i'd click my heels three times

My newest favorite program is Fun Asia! I was never really a fan of the Discovery Travel & Living channel... I used to watch it when David Tutera's show is on. Uhh, not that I don't like traveling but I kind of get bored watching it. But with Fun Asia, it's different. The host, Janet Hsieh, is fun to watch. You could really tell that she is having fun, hence the title Fun Asia. D'oh.

I saw Janet Hsieh's blog on her wikipedia page and read it. It's fun to read, too. I also liked looking at the pictures she took, especially those she took when they went up a mountain in Taiwan. She shares with her readers her travels and other stuff she does... and you really feel she's a real fun person. Plus, she shares inspirational stories... like live-life-to-the-fullest stuff. But I like that... makes me want to actually live life... outside the four walls of my bedroom I oh-so-frequently stay within.

Anyway... here's the Top 5 Cities I definitely would like to visit:





And on September, I'm off to my first city: Bangkok. I'm so so so excited na! That'll be the first time ever that I'll be leaving the country and that'll be the first tatak on my passport. Yay! And it certainly wouldn't be the last :) The main, if not the only, reason why I would want to go to Bangkok is spicy dilis. And sampaloc, too. Aside from food trip, we're also planning on doing some scouring for stuff we could sell on bazaars this coming Christmas season. Seryoso na 'to!

I have a hunch that Spain will be next ;)

P.S. Ooops, Spain isn't a city. It is a country. What I meant was Madrid and Barcelona :)

Nothing really

Solo me gusta compartir con vosotros las fotos he tomado. Ojala que disfruteis... :)

What do you do with a BA in English?

Well, more of a BS in Legal Management...


Five years after, the answer is.... I still don't frickin' know. But that is not what I'm here to write about. The civil service exam results were strategically released just before the last two days of Avenue Q's farewell run. Translation: AC took me to see the musical cum puppet show. And I LOVED IT! The Filipino cast was great!

A few months ago, I was totally clueless as to what Avenue Q was. I also remember AB asking me whether I would like to watch but I passed up since I don't what it was exactly. The soundtrack was in AD's laptop but I didn't bother to listen since, again, I don't know what it was. One day I was scanning AD's playlist and I came across this song I Wish I Could Go Back to College. And I thought, "perfect song to describe what I was feeling that day (and today)." So I listened to all the other songs from the musical and found out that it was about issues that twenty-somethings, fresh out of college kids deal with. Well, I'm not exactly fresh out of college... but I could relate. A LOT.

Avenue Q- It sucks to be me


Avenue Q- I wish I could go back to college


Two songs from the musical that hits the spot. Yup, it sucks to be me and I really wanna go back to college. But here is the song that made me feel better...

Avenue Q- For Now

Everything's only for now.

And it's never too late for anything.

348263695

I passed the civil service exams!
yehey!!!

I am so so so happy! It was as if I won an award... siempre, I thank God for this very wonderful news. Imagine, I had almost no preparations for this exam. Two days before, I just answered some college entrance and civil service practice tests and after doing so, I was still so so so clueless as to what the test would be like. I am this happy because the exam was hard. I never thought it would be that hard... but it was, hence the doubt as to whether I would pass. But I did! Yayyyyyyyyyyy!!! It felt great. Sobra! Ano pa kaya kung sa bar/board ka pumasa?

At long last, I did it! I took and passed the civil service exams. Masaya na daddy ko niyan. And he would also stop "reminding" me to take the civil service, with matching drama. Hehehe. At least menos na itong issue na 'to... among others. :P

Thunder only happens when it's raining

Lately, I've been having weird dreams... actually, more like nightmares. Dreams are associated with pleasurable things and what I have dreamt about were nothing near pleasurable. Maybe I haven't been praying before I went to sleep... or I haven't been really praying. Call it old-fashioned but I think that has something to do with it. Or maybe it also has something to do with the subconscious, I don't know.

First dream was two nights ago. I was in my mommy's home in the province. I can't really remember much, only the details that I was being chased by punk-ish creatures who wear black shirts with skulls on them. After a long chase, I went some place I thought they wouldn't find me- sa kisame. But they found me and once they got me cornered, they started stabbing my feet and legs with... ballpens.

Dream #2 happened just this morning. I was supposed to marry someone I haven't met nor seen nor talked to-- fixed-marriage, in other words. And I was really crying because I didn't want to do it. I dreamt I was already in the hotel room, in a wedding dress, just waiting to go to the ceremony... but I was crying really really hard. I really wanted to run away but there were a lot of guests coming already. I felt as if I couldn't run away. Even people I haven't really talked to for the past 9 years or so were coming. Batchmates from high school were showing up. Playmates from childhood were showing up. Now I know how it feels to be in a marriage you were forced into.

Now, let me interpret my dreams.

Dream #1: I've always had dreams wherein I was chased a lot. According to dream interpretations, "Chase dreams may represent your way of coping with fears, stress or various situations in your waking life. Instead of confronting the situation, you are running away and avoiding it." Hmm... parang may katotohanan. When I worked in a call center, I dreamt of being chased. When I went into law school, I dreamt I was being chased up the neverending stairs of a tower where I had to have my cases photocopied and the photocopying machine is at the top floor. I went AWOL from the call center. I withdrew from law school. Go figure.

Dream #2: "To see a wedding in your dream, symbolizes a new beginning or transition in your current life. Dreams involving weddings are often negative and highlight some anxiety or fear. It often refers to feelings of bitterness, sorrow, or death. Alternatively, wedding dreams reflect your issues about commitment and independence. "

Maybe I have dreamt about this because of a sister's impending wedding. Maybe I'm scared as to how life would be without them. I hope it's nothing negative. But then again it may also has something to do with my issues about independence. And bitterness. And sorrow.

But there's also another interpretation: "A wedding is a union of opposites. To dream of a wedding is most likely to represent the coming together of the opposite aspects of your personality." This is much much better. I hope this one is it.

I'm a happy girl

Updates, updates and more updates.

1. And we're back at 5... AC arrived from China yesterday. She brought back with her lots of knock-off bags and slimming tea. I was more excited about the tea and I hope that it would be the answer to my prayers. Haha! It's good having her back again and it's good that she came just in time to meet Big J and hubby since they're flying back to Canada this afternoon.

2. Mommy's biopsy results are out and turns out they're only fibrous breast lumps and nothing serious. But I guess she still has to be more careful from now on with what she eats. However, she could be pretty stubborn. I guess we know who I took after then.

3. I had a yummy lunch, I watched Sex and the City on widescreen and had mocha frap and cheese floss. I swear I wish everyday could be like today.

It was a lunch with the cousins- Big J and Rob and Little J. Big J and hubby are leaving that afternoon and so we just had to meet one last time. They invited us to lunch and it's an offer we just can't refuse because who knows after how many years would we be able to see each other again. We gave them souvenirs- cute shirts from Team Manila.

For Rob

For Big J

and for Little J

I think it's weird that we were able to meet some of our cousins after 26... 30 years. But I guess that is much much better than not meeting them at all. There were a lot of awkward moments. It's weird that before you met for the first time, technically, you don't really know each other but you're expected to act as if you've known each other all your lives. Well, we do know each other but only through pictures and stories. You're expected to act close-y close-y when all you know about them you've learned through Facebook. It's hard because you're all kind of groping for the right words, the right everything. I just hope that there'll be a next time and by that time it will be a lot easier and more natural and free-flowing.

Now... reasons why I am a happy girl...
I had a scrumptious lunch, I had mocha frap and cheese floss and I watched Sex and the City. Yup, it doesn't take much to make me happy.

= HAPPINESS!

Yes, it's the fleeting kind of happiness but I don't frickin' care... I still was happy even for that given period of time.

About Sandara

Before PBB, the only local star search/reality tv program I watched was Star Circle Quest. The very first season and it was all because of Sandara. That time, I was into Korean entertainment- series, movies, music, etc. And when this cute Korean girl tried out for local star search program, I became a fan... a closet fan, for that matter. She was funny and adorable even though she pronounces stuffed toy as istap toy. Haha! The tv show made her big even if she didn't really have any talent to back her up, just her Korean-ness. But all of a sudden, she became so annoying.

I was annoyed that she has gotten too thin. I was annoyed that she doesn't really have talent. She can't even speak straight Tagalog for crying out loud. I was annoyed that her lankly limbs seemed to fly at all directions whenever she danced. I was annoyed that it seemed that she doesn't really give importance to the Philippines. I even reacted violently to her decision to try it in the Korean entertainment scene~ there were a lot of girls prettier than her and actually have talents.

But I was surprised when I found this on youtube via soompi

She's the skinny girl in a tank top
I never thought she could be capable of this :P

Whoa! What an improvement! Which goes to show that if a talent is trained well, she can actually acquire a talent. I like it that Korean entertainment doesn't rest on cuteness (although is may seem like it) alone. Unlike ABS-CBN, they do train their talents and they train them well and not only see them as cash cows.

one of the songs/videos she made in the PI. This video compared with the first one proves that she has improved an awful lot.

I'm happy for her.

Nosebleed

And the tourist guide in me strikes again...

Yesterday, we took our cousins and the cousins of the cousins shopping. First stop was Greenhills. We were there even before it opened. Excited much? But to our surprise, it was closed for renovation or something. I could tell my cousin was disappointed. She has heard so much about this Greenhills place and when she finally steps foot on it, it is closed. Major bummer. So we just made the best of the situation and tried the other malls in Greenhills. We tried Theatre Mall but their stuffs weren't as varied and cheap as the tiangges. And there weren't much knock-offs. I think that was what they really wanted to buy. The tiangges will be back on Friday but by then they would be on their way back to Canada. Wrong timing. But still they were able to buy something.

After spending half of the day in Greenhills, we went to Megamall. They didn't like to go to the mall... they really want the "market" aka tiangge. So the closest to Greenhills would be the St. Francis tiangge beside Megamall. We went to St. Francis but I guess they didn't find much either. The stuff they're selling there weren't as good as the stuff you'll find in Greenhills. And their knock-offs weren't as good as the real thing (as they are in Greenhills). But they still had managed to get a few shirts from the place...

What's funny was their cousin Melvin was a hit with the salesladies in St. Francis. He looked like those Korean/Chinese actors on tv with his chinito eyes. Ergo, the girls were going gaga over him. He was speaking in English, as he grew up in the States, and so the girls kept making remarks about him in Tagalog. They didn't know he could actually understand Tagalog or that we, his companions, can understand them. He was swarmed with giggling girls trying to sell him rubber shoes. One after another, the girls from other stalls would come over to where he is and take a look at him. I even heard some say, "Ang guapo niya," and "Ay oo nga ang cute ng mga mata." Haha. My sister who was tired from all the driving and walking, sat on the stool nearby but then the sales girl took it from her and made Melvin sit on it. The horror! So now I know why Filipino men are spoiled rotten. But Melvin was actually oblivious to all the attention the girls were pouring on to him. But we noticed. Everyone who was with him noticed. Jaime, our cousin, even said "You guys are not shy ha." So we told him and his mother that he should stay here and we'll make him enter showbiz. Bwahaha.

After Megamall, it was time for us to head home and have dinner at our house. By this time, low-batt na lahat. The guests had literally shopped 'til they dropped.

Miting de avance

Yucky but cute.
How many centipedes are there in the picture?
8, in the picture.
There were more...

I like this picture so much that I made it the wallpaper of mi telefono movil.

Promises are meant to be broken

That's what I feel I am doing right now :( I feel I need to do something out of my life. I want to do something out of my life. But somehow I just don't do anything about it. But this entry isn't one of those introspective ones...

Instead of tending the business and making things work (at least for me), I was out doing something else.

Last Saturday, I was at Armida's sister's birthday celebration. It was a last-minute thing. I was thinking of not going. Actually, I wasn't really going since 1) I was too lazy to get off my butt and go somewhere else other than in front of the computer and 2) since my sister's who usually fetches me attended a wedding out of town, I wouldn't have a ride home. So I wasn't really keen on going and I kind of have issues with her (issues she knows nothing about). But my eldest sister persuaded me to go and was kind enough to take me to Armida's house and fetch me after. I had fun even if it made me miss out on watching the PBB Finale :P

Today, I accompanied Big Sister to purchase my daddy's ticket back to Aswang Land. It's been ages since I've been to Galle and to think that two years ago I was there every frickin' day! There were new shops/restaurants like Krispy Kreme, Dairy Queen, etc. Actually, I only noticed the new food stops. Haha! Ganyan ako katakaw :P Actually, that was our main purpose of going to Galle... not for anything else. It's just that when you're in the mall, time just flies by.

Another thing... when we purchased our daddy's ticket, he was supposed to have 20% discount off his ticket, senior citizens' privilege. But when we were about to pay, the lady at the cashier told us that the my dad's discount was only P24. They only gave him P24 discount! I don't know if this is some kind of a new strategy for them to circumvent the law but, whatever, ang dugas nila... Cebu Pacific and Mercury Drug. I hope DTI is doing their work and would eventually discover such shameless circumvention of the law. So Mar Roxas, Mr. Palengke, nasan ka ngayon? I don't care if you're not the DTI Secretary anymore, it was and still is your claim to fame.

Back to the topic... so there, I haven't been tending the business for quite some time now. Well, now and then I do visit but most of the time, I'd rather not since going there means I would have to ruin a perfect day for me. I kind of don't like seeing my employees because they give me bad vibes. But I promise that after my cousins fly back to Canada, I'll be more hands on with the business. I know I've been saying that for the longest time but I'll really try this time. And I need to make samples na... if I'm really meaning to take this business seriously.

And this also means I have to stop wasting my time on playing Plant Tycoon

How pathetic is that?

Hope for the best

We arrived home 9pm from the hospital. Mommy was supposed to have her operation at 3pm but she got admitted in to the surgery area at 6pm. She had a cyst on her left breast removed and then it will be subjected to biopsy.

I never really thought that my mommy would be scared to undergo such procedure. Aside from the fact that she has given birth 5 times one of them through CS section and underwent appendectomy, I always considered her as a brave woman. It was only yesterday, while waiting for her operation, that it occurred to me that she's actually scared about it. It was a good thing my daddy's back from the province. He came home especially for the purpose of accompanying my mom. I just hope for the best and I hope the mass isn't a threat to her health.

Hanging out in the surgery suite for 5 hours, I have seen people before and after they went for surgery for various reasons. One patient had gall stones removed. One patient had an appendectomy and guess what, I saw his appendix. I was quite unprepared for it since the doctor suddenly came in carrying a clear plastic with a red thing inside, which I figured out is the appendix. Yuck. There were a few others but I never really got to know what they're in for. Staying in the hospital is indeed a stressful, especially when you pass by the ICU and see people waiting worriedly outside. I just wish I wouldn't have to go in a hospital anytime soon.

Another topic...

I had a dream last night. A tragic one.

I forgot the entire dream but the only thing I remember was... my cousin, Big J (who, by the way, I still haven't met) and some companions were trekking some place. I don't know where it was but from what I remember, there was ice and snow. I can't even remember if I was there in my dream. Basta, what happened was Big J slipped and hit her head on the rock and died. Waaaah!!! Throughout my dream, I kept hearing that it was her temporal lobe that got hit so badly and she wouldn't be able to survive. Ayun lang.. after that I woke up already. I really thought it was real. I'm so glad it was just a dream.

I love ...

Relatives are coming over from abroad that I have actually been to several get-togethers for this week and the past week.

Last Friday, I hung out with my 19-year old nephew and her three girl friends. How cool is that? Haha. Well, I was supposed to accompany my cousin, Little J, who is here for a visit since she might be bored to death hanging out with the oldies. The nephew was supposed to take Little J to Eastwood to watch a concert with his friends and I was supposed to keep Little J company and entertain her or something like that. But guess what? Little J was too tired from shopping in Greenhills that I was left alone in the nephew's company. But it's okay since I enjoyed the concert. It was just a little stuffy and humid but everything else is fine. The only effy thing was that my nephew borrowed a big amount of money from me and I don't even know when he'll pay me back and I need it to pay my rent.

We met again with the bakasyonistas for Saturday lunch at Secret Recipe. We were informed (or so we thought) that Secret Recipe was in Serendra. So we parked the car in Serendra and walked all the way to Secret Recipe which is near McDo and teh S&R supermarket. It was a looooooong walk and to think that it was 12 noon. We arrived the restaurant all sweaty and amoy-araw from all the walking we did. And so we met Little J for the first time after 14 years...

It was all small talk with Little J at first. We didn't know what to expect, what we should talk about, etc. From all her pictures in Facebook and all those other networking sites, I assumed she's some kind of a party girl and that maybe me might not be able to relate with each other. And so I was a little apprehensive since I might come too eager and excited and I don't want that. So I just took it easy... and around nighttime she opened up already. She is so niiiiiiice. Too bad we don't spend much time with her since she goes around with her parents. We might have another get together when Big J arrives with hubby.

Yesterday, I met with my 2 other cousins in Greenhills for movie and dinner. MR's going back to New York so we had a little salu-salo before she leaves. We watched Caregiver and thought that it wasn't that good... well it was good but not commensurate to what other people were saying, that it's really really really good. It didn't even make me cry. Maybe because I can't relate.

My cousins and I talked about a lot of things. We talked about our cousins, cousins and cousins. And also about our own lives and my sister's impending wedding once in a while. It was a little scary how I still can't really say how's this particular cousin of mine is like. We email each other once in awhile and she doesn't really come across as disinterested but when MR talked about her, it's like she's not at all excited to come back here. So, whatever na lang. Que será será.

Summer break from Spanish class will be ending soon and I don't know if I should be happy about it. It means I have to pay tuition again. Plus, they added 4 more levels to the existing 24 which makes it 28 levels in toto. So it's a little effy since they do these things without consulting their students. According to Christmas, it seems they need a lot of money. Haha. Basta bad trip. It made me think of not continuing with this Spanish crap but when I think about how far I've gone with this crap, it seems to be unwise to do so. So I think I'm deciding to go on with it. If they add more levels, then that's it for me. Adios! Crappy admin!

So to compensate for the effy stuff... there are two things that are currently making me happy: Wu Chun and Chuck. I love Chuck. Not Chuck of Gossip Girl. Chuck of Chuck, the series. It's fun to watch and I love the love story bit of the show. The DVD I bought wasn't the complete season so I'm downloading the other episodes from the net. Currently, the show's off-season and will be back September 29th. Another reason for September to come as soon as possible...

Hana Kimi bad trip

SCHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!! shit. shit. shit. shit. shit.

Hana Kimi has the worst ending everrrrrrrrr!

So I was watching the last few episodes of Hana Kimi last night, very eager to know as to what happened to Quan and Rui Xi's "secret love" thing. Argh. I hate open-ended endings... When they make a story, panindigan nila and give it an ending. I'm sorry but my imagination doesn't work that way... when I start watching something, I expect an ending and not those you-be-the-judge finales. So medyo lang naudlot ang kilig-fest ko, diba? I needed to hear it from Quan and Rui Xi... that they like each other. Grrr...

Why oh why are Taiwanese series so fond of open-ended stories???

Anyway... still liked it. Although it was a bit frustrating that they didn't give it a definite-definite ending, it was still worth the watch. And I would love to know what happened to Mei Tian, the school doctor who knew about Rui Xi's secret, at least he could have been part of the ending since he played a vital role... pero nawala na lang siyang parang bula!

I so like Wu Chun now. After the series, there were behind-the-scences and making-of-the-video snippets... funny and kilig-kilig na naman. Ella (Rui Xi) was bullying Wu Chun on set. Wu Chun kept on saying that Ella is her senior when he is actually older than she is. Maybe they're speaking of seniority in terms of length in the biz. Wu Chun, ai ni ai ni! Hahahaha!!!

Senior Nan looks better skinhead :)

Xiu Yi (Jiro Wang) reminds me of Terk.