Star City

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

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

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

" We have found her sister."

Tom of Finland

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

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

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

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.

" I have absolutely no future in drawing."

ww3

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

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

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

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

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

This is such a twisted world.

This week in Suburbia

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

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

Italian Film Festival 2008: Opening night

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

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

*don't steal my pics, I BITE!

so long

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

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$$

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

nightout

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[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

is love.

love at first flight

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I'm well on my way to recovery now.

grazie!

you know what else is stupid?

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

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

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

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

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

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

yearbook layouts

yearbook layouts

in my defense

in my defense
funerals strike the most peculiar chords. well for one, i do not know how to react... or i choose not to. i'm not used to hysteria and crying (at least in funerals) is not my thing, even if i wanted it to be. no, im not holding it in. guilt settles and i decide maybe i am just not the good friend i think i am. then suddenly, everybody wants to be my therapist.
soon enough, my friends became class A diagnosticians. ah...what a twisted world.

a word from the wise: everybody deals differently. although i am devastated by the untimely demise of a dear friend, i am incapable of utter melancholia. now, quit discussing my so-called dissociative ego and let's get on with our lives. call it denial and hell, maybe i am denying it, but for now, i just refuse to believe Freudian psychoanalysis.

on another note,somehow it occurs to me that as much as death is inevitable it is not the ultimate end but our rite of passage to eternity. yet we do not always expect the Grim Reaper to send us a notice of eviction everytime. sometimes, with reasons beyond our human capacities, it just happens. what's sad i guess, is the realization that in one way or another, just as the song goes, everyone who lives will someday die... and die alone.

and what finally becomes of those who are left here to live? sadness... yes. regrets, guilt... probably. nostalgia... definitely. and all that's left are the memories and the promise that if we learn to dwell on today, tomorrow as our time comes we will look back on a life well lived.

missed

missed
well, in case you haven't noticed, i have been on a blogging hiatus lately. not that it is of my choice really, but psych is taking up all my time and energy (and this is an understatement). plus, miranda priestly just got into my life. so much so that i have been constantly moody these past few days... er... weeks.

i'll be blogging a longer post soon. promise :)

angel

angel

this was one of our patients at burn. the angel had an electrical burn accident in his tushie. how sad :c

it's when you have much that you are expected to give...

it's when you have much that you are expected to give...

an unexpected turn of events happened this week. you expect the best just because the worst scares the hell out of you. the best offers much hope that everything will get better...sooner. and i guess when it comes to that, we are all on the same boat.

...and it is when you have much that giving is hardest.

economics

economics

it couldn't be any better than this.

i ditched school to actually savor my week off. plus, i didn't feel like sitting through an hour and a half of Economics11, pretending to listen but actually feeling like sh*t for having to endure the whole she-bang. i think my travel time and fare would be not worth that class anyway (approx 3.5 hrs of travel vs. 1.5 hrs of econ11... so not worth it!).

so instead i stayed home today. did way more important stuff like sleep, tend to my latest addiction yet again, update my blog and play slave to my playlist. i could maybe later, read some notes if i find time. :)

well another good thing about staying home is i don't get to spend my allowance. yay!

i just got news that the prof cancelled class today...now i'm elated! :)

PS: it's weird... i think i'm liking the new mary jblige cd. although liking 2 tracks is not (too) definitive, right?

addiction

fresh produce from my latest addiction (no, not myself, you buffoon! well, maybe a little...)

i love the color combination and the contrast between the calculus notes and the stars and flowers :) maybe this is why i never did get calculus back in senior high :p

i got the inspiration from somewhere...

doing a hundred and eighty on the runway

doing a hundred and eighty on the runway

watching Devil Wears Prada at 5am is worth losing sleep for. it was like
watching over 120 minutes of the fashion channel, only better. the ensembles
were well put together and in themselves already worth every minute. more
than the story, much of the stressful anticipation was on what Andy (Anne
Hathaway) would be wearing next and actually trying to figure out how(ever)
could anyone run in 4-inch stilletos?

there's really nothing new with the story and we might have heard of it a
hundred times but what the heck, Meryl Streep (i'm really not to keen on
spelling) delivers. Cruella deville ditches the fur, wears Prada (from head-to-toe) and turns into
the grand master of the Holy Grail of fashion, Runway magazine. and that
hair... must be worth a can of hair spray. her mere presence made my guts go
acrobatic and the finality with which she utters every statement is just
nerve-wracking. she is neither bida nor contrabida. she actually transcends the
protagonist-antagonist definition and takes it to the level of, dare i
say...goddess.

the moral of the story: great success doesn't come free. the question is, how much are you willing to pay for it?

the devil can afford prada. beware.

sunset

sunset

we were pretty much all bored and broke last thursday and a brilliant idea came to me, to check out the world famous manila bay sunset.

i remember our lectures on philippine tourist spots back in grade school and the postcards of the manila bay sunset displayed on racks at the bookstore and i wondered why i haven't seen that picture-perfect sunset before. and so we went to baywalk. it was just past 5:30. weather forecasts said the sun would set at about that time. we hurriedly walked to roxas blvd..

then lo and behold... we were there. it was nothing like the pictures. it's pathetic. the bay area was full of litter, plastic bags, trash and godknowswhat and the stench was horrible, so horrible that we couldn't get closer than 10 feet from the ledge. well, i tried getting closer but i was repelled by that awful smell which was like a force field which kept everyone from getting nearer. everytime a wave crashes on the ledge and droplets of seawater cross it, we would go as far as we can to avoid it. the water might have turned into an extremely corrosive chemical. who knows?

the sea was the color of the pavement we were walking on and not the deep blue that it ought to be. it was actually depressing . the sunset i went there for was nowhere in sight, probably hidden behind the clouds. even the sun didn't want to see manila bay anymore.

now i know, why baywalk is only famous at night.

the most self-centered post ever

the most self-centered post ever

i miss: going to rock gigs at UP. it's almost july. why isn't there one yet?

i want: lots of money. more money than i need. even more money than i could imagine.

i hate: our economics professor. he's such a perv. i also hate sharon and everything she's related with.

i have: lost faith on at least one person.

i fear: growing old.

i play: with my hands when nobody's looking.

i hear: myself cursing in my mind and saying "it's all good" with my mouth.

i care: so much for a lot of things- the environment, my country, humanity. only i'm too lazy.

i smile: even when i'm not smiling at all.

i wonder: how much money i'll get if i sold one friend on ebay just to know how much he/she is worth. ebay is so cool.

i love: to think i'm different and better than everyone else. i'm not.

i think: some people hear only what they want to hear and some people hear but they don't listen.

i always: look at people inside cars on the highway and makeup stories about them in my head.

i am not: what you think i am.

i sing: a lot in the shower. honestly :) and i think i sing pretty well there. what happens out of it is beyond me.

i wish: i'd never have to worry about money again ever.

i keep: a lot of things to myself.

i can: care less if i wanted to.

i can't: resist the urge of wanting to answer posts like this.

i write: on arm chairs.

i won: something at a radio contest. i never claimed my prize.

i lost: a lot of weight since last summer.

i smell: like i always do.

i confuse: myself a lot. i am very fickle.

i need: to gain weight. get me some IV lard stat!

i should: probably take some time off and go to some place far to preserve my sanity. city life is driving me nuts.

the dead man's chest

the dead man's chest

-i am greatly reminded of Ober Da Bakod the movie (circa 90's). i therefore conclude that when you get marooned on an island, natives will eventually find you and would want to cook you. the lucky ones get hailed as gods. yes, even cannibalism is cliche.

-it builds up like a racecar, shifts gears, accelerates and midway, it just runs out of batteries.

-and what's with kiera knightley anyway?

ICU

ICU

just when you start to have some organization and actually plan for the immediate future, classes are suspended.
actually, the class suspension yesterday was fabulous. we didn't have to sit through a whole afternoon of bore (read as: STS). plus, i really couldn't wait to get home. the rain earlier in the morning seeped into my shoes and soaked my pristine white stockings. i had to endure the wetness practically all morning. eww gross!

but another suspension?

it's just not right. despicable timing. time is precious and i had actually a day's worth of planned activities postponed. how utterly annoying!

now we have to move everything on friday which is, at least for me, not an entirely good day to work. plus, i have other stuff planned for friday. equally important stuff.

god i hate these delays.

ER

this has got to be the culmination of my student career. although i still do not envision a futurewith the emergency department (owing to my sluggish pace), i find it rather challenging intellectually, physically and well yes believe it or not, emotionally.

#1 at the emergency department (ED) you have to have guts of steel to endure the stench of stale air, urine, blood(and other body fluids) and godknowswhat! double masks are poor defenses. and the heat, gahd the heat, the poor ventilation... it was hoorrrribbble.

#2 after a couple of days, i was desensitized. constant gory scenes
are bound to bore you and after a while, they just get uhmmm...
really irritating.

#3 it's not really as dramatic as it is on TV. media just adds the
unnecessary hype for the effects. although there really are some
quite pseudodramatic cases like a couple brought to the ED after
stabbing each other in a heated argument (talk about brutal love...)
or a man who lost a finger and nearly lost an arm in a hacking
incident.

#4 you have to be prepared for anything. even and including death.
and what comes before and after it. you even have to be ready to
literally wait for death and accept that in fact it is inevitable
and to deal with loss and grieving of, if not your own, the family
of the departed. it is better to have flat than fake emotions.