go around the city aimlessly and snap some photographs, take in the sights, maybe visit a museum. There should be lots to do! And oh! I really want a Shake Shack burger too!

Update: March 7, 2009

So I ended up being quite the productive bee. Here's a little something I cooked up! It's not supposed to represent anything... it just came out of doodling. I'm thinking of buying a lighter warm gray COPIC pen for the upper part of the background eventually. Those pens cost quite a bit though, $6.49 each at Lee's Art Shop! But I really like how they look all watercolor-ish, so I just might go back and buy some more.

Also, I bought a new pair of shoes! Hehehe, they're white and pink croc leather loafers! I just couldn't pass them up! They're totally me and super unique, so even if I don't really know when I'm going to be wearing them yet I bought them anyway. I left my silver loafers back home in Manila, so these will perfectly fill their places, hehehe. And did I say they're extremely comfortable?

Anyway, JV, Tracy, Neil and I are off to watch Watchmen soon at the AMC Loews Theater at Lincoln Square. Yey! It's supposedly good! I hope it lives up to the hype.

i hereby resurrect thee.

2009-03-01T20:02:00.008-05:00

I can't believe it's been more than two years since I last wrote here. Time keeps disappearing under my feet. Who would have thought that I'd be here in New York writing this? Or that I'd already graduate from my AAS degree in Graphic Design? Everything just swept by, and it's sad that I never got to chronicle these last two crazy years of my life.

I haven't been writing in my journals the way I used to back in college. And the instances of college writing were even less frequent compared to high school. It seems that the older I get the harder it is for me to pick up my Pilot G-Tec C4 (yes, it has to be that pen! haha) and just write down whatever comes to mind. Often times I find myself with pen poised on a blank line not knowing what to write. And then I put the cap on my pen back on and close the journal again without having ink touch paper. Tsk tsk. So, I thought maybe it's time to type instead. Maybe I could jumpstart the habit this way.

Anyway, I mostly decided to resurrect this blog because I'm just incredibly bored here at our empty apartment now. Cel and Yessa flew off to Long Beach, California this morning for a trade show for Yessa's boss and so I'm all by my lonesome for a week. I thought I'd be better at biding my time, but hehe, I now have nothing to do except maybe eat some of that Fage Yogurt that's tempting me all the way from the fridge. Of course, there's also my bed calling. I could always tuck myself in early and get some 11 hours of sleep before I have to wake up for work! Haha, but that's too much, even for the sleepyhead that I am! So... I'll just have to find myself something to do.

I did actually resurrect another hobby today. Drawing! I dusted off my mini sketchbook and got my pencils out of my art toolbox. I thought I'd be really sucky by now, not having drawn anything really for a year, but surprise surprise, I still have the hang of it! Yey! I guess it's like riding a bike then, you never really unlearn it. You just get back on and ride. I kind of missed drawing... just tuning everything out and focusing on light and shadow... so I think I'll keep drawing a little something every other day from now on. :)

how much of an atenean are you? (updated May 10, 2007)

2006-08-17T08:10:00.000-04:00

(x) eat at Manang’s
(x) learn the alma mater
(x) get on the dean’s list
( ) sleep on a bench
( ) be a TNT!
( ) jog around the campus in the evening
(x) visit the art gallery -- I love love love it there!
(x) know at least one xerox lady, manong, or technician by name -- ate alma, ate cora, mang freddie (manong escaler), mang dads who is super duper friendly :D
(x) get a Jesuit for a teacher -- Fr. Dacanay! :)
( ) itch from higad bites -- buti nalang! hehe
(x) have gotten an F in something -- that horrendous 35/100 accounting test, but we had a retest! and got an 80-something grade instead! woohoo!
(x) have taken a crap in school -- when you gotta go, you gotta go! *laughs*
(x) watch a La Salle vs. Ateneo UAAP game -- front row seats with cel and marts! :) thanks marts!
(x) give a powerpoint presentation -- obviously.
( ) study in the caf upstairs
(x) watch a T.A. play
(x) sit on the SEC ledge and watch the stars -- i don't know about the watch the stars part! but we used to sit there a whole lot before cabral's math 22 class!
( ) eat in Full House, Martha’s Kitchen, and Ken Afford -- "bakit may 'and'? demanding naman nito." - kevs (I agree!)
( ) sleep in the lib
( ) visit Mr. San Andres
( ) go to the chapel -- i should go one of these days. i've gone to gesu though?
( ) have gotten a pebble stuck in your shoe/slippers in the middle of the quad
(x) cut class with your block to watch a movie -- wasn't the whole block, but i remember going to metro east for a movie. did we cut class though? hehe :p
(x) sign up for those institutional (i.e. difficult but brilliant) teachers -- fr. dacanay :D but i liked his class! :)
( ) go to CERSA night
(x) have tried siomai rice
( ) learn how to smoke
( ) actually read the book you keep borrowing from the lib
(x) play cards during your free time
(x) dress in business attire
(x) learn to stay awake for more than 24 hours straight -- marketing! eviiiil!
( ) have gotten side comments from ASSOC
(x) take (and enjoy) Saturday classes- not too enjoyable.
(x) go to your immersion -- payatas :)
(x) eat Food for After Thought sandwiches
(x) take time to read the vandalism in the CR doors - Pati na rin sa tables
( ) watch “Minsan Lang Sila Bata” and “Macho Dancer” for class -- not in college.
(x) do a last minute paper
(x) have spent a lot for 1x1 ID pictures
(x) get exempted from final exams
( ) attend a college mass
( ) promise to quit smoking
( ) play hide-and-seek in the mini-forest
(x) know where the best restrooms are on campus
(x) join an org
(x) allow yourself to make mistakes
(x) take summer classes
( ) admire the sacred heart statue in the evening
(x) make a video for a project -- "chem1. i played a human-sized mcdonalds french fries mascot. sadness." - kevs (wahahaha! i remember! wahahahahahaha!) -- history 16 with ms. coo, i was lin! :))
( ) have a crush on a teacher -- ngyeks.
( ) attend a Jesuit retreat
( ) have gotten a parking ticket
(x) come to school in your crappiest yet most comfy clothes
( ) learn how to use the Bayantel pay phones
(x) participate in school activities
( ) catch the Blue Babble Battalion tryouts
(x) ride a tricycle on campus
(x) find a tambayan
( ) admire the marikina valley at night
( ) go drinking along Katipunan
(x) learn how to beg for a higher grade- Ma 151, hehe.
(x) use your cuts wisely
( ) volunteer to be class beadle
(x) had the worst lottery schedule for reg
(x) admire the trees on campus
(x) have forgotten about your freecut and gone to that class- CHN 6! and i was wondering why everyone was late!
(x) eat in the ISO canteen -- block T bonding days!
(x) be active in your org
( ) have signed up on an ACP class just because the girl or guy u like signed up for it
( ) get as many app forms as you can during the job fair
(x) learn how to cram
(x) sell tickets (or watch) an org-sponsored movie premiere
(x) save money to Xerox all of your seatmate’s notes
( ) have accidentally seen a make-out session
(x) check out the Meron Lagoon and Lambingan Bridge
( ) have dozed off in class in Bel right after a class in CTC/SOM/Comm. Bldg or vice-versa
( ) learn how to work with groupmates from hell
( ) perfect the art of parking on campus
( ) had a bad encounter with one of the guards on campus
(x) develop a love for sisig
(x) learn how to pronounce “AEGIS” properly- dapat lang, aegis now rules my life...
( ) have used typing rooms at the library
(x) have reserved a classroom, AVR, etc. for a class or org function
( ) have asked the library for an endorsement to research in other libraries
(x) have lost a perfectly functioning umbrella -- i'm so forgetful :(
( ) have used consultation hours properly
(x) Looked forward to lab breakage refund, in case you didn’t break any equipment
(x) visit the Guidance Office
(x) and Infirmary

hello from copenhagen!

2006-05-25T07:11:00.000-04:00

Whee! I love airports and free Internet! :) *laughs* After 2 weeks of no computers and no cellphones (for me at least, since I wasn't able to activate my roaming), I finally have contact with the outside world!

We just finished our ten-day cruise to Scandinavia and Russia! It was great, you can't expect anything less from Europe after all. Still, I think this tour has shown me that not all Americans are the bubbly friendly types who talk to you out of the blue. There are also impatient ones who are so ready to give everyone a piece of their minds at the slightest of inconveniences, and yet expect eternal forgiveness when they are the ones at fault. All I can say for that old man who couldn't keep his mouth shut is, "Buti nga, nakarma!" *laughs*

Anyway, one more thing, SAYANG! Imagine my shock when I saw Aunt Trini on the Star Princess! Turns out, Tersh and I should have been on the same cruise, had she been able to either a) obtain a leave from her OJT or b) start early and end her OJT early. Shucks! So, we ended up hanging out with her two youngers brothers, Tim and Elroy, instead. Tim even taught us how to play Yahtzee! It was so funny how the tension would fill the air once someone threw the 5 die into the box. What else did we do while on the ship? Pingpong. Paddle Tennis (A cross between Pingpong and Lawn Tennis). Bingo. Tong-its. And lots of other stuff, including a LOT of eating!

So, now my family's off to Ithaca, New York to check out Cornell University's campus. Shoti's gonna be studying there this fall, so it's pretty exciting for the rest of the family to see where we'll be sending him off to. :p It should be real pretty there since it's not a city campus, so there'll be a lot of trees and falling leaves, and cool breezes! *laughs* Labo.

Anyway, I better go now, we'll be boarding within a half hour. We still have to haul our asses to the gate, which could be on the other end of the terminal, I'm not too sure. So, I must leave you now! Till I meet a computer (with free Internet) again! :p

almost 3 months!

2006-04-10T21:02:00.000-04:00

It's been quite a while since I last blogged! And it was funny when I went to see (because I'd already forgotten!) what my blog looked like, I saw a message from Cel that said "Update!" *laughs* I don't even know how long that message's been there! So anyway, since I have nothing better to do right now anyway, I thought I'd write!

I'm actually at "work" right now, but since it's only 9:05 according to the clock of the eMac I'm using here, not everyone has come in yet. So far, in the one week and one day I've been here at this ad agency, I've helped co-write a radio ad, and made studies for 3 billboards, participated in brainstorming sessions, witnessed a recording for a radio ad, and met Sam Milby who was here to record something for his ads! *laughs* He was a cutie! I don't like him much on TV, but he looked cuter somewhat in person. He seemed a bit shy, like he was still unsure of himself, and he didn't know exactly just how famous he's gotten, which I guess is a good thing! It keeps his feet on the ground. My sister scrambled to get to Makati from home just so she could get a picture with him! It was so funny, but syempre kasama na rin ako sa picture diba? *laughs*

Achi, Sam Milby and me!

Anyway, I like my work here, even if I don't seem to be of any worth to them! I mean, I don't think I have the creative juices necessary to survive in such a competitive business! Or perhaps I just need to get used to thinking fast, and being brave enough to throw out your ideas for everyone to criticize and evaluate. At least, there's something that has come out of this! :) My sister says I've become more talkative, or at least, more outgoing somewhat. That I'm no longer hesitant to talk to people I don't really know. But I got to thinking, was it really caused by my job or something else? A change in perception perhaps? (As Fr. Candelaria would put it?) I don't really know. *smiles and shrugs shoulders* But if this is a good thing, (and everyone seems to think so,) then I'll roll with it!

It's 9:24 and still, Nina and I are the only ones here in our nook of the creatives department. Oh well, the others should come soon, I hope. I desperately need someone to have me do something! And that's something besides thinking! I don't think I'm very good at coming up with fresh concepts for ads! *laughs* I think it's time I began scrounging around for work that's more up my alley... like the billboards. Hand me the idea, I'll just put it into pictures!

waiting.

2006-01-19T07:03:00.000-05:00

While I'm waiting for some files to attach onto an e-mail, I decided to resurrect my one-month-dead blog. I really do need to start writing again, even rambling about the useless stuff seems to help you slow down and take a good look at your life.

Right now, I've realized how much I hate being delayed. NOW Cable is currently getting on my nerves. I was late for class today because my homework wouldn't attach to the e-mail I was sending my Fine Arts teacher. And now this. If that weren't enough, my Powerbook keeps hanging! And to think it's an Apple computer... something that supposedly doesn't crash or hang, or at least keeps those kinds of incidents to a minimum. Tsk tsk. I am sooo ready to have the people at Apple Center change it and give me a new one that's not so bothersome. To think I already had it fixed because of a Kernel Panic the other week.

A-ha! The files have finally attached!
Off to more pressing matters. I haven't studied for my OR test yet.

uncertainty.

2005-12-03T02:14:00.000-05:00

I just saw my grandpa again. He's lost a lot of weight. I used to think he was on the road to some sort of a recovery, but I think he's gotten worse. Still, there's nothing I could do but keep a smile on my face. I think he's realized for himself that time is running short. He seems happier now, I don't know if it's because his sister came over to visit, or perhaps he's learning to appreciate everything again. So although he's now thinner than me, and his bones are protruding somewhat unnaturally, I'm happy that he's learning to smile and enjoy himself again. No longer does he raise his voice, he just watches and takes everything in, with a grin of pride as he sees his children and grandchildren together, having another Saturday lunch. Still, the moment is a bit bittersweet... how many more Saturdays will there be? No one can say.

----------

I used to think uncertainty was a wonderful thing. Now, I say, screw it. I have a wonderful life, I do, but right now, I wish I weren't me.

at the airport.

2005-10-29T19:51:00.000-04:00

Wowie! I'm in the Singapore Airlines lounge right now. My mom and dad got free miles, so they got free business class tickets. The kids only have economy class tickets but they somehow got us all in here. And they have free Internet usage here! *whee!* They have YM too! So, I'm YM-ing with Nikki now who's for some reason awake at 8 o'clock on a Sunday! Maybe we could meet up there or something. Anyway, I better keep this short and simple. Oh yeah, did you know you have to take your shoes off now at the airport? I dont' think I've ever experienced that before. And I made the wrong choice of wearing this studded belt! It keeps making the metal detectors beep! *laughs* Oh well, I gotta go! We're boarding any minute. Ciao!

5 things...

2005-10-28T01:38:00.000-04:00

Got tagged by Cel!

10 years ago I...
.. was a real-life Bugs Bunny (think big teeth, scrawny legs).
.. wanted to be a writer or an architect.
.. went to Australia and fell in love with the kangaroos.
.. ate candies/sweets everyday. (Chocnut, Hany, Orange Swits, Tarzan, and much more.)
.. loved to recite in class. (Whatever happened to that?)

5 years ago I...
.. welcomed the new millennium at the Makati Shangri-la hotel.
.. had a teacher who answered that green was the combination of red and blue. *slaps forehead*
.. joined my first table tennis tournament.
.. had braces.

1 year ago I...
.. was in Bacolod for the Unigames with the tennis team.
.. had my first shot of tequila.
.. rode a jeepney for the first time.
.. was a self-proclaimed boy-hater.

Yesterday I...
.. had tennis training at Ateneo.
.. ate Chickenjoy with Vane and Carla at Jollibee!
.. watched Hitch on DVD.
.. tinkered around with Photoshop.
.. took an afternoon nap. (Sleepyhead!)

5 snacks I enjoy...
.. peanut butter sandwich with Yakult!
.. Greenwich lasagna.
.. butter toast.
.. chips, chips, chips!
.. anything banana! (toron, banana que)

5 songs I know all the words to...
.. Someday We'll Know, Mandy Moore and Jonathan Foreman.
.. If You Come Back, Blue.
.. Can't Fight The Moonlight, Leann Rimes.
.. So Yesterday, Hillary Duff.
.. Backstreet Boys' songs! *laughs*

5 things I would do with 100 million dollars...
.. whatever my family and friends want, pricey stuff they wouldn't buy/do for themselves :p
.. donate to a charity that supports livelihood programs (not one-shot deals)
.. invest, save and transform what's left into another 100 million dollars I can again spend for all the people I love :D

5 places I would run away to...
.. can I just not answer this? hehe I don't think I'll get to fill up 5 spaces! running away to a cousin's house would be pointless. Run away, and go right next door? *laughs* Or run away to the house on the street behind ours? or to the house two streets up?
.. most practical, and it would still legitimately be running away, Cel's house. (I don't know how exactly to get to Jill's even if the distance should be just about the same. :p )

5 places I would love to go to..
.. Egypt.
.. Prague.
.. the Carribean.
.. Alaska.
.. back to the Salt Mines between Germany and Austria.
.. (for the 100-foot slides!)

5 things I would never wear...
.. giant polka dots.
.. hot pants.
.. a mohawk.
.. commando boots.
.. Catwoman's leather outfit.

5 favorite TV shows...
.. Tru Calling.
.. CSI.
.. Ambush Makeover/ How Do I Look? / Queer Eye for the Straight Guy/ The Look for Less.
.. Knock First/ Clean House.
.. The OC.

5 bad habits...
.. playing with my watch's clasp when I'm nervous or impatient.
.. blocking out sound or my surroundings.
.. perpetual forgetfulness.
.. not knowing the difference between sentimental value and trash.
.. reluctance to accept accountability.

5 biggest joys...
.. eating Haagen-Dazs ice cream, milky chocolates or cheesecake.
.. daydreaming.
.. finishing a project. the feeling of accomplishment.
.. laughing, hanging out with friends.
.. having a great game of tennis/basketball/pingpong.

5 fictional characters I would date...
.. Human Torch! (ditto Cel!)
.. Legolas.
.. Peter Parker (not Tobey Maguire)
.. Seth Cohen!
.. Chichiri in Fushigi Yuugi.

good morning.

2005-10-23T20:16:00.000-04:00

First, a birthday greeting: Happy 20th Birthday Cel!

Girls night-out in celebration of Cel's birthday was so fun! I got home at exactly 12 midnight, just in time for my Cinderella curfew. Everyone was so dressed up (dangling earrings, pointy shoes, fancy bags, the works!), it was a bit strange having that feeling that we've all grown up. And as we sat at the Manila Penn's lobby, with 3 frozen margaritas, a Manhattan and a Singapore Sling on our table, plus 2 huge bowls of ice cream (!) , it felt somewhat surreal. I still can't believe we're 20 now! (Okay, I'm still 19, but that's only till a couple more weeks.) For some weird reason, I feel stuck at 18. Every time someone asks me my age I'll have to concentrate real hard in order to remember that I've turned 19, and that I'm turning 20 in 2 months! Odd indeed.

Anyway, it was fun just hanging with the girls, after that horrible SMEG sem, catching up on each other, waiting patiently for their stories to be told, just sitting there having our own "talk show", yakking on and on and on about anything and everything we could think of. It was so relaxing to bask in their presence, sink into the cushioned sofa and watch the animated conversations go back and forth. It was amusing to observe Jill as she tried to look behind her back nonchalantly in order to catch a glimpse of Richard Gomez and Lucy Torres-Gomez (who by the way was stunningly simple and beautiful). Think perfect posture, perfect skin, perfect ponytail. And yet, everything came together not as a glaringly in-your-face type of beauty, but a subtle glow, even as she wore the average white jeans and shirt. As for Richard, let's just say if it was a wee bit darker in the Manila Penn last night, I don't think I'd see him save for his orange shirt. *hehe* I know that sounds mean, but I just didn't really think he would be that tanned! I mean that in the nicest way possible.. *smiles innocently*

Ah yes, you must be wondering why I am typing away here while it's ony 8:16 in the morning. We were supposed to have tennis training today at 7:30 but lo and behold, the courts were wet! And so, because Vane texted that valuable piece of information, halfway to Ateneo, achi and I turned right around and went back home. And so here I am, back to my sedentary lifestyle! (Did you know that sedentary means characterized by or requiring much sitting? Wala lang. I didn't know that's what it mean literally or by definition until a few days ago.)

Anyway, I better go ask permission from my mom if I can play badminton later on with Tersh, Cel (if she goes) and the others. I need my exercise! I don't know if it's going to ruin my tennis, but one day of badminton isn't going to hurt much... I hope! :p

made it past 50!

2005-10-21T00:26:00.000-04:00

I've finally driven a golf ball beyond the 50-yard mark! Yipee! *laughs*
October 19, 2005- It was a day I will remember as the day of my first golf victory!
Hoping for many more "victories" to come! Next stop, the 75-yard mark!

I dedicate this milestone to Muri, Rickett and Aaron who did not laugh their butts off even as I was laughing my own butt off! For trying to correct my awkward stiffness, and for being patient with a laughing hyena of a student who did not seem to pick up that well! *laughs*

Ang saya! Nati! We should try this out again next time! It's fun!

four days in.

2005-10-17T23:54:00.000-04:00

It's the fourth day of the sem break and already I've given myself a drastic new change. I chopped off around 6 inches of my hair! *laughs* I'm not sure exactly how I like my hair now, some times of the day when I catch my reflection I think "Yipes!" Other times, I think "Hey, it's cute." and most of the time I just think "It's okay. If people don't like it, it'll grow right back!" If you want to see a pic you'll have to ask me! I'm still trying to look for the USB cable for the camera! *laughs*

The good news is, we got the plus 30 for our paper! Yey! Too bad I can't get the paper back, and it was so preeeettty! *laughs* Of course, I'm just saying that because I designed it. I'm not exactly my own worst critic! Anyway, I've got to go eat lunch, take a bath and pay the Am Express bill for my dad. Tsk tsk, I don't even know how! *laughs* My sister always did it, never I. But if it the process is the same as Citibank's (i.e. pressing buttons on an inanimate object), then I guess I'll do okay!

5 days of hell left.

2005-10-09T09:26:00.000-04:00

I'm taking a break. (Lookie, with some luck, I was finally able to fix my Archive links! I took away the horizontal rules separating the months too, and it looks much much better to me!)

I'm not really sure how I'm going to fare in my Theology Finals tomorrow. I feel much too calm for my own good. Still, maybe that's a good thing because, I do tend to get better scores when I'm calm than when I'm bothered by a feeling of disquiet.

There are only 5 days left for this semester, but they seem so long! I don't know how I'm going to be able to sufficiently study for the next 4 tests after Theo. I just don't have the time! I need to be able to think up some points for our Philo Orals thesis statements already. I can't cram both OR and Philo at the same time! What was I thinking signing up for a Wednesday schedule? Still, it's better to get everything done as soon as possible. I have no desire to prolong the agony! I just wish the OR test would be easy.

Maybe it could go like this! One Branch and Bound problem. One Cutting Plane problem. One Transportation problem. One Assignment problem. Two linear programming formulations. One Simplex problem. One Dual Simplex problem. And that's it! That's going to take an awful lot of time though, the Stepping Stone Algorithm thing for the Transporation problem takes quite a bit of time. So does the cutting plane! Ayayay! I forgot all about Game Theory! Goodness, our OR test could be about anything! Can't anything be easy? I swear, this semester is really getting on my nerves! I want it done! And fast! (But hopefully with a decent QPI.)

And when I say decent, I don't mean a 3, that's way above decent! Let's just say my standards have lowered significantly since the start of this sem. Anyway, I think I've wasted too much time ranting here. I better get back to my Theology notes.

la-dee-dum

2005-09-15T08:28:00.000-04:00

By 8:30 pm, I will get my lazy butt off this chair and go type the rest of our History paper. I've got only one more page to go, and then I'll have to invent page numbers for the quotes from the book by Fr. Schumacher. I went back to the library to try to borrow the book again but it was off the shelf. It's due back tomorrow so maybe I'll borrow it then. Hopefully the person who borrowed it doesn't have plans of paying overdue fees. I really must finish this by tonight. My whole weekend's booked down to the last hour. I can't take it! *whines* And to think I haven't even started trying to fit in any time for our Theology paper... and it's due on Monday! Goodness gracious. God help me! *nervous laughter* I don't know how I'm going to get through this weekend! But I have every intention of starting it off with a bang!

Friday night is not about starting straight away on study mode. SOM Night first! And Taco Bell! I wanna find out if it's all it's cracked up to be! And after I've "earned" those 3 bonus points for our Operations Research long test, I will get my much needed rest before I burst into full-powered study mode. Hope my fuel doesn't run out before Sunday ends. I need to get everything done. Everything.

Whoopsie daisies. It's time for me to leave, however unwillingly, my spot at this computer. Duty awaits. Ta-ta.

going around in circles.

2005-09-03T09:32:00.000-04:00

I found this empty scrapbook near my mom's vanity table called "My Life In A Nutshell", one of those scrapbooks where there are little spaces for you to fill up stuff like, "As a kid, I enjoyed playing..." or things like, "My first paycheck amounted to..." As I was flipping through its pages, I realized one thing.

I don't know who I am.

I don't know myself because for some reason, I seem to forget about everything, about my past, events that have supposedly shaped me into who I am today. There's a space there for the fortunate owner of the scrapbook to write, "There have been times when strangers have touched my life. The one that stands out in my memory was..." I stared at it blankly, trying to rack my brain for that one moment when I felt blessed in a stranger's presence. I couldn't think of anything, although something inside me seems sure that I have been graced by such wonderful strangers before.

"The person whom I consider as the greatest hero is..." made me question myself even more. Why couldn't I find one person I could put on a pedestal? Do I not give any importance to all the people in my life? Do I live too much in the moment, never realizing its fleeting temporality? (Is there such a word? Heck, whatever.) What's a blog (or my journal that's rotting away under the schoolwork) worth if even by rereading it, I do not seem to be able to recall those turning points in life? Why the hell am I even here, on this Earth, doing what I am doing now? It disturbs me that I cannot even say what my best travel adventure is, given I always write traveling as one of my interests.

You know how people always say, "The best advice I ever got came from my mom," and they go on and on about this quote that helped shape their decisions in life. I can't even think of one line, although I'm sure a lot of people around me have given their own two cents' worth. Does that mean I don't pay them heed? What is my life worth if I cannot even relate the journey to anyone who would bother to listen? Does this mean I've lived 19 years and still, not really lived at all? Because what is a life without vivid memories? If I can't testify to it, does it even exist?

I am not feeding you some philosophical psychobabble. I am honestly confused. Maybe it's the weather that's gotten me all weird. As I sat by the computer reading on Bond Valuation, I just couldn't help but feel lost. The scrapbook made me feel even more Lost than the survivors on that mysterious island. I've heard about mid-life crisis, but 2-decade-life crisis? My goodness. This must be what that spirituality question during the guidance interview was all about.

I try to live life in all goodness. As much as possible, I try not to hurt anyone's feelings, even if that means being a doormat. I just don't like confrontations and hurt feelings, especially not something I've imposed on others. But I'm sure I've hurt my fair share of people along the way, maybe some unwittingly. That sucks even more... not knowing how you've already wrenched someone's guts. But I'm straying off course somewhat. What am I saying? I don't really know, I'm making no sense, and yet I think I have just written my longest blog entry yet. I guess I'm just living in a state of paranoia, in a state of uncertainty, questioning how I have spent my life so far. The bottom line? I do not feel that I have done anything special in my life. I have not done anything that could justify my existence. I have not done anything that merits the kind of life I'm living. I do not feel I deserve to be as blessed as I am. And maybe, that's the only thing that's driving me too. I have to try to make up for all the things that have been given to me in abundance. I have to prove that I'm not a mere parasite in this world, draining resources, breathing in air that could fill someone's else's lungs.

The question is how.

smeg = stress! mega exag grabe!

2005-08-30T07:16:00.000-04:00

Wow, it feels like ages since I last wrote down anything for my blog. School has really got me working like a slave. It sucks when you get up in the morning to look at yourself in the mirror, only to be greeted by the world's biggest eyebags. It sucks that when you get to school, your teachers never return your long tests with any letter mark higher than a C. It sucks that I don't really get to spend real honest to goodness quality time with my friends anymore even when we're together because all we seem to worry about these days is school, school and school. Agh! The stress is just too much to take!

Imagine, this Friday, we have a group presentation for History and we have not written down a single word about the revolutionary clergy! Add to that my second long test for Theology which accounts for 17.5% of my grade! I haven't started reading on that either. Eeeeep. This is baaaaaaad. Do not even get me started on next week. Hayayay.

Everyone's starting to rethink the decision that put us into this miserable hell semester, the decision we made 2 years ago in the ignorance of our fresh-from-high-school-butts' youth. Is M.E. really all it's cracked up to be? Tsk tsk. We have got some serious thinking to do. Spend the rest of our college lives like this, or break free and get even better grades along the way? It sounds like an easy decision, but somehow it's not. I don't exactly want to leave "home".

things i've done.

2005-08-02T08:10:00.000-04:00

I found this list on Kevs' blog and thought I'd try it out for myself. While I am a bit concerned about yes, perhaps incriminating myself, I realized that, heck, it's not like I have a hidden wild side to me. And... if it's about the lovey dovey stuff, I can always find some excuses. Classic example: been in love- who's to say if it was really love? Not that I ever had anything like that to mull over. It's just one of the easiest items to avoid!

Anyway, I'm gonna be putting asterisks before the items I've done.

smoked a cigar(ette)
madeout with a member of the same sex
crashed a friend's car
stolen a car
been in love
been dumped
shoplifted
been fired
been in a fist fight
snuck out of my parent's house
*had feelings for someone who didnt have them back - crushes count!
been arrested
made out with a stranger
gone on a blind date
*lied to a friend - and the feeling sucks.
had a crush on a teacher
*been to Europe - art, culture, history! *sigh*
*skipped school - college life and cuts. works fine for me!
slept with a co-worker
seen someone die
had a crush on one of your LJ friends
*been to Canada - a long long time ago.
*been to Mexico - just a stopover on some cruise.
*been on a plane - and i still hate the weird regulated nitrogen-rich air.
thrown up in a bar
purposely set a part of myself on fire
*eaten Sushi - tuna sashimi and wasabi, yum!
been snowboarding
met someone in person from LJ
been moshing at a concert
been in an abusive relationship
*taken painkillers - after I got my teeth pulled out.
*love someone or miss someone right now - don't we all love our friends?
*laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by - oddly fun!
made a snow angel
had a tea party
*flown a kite - back in the day (it was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles kite!)
*built a sand castle - sand Parthenon and Coliseum! *laughs*
gone puddle jumping
*played dress up - who never went through the wear-mom's-lipstick-and-heels stage?
jumped into a pile of leaves
gone sledding
*cheated while playing a game - whoopsie!
*been lonely
fallen asleep at work/school
used a fake id
*watched the sunset - especially loved it in Santorini, Greece.
*felt an earthquake - my whole bed was shaking.
touched a snake
slept beneath the stars
*been tickled - wonder who's most guilty of doing this?
been robbed
*been misunderstood - hasn't everybody?
*petted a reindeer/goat - goat, reindeer's a bit exotic for us eh?
*won a contest - the little joys in life!
run a red light
been suspended from school
been in a car accident
*had braces - 3 glorious years...
*felt like an outcast - hey, it happens.
eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night (make that in one hour or less)
*had deja vu - more than thrice now!
danced in the moonlight
*hated the way you look - the morning after a nice long cry.
witnessed a crime
pole danced
*questioned your heart
been obsessed with post-it notes
squished barefoot through the mud
*been lost - in Little Baguio! *laughs*
*been to the opposite side of the country - Davao.
*swam in the ocean
felt like dying
*cried yourself to sleep - don't ask.
*played cops and robbers - kids will be kids!
recently colored with crayons/colored pencils/markers
*sung karaoke - and had a sore throat after!
*paid for a meal with only coins - merienda counts right?
*done something you told yourself you wouldn't - and ended up racking myself.
made prank phone calls
*laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose - embarrassing, but yes.
caught a snowflake on your tongue
danced in the rain
*written a letter to Santa Claus - i still like to believe he exists!
been kissed under a mistletoe
watched the sun rise with someone you care about
*blown bubbles - such fun!
made a bonfire on the beach
crashed a party
*gone rollerskating - rollerblading actually.
had a wish come true
humped a monkey
worn pearls
jumped off a bridge
screamed vagina in class
ate dog/cat food
told a complete stranger you loved them
kissed a mirror
*sang in the shower - every single day.
have a little black dress
had a dream that you married someone
glued your hand to something
got your tongue stuck to a flag pole - how do you do that?!
kissed a fish
*worn the opposite sexes clothes - a girl wearing guy clothes is forgivable. but a guy wearing girls' clothes is something else.
been a cheerleader
sat on a roof top
screamed at the top of your lungs
done a one-handed cartwheel
talked on the phone for more than 6 hours
*stayed up all night - just once, staffing for DWTL.
didnt take a shower for a week
pick and ate an apple right off the tree
*climbed a tree - tried at least!
had a tree house
*are scared to watch scary movies
believe in ghosts
have more then 30 pairs of shoes
worn a really ugly outfit to school just to see what others say
gone streaking - what's streaking?
played ding-dong-ditch
played chicken
been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on
been told you're hot by a complete stranger
broken a bone
*been easily amused
*caught a fish then ate it - well, technically, my brother caught it.
made porn
caught a butterfly
*laughed so hard you cried - when i make a fool of myself.
*cried so hard you laughed - when i try to stop myself from crying even more.
mooned/flashed someone
had someone moon/flash you
*cheated on a test - once, in grade school, once in high school! i intend to stop there!
*have a Britney Spears CD - and loved it too! *laughs*

So anyway, there goes! I haven't quite lived an interesting life eh? Not that I want to be putting asterisks on some of the ones written above anyhow! I'd much rather have my life as it is now. Although some of the things up there do sound pretty cool. We'll see. I've still got a whole life ahead of me. 19 years down, how many more years to go!

my new goal.

2005-07-28T07:56:00.000-04:00

Oh yeah! After watching Adam Brody (I'm sorry if his name has to keep popping up like this. Forgive me, I haven't had a new celebrity crush in a while! *laughs*) on the 10 episodes of the OC's first season I've viewed starting Monday, I have been reintroduced to a piece of transportation that has long been forgotten and thrown into our dark and napthalene-ball scented bodega. My blue skateboard! Yes, I do have a skateboard stashed away somewhere.

When the Mighty Ducks were all the craze, I decided I wanted to try out both rollerblades and the skateboard. I did pretty well with the blades, but the skateboard was a whole other story. And since nobody around knew how to work it, I never had the chance to ask anybody how to ride it. All I could do was stand on it and lean slightly left or right for a really wide turn. Not much of anything really, so I sort of gave up on it.

BUT, now that I've seen Adam Brody cruising along through Orange County's portwalks looking all cool, not to mention cute(!), inspiration has yet again flowed through my veins! So, one of these days, I'm gonna go get that skateboard (although I'm sure it's pretty tattered by now), find some kneepads and get out on the streets to try it out again. I know the kneepads will look kinda geeky, but then, better safe than sorry! I don't want any more sports-inflicted scars on my knees. I've had enough, thank you very much. I've got one from tennis, one from cycling, one from basketball... and the list goes on. *hehehe* I'm so excited to get started! Who knows, if I get good enough, I can buy one of those cool skateboards with the neat designs! *excited by the thought of cool wheels* Who wants to learn along with me?

am i a nerd?

2005-07-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

I should really be studying for my History test tomorrow but I still haven't gotten ahold of the outline I'm supposed to be using for my review. Oh, wait! Yipee! Well, it seems I just haven't been checking my e-mail in a bit. Someone sent it through Yahoogroups, alleluia! *smiles* Now I have a 14-page outline to drill into my head. After that, 2 pages of Theology notes to review for our quiz tomorrow. I hope the question tomorrow won't be too hard. I just got an F in our quiz in Philosophy. And here I was thinking I could climb my way to a C, whoopsie, I guess not! *laughs* Oh well, I'll just have to make sure I'll get only A's and C's (preferably only A's) from now on. Cancel the lowest quiz naman e.

Anyway, I'm beginning to think of myself as a nerd. All I ever write about here is school, school, school. But hmm.. nah, I'm not a nerd. I just find it easier to write about these mundane things than about anything that really has to do with me. Not that this has nothing to do with me, but.. I don't know... I just feel like, anyone who reads my blog won't really get a nice clean look at who I really am. Yaks, nagdrama! *laughs* Ah well, who says you have to paint a picture of yourself through a blog anyway? Then again, isn't this the whole reason we're blogging? To let others see a piece of ourselves? A piece of me, yes, but they'll never get to put the puzzle together if they don't have all the pieces. (Goodness, that hour and a half of Philosophy must have really gotten to me, huh?) *hehe*

frustrating...

2005-07-26T07:04:00.000-04:00

I never thought this html business could get so frustrating! The computer I'm working on right now has two browsers, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. On Mozilla Firefox, I don't get to see the fancy scrollbar colors, but the size is perfect. On Internet Explorer, the scrollbar's perfect but the size of the box is too small. I don't get it! Which browser should I use as a standard? A lot of people are shifting to Firefox nowadays. Anyway, while I was able to figure out a solution to the "Comments" problem, I still haven't fixed the archive pages. I don't understand why they won't work, I just copied and pasted the same codes from my old design template. Waaah. Anyway, for now I guess the links for "Other Reads" will have to do. *teehee*

whoopee!

2005-07-25T10:52:00.000-04:00

After a few hours of tinkering around with Photoshop and prowling through the net trying to find out how to produce the scrollbar thing on the side, I have succeeded in giving birth to a design that seems functional! Well, I had to forego the Tagboard, but oh well, I guess that's what the "Comments" option is for! When I find the time again, I'll have to fix the links on the sidebar.

Hmm...does anyone know how to make links around images transparent? I mean, so that there won't be another border that signifies it's a link? Am I making sense? *laughs* Anyway, I really should get to sleep now! Have to get rid of this nagging cough! It's going to be another boring day of school tomorrow. Good thing classes end at 10:30 for me! I get to go home early and watch a few more episodes of the OC! I got the inspiration for this design from the OC! You'll never guess how! Well, actually you could... all you'll have to do is take a look at the curly hair of the guy on the picture to your left. *nods head* Adam Brooooooody! *grins like an idiot* He's just too darn cute!

the aftermath.

2005-07-17T09:12:00.000-04:00

Listening to: April Sixth- Dear Angel

Aaaaah! I can't stop thinking about that horrid Statistics test we had last Friday. And now, I don't understand some things about our case in Finance. I can get the answer if I use mathematical tricks like the geometric series, but I can't solve the questions using the formulas I got from our teacher. I don't understand why! *argh* I've tried using the formulas, with a little tweaking, and I've gotten the answers, but I don't understand yet why they worked. *laughs* Oh well, whatever.

Anyway, I'll have to remember to download the following songs when I have the time:

Bad Day- Daniel Powter
Stay- Cueshe
Pag-ibig Ko Sa Iyo- Moonstar 88
The Mixed Tape- Jack's Mannequin (sounds like Matt Nathanson)
Wordplay- Jason Mraz
Over My Head (Cable Car)- The Fray

Hey hey hey! *laughs* I decided to search for the formula for the calculation of future values for annuity due, and hey it works! And my formula works too, although I don't fully understand the reason why the formula I invented works! *laughs* I haven't gotten around to figuring out what to do with uneven cash flows yet though. I'll deal with that next time. *hehe*

Hmm.. I wonder if I should change my blog layout to something I cooked up. My brother says it looks nicer than this one, but then someone else said that this one's still better. So hmmm, whose opinion should I trust? :p *laughs* I'll decide one of these days.. besides, I can always change it back to this if the layout doesn't work out nicely!

dumdeedum...

2005-07-03T05:02:00.000-04:00

I just realized that I haven't written here in a while! For the past week, it's probably because of that MEAnual I had to design and layout in just 5 days! Goodness gracious, it's a miracle Ferdie and I finished it with just enough time to get it printed for Wednesday's release! I can't wait to see my "baby" in print! *grins* Yeeeeey! I hope it turns out nicely! If it doesn't.. booo... I sacrificed precious hours of sleep for that thing! *hehe* Here's the cover!

Anyway, I still have around 60 pages of my Finance book to read but I'm really not in the mood for it. We're watching a movie in 2 hours so I'm kind of looking forward to that instead. Still, reviews for "War of the Worlds" haven't been good so I'm not expecting much. At least I get to stare at Tom Cruise the whole while. Still, I wish it were Brad Pitt instead! *swoons* I saw an old movie he starred in called "The Devil's Own" (with Harrison Ford) and he looked so handsome there, without the slightest signs of waning youth.

Babbling yet again. I wonder why I never get to write interesting things! All my writing skills have mysteriously disappeared. My brain is mush. I seriously do not want to read my Finance book! *whines* But I better get to it... read at least 10 more pages! Fine, fine. I'm off to torture myself with boredom now. *grabs Finance book grudgingly and plops down to read it*

let's kongo!

2005-06-10T07:53:00.000-04:00

After typing and erasing my first sentence 5 times, I decide to forego all the drama, forget about grammar, and just type whatever comes to my mind.

I'm listening to Story of the Year's Sidewalks now after rediscovering it through a fun and brainless Nintendo Gamecube product of ingenuity called Donkey Kongo 2! Sidewalks is one of the songs you can beat the bongo senseless to! It's soooo fun, brings me back to those days when I'd jump around on the Dance Dance Revolution mat connected to our Playstation. The weird thing is, in concept, both games should be the same. Follow the moving arrows/circles and hit the appropriate things as they get to the line. But for some reason, I'm having an extremely harder time with Donkey Kongo! *laughs* But it's way way more fun, too, because you feel like you're this really cool chick who can whack things to a beat, and not like a flouncing bunny stepping on imaginary ants on the floor! Thing is, it's a bit embarrassing (well, that's not the right word) for a 19-year old like me to be going to my cousin's house just to play the game with my cute 6-year old cousin, Josh! *laughs* He has every right to be playing the game while I seem a little bit too old to be having so much fun, sometimes even more fun than he does when we play the duet mode together! Oh well... I better have all the fun I can before we get forced out into the real world. Who knows when I'll get the chance to just be a kid again?

rant rant rant.

2005-06-06T08:18:00.000-04:00

Rotten luck + stupidity = bad day.

A random number of 396 means you don't get any decent class choices for the semester that decides your life!
47,542.35 is not written as forty seven thousand, five hundred forty-two pesos and thirty-two centavos only!
A 7:30-9:00 class in the morning followed by a 4:30-6:00 class in the afternoon gives you a 7-hour and 30 minute break in between!

Can I cry? I was so irritable this morning after getting my classes because it just plain sucked to have all the classes close in your face. I couldn't get a decent class, I couldn't even get a decent schedule! I am so ready to go charging through the departments tomorrow in order to abuse my "athlete powers" and get my load revisions all sorted out.

On the other side of the coin:

While I got stuck with a Dacanay class, I get to be classmates with my high school kabarkada, Diane, again! Yeeey!
I got a "get-out-of-practice-free" card and had lunch with my friends at CPK.

So, today wasn't a total loss. Tomorrow is going to prove to be a difficult day though. I'll have to change the schedules for 4 of my classes, obtain a letter from the Athletics office, talk to all the chair persons of all 4 departments, and pay my tuition. If only I hadn't made that stupid booboo with the check. Anyway, past is past. I'll just have to get it done and over with tomorrow. For now, I'll relax and just chill. I've got to wake up at 5:30 am tomorrow. I have no idea what I'm doing manning the IAC booth, but oh well! *hehe* It's better than wasting time at home I guess. So I guess I better hit the sack by 9 to get my 10 hours worth of sleep! *hehehe* Ms. sleepyhead is in the house!

boracay!

2005-05-30T07:36:00.000-04:00

White sand. Clear skies. Sparkling blue ocean.

Grabe! 10 years- Boracay sure has changed! No longer are the shores lined with coconut trees leaning outwards towards the sea, they're now lined with hundreds of souvenir shops, cute little hotels, restaurants and bars. I should have known from all the stories about people getting drunk at Cocomanga's that there was a booming night life in Boracay, I just didn't realize that it's become that crowded there. Thank goodness we stayed at Friday's which was away from all the bustle at Station 2. There, my brother and I spent mornings trying to build sandcastles! Operative word being TRY. They were pathetic attempts, really. The decent ones looked like those igloo-type houses straight out of Tatooine from Star Wars. Our last two were meant to look like the Coliseum in Rome and the Parthenon in Greece. My mom guessed right on both so I guess they sort of looked like the real things! *hehe*

The sand felt so good between the toes! It was fun just sitting there on the beach at night, wiggling my toes around in the cool white powdery sand and watching the waves roll in and out of shore as a breeze blew. I guess the best word to describe Boracay at night (away from the bars and down by the shore) is romantic. Ayan na, lumalabas na ang pagka-lovey dovey! It was just so soothing! I could have fallen asleep there if the family had decided to stay out longer.

Oh, I saw Sir Danton outside of Cafe del Sol at D'Mall! *hehe* He's so funny talaga! I waved hello, and he said "Oh, hi! Naku, ang rami palang students dito ngayon! I have to behave myself!" *laughs* I made a booboo though. My dad told me I was sort of disrespectful because I didn't introduce them to my teacher. I laughed when I thought how I could have introduced Sir Danton to them. "Pa, this is my English teacher, he's the one who said that Jolly Spaghetti looks like a mop!" *laughs* And then I rememberd, I could have just reintroduced them pala because Sir Danton already knows my dad as Ato. I think they attended the same seminar or convention before. But anyway... there's always next time, I guess?

Anyway, I'm a bit at a loss right nowl, don't really know what else to write down. I guess too much fun in the sun melted some of my brain cells. Still, it's a welcome change from all the worrying about Math 151! Speaking of which, grades come out in 2 days! Eeeeeep!

that's odd.

2005-05-16T07:33:00.000-04:00

What's odd? Well, I posted an entry earlier in the day, and Blogger seems to have saved it, but it's not appearing when I try to open my blog. Oh well. Maybe it's just on my computer.

I just set a new record for myself! For how long it took me to use up the ink of my trusty yellow highlighter. I thought the previous one I used up had a fairly short life, around the length of a regular semester. Well, this highlighter of mine, made by Faster lasted only 3 weeks! Yes, it lived up to its name alright! Faster, kasi Faster rin maubos! *hehe* Corny, I know... sorry. That's why you don't catch me cracking jokes, cause I make up really lame ones! *laughs*

I'm so excited to watch the new soap that's airing on ABS-CBN tonight! Yeeey! I just don't know what time it's going to be on, so I guess I'm going to have to sit down in front of the TV soon so I won't miss it. Ms. Couch Potato is up for another round of TV!

rambling yet again.

2005-05-16T06:13:00.000-04:00

Listening to: Incomplete- Backstreet Boys

I just finished reading Nati's blog and realized that, "O nga noh!! We only have 9 days of school left! Whoopeedoo!" But before we get to that finish line, we have the following to accomplish:

2nd Math Problem Set (due on Thursday)
Economics Finals (Friday, tackling Chapters 9-15)
Economics Research Paper (due next Monday, 5 pages)
3rd Math Long Test (next Wednesday)

While it may not seem like a long list, it's going to provide for more than enough stress. I am most worried about the paper right now. I'm not exactly sure why especially since I got assigned to a fairly easy subject. Maybe because it's so simple, I'm going to have to find a way to make it look and sound more scholarly... Anyway, now that we're at the final stretch, I can't afford to mess up! I hope I get through unscathed. I'm so excited for Boracaaaaaaayyyy! *big grin*

Anyway, I just saw the Backstreet Boys' new video, Incomplete, on Myx today! *laughs* It's fun to go back to those teenybopper days. They've all grown so much older though! Goodbye to the Nick Carter with the floppy hair, everyone's matured! Although, AJ still looks the same, down to the same ski cap and goatee look. Anyway, I never realized when I heard the song on the radio that it would be from a boyband making a comeback. (Are they making a comeback or just recording for old times' sake?) Whatever the case, I actually enjoy listening to this song! It's got a different vibe to it, must be the violin in the background. The more I listen to it though, the more I question why I never recognized Nick Carter's slightly scratchy, totally distinctive voice. *hehe* I don't think it's the type of song that most people would like though.

Listening to: Behind These Hazel Eyes- Kelly Clarkson

I have 14 more page to read for Chapter 14 of our Economics book. It's hard to believe that I've actually read around 400 pages of our book! Compare that to one page for my Math book this summer! *laughs* And to think it's been only.. what, 3-4 weeks? For someone who normally does not bother opening books, and buys books only so that I'll have something to look to in times of emergencies, 400 pages is quite a feat!

Can I whine? It's sooooooo hot. And our electricity bill's skyrocketing so we can't just open the airconditioner whenever we feel hot, no matter how sticky the feeling gets. It doesn't help that I'm always home alone these days. Opening the air-conditioner is not justified when it's opened for the benefit of only one (me). I'll have to wait 'til my siblings get home! *waaaah*

strange condition.

2005-04-30T09:29:00.000-04:00

I wonder when Sir Bataller will return our Math long tests. The suspense is killing me. So far, I'm safely over the 100 passing mark. I've passed, but by how much? I hope he's generous with partial points! *crosses fingers* I know I said I would forget about that test, but I just can't! I can't believe what a nerd I've been today. Yesterday, on a Friday, I started reading a few pages of our assigned readings for Eco. Now, I'm trying to read Chapter 7 of Mankiw's book, (not that I'm making any progress) but the mere fact that I'm opening my book on a Saturday night is pretty... disturbing. Unnatural at the very least. *hehe*

Grr... my throat still hurts. Of course, seeing the now-familiar first spew of bloody phlegm whenever I get coughs and colds didn't help either. Sorry for being so gross... I remember the first time I saw that, I panicked: instantly went online to check out the symptoms of tuberculosis (although thinking it ridiculous that someone like me would have it). As expected, it wasn't TB. *hehe* And it only happens on the first day I have coughs so, I don't really know what that means. Does my throat have a scar or something? Pretty weird if it does. For now, this strange condition of mine shall remain a mystery. *hums to Pete Yorn's Strange Condition*

crazy about jordi.

2005-04-28T02:27:00.000-04:00

Listening to: Blind by Lifehouse

I was prowling through the Internet when I found these! New additions to my must-have list! Actually, I've never had a must-have list, but I've just got to get my hands on one of these! The wallets are just so cute! And don't even get me started on the messenger bags! Aaaaah! Why wasn't I born in Spain so I can have unlimited access to wonderful Jordi Labanda merchandise? And at cheaper prices too! *sigh*

*drools* Cute, cute, cute!

Whoa! The door just slammed shut! I find that very odd considering it's an extremely hot summer day absent of any refreshing gusts of wind! I actually went to school in shorts today, no longer caring if people think it inappropriate. To hell with it, it's just way too hot to be wearing jeans when the denim ends up sticking to your legs. *makes face* Thank goodness I don't have any SOM classes this summer lest I be subjected to the wrath of our beloved dean whose nostrils flare up at the slightest sight of skin. *hehehe*

pasalubongs galore.

2005-04-18T10:51:00.000-04:00

Wheeee! My parents came home from a convention in Shanghai (with a little side-trip to Hongkong for shopping) last night and I got some pretty neat pasalubongs! Here's what I got:

Jordi Labanda notebook with holographic cover - The reason why I'm so happy with this one is because Sketchbooks (at Greenbelt 3) is for some weird reason, no longer selling the Jordi Labanda stuff I love so much. I've been there two times in the last 6 months and still no sign of any new Jordi Labanda merchandise. Hehe, I still have 3 Jordi Labanda notebooks stored away. They're just too pretty to be written on! *laughs* Still haven't found something worth writing in those notebooks.
Jordi Labanda pencil case- Yey! I finally have something to replace my old Jordi Labanda metal pencil case that has rusted all over from the abuse it's received in the last year or so.
Skechers slip-on sneakers- Finally! I can finally retire my old Diesel slip-on sneakers that have become yellow instead of white and are constantly the butt of insults from my mom! She finally realized that I would not retire it unless I can replace it with something that looks similar and serves the same purpose! *hehe*
Diesel sneakers- Cuuuute! They're futuristic! Can't find another way to describe them cause they're made out of suede and this shiny material that reminds me of spaceships!
Pink bikini- Yey! Looks like my mom took care of the swimsuit shopping for me! I can't wait for our Boracay trip on May! Sun, surf, sand! Anything away from the impending stress of classes, I'll take it!
Only Jeans- Oooohh... considering they're not the typical cut of jeans that fit me, they fit pretty well! I'll have to have them cut first though!

Considering they only had 2 days worth of shopping, they sure did a great job at it! It's always after these business trips of theirs that I realize time and again how well they know me! I loved everything they got me. Ang galing! *hehe*

feeling hot hot hot.

2005-04-14T09:46:00.000-04:00

On a normal school day, being given 60 pages of readings is not too bad, especially when you've got 6 subjects that could have contributed to that mountain of a pile. But if it's the first day back in school (summer classes) and you have 60 pages to read for only two subjects, well, that's a different story altogether.

After reading exactly 39 pages of Mankiw's Macroeconomics for tomorrow, I have no desire whatsoever to open my Math book. Heck, the title itself is enough to discourage me! "An Introduction to Mathematical Statistics and its Applications" Waaahhh... I can't believe I was actually excited to have summer classes when I went to sleep last night. Goodness. What was I thinking? *laughs* I am going to diiiieeeeee! Not just from the prospect of failing Math, (seeing all those weird notations that Cel and I described as Arabic on the board today made my knees go weak), but also from the unforgiving heat that screams "Welcome back to the Philippines!" to all those lucky enough to escape for a few glorious weeks of perfect California weather. And how about those who had snowflakes settling on their eyelashes while some of us sat here melting like butter? The only thing I have over those who went abroad is my getting used to this weather. Well... I still complain every hour or so, I guess staying in that air-conditioned office for two weeks gave my body the illusion of being somewhere farther from the equator. *hehe* I am sooo stocking up on shorts and skirts! Why is it so hot this summer anyway?

Hayayay! I'm bankrupt na! I had to borrow money just to buy the two books required by the two subjects who both assigned two chapters to read for tomorrow's class! Odd thing is, both books turned out to have orange covers! Just a random thing to say... I am soooo bored. Anyway, I better put some money into my wallet so I can pay off all my debts. Plus, speaking of books! I just realized I have to change my messenger bag for a backpack! The books won't fit into my sky blue Billabong bag now, so I'll have to put it in another blue Billabong bag (this time ocean blue and white in color with accents of orange), resurrected from the dead! *laughs* I remember the last trip I used that bag on, we went to Phuket back in 2002... (I miss Phuket... I doubt we're going back though, my mom's too scared of the spirits she says are roaming its beaches...)

Hmm... I'm starting to become extremely disorganized with my thoughts. I think I better sign out now before I end up saying something stupid, if I haven't already! *laughs*

DL semester as notes payable

2005-04-12T08:39:00.000-04:00

Again I stare, not knowing what to write.

Grades-wise, I should be happy! And I am! *laughs* I just managed to get myself on the DL. Whew. Thanks to a wonderfully ended semester with Sir Darwin and his kind kind revised grading system and the fairly easy fourth long test. Thanks to Sir Bayot for awarding me an A and for all the bonus points without which I would not have made the 95 needed for the first letter of the alphabet we want so much to see on our grade sheets. Admittedly, I skipped around SEC when I saw that A in Eco. *sheepish smile*

On the flipside, no thanks to my Filipino teacher who did not give Kevs his well-deserved grade, and did not let me slip by with a B when I was sooooo close. Of all the times to get a C+ in Filipino, it had to be the very last one. I always managed to squeeze by with a B. First with Capino in Fil 11, and then with our pare, Mikael in Fil 12. Now, well, our teacher just broke my Filipino B streak. I can only breathe a sigh of relief that all my other subjects seemed to fit in just right for the DL combination.

Why so desperate for that DL? Well... it's a stupid story, really. Back in the day when Math was an easy thing, back in the day when my study habits had not yet started their steady decline, back when I was so scared of college life that I'd wake up in the morning earlier before classes just to go through my notes again, well basically, back in the first semester of my first year in Ateneo. (What an introduction, I just had to make you all dizzy.) Where was I? (See, even I got lost. But then again, I always can't seem to remember what I want to say!) Ah yes, I got onto the DL without much hoopla. Somehow, it didn't seem like too much stress, or too much work. Compared to what I put in today, that semester was well, forgive me for sounding full of air, but it felt effortless.

Because it felt so effortless, I didn't think that getting on the DL was such a biggie. I guess that's the mistake of having been blessed so early on, you tend to take it for granted. So when there was a DL ceremony, I completely shrugged it off. I didn't even tell my parents about it. Needless to say, I didn't go and I just got the merit card from Bellarmine Hall one day when I had the time. The "trouble" started when my mom got to talk to an officemate of hers who happened to have a son in Ateneo. That officemate of hers started talking about her son and how she went to this ceremony for Dean's Listers. My mom stood there with a quizzical look, knowing that I got on the DL, and yet not knowing anything about this event that to me, seemed merely a place for parents to show off their roosters (i.e. us). She stood there with a muscle smile, gears churning in her head, a big question starting to form at the back of her mind.

At the dinner table, as I innocently put a spoonful of rice into my mouth, she started with her story. She looked at me at the end of it accusingly and said "I looked stupid there not knowing what this ceremony was all about with a horrifying realization that my daughter did not tell me anything. I would have wanted to go!" (Of course, she said all this in Chinese, which made it sound even more oh-no-inducing.) And of course, I didn't tell her why I never mentioned the ceremony to her and decided for myself that I didn't want to go. She would never have understood that, heck, even I think myself a little stupid now too. I mean really, when else could I have gotten on the DL? So she tells me, "You shouldn't have decided not going for yourself! We're part of that decision..." she paused and continued, "You owe me another DL semester so I can go to this ceremony. I'm holding this over you." *big gulp*

The next two semesters after that glorious first semester were clouded with disappointment. Finally, the so-called bengga semester came along. As Nati would say (in that way only she can,) "This is it!" I quickly realized it wasn't going to be such a smooth-sailing ride after all. Piles and piles of papers and handouts started providing carpet cover to our little blue study room. Accounting got me sad for a night or two. Filipino got me biting my fingernails each time we had a long quiz/test. Eco, at least for the first part of the semester, had me straining my already weak hearing to catch Sir's lectures and occasional emotion-filled muras. But thankfully, everything DID fall into place, (save for Filipino) everything that needed falling into place anyway. Praise the lords, alleluia, I have just paid off my life's biggest "notes payable!"

One more time, let's hear that sigh of relief. *whew* My mom better not expect anything after this! *laughs* Nah, of course, for personal satisfaction, I want another DL semester. Let's see when I can manage to scrape another one by.

in the heat of it all.

2005-03-28T08:18:00.000-05:00

Holy Week's over and I'm back in the sweltering heat of Manila after savoring the cool breeze of Tagaytay for 5 straight days. I want to go back there and stand outside at night under the stars- stars that can't be seen from the window here because of all the metropolitan smog. It was a surprise to see hordes of people at Tagaytay Highlands when most of its patrons were absent the past couple of years, probably living their jet-setter lifestyles and traveling abroad. And it was a bit lonely, with the last of the girls (Aileen) sending a goodbye message as she flew to Boracay. Nati, Cel, Terri and Jill are elsewhere. And it's me, all by my lonesome here in Manila.

Argh. I still have to work on the stuff I promised my sister I'd do for her Marketing project. (And yes, she still has classes because of JTA.) Waaah. I'm so tired. I have too little time left to relax. Today, I was "working" from 8 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon. I'm sort of interning at this company that makes all sorts of stuff. It's called Toys By Robin, but they do packaging designs too. Like today, Essh was working on new designs for the Ice Monster bowls. I'm going to be there for the next two weeks. It's been fun though, getting to "render" stuff. Maybe I'll post some of the things I did onto my blog sometime. But for now, I'm just really tired. I have piano lessons tomorrow morning, so I'm going to go to their office after lunch. I've been learning Pachelbel Canon in D, which always seems to be the recital piece for the leading ladies in Korean movies! (examples: The Classic and My Sassy Girl) It's supposed to be a fairly easy song, but it's proving very difficult for my fingers to follow my head! The melody keeps playing inside my head but sadly, my fingers don't seem to be pressing the right keys and the playful tune stays right there in my head while the sounds coming from the piano sound downright ugly. Still, I've only had one hour of lessons, I'll get better... at least I hope so! *laughs*

Listening to: Butch Walker's Mixtape

I don't know why I like this song so much. It's a sad song but, maybe that's how I'm feeling right now? Naahh. Me, sad? *laughs* That hasn't happened in a long and I mean, loooooong time! Which is a good thing, not only good, it's great! *grins* Anyway, still doesn't erase the fact that I'm sleepy. Hmm... somebody's bugging me to stop writing in my blog for now. Sheesh, the only time I get to go on the Internet and he starts shooing me away again. Shoti talaga o, buong araw na nga nasa harap ng computer. Anyway... I have to go! Good night!

first day of summer.

2005-03-18T00:22:00.000-05:00

The first day of summer vacation and it's raining... that's odd. Anyway, I'm going to be spending most of the day at home being a complete bum. I'm not too keen on that idea, but half of the day's over and all I've done is get out of bed, take a bath and plop myself down on this computer chair. Yey, shoti and I have been downloading songs like crazy over the past few days so I have around 15 nice songs to listen to over and over again... some are pretty old but since we lost some of the files before we're just downloading them again. For lack of anything better to write, I'm going to put the playlist down here! These are mostly alternative/rock types of songs... with a few exceptions towards the end!

1. Better Than Ezra- A Lifetime (probably the oldest in this list)
2. Dashboard Confessional- As Lovers Go (last summer: Shrek 2)
"You've got wits, you've got looks, you've got passion but I swear you've got me all wrong... but you've got me."
3. Jimmy Eat World- Work
4. Matt Nathanson- Suspended
"It's not enough to stay awake, torn, braced, cornered and not feel alive."
5. The Calling- Anything
6. The All-American Rejects- Time Stands Still (must be old too)
7. Lifehouse- You And Me
8. Yellowcard- View from Heaven
"If we all believe in heaven, maybe we'll make it through one more year down here."
9. Howie Day- Collide
"I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind."
10. Butchwalker- Mixtape
"No I can't find the words 'cause I lost them the minute they fell out of my mouth."
11. Parokya Ni Edgar- Alumni Homecoming (typical Parokya ni Edgar)
12. Sister Hazel- World Inside My Head
"The path was greener on the one less traveled. That's where I remained."
13. Love.45- Way Down (a bit loud)
14. Low Millions- Mockingbirds
15. 3 Doors Down- Let Me Go (playing on the radio nowadays)
16. Sister Hazel- Your Mistake (at least a year old but still nice)
"I want to be rain that tastes like wine."
17. Missy Higgins- Scar (girly pop)
"I'm a little bit tired of fearing that I'll be the bad fruit nobody buys."
18. Lucie Silvas- What You're Made Of (semi-senti!)
"Just like I predicted, I will sink before I swim."

Ooh, can i share? (Duh, what am I doing writing here if not to share?) *hehe* Anyway, Sir Darwin is an angel! The last accounting test was a bit of a giveaway, I just MIGHT make it to a B! I just hope that as Marts would put it, everything falls into place. And please Sir, don't give me another 1/5 for recitation... although okay, if I do get a mere 1, I guess I deserve it. *hehe* Still, can't blame me for my wishful thinking. I knew I couldn't count on our ethnography to raise my SA grade to an A, but getting a 92 for it ain't bad! So I'm happy. Now it's all about my Economics, Accounting and Filipino grades balancing out and hopefully giving me enough to get on the DL. Look at me, it's summer and I've still got grades on my mind. Iba na talaga ang GC. But I haven't always been like this. I guess the first semester traumatized me. That was such a sorry performance. Anyway, as Terri kept saying yesterday, "Out of sight, out of mind." Put it all behind now. *grins*

looking forward: ang hinaharap

2005-03-16T07:41:00.000-05:00

I'm 20 hours away from the test that would decide my fate... I want to make it to the DL so badly, but if I screw up tomorrow, then everything will be for naught. Eeeeep! I don't even know if Sir Bayot would be kind enough to give me an A in Economics. Everything's teetering on the edge right now. I don't really know where I stand anymore. And it's making me soooo nervous, the nail-biting type of nervous that only happens when I'm in Escaler Hall, fidgeting in my seat, staring at my Accounting test, all while twirling my hair. Talk about displaced energy. If only all that fidgeting would make my neurons start firing away. I am so sick of talking about school and worrying about my grades, but sadly, I just can't escape my GC-ness. It's only for another day. Afterwards, I am going to make CHILL my middle name! I can taste the salty seas of summer already.

*to guys who do not want to read about something distinctly female, please skip this part.*

Speaking of summer, I want a new bikini! *hehehe* But then, it's hard to look for bikinis when my frontage resembles a... surfboard. *bleh* Whenever I hear Cel complain about her lack of endowment I can only look down and think "If she only knew..." because if Webster decided to make a fully-illustrated dictionary, my picture would be right there under the word "flat-chested". My genes have failed me. Whereas my sister got lucky in the gene lottery, I got the raw deal. *tsk tsk* Still, as I always say, it's so much better to wear a padded bra than to go and have breast reduction surgery. I should consider myself lucky! *laughs* Still doesn't change the fact that it's hard to buy bikinis though. Anyway...

*resume reading here.*

Instead of again going to China for the May break, we're going to Boracay instead! Yipee! I've been wanting to go back there for a long time. The last time I wiggled my toes in the powdery white sand was in 1995, way before some of the famed establishments today were even set up. So... I'm really looking forward to that trip. I just hope it doesn't get cancelled or anything. For the April break though, my mom's got all sorts of activities lined up for me... I just hope she doesn't give me tennis overload, I've already got varsity training waiting for me. I'm looking forward to taking piano lessons though... learn a few nice pieces over the summer. *flexes fingers* Maybe this time I won't mind dealing with Beethoven anymore. (I used to hate his compositions. They're always sad, creepy and worst of all, hard to play! *laughs*)

like my fave pair of jeans.

2005-03-10T01:13:00.000-05:00

You're looking for a Best Friend

There are many different ways to look at relationships, but for you, finding a best friend, the one person you share everything with, is the most important. Some people focus more on the romantic image of a soul mate to last the span of time, but you probably prefer the reality of making the most of every moment of every day. And who better to live those moments with than someone who's true blue through and through?

The ideal match for you is probably someone who can anticipate the next word out of your mouth and who laughs at the punch line before you even tell it. Chances are it's important to you that they'd expand your circle of friends, introduce you to new places, faces, and experiences, too. Whether this relationship is here for the short- or the long- term, you're a take-it-as-it-comes kind of person, with few expectations or fairytales to live up to. You'd take your constant companion and trusted secret-keeper over a fairy princess or Prince Charming, any day. Whether you realize it or not, there's someone out there who feels the same way about you.

This is pretty cool. I always told myself that I wanted someone a bit like a best friend to me when Cupid comes knocking. (Yes, even with my supposed boy-hater streak.) Didn't realize how true these tests could be! It's a bit weird in a way. Why a best friend? For all the reasons already stated in the results above. I don't know why, but I think I'd pick comfort over chemistry any day, (Aileen, remember us talking about this at the bench?) the same way I'd rather wear my favorite pair of jeans than struggle into gorgeous, form-fitting, but highly uncomfortable designer ones. At least that way, you're true to yourself, not having to doll yourself up just to face the world.

jumping on the bandwagon.

2005-03-08T08:22:00.000-05:00

I saw this on Cel's blog, she in turn got this from her friend Meme's. She was right, these tests are ego-boosters alright! *laughs* I still don't understand how they make up these answers though. I wonder how many "types" there are. So far, there's Cel's "choosy" and my "desirable." (wahahaha!)

Men See You As Desirable

Men often find you immediately attractive and sensual. Your honesty is refreshingly beautiful ... it draws guys in. You are also able to be open with your feelings with no emotional baggage. Packing light means you enjoy new relationships easily.

How Do Men See You? Take This Quiz :-)

Ooh, here's another one. I'm white chocolate! I expected to get milk chocolate like Cel did, but it seems we're just two very different people. There are only three types of chocolate though. Milk, dark and white. Right? Or not... Hmm, which should have given me a 33% chance of getting the same thing as Cel... I always thought of myself as a dreamer too, but then again, this is fine too... *grins*

You are White Chocolate

You have a strong feminine side with a good bit of innocence thrown in.Whether your girlish ways are an act or not, men like to take care of you.You are an understated beauty, and your power is often underestimated!

What Kind of Chocolate Are You? Take This Quiz :-)

on school, seahorse-chocolates and shopping.

2005-03-08T02:28:00.000-05:00

What do you do when you've got too much time on hand?

Well, if you were me, you'd be wasting it all by bumming around as well. I have roughly 60 pages of History handouts to read for our lecture and quiz tomorrow but I have yet to bring out the pages from my folder. I really shouldn't be talking about school again. Sadly, I just have nothing else to write about. And if I do, it would be about things I'd rather keep to myself. Sorry guys. I'm boring the life out of you.

Things at school are looking up though. If rumors are to be believed, Sir Darwin's devising another way of scoring our third long tests. (Yes! It seems I won't get stuck with a 25/100 after all! And yes, my test was that bad.) With the new scoring, all I'll have to do is ace our fourth and final test next Thursday. I doubt I'll be making a repeat performance of our third long test by that time. I'd like to think I've grasped the concept of differential accounting by now! And then there's History class with Ms. Coo. We get to take bonus points based on the number we roll on the 8-sided dice she's bringing to class tomorrow. Whoopee! So long as I don't screw up tomorrow I'm pretty much safe for the exemption. *fingers crossed* Hope whoever rolls that dice tomorrow gets a lucky 8!

Oh yeah, I got swept away with the "Caselet" provided by the real-world case group today. Imagine formulating your own mini-test out of their case! Goodness... It could very well have passed for a sample long test, complete with the spoofed title of "A Very Long Confinement," typical of the trends by which Sir Darwin makes our tests. Who could forget the tests referring to "Troy", "Spiderman" and "Legally Blonde?" Yep, our teacher certainly has a sense of humor. On rare occasions, you might even catch him cracking corny jokes in the middle of his lecture. Remember the proud face he wore when he finished that drawing of the pig he used to introduce the concept of joint costs? It was so funny! He looked like a kid who had just gobbled a handful of M&M's.

Speaking of M&M's. I still have that box of Guylian Perles d'Ocean chocolates in the fridge. Tempting. I think I better grab one of those seahorse-shaped ones now. Isn't it weird though? I haven't exercised much for the last 2-3 weeks, what with tennis training having stopped after the UAAP and the PE classes done and over with, but I've lost 3 pounds over the last 2 weeks, even with all the sinful chocolate I've been stuffing myself with (thanks to a baaaaad but terribly generous benefactor :p ). Of course, that's cool, losing the pounds I gained a few months back, but then again... what's weight if the inches are still there? I am never going to fit into my favorite high school jeans again. *boohoo* That gives me an excuse to buy more new jeans though! *big grin* So... once classes are over I am going to head over to a mall and shop myself silly, until I've exhausted most of the money I've got set aside for clothes. I can't wait!

After the GAP 3 at Dencio's Capitol Hills, after trying on those Bebe Jeans that fit perfectly down to the length, I've realized that perhaps, the perfect set of jeans aren't so hard to find after all. Shopping requires patience after all. Shopping is an art, a science and a sport. It not only practices your mathematical skills (How much are these jeans tagged at P1295 if there's a 20% discount?), it not only sharpens your eyes (Yes, there's still a size S for this shirt!), but shopping helps cut down on calories as well (150-300 calories burned per hour)! Yup, shopping sure has its advantages, the only non-perk of it being the deflated wallets and empty pockets. Of course, it only takes a few weeks or months of saving up to finance the next shopping expedition. And then, malls, watch out! (Goodness, if Cel and Tersh take on a mall at the same time, that mall better be ready alright!) *laughs*

last song syndrome

2005-02-17T10:04:00.000-05:00

“Because you live, I live.”

It’s another cheesy line from another cheesy love song. After listening to Ryan Cabrera’s “True” at least twice a day for the past few weeks, I have grown a bit tired of it. So it’s time to replace it with another song that would service my LSS for the next few days or weeks. Jesse McCartney’s “Because You Live” is fast topping the “Most Played” smart-list on my IPod. The Aaron Carter look-alike coincidentally sounds like the big brother, Nick Carter, reminding me of my grade school teeny-bopper days with the matching choreographed dances to Backstreet Boys classics like “Quit Playing Games with My Heart.”

Ah yes, the good old days when we could just run through the playgrounds without a care save for the gasp-inducing 7/10 quiz. Nowadays, getting a 75 on an accounting test can merit joy. Yep, you can just see how my personal standards have gone down the drain over the years. Time and experience have funny ways of changing you. And I’m not just talking about contentment with regards to grades.

A lot about me has changed over the years, with each experience either putting up a new wall around my optimism or sanding down whatever wooden parts of my heart. On some days, I wonder why I react to certain things a certain way and yet come off completely contradictory when reacting to another similar situation. Sometimes, I wonder why I never got around to writing stories the way I’ve been wanting to since Grade 5. Sometimes, I wonder why I’m taking up Management Engineering in Ateneo and enduring all these long nights for a CPI that does not even reach the much-coveted 3.35 mark. Sometimes, I wonder why I never found the courage to pack my bags and try out university life in the States, why I never got the nerves to pass a college application someplace else. And always, I wonder why all I do is sit here and ponder when I should be out there trying to get back on the track of my dreams.

fashion dilemma: go for rock chic

2005-02-14T04:24:00.000-05:00

My head hurts. I have no idea why. I got a decent amount of sleep last night. My day at school wasn't particularly hectic either. So, what gives?

Anyway, I just wrapped up my Filipino reflection paper on the play we watched two Fridays ago. If I get another D on this one I am going to cry. I think I did a better job on this one. Plus, this one's packed with nicely-put bull. But, bull works. At least most of the time! *laughs* Give me a B and I'll rejoice to the heavens above! I've exhausted all the possible symbolisms for the first of the three performances. Please don't let Ms. Bellen write another comment that says I did nothing more than state the postcolonial characteristics. I think I've gone beyond just stating the obvious now. I think.

It was amusing to see the number of people walking around schools with flowers or balloons in hand today. I don't think I've ever noticed that before. Last year, I was too much of a cynic to notice, or even care. This year, I don't know.

Choosing my outfit today was an experience in itself. Char told us that we had to wear something yellow for MEAMore week. So this morning, I opened my cabinet door on the prowl for a yellow shirt. I was faced with three choices. A shirt that said "Done with Love," another that screamed "Single," and another that merely said "Rock Chic". The choice was obvious. I went for the last one. Valentine's Day is not exactly the day for wearing statement shirts! Goodness, I wouldn't want to break everyone's bubbles by coming off as this bitter girl donning either of the two other shirts. *laughs*

just bored.

2005-02-06T04:32:00.000-05:00

I stayed home today so I could get started on the History readings we need to have taken to heart by Wednesday. So far, I've only read one article out of the four assigned to us. I'm not going anywhere. And I don't mean that just figuratively. Looks like I'm going to be stuck here at home tonight. I don't believe I've had this much alone time since my high school days. I don't know if I miss it or I dread it. I do need the time to think and unwind, but sometimes, the silence and all the thinking can make you go mad. My sleepyhead tendencies are acting up again too. This is baaaad. I am bored out of my wits.

Oh wow! I just saw my mom's dress, designed as always by Nono Palmos. It's a Filipiniana-inspired dress with a modern twist, lots of sparkly beading on the hand-painted yellow pinya cloth. (At least I think it's pinya, there's a term for it, I just can't remember it at the moment). It's so pweeety! I wouldn't mind wearing it. I wonder if my mom would allow me to try it on later. *hehehe*

telenovela addiction.

2005-02-03T09:06:00.000-05:00

I'm watching "Save The Last Dance For Me" now on TV. Looks like I'm going to have another show to catch every day! I like this far better than "Lovers in Paris," at least from what I'm seeing so far. It's not dragging at all. And this Francis/Adrian guy is way cuter than either Carlo or Martin! *laughs* Oh my, "Till Death Do Us Part" looks interesting too! Oh no! I'm going to be a TV addict at this rate! Hmm... Diether's hair looks pretty funny... Okay, not just pretty funny, really funny! I liked him so much better back in his Gimik days with G. Toengi. And I just realized something, Dominic Ochoa always plays the martyr guy who gets replaced with another guy. Think, "Got to Believe" and now this!

Oooohhh... This is interesting. "Sino ba ang pipiliin mo? Si hospital o si funeraria?" *laughs* My goodness, I can't believe Kristine Hermosa's lola asked her to choose between the two guys in front of both of them! Nightmaaaare! *laughs* Oooh! I just spotted Chinie on the Johnson's Pure Essentials Face Powder commercial with Shaina Magdayao! Wala lang. :D Okay, I'm babbling yet again. I think I better stop with all this telenovela talk.

verbal omelette.

2005-02-01T09:18:00.000-05:00

Verbal omelette (definition): A dish consisting of beaten thoughts and ideas cooked until set and folded over, often around a filling. Served verbally.

It's lovey-dovey hour! Yes, this line is going to sound cheesy, but I just couldn't resist plucking it out of a Ryan Cabrera song... "If I'm blind now, and all this was a dream, at least the dream was about you." Doesn't it sound like a line right out of a telenovela complete with sad watery puppy eyes and a mellow piano ensemble? I can just imagine how it might play out! *laughs* Anyway, don't think that the resident, self-proclaimed boy-hater (who does break occassionally, particularly when a 6'3" basketball player with the same jersey number as yours truly passes along SEC walk), has turned over a new leaf and has gone to the dark side! I'm still Ms. Optimistic-About-Everything-Except-Love.

Ooohh... I just recently discovered the wonders of photobucket.com!

That's a picture of us last Sunday at Rizal Racket after the awarding. Happy looking bunch of people, eh? *laughs* I like how this picture turned out. It looks au naturelle. Candid. Real. Saturated with the very essence of life. Wheh? You probably get my drift! Forgive me. I'm a little out of it today. I don't know if it's the lack of sleep or just the whole "hell semester" getting the best of me. Still, I was pretty happy when Sir Darwin discussed the answers to our Accounting long test today. Wheeee! I just might make it over 85! Yipeee, what luck! What joy! I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that my makeshift algebraic proof would merit the full 12 points. If not, well, tough luck but I'm still happy! *big grin*

finally over.

2005-01-30T09:19:00.000-05:00

I'm staring at a little blue box beside me. A little blue box that holds something I wish were a different color. The exhausted part of me is relieved that I will not be having additional bruises on any of my limbs any time soon. I'm such a slowpoke sometimes. Can't seem to get out of the way of those zooming volleys. *glances at the bruise on my thigh the shape of a tennis ball* Note to self: When opponent is ready to pound ball into the ground with a smash or a high volley, use racket to defend self.

The other side of me is frustrated, knowing what I did out there on the courts today was not enough. Of course, hearing Cza tell me that I played well today made losing feel somewhat better. Best of all, Coach didn't seem disappointed at all. Having the medal hung around my neck, with the metal UAAP crest resting on my chest, felt fulfilling. Days under the scorching, relentless heat of the sun all made worthwhile. My now permanent tan-mantiong (RJ, corny!) somewhat accepted. I still miss having a single skin tone for my whole body though! I look so chopped up! Chop-chop Lady. I've got a shorts tan line, shirt sleeves lines, socks lines, and even a V-neck line! Every time I get up in the morning and stand in front of the mirror, I see black and white! Time for Block & White maybe? *laughs*

Anyway, now that the tennis season's over, it's time to set my eyes on something else, the IAC Women's Basketball Finals on Wednesday! Wheeee! Let's go MEA All-Stars!

today, i'll be thankful.

2005-01-26T07:54:00.000-05:00

The History midterms weren't half bad. Thanks to Cel for telling me about "Great Harmony" while we were reviewing over YM last night! I couldn't stop smiling when I saw it on the test paper, thank God for Cel! *laughs* One point down, 79 more to go!

The test wasn't as hard as I had expected it to be. There weren't any tricky, double-meaning, True or False questions, although Multiple Choice with all the "All these, except one, does not describe today's geisha." type of questions, was pretty confusing. Why not just ask, "Which of these describes today's geisha?" It would sure make life a whole lot easier for us! Teachers... tsk tsk.. always out to make things harder for us! :p

I should probably start writing about something more interesting. I'm starting to get bored with my own blog. And to think I should be my own best fan! Or maybe I'm just my own worst critic. Heh? Am I making any sense? *laughs* What can I write about anyway? Basketball again?

We won against Woozah by the way, by a mere two points, and with a much-debated call in our favor from the referee. MEA All-Stars moves on to the semi-finals! It was a fairly low-scoring game, with the score tied at 2-2 at the end of the first half. Imagine that! The game ended with something like 12-10. It was pretty funny, how we were substituting players depending on who had ball possession. We were putting our players in like we would in American football with an offensive and defensive line-up! That was something different! *laughs* Our next game's on Friday and I'm not sure if I can go, which is sad. There's a supposedly prerequisite talk to be held at about the same time as the game for JTA applicants. Makes me think, forego JTA and play? Or don't play, miss all the intensity, all the excitement, all the hoopla for that talk? Aiyyyeeee. And that's not all, I might have training in the afternoon, too. In that case, goodbye basketball. Priorities first.

Speaking of priorities. I don't know if Vane was peeved with me playing basketball today. Coach Gee said that if he were coach, he'd be inis too. But what the hell, I played earlier, played even more time than they would probably have with them starting at 5. The sun sets at 6. Admittedly, it might not have been enough, but with broken strings after hitting a backhand, and using Cza's racket which I frankly could not quite get the hang of, I'd like to think I had enough space, perhaps even enough reason to play that game today. Of course, I didn't contribute much to the basketball game either, (My shooting was way off.) but that's besides the point.

It just pains me that... I don't know. I love tennis (Yes, I can say that now.) but I don't want it ruling my life. I have other interests, other wants and needs (zzzztt... installing Economics talk.) And just because I love another game, does not mean that I'm not committed to the team. It just annoys me that other people, even people within my own team, could say that about me (or could have said that about me. Doh, big diff.) I want to win as much as they want to. And if they can't see that, then I'm sorry. Think what you want. Basta ako, alam ko ang totoo. I'm tired of worrying about what other people think. Tired of being a doormat, acting as if everything's okay when things aren't. But look what I keep doing. *weak smile*

Ask me and I'll say this angst is stemming from something completely different. But I don't really want to talk about that. And with that, I'll have to keep acting, not exactly because I want to, but because I have to, for the sake of civility. I'm so tired. So tired. Sick of swallowing it all in when I want so much to throw up. *zips lips* I'll shut up now. Don't want to say too much.

Back to happy thoughts now! Things to be thankful for today:

I think I did pretty well on the midterms.
I did not get cramps during the basketball game!
Dinner, with Sweet and Sour Lapu-Lapu and tortang giniling (omelette with ground pork, anyone ever had that before?) was delish!
I was able to enjoy a thirst-quenching bottle of Apple Iced Tea!
I broke my tennis racket's strings for only the third time in my whole life. (That's a good thing because it's a bit like a status symbol. Break your strings, and it's "Wow, she must hit pretty well." Or maybe that's just me making things up again.)
Someone complimented my dribbling! (Before, I fumbled and spoiled my chances of putting up a lay-up during a fastbreak) *smiles sheepishly but is flattered nonetheless* (Not "touched"! hehehe, Marts, wrong word usage nga talaga ako kanina!)
I have just written my longest blog entry ever!
I will not be missing Hiram tonight! *checks watch* But I have to leave this instant!

*scrambles and leaves computer*

all up to us.

2005-01-23T07:56:00.000-05:00

"Practice this week every freaking day starting tomorrow. 6 am. Ateneo courts. Don't intend to be a pooper but if we want to have a shot at the UAAP championship title, which I believe you guys can do, we'll need to add some effort. This is an opportunity given to you already. We've gotten this far. I just want you guys to make the most of it. If we're lucky, that's great, but if not, then at least we put up a fight. It will really be up to you." - Coach Jen

Oh my goodness gracious! 6 am every freaking day? I'm gonna cry. That means I'd have to wake up at 5:00 every morning, take my bath in Ateneo after playing , pay P20 just to take that bath at Moro Lorenzo Sports Center (without an assurance of a hot shower!) and get to class just in the nick of time. To think I have my History midterms tomorrow at 8:30. The only time I cut class this semester was when I couldn't get to my History class at Bellarmine Hall on time because I couldn't take my shower in the already filled-to-the-brim restroom. We had to wait for both the women's basketball and football team to finish freshening up. If I get to class late tomorrow, I don't know what new words of injury our easily aggravated teacher would have ready for me. I really wouldn't want to know. So... *whines*

tomorrow's pancakes.

2005-01-22T10:12:00.000-05:00

It's pretty weird. For the past week, I've been itching to play doubles against DLSU tomorrow, and yet today, I gave my spot up. My mom couldn't understand it. My brother couldn't understand it either. Well, of course I had to disappoint them by saying that I chose not to play tomorrow, hence not giving them a chance to watch me in action. And while some part of me is somewhat disappointed, and I'm still trying to bring down the adrenaline I've been building up for tomorrow, another part of me is happy.

I'm happy that Carla is finally going to get the chance that she deserves. We've all been sacrificing time and effort for this team, and she's especially diligent at going to practice. I just couldn't watch her throw away the chance to play at the UAAP tomorrow. She's so damn good, there's no way she's going to keep all that under wraps this whole season! I don't really know what convinced her, if it was what I said, or just the whole thing, from the 30-minute long bathroom talk with Vane, Jam, Deena, Jo and me to the constant kulit. I'd like to think what I said helped somewhat, I can't really say. I know she wants so much to play and I wasn't going to stand in between that, knowing that she could very well hit the life out of those balls and show DLSU a thing or two. So when coach finally texted me again to ask if I wanted to play or if I was gonna let Carla play. I told her that if Carla wanted to play, then she should.

So, tomorrow, I'm gladly taking the role of head cheerleader! And for the first time since the opening of the UAAP, I'm going to go and have breakfast with them at Pancake House! My sister's choosing sleep over bonding again, but I think it's about time that we had some together-time. We're so close to that trophy. I can smell it in the air. I can smell the pancakes I'm going to be eating tomorrow! *laughs*

in dire need of training.

2005-01-20T07:10:00.000-05:00

It's 3 more days until our UAAP match against DLSU and I have yet to swing my tennis racket the whole week. Eeep! If we win this match, we go into the finals with a twice-to-beat advantage. If we lose, then we go into the finals two wins short of the championship. We'd have to beat DLSU another two times if we don't win this Sunday. Aiyeee! I don't know if I should be excited or nervous. If coach fancies putting me on the line-up this weekend, I don't know if I'll be able to really deliver. I don't know if I'll be able to ride on the confidence of the last two weeks.

We've been at the bottom of the standings for so long that finally getting to contend for the title seems surreal. We're supposed to be the underdogs, and underdogs are supposed to leave the pressure to the ones defending their crown, but when the bone is dangling right in front of your nose, not being able to grab it is frustrating. Pity Tantalus who couldn't drink the water nor take the fruits on the branches. It'd be sad if we don't get this. Sad, but not the end of the world. Either way, we're still in the game. The finals will be a whole other story.

what cars can say.

2005-01-04T00:18:00.000-05:00

written way back: December 24, 2004

5:30 pm
Just arrived at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Shenzhen, China after crossing the border from Hongkong. I've realized that the economic state of a country can be judged from the cars rolling along its streets. I spent the 2-hour car ride from Honkong's international airport to the border just staring out the window at the blurring cars and highways. I never caught sight of a dilapidated pick-up or a worn-out sedan. I did see dozens of BMW's and Mercedes-Benz's though. Upon crossing the two suspensions bridges in Hongkong, I couldn't help but frown slightly. They were magnificent indeed, more like art than transportation infrastructure, but they made me feel even worse about the current conditions of the roads in the Philippines. It's hard to believe that we used to be on top when you look at the way things are today. But it's the truth, we were once on top. Now, we're on rock bottom. Bedrock. Fred Flinstone compared to George Jetson. (What an analogy! =)) But you get my drift.)

Anyway, housekeeping just came by to turn the beddings for the evening. She started talking in really fast Mandarin and all I could do was smile and point at the only bed that needed fixing. It's a bit embarrassing to have to tell the people who speak to us in Mandarin here that I can't understand what they're saying. (I do understand some parts, but then, I can't communicate what I want to say back in return.) I fit in so well here looks-wise, the same way I did in Taiwan. I don't even know if it's more embarrassing for them to have mistaken me for a local, or for me to be Chinese and not know the language.

Still, you can't really blame me, blame the education. It's sad but I probably learned the most Chinese in my last year of high school than I did in my other 12 years in ICA. (Sorry Sr. Dina if by some strange twist of fate you decide to surf the net and find this.)

Now, before my stomach starts making any sounds that the person sitting beside me might hear *thinks of something and laughs* I think I should go grab something to eat. I know I put that Ritter Sport somewhere here. *rummages through my bag*

hello china.

2004-12-17T01:41:00.000-05:00

This is probably the first time in months that I've been home from school way before the sun got the chance to even think about setting. Is that a good thing? Probably is, but I'm getting bored sitting here while my brother's snoring away. It's the last day of classes before the christmas break, and there's still so much to think and worry about. From the Filipino play we have to watch, to the paper we have to write about it, to the books we have to read, to that long test waiting for us as soon as we get back, the so-called break is not at all a break. It's going to feel like a long weekend crammed with all the homework the teachers could muster (or at least the cold-hearted ones who just really want to make us students miserable during Christmas.)

The good news is, we're going to China! They say the shopping's great there, plus it's gonna be cold so I'll get to use all the cool jackets my sister brought home from Singapore. *claps hands in glee* Maybe I can get my Christmas shopping done there instead and be the New Year Santa Claus! And I can add a few more places on my "Places I've Been To" list. *smiles* We're leaving on Christmas Eve so I don't really know when I'll be able to do my homework. I don't even know what day we're coming back! Anyway, school is not really my main concern now that the christmas vacation's started. I've got only one thing in mind. Fun!