wandering through the clouds

23 days to Christmas...and I'm not feeling well

2011-12-02T11:39:00.003+08:00

So much has been happening the past few weeks, planning for J's bridal shower, visiting relatives from several countries, getting ready for JJD's departure to the US( transfer of work for the 4 months she won't be here), etc etc.

Have been more tired and stressed lately, I think it might be because we sleep late and there's just to much to do. Right now, I'm sick at home. Got sick starting last Wednesday night. Kept throwing up and had a bit of diarrhea yesterday, with a slight fever. Feel a bit better today, but still don't feel like eating. It actually felt like I was having an eating disorder. Imagine me eating just one piece of Skyflakes for dinner last night. Unimaginable, right? I couldn't believe it myself. I just didn't want to eat anything for fear that I'd throw up again.

During the two days I'm here at home, I just realized what qualities a leader should have, and all thanks to one of my officemates that kept on calling me.

1. A leader shouldn't ask "Pano na?", moreso if your supposed to be my boss, a leader should say "What are our options?" or "Let's do this."

2. A leader should treat you staff more compassionately, and never just to show off to others or higher management.

It's probably my headache talking, but I'm really mad at people who blame others when something goes wrong, and even more when people act all goody goody in front of the boss, but turn a good 180 degrees when the boss goes away. Keep it real.

Holiday spirit

2011-11-07T18:43:00.000+08:00

It's only a few days after Halloween and All Saints Day, but the malls have already put up Holiday decorations. Christmas songs have already been playing in the malls and also on the radio for many weeks now. The holidays are coming fast...need to get to some Christmas shopping soon. I usually end up shopping too late, and then it usually comes to grabbing just whatever is the most practical. This year, I will prepare early. I have a list and budget ready already. :)

Time to shop, shop, shop....

Ups

2011-11-05T20:05:00.003+08:00

Of course, while some events at work have been a downer, there were also moments that have brought a smile on my face. One of which is my recent purchase, an Olympus XZ-1. I asked my aunt to buy it for me in Hong Kong. I love it! I haven't had a chance to take it out yet, but I've been shooting stuff at home, and the outcome is great. I love especially the quality of pics of low-light places, like under the table or my closet. Also love how the colors have this certain pop to it. It doesn't have borders or the inbuilt special graphics feature which we can add to the picture that Sony has though, but the Olympus comes with Art Filters give a nice touch to pictures. Another thing I like about the Olympus XZ-1 is that I have the option for both Auto and Manual settings, which is great for a photography newbie like me.

I tried Bulgogi Brothers at Greenbelt 5 the other day. The ambience was cozy, it didn't look quite like how I would imagine a Korean restaurant to look like though. There was a wine rack in the middle and a cart loaded with different kinds of wine. And the lights look modern. Then, therewas Kpop playing in the background as we ate and also showing on the TV on the wall. We ordered the Seoul Bulgogi and the Gwangyang Bulogi. The food was cooked fresh at our table. I was surprised that the waiter didn't put oil in the pan before he put the meat in for the Gwangyang Bulgogi. When I asked if he had put some before he got the pan out from the kitchen, he said he didn't. I assume its better and healthier for the body since it didn't use oil. <3 The food, from the complimentary side dishes to the (corn) tea to the main dishes were yummy and the overall experience was great. I would like to go back and try their other dishes next time.

LSS

2011-10-15T13:45:00.002+08:00

I have been constantly humming 2ne1's song "Lonely" for the past few days. Just can't help it, the melody seems to be stuck in my head.

Kicking off October

2011-10-08T17:31:00.002+08:00

Can't believe Atsi B has been married a week already. Everything is still a blur to me. It just happened way too fast. We were fitting gowns just barely 2 weeks ago, and now the event has been over for a week. Congrats again to Atsi B and Ahia W. Best wishes, we hope to have mini versions of you guys by next year. hehehe

With me being second in line of the Tiu cousins to get married next, I am starting to feel the pressure, with constant nagging from my mom and grandmother. I still prefer letting nature takes its course. If its going to happen, it will happen.

With the month end reports at work done at work, I can relax a bit. Although, next week is a bit intimidating as a new work related challenge awaits.

Planning on getting my hair done tomorrow. Thinking of having my hair dyed, maybe hazelnut?

lifestyle changes

2011-09-24T17:09:00.002+08:00

Been on a "strict" diet the past few weeks after our initial fitting for Atsi B's wedding next week. It was partly forced though hahaha because I couldn't eat much really when I was down with the flu last week.

After I got better, I still stayed off oily and greasy foods, soft drinks, junk food, and the like. I was also drinking more water, which usually felt like a chore since there's always so much to do at the office that I would rather work so I would finish earlier rather than get up and get a drink of water...a really bad habit now that I think about it.

I feel I lost some weight the past two weeks, hope its not psychological or a figment of my daydreams. :P Due to the mini lifestyle changes that I had to make, I realized that weight(and perhaps overall health) is really the result of how we treat ourselves. And I, don't really pass in that area.

Ack!

2011-09-10T23:59:00.002+08:00

Need to lose weight....fast! Went for our first gown fitting today. The dress looked ok, but it was a bit too fit that my upper body felt stiff. I don't know if it was because the gown was too tight or the bone on the gown that made it uncomfortable.

Either way, I asked that the gown be adjusted by one inch.

Still, I will need to diet for the next 20 days to make sure the gown fits ok.

No more pasta, pizza, milk tea for a while.

BB Creams...what's all the hype about?

2011-09-04T19:09:00.003+08:00

BB Creams have been getting very popular across Asia. Each brand has different versions of it, with different benefits. BB Creams claim to have the function of foundation, concealer, sunscreen, moisturizer all in one, this I believe is the main selling point since it can cut their morning prep time in maybe half?

I've been trying the Skin79 Hot Pink BB Cream I bought on Ebay for a few weeks now. The effects have been pretty good. Have been getting nice feedback from my officemates. My skin has been clearer, smoother and less prone to oil. I use the BB Cream as an alternative to the Shiseido Day Moisturizer I've been using for quite some time now. I find that the my skin gets oily after lunch with Shiseido, Skin79 BB Cream lasts a few hours longer, which is pretty good since most of the time am too busy to blot the oil off.

I had doubts about the color of the cream when I first opened it, since it was a kind of greyish hue. But it blended quite well with my skin and the finish is quite nice. I found that the Skin79 Hot Pink BB Cream also reduces the appearances of enlarged pores, however, for acne scars, I still have to dab on a bit of concealer.

Rainy long weekend...booo

2011-08-27T18:55:00.002+08:00

Work has been extremely stressful lately. My boss has been quite mental, openly offending people (take note: not just us, but also clients), doing nothing but making everybody's work harder. I now I shouldn't be offended by what he's been doing, but I just can't help it. I've been thinking and thinking if whether what he's said about me is true. He told me that am not responsible and that I don't help out my colleagues. I beg to differ. I have never said no to anyone that's asked for help from me. I make sure that my daily work are all finished before I go home. I make sure that no rules are broken before I do anything. How does that make me irresponsible? I do hope that he realizes that what's he said is just plain laughable. Great idea, will just laugh about it instead of getting mad.

Aside from work, have been clearing out my closet. There's anay in my closet again. Waaaah... Will having the built in closet and the table removed and just buy a ready made one. Furniture shopping tomorrow. As of now, all my clothes are on the couch.

___________

Commercial break:

Bought myself a Longchamp Le Pliage in Large. One of the purchases I will never regret... It's super roomy and versatile. Great for work, shopping or travel.

Also bought a lot of books at the recent sale at Powerbook's. Something Blue is still out of stock though. :(

Still haven't bought the camera...hehehe Faced with the many models and features, I just couldn't decide.

_________

Atsi B will be bringing over her Ke Tseng tomorrow. Time to start making ribbons and wrapping and sticking stickers. :)

turning 26

2011-07-31T15:14:00.001+08:00

Turned 26 last Wednesday, had a simple dinner at home with Dad, Mom, C and JJ. It wasn't really a celebration as it was also a sad day for our family. My aunt passed away that morning due to pneumonia which she caught at the hospital during radiation treatments. We were hoping for a miracle for the past few weeks before the pneumonia. Hospitals should really make steps to make sure that patients who are being treated for other things are not exposed to other viruses. Although, true, even with constant washing and cleaning, its hard to guarantee that an are will be 100% clean and bacteria-free.

It was so unexpected, my aunt has never been sick, there were no symptoms. We wouldn't even have found out about the cancer if she hadn't fallen down and had to undergo an operation. Actually, the doctor who did the operation didn't even know. It was only after a few months after the operation and she still couldn't walk and my cousin brought her to the hospital for a CT scan that we found out that she had cancer. That was only less than 3 weeks ago.

The turn of events has been extremely fast. As JJ put it, "Kung time na niya talaga, la tayo magagawa."

Cherish everything we have, while we still have them, so as we don't have regrets when that time comes.

Wow!

2011-07-07T16:36:00.003+08:00

I am a bit glad that I didn't pursue a career in advertising. When I was taking up majors in college, I was good at coming up with ideas for ad campaigns, but didn't really have the creativity to execute the idea in an eye-catching format. I could come up with a fresh theme, but I I lacked in the skills to further explore and expand that idea. I would get stuck after I had that one idea and couldn't go further. The problem I had then was I kept on considering how the additions would affect the initial concept.

I was browsing around and saw this list with the most creative resumes ever made. The resumes are extremely amazing! If I had passed mine together with any of those, mine would (obviously) be thrown in the trash can.

In need of retail therapy....

2011-07-06T21:26:00.002+08:00

My mom is finally home after a few days in the hospital due to a nasty virus called dengue. Dad and I took turns in staying with her at the hospital. And thanks to the papaya leaf extract, tawatawa juice and bak kut soup that Sa-I, Atsi Jeanne, Jing and Jo brought and also the love and prayers coming from everybody else, mom’s platelet count was able to recover quickly. I was so nervous when mom’s platelet count went down to 17 and then further lowering to 14 even after the platelet transfusion. I felt sad when I was beside mom when her head hurt and she was experiencing body chills, it was unexpected, mom never got sick, she’s usually the one taking care of us, esp me, when we got sick.

I wasn’t able to go to Singapore with my HS friends. A little bummed that I wasn’t able to join them and be part of the fun and memories created, but no worries, there’s always next year. :)

Atsi B’s wedding is less than 3 months away, and I have yet to lose the weight that I promised to lose a few months back. I think I gained weight instead. Waaaah! It's a bit weird actually, I get hungry easily, like when I was at the hospital with my mom, I could eat like every hour, and then weirder still, I ate 2 lunches)2 cups of rice) this one time, which is very unlike me, since I usually eat just a small chunk of rice(maybe equal to 1/3 of a cup of rice) and just enoough ulam to finish the rice. I don't want to go near a weighing scale in the near future. hehehe I will be on a diet to get rid of the excess food I have been consuming lately for a while.

Thinking of buying either a camera or a cellphone. Might go for the camera instead, since mine got stolen at Dragon Gate Restaurant last year and my phone's camera doesn't really take good quality shots for the family photo album, the pictures are great on the phone's screen but when I upload the pics to my computer, there's just too much noise in the images. The camera's am looking at are either the Canon S95 or Panasonic LX5. Price over camera size. Still deciding....

stuff...

2011-06-11T23:06:00.004+08:00

Cleaned my closet today, nothing much to clean really, just had to re-pile, re-hang and organize whats been hanging there all along. My fashion sense has changed so little over the past few years. The only major difference between then and now is in the size of the clothes. Style wise, I still go for simplicity and comfort. Just the basics, like jeans, tshirts (with the addition of the staples in business attire). Only recently have I added more elements, mostly lace and ruffles to my wardrobe choices. I still lack the confidence to wear floral prints or other heavy prints though.

Watched Cai Xiao Hu and Zhang Shao Qin's concert at Resorts World last Saturday. It was absolutely great! Reminiscing the old chinese songs my uncles and aunts would sing to at karaoke.

Had a pre-show snack at Parmigiano. Reasonably priced Italian food. Yummy strawberry iced tea!

politics

2011-06-03T23:45:00.003+08:00

Have been feeling down the past few days..Emotional ups and downs coming over me sometimes, it could be the stress from the number of transactions or it could be that someone is trying to work their rank in the office and some office politics. I realized that this statement is pretty true, "Some people are real. Some people are fake, but some people are just real good at being fake." I will not stoop to your level. I will use my cool and my wisdom to counter your, can I say schemes? I just want a simple life with no drama. Work is like my second home, I don't want to have to go in somewhere and feel miserable because I don't know who to trust.

Enough about the work week that has just passed. The upcoming weekend is going to be really relaxing. Will be watching Cai Xiao Hu's concert at Resorts World tomorrow night. Won't be able to attend Rain's birthday celebration though. :(

Will try my luck in the kitchen tomorrow....hehehe I bought a pack of tokbogi(is that how its' spelled?) at the Korean grocery last week, will try to cook it tomorrow. I also bought dried seaweed, the type they put in soup in the koreanovelas. Then, I also bought dumplings from one of my clients. Can I put the seaweed and dumplings together into a soup? Wonder what that will taste like.

goals

2011-05-14T14:33:00.002+08:00

We're almost halfway through the year, looking back on the resolutions I set during the start of the year. I made 3 promises then, which are:to read more books, to lose weight (and look healthier), to start my applications for masterals. As of now, I've achieved only one, the first. The second, I did ok during the start of the year, and then I gained weight again over the summer. :( waaah Half of the weight gain came from eating all that yummy food in Taiwan. Talk about the salty donuts variant from Mr. Donut, oyster cakes, beef noodles and don't forget milk tea.

We went for our gown measurements this morning for Atsi B's wedding this morning. I need to lose a few inches around my body. Need to start working out and sweating and eating less/healthier. It's just so hot ...hard to get myself up and moving lately.

There's also another thing I need to start working on...my closet. My closet is so full! Its full of clothes I accumulated over the years. I still wear them and most of them still look new, so it's hard to actually dispose of anything. Am figuring out how to clean up and reorganize my closet to make it more efficient and hopefully, still have space just in case I want to add some more stuff. I might need to move some stuff out from the closet, like the bags, gifts I get, toys out to clear out my space. But that would mean, cleaning up not just the closet but the whole room... *gloom*

This clip is inspiring, his space is even smaller than mine, so organizing my room shouldn't be a problem, right? I give myself maybe four weeks. Aja!

(Un)certainties

2011-04-16T18:49:00.002+08:00

Am 25, going on 26 this July. A lot of friends have already found their special someone's, some have already tied the knot and started a family. I envy them at times. Fate still hasn't sent the right guy for me towards my way yet. At the moment, am still enjoying singlehood and the freedom of having little worries and responsibilities, that would come in definitely when "me" becomes "we".

Its probably quarter life crisis. I've been reflecting on my life lately and how its going and where its headed. Part of me feels like am at the place I want to be, but part of me still wants to go out and explore what I can do. I feel like that I can still be molded to do something greater, something that will bring out the best in me. There's just so much energy in me that wants to burst out. As with everything, the future brings certainties and uncertainties. Both scare me a bit, as both have both given factors and the missing "x". Both will need determination and will on my side, am I ready?

Excitement!

2011-04-10T19:20:00.004+08:00

A few more weeks before the annual family trip...yey! Have to finish the details about our trip after Shobe finishes her finals. Wanted to go to the Taiwan International Flora Expo, but seeing the daily crowd of visitors on the news, am thinking about going or not. I feel that I should be going there to relax with al the nature and beautiful scenery around, but will I be able to enjoy with the people around? Places I definitely want to go include Shilin Night Market, Taipei 101 and Wu Fen Pu. Also planning to go to Ding Tai Fung, Yong Kang Street, Di Shui Fang(for vegetarian goodies). This is definitely going to be a trip that would make a foodie real happy. haha

Waching "My Princess" at the moment...super cute K-Drama, haven't been able to watch K-Dramas lately, its a fun way to enjoy the weekend.

Am so in love with hair braids right now aftr watching the drama, been trying to do the hair braid ala Kim Tae Hee(Lee Seol) in the drama but haven't been successful yet. Trying to search online on how they do it. haha Hair braids remind me of when I was little and mom used to do my hair. I was so amazed back then, because every day my mom had a new way of doing my hair.

New addiction...Cocoa with Rock Salt and Cheese from Happy Lemon. I thought it was a weird combination before I tried it, but the mixture was absolutely heavenly.

:( :) :D

2011-03-19T23:37:00.001+08:00

:( Was watching NHK Channel earlier regarding the effects of the radiation from the nuke reactor blasts. It's been a week since the earthquake and the tsunami, and Japan has been battered by weird weather changes, difficulties during the rescue operations and the food, medicine supplies for the survivors. Its been a triple whammy for Japan, but I was amazed at the way the Japanese (including its government) are handling with the situation. There's still hope...the Taiwan News just reported that a 27 year old guy was rescued uninjured. Let's pray for all the other victims still unaccounted for.

:) Jem and I tried the newly opened CBD(stands for Cheesesteak Burgers and Drinks) at Ayala Triangle Garden last Wednesday. I tried the CBD Burger, the burger was super juicy and their sauce complemented the taste of the meat well. The overall taste was very smooth, neither oily nor strong, just right.

:D Went to Cebu last weekend for our much anticipated yearly outing. We stayed at Shangrila Mactan Hotel. The only downside was that it was only an overnight trip. But it gave me and my officemates a chance to sit back, relax, laugh, and just chill....looking forward to next years' outing. Cebu ulit sana! hahahaha SM lang napuntahan namin, and di kami nakakain CNT lechon. hehehe :D

a nice start to the weekend

2011-02-12T17:30:00.003+08:00

We ordered Serenitea at the office the other day. We each had to order 2 cups to meet the Php1800 minimum delivery mark. I ordered the Green Apple Yakult and an Okinawa Milk Tea with 75% Sugar and Egg Pudding.

I tried the Green Apple Yakult first. It tasted basically like Apple Juice with sago inside.

I had the Okinawa before, however this time instead of black bricks, I had egg pudding. Great combination! Also, at 75% sweetness, it was just right. I had the 100% before which was a bit too sweet.

Great, sweet start to the weekend.

Delicious weekend

2011-02-06T19:40:00.004+08:00

Got sick last Friday...partly due to the extremely cold aircon in the office and partly due to the overindulgence over the past few weeks. Have to stay away from oily foods for a while. Hope I lose weight while I get better. hehe

Met up with Lin, Ka and Cha for dinner at Sala Bistro, Greenbelt 3 last Saturday. Food was delicious! I had salmon fishcakes. I love the mashed pea sauce that the fish is served with. It tasted sweet and creamy taste, it didn't seem like it was made of peas( a vegetable I don't really like btw.) Over dinner, we talked about travel plans or the year. So excited! It's always fun travelling, and more so, when shared with people we love.

Had lunch today at Peking Garden with family from dad's side. We waited for almost 2 hours for a table. All the patience because we missed having Peking Duck. haha While waiting for a table, Hubert, Shobe and I hopped over to Timezone and shooted hoops, threw a lot of balls towards a screen(forgot the name of the game), played Mario Kart, Deal or No Deal, Trivia, etc. We were having so much fun, we forgot our stomachs. Good thing Di-Pe came to call us that our table was ready.

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Tidbits:

1. welcome a new member to the family! Atsi Anaber gave birth last Jan 27. I now have 2 pamangkins on Dad's side of the family. Too bad they're both too far. I can't wait to see them in person. Hopefully soon. :D

2. Am starting to develop varicose veins...waaah! Am going to start wearing hosiery...or maybe I should walk slower? Does that even have a connection to varicose veins? Research time...

teeny bit overworked

2011-01-22T22:39:00.003+08:00

There seems to be an endless addition to things to do at the office lately. Work hours for the past few weeks have been way too long...sometimes even up to 12 hours. Trying to stay on top of things and still have a smile on my face. Although, some circumstances just test my patience. I am a bit glad that at least now I don't have that much of a responsibility with other places, combined with the killer workload, I'd probably faint. Not that am complaining about the stress. Just feel that my immune system isn't real good lately, I get the sniffles a lot these days. Or maybe its because I don't take in a lot of liquid and the aircon at the office is just too cool.

Am glad that there are a couple of things to look forward to for the next couple of months.

1) Company outing this coming March to Shangrila Mactan. Yey!!! Will grasp the chance for some much much needed relaxation. Although need to lose a bit of the Xmas gift I got myself due to the holiday indulgence. hehehe

2) Taiwan in April with my family.

3) Vietnam and Cambodia with my friends. Sana I can join. Wasn't able to join last time and it'll be a great bonding experience. :)

On a side note, my old SEK610i is kinda messing up. It won't make a call sometimes, I have to turn the phone on and of before it will work. And then the power issue where it shuts off by itself sometimes even when it's still fully charged. :( Time to get a new phone? The phone is still great though, albeit the hang-ups sometimes.

New Resto's to try

2010-11-25T21:13:00.003+08:00

Tried a couple of new resto's the past month, Passion at Maxim's (Newport), Crystal Jade La Mian and Xiao Long Bao(Greenhills), Bon Chon Chicken(Ayala Triangle), Tao Yuan Restuarant(Malate). Passion was good, we had lobster with cheese sauce, and brocolli with scallops and noodles. Ambience is a very nice, very festive. Love the lanterns in the ceiling.

At Crystal Jade,i tried the Noodles with Spicy Chicken. It was so-so. I like the Noodle Soup with Shrimp Wonton that Dad ordered though. Its probably because I always liked having a bowl of hot soup. Its my ultimate comfort food.

Bon Chon is one of the newly opened restaurants at Ayala Triangle. Tried the spicy chicken wings. Super yummy!

I heard about Tao Yuan from one of my officemates. Hainan Chicken Rice is extremely a must try. And don't forget the Oatmeal Prawns. Yummy!!!!!

I want to try these restaurants next:

1) Maitre Chocolatier Boutique Cafe

Unit 2A, #28 Jupiter cor. Astra Sts.
Bel-Air, Makati City Philippines
Tel. No. 897-8559

2) Wee Nam Kee Hai Nan Chicken Rice

Ayala Triangle Gardens

In pursuit of the perfect travel shoe

2010-11-25T20:54:00.002+08:00

I'm going to Xiamen early next month on a business trip. In this year alone, I've traveled three times to three different places. Some required a lot of walking, as in the type that made me want to soak my feet in warm water all night. I wonder, is there such a thing as travel shoes, shoes that were made for the rigors from walking all day long. The characteristics, I believe, that the perfect travel shoe should have are:

1) Lightweight- I hate carrying around heavy luggage. Although I rarely bring more than two pairs of shoes, unless its a business trip and I have to bring a pair of heels. Also, lightweight shoes probably allow air to permeate, compared to the shoes made from thick material.

2) Easy on, easy off- Since airport security checks now require that passengers should take off their shoes and put it through the Xray machines, it would definitely be easier if the shoe were easy to take off and can easily be slipped into.

3) Super comfy- the bottom line is that the shoe must be extremely comfortable. The type that I can wear hours on end and not feel tired.

4) Versatility- This is a bit optional though. If there were a shoe that could take me from work to gimmicks to shopping, or to just about everything. That would be awesome! Talk about one shoe for all.

I've been checking out a lot of shoes lately. I've been looking at two brands in particular, Aerosoles and Converse. Still thinking about which to buy. hehe

interesting

2010-07-11T18:48:00.002+08:00

While at the office, I was able to surf the net for a while while waiting for IT Center to give us the go signal to continue testing.

Here are some interesting sites I found out.

1) Japan Paper Cup Towers- these towers were set up without glue or tape or anything.. coolness! Also they have an association for people who are into this kind of art.

2) Top 10 Cool USB tricks - List of the 10 things, not all are applicable or useful, that I can install on my USB to make life easier

3) Top 10 Reasons to Fall in Love - interesting read. hehe

buhay call center

2010-07-11T18:07:00.003+08:00

spent the night at the office...DR Drill and preparation of head office audit reports. Dropped by Golden Fortune and Monteland to grab some siopao and dimsum for breakfast before heading home to rest. As soon as my head touched my pillow, I was out. Next thing I knew was it was 4pm. hahaha I didn't feel tired while I was at the office though.

Its so unnerving that one minute it was dark outside and then when I stood up to take a break, the sun was already starting to come up. The morning air is so fresh...something I haven't experienced in a long time.

I realized that I may get way too preoccupied with work when I am at the office...I realized that lately, with all the hectic deadlines, I've been neglecting myself a bit...not getting enough sleep, putting in too many hours at the office, not drinking enough liquids, eating lots of junk food to help get rid of some stress while I work(I think I gained weight again). So it is true that its more beneficial if a person gets up and stretches once in a while.

On a good note, I got promoted at work...Although it seems that it may be because one of my officemates resigned and there was a "vacancy". But still it feels good in a way somewhat.

random musings

2010-06-06T00:59:00.002+08:00

Fate..Destiny..Choices..People often say that we are in charge of our destinies, that our choices affect what happens in our lives. As in what happens is the effect of what we have done or said. But isn't it that what we do is a reaction to what's happened in our environment or the people around us? So in reality, we are in a way governed by all the elements surrounding us. And its really the circumstances that dictate what will happen.

Hmm...just a random early morning musing. hehe

Happy Sunday!

weighing my options

2010-05-15T16:21:00.002+08:00

I've been assigned a project at work, and its opened new chances and opportunities to learn. I am immensely grateful to my boss for that. Except that, there are times wherein I have to double duty and do what I was doing before I was assigned that. So with the mix of deadlines of the new project and the need to deal with clients and do the over the counter transactions, I feel worn out. I don't know how much more I can take. I think it's time for me to move to a new environment. There are some elements in my current workplace that just stress me out. I try as much as I can to finish what I am supposed to do, but I don't see any appreciation for it. So, why stress myself, diba? I am going through my options right now...go abroad or find a new job here? I want to get a Masters degree and I'd like to experience living on my own for a while. But, experience-wise I think that I'm still unqualified to get a Masters. Hmmmm..... Tough decision to make.

Growin up...finally? haha

2010-04-18T23:52:00.002+08:00

Back from Hong Kong for about a week now. Been away from home for almost a month. This is probably the longest I've been away from home. There were times wherein I thought I'd go crazy with no one to talk to, and really shopping is no fun if there isn't someone with you giving their insights. But being away from home and having loads of "me" time, I found out a lot about myself.
1) I'm actually an independent person. Here in Manila, everything was readily on hand most of the time, but I found out that there are a lot of things that I never knew that I could already do. Although I find that am still a bit too naive to really survive without being 詐騙by the street veterans who prey on newbies like me.
2) I found the fashionista in me,although right now am still searching for a definite look for me. I used to not really care what I look like(think about it this way, I used to wear crocs to work here in manila), but I was always so conscious of how I look compared to my peers from the other branches while in HK. I never wanted to look any lesser than the others, but of course, I still prefer not to splurge on designer goods. But there are a lot of not so expensive stuff that look great on me. My fashion choices include a mix of simple, rugged and feminine pieces. I’d probably describe it as princess meets rock.
3) I like the independence and freedom of living on my own sched. I hate routines and having to wait for this and that. I like walking and walking and see where my feet take me. I have to admit though, the freedom was a bit overwhelming t first, and I got bored afterwards. Haha Good thing my mom and sis came during the holy week and then had breakfast with Kaka also last April 5 .
4) I’m all grown up now. I was able to explore Hong Kong and go to places I would never have gone with if I had been with my family. I got to eat at the Dai Pai Dong’s and met new friends at one of the Mongkok shopping stalls. It’s been an enjoyable experience. Although there were still some places I didn’t go to because I wanted to be able to share the moment with my family.

_____
Had dinner at Felix with HS barkada last Saturday night... it was the birthday celebration of the April bday celebrants and Honeylyn’s visit here. It was nice seeing everyone again. The T.H.E. group/Props Committee was complete after the longest time. Had fun talking and catching up with friends.

_____
Found a fairly easy kimchi recipe on justbento.com that I want to try soon.
Ingredients needed:
2 heads of Napa Cabbage (cut to your preference) 1 large daikon radish (shredded) 1 bunch green onion 3 cloves of garlic 2 tbsp salt 1 1/2 tbsp red pepper juice from 2 lemons

Make sure that everything is sterilized (bowl, hands, and jars). Mix ingredients in a large bowl, squeezing the vegetables as you go. Eventually there will be a fair amount of juice in the bowl from the vegetables. Pack the vegetables in mason jars, making sure there are not any air bubbles and leaving about a 1/2 inch from the top. Pour the remaining juice over the vegetables making sure they stay submerged in the juice and loosely screw on the lids. Set them aside for about 3 days, check by taste to see if you want to ferment the vegetables any more. If they are to your liking, seal completely and store in the fridge.

Balance

2010-01-28T20:50:00.002+08:00

The other day, I met with someone who I have never really(maybe even never ever) gotten along with. I was hoping that everybody would be professional about it, instead some people were doing stuff on their laptop, or showing that someone to read something from a magazine they brought. I ended up being so frustrated that I wanted to walk out then and there. Although if I did, there would probably be no end to their comments as to how I shouldn't have done that if I had.

Anyway, I figured that in any group, there has to be a balance. There's always going to be someone that is extroverted and outspoken craving for attention, and then there's going to be someone that is shy and reserved. Then, there will always be someone who is very capable to take on a variety of tasks and there will be someone that is very willing to pass anything on their hands to others.

People with different traits, personalities, and beliefs were put together for a reason...they put in together a balance that will be beneficial to the group.

That's probably my mindset now when dealing with "difficult" people.

lesson learnt

2009-11-07T23:59:00.002+08:00

Master Miao Jing shared with me a valuable lesson today. She started by asking me why the "Mu Yu" is called such. I of course said that I didn't know. Then, she replied because the fishes' eyes are closed, and that it signifies yun shi zhuan shi(at least thats what I heard) Bottom line is, it means that we should not let the situation we are in change us, rather we should change the way we think to control the situation we are in.

Being lead...

2009-08-26T22:33:00.002+08:00

I think some leaders were meant to lead, and then there are some leaders that are meant to be lead. I fall in the latter category. Since I was chosen to lead a group, I notice that I have a lot of self-appointed political advisers, not complaining though. They are all doing a great job, although I always seem to be the last to know anything, since they discuss things on their own and tell me when everything is set. That is just sooo frustrating. I know they are older, but shouldn't they know better?

Perhaps I am just trying to do what Oscar Wilde says when he said that “Those who try to lead the people can only do so by following the mob.”

I really need to be more courageous and express myself more.

Growing up...

2009-08-05T15:53:00.002+08:00

I think I finally grew up last month...not because it was my 24th birthday. haha I was sent to China for training ALONE. It was my first time ever traveling without a companion. I was scared when I found out I'd be alone to say the least. And considering that it would be my first time to go to Shenzhen, I was even more apprehensive. The flight booked for me was from Manila to Hongkong, so I had to take care of the Hongkong-Shenzhen transportation by myself. (I took the 7-seater van of the Eternal East Bus Lines at the Hong Kong Airport for RMB180. Took the same van back to Hong Kong.) The whole trip was very smooth. Didn't have any problem at immigration or customs. My dad and mom drove me to the airport for my flight and my mom accompanied me up to the place where the line for the security checks start. I was so used to having someone to talk to while going through the security process, check-in, immigration and wait, and I was scared when I turned my head and my mom was like 1 meter behind me. I then realized, "Oh my God! I'm travelling on my own. What will I do?" I kept on texting my mom while I was in China, when I woke up, when I arrived at the office and when I got home and before I went to bed. It's ironic how much I want to live on my own and be independent and when given the opportunity to be independent for a few weeks, I felt homesick...as in, really homesick. Indeed, there's no place like home.

technology and romance

2009-06-28T13:23:00.002+08:00

Had a pretty good week...although last Friday there was an uber makulit old man that demanded to go into the bank after banking hours, and I had to go out and talk to him. I hit my head on the steel door while I was coming back in. Still hurts when I press on it. The old man had extremely bad manners and had the nerve to say that I wouldn't hit myself if we had just let him in. Excuse me, but who are you? Would anyone in their right mind let a stranger go into the bank after office hours. Of course not....duh!

After that stressing event, we at the office had merienda from Starbucks c/o Donna. Thanks Donna! And then for dinner, me, Sir Herman and Pan had dinner at I'm Angus. Pan and I had the 16 oz T-Bone, while Sir Herman had the Tomahawk steak. The meat was so tender, we had ours done medium rare, and it was grilled perfectly. It was soft and juicy, but not to the point that there was still a lot of blood. We were so stuffed after. I wasn't able to finish my food pa..we had red wine, and as usual, I got real red after just one glass. I only had one glass for the entire evening, but it was good with the steak.

We had a seminar at the office yesterday. After that, I met up with Atsi Dol and Atsi Joy for crepe at Cafe Breton. Yum! It's been a while since I've had crepes. We were talking about guys and how technology has made it quite easy for guys to court girls. Before, guys would have to visit the girl and really talk to her. Two people actually spend time together to find out if they are really compatible. Now, guys can just grab their cellphone and text a simple, "Hi, good morning, have a nice day, kumain ka na" or "I miss you" or "How was your day?" All this is just too easy. It's pretty hard to determine if the guy is really into you or is he just uhm...texting you out of boredom. (Ouch!)

makeovers

2009-06-06T11:43:00.003+08:00

Right now, I am in the process of changing myself. It's a self-makeover. It's time that I grow up. I've said this for the longest time, but somehow, I still can't do this, express myself more. I try to, but I just can't. Although lately, I've noticed that I've changed a bit. I've become more outgoing and I now know better to shut up and not react when there is something that is happening that is not according to what I think should be happening.

Also, before I may be annoyed when people overpower me. Now, I am thankful that I have people like them around me, because for one thing, they can overpower the one person that I can't control. That one person, I must be thankful for too, because he is teaching me to stretch my patience level. And in more ways than one, he and his supporter(not that he has just one, but there is this certain one that is very vocal) have let me know that I am not actually as meek as I thought I was. I can fight back and stand up for myself when I know whats right. I am not one to just stand down when people gang up on me and confront me for something I never did.

To more changes for the better......cheers!

inspiring....

2009-03-26T21:23:00.002+08:00

found this poem while surfing...i can totally relate to this. Each line strikes a chord to my heart. That's how well it sums up what I am feeling day to day.

DESIDERATA

written by Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

The past few days have been extremely toxic. I am so stressed lately that I am losing interest in everything, except the summer camp. Am so looking forward to that! And don't forget Vesak Day! We don't have a performance yet, but we'll think of something. After all, we're not called the "two week group" for nothing. Although this time, we might have less than two weeks to prepare. haha

I am thinking about leaving my job. The jobs great, yes. But recently, too much work has been piled on me, even things that aren't really in my job description. Then there is an office mate that I am having problems with an office mate right now. She tends to pass whatever work that has been assigned to her to me(actually, its more like, she barks her order. Imagine Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters). I told her nicely that I have lots to do and that maybe she could do it herself if its urgent. Now, she's not talking to me. Well, fine by me, at least she's not giving me extra work na. hehe

busy busy busy

2009-03-14T15:12:00.000+08:00

Life has been hectic the past few months. So many things to do...trying so hard to balance work and YAD and family, somehow 24 hours a day seems too short. I have barely had a good nights' rest since January. Unfortunately, it has caused me to be cranky. haha Am looking forward to my vacation in April. Although, it worries me as well. I am wondering how we're going to be finishing all the things that need to be accomplished in just a few weeks' time.

Aside from having an extremely long list of things to do, there are still other pressures from other outside forces, things that are unexpectedly popping up, and not having a lot of people. It's sort of driving me crazy, thinking what I should do next. This is all overwhelming me. I am trying to learn to prioritize and most importantly, dealing with difficult people. The latter is my most important agenda now.

This, like all things, shall pass....Just have to endure the stress for a few more months. 53 days till camp!

Still accepting registrants! Email me for inquiries. kichiko_yawun @ yahoo.com

it's saturday night...and am home

2009-02-07T22:06:00.003+08:00

Not that that's new, but I wanted to go out today. I was already excited for it. But then, the monthly visitor came, and I've got a bad case of cramps again. Grrr...So, now am sitting here in front of my laptop, doing work, talking to my cousin over Skype and organizing a summer camp while my friends are out. hahaha sour-graping again :P

Although, I feel that I accomplished some stuff this afternoon. I at least finished the division of tasks for the talk next Sunday, and have all the posts filled up.

There's so much going on in my life right now. And it's so hard figuring out which to start on first. There's work, BLIA YAD, family and friends. Each has its own sublist of things to do. WAAAAH!

I think I can, I think I can...that's my mantra now.

I'm praying that I come out of this in one piece. Thank you to everybody for keeping up with me, and for understanding my extremely late reaction when you talk to me and for the times I look like I might bite them when they ask for something. Thank you also to my newest comfort drink from Starbucks, Decaf Soy Latte, for allowing me to relax with a warm cup of you in my hands when the going gets really rough.

new year, new goals

2009-01-23T22:24:00.002+08:00

I haven't really been up to writing or anything lately...I haven't had the chance to slow down and breathe for a long long long time, not even during the Christmas break. There was always something to do. And then, there was the cool weather. That also made me a little bit more sluggish than normal. hehehehe

With the new year going (and the Chinese New Year just around the corner), I'd like to make a few notes to myself about what I want to accomplish this year.
1. MBA applications - What happened to those? hahaha I still haven't pushed through with my MBA applications and most importantly, taking the GMAT. I've always feared rejection and I think it's time to make the leap. Well, have to be well prepared before I actually do that though. So, I'm going to start reviewing.

2. Have more courage to express myself - I've always had trouble doing this. Although I am better at writing down my feelings than saying it out loud. But either way, I still suck at self expression. I need to learn to stand up, take a stand rather, and let the world know what I think, and not just say "Yes" to everything.

I really like this quote from U.S. Pres. Barack Obama,"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." This quote is going to be my new inspiration to work harder, be stronger, live more, love more and laugh more.

year-ender

2008-12-30T21:08:00.001+08:00

So much has happened...maybe a little too much haha either that, or I actually was "living" more this year.

Things have been crazy at times, a little overly hectic, and then, sometimes mundane and boring. There were days I got so stressed that I just wanted to lock myself in my room and curl up and sleep and not care about the world for once. I guess if I had to use one word to explain this year, it'd probably be whirlwind. So much has happened. Most of them unplanned. It is true that the only constant thing in this world is change. Change which proved that I was capable to go through hardships and come out stronger.

Memorable moments of my year 2008 include:
1) finding a new job- This happened earlier this year. Yes, it made me feel more like I had a future. However, the biggest downside would be learning to be extremely careful with what you say to people. Somehow, everybody has a hidden agenda. I now have to practice learning to be "plastic", which is extremely not me. I am the type who is so frank and straightforward. It's just too hard to live behind a mask.

2) I loved and lost. - Yes, I did. Not many people know this. I never brought this up with anyone, except a handful of people. I learned a lot through this though. It hurt a lot when after I asked for space, I found out that I loved him. I love him for his eccentricities, his kindness, his understanding, his dreams, his everything. Although yea, there are some things that he does that totally annoy me. But I love the whole package.

3) being elected as YAD President - This totally came as a surprise as I went to the elections thinking about whom to elect as President. It never went through my mind that I would be the one getting the seat. I hope I will be able to do a good job. The past President's have all been so successful. I have lots to learn, not only from them but also from the Venerables and the Uncles/auntie's as well. I hope that I will be a good leader, but I promise that I will not only lead but be lead as well. We are all in this together, and I wish that we will have more active members that will work together for a bigger and better YAD.First up, I hope everybody's ready for the summer camp next year. We've got loads of fun-filled activities waiting for all our campers this year.

stepping on a glass floor

2008-11-29T16:00:00.000+08:00

I've always been careful in everything. I tend to hold back at the last minute, thinking everything over again before making the leap. I think too much about everything. I lack spontaneity. All these are my bad traits, I know that, but somehow I just tend to be uber conservative with my decisions. With love, it was the same thing, I looked at things not just in its' emotional sense, but also the logical. I think long-term. I imagined how it would be if we did end up together. It was not really the life I would expect myself to be in, nor is it the type of family my parents would want me to be marrying into. Not that the family is bad or anything, its just that they're complicated compared to how my family is, which would be easily described as close-knit, warm and caring. Anyway, I chose to let go. It hurt, but I'm surviving. I told myself that this decision would be for the best. But I'm thinking, is this one of those times I held back again? Should I have stayed on a little longer?

____________________
Time has been extremely fast. It's been more than a month since my grandma passed away. The whole family still misses her. I still tear up at times when I think about how this Christmas she won't be beside us. It also hurts that of all the Christmas celebrations, I never thought of taking pictures. Now, all we have are memories in our head and nothing that will actually show us the look on Ama's face when she opened her presents or when she saw us opening ours or when her grandchildren were all receiving ang-pao's from her.

looking back...looking forward

2008-11-03T19:38:00.005+08:00

The past month can be summed up with one word...numbness. I think I said this in my previous entry. We were just going through everyday life without really thinking about anything. We were trying really hard to make everything seem normal, but we all can't deny that our lives will never be the same again. The past two weeks has been full of reflection, planning, contemplating, reminiscing and discussing. What are we going to do? Where are we going to go? Questions like that kept on coming up. No one wanted to give an answer to that. It really hurt whenever someone would open that topic. It almost seemed that everyone in the family was going to part ways. The past few days, I've been thinking about pushing through with the GMAT and my MBA applications. I might do part-time study for the first year, so that I will be able to get experience working abroad while I do my studies. I figure that work will be different even with whatever experience I've had here in Manila. Although I admit, working at BoC has been very helpful. It's hectic, but I learn a lot. But seriously, I don't want to be in branch banking all my life. Being a frontliner is fun, but there are times, where interaction can be too much and I just want to be in my own world. I'd still rather be an analyst or do research.

I would like to say thank you to everyone that offered their prayers in this hard time. It helps a lot knowing that people are there for me when I need cheering up.

Bye Grandma...I miss you

2008-10-28T19:56:00.003+08:00

The past two weeks have been crazy. I've somehow become numb to everything thats happening. I just get up and go, not really putting my heart into anything. I simply just did. My family lost someone very dear to us. My grandma passed away last October 14. Up until the funeral, I was still in denial. I hoped that somehow everything was just a joke and grandma was just pulling a prank on us. No one expected this unfortunate event. A-mah was fine, there was no sign whatsoever that she'd be leaving us that day. She was following the routine she usually follows. Then, it happened. I was at work when my mom told me the bad news. I wanted to leave immediately. I was hoping that a miracle would take place and my a-mah would be at home, sitting at her wheelchair, with the maid helping her with dinner.But that didn't happen, grandma was really gone. The entire family grieved the loss of the bind that tied us all together. We all had different things to do, but she was the point where everybody was connected to. Now, everybody will be going their own ways, and it's going to be rare that we see each other. I will miss that, but I will miss my grandma even more. I cried the other day when I went to the house my grandma lived in. It was mainly becuase the lack of a familiar figure, the call of my grandma when we go in, asking us if we've eaten. Now the house is just empty.

___________
From this experience, I learned that some people can actually be both dense and tactless. Or just downright annoying. I thought one can only be one or the other. Read below, and see if you won't be annoyed. A is her, B is me. (words in parenthesis are my side comments)

A:Hi! My dad just came home and he saw you(at the funeral house). Condolence sa relative mo. Pano mo naging relative un?

B: It's my grandma...Thanx

A: I'm so sorry, di ko alam. Sabi lang ng dad ko relative mo. Condolence talaga. I know how much you love your gwa-ma. How are you doing?

B: No, not my gwa-ma, dad's side grandma. Ok naman..medyo busy the past few days coz work as usual ako. (By this message, I already wanted to hit her on the head. PLEASE...get your facts straight first.)

A: Oooopps...Sorry! Akala ko mom side mo c __________(Name of relative her dad visited) hehe Please extend my condolence sa dad mo. Naconfuse ako sa family tree mo. hehe

B: (What's so confusing about my family tree? If you asked first, you wouldn't be making that mistake. I didn't reply after this one.)

A: Buti na rin may leave ka na para di kaltas sweldo. :)

B: Kahit na wala ako leave, maglleave pa rin ako. Its my grandma no. (She just had to reply. GRRRR)

Mid-week respite

2008-10-01T13:03:00.000+08:00

No work today...yey! I really need the extra day off. Have been too engrossed with work (among others, but yes, about half my day already goes to work lately that I have not had time to do stuff for myself. I can't even have a decent lunch break without people looking for me. The old saying that says all work and no play makes someone dull is so true. At times, I ask myself, "What am I doing?" There are instances wherein I'm so stressed that I lose track of what I should be doing and instead do a whole lot of stuff that isn't even part of my job responsibilities in the first place. I have to learn not to give in to demanding clients..and to prioritize my work before doing others' work.

On a side note, I am now a gym bunny again. I enrolled myself at Fitness First together with my officemates last week. Had my first gym session yesterday. Surprisingly, my muscles aren't as sore as I expected them to be. Need to lose weight before the holiday season starts. Sudden thought, I have to figure our how to maintain my weight during the holiday season if I do lose weight from now till December, that is. I hope to be able to be able to buy new clothes (in a smaller size) by December. *fingers crossed*

what's in my bag?

2008-09-20T20:48:00.001+08:00

I've been experiencing soreness on my right shoulder lately. I feel that its mostly due to the fact that I fit my whole life into my bag everyday. I took out the contents of my bag and placed them on the table. There's nothing much in my bag actually, just my wallet, ID, tissue, alcohol, lotion, lip balm, and other small stuff. So, what is it that makes my bag so heavy? That is still a mystery to me. Maybe, I should just get a smaller bag, so I won't bring a lot of stuff every time I go out.

time to celebrate

2008-08-30T13:44:00.000+08:00

Had dinner with my officemates at Dampa last night after work. It was a semi-celebration for me as well, since am now no longer a probationary employee. Weee! I passed the training period. I was so scared I wouldn't pass since I ask a lot of questions to the officers. (Pls. put emphasis on LOT. haha) Then, I was super touched because Sir Eric told me about the contributions I have made to the banks' operations...I never thought about those as noteworthy contributions. I just felt I was helping him out, since we are a team.

Back to last nite, we left work around 530, and had trouble hailing a cab since it was Friday and gimmick day for just about everyday. Got annoyed because there were some taxi's that just wanted to go to Quezon City or somewhere else. Why do taxi's choose where they want to go? That's so ironic. When we got there, we went to the market area to buy dinner. It was pretty funny, we were all girls (7 of us) but none of us knew how to choose seafoods, so Sir Eric was the one who bought the seafoods while we all looked on and did the carrying. After we were done choosing from the array of meat, shellfish, crustaceans, and fish, we went to Robbie's where they turned the stuff we bought into mouth-watering, tummy-filling, now edible food. We were so full! And, we still had enough for takeout. All this cost each of us around Php350. Pretty cheap.

_______
Other blog-worthy events:
-One of my friends from the embassy is going back to China. :( I'm sure going to miss her. She's also one of my favorite clients. She's always so nice to everyone, even when there are a lot of people and it takes us a while to finish her transactions.

-I'm planning to take cooking classes, baking in particular. I just feel that it's actually time I learned a skill. Or I might take up language courses, I did always want to learn how to speak French.

-Diko and family came over from New Jersey last August 12. Had lots of fun catching up and playing with my youngest cousin. Kids really do say the darnedest things.He was always saying something that made us laugh, but I think it was more of the innocent look he had on his face every time.

Be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it

2008-08-09T10:45:00.000+08:00

There was a drought of clients last last week, so I somewhat hoped that there would be some new clients this week so that I would have something to do, aside from filing and doing other stuff that aren't really part of my job description.

Well, my wish came true this week, only the clients that came all gave me headaches. One wanted to forge the signature of the corporate secretary, the other used his maid to be the chairman of the board therefore they lacked all the necessary ID's, and yet another one forged his boss' signature on the withdrawal slip and expected us to let him withdraw...And they all got mad at me, saying why I was making it so difficult for them. Excuse me, who's making it difficult for who? What if I get audited? These people are just so unreasonable and inconsiderate. What's with these people anyway? This is not a child's game where you can make all the rules. And no, I will DEFINITELY not let you have your way just because you're Chinese and I'm Chinese. That is just not a valid reason. I really hate it when people expect me to give them special treatment just because we're both Chinese.

tu justificas mi existencia

2008-08-02T22:40:00.003+08:00

I'm so happy lately..with this happiness it makes me kinda insecure and uneasy at times. There are times when I'm so scared that I'm going to get hurt if one day I wake up and realize that this is not what I really want. I hope that that day will not happen, or if it does, no one gets hurt by it. The latter is pretty impossible, I know. There are a lot of times where I'm not sure if what am doing is right, if he's the right person or if we are indeed a perfect match. I'm still starting to learn about love...and for now, I find that love is not just a feeling that you feel. It's more of a decision, a decision to accept a person, including his/her flaws.

I never knew how good it feels to have someone caring for you all the time.

_____
Had dinner with Erika, Aileen, Malt at John and Yoko last Friday. Food was great..It was neo-Japanese food at its' best. Love the Crispy Squid Teriyaki and like their sushi selections.

Watched Dark Knight with Melvs last week...Heath Ledger's performance was superb! It gave me chills everytime, he put his knife close to his victims' face and asks, "Why so serious? Let me put a smile on your face."

Happy birthday to me...

2008-07-27T12:42:00.000+08:00

Thank you to all my friends that remembered and greeted. It really warms my heart that you guys remembered me. Just reading your birthday greetings first thing in the morning when I woke up really made my day.

I am enjoying my birthday this year. I spent yesterday afternoon at Bonifacio High Street with Melvin. started at Rox, where we checked out adventure gear for him, and my feet automatically brought me to the bags section. hehe checked out the new Jansport backpacks. After a few stores, we got hungry, so we headed to Chelsea and had a snack of Norwegian Salmon pasta and APple Crumble. Loved the pasta...too much capers though. After that, rain came, so we had no choice but to go over to Market Market, where we enjoyed the latest Batman movie. Great movie...Although, I wonder why Batman was able to let Joker go, and allow Harvey Dent to die.

After the movie, had a sort of late dinner at Hap Chan. On the way home, we passed by Fully Booked, and knowing me, I couldn't resist the call of bookstores. hehe All the books are on sale...If it weren't for my curfew, I would have wanted to stay till the speakers announce that the shop was going to close. hehe

Overall, this has been one of the most memorable birthdays I've had so far...Hope I'll be spending it like this every year from now on... :P

Mid-year entry

2008-06-26T21:20:00.001+08:00

So much has changed this year…I changed a lot, too. I changed my hairstyle(not really changed changed, but I had it rebonded), I transferred to a new job, I’ve begun to explore new things, I’m gaining new experiences, etc. But really, what is it that I want to do? Is it all this that’s been part of my life the past 22 years? Or is it something more? My life has been the same in my 22 years. My family is quite reserved, so there’s not really much room for me to explore or wander…am restricted to just daydreaming about stuff. Is it just because there’s no room for me to fail? Or is it just because I was never given the opportunity to fail? I’ve been so sheltered all my life, that I’ve never known how it’s like to really live. I’ve never had to worry about anything...not exactly anything, I used to worry when it was course card distribution day that I would get a 1.0 or worse, a 0.0 in my course card. But really, that doesn’t really count as a problem compared to what other people go through, right? I’ve always been too careful. I’ve never really given myself a chance to learn how to get out of my comfort zone, to cry, to let go, to fall, to grow up. Yes, that’s what I want to do.

_____________
Memorable events:
1) Was able to catch the farewell run of Avenue Q with Erika last Saturday, June 21. It was wonderfully entertaining. Love how it was presented in a Sesame Street-ish way. The actors were so good, some were even controlling two puppets for the show. I love the songs in the musical, especially the one’s performed in the latter part of the show. They were all so catchy. As of today, I am still humming “It sucks to be me”. Haha

2) I’m no longer confused. I now know what he is thinking. Now, I’m the one that’s confusing him. And for that, I apologize. I like you a lot, but there are just some things that I am not sure of.

stuck

2008-06-09T16:06:00.002+08:00

I feel that I'm stuck....stuck in the moment, stuck at the crossroads (even before I get there). I'm so confused. I can't really put a finger on what it is that's making me feel this way. But somehow, I feel that what I'm doing now doesn't really match with my life's long term goals. Then, there are things that are happening that I'm not sure what I really want. It's the long time question that I've been thinking about, career or family? That's the end all and be all of every question thats hanging about my head right now actually. I find the answer to that, and I will have a clear sense of where I want to go then..hopefully.

comfort zones

2008-05-18T17:28:00.000+08:00

I've always suffered from self-esteem issues. I totally lacked confdence when I was younger, I felt that I wasn't pretty and that I would never really amount to being someone successful. With that mindset, I kept my chin down when I walk, keeping to myself a lot, staying quiet. I was pretty much a loser back then. haha But then I learned to listen, I just listen. haha I never really know how to react to what another person says. I think I cared too much about what other people thought of me, I still do actually, although not as much anymore.

There were times when I acted like a total pain-in-the-ass though...those were the times wherein people wanted to boss me around and I just wanted to be left alone. I apologized after, but I know that somehow, things will neer go back to what the once were. It's not just people bossing me around, there are some pretty unreasonable people out there, and those I probably won't apologize to. I seem quiet and all, but I also have a patience limit, eh?

I know that deep down, the confidence has always been there, but I was just too shy to bring it out. I was always scared that I might become tactless or be intimidating to others. Yeah...I guess refraining to express myself more made me weak. Now, I'm determined to be more outgoing, be more expressive, have more sense of individuality. First step, I need to get out of my comfort zone...

love

2008-05-03T15:59:00.000+08:00

Have been pondering about the highly complex, and extremely confusing topic of love lately. I'm somehow exploring that now, you see. Yeah, I know, I've always been a late bloomer. But then, better late than never, eh? Anyway, I'm trying to figure out if I really like someone. It's just so hard, he does stuff sometimes that on any given day could be endearing or something that would tick me off(if I prefer to think about it) on another day. I know, maybe I'm just being too picky. But hey, we're talking long term relationships here. Really, I'm so confused. Well, he's sending me really mixed signals that I can't seem to figure out too. First few dates, he's like, "I like being single." After a few dates, he doesn't mention that again, and starts talking relationships. I think I'll end it at this until the question mark above my head disappears. hehe

But on my end, I'm not rushing into a relationship yet. I'm still trying to figure out what I want in life. I believe that I still want to have a stable career first before I go into a relationship. Then, I also plan to pursue an MBA abroad, and I don't think that I'm the type to let go of that dream just for a relationship. I'd try my best to maintain both, but I won't let go of one for the other.

monthly roundup?

2008-05-03T15:50:00.000+08:00

This is a long overdue post...Haha SO much has happened, at least that's how it feels. Training has been over for a couple of weeks. I pretty much have the account opening process faultless. And I feel my brain capacity has somewhat improved from remembering where every single document or file is placed (or at times, who last borrowed it). Aside from that, I have to remember which client is coming and what his/her name is, lest my boss asks me who the person is and I just stare blankly at him. Getting my brain to work after one year of dullness is extremely hard, but now, I believe the rust has shed off and I'm getting better response from my brain. Haha There are overtimes now and then, but I’m fine with it. At least when I finish my work at the office, I don’t have to think about it after I get home.

Aside from work, had two out of town trips this summer. One was to Japan, which I believe I have already mentioned in my previous post(Sorry, I haven't provided a more detailed account of the trip. Have been too busy.) and the other trip was with my officemates on the company outing to Boracay. I am not really a beach person, but I seem to like the nice, breathtaking, blue water scene in front of me in Boracay. I love the ultra fine, almost powdery, white sand in Station 1. I vow to stay at Station 1, particularly Discovery Shores, the next time I go to Boracay. Haha

Movie reviews naman...Recently saw Forbidden Kingdom recently. Great cast. Liu Yifei was so pretty! She looks better in ancient Chinese dramas than in the modern attire. Aside from the cast, I liked the SFX too. Makeup was also wonderful. I didn't even recognize Jet Li as the Monkey King at first. The script was also funny. The funny lines were mostly delivered by Jackie Chan...as usual. Melvin felt that the ending was pretty bitin. But for me, it was alright. The movie closed well.

My mind is spinning

2008-04-02T21:11:00.000+08:00

Information overload....thats what I think is happening to my brain right now. There's just too much to do, to think about, to absorb, to digest at my new job. Every minute of every workday, I have to think, check my memory if what am about to do is right and actually do it. About 60% of the time, I just pray that whatever I am doing is right. haha

Enough about the stress-contributing subject...I was in Japan last week for a pleasure trip with my family. I can totally imagine living there. hehe People there are so polite. Security is also pretty good. I like the weather, nice and cool. Ok, maybe I didn't like the day it rained. But it rains everywhere. hehe I also like how it's safe to walk outside at night. I just have to learn how to speak Japanese though, I had a hard time with the language barrier.

weekend March 8, 2008

2008-03-09T13:18:00.000+08:00

It's been a week since I started my new job...so far, so good. It's really exhausting for now since I am still undergoing training and I am still yet to get used to the system and all. But this job gives me a sense of fulfillment, and a whole lot of responsibility. One wrong input will make a really big impact so I have to be sure about what the transaction is about.

I went to Manila Ocean Park with Melvin yesterday. The place is located behind Quirino Grandstand, near Manila Hotel. What can I say about the place? Well, there was a lot of lining up, namely: lining up for tickets, lining up to get in, lining up to go into the underwater tunnel(or whatever they call it). The line for tickets started on the sidewalk! And I thought that the lines wouldn't be that long since it was a Saturday and all. Then it took another 20 minutes or so to get inside the aquarium proper. The aquarium is not yet fully functional yet, by the way. There's still a lot of construction work going on. The oceanarium is divided into 2 floors, the main aquariums are on the first floor, then the second floor has an activity center, that has a fish spa (This requires a payment of Php100 aside from the entrance fee of Php400).

I was reading the oceanarium's tour guidebook and it says that they paln to add a mall, and hotel to the complex. Er...the hotel, I can understand, but the mall? Isn't the point of going to the ocean park to relax and be closer to nature? What's the mall for? Oh yeah, just remembered something, the location of the ocean park is so ironic. There was a line of seafood restaurants just on the left of the oceanarium.

After the trip to the Manila Ocean Park, we went to Greenbelt to watch 10,000 B.C. Everlett is so pretty! I like her blue eyes. It makes me want to get blue contact lenses. haha JK The ending was so touching, considering it was a movie that involved hunting, fighting, etc.

the countdown begins

2008-02-28T15:07:00.002+08:00

Tomorrow is going to be my last day work. I feel kinda sad, leaving this familiar environment and the good company I've had for exactly 1 year and 1 month and 1 week. What I'm feeling now is a mix actually...I'm excited to start with my new job, yet I am sure I am going to miss my officemates at TBN. Sure there are times wherein I wake up and just dread having to go to work, times wherein I get real frustrated because of the huge load of projects coming in, how some people think we're underworked/overpaid. But even with that, this has been a very meaningful experience. Of course, I am still looking forward to a new environment, new work challenges, new experiences.

I have a lot of things on my mind right now.
1. Problems with my ATM. I got debited even when the money didn't come out. :( The person at the bank checked and my account was back to the way it was, but it doesn't reflect on the ATM machine. Have to check with the head office in a few days.

2. Clearance signature. Thats for tomorrow...but I'm praying that everybody that has to sign my clearance to resign will be here at the office tomorrow.

3. Clothes. I have to go shopping for corporate attire. Since my soon to be previous job doesn't require me to dress up. My wardrobe hasn't really changed since college. Let's see, I need blouses, shoes and a bag (the bags I use now are uhm...too gimmick-ish). This brings back to problem number 1. I can't withdraw money while thats there. :(( waah!

“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don't make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you.”-Maya Angelou

looooong weekend

2008-02-26T10:26:00.002+08:00

I took a leave at work last Friday, so I had a 4 day weekend. It was so much fun, I missed waking up late, and curling up on the lazyboy with a good book (In this case,the name of the book is Wicked). On second thought, it wasn't really fun, coz the reason that I was absent was that I was sick. I got sick from eating cake icing. :( Now, there's a long list of stuff I can't eat while I'm still recovering. Having to go to the bathroom a lot in one day is not exactly how I define fun. Although the chance to relax for a few days was great!

姨媽 came over from Toronto. That means lots of good food over the next few weeks! Yey! Hope I'm well enough by then. hehe

I have a new job. Starting next week, I will no longer be a translator for Christian TV programs. Praise the Lord!(That's actually one of the programs I'm translating. haha) Since this is exactly the kind of job that I do see myself doing in the long term, post-grad studies will have to wait. Now, I have more time to determine which I want to go for, an MBA or an MCIT degree? Both degrees have their own distinct specialties, and they gear towards different career paths (unless I go for an MBA specializing in Information Management, but thats still different from what I would learn with an MCIT). I feel that I should work in a more corporate setting to be able to understand more clearly what I want, what I need, and what fits me the best.

30 THINGS EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE & SHOULD KNOW BY THE TIME SHE'S 30

2008-02-19T14:45:00.000+08:00

got this while I was blog-surfing....

30 THINGS EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE & SHOULD KNOW BY THE TIME SHE'S 30

By Pamela Redmond Satran

In the eight years since Glamour first published this list, it has been attributed to Maya Angelou (nope), been posted on countless websites and fridges (thank you very much) and inspired millions of women all over the world (love that).

In May of 1997, I wrote this list. I had passed my thirtieth birthday and wanted to tell younger women about the things I really wished I'd had and known by that important milestone. I guess people agreed with what I had to say, because a few years later the list showed up in my e-mail inbox; a friend had forwarded it to me for my reading pleasure, completely unaware that I was the author. After that, every month or two someone would send it to me and I'd immediately hit \"reply all\" and type, \"Hey, that was me! I wrote that for Glamour.\" (After a while, I don't think anyone believed me.) The list became a phenomenon; posted on hundreds of websites, it was attributed to everyone from Jesse Jackson to Maya Angelou to Hillary Clinton. Someone even published it as an anonymously written book. As I read over these lines now, so many of them still seem worth having and knowing—whether you're 30 or 22 or 75. Being a little older and wiser, I've plugged in a few new \"shoulds.\" By all means, add some of your own.

BY 30, YOU SHOULD HAVE:

1. One old boyfriend you can imagine going back to and one who reminds you of how far you've come.

2. A decent piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in your family.

3. Something perfect to wear if the employer or man of your dreams wants to see you in an hour.

4. A purse, a suitcase and an umbrella you're not ashamed to be seen carrying.

5. A youth you're content to move beyond.

6. A past juicy enough that you're looking to forward to retelling it in your old age.

7. The realization that you are actually going to have an old age—and some money set aside to help fund it.

8. An e-mail address, a voice mailbox and a bank account—all of which nobody has access to but you.

9. A résume that is not even the slightest bit padded.

10. One friend who always makes you laugh and one who lets you cry.

11. A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill and a black lace bra.

12. Something ridiculously expensive that you bought for yourself, just because you deserve it.

13. The belief that you deserve it.

14. A skin-care regimen, an exercise routine and a plan for dealing with those few other facets of life that don't get better after 30.

15. A solid start on a satisfying career, a satisfying relationship and all those other facets of life that do get better.

BY 30, YOU SHOULD KNOW:

1. How to fall in love without losing yourself.

2. How you feel about having kids.

3. How to quit a job, break up with a man and confront a friend without ruining the friendship.

4. When to try harder and when to walk away.

5. How to kiss in a way that communicates perfectly what you would and wouldn't like to happen next.

6. The names of: the secretary of state, your great-grandmother and the best tailor in town.

7. How to live alone, even if you don't like to.

8. How to take control of your own birthday.

9. That you can't change the length of your calves, the width of your hips or the nature of your parents.

10. That your childhood may not have been perfect, but it's over.

11. What you would and wouldn't do for money or love.

12. That nobody gets away with smoking, drinking, doing drugs or not flossing for very long.

13. Who you can trust, who you can't and why you shouldn't take it personally.

14. Not to apologize for something that isn't your fault.

15. Why they say life begins at 30.

Disaster in the kitchen

2008-02-11T12:34:00.000+08:00

Here's my(ours rather) little Sunday afternoon adventure:

Shobe and I got hungry at around 3 yesterday and we wanted to fix ourselves something to eat. Shobe saw the two tikoys left over from the Chinese New Year, and she wanted to cook that. We didn't have any more eggs at home so shobe went over to Grannie's to "borrow" 2. hehe Here's my part of the adventure. I didn't know that tikoys had plastic that was practically glued on the bottom due to the stickiness of the malagkit. I had a super hard time peeling off the plastic. It was so hard to tell which was plastic and which, tikoy...haha I also had trouble cutting it at first, but things eased up after I put water on the knife before I cut the tikoy. That little偷吃步saved a lot of trouble. My hands were still real sticky with tikoy from the peeling and cutting though. By the time we finished cooking, we sort of made a mess in the kitchen. :P

Movies recently seen: Alvin and the Chipmunks, Ballet Shoes, Lust/Caution, I Could Never Be Your Woman

新年快樂!恭喜發財!

2008-02-07T17:23:00.000+08:00

First of all, I'd like to wish everybody a happy start to the year of the rat. Gulp! It's going to be my year next, and I'd be like 25? Yikes!

I had to come to work today. :( No holiday for me. I miss studying in a Chinese school. I need some Z's after the celebration that ended late last night. I could have opted not to come in, but I'd be wasting one of my leaves. hehe

I met Atsi Sheryl at the temple last night. She's now 6 months pregnant! She looks so cute...I think the word should be blooming. hehe She was telling me about the things that her baby does, like kicking when she's about to undergo a Ultrasound, etc. I can tell that Atsi Sheryl is super duper excited. I guess all first-time parents are like that. They don't know the sex of the baby yet though, coz according to their OB-Gyne, the baby is faced inward. Aww....boy or girl, I bet the baby is going to be uber cute. :D

oh! how sweet!

2008-01-31T16:22:00.000+08:00

got this while I was blog-surfing...I found it inspirational and touching.

A Letter To The One That God Has Prepared For Me

I am wondering at this very minute if you are thinking of me. If like me, you are wondering what is taking us so long to find each other. Many times I thought I finally found you only to be disillusioned by the fact that my wait has not yet ended. I get up each morning hoping, dreaming, longing to meet you.

I am thinking of how we will meet, would it be as romantic as the ones I have seen in movies? Or is it possible that I have known you all my life but we have yet to realize that we are meant for each other? Oh how I wish you were here right now because you are the only one who has the answers to all my questions.

Sometimes I ask myself if I have ever really known love. I do not have the answer to that question either but I believe that, more often than not, we will never really know what love is until we find that right person; and since I have not found you yet, then maybe I do not really know what love is!

You just dont know how often I dream of finally knowing what it feels like to be in your arms. Even at this very moment I am imagining how you will simply sweep me off
my feet! Perhaps your smile, or your eyes would draw me to you, or maybe even how you manage to make me laugh by your silly little ways!

I don't really know for sure but I am praying that God will help me recognize you when the right time comes. I think of all the pain that I have gone through in the past and of how much I have cried since the day I began my search. I just wanted you to know that I find my strength in clinging onto my vision of the beautiful life ahead of me - the life I shall spend with you. In my mind and in my heart I know that you are worth all the pain and sacrifice.

After all, the tears have become a part of my life and I believe that they are slowly washing away my flaws so that I would become perfect, not perfect in its truest sense, but perfect - for you! I wonder if youve gone through so much pain as well. I wonder if youve been hurt so many times along the journey.

But my dearest one, please dont ever give up because I am right here; patiently waiting for you! I assure you that when we finally find each other I would slowly heal those wounds by my love.

At night, I would look out my window and stare at the beautiful sky. Hoping that somehow you are wondering about me. I utter a silent prayer and send all my cries to the heavens above thinking that in time they would reach you. And when I feel impatient, I just close my eyes and believe that you are on your way and that you are longing to see me as well. It is funny but when I finally fall asleep, it is still you that I think of, for you are always in my dreams. It seems that, for now, that is the only place where I can hold on to you, long enough to tell you how much I love you. In my dreams you would kiss away my fears and wrap me with your arms of love. And this, all the more, makes me want to wake up and face the new day ahead with the hope that soon enough, you will no longer be a dream but a reality and once again I am assured that you are worth the wait. And when the time comes, everything will fall into its place, just as I had imagined, just as I had thought and dreamed, just as I had believed it would be! By then, I would simply look back and smile at all that I have gone through, in spite of the pain and amidst the simple joys of life and I would be very thankful because they all led me to you!

In the meantime, take care of yourself for me. Hold on to our dream and don't even think of letting go. Believe in your heart that we will find each other no matter what happens. God has planned the course and it is up to us to follow the directions. Don't worry; don't be afraid about getting lost. God saw to it that all the roads, no matter which one you choose to follow, lead to me.

going crazy

2008-01-28T17:37:00.000+08:00

Have been mapping out alternative futures in my head the past few days. Now, I'm picking up my review books again. I am seriously considering a Master's degree now. There were a lot of factors contributing to this decision, first being, my dad's friend informed me about this great program that could be the start of a whole lot of opportunities. Second, I can't seem to get a new job that has more career growth, so I have to learn something new. Third, which is partly related to the second,one of my officemates was talking about jobs that are much similar to one I am doing now, except that those companies pay better, and I don't think I'd like to be translating forever. Even if pay is really, really good.

one year at work

2008-01-22T15:16:00.000+08:00

Today marks my first year here at my first real job. Is it good or bad? The good would be that I have a stable job in a very safe work environment. The bad would be I have no chances for career growth...as in 0.00%. Oh, yeah, another good thing is that we have free time once in a while....although some people tend to multitask and watch videos while working. *tsk tsk* haha It's not a crime, but hey, who cares...as long as you do a good job, right? Anyway, as one of my previous officemates said, "Binabayaran ka para manuod ng series at movies, san ka pa?" Might I say, our salary is actually quite enticing? haha This is a good job except that it's totally not a career.

This said, I am now considering my options.

_________
met up with my HS friends last Saturday. It was the first time in months that we saw each other. I totally miss HS days. Thanks to Ka for the doggie keychain, and Lin for the hair spa..They smell real good. :)

Love Diva

2008-01-14T11:31:00.000+08:00

I'm currently listening to F.I.R's newest album Love Diva(愛· 歌姬). I totally love the music F.I.R makes! Fave tracks are 第十行星 and 月牙灣. Wish I could sing like Faye.F.I.R has definitely evolved. Compared to their previous albums, the new album has a jazz-y feel to it.

_____
Weekend roundup:
My weekend started early as I took a half day leave off work on Friday because I had a job interview. After that, I went to Greenbelt to meet up with mom and dad who were shopping there. I bought a top at Zara, and a pair of shorts at M&S. =)

I spent the entire Saturday in front of the PC. Fixing the desktop and installing some programs on my laptop and putting album covers on the songs in my iTunes library. Really, my iPod is making me so O.C. haha

Yesterday, we went to Grandma's house to have an advance celebration of her birthday. She's turning 88 this year.

________
"Sometimes you need to step outside, clear your head and remind yourself of who you are. And where you wanna be. And sometimes you have to venture outside your world in order to find yourself."- Gossip Girl

Happy New Year!

2008-01-04T09:38:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year everybody!

As you all saw with my last entry, nothing really significant happened in 2007. I guess I was still adjusting to the "real" world. haha yeah, that's just an excuse, I know. Well here are the 5 things that I hope to achieve this year.

1. get a new job (aka have a career shift) - I love my job and all, but this is not something I'd want to be doing forever. Or worse, something I'm doing when everybody is doing something I would want to be doing.

2. get a good GMAT score/ learn something new - by good I mean 650-ish. I'm so grade conscious. haha But it's a goal that I hope to achieve. At least it keeps me motivated to review. As for the latter one, I want to take up a cooking course. hehe

3. get healthy- All this sitting at work is making me lethargic. Need to move more.

4. master a foreign language - been trying to do this one for years. I've tried learning Spanish, Korean and Cantonese. I haven't succeeded in being fluent in any of those languages.

5. meet new friends - no explanation needed. Everybody likes to meet new people, right?

Let's hope I get to accomplish at least 2 of those. Wish me luck!

Year-ender post

2007-12-28T10:21:00.000+08:00

Today is the last workday of the year. Yey! I just realized that I've been working for 11 months already. I can't believe how this year went by so fast. Another year is about to come to a close.

A lot has happened in a span of one year. It's like when you're in the midst of things and yet you still can't seem to grasp what is really happening until it's over.

Here are the highlights of my 2007:
1: Started working- This happened early this year, around late January. I started job-hunting last year, but 2006 just wasn't my year. haha I remember being accepted to 2 companies in 2006, but come the time where I had to sign the contract (or whatever they call it), the HR people of those 2 companies never called back, and calls to them would just have the reply that they'd call me. I guess those jobs just weren't for me.

Even though I like my job now, I still prefer something that would let me grow professionally. Let's see if 2008 will give me that. hehe

2:Adventures- I love to travel. I just have a companion-drought syndrome. haha In short, I'm a frustrated traveller. I went to Batangas with my officemates in the summer and then I got to travel to my homeland up north in September, and during that trip, I also took a lot road trip to New Jersey with my cousins.

3: Met a lot of new people- I met a lot of new friend this year, some through friends of friends or the people here where I work, some through facebook(not some, just one actually).

4:Still single- What else is new? haha Although that's not really a highlight nor is it a complaint.

I think I'm talking nonsense now. What I just said didn't really match the title. Sorry about that. I got home at 3am this morning, you see. So, I'm still super sleep deprived.

I dudn't have a lot of BIG highlights this year...I'll just add along when I think of something. :D

_______________
I got myself an iPod Classic for Christmas! I bought it from Sharn's friend for only 11,800.

I've been having a bad luck streak with tech/gadget stuff lately. My laptop is now going "Mayday!" after I kept on restoring my PC after one program just wouldn't work. I have to get it fixed soon. *Sigh*

________________
Happy birthday Joy!^_^

(This is probably going to be my last post of the year. I'm going to try to rest my eyes for a few days. And yea, I'd probably be playing with my iPod. hehehe joke! I'm going to try to review for the GMAT over the long weekend, fix my laptop, and read the huge pile of books I bought but never had time to read. Happy new year everybody!)

1920's fever...

2007-12-11T16:33:00.000+08:00

The theme for our Christmas party here at the office is "20's at 20". It's going to be a 1920's inspired theme. No, we are not going to perform the video above...We won't be able to reach the high notes. haha We're going to be performing this. I just posted the Christina Aguilera vid because I liked her performance. =D

Can't believe Christmas is coming in 2 weeks! I haven't finished my Christmas shopping yet! I don't think I'm even halfway yet. Always a last minute shopper. haha Ok, maybe thats an exaggeration.

Have two Christmas parties this week, one would be the one at the office, which will be on Friday. Then there's the YAD party on Saturday.

As per tradition, here's my wishlist for this Christmas. ;)
1) iPod Classic 80gb
2) Starbucks tumbler
3) one of the big bags from Schu
4) Sony Cybershot T2
5) Powerbooks GC's

ok, for a more grown-up list:
1) to be able to live on my own and become independent
2) to become better (as in a better person)
3) to master the art of public speaking and conversation (I kinda suck at PS)
4) to find a better job (I'm not saying that I don't like my job now..I just want something that will allow me to grow)
5) to pursue an MBA (this was supposed to read something else. But I'm too shy to put that up.)

I love Christmas! It just brings out the little kid in me. hehe

BTW, for the first time ever, I might be able to get the Starbuck's planner. I need 5 stickers more and I'm going to get mine. ^_^ For people who don't know, I've never managed to drink this much coffee in a span of 1 month. So, I've never collected enough stickers for the planner. OMG! I just realized, I have had more cups of coffee in the past few weeks than in the years covering 2002-2006.

angst-free

2007-11-27T16:00:00.000+08:00

I'm finally back to being a good girl...haha As if I've ever done anything that will constitute to being bad. I'm usually not reactive so I doubt I've ever said anything hurtful, although there may be times where I get shocked at what I say, the latter has a probability of 1/100 of happening. (Sorry for the figures, I'm reviewing counting principles now for GMAT. hehe)

Anyway, I've been so busy lately. First, there's work. Second, YAD activities (am organizing our Christmas party, together with Joy). Third, reviewing for the GMAT. Am usually mentally drained when I get to this, so I hardly get anything in my head. Fourth, holiday shopping. Bought some really great stuff already. hehe

subdued

2007-11-16T09:23:00.000+08:00

That's pretty much how I feel right now. I was in the car with dad this morning and he was asking about this form I gave him for the bank, and I replied him with "You told me to sign it." He was like, "Why are you talking to me that way?" It's not that he has no right to be mad, but it wasn't like my tone was rude or anything...I was talking in the usual slow manner, and I wasn't really paying attention to him, coz I was wiping dirt away from my pants. He went on talking about how I'm mataray myself even when I tell him about people who are mataray. I'm usually quiet, and I hardly say anything, how can that be classified as mataray? Furthermore, there's hardly anything in this world I can vent my anger into, and I don't have anyone to talk to about my life...and I'm often misunderstood because of that. What a pathetic life I have! It totally sucks to be me. I'm not even allowed to be angry even in front of my family! Poor little me.

Btw, I don't like people repeating what they say to me (or ask me to do). Once is good, twice is more than enough. Go beyond that, I am so not doing what you tell me to do. haha

Computer bug

2007-11-08T14:24:00.000+08:00

The computers here in the office have been getting all weird lately. First, the clocks on all the PC's were one hour late. Then, some PC's were real slow, or that they would freeze up, or some application would just close. In my case, my PC would restart on its own. That happened twice. And what happened last night was super annoying. I just finished the project I was doing, and my computer just restarted. And since I don't really bother saving what I do while I am doing it, the file wasn't saved and I had to redo the entire project when I got in this morning. Grrrr...I hate computer bugs. We scanned our PC's and we got rid of the virus that was causing this mayhem...hopefully, it won't come back.

And yes, I learned my lesson. It doesn't hurt to press CTRL+S once in a while.

However, we have a theory as to what put the virus onto our PC's. We all share files using a USB flash disk, and there's this one person in the office that views A LOT of inappropriate content and he was complaining that his PC had a virus a couple of weeks back, and since he uses the same flash disk we all use, the virus got transferred from one PC to the other. That's just sad, eh?

Whew!

2007-11-05T11:39:00.000+08:00

We helped out at the Siddharta musical on Nov 3 and 4. Youth peeps were assigned to the ticketing booths, where we had to give the people temporary tickets the real CCP tickets. At times, it seemed like there was a war going on, and there were moments where we were just sitting and looking at the scene at the lobby. Took a couple of pics while traffic was slow too...*hint hint to Katz* hahaha I have a couple of pics in my cam too. Upload them later.

It was the youths' first time to handle ticketing...its' so different from ushering...coz people were like demanding good seats and seats that were together. The oddest question someone asked me was "Who is seated beside me?" I was dumbstruck. That question was just confusing...But yeah, he was literally asking WHO was going to sit beside him.

I loved the show! I really enjoyed the songs and the colors on the stage. The overall impact of the presentation was very good. The kid who played the narrator/Rahulla was real good too. I heard that he memorized his parts in just three days. That is really worth applauding.

We're going to have a meeting later and finish the ticket tally so we can actually count how many people went. Something like that...haha See y'all again later!

Shux! Xmas is around the corner. We have to plan a party! hahaha

two day work weeks are the best!

2007-10-31T14:26:00.000+08:00

Because of the barangay elections and All Saints Day, we only have two days of work this week, which was yesterday and today. It's great! I didn't get to rest or study on Monday like I planned to, but at least I wasn't in front of the PC for 9 hours straight. Hope to get some studying done over the weekend, although I have a feeling that's going to impossible because we have to be at CCP on November 3 and 4.

I hate having people think that they "own" my life. They feel like they know what I should be doing, helping me arrange my schedule, putting stuff in, even though I may not want to do it. I know why they do it..they just don't want me to accomplish something that may lead to something that she doesn't want me doing. Sorry if its confusing...if you want to know what am talking about it, just text me or YM me or something.

Anyway, having someone control my life led to me being a tad bit depressed a couple of nights back. I know I can do something about it, but doing so will hurt someone. I'm hurting, but I can't stand up to that person. I just don't want to incite a feud.

new layout..yay!

2007-10-23T11:54:00.000+08:00

After I don't know how long, I finally got around to changing my layout! Whee! hehehe

There were some things that I said I was going to put on my blog, but right now, I can't seem to remember what it was. haha Starting to get senile.

Anyway, no (mis-)adventures yet today, but we had a little scenario at home last night. The on/off switch of our aircon is officially broken. So we had to sleep in the other room. That really doesn't count as an adventure. haha

I have no idea what's wrong with me today! I'm just generally high and hyper. And I didn't have anything sweet.

201st entry

2007-10-22T13:52:00.000+08:00

I logged into blogger today and I noticed that I already had 200 posts already. Cool! I never really noticed that I had so many posts already. hehe

Anyway, I was surfing around and there was this site that was asking "What kind of blogger are you?" I took the test and this was the result I got.

Well, technically, that wasn't the real point...I was going to blog about Ka's birthday. We all met up last Saturday for dinner at Italianni's. It was a fun get-together. We had loads of fun catching up and everything. And we were so full afterwards. Thanks Ka! And happy birthday once again! Hope to see everybody again soon, eh?

After dinner, I spent the night at Koko's place. I was playing with Hubert's Wii. It was so much fun! I didn't get to play much, coz I had to go to bed early, coz we were going to have breakfast the next day. Am definitely going to add that to my Xmas wish list. Although the iPod Classic is still going to be on top of my list.

On Sunday, I had breakfast at UCC(where I ran into Erika and her dad was joking that we didn't have enough last night) with Koko and Hubert. After that, I went with them to a service at their church and then we went to Grandma's house for lunch and stayed there till late in the afternoon.

_____
side note:
Beyonce is going to have a concert on Nov 7. Anyone want to watch?

sick....tired...long weekend

2007-10-13T12:58:00.000+08:00

I've got a cold on this otherwise real nice long weekend. Yeah, such a bummer right? But the good thing is that at least I can fully rest to speed up the recovery process.

Although I did get back home real late (or real early, depending on your POV). Rundown on what I did yesterday..Had lunch at Edsa Shangrila with Koko, A-pe and Hubert...that started at around 1-30 and ended at 3. And then I met up with Micmic, Elaine, Dianne and Ian at Shangrila-the mall afterwards, walked around, then Raech came. Then we all split up, and Raech and I went into Zara. And yeah, there were a lot of things that I wanted but was just too lazy to want to try anything on. And yeah, I am still on a tight budget, since I already bought a lot of new additions to my wardrobe in Toronto...but hey, I will probably never say no to adding some more. And yeah, after seeing the prices in Toronto and comparing it with my third-world paycheck, I am now okay with buying my clothes here, even if they are designer brands. Anyway, after walking around the mall for a couple of hours,we(Me, Raech, Micmic, Elaine, Jerome, Sherry and Derrick) had dinner at Cyma. Still can't believe how Cyma is always full. We had the flaming cheese thing, Moussaka, Meatless Moussaka, a salad, lamb with potatoes, and flaming mango(which like the flaming cheese is served with a loud and hearty "Opa!"). After dinner we all went to Raech's house for a few rounds of boardgames. We played Taboo and Cranium. The girls team won in Taboo and then Micmic and Elaine won in Cranium. We were all concentrating on the game that we didn't realize that it was already 2 AM when we finished. I got home at around 2:30 and everybody in the house was already asleep.

That's about how yesterday went. The end.

parents...

2007-10-09T15:56:00.000+08:00

Just a little something I got off Gossip Girl.
"Super-successful parents expect nothing less from their offspring. And when it comes to college, that means the Ivies. It's more than just getting into college, it's setting a course for the rest of your life. And those who aren't legacies are no exception. When parents have sacrificed for their children, what kid would want to let them down?"

True...no kid would want to let their parents down, but in wanting to meet their expectations when you can't handle the pressure, it's going to cause hurt and anxiety. Either that, or you lose your own individuality by trying to be someone you don't really want to be.

Party mode

2007-10-08T11:04:00.000+08:00

watched the VMA's on MTV last night...loved the finale by Nelly Furtado, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake!

Ouchies

2007-10-04T09:23:00.000+08:00

I slipped and fell while I was leaving our house this morning to get to work. There are some light scratches on my right knee, and dirt on my jeans, but no sprain or anything. That was lucky. My right knee hurts when I walk, although I suspect that it could just be the skin rubbing against the rough jean material that's causing it.

Now I know that wearing shoes that have no friction thingies at the bottom is dangerous to your health. hahaha That proved my theory of it, rather.

Hope I don't get bruises later. *cross fingers*

howdy

2007-10-02T16:19:00.000+08:00

Again, I haven't written a proper entry for a long time. haha I keep on raving about gadgets I want, and not being able to get one is making me sad. :( jk. But hey, the new iPod Nano is real cute.

It's just that I have been so busy since I got back from Toronto. I went straight back to work on Monday, with only a weekend to rest. And I didn't get to rest much too, coz I had to unpack. (Actually, the luggage is still in my room with some stuff still inside. I've almost tripped myself over it for a few times already.) Anyway, as usual, when I got back to work, the projects came pouring in. Workload is getting heavier and heavier, and I'm still doing the same old stuff. I'm starting to get bored. This is really not a career. I really need a new job, eh?

About my trip...
Well, it was nice. I stayed in the house where I lived in for 2+ years in my childhood. It was just how I pictured it...I was too young to actually remember the place. I passed by the school I went to...I thought that it was far from where we lived, but it was just around the corner. haha
Of course, the highlights of the trip included me getting really dizzy after having 2(or was it 3?) Cranberry Vodka's at Achi's wedding, the road trip to New Jersey with Aileen, Jeanette and Ron, going around downtown, going through Chinatown(it was a VERY clean Chinatown), and of course loads of shopping. Wait, let's not forget that I got to have New York Fries. The one with the cheese and gravy. I missed this snack...I remember having 1 like every week while I was living in Richmond.
See the blue sky below?That's a pic I took while we were on the way to New Jersey from Toronto. One of my professor's told me that the bluer the sky is , the less pollution there is. Here in Manila, the sky is grayish white....The scenery, like the one below, was pretty refreshing.
It was just so nice to be back to my second hometown, and spending time with my family there. I hope to be back there again in the very near future.

movie reviews...sort of

2007-09-28T16:10:00.000+08:00

Recent movies I've seen: I think I Love My Wife, Blades of Glory
Both of them were pretty cheesy. The first one was just pointless. It featured Chris Rock in a more serious role, and all I can say is, he isn't as succesful as Jack Black who did pretty well in "The Holiday". The movie just lacks emotion...period. Oh, and the whole movie was all about s3x. And the jokes were all dry.

Blades of Glory on the other hand, was so so. Although yes, it's kinda cheesy, but at least it was hilarious. It was a comedy and it made people laugh, and I guess that's all that matters. haha

Now, here's a movie I'm looking out for. When will it be shown in Manila? Hmmm...

Heartbreak Kid - Watch more free videos

am back!

2007-09-24T10:59:00.000+08:00

After 16 days in Toronto. I am now back in Manila. I wish that I could have stayed longer. Life there is so much nicer. and there's no pollution, no traffic, and less scary(when walking out at night). And life there is more laidback and peaceful too. You get more time to spend with family and friends. Here, you have to worry about going home early because of the rampant kidnappings, etc.

I arrived Friday afternoon at around 3. I slept for the whole afternoon after I got home, then I woke up for dinner, and went to bed again. Up to now, I'm still pretty groggy. haha

I had loads of fun on this trip. It made me realize that I have to map out my life. In a more realistic way that is. I was hoping to get my MBA, but now, I realize that I really need to get more life's experiences to be able to get more out of that, as well as to relate to my peers there. That is just what am doing right now...thinking, pondering and doing loads of research.

pending projects balance-0

2007-09-04T16:44:00.000+08:00

OMG! This is the first time in weeks since I didn't have any undone projects in my pending projects folder. I was able to finish the last PTL 4:30 this afternoon. Well, ok, its not because I worked faster or what. I didn't have the next PTL that came in because I'll be on leave starting tomorrow. Yey! Two weeks without PTL, BTS, TID and of course that pesky factor here at work.

The pilot episode of Pushing Daisies is out. We downloaded it via torrent. It's cute! Kinda creepy to think about, but at least the story is more or less fresh. Ok, maybe more. The __years __weeks __days __hours ___minutes voiceovers were amusing. Love the vibrant colours and the music. They remind me of fairy tales. The jokes were also witty and smart. There were lines like "You can't just touch someone's life and be done with it."

Anyway, see you guys in two weeks!

drool

2007-08-29T16:17:00.000+08:00

Haha gadget-shopping once again..ok, not shopping shopping, just checking out the upcoming PMP's. And yeah, hoping to be able to won one of them. =D

Saw two things that I like already..the Samsung YP-P2 and the Creative Zen Vision W, whose video should be playing below this paragraph. hehe Haven't seen the full specs for the Samsung PMP, but from what I saw on the engadget website, it will only be able to support wmv and mpeg4 video formats. =( If that is true, I'd definitely go for the slightly larger Creative Zen. And, the expandable memory (aside from the 30GB of memory it provides) is definitely a plus.

I'd rather be green than be blue...

2007-08-23T09:33:00.000+08:00

Found this video on multiply...

I admit that La Salle was not my first choice. I wanted to go to Ateneo... But then. now that I think about it, does the school you went to really matter? They are both recognized universities anyway, each having their own area of specializations. So, that really shouldn't matter. Unless there are still people who tend to be prejudiced and like one school better than the other.

I want these!

2007-08-16T13:54:00.000+08:00

This is the new Samsung YP-P2.

It's like the Apple iPhone, with its' touchscreen interface. The previous and next thingie during video playback is a bit quirky(as seen in the video), but I believe that's only a minor problem that won't prevent consumers from wanting this product. I also love the big screen! It'll be great for watching Ugly Betty, Heroes, and other movies.. :D Although I am a bit worried about the resolution and file format support. Hope they'll make it to support AVI files.

Then there's this USB storage device I saw on the Cnet Asia website...It's a 3-mm thin USB drive that carries a whopping 32GB of memory. It's small enough to fit into a wallet...at least that's what's written here. Looks can really be deceiving! When I first saw the picture, I thought that it was just a card reader or something. haha

It's expensive though, costing at US$300+ for one.

and then I also saw some really cute, mushroom look-alike speakers, called the X-Mini Capsule Speaker. They are also USB-powered, but they have rechargeable batteries built-in. And quoting from the site,"it uses a patented technology that mimics the resonance of a sub-woofer." Not bad for something awfully cute and with a price tag of US$32...

some stuff I did today

2007-08-15T16:51:00.000+08:00

I was late for work today due to the floods caused by the heavy rainfall...This is just one of life's ironies, when there's no rain, we complain, when there's rain, we also complain.

Anyway, I got to work at around 9:30. Had lunch around 12:30. We were supposed to have lunch at Shakey's but with the rain and all, we just ordered for delivery. Lunch was great! Am still full. haha

Today, wasn't really productive, I just finished a little more than a half of a PTL and one BTS, and I'll be starting to PR the BTS that was supposed to be submitted early this week(but was delayed because someone submitted late) after I finish this entry.

So, while I was trying to look productive here at work, I found some real interesting webpages:

Now, I'm wondering how Joy and I are going to go home. Hmmm....

bummer week

2007-08-11T13:53:00.000+08:00

Again, It took me a while to post a new entry....so what else is new? We had a real great week at the office. (note the sarcasm) haha On Monday morning, we were all greeted by a virus that had attacked our virus, so all week long, our PC's were getting slower and slower, which resulted in us having to backup our files and have our PC's reformmated. Mine will be reformatted on Monday.

Aside from that, there were 2(or was it 3?) typhoons that hit the Philippine shores this week. We(the TBN girls) had a self-proclaimed holiday last Wednesday. Good thing too, coz according to Jeff, the flood went up to his chest.

Fghss ng jbex unf orra whfg penml! Gur jbex raivebazrag vf ab ybatre nf erynkrq nf vg jnf orsber...Crbcyr, fbzr bs gurz, ner fgnegvat gb trg ba zl areirf. Yvxr guvf bar crefba, V unir n fhfcvpvba gung fur'f znavchyngvat gur ybtfurrgf gb znxr vg frrz gung fur vf qbvat n ybg bs jbex, naq znxr gur bguref ybbx yvxr fynpxref. Gung vf yvxr fb hasnve! Bgure crbcyr qb zber guna fur qbrf, naq jr nyy unir gnxr qbhoyr gur gvzr gb purpx ure jbex qhr gb ure rkgerzryl onq Puvarfr tenzzne. Jul ner gurer fbzr crbcyr jub nyjnlf nffhzr gung gurl ner zhpu orggre guna rirelobql ryfr, juar va snpg, vg'f gur bccbfvgr?

No, I'm not going crazy....hehe I just posted it in jumbled letters so as to prevent some people from reading it....

Stairway to heaven

2007-08-02T16:57:00.000+08:00

just reminiscing this drama..

Kwon Sang Woo is just so cute! *swoon* hahaha joke

Update 8-2-2007

2007-08-02T09:15:00.000+08:00

Just felt the urge to blog..hehe Need to relieve some of the stress from all this studying and the stuff that's happening here at work.

First of all, I would like to say thank you to all the people that greeted me on my birthday, namely: Erika, Aileen, Dianna, Sir Anlex, Ahia Byron, Atsi Johanna, Katz, Michelle Sze, Charissa, Amity, Micmic, Abi Lee, Shaneich, Aileen(aka Mushroom), Allen, Mikey, Laurice, Aris, Jingjing, and my officemates(Michelle, Sharnie, Joy, Omar, Tina, Ging, Jeff, Li Yi, Fidel and Kuya Bernie).

My birthday,as usual, was pretty simple. I ordered a bilao of palabok from Red Ribbon for our merienda at the office. It was pretty good. We were all stuffed. At least, I was. Haha And then, on Saturday, I ate at Cyma’s with Aileen, Erika and Raechelle. The food there is pretty good. We ordered the flaming cheese appetizer (which I will definitely order again), and for our main course we had yemistes(rice stuffed inside a pepper and a tomato), vegan moussaka(love this too!) and Roka pasta(there’s this certain garden taste to it that I like). Had loads of fun hanging out with them again, although it would have been more fun if Charissa could have come too. We all talked about our lives and dreams and especially Aileen’s adventures in China. We all seem to have this passion for traveling and seeing the world, so we were hoping to one day go backpacking, when we have the $$$ to do it. I hope that pushes through. I’ve always dreamed of backpacking(or taking a road trip) from one place to another. I just want to be able to have the freedom to travel and take in the sites of a country and immerse myself in its’ culture without worrying about time constraints or anything. And of course, I'd like to have my friends with me to share the experience with.

Last Tuesday, since it was payday, me and my officemates decided to have lunch at The Old Spaghetti House at Waltermart. Our orders took forever to come, but the food was okay.On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give it a 6. I had the Eggplant Parmigiana and Penne Pomodoro. (See, I’m eating healthier now..haha)

Oh yeah…last week, I e-mailed two of my professors in college. I asked their advice regarding my plans to pursue an MBA next year. They both told me to go for it, while I am still young and still have the same. Sir Anlex said,"There is no better time to start any endeavor than now." Sir JL then told me that it doesn’t matter what decision I make. I just have to make my decision and make it the right one. So here I am, more and more convinced that I am making the right choice.

work styles...

2007-07-25T22:32:00.000+08:00

took the Career Test on the Princeton review site... can't believe how accurate it is.

_____
Am starting to read the 7th installment of Harry Potter. haven't bought the book yet.. hehe am reading it on the web. I know it's illegal, but the temptation was just too much! hehe Once I started the first few lines, I just couldn't stop reading. But hey, I am definitely going to buy the book.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2007-07-16T09:34:00.000+08:00

*Warning:This post may contain spoilers for the movie.

Swept up by the Harry Potter mania, I went to watch the 5th installment of the book/movie series at SM MOA.I had to wait in line for about 30 minutes just to get tickets. But then again, the cinema wasn't as packed as I expected it to be. I suppose people are just waiting for the IMAX seats to clear up a bit and watch it there instead.

Anyway, the cinematography was great! Helena Bonham Carter was really good. I love her playing Bellatrix Lestrange. She's pretty, in a bizarre, freakish kind of way that is. Evanna Lynch was also good as Luna Lovegood. She plays the spaced out part real well. Oh and Emma Watson is really a lady now. She gets prettier and prettier. Wish I had long locks like hers. hehe

The movie was pretty good, albeit it was too short(Really, I wouldn't mind sitting another 30 minutes.) And it changed some of the details in the book.Oh, and I noticed the the movie is starting to deviate from "Harry-saves-the-day" type of ending.

Other memorable portions in the movie:
1. The fireworks scene...That was really good.Great graphics! and Professor Flitwick's little celebratory jump topped the scene perfectly.

2. The scene where the centaurs were going to carry Umbridge away.
Umbridge: Harry, tell them I will do them no harm.
Harry: Sorry, professor, you told me "I must not tell lies."

3. The last scene in the Department of Mysteries. Love the fight scene between Dumbledore and Voldemort.

Hmmm...overall, its a good movie, a little bit flawed since they skipped some of the good parts of the book that I would have wanted to see. Transitions were also a tad choppy. The cast was great.

Christina Aguilera-Ain't No Other Man

2007-07-13T10:34:00.000+08:00

Christina Aguilera fever isn't over yet!
I've been listening to her Back to Basics album here at work for days already. haha
I just love her powerful vocals.

Christina Aguilera 'Ain't No Other Man'Posted Jun 29, 2006

Christina Aguilera's big debut for her first new single, 'Aint No Other Man' at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards

Lady Marmalade-Grammy PerformancePosted Apr 23, 2006

What the???

2007-07-11T14:43:00.000+08:00

"We took one of our guys, put a bike helmet on and we used him as a ramrod to break ground and put Mike's head through the wall.It was cool."

This was what I translated today...It's so weird. They were talking about how they were making the life of one family, who has a kid that has cerebral palsy, easier by installing a bathtub on the ground floor. So they had to knock down the wall between the ground floor bathroom and the laundry room. But,hello? Using a guys head to pound on the wall? It'd be a miracle if the guy didn't suffer a stroke or a concussion.

And they still go on to say it was cool. Man..are these people retarded or something?

next few lines.(I'll just post the timecoded version...)
After that, the construction guys came
and cut a hole.
01:25:56.22\01:26:00.17
We have pictures of his head
going in and out of the wall.
01:26:00.22\01:26:03.17
We are basically doing
an extreme bathroom makeover
01:26:03.26\01:26:07.28
so that he will have a rolling shower
in the bathroom downstairs
01:26:08.03\01:26:12.27
and it will give him more independence
and it will be a blessing to his family.

Impossible

2007-07-09T16:04:00.000+08:00

Impossible
Christina Aguilera ft. Alicia Keys

Christina: Play something for me Alicia...
I just got something on my mind

Alicia: Speak on it girl

It's impossible
It's impossible to love you
If you don't let me know what you're feeling
It's impossible for me to give you what you need
If you're always hidin' from me

I don't know what hurts you
I just, I wanna make it right
Cos boy I'm sick and tired of trying to read your mind

It's impossible (impossible)
Oh baby it's impossible for me to love you
This way
It's impossible (impossible)
Oh baby it's impossible
If you makin' it this way

Impossible to make it easy
If you always tryin' to make it so damn hard
How can I, how can I give you all my love, baby
If you're always, always puttin' up your guard

This is not a circus
So don't you play me for a clown
How long can emotions keep on goin' up and down

It's impossible (impossible)
Oh baby it's impossible for me to love you
This way
It's impossible (impossible)
Oh baby it's impossible
If you keep treating me this way
Over, over (over and over)

Impossible baby (impossible, impossible)
If you makin' it this way, this way
Oh baby, it's impossible
If you makin' it this way

update 6-28-2007

2007-06-28T14:07:00.000+08:00

Wow! It's been a really long time since I really blogged, as in where I didn't post something forwarded or an article I found on the net.So here are some updates on my life.

My birthday is coming up..hehe I'm getting old. *sob*

Harry Potter mania is back. The new Harry Potter movie will be released on the 11th and the book will be available on the 23rd.

and Christina Aguilera is coming to Manila! She'll be having a concert on July 6 at the Fort. I'm still hoping to watch, but tickets are like so expensive! bummer...with me saving up for next year and other miscellaneous expenses, I just can't afford it. Ok, by now, you may have noticed that I'm asking for an advanced bday present. haha just kidding...I'll just wait for the concert DVD to come out na lang if I want to save.

wait..rewind, I was supposed to post an update on my life.
So, right now, I'm taking a much needed 5-minute break from work. We are simply inundated with work.Can you believe I have 9 projects waiting for me after I finish with this entry? Gosh!This is a big load of work to tackle, especially if majority of the pending projects are PTL(fyi, it's the longest show that we translate). This means no surfing around for a while. hehe although yea, the company doesn't pay me to surf the net. haha

After work, I go home, eat dinner, start my review, and go to bed around 11. It's always like that, so not much to say there.

Oh yeah! I tried the Azuki Danish at Starbucks the other day...super yummy! I ate it while sipping Cafe Mocha. Perfect combination for a rainy day.

Also, we changed the seating arrangement at work...am now 3 seats from where I used to sit. hehe

oh man...5 minutes is over already?

Harry Potter soundtrack now available

2007-06-26T12:03:00.000+08:00

and guess what! The IMAX at SM Mall of Asia will be showing the movie! yey! but a lot of dates are already sold out though. :(

more news at http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/

___
hmmm...am having problems posting the soundtrack widget from the Harry Potter site. If you can't see it, you can listen to the OST at http://www.harrypottersoundtrack.com

License to Wed

2007-06-21T13:40:00.000+08:00

Mandy Moore has a new movie...loved her in "Because I Said So". When I read the plot for this one, my first reaction was"eh??" It sounds entertaining all right, but will it step up to the viewers' expectations. Oh, well, we'll have to wait til it opens on July 3.

Here's the plot:

Sadie and Ben really want to get married. You'd think that with so many couples not bothering to do so lately (we're looking at you, Brad and Angie), her local church would be thrilled to accommodate them. But this church is a very popular wedding spot, and with only one slot open in the foreseeable future, Ben and Sadie will have to earn it. How? By completing a two-week pre-nup course designed by the Reverend Frank. Does this couple really have what it takes to get through not just a wedding, but a life-long marriage? They'll have to survive these two weeks first!

elementary classmates

2007-06-20T15:44:00.000+08:00

Can you name 13 of ur classmates in ELEMENTARY that u can think of right off the top of your head. Don't read the questions underneath until you've written the names of all 13 people. This is a lot funnier if you actually randomly list the names first. No Cheating!

1. Erika Ang
2. Aileen Chaucokiong
3. Kristine Chuacokiong
4. Mark Doratan
5. Andrew Chuacokiong
6. Earlene Ching
7. Melody Co
8. Charmaine Hao
9. Jamie Ang
10. Laurice Co
11. Ryan Mensing
12. Jesse Willis
13. Amee Ung-York

How did you meet 10?
~ we were classmates since Nursery

What would you do/what would happen if you had never met 1?
~ I'd probably never had known one of my best friends in the world.

What would you do if 6 and 2 date?
~ er...they're both girls.

Have you ever seen 4 cry?
~ yes

Do you think 10 is cute?
~ eh?yea sure, but not in the I'm-attracted-to-you kind of way. hehe

How did you get to know 3?
~ she sat behind me in grade 5

What's 7's Favorite color?
~ i don't remember hehe

What would you do if 5 confessed he/she loved you?
~ that would be weird...hehehe

Fact about 9:
~ she is now a teacher in Illinois

Who is 4 going out with?
~ How would I know?? hahaha

What is number 5 to you?
~ we both annoy each other, jokingly kind of way.

Would you ever live with 13?
~ ok lng.hehe

Is 2 single?
~ yata

Where does 7 live?
~sa china siya now

What do you think about 12?
~ hmm...NC

Who is 11 to you?
~ just one of the guys in the classroom? heheh

Favorite Memory with 1?
~ hmm...working on school projects at my place in HS, and the trip to Baguio.

now what?

2007-06-15T14:25:00.000+08:00

2 weeks(maybe more) of practice for the Vesak Day performance is now over. We practiced till midnight everyday and also on weekends. Things were crazy on the last few days where people were all excited and nervous about the upcoming performance. We can't really blame anyone, the Venerables wanted it to be perfect since the performance was going to be held at SM Mall of Asia. But then there were some very tactless people who instead of encouraging people to do better, just made comments that would make anyone want to walk out and forgot about doing the whole performance altogether. But then most of the people there(including me) wouldn't do that, because this isn't just about her. Anyway, enough about that. The performance was pretty successful. 2 weeks of practice and hardwork paid off. Gosh! 2 weeks of rehearsals and only a few minutes on stage? But then,hey, we all had fun. Pics available here.

For the 2 weeks, I had something to look forward to every night. Now, everything is back to regular programming. Going home after work, having dinner, doing household work, and studying before retiring to bed.

Oh yeah, I had this post-extraction complication after the last of my 3rd molars were taken out. We thought it might be cancerous or anything, but thank Buddha it wasn't. The specialist my dentist referred me to just took out the growth so that it will just grow again. Still hurts a bit...but am ok.

10 Ways to Outwit Your Appetite

2007-06-08T15:54:00.000+08:00

These suggestions are pretty great! I love number 3. hehehe

You don't have to be smarter than a quiz show fifth-grader to learn how to control the urge to eat. Just follow these ingenious tips:
1. Feed it protein for breakfast. You'll be less hungry later on and end up eating 267 fewer calories during the day. At least that's what happened on days when St. Louis University researchers gave overweight women two scrambled eggs and two slices of jelly-topped toast for breakfast rather than about half that protein.
2. Make it climb a flight of stairs. At home, store the foods that tempt you most way out of reach. For instance, Cornell University food psychologist Brian Wansink, PhD, keeps his favorite soda in a basement fridge. "Half the time I'm too lazy to run down there to get it, so I drink the water in the kitchen."
3. Sleep on it. People who don't get their eight hours of zzz's experience hormonal fluctuations that increase appetite, report researchers.
4. Give it something else to think about. When scientists scanned the brains of people eating different foods, they found that the brain reacts to fat in the mouth in much the same way that the nose responds to a pleasant aroma. So if you feel a craving coming on, apply your favorite scent.
5. Never let it see a heaping plate. The more food that's in front of you, the more you'll eat. So at a restaurant, ask your waiter to pack up half of your meal before serving it to you, then eat the extras for lunch the next day.
6. Put it under the lights. You consume fewer calories at a well-lit restaurant table than you do dining in a dark corner. "In the light, you're more self-conscious and worry that other patrons are watching what you eat," explains Wansink.
7. Talk it down. Entertaining friends with a great story doesn't give you much time to eat up, so you'll probably still have food on your plate when they're done. Once they're finished, call it quits too.
8. Offer it a seat. If you sit down to snack -- and use utensils and a plate -- you'll eat fewer calories at subsequent meals.
9. Satisfy it with soup. Start lunch with about 130 calories worth of vegetable soup and you'll eat 20 percent fewer calories during lunch overall, say Penn State experts.
10. Give it little choice. Packages that contain assorted varieties of cookies, candy, dips, cheese, etc., make you want to try all the flavors. The effect is so powerful, says Wansink, that when people are given 10 colors of M&Ms to munch on, not seven, they eat 30 percent more!

taken from:http://food.yahoo.com/blog/beautyeats/10759/10-ways-to-outwit-your-appetite