it's nice to have girl friends

I've always loved the feeling during a plane takeoff; where one moment you feel the plane taxiing down the runway, gathering speed, and the next moment you're thrown backwards in your seat as the plane suddenly lifts off the ground. I like plane rides. Among the three ways to travel, I like traveling by plane the best; long land trips make my stomach churn, and up until recently, I never liked traveling by boat, especially boat trips that lasts for more than 6 hours.

I woke up today feeling excited, not because I'm going to Manila, but because I'm gonna get to see my friends, whom I haven't seen in a while. We went to the airport around 6 AM, our flight left at exactly 7:40 and We arrived at NAIA one hour after takeoff.

We then took the bus to Fontana, where my Mom and her fellow FFCCWO (Federation of Filipino-Chinese Catholic Women's Organization) were having their convention.

I was supposed to stay with my Mom for two days, but I got bored so I decided to come stay with my friend Anj a day early. I spent only one night in Fontana.

I took a taxi from Fontana to Dau Terminal, then rode a bus to Manila. I can say I'm really proud at myself. It's the first time I commuted from somewhere outside Manila. I only know how to commute within QC and by LRT/MRT. This was certainly a first.

We went to SM Megamall to go see Gaia, because she works there. We walked around, visited the department store (Gaia and I love the department stores in SM, especially the one at SM Makati), then we had dinner at Pizza Hut. We all went home afterward.

Yesterday morning Gaia came over at Anj's place early. We went to MOA after eating lunch and painting our nails and having some girtalk. We bought tickets for Cop Out. Ate at Chiggy's, went to the department store (as per Gaia's request), bought blizzards at Dairy Queen, then went to watch the movie. The movie was hilarious. Tracy Morgan is our new favorite comedian.

After the movie we all went to the grocery to buy some The Bar and some Gatorade. Then we all piled into a taxi and came home.

We spent a very enjoyable night drinking vodka mixed with Royal, Gatorade and mango juice, eating, talking, sharing stories, and making up for the times we hadn't seen each other. It's nice to Jace girlfriends. I haven't laughed so much in a while. We all went to bed feeling happy around midnight.

Cheers to being friends :)

And now I'm all alone here coz they all had to go to work, but I don't mind coz in a few hours I'll be seeing Krissy, who is awesome so our day together demands a post of its own. :)

Alice in Wonderland

Synopsis: On a golden afternoon, young Alice follows a White Rabbit, who disappears down a nearby rabbit hole. Quickly following him, she tumbles into the burrow - and enters the merry, topsy-turvy world of Wonderland! Memorable songs and whimsical escapades highlight Alice’s journey, which culminates in a madcap encounter with the Queen of Hearts - and her army of playing cards!

Rating: 4.5/5

Comments: I'd love to see this movie again, on 3D!

The movie was great, but not really memorable. I guess I had high expectations; I mean, it is a Tim Burton movie, and with Johnny Depp as one of the main cast, who would expect less?

However, although they made radical changes from the original story, I loved the movie. And I abso-freakin-lutely love the cast - I'm a huge fan of Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp. Although I don't think Anne Hathaway fits the role of the White Queen - it just wasn't her.

I'm still hung up on the Red Queen's "Off with their heads!"

Oh, and the Cheshire Cat was just adorable. I'm no cat person, but I wouldn't mind having a pet cat that looks like that. :)

Couple's Retreat

Synopsis: Following failed attempts to conceive, Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) are close to getting a divorce. In an effort to save their marriage they book a vacation to a couples therapy retreat, called Eden. To save money they encourage their friends to join them, and claim that their friends can enjoy the party activities and not take part in the therapy. Reluctantly their friends, Dave (Vince Vaughn) and Ronnie (Malin Akerman), Joey (Jon Favreau) and Lucy (Kristen Davis), and recently divorced Shane (Faizon Love) and his girlfriend Trudy (Kali Hawk) agree. Upon their arrival to Eden they are sent to the west side of the island, by Sctanley (Peter Serafinowicz). Joey learns that the east side of the island hosts a singles resort, while the west is for couples, and couples are not permitted to travel to Eden East. During their first night Sctanley informs all four couples that they will all have to engage in the therapy or return home. After eating their meal the couples decided that they will attend the therapy so they can enjoy the other benefits the island offers. After their first therapy session all four couples learn they have problems with their relationships and even Ronnie and Dave, who thought they were fine, need the therapy. They endure the resort owner Marcel's (Jean Reno) odd methods, including swimming with sharks and yoga sessions with an amorous instructor Salvadore (Carlos Ponce). On the fourth night Trudy escapes to Eden East and the other seven, encouraged by Joey, leave to find her. Following an argument between Cynthia and Jason the group splits up. Cynthia, Lucy and Ronnie leave, and Joey, Dave, Jason and Shane continue to journey to Eden East. The women meet up with Salvadore and he takes them to Eden East, the men find Sctanley's hut and he threatens to report them to Marcel, until games salesmen Dave challenges him to a Guitar Hero duel. Dave beats Sctanley and he sends them off to Eden East. In Eden East Ronnie grows tired of drinking and meet Dave, who takes off to the waterfall. Joey sees Lucy with Salvadore and knocks him out, re-uniting with his wife. Cynthia and Jason share drinks and admit their problems. Shane runs in to his ex-wife, who admits she still loves him. All four couples return to Eden West. Marcel meets the couples, and seeing that they have worked out their problems frees them from the therapy and tells them to go jet skiing.

Rating: 3/5

Comments: I was bored halfway through the movie. Kudos to the setting, though. I love the beach - and I was practically drooling over the blue sea, the white sand, and the similar cottages all lined up. How I'd love to go to someplace like that.

a 5-day break from my monotonous life

I'm very much looking forward to my Mom's convention at Fontana this weekend. My life is nothing but boring these days; I spend most of my time at home watching DVDs and part-timing as a cashier at our pharmacy (with no pay, sucks). So far I've finished 10 seasons of Friends (how ya doin'?), 4 seasons of How I Met Your Mother (awesome!), 2 seasons of The Nanny (oooh Mr. Sheffield..), Season 2 of Private Practice (Dell is ♥). I'm currently going through 8 seasons of Charmed and 5 seasons of CSI: NY. Each day is just a mirror image of yesterday, except for a few times wehre I get to hang out with my friends.

I hate monotony, and I hate being idle, but really, I have no other choice. I can't keep going out, because I'm broke. My portable DVD player's my current bestfriend. That, and my iPod touch. Where would I be without them? I can't buy books, because as I've mentioned, I'm broke. So I also can't do the one thing I really love - read. I'm currently reading Sherlock Holmes through my iTouch - I found this free app at the iTunes store - but it's not the same as holding a book and flicking through the pages as you read.

So you can only imagine how excited I am about having a vacation. I just have to figure out how to commute from Fontana, Pampanga to Manila. I only know how to commute within Manila, outside of it, man, I'm doomed. But then, I'm sure there are lots of buses there, I'll just ride one that's going to the direction of Manila, right? I'll just think of it as an adventure.

I'm bunking in with my girl Anj while I'm there, coz I don't wanna stay with my aunt seeing as I'm still mad at her for what she did. I've always said to let bygones be bygones, and normally I don't hold grudges, but this is really a huge deal for me and I still can't find myself forgiving her.

Anyway, back to the topic. Gaia will also be staying over at Anj's, so it'll be a mini reunion for us 3. We haven't seen each other for months, and I miss those two! We'll spend the whole Sunday together. They both have work on Monday, so I'll just have to fend for myself then. Which is just fine.

Another thing to get excited about is that I'd finally get to meet Krissy this Monday (I hope)! We met in Sigaw some 3 or 4 years ago, and we've been good friends since, but we've never seen each other in person. We've made plans before, but somehow it didn't pan out. I'm hoping this time, it would.

I just can't wait :)

motorcade

We had our annual motorcade this afternoon. Every year, our school holds this motorcade for the board passers/placers. We were joined by various nursing students of all levels, which made it more fun. Fun because it's noisier. And as they say, the more the merrier.

Cha brought their pick up. So it's just me, Janz, Dens and Cha inside, and a bunch of Jacinths (first year students - every year the Freshmen choose their unique batch names. It's Fayalite for us, then Geissenites, Hesonites, Iolites and Jacinths for the years below us, respectively. We're arranged alphabetically).

And every year, our school admins also make these banners with all our names (the passers) which we hang at our school gates after our motorcade.

There's my name right there! =)

We're Top 8, baby! =)

jailbreak

Can anyone explain to me the purpose of jailbreaking an iTouch? If I jailbreak mine, do I get to play the full version of the free games I downloaded at the iTunes store? These free trials/lites are killing me! I don't wanna jailbreak mine, but if it does, then screw this warranty!

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Synopsis: It's the 21st century, but the gods of Mount Olympus and assorted monsters have walked out of the pages of high school student Percy Jackson's Greek mythology texts and into his life. And they're not happy: Zeus' lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Even more troubling is the sudden disappearance of Percy's mother. As Percy finds himself caught between angry and battling gods, he and his friends embark on a cross-country adventure to catch the true lightning thief, save Percy's mom, and unravel a mystery more powerful than the gods themselves

Rating: 3.5/5

Comments: I enjoyed the movie thoroughly, although I must say, nothing still beats Harry Potter in terms of this genre. I haven't read the book yet, but seeing the movie makes me want to.

I liked Uma Thurman as Medusa. Especially when her head was cut off. Also, I find Annabeth pretty.

My friends and I had a laugh though, when we found out that Hades' Underworld is in Hollywood, and that Zeus' Mt. Olympus is in the Empire State Building.

Nice effects. All in all, it was an entertaining movie.

blog neglect

I've been neglecting my blog lately. Aside from the fact that I've been to lazy to post something, I just don't have anything new and interesting to write about. If there is anything I hate so much, it's being idle. But it's what I've become.

I'm so predictable these days. I get up at around 10 AM, open my laptop, check my mail and FB, take a bath, eat lunch, go down to the store around 1 PM, watch DVDs down there while being the cashier, come up around 5 PM, eat, watch TV/read a novel, eat dinner, talk with Lex, sleep at around 1 AM, and back again.

I hate routine. But with nothing much to distract me, I can't help it. Sure, I go out. I hang with Lex, Jo, Hans.. Sometimes with D, Janz or Cha.. But it's still not enough. I'm used to being on the move everyday - studying Nursing means you're awake most of your allotted 24 hours. And after 4 torturous years of the hell they called BS Nursing, I got used to it. And now, I'm demoted to being a bum. I do nothing. I earn nothing. My life is basically nothing.

I can't wait for summer to finally arrived. Coron, here we come!

the past few days, and more

Friday I went to Cebu with my Dad last weekend. We left for Ormoc around 7PM last Friday, took the slow boat, and arrived at Cebu around 5AM the next day.

Saturday My Dad wanted a hotel or inn at Fuente, easier access to places, but almost every place was full. The last place we went to was Shamrock Pension, and thankfully, they had vacancies. We checked in, and my Dad and Kuya Larry (a family friend) went to the hospital because Kuya Larry's son was confined due to Dengue. I ate the breakfast we took out from McDo, then I went to sleep (couldn't sleep at the ship, someone was snoring waaaay too loud). We went to SM around 10:30, bought my iPod (more info below), ate lunch at the foodcaourt with my Dad's friends. Then they attended a conference, while I was only too happy to be left at SM while I waited for my fellow Dementeds Jin and Ken. Too bad Kim wasn't able to come with us, though. We just hung out, talked, did a little catching up as we didn't see each other since New Year's Day. The I treated them to dinner at Teriyaki Boy - I just love their Chicken Teriyaki! Yum :)

My iPod Video finally gave up on me, although it's not completely dead just yet. It has issues, though, which I'm hoping can be fixed. I forgot to bring it with me to Cebu so I can have it checked at PowerMac. I'm not giving up on my Vid, since we've been through lots together. My cousin gave it as a gift to me the first I time missed out on our yearly summer getaways (I missed 2, because I got summer classes - Batanes and Dakak). But I was able to join them last year, when I finally graduated, to Dumaguete and Antique. And this year we'll be going to Coron, Palawan. Can't wait.

Anyhoo, back to iPod talk. I asked my Dad for an iPod Touch as a gift to me for passing the NLE. I was aiming for a Nintendo Wii, but my Dad said I was too old for a Wii (I don't agree, though - in my book, one is never too old for a Wii, or any other related electronic gadget). I tried wiggling an iPhone out of him, but he said it's as expensive as my lappy here, so i settled for an iTouch instead. I love music, and I love movies. My iPod Video was loaded with music and movies, and my 30BG was almost used up. So when my Dad and I were browsing for my iTouch, I settled for the 64GB. A store was selling 17K for the 3GB. Good thing we didn't buy it at once, though. We went to another store offering 14K for the 32GB and 19K for the 64GB. I walked out a happy owner of a new 64GB iPod Touch.

Sunday My Dad and I went to Robinsons for a while. I bought a bunch of shirts, while he bought books from Booksale. Then we met up with my Sichi (she was there to attend a christening where she is godmother), my nephews and their dad (they had a soccer game). We went to SM again, where my nephew and I dumped my luggage at the grocery package counter. We went around, ate, and talked. My Dad met with a friend for lunch. Around 3PM we parted ways with my cousin and nephews, and we went to the port to catch the 4:40PM Supercat trip to Ormoc. We arrived at home at around 10PM.

Monday I went with Lex to Dr. Aquitania, he has an appointment to get his nose checked, for he often gets cold. Turns out he has Perennial Allergic Rhinitis. Then we went to RTR, I had to get a new set of transcripts for my application at PHC. We went to Robinsons afterward, had a late lunch. Then I dragged him to PRC, because I wanted to get my board rating. I got a measly 81.40%, but who cares? I effing passed! We went backed to Robinsons, where we watched Did You Hear About The Morgans? Then we went home.

Tuesday Went to PRC with Janz to get application forms, had our pictures taken at Robinsons. The we spent the rest of the day pigging out and playing at Tom's World. Jo caught up with us, then we joined Lex and his brother and Hans. Had dinner with Lex, Hans and Jo at Sunzibar. I love their Rum Ribs and Quesadillas. Yummy.

Today Was supposed to go back to PRC with Janz today, but I rescheduled for tomorrow as I wasn't feeling well. Cha came by, without notice, as usual. Then spent the whole day in bed.

i'm now an RN =)

Praise God, for he really listens to, and answers, your prayers. Ever since I took the board exams last November 29 and 30, 2009, I've prayed for nothing else but to pass it. Mind you, those were the times when I never really cared much for working as a nurse, for I was really hung up on continuing my studies for Medicine. I even had rows with both my dad and my aunt. It was really a bad time for me. But these past few days, I've been pretty much scared out of my wits of the possibility that I wouldn't pass.

So what gives?

I'm being offered a job at Philippine Heart Center, and most people advised me to take it. Even I wanted myself to take it. It's a great opportunity, and excellent hospital, and as my cousin is a doctor there, I know a lot of the staff so I won't feel all alone when I get in. And I will get in, because I have someone, a dear friend of my cousin who's also a nurse, backing me up.

I never really cared much for using backers before - like in our school, I could have gotten in without even taking the entrance exam, but I prefer to do things the hard way. And I never asked for help on this. It was offered to me - offered, given freely. Because she really wants me there. I even have application forms delivered right to my doorstep. All I have to do is fill them out, send them back, and voila! They even had my name listed down for some volunteering work already, all I was waiting for was my license. And here it is.

But this. Oh, this is a wonderful opportunity. And if life hands you this kind of opportunity on a silver platter, wouldn't you want to take it?

Confused, as to what to do.

Even with no board placers this time (our school had placers for three consecutive years), it doesn't matter.
We're still on a roll, baby. Top 8 Performing School. I'm proud of RTRMF! :) 95% overall passing rate.I freaking made it! Even through all the ditching and sleeping I did
all throughout my school days and review days. God is Good.

For a list of passers, placers and top 10 schools, click here.