where have all those fridays gone?

as I sit here waiting for Allan to finish work, its only natural that I get to thinking about the old days

no work was OT enough to cause me to miss a night out. well okay, I exaggerate, but I almost always had plans on Friday night. or not having a plan did not last long. nowadays it starts with "san tayo pupunta?" which eventually leads to "uwi nalang"

its the lethal combination of katamaran at kawalan...magastos lumabas e, uwi nalang. Madami pa kong kailangan asikasuhin na bayaran.

oh well. maybe this is temporary. or maybe not. no loss, things are still good, and life is still, in general, somewhat fun.

half-blind, fully off

I had a feeling my right and left contacts got switched when the canisters turned over before I had the chance to put the R and L lid on them last night (they were still dry so the lens didnt fall off). I tried to reenact the turning over in order to find out if they did get switched and which was which, but then I gave up and figured it would be pointless trying to determine that.

And so my "off" day started last night actually. Because this morning I put on my lenses and my left eye just wasnt seeing right (err..you know what I mean) and, I was singing "Monday, bloody Monday" in Sumi's car as we wove our way around Edsa. All throughout the trip, I kept telling myself I looked like a Hollywood star on the pages of paparazzi-photo infested magazines evading the unwelcome cameras: hair all tousled, lips covered in bright red to match my stilletos, sunglasses perched atop my nose, lips sporting a perpetual pout.....

But a quick look at the side mirror told me otherwise, so much for fooling myself...

I wasnt really tired, not really disoriented either..and well, laziness doesnt exactly feel the same. I was just "off" --- and I had terrible imagination too (Hollywood? Paparazzi?? ME????!? duh!).

I had breakfast and coffee...but that didnt help any.
I even read the morning paper just to ease myself into the day. I think that didnt help either.
Come lunch time it was the same, only I was getting used to it (frustrated by it still, but not unfamiliar).

And then our ever reliable coffee machine came to the rescue. A big mugful of brew revived me slowly. By midafternoon I was fine.

But the events of last night and this morning just wont go away. As I stepped into the ladies' to change for Monday Night Boxing, I found out that my half-blind self forgot to pack gym socks. And I'm wearing my red open toe shoe sans socks (naturally).

Therefore, the conclusion of this lovely start of the week, is well, nothing. No boxing, nothing productive and probably a headache later tonight because of the contacts.

That and a reminder that my puny little nose cant ever hold up big beautiful dark sunglasses that grace the cover of so many magazines.

Happy Monday, all.

weeks and weeks ago...

I never really got to share any of the photos I took during the Pyro Olympics at MOA last month. I guess I just wasnt happy with most of them.

BUT...since I've been posting almost daily lately..I'd like to keep that trend going :D

Here's one that I think is kinda okay...

I miss my Buddy. I need a new camera :(

smile for the camera

I realized I havent posted any recent photos of myself with the girls so I decided to choose from a batch of really funny photos from last christmas. Jaque's camera could take multiple shots with only seconds in between and we ended up playing with that function.

A lot of the photos were funny and had us with weird facial expressions and doing all sorts of stuff....but I guess this one's "safest" to post....no one will complain that they look silly...except maybe renee :p

today's learnings

number 1

Jamih introduced me to something new today...the "wife cake".

No, its not something his future wife baked for him, but it is apparently an honest to goodness chinese pastry (na lasang hopia, mas masarap nga lang ng konti) and it really is called that. The nifty little things were packed individually and in a box with chinese drawings and the legend that goes with it, nicely printed on one of the box leaves...

And since Allan has introduced me to "Google-ing" everything, I googled and I found two stories about why it is called such. One story matched that on the box, and another, well, sounded a little too made up. Wikipedia has the nicer version (the same one I read on the box).

number 2

Ben introduced me to the wonderful world of Eclipse!! Lets see how long I can agree with it being "wonderful" (geeky geeky...cant help it, LEARN ako e :p )

number 3

I realized today that I now know I can deal with it. It really doesnt matter what happened in the past, people always find ways to cope. And hopefully, if you're honest enough to yourself and to other people, there won't be a significant amount of negativity no matter what may have occured. Time flies, people change...and hopefully, people learn too. I've learned...a lot...I think they have too, even just a little bit. Though some things are not the same as they used to be, things have evolved, just as they should.

'tis the season to be anyway

I just got an email at work about the yearly Valentine event we have here --- Its a fund raiser for various social events (and we need funds because we have so many events!) --- and I just remembered how Allan and I almost became "part" of that event.

The reason why its an "almost" is an old story, and I wont relay it again. I was just surprised ("aliw" surprised, that is) that this is still alive. Let's see how "Eternal" the link really is...I will make it a yearly habit to revisit that page...

Hey, its Valentine's day after all, I CAN post stuff like this right? :p

gusto ko !

madami akong gustong gawin at gustong puntahan
pero
madami rin akong dahilan.

ndi ko pa na p plano ng maayos e.
tinatamad ako.
sinu sino isasama?
wala akong budget e.
next time nalang siguro?
ndi ko alam kung pano pumunta dun.

hay naku. ang hirap talaga maging tamad.
tamad at poor.


PERO
ndi ako tinatamad mag type ngayon.
kaya ililista ko nalang.
pwede kayo nalang mag plano tas sama nalang ako?

BATANES!
sagada / banawe
palawan
wallclimbing
dive
driving school
camsur
donsol
cambodia
egypt
greece
london
bumalik sa paris
mag shopping to the max (budget budget budget!)
corregidor
mt. pinatubo
taal volcano

hot air balloon fest '07

souvenir shot
Originally uploaded by socs.

I originally did not want to go because it meant getting up really early in the morning...but I didnt have anything to do that day, and I had a film SLR to use anyway...so why not?

I went with Iam, Ge, Ruth, Ben and Manny.

Mahirap mag kwento,I'll leave it up to Iam to do the story telling. In the meantime, I've posted some photos (with me in them) in my flickr for sharing. Photos are by Manny P and Ruthie.

haay.
wala lang.

its another one of them days.
little things. its always the little things it seems.

written January 29, 2007

I have a new favorite. I started out with McDonald's breakfast mornings that were conducive to reading the newspaper and not much else. But I didnt complain. It provided me with the needed refuge (dare I say "escape"?) I always seem to crave.

And then I dropped by Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on an urge to Brunch one day. I’ve always loved the place, but the afternoon presence of crowds and noisy groups did not appeal to me as much. This visit though, I was surprised to find several other people with laptops and/or books reading, studying and surfing away. There was soothing piped in music and great coffee (and Chai Latte!) and the salads are good too. I found my seat in a corner table and realized that I have finally found my perfect getaway on weekends and on mornings when I just need to get away. And its just a jeep away from home!

Just a few minutes ago, when I sat down to write (yes, I am here – was there – as of this writing) I felt all the energy and drive return. Here, I can write again! Here, I can make my plans! I felt revived and happy, and all I needed was a small round table to myself, air conditioning, good coffee, good food and a serene area.
Now all I need is a laptop so I can use the wifi :-D

looking back and looking forward

I'm leaving in a few minutes, so I'll make this as quick (yet abstract still) as possible.

This was last year. Tomorrow will be the beginning of next year :)

that KL incident

I promised I would write about this..so here goes.

Last week was KL week. We signed up for that Air Asia promo last November so we can go somewhere different. It was a trip with the girls Jaque, Renee and April (Macel passed) with Allan and myself.
Weeks before, I started the quest for a hotel that fit the budget and was in an ideal location. At first it was fun....eventually, I started getting confused...and then frustrated...and then finally, indecisive. The girls and I attempted to distribute responsibilities. Someone researched accomodation, someone took care of airport transfers, another one for places to visit and another for local transportation options.

We had a plan...but time was running out. With work and other personal obligations, I ended up booking the hotel three days before departure, reserving the seats to and from Clark two days before and I started packing 6 hours before the shuttle was scheduled to leave Megamall.
But we made it to the Shuttle and in time found ourselves in Clark lining up for Travel Tax payment. And then disaster struck.

The lady told me she'd wait until the check in counter accepts my passport...apparently my passport was valid for only four more months..and the airline specified that it should be for at least 6 months!!

So there I was waiting in line, knowing deep down that they wouldnt allow it. They would check my passport before leaving, and if by some miracle I get past that, KL would still check my passport as well. I stood there imagining I was hitting myself in the head. I wanted to bang my head against the wall if only I didnt think security would drag me out of the airport. All this time I was preparing for group concerns for the trip, I completely overlooked my own passport! I was able to book a hotel and get an idea of trains and buses and whatnots in KL...but my passport was about to expire in four months! I've been travelling, I KNOW that. But now that travel is for personal reasons, the trip is in jeopardy??

But anyway, long story short. The lady didnt check me in. The girls went ahead and checked in. I ran to DFA with Allan, spoke to two security guards (one of them was totally irritating) spoke to two Information personnel and spoke to a lady who was in an inside office to no avail. It was airline procedure. They could not give me anything that would convince them to let me board.

So back to the airport we went. Hung out with the girls before they boarded...even went to the DOT desk at the Airport arrival to see if we can find something else to do for the weekend. All this time I was berating myself for being SOOOO STUPID. Not only did I ruin my planned vacation, but I ruined Allan's too. And I guess to a certain extent, the girls' too. Not to mention the financial implications of not boarding the flight, not showing up at a hotel after reservations, taking a shuttle to and from Clark....etc etc.

I went home dreading people's reactions. I knew then that any future trip, international or otherwise would bring people back to the fact that I forgot about my passport validity. But, like I told some people, I am consoling myself with the fact that because of this, I, nor anyone who knows (and who finds it immensely funny) my story, will never be denied boarding for the same reason. I guess ultimately, something good has to come out of it.