From the monthly archives: January 2010
I was all set to sleep last night to start my early day today, but this tweet woke me up:
That certainly woke me up. Guess who immediately went to iTunes store and bought the track?
A.D.D. Moment: I love that my dad has a US iTunes account that I use and is linked to his Paypal (where most my blog earnings are going). :D It gives me access to these music and I can support the artists I love.
In a few minutes, I was listening to his new song and swooning. If we weren’t about to sleep, I would have been squealing like an idiot too. :p I think I played the song five times last night until I fell asleep! Ah Dave, I love you so. ♥
Gaaah. I can’t wait for the new album. This will definitely give me more reasons to look forward to April!
Now excuse me, I’ll go back to listening to the song for the nth time. :P
God Gave Me You
Dave Barnes
Album: What We Want, What We Get (out April 6, 2010)I’ve been a walking heartache
I’ve made a mess of me
The person that I’ve been lately
Ain’t who I wanna beBut you stay here right beside me
Watch as the storm goes through
And I need youGod gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it’s true
God gave me youThere’s more here than what were seeing
A divine conspiracy
That you, an angel lovely
Could somehow fall for me
You’ll always be love’s great martyr
Ill be the flattered fool
& I need youGod gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it’s true
God gave me youOn my own I’m only
Half of what I could be
I can’t do without you
We are stitched together
And what love has tethered
I could baby, never undoGod gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it’s true
God gave me you, gave me you.
Gave me you.
EDIT! I still can’t get enough of the song, and because of that, here’s a video. ♥
Taking a break on Monday morning evening to share this cute image that made me laugh out loud today:
Isn’t Cookie Monster just adorable? Okay, he isn’t that cute in this image, but that look of bewilderment is so cute. :P I saw a Cookie Monster stuffed toy in Toy Town last Christmas and I would have bought it for myself…if it wasn’t Php 1,500. :( Boo. He’s at the same level of Grimace with my fangirl-ing. So if you want to buy me a birthday gift (March 17 *wink*), that cookie monster doll would be a good one. :P
I wonder why all these kid character fangirl-ing came now that I’m on quarter-life. Regressing much? Haha at least I’m not ogling over wedding invitations…especially since getting married is the least of my wants right now. Yeah, it’s good to like kid stuff every now and then. :P
Okay, back to work now. :)
Image credit from Macaroni and Serendipity :)
When I first saw the poster of this movie, I was curious. Angels and the apocalypse and all that? Hm, this should be a good and interesting movie, right?
So I finally watched it today and I came out of the cinema, and all I could ask was, “HUH?”
Quick background on the movie: God is fed up with humans, so he’s sending the angels to exterminate the people. Archangel Michael defies this order and goes down to protect the baby that Charlie, a waitress in a dusty middle-of-nowhere diner (who didn’t want the baby and smoked e cigarette, is having, because this baby will save humanity.
If you’ve seen the trailer, it pretty much showed the entire story. There were lots of possessions, lots of guns and fancy flights and fights of Michael and Gabriel.
And that’s just about it.
I wish there was more, but really, that’s it. It was nice to see the angels, but everything else was, well, bad.
For one thing, I felt that a lot of things weren’t explained to me in the movie. So okay, Michael went down to make sure the baby lives. Why is the baby supposed to die? Why should he live? What’s going to happen if he lives? I didn’t get any answer at all, except that Michael tells Charlie, “Show him the way.” Then he tells Jeep, “Read the books, look for the prophets!” What? That just left me scratching my head when the movie was finished. Huh.
And what really bothered me there was how Michael seemed to be more “loving” than God. He said something about how he didn’t lose faith in humanity even if God did, and at the end, when he gave God what he needed. I’m all, “HUH?” I know this movie is just fiction, but how God was portrayed bothered me immensely. The God I know and believe is not like that, and none of His angels, even if it were St. Michael, cannot be more loving than He is.
Come on now. Besides, I don’t think Michael would defy God…and I don’t think God would ever make an order like that. Not the God I know and believe in, the one who sent Jesus to die for our sins. There’s just no way.
Sorry, that just bothered me. It’s not a movie I’d recommend to watch, but if you’re curious with the story and you want to watch lots of guns and weird zombie-like possessed people, well, go ahead. :P In all fairness, Paul Bettany did good in his role, and that’s just about it. I still think they could have done a better story.
Okay now that I’ve written a blog post about the movie, I can now sleep. :P
You know what? I think I actually had a pretty good week.
I don’t mean to sound negative with that. I’m really od quite optimistic with the year, but sometimes it’s hard to remember the good things when things go hectic. It’s easy to remember the bad things that happen because they somehow overshadow the good things, like getting good rv breakdown rates or something.
I used to make this list everyday in my journal which I call The Positives. This list contains the positive things that happen within the day, from the simplest (having KFC for dinner, for example), to something really big (passing an exam). Right now I’m feeling the edges of some kind of sadness, which I can probably blame on hormones, so to combat that sadness, I’m going to go through the good things that happened this week. Ready?
- Getting sick over the weekend had its perks: I got to rest. Having asthma may be a hassle and kind of expensive, but it’s okay because I think I actually had restful sleep this week even if I had to go up and pee every now and then. :)
- Had a chance to write again. I joined some groups at work where I can make use of my writing skillz. :P It was fun writing and editing stuff again, even if I had no idea if my press release is any good. Oh and someone said, “I like the way she writes.” Thank you. :)
- I got to work out again! Wednesday was back to work out day. Armed with my inhaler, I did Body Balance and Body Jam and I didn’t wheeze one bit. :)
- Shakey’s twice this week: one for Jana’s birthday and the next for the team lunch. Awesome. Greasy and fattening, but awesome. :)
- Oh and despite all the non-work out and the food…I actually lost weight. Okay, I didn’t really lose on my overall weight, but I lost 1lb of body fat, which is good, and gained about 2lbs of muscle…which is also good. Surprising, too.
- It was my last session with my nutritionist last Thursday and she gave me a lot of good advice on how to continue my progress. New goal: 125lbs by March. Can I do this? I hope so! I’m keeping a food diary on my own and continuing my workouts. I thought I wouldn’t be able to have weigh-ins anymore because I’m not paying for any session, but it turns out I can get weighed in so I know what my body fat is. So yay for this. :)
- I got to talk to my boss about my rating for 2009…and I am happy about it. I can’t talk about it, but I’m happy about it. Thank You, Lord. :)
- I found out that a friend passed his NCLEX exam. :) It’s so nice to hear good news from other people, right? Congratulations!
- I was checking my bank account earlier and noticed that God answered one of my prayers! Now I can pay my bills. :) Thank You again Lord. :)
- Now I’m talking to my friends from work and the conference is crazy but fun. :) I love these people so much that I’m actually staying up late for them. :D
Tomorrow (or later), I’ll be going to the gym, dance, and will register to my first marathon of the year! Then I’ll meet up with my best friend and watch Legion to celebrate her graduating status. :)
Good times, good times. I have to remember this so I won’t get carried away with all the other not-so-good things that are happening. :) It’s good practice for the soul, me thinks.
Happy weekend everyone! :)
Just a little public service announcement as a favor to a friend. :) Some of you may have heard of the “phlegm incident” from a branch of The Sandwich Guy. It’s too long to post here, but to make the long story short, someone ordered a sandwich from this branch, and found out there was “phlegm” in the other half of the sandwich.
Yeah, I know, gross, right? I bet not even Rocky Patel cigars can take the taste off that, but then again what do I know?
Anyway, if you search around the Net, I think you’ll find enough info on that. But as I said, as a favor to a friend who is the marketing guy of Sandwich Guy (redundancy alert?), I’m posting their statement on this incident to help clear the air up.
Oh, and I’m removing the names, just because. Like I said, if you search around, you’ll probably find it.
The Sandwich Guy abides by the high standards of the food industry in sanitation and food handling. All its branches have an open kitchen and are designed primarily for customers to view the preparation of their sandwiches from start to finish. All its crew inside the kitchen wear aprons and hairnets. When the crew handles food, they wear food grade gloves. All the crew has passed the training for the sanitation and food handling as upheld in the food industry and approved by the franchisor.
The ingredients of the country tuna sandwich include cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce which are vegetables with high water content. If these vegetables come in contact with freshly grilled warm wheat bread, it will give off some of its water content. The said customer states in his email that it was a colorless liquid that he found on his sandwich, the same colorless liquid which a cut cucumber, tomato or lettuce will give off when exposed to a warm surface such as a freshly grilled wheat bread, which we already explained to him.
The major allegations of the customer in his email blast against The Sandwich Guy are false. We have always been available to meet with him to try to address this issue in a professional way but after his email blast, we have no choice but to file legal charges against him.
To all our valued customers, we thank you for your continued patronage. We assure you that we are serving fresh and healthy food that you have been enjoying in the same high standards of sanitation and food handling upheld in the food industry. Thank you very much.
There are some lessons that can be learned from this situation:
- Always make sure to check what you’re eating.
- If there’s a way to fix things silently without any scandal or without involving other people, do so. It would save so much time and energy from both parties.
- Sometimes an apology is enough. Really. And maybe some kind of compensation.
- Whatever is posted online will forever be found online. So be careful what you email or post.
Okay commercial off, now back to regular programming. :)
Since I couldn’t post Booking Through Thursday here anymore because I have One More Page, so I found another thing to post here. :D Hello, Girl Talk Thursday!
This week’s question is all about pet peeves. Oh boy, this should be good.
I know I’m not the nicest person around, but I do try to be patient when people do things that bug me or if there’s something that happened that I just didn’t like…but sometimes, my patience just won’t cut it. Especially if it’s any of the following:
- People who stop right before stepping on the escalator to talk if they really want to go up/down. Or even if it’s just a single person who happen to stop before stepping on an escalator to text, or think or decide if they really want to ride it. Ugh, I always get a huge desire to push/kick people who do that. Seriously, please decide before you step on the escalator landing if you are really going through with it, especially if there are people behind you. You’re going to make everyone behind you stop if you stop, so don’t stop, especially if people are in a hurry.
- People who hiss at me to get my attention. You know, the “psst!” It’s a Filipino trait, and it’s sad and it just…pisses me off when people do that. Sorry. I do that in writing, but in person…no way. Plus how hard is it to say “hi” or call the other person’s name?
- People who have no concept of time. I don’t mind people being late, because I am late a lot of times too, but I hate it when people do not follow appointments. At this time and age, a simple text message can be sent immediately to inform the other party that they will be late — that is very much appreciated. Oh, and if I say I need to be at this place at this time, well, I really need to be there at that time. Seriously.
- People who text this way: kmuzta p0h!!! Pleaaaase. Seriously, is it so hard to write the proper way? :/ I’m starting to forgive using “q” as a replacement for “ko”, but that’s really the farthest I’m going with here. No more. StIcKy CaPs get to me a lot too, so please. Just don’t.
- Whenever I get the edges of my pants wet with rainwater. Or any kind of water, even if it’s from pond pumps. I hate the feeling of having wet pants legs, especially when I can feel it with my feet. Ugh.
Sorry, just saying what I think. But it’s really a matter of perspective. Like I said, I’m pretty patient and I hardly ever snap. But then again, I just said hardly. No offense to anyone, of course.
What about you? What are your pet peeves?
Hi, I’m not so sick anymore. *cue cheers here* I even managed to get a work out today, hurray!
So today, while I was taking a shower, I was thinking of getting a new MacBook Pro. Why? Because…well, it’s comparably cheaper than it was a few years ago — heck, the 13″ in MacBook Pro is even cheaper now than when I bought my black MacBook back in 2007. So I was thinking of selling my MacBook and buying a new one (still naming it Aslan because I love that name) and…that’s it. Why? Well, just because. I know, I know, not so smart; it’s just a want, not a need.
But after much thinking, I realized that I don’t think I’ll be able to afford it this year. Okay, I may be able to afford it, but it’s just not prudent to do so this year (did I use the word correctly?). There are all these other expenses that I need to attend to first, like getting new clothes (yes, it’s a need now), paying off debts, sponsoring another child, trips with friends, and there’s my brother’s wedding this year too, where I promised to pay for the flowers. So…it’s really not wise to buy something that expensive when the one I have right now can serve me just as well as a new one can. Plus…okay, I don’t really need it anyway. I use it only for my stories other personal stuff, and I have Teo to use while I am at work — laptops provided by companies that provides IT Jobs are pretty powerful too, if you ask me.
I decided then to put it off one more year and just get it for myself on my 25th birthday in 2011 (gasp!), if I still feel like getting one. Things could change, you know.
Then I thought of what’s one thing we need at home? Aha! A PRINTER! The old printer we have at home is not really working anymore, plus I hate that when one of the cartridges runs out of ink the printer won’t print anymore — EPSON, why so? I don’t really do much printing at home, but my mom does, especially when my dad sends stuff. Plus it would be nice to print the right stuff correctly at home and not anywhere else, if you get what I mean.
Oh and I’d like to print my novel too, when I get it done. And put it in a binder and have an actual printed copy I can go through and edit after.
So how much are HP printers nowadays? I like HP because the draft setting of their printers doesn’t look like draft at all, but like normal print. I know, HP cartridges can be very expensive, but then their inks last a long time, right?
But you know what, that isn’t really the point of this post. Heh, got you there. I just felt like rambling.
After thinking of all those want-to-buys and fueling my gadget thirst this early in the year…I realized I need to focus on the immediate things first, which are the things I have decided to splurge on in the next two months. I have to stress the “splurge” because it’s not a need…or wait, it can be a need, since it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. I mean…well, it’s hard to justify, but it really is a once in a lifetime thing and I don’t want to miss these.
First off:
BACKSTREET BOYS IN MANILA IN FEBRUARY 27.
If you don’t know these guys, it means I’m getting old. Or you’re just young. But anyway, it’s Backstreet Boys! They’re the first band I really liked, Nick Carter was my first biggest celebrity crush, and I wrote stories about these guys. The last time they were here (still with Kevin), I missed the concert because I had a YFC planning that night and I didn’t have the money. I can’t miss this now.
Of course, tickets are expensive:
- Patron VIP (Reserved Seating) P4,760
- Patron (Reserved Seating) P4,280
- Lower Box (Reserved Seating) P3,810
- Upper Box A (Reserved Seating) P2,860
- Upper Box B P960
- Gen. Admission P480
But it’s not like I need to see them up close. Okay, maybe I want to, but I’ve grown up from the last time I fangirled over them, and honestly, Upper B is okay, just like when I watched Lifehouse in Manila two years ago.
Fine, laugh all you want. It’s the Backstreet Boys, and 90′s music is not the same without them!
I justified this expense for myself by the way: it’s my post-Valentine’s Day gift for myself. Yay. Grace, Jana, lessgooooow!
And next.
PARAMORE IN MANILA ON MARCH 9.
There is no way I can miss this one. How many times have I just listened to Paramore songs all day? When I work out? When I’m feeling angry? When I’m feeling emo and melancholic? Sometimes when I’m even cheerful? Heck, I was listening to Paramore’s Brand New Eyes when we were cleaning the house after Ondoy!
So there is really no way that I’m missing Paramore’s first concert in Manila. I’m even willing to splurge more for this. Look at these ticket prices:
- GOLD: Php 3,950.00
- SILVER: Php 1,550.00
- BRONZE: Php550.00
I’ve been to MOA’s concert grounds during the Katy Perry/Mae concert, and it’s free standing, so to get the really best place there, you really have to be early. Even early enough to hear their sound check, right Happs? ;) There’s no way I’m settling for less with this concert — Gold all the way! :)
Oh, and there are VIP tickets available for this concert…but I don’t think it’s worth it for the price.
Two other things about this concert: (1) it’s on a Tuesday night and (2) How many Twilight fans do you think will watch this concert all because of Decode?
Hm.
Oh and justification for this concert? My early birthday gift to myself. :)
So see, the first quarter of 2010 is kind of making me a pauper already, just thinking about it. Not to mention there’s the Century Tuna Run on February, Avenue Q on March…and what else? Ah see. I think I’m going to start bringing lunches to work, and stop riding cabs. And stop impulse buying on books when I don’t really need them (yeah right).
Sigh. I’m happy though, because it means I can afford these things and it means I’m being provided for, and it means I’m blessed enough to be single (yes!) and have the finances to pay for these things…and enjoy life. Jehovah-jireh, right?
You know what, I should get back to work. :P
So. I’m still kind of sick.
I was feeling all better yesterday and even had the time to go out with my family at Bonifacio High Street (and got new books!). I spent a pretty much normal non-sick day save for the occasional sniffles. However, when I got to bed that night, I started wheezing again.
I think the culprit may be my colds, or it could be the fact that I slept late last night (darn Seattle’s Best Americano). Or it may even be the cold weather. Or allergies. Whatever it is, I woke up not feeling good again, which meant I missed exercising again today…and I kept on wheezing every now and then. ARGH.
It’s been more than a year since I last had an asthma attack, and it’s not even a full-blown one, just one that was triggered by my allergies. Usually a day of drinking medicine is okay, but this particular one just wants to stay for another day. When I was a kid, I used to have a LOT of asthma attacks, which automatically excused me from doing heavy physical activity and sports (and that is probably the main reason why I don’t do sports). When I grew older, the attacks grew less frequent, but I still carry my inhaler in case of emergencies.
I think this particular bout of (almost) asthma is frustrating me because I can’t work out, and my days feel weird when I don’t exercise already. Plus, I hate drinking asthma medicine (Ventolin) because it gives me tremors and it’s not a pleasant thing — plus Ventolin has steroids and it can make one fat. I eat carefully (no appetite suppressants here), though, but still, I wanna sweat! I want physical activity! I want my classes! :(
It’s just my luck that it’s raining today so I couldn’t get to the clinic earlier. :( I will try now, though.
Ah asthma. Can you go away now?
EDIT: 6:45PM. So I just got back from the clinic and yes, my asthma is back, sort of. :( I can say that starting today, and up to the next two weeks, I’ll be on steroids. :( Ah fudge. This means I probably will not be able to work out again today and tomorrow…but maybe I can do Body Balance on Wednesday? I wonder.
Oh well. And the medicines are so darn expensive. Boo.
I sure hope my next post isn’t about any kind of sickness now.
Ah, Goolai salad: you are one piece of veggie heaven in a plastic container. ♥ I just had a Goolai salad for dinner, and it was awesomely delicious. The creamy dressing is not really a good choice, but it was the only salad left there, so I couldn’t really pick anything else. I wish it was more accessible to me, though, but not always eating would stop me from getting sick of it too fast.
Don’t you like it when you know you ate healthy in one meal? :)
On another note, my mom started doing the General Motors diet starting Wednesday last week. General Motors diet, or the GM Diet, is this seven day diet where you eat specific types of food on each day:
Day One
All fruits except bananas. Your first day will consist of all the fruits you want. It is strongly suggested that you consume lots of melons the first day. Especially watermelon and a loupe. If you limit your fruit consumption to melons, your chances of losing three lbs. on first day are very good.Day Two
All vegetables. You are encouraged to eat until you are stuffed with all the raw or cooked vegetables of your choice. There is no limit on the amount or type. For your complex carbohydrate, you will start day two with a large baked potato for breakfast. You may top the potato with one pat of butter.Day Three
A mixture of fruits and vegetables of your choice. Any amount, any quantity. No bananas yet. No potatoes today.Day Four
Bananas and milk. Today you will eat as many as eight bananas and drink three glasses of milk. This will be combined with the special soup which may be eaten in limited quantities.Day Five
Today is feast day. You will eat beef and tomatoes. Eat two 10 oz. portions of lean beef. Hamburger is OK. Combine this with six whole tomatoes. On day five you must increase your water intake by one quart. This is to cleanse your system of the uric acid you will be producing.Day Six
Beef and vegetables. Today you may eat an unlimited amount of beef and vegetables. Eat to your hearts content.Day Seven
Today your food intake will consist of brown rice, fruit juices and all the vegetables you care to consume.
There are other details in the diet, which you can read from this page, like the wonder soup, and something about alcohol and what it does to your body and such. It’s made to be some kind of cleansing diet, to help you eat right, and get this: it’s designed to make you lose 10-17lbs in a week.
Ten to seventeen pounds. In a week. That’s almost as much weight loss you’d get if you drink weight loss pills, based on this phosphacore review I read.
The biggest weight loss I’ve had in the past six months I’ve been in the gym was 3lbs in a week, and about 5lbs of body fat, and that’s after a whole lot of physical activity and careful diet. I can’t even dream of losing that much weight in a week.
So why not follow it, right? Well, call me a gym junkie and a purist, but I’d really rather stick to my own diet rather than do something like this. I thought of following this diet early 2009 after a friend told me about it, but I loved food too much to do something like this, and I really don’t believe any diet that tells you you could lose weight without exercise. Plus isn’t losing too much weight in a week dangerous or something? I hear the healthy goal is 2lbs a week, right?
So yeah, maybe I am a purist. The diet I follow right now is based on the servings that my nutritionist made for me when I started out at Fitness First, which consists of approximately:
Getting sick for no reason is a sure sign of something: your body needs rest. I should know; I’m doing that right now.
So yesterday’s allergies became a cough and cold today, with slight wheezing that feels like asthma. I don’t know how allergies turned out to be this way, but maybe it’s also because of the cld? And the stress? And…well, maybe life is just telling me to take it easy today and rest.
This meant no Combat again today…so sad, so sad. I wanted to go out too, because of all the plans that my friends and I have today, and I feel kind of bad to beg off. :( Meds are an option (no, no acne treatments, of course, what use would I have with that now?), but I think my body really needs rest. But it’s okay. Better rest than get even sicker, right? No one wants that.
I should write about my fitness ideas and stuff soon. Maybe even start a blog about it. Who knows?
So what plans today? I will…
- Eat right. Since I won’t be able to work out, my diet for today is important — no indulging or splurging on things that I can’t burn off anytime soon.
- Read. I’m starting to get into Persuasion already, and if there’s anything I learned from reading Pride and Prejudice, it’s to keep on reading even just a few pages of the novel everyday so I won’t get lost. So it’s Persuasion day again!
- Write. Be it my novel or a short piece of fiction for Wordplay, it would be nice to write.
- Catch up with TV. TV shows galore — I have a bit more to watch for a while, so maybe later?
- Journal. Yeah, writing again.
I wanted to go shopping today, but it looks like I’d have to skip that for now. Shopping is tiring yo. I can do that over the week, or maybe even next week or something. Right now the first priority is to rest.
At least I have no fever. And no sore throat. My asthma meds are making my hands shake though — hello Ventolin, we meet again.
It’s nice to stay at home for a change, though. I kind of missed this.
* Image credit: sxc.hu
