Attended Leslie's dad's wake yesterday with Walter sometime 4:00. We planned to stay till 5:30 but we ended up staying till 7:00 since people had a lot to talk about, including me. We had a small storytelling going on at one side of the room with Leslie, Diane, Celine, Walter and I. It's times like these that we have to give our friends all the support they need. Walter then dropped me off at Ayala. Stopped by the mall before going home 'coz there's a belief that you're not supposed to go home immediately after attending a wake.

I reached home rather late and was kinda tired. Waited for the clock to strike 12 so that I could make use of the free internet from 12 to 7, but somehow I fell asleep as early as 10:00. Woke up at 2AM 'coz I had this bad dream. It involved the number 6266766... in exact order. I dunno what this number means, but obviously it has so many 6's... scary. So I turned my cellphone to check if I that number was in my phonebook, but it wasn't there. Spooky.

Suddenly, my phone beeped twice. Yikes! Sounds like "The Ring" with a certain twist. Two messages that bore a smile on my face and made me wide awake all night. I'm very amazed at the power of texts that come from people who make your heart skip a beat... I silently texted under my pillow so as not to disturb the sleeping people in the room. Had fun texting till 4AM till we said our goodnights... apparently the sky outside is already a bit bright... so that should have been an exchange of good mornings... hehe. Wanted to sleep, but I could hear around 40 roosters crowing outside... argh. Tried to cover my ears with my pillows, but their high pitched crows still pass through the curls of cotton... argh. And then after around 30 minutes of being still awake, I started to hear goats... what could be next? a lion roaring outside?... And then birds started chirping unceasingly... argh... and then I could hear our dogs outside munching through their breakfast bones... Well, next thing I know, I somehow fell asleep and woke up 10AM. Even sleep is becoming complicated for me! Hahaha!

I just read Leslie's blog. I felt the same thing almost 5 years ago. Truly you won't miss the water till the well runs dry. The sad thing there was that my dad didn't reach in time for my high school graduation. And being the academic person that I WAS, it was important to me that he was there to go up the stage with my mom and do the honors of pinning the medals. There are just some things in life that you just can't control no matter what.

To me, I needed my father during my teenage growing up years. I was 16 then. It was important to me that I have a father during these crucial years where I the world opens up a whole deal to me. It's a lot different having a mom as your guiding star. Moms are usually cautious and they sort of ask you to be on the defensive stance. Dads ask you more to boldly face the world 'coz somehow if you'd fall, he'll be there beside you, strong and firm to back you up. And with the way I run things, I'm the adventurous type.

But now that it already happened I just had to do what I have to do and stop enumerating my "could have beens and my endless IFs". One harsh reality it has brought me was that I learned things the hard way. Fought things head on without knowing what exactly would be the consequences. No one was there to tell me to do this or not to do that because blah blah blah. But the best thing with that is I learned a lot on my own. The lessons are strong and they stick to mind firmly. And I guess somehow the best lesson there is to learn is that: Make good with whatever is given you. That's all there is to it.

Happy days are here again. I'll comment on that later, 'coz something else is bothering me now. I know I'm supposed to be smiling, happy, skipping like little red riding hood, but I can't be totally happy when someone asks for my help and I seem not to be able to do something about it. Let me keep this as short as possible lest it bothers your happy Christmas spirit.

I just want to ask you peeps out there what you think of this. A female friend of mine has asked me for advice. I'm not that good at giving advices when it comes to what women should do, so I'm asking help from you fellow bloggers 'coz most of you are female. I dunno why this happens all the time... dili man intawn ko babaye uy! I really want to help my friend, but with your help, the advice I can give will definitely more effective. So here it goes.

My female friend who needs my advice is "M". My SHS-B barkada male friend is "B". "B" and "M" used to be BF and GF, but since "B" used to study in Manila and "M" studies in Cebu, they broke up due to the pressures of long distance relationship. After breaking up with "M", "B" found girl "A" (still a friend of mine by the way) who lived next door to "B"'s dormitory. Both "B" and "A" are now in Cebu working, but in different companies. My dear friend "M" wants to get back with my friend "B", but now, "B" and "A" are sort of an item already. So I guess, my advice to friend "M" should be "Move on and let them be." But here's the catch. You see, "B" still gives "M" that look that perhaps he misses her company and all that mushy ek ek stuff and "M" still thinks that "B" likes her even if he has a relationship with "A". "M" is still holding on to the idea that perhaps they could get back, because "B" gives him "that look". I've seen my friend "B" give her "That look" but to me it was just a simple look. I think "M" is just putting meaning to it... or maybe there's meaning to it... I dunno!

Honestly, I really pity my friend "A" throughout this ordeal. She's the new girl and my friend "B" probably hasn't gotten over his first love who is "M". Last night, "M" and "B" had their last conversation through text... they cleared things up and "B" finally sent "M" a message stating "This will be my last text to you... Gudbye." Now, my friend "M" can't stop crying everytime something reminds her of my friend "B". I wanna cheer her up, but I don't know how to. Question is, how do you give hope to someone who still holds on to something that's hopeless? I don't want to see my friend "M" get hurt by always running after my friend "B" who's having a very serious relationship with "A". Reminds me of a scene from My Best Friend's Wedding" where the guy (what's his name) was running after Kimmy (Cameron Diaz) and then Julia Roberts ran after the guy... but see, no one was running after Julia Roberts. Problem is how do I help my friend who's really depending on me much to somehow make things better for her.

I will NEVER bring this topic up with my friend "B" because, for one I never liked meddling with people's lives and second, I'm happy too that my friends "B" and "A" are together. "A" and "M" are both equally very nice ladies. I myself can't choose between them if I were my friend "B". The point here is, almost everyday since last week, I've been texting, talking and spending time with "M" because, of all the male friends in our barkada, I'm the closest to both "M" and "B". I'm placed in this tough position. I don't want to have anything to do with it, but my help has been sought and I have to do something... at least something. So fellas, please post me some suggestions as to what I should do. Thanks. I'm being pressured and I don't want to give wrong advice that would make things worse. Please, help me if you can.

5 minutes ago Leslie texted me that her dad passed away 1:15PM today. Condolence Les.

First day after Christmas and I'm already starting to drift away to heaven... I need to buy a heavier anchor after all. Is this some form of "pahabol" to make me say that 2003 was indeed a great year? Hmmm... whatever the answer to that question is, the fact still remains... I can't sleep due to extreme happiness.

Haaaayyy... This afternoon, I was at the mall with a friend of mine... Knew each other since high school BGE with STC and it's just now that our roads crossed again. I just hope that this crossing would make it THE crossing. Please make it so... if not, then... I'll just enjoy being with the wrong ones first... as how a friend of mine would put it... Went around Ayala helping her look for a birthday gift for her Di-chie. We were looking for a Finding Nemo stuff animal her sister liked, but it seems someone already bought it perhaps as a gift for the Holidays. So we looked around for another gift and so... here comes once again my natural affinity for jewelry... dunno why it always happens this time of the year... It's one of those bead-type bracelets. I chose it and my friend liked it too. This is what I inherit from all those numerous shoppings with mom where I have to decide which is nicer... this or that?... And that includes ladies' wear... hahay... A diploma for AB Fine Arts Major in Fashion Design and Major in Interior Design wouldn't be too far with this "job" I have to take on.

After our brief shopping, we parted ways to have dinner elsewhere. She with her friends and me with my family. We'll meet up again anyway after dinner. I had dinner at Cafe Adriatico @ Crossroads with our BIG family and then had dessert at La Marea. Didn't have any dessert 'coz I'm watching my sugar intake for the holidays... with all the brownies, cookies and other pastries stuffed in the fridge. So after dinner, I went to play bowling and billiards at Bowlingplex together with my hi-skul buddies Fritz, Brian, Ryan, Michael, Neil and Adrian. And then, my friend and 3 of her other friends arrived namely Jana... yeah that's Jana Salvador... Abigail & Michelle (funny names come to think of it right Mangks? but it's not THEM) We stayed at Bowlingplex till 12. Got dropped off by Fritz at StarMart. Asked mom to extend my curfew by 20 minutes... and I got an OK to that.

Yipee... Then had the nicest chat at StarMart alone with... Our chat got drastically cut off since I barely had a minute of curfew extension... so we crossed the street and rode on a cab at the corner of Foodland. T'was such a shame I didn't have a car to bring her home. Darn it. And what's worse, she insisted on paying for the cab even if I insisted that she just take my 100 peso bill and to keep the change or perhaps surprise me with something using the change. Ok, fine! Maybe it's a girl thing that they'd like to serve and help people... (Got that theory from RTP... right Mangks?... mwehehe... peace yo!) So the cab just had to fill in till I get my own Ferrari in 10 year's time. The cab dropped me off at the guardhouse of our village and brought my friend to her house at Silver Hills. Asked her before disembarking the cab to text me when she reaches home. After 10 minutes, I got a text from her "I'm home na. =)"... plus a nice good night message. Wow! What a way to end the night! And still I can't sleep 'coz our chat continues tomorrow (that's if I have no unexpected errands... Leslie could attest to how my time can go from zoom to poof... *pffft)... maybe at Starbucks... definitely my treat this time.

Surreal but nice... The pessimist in me senses something wrong's bound to happen. But I read this article in a magazine which said, "Pessimists will often be right, because they keep touch with reality. But it's the optimists who will accomplish more and live longer." I'm trying so desperately to be the latter.

--+--!!!Joyeux Noelle!!!--+--

As my blogsite turns 1 year old, may I also greet all of you a very Merry Christmas!!! Time does fly so fast... I could remember exactly one year ago, I didn't sleep on Christmas Eve and was busy designing my first template... and since that very day this site has had 6 different looks. Hopefully it shall keep on reinventing itself as another year ushers in new opportunities and more colors.

I'm finally done with buying and distributing gifts with my mom. Finally my left leg can rest from all the clutch work... hehe. Just came home from Noche Buena at our Go-ku's house in the same village as ours. Yummy food... lechon, dinuguan, chicken alexander, noodles, choco mint cake, mango crepe. etc. After dinner, we lit some sparklers and watched Finding Nemo in my Go-ku's home entertainment "theater" hehehe... Never saw the movie before, and I definitely enjoyed watching it tonight together with the little "chikitings"...

Go-ku then gave me a nice Parker pen... same as what I bought a week ago for my manita (sa council party). I could remember myself at Country Mall having doubts whether I should buy that pen for my manita. Wanted to buy it for myself, but I had to give it to my manita... good thing the gift somehow came back to me... hehehe. It really is Christmas! Merry Christmas peeps!!!

It's already 4AM and I still can't hit the sack. Had too much food I guess from the 3 parties I had today. First was a Christmas party lunch at school with the CompE faculty. Had lots of fun with the games Ma'am Daday made. We, Johan and Mark, enjoyed playing the games with our teachers, their families and the working students... the lechon was yummmm... never knew how naughty Dr. Maja could get.... hahahaha!

Then this afternoon, I went shopping with my mom for gifts. Jeremy tagged along with us and then by 6:30, we departed Ayala for Walter's house for their bible study group's Christmas party. The barbecue served was a unique one... tasted like an Indian or Vietnamese dish. We were the ones who did the "sugba" and they just provided the marinade... sarap, especially with the smoke taste I added to the barbecues by burning them right over the flaming coals. And of course, there was another lechon. Then by 11, I went home and just ate some of the scraps left from the Christmas party my uncle tendered for his employees. Was so happy to see the parol I made finally completed and hung at our porch... I'll try to post a picture of it... remind me to add a digital camera to my Christmas Wish List. The Christmas spirit is so much in the air... hahahayyy... I'll try to sleep na...

--+--!!!Happy Birthday to Karen Diane Limchio!!!--+--

Saan ang pulutan? jokjokjok.

I'm at Metro Cafe... doing more Friendster messaging than blogging. So keep this short else my mailbox will burst IN MY FACE.... It's cold here... really cold despite my thick jacket... I wish it were snow, but it's just cold air... and with my icy site... never mind...

Last night I attended 2 Christmas parties... both with the manito-manita thing. My wallet started crying yesterday... huhuhu... hehehe. The first party started somewhere 6:30 at the school canteen. It was the Christmas party of the Collegiate Engineering Council. I stayed for only 30 minutes... didn't even get to the eating part 'coz had to leave at 7:00 for Casa Verde for my next party.

Casa Verde was a nice resto. We rented the function room and it looked so cozy with the rain pouring outside and the glass was all fogged up. Ideal setting for a date of two... hehe. Anyway, their baby back ribs was a sure winner... it tasted very good, but I think Racks still beats them all. They also have this colossal iced tea place in a huge vase... worth 45 pesos only. Hehehe... After dinner, we had our exchange gifts. I got a nice red Penshoppe shirt from my manito, Michael Tee. Thanks, Kiwe! After the exchanging gifts, Stephanie had to leave early, so did Marie, Angela and Mary Ann. Only a few of us were left, so we spent the remainder of the night at Bo's Capitol sipping coffee. I had my usual espresso shot... nothing like warn espresso on a cold rainy night. Most of us there at Bo's were the guys and we just talked stuff about Boogie... hehe. Had fun keeping pace with them and I just realized he'll be graduating this year and will be taking the arki board exam. Good luck then. Reached home a few minutes past 12 and immediately hit the sack.

Cold December days are here again. My first class for today was still gonna be at 1:30, but had to go to school early at 7 to present the permit to the guard so that the Dunkin Donuts delivery van could enter the campus for our Christmas Fair. After that, I went to Chong Hua together with Kris Winnie to visit Leslie's dad. Learned a lot about medicine for just one day... hahay... I'm a frustrated surgeon. Anyway, we stayed for around 2 hours and then went to Robinson's Place to have lunch. And then I rode back to USCTC just in time for my 1:30 class. And now I'm taking my break, blogging, accessing Friendster and playing Starcraft here at TAP...

Went shopping for Christmas presents with my mom today. We went to the Christmas Bazaar Sale of CIS located beside City Sports Club. Today was their last day, so we tried to shop as fast as we could. Their goods were of very good quality... export quality. The decors they were selling were really nice... nice to hold, nice to touch, but if you break it, it's considered sold. Bought lotsa stuff for mom's godchildren, business partners and a number of presents for our relatives. Got me a new wallet too... =D Had fun really, and it was a good exercise to polish my taste.

Tonight, our household help and I were doing the wiring of our decors here at home. I hope I'll finish decorating the house by this week 'coz this has long been overdue... got bugged down due to academic load... hehe. 5 days to Christmas break!

At last, it's already the weekend... Last week of classes for 2003 and in 5 day's time it's Christmas vacation. Yipee! Today, I went around to look for a nice gift for my manita... hehe. My wallet surely gave out a shriek with all the expensive stuff. Good things never come cheap, so gotta be a bargain hunter. Haven't bought anything yet, but I'll try to budget this very well to avoid a repeat of last year. Could have bought many many things had I not been so rash with my decisions. Wanna keep my angpaos intact as much as possible.

Peeps, please pray for Leslie's dad that he will get well soon. If you know of anyone who is willing to donate blood (any blood type), please tag on my board so that I could let Leslie know about it. Enjoy your weekend!

Such a hectic day for me... It's nearly 6PM and haven't had breakfast or lunch yet. Our IC in our laboratory class didn't function well, so we had to extend for around 2 hours plus... so there went my lunchbreak. And then had to study for Java exam... memorized lots of terms, but Sir gave test items that had something to do with tracing, syntax and troubleshooting... argh... perfect waste of memory allocation... dumping in progress... Can't wait for Christmas break already.

I feel so disgusted, frustrated and so disappointed over someone. He's been a great help for the past 2 days... I was even so amused and grateful that someone could help me so much and so sincerely. He even goes out of his way to do follow-ups regarding the things I need to accomplish. Today, it turns out he asked me for a return favor... and it had something to do with money... but hey, the money ain't personally mine... it belongs to the organization I WORK for... take note... I WORK FOR. I'm just a servant as much as a leader. Though I can call the shots, I'm principled enough not to mismanage funds out of pity or out of utang na loob. How could someone ask 80 pesos for a taxi ride for an errand? Mas maarte pa ako, but I'm conscientious enough to take a jeep ride when the money I'm spending doesn't belong to me. We ran through the whole expense and it just amounted to 35 pesos... and he says 80 was just his "estimate". WHAT AN ESTIMATE! It's more than twice the actual! And to think it's an estimate made AFTER the actual spending. I thought it was even an OFFER... and to think the place was, according to him "Just along the way home..." There's such a thing as transportation allowance, but public servants must not abuse it. It's like you're invited to a party of your friend and he asks you to order anything you want. You don't just order the most expensive dish just because someone else will be paying for it anyway... It may just be 80 bucks this time. Yeah, it's just cheap change right and I could even give 100 with the 20 peso as bonus for the hassle, but what if this happens again some other time... he'll probably squander a thousand, a million, etc... I won't let it happen ever, over my freak'n dead body. I won't let it pass this time and I won't ever... and I will make an example of it. I've consulted my right hand officer and we've decided not to disburse even a cent so as to teach him a thing or two about spending HARD-EARNED, PUBLIC funds wisely.

And I hate SUBMARINES. If you want something from me, tell it to me straight out and be frank about it. Don't try to play sweet 'ol nice with me just to soften me up. I don't wanna blog more today... The thought of it sickens me.

Spent the whole night formulating a Friendster testimonial for a friend. Got nothing really to do, so I decided to play around with my vocabulary... hehehe. Got nothing to blog too, so I guess I'll keep this entry a lot lot shorter than my usual posts.

I badly need to take a breather, so I'll blog.

No classes today, but it's free days like these that I dread. When school is off, my workload multiplies. My mom woke me up from slumber this morning and told me that the car's aircon wouldn't chill. Checked the connections and guess what?... the car ran out of freon... there's this big leak in the evaporator, so without freon, the whole aircon system crashes. Had to drive the car all the way to Mandaue to have it fixed in the Mitsubishi service center.

When the car goes to the shop, problems multiply... not only do they multiply, they exponentiate to the infinith degree. I was dropped at Ayala by Mitsubishi's service vehicle and then from there, I rode on our delivery van to my Si-ee's house. Went to her house to take some of our furnitures which were stored there for years and transport them to our house. Lifted a lot of boxes and an entire sala set with only one of our employees to assist me, since the others had so much more important work to do. Did all these without having breakfast or lunch due to the very tight schedule. I was supposed to drive the pick up, while our employee was to watch the furnitures at the open back of the pickup. Guess what.... I left my driver's license in our car at the shop... just my luck. So the employee was the one driving and there I was at the back of the pickup all the way from Mabolo to our house, enduring the burning heat of the sun at high noon. I now know how an egg feels when it's being cooked. On the brighter side, it was a nice ride. I could feel the wind rushing through my face... as if I were driving a convertible... yeah right, dream on.... maybe in 20 year's time perhaps.

So when we reached home, had to unload everything... it was like doing the same job twice. My shirt was all drenched in sweat. Upon seeing lunch food on the table, I ate like there was no tomorrow... manners all lost... hehe. Afterwards, I took a 15-minute rest, took another bath, changed clothes and had myself dropped at Ayala. Upon reaching our store, Amparito Lhuillier and some of the Kastilas were there, so we were busy entertaining them... I was kinda happy when they commended our chicken and leche flan... hehehe. My day just blossomed right at that instant...

The afternoon then became a drag... (It's so hard to keep me still in one place...) So I went to City Sports... supposed to sit by the pool and recline and nap on those sundecks... but I don't know what went into my mind such that I ended up at the gym. I was really tired, but maybe I just wanted to finish myself off right away and drain myself out of energy completely. I was thinking that if I get really drained out, it would be easier for me to sleep tonight. It's been a week of workout missed due to school pressure. It's about time I got back to the act. Besides, with the Holidays fast approaching, I better burn more fat... with the lechons, roasted calfs and tons of Christmas party invitations (currently 7), it wouldn't be a surprise if you peeps would find a pig walking around Ayala any time soon... that would be me. Hehe... besides, I don't wanna waste all those pinaghirapan muscles just by laziness. It's not easy to get at this point without self control and discipline, so gotta maintain it well... Hmm... Leslie and Diane will be having a party next next week... better have those washboard abs in time for the pool party... yipee... I'm such a party animal!

So after 2 hours of workout, I decided to visit Bo's Coffee Club to have my usual hot chocolate on a ceramic mug. It's been a long time since I visited Bo's due to the Starbucks preference that I get drawn into. Starbucks is of superior brand, but I guess Bo's is of better value for students like me who still doesn't earn to finance my expenses. It's still my parent's money I'm spending... and sometimes when I spend a lot, I kinda feel guilty spending the money I really didn't sweat out to earn. Anyway, as I went into Bo's, I met someone I haven't seen for 4 years... "X" marks the spot... get it??? Talked to her for a while since she was waiting for a friend of hers. She has this major problem she shared to me. Wanted to help her really, but family problems have never been my forte... I'm still embattled with mine... besides, I think it's that kind of problem where only she could solve it... We've gone through it before and it's been 4 years from that time and still she hasn't surpassed it... It was that same problem that broke us off. Been there, done that. I don't include "would-be" in-laws in the courtship thing... It's just me and the girl.

Something funny happened while at Bo's. While we were talking, Michelle and Mercy entered Bo's. Nanagad si Mercy and si previously #1... hahaha! After Mercy's very perky greeting, Miss Y ("X") commented "Pretty lagi friend nimo in blue." She was reffering to Michelle... These words came out of my mouth so tactlessly, "Aba, syempre pretty jud, 'coz I used to have a crush on her. Taga-Pharma na cya... dean's list #1" Uhh... after a few seconds, I thought "Hey, that did not sound right." Am I right? I saw Miss Y's reaction and I could tell that she wasn't so happy about it. Was I harsh to do react that way? I didn't do it intentionally naman... it just came out... I don't think I was harsh to say that... I must have just said what I felt at that moment... It might seem insensitive now as I ponder it, but it was the truth... As what I said, harsh is not in my vocabulary... maybe the right term would be "brutally frank"?

Afterwards, I went to do my usual supervisor-job around the mall... hehe. Saw this very nice polo shirt at Mossimo... Nice white cloth material with prints of small "+" mouse icons... It looks like the mouse icon that shows when you move a window... PhP 1,590. Quite expensive... but I really want it. I dunno if I could buy it with all the manito-manita exchange gift rites around. Two in school and another one still being planned within the family. My wallet's gonna be nagging me again this time of the year.

Anyway, so I'm now home with 2 program assignments to finish by 7:30AM tomorrow. Thanks to our CompE teacher who didn't teach us well, we have to troubleshoot our programs via phone and as of this moment, we're passing to each other our revised programs via the internet. Thank God for the internet, I dunno what I'd accomplish without it. Hmmm... many people are doing Friendster already. I just spoke of being a Friendster user this afternoon and it seems that as I open my Friendster account now, someone has requested to be added... hmmm... hahaha! Ang bilis naman... Enough said, my short break has been overly extended and now I'll have to go back to the bluescreen editors.

It's already 1:20AM... had a really long, tiring, and stressful day and still I can't sleep... maybe because I woke up so late this morning... I was tasked to decorate the outdoor facade of our house today. I would have wanted to finish the decorating job by the morning so that I could join Leslie and her friends at Ayala as previously agreed.

What happened was, I woke up so late at 10:30... rushed to Ayala in time for the pick-up teller and then I had to buy some Christmas lanters "parols" near Redemptorist Church, which cost 30 pesos each... bought a dozen (red, blue, green and yellow) Went to Mango Square to have lunch at Persian Palate and then went to Ayala to buy Christmas series lights and other stuff like wires, extension cords, hooks, etc. Finished shopping all these by 3:00. Went home to decorate. I thought the job would take an hour, but I finsihed at around 6:00. T'was so hard hanging the parols on the leaves of the palm tree... I underestimated the tree's height... hehe... I'm short after all. From the house, went to Makro to buy french fries and chicken for our store and reached Ayala at 7:00. The cooks in the kitchen of our store got a reprimand from me 'coz a customer complained that his beef tips weren't juicy. I asked the cook to cook a sample serving of beef tips and true enough, they weren't following the right procedures in cooking our sizzling beef tips. It's so hard to find obedient and hard working employees nowadays. Showed them the correct way of cooking it as written in the manual... and as I had that sample for dinner, the meat was juicy as it ought to be. I dunno why they have to deviate from the manual... they better open up their own store if that's the case.

After dinner, I made apas with the peeps at Bo's. I was with them for only a short while 'coz Rouselle was sorta tired and wanted to go home by 10, so was Mary Ann and the rest of the peeps. Diane to had plates to draft. On the way out, Leslie introduced me to Maricar - Legendary CompE Council President... 3 presidents prior to my seat. Found out that she works at Bigfoot too and so I asked for help. Hope I get it this time.

Went back to our store to close it and then went to Tinder Box with family for a Banana Berry Shake, Belgian Pegi Waffle and Cinnabon. I'm now home, so tired and stressed out with such a hectic schedule for today and... I CAN'T SLEEP! ... just my luck.

--+--!!!Happy Birthday Di-ku!!!--+--

Didn't have a lot of class today 'coz most of the ECE teachers went for their recollection. Spent the afternon bumming around at the council office. Had a chat with someone after my last class. Hope he finds his way in deciding which course of action to take. I can help so much as to advice, but choices in life all depends on the person involved.

Well, we just came from dinner at Lumpia House. Yummy food... too bad wasn't able to eat the crab 'coz I'm allergic to it... oh well. Got a bit drenched from the rain, since I parked the car somewhere at Bowlingplex. I'm now downloading some Windows update overnight... around 54MB... hehe. Can't wait for tomorrow!

These December nights are getting colder... Woke up this morning with cold feet, literally. Forgot to put on a blanket last night, but sarap nang tulog... reminds me of L.A. when I went there 8 years ago... It felt like waking up in the morning with the window so cold, the house so chilly that they'd install a heater in their house instead of an airconditioning unit. And then you get out of the house to see the sun burning up high, but the temperature is at around 10 degrees...

Today, everything fell into place. Won back my sponsors and hope that they'll perform well next next week in terms of sales. Was so happy today 'coz somebody cared to drop a pack of instant noodles into our donation box. At least I know there are still warm hearts out there.

Today's realizations: The world is a perfect balance. At this very moment, someone's born to this world, while another crosses over to afterlife. Someone's crying tears of joy, while someone has a pillow wet with tears of pain. Someone's getting married, someone's getting divorce papers signed. Someone's in heaven, someone's in hell. Someone's getting a promotion, someone's getting fired. Someone takes his first step, while another takes his last. My life, it's been a cycle of perfect balance. I've been blessed with a colorful life, with extreme bliss and extreme depression. I wonder if I'm alone in this or is everyone else feeling the same thing in their lives? As to this moment, life still is a balance... happy that I have fulfilled so much in a given day, but worried if everything would turn out just right... But I've stopped worrying about tomorrow... let it take care of itself. But still no matter how, anxiety sets in.

I have thoughts on something, but too scared to make it a reality. I believe there are more people out there to help, to please and to comfort. It takes a lot of gut left to gather up courage to build dreams only to be shattered somehow... and what's worst is that they come crashing down not of my own doing. Cynic but real. Hopefully winter solstice shall pass to make way for a brighter, warmer summer solstice... but for now I must enjoy the snowfall 'coz it is as beautiful as the sunrises and sunsets of summer. After all, they balance each other out, so have to make the most of it while it lasts somehow.

Hehehe... Today was one day full of shocking surprises for me. This morning, I received a note that Dunkin Donuts got banned sa TC, so we can't have them sponsor us. It's still hanging for now 'coz negotiations are still going on... hafta find out tomorrow pa. And then our next sponsor, Thirsty, was supposed to be our concessionaire, but since the Christmas Fair was moved from the 10th to the 15th, the schedule was in conflict with Alpha Phi Omega's Anniversary and they too will be having Thirsty as their concessionaire. The good thing though is that our permit got signed by Sir Bumaat first, before theirs, so I guess we have an upper hand. Don't really wanna bump the frats, but we'll resolve to a win-win situation here.

And then at 3PM, I was surprised to find many of my classmates rehearsing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star..." outside our classroom for Speech61. I totally forgot that we have this activity regarding facial expressions. We were to chant the "Twinkle Twinkle..." in 5 different facial expressions: Happy, Sad, Angry, Excited and HORROR. Thank God I got to pick Excited. Had I picked horror, I could just have stood infront the whole time and that would have passed for horror.... hehehe. We had fun laughing at each other's faces... hehe. We all got flat one for the daring feat.. weee!

Adrian Ding texted today regarding that thing he wanted to help me with... We'll it turns out another sales talk from Nu Skin... hehehe...

Les I'll have to size up this Saturday. If ever I could join you peeps (which I'd really like to... *ahem), maybe I could stay only for a short while... that is if we could meet at around 1 or 2PM. My ermats made yaw yaw whole Saturday night regarding my being laagan on Saturdays. She said the laag of 5 hours was too much. I didn't know kasi that she needed my help in the store at around 6 'coz it was busy. Well, she didn't text so how'd I know. Ask and you shall receive. During that time, we were still in your uncle's house putting those strawberries and kiwi over the icing and putting the whole cake in the refrigerator. Anyway, the rantings just fell on deaf ears 'coz I really had fun that Saturday. Besides I have the RIGHT to use MY time, MY way. And it was my brother's birthday, so I couldn't give a ****. Oh well, just keep me posted. Talked to Walter this PM and he's not sure pud unless he won't be bogged down by their thesis. If not, then you'll see the two of us there. Hehe... Hope the cake tasted good. At least we know how to make eggnog... hehehe

-++-!!!Happy 18th Birthday to my beloved Brother!!!-++-

I woke up really late today. I was supposed to attend a CEC meeting regarding the assignment concessionaire booth spaces, a Robotics Club meeting and a FlashMX lecture... but I woke up at around 10AM... and so I miss all 3 of them... hehehe... nasty. This is what happens when I indulge too much of this free internet connection. In lieu of what I was supposed to do, I turned on my PC and continue to design my Christmas template, which I just finished a few minutes ago... I'll upload it in 3 day's time, since art must be progressively observed to be able to notice those minor flaws.

As for today, I spent the afternoon helping Leslie bake a strawberry shortcake. It definitely was, literally was, a SHORT cake. Instead of 3 layers of sponge cake, we reduced it to 2 really thin layers (like pizza...) why???... well, we lacked equipment, the recipe instructions given by Leslie's friend were rather vague and the dough took so long to get cooked, so some of the layers were still sticky. Instead of baking a cake, I think we learned how to bake really tasty EGGNOG. It was better than eggnog... hehehe. Well, at least it wasn't a total flop. The kiwi and strawberries surely tasted good... the icing was unique, but I think I added too much water such that the cream collapsed. So what we did was to freeze the cake and hopefully it could pass as an ice cream cake... hehe. I'll leave baking to the ladies and do more frying instead... hehehe.

We had dinner at Bigby's Cafe. I met Adrian Ding there and he recognized my face since I helped him set up his laptop and projector during a Pharma seminar a few months ago. He even thought I was a Pharmacy student, but I told him proudly that I was CompE... naks... just told him that I was at Pharma since I was asked to help set up his techie-stuff. He asked why I took that course and I had to explain him that long story that dates back to the Marian hills of the land of white and blue. He's really friendly, but he knew me by face value only so he had to ask my name. When I mentioned his name, he asked me how I got to know him. Well, let's just say that during my high school days, I got handcuffed to her sister in one of the SHS-G fairs... hehe. I could still remember struggling to get those cuffs off (trying so hard to magic my right hand to shrink...) and I hated those who handcuffed me. I hated the whole handcuffing ordeal (having to pay chits to be freed, having to waste chits over a chocolate or a card for the girl, not to mention the shame of being seen tied to someone else). And, as a matter of fact, I also ended up hating the girl I got handcuffed to (Ding's sister... forgot her name) 'coz her friends kept teasing us. Hahaha! I was so inutil then... hehehe. Hahay... I just laff whenever I reminisce things of the past just like that one. Life's been so colorful.

I was so sleepy the whole day... this is what I get for sleeping again at 4AM... hehe. Now that I've ran out of things to download, I guess I could catch up on my sleep. Anyway, last night I had a very interesting conversation over phone... my longest so far... clocking at a rate of 2 hours and 39 minutes... hehehe. I had fun talking, by the way... As for today, had an exam under Sir Burce... wasn't as difficult as I expected. THat's the good thing with Sir... he makes you scared, so you'd really study. If you really do study and listen very well to his discussions, a flat one grade won't be far away... hehehe. I felt so relieved today. So I treated myself to a nice green tea frappuccino at Starbucks tonight... yummm... Someone posted about my template, and yeah... a new one's brewing on the sketch boards...

Got nothing to blog now, so I'll post some lyrics I've longed to post.

MAYBE
by Side A

There I was waiting for a chance
Hoping that you�ll understand
The things I wanna say
As my love went stronger than before
I wanna see you more and more
But you closed the door
Why don�t you try to open up your heart
I won�t take so much of your time

Maybe it�s wrong to say please love me too
�Coz I know you�ll never do
Somebody else is waiting there inside for you
Maybe it�s wrong to love you more each day
�Coz I know he�s here to stay
But I know to whom you share it along

I believed what you said to me
We should set each other free
That�s how we wanted to be
But my love went stronger than before
I wanna see you more and more
But you closed the door
Why don�t you try to open up your heart
I won�t take much of your time

Maybe it�s wrong to say please love me too
�Coz I know you�ll never do
Somebody else is waiting there inside for you
Maybe it�s wrong to love you more each day
�Coz I know he�s here to stay
But my love is strong
I don�t know if this is wrong
But I know to whom you share it along
(Repeat 2x)

Just wanna blog a few things. Before I got here, where I'm blogging at Metro Cafe, I rode on the Metro elevator. The sekyu tickled my funny bone with the way he "entertained " us throughout the ride. For every floor that the elevator doors would open to, he would tell us what the floor has in store for us, he'd greet newcomers and say Thank You to those leaving the elevator. It was rather funny, but I guess that's what we need nowadays, more hardworking employees. If only I were one of the sons of the Gaisano's I'd recommend the sekyu for a promotion. Anyway, if you peeps wanna expereince what I mean, check it out for yourself.

As to my main entry for today... I was supposed to surf the net again till the wee hours of the morning last night, but I was too tired that I slept as early as 8PM. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the heaviest days of the week for me. Yesterday, due to the frustrations of programming in Assembly and due to just pure exhaustion, I was able to tell Sir Barangan that perhaps I'll withdraw the subject and retake basic assembly. At that I remembered his rule in giving grades... KSAV (Knowledge,Skills,Attitude,Values).. I think I made a boo boo there. I dunno, but my brain is not functioning nowadays. I dunno why. It's the sign of the times and I'm just getting old.... pffft. I just hope the people around me will understand if I I get cranky and easily irritated these days... hahay... Christmas season pa naman. I really don't intentionally say those mean stuff. I'm just too stressed, so hope you'd understand my occassional zings. I guess I'm not making sense here, so I better shut up. Loooong day again tomorrow. geesh.

I'm really enjoying this unlimited access from 12MN to 7AM. My internal body clock has already shifted to accomodate this... hehe. It's now a few minutes past 3AM and I'm still wide awake. I'm downloading tons of MP3s and software updates to keep this computer of mine running in tiptop condition.

My mind keeps running with this certain image I can't get out of my head. It can't be happening again! I've already surrendered when it comes to fire... please get it off my system. Tried playing some games, but didn't work. Hopefully I could hit the sack with a clear mind after I blog this.

Les, I won't post the comments here 'coz the others won't understand what we're talking about. We'll talk about it during the weekend. As to the testimonial, any comments?... maybe I could revise it somehow 'coz I wrote it together with my previously long blogpost. Just tag me your comments so I can revise it at Friendster. Please don't hesitate, 'coz I think I can write better than what I've already written.

I got this invitation to join a Christmas party on the 18th this December. It will be like last year's party with the manito-manita stuff minus the cooking I did on almost all the dishes served, minus also that gutsy, but shameful act of kneeling infront of someone... hehehe. I don't want to see those *tooooot faces, but the one who invited me is someone that is in very good terms with me. I think those pathetic quadro losers didn't have the face to ask me, so they asked someone close to me to invite me in. Well, as what I told Melvs, I stick to my principle regarding invitations... and as long as the one inviting has nothing to do with my hesitation, then I always accept the invitation. Just being fair and proper here. I just hope my manita is worth the gift, or else I better buy some explosives to blast them off to the planet urANUS.... hehehe... Oh well, I'll lower my budget this time... maybe 200 will do fine. Revenge is so sweet and enticing. Somebody reign my horses in please... mwahahaha

Here are the designs of the 2 posters I mentioned earlier:

I wanted to post this blog Saturday night, but I reached home so tired and so *ahem, that I just slept so that nothing could ruin my Saturday. Read between the lines.

Saturday was one really long day for me, full of meetings, surprises and BLOOPERS. Had a Robotics Club meeting from 8 to 11. After that meeting, had to rush to an 11:00 lecture on Flash, which started at 12...grrr and ended sometime 2:00. I thought it was an advanced lecture, but to my surprise it was more like "click this, click that" for beginners. At least I got to see a demo of some existing websites that were made using Flash. Planned to pass an entry for Bigfoot's contest on Flash animation, but I think time is not on our side. Too many things to do for the council and passing that entry would take up much of my precious time. I'd rather start preparing for next year's web awards and perhaps pass a more award-worthy entry... hehe.

I was so eager to go to the mall to take a breather from my loooong week at school, but when I reached home, mom came down with a terrible migraine, so we stayed home all afternoon. After a massage at 4, mom felt better, so we left home at around 5. Was supposed to meet up with Leslie at Ayala at 5:00, but had to be "driver", so change of sked for me. Went to SM to have some keys duplicated and to buy a cell battery for my bro's fone. We then had dinner at Tsai, love the place and their new menu for November. Went to Ayala and was able to make apas. Met Leslie and Rouselle at Mercury Drug, then we went to Starbucks to wait for Diane and to just talk stuff. My stomach was full, so I bought nothing. Selle bought a bottle of their mineral water so that we could stay in the place without the "guilt" hehe. I enjoyed the whole chat at Starbucks. Nice place, nice people... met many people there... mura kog artista nga daghan kaayo kaila. Beth was on the table behind us, then came Gregory's mom, then Earl Uy came and then, Nitnit was there with her family, and many more. Pwede na ko ma mascot sa Starbucks... hehehe Uyyyy, someone owes me a bangka and another someone owes me a picture...mwahahahaha! Maningil jud ko!

Just as Diane arrived, I had to leave 'coz "driver" again... argh. Went home after closing our shop. Arrived home to an incompetent computer full of error messages... I wanted to blog, but was too tired, wanted to throw the PC to the big trash can, but I thought... what about my MP3s... hahaha so I hit the sack smiling ear to ear.

As to my Sunday, went to Makro early in the morning to buy hotdogs for the store. Then had breakfast at the Jollibee outlet outside Makro. Went to hear mass... always loved Msgr. Dakay's humorous homilies, the best! Went home to have lunch that was so... sarap! Started designing 2 posters for our council activities for the month of December. The posters took me the whole afternoon to conceptualize and design. My mind ran out of resources, so I had to reboot it by going to Ayala. Went shopping for Christmas gifts for our relatives in the land down under.

At Rustan's there was a family of 4, a mom and her 3 daughters I suppose. One of the girls, I know her to be the daughter of my "Tito". What caught my attention is that all 4 of them took a glance at me and went giggling off. It's the second time I've seen them do this. The first time of which was at a mass at Sacred Heart Church months ago. Did I do something wrong? I didn't feel good about it. I don't know any of them except my Tito's daughter. What confused me is why the mom also smiled as the 3 of them went giggling. Enlighten me peeps, my brain is not functioning. It's now my turn to get a female's POV.

Okay, here's something for you peeps to laugh about for all I care. I should put a LAFF KORNER in my blogsite, seems like I'm so bloopers nowadays. I think I'm just too stressed out. Okay, this blooper incident happened AFTER that giggling incident, so it has nothing to do with it. Here it goes. As mom asked for my opinion about a dress at Rustan's Jill for my aunt Eya, I did something really stupid... so bloopers. I took the dress, went for the mirror and placed the dress right infront of me as if I were wearing it... WHAT!!!???!!!??? I didn't know what made me do a silly thing like that... I need to see a doctor! Hahaha! Mom was laughing the whole time. It's so seldom to see her laugh out loud like that. I didn't know what to do, so I told her to do the shopping herself... I surrendered my shopping privileges and sat at the Ferragamo sofa chairs to ponder on what I just did. I think I know where this is going. The mental hospital will be admitting one additional patient this month. Christmas in the mental institution, anyone?

I'm so perky now... at 2:00AM! After dinner at Rai-Rai Ken with my lola, mom and bro, I bought an Infocom prepaid card for a hundred bucks... guess wat? I'm really enjoying these free hours from 12AM to 7AM... weeee... forgive me peeps, I just feel as if I've won the lottery...

I just finished designing one of the posters... wanted to make the second one, but my eyes have ran out of "taste", so have to do some other stuff and then back to work. I don't plan to sleep the whole night anyway... with this 7 hour access, there's no way I'm taking a break.

Read my previous post, I'm sure it drained much of your energy... sorry po, but just wanted to answer the questions "profoundly" as how Van put it. I left out something though, something important.

Before that, ika ilang HT na ba yan? hehe joke lang. As to the vice, I think I have an idea... hmmm... he keeps on... playing video games???... if that's it then I tell you I have this friend nga they split up because of video games!!! Ang babaw talaga!

As to the thing I left out, here it is. What's your understanding of that fear you said about breaking the bond if you go beyond friendship? Is it really a fear, or is it just the way things are still in your life? It's good that you noted that fear thing. It's true that sometimes we tend to take things to the next level only to find out that somehow everything we worked hard for gets lost in the process. I don't think it's fear, Van. Only you would know what you are capable of and what you are not capable of yet.

And here's something about guys... hehe. Maybe your HT is the kind of guy I'm reffering to here. With your kind of person, I'm pretty sure your HT belongs to the "pedigree" type, if you know what I mean... yung hindi askal... hehe. IF, that is, IF I were to assume na may gusto siya sa 'yo, I think what's happening to both of you now is also what my simulated program of the whole situation will project. The pieces of the puzzle fits. He doesn't have commitment issues. He just has issues on committing NOW. He's just that kind of guy who won't make a move until he's sure that he can handle a relationship in general. Being sigurista is different, because a sigurista moves only if he/she knows that the other party likes him/her. I know you can work the "fears" and differences out eventually, so no need to worry about that... But I ask you Van, if you were in his shoes, would you like to start a relationship already facing a problem or an uncertainty? Only you can answer that.

I'll show you an example of how different it is if problems arise before "WE" and after "WE". Most karaan Insik are not allowed to have a BF/GF who is of the same family name as the person. I give you a situation that involves me and I'll show you how my mind worked at that time. Alam mo, because of this, dami ko nang secrets nailabas 'coz I can't think of a better real-life example that can show a guy's POV... I hope this is worth it, pero sige na lang, I wanna rid off my secrets anyway, except the DARK ones... mwahahaha... if ever there are.

I think you know of Michelle Lim... do you?.. oo na.. si #1... #1 dati. Pareho kami... Lim. During the time where my eyes still sparkle for her (drama), I didn't know whether I'm allowed to court someone of the same family name. I didn't even know if mom was okay with the idea of me having a GF at my age. During that time, I'd deny my feelings, so that I won't do anything that might lead on to something forbidden. So whenever the Pharma peeps teased us, wala lang... cool lang ako. There was even once that I said something bad about Michelle just to prove that what they're teasing me is false. I'm so BAAAAD!!! With my reaction, obvious na bata pa ako noon... bata pa rin ngayon... hehehe. But I took it back eventually and had to eat my own words. It didn't taste good at all. *spit. And then there was one night na di ko talaga matiis, so I asked my mom that "If ever magka GF ako, pwede ba same family name". Of course mom asked why, and then I said, "Wala lang. Ask lang ko for precautionary measures." Liar! And then since yun na ang naging topic, todo ko na ring tinanong "Ma, kung Filipina, ok lang ba?" I think I pushed it too far this time... and it took mom a long while to answer me. I guess she grilled me with around 10 questions plus, before she gave me an answer of "Pwede, as long as mabait, because I'd rather a nice Filipina girl than a Chinese one who will give headaches to you." Aba, concerned... Naks naman! Sarap ng tulog ko nang gabing yun. It felt as if I gained an extra pair of lungs. After that night, if you knew me then, you'd probably see me frequently passing through the Pharma area to take a short "silip". There was even one time I allowed my friend to make me deliver something all the way t the Chem department. I was never the person who'd allow someone to boss me around, but somehow I gave in just to be able to pass by Pharma since it happens to be on the way to Chem dept.

See Van, my example was one that shows that maybe he still has issues about himself, relationships, time management, etc. that he still has to decide for himself. Truthfully, I still can't resolve my issues regarding landline phones. I can't picture myself calling my GF in the night to talk like those 7-hour chats till 4AM. Still a no no!

Okay, I got a few minutes since my sundo will be an hour late...

I'll post this for Vanessa. Other's read on, you might need it sometime, whether for yourself or to help a friend.

Let's go through it one at a time. I don't know how you should take my comments, but I'll just give it in black and white... it's up to you to decide whether it's black or white... no in-betweens please.

Comment for what you posted below the heading "On my distinctively colorful lovelife�as if I have one�"

Your HT has feelings, 'coz he's still a human being. Guys CAN be dense and insensitive... sometimes, most of the time, given a certain case, but it can NEVER BE TOTALLY. Girls, overanalyzing???... it's normal... , we guys do too. You can take me as an example for that...hehehe, right Mangks? It's not assuming to wonder... each one has a right to wonder and dream. Kilig moments??? guys are mostly insensitive about such things. Guys do sweet stuff not for the reason of getting that kilig feeling after... or like... thinking about it even if it was already months or years ago. Men are mostly "IMMEDIATE"... the feeling is now, now, now. If it feels good now, then cool, but if not, we get over it and try some other time.

Now for the questions.

Q1: If someone lets just say, a person who doesn�t know that you have a thing for your HT, teases you in front of him or her, what would you do? What would your reaction be??

I'd smile, but try not to give out the true meaning behind the smile. I won't like the idea of my HT knowing my feelings out of a joke or a tease from someone. I would rather let him do the teasing on me and then when nobody's around perhaps tell her the truth... but it's a guy thing to do. Mahirap kung ang babae ang siyang mismo magsabi sa lalaki...diba? As to what I'd do, I'll kill that person who teased me... he/she better run for dear life! hahahaha! Seriously, I'd tell that person straight out not to tease me again... that is if it is safe to disclose that info. It could be that the person teasing is the bestfriend of the HT, so in that case, BASA ka na rin. To admit one's feelings for a person must be said to that person discretely. Afterwards, you can broadcast it over CNN for all I care, but the "ideal" thing is to let that person be the first to know.... parang CNN na rin... be the first to know... hahaha!

Q2: If your HT becomes your close friend over a period of time, would you be pleased or would you hate the idea of you being his/her buddy?

I'd be happy that we got close. It's a good way to start. Relationships are best when people start off as very close friends. That way, when problems arise, it's easier to talk thing through. Plus, with the long span of time na friends kayo, it won't be easy to break off the relationship kasi sayang naman ang mga pinagdaanan diba? I'd rather risk losing a lover/crush/HT or anumang tawag diyan than to lose a friend. Mas masakit kapag mawala sa piling mo ang isang matalik na kaibigan. Question lang, I'm curious, what made you say that "you hate the idea of him being your buddy"??? Masama ba yon? I don't think it's wrong to be friends with someone, especially if that someone is a person you really like and would want to get to know more of.

Q3: If you showed him/her that you truly care for him/her and he/she still ends up being totally clueless of how you feel what would you do???

Ito ang mahirap na part. Medyo mahaba 'to, so read if you want to.

Many tears have been shed because of this question. It's really sad to note that there are just some people you can't please no matter how much effort you've put up for them. Sir Delante shared me a story of his na parang ganito, but not in a romance type. It was more of him helping someone out and that person didn't even care to remember him for the good thing he did and even disowned him as a friend. I can't tell the story, but if you heard of it, you'd see the world so differently, you'd wanna kill anyone who asks for your help next time...hahaha! Seriously, I can't say I speak for men's POV, but here's what I have to say based on my actions and feelings from an experience I had before.

There's a saying that "Who we like, doesn't like us and those that we don't, really do." Entiende? Before, I thought of this reality as really SICK, but somehow there's a reason for it. The reason for that is for us to really find the "right" match. Before, there was a girl from IE who kinda liked me. Whenever I passed by their classroom, I'd see heads turn as I walked. Quite flattering, but I honestly didn't like it. That particular girl was always nice to me, and so I was nice to her... same as what my #1 told me before... but it was up to there. I liked her for the nice things she did, pero I wasn't ready for anything and honestly, there were many things about her that I just can't reconcile with. She may be nice, but I just wonder what she'd be like kung maging "kami" na. The thing there is that I never did anything to suggest to her that I like her (because I really didn't have feelings for her), so that she won't be thinking wrong. Had I rided along with the whole thing, I might break her heart. She's still here in TC. Ocassionally, they do their "thing" that I don't really like, but I keep the friendship. I can't get mad or throw insults at them because they really did nothing seriously wrong. Masama bang mag-admire?... hindi naman.

So Van, I'm sure your HT has felt all the care you've done for him. Even the manhid that I am, I was still able to feel it. But my advice to you is to keep the friendship. It might develop somehow, but in a time that he may choose to... or better yet in a time HE up above chooses to. Show you care, but don't give your heart totally 'coz I don't want to see a friend of mine get hurt. Someone (*wrist) did that to me before and I learned it the hard way, so I hope with this advice, you, my friend, won't have to.

Van, I think he (whoever your HT is) knows that you like him. Some guys love to assume that and most of the time they are confident about it lalo na if they have tested you and na-buking ka. You haven't told me who that person is, so mahirap i-analyze ang intentions nya and how his mindframe is. To be safe, so that I don't judge anyone here, my analysis is that he's not ready yet for such things. Mosat likely he has someone special other than you. But then again that someone could be YOU. I don't know, but it's a possibility. Maybe hindi pa naging "kayo" kasi wala pang "spark" on his side. Tinatamad lang siya siguro or maybe he knows that since you like him, you'll always be there... so parang spare tire ka na rin. You won't like that to happen.

The best thing you can do now is meet more people. Sooner or later you'll find out if he's really the one for you. Study and do well in your studies... that's what I'm doing and seriously, it's more worth crying over grades than crying over someone who doesn't even care. I'd rather cry to have my tears feed a dehydrated plant than to waste it on insensitive wrethches... hahaha! Smile Van and know that you have friends. I sometimes wonder why we risk so much even to the point of getting bitterly hurt just to be able to pour out all that love inside for that one single person, when in fact we can get so much more love from our friends and there are also many out there whom we could help and love. I wonder why it's like that.

Anyway, hope I have shed some light to the topic.

I got cut off my internet connection sa bahay. I asked my ISP kasi to cut it when I reach my limit, 'coz I have this tendency of downloading MP3s during dusk and I tend to fall asleep, so the meter continues to count even if no bytes/files are being transferred. So there's my remedy and since I overshot my limit, this is what I have to pay... 9 more agonizing days of no connection. Have to buy a prepaid card tomorrow to augment this.

I still have many things to do, like design 2 posters which will need a net connection for the images... grrrr and have to make a testimonial for Leslie and then answer Vanessa's BIG Q, so I'll just type all those tonight and hopefully post them when I get a prepaid connection..

I'll be having lotsa fun tomorrow. Robotics lessons in the morning, Flash animation tutorial and demo over noon and MALLING with friends in the afternoon. Sana we get to have a nice dinner, para kumpleto ang araw... hehehe.

By the way, nice chat last night Maia. I had fun, pero like they say good things have to end... The sala is closely connected to my Ama's room, so kawawa naman... she has to sleep.

Another school day it was. Had fun making stambay at the department... for the first time. I didn't know that the CompE department could be a stambayan... hehehe... Well, Corrine was there together with Tiffany... they were volunteering to be the "secretary" while Ma'am Ann went home for some emergency. Well, had fun talking with them... definitely first impressions aren't everything. Till here muna coz I'm blogging at TAP and my sundo will be here any moment now.

Just got home and opened a couple of emails. I wanna note specifically one which I got both from Maia and Leslie. It was a forwarded message entitled "I Love You No Matter What" It was definitely a loooong and COLORFUL email complete with practically all the cliches there is about love and relationships. I found the points there true and hopefully... hopefully I could once again embrace them... hopefully someone can make me believe in MAGIC like Paypims does. I know it takes a lot to let go and let be, but I still believe in the most constant thing in this world... CHANGE.

Oh well, I'm enjoying a nice song from Side A... dunno the title, but I know it's been around for years, but it's only now that I sorta play it over and over again on Winamp. I'll post the lyrics once I get the song title.

Hahay... boring days are here again. I think my head's gonna explode soon with all the lectures my professors are giving me... have to find something to take my mind off those logic diagrams and equations. I know it's still Tuesday, but I'm soooo looking forward to a nice afternoon with friends and at the movies this weekend. Can we just fast-forward to Saturday pleeease....

This is a reply to what Leslie asked me to analyze in her blog posted at www.kenzz.blogspot.com.

First of all, why's he so defensive of the type of message? I mean when people send messages, they don't explain to the recipients that they sent that same message to everyone else. When I send text messages to people, I don't have to brag and tell them that I sent it to others just to show off or to make that person feel special. I dunno, but it's kind of a weird thing to do. Personalized messages usually aren't sent to everybody. It's sent only to the person involved. Even if they were sent to everyone accidentally, you don't have to broadcast that detail to the entire world.

From what you analyzed, it seems that magulo ang situation... If you think that his phone doesn't have the "Send to all" feature, then you're hunch is most likely to be true. From what I've read and what I've experienced yesterday, I only have 2 possible analysis. It's either he has this unusually weird streak or he's much of a pretender. One thing though, I don't trust people like that. Usually when people are hard to analyze and they do things that confuse you as to their intentions, there's only one thing to be sure of... they're hiding something or they're just telling you "stories" to make you go delusional. They are the kinds of people who do not show to us who they really are. Whether he's weird or "plastic", either way it's bad. I never liked liars, 'coz trust is REALLY a big issue for me... I never give second chances in this area. Once a liar, always a liar.

I think that's all I am to comment 'coz I really don't know that person, so I can't be the judge.

Hmmm... this will be a lengthy one.

Today was one of those "colorful" days minus the blues, purples and dark shades of gray. Yellow rays of the sun awoke me to an early 7:00 morning. Had to go to school to preside over a council meeting at the same time attend a Robotics Club lecture. I had to forego the latter, since planning is what my engine is made for. We had a very successful brainstorming session this morning. I've finally incorporated some form of communtiy service into the council's calendar of activities. We planned for a raffle this Christmas and an outreach program "Adopt-A-Child" I don't know how to do this exactly, but I hope that we can put this thing together for the little KIDS. For the first time, we're planning to hold a Decorate-A-Classroom competition in our CompE wing. Sounds like grade-school, but it would be nice to see CompE students united in making our 5 classrooms shine with that Christmas ambiance. Just a thought... we should hang a few mistletoes! HAHA!

We've noticed the dying Christmas spirit... yeah yeah luma na yan... so it would be nice to at least put some effort to revive it somehow. When I was younger, I used to look forward to Christmas with so much enthusiasm, that I once was able to put up the Christmas tree all by myself, decors, lights and all, but that was before... like 10 years ago. Now, it's like... *(cricket sound)... Christmas just passes by like - go to mass, opening of gifts, thank you's, Noche Buena and that's all. Some Christmas Day's of the past just seemed like ordinary Sundays. Ho hum... I would so much like it to be different this year, but HOW??? Still have to make ammends with Him up above.

Back to our meeting, we planned for a Counterstrike tournament open for all USC students... that's for those who are socially-aware enough to read the posters... and we also planned to open a cookie factory booth for Heart's Day... hehehe. Roses are RED and they're... common and boring, so let's go into FOOD! Ma-busog pa ang girl... hehehe And then we planned what to propose to Globe, since they're planning to make an investment for our CompE department... weeee! FREE Internet Access, High-performance PCs and a server that downloads softwares for us to burn into CDs for school use (Home copy)! We also planned to throw a big year-end party FREE ENTRANCE for the CompE peeps, probably at Sunflower City. I hope I'll have the money for this crazy venture of mine.

By the time we ended our Council meeting, the Robotics lecture also ended, so I never got the chance to hear the lecture... sacrifice again. But with every sacrifice comes a CONSOLATION PRIZE... and seems like today's consolation prize is even better... parang na ring jackpot.

I was headed for Ayala to meet Krishy and Mary Ann at Natio. It was so traffic on the way, since all roads lead to Ayala Center today for their BIG ANNIVERSARY MIDNIGHT SALE. Hope you peeps knew about or else you just missed out on those fat discounts.

Anyway, when I met Kris and Ann near Natio, I met even more people there. There's Joy, DonDon - Kris' wuvyduvy...hehehe and Rouselle, who is Leslie's BF (Best Friend) hehehe... We went around looking for sandals for Kris and then through our adventurous travels, we reached Starbucks. I have Starbucks to thank for the very informative and entertaining talk over a hot cup of Peppermint Mocha. I feel I've grown a year older and more mature listening to the younger people there... hehe. Sometimes if you give others the chance to speak their mind and if you really listen to them intently, you'd learn so much. That's why we're given 2 ears and only one mouth. The talk over hot java was already getting spicier, but due to the ongoing sale, I had to be pulled out of Starbucks by my mom for a second opinion on the shoe my brother wanted to buy. When I reached Rustan's to look at the shoe, MY GOD! Those can't pass for shoes! It's either I'm too choosy or my taste for things just can't be passed on to others. Maybe BOTH... Arghhhh! There goes the cynic in me. I was able to buy only 2 things because of my being so chooooosyyyyy! I bought a red shirt from Bossini and a pair of workout gloves from Nike Park. That was all.

After the shopping, my feet hurt a lot from walking from store to store trying to look for the "finer things in life"... this is what I have to pay for being so... hwag na lang. But still, the effort pays off, because in the end I definitely get the style/design that I really want. So I went back to our store at 6 to help. Because of the sale, our store and the other restaurants were full. The diners kept coming in. As one table is cleared, another group comes in to have thier orders taken. It was only at 10:00 that we were able to eat... whew! We even ran out of chickens, so I had to turn our Spacewagon into a Ferrari F1 and drive from the mall to our main kitchen just to get extra 15 chickens more. All in a day's work. It's the least I could do to somehow pay for the things I just bought from the sale.

After having my late dinner, I made apas to Metro Cafe (where I used to frequent 2 years ago to enjoy their panini sandwiches... love them... especially how the cheese melts with the tuna). Leslie, Roselle and Diane were there hanging out to "analyze" certain stuff. I just gave my analysis, but I guess there's someone else I know who could do better than I did. You'll see who I mean once Leslie posts the argument either by mail, zonkboard or by posting it in her site.

Now I'm home blogging all this and somehow I realized that I wasn't totally myself today. The temperature over my World of Ice seemed to be warmer than usual. Maybe the sun rose too early and melted some glaciers or maybe I just unconsciously let down my guard defenses for a while. As the night drew the day to a close, I now realize and I admit with all honesty that there was a certain point today that fire threatened my Frozen Chemistry, but it was just a threat... To recognize that it was just a threat, it only took me to ask one very simple question... and the answer spelled the difference. Simple chemistry really... to thaw something back to its original state takes time. If you thaw frozen red meat by putting it in hot water, it will cook and turn to lightbrown. I never thawed too quickly, so I'm now back to the freezer and now frozen.

Is it chilly cold, or is it just me? As I took a hot shower a few minutes ago, I was thinking: Nowadays, I always try to find a reason to see the world like I used too... so much fire - this human thing called emotion. Do I need a reason to venture into something new? Maybe not. 'Coz I've come to that point where I'm happy & contented... I just am. It's a state where "It couldn't get any better than this." I'm happy now and I can't find any good reason to find more of it. I could say that I've been provided for and given what any guy of my age could possibly have. Perhaps there could be some wonderful thing missing, but to have it I might lose everything else I've been given. It's temporary bliss only a fool would succumb to. It breaks all rules of logic and reason only humans are capable of, be it man or woman. Many have taken the minor leap. Some found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, while some just found themselves digging their own graves. As for me, I still won't take that leap without knowing what's below... YOU COWARD... Well, I'd rather be called a coward than a FOOL. It all boils down to what a friend of mine once said, "SIGURISTA!" Hehehe...

Try to put sense in what I just blabbered. I don't think I made any sense. Somebody please do me a favor and put some sense in this coconut stuck over my neck.

I learned so much yesterday. Thanks to Ma'am Bandalan, I understood well how flip-flops function. When the topic was taught to me last year by Ma'am Go, I got so irritated 'coz no matter how she discussed, I just can't get what she was blabbering about... and since I didn't understand that topic, I just had to make a simple project that didn't integrate flip-flops in it. Perhaps now, I can make those really nice projects.

I had a class with Sir Burce today. He's strict, but I guess he's one teacher I will get to like and appreciate 'coz he really makes easy things hard, so it kinda challenges me to really study and learn more. I guess, this will be one challenging and oh-so-fun semester after all. Oh, and he wants us to put aethetics in our project... hehe. I'm planning to pass a prototype of an "All Glass Elevator"... cool wouldn't it be. And Sir will be giving bonus points to us for participating in school projects and events... hmmm... I should hold more events then as the Council's president... hehehe. I'm so EVIL.

My cough is still on, but it's getting better now. I went to see Dr. Lim last night and he prescribed me this antibiotic... Zithromax(Azithromycin). I am to take 3 tablets only, but each tablet costs 200 pesos! Ouch! Magastos talaga ang magkasakit, kaya bawal magkasakit.

My colds are still eating me up... hehehe. I'm taking the strongest medications already and still I'm coughing like a machine gun. This afternoon, I tried to have a massage... my first ever. I resorted to it 'coz perhaps it could help my present condition. True enough, the massuse told me that I have so many "lisay" which could have been the cause of the discomfort. For the whole time that I was having the massage, I didn't cough even once... Amazing!... but afterwards... cough cough cough... here we go again.

I have a birthday party to attend tonight, but I had to decline our "Shobe", since I would need rest and even if I went, I'd just be disturbing the people there and perhaps give them the virus too, so hwag na lang. I just greeted her over the phone and chipped in the payment for our group's gift.

As for my academics, my mind went blank when Sir Barangan was discussing this afternoon. He just speaks too fast... I'll have to download his slides any moment now so I could try to decipher what he was talking about. I hope he slows down a bit, 'coz my brain is no Pentium 4... much more an Athlon AMD.

Well, I'm a bit happier today to have Sir Maderazo as my networking instructor... I'm so proud of his network knowhow, especially how he's so knowledgable with the entire ARIS System and the CEAC laboratories. We're gonna start next week and he gave us a list of equipment and materials to buy... so I'll be shopping for computer hardware this weekend.

Sir Walton Lacorte is now my ECE 26 teacher. Our class is an all ECE class, except for me. And he noticed that I was CompE just by looking at me. He said �CompE ka diba?� I don�t know why he knows... scary! I didn�t know him by face till someone told me that he�s Sir Walton Lacorte. He speaks so softly for a teacher� I could barely hear him and I�m already seated at the frontmost seat. I should plug him to an amplifier� hehehe. Joke only� pero you know what... He said he will soon be teaching us about Bluetooth technology nearing the end of the sem... COOL! Sounds so techy-nice, but we'll see if he could reach that topic in time and if he REALLY knows the topic. I'll be the judge of that. Hehehe... I've evolved into a cynic person. Wasn't like that before, but it turns out, I'm having much fun with it. *zing!

I don�t feel so well today. My flu is acting up again and I was in a hurry to go to school that I forgot my inhaler� darn. I was practically breathing through my mouth the whole day due to my stuffy nose� and the weather just won�t cooperate� and the cold CEAC laboratory air aggravated my condition. I didn�t talk much to people today, since they won�t be able to understand what I�m saying. It�s like talking in French� using nasal tones.

I guess a sickly condition transcends forth a not so impressive performance. Shame on me today! Sir Barangan gave us a programming bonus problem on Assembly language worth 25 points in our advanced assembly class. I only got 18 because I was the 19th to pass. 25 points to the first two and then he made some bracket system for the rest and I got a mediocre 18 by placing 19th. And I gpassed the 19th � and to think I had to ask help from my seatmate who finished 3rd. Shame on me really. I got a flat one in my previous basic assembly language subject which I took a year ago� (advantage for the rest, since they took it just last semester). Imagine, I totally forgot how to print characters on the screen using interrupt 21 service 09h. Geez� I feel so bad� so guilty that I got a piso and I couldn�t even print my name on the screen. Sheesh� I just wonder, by the time I graduate, would I forget everything that I learned� Signs of old age AGAIN!

Zonkboard got cut off. I'm renewing it now... here it is... Test.

This afternoon, I watched The Matrix: Revolutions. It was a nice movie. Still the same "camera-spin and delay" visual effects. As to the story, not much content. The characters still utter those philosophical, non-sensical lines that make you go, "What the... are they talking about?" I liked the movie, but not as much as "My First Romance"... hehehe... maybe because I'm down with a heavy cough and the cold cinema air just aggravates my condition. Anyway, I just came from Cafe Georg to have dinner with family. I will be sleeping after I blog this, since there will be a sale at Rustan's tomorrow for all FSP (Frequent Shoppers Plus) customers. We chose and reserved some items already, so we'll have to wake up early tomorrow to beat the long queues for payment and also to be in time for Msgr. Dakay's 11:00 mass at CCSC.

I was of some use today. My morning class teachers didn't show up, so Walter and I decided to go to SM to kill time and perhaps have lunch there. So we rode on his car headed for SM. While riding on the front seat, I heard some thuds coming from the hood. I asked Walter about it and he said he needed to have it checked at the car shop, since it's been that noisy for weeks now. Car-savvy that I am, I tried to listen closely and I noticed that the sound always came after a hump. So it's either a suspension problem or the tire was just loose. When we reached SM, it was still 9:30 and the mall would still be open in 30 minutes time yet. So we figured out that we could get some free tanning if we tinkered on the problem. Sun rays at that time were still considered rich in Vitamin D... hehehe.

Suspension problems can't be handled on the road. They always need to be fixed in a car shop, so I just presumed that it had something to do with the tire being loose, since the hub caps were already missing. I took some tools at the trunk and tried to tighten the bolts of the wheel by stepping on the lever... hehe. Easier that way than turning it with bare hands. True enough the bolts were not that tight. We took the car for a spin in the empty parking lot and guess what.. It was a smooth quiet ride... ahhhh. We finished just in time for mall opening. We went to the Foodcourt to grab some snacks and then played Generals at Nettopia while waiting for Raine. Three of us bought lunch at McDo (take-out, 'coz Walter still had a class at 12.) We said our goodbyes to Raine who went back to Diliman just this afternoon. Take care.

In the afternoon, I had my first class for this week. It was our Java class under Sir Barangan. He discusses really fast, but you could tell that he knows a lot. The terms he used were all jargon to me. I was practically listening to him with a blank face. Hehe... I hope that after this course, I'd understand all those terms like... Java Runtime Environment and all those stuff still alien to me.

No class again today. My classes are in the afternoon and thanks to the pro-Davide rally at Fuente, classes were suspended... wheee! I spent the afternoon with my friends Joevic and Randyl playing Generals... hehehe. I got hooked to this game... temporarily hooked only 'coz classes will start next week and with my current academic load, I don't think I'll have enough time to even breathe... hehehe. 'Twas a good thing that I got to transfer to Sir Barangan's Java class instead of Ma'am Bandalan's... whew. The department made a mistake in my sked 'coz I'm supposed to be in the pilot class, so my major subjects should be handled by Sir Barangan. Hehehe... what a relief. It's definitely one subject off from the possibility of being under a terror teacher. Just 3 more to go... hehehe

It never changes... Even with the new enrolment system, classes still don't start as they ought to. Hehehe... yeah, yeah... I'm just naning that's all.

Well, I saw the loading of our teachers and guess who's my teacher for Java... Ma'am Bandalan.... pray for me. Wanted to transfer to Sir Barangan's class, but it was already full... hmph...

Finally I got to watch "My First Romance" since there were no classes for today. Here's my review of the movie:

It offers nothing new in terms of story, using old clich�s for storylines. One thing has to be said for the movie though, it is entertaining, if in a shallow kind of way. It is SWEET, even nauseously sweet, though the level of romance is high school-ish. If you're dating a 16 year old, or a person with that maturity level, watch this.

What a "zingy" review... but that's the reality of it.

The first part entitled "One Love" portrayed the denial phase of 2 M.U.s They've known each other for long, but sad to say they knew each other not in a good way. They hated each other for something that happened in the past. They just didn't get the chance to explain their sides, that's why the argument blew out of proportions. And now that they've talked it out through the "bridging" efforts of Ate Glow, they became closer and eventually became an item. It was really shallow and the courting style was... baduy. Torpe style really. Takes one to know one.... hehehe... Laff on. But on the brighter side, at least the guy was able to gather enough courage to admit his feelings. Hmmm... nothing works better when placed under pressure. I didn't like the first part much because the seriousness of the conversations are often meddled by the pakapin shots of Ate Glow's face and the way she sounds like our president Ate Glo. lolz.

The second part entitled "Two Hearts" was a story of more substance, but not really something new. But I liked it more than part one... maybe because it was a more complicated story... more intricate... more struggle! I saw that the struggle of the male character, Enzo, was something I couldn't really imagine happening to me. I'd place myself in his shoes, and I could say that I'd be dumfounded. I really won't know what to say or do. It's one of those circumstances that are beyond your control. It's more like "I can't do anything but wait for the girl to feel something for me... and wait for her to be ready... and wait for her to clear her past."... get the picture? Well, I won't spill the story 'coz some of you may want to watch it.

And I encourage you to watch it. Not because of the plot of the story, not because of the actors & actresses, and definitely not because I say so. I'd encourage you to watch it so you'd get to see the different sides of the coin. It's a happy ending, but sometimes it would be nice to know how we get there. The end may be the same, but what's important is how we reached it - the JOURNEY. And if we think that Filipino movies are not nice to watch... well, the cinematography may not be that nice, but hey the content is "Philippine-setting" And no matter how absurd it may seem with the so many twists in the story, it COULD happen to us.

Yes it is a pinoy movie. Yes, it a "pang-kilig" movie... but watch it and at you'll get out of the movie house feeling different... it's a sensation you can't get out of watching Matrix. Yes, this movie is shallow. I hope that when you watch it... that is if ever you'll watch it... your analysis won't be shallow. Try to enjoy the movie and you'll realize that it can have an effect on you. It tells so much of peer pressure, how to settle differences, how an extremely proud person can be humble, how differences in financial status can be overcome, how to let go of the past and move on in the REAL world, how to fight perseveringly, and most of all not to judge people by how they look or what people say of them. Sometimes the best way to know someone and be close to them is really simple... JUST BE WITH THEM. Spend time.

One thing I learned in the movie was when John Pratts told Heart Evangelista in the baseball field bleachers of what his dad had to say. His dad once told him that each one of us has to face a problem of some sort. There are many more difficult problems in this world than problems on love, relationship and friendship. True... to some of us, that may be a problem, but others may find having shelter and food on the table more problematic. But what really caught my attention was when John Pratts went home with a heavy heart after being "rejected" by Heart Evangelista. His family was having dinner when he arrived home. His parents invited him to have dinner with them, but he said "Mamaya na lang... May problema kasi". The mom asked what the problem was and he said "Ay, baka mababaw lang ang tingin nyo sa akin sa problema ko itong pag-ibig." And then the mom stopped eating, stood up and talked to her son on the sofa and so did the dad. And they told him, "Hindi mababaw ang problema sa pag-ibig... pag-ibig man ito sa isang tao, isang hayop o sa isang bagay"... How nice. Love's never a shallow thing and problems about it are not shallow. It takes so much for a person to like a person, a pet or a nice expensive shoe displayed in a signature shop. It takes a lot for people to show affection. It takes a lot for people to give attention. It takes a lot for people to hold on to a dream they desperately want for themselves. To me, that scene best describes what being human is, that is to be there for someone - to listen, to comfort, to help.

--+--!!!Belated Happy Birthday to my Di-chim!!!--+--

Finally I can blog! I was so bored stiff here at home for the whole weekend. Our ISP had problems with the server starting Friday and since they held no office for the weekend, I couldn't connect to the internet. I just gave them a call a while ago and they asked me to make some changes in the settings... 'twas so easy making the changes with WinXP. Thank God my internet connection is back. I tried to entertain myself with PC games for the past few days... and well, they just gave me temporary bliss.

School opens today... but maybe formally still next Monday. I hope our teachers hold classes on time, so I could get adjusted with the load earlier... so that I could also more or less get an estimate as to how I should budget my time for extra-curricular stuff this semester. So till then, keep posted.

Wow! Today was fantastic! Definitely believe in the early bird catches the early worm... lolz.

I woke up really early this morning to see the EENT to have my ears checked 'coz I sense some difficulty hearing soft whispers... must be wax... (that didn't sound right...) The appointment wasn't till 9AM, but I had to ride with my brother as he was to be dropped off at City Hall to do some field work for USC's Architrecture Dep't. So I arrived at Cebu Doc at around 7:30AM. The place was still quiet, so I just walked around the whole block up to CocoMall and then back to the hospital.

Time was around 8 and my stomach went grumbling for some breakfast... so I wanted to have something other than Bo's Coffee Club's breakfast set (my usual breakfast meal whenever I'm at Capitol) so I checked out Tagala's near CDC, but they were still cooking chicken belly... and I only eat breast, thigh or leg... so I went hunting for a nice resto. And there I found one right across... the cafe's name was "Aikasarap!" or something like that. The place looks really warm and cozy, but not so much for their run down furniture, otherwise the place is really a cozy nook with the mirror-covered wall. I ordered a carbonara, and got this very cute serving... so much for my hunger... what can you expect from 35 pesos. Anyway, what filled my stomach was the book I took from the shelves and read while waiting for my order. I got so many answers to my endless WHY questions... and the book said a lot about why women are... and why men are... and I was just laughing at myself 'coz the book was... I have to admit... so darn true. It took me around 45 minutes to finish that cute pasta serving, 'coz I was so amused with what the book had to say. Probably I'll pay that place a visit again the next time I happen to be around Capitol.

So clock struck 9 and I was in the doctor's clinic. Had my ears checked and they just needed cleaning after 4 years of negligence... hehehe... I'll spare you the details lest someone here ends up puking... lolz.

After the visit to the EENT, I went to Ayala with my mom to buy some stuff at Marks & Spencer and a Josh Groban VCD for my Di-ee Po as a small token for the angpaos she gave us. So from Ayala, we went to my Di-ee Po's house to give the packages... and then... she asks me for my shoe size... I said to myself "Oh no, the angpao's enough and there's more???..." I have this difficulty turning down offers, but she really insisted, so I gave my shoe size and then she goes to her room and brings out a box with a G.H. Bass shoe inside. O.M.G.!!! My mom's cousin in the States sent the shoe for my Uncle Omid, but the shoe's too big for him, so Di-ee Po wanted to see if it would fit mine... Perfect fit. Parang Cinderella... hehehe. Thank God for big feet! What a lucky day! Surprise, surprise!

So I was all smiles driving to Mango Square Mall to have lunch... and with the tasty food from Vienna, my day was turning out to be one of a kind. Then went to Ayala to watch a movie with Merlin, but the queue was so long, since today's the first screening day. So I decided to watch some other movie, but there was no other nice movie to watch... And then my adventurous streak brought the Ayala boy to SM! SM to me is so far, it's too out of the way. It's already like going to Manila...

When we got there, guess what made my eyes go wide open... AMERICAN PIE THE WEDDING! I missed to see it when it was shown at Ayala, since I had to take care of my mom. So we rushed to the theaters, bought tickets and made the seats warm. We had a great laugh... The movie was packed with so many funny bone ticklers. I must have laughed my head-off. Hehehe... just kidding. I think I'm gonna be in for some cough medicine here. Stifler ROCKS, way to go! He acts like an ex-blogger... you peeps know who. Oh, and contrary to "Always the bridesmaid, but never the bride", don't fret. Sometimes it's better to be the bridesmaid... dunno why, but they're just... I'm sounding like Stifler already, so better stop this.

I finally got myself registered. I'm now a registered voter... yipee... hehehe... It took us an hour to process everything due to the queue. Came time for the picture taking, I threw out a very big smile... I was so happy the whole thing was nearing its end.

My left leg hurt a lot from the driving. Downtown surely ain't my kinda driving place... lots of jeepneys and cabs... and we all know how "well" they drive. When I reached Ayala, I rewarded myself with a Flame It! burger... yummm.

So much for voter registration, I feel so sorry for our family doctor. You see, his house at Beverly got burned yesterday at around 2:45PM, while he was doing gardening. Something went wrong in the master's bedroom... could have been faulty wiring... and their waterproof roof was asphalt-based plus the fact that his house was undergoing some renovations, the wood and the new paint made his house even more combustible. A lot was lost in the blaze, including his medical books and antiques which he treasured most.

He is a very good doctor, probably one of the best in his field. His family cooks one of the tastiest cuisines with Portions and Olio as proof of it. I just wonder ---> Why do bad things happen to good people?!?!? I just don't get it. Whoever made that a rule of life must be one big sucker... I mean... WHY?!?! Can somebody out there tell me why? why? why? WHY?!?!?!?!

Was supposed to update last night, but I fell asleep after listening to Killer Bee's Party on Weekends... I really love House music... it's a nice blend of trance and some soothing angelic voices... voices similar to Annie Lennox.

Just a quick update 'coz I have to hit the sack in a while. Have to go to downtown tomorrow to have myself registered for the upcoming May elections for the FIRST time... tsk tsk... Yeah, I'm so apathetic. It's just that I don't care much about politics, especially with OUR government being the ever-so-corrupt type.

Yesterday, I was at the mall with Merlin, a friend of mine. We made tambay at Bo's Coffee Club AFEC (Ayala Food & Entertainment Center). I had a mug of their hot chocolate (the best ever) and he had a Drysdale Mango juice. The place was practically barren... around only 4 tables were occupied. I'm sure most of their usual customers are now hanging out at the newly opened Starbucks outlet just nearby. Business nowadays... tsk tsk. I hope it's just flash in the pan or else, Bo's must draw out some strategy to take back their share of the pie.

Anyway, we wanted to watch a movie, but sad to say we've seen all the movies being shown at the Ayala cinemas, so we just scheduled a movie outing this coming Wednesday. "My First Romance" by Heart Evangelista... hmmm... hahaha! I think it would be worth the premier tickets. I kinda find Heart rather pretty.

Oh, and we had dinner last night with family at Cafe Georg. Saw Jana... (Is her family name Rodriguez? --> Jana friend of Emyat who's also fond of Anne Rice books) I hope I'm right, 'coz she made tagad and it was a shame I knew her by her first name only. Guess she's around for the sembreak.

Today, I just perfected a new recipe I've added to my cookbook. I call it "Ginza Fried Rice"... 'coz after 3 trials, my fried rice actually tastes like the Japanese fried rice served at Ginza... hehehe! Dices of garlic, onion leaves, carrots, ground pork, 4 eggs, dashes of black & white pepper, Kikkoman soy sauce and rice... I served it over lunch here at home and I ate to my heart's delight.

This afternoon, went to the mall to buy my cousin a birthday gift and afterwards, I just walked around the mall to make "bawi" for my big eat over lunch... burrrrp...

It's time to cool down a bit from my temper... Pasensya na po sa temper ko. Basta magalit, magalit lang talaga. Sorry din sa mga tinext ko abt the new address. I moved it back to my old site since the schmuck found it out anyway, so moving it to a new location would prevent some of my visitors na di ko tinext from viewing my site. So there.

Thanks to Karen for the help regarding my message board... and also for the posts of my other fellow bloggers. Thanks ulit.

So yesterday, I went to the mall to attend an Ayala Center Cebu Merchants meeting. Learned a lot about their new upcoming projects especially about their new car park system, since it involves a little bit of computer engineering... hehehe. After the meeting, met Gary at the mall and we decided to watch My Boss' Daughter. Really a hilarious comedy flick with so much out of the line "pakapins". Hehe... If you peeps want a good laugh and are somehow "mubo ug kalipay", then this will tickle your funny bone. By the way, thanks Gar for the ticket.