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.