March Madness!

March 22, 2007

Ano nga ba ang nagaganap? Well.. marami ang naganap! Magaling, magaling, magaling! Hindi na ko nakakapag-blog kasi feeling ko wala naman sooobrang significant na kailangang-malaman-ito-ng-buong-mundo level na nagaganap sa buhay ko. Pero naalala ko na konti lang naman talaga ang nagbabasa dito. As in super friends lang (Naks naman, swerte mo kung nababasa mo to). Besides, this site is some sort of a extended memory because it’s really not a wonder that there are many things I’ll forget in the future. Neurons, once they die, don’t regenerate. Sa sandamakmak na nikotina, alkohol, polusyon sa buhay ko, malamang, matsugi ang brain cells ko noh? hehe Speaking of memory, I read somewhere that ‘Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind’ is now possible. The drug called U0126 can erase a single specific memory. In mice for now. Of course there are many moments that I just to forget but given the chance, I’m not really sure if I want to do that, tsaka di naman ako daga e. Speaking of memories, naalala ko si Tin. Tin, di ba we’ll collect and dwell on good memories. Like last Friday, some Tyrone-loving Econsoc (sounds like Tyrone is a pet) met up at KrocGrill. Rollcall: Tin, Son, Gabe, Tristan, Ralph, Emil, Rain and moi. Of course, it’s a typical get-together walang humpay ng chikahan at planning ng summer get-away. By the way, we ate Ostrich Bistek (which I prefer to call Ostek since Bistek is coined Beef Steak and it is obviously not beef, so technically it is Ostrich Steak, thus Ostek). Anyway, I did not file for Vacation Leave that day but I was there. Hehe.. Log-in, takbo sa Shang, kain, balik sa office, e-mail, early lunch break, takbo sa Shang, inom, balik sa office. Define pasaway na empleyado! Walangyang soc, sinisira nyo buhay ko! hahaha. Di ko na talaga ulit gagawin to (sana mapanindigan ko na this time)! Ako na talaga ang pinaka-sutil na empleyado samen. Speaking of sutil na empleyado, 45 minutes late ako kanina. Well, honestly, I hate late (promoting Pizza Hut delivery… hehe). I’m rarely late at work. In fact, for the past six months I was never late even a single millisecond. hehe. E ayun, si tanga, di nagising sa alarm kaya 45 minutes late ako. Ang galing noh? Parang inipon ko lahat ng pwedeng i-late ng kalahating taon. hehe.. Paging Sony Ericsson, di effective ang alarm ng phones nyo kahit maximum ang volume. Dahil kanina pa ko speaking of nang speaking of ay di na gagawin ulit yon. ~ ~ ~ By the way, (naks, for a change daw) I received a text message from my HS buddy Kimmy. I felt a sudden sense of nostalgia of my high school days. Most of the times, I blog about college life and how I miss my college friends but I’ve never said much about my high school life. For some, high school life is the best. For me high school and college lives are two different incomparable experiences. Both are remarkable. It’s just that the latter is the more recent past that’s why easier to relate with. Also, I rarely see my bestest high school friends because of differences in geography (Mae in the US, Icy is in the US the last time I heard, Kimmy is in Australia), priorities (Patty is now a proud momma to Dada) and well time zone perhaps (Rica and Kat work in the morning while I am on graveyard shift). Alexie, though also on graveyard shift, works in Makati so I guess I can let geography be our reason. I feel guilty for not exerting much effort or go out of my way to meet them(at least Patty, Rica and Alexie). Sorry naman! In fairness to all these girls, everytime we talk, there is no sense of hesitation in our stories. We talk for hours and giggle like we used too (perhaps even louder this time) as if the last time we saw each other was yesterday. Sigh! High school days… The Dawson’s Creek hype, the telebabad craze, the Brigetine blue jumper uniforms. Anyway, I’ll write the random moments I remember (in no particular order) * Our sleep-over party at Kimmy’s place - Ang hirap pang magpaalam non. Effort talaga. Patty had to cook their family dinner. We had to tag along with Mae to her mom’s office. I remember asking my mudra for two weeks daily to allow me. Haha! Before we went to their place we all had our hair cut short. The following day, we used all the hair leave-ons to set our hair. That day, we looked like we had stiff  necks because we were very conscious one wrong movement will mess a strand of our hair. Plus, who will forget Icy’s ‘Plak’ high-dive plunge to the pool. * Nung mahilig kaming mangotong. Nanghihingi kami ng P5 sa mga makakasalubong namin at yung naipon namin ay binibili naming ng scramble. * Nung nagrereview kami kuno kina Mae pero wala kaming ginagawa kundi magkwentuhan, manood ng tv, magtelebabad with matching Hard to Say I’m Sorry sa background mala-MTV. * Nung nagrereview kuno kami kina Kimmy pero in reality, nagbi-billiards at nagbo-bowling lang kami. * Nung nagrereview kuno kami sa bahay namin pero sumasayaw lang si Mae sa bintana (ala Babae sa May Bintana) ng room ko kasi may perfect view to sa room ng kapitbahay namin na crush niya. * Nung nag-cut class kami 2nd year para lang manood ng walang kwentang sine. Sa bahay pa namin ang meeting place at walang nagawa ang mudra ko. * Nung tinakasan namin ang guard. Bawal lumabas ng campus non pero nagcrave kami ng KFC, bakit ba?! * Nung tumambay kami sa bahay nina Rica. Nakakita sila ng shooting stars kaya pala nagsisigaw sila while moi, in my paranoid self thought there was a manananggal whatever who was going to abduct me. haha. Binalot ko tuloy ang sarili ko sa kurtina. * Nung naging idea namin ni Partner Alexie to have fishes as Christmas gifts for a change kaya nagsleep over ako sa kanila para maprepare namin ang sangkatutak na fighting fishes. * Nung lahat ng teacher halos nagalit, nagwalk-out, umiyak dahil saken at kay Mae. Minsan pa e clueless na kami na kami pala ang dahilan kahit alam na ng buong klase. Kaya naman kami ni Mae ang lowest sa Character among girls. Ako syempre among girls and boys. hehe. * Ang almusalan trip namin sa hallway na kami lang ang alam kong nakakagawa sa tanang-batch. * Nung umiyak ako kasi pina-squat ako sa CAT. hehe.. Maarte ako e, bakit ba? * Nung pinalo ko sa pwet ung teacher ko sa Physics. * Ang makulay na buhay ni Ma’am Cordero aka Baby Girl whose topics in class come out of nowhere. * Ang Accounting teacher namin na tumawa ka lang e papasa ka na (Classified info na nalaman ko sa ibang batch kaya sinabi ko sa mga katabi ko na dapat sabay-sabay kami tumawa with matching palo sa desk kulang na lang mag-tumbling) * Ang Shakey’s customer of the Months days namin kung saan kachokaran namin ang managers at crew kaya kahit pagpalitin namin ang Sign ng Female at Male sa CR at mambiktima kami ng customers ay di sila nagagalit samen. Those were the days na kapag Friday na at wala na kami allowance ay nagka-Capt. Shakey Meal na lang kami. hehe * Ang ultra-pasaway moment ng Station of the Cross around campus ng section namin. Habang ang very obedient classmates namin nina Mae ay masisipag na naglalakad papunta sa next station, kami ay nag-iisip ng short cut para mauna kami sa next station kaya naman tinangka naming magluksong-baka sa napakataas na halamanan ng mga madre. At talaga naman dalawa na lang kaming babae with the pasaway boys e nag-uunahan pa kami kaya naman humandusay kami sa hardin ng kamulatan habang clueless ang  teacher namin bakit kami napadpad sa ganoong sitwasyon. Napakarami pang iba alam ko. Marami rin nagyari after grad: Debut parties, Kasal ni Patty, random get-togethers, et cetera et cetera. Haaaay! Kailangan ng ultimate get-together mga shufatid! Isama natin si Sister Catalina! Salamat sa inyo. Kayo ang unang nagmulat saken sa mundo ng kabaklaan, kabalahuraan, kapasawayan! Miss you all! Mwaaaaah! Too bad eto lang ang pic na nakita ko! Pucha! Umuwi na kasi kayo! DISCLAIMER: Sa ibang mga makakabasa, nawa’y hindi kayo magkaroon ng impression na sutil kami. Ipagpalagay natin na eksahirado lamang ang mga nasabing eksena at marami dito ay dala lamang ng kamnuduhan ng aming kabataan.

pursuit of fitness

March 14, 2007

Knock! Knock!

Who’s there?

Gym buff.

Gym buff who?

Gym buff bidoo-bee-dap Gym buff bidoo-bee-dap Gym buff bidoo-bee-dap (tone of MMM-bop) Har har!

Gym buff na kami nina Germs at Jo-ann! Haha…

Kaninong idea to?! Kaninong idea and 3 oras na kung ano-ano ang gawin sa gym aber?! Ansakit tuloy ng katawan ko? Kelangan ko ng Alaxan, Pacquiao tulungan mo kami!

But seriously, less the para-akong-nagfinals feeling, we enjoyed it. The dance classes at Fitness First (aka Flirtness First sa mga kabaro nating badaf) were so cool. No sweat! (Figuratively lang syempre! hehe)

when was the last time you did something for the first time?

March 12, 2007

March 12, 2007 

This is a very catchy questions in last year’s Starbucks planner. If you happen to pop this question a week ago, I would have taken me quite a time to answer. I might not even answer. But lo and behold, last weekend I did many things for the first time. Good for me!

It has been part of my 2007 re-SOUL-utions to travel alone. With all the summer plans(read: no much time and money left) I was quite pessimistic that I can push through this idea anytime soon. But I read a thread in GTalk regarding traveling alone. Since there was nothing planned for the weekend, I decided that it will be the time that I will travel alone in a new place I’ve never been before.

“No man should go through life without once experiencing healthy, even bored solitude in the wilderness, finding himself, depending solely on himself and thereby learning his true and hidden strengths.”

Of course there were many drawback the last minute. I was too sleepy to prepare. Plus there are still many books to read. DVDs to watch. Room to clean. The money I can  use to buy a good pair of swimsuit instead. Also, there are only a few people: Michele, Maui, Jo-Ann and Marilyn who knew I had this plan and it’s not really a big disappoinment for them if I didn’t continue. But I decided to push through. Now or Never. If I don’t do it and wait for another free weekend to come, I may never have the drive or the sponteneity spirit.

So, off I went to Cubao with books in hand. Boarded a Dagupan bus and went to visit the Our Lady of Manaoag Church. It was not your typical-back-pack travel. Just some lone time to contemplate, think, feel that your time is really YOUR time.

Why Manaoag? Well, no particular reason really other than it’s a travel I can do in a day. No more bookings or overnight things to pack.

It was a very self-liberating experience (plus the thought that I proved something to those who challenged me…hehe). It was not really a spell-bounding scenery. I guess, the special part for me was when I prayed with all my heart’s content. There were many people there all praying, perhaps thanking, atoning for some sins, wishing, wishing, wishing and wishing. When I was lighting candles I really had no particular wishes in mind. Honestly, I’m really scared of making wishes. They might just come true when I needed otherwise. So I just prayed for what I felt my friends are praying for themselves.

But I realized all I wanted, like the rest of those who paid respect there, is the sense of hope that there lies something better waiting for me. It’s just all about keeping the faith and having the hope burning. As Matthew 11:24 says: Whatever you ask for in prayers, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. This is my favorite passage since grade school .

Whatever I had thought, learned, questioned, did over that trip I could have done some other time somewhere else but I’m thankful anyway that I did it.

all-time-faves rants

March 6, 2007

This morning, I was listening to 89.9’s Good Times with Mo. Every Tuesday they have a strip contest. I don’t have a thing for strip contests (not listening to them, live pa siguro..haha) but the hosts are just so hilarious. Anyway, this morning, they had a Strip Movie Trivia Contest. Actually, it hit me when they asked callers their fave movie of all time. My roommate and I were both listening so we ended up asking each other what our fave movie of all time is and I could not answer instantly.

I cannot answer my favorite movie of all time and this not apply alone to movies. Last week, Tin asked what my favorite restaurant is and I could not give her a specific place. Ang babaw ko pero I was bothered by the thought that I’m already 23 yet I don’t know what simple things I really want in life. Para akong hipong dinadala na lang ng agos. Kamusta naman sa analogy? Gusto ko may maisagot ako everytime may nagtatanong saken. And I don’t want plain-at-least-I-gave-answers type. 

I often complain everytime my friends answer “Kahit san” or “OK lang” when the perennial problem of where to eat arises. Come to think of it, ganon din ako. Nakakapikon ako! I remember the movie ‘Runaway Bride’ where Julia’s likes and dislikes change as her partner changes. Ganon din ba ako? Push-over na ba ako?! Ayoko non! Gusto ko may stand ako! Part na ko ng statistics… waaah!

So I’ll attempt to have a list of my favorites which is of course valid until further notice per DTI NCR Permit 587964. hehe… Here goes my slumbook:

All time fave…

Colors: red, white, black

Scents: cucumber melon, scent ng LB (bakit ba? may amoy saken ang simoy ng LB e), simoy ng beach

Food: inihaw na pusit at sari-saring sinugba (sa with rice to). (without rice) pizza, pasta and potato at hindi ung sa Shakey’s ha. (comfort food) ice cream (Double Dutch or Rocky Road) or French fries or Potato Chips (Original and Cheese)

Artists: (foreign) Plumb, Madonna, Bob Marley, Alanis Morissette, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Sarah Mclachlan, Jewel, No Doubt. (local) Mojofly, Side A, The Company, Sitti, Eraserheads, Hemp Republic and Brownman Revival.

Movies: For a change, hindi yung mga all-time-fave ng madlang crowd ang sagot ko like the famous Julia Roberts films. (Ayoko talagang maging ‘mere part of statistics’ kamown.) Mona Lisa Smile (Julia pa rin pero at least di ‘to common answer). Sliding Doors. Fools Rush In. Pursuit of Happyness.

Promise nahirapan ako! Madami actually akong favorite. Ang hirap pimuli ng isa lang. Yan na nga ang problema! Dapat ba talaga pag favorite isa lang? As in ultimate favorite?! Grabe naman, masyadong judgmental! Hmphf

Pero eto ang madaling sagutan na favorites:

Drinks: (non-alcoholic) water- cause I’m a water sign… haha! (alcoholic) cuervo tequila. (not so alcoholic) san mig light beer itaas mo! (cocktails) cosmopolitan (wine) Novelino Peach. {Syempre ang dami ko pa ring nasabi}

Song: Bitch (and for this year Real cause look at me I’m 23..hehe)

Yosi: Marlboro Lights with a particular way of opening it kung soft-pack. (Though 6 days na ko di nagyoyosi. Nagpost ako dati na 2-22 ako last day magyosi pero namove ng March 1. Well para di naman cold turkey at para start of the month hehehehe)

Syempre sa mga bisyo mabilis ang sagot ko. Yung song bisyo na rin kasi masarap mag-inuman pag may Videoke. Isama na rin natin ang sugal. Fave sugal ko ang buhay. Cause life is a gamble. Nakanangdrama! Pero seriously, in-between. Nakakaadik sobra.

Then again I made a mountain out of a mole. Just the simple instance of not answering favorites and I’ve already made a problem out of it. I guess that’s my favorite of all-time favorites: over-analyzing things! In short, mamroblema!

 

to smoke or not to smoke

February 23, 2007

Today is the day I’m supposed to quit smoking. My last break with Marilyn and Martha yesterday was supposed to be the last. But this morning before I went to sleep I had a few puffs from Mica’s because, what the heck, I want to have a last yosi session with my yosi buddy.. ha ha ha.. Then again, I had dinner with college friends Beng, Con, Marisse, Maui and Steve and I ate so much the next thing I know I’m lighting my this-is-my-last-na-talaga stick. So there! I hope that really was my last stick.

Anyway, I really think that anytime I want to quit smoking I really can. Seriously! It’s just that part of me doesn’t really want to quit because smoking is a big part of my social life. Most of my friends smoke. Most of my “sessions” with close friends were over packs of cigarettes.. It’s really that! It’s like when I quit smoking I am betraying some sort of contract of loyalty… Ha ha ha.. talagang yun yung explanation ko para ma-defend ang pagyoyosi ko.

When I was in college, my efforts to quit smoking always heightened at the start of the month. I want my smoke-quitting to be significant. I want to say sometime in the future, like when I become a speaker for a smoke-free-country-advocates’ conference something to this effect: ”I remember it very clearly. It was the start of {insert month and year here} when I decided to quit smoking once and for all”.

Anyway, eventually, there came a time that my friends no longer believe that I can quit smoking. Sa 10 beses ko sinabi na magqquit ako, 11 times di natuloy. Grabe naman! OOOO-EEEEY! haha. But then again, there was the whole month of February 2004 (that’s what I mean that dates are significant) that I did not smoke at all as a panata so I can graduate on time. Sadly though, On March 1, I was back to my old habit. Tsk tsk. Backtrack to Paragraph 2 for reasons.

So here I am again in my umpteenth effort. Why again?! Wala lang.1) I guess I had too much smoking the last time I went to LB so the urge to smoke this week wasn’t that high. 2) It’s already Lenten Season and I want to have a really big sacrifice. 3) This is yet another panata for something. 4) I want my next (assuming there is) yosi session when I start crying in hagulhul mode. I would need a nicotine fix to ease my feeling by then so it practically is more of a necessity. (hehe.. Defensive!) I want to challenge myself to be in touch of my emtional side. I barely cry (tulo luha factor talaga with hikbi ang gusto ko) though I always feel like crying. I just want to have that self-liberating experience of crying like a lost child.

Why not the start of the month? It may not be the start of the month but it is still significant because 1) It’s 222 or triple 2 for Feb 22.. haha. 2) It’s practically the start of the Chinese New Year so I guess this is my Chinese New Year’s Resolution. This year is significant because I am born in the year of the Pig.  

So sometime in the future, you can expect me saying, “It was the start of the Chinese New Year 2007: Year of the Fire Pig …” Shala shala di ba?!