what the...?

2 hours and 40 minutes away from the new year and I am still in front of the monitor, preoccupied with the appearance of my blog.

Note to self: Get over it!

Bagong Taon, Bagong Buhay?... Patay!

It’s the last day of the year! I don’t know if I should be happy or sad that a new year will be ushering in in a few hours. Next year, I’ll be a year older but I haven’t really done something that I could say I could be proud of.

I don’t really make new year resolutions except for last year. They said that new year resolutions are meant to be broken which explains maybe why I wasn’t able to keep any of those resolutions last year. The downside of the resolutions I made last year was they were pretty general so I guess I have to make them more specific this time.

My New Year Resolutions for the Year 2007:

1. Lose weight (for real!!!)
2. Read a new book every week.
3. Take my Spanish classes seriously…
4. and to come to class on time.
5. Go to the plaza more often… be more hands on with the business.
6. Be optimistic!
7. Lessen my soda intake.
8. Avoid talking back to my mother and older sisters.
9. Keep my things neat and orderly.
10. Stop being a brat!

Ayan, 10 muna. I don’t even think that I can keep most of them. It’ll be very hard to keep the abovementioned resolutions but I think I just need to discipline myself, diba?

Aside from my 10 new year resolutions… I’ve come up with the list of the things I need to do this 2007.

1. Get a passport.
2. Apply for a scholarship.
3. Catalog our movie/series collection.
4. Manage inventory for the business.
5. Finish reading El Zahir
   

I swear, if I am not in front of the monitor, my mind’s coming up with a gazillion resolutions and to-do’s but now these are all the things that my mind’s coming up. Very ordinary! Blech!

News flash! I found my pink birks! And I have 3 new pairs of flip-flops! Wahoo!!

Another newsflash! Mommy’s cranky today. Kainez. And we’re going to have dinner at Kimbel’s tonight before the New Year celebrations. Double kainez. :( Yahoo!!

centros de ocios

Lakwatsa grande na naman ako.

My family and I went to the Mall of Asia last December 26. Bad idea. It just so happened that a million other people had the same idea. Mall of Asia was so jampacked in its truest sense. I've never seen KFC that crowded. And in the parking lot, there are jeepney-loads of people... mala-excursion or something to that effect.

Yesterday, we went to Eastwood with an uncle, had dinner and watched The Bloomfields perform. They're really good and I enjoyed their performance so much, but I think I could've enjoyed it more if there were no mosquitoes pestering me. And not only was the band the source of entertainment for me and my sisters, but also people from the audience. One was the girl who sat at the fountain area with her butt crack exposed. There's also these two girls who were dancing really funny. Actually, it was annoying. If that's how the youngsters dance nowadays, kawawa naman sila. And one of those girls has a weirdly shaped butt... it's so big and so fake. I just can't help but poke fun at her and her big butt.

Earlier today, I had a facial and went to the dentist to get some fillings done. After that, we're back in Mall of Asia once again. My uncle's from the States and hasn't seen the mall yet and he'll be flying back to the US tomorrow. We ate at KKK again but this time the food didn't taste as good as the first time we ate there. As usual, my daddy was in okray mode again... ino-okray yng mga pagkain pero may point nga naman siya.

So that's pretty it... I've been doing a lot of pasyal lately which I think makes up for the nine days I was held hostage in the province. I think these coming days, I'll stay here in the house or man the plaza. I've already been delinquent for too long from my manning duties.

I'm so excited that it'll be the new year soon! ;)

Instead of Simbang Gabi, this is what I did

After almost two weeks of absence from civilization, I'm back.

I was in the province for 9 friggin' days! In the normal world, 9 days would pass by so quickly. Pero sa probinsya, g a n i t o s i y a k a h a b a a a a a a a! It was only 9 days but it seemed like a month to me.

I left for the province last, last Friday. It just happened that that very same week I had a workshop to attend for 4 days so I was really busy the entire week and I was able to pack my things on the day of the flight itself. Good thing my flight was scheduled at 12 noon, leaving me ample time to do my packing. Well, that time, you couldn't really call that packing since I was just hurling everything inside my luggage. Importante lang naman kasi na may damit ako at underwear, of course. I packed clothes that would last me for my entire trip since I don't want to do any laundry there.

I was actually scared to travel alone, sans family. But it was okay. Buhay pa naman ako, diba?

My daddy fetched me from the airport then we had lunch at Chowking at Gaisano (the only mall in Capiz) then went to my aunt's house to "check-in" my things. My cousin, Manang Marimi, invited me to go to The Sampaguita Gardens owned by the artist of Precious Moments.

The Thai House. Sampaguita Gardens

The Sampaguita Gardens is located in Aklan, a whole new different province from Capiz. The travel only took an hour and half, which is pleasantly surprising since in Manila, an hour and a half would only get you to Makati on a good day, without heavy traffic. The Sampaguita Gardens is so nice especially at night where there were christmas lights sprawled everywhere. Of course, it was cute that there were Precious Moments stuff everywhere! The Thai House inside the resort where the owner stays whenever he's in the area is so nice and filled with Precious Moments stuff. Though I think it's really a one-time deal, at least for me, cos once you've seen it, you've seen it already.

Went back to Capiz the next day since it was my uncle's 75th birthday. Actually, after Sampaguita Gardens, we're supposedly going to Boracay but since there's too much pressure from the elders... we decided not to go to Boracay and just attend the birthday party (to which we also arrived late) .

Ah, we also celebrated my lola's death anniversary in my mom's hometown. Okay lang sana kaso nga lang yung tito ko SUPER WEIRD. As in! He was thisclose while talking to me which is uncomfortable. And he keeps pestering me about taking up law again. I politely said "ayaw ko po e... hindi po para sa'kin Law." At anong sabi niya, "Sige lang, sige lang, kuha ka ng law" at iba pang eklat chorva. Nasasakin na daw yun kung magpapa-corrupt ako. She wants me to be like that Evelyn Ursua ata. Nako, kung hindi lang siya kapatid ng nanay ko sinabihan ko na siya siguro ng "Lekat, ang kulit... e di ikaw mag-abogado!" Ayaw na ayaw ko pa namang pinag-uusapan 'yan. Especially if my parents, at most especially pa if my dad is around. It's a touchy subject for me. It was my father's dream kasi for me to be a lawyer and when I withdrew from law school, I felt really, really bad that I have disappointed him. I figured out I can't friggin' last another day there and decided to stay in my aunt's house instead kahit na nakakaguilty since I'll be leaving my father there since he still had to attend to a lot of things.

Last Monday, I went with my Manang Marimi and Auntie Mimi to SM Iloilo. It was a 2-hour ride going to Iloilo but what the heck, it still is SM! At last, a real mall with all those shops and restaurants. There's even McDonald's there. Wow! I missed McDo! But after that, it's back to the bukids for me.

If most of my cousins were still there, maybe it wouldn't be as torturous. I'm thankful that Manang Marimi was there to accompany me and make my stay more interesting and more bearable but it still wasn't enough. Well, what would you do in a place where there's nowhere to go to and nothing to do? Watch TV~ which is what I did. I actually felt guilty that I was just cooped inside my tita's guest room 24/7 either watching tv or sleeping. I was literally counting the days til the day I'll be back in Manila.

Oo nga pala, healthy living ako doon. No coke, no coffee, no junk foods, no processed foods, minimal exposure to pork except during parties where there's always lechon, and etong malupit... I am already asleep even before Deal or No Deal ends. But, even though it was healthy living for me... I still got sick. Maybe because I wasn't drinking as much water.

My cousin's wedding was held in Bacolod. To go there, we had to take a 2-hr ride going to Iloilo then a 1-hr ferry ride to Bacolod. Effort kung effort, diba? We stayed at the Sugarland for the night.

I only got to fit my dress on the 22nd, a day before the wedding. It was sooo tight around the chest area that I thought that I gained more weight but they just got my measurements all mixed up with my cousin. Keri lang kasi nagawan naman ng remedyo.

Another effy thing... my sisters made me bring my own make-up for the make-up artist to use on me but that morning I wasn't able to say that I wanted to use my own. Kasi naman baka sabihin nila ang arte ko. But that was a big mistake for me cos my skin reacted with the stuff she used on my face. Now I have pimples of titanic proportions sitting right in the middle of my face. I should've asked her/him to use my own stuff on my face, it's my face anyway and I should have a say on what could be used on it, right? Eh ano naman kung maarte... hindi naman siya ang may gabundok na pimple ngayon e!

I didn't have a good time during my vacation but what made me sane were... paddy fields. I loved the scenery in the province. There were rice paddy fields everywhere. They're so green and lovely. Nakaka-refresh ang view kaya I love taking road trips even if it takes at least an hour to get from one town to another. I regret not having a camera with me so I could take pictures of the paddy fields.

From my 9-day misadventure, I have concluded that I can't live in the province. Even if I am actually a homebody, hindi kinaya ng powers ko ang provincial life. It's so boring. Roxas City, Iloilo City and Bacolod City combined still do not come close to living in Manila. Mas maingay, mas magulo, may mga lugar na mababaho, mas polluted pero mas gusto ko pa rin dito.

Merry Christmas!!!

Hello world! I just came back... from the mountains! And whaddya know... it's already

CHRISTMAS!!!

Details of my not-really-a-vacation vacation in my next post. ;)

Workshop Day#2. Company Xmas Party.

2 down. 2 more days to go!

Yahoo! I am getting closer and closer to the end of this workshop. It's not that it's a bad workshop. I just feel that I am not really getting THAT much. Well, I enrolled in this workshop cos it might give light to areas we're having difficulty with or it might help us deal with the problems we're having in the spa. Apparently, everything is theoretical. Ya, and there's also valuable experience shared to us by spa owners but I don't think I'm that caliber naman to really worry about 35 massage rooms! They weren't able to help me with the HR aspect and also as to where I could get cheaper supplies. They've given helpful tips on how to manage and hopefully, they would come in handy in the near future. Who doesn't want to have 35 massage rooms and all of them fully-booked?

And guess what? I am actually making progress with my inter-personal skills! I am actually making friends! Isn't that great? Well, not really. Hindi ko alam kung may saysay ang pakikipag-connect ko sa mga classmates ko. Well, maybe I could keep in touch with some of them, just for future reference. Hahaha.

In a little while, we'll be having our Christmas party. I am no longer connected-connected with the company but technically, I am still part of it since I work part-time, doing customer retention.

Sana maging masaya. Kahit na makikita ko yung pangit na baboy :\

Workshop Day#1

1 down. 3 more days to go.

Ya, I know I should be taking this seriously since this is no joke and we have paid money to actually learn something from it that would help or teach us how to run our business. Or I might be taking it too seriously that minute by minute, I feel the responsibility getting heavier.

They say that this business is something that one should really LOOOOOVE to do since if you're only in it for the money, it is not for you. And it is not also the industry that will bring you lots of moolah. I dunno. They're experts in this field so I should be believing every word they say, right. Which poses the question, am I the right person to manage the spa? I am not even fond of getting manipeds.

Moving on...

Although I must say that I am enjoying this workshop. Pero sana all speakers are as good as the 2nd speaker. The first speaker, the one who did the introduction and stuff, she's good and an expert in her field but she's too stiff, too boring. The 2nd speaker was great. The time just whizzed by. It was fun listening to her. While the 3rd speaker, I kenat anderstand her that much. She tok like dis. And she's so arte... putting down the Piripins even dho she is Piripina. (Ergo, the question: Is it more annoying if Filipinos put down their own country than if foreigners do it? Maybe, there's a manner of saying it that wouldn't come across as too arrogant).

Haay... I love it that I am learning lots of things but I am also hoping that the days would quickly pass by. I am a loner in this class kasi. All of them are gurangers na. And I feel oh so out of place since they're all handling big-time spas while I run sa tiny, tiny day spa in an inconspicuous, insignificant area in Metro Manila. Can't relate ako.

James Bond, Weapon of Mass Destruction

Maf asked me if I wanted to watch Casino Royale. I wanted to say, "Why not Happy Feet instead?" since I gravitate towards all things pa-cute. But I didn't. At first, I was very pessimistic about the movie since I don't really like action movies and I've never seen any James Bond movie in my entire life.

Another thing why I was hesitant to watch the film was... the actor who would portray James Bond, Daniel Craig. When he was first introduced as the "new" James Bond, my sisters and I shrieked, "Ang pangit!" Well, compared to Pierce Brosnan, he is relatively ugly. But he was able to redeem himself cos he was sooo good in the movie. Sabi nga namin ni Maf, hindi siya guapo pero hindi rin siya pangit. Kumbaga, so-so. And his blue eyes are beautiful, but I'd have to say that his pouty lips are distracting and annoying.

I think that the US should stop the war against Iraq and declare a war against James Bond. Haha. The guy is a weapon of mass destruction. Start pa lang ng pelikula, milyon na ang nasira niya! And he's just one man. He has wreaked havoc in a steel factory, in an airport and has made a building crumble down to its demise. But during all of that, not one civilian was hurt. Only bad guys were killed. Ang galing. Parang sinasala kung sinong mamamatay. Medyo parang fantaserye na ang dating. I think no one could ever jump like that, run as if there's no tomorrow and never got hit by a single bullet kahit pinapaulanan na siya ng bala at kahoy lang ang pananggalang niya. Superhuman proportions sans hi-tech gadgets. Kumbaga, mas Superman kaysa kay Batman.

Pero magaling pa rin. I like the movie. I enjoyed watching it, too. Pero nakakapagod nga lang.

divisoria: pre-christmas rush

I've been busy lately- trying to cram everything in less than a week since I'll be going to the province for my cousin's wedding. It's tiring but I'm glad that somehow it's starting to look good, at least from my perspective.

Ate # 3 and I went to Divi again to do our Christmas shopping. Super dami ng tao. I feel as if the entire population of Metro Manila also went to Divi to do just the same. Hindi mahulugang karayom! If you were on the topmost level of the mall, you would see the sea of black-haired (also bleached- blond) people. We arrived late na but we were able to find a parking spot immediately, which is very lucky of us since it is Divisoria-only-days-away-til-Christmas. I was able to buy gifts for Abbey and Charlee and for the girls at the spa. And I also bought 2 puruntongs and a purple shirt for me.

Grabe! Divisoria at this time of the year is hell (which is an overstatement but since I can't think of anything else, I'll just use "hell"). But it is still fun. I guess you just have to be with the right person to do your shopping.

business trip #1

A slightly busy day. Again, I was able to accomplish 3 out of the 9 things I was set out to do today and then some. Ate#3 and I went to the printer to have our label done and also to inquire about their rates if we were to have party/wedding invitations made.

My sister went to eat at McDo in Greenhills since we were already famished. We decided to eat outside cos the air conditioning was so cold. So ayun, we were talking about how we wish that this business endeavor of ours will hopefully work. Tapos may lumapit sa amin na pulubing bata, humihingi ng limos. Hindi namin kinikibo then after a while, pagkain na hinihingi niya. Actually, nakakaguilty kasi kumakain ka tapos hindi mo mabigyan ng pagkain pero hindi naman kami kumikibo. Tapos sabi na lang ng ate ko, bigay na lang natin isa dito meaning bigyan namin siya "one of these, whether yung fries, burger o yung nuggets." Ako naman si bingi, akala ko bigyan namin ng "isang nugget." Hahaha!!! At eto pa, right before the incident, my ate was praying to God about how she would like to live comfortably when the time comes that she will have her own family, na sana bigyan daw siya ng maraming pera tapos magbibigay na lang din siya sa mga nangangailangan. Tapos biglang dumating nga yung pulubi tapos isang nugget lang ang nabigay namin.

Siguro sabi daw ni God sa kanya, "Sinungaling!" Hahaha.

start of something good

So far, so good.

Yesterday, I wrote down the things I need to do and guess what? I was able to do 3 of them. Haha. I had 10 things to-do but I was able to accomplish only three things. Okay lang. Keri. If I don't have that list, I may not have done any of those. I was able to do only 3 out of 10 due to time constraints. Okay ah, I just got that write-everything-down stuff from Real Simple while just leafing thru the mag and I was able to discover something good, what more if I religiously read it?

I checked the website for the becas. Grabe, kadugo ng ilong! But I was slightly elated since I was able to understand it naman. There were some terms that I don't know but I was able to understand what it was all about. Oh goody, I know español after all. However, the bad news is I still don't have a pasport and I haven't taken the DELE exams yet. Ergo, I can't apply for the becas. :(

Next week, I'll be attending a 4-day course on Spa Management. Okay lang sana kung hindi sa Parañaque ang location. Grrr... And I have to commute from Pasig all the way to Pque. Darn. I just hope that it'll be worth what we'll be paying and my effort. Another effy thing is.. classes start at 8:30 am. Good luck sakin. Another wish I have is... sana hindi ko kasabay yung mga weirdos from the "rival" spa. That would be sooooo awkward.

Oh well, I'll be hoping for the best na lang.

íAyudame!

I'm trying to make my life work.

I am already 24 years old and I still feel I haven't accomplished anything. After all, I am still 100% dependent on my parents and sisters in every aspect imaginable. I haven't had a "real" job. I want to be a businesswoman so badly but I don't think if I am really cut for that stuff. Maybe I just need some motivation. Tal vez. But what do I need to motivate me?

I think I need to read more self-help books. I don't know if those stuff really work but what do I have to lose if I read them, right? They might help. Recently, I've discovered that Real Simple Life magazines are good reads. Primarily, I thought they were about interior design chuva but they were about life in general pala. I tried leafing thru some issues and they have good articles.

Another thing I want to do is finish at least one book a week. I really feel as if my brain cells are deteriorating, day by day. Nabobobo na talaga ako. Or bobo na talaga ako dati pa? Hahaha. Anyway, I think reading books will resuscitate the near-death condition of my brain.

First thing I got from Real Simple was to write everything down- which I am doing right now. Write everything down. Ideas, to-do lists, etc. etc. etc. It would help me focus on things I need to accomplish for the day and eventually, all throughout my life.

Anyway, the New Year's fast approaching and it's time for me to make another new year resolutions list. I'm excited to make a new list and I really hope that this year I'd be able to keep them.

I wasn't able to blog yesterday since I accompanied my mommy to the hospital. She has lumps in her breasts and went to have a biopsy and a mammography. I hope it's nothing serious. She's getting the results today and I hope that the results will show that she's in perfect condition.

If one wants to stargaze, meaning to see celebrities, one should go to The Medical City. I was there yesterday and I saw Rica Peralejo, Sheryn Regis and Clarissa Ocampo. Hahaha. I didn't get to see Rica Peralejo that well kasi nakakadiyahe naman tumitig diba? And Sheryn Regis, technically speaking I wasn't able to see her-see her since I only saw her back. Which is okay since I dislike her and I am so annoyed with her singing. I got a good view of Clarissa Ocampo (of Erap's jueteng scandal fame) since she was seated right across our table during lunch. Star-studded pala ang ospital. Hahaha!

And since we're on the topic, may dagdag pa ako... nakita ko si Jomari Yllana sa Starbucks Eastwood! He was right behind me, falling in line. Again, I wasn't able to get a good view of the face kasi nga diyahe. Pero in fernez, mabango siya.

Moving on...

I'm happy cos I have these new pentel pens.. These are what Starbucks stores use to write on their blackboards. They're used to write on blackboards and for glass decorations. Should you want to buy one, buy the bullet point pens instead and not those that have chisel points.

lakwatsera

I had so much fun yesterday albeit it was an exhausting one, too.

I started my day early. Say mo, I wasn't late for my 9 am class. I was the third to arrive, to the amazement of my classmates. Hahaha.

After class, I met up with Ycel in RP. I walked all the way from IC in Kalaw going to RP. It wasn't much of a problem since I love walking although it was really scorching hot that time considering it was 12 noon.

I got to pass by the Court of Appeals once again. That elicited a lot of OJT-moments for me. Hehe. I used to work with the 7th division of the CA for my OJT back in college. It wasn't really much of a challenge since all we had to do was type addresses at the back of the envelopes or if one of the staff was absent, we'll do their job doing (if I remember it correctly) minute resolutions.

Going back to my rendezvous with Miss Ycel... As usual, meeting place was National Bookstore. She suggested that we eat at this new resto or fastfood, World of Chicken. It's more expensive than the usual but the chicken's good. I ordered Chicken Teriyaki. It was good although I don't know how a chicken teriyaki should taste in the first place. Everything's fine until we saw un raton scurry across the floor. Siempre gross diba? And to think it is SO BIG.

Ycel and I walked lang around the mall. Siguro nalibot na namin ang RP ng tatlong beses. We were just strolling around, not really having anything to do in mind. She was happy nga pala cos she was able to buy already a leather casing for her Creative Zen chuva and a hard-to-find CD of Dashboard Confessional. I had to leave already at 4 since I'd be meeting up also with my sister at around 5:30 and I also had to do some "shopping."

I went "shopping" for cuticle removers, acetone and quick-dry polishes at the HBC store in Crossing. They were on sale kasi. Grabe, they ran out of those big 500 mL containers so I had no choice but to buy the smaller ones. I took a taxi going to Pearl Drive, where I will be meeting my sister. She and a friend had an appointment with the derma.

I arrived at Pearl Drive at around 6 pm and opted to wait for her at Starbucks. I must have spent 2 hours there. Yun lang, hintay na naman ako to death. She was with one of her high school kabarkada, Claricel. Claricel didn't recognize me! Hinahanap niya daw kasi maliit na bata, payat, neneng. Siempre nagulat siya nang ang tumambad sa harapan niya ay isang jumbo-sized retarded child. She last saw me ata when I was still in grade school. Yes, it was eons ago.

And oh, I had my eyebrows shaped at the Basement Salon in Shangri-La. I love how my eyebrows look right now. Hehe. Ang jologs ko lang kasi amoy pawis at dugyot nako pero pumasok pa rin ako dun. Keri lang. At least I had my eyebrows shaped already. Oo nga pala, nakita ko dun si Freddie Webb.

i want money

I'm so full of ideas right now!

My sister and I are thinking of new business ventures and I am actually doing it right now. I really really really really want to put up my own business. A business that I can do aside from the foot spa salon. I want to do something in which I can apply my creativity (kung meron). I love doing Photoshop and doing layouts. I love doing crafts. If only I could make money doing what I love, that would be guh-reat!

I am desperately hoping that these business ideas will materialize. Pero I need to move my butt first, right? I can't really do anything with my butt glued on the seat.

Wish me luck!

New Blog, New Life

I'm starting a new blog!

My sister has discovered the existence of my other blog and I don't really like the idea that she can read what's exactly going through my head. I kept that blog so I could openly express my feelings without them knowing about it. Now it doesn't really serve that purpose, right?

So, I'll be starting a new one. Maybe I'll import a few entries from the other blog~ my favorite entries. :) I'll be keeping the old one for my Three Beautiful Things posts.