From the monthly archives: June 2007
My ex-partner and YFC brother Niki tagged me to do this list in his Multiply so I thought I’d write it here instead of there. I used to have this kind of list I entitled All These Things, which I got from an old online friend but I stopped doing it because…well, because I was lazy. I guess making this list is also a part of The Great Adventure, so some of the items in this list would be the same in my first 5 Great Adventures list.
So let’s do this again, shall we? According to the tag, I’m supposed to write 10 things I want to do before I die, and then tag 5 people after. Here we go!
10 Things I Want to do Before I Die
- Publish a book. Or two. I consider myself a writer as well as a computer scientist/geek, and I still want to publish a book. Preferably fiction, but I like nonfiction too. I think I’ll go towards the young adult/chicklit genre for the fiction. :P
- Travel, travel, travel. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: I want to see the world! I’ve got Sydney up for 2008, for the upcoming World Youth Day (I’ll be putting up a blog for this sometime soon, so watch out for it!) but I also want to go visit other places before I turn 30 or get married (whichever comes first). I want to go backpacking in Europe, go shopping in the streets of Bangkok (for the second time) with my friends, explore the beautiful beaches right here in this hometown, visit different Disney parks in the US and drop by the Big Apple to see if it’s really filled with people and if it’s really everything I’ve read about. Besides all that Heroes watching makes me want to see the city, and yes, including the plastic surgery in Manhattan. The world is waiting! I want to see!
- Receive sunflower(s) on my birthday. My favorite flower is a sunflower, and every year I wish for someone to give it to me on my birthday. Still no such luck, but I’m young, I can still wait. Even just one sunflower would be nice. :D
- Put up a bookstore/coffee shop. My mom and I have been playing with this idea and I threw this idea to my best friend as well. I love books, I like coffee — so why not start a business that has both? I have yet to think of a way to make that bookstore different — or maybe I should put it up in the province or something. Not a remote province, of course, but on a semi-remote place where there’s no close access to Powerbooks or any bookstore not counting National Bookstore.
- And since we’re on the topic of provinces, I want to have my dream house built. My dream house, as I envisioned it a year ago, would be in the semi-remote province (Tagaytay?). It’s a two-storey house with spacious rooms. No TVs in the bedrooms, only in the family room and there’s going to be a library/study and a prayer room. The house will be built on a huge yard where there’s room for a flower garden on the side (with a big sunflower patch!) as well as a swingset for the kids. And surrounding the house should be white picket fence. :P
- Fall in love, get married and have a beautiful family. Enough said. :P
- Raise enough money for a GK house and help build it.
- Be a missionary. In what way, only God knows. :)
- Send a kid to school.
- Be surprised on my birthday. As in the Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you went through all this kind of surprise. :P
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There’s more, but I’ll stop here or else I might blab the whole day. :) Anyway, I’m tagging…well, I’m really not in the mood to tag anyone. :P If you feel like getting this survey, then consider yourself tagged. Come on, it’s fun to write things like this. :P
Now I’m off to help my mom clear up on her just concluded dinner with her CFC friends. :) Good night!
Yay Friday! Finally! And a not-so-stressful day too, for some reason. But who’s complaining? I also got myself a new book ((My personal book ban is over! Yahoo!)) to reward myself this month and last month: Charmed Thirds
Say it with me: Thank God it’s Friday!
Anyway, since it’s a Friday, it’s time for another feast!
Appetizer
What do you consider to be the ultimate snack food?
- Popcorn! Specifically, kettle corn. I love Holy Kettle Corn. I also love those microwavable popcorns because they’re so quick to cook. I also like those really cheesy/salty popcorns in movie theaters. And white cheese popcorn from Taters. What else? I’ve never been to San Diego, but maybe San Diego restaurants have good snacks too.
Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 as highest), about how popular is your last name?
- Uh, 1? Only a few people have my surname (and most of them are from Batangas). My surname is what my professor in college called “katutubo”, or native. Apparently, the Batanguenos are very stubborn people that when the Spaniards asked them to change their surnames, they didn’t follow because, “We had this surname since birth, we’ll have this until death.” So there. In Chamorro, our surname means “Fish Eye”. :P
Salad
Who is your all-time favorite sitcom character, and why?
- Maverick and Ariel from Misadventures of Maverick and Ariel. It’s a local TV show with two guys who just go through the typical Filipino life. :P
Main Course
Do you shop online? If so, name some sites you like to browse for goodies.
- I shop, but my dad pays and he gets the package. :P When there’s a hard to find book that I am just dying to have, I’ll go on Amazon, pick the links and send it to my dad. :P I also shopped in Booksale and in National Bookstore Online. Can you see that it’s all books? :)
Dessert
Fill in the blank: I think ___________ should be ___________.
- I think three-day weekends should be mandatory every month. Don’t you think? :)
Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the long weekend for those in the Philippines. =)
I need a big bag. Wait, a bigger bag, because I think my bag at work is already big but it’s not big enough. I can’t even fit my kikay kit in my bag, not without removing my iPod or something else. Hmph. I remember back in college I wanted a bigger shoulder bag because I wanted to bring my Bible everywhere I go in school. This time, my college bags are inappropriate for work, and I want to stop bringing my ratty purple handbag where I have to stick in my planner and my fan and my umbrella and stuff. It’s a hassle. So now my search is on for the perfect work bag.
Anyway, while I search for the perfect work bag, today’s Thursday, which means tomorrow’s already Friday and it’s almost the weekend it’s time for Thursday Thirteen! This week I’ll keep it simple and since we’re on the subject of bags, this Thursday’s list is…
Thirteen Things in my Bag
- Three cellphones. Yes, I work in a telecommunications company, and I happen to own a SIM card for each network. But having these three doesn’t mean all those are for work. Only one is for work, two is personal. Between the two personal ones, one is the one I always use (Captain Tal) and the other one is only alive when I get it load. Figure it out. :P
- Triskal, my 30GB iPod video. I only leave home without my iPod when I know I’m commuting for long distances.
- A comb. I always feel like I am not armed when I don’t have my comb.
- House keys. I had these unfortunate instances when I got home from my third year high school retreat and realized that I forgot my house keys and my parents won’t be home for hours. So I stayed over my classmate’s house and watched Charlie’s Angels while I wait for my parents.
- Coin purse. Sometimes I get too many coins and when commuting, a coin purse is a must!
- Wallet. This wallet contains lots of stuff, which I will probably talk about next time. This wallet may or may not contain money. :P
- Pepper Spray. My brother told my parents to get me one before I started working, for my personal protection.
- A pen. I guess it’s the writer in me that makes me always bring a pen.
- A small pack of medicines. This is mainly for first aid purposes — I have a couple of Ponstan 250 for extreme headaches, Ventolin for sudden asthma attacks, Biogesic and Strepsils for sore throat.
- Triskal’s cable. Since my iPod now can only be charged through the computer, I always bring a cable because sometimes I charge it at home.
- My kikay kit. Every girl has this. :P Contains a compact powder, cheek tint, lip balm, lip shine, contact lens lubricant, perfume, alcohol and my asthma inhaler. :P
- A pack of tissues. Self-explanatory. :P
- Finally, a small booklet with a cross. This one was given by my brother and his girlfriend which they got in Pink Sisters in Tagaytay.
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Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
Yesterday, I experienced another first.
I lost a cellphone.
I’ve never lost a cellphone in my entire cellphone-bearing life (that’s approximately 8 years). I’ve never misplaced it, or got it stolen (thank God). Most of my phones just get broken. But today was different.
Seeing as I work in a telecommunications company, mobile phones are normal in our environment. I borrowed a Nokia 6111 for testing purposes since November last year, and since I borrowed it from the office, the phone was under my name. My name = my accountability.
The other day, the said phone was not charged and since I still don’t have any extra outlet in my cubicle, I had it plugged in my officemate’s extension which is what I usually do. I had a series of meetings in the morning and when I went back, my officemate was out and the phone was exposed, so I hid it in between his pedestal cabinet and his desk. It was our usual doing, really, so I had no qualms about hiding it there.
Unfortunately, that charging phone slipped out of my mind until yesterday morning, and when I looked at my officemate’s desk, the charger wasn’t there anymore. I assumed he must have kept it in his drawer to keep it safe. When he got there, I asked him about it and he said he didn’t remember it. Maybe he just forgot it, but it wasn’t in his cabinet.
Uh-oh.
Jomar, my financial guru (haha, yes naman), once told me that I should have other sources of income other than my job. True, I have rackets here and there, but they come once a year (Didache devotionals) and others come depending on the situation. I’ve been thinking about other things to do to earn money besides webdesign (because I am so sloooow at designing other people’s sites), and one that would not take much of my time, and now, I’m revealing what I will get into.
I just got approved for PayPerPost and BlogToProfit.
I resisted at the idea of signing up first because I feel like this blog would lose its personal touch. But after much thinking (and accounting), I decided to give it a try to see if it really works and if I can really do it. That, and I think it might be a good writing exercise for me, to make it creative and not ad-looking. It did work with this one, right, and I’m not even advertising this. :P So why not give it a try?
I won’t fill my blog with advertisements alone, and I promise to label everything that is sponsored (there will be a Sponsored Posts category). I also have a Disclosure Policy (thanks to www.disclosurepolicy.org), just to make things clear.
Oh, and if you do want to start doing PayPerPost, do sign up by clicking here:
All right! Bring on the moolah! :P
Rating: 
Everyone’s favorite film geek Phoebe Grant heads off to Merrie Old England-and changes her cinematic dreams from black and white to living color.
Phoebe’s family has money troubles. Her spiritual life is dragging. She misses her long-distance best friend, Lindsey, terribly. But all that’s bearable because of Alex, the gorgeous man who shares her love of movies and actually likes women with a little meat on their bones. At last-someone to kiss on New Year’s Eve!
But by New Year’s Eve, Alex is in London, called home by a family emergency. Newly engaged Lindsey has turned into a long-distance Bridezilla, and the snooze button still sabotages Phoebe’s morning quiet times. She needs a break, which is why she jumps at the cheap off-season fare to England.
She’s not chasing Alex. Really. She just wants to broaden her horizons. But what awaits Phoebe in the land of Mrs. Miniver and Notting Hill is nothing short of disaster . . . and nothing less than a miracle.
In this sequel to Dreaming in Black and White, Phoebe wonders when will she ever get her kiss from Alex Spencer, the man who seemed to be destined for her. With her best friend almost engaged (and then engaged at the middle of the novel), she feels like she should hurry up and get her lips locked with Mr. Movie-buff Alex.
But things didn’t turn out the way she wants them, when Alex had to go back to England to care for his father. Phoebe is resolved to just wait, until a certain loss prods her to go to England with her Barley best friend Mary Jo. Why? Not to chase Alex, of course, but because she’s always wanted to go to Europe.
Oh, and she had to do a favor for a friend too.
And maybe see Alex in passing.
The author paints England in a way that you feel like you’re also with Phoebe and Mary Jo (or MJ, as Phoebe calls her in England) in their trip. You’d laugh at Phoebe’s mental notes and trips to dreamland, but then feel bad for her when she ends up being disappointed.
Phoebe feels like someone you’d want to have for a friend: always game, always making sure things are okay for you and sometimes even forgetting herself in the process. She can get into her dreamland quite often, until the end of the novel, that is.
I read this book after I read With This Ring I’m Confused by Kristin Billerbeck that’s why I had strong points of comparison. Ashley Stockingdale may seem normal but Phoebe is a different kind of character. The novel encourages the readers to be content with the gift of singlehood, as well as taking the leap when God gives you the chance to. :) It’s quite empowering for singles and sad to say, it doesn’t really have the same happily-ever-after ending like the Stockingdale series has. It’s still a happy ending, but not quite what the readers would expect. :)
Great book. :) I wish there’d be another one…but then what would the title be? Dreaming in 3D? I don’t think Phoebe’s up to that yet. ;)
This is an overdue meme tag from Mae, who asked me to share 6 weird things about me (who thinks of these things, anyway?). I actually had a hard time, even if I had a lot of weird aspects. Haha. So let’s see. Hmmm. Okay. Let me warn you, I’m a really weird girl. :P
- I eat with a small spoon and fork. It started when I was a kid, when the spoon and fork I brought for school is small. Ever since then, I felt like big spoons do not fit in my mouth even as I grew up. Until now I’m still using a small set of spoon and fork. I can use big utensils, but at home I always use the small set. :)
- Whenever there is a special occasion, I like my hair to be extra soft. My hair is my vanity point and a bad hair day can make my day in a not so good mood. So whenever there is a special occasion, I take the pains to condition my hair properly and blow dry it if I have time.
- I can sleep even in the noisiest place. I’m not a night owl. The moment I feel sleepy, I feel sleepy, period. I remember one time, I was at a YFC Echo Conference, our tent was the one nearest to the speakers and during the party at night, while everyone was out partying, I was sleeping soundly in the tent. There was also another time when South Border was playing during a YFC ILC, and while everyone was up front watching the band, I was sitting comfortably on a row of seats, napping. :P
- I can stay awake the longest, though. Yes, as much as I can sleep in the noisiest place and I am not a night person, I can stay awake the longest if I have to. Or if I want to. I’m not exactly a masa (as in masandal tulog ((Rough Translation: Can fall asleep even while just leaning on anything)) ), so I can stay awake and then crash when I let my body relax. I can’t pull two nights of no sleep though. One is enough, thank you.
- I always eat my fries first whenever I eat in fastfood. I noticed it just recently, that whenever I eat out in any fast food restaurant and eat anything with fries, the fries go first before my burger or the others. I eat 3/4 of the fries and then eat the burger (or whatever it is) and finish the rest of the fries off. :P
- I talk to my computer. The fact that I name my gadgets is geeky enough but talking to my computer — that’s something I’m guilty of. :P It started in college during our Java class, while doing our machine project. I talk to my computer when it’s acting up — like when it’s hanging, or if my program is buggy. I even pat and rub my laptop, Ginger, when it’s slowing down because of all the programs I’m running on its poor 256MB SDRAM. :P So if you see me mumbling something to my computer, don’t mind me. :P
It’s late, and I’m not in the mood to tag people anymore, so…this would stop on me I guess. Okay, if anyone’s interested, consider yourself tagged. :P
Good night world. Tuesday tomorrow, and it will be a good day. It. Will. Be. A. Good. Day. Dear Lord, please let it be okay.
Today, most of the schools in the Philippines started their classes and a bunch of new people started at work today. Lots of first days, isn’t it? How exciting.
I remember last year, on the first day of classes in DLSU, I took a day off at OJT to go to school and join in the first day fun. I didn’t mind losing hours because I knew I had some people I will be able to get back to, who are waiting for me in school. I was so excited to blow off work to go there and see my friends. I quote the entry I wrote in my LJ two years ago:
I want to go to school on Monday. I want to be able to feel the first day of school woes. I want to have new filler notebooks, new pens, new school stuff and then have properly marked with subjects. I want to feel the thrill of meeting new professors and wondering if I should adjust and if I do adjust, looking around the list of available sections. I want to type the course syllabi in those two column sheets and stick them into my notebooks, be the OC girl I am. I want to be able to meet my friends at the Gokongwei lobby on the first day, be surrounded by freshmen, see the congestion of froshies in SJ walk. Hear hilarious froshie stories. Eat at Agno, or figure out where are the new places to eat. Look for the people I want to see. Go out of my way and head over to the YFC Tambayan to hang out, talk, talk talk and then when the day is over, head over to my new room in the dorm and get to know my new roommates. (May 19, 2005)
Ah, reading that just made me miss school even more. Of course, DLSU started classes about one and a half weeks ago, and weirdly enough I miss it too. I just miss the first day rush. I think the difference with this year and two years ago ((I’m not counting last summer because I was a bum then, plus I was also in school a few days after school started)) is that this year, there’s not too many people I can go back to. I mean, most of my batchmates have graduated already, and most of my YFC friends who I caught up to are not there anymore as well. But that doesn’t erase the fact that I’d love to and want to be a student again — to be a self-centered student who only cares about her studies and her allowance and not about bills, work and other adult responsibilities.
It makes me wonder why people want to finish school immediately. Why leave a life of comfort (yes, studies also means comfort, believe me) for a life full of responsibilities? Younger ones, heads up!
Rating: 
“Confusion is part of God moving you out of a comfort zone. A comfort zone that should cease to exist. God’s way is never the easy path, but it’s by far the most exciting.”
- Ashley Stockingdale
She’s got the rock, so when does happily ever after kick in?
At long last, Ashley Stockingdale–patent attorney, fasionista, and homeowner–can finally add “fiancee” to her spirited resume. That means the next four months will be a dizzying and decadent waltz through aisles of Vera Wang, Kenneth Cole, Sheridan sheets, Kate Spade place settings, and Oneida flatware. Well…maybe not.
For starters, the HR department has hired Ashley’s ex-boyfriend (yep, the one who ran off to India with that other woman) as the new director of software. And now her fiance is starting to sound crazy–something about moving across country, to Philadelphia of all places. Worst of all, right before her eyes, Scarlett-I-need-some-Prozac O’Hara is hijacking her wedding plans!
Life for our heroine is spinning from out of control to downright confusing. But whether she makes it to the end of the aisle or not, she’ll never be at a loss for drama!
This is the third and last installment of the Ashley Stockingdale series, and the book (obviously) focuses on Ashley’s wedding preparations. In this novel, it occured to me that Ashley is pretty normal for a protagonist — albeit a bit neurotic sometimes — but she does attract chaos quite often.
Ashley faces a lot of challenges in preparation for her wedding, mostly concentrating on her in-laws who seem to be driven to make Ashley’s most dreamt-of day to be a disaster. Her future sister-in-law (Emily) is determined to make Ashley a laughingstock in her own wedding by following a “theme” while her future mother-in-law (Elaine) is set to make her look unworthy of her son. Add her commitment-phobe ex Seth’s comeback into her life, her fiance Kevin is always out and he has plans of moving to Philadelphia, and the fact that she is broke, how will she plan the day she has been waiting for all her life?!
The characters of the past two novels make a comeback in this last installment, giving a particular familiarity with the wacky Silicon Valley bunch. Although Ashley’s struggles seem too far-fetched at times, it could happen to anyone still.
The Christian point of view of the novel is a bit hard to grasp at first, but then the author shows it all in the end: marriage requires a lot of hard work, and it doesn’t end at the wedding; in fact, it only starts there.
With This Ring, I’m Confused ends with a happily-ever-after-like ending, which is a great feel-good novel to read on a lazy afternoon. :)
I’ve mentioned Triskal a couple of times in my past posts, and I haven’t formally introduced him to you (although you may have a hint already). :) Friends, this is Triskal:
Yes, that’s Triskal over there, a 30GB Black iPod video. :) I got him last Monday in a really amusing way which I call, “Day of the Fast”. Or it could be called Cyber Monday, too, since it seemed to be a day full of gadgets.
First off, my brother sold his 40GB iPod the other Saturday to his officemate. That night, he called me and asked me if I was planning to sell Star, my pink 4GB iPod mini. Our iPods are both 2 1/2 years old — ran through a lot of unit and headphone replacement and used up Apple Care nicely. My brother and I were planning to get new ones but not really soon because of the budget constraints.
