my latest baby

I'm not one to usually splurge on a gadget. Sure, I've got a camera, an android phone, a Kindle (well, it's dead but that's another story), an iPod Touch, and a laptop, but so far the most expensive thing on my list is my laptop. And it's not even that expensive compared to the prices on the market.

And I didn't grow up with gadgets, either. Looking back, sometimes I feel so deprived. I've never owned a Playstation, a Gameboy, no Nintendo DS, and the like. I had an ancient Family Computer, and the next thing I got was a PSP. Just those two. There were times when I'd envy my friends. I'd listen to them talk about the latest games, and I could never relate that much. The only time I'm able to play was when I'm at my friends' houses.

I guess that's why, even at my age, I still have a yearning for gaming consoles. But I'm trying to supress that urge and go for gadgets that are more age-appropriate. Hence, the camera, Kindle, iTouch, and laptop.

My constant companions were my books. That's why the Kindle was is the perfect gadget for me. Sadly, my Kindle died expired gave up on me is on a hiatus. It suddenly kept on freezing and restarting, and the Amazon live chat CSR I talked to could offer me no solutions that worked. According to my Mom, my Kindle died of exhaustion from being overused.

Anyway, for a while, I debated internally whether I'd get a new Kindle, an iPad 2, an iPad Mini, or the latest iPad with Retina Display. After much deliberation, I decided on the iPad Mini. And, no regrets! I love how small, light, compact, and slim it is. It's a bit pricey (and my bank account is still weeping), but I think it's worth what I paid for.

I still have to buy some accessories to protect my baby, but with it being new (and not yet available at Apple Philippines), I'm having a hard time looking for the perfect bling. I'll just have to be patient (which is so not one of my virtues).

But anyway, I present to you Mini Bellatrix (Mini with it being the iPad Mini, and Bellatrix from my favorite Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange) or Mini B, for short. My friend Janelle coined the name (she calls me B, so my baby is my Mini version, hence, Mini B), so I appointed her godmother.

God, we are so weird. 

Anyhoo, here she is!  

recently read - september - october 2012

September 2012

• Harvesting The Heart
• Perfect Match
• The Pact 
• Sing You Home
• Playing to Win
• Softly at Sunrise
• Echoes at Dawn
• Goodnight Tweetheart
• Delusion in Death
• Night Sins
• Guilty as Sin
• A Kiss at Midnight
• When Beauty Tamed the Beast
• The Duke is Mine
• The Ugly Duchess
• Sex with the Ex
• The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
• Home is Where the Bark Is

October 2012

• Cold River
• Chemistry for Beginners
• Copy Cat
• In the Groove
• The Manolo Matrix
• The Mark of Athena
• The Temporary Wife
• Snowfall
• The Angel

not everything done on impulse is fun...

...and painless.

I'm a pretty impulsive person. When I really want to do something, there's no stopping me once I made up my mind. 

My impulses are usually fun, and harmless. Like buying something so expensive but totally useless, or going out at 3 AM because I feel like having a stroll. There was a time when I cut butchered my own hair, because it was too late to go to a salon, and I really wanted a haircut. Or the time when I joined my cousins at the beach. I didn't have a change of clothes, but I was so envious of them swimming that I just jumped into the sea. I had to go home in wet clothes, but hey, I had fun.

Of course, some of my impulses get me in trouble. Like the time when I accompanied our helper to the market. I think I was about 7 that time. I saw this stall selling catfish, live catfish. And of course, I just had to buy one. My Dad was not happy. When I was that age, I also bought 2 ducklings from a sidewalk vendor. Again, Dad was not happy.

So, now I limit my impulsiveness to myself (no point having Dad rant at me). Like getting my hair permed (I did this twice), dyeing my hair to burgundy with red highlights, and the like.

I was at SM Cebu with my Mom last Tuesday. We were killing time, for our ship doesn't leave until 10 PM. My Mom got tired from all the walking, so we settled on one of the chair at the Northwing. It just so happened that we were in front of Lay Bare, so I went in and ask for details about their Brazilian Wax. And right then and there, I decided to get one.

I've been meaning to try this a long time ago, but the potential pain kept stopping me. I was a bit uncomfortable and apprehensive, and when I got into my cubicle I was asking myself if I really wan to inflict a lot of pain on my body's most sensitive part, but I just decided to go through it.

Jessica, my wax technician, kept me at ease by answering all my question, and making small talk to distract me from the pain. Although, it wasn't that painful. I'd give it a 3 or 4 out of 10 on a pain scale, with 10 as the most painful. 

And I know there are a lot of waxing salons out there, but I'd personally recommend Lay Bare. Their cubicles are clean, and their staffs are all very nice. And as opposed to the hot wax usually used by most salons, they use cold sugar wax, which they make themselves  It is made with natural ingredients (sugar, kalamansi, and honey) and contains no chemicals. It's also less painful, and more comfortable. I tried hot wax once on my underarms, and I didn't like it. I can only imagine how it would feel during a Brazilian.

So, Lay Bare, cheers for making my first time as comfortable and as painless as possible! =)

best divorce letter there is!

My Dear Husband, I'm writing this letter to tell you that I'm leaving you. I've been a good wife to you for the last 20 years and I have nothing to show for it, and the last 2 weeks have been hell. Your boss called to tell me that you left your job today which was the last straw. Last week, you came home and you didn't even notice I had a new hairstyle, had cooked your favorite meal and even wore a brand new night gown. You ate in 2 minutes and went straight to sleep after watching your TV soaps. You don't tell me you love me anymore, you don't want sex or anything that connects us as husband and wife. Either you are cheating on me or you don't love me anymore. Whatever the case, I'm gone. 

YOUR EX-WIFE 

P.S. Don't try to find me. Your BROTHER and I are moving to New Zealand together! Have a great life! 

REPLY: 

Dear Ex-Wife, nothing has made my day more than receiving your letter. It's true you and I have been married for 20 years, although a good woman is a far cry from what you have been. I watch TV soaps so much because they down out your constant whining and bitching. Too bad that doesn't work anymore. I did notice when you got a hairdo last week, but the 1st thing that came to my mind was 'you look just like a boy!'. Since my father raised me not to say anything if you can't say something nice, I didn't comment. When you cooked my favorite meal, you must have got me confused with MY BROTHER because I haven't eaten prawns for 7 years. About the new night gown, I turned away from you because the $299.99 price tag was still on it, and I prayed it was a coincidence that my brother had just borrowed $300 from me that morning. After all of this, I still loved you and felt we could work it out. So when I won the $20 million Lotto on Saturday, I left my job and bought 2 tickets for us to Paris, but when I got home you were gone. Everything happens for a reason, I guess. I hope you have the fulfilling life you always wanted. My lawyer said that the LETTER you wrote ensures you won't get a dollar from me. So take care. 

Your Ex-Husband, Rich As Hell And Free! 

P.S. I don't know if I ever told you this, but my brother CARL was born CARLA. :P .I hope that's not a problem :P

on sinusitis, burns, and hateful costings

Cramming, cramming, cramming. When will I ever learn?

Chef Nick told us about our costing project since day 1 of our class.. But did I do it? Noooooo. I had to wait til our class is almost over. Our deadline was last week, and I'm not even close to being done. (I'll submit this when I go back to Cebu next week, maybe. Not this week, no matter how late I am, coz I'm going to Manila. Phantom, baby! But that's a story for another day.)

I was supposed to go back to Cebu last Friday (minus my project, obviously) but I got sick so I postponed my trip. I had a sinus attack - a triple whammy of allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, and sore throat. I'm all better now, thanks to a handful of meds I'm maintaining for a whole month (ugh!), except for the occasional runny nose.

I hate being sick, but this time it gave me a reason why I was unable to submit my portfolio on time - I wasn't able to go back to Cebu because *drum roll please* I was sick! 

But anyway, it's not as if I'm the one doing my costing. My BF Lex did most all of the hard work. Not that it's hard work for him. For him, Math is like chickenshit. I'm more of a Literature person.

I encoded everything, leaving the tables for the APC, EPC, and cost blank. He inputted everything on Excel, made up formulas, and voila! It's like magic to me.

He was here earlier, and he was teaching me how to use Microsoft Excel (yes, I'm proud ashamed to say I graduated college without ever learning how to use Excel), how the formulas work, etc., etc., but all I could here was "blah blah blah *white noise* blah blah blah".

In the end, he gave up and finished the work himself.

I didn't do anything much, but now my head really hurts, I'm hyperventilating a bit, and I feel like throwing up. Wow. Math must have a bad effect on me. 

Oh, and to make my day worse, I got 2 burns on my left arm. The result of catching an empty baking pan instead of just letting it fall to the floor. Talk about wrong reflexes.

last friday night

Yeah, we didn't dance on table tops (there was very minimal dancing, though not on tables), we didn't take too many shots (just buckets of SanMig Lights & T.Ice), nobody kissed, nobody maxed their cards (coz we paid cash), and we didn't get kicked out of bars (but we kept the staff waiting for us to leave), no streaking, no skipping in the dark, certainly no menage-a-trois, and we most definitely didn't break the law.

But it was epic, nonetheless.

Last night was our high school Alma mater's Alumni Homecoming Night. It was hosted by Batch '62. Every year me and my classmates (whoever's here in Tacloban and is free) attend the homecoming. It's fun, we get a mini-reunion, we get to see our friends from other batches, and the clincher, free food. Who turns down free food? 

There were only 10 of us from our batch who attended, but though a bit few in number, we had tons of fun. We traded high school memories over dinner, while we were being serenaded by Keith Martin, Eva Poon, Pilita Corrales, and Kyla.

We couldn't care less about Keith, Eva, and Pilita (though the older generations seem to enjoy her), but when KYLA sang.. Oh, my God. She's even better live. My friend Shyn and I were totally acting like superfans (which we are, fans, that is.) I'm not that super fanatic, I mean, I don't own all her albums or know all her songs, but I can and do appreciate her music. She's one of my favorite local singers (and that's saying a lot coz I only like two Filipino singers - Kyla and Jed Madela).

It was funny, coz when she came down the stage during her performance, we both rushed to the front, with me grabbing my cousin Son's hand so he could be our photographer. We weren't able to get a picture with her performing, but that didn't stop us, though. After their last performance, and a pictorial session with the Batch '62, we rushed to the stage when we saw her coming down. And she was soooooo nice and accommodating, not to mention really, really pretty.

After, we went to Leyte Park but it was packed with people everywhere (mostly our schoolmates, who all intended to party the night away) so we ended up in SubZero instead. It was an awesome time full of laughter, stories, singing, drinking, & eating. Around 2AM, we felt that we've had enough drinking for the night so we all went to Calle Z for some late night early morning snack. We had bulalo to counteract all those drinking, and traded some more fun high school memories.

We all went home around 4AM, where I promptly fell asleep when I reached my bed. Now my story would have a happier ending if I got to sleep the day away, but my Dad woke me up around past 7 or so. He handed me his cellphone saying he couldn't send any texts, and asking me to figure out what was wrong. When I handed him back his phone 5 minutes later, I had every intention of going back to sleep, but he shattered my dream when he asked me to go to our store.

So here I am, playing cashier whilst typing furiously on my laptop. And I'm feeling kinda hungover, not from the alcohol since I never, and I mean NEVER, get hangovers (not once, even the time I got seriously wasted with my cousins). Yey me! But now I'm feeling it, because of being sleep-deprived. It sucks.

Not sucky enough to keep me from feeling elated about our night, though. It was all good fun. =)

Keith Martin doing his thing.

Kyla♥

 Forgive the grainy pic, I had to zoom in from the back of the gymnasium.

 Keith and Kyla did a duet of Because of You. ♥

 The night's performers.

I don't know what happened, it became grainy. This was a good close-up pic of Kyla.

She's so pretty. And nice, too. =)

The invitation and souvenirs.

on babies and books

So I went to my OB this afternoon for a follow up check up. Almost two years ago, I've been having abdominal pains and after I had an ultrasound done I found out I had a cyst. Nothing serious, but it gave me quite a scare. It freaked me out. And me being a teeny bit hypochondriac, I had these visions of not being able to get pregnant, or having my ovaries removed.

I dislike hospitals (ironic, since I'm a registered nurse), and I hate seeing a doctor. The only doctor I see regularly is my EENT, since I frequently get ear infections, sinusitis, and throat infections. But now, I also see my OB quite often.

I first went to her last April, complaining of abdominal pain similar to the ones I've had before I found out about the cyst, chills and severe dysmenorrhea during my period. I was afraid the cysts were back, so I went for a check up. She gave me a thorough check up, had lab tests done, prescribed me meds, and put me on the Pill. And I've felt better since then. Usually I don't go back for follow ups, but I need to go see her because she needs to monitor for cystic growths while I'm on the Pill, and that's fine with me.

I take my OB visits seriously, because if there's one thing I want most in my life, it's to be a mother. Not right now, though. Maybe someday.

It's one of the few things we talked about this afternoon. She asked me if I'm thinking about getting pregnant anytime soon and I responded with a resounding no. Maybe in a couple of years or so, when I've fully reached grown-up status, I'll be ready think about it. I think I'm still stuck in my teenage years. I certainly don't feel like a 20 23 year-old, and if I haven't finished growing up yet, how can I be responsible for another person?

Anyway, after I left the clinic, I walked around for a while. And I ended up at one of my happy places: Book Sale. I'm a frequent visitor, though I don't always buy a book when I'm there. But when I do buy, I usually buy a lot. Once I dropped in to kill some time and I ended up buying 11 books. The salespeople know me already, and are always helpful when I need help looking for something, or when I didn't bring any money and I need them to hide it so I can get it when I return another day. *grin*

I just bought 9 eBooks online last Saturday, and I already read 5 of them. And today, I bought 4 more books from Book Sale. I paid only 267.00 pesos for all 4. They're so cheap, how can I resist?

Logging out now, so I can get started on those books! =)

recently read - august 2012

• A Visit From Sir Nicholas
• When We Meet Again
• Let It Be Love
• The Heiress
• The Husband Hunt
• Shooting Stars
• Epic Fail
• Sing Me To Sleep
• Second Kiss
• Below The Surface
• Cold Pursuit
• Friday Night Cocktails
• Heartsick
• The Lady Is A Vamp
• I Got You, Babe
• Wild At Heart
• Call Me Wild
• Last To Die
• The Demigod Diaries
• The Throne Of Fire
• The Serpent's Shadow

september first

BER Months are here! I love the Christmas season, it's my favorite time of the year. Gifts, food, family, friends.. What's not to love?

And, yes, I get to play Christmas songs again. Mind you, I play them year round - be it March or August or December, if I fancy listening to them, I just switch to my Christmas playlist on my iPod and listen to it.

Hopefully we're off with a good start. Bad vibes (and really strong earthquakes) are left behind with August. Let's all be merry and have a jolly awesome Christmas! <3

that was one hell of an earthquake!

So if you're updated on the current news, you'd know that a 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit the Philippines tonight (read all about it here). And since a tsunami alert level 3 has been issued, a lot of families near the coast are evacuating to higher ground.

This has got to be the strongest and longest earthquake I've felt. I've never been more scared in my life.

I was standing in front of our kitchen cabinet that's full of glassware (plates, glasses, bowls, etc.) when it started. It wasn't that strong so I stayed where I was, and then when it got stronger, I was too scared to move. I guess it's true, when faced with adversity, we're ingrained with two responses: fight or flight. And since I just stood there, frozen in front of a cabinet that could fall down on me, I guess, in this case, mine's flight.

After the quake we checked our house for damage. Thank God no one was hurt. A lot of stuff fell, but thankfully nothing much was broken. Just a bottle of Lysol from our store, and figurine/frame. Now this made me sad. It was a small figure of a nurse, and on the face is a picture frame. I inserted a cut out of my face on it, so the figurine nurse looks like me. It was a gift from my Mom when I graduated college (obviously I took up Nursing), and it fell off from my bookshelf. It got decapitated. =( I'm hoping I can still fix it with Mighty Bond, or SuperGlue, or whatever.

A frame of our Lord Jesus Christ lay facedown on our altar, but nothing fell, and nothing got broken.

Anyway, it gave us all a scare, but I'm really thankful that nobody was hurt. Thank you, God.

rain, rain, if you stay..

..I would be in bed all day!

Normally, I love the rain. Nothing beats running around and jumping on puddles with the rain beating hard on your back. Or, if one prefers to stay indoors, a warm cup of coffee (though I prefer tea), a good book (or an awesome movie), and someone to cuddle with.

When I commute home from school, I take a jeepney and get off at Robinsons Fuente. From there I walk several blocks to my place.

While on my way home this afternoon, I was feeling a little hungry so I stopped by 7 Eleven for a sandwich and a Slurpee. I could hear thunder rumbling from a distance, and when I stepped out of the store, it was starting to drizzle. Thinking I still have time, I started walking home. After a block, the drizzle became more than that, and after another block, it started to pour. I didn’t mind getting wet, so I kept walking.

Then it got worse.

I got stranded on the corner of a block with two men. I chatted with them while waiting for the rain to let up. After five minutes or slow, the rain started to slow down, and I saw my chance. I said goodbye to them, and left.

It was still pouring, but since I was already wet, I thought, “why not?” By the time I got home, I was soaking wet. I would’ve enjoyed it more if I wasn’t in a hurry to get my bag out of the rain. All my stuffs are inside, and I was afraid it would get wet, especially JJ and my iPod. Thank goodness my bag is kinda waterproof.

People were staring at me while I was walking home (probably because I was the only one brave stupid enough to walk under the pouring rain without an umbrella), but I didn’t care. I walked briskly, passing by those who decided to take shelter and overtaking those with umbrellas and can afford to walk at a more sedate pace.

The sad thing is, I overtake a lot of those people, and no one even offered to share their umbrella.

Normally, I love the rain. But not when it comes unexpectedly while I'm walking home, without an umbrella.

congrats jin..

..Jojo will never disown you!

This is a shoutout to my dear friend Jin!

CONGRATULATIONS! You're now a Registered Nurse! =)

reminiscin' the years gone by

In my previous post, I mentioned that Multiply will say bye-bye to it's social networking part. So I went on a Multiply frenzy, I looked at past pictures, browsed at the things I've posted, and read my blog. It's gonna be hard to part with all those memories, but damn if I'm letting it all go. I'm trying to find a way to import my posts to Blogger, but just in case I can't, I saved up my favorite posts. Bittersweet and heartwarming memories, funny moments with friends.. These are forever etched in my heart, but I just want a written souvenir of my thoughts of those times.

Written in bold are the date and the title of the blog post, and those in italic are excerpts from the blog post itself. The ones in plain text after each post are just little "footnotes" I've added.

I'm gonna miss my Multiply site.

Jan. 21, 2007 | 2 years and counting..

January 22, 2007. That's our anniversary tomorrow..

We finally hit our two year mark.. But after three months or so, we broke up. =(

May 13, 2007 | Admitted.

Being admitted to the hospital wasn’t as scary as I first thought it would be. In fact, it was kinda fun.

I spent 3 days and 2 nights confined at Bethany Hospital. Why? Simple. Diarrhea. In all my 18 years of existence I’ve never been admitted to the hospital. And now, I did. Because of plain, old diarrhea.

It was much more than that, but still. Felt like just diarrhea to me. I actually had acute gastroenteritis with moderate dehydration and hypokalemia. Bouts of diarrhea and vomiting for four days or so, and I didn’t tell my Mom. By the time I finally realized I am too sick to pretend that I’m still awesome (high five, Barney!), I’m already dehydrated and my potassium level’s low. So my doctor admitted me.

May 15, 2007 | The significant other.

This blog is dedicated to Mr. Gonuts. He's a significant other (that's what I call the unknown). He's the spirit of the old man standing outside my hospital room.

Anyway, according to Jin, he died in 1929. I don't know if Bethany existed then, though. He died alone there. So yeah, he held grudges. But his anger seems to diminish over time. Every once in a while, he visits the place. Jin said she's not sure, but his name starts with R. Still, he'll always be Mr. Gonuts to me. I named him that because when Jin said that he was standing there, I was thinking of Gonuts Donuts.

He's nice, for a spirit. I'm usually scared of them, especially knowing they're right there. Jin knows this. I don't know why, but this was the first time that I haven't been scared. Matter of fact, I like him. He entered my room and used the CR there. I might be dreaming when I heard the door opened & closed, or when i heard the toilet flushing, but Jin said he must have entered my room.

Jin is my weird bestie. Weird, because she sees dead people. I kid you not. I love you, weirdo! =)

May 18, 2007 | Deep, confusing thoughts.

"You don't know what you've got till it's gone."

This is one of those clichés that I actually agree to. One can have everything one desires, yet still take them for granted. Not knowing, or better yet, not expecting that one day that thing will be gone. And that's the only time that one will realize the true worth of that thing. Sad.

But then, as I've said before, life is a constant process of holding on & letting go. Maybe it's time to let go of that thing and move on. Yet, what if the thing itself didn't even want to leave in the first place, but left with no choice? But what if, even if given the chance, that thing won't look back, won't go back to what it has left in the first place?

Now, relating to me, maybe I got tired of fixing something that was never meant to be fixed. Or maybe it was just waiting for the right place, the right time, and the right person to fix it? Whatever it is, I'm tired of holding on. So I let go. Under different circumstances, I would have cried buckets of tears. But I've learned to priorities things in the past few days. And I got to think a lot while I was in the hospital. Out of boredom, I must say, but it did me good. So yeah. I won’t trifle myself with trivial matters anymore.

The only thing permanent in this world is change. Change is inevitable. And that's what's happening to me now. A lot changed in these past few weeks. And I'm trying as hell to adapt.

“Maybe we started out from the wrong place.

Sometimes, it's not that things break down..

It's more that they were never quite right to begin with.”

So.. This was the first time I let public about my thoughts on our break up. Not that specific, but I always thought that it says it all. I was so bitter those days.

June 22, 2007 | No turning back..

Life is ironic..

Sometimes you keep on crying even if the guy neglects you.

But you get surprised one day just when you stopped crying and find someone new,

That's when he starts crying.. For losing you.

Just a quote, really. Still not moving on about the break up. I never did find someone new, though.

July 15, 2007 | Just a thought.

Why can't people just accept what has happened & face reality rather than hold on to what used to be?

One of life's bitter realities is that we have to accept the fact that not all things are meant to last forever. The only thing permanent in this world is change, so whether we like it or not, things are bound to change every once in a while.

Knowing that, why do we even let ourselves get attached w/ a person when we know that eventually the time will come that we'll have to separate w/ them?< I'm not being cynical; I know that there are some things that last – provided that it's the right place & the right time. It's just that, we put too much, we give too much, to the point that we're giving away a piece of ourselves before we even realize it. Then, in a flash, it's all gone. & we're left feeling incomplete, because a part of us was taken away by the person whom we gave our all.

Damn. Did I really write all those stuff?

July 25, 2007 | The essence of a woman.

I saw a mother give birth this afternoon..

The first time a saw a delivery. Damn. Must’ve hurt. I remember it changed my mind about getting pregnant early.

December 6, 2007 | Drama? Haha.

Kung nakaya ko, kaya mo rin.. Naalala mo nung ako ang nanjan?

Oh eh, di ba't kaw pa nagsabi sakin na baka kaya tayo iniwan ng taong mahal natin kasi..

Baka merong bagong darating na mas ok.. Na mas mamahalin tayo.. Ung taong di tayo sasaktan at paaasahin..

Ung nagiisang tao na magtatama ng mali sa buhay natin.. Ng lahat ng mali sa buhay mo..

-Popoy (One More Chance)

Watched One More Chance with friends a month before that post. I don’t even know why I posted that quote, but I’ve always love it.

January 10, 2008 | In loving memory of Rico.

Born: October 27, 1999

Died: January 10, 2008

Our dog died that day. Sad.

Rico, wearing my nephew's old shirt. I've painted this for him.

May 29, 2008 | Janelle’s gonna kill me for this..

..But it would be such a shame I if don't post this!

She said: "I don't want to marry an obstetrician, because what if they get tired looking at *censored*? I don't want him to get tired looking at it!"

I do love talking with Janz. She’s got the weirdest ideas, ever.

November 8, 2008 | Rainy days..

..Are all about:

Drinking a warm cup of coffee..

Wearing cool rainy weather outfits..

Having a good sleep..

Chilling at home while listening to love songs..

Missing someone.. c:

I do love rainy days. Especially if you have someone to cuddle with. =)

January 8, 2009 | Wasted.

Anyway, I painted part of my room this afternoon. My room's currently under renovation, as I'm adding bookshelves and cabinets.

Why do people do drugs anyway? They can just inhale paint and get on with it.

I'm experiencing paint-induced euphoria. I feel so wasted. It's like I've drank gallons of tequila. I feel great!

God I remember this. I was so high that day! I felt like I was floating.

September 22, 2009 | RIP Chelsea =(

Born: August 12, 2009

Died: September 22, 2009

This is the last post I made.

My Reina got pregnant for the first time.. And gave birth to 6 puppies. My friend Cha was gonna buy one of them, and named her Chelsea. Sadly our big dog Rixia bit her (she’s a bit territorial about food), and she died that same night from a head wound. That puppy died in my arms and I cried the whole night.

Month-old Chelsea. Doesn't she look adorable?

saying goodbye to multiply

I just found out from Ahn that Multiply will remove it's networking part (i.e., the blogs, photos, etc.) come December 1. I read back on my blog posts, and it made me smile. Some posts made me laugh. I've changed blogs a lot of times, but the longest one I've been with (aside from this blog) was my Multiply.

Rants from my college days, from when Lex and I broke up back then, posts about love and friendship and family, and thousands of photos I've uploaded. All those memories will just be gone.

I wonder if there's a way to move my posts to Blogger.

The letter from Multiply.

FEAR: False Evidence Appearing Real.

Dang, I forgot about this. =P

So, eight fears, huh? I really have to give this a lot of thought. I'm afraid of a lot of things, but nothing I'd classify as fear, really. Just small stuffs, not significant enough to be filed under fear. But if I really think this through, I know I'll be able to come up with something eight things.

Here we go.

1. Cockroaches, especially the flying ones. I have no quarrel with these if they stay away from me, in fact I watched Joe's Apartment and I find in funny, not icky at all. It's just that, when they fly, that's when all hell break loose. I freak out, and starts shouting, which in turn freaks out whoever I'm with. I had this incident when I was about 12, when a cockroach flew over to my blanket. I was on the phone talking to a friend, and I just carelessly tossed the blanket so the cockroach would fall to the floor (they don't bother me then). But instead of the floor, it landed right on my bed near my legs. And it started crawling on my left leg, it felt so weird and creepy and icky that I accidentally threw the phone away and started screaming like somebody was killing me. My Mom heard me and ran to my room thinking the worst, and she just laughed when I relayed what happened. Needless to say, I've hated cockroaches since then.
2. Big, hairy spiders. Or even the less hairy ones. Little house spiders don't scare me, what with their puny legs and all. But when they grow to be big ones, that's when I turn into someone with arachnophobia. I swear, I can't even go near enough to kill it.
3. Pitch-black darkness. I'm not afraid of the dark. I never had nightlights when I was a kid. In fact, I prefer to sleep with the lights off because I can't sleep with them on. You know that kind of darkness where your eyes could never seem to adjust, and you can't see your fingers even if you wave them in front of your face? That's what I don't like. We went on vacation to Dumaguete several years back, and we spent a night at Apo Island. The place was beautiful, the locals friendly, the sea was amazing, and the marine life was just awesome. The problem was, the whole island's electricity was powered by generator only. And to conserve gas, they turn it on from like 6PM to 11PM only. So around 4Am I woke up, needing to use the bathroom. But it was so dark, not a flicker of any light, and it was just plain scary. I had to hold my bladder and I waited till the crack of dawn till I was able to use the facilities.
4. Huge bathrooms. Now, this is unreasonable. I much prefer a bathroom where I can reach the walls when I stretch my arms. I've seen enough movies, and read a lot of books, to make me paranoid and think about killers attacking while the victim is taking a bath. Nuff said.
5. Horror movies. I never watch horror movies (unless under coercion), whether in the moviehouse (especially not in a moviehouse) or on TV. I avoid them because of my overactive imagination. I tend to have nightmares after watching a horror flick, and then I wake up in the middle of the night breathing fast, my heartbeat loud and audible over the silence. Then I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, with visions of ghosts, monsters running all over my mind. I'd have to go knock on my parents' door, wake them up from their sleep, and bunk in the small sofa bed in their room. Which, in turn, gets me a scolding from my Dad for watching a horror movie in the first place.
6. Getting robbed, and killed. One night, I woke up and on my way to the bathroom, I saw that my Dad left the window open. I hastened to close it, while visions of a robber coming into our house and killing us all in our sleep was running through my mind. I think I've read to many suspense novels already.
7. The future. I've never been a planner, but I always have grand hopes and dreams, although they keep changing over time. Seems to me as if I'm still a kid answering the question who I want to be when I grow up. I can't seem to stick to one dream and pursue it. Though I'd like to think that now, I've already found my niche. But still, the future is one big blurry question mark, and that's kinda scary to me.
8. Losing my parents. I'm an only child, and my parents are my only immediate family. We're close, and they're the reason why I never entertained any notions of working abroad. I can't bear to be a continent away from them. Living in another city is already too much distance for me, what more if I'm on the other side of the planet? Sure, I have aunts and uncles and cousins and nieces and nephews, but they're not the same as a mother and a father. They're not that old yet, but they are both a little over 60. Life is not permanent, death is almost always sudden, and age, well age never factored in death. you can die young, or if you're lucky, you can live up to a hundred. The unpredictability of it all scares me, because I just can't bear the thought of not having my parents with me.

So there you have it. Took me over two hours to finish this. =D

introducing: peewee

I've been thinking of getting a Pocket WiFi for the longest time. Every once in a while, I'd search eBay, but the prices always range from 4,000 to 6,000 pesos, which is way too high for my budget. So when I saw one on CD-R King a couple of weeks ago, a 3G Pocket WiFi for only P2,880 (still a bit pricey for me, but compared to the others I saw on eBay, this is the lesser evil), I decided to get one.

When I left for Cebu, we had our DSL line disconnected since I'm the only one who uses the internet (my Dad emails, but very seldom, so it's no use paying P899 monthly to keep our connection active). I had to make do with a USB broadband stick (it's Globe-locked but I searched the net on how to unlock it so I can use a Sun sim), and it's been a bane for me because I can only use my laptop, not JJ (my phone, I call him JJ, short for John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt) or my iPod. I need them to post on Instagram and to use Viber, so I've been itching for a WiFi connection.

At first, I was kinda hesitant to buy one, because once I bought something from them and it didn't work as well as I hoped, it broke after several uses. And I don't want to take chances with this, because it the same thing happens, that's P2,880 I'll never get back. But want need prevails, and I got one for myself.

I had problems with it at first, and I kept going back and harassing the technician. I thought he was able to fix what was wrong, since it finally worked when we tried it. So when I got back to Cebu and was excited to use it so I can surf the web on JJ, I was frustrated to discover that it won't work again. I thought the signal was just weak, so I inserted it on my USB stick thinking I won't be able to surf the net, but lo and behold, the connection was fast!

So the following day, armed with my Pocket WiFi, the box and its contents, the receipt, and my righteous anger, I went to Robinson's Fuente to complain about it. The technician took over an hour figuring out what was wrong, he even replaced the unit with a new one, but to no avail. He then told me that my sim card wasn't 3G-able, and to get a new one, a 3G one. I was disappointed, but I profusely thanked him for his time and effort, not many techs will go the lengths he did, and I really appreciated it.

Then I went to the Sun Shop, got in line, and asked the cashier if they're selling sim cards. She didn't know anything about the so-called 3G sim cards, though, so she referred me to their customer service. I had to get a number and wait, which sucked, because my number was 101 and the last number they called was 92. I had a long wait.

But i didn't wait in vain, though. when it was my turn, I relayed my problems, and turns out I had the right sim card, but the configurations were all wrong. So the guy at Sun did it all, and when we tested it, it finally worked!

I'm finally able to use PeeWee, as I call it, everywhere I go. I just turn it on, connect to the net, and surf all I want using JJ and my iPod. I even used it on the ship when I came home last Thursday night. Sure does make my internet surfing easier.

Expendables 2

Plot Summary: The Expendables are reunited when Mr. Church enlists them to take on a seemingly simple job. When things go wrong, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory, where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time - five tons of weapons-grade plutonium, more than enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that's nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary they seek revenge from.

Rating: 4/5

Comments: I really enjoyed the first movie, considering it wasn't my idea to watch it (see my previous post) and I just know I'm gonna enjoy this one. Lex and I watched it yesterday, and it was great fun. Even better than the first one, I should say.

I was disappointed because I wanted more of Jet Li, but he didn't come back after dropping off somewhere in China. But anyway, I really enjoyed Crews with his massive guns (such a far cry from his making-my-way-downtown days) and Lundgren with his funny goofs (especially with the bomb part). Oh, and who wouldn't love Chuck Norris? Van Damme portrayed an awesome villain, but his fight scene with Stallone could've been longer, though. Oh, and I'm glad they added a female to the team.

All in all, it's what I think an action movie should be - pure testosterone with just the right touch of humor.

It's a must-see movie! =)

recently read - july 2012

Because I spend most of my free time reading... =)

• Let Love Find You
• Jacked Up
• The Rules Of Seduction
• Lessons Of Desire
• Secrets Of Surrender
• The Sins Of Lord Easterbrook
• Cold As Death
• The Other Extreme
• Fifty Shades Of Grey
• Fifty Shades Darker
• Fifty Shades Freed
• Gone Missing
• Cindy Ella
• Anna And The French Kiss
• Lola And The Boy Next Door
• The Great Escape
• Catching Jordan
• Pretty Face
• The Break Up Bible
• The Boyfriend Game
• Flirting With Disaster
• Island Girls (And Boys)
• Labor Of Love
• Love On The Lifts
• Thrill Ride
• Her Sexiest Mistake
• Out Of This World
• The Trouble With Paradise
• The Wedding Bargain
• The Husband List
• The Marriage Lesson
• The Prince’s Bride
• Her Highness, My Wife
• Love With The Proper Husband
• The Lady In Question
• The Pursuit Of Marriage

The Bourne Legacy

Plot: In the wake of Jason Bourne's dismemberment of Operation Blackbriar, the CIA decides to dispose of their other black ops programs, which includes the termination of their field agents. However, Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), an agent from Operation Outcome, escapes from being executed and, with the help of an Outcome scientist (Rachel Weisz), sets out to expose the crimes of his superiors.

Rating: 4/5

Comments: I'm not a fan of the Bourne movies.. I only saw one, and I can't even remember which one was it. But I just came home from watching the fourth one, The Bourne Legacy.

Now, my main reason for watching is Jeremy Renner.. I have this crush on him, though I much prefer Hawkeye to Aaron Cross. Another reason - the Manila scenes. The car chase scene was good, but it still felt as if the movie is missing something. Although, as I've never seen the previous movies (save for one I couldn't remember), I'm not equipped to judge.

Anyway, all in all it was a good movie and I enjoyed watching it.

so..

..I've been feeling way too lazy to update my blog. It sucks not to have your own internet connection. I miss the DSL we had back when I was still living at home. In Cebu, I had to rely on a Globe Tattoo USB Plug-it, and using my mobile phone while mooching the WiFi at our school. I do bring my laptop to school sometimes, but me being lazy, I'd rather leave it at home than lug it around.

Anyway, we just finished our individual project - a three-tier wedding cake. And we have a whole week free, so I opted to come home to Tacloban. I've been here since last Saturday.

I watched The Dark Knight Rises with Lex and Hans last Monday. I just had to blog about this because call me loser but IT'S MY FIRST EVER BATMAN MOVIE! Yes, out of all the Batman movies, this is the first time I've watched one. Oh, and if I'm gonna be bragging sharing my loserness to everyone, I think it's time for me to confess that I haven't seen any Superman and Spiderman movies, either.

Going back to The Dark Knight Rises, I didn't expect to enjoy the movie, but I did. And I swore to myself that I'll watch the first two movies (yes, only two, coz I'm only watching the ones with Christian Bale) because there were some a lot of parts I didn't understand. It's amazing how a lot of the Inception cast are in the movie, though.

What else did I do?

Oh, I had dinner with Janz at Uncle Sam's last night. After eating, we drove around downtown for a while, before finally stopping in front of the Capitol. Janz wanted her picture taken, but funny, when we got there, I didn't take any pictures of her. We just stood there, looking around, pointing, and talking. At some point, we started singing Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand's Tell Him before realizing that A) we're singing way too loud, and B) it's OK to be crazy with a group of friends, but it looks stupid if it's only the two of us. So we went home, but not before fooling around with her BumbleBlue's (yes Janz, I'm calling your car BumbleBlue just because I think Oppie's already overused) GPS.

As for today, I spent most of my afternoon glued to my laptop. While working as our store's cashier, I decided to pass time by looking at Ellen's videos on Youtube. It was an entertaining afternoon.

I want to end this blog with prayers for my relatives, friends, and virtually everyone affected by the floods in NCR. Keep safe, and have faith. God does not forsake His own people.

sweet nothings

Aside from reading, nothing gives me more joy than baking and making little pastries for dessert. While I do miss being a nurse, and still have little bouts of nostalgia when I think about med school, I have no regrets. I'm so glad my Mom and Dad consented to this highly expensive endeavor. Culinary schools are expensive, and while my family is not lacking for comforts, we're not swimming with cash, either. My parents have always been supportive, and I feel so blessed and so lucky having them.

Couple more months and I'm done with school. I'm equal parts excited and anxious. Excited to be working and making desserts and baked goodies for a living; anxious to be starting all over again.

Here's three of our many projects (I was gonna post more pics but my net is acting up and uploads are real slow, maybe next time!) =]

Fruit torte.

Our epic Shit Cake, along with bite-sized brownies, pralines, mini cupcakes, and rumbles.

Charlotte cakes (the small ones), and a Dome cake.

recently read - june 2012

..and the list goes on. =)

Bad Girl By Night - Lacey Alexander

Party of Three - Lacey Alexander

Karma - Carly Phillips

A Night Like This - Julia Quinn

Under A Vampire Moon - Lynsay Sands

Sweet Addiction - Maya Banks

Pray For Silence - Linda Castillo

Breaking Silence - Linda Castillo

Dead Reckoning - Linda Castillo

Seducing The Highlander - Emma Wildes

Hot Under Pressure - Louisa Edwards

Rescue Me - Rachel Gibson

The Duke Next Door - Celeste Bradley

Duke Most Wanted - Celeste Bradley

About That Night - Julie James

Three Weddings and A Kiss - Catherine Anderson & Loretta Chase & Lisa Kleypas & Kathleen Woodiwiss

Where's My Hero - Lisa Kleypas & Kinley MacGregor & Julia Quinn

To Wed A Scandalous Spy - Celeste Bradley

Surrender to A Wicked Spy - Celeste Bradley

One Night With A Spy - Celeste Bradley

Seducing The Spy - Celeste Bradley

The Pretender - Celeste Bradley

The Impostor - Celeste Bradley

The Spy - Celeste Bradley

The Charmer - Celeste Bradley

The Rogue - Celeste Bradley

Devil In My Bed - Celeste Bradley

Rogue In My Arms - - Celeste Bradley

Scoundrel In My Dreams - Celeste Bradley

The Bite Before Christmas - Lynsay Sands & Jeaniene Frost

Category Five - TJ MacGregor

Snow Blind - PJ Tracy

it's been a while

I can't believe I haven't posted anything for the month of May. It''s a sign of how busy I've been these past months.

We've been busy making our aquatic-themed cake for our CEFBEX (Cebu Foods and Beverages Exposition) entry. It was tedious work - from kneading fondants to making detailed gumpaste fishes and corals - but we did it. And we're proud to say that o

ur school bagged the gold, for the 7th consecutive year. Aside from the cake decorating competition, our school also got gold for the pasta making live, market basket competition, and another one I forgot (sorry, hihi), plus a silver for the culinary apprentice. Not bad, not bad at all.

It was a great experience. My teammates and I bonded over the long hours, especially during the last few days when we camped at one of the classrooms at the 4th floor. It was tiring, but all our efforts weren't in vain, obviously.

Our cake standing tall and proud amidst our gold medals and certificates.

Aside from our classes, we are also accepting orders (cakes, short orders, buffets) as part of our diploma program. Our school only offers certificate for pastry, but we've been pushing for a diploma, and being a commissary team is part of it, along with a management course. We also conduct workshops on basically everything - cupcake making, cake decorating, etc. Just the basics, for those who are interested but is unwilling to take on the whole 10-month program.

Busy, busy.

However, it's not all work and no play for me, though. Uh-uh.

The boyfriend visited for a few days a couple weeks ago, and we had a blast. We did the usual - went shopping (I did the buying, though), got a massage (I was feeling so stressed so I dragged him into it), ate out, stayed in and cuddled (when it rained so hard).

We also went and toured Bohol for a day. We visited my Mom's BFF, Ate Memie, and she gave us a tour along the island. We went on the Loboc River Cruise, saw the Chocolate Hills, visited the tarsiers, went in the Hinagdanan Cave, and bought small trinkets as souvenirs.

It was certainly a jam-packed day. We came back to Cebu late that night (the boat got delayed for an hour and a half, bugger) tired but happy, albeit a bit grumpy. He went home early the following day.

I miss him. God.

Anyway, I'm graduating this June 22 (yey!) but the doesn't mean my classes are over. Our school has it's commencement exercises once yearly, so those who are about to finish all graduate, so as to not wait for the following year. My classes will end sometime around September.

Only my Mom is attending my graduation (sucks), because my Dad has to stay and watch over our business. I don't mind, though, for I'll be going home at the end of the month, so I'll get to see him then.

Oh, and a shoutout to my Daddy. Advance Happy Father's Day! I love you. <3

recently read - april-may 2012

April

• The Other Twin - Morrgan Hunter
• Next of Kin - Sharon Sala
• Blood Stains - Sharon Sala
• Blood Trails - Sharon Sala
• Blood Ties - Sharon Sala
• Simply Sinful - Carly Phillips
• Simply Scandalous - Carly Phillips
• Simply Sensual - Carly Phillips
• William and Kate: A Royal Love Story - Christopher Andersen
• The Letter - Emma Wiles
• A Woman Seduced - Emma Wiles
• The Lady Most Likely - Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Connie Brockway
• The Viscount Who Loved Me: 2nd Epilogue - Julia Quinn
• When He Was Wicked: 2nd Epilogue - Julia Quinn
• It's In His Kiss: 2nd Epilogue - Julia Quinn
• Romancing Mr. Bridgerton: 2nd Epilogue - Julia Quinn
• Lessons From A Scarlet Lady - Emma Wiles
• The Countess - Lynsay Sands
• Desperately Seeking A Duke - Celeste Bradley
• The Lover's Dictionary - David Levithan
• Rituals of Passion  - Lacey Alexander
• Master of Desire  - Lacey Alexander
• Carnal Sacrifice - Lacey Alexander
• French Quarter   - Lacey Alexander
• Their One and Only - Trista Ann Michaels

May

• Simply Sexual - Kate Pearce
• Simply Sinful - Kate Pearce
• Sin City - Lacey Alexander
• Key West - Lacey Alexander
• Missing - Sharon Sala
• Crazy on You - Rachel Gibson
• Seven Nights of Sin - Lacey Alexander
• Voyeur - Lacey Alexander
• Simply Shameless - Kate Pearce
• Simply Wicked - Kate Pearce
• Simply Insatiable - Kate Pearce
• Simply Forbidden - Kate Pearce
• The Story of Us - Deb Caletti
• Somebody to Love - Kristan Higgins

Titanic 3D

84 years later, a 101-year-old woman named Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story to her granddaughter Lizzy Calvert, Brock Lovett, Lewis Bodine, Bobby Buell and Anatoly Mikailavich on the Keldysh about her life set in April 10th 1912, on a ship called Titanic when young Rose boards the departing ship with the upper-class passengers and her mother, Ruth DeWitt Bukater, and her fiancé, Caledon Hockley. Meanwhile, a drifter and artist named Jack Dawson and his best friend Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets to the ship in a game. And she explains the whole story from departure until the death of Titanic on its first and last voyage April 15th, 1912 at 2:20 in the morning.

One of my all-time favorite movies, I've watched Titanic lots of times, and yet it never gets old. I was so excited to watch it in 3D. So much, that Jin and I set a date months ago. We wanted to see if the 3D version would make us feel as if we're sinking with the Titanic, too.

What was supposed to be a simple movie date turned out to be so much more. More craziness and laughter, that is. We wouldn't stop singing Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On. And when Jojo bought the tickets, he asked the saleslady "5 tickets for Near, Far, Wherever You Are." The look on the saleslady's face was so funny, we couldn't stop laughing.

Normally, I don't watch movies in 3D. Not only is it more expensive, it makes my head hurt. But I liked how they turned the movie into 3D. Simple, and not overly done.

This may be the Titanic's most famous scene..

But this.. This will always be my favorite.