back to reality

happy holidays everyone!

it's back to work for me. i thoroughly enjoyed my leave =) spent 2 days in macau and around 3 days in hongkong. i loved every minute of not looking at my laptop =D

traveled with a-ku and a-ie and my little cousins, who made the trip more fun and interesting. stayed at the venetian hotel & resort in macau. loved the hotel! the rooms were super big, and the beds were just heavenly. one could just sink into them and sleep like sleeping beauty.

the hotel comes fully equipped with a shopping area on the 3rd floor, a casino, tons of restos and fast food choices, plus gondola rides. There are lots of filipinos working there. the person who rowed (?) our gondola was a filipino. Gondola rowers are required to sing 2 italian songs per trip, and filipinos do have lovely voices. Our rower had a rich baritone voice (i liked his rendition of Sta Lucia).

Spent the next day touring the city. Went to the Macau Tower (it's scary to be so high up @@ ), the Senado de Largo plaza, St. Francis Church, and others. It's a pretty small city, quite similar to hongkong except that macau is made more charming and quaint by its european architecture (portuguese-inspired, perhaps).

Highlights in the hongkong trip include meeting up with emma and eric!, the disneyland trip (matt matt's reaction on the boat ride when the volcanoes sputtered ^^ ), and getting to ride public transportation again. I missed walking and taking the subway. Being in hongkong reminded me of japan.

It was a pity I didn't get to spend a lot of time with emma and eric, but it was really nice seeing them again. It was kind of surreal, seeing them in hongkong. It was just sort of different, as if I got to see them in their "natural habitat".

the 5-day trip was fun and relaxing. so much so that i haven't been really up and about at work. i guess i've settled in today, which is why i'm still up. i have to answer the emails that have piled up in my inbox. sigh, back to the real world.

have a wonderful new year!

damage control

everything that could possibly go wrong in a payroll run has, i believe, happened...to me.
i do not know why i cannot have a perfect payroll run. month after month, something different crops us. fix one issue, another totally different error appears the next month, and then it's damage control all over again. i am frustrated, exhausted, and irony of all ironies, i must admit, i am a bit amused. it's probably like the book collection, A Series of Unfortunate Events, just when you think that things couldn't get worse, something has to surprise you.

Although all these issues keep me on the edge of my seat, I think they've also trained me to think faster, to automatically rack my brain for possible work around plans. I guess I'm just too tired to play the blaming game. Everyone's worked hard to make sure that everything would be in place, so you can't really pinpoint the blame to any single person.

When the unexpected (not in the good sense) happens, I can't help but feel a bit amused by the incredulity of it all. Am i jinxed or something?? Somebody please get me a lucky charm. No rabbit feet though, please.

Since anger and frustration don't exactly make for a good solution, I guess i'll just have to take things in stride. I'll do my best to control, if not prevent the damage, and I can only pray that things go well. Keep your fingers crossed~and please help me Lord.

===============
Lest I forget that I have a life besides work, I'm going to stay away from my laptop today, after i post this entry. I'm wrapping Christmas presents, reading the books I bought the other day, writing Christmas cards, eating the tons of food that has accumulated on the dinner table - ensaymada, brownies, chewkies, you name it (food galore ^^), and staying far far away from my laptop - at least for today.

Watching Avenue Q with ni later. Not even quite sure what the show is about. But Ni wants to watch it, so I'll join her. It does seem entertaining =D

Going to HK /Macau on Wednesday. That's something to look forward to ^0^
================

Happy birthday to emma! =D

giving back

I suddenly remembered Levinas and the face of the other.
All the philosophy and theology lessons I had just flashed across my eyes.

My mom and i went to Tutuban yesterday to just walk around while waiting for Eizel as she had a tutor session. We were at Greenwich buying takeout for Eizel. We were sitting down when all of a sudden a young boy of about 10-12 years sits down beside my mom and asks the lady at the table beside us if he could have her leftover pasta. The lady gave it to him, and he scarfed down the leftovers. He was so hungry that he even licked the sauce that dripped onto his shirt.

My heart just went out to him. He didn't look malnourished but you could see from his eyes that he was starved. My mom got him a fried chicken meal. He stared at us for a while before taking the tray and moving to another table. He called his companion (younger by a few years) to come in and they shared the meal.

That experience literally woke me up. It's time to give back to society.

*~*0~~*~0~**~
Watched Game Plan with my mom and eizel. It was a feel-good movie =)
Looking forward to August Rush and The Golden Compass.
Alvin and the Chipmunks are coming to the big screen as well~ Cute ^^

system failure

i wish i could just disappear from the face of the earth.
i wish i could hop on a plane and run away from all this stress.
i wish i could stay in bed all day and not worry about work.
...wishful thinking...escapism...

i'm exhausted. i'm skipping meals, not getting enough sleep, and just uber stressed from work. this week (and probably the next month as well) has just been one big roller coaster ride, everything's been spiraling out of control. someone please hit the brakes, or i fear i might tip over and fall into a great dark abyss.

the annoyingly responsible side of me is telling me to quit balking and to take action. sigh, they never did say being an adult was easy.

May God give me strength and courage~

birthday weekend

i'm officially 22 years old which truthfully, doesn't feel much different from being 21. Hehe. Thanks for all the greetings! They really made my day =)

On thursday, watched the josh groban concert! with ernest. it was amazing. Listening to an artist perform live is a whole different experience. The music seems much more alive, stirring, and passionate. Groban has a brilliant voice, no doubt about that. In the concert, he showed that he was also funny, down-to-earth, and still a bit geeky ^^ his duet with lani misalucha was breathtaking. He even did a semi-karaoke performance where he sang a few lines from Umbrella! That was funny. All in all, from the solo violin performances to the funny anecdotes to the soulful singing, it was just an incredible night.

Friday, the benefits team surprised me with a crema de fruta cake and singing! hehe they even greeted me in five languages - english, filipino, chinese, japanese, and korean. it was a pleasant surprise =)

Mom got me a Starbucks Chilled Caramel Macchiato and Banoffee Pie for my birthday =) Yum! Zel and ni got me a cupcake and an apple-shaped cookie ^^ i still have french apple pie and mango bravo (both from conti's --> thanks to mic, lin, etc ^^), as well as a red ribbon cake in the fridge. eat now and worry about the calories later, i say. Hehe

Had dinner saturday night with high school friends at italianni's. i've only eaten there twice but yesterday's dishes were pretty good. i loved the salads. raechelle would only touch the croutons and the fruits =D it was a fun get-together. hopefully, it won't be too long before the next one.

This morning, had breakfast at UCC (where i ran into charlene =P) with the extended family (mother side). Had fun chatting with matt (who still gets confused between nini and me) and miles, and listening in to the grown-ups' conversation, which tackled a whole lot of different topics - from iPods to traveling to business. Listening in to conversations can be quite educational =D

stardust

Celestial beings, dark magic, romantic love, magestic kingdoms = a dallop of adventure ^0^ i watched Stardust with ni and zel yesterday at trinoma. it was a great way to relax after work~ when i first saw the movie trailer, i was a bit confused as to what the plot was, but i was intrigued by the sheer fantasy of it all. It's one of the most enjoyable movies i've seen in a while. I loved how all the subplots and characters tied up together in the end. It'd be nice if life tied up as neatly (and happily) as a fairy tale~ *

i loved how yvaine would shine and glow whenever she was happy, whenever she was with tristan. it shows a certain vulnerability, like wearing your heart on your sleeve. while it's true that people do exude a certain radiance when they're happy, it seems that most of the time we try to conceal our real emotions so that we can protect ourselves from getting hurt~

~*~*~0~*~*~*~0~
we attended nini's graduation this morning (started at the wee early hour of 8 *yawn*). it was funny actually, coz the dean announced her as "eunice sabrina Ong." we were all just laughing at the booboo. So she's officially not a student anymore~shucks. milestones milestones.

i liked their president's speech. he talked about 5 adjectives he wished the school had instilled in its students - competent, confident, concerned, committed, Christian. He talked about being true to oneself (through the anecdote about how a tea master prevented a battle with a samurai by executing a perfect tea ceremony). One line from his speech that i loved was, "It's our attitude, not our aptitude, that determines our altitude." Catchy play of words, don't you think?

Going to have dinner at Spiral later to celebrate =) Bring on those calories (I'll burn them later hehe).


~*~*~0~*~
Sigh. Want to watch Stardust again. I'm buying the dvd and putting it on my all-time favorites list (together with Ever After and Parent Trap).
Check out Take That's Rule the World - nice song ^^

iPod Nano

My dad got us iPod Nano's. Sudden splurge - it's my birthday gift, nini's graduation gift, eizel's grade school graduation gift (?), and an anniversary treat (?) for my mom. When my dad splurges, he splurges hehe. Not that I'm complaining or anything. I just find it a bit extravagant, at times.

It's my first iPod and like all first time users (or am i generalizing), I find it quite hard to navigate using the wheel-thing (for lack of a better word). I managed to store my songs in it, but since my songs are scattered around, I'll have to organize them into one PC. But i must say it's quite trendy and functional ^0^ On Saturday, I panicked when it hanged and thanks to malt! (who will become my walking Apple user manual =D ), I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Hehe.

So there. I've been updating my iTunes Library, trying to decipher those weird symbols that prop up when you store Chinese songs, and doing some work on the side (payroll run =( --> Stress).

camaraderie

From my last post about achi sharon's bachelorette party, we fast forward into the not-so-distant past when my cousin got married last weekend. the wedding took place on sept 23 at mary the queen church (the one near ICA/Xavier). it was an intimate gathering with close friends and family. I loved the bride's dramatic entrance - after the entourage paraded in, the grand church doors were closed, and of course, everyone was staring in that direction, waiting for the bride to come in. And when the doors were finally opened, the scene was just beautiful, with my cousin in her bridal gown and the sunlight streaming in. The photographers captured that shot marvelously.

The ceremony proceeded without much ado and after an hour and a half, we headed off to manila peninsula for the reception. I liked the ambiance and the waiter parade/march was entertaining =) the highlights of the evening include nini's avp being shown (it turned out really well ^^), the speeches of the couple's parents, and lastly, me being the "winner" of the singles game (the one that involves a garter =P my gosh, talk about feeling awkward hehe). All in all, it was a fun and memorable night~

~*~*~*0~*~*~*~*0~*~*~*~
Yesterday was Crystal's 18th birthday and there was a celebration at Moomba (on Roces Ave). After dinner, some of us cousins - ste, arlyne, chester, minnie, che, brian, mae, rowena, eric, junjun etc - trekked off to ucc for coffee and chit chat. there were so many of us, it felt as if we invaded the place. the conversation was lively and fun - with rowena regaling us with tales of arranged dates, speed dating experiences, etc. the night also led to startling (and i must say hilarious and quite showbiz-like) revelations =D we talked for two hours or so (until around 1130) - joking, laughing, talking, bonding. at one point, nini mentioned that it would be cool if we made a documentary, circling on the conversation that night - on arranged dates (so typical of chinese culture), the different cultures of families, and the different takes to dating (from old-fashioned to the more conventional).

The whole ambiance - from the tinkling of coffee cups and the clinking of forks (we snacked on french toast) to the lively banter and warm laughter made for a soothing, enjoyable get-together. If Hallmark cards could be translated into scenes, i think last night would have been a perfect example.

~*~~*~*0~*~*~*~0~*~
Happy birthday to Chloe! ^0^

spa bachelorette party

Just came back from my cousin's bridal shower. It's the first time i've been to a bridal shower and compared to what you see in movies and read in books, this one was pretty wholesome (which didn't make it any less fun) ^^

the spa bachelorette party was held at blue water spa at mother ignacia. there were around 18 of us, dressed in all shades of orange and green (the wedding theme was orange and chartreuse, which is supposedly a shade of green). inside the spa room - if you could call it that - there were two rows of lounge chairs. the room was dimly illuminated by blue lights. Soft, relaxing music played in the background and there was just a hint of aromatherapy oils in the air. It was such a soothing treat to the senses~

Most had foot spas and pedicures, while Mom and I decided on facials. It was our first time to have facial treatment. I chose the T-zone extraction treatment, while my mom chose the aroma treatment. While both involved aromatherapy oil-smelling creams and cool minty face masks, mine was a bit more painful as the nice capable attendant dug into my nose pores. ouch >.< the treatment left my face feeling lighter and more supple, probably because of the face masks ^0^ i must say it's a great way of relaxing after a stressful week~

Of course, it wouldn't be a bridal shower without gifts. While most of the gifts stuck to the bed & bath theme, let's just say there were a couple of interesting surprises (*wink wink*) ^^

Congratulations, Achi Sharon ^^ We wish you all the best!

*~0~*~0~*
Currently listening to:

Shy'm - T'es Parti
Mika Nakashima - Life
The Brilliant Green - Stand by Me
Erika - Free (she's the actress from 1 Liter of Tears)
Utada Hikaru - Beautiful World

kiffe kiffe demain

...is the title of the french book i'm currently reading. "Kiffe" is an Arab word that was assimilated into the french language. It means, "It's the same." Thus, the title means that even tomorrow, things will remain the same - no improvement, no change. There's a certain hopelessness in the author's tone as she describes her day to day activities. You can feel her angst and sarcasm. Still, it's an interesting read as it uses a lot of familiar language (compared to the standardized french we study in class). Yesterday, we listened to another french song- this type rap- Diam's' "Jeune Demoiselle" that used a lot of familiar language. It made for an interesting class discussion ^^

Still on the topic of the title, Kiffe kiffe demain is somehow how i feel now. With work, things are kind of becoming routine. I try not to think too much about it being tedious, since it is more challenging than tedious (i think), but still, too much expectation can be smothering. I pray that I can get the september run up and running.

Yesterday, after french class, zel and i went to glorietta. My parents were at a function at diamond hotel and nini had something to do for school, so it was just zel and me. Went to have 1x1 pics developed (need them for the japanese language exam application - i'm still having second thoughts about taking the test but what the heck~ i can re-take the exam if i fail >< ), and was just planning on walking around for the next two hours or so, when zel asked if we could watch a movie. We were thinking between Hairspray and Evan Almighty, and decided on the latter (zel's choice). Surprisingly, it was a good movie. At first, I thought it was a pun on the Biblical story of Noah's Ark so i wasn't really keen on it. And although it kind of was, it wasn't in the derogatory sense. I actually enjoyed it =)

Two things from the movie struck me. One, was the state of the environment. There should be stricter controls with regard to destroying the environment for the sake of development. I read earlier in Reader's Digest about a farmer who saved hectares of forest land from being developed. He was able to preserve that land while the surrounding trees were cut down. It would be such a pity to see our natural resources vanish.

The other thing is one of the lines Morgan Freeman delivers as God. If you ask God for patience, does He give you patience or the chance to be patient? If you ask for courage, does He give you courage or the opportunity to be courageous? It got me thinking, when we ask for something, it isn't given to us on a silver platter. We work for the things we ask for. We strive to do well, and in our striving, God gives us guidance and the strength to overcome whatever struggles lie in the way. And so, even if things may seem tedious and drearingly "kiffe kiffe," i find reassurance and hope in the knowledge that God has a plan for us and that He will help us with the little glitches and U-turns we encounter, going toward our destination.

L'amour ne se commande pas (Ginie Line)

Je ne sais rien de lui, de sa vie
Il peut venir de n'importe où
Si c'est quelqu'un de bien comme on dit, yeah
Je peux vous dire que je m'en fout

S'il est coeur solitaire ou bien hors la loi, je ne sais pas
Ni même s'il a souffert, les fleurs qu'il préfère
Et s'il s'ennui parfois

Qui peut comprendre, savoir pourquoi
J'aime tout de lui, et ce qu'il n'est pas
Qui peut prétendre, savoir pour moi
L'amour ne se commande pas

L'amour ne se commande pas

Je le regarde sourire et parler, mmm, mmm,
Je le regarde sans qu'il me voit
Qu'il ai plusieurs passés, ou qu'il n'en ai pas, çà change quoi ?
S'il est comme je l'attends, même autrement,
Je prends ce qui me va

Qui peut comprendre, savoir pourquoi
J'aime tout de lui, et ce qu'il n'est pas
Qui peut prétendre, savoir pour moi
L'amour ne se commande pas

Qui peut comprendre, savoir pourquoi
J'aime tout de lui, et ce qu'il n'est pas
Qui peut prétendre, savoir pour moi
L'amour ne se commande pas

Et si pour une fois j'étais enfin celle qu'il regarde un instant
Et sans savoir, être celle qu'il aime, être celle qu'il attend

Qui peut comprendre, savoir pourquoi
J'aime tout de lui, et ce qu'il n'est pas
Qui peut prétendre, savoir pour moi
L'amour ne se commande pas

Qui peut comprendre, savoir pourquoi
J'aime tout de lui, et ce qu'il n'est pas
Qui peut prétendre, savoir pour moi
L'amour ne se commande pas

L'amour ne se commande pas~

la derniere module

Module 22 started yesterday - the end of all French modules.
Ironically, I don't feel confident that I can go to France and understand and be understood. It was only yesterday that i found out that there are different French dialects, and it's not just the accents that are different, it's everything - the grammar, the structure, the vocabulary. OohLala~
For this module, we're required to read a novel and give a report on our chosen book. I wanted to read the original French version of Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda (Ensemble c'est tout) but it wasn't available in the library so i chose her first two novels instead. She has an understated, simple way of narrating her stories, which I find quite refreshing.

Josh Groban's having a concert!! So is Fall Out Boy! To go or not to go, that is the question~I'll try calling ticketnet. Hehe.

So far, life's been good. Clocking in 9 hours at work on weekdays, working at home on weekends (for a few hours), going to malls (i've become a fan of topshop ^^), and eating out. Speaking of which, ate at Oki-Oki (Trinoma) last night. The dishes really live up to the name. Oki means "big" in Japanese. The rice bowls were large. Since the waitress didn't give us a heads-up, I assumed the dishes were your regular size and serving, alas! the servings were huge - good for sharing. I had the tofu/vegetable curry dish ^^ I love japanese curry~ Given the serving size, the prices are pretty reasonable. I'd go there again but when I do, i'll be sure to share =P

Saw a pair of shoes at lacoste (the new design for women) and it's way over my budget. I could buy two/three pairs at other shoe stores for the price. Oh well~ The girl on the poster near the Lacoste shoes store looked like Nini =) It was uncanny. I should take Nini there one day ^^

Quote of the day:
"Ce qui empèche les gens de vivre ensemble, c'est leur connerie, pas leur différence."
-Anna Gavalda

Roughly translated: That which discourages people from living together, it's their familiarity, not their differences.

Ironic but true, don't you think?

ratatouille

i just searched the internet and found out that there really is a recipe for Ratatouille! And it's a vegetarian dish! ^^ Maybe i can try it out when I'm in a productive and exploratory mood. i watched the movie last night with my parents and zel. It wasn't as good as the other pixar films but i loved it nonetheless. A couple of the scenes were terrifying though, when there was a swarming of rats. Even in cartoons, they still scare me. Hehehe. The story was alright. I felt it could've been better. Still, I like the cooking and the mixing of ingredients and the Paris views. Overall, it was quite an enjoyable watch.

Before the movie, had dinner at Cyma with lin, raech, and charlene. We ordered the flaming cheese (served with a hearty Opa!), Yemistes (green/red pepper stuffed rice), Meatless Moussaka (which i found delicious), and Roka pasta (the argula ? was too strong for my taste). The white interiors of the restaurant mimicked the whiteness of the Aegean Greek city. I liked the ambiance. The food was okay, a bit expensive, but I'd go there again to try the other dishes =)

I finished reading the last Harry Potter book. Sigh, an end to the Harry Potter adventures. There were times when I couldn't let the book down (esp during the fight scenes!). It's amazing how a book can have the power to captivate so many people. Book 7 was a fitting way to end the magical series ^^

crazy

things have just been crazy lately.

i am at the peak of my stress level. things to do at work are getting kind of draining - the backlog, the pending items, the queries, the pressure, the lack of time, the desire to just slack off and do nothing for awhile, the consistent demand for performance, the never-ending deadlines. what's a person to do with all that stuff on one's back? i'd love to curl up and disappear from the world for a few weeks; but sadly, no can do. so i've been giving myself a healthy dose of good ol' psych advice - thing positive thoughts, separate work from personal life, don't let things get to you, and a wallop of other stuff. it's been helpful, especially with my family, friends, and officemates there to support me and all. but still, it's been a hell of a roller coaster ride and i don't think it's going to come to a much-anticipated stop just yet.

the past few weeks, aside from work, i've been hanging out with my cousins. wincen's going back to canada next week and so we're making the most out of his stay here. we went to caliraya in laguna and dropped by paete on the way home. we had a chance to woodcarve and saw the works of talented woodcarvers and painters. filipinos are so friendly! ^^ caliraya was fun even though it rained. i had to drag my laptop with me because i had a monday deadline but i was able to share in the fun. what was most memorable was probably watching them go down the mud slide ^^

last friday, we watched harry potter with win and sako at eastwood (first time to watch a movie there. you can lean back on the chairs! ^^). the movie was pretty good although short. i liked the effects and thought that the actress who played dolores umbridge was perfect for the role. today, the last book comes out. i'd like to grab a copy but i'll probably get one next week.

last saturday, zel, sako, and i watched transformers, which i loved!! i couldn't help but get teary-eyed when i thought that bumblebee wouldn't make it. who would've thought that robots could elicit such sentimental emotions? but i loved the movie and all its humor and creativity. we had dinner at capriciossa afterwards, where we tried the tomato cream sauce spaghetti which was quite yummy. the next day, win, ni, and i went to MoA to wreck havoc on the ice skating rink. turns out i was the only one who fell down =( hehe. but i think i got the hang of it after a few rounds around the rink. it's a fun sport/activity. after that skating stint, we went to eat at sakae sushi, which is a cool place with a sushi conveyer (?) belt and where you place your orders through a computer (every booth has one). i loved the ambiance - homey and warm. Plus, i loved watching the different sushi plates whiz pass me. I controlled the urge to grab the colorful looking treats =) It was a fun experience. I should probably take eizel there one of these days.

had lunch with the comp team yesterday at jack's loft (mayeen's treat ^^). i'm lucky to be working with such nice people. hopefully, we can have team lunches every few months.
after work, had dinner with aileen, who's back from beijing! ^^ it was wonderful seeing her again and catching up on the events and happenings of the past year.

is it just me or does time seem to be moving faster than usual? it'll be the end of july already after a week and a half!
movies to look forward to: in the land of women (adam brody!) and ratatouille
the drama i've been watching on kbs2 - flowers for my life - is about to end as well. i wonder if they'll come out with a soundtrack~ i hope they do.

a little of everything

it's been ages since i've written anything.
now that i have time and actually feel like updating, i have no idea where to start,
so here goes nothing...

work's been crazy. i've been getting calls, talking to employees, doing a lot of explaining. dealing with employees can be such a hard thing. the fact that the medium of communication is a foreign language makes it even more prone to subtle misunderstandings. the past two weeks have been stressful, but i've had great support from the japan time as well as my fellow officemates so things have balanced out in the end.

my grandma's 80th birthday bash came and went. there were so many people over at her place that it looked like a mini hotel. uncle michael and diko came from japan via hk, and uncle wayne, sako, and wincen came all the way from canada =) uncle mike and diko went home a day after the party, uncle wayne went to hk yesterday, and sako and wincen are going back end of july. wincen decided to extend his stay here (choosing it over summer school ^^) and the family's been keeping him busy. he went to la union this week with六叔, then he'll be going to bohol with 四伯, and this weekend it'll be a cousins outing to bataan. whew~

but it's fun having wincen around =) he celebrated his birthday here, and we had a vegetarian buffet care of bodhi. the food was yummy and less expensive too. since preparing for ama's birthday - the singing numbers, the dance numbers, and the speech that i gave which cherrie and i wrote - we (cousins) have been meeting up a lot. i think in a way, we've gotten closer and i'm happy and thankful. after all, there are 65 of us in the clan all in all - it's good to see that we're developing and maintaining the ties that bind us together (that sounded kinda cheesy ^^)

hmm, there's also been a lot of shopping in between. i got shoes from charles & keith (they have such adorable shoes) and some clothes from bySI and cinderella. i'm considering a wardrobe change but i'd better do it gradually so as not to make that big of a dent on my funds. also, i've been meaning to practice the art of walking in heels. i like wearing heels but they really do make my feet ache. Lastly, got a couple of books at fully booked. nothing but books to give me a high ^^

bumped into kristine at DQ Trinoma yesterday. It was nice seeing her and catching up, if only for a few minutes. I've been craving for DQ and last night, i finally got a Blizzard. I tried Brownie Temptation, Zel had Strawberry and Banana, while my parents shared the MudPie variety. It was pretty good. We had dinner at Bangus, which has pretty unique dishes. I loved the color of the walls. I wonder if it'd look good in our living room. Speaking of which, the renovations are almost done, I guess. Should take another three months or so~

More shops are open now in Trinoma and i'm getting used to the layout of the mall. There were so many people at Crocs. I don't know how or why it became such a craze, but my mom and zel say that they're really comfy. I just can't seem to warm up to them.

Ni's at Nueva Ecija this weekend. She went there to meet the cast of the play they're going to stage for their thesis. Apparently, it's a traditional play and is staged in Nueva Ecija. It's traditional in the sense that there's a play master who passes on the skill and trade to someone, generation to generation.

it's back to work again tomorrow. i'd better keep a list of things to do so as not to forget anything. the good thing about monday (and tuesday) is that it's the sched for the korean drama (flowers for my life) starring cha tae hyun (the guy from My Sassy Girl). It's a sarcastic, funny, heartwarming drama about love, life, death, and family. I love the songs they use on the show ^0^

have to start reviewing also for the japanese level 1 exam. the review classes are in the afternoon which clash with my french classes so i'll have to make do with studying by myself. hopefully, that'll be enough (keeping fingers crossed)

weekend at trinoma

trinoma is making a splash this may, as the posters along edsa say. I went there friday and saturday - friday with ernest to watch pirates of the caribbean, and saturday with mom and zel to watch shrek 3.

movies are a good way to unwind. it's been a busy week at work, as it always seems to be these days. the cinemas are like the ones in greenbelt. I found pirates to be a bit too packed and a tad too long. Johnny Depp though was still wonderful as Captain Jack Sparrow. And sadly, Will and Elizabeth's love story ended on a bittersweet note. But the visual and sound effects were stunning.

For sound effects/soundtrack though, I have to applaud Shrek 3. It was just hilarious, especially the scene where Shrek and Artie were "bonding" around the fireplace ^0^ Yesterday, it was mostly families with little children who went to watch Shrek. In the scene where Artie ran Merlin's doorbell and the big blue mist popped out and disappeared, a kid laughed out loud, and the whole cinema was just filled with his laughter, which prompted the people to laugh too. It was endearing to see how thoroughly the kids the movie. They watched with big round eyes, repeated some of the movie lines, and loved heartily at the scenes. Shrek has really succeeded in creating wholesome entertainment for the whole family. I wonder if the kids' ideas of fairy tales will be a bit distorted. Hehe. There's actually an article in Time about that in this week's issue.

I also bought Wicked and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. I feel as if i haven't read a book in ages. I miss reading~

I ran into Mayeen at Trinoma too. Hehe. Saw John and Josephine, and a couple of other peeps as well.

Trinoma should be up and going after another month or so when all the shops are open and the mall's brighter and more organized and cleaner. I wish they made the parking area brighter too. But if it's an Ayala mall so I'm sure they'll make the necessary improvements and changes.

cafe breton

saturday was the last session for module 20.
after class, went to cafe breton at greenbelt 3 with my classmates and professor - tita cora, tita guita, christa, karyn - erni caught up with us later on.
we had been discussing french administrative regions in class, which touched on population, landmarks, tourist spots, and of course food.
Bretagne is a region in france known for its marine activities - yachting, fishing, shipping ports - its beautiful beaches and oceans, and its crepes. They have a high standard when it comes to authentic crepes. Breton is the English name of Bretagne, and Cafe Breton serves crepes ^^ So we decided that having a light dinner there would be a fitting way to end the class.
The crepes smelled heavenly, and there were so many varieties. More than the food, it was the conversation that made things fun. Tita Guita talked about her family - her children, her grandchildren, her travels to Kenya and San Francisco - and about being a full-time mom and wife. She said that the only time she could have time to herself was during our 3-hour french class. Tita Guita's 73 years old but she's so lively and animated~
Christa shared tales of her travels as well, studying university in switzerland, the strange encounters she had, as well as the culture shock she experienced when she was there. tita cora and karyn also shared some interesting tales.
it'd be nice to have another get-together like that~

after that, met up with my mom and sisters at coffee bean and tea leaf. We were going to watch spiderman 3 (ni already watched shrek 3). I found Spiderman to be a wee too emotional and long @@ Surprisingly, my dad was able to join us for the movie. He hasn't gone to a cinema for quite a long time. Hehe. After the movie, ran into joanne, jhoan, franz, john, jay, kelly who were on their way to watch shrek. So many movies these weeks, with the last installment of pirates out this week! ^^

sunday, had breakfast at conti's where we ran into ama lourdes and a-ku, who ordered takeout and had breakfast at UCC. Went home and played some computer games with zel and ni. That lasted around the whole day @@ Had dinner at Silla where zel and i split an order of bibimbap. Yummy. I loved the chili paste sauce. I love Korean food ^^

personal dna

Fun personality test, pretty accurate ^0^

Benevolent Visionary

comfort for a listless mind

i've just been listless these past few days.

i've been thinking about baking and big warm kitchens,

cupcakes with pastel-colored icing, and

chocolate chip cookies with a tall glass of milk ...


...among other things.

i should probably take baking lessons~

overtime

this week has been absolutely crazy.
i clocked in 12 hours every day of the week (except today! yehey for that ^^)
my mind's spinning from all the japanese. i'm still struggling with how to respond to customers' queries in correct, polite japanese. i'm learning though~!
this week was overwhelming, from gathering data to answering queries, reading emails, making files, running reports. time just flew by.
yokota-san and ohgane-san have been such a great help, assisting with the emails and teaching me the different processes and operations.
im just happy this week's over. we made it through the first week of operations! =)
i have to go work on monday though...after i vote, that is. To everyone who's registered, vote!

my family's coming back tomorrow from korea. bring on the kimchi!

last saturday, met up with mic, jerome, malt, raech, char, sherry, derrick, and cha at moa. had dinner at this restaurant (i forgot the name >.<) that serves new york fish and chips and wasabi pizza. we talked a lot over iced tea refills and repeats of finding nemo and how to lose a guy in 10 days. they make such lovely and interesting conversation partners.

<(_ _)>

gosh, it's now may.
i've been working for two months now.

saturday, watched firehouse dog. it's such a cute movie.maybe we can have pictorials for our dogs too. that'd be cute ^^

may 1 was zel's birthday. we played taboo for kids - it was fun and had dinner at saisaki. that same morning, had a buffet breakfast at marco polo club (my uncle's treat as it was his birthday too). it was an enjoyable way to start the day. then i had to go to the office coz it wasn't a holiday in japan. I had a telecon, stayed for a few hours, and was picked up by my dad. We had snacks at red ribbon and bought chocolate mousse for zel =)

my japan contact person is coming next monday. hopefully he's as nice in person as he is on the phone =)

yesterday, <(_ _)> appeared in one of my chat conversations. I was talking to my Japanese contact person then. Three of my officemates saw the emoticon and they had three different interpretations. One said it looked like a butt crack, the other said it was eyes closed shut, another said it looked like a nose ^^ It was actually an icon of someone bowing down in apology. Of course, i could have thought that because i had read the message in Japanese and therefore understood the context. I just found it interesting how people can have different perceptions on the same thing, and how something that's so familiar to the Japanese and me and other Japanese emoticon users could be alien to other people ^^ Omoshiroi!

This week, I'm tying up loose ends, trying to remember what needs to be remembered for my process and hoping that i don't forget anything.

Tomorrow, my family and grandparents are headed off to korea. so, home alone for 9 days~ i hope i don't cause too much trouble 0(^0^)o

little things

Apprécions les petites choses dans la vie quotidienne.
Appreciate the small things in life.

These past few days, I've been looking for something to look forward to.
Could be that I'm tired from work.
Could be that I'm tired of my daily routine.
Could be that I'm sad I can't go abroad.
Could be just my mindset.

So, I decided to list down 5 things that make me un-sad, if not happy
1. Micah's despedida later. I'll get to see the ASEC peeps =)
2. Ai's birthday on May 1. I like shopping for gifts.
3. The new KBS dramas Hello! Miss and Lucifer (which is a bit creepy)
4. American Idol raised $30million for charity. I hope it'll help Africa.
5. The Mixi survey B and Nancy posted with the title: "I'm pregnant." I was shocked when I read the title, but it turned out to be a harmless, interesting personality questionnaire =)

*~*~*~*
From Nancy's blog:

想要從別人身上得到幸福...
如果自己能夠感受到幸福
一定是因爲自己為自己做了些什麽吧。

Sometimes our happiness depends on another person.
If I were to feel happy, it would definitely be because I did something for myself.

I realized, We make our own happy endings. We make our own happiness.

global workplace

I'll start with ni's birthday. The day went by ordinarily enough at work. In the evening, we had dinner at Shanghai Bistro. Mom wanted to try the resto out after reading about it in the newspaper. Afterwards, we bought a few shirts at plains&prints. zel got a choco drink at xocolat which was really bitter - extreme dark chocolate!

thursday was memorable. i had a meeting that whole day. i got at the office at 730, then got a bit frazzled when i found out that my pc still hadn't been transferred, but that was fixed quick enough =) when the meeting started at 830, i was the only filipino in the room. i had thought that the meeting would be for the manila team and the japan in-country team, but no, it turned out to be quite an international meeting. there were 14 of us: 2 britons, an american, an australian, 2 indians, a korean, 4 japanese, a hk person, and 2 of us from the manila center. it was really interesting to see how globalization works in the business world - how decisions are made, where data is to be sent - it was a really long discussion because all four corners of the world were involved! But it was cool to listen to all those different english accents and to just experience the dynamic atmosphere.

friday was dedicated to trainings. i'm getting used to talking in japanese (again). talking over the phone isn't as hard as it was at first ^^ i still do stop in the middle of a sentence though, seems that my japanese just can't catch up with my thoughts sometimes.

last night, watched The Last Mimzy with my mom and sisters. when zel and i had our bags checked before entering the cinema, the guard said to me, "kamsahamnida!" I smiled and said thank you, which prompted him to ask if i was korean ^^ i enjoyed the movie =) the two child actors were really cute! They managed to make the simple storyline work ^^

Currently listening to Yui's and Avril's new albums =)

of missing teeth, chili sauce, and caffeine-induced sleep deprivation

saturday. went to jing's atelier to have our measurements taken for the dresses jing will be making for ama's birthday. i wonder how they'll turn out. afterwards, had lunch at max's before dropping ni off at csb. mom, zel, and i then headed off to cerealicious where zel tried their nutting hill. while eating it, zel kept touching her tooth coz it was all wobbly. suddenly, she was able to pull it out but she couldn't find the tooth. we searched the tissues, the floor but the toothe was nowhere to be found. so, zel continued eating the cereal dessert and let my mom take a few spoonfuls. as my mom was eating, zel suddenly exclaimed "i think my tooth fell into the cereal bowl!" my mom almost choked @@ zel used her spoon to go bowl-digging and luckily, the tooth wasn't there. She did find a small marshmallow which was really hard, and she thought for awhile that it was her missing tooth =)

after french class, where we introduced a french administrative region (i did pays de loire which has beautiful castles), i went to rockwell with zel and mom. ni was still shooting her mcdo commercial for class. we just walked around, bought ni's gift and waited till my dad came before having dinner. we ate at mati, a greek restaurant with a slightly somber ambiance. the food was okay but a bit pricey.

sunday. after a pancit canton breakfast, went to the block with dad. mom, and zel. ni had to stay home and do hw =( we bought ni another gift ^^ and i was able to get the shoes i wanted. it was the last pair and they had it in my size. yey! we had snacks at mexicali, where my dad had a semi-hard time eating the burrito. Hehe. Also, he mistook the chili sauce for salsa and put a whole lot in his burrito. For the next 10 minutes, he was really silent. His eyes got all watery and he finished his calamansi juice in huge gulps, even eating the ice cubes. My mom was just laughing the whole time. Hehe.

We went to Wilcon's Building Depot afterwards to get shower heads and faucets for the house. Our house is undergoing renovation/maintenance work so everything's scatterd around and it's really dusty. We spent around 3 hours there, just looking at the different brands and types. We also got this cute japanese-style light fixture for the kitchen ^^

at home, zel and i took turns playing mario. she's in world 8. i'm in world 3 - -: my parents went to banawe for dinner and got ni and i banana java chip and iced caramel macchiato starbucks drinks respectively. i had been craving for that drink since friday, which is probably why my mom got us grande-sized drinks. Finishing the drink was quite a task. Although i was happy to have that craving fulfilled, the downside was sleep deprivation. I couldn't sleep. I watched the Project Runway rerun until 1 and i still couldn't sleep. I think i tossed and turned and when i felt like i had just fallen asleep, my phone alarm rang, signaling the start of another work week.

...and thus ended my weekend~ ^^

mata shigoto

yes, it's back to work. these days, i've been feeling a bit worn around the edges. Probably because i've been doing translations. Although i think the actual cause is i've been sleeping so much my head hurt XD

holy week passed by without much funfare. we stayed home and played mario and sims2 on the ds. i read (and still am reading) teruteru ashita, which is about a girl who has to live with a distant family relative because her parents are wallowing in depth, and in that small sleepy town she meets all sorts of bizarre, wacky people. it's pretty cool. i can read through it without searchng through a dictionary that much =)

saturday, eizel got sick =( sunday, she felt better so we (me, ni, and ai) went to the block to shop for my dad's birthday gift. it was fun =) we had snacks at sugarnot and it was a good chance to bond. sunday evening was angkong robert's post-birthday dinner get-together at gloria maris roxas blvd. conversation revolved around taiwan and chiang kai shek, proposed trips to korea or japan, etc. i love listening to the conversations during such occasions. they're funny, informative, and great ear fodder. lyxen and i were also able to bond. she shared her fourth grade experiences and asked me to teach her basic french. she and lynford are off to canada for a month.

monday night was mic's surprise birthday party at gerry's grill promenade, organized by elaine =) got to catch up with malt and raechelle (who has an unbelievable amount of energy^^), and got to see some of the celadon alumni. afterwards, found my mom and dad at xocolat. loved the mint chocolate drink my mom was drinking. yum =)

yesterday was dad's birthday. Had dinner at the restaurant that was formerly known as north harbour. Then, we had halo-halo at razon's. it was my first razon halo-halo and i liked it - just milk, saba, and leche flan; no multi-colored beans and other what-nots.

so it's back to work. i have lots of chances to talk in japanese. Rather, i need to speak japanese during telecon meetings and telephone training sessions. It was kinda hard at first. I had to clarify a lot of things, and my ears are still adjusting to the japanese (it's been a while). But, hopefully, i'll get the hang of it soon enough. It's quite challenging, actually. So, it'll be mostly work for the next few weeks or so. 頑張らなくちゃ！

5-day weekend

Today's the start of the 5-day weekend. We don't have any special plans, just lounging around the house. Might be going to canyon woods on sunday, but other than that, we'll just be staying in manila.

So far, i've learned how to play Sims on my DS. Ni and Ai had to teach me how to cure the dogs and how to cook food. I'm so slow with video games and the like =( Hehe.

I also need to get some work done. Translations take a while to do and I'm thinking I might have a hard time with the documents I need to translate.

Starting next week, I'm going to be busier, with trainings and phone calls. And yeah, the great Lenovo move happened yesterday. We're all seated at our new workstations now =)

Had dinner with Albert, Ash, and Joyce yesterday at Recipes Eastwood. It was really nice of them to treat me to dinner. It was our first time at Recipes and we pleasantly surprised by the good food ^^ The three of them are leaving for the states this saturday. Awww~ I'll miss them and our wednesday lunch dates. But they'll be back in June. Good luck guys! =)

weekend rundown

friday, march 30th was my graduation day. it was happy, sad, tiring, hot, painful (high heels andi will never be best friends) and i think a fitting culmination to 4 years of ateneo education. the ateneo high school grounds were a sight for the eyes, with swarms of blue toga-clad graduates and their proud parents, as well as smiling faculty members offering warm words of congratulations. Sir Guidote was there during the rehearsals, and Ma'am Cara even went up to the parents' section to congratulate me after I got my medal (Shucks)^^ The commencement talk was about failure, learning from it, rising from it, and also knowing about which things to prioritize and give importance to in life.

Senior year without my original batchmates was challenging in a way, but it allowed me to meet so many new people. I'm thankful for ASEC for the warmth and friendship they extended to me; for my theo groupmates and immersion friends, without whom immersion wouldn't have been as memorable and fun; for my thesis groupmates who were patient, level-headed, and just fun to be with; for the psych peeps who made the year so much easier to get through.

And so, with that simple graduation ceremony, university life has ended. It's all about work for now I guess and of course, language studies =)

Had dinner with the family at CPK because i was craving for pizza, shanghai garlic noodles, and bottomless iced tea ^^

~*~0~*~
Saturday, had breakfast with my mom at Cafe Mezzanine.
French class was fun. We had this role play activity and the five of us just talked and answered questions about "neoruraux" and the pros and cons of living in the city and the countryside/province respectively. I think my problem with conversing in french is that i get worried about not using the correct verb conjugations that i end up sabotaging my chances at conversing well. Must work on that~

~*~0~*~
When you put yourself out, open up and share a bit of yourself, do you set yourself up for disappointment?
I didn't even realize i was expecting something...it just kinda crept up behind me.
Man is a fickle-minded being - always hoping for something though never really welcoming that something when it is right in front of them.
In the end, it's all about self-preservation, ego-boosting, and validating your worth as a person.

~*~0~*~
music one's selling ayaka hirahara's album! ^^ I wonder if they'll sell albums of other japanese artists. I want Yui's new album~

keep that personal touch

I'm home alone again. It's the second time this month. The first time was the birthday dinner (for Matt-Matt) at Spiral and today's the second time. Mom, Ni, and Zel are in Subic with A-ku and family, and my Dad went to Batangas. In a way, I like having the house to myself, but one day is enough. It gets sorta creepy after a while. Hehe.

New module started today at Alliance. New teacher too - she seems interesting. She has 40 cats at her place. And i thought that having 12 dogs was a major feat @@

Yui's new album^^ is coming out this April. She's one of my favorite Japanese singers. Kinda like the female Avril Lavigne.

-0-
On my way home from French class today, I saw a man selling these water sprayer plastic containers. I was thinking, "Wow. They sell all sorts of things these days, from children's toys to bottled water to cellphone chargers and passport/license holders to water spraying containers." Such vendors are so prolific that i wonder what about this particular vendor caught my attention. He was "sales talking" the driver of a green Nissan van. The driver was interested in buying the water spraying contraption and the vendor was demonstrating how to use it. I noticed how nicely he was explaining how to use it, how he'd smile while gesturing. I watched the vendor collect the payment, give the driver change, and walk off swinging his wares here and there to the rows and rows of cars.

Earning money is hard work. Each person has his own way of earning a living. A vendor walks the streets all day and only gets to sell how many of his wares? I guess it was nice to see how his face lit up when somebody bought something from him. One could say that he lived for those moments. In fact, it was precisely because of those instances that he is able to earn money. But what caught my eye was the interaction between the two men as the vendor was demonstrating how to use the sprayer. I couldn't help but compare that personal interaction with the exchange of money that came afterwards.

It seems that the world is powered by economic and monetary exchanges. I hear a lot of talk about running businesses, maximizing resources (workers included), and investing money. I see how society is being run by consumerism. So, witnessing that scene, I was happy for the vendor because he was able to earn money, but i was more touched by the exchange of smiles and words between the two men. Money doesn't buy such genuineness. Let's not lose that human connection, that personal touch. Quoting from theo141, labor must always be superior to capital. Man is more important than his work. Work is only a means for man to realize his being human; it is not an end in itself.

May we value the people who work hard and give them the respect and credit that they deserve~

murphy's law

last day of training today. so i guess "official work" starts tomorrow, and i have no workstation yet =(

in today's training (where we had group report after group report >< ), we were given a sheet with a few statements that stemmed from murphy's law (i don't know exactly what the law is about), which i found interesting. So, a few examples:

No matter how long or how hard you shop for an item, after you've bought it, it will be on sale somewhere cheaper <--Don't you just hate how that happens?!

The other line always moves faster.

In order to get a loan, you must first prove you don't need it.

Everyone has a scheme for getting rich that will not work.

When a broken appliance is demonstrated for the repairman, it will work perfectly.

Anything good in life is either illegal, immoral, or fattening.

In case of doubt, make it sound convincing (*for theo and philo orals! ^^)

yellow lady

it's been a while since i've sat back and enjoyed a good read. i have lots of books on backlog, and i'm reading through them now that i have the time to.

yesterday, while waiting for eizel at her tutoring place, i read Shannon Hale's The Goose Girl. It's a lovely book. The storyline's quite simple actually, but I love how it's written. It's the type of book you can't put down until you're done (at least for me it was ^^ ). Also, it's set in the time of princesses and castles, kingdoms and wars, and i like the not-so-archaic medieval stuff. i'm reading enna burning, the second book of her bayern book series.

reading a good book makes me feel that with a little effort (okay, maybe more than a little) and a lot of imagination, i could probably write a good book. i think though that i've been reading so many books by american authors that i'd probably end up writing a book about american pop/teenage culture. I could write a book about teenage angst but with my high school experience, i don't think it'd be very exciting >< maybe, i'll just concentrate on emotions, then find some fictitious situation to let all these different emotions run free and resolve themselves. from time to time, i should do writing that's structured and creative ( i hope).

--
top 12 finalists in american idol! who will win this time? the girls are pretty good! for the guys, i like blake, chris, and the guy who was compared to JT before.

--
still attending training sessions at work. it's like school all over again but i'm getting paid. Hehe
And i have a workstation now =D

--
B's going to japan tomorrow. I want to go too. The cherry blossoms are going to be in full bloom already, either next week or the week after next. Such a beautiful sight~

four seasons pizza

today was the last day of onboarding, which is like an orientation for new hires. the 8 of us - ash, kat, emjae, shienna, albert, joyce, marie, and i - had lunch at yellow cab. they specifically ordered the four seasons pizza so that i'd have something to eat ^^ it was sweet of them. starting tomorrow, a few of us are going to continue with another traning session while some are proceeding to their respective job roles.

my fellow new hires are fun people. most of us are fresh grads. we met on the very first day of work while waiting in the lobby because we didn't know where to go. We pretty much stuck together after that. My team members seem pretty cool too. We haven't really worked together yet, but we're given tasks to do separately since except for one, the other team members haven't really started working yet. we're taking training courses, and i think there's a lot more to come. i'm looking forward to starting actual work however, wondering if i'll like it or not, whether i'll survive it or not.

i've been waking up at 6 every morning, and i'm sleepy when i get home. school, with all its homework and requirements, wasn't this tiring. now, i don't think i've fallen asleep later than 12. the nice thing though is that i don't have hw to do at home. so my time after work is basically free time =)

blessings

God has blessed me with so much these past few days.

I got a good grade on my philo paper on narnia =) Plus i was able to write something lucid and sensible for my marcel quiz earlier this morning.

I got a job offer from IBS, which I will take. I have to prepare documents like TIN, NBI clearance, Pag-IBIG, PhilHealth, etc. Went to the Valenzuela branches earlier with my dad. So far, only applied for the clearance which will take a week to process (which is unfortunate coz i need it on Thursday). I still can't believe I have a job (i need to perform well the first 6 months)! The downside (if you would call it that) is that I start next week, on Thursday. After my finals on Weds, I have to report to work on Thurs. Then i'll have to take a leave from work on Friday to attend the thesis conference and on March 30 because i'm marching ^0^ Right now, I just feel like everything's spinning. I haven't really had time to breathe and think. Although now that i think of it, it kinda scares me - going to work. New environment, new people. It's like the first day of Ateneo all over again. Hehe.

I found my SSS. I've been rummaging all over the room, wondering where i (mis)placed it. I got it two years ago i think and had forgotten about it till it appeared as one of the employment requirements.

Also, I'm grateful that God has given my family strength and guidance to overcome certain challenges.

*Today was the last-ever regular day of school. Finals next week. Crunch time!

pre-finals week ramblings

i feel as if i haven't written a real entry in ages. i probably haven't.

i feel that the next few days are going to be a blur. my head's a melange of marcel's metaphysics of hope, pope john paul II's laborem exercens, my business chinese dialogue on international trade payment methods, my psychology of leadership paper, and of course, the here-and-there job interviews and pre-employment tests.

i have had interviews at ibm business services and philamlife. i will be having another test at accenture tomorrow afternoon. i've had interviews at both ibm and philamlife too. i don't know whether i passed the japanese test ibm gave me but they did call back last week, although they haven't called again. i don't know if i want to nail a job or not. of course, the wait for that always-seems-longer-than-it-really-is phone call, bearing good or bad news, is always tedious and anxiety-ridden. Then again, i'm thinking once the job offers come in (i hope at least two companies tell me i'm good enough for them. if not, that'd be a serious blow to my ego ><), how am i to choose which is better? So, i've decided to leave it to God and let Him guide me. I'll take the tests and interviews and when it's time to decide, i'll pray i make the right decision. But of course, i'm counting my chickens before they've even hatched. let's stick with passing the tests and doing well at the interviews first.

i wanted to go to canada after i graduated, spend a month or two there, see what opportunities await. Plus, the change in environment would do me well too, i guess. But since i'm doing the job hunting full blast, i suppose the land of maple syrup and my childhood memories will just have to wait.

I'm also thinking of taking up Spanish lessons. Me gusta estudiar espanol porque es muy interesante. ademas, me interesa las lenguas extranjeras ^^ With regard to french, i'm slowly (but surely???) regaining my lost ground. Now, i'm concerned about my accent. I borrowed some psych magazines in french and i've been recording my voice to see if i have a filipino/chinese/english accent. One thing i've discovered, with absolutely no relation to french accents and whatnot, is that my voice sounds distorted or weird on a tape recorder. Is it just me or is it naturally that way?

I will end this entry here and go work on my leadership paper now. Have to analyze and reflect on my interview with Zest-O's chairman, Mr. Alfredo Yao. My grandfather helped set up the appointment. They're tennis buddies. How cool is that? ^^

countdown

one week left till finals.

this is it. i can actually see the end to my four (+1) years of university.

happy chinese new year everyone ^0^

i want to go see Music and Lyrics

whirlwind

two weeks left before my senior year officially ends. it's going to be a very busy two weeks. i'm fighting the urge to just bum around. together with the tests and papers, i'm also somewhat occupied with job searching. have an interview with philamlife tomorrow although i'm not sure if i'm really inclined to the insurance business.

yesterday, i spent half the day watching trailers for bridge to terabithia, nancy drew, premonition, the number 23, miss potter, the pursuit to happyness, because i said so among others. making trailers seems to be a cool pastime. maybe i can give it a try once i've unloaded myself of schoolwork.

chinese new year is coming up too. tikoy and all those red-colored food ^^

have to go finish my philo paper now. Cooperate with me, Marcel! Heigh-ho!

stuck in lingo

Yesterday was my job interview (more like screening actually) for IBM. If (big IF) they call me again, it might be for a language test since the job is primarily open for people with Japanese proficiency. The test covers listening / speaking (they'll call their japan office supposedly), reading, and writing. The latter two are basically japanese-english and english-japanese translation tests. I don't know if I'm that confident with my skills. Of course, I chose Japanese over French when they asked me which language i was more confident in. Now, i'm just frustrated. I really need to work to become fluent.

Watched Night of the Museum last week. I liked it =D I was planning to watch Babel or Little Children, but after the week of classes, I felt too tired for anything too emotionally-heavy so i opted for comedy. The movie wasn't bad at all, with nice effects and a good storyline.

Yesterday was my mom's birthday so we had a shabu-shabu dinner at Gloria Maris. Given the cool weather we're having, the steaming shabu-shabu was perfect ^^ We're having another dinner on Saturday, this time with my relatives.

I love how the weather these days, all cool and breezy~

snail mail

In this technologically advanced, fast-paced world, snail mail is a rarity. Thus, when I received Keiko's postcard, Okaasan's card and newspaper article, and Emma's letter the past few days, I felt happy =) There's something about snail mail that leaves you warm and fuzzy inside.

Then today, we got three boxes of books from Fr. Fertal, a friend of my dad's who resides in Missouri. We don't hear from him too often, but he writes to us once in a while. For the past few years, he's sent us lots and lots of books and video tapes. The books are mostly about Chinese culture and history - feng shui, imperial dynasties, mystery novels - and books on wine. I was just touched by the gesture, because he must have spent time choosing the novels and packing them. He's going to have an operation next month for the severe arthritis in his leg. May our prayers be with him.

Today, two interior designers came by. They said we need to demolish the kitchen and the wardrobes and cabinets in the rooms upstairs. The model photos were really pretty. It'd be nice if we could renovate everything but it would cost a LOT.

I just finished compiling the first three sections of thesis. I can't believe it's almost done! Wow. The feeling's surreal~*

comfort food

i have a sore throat －ー； that means the usual remedy of 999 medicinal tea plus that apricot tea mom bought from korea, as well as the stronger antibiotics - amoxicillin. hopefully, the sore throat won't develop into a full-out cold.

tonight, we had dinner at silla ^0^ when you have a cold (or an almost cold), there's nothing better than spicy food. Loved the side dishes and the beancurd soup and the jap chae and kimbap. We even bought some kimchi home. It's fiery red so it should be really hot. I enjoyed dipping my spoonfuls of rice into the red-specked lightly seasoned beancurd soup. I imagined rainy days and cold winter mornings as i let the soup soothe my raspy throat.

There's something about food that makes it comforting and nostalgic. I remember the steamed tausi fish and congee, together with the warm glass of almond juice my mom would give me as a child whenever i had a fever. Today, i had vegetarian congee from bodhi - mixed with veggies, taro, and veggie ham. Perfect comfort food for colds and sore throats ^^ Memories of my childhood days in canada include feasting on kfc hot chili wings, canadian pizza from pizza hut, noodles and fried rice from chopsticks, chicken and salted fish casserole from sam woo, and the freshly-baked choco chip or banana walnut muffins from mmmuffins.

Food is a feast for the senses - with its aromas and tastes. Sometimes, it serves as little trinkets of our past, like a trip down memory lane. What kiddie birthday party doesn't conjure images of spaghetti and barbecue? Other times, food's our buddy-in-crime when we drown down sorrows and hurt. In fact, the image of a sniffling girl eating a pint of ice cream while sitting on her living room couch has become quite common. Food gathers people together. Family and friends converse, joke, and laugh while sharing good food.

Roland Barthes mentions that food is one of the more subtle ways to understanding a country's culture. Me, I'd say: Good food. Warms the heart. Feeds the senses.

-*0-*-
mandy moore has a new movie Because I Said So, together with diane keaton, lauren graham, and piper perabo. it seems interesting~

the last book in the sisterhood series came out already. i wonder when it'll be available locally.

current favorite song: Just So You Know by Jesse McCartney

bits and pieces

the past few week has come and gone. caught up in schoolwork and asec room conversations, i haven't quite had the time to sit down and dissect what's happened. anyways, thoughts of the week:

french class
the one question i have after french class today is how open-minded can one really be? we're discussing PACS which is like a marriage contract. A heterosexual or homesexual couple can sign this contract and their union is legally recognized. Seems that more and more people are being "pacs-ed" because they get two sides of the coin - their union is legally recognized, which means they have the rights and benefits that accompany a real marriage, and at the same time, they're "free" in the sense that it's easy to get your union dissolved coz you don't have to go through loads of legal red tape like a divorce or an annulment. The fact that such a thing exists, what does it say about society's morals and values? I don't know. It seems that "convenience" seems to be the keyword of the century. I just wonder how openly i can accept the change in values and societal practices. And should these changes really be accepted by society?

global warming
200 million = number of people around the world who could be displaced by more intense droughts, sea level rise and flooding by 2080. No hope for the future generations? Quite likely. The ice storm and cold weather in the united states is scary. The fact that temperatures are rising worldwide should serve as a warning. There's already a petition being passed around to add the polar bear as an endangered species. Let's help save the environment.

job fair
there's a job fair next week. looking over the list of companies, i was thinking about which companies to apply to. i thought, why not just submit a resume to every single company, so that chances are at least one or two companies call me for an interview. then, i started considering working at a call center, which led me to think that working at a bank shouldn't be that bad. Thing is i've always kinda balked at the idea of working in a corporate setting. i don't like the idea of sitting behind a desk for 8 hours. i want a job that's more interactive. i was thinking of teaching or joining an environmental advocacy organization (like greenpeace maybe?) or maybe i could try unicef.

the catholic faith
thanks to ateneo and my theo teachers (and philo too i guess ^^) this year, i've come to understand the catholic faith better. i think i now understand what it's all about and what our mission on earth is. i finally get what kingdom of God means and what it means to pattern our lives after the life of Jesus Christ. so these days, i try to pay more attention to my thoughts and actions. let's just say it takes an enormous amount of effort to be patient and understanding. moreover, whenever i see street children, i feel guilty. i can't even look them in the eye. i've been thinking what i can do to really help them. when i interviewed the children in quiapo before, i realized how different their ways of thinking were. their environment has toughened them up and they have different expectations and desires, most of which revolve around materialistic stuff. is there a feasible solution to poverty?

tv shows
watched the american idol season 6 premiere the other day. seems like only a few made it to hollywood. i didn't know whether to cringe or feel sorry for the other contestants. it was still a fun watch, what with simon and his trademark sarcasm. the american idol auditions never fail to attract interesting personalities ^0^ i've also started to watch local tv shows again like sana maulit muli (kim chiu's acting isn't half bad) and maging sino ka man. Hehe~

Tomorrow will be spent studying for theology. Long coverage for the second exam.

eragon

french class on saturday wasn't as bad as i thought it would be. it was nice seeing erni and tita cora again. maek wasn't able to enroll and karyn and anya both went abroad so it was just the 3 of us who belonged to the original batch. madame yoli was our teacher ^^ we spent two and a half hours discussing a photo. We talked about what the photo connoted, the photo's description, etc. it was actually interesting, fun even. the conversations were in french and despite the somewhat broken speech and stuttering, we were able to understand one another and make ourselves understood. being able to converse in another language never ceases to amaze me =)

after french class, we went to greenbelt where mom and zel watched jackie chan's rob-b-hood, and ni and i watched eragon. it was a good film, maybe partly because i haven't read the book yet. if i had, then it would probably resemble a harry potter film - something that will never quite live up to the book. i loved the dragon sapphira, especially when she was a baby dragon (adorable!). i'm in the first few chapters of the book now. From its thickness, i can assume that its much more detailed than the movie was. I love the songs by avril and jem which are included in the soundtrack.

today was spent researching, doing the thesis discussion outline, and watching tv (a drama on da-ai about a mom who borne another son to save her daughter who had leukemia, snippets of broken flowers, and asap).

movies i want to watch: music and lyrics (hugh grant and drew barrymore), little children, babel, the pursuit of happyness.

unexpected

I got myself a copy of Bo Sanchez's How To Find Your One True Love today =) As i was walking around the bookstore with the book in hand, my dad saw me and asked what i was buying. Showing him the book, i expected him to raise a questioning eyebrow and ask why i was buying some "useless", self-help book. Wonder of wonders, he actually chuckled (in his trademark way) and laughed (which i took to be a mixture of amusement and incredulousness). I was actually surprised. He actually found the fact that i was buying such a book amusing ^0^ My dad will never cease to surprise and amaze me. Haha =D

coffee at gloria jean's

today was a good day. watched a children's cartoon show Muzzy for Spanish class and discussed servant leadership, taking the case of Richard Gordon, for Leadership class. Afterwards, i headed to Makati to enroll for French class. Yes, i'm enrolling again after a one-year (or more) hiatus. Tita Cora texted me the other day and asked if i was joining them for Module 19. I stopped French after finishing Module 11 so I'm skipping 7 levels (!!) and going to Module 19. Should that be considered a sort of suicide?? The other level they were offering was Module 11 and I took that up already. Anyways, I'll try my best - and my luck - to see if i can catch up with the class. It's mostly conversational, I think, since we've tackled most of the grammar already in the previous modules. I'm just afraid i might end up sputtering Japanese terms @@

Went to CSB afterwards to pick up Eunice and we headed to Chinatown where we bought asado and mamonluk noodles (my dad's favorite as he used to go there to eat often as a kid). then, since we still had time to kill before zel's dismissal time, we chatted over gloria jean's coffee. i had the vanilla macademia nut variety while ni had the mint chocolate one. i love sitting in coffee shops, sipping steaming hot or ice cold coffee while chatting about almost anything. today, ni talked about her thesis (she's thinking about doing a film instead of concentrating on theater) and her classes this semester ^^ i wonder what i'll be chatting about with eizel in a few years time~*

freakonomics

mike's host family from osaka came to manila for a visit, and so for the last few days, i've been touring them around together with mike, maxine, and raffy. mike, raffy, and maxine know okaasan and akko-san because they've stayed with them before in osaka so i was the only one who didn't know the personally.

monday, we had dinner at gumbo at mall of asia. compared to the weekend, it was relatively uncrowded. what a relief ^^ tuesday, maxine and i toured them around glorietta/greenbelt and greenhills. we had a fun time at timezone where even okaasan played some games ^0^ for the past two days, i've been able to practice my rusty japanese and it was fun seeing how they reacted to the prices and the sizes. for example, a junior size cake at red ribbon would cost around 2000 yen in japan. then, they were also surprised by how big the juice glasses were at the restaurants and that the tall size was our smallest size at the coffee shops. okaasan said that in japan, the smallest size was half that of our smallest "tall" size.

-0-
currently reading Freakonomics. it was selling for half its original price at fully booked so i got myself a copy. it's actually really interesting. i like how his take or analysis on why things are the way they are. it's fun, informative reading. Right now, i'm reading about how the answer to why mankind is innately and universally corrupt may lie in bagels. Hmm...gets one thinking, doesn't it? ^-^

speaking of reading, emil was reading How To Find Your One True Love in the room awhile ago. The book contains 8 myths on love, for example how we believe in the one or how we are dependent on the signs that God supposedly gives us. It's an interesting book.

pryo olympics

Mall of Asia was just so crowded yesterday, with swarms of people hanging around the balcony area and the parking area to get a glimpse of the fireworks displays. I was one of those people ^^

Started the day by having breakfast with my mom at starbucks. Then spent the rest of the day hanging out with ernest at rockwell, where they had a mall-wide sale. I bought two books from Fully Booked. I mean, who can resist a bookstore sale? ('0^*) We ran into Mrs. Alberto too. I seem to run into her all the time.

Was supposed to meet Mic and company at a place near Toyota Manila Bay but decided to go to MoA instead. It was jampacked. Well, the fireworks were cool ^^ I liked the USA display, with ones that shot up and became like this giant dandelion, freezing momentarily before turning into "stardust" (or should i say pollution?). Then there were the ones that seemed like star showers, parachute-like and like giant chandeliers. The sparklers that shot up from the ground were cool too. Those were like floating colored bubbles, just twirling and swirling. They looked like candies ^^ From the second presentation (which i take was by Spain), i liked the big solid blobs of fireworks, which looked like molecular structures, that just stayed suspended in the air before making their slow descent. Overall, it was a feast for the eyes (and the ears i suppose).

--edit--

went to mv doulos in the late afternoon. There were lots of people. The line to get on the ship was uber long but the staff were friendly and accomodating. Most of the books were on religion and health so they didn't really strike my fancy. It was so stuffy inside the book fair place though because of all the people so it was tiring. We climbed off board after awhile, and it was refreshing to feel the cool sea breeze.

afterwards, we went to eat at this bayside restaurant - i forgot the name of the place （'゜０゜；/. it was a seafood smorgasbord but of course i only touched the greens. i liked their hot calamansi juice though - nothing special, just soothing to the throat. And at 8pm, we saw the fireworks! Today was Germany's display and it was better than yesterday's ^^ my favorite was the ferris wheel-like swirling fireworks which were enclosed in a bigger white firework. The inner wheel seemed to continue to spin around even when the white firework had dispersed into "star showers" already.

shoes shoes shoes

Went to The Block after school today with my mom, two sisters, and JR =)

Walked around. Had dinner at Banana Leaf ( I love their vegetable samosas ^^). Stared longingly at the Quickly stand (I miss milk tea) but didn't get any coz i was too full from dinner. Bought bibingcrepe (like the ones i ate at baguio!). Went shoe shopping.

I'm super picky when it comes to shoes and clothes and jeans. I tried so many pairs at the URS shop (I bought my first URS pair at singapore, and after that i came to love the brand) that i thought the saleslady would get irritated, which she probably would have if we hadn't bought anything. After trying on the pair i liked (they didn't have my size), a too-pointy beige high-heeled pair (my cousin said i could kill someone with the pointy toe heads. Haha), a couple of flats, and one more pair of high high felt black high heels, i decided to go with the pointy-toed black flats. I think my parents gave a sigh of relief after i finally picked a pair. Hehe =) I felt like Carrie Bradshaw, trying on shoe after shoe, except that it wasn't as dramatic. I didn't leave the place strewn with empty boxes and shoes in disarray.

Sigh. There's nothing more satisfying than buying a good, comfy pair of nice-looking shoes ^0^/

holiday break

Happy New Year! ^^ It's 2007!

Seems like i've gone on a hiatus which means i have stuff to cram into one entry. Time for bullet points again.

A few days after school let out last year, my dad drove me to makati to give goodie bags to the virlanie children. it was bonding time with my dad. we got stuck in horrendous traffic and it was fun navigating. It's rare that i get to spend whole days with my dad so it was memorable in a way.

On the 23rd, we went to stay at new world hotel (across greenbelt). it was fun living across a mall ^^ haha. anyways, i bought a couple of french workbooks (to brush up on vocab and verb conjugations) and a few novels (which i haven't gotten around to reading yet), plus cds at music one. Got my dad a pair of shoes which we had to exchange the next day coz they were a half size too big. i didn't know my dad's shoe size so i just traced one of the contours of his shoes on bond paper and asked the salesman to find the shoe size that fit the shape on the paper ^^ we also had dinner at the new italian restaurant at greenbelt 3 - the italian name eludes me although i do remember that it was italian for capricious. the food was pretty good and the servings were big too. ran into karyn whom i haven't seen in a long long time and saw lesley (my kinakapatid). after dinner, ni and i watched little miss sunshine which was quite enjoyable and funny. i loved the simple, dysfunctional storyline. Oh yeah, ni and i also got to see the fireworks. They were so colorful and loud. I would even say it was artistic~

christmas day, we had dinner at gloria maris greenhills with the clan (father side). I ran into mic and jic. What was memorable was that mother lily's husband was celebrating his birthday there as well - on the 2nd floor. So, there we were downstairs, eyes glued to the automatic sliding doors. Once in a while, my cousin would shout out, "Look! There's so and so..." It was funny =) Everyone was sharing celebrity gossip and trying to get a good luck at the stars. We saw Imelda, Imee (some were disappointed that Borgy didn't go), Ruffa and Yilmaz, Eddie and Annabelle, Tito Sotto and family, Rudy and Lorna, Susan Roces, and a few others.

From the 28th to the 30th, i was at Baguio with Mic, Jerome, and Charlene. It was the first time to Baguio for Char and I and Mic made sure we got a good tour of the Summer Capital. The weather was cool. We got to eat lots of good food. We got to play Cranium (tough game ^^). We got to shop. We got to take turns rowing a boat at Burnham Park (tiring work!). We got to talk and bond and share. Plus, we got to cook! Hehe. It was awesome~ I loved Camp John Hay with the mini golf course (I think i didn't suck too much for a beginner ^^) and the wonderful houses that were newly-built. Also, we drank hot chocolate from a shop nearby. Nothing beats hot chocolate on a cool day. On our way back to Manila, there was this thick fog so there was zero visibility. That was scary >< but kinda cool too.

After arriving home from Baguio, i went to my grandma's place to have lumpia. It's sort of tradition that my guama makes lumpia every holiday season. Haven't been able to eat it since i turned vegetarian though =( But i still go coz i have food (from Bodhi hehe) and my aunts and uncles and grandparents are a noisy, funny, sarcastic bunch ^^ conversations are never boring. Got to borrow Without a Trace Season 1 and 2 from my aunt. Haven't gotten around to watching it yet though. Have to finish Prison Break first, which i have to say is a cool show, plus Wentworth Miller is an added bonus.

Then, there was the new year's eve lunch at dikukong's (my great uncle) place and dinner at ama's place. Got to carry and play with Justin. He's starting to talk, or rather, babble. He can say Dada and tries to make out syllables. I love having nieces and nephews. They're so cute ^^

before classes started, went to rockwell to watch kasal, kasali, kasalo with nini and zel. i loved it ^^ it was hilarious and real. thinking about some scenes still makes me chuckle to myself =) Speaking of movies, i also watched love actually (which is one of my favorite movies) and little manhattan which was cute and endearing.

And so that was the holiday break ^^ I didn't really get any schoolwork done except for reading the chronicles of narnia books for philo class. of course, reading those books didn't seem like homework at all. Speaking of which, are they coming up with a Prince Caspian movie?

Right now, sorta going through a bout of self-preservation. Or maybe i shouldn't really term it as so. It's more of letting reality sink in. Chapter closed. Time to move on.