what's up?

yeah. i know that i haven't been put up any posts for such a long time now. blame the crappy, crappy internet connection that we just got fixed. anyway, let me get you caught up with my boring crap-tastic life.

• went to cebu-bohol-sumilon island with a friend in the first week of december. will do lengthy post soon.
• spent time with my cousins who were on vacation in pinas over the holiday season- they've been living in japan for the past few years.
• spent the holiday season with my family - and hid in my room once the clock struck 12 on new year's eve. i hate the smoke from the fireworks. (arte ko lang. hehe)
• caught up with high school friends - and got updated with the latest chismis. :P one of them came home from aussie and another will be leaving for canada soon. uwahhh. they're leaving one by one! :(
• stayed with my grandma at the hospital - we had her admitted in the hospital because she had difficulty breathing. turns out she had some kidney stones and had to undergo operation. been staying with her too  after she was released from the hospital.
• finally got around to reading half of what's on the "to-be-read" file on my bookshelf

oh, and we were robbed. yeah. pinasok ung bahay namin sa cavite. at multiple times na pala. the thief has been taking clothes from our house and selling them. we didn't realize that this has been happening because me and my sister stay in apartments out of cavite too - my sister in los banos, laguna and me in quezon city. so whenever we go looking for clothes back home and can't find them, we automatically think that they're most likely in our apartment in lb/qc. but the last incident, pati jewelries and cameras kinuha. although we've already caught the culprit - and gotten some stuff back, we will never know the extent of what we've lost. just last week, they returned some clothes - some of which were mine and i had no idea AT ALL that they were missing. sigh.

anyway, i'll have to finish uploading pictures and videos - i owe lots of pictures to my friends and family. will be updating with posts about my most recent travel soon. ciao!

decipher me

sometimes, you scheme, plan and steer a situation into a specific direction because you fear the consequences should things go the other way around. then things don't go the way they should and what you fear the most happens. but then you realize that there really wasn't anything to fear at all... because after your most dreaded circumstances comes to reality, things turn out not half as bad as you thought they would be. in fact, the dreaded situation is even better than anything you've ever hoped for!

wala lang. posting my encrypted thoughts because i feel so blessed. even second chances can have their own second chances too. :)

to be fulfilled - christmas 2012 :)

My mom got into the Christmas spirit early and set up our Christmas tree in the first half of September. Not that there's anything unusual about it since the Yuletide Season in the Philippines starts as soon as the -ber months come around.

And so this year, following my mom's example, I am making a list of my gifts early. Well, gifts for myself, that is. What?! Did I fool you into thinking I was a nice little girl? :P 

look at me! :)

And so here it is: 2 things I'm planning to get for my selfish self this Christmas. (Note: List not final - the author may find more stuff to add to this to-be-fulfilled-by-myself-wishlist.) :)

1. a new Navi Planner
I used to get the Starbucks planner each year since I started working but was introduced to the Navi Planner by my product trainer (at the time) during the end of 2009. Navi, I think, is made with travel-crazy people like me in mind. And I just loved the cover. It's not girly but it's not too formal either.

2. my own personal Embosser/Dry Seal
My roommate once mentioned that a common friend of ours uses his own custom made dry seal to emboss his name on his books with. Being the bibliophile that I am, I thought this was a great idea and wanted one for myself too. I found this good deal at CashCashPinoy yesterday but I was too late. The deal was already sold out. :( I did take note of the company's address and might give them a visit, though.

So there you have it - just a couple of things I've wanted to get for myself but haven't and promise to get myself this Christmas. :)

busybee

I have been busy as a bee lately. Pero ngaun pa talaga ko nagka-time magpost. haha. :) I thought my schedule will be less hectic now that my sister's 18th birthday is over and done with but I'm left with more things to do now.

1. I've been editing the pictures I took on her birthday. Ako ang official photographer-photographeran dahil nag-deal kami ni Mama na hahatian niya ko sa bayad ng DSLR basta ako ang magpipicture sa debut. Eh di sige! I will not say no to minimizing my expenses. Haha. But I do hope the amateur pictures that I took are good enough. :P

Anyway, I was planning on checking out the photo printing shops at Hidalgo to look for places where I could have the pictures printed on a photo book. But then I found a deal online offering a 6x8 hard bound photobook for only Php495.00 - delivery included. And they have a software that you can download for easier photobook creation and customization.The offer is still on at Metrodeal so go ahead and grab a voucher if you want one too. :) Sana lang maayos ang printing service nila. This is the first time that I'm trying their services out.

2. My housemates and I had to look for a new house because our current house is gonna be renovated by the end of this month and we have no idea what they're planning to do with the house. The renovation actually seems to be demolition of the current house and building rooms for rent instead. So we just decided to look for a new place. AND we found a GREAT place yesterday! Happy, happy. :) We're moving out on Sunday and we are just sooooo excited. :)

3. Because of the debut preparations and all the drinking I did last month, I have put off studying for my exams. Patay! Now I really have to study, study, STUDY! I have barely 2 months left to take my exams! :/

4. And because I've spent too much for my birthday, I need some moolah. I applied for a part time job around a couple of weeks back and I'm to go through a certification in 2 days! Wish me luck. I'm in bad need money right now. :P

Sleepless in Quezon City

And so what do I do when sleep eludes me? I think. Then think again. Then rethink what I've thought. Repeat (until my counsciousness fades, that is). My brain then goes into overdrive and sleep goes further and further away from my grasp.

And so here I am. Sleepless and getting hungrier by the minute. Thinking about random things. Why is it so easy to get sleepy when you're in class or at work? And if you tell me that my examples are boring activities, shouldn't lying on one's own bed with all the lights off and with no one to talk to be a lot more boring? Bah. Maybe I should start counting sheep.

1 sheep...

2 sheeps...

3 sheeps...

When I count sheeps, I imagine them jumping over my head one at a time. Do you do that too? Wouldn't it be more logical to think of sheeps grazing on green grass at a meadow and then count them? I mean, sheeps wouldn't normally fly over our heads, you know. Gah. I'm getting sidetracked here.

4 sheeps...

5 sheeps...

6 sheeps...

Maybe I should count birds instead. Nah. Too noisy. I end up thinking about those birds happily chirping outside my bedroom window whenever I wake up in Cavite.

7 sheeps...

8 sheeps...

9 sheeps...

And why do I think only of white sheeps? Oh poor black sheeps, neglected by my imagination. :(

10 sheeps...

I really should stop this.

getting back on track

3 months akong nawala. hindi lang sa blog na to. sa social networking sites at pati na rin sa pagpaparamdam sa kahit sino. for 3 months i shut myself away from the world. life got me, big time.

i disappointed a lot of people, and worried a lot more. but trust me, no one could have been more disappointed or worried for me than i myself was at that time. it was a long and brutal period and yes, maybe it was a little on the extreme end of a midlife crisis. (at this point, most people would correct me and say that its a quarterlife crisis since i'm only 25 but i always tell them i'll probably die at 50 anyway. all that nicotine, alcohol and fat intake would never let me live past 60, no exercise at all would considerably decrease my lifespan to way lower than that.)

on the bright side, i am not suicidal. ayoko ngang magbigti, chaka ung may bakas ng lubid sa leeg. ayoko ding uminom ng lason, malamang bubula ang bibig ko, chaka din un. at mas lalong ayokong tumalon galing sa mataas na building. ayokong isipin kung ano magiging itsura ko pag ganun. on top of it all, pano pag hindi ako nagsucceed? eh di pinahiya at pinahirapan ko lang ang sarili ko! (tapos sasabihin kong hindi ako suicidal! haha.:P)

in case you get any ideas, joke lang yang mga methods of suicide na nilista ko. pramis. yan din ang sinasabi ko dati pa kapag may nababalitang nag-suicide eh. so just in case may nagbabasa nito na nagworry bigla, hindi ko talaga gagawin un. promise. there are a lot more things worth living for. besides, al iz well. :) (yes, 3 idiots pun intended)

on a serious note: it was stupid, inconsiderate and immature of me na maglaho na parang bula at bumalik ng ganun ganun na lang. i am well aware of that. some may say that i have very shallow reasons behind the disappearance. i can't even apologize out loud, not to the faces of those people i've worried. but i really do feel bad about doing that. and i am truly sorry about the things i may have made you guys think or feel. but my emotions were too strong and could not be reasoned with then. reason tried to fight those emotions but was unsuccessful. my emotions beat my reasons black and blue.

sorry, tumagal ng ganun. i didn't really expect or want to keep myself in seclusion for that period of time. i just couldn't bring myself to go and see other people when i was a wreck. my pride just kept me from showing such a vulnerable side of me to anyone else. i wanted to go back once i've settled all the turmoils that were boiling deep inside of me.

this is basically an apology post. for an apology i can not bring myself to blurt out. just something to release my thoughts out there. just something to say that i'm ok... that i'm past that crucial point in my life... that i will try my hardest to never worry anyone else again... that i'm pushing forward... that i'm getting back on track. hopefully, there will no longer be any falling off the wagon for this one. :)

separation anxiety

as i was about to go to sleep, i checked my phone and realized that today is the 5th of february. i got really sad, then i broke down and cried. 4 days from now, one of my closest friends will leave the country to try her luck out in another country. i get really emotional when someone i've gotten really close to leaves me behind.

and although we've already agreed upon me visiting her after a few months, it still isn't the same. she used to be just a text away. she used to go to my place to cheer me up when i'm sad. she used to be the first person i'd call whenever life gets to me. i wish i could make her stay here, just for my selfish reasons.

but to be selfish is a crime. so all i can do is wish her well on her new endeavor. and remind myself that in this era that we live in, there will always be ways to communicate. and it'll be just as if she's here.

and so, dear friend, bon voyage. someday, we'll see each other again..

2011

i was gonna make the usual new year's resolutions but then i realized that my resolutions never do get followed. so instead of depriving myself with those "i will stop/not --" resolutions, i decided on making 2011 the start of an enriching experience for me. and by "the start" that means this is not just gonna be for 2011 but from 2011-2015. see, 2015 is the year i turn (gasp!) 30. so i decided to get a jumpstart on my goals and here i am, presenting my 10 goals for the big three-oh.

1. learn a new language. - thinking of taking up mandarin classes by january. i have always been impressed by people who knows how to speak other languages.

2. finish my  degree - i am serious. i have to complete this by june or all my plans are gonna fall apart. i'm gonna need a lot less of the lazy's and grab more of the focus.
 
3. get a non-call center job - because yes, this is the dream. haha. seriously, there is nothing i want more than to get away from irate callers. i don't care of the workload is heavy or if the pay is low. i just want out of the call center industry.

4. take photography seriously - i've been eying some dslr cameras for a while now. no budget, though. so i've decided that this is the first thing i'm gonna be saving up for once i get a job. might also take some photography classes to enhance my photography knowledge.

NAVI, your life navigator

a quick intermission post before i bombard you with posts (yes, in the plural form) of my recently-concluded ilocos trip.

It's the last month of the year and the last month of me using my Navi 2010 planner. You served me well, planner. And because of that, I am dedicating a blog post to you. :)

I started getting planners in preparation for the year 2007. 2006 was my first "working" year and so I decided that going corporate meant I needed to get more organized. Starting with getting a planner. :P Back then, I drowned myself with coffee to get the Starbucks planner each year. I did this for 3 consecutive years until my trainer from my then-job at ePLDT Ventus introduced me to the Navi planner. I think it looks better than the Starbucks planner and if you're not really getting coffee on a daily basis, you're gonna get this planner at a cheaper price than 15++ Venti(s) from Sbux (yeah, I always order the biggest size 'cause I get 'bitin' with the Grande). The planner costs around 500php but with all the coupons inside, it's all worth it. Plus, it has sections for setting goals and a vacation planner (among other things). So it really appeals to the travel-hungry person in me.

The best part, though, is that a percentage of the proceeds from Navi goes to a cause. For 2010, it was MioFightsCancer: for Mio Mendiola, a five year old boy who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. I have yet to find out what their cause for this coming year is, though.

And so for this year, I want the new Navi 2011 planner. :) If you're feeling generous, you can get me one from their website or from any major bookstores in town. I am in no way imposing on you, though. 'Cause I'm also thinking of making my own planner. Get photos of my previous travels printed out on its pages and some of my writing too. 'Cause as much as I love Navi, there can be no such thing as a perfect planner as one you designed for yourself. :)

Hmmm.. Maybe it IS time to let the creative juices in me flow out. :)

of love and misfortune

Today, I fell in love with Pagudpud. And I feel like I'm cheating on Camiguin 'cause just last week, I was in love with its White Island.

But let's set my "love" woes aside for a moment. Cause right now, I'm stuck on a bus to Laoag. The bus that me and my friend are on is having a bit of a problem. Gah. We have to reach Vigan tonight! C'mon, bus! Step on it! We've been waiting for more than 30mins for you to get fixed. :-|

drunken nights no more?

My coffee jelly, my pare's mocha frap and travel 'zines at starbucks.

Usually, the nights spent with pareng pan ends up in the wee hours of the morning after getting wasted over buckets of beers downed while barhopping in malate. Today, we bonded over UP's isaw, dinner at sefali and coffee at starbucks technohub..

Are we getting too old for booze and drunken nights? Haha. I don't think so.. :-P


*edit*
3:55am

Editing my post because it turned out to be a drinking night after all. Pare and I met with Pao, our former officemate-slash-drinkingmate, who suggested we get a couple of bottles of beer. So we headed to Tomato Kick along Maginhawa Street where I was literally within 5 inches from Franco Reyes (yes, from the band "Franco") while heading downstairs. See. I told ya we're not too old for booze. :P

when lizards fall in love. literally.

soo freakin' funny. :)

but then again, anyone will tell you that lizards won't die from falling from the ceiling. :P

still. hilarious. laughed so much after i watched this, i got tears in my eyes. :D

why you shouldn't get drunk in bosay resort, antipolo

your friends will wake you up in the morning when it's time to go home but you will not have any recollection of when and how you got to your room and slept...

or how you got those bruises on your knees...

or how you lost your slippers.

XD.
 
oh, and just a little something i found on our cottage:

haha.

hahaha.

hahahaha. :D

yeah, yeah. i'm a meanie. whatcha gonna do about it, eh?

sabaw

so i was tasked to write an exposition paper on the successes and failures of the philippines in the past 50 years under the constitution. naturally, i consulted the highly respected (NOT!) mr. phytus bummer.

and this was his very poignant reply:

"sabihin mo 25 years ka pa lang na nabubuhay

sa 25 na yun,20 pa lang dun yung may isip ka na

sa 20,10 pa lang yung naging aware ka sa philippine consti

at sa 10 na yun,2 weeks ka pa lang kamo nagsimulang magcare sa consti

tapos as far as you are concerned,it is not that far and you are not really concerned.."

excellent, mr.bummer. XD

so i asked him another question: what are your thoughts on conserving and developing the patrimony of the nation?

to quote mr. bummer:

"we cannot conserve and develop what is already gone...

because patrimony does not play basketball for purefoods anymore

alvin patrimony"

aun. humagalpak na lang ako ng tawa. :P

zombies must've gotten to my brains

i feel like my brain is currently sporting a sign that says: temporarily unavailable. please process your transaction later. or something to that effect. if you cut off my head, this is probably how it looks like right now:

gah! i need to finish my exposition papers asap! i kinda have this (very vague) idea on how to go through with it but it involves me racking up my brain / researching on the history of the philippine politics and economic history for the past 50 years. (mind you, history has always been my waterloo.) and i don't know where on earth im gonna start. :(
 
oh well.. looks like there's gonna be no drinking for me this week. boo! :(

thirty days hath september

Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November.
All the rest have thirty one
Except February alone,
Which hath twenty eight days clear,
And twenty nine in each leap year.

i've had this mnemonic memorized for as long as i can remember. i don't even know where i got this from.sa book siguro namin nung grade school sa rws.

thirty days hath september...

i've been chanting this line in my head the whole day. na-realize ko kasi na patapos na ang september.. at matatapos ang september na sobrang baba ng productivity rate ko.

limang araw na lang. hay.pwede bang wag na munang mag-october? or i-skip na lang ang october ngayong taon? fast forward na lang tayo sa november..

october equals acad month. i need to take lots of exams sa school.. kasalanan ko, i know. tamad mode kasi ako from july until now. by october, bawal na ko pumetiks. super acad mode: on. plus, something i've been dreading might happen in october. :(

november equals travel month. cdo-camiguin-laoag-pagudpud-vigan. excited na ko. :) tapos start na ng new sem ko. so pwedeng pumetiks ulit ng konti. :P pwede bang november na? please, please, please...?

oh well. it's inevitable, anyway. sana pwede ko na lang i-fast forward ang october. haaaay.

fail

new promo for Cebu Pacific! i have been wanting to go back to ilocos for quite some time now so i was really excited when i saw this promo today.

so i quickly looked for dates that i could work with (which is virtually any 3 or 4 day period. ah, the benefits of being a full-time home-school student.) and was all set on conquering ilocandia alone. i was pondering on whether or not going on a solo trip was a good idea, knowing full well how bad i am with directions. fortunately, my friend (the one who just got back from thailand) was online and was willing to go with me. :)

cluttered

seems like i have a lot of digital clutter in my life.

i always find myself trying to de-clutter one thing or another.

take today for example. i'm de-cluttering the laptop. uninstalling programs and deleting files that i no longer use.

i've also been backing up some files from my portable HDD to DVD-RWs the past week. my 160GB HDD now has less than 10GB free space.

or maybe it's just my OC-persona taking over.

i remember a couple of years ago, i took pain-staking time to arrange my music folder by artist. i had thousands of songs in there and it took me months to finally get it all sorted out.

this obsessive-compulsiveness attitude that i've got towards my computer data does not only run through my music files. i also have all pictures arranged by folders of my group of friends and then by occasion. (if it's a multiple day trip i even have them sorted as day 1, day 2, day 3 and well, u get the point.) i also have my videos organized into tv series (subfolder-by season), movies, and separate folders for every camera i've ever used (subfolder-by date and/or occasion).

i wish my OC-ness will manifest itself with my material stuff, though. i can't seem to declutter that part of my life. my room always looks like a tornado hit it ten times. (i'm exagerrating here.. or maybe not.. :P) this has always been a major argument between me and my mom when i was younger. now, i think she's learned her lesson and is trying to stay as far away from my room as possible. :D

okay. so i just ranted about computer files. how much more boring could my life be? :P between this and studying the constitution, i seriously need a break (and a heavy dose of booze :P).

hello, september!

My first blog post for the -ber months. 1 month to finish my current semester, 2 months till my next out of town trip, 3 months till Christmas, 4 months till New Year and 5 months till my Coron trip! :)

So much for the countdown, let's talk about my recent activities (or inactivity to be more precise).

I was set upon taking an exam at school last Monday. I didn't realize, though, that it was a holiday so I wasn't able to take the exam. And I woke up too late yesterday so I decided to just take the exam by Thursday or Friday. I'm gonna head home to Cavite in a few to work on my essay (which is in need of much revision). The long commute really puts me off but I'm running out of cash so I really don't have much of a choice.

Right now, I'm all set to go home. Bags are packed and I'm all dressed up.. Pero tinatamad pa ko magbyahe. Hehe. I've been attacked by an unproductive, lazy bout the past two days. That's another reason why I want to go home. Baka sakaling sipagin na ko pagbalik ko. 

Anyway, just some of today's thoughts. (In no particular order. Or, well, in the order I'm gonna be thinking of them starting this second.)

1. The 21st Philippine Travel Mart will be held on September 3-5 at the Mega Trade Hall, SM Megamall. Sooo... I've enlisted  the help of one of my friends to attend the event and try to find some travel packages that will suit my student budget. (Which reminds me.. I need to save up for my CDO-Camiguin trip this November and my Coron trip February of next year.)

2. The above mentioned friend just came home from a vacation in Bangkok, Thailand and I am soooo jealous. My passport is in desperate need of stamping! Take me out of the country, please. Again: on a student budget. :P

3. I've finished transferring the entries from my old blogs into this blog. These are from 3 different blogs I used to have. From my late teen years to my early working years, you'll read about the thoughts of a younger me. It's funny to read about the thoughts of an 18 year old version of yourself. Oh, memories. :) (P.S. You can find them on the top right part of this blog under where it says pages.)

4. I left my cellphone, camera and PSP chargers in Cavite. Thank God for the invention of usb charging. (Or maybe thank technology would be a better term. :P)

5. I've informed the laundry shop that my laundry is ready for pick up but they're still not here. I'm waiting... waiting... waiting....

6. It just started raining. Now my long commute will be even longer. :(

7. I need to drop by the mall on my way home. I am in need of:

• DVD-RWs (..to back up my data with. My external hard drive already has roughly 110GBs worth of videos, pictures, music + other files)
• dermatographs (I have this inability to study without dermatographs)
• pencil sharpener
• shoes (I have no shoes! I've had to make do with slippers for more than a month now! This can wait, though.)

8. The rain just got heavier. Paano ako uuwi nyan? I hate using umbrellas. It cramps my style. (Yeah, right. As if I've got style. :P)

9. Diet. Yeah, I'm trying to lose weight. I am horrified that I've gained so much weight in the past year. I hate exercising, though. So I'm gonna have to cut down on my food intake and maybe start drinking some of those slimming teas. Chanting my new mantra: I need to slim down. I need to slim down. I need to slim down. Argh!

10. I've got to go get dinner and then I'll go home once the rain stops. Might be stuck here for another day if it doesn't.. I wish the rain would stop. Then I can go home tonight. In the meantime, I'll try to get some studying done. 

Hey, September~ amp up my productivity please! :)

of motivation

today, i learned to use a non-working lighter to light up another non-working lighter. very useful skill, i tell you. :P

SEE. :) learning really is based on motivation and need. i wanted to smoke. i had 2 lighters (both non-working) and a pack of marlboro lights.

kinda reminds me of when i learned to open a can of corned beef using a knife. another useful skill. :)

now, i can live alone in an uninhibited island with just a knife, a supply of canned goods, 2 non working lighters and reams of cigarettes...

if you know me though, you'll know i'm kidding with that last part about living in an island. :P