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