i.am.erica

Christmas starts

2010-12-01T06:41:00.002+08:00

It's Christmas in three weeks and somehow the only sense of the upcoming holidays I get is from when I shop online. Pathetic considering that I am now in England, where Christmas might have been invented in the first place! Well, I love the Christmas season. Next to my birthday, I reckon it's the most important holiday of the year. Quite a few people I know, think it's shite and utterly pointless because of how expensive it has become throughout the years, and I don't blame them. Christmas is expensive but I think being able to spend and enjoy part of what you worked for throughout the year is pretty reasonable. But I digress.

I was actually going to write about what a good time I had at Barton Grange today with Val and Paul, her husband. Val's such a nice person from work and she always tells me about how Christmas is her favorite season and how she loves to deck her house out and bake for the holidays. It's quite inspiring really, to see that little twinkle in her eyes whenever we talk about Christmas. It's rare to find people especially now that are as passionate about it as she is. Anyway, in one of our talks, she promised to take me to Barton Grange to see the 'best' Christmas displays as she claims. I had no idea what or where it was, but I agreed. She said she'd pick me up anyway so no worries there. She met me at around 4 and she brought her husband for the drive.

Barton Grange is a good 30-40 minute drive along country lanes from the Vic. As I learned now, it's somewhere in Wyre, where everything is as country as it can ever get. I mean, farms on both sides of the road, stately manors, fresh farm air, the works.

Barton Grange is like a one-stop garden/home center with a cafe, a farm produce section and an ice cream shop. Like Val said, the Christmas displays were absolutely marvelous! It's a total feast for the eyes, you'd never see so much glitter and color in one place altogether. The Christmas trees are out-of-this-world gorgeous with all the trimmings and the little Christmas village displays are just stunning. I just loved everything about it and with the Christmas songs being played, it was just perfect!

We grabbed some cake and hot chocolate afterwards. Then I may have mentioned not having gone to an English pub yet so they brought me to one as well. It's a quaint old english pub with a thatched roof and an awful lot of character straight from a Victorian post card! It wss

For the first time, it genuinely feltlike Christmas!

Huge gaping hole part 2

2010-11-17T23:34:00.001+08:00

I had an epiphany. Remember that huge gaping hole I was going on about the other day? Well, I know what it is now, it's my essay for the adaptation course! I am making very little progress at the moment. Dear me!

Mid-autumn

2010-11-16T18:14:00.002+08:00

I have been woken up by the sun coming through the windows today. That doesn't happen so often now especially since we're in the middle of autumn and we don't get as much sun as before. The past weeks have been gloomy day after awful gloomy day and this makes me appreciate the warmth of the sun more. Some things, you never get to be thankful for until they're taken away.

Hole

2010-11-16T09:44:00.000+08:00

Excuse the poignant tone, why do I feel like there's a huge, gaping hole in my life right now?

Digital Face Lift

2010-06-14T19:21:00.001+08:00

Yes! A new look for my blog. High five!

Sportacular

2010-06-13T18:21:00.001+08:00

Remember how I said it was gonna be swift? Well, as it turns out, days have been draggy and uneventful and weeks pass without news from Drake or from anyone.

So anyway, I hear the World Cup is on. And the NBA Season is coming to a close. Suddenly, people are so into sports! This puts my own athleticism and interest in athletics into perspective.

See, to be honest, I've never been genuinely caught up in all the sporty hoopla. I mean, it's not like I don't try. I do, and I always end up rooting for the underdogs. It's almost an illness. Underdogs are expected to lose, and most of the time they do. And losing blows. No one likes to lose. And in any game, someone always has to. It is this very idea that turns me off somewhat.

I guess I am just not into sports, not even sports men with perfectly chiseled athletic bodies. Thank you very much.

Blackpool

2010-05-24T23:17:00.004+08:00

I'm going to the UK!

I feel so lucky and blessed to be among the 27 out of 60 candidate nurses who have been chosen to work in Blackpool Victoria Hospital. The selection process, as we were told, had been more thorough with BVH. Though really, I think, they just have more non-negotiables.

Anyway, I'm so psyched. If things go as planned, we'll be shipped (yes, like human cargo) to the UK in 5 months.

For that to happen, a shitload of paperwork must be in order. Drake International, my recruitment agency, is taking care of everything and I can't be more thankful.

This will be a swift 5 months.

Focus

2010-04-24T01:39:00.000+08:00

This week, I will saturate my mind with one goal and one goal alone. Here's to the future!

Operculumectomy

2010-04-07T15:51:00.004+08:00

In other news, I have noticed the eruption of my fourth wisdom tooth over the past couple of months. It has become increasingly uncomfortable and painful these past few days, so I decided to see the dentist and have it checked.

He told me that there was nothing to worry about. The tooth wasn't impacted as I feared, and that there's just some minor discomfort as it is pressing on the surrounding gum. So I said, "So, what are we going to do about that?".

"Well, we could cut away some of the gum to lessen the discomfort and give the tooth more room."

I flinched. Cut away the gum? You can't be f*cking serious?! "Are you going to do that now?"

He checked his watch. "It's only 4:30, I could squeeze it in."

Squeeze it in?! Seriously?! "Will it painful?"

"Just a bit. I'll be giving you a local anesthetic." Then he tells the dental assistant to prepare a "#12"--surgeons' code for blade.

I was frantic and in an alternate universe, I fainted.

He applied a topical anesthetic. My mouth starts feeling better, then a bit heavy. He scrambled for another dental implement. I opened my mouth and shut my eyes. Then, the worst pain as he stabbed my gum with a syringe-full of god-knows-what. Then, nothing.

The procedure took about less than 15 minutes. The dentist made me gargle in between and there were blood clots coming out, which kind of gave away what was going on because I decided to keep my eyes closed the whole time. Although I'm used to seeing all these instruments, I still wouldn't want to see them used on me.

A bite of cotton ball, and it was over. But once the anesthesia wears off, the pain sets right back in. I was prescribed pain killers and an antibiotic, to ease the swelling. Sure it helps but I still can't chew well.

I think it's good though, as I have to be on a diet to fit into that summer bikini :D

In the interim

2010-04-07T11:44:00.003+08:00

Efforts to revive this blog have been well, futile. But here I am, having a go at it once again. Shake off the rust and oil the old thinking machine, shall we?

So what have I been up to in the interim?

Nothing much, actually. Mostly work. I know, it kills just about every part of a person but it's uglier when you work shifts, like I do. Everything has to work around a particular schedule and time-offs are pretty much spent sleeping. But I'd like to think I'm doing a pretty good job of at least trying to have some semblance of a social life. I do go out with the boyfriend a lot and occasionally, spend time with some friends, a trip to the beach or coffee, that sort of thing.

And that's about it.

Everybody's Free

2009-11-07T10:04:00.001+08:00

I woke up at 5AM the other day and heard Baz Luhrmann's Everybody Should Wear Sunscreen (which I have never heard of until then). I believe in serious soul-searching and this, resonated something heavy.

Lyrics to "Everybody is free to wear sunscreen"
by Baz Luhrman - vocals by Lee Perry

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97,

Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term
benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis or
reliable then my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice....now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, nevermind, you won't understand the power and
beauty of your youth until they've faded, but trust me in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of
yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous
you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra
equation by chewing bubblegum.

The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind: the kind that blindsides
you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts; don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is
long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive; forget the insults. (if you succeed in doing this, tell me how).

Keep your old love letters; throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people
I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives; some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of Calcium. Be kind to your knees -- you'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll
divorce at 40; maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary.

Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either. Your choices are half
chance, so are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body: use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it; it's the
greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance...even if you have no where to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions (even if you don't follow them).

Do not read beauty magazines; they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents; you never know when they'll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings: they're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in
the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but what a precious few should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps
and geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you
were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.

Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old; and when you
do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children
respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse,
but you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you are 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia;
dispensing it is a way of wishing the past from the disposal--wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts, and
recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me, on the sunscreen.

BIG Spender!

2009-10-25T03:10:00.003+08:00

The past few weeks have been pretty taxing physically and wallet-wise. I worked hard and shopped even harder (and partied a little bit on the side). I compensate for my sucky work schedule and inhumane workload by spending hard-earned cash, which is fair enough, if you ask me. This makes me happy, as long as I forget that I have a ghost for a savings account. Heh!

How NOT to make a Mongolian rice bowl

2009-07-24T16:42:00.005+08:00

I was tired, as I usually am, after work the other day and decided to take a nap at the dorm. Woke up just in time for dinner and panicked as I found out, I don't have anything to eat yet (not having eaten lunch earlier in the day, you'd understand my reaction). I hurriedly got up and changed to go out to scavenge food for the night at nearby Rob.

Found out that the new Supermarket just opened and they have amazing kiosks there selling food for less than 70 pesos. Perfect for a girl on budget. Since the line for mongolian rice bowls was pretty long, I figured it must be good so I got in line as well. I made my rice bowl as I normally would, placed it next to the line of bowls waiting to be cooked and found out that people have a curious way of making rice bowls here.

How NOT to make a Mongolian rice bowl

Basically, they put the veggies first then top them with ginormous cups of rice then pack the rice to give more space to more rice and maybe a little bit more vegetables. Gotta love rice on this side of the planet!

Taft After Dark

2009-04-03T12:16:00.000+08:00

I had a Tolstoy moment... or something like it.

I was walking along the College of Pharmacy Gate along Taft Ave around 9pm on a Thursday night. While waiting for an FX bound for Buendia, somewhere between the CP Gate and where the PGH incinerator had been a couple of years ago, a stranger, a stocky man in his early thirties called me. He looked like he could benefit much from a shower. His shirt, red and fraying, hung loosely to his muscular frame. His jeans were worn and faded, not as a fashion statement but something reminiscent of the power of laundry detergent. Darkness makes one judge too easily, and to me then, he pretty much looked like someone who would mug me and then run away with my money. Fine, call me judgmental.

I was standing in the curb waiting for my ride. He was coming towards me.

"Miss, Miss. Pwede bang makahingi ng limang pi...?".

I looked up and instantly, almost instinctively, I started to flee, even before he could finish what he was going to say. Never mind that I was fleeing to the middle of Taft where the probability of getting hit by an approaching vehicle albeit a slowly moving one (cars never get past 10kph on this side of the world) is close to a hundred. Fear must have taken over my face. As I was putting a foot out of the curb to make my escape, he walked past me, looked at me with a sneer and muttered almost apologetically

"Huwag ka nang tumakbo, kailangan ko lang kasi...".

I looked back at him. In my head I was trying to reason why someone would need 5 pesos, definite at that instant that he was going to hypnotize me then take my money. It's quite amazing how a lot of things could go through your head in a moment. I managed to let out an inappropriate "Hindi po..." but I was already reaching over my pockets for change. It was like my brain and body have completely gone auto-pilot. I was walking away, going for my pockets yet at the same time thinking that this might be a potential hold-up. At that point I was already doing a walk-a-thon in the opposite direction, relieved to have at last found my FX.

Then it hit me.I was overcome with guilt and the realization that I may have judged the man too easily, that whatever he needed five pesos for could be a matter of life and death. That he was desperate and merely asking for help. I was guilty for thinking, plainly put, that he was a hold-upper. He couldn't blame me for walking away. Anyone in that situation would have opted to run. We are socialized to believe and media leads us to think, that people who come up to you at night, in darkness or semi-darkness, is not a good thing. It was the wrong place and the wrong time.

I'm still bothered by the what-ifs though. So, sorry man, whoever you are, I was merely acting on impulse and if it offended you that I thought you'd rob me, I'm terribly sorry for judging. I wish in the end, you found your five peso.

There's something to be learned here, like a moral of the story... or something.

The saddest Krispy Kreme in the world

2009-03-26T19:17:00.004+08:00

It's flat and lonely...

Eating out

2009-03-26T18:20:00.010+08:00

I am on a binging streak and I eat out almost on a daily basis. This has done nothing but create a huge burn hole in my wallet and cellulite around the most unfortunate places, especially if you happen to plan on getting on a skimpy swimsuit this summer.

Exhibit A: California Pizza Kitchen

Strawberry milkshake topped with lethal amounts of whipped cream

Kung Pao spaghetti made mildly spicy for me

Roasted garlic chicken pizza perfection

Exhibit B: MoMo

Lasagna topped with heart-stopping amounts of cheese

Lard on a plate: Ham and cheese omelet

WWJW?

2009-02-05T14:52:00.003+08:00

The question everyone has but is too afraid to ask- What Would Jesus Wear?
I had a kick out of these. Loved the disclaimer at the end. Note: These are actual pictures for a feature in New York Times, I think. And yeah, the Prince of Peace is digging the Tartan trend. Go click!

True Love is...

2009-02-05T14:26:00.003+08:00

a Periodic Table of Elements duvet cover.

One craftsy woman made this clever duvet cover for her Chemistry Major boyfriend and posted the how-to's on the internet. Totally epic. Click here

In the mail today.

2009-01-27T23:15:00.001+08:00

I got this from the mail today. Dad saw it after dinner neatly tucked between the grilles of our rusty gate. It was white, spotless almost glowing in contrast to the dark surroundings. I took it and felt it's thickness- one-paged. And at that moment, I felt the Universe smiling upon me.

This is it. My fate is sealed :D

If you can't beat it...

2009-01-24T03:03:00.004+08:00

Take pictures and draw funny faces on the little bastard.

I hate alopecia.

mushrooms with culture

2008-12-08T01:09:00.003+08:00

These are the cultured mushrooms we found on display at Mushroom Burger Tagaytay. I can't resist taking some shots. Anyone can see that these fungi are happy :D

curbside

2008-11-26T12:22:00.002+08:00

Tired of all the running and walking she did for the day, she sat on the curb and watched time pass on her gigantic wrist watch.

mobile blogging evades me

2008-11-26T12:09:00.003+08:00

Ok... So I was finally able to buy me a new phone from Sony Ericsson with Mobile Blogging features but I can't seem to make it work and it has been a source of frustration for the past couple of days. I have downloaded all sorts of mobile internet settings from Globe (my service provider) and Sony Ericsson but still nothing. :c I'm itching to get it done and finally, rule the universe!

Help!

2008-11-19T09:49:00.003+08:00

My 3-year-old E398, which you'll probably recognize as Motorola's first from the ROKR series, broke after several times of me pounding it on the wall out of desperately trying to fix the broken keypad. Talk about going total cave man on it. JK was kind enough to lend me his spare phone (thanks!), that I jokingly declare defective to convince him to sell it to me for a very cheap price, hehe.

Now, I'm looking for a new phone. Aside from value for money, it has to have these ~~three~~ four features:
1) MP3 player
2) Megapixel camera
3) Radio
4) Expandable memory

Any suggestions?

I put the ME in AWESO.

2008-11-18T10:06:00.003+08:00

Not meant for use on your next Chemistry exam. Click here for a larger version.

What doesn't kill me

2008-11-18T10:00:00.002+08:00

only adds to my Salary deductions. Such is the life of a low-level government employee.

Quarter-Life Crisis

2008-09-20T15:33:00.001+08:00

For those who have been wondering where I've gone MIA the past couple of weeks, I have started real work and said goodbye to freelancing. I'm now a nurse at the Philippine General Hospital.

I know, things happened pretty fast for me too. I got the call and next thing I know I was back on the bed side again presumably doing what I have been trained for in college. It's overwhelming and tremendously stressful even without the series of unfortunate coincidences I have ran into. Huge adjustments have to be made in a really short span of time and as the Universal Conspiracy would have it, I have been assigned to Ward 1, the Female Medicine Ward, notorious for heavy patient traffic, acuteness, infectiousness and severity of patient cases.

I'm already on my third week, my second at the Ward. Although the first two weeks have been primarily allotted for the General and Ward Orientations, they could only do so much to truly prepare me for what I consider the biggest change in my life so far. The rest, as they say, is up to me.

For what it's like to be in Ward 1, difficult is an understatement and I refuse to use the word "toxic" and the myriad of connotations and socially accepted uses it is associated with in the health care field (don't even get me started on this as I think it deserves another post). Words fail me. What I cannot express with them, I do with tears. Primarily of exhaustion and frustration. Exhaustion with the physical and intellectual demands of the job and frustration with work relationships. I guess what I'm saying is it sucks to be the newbie at work. Especially in a job where superiority and merit is directly proportional solely to length of time spent in the work place. Being at the bottom of the food chain, you are at the mercy of anyone and everyone, and the worst part about it is you simply don't have a choice but to wait until another newbie comes along.

It's really hard to stay positive, but I haven't entirely lost hope. I know things would be better and that there would be brighter prospects for the future as long as I have my goal in mind, but until that happens, I have to wait and hopefully, Better comes sooner than expected.

I'd Like To Buy the World a Coke

2008-09-11T19:54:00.007+08:00

Did you know that at the time Coca-Cola was invented, it actually contained cocaine?

"Until 1905, the soft drink, marketed as a tonic, contained extracts of cocaine as well as the caffeine-rich kola nut." And it was sold in neighborhood soda fountains, more like our modern day 7-11s. Free access to illegal drugs? Hollywood could have had a party. No wait, they actually are having a party. :s

random thoughts

2008-09-09T19:00:00.003+08:00

I am still in a state of mild disbelief. It's weird when something you actually hope for becomes real and tangible for a change. And then you start to wonder, if it is what you really wanted in the first place.

not another phelps post

2008-08-31T00:21:00.002+08:00

This is how Michael Phelps ~~swam~~ swum.

I was in Stumbling frenzy again when I came across this funny picture. I forgot the link though. :c

new look for my blog

2008-08-26T18:55:00.004+08:00

A face lift for my blog that I have been meaning to do for quite some time now. I wanted to go for fresh pastel colors but decided the pink and gray theme should stay just because I'll never get tired of that color palette. :p I removed some unsightly Google ads and replaced them with Stumble and Digg links for added popularity, heh. I also updated links on my sidebar so that they'd actually be useful. If you want your site to be included on the links list just give drop me a message. :D

acts of shameless self-promotion

2008-08-22T21:50:00.003+08:00

I have a new site and I'm really excited about it. So please check it out:

http://theidentitygame.blogspot.com

life lessons

2008-08-22T18:05:00.000+08:00

sometimes we hurt people without even realizing it.

Italian Nights are here again!

2008-08-15T16:11:00.002+08:00

I was expecting a riot for this month's Italian Night. Give or take 8 people. But somewhere along the way, people started ditching us. Leaving me and a couple other friends- Sed, Alyana and the esteemed Vladimir, to enjoy the night. We catched the 7pm screening of the Italian Film showing at the CCP then afterwards, pasta for dinner at the Harbor Square.

Quite depressing and seemingly prophetic, C'eravama Tanto Amati (We all loved each other so much) is an Italian comedy that talks about idealism and how people generally deal with the inevitable disillusionments of life. The story opens with three men who became close during the war as they dealt with imminent death and danger fighting the Nazis. After the war and armed with illusions, they find themselves living their own separate lives. Each taking on a different path, not necessarily according to their ideals. In the end, after some years, an unlikely reunion happens where they make an unexpected discovery.

*Catch the Italian Film Festival every second Tuesday of the month at the CCP. A different film is featured every month. Catch screening times at 4pm and 7pm. Admission is FREE.

Pampers World @ Glorietta

2008-08-03T22:14:00.002+08:00

The Pampers World Tour is here in the Philippines and was officially launched at the Glorietta Activity Center last weekend (June 26-27). It's an information campaign which highlights the different stages of a baby's development and the new Pampers Stages diapers fit for every stage. Aiming to give parents a firsthand experience of what the world is like for babies, the Pampers World Tour is fun, educational and absolutely FREE! Plus, endless picture opportunities!

Come see the world in a whole new perspective. Join the Pampers World Tour on the following dates and venues:

August 9 & 10- at the SMX, Mall of Asia
September 13 & 14- at Trinoma Mall

The Revolution will be Fabulous

2008-07-28T20:29:00.002+08:00

...and extremely expensive.

Credits: http://www.1988revolution.blogspot.com/

SLHMC

2008-07-23T21:26:00.001+08:00

Southern Luzon Hospital and Medical Center, where I'm attending a 3-day training on IV Therapy, is so freaking remote! Absolutely nothing within a kilometer radius on 3 directions. There's a Starbucks however, 500 meters to the north. :o

signs of the times

2008-07-23T18:02:00.001+08:00

baby pandas

2008-07-20T20:10:00.011+08:00

They're awfully adorable.

I died and gone to panda heaven!

human in brine

2008-06-25T18:15:00.003+08:00

Inadequate resources and perhaps, lack of training have compromised rescue operations off the coast of Masbate where M/V Princess of the Stars sank last Saturday due to Typhoon Frank (Fengshen). Three days have passed after the tragedy yet hundreds of passengers are still missing. Some are trapped or left underneath the capsized ship (for lack of resources to bring them to land) for fish to feast on. There are even stories of drowned corpses with body parts eaten by fish being washed ashore. Now, if our little finned friends had a way of canning humans, that would be their perfect revenge.

it's not a robot, you moron

2008-06-24T22:40:00.003+08:00

Credits: To the amazing nataliedee

jobhunting 101

2008-06-24T22:15:00.004+08:00

Rule #1 It's all about patience...
-------------------------------------patience...
--------------------------------------------------------------------PATIENCE! dammit.

wifi-detector t-shirt

2008-06-20T11:16:00.001+08:00

Clearly, the geeks keep outdoing themselves. Swoon over

The Wi-Fi Detector T-Shirt

Thanks to the ingenious monkey robot inventors from ThinkGeek, now we don't even have to be bothered by such unimportant stuff as cracking open our laptops to check for wi-fi connection.

Check out more of the Wi-Fi Detector T-shirt here.

malicious, masquerading Trojan!

2008-06-20T10:53:00.001+08:00

From an AVG virus scan report (lol):

ipod talk

2008-06-19T18:00:00.001+08:00

Catholic saints are interesting

2008-05-05T20:24:00.003+08:00

Take this one for instance. The image of this skewered saint stands before the old Spanish church in Liliw, Laguna along with other statues which supposedly take the form of other Catholic saints and martyrs. These cemented replicas bear the name of the saint below them. But I was stupid enough to exclude the name plates when I took the photo.

Why this particular scene in the entirety of his life was chosen, I have no idea. Maybe it's supposed to show martyrdom of some sort. But isn't it a little too morose? The sky seems to agree.

Megan Fox hailed sexiest woman in the world

2008-04-24T21:55:00.006+08:00

"Who's gonna drive her home?"

At 21, the star topped this year's list of FHM Online's 100 Sexiest Women in the World displacing last year's reigning hottie, Jessica Alba, to 3rd. You might recognize Fox from her recent memorable role in the multi-million blockbuster hit Transformers.

Coming in at close second is Jessica Biel (What is it with Jessicas anyway?) ahead of Elisha Cuthbert, fourth and The Other Boleyn Girl star Scarlett Johansson, fifth. It is also interesting to note that Spears, mother of two, barely made it to the list at number 100 after her life and career went downward spiral as a result of a multitude of personal and mental health problems that have afflicted the 26 year old star. Just four years ago, Spears was voted sexiest woman in the world.

Click here, here and here to see the entire list.

Credits: IMDB for the photo, Yahoo News for the story

When lunch becomes art

2008-04-23T13:07:00.006+08:00

Obento from Japan are a creative take on packed lunch. Each obento is carefully handcrafted to create a feast that is both appealing to the eyes as it is to the palate. You'll never look at your "baon" the same way. Notice how each seems to have been painstakingly created. According to an internet source, an obento is prepared for about an hour to look like the ones below, that's about all the time I have to prepare for work.

Credits: http://www.e-obento.com

day old

2008-04-13T22:06:00.008+08:00

yay! Another live comic. :D I wanted to do a 4-panel horizontal one but it will wreak havoc on the alignments. So I guess this 2x2 will do. Click on the image for a larger version.

Credits: augie for the photos of himself, some image adjustments by moi

intense BINGO!

2008-04-13T15:12:00.003+08:00

(click the image for a larger kickass version)

flora

2008-04-13T13:47:00.007+08:00

Lush greenery... Flowers in full bloom...Gotta love Baguio for the foliage. I handpicked some of the best photos from the bunch and made minimal adjustments for brightness, contrast and saturation. (Photos taken mid-February)

Credits: violet flower from http://maeness.multiply.com; the rest taken by moi using joakim's sony cybershot cam

DOND at Timezone

2008-04-13T12:06:00.004+08:00

hit the jackpot, baby!

I never win at anything thanks to my superbly consistent luck (or lack of it). So basically, winning the jackpot entails me shutting up and letting my friends pick the briefcases. A hundred tickets? Not bad. Though we learned afterwards, that they only award 50% of the actual number of tickets won. So there.

coffee prince

2008-03-30T23:15:00.005+08:00

Big Bro and I had Coffee Prince marathon Saturday night at an aunt's place. Although I liked the TV version more (despite the hideous dubs, it had awesome Tagalog script which captured my perfectly Filipino taste for cheesiness in soaps) I wasn't able to religiously stick to watching it because of the horrible time slot.

Thanks to piracy, the DVD had repulsive english subs. I was able to finish the series but I also incurred a terrible headache, which now I think is not so fair after all.

The series was OK. But if you're gonna watch it, don't get the pirated copy. It will only be a waste of 80 precious pesos. Instead, watch it on mysoju.com (great subs, korean dubs so you get to hear the real voices of actors and the best thing is it's absolutely FREE).

Fasting food

2008-03-21T18:04:00.007+08:00

Yesterday was Maundy Thursday and the sup made us go to work. Real unholy. I was starting to wonder whether she has something against Catholics, when I noticed her display of a crucifix behind her desk. Then I thought, she really just hates us.

And since it was a holiday, everyone else was on vacation. Aside from a couple of maintenance people and security guards doing rounds at the campus, no one else was there but the 6 of us. In fact, no one else was anywhere. Manila had virtually been a ghost town. On the one hand, it was a relief, on the other, it was starting to get creepy. Flashback to I Am Legend.

Another problem during holidays is everything is closed save for a few greedy corporations, leaving me no option but to eat at Jollibee (even McDonalds had to close for the holidays). I ordered a burger steak meal, 2 shanghai rolls and a hot fudge sundae. Way to go fasting! The thing is, the taste of the patty just wouldn't go down my throat. I was burping burger patty hours after actually having eaten it.

Evil burger steak for lunch and Ice Craze Special for merienda

For snacks, I had the macapuno de leche ice craze special. It was nothing short of what I expected it to be and it was super filling. At that point, I've had too much Jollibee for the day. I felt so satiated plus I could still taste the burger from lunch that I wanted to ~~barf~~ er, purge. Bulimia? Maybe God's telling me to fast. In any case, I am off Jollibee, at least for a couple of months. :p

Star City

2008-03-17T09:26:00.012+08:00

I originally wanted to go skating at the shiny rink over at MOA but O and J weren't really up for it. We were too tired to go booze fest that night and clubbing wasn't really an option (for me). Then we had the most brilliant idea. "Why don't we go to Star City?"

We have been meaning to go to Enchanted Kingdom with friends for a long time and every time we plan on doing it, something always comes up and we end up postponing the whole thing. But since we were all bored and we had to put our paychecks to good use, without hesitation, we were off to Star City and dragged quite a few people along the way too.

Thanks to O's SM advantage card we got a 20% discount on each ticket we purchased. That's a good 60 pesos off the original price of the ride-all-you-can ticket. So, instead of paying the full price (300 pesos), we only paid 240 pesos, even costing less than the 3-cheers ticket which was worth 250. Oh how i love discounts! The timing was superb too. There weren't so many people so we didn't have to wait in line for the rides. Sweet.

O got her kick out of the horror houses while we got ours from watching her. It was totally fun watching your reaction O! The horror houses were cleverly named too. Where else in the world could you find horror attractions named Kilabot ng Mummy, Haunted House and Gabi ng Lagim? Only in the Philippines.

(from left to right) Haunted House, Kilabot ng Mummy and Gabi ng Lagim

And we also tried the Starflyer, the inverted roller coaster they are boasting about which was a rather new addition to the park. If I had two words to describe it, it would be-- Oh yeah!

The Starflyer: At this point, I thought I'd die. Awethome.

Credits: photos from http://www.OurAwesomePlanet.com taken by Anton Diaz

Panagbenga 2008

2008-03-09T23:23:00.007+08:00

If you want to experience Baguio, Panagbenga wouldn't be the best time.

I was there a few weeks ago, along with some friends. At least in my case, I wanted a change of scenery. Hundreds of people, two-hour traffic jams and overpriced merchandise isn't exactly what I had in mind.

The flowers were lovely though.

You would have to weave through this crowd to get to the floats.

The Nescafe float.

Floral butterfly

Yellow cab float: I think the Vespa is really clever.

The GMA kapuso float: my personal favorite.

always hit save

2008-03-09T20:52:00.009+08:00

Except for the fact that I have lost a day's worth of work by moronically failing to hit save last Friday, I think I had a pretty good week at the office.

For one thing and quite a major one given my tainted track record, I haven't been involved in office mischief or at least haven't been caught doing any. I am extra cautious now and slightly paranoid that I've mastered the art of, dare i say, deception and stealth.

O and I have also started a daily devotion-- office exercise. We have resolved to once and for all put an end to unwanted bulges which have accumulated as a result of living our otherwise sedentary lives. The extra endorphins are quite useful too.

And yeah, I had a record-breaking earlybird streak. Four straight days (Monday was an exception merely because nobody gets early anywhere on mondays.)! It was actually starting to freak me out. It wouldn't have mattered had no one noticed but of all people, the Boss did. It was the perfect pat-in-the-back, ego-boost moment and I would have loved to put on my best in-your-stupid-face! look, but as I was early, no one else was there to witness my moment of glory. And as they say, it could have easily been just my imagination.

sharbat julia

2008-03-03T11:48:00.002+08:00

" We have found her sister."

Tom of Finland

2008-02-22T09:32:00.008+08:00

NOTE: PREVIOUS CONTENT DELETED.

What I love most about the new office is its extensive library collection. This morning O was going through a pile of books to be added to the shelves. She took out F.Valentine Hooven III's Tom of Finland His Life and Times from the pile and we started browsing through it. It read:

" Gay men had little reason to be happy in 1957. Homosexuality was a crime in every country on earth, frequently punishable by death. The phrase "secet homosexual" was redundant and the term "in the closet" was meaningless as yet since virtually all homosexuals were in the closet, except for those imprisoned, institutionalized or dead."

"In the East Bloc, homosexuality was handled with simplicity to be expected of a centrally directed society. The party line, as stated in Pravda with sweeping finality, was "There are no homosexuals in the Soviet Union." Period, Anyone who thought he might be homosexual was sent to Siberia to think it over for the rest of his life."

"The only reputable voices to disagree came from the psychiatric community. Psychiatrists claimed that the homosexual was neither a criminal nor a sinner. They said he was sick, and they treated those who fell into their hands with shock therapy and, for specially stubborn cases, prefrontal lobotomies."

school wars

2008-02-20T15:56:00.006+08:00

I was stalling work the other day and decided to browse over books in the office library when I have come across a note clipped on a folder dated 8 years ago written on a Malacañang memo. I was thoroughly amused. It wrote:

* Billy is Mr. William M. Esposo, Special Consultant to former President Corazon C. Aquino

Baguio City

2008-02-20T10:12:00.012+08:00

Along with 11 other friends, I would be heading to the mountains this weekend for vacation, cold(er) weather and a change of scenery which I totally deserve after all the stress we are made to deal with here at the new office.

As proof of my stressful life, you may have noticed that I haven't been updating my site for a while. My social life is almost non-existent and life events have been almost purely work-home-work-home. That's basically how boring and uneventful things are going right now. More things happen inside a stationary coin bank and we all know virtually nothing happens there.

Come to think, things have been blah these past few days. I think it's the weather. I know some people who have also been feeling crappy lately. It's colder now than it was last December. You don't see the sun as often and for some reason, it's extremely windy. What is happening to the world?

All I can think about is our Baguio trip.

win-o

2008-02-11T15:56:00.000+08:00

Druggie dominates 50th Grammy.

In her cross-continental win, Amy Winehouse wowed an equally shocked audience at the recent Grammy's by bagging 5 awards including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for Rehab, Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album for Back to Black. Having been denied a US visa and a work permit, the singer performed live via satellite from London, where she sang "Rehab" and "You Know I'm No Good" both tracks from the Back to Black album.

Recent rumors are, well at least before the awards night, that Wino has been ordered by her recording company to undergo treatment for her drug problems or else she would be denied privileges to record in their studios. Who's saying no, no, no now?

Want to know who else went home with the golden phonograph? Click here, here and here.

this has nothing to do with anything.lol.

2008-02-06T10:18:00.000+08:00

" I have absolutely no future in drawing."

ww3

2008-02-05T14:44:00.000+08:00

So, I went to the salon last weekend to have some things done to my awfully unruly hair (up there :P) and spent a thousand hard-earned pesos in the process. I got cellophane, hot oil and a trim and thought it was worth it, at least, until after a day, when finally her crowning unruliness decided to wage world war against me.

This is frustrating.

anti-social

2008-02-04T16:42:00.000+08:00

I am in the running for worst employee of the decade.

1. I come to work late almost everyday.

2. I indulge in longer lunch breaks.

3. I got caught watching a concert during "office hours".

4. I take power naps at work;

5. and I despise the boss.

But I get the work done. It's just that, I don't have anal tendencies to strictly follow rules.

birthday post

2008-02-02T11:52:00.000+08:00

So this is what it's like to be 21...

You act the same, look the same, think the same as though you were 20. Only, you would be allowed access to casinos which is useful if you're the gambling-type in which case, I am not.

Well, this is my way of thanking all the people who greeted me through SMS, minute-long phone calls, the uber-rated Friendster and through personally seeding the birthday cheer.

THANKS!

Here's news : You can turn down the volume of your earphones

2008-01-23T08:40:00.000+08:00

The dude who sat beside me at the back of the van going to work had blaring earphones which was annoying but nevertheless could have been tolerated by moi had they not been playing irritating 90's disco music. That ipod video is such a waste.

And the guy in front had equally loud earphones too.

The future generation would be deaf.

Heath Ledger is dead

2008-01-23T08:27:00.000+08:00

You wake up one morning, check your mail and Heath Ledger is dead?

This is such a twisted world.

This week in Suburbia

2008-01-20T23:50:00.001+08:00

Oh the things we could be oblivious to!

Yesterday morning the spell of uneventfulness in our suburban neighborhood was broken. At around 8:30AM, the SWAT arrived and raided a neighbor from our street, a few houses from ours actually, for supposed involvement in a number of robbery and theft cases in the vicinity. Two dogs have been shot in the struggle. :c

According to the officers, the house has been their hideout for quite some time. Apparently, our "friendly neighbors" have long been on the most wanted list of the police. So that explains why they were not really going out to meet neighbors like people usually do when they're not robbers or thieves or sh*t. How could we not have known this? How could the neighborhood gossip fail us? Nothing in this world is really what it seems.

The following morning as the police finished clearing the area, neighbors circled the crime scene much like vultures and grabbed whatever was left inside the ~~hideout~~ house--TV, fridge, bed, hangers. Nothing was spared. Each one wanted a share of the loot which is ironic, because in a sense, wouldn't that make them thieves too? Sort of?

And where was I when these happened?

*details provided by my mother who isn't the neighborhood gossip

hell hath no fury

2008-01-19T22:39:00.000+08:00

Maybe taking this job was not so good, idea-wise.

Italian Film Festival 2008: Opening night

2008-01-19T19:35:00.000+08:00

The Italian films are back and were launched officially at an opening night party at the CCP last Thursday, January 17, 2008. We semi-crashed the event where Divorzio All'Italiana (Divorce-Italian Style) was screened as launching film. The pretentious night was capped off by a cocktail party where we stood amidst foreign dignitaries and the glamorous aging population of art aficionados. There was free-flowing everything-- champagne, wine, the uber pretentious hors d oeuvres (I had to spell-check that twice), Italian food and gelato. We could have perfectly blended well with the crowd and this could have been the pinnacle of our pretense, but alas, our humongous undesigner bags gave us away.

BTW, regular screening would be every second tuesday of all months of the year 4:00PM and 7:00PM at the CCP Dream Theater.

Don't say I didn't remind you.

britney

2008-01-13T23:30:00.000+08:00

"sometimes i pretend, i am being chased by paparazzi..."

*don't steal my pics, I BITE!

so long

2008-01-12T18:11:00.000+08:00

I am officially out of the office for a new one over at the DLSU Yuchengco Center. Its for a different research firm and I'll be working as RA there too. Compensation is better but the workload I guess pretty much speaks for the whole thing and if I had to describe it in one word it would be-major. Well at least, I'm closer to CCP which is good :)

But don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my stint at the UPOU office, every bit of it and yes, even our weird trio and the rare social interaction we do have if it happens. And I'll miss my swivel too, it's got my butt dent in it :c

Selling Kojic Acid Soap

2008-01-12T14:25:00.000+08:00

Do you want in on the secret to fairer and smoother skin?

Kojic Acid Soap does work! Aside from it's skin whitening and smoothening properties, it is also effective in drying up pimples in the process. Many people are using it and I'm sure you've heard of some testimonials. Personally, I've tried a lot of skin whitening products in the past and none has got me hooked as kojic.

Try one now for only 35 pesos a bar! Text me at +639064373794 for orders and scrub away! I'll be giving out discounts for bulk orders.

For more information on kojic acid click here and here and here.

feline meow$$

2008-01-08T00:06:00.000+08:00

Bengal cats are so much better than any other pet in the world. Rawr!

nightout

2008-01-06T03:10:00.000+08:00

Turns out, after much deliberation and a borrowed outfit, I decided to go with my friends out clubbing last night despite the sub-optimal state I was in. My calves ached 7 out of 10 on the pain scale from all the walking and I was feeling kind of feverish, I might be having some ear infection again. :c

For a dance club on a Friday night, Piedra was quite anaemic. It felt like crashing into the wrong party. Music was good but people weren't dancing so you kind of get the impression that patrons went there to hook up which was crap! Come to think, I never really liked these kinds of places in the first place. I was too old.

Not an hour has passed since we got there that we left for coffee or food or anything. Piedra was getting pointless anyway and I'd totally collapse if I stood another moment. So we transfered to nearby Pier One where we were seated and had an eat, gab and bash fest until past 5 in the morning.

credits: http://soundwave07.multiply.com

super lazy day

2008-01-04T11:34:00.000+08:00

Got up mighty late today (I know this is not new) as I kept snoozing the alarm. Really useless. Why do I even bother to set it when I keep turning it off and getting up late anyway? I blame it partly on the weather. It's super cold and my bed just won't let me get off that easy. The day's bound to be lazy and I'm super motivated to slack and take the day off. Too bad though I have scheduled a lot of work for the day and the boss is actually banking on my productivity today. On a Friday. Loser.

Oh and my friends want to go clubbing tonight. I'm sort of not in the mood to go with them because a) I forgot to pack bar clothes in the rush to get my ass to the office this morning and b) I'm just not in the mood. But yeah whatever, we'll see. I'll decide later. xp (my friends are so gonna kill me if I cancel. haha)

back to work

2008-01-03T16:12:00.000+08:00

After 16 days of unpaid vacation, we are officially back at the office, all three of us. I have to admit, I kind of missed the office a bit, including the Butch and our weird little office dynamics :o

When I got to my desk, two Christmas gifts were waiting, which is kind of guilty-fying because I haven't prepared any for people here at the office. All my holiday money's gone. But whatever. Maybe they have gotten over the Christmas gifts already. Anyway, since there were only 3 of us in the office plus the Boss, I kind of know who those came from. From Ms. L and the Boss. Ms. L got me a shirt and the Boss, a cute charm bracelet. I love both.

New year was also greeted by a new look. The office had a major face lift over the holidays. All the piled clutter on top of the filing cabinets mysteriously disappeared. Butch is a prime suspect. Nevertheless, I'm enjoying the clutter-free look. I sort of feel the new environment is good for my Ch'i. Now I'm feeling good. I should probably go to the mall.

my version of a yearender/yearstarter

2008-01-01T21:46:00.000+08:00

Janus, god of beginnings and ends

January. Month of Janus, god of beginnings and ends. Aptly so, because as we usher in the first month of another new year, we look back on the past, review the year that was, look into the future and anticipate what is to come. Something about ending the year makes us all go sentimental and write posts such as this.

Judging by the way things have been, I guess 2007 has been a good year filled with major life changes. I turned twenty, graduated from college, started working and met a lot of new people along the way, loved some and hated some more. Yet as far as people skills are concerned, I think I've grown much this year and for that, I am thankful.

Some milestones of my life mark the ending year. I earned my BS, passed the Nursing boards and rode an airplane for the first time. :o I also started earning and spending my own money, which gives me a sense of fulfillment. Well, that is at least until my wallet runs empty. :p

It was also a year of rekindling friendships and strengthening bonds with people from the past and present. It is comforting to know that I have made true friends and lasting relationships in the long run. I could honestly say, it has been a blast with you guys (you know who you are!). Those were the good times and I'll be looking forward to crazier and even more happy times together.

Well, this is it.

Happy 2008! Here's to better things, better careers and better lives! Kampay!

for the love of sushi

2007-12-13T00:39:00.000+08:00

these are now officially on my wishlist:

sushi pillow

sushi charm bracelet

sushi soap

* items herein can be bought here and here and here.

a little holiday indulgence

2007-12-02T21:46:00.000+08:00

Everyone loves the holidays. For who could ever find a more perfect time to indulge and give in to our little materialistic hopes and worldly wishes? Only in Christmas folks. Only in Christmas...

So, here's my little list for Santa and judging by the way I've been all year, I think well, pretty much I deserve most of them. Hey, I tried to be nice. I really did.

Anyway, here goes:

1. an ipod classic- a 30GB baby would do. everybody, has this on their Christmas wish/shopping list, so i might as well have it too. and besides, i could very much use the distraction.

2. havaianas or ipanemas- i've been wanting to own a pair for quite sometime but always thought it was too expensive for a pair of rubber flips. but a little Christmas indulgence won't hurt.

3. graphic tees- from David and Goliath (P995) or Wetseal (P750), a bit too indulgent. that's why they're on the wish list.

4. scarves galore- what?! it's cold and it's Christmas. nothing spells the holidays better than scarves.

5. body splash from Victoria's Secret or Bath and Body Works- they are about P500 each and practical more than indulgent

6. ODM knockoffs- for only P950 and an exact replica of the original, i think they're a good, indulgent buy.

7. plane tickets to either Boracay, Davao or Singapore- right now, i would want nothing more than a chance to travel. to go to the beach or visit a new place, now that's indulgence.

8. a digital camera or better yet a DSLR Canon D40- i would want to start a photoblog with it.

9. a tumbler from the cheshire cat- its about P350 bucks. and i love the designs. even better than the usual Starbucks coffee tummie.

10. Chuck Taylors- i've always wanted chuck taylors for Christmas and i have a recent inclination to shirt and jeans (see number 3 on my list). as a friend pointed out, it is probably a manifestation of my subconscious longing to go back to college.

* not necessarily in order but that's all i can think of for now! this should give you the idea [wink]

here are some examples xD

2007-11-20T18:30:00.001+08:00

And since we are on the topic of photo editing, here are some of my finished products using Picnik, Picasa and Online Phototool:

Vive Cuervo!

our new old pic

caught on cam

it's time to go out on a picnik

2007-11-20T17:21:00.000+08:00

I recently discovered online photo editing (what a loser!) and am seriously hooked. OPEs make Adobe Photoshop seem passe and uber difficult. Although in Adobe the possibilities are limitless, it might still take a while to figure out before you could even create winner designs and even that still will depend on your tech IQ and artistic knowhow.

But before you even discard the idea of prettifying your photos, consider OPEs to make your photo-editing life a breeze. They're fun, hip and most importantly, easy! Most of them have very user-friendly interfaces and won't take any figuring out.

Here are my personal favorites:

1. Picnik

Picnik has the easiest user interface among the OPEs in town and the catchiest name at that! The site layout is very friendly and easy on the eyes. For slower PCs though, it might take a while to load. Use Picnik to quickly edit all your photos online. It's an easy remedy for your underexposed and red-eye laden pics. Plus, you can be an instant artist with the many special effects. I like the vignette and matte effects particularly. Picnik was once completely free to use. Sadly however, some of the special effects come with their premium package which you can get for a price.

2. Picasa
A 5MB favorite. The software is free and downloadable and it automatically gathers all your pictures into a very convenient and user friendly program. It's a lot like Adobe Bridge only easier. And yeah, you can do some editing with it too!

3. OnlinePhotoTool
Sign-up for free and you can use this OPE any which way you want to edit your pics. It's MS Paint combined with Adobe Filters. Making it a 2-in-1 delight. It's easy to use and they have lots of gorgeous frames to choose from. And did I say it's absolutely free?

on the radio

2007-11-09T15:43:00.000+08:00

[so] this is how it works,
you're young until you're not
you love until you don't
you try until you can't
you laugh until you cry
you cry until you laugh
and everyone must breathe until their dying breath...

how I wish it was that easy~~ sigh!

chipped korean nail art

2007-11-09T15:36:00.000+08:00

is love.

love at first flight

2007-10-17T20:59:00.001+08:00

Almost got late for checking-in at the Manila Domestic. Arrived minutes before Counter 22 closed. Aboard the first flight of my life bound for Iloilo. Love every single moment of it. Always knew travelling was part of my system. Landed at the Iloilo International. New and shiny airport at the outskirts of the city. Not very third world. Love new things. Love it. (Will try to post pics from Mam D's cam).

Checked in at the Westown Hotel. It's new and shiny also hence, love it too. Have inclination for shiny and glittery objects. Hotel has free internet and location is perfect for night life. Visit the place if you happen to be in Iloilo. It's near everything.

Taxi rides are delightful as compared to the Metro. Cabbies don nice uniforms and don't choose passengers. Perfect tourist guides. Taxi meters work. Recorded message plays when the meter stops to remind passengers of belongings. And for the first time, it felt right to tip the cabbie. Again, not very third world.

Had lunch at Tatoy's. Delicious oysters. Delicious everything.

Off to SM City to burn calories. Ultimate markers of civilization. Bought pain killers. Just in case. Searched for the elusive Globe loading outlet. Had nail art done, hot pink zebra stripes. Chipped them off on our taxi ride on the way back to the hotel. Dammit.

Passed up time watching ANTM and reading Lord of the Flies. Should've slept instead.

italian night

2007-10-16T11:09:00.001+08:00

I'm feeling all sloppy right now and my work efficiency is spiraling down to extremely low levels. It's as if my stars have picked the most perfect time to be misaligned what with all these things I have to pressure my self to finish and a lot more. Come to think of it, I haven't been feeling like my usual perky self all October. It's like bad hair day, everyday for nearly two weeks. I wonder what my astrology update has to say about this.

Anyhoo, it's Italian night once again with Sed and Kare. Mad dash to the CCP to catch the 7pm screening of *Travolti da un insolito destino nell'azzurro mare d'agosto, a 1974 Wertmuller film roughly translated in English as Swept Away (first to memorize the Italian title wins). Madonna, stars in its 2000 American remake by Guy Ritchie. It's a political film with lots of scenes alluding to sex. The violence was tiring. Carunchio is a pig. Sra. Lanzetti is a goddess. Love her, especially that black number she sported the day they got stranded in the island. It's so fazyon, you wouldn't think it's from the 70s. Travolti is one of those films that seem to run too long, draining your energy along the process. Even before the credits started rolling, we have already been tired and famished.

And as we were in the Italian spirit that night, even more influenced by the food of the Italian elite we saw in the movie, Sed, Kareeza and I craved for good ol' spaghetti (We don't want fettucini, thank you!). Then, armed with a camera phone, we spent the rest of the night cam whoring by the bay.

*Swept away by an unusual destiny in the blue sea of August

oathtaking

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

The idea of cramming in tens of thousands of people in an enclosed space had me suspicious. Especially that I already had my doubts with the event organizers founded on the poorly planned sytem (or lack thereof) of the NLE application filing for the June 2007 Board Exams. My suspicions were affirmed, somehow ominously, by the sucky weather on the day of the Oathtaking and the rather ambivalent cabbie who drove us to the venue. He had my eyeballs rolling at dangerously blinding degrees with his account of the road situation at the various routes we could take going to Araneta Center, as if we hadn't already known that a) traffic was bad especially in this weather and b) yes, it was probably flooded.

Then I had sort of an epiphany of all the taxi rides I have been in my whole life and I realized, how much stressful these rides were, which totally defeats the purpose of taking them in the first place.

We arrived in Araneta an hour and a half later than scheduled, I blame it partly on the weather, and the rest on my genetic predisposition to be tardy. Luckily, there had been a delay with the program because apparently the guest speaker was likewise marooned due to heavy rains. The ceremonies, dare I call it, have just started when I finally got to where my friends were.

As if it was not enough that we had the attention span of hummingbirds, the volume of people, nurses at that, inside the Coliseum, was overwhelmingly distracting. So trying to pay attention to the speaker's cookie cutter speech was a real struggle. From where I sat, all I could see where tiny other nurses in white. The Araneta Coliseum suddenly became a gigantic ant hill of tiny white ants who move and talk as if it were a single unit. A single mutinous ant, backed by thousands of likewise mutinous but far more cowardly ones, could only mean stampede. But fortunately, nothing of that sort happened. People there, well just as Joy Behar's aunt would put it, just remained.

So ok, we were there, now what?

Ironically, that summarizes my life so far. I have hurdled the test and am now a professional nurse but what happens next is all a mishmash. But don't get me wrong. I have plans. Oh I have lots of them. I have future end goals, and milestones I wish to achieve are deeply planted in the cortices of my brain. I know what I want, where I'd go, but it seems I do not know how the hell I'm going to get there.

And now, I wander.

inasal and italian

2007-10-08T11:20:00.000+08:00

Graci to my former professor, current boss, Prof. Shiela who told me all about it, Sed, Kareeza and I (the super draggable trio) met for a mid evening rendezvous at the CCP for the Italian Film Fest screening of Pana e Tulipani (Bread and Tulips). Despite the seemingly unbearable facts that I was finally succumbing to mumps, Kareeza still had to come from Katips, Sed was terribly hungry and the annoying drizzle was not helping, we were off to the movies.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Italian movies or maybe Italians par se, can be quite a distraction. So much that I totally forgot about the subtitle for the first 5 minutes of the show. I'm not sure if its the heavily passionate Italian or the utterly tacky clothes that looked straight out of German Moreno's wardrobe. I mean, come on! a silver wind breaker? What the hell are they thinking?

Pana e tulipani tells the story of housewife, Rosalba, at a crossroad (literally or figuratively) on her middle-aged life, of finding freedom from her tyrnannical husband and her highly domesticated life in the most beautiful of places and of rediscovering her life's passion. It is mid-life crisis told almost in a dream with a large helping of comic relief

In a world which hails bubblegum pop and a culture of swooning over matinee idols and teenage girls in mid-rifs, middle-aged romance may not be on everyone's comfort zone. I mean it's not even cute. But they nailed it! With witty dialogues, sarcasmic undertones, unpretentious scenes and wonderful, wonderful Venice, it won our hearts over.

After the movie, grumbling protests from our stomachs declared we should probably eat lest we want to be malnourished, not that we still aren't. So the three of us decided to have dinner just across the CCP. There were a variety of dine places to choose from, we picked Inasal for the very convenient reason, thanks to Kareeza, that it does not have a branch in Katipunan. Well, as for Sed and I, we just wanted food.

scientific evidence to dispprove summer class

2007-04-20T22:46:00.000+08:00

in case you haven't heard april 24 marks the beginning of my unemployment (a.k.a. graduation day). although i'm a little bit disappointed that i won't be getting any award for graduation (pardon, the explicit g.c.-ness and abuse of parentheses), i'm relieved that finally, i'm done with school and have at last earned that much awaited degree. however, the relief, at least for us, is short-lived as the looming terror of the board exams hover over our elation. under the cloudless sky and scorching heat of the sun, therefore, there is a dire need to attend review classes.

we haven't even gone through the formalities yet and here we are butt fastened tight to our classroom seats, inducing information hemorrhage while our brains fry under the horrible summer heat figuratively and maybe even literally.

well, there's literature to prove that we may be literally frying our brains off, that heat could actually affect brain processes. as anything that does work produces heat, so does the brain. overthinking could actually cause the brain to "overheat", so to speak, and eventually lead to brain damage. if you think this could be the perfect excuse to do away with summer review, think again. there's a far better scientific rationalization to dismiss most if not all structured summer learning.

our bodies are equipped with natural temperature control mechanisms. excessive body temperature, brain temp included, can be dissipated to the environment as we perspire and give off heat. sadly, this process becomes less effective when enivronmental temperatures rise, as in summer. when this happens, the brain,to compensate,is forced to decreased its activity below acceptable standards. Ergo, a person appears sluggish, exhibits fragmented thought, mental instability and more commonly, general sleepiness (finally, an explanation for dozing off!), making summer review classes futile and utterly pointless!

science is just so cool.

Reference : Overclock Your Brain by Lyle Zapato 2006-07-24 http://zapatopi.net/blog/?post=200607249460.overclock_your_brain

new template

2007-04-06T15:17:00.000+08:00

this is my first take on blog design, it caused a little bit of headache,
so be kind and feel free to comment. ;)

will be updating people soon.

ciao!

me, my hair and i

2007-02-25T01:27:00.000+08:00

when i became a self-conscious adolescent i started questioning why i have lots of hair and just about everybody else doesn't. as if it wasn't enough that i got loads of them sticking out my scalp, thick, coarse and irritatingly wavy locks crown my glory. and it isn't fun, if at all funny. i have a theory that if i shaved off my head i'll be 2 pounds lighter in under 15 minutes making it the fastest, most efficient weight loss regimen in the planet.

when i roll it in a bun, it's massiveness would be enough to throw me off balance with the slightest push. when i tie it in a pony tail, by midday my scalp would be aching by the constant pull of the weight of my hair. by that time, i would be needing pain killers to function. if it's in a braid, it wouldn't be as cute as it should. how could it, when its thick enough to dock a ship? if i let my hair down, all hell will break loose. hair iron and blower would take forever, the salon almost charges me for the extra electricity. i couldn't even risk using hair product because the effect would be leaving a coat of grease that would hinder air circulation, giving me a nasty headache, which is so not worth it. just now, i tried my luck on side-swept bangs. didn't work. too much volume makes it look poofy when its supposed to be flat. a bob is out of the question, because i am not getting one. it's hideous and it reminds me of how i looked back in high school. two words: not good.

i tried having it straightened once to get the limp lifeless look. the effect? waves started showing days after and the ends have been damaged by the straightening formula, which made it look more like a native broom. well, i haven 't tried getting a perm but its just because no matter how i want the 70s to be back, it wouldn't be and nobody's ready to go afro. not just yet.

there had been confrontations and endless sessions on the discussion of my hair. people would tell me "maganda nga yan. makapal buhok mo." (its nice that your hair is thick) but they do not know any better. the truth is, it sucks when your hair is coarse, thick and unmanageable, when it's neither straight nor curly. it sucks when no amount of conditioner can hold it down. it sucks when you can't use hair product or you can't even have decent bangs. it sucks that people sell products to thicken hair but none to make it thinner.

it sucks in so many different levels and i'm tired of it.

adieu

2007-02-10T13:26:00.000+08:00

until we meet again

Nagcarlan was harsh at first. it was unforgiving to the unknowing as it beats the spirit up black and blue. everything was new and unfamiliar. amenities are always less than at the city and for the urban-bred creatures that we were, everyday survival was a feat in itself. we learned that to survive, we had to rely on one another for support, for a pat in the back, for that tug on our reins when we seem to have lost control, for happiness and for friendship. yes, it had not been always easy. individuality would assert our differences and the struggle to survive in a new environment vis-a-vis the enormous efforts we make to try to incorporate 12 other people in our circle all at the same time was a challenge we thought we wouldn't get past through. confrontations and silent squabbles gnawed at our very being.

with our desire to make life worth living in Nagcarlan at least for 8 weeks, we settled our differences, laid our cards on the table and worked towards peaceful coexistence. and i think, even at a silent level, everyone agreed that living together and going through the same experiences, kept us bonded. seriously, we deserve an award for all that we've been through.

in the end, we emerge from the provincial cocoon, stronger and more mature. who had ever thought life would still be worth living without an internet connection? more than the experience, i value the life lessons that seem to have been magnified a thousand times more. we have our beloved Barangay Palina to thank for that.

sure i'll miss a lot of things, the food, the air even the mud that so often had our feet but not as much as i'll miss the people who have shown us friendship more than anything else.

now it's over. i guess what's sad about goodbyes is knowing that at some point, goodbye, especially ones that are unsaid, would be forever.

straight from a Hallmark greeting card

2007-01-07T23:04:00.000+08:00

thanks for all the well-wishes and prayers...

I'm well on my way to recovery now.

grazie!

you know what else is stupid?

2007-01-04T17:51:00.000+08:00

getting sick in the new year is.

Sigh! I have herpes zoster and it's wreaking as much havoc in my life as it can. It's painful and hell, it's ugly! No, it's not venereal. It's more of the price I pay for pushing myself to my human limits. Lack of sleep and inadequate nutrition (read as: laziness to eat) has finally got me. I lead an unhealthy life as opposed to what I am preaching as a nurse. My resistance fell to dangerous levels. Hence, opportunistic viruses such as the herpes zoster virus took the chance to bite my ass... err... my entire right abdomen, at least.

So here's how it goes...

When we get chicken pox as children, our body fights off the virus by creating antibodies against it. Some of the virus, because of the threat of virus-destroying antibodies, would remain dormant in our peripheral nerves, that is, they would remain inactive until the threat disappears. Normally, our body's resistance would be enough to keep the virus dormant. However, when our resistance goes down due to circumstances like lack of sleep and malnutrition (I experienced both), our antibodies would become less vigilant and hence, the virus would come back with avengeance in the form of herpes zoster a.k.a. shingles.

With its reactivation, the virus would travel down the peripheral nerve and to the skin to manifest as a rash that quickly progresses on to a blister, a painful one at that! Since only one side of the body is supplied by a particular peripheral nerve, the lesions would grow only on one side and would never cross the midline. I got mine on my right and it's killing me!

Communicability wise, it is highly communicable via contact, BUT only to those who haven't had chicken pox yet. Shingles par se cannot be transferred. Although that is the case, the pain remains to be a BIG issue here. Some even say that the pain lingers several months even after the lesions are gone- post herpetic neuralgia. I'm just hoping I wouldn't have that.

There's really no way to speed up the healing but to strengthen the immunity. Pain killers are helpful to decrease the nuisance. I was given steroids to decrease the inflammation. I stopped taking them midway but the pain killers I can't live without.

For the meantime, I miss work. Tons of it are waiting for me in Nagcarlan and i really can't wait to haul myself there. Since when have i been a workaholic?

Just let this be a lesson to all. :)

boom, crash, bang

2006-12-31T18:34:00.000+08:00

lessons i learned in 2006:

1. the world wouldn't stop with death. it will mourn but it will move on.

2. health is wealth. multivitamins and vaccines are the best investments.

3. what goes up, must come crashing 23 storeys down.

4. passion, is what makes a person. and i have yet to find mine...

5. if you want to know sanity, try visiting the psych ward.

6. letting go is better said than done.

7. forever... maybe. but friends growing apart and drifting away- now that's a cold, hard fact.

8. the purity and innocence of a child is priceless. they can, without bias, recognize which really are "matters of consequence".

9. love and hate is actually divided by a very thin and fragile line.

10. what you see is different from what is.

11. something about being on time... but then again, maybe not!

12. the person i want to be and the person people expect me to become tears me apart.

13. not everyone understands. but some try.

14. i would like to believe i'm just being judgemental for fun.

15. you can't expect everyone to like you (or what you do) so live with it.

16. there are some people you just don't like. they get on your nerves just by mere existence. and when they talk, all hell breaks loose... at least in your head. so take my word for it: it takes less energy to walk away.

17. what you say may be different from what you mean. so don't flatter.

18. you can navigate the net without understanding a word. proof?-- try this

19. sometimes, people can be self-centered b*tches.

20. i still have a lot to learn. the real world scares me. it takes more than an academic bachelor's degree to face the world head on.

new template

2006-12-26T00:01:00.000+08:00

do you like/hate my new updo? please leave comments...

will be coming up with posts as soon as i finish our research proposal!

christmas rush

2006-12-19T23:33:00.000+08:00

christmas rush

most people in my circle would agree that Christmas has been less assertive this year. for a number of reasons i suppose. for one, as people grow older (admit it, senesence is inevitable) Christmas seems to be a lot less Christmas-sy. for another, last minute requirements seem to pile up and drown us all with deadlines so that we forget to notice Christmas. and yearly, i guess, more and more people, at least just in our subdivision, do not bother with Christmas decors anymore. it's sad, if you come to think of it.

i just finished my holiday shopping today and a word for the wise: never ever do your christmas shopping with minis, tank tops or flip flops unless you want to end up freezing your way through the frickin' mall. gahd i nearly got frostbites, seriously... anyways, hope you guys are enjoying the break. as for me, christmas break remains to be inexistent. darn.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

definitely back but not quite

2006-11-19T19:41:00.000+08:00

definitely back but not quite

yes, i'm back and i have missed a lot of things. my bloggy's third birthday for one. so before anything else;

BELATED HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY BLOGGY!

and here's to many more out-of-this-world moments :p

i'll be redoing my template as soon as I get out of the toxicity of my last semester in college (woohoo!) and that is in, say, 5 months at the latest. but don't worry bloggy, i'll get it done. i promise.

i hear a friend is willing to do my template?? i hope its for free. otherwise,what are friends are for? hehe.

so there, sorry if this is in thought salad fashion. but then again, who cares?

another useless post

2006-11-01T18:42:00.000+08:00

well, here's another pointless post. here's my first try on creating vectors out of pictures. hehe.

this is my friend tin as a winking vector fairy :)

and this is me. yikes! :p