(Mis)Adventures in Gotham and Beyond

V-Day Soon!

2009-01-27T00:30:00.005-05:00

Now that Valentine's Day is just around the corner, I'm pretty sure men and women alike are on a hunt for that perfect Valentine's gift. And with tough, economic times like the one we're in right now, retail stores that specializes in flowers, chocolates, sexy lingeries, and other lovey-romantic items are probably trying to come up with promotions and sales to keep customers coming.

Thankfully, there are several online and retail stores that offer great deals and promos on seasonal items, and some of them offer free shipping when your purchase of sexy lingeries reach a certain amount.

Remember, Valentine's Day, as overrated as they seem to be, is all about LoVe. So, don't forget to get those sexy lingeries for your special someone! These deals will certainly help lure customers into spending money in tough times, especially for a special occasion like Valentine's Day.

Tradeshow Season

2008-05-18T12:42:00.003-05:00

One of the reasons that kept me busy at work during the last few weeks is due to the upcoming trade show season in our industry. Although the first event we're participating in will not happen until about two months from now, we started to coordinate the particulars of our trade show booth, otherwise deadlines will catch up on us.

There are smaller events where booths are not necessary, so table skirts are provided by the organizers, which makes it a little easier because there's no other need for major and extensive set-up. But if it's a big convention, we often times have to rent pipe and drapes to make the booths used at trade shows. When all the major things are taken cared of, I don't really worry much about smaller things like banner stands or literature holder suppliers, as those things are pretty easy to handle.

Surfing the Bloggerwave

2008-05-15T20:45:00.001-05:00

When I started to see bloggers signing up for paid blogging about a year or so ago, I'm one of those people who thought that it's probably a fad and that it won't last that long. I can't be more wrong with that guess! I joined the paid blogging bandwagon months ago, and I must say it's an excellent way of making money. One of the sites I came across with is Bloggerwave, which aims to be Europe's biggest advertising media on blogs. A good move, as the internet, and blogging in particular has become a treasure trove of internet superhighway.

Ten Plagues of the Subways

2008-05-09T09:31:00.003-05:00

I'm not surprised they came up with "Ten Plagues of the Subways". People have become indifferent to rats as big as cats scurrying past the train tracks, anything less than that will not faze the crowd.

Read more here.

Case of Itchy Feet

2008-04-30T18:30:00.005-05:00

I know, I know, another Europe post. I hope you haven't tired of it though, because I haven't!

Let's talk about United Kingdom. If you're thinking of visiting the UK, why not book a hotel and trek over the city of Manchester? The city boasts of Victorian and Gothic architectures. Not to mention urban villages of which I'd say is ideal for young professionals. Did you know that a handful of the most popular bands in the music scene came from this city? Does The Smiths, New Order and Oasis ring a bell to you? Yep, from that city. :)

Now let's head on over to another great city, Birmingham. Known for its diverse population, I bet any visit would be an interesting one! Tourism is a major force in the city, as it holds several shows and sporting events that attract a number of tourists. For business or pleasure, cheap rates for hotels can be found here.

Not to be outdone, London hits the spot for me. The capital of England, this city with its diverse population is known for its fashion, political and cultural influences. When we say England, people automatically think of London and its various tourist spots like the Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and not to forget, the London Bridge.

While you're in Europe, don't you think it's a good idea to hop on a train and head over to the city of lights, in Paris? You can get cheap hotel rates without any hassle. That way, you don't have to worry about anything else other than the activities you'll be doing as you visit this romantic city.

This is La Dolce Vita

2008-04-28T09:28:00.002-05:00

Every so often, I keep going back to my previous travel photos and without fail the one album that has probably received more viewing mileage than others would be the pictures of our trip to Rome. Those who know me knew how much I am fascinated about the Italian culture – enamored enough that I took Italian language lessons – I think I’m partly Italian, in more ways than one, hehe. Seriously though, I always say that if money were no object, I would be living there in a blink of an eye.

I’d love to go back to Italy someday, perhaps rent a Rome apartment, and hopefully gallivant in other parts of the country we’ve never been to. I can already imagine myself all aboard a gondola, navigating canals in the romantic city of Venice; or basking in the sun in the middle of Piazza San Marco. Before my imagination takes me further though, I’d have to book a reservation at Hotel Venice. While I’m at it, I’d book another reservation in Hotel Florence, so I can explore the city of Firenze and visit several great art and cultural landmarks, like the world-famous cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore and then visit the Uffizi Gallery.

Sigh. I don’t know when this will be, but I know it’s going to happen, that I’m certain of.

More Fun Stuff

2008-04-28T08:28:00.000-05:00

Ever since I switched from a PC to a Mac a few months ago, I haven’t encountered any technical problems so far. I am still familiarizing myself with the system’s features, but I’m impressed and amazed with the efficiency and fluidity of the Mac system. I must admit however, that I haven’t really explored the fun stuff it has to offer like the games, garage band and more.

I was browsing for games other than what I already have (only one!) when I came across free mac games on the internet. One of the games that caught my eye was airport mania for mac – with cool, colorful graphics, I bet you won’t get bored when you play this while waiting for your next flight at the airport! There are other great mac games available for download from the site, you will definitely be spoilt for choice.

Coveted, and now granted finally

2008-04-26T08:18:00.004-05:00

J got an early birthday present:

This console is just too addictive, hehe! No wonder they're hard to come by in online and physical stores.

A Must: Home Security Systems

2008-04-26T06:58:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago, we visited a friend who recently moved nearby. They sold their house in NJ and got this place that looks, well, amazing to say the least. Floor to ceiling windows on the first floor, as well as the kids' bedroom, an indoor pool in a sprawling backyard, pretty much a massive expanse of property.

From the outside their house look so inviting both to friends and unwelcomed strangers. We've all heard horror stories of a great looking property and robberies that frequently occur because of lack of home security. Fortunately, one of our friends work with ADT Home Security and advised this family that good, reliable home security systems ADT should be immediately installed to protect not only their home, but most importantly, their family. We all know that things can happen beyond our control, but with this home security feature, we can avoid bad situations from turning to worst.

ADT Home Security Systems is a first choice for us as well. We should be aware that large, massive houses are not the only the ones that fall victim to robberies nowadays. Having a reliable company that has been in the security industry for a long time, using the latest technology to look after your home is one of the best investment in your property you'll make.

Craving for Malaysian Spice

2008-04-16T09:37:00.006-05:00

After a doctor's appointment last week, we made sure to stop by and eat at one of our favourite Malaysian restaurants in Flushing. I've been craving for Roti Chanai and since the one we frequent in Chinatown at Canal Street is a little bit further from home, this place is the second best alternative.

No trip to this place is complete without the Roti and Veggie Spring Roll. Nom. Nom.

Since J's gout attack just recently subsided, we opted for the Pompano with Belachan Sauce, Kangkung with Belachan Sauce (not pictured) and Salted Fish Fried Rice (another favorite). Man, the Belachan sauce has got some serious heat to it, ang lakas sa kanin, pero ang sarap!

Salted Fish Fried Rice

Pompano in Belachan Sauce

Really good food for an even better price. How can you go wrong with that?

Tagged!

2008-04-15T13:07:00.003-05:00

Aiyah. Almost two months of no update, bad! I'll make do with a Tag for now, hopefully other things follow suit.

Tagged by Mama Meeya

I AM… expecting a boy this summer. Woohoo!
I WANT… to go on a vacation in a nice, secluded beach, with a mango shake within an arm's reach
I HAVE… been abundantly blessed
I WISH… to finally settle in a professional place where I love what I do, money notwithstanding
I HATE… pretentious and arrogant people. Bah!
I FEAR… the unknown
I SEARCH… for answers online more than necessary

I WONDER… about riding on a rollercoaster with a belly. Not possible?
I REGRET… not being too aggressive when I was in College
I LOVE… my Family
I ALWAYS… kiss the husband goodnight and good morning.
I AM NOT… fond of small talks on elevators
I DANCE… with two left feet
I SING… horribly.
I CRY… over trivial things lately
I WRITE… my name over and over and over when I'm bored
I WON… the Spelling Bee in 5th Grade
I AM CONFUSED… about the ending on No Country for Old Men. Huwaaat??
I NEED… a massage. My back is killing me.
I SHOULD… start doing some work! :D
THE LAST THOUGHT YOU GO TO SLEEP WITH IS… "Now, this is a comfortable position"

Free Rice

2008-02-28T12:56:00.000-05:00

Bide away time and help end world hunger, one word and twenty grains at a time.

Seeing the Light

2008-02-25T15:13:00.001-05:00

Since I don't see Old Man Winter leaving the coast any time soon, I'm getting sick of the roman shades in our living room windows. They're red and they make the living room dark and gloomy and, well, colder. One of these days I'm taking those down. I need some semblance of Spring in this dreary weather.

Giants Ticker-Tape Parade

2008-02-05T14:34:00.000-05:00

I totally forgot that the Giants Parade on Broadway was today and didn't bring my camera. Too bad because our office had a great bird's eye view of the actual parade. This is the most decent picture my phone cam managed to take.

It was really exciting, we were throwing shredded paper and magazines from the office window heheh. Rain notwithstanding, the crowd really showed their love for the Giants that day. I'm not sure if the sanitation staff shares the same sentiment when they start cleaning up the mess though.

Disclosure Policy

2008-02-05T13:38:00.000-05:00

This policy is valid from 06 February 2008

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. Those advertisements will be identified as paid advertisements.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.
To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org/

Like Them Specs?

2008-01-30T14:32:00.000-05:00

My contact lens supply will be running out in a couple of months and I'm thinking about getting a new pair of glasses as spare, since my old one is starting to look battered. Perfect timing too, when I chanced upon Zenni Optical $8 Rx Glasses. I dont plan on investing big bucks since these specs would only serve as my back up, so this site is such a great find because it offers a huge selection of frames with different types of lenses. And with a price like that, how can yo go wrong? With shipping and handling charges for a flat fee, you can get as many pairs as you want. A really great offer!

A Little Bit of Paree!

2008-01-29T09:44:00.000-05:00

I haven't been rocking in the kitchen as much as I want to these past few weeks. I just have no will power to do anything at all. However, I'm looking into taking a couple more classes at ICE again by Spring. I've always wanted to try making Nigella Lawson's recipe of the French Pistachio Macarons, but I've heard of horror stories that the cookie became too flat thus making the pastries a little unsuccessful. I might take a class on how to make 'em properly, hopefully my cookie does not crumble (bad pun).

Look at them babies. Don't you wanna sink your chompers on them?

Kitchen Adventures

2008-01-16T09:25:00.001-05:00

One of the things we're planning on the homefront for this year is renovating our "70s inspired" kitchen, as it were before we moved in some months ago. The walls are plastered with psychedelic colored wallpaper and when things are quiet and still in the kitchen, you can almost hear them crying to be stripped down.

Ideally, I'd like to have new kitchen gadgets - a cool new fridge, a monster oven for cooking and baking and the best dishwasher. Though for sure this would all depend on how far we can stretch our budget, I'm already shopping around for the most cost effective and efficient appliance to get.

We don't use our dishwasher often but it's a good thing that I can visit a website to compare and read reviews about different washers. A lot less hassle than going from one store to another.

Lazy Bum

2008-01-10T14:04:00.000-05:00

Now that the holidays are over, and the feast of the Three Kings is over and done with, I have no excuse not to put away the christmas ornaments at home. A couple of days after christmas I took down the tree, thinking I could do a heads up and that by New Year's I'll be done. Alas, it all ended there. I'm too lazy to pack the rest away.

Good luck to me.

Europe Travel

2007-12-11T14:01:00.000-05:00

It’s almost that time of the year when I cross off a few things from my “Things to Do Before I Turn 30” mental list. The last year has been great, for the most part, J and I found ourselves traveling to destinations we never thought we’d set foot in. Like last Christmas (no, I won't get in to that song), we spent Christmas in London, and boy we enjoyed it there! It's a lot like NY but with the great tourist attractions like the Big Ben, the Buckingham Palace, and of course, the London Bridge. We didn't have a hard time commuting because the Metro is so efficient and are in very close proximity of these must-see sites.

After spending Christmas there, we hopped on a Eurostar train to the City of Lights, Paris. I daresay it's the quintessential destination for couples, young and old alike. On our first night, we went straight to Arc de Triomphe, along the famous Champs Elysee, and the following day headed to the Eiffel Tower. We also made sure to visit the Louvre Museum to see the famous painting of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. It's a little bit overwhelming, finally seeing these great attractions in person. I'd love to go back there, two days and a half seem like a very short time to enjoy it. I want to discover more of the city's culture, get lost in the different arrondisement, and explore the gustatory delight that Paris is known for.

Next year, I'm seriously considering bingeing on crackers and coffee for lunch, as I want to travel to Barcelona. It's one of my must-see city in Europe, because it has its mix of modern and traditional culture. I'd love to visit the Sagrada Familia, the Gothic Cathedral, Musee Picasso and the tree-lined street of La Rambla. Of course, all these activities will be sustained by exploring their food while we gallivant in their parks. Ah, Life.

I can't wait. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed on this one.

Barcelona Image courtesy of Barcelona.com

Office Schmurty

2007-12-06T10:27:00.000-05:00

We have to go to J's work's holiday party at this semi-sosy place in midtown tomorrow, and I'm not too keen on going because a) I have nothing to wear; b) it's going to snow and I'd hate to have to lug my plastic botas to work along with a possible shining shimmering splendid outift for the night; c) I'd much rather go to a party where people sit by communal tables. J is expectedly annoyed at me for not wanting to go and for complaining too much. Bah. Like I don't already know that.

I might just swing by H&M later after work to see if I could find something holiday party-ish to wear. This is so typical of me, waiting until the last minute to do things I should have done weeks before.

Let It Snow!

2007-12-01T14:30:00.000-05:00

We had our first snow of the season this morning:

Slushy days are here!

Tell Me Something I Don't Know

2007-11-28T10:25:00.000-05:00

Big paycheck means less housework for married women.

A researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that big paychecks
equal less cooking and cleaning in a study of 918 women in double-income
families.

I don't understand why they had to conduct a study for this, I could have told them this right off the bat and pay me so I can order take-out all the time or get a housekeeper.

Your Next Door Action Hero

2007-11-24T10:30:00.000-05:00

My hair is starting to look like a cross between MacGyver's and Fernando Poe Jr. You know, sideburns, long back that's flipping outwards. Hey, come to think of it, I look like an action star, the only thing missing is the leather jacket and I'm ready to go to an empty bodega with crooks and gangsters, and then pounce on them contrabidas. Kapow!

I'm getting a haircut next week, I can't take this anymore.

You Can't Fight a Losing Battle

2007-11-12T14:40:00.000-05:00

There's another street fair on Broadway today because of Veteran's Day. Gaaah, I ate too much again, I can't resist! The gyro and the corn/mozarella sandwiches were calling my name! And to think I had rice with danggit this morning, and had a baon of two pork empanadas.

Wala na. Losing the annoying pounds is still a constant uphill battle.

Old Friends

2007-11-11T11:28:00.001-05:00

J and I met up with a friend who's in town visiting from LA, along with other friends from high school in the NY and NJ area. We hit Hagi once again for cheap chow, and as usual we had to wait at least an hour to get seated for a table. I think ever since Anthony Bourdain featured this place in No Reservation, the patrons have significantly increased.

We had a great time - this is what I like about seeing people from your past, your guards are let down, and pretensions are left on the door. I mean, these are the very same people who knew you when you had pigtails on, or when you were wearing those god-awful shoulder pads from the 80s, back when you thought you were so cool. Back when things were simpler and you need not worry (so much) about what other people think.

Every so often, I wonder why people need to do a little (or a lot) of growing up in life.

Insurance Policies

2007-11-05T11:01:00.000-05:00

When we were in the process of getting the house a few months ago, I did not realize there were too many paper works/documents to secure, including mortgage insurance. Overwhelming is an understatement!

It’s a good thing there are several companies that sell different types of insurance nowadays, so it’s easier to do a comparison and make a decision. Even better, they offer online rate quotes where you can get an instant quotation right at your fingertips. You can't go wrong with convenience and great customer service!

Straight to my bottom

2007-11-04T17:14:00.001-05:00

i have this sudden urge for crisp, unburnt, reddish strips of fatty oscar meyer bacon.

Mac

2007-10-26T17:18:00.000-05:00

Remember this? Well, I finally crossed over recently, and I'm getting to the point of frustration! In fairness, i've had it for a couple of weeks but only got around to setting it up two days ago, but I'm getting a little bit disheartened. I miss my familiar PC commands! So if you have any command cheat sheets or anything please please send them my way! :)

Though I must say, everything looks pretty and bright with a Mac's screen, and the pictures looked flawless!

PS. Sitemeter is starting to scare me.

Seasick, Yet Still Docked

2007-10-15T17:17:00.000-05:00

It's starting to become one of those days again where, you know, you feel like your thoughts are starting to swim for safety. I'm thankful for having music plugged in my ears on the way home, somehow when another person croons in your ear, you kind of drown and forget about your own psychobabble.

I'm tired but sleep doesn't get to me just yet. I'm starting to look like those meerkats in umm, what was that animation again? Ah, I had to google it, it was Madagascar. I like to move it, move it. I like to move it!!!

J is asleep and he whimpers like a puppy.

We're catching Morrissey perform at the Hammerstein ballroom on Monday. I'm starting to memorize all the songs so I can be one of those people who knew all the songs of the performers they like by heart. I jest, of course, it may be too late to start now, anyway. :D

Tote my Bag

2007-09-25T17:16:00.000-05:00

Since I can't get a hold of those Anya Hindmarch bags at a reasonable price, these will very well do:

Click on the lower right photo for larger view.

Eeek. Eyelovet! :D These are my favorites, there's more of the totes at their website. It's $24.99 each, here. I think I hear my wallet crying.

Photo cred: angrylittlegirls.com

Brown and Beige are my favorite colors

2007-08-07T17:15:00.000-05:00

It's a pretty cool day for August, the one that kind of reminds you that summer is nearing its end. My stomach was grumbling while I was on the train, I think I ate too little last night. I spent way too much time on the john this morning reading about Judy Ann Santos' a la Beyonce performance on Yes! Magazine. When I got to the shower my feet felt like they were being pricked by a million needles. I didn't have the time to eat breakfast and made a mad dash out.

I was down to three bucks on my wallet so I made a quick stop at the ATM machine. I haven't bought breakfast in a while, so I decided to get an egg and bacon on a roll, with extra mayonnaise please. And a banana. Oh and why not grab a bag of kettle cooked chips for good measure.

I hopped, skip and jump to the office. Come lunch time, I stepped out again. Man, this breezey weather just feels good. I went to Borders and Lucky magazine caught my eye.

Browns, Oranges, Grays. Plaids and Corduroys.

I feel great. Autumn doesn't seem too far in the horizon.

*EDIT: I'll send you a little bit of New York if you can name the band who sung the song/title of this post. No googling! :)

Springfield

2007-07-07T17:14:00.000-05:00

This is how I'd look if I lived in Springfield:

In fairness, sexy sya. Yellow-ish nga lang.

Simpsonize yourself here.

Miss Manners

2007-06-15T17:13:00.000-05:00

Aside from the delays, one thing I can't stand in my daily commute are people who don't say excuse me or I'm sorry. The other day there's this dude who got in just as the doors were about to close, suddenly in comes an older guy who totally pushed young dude with such force. Old guy was so oblivious, totally ignoring the fact that he pushed guy #1 and went about his business. I can't do anything so I just tsk'd tsk'd.

Nakuu sabi nga ni Mikee Cojuangco sa pelikulang Forever, if I were guy #1, I would have told Old guy to "Go back to your mother and ask her to teach you some manners!". Grrr.

Leftovers

2007-05-14T17:12:00.000-05:00

“We find a lot of handcuffs, always under the sink,” said Adam Goldstein, an owner of a 244-unit prewar rental building on West 72nd Street near Central Park where the tenant population skews toward single young professionals. “A lot of people take their toothbrush and toothpaste from the top and forget about what they have underneath.”

I hope I didn't leave anything too weird for Nick, our landlord to discover in our old apartment after we cleaned up. I do remember seeing 3 bottles of Red Bull, a bucket of buttercream frosting and weirdly enough, a jar of pickles that looked like life is forming inside of it as I closed the old fridge door for the last time yesterday.

AI Dishing

2007-03-10T17:11:00.000-05:00

nakakainis yang American Idol. Si Sanjaya Malakar parang si Kevin “Chicken Little” Covais of last year. It's a lot like that phlegm in your throat that you can’t ever seem to get rid of no matter how much cough syrup you downed. not that i did any of that.

speaking of which, I don’t understand what that little girl Ashley Frey is crying about. hello, hindi naman siguro pareho ng level si Sanjaya at Beatles ano?

---

ooh god i'm so frickin bored out of my mind. i'm eating an apple and i'm biting a chunk and trying so very hard to not have my chompers make any sound against it because you can literally hear a pin drop around here. it's that quiet. i went out for a walk earlier but when i was halfway thru pine street to go to duane reade, i went back and then walked around the next corner to wall street and then did a full circle to get to the other side of pine. how's that for having too much time to kill, huh.

perhaps you noticed in your blog stats that your previous posts had been revisited. that was me. :D and oh my gosh, some of you can be very vicious and funny, nakakaaliw!

goddamit, i should be doing something productive with my day.

The Police Tix, anyone?

2007-02-20T17:10:00.000-05:00

is everyone in north america watching The Police's (hindi yung Da Pulis ni Gabe Mercado ha) upcoming concert tour???

last friday, i got wind that they're doing a concert at madison square garden in august and will start selling tickets on Feb 20 at 9am. i was online at 9:20 this morning to get them and lo and behold, i haven't had any luck finding seats! nada, zilch, kaput, zero!

i don't want to ebay this because i might get bogus tickets, so please if you have extras and are selling it within the reasonable price let me know!

i was about to memorize all their songs so i can sing while they perform eh, haha. :D

What Reality TV Does To You and Me

2007-02-12T17:09:00.000-05:00

oh.my.word.

i hate despise paula abdul with a passion. grabe. hearing her dish out comments is like being locked up in a room with no windows, on a straight jacket while Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" play for hours on end.

nakakaloka.

Hunger Pangs

2007-01-27T17:07:00.000-05:00

we had lunch at minado’s over the weekend. syempre i stuffed myself again, goodness there goes that unrealistic new year’s resolution. one thing though, i have not eaten french fries since the year began. considering the lunch budget i allocate for myself (which means it's enough for happy meals so that i can get a shirt here and there without any questions hehe) and my junk food affinity that’s an achievement. even better, i lost 5 pounds. o ha.

pack this sheet, i'm starving. i'll go get myself a salad. and a couple orders of chicken nuggets on the side.

Edit: guess who's eating an oreo cheesecake from the office friiidge. :D

The Last Kiss

2007-01-16T17:06:00.000-05:00

i just saw it last night via netflix. What Reality Bites did for the Gen X'ers back in the 90s, the Last Kiss willl do for some late 20s and early 30s this time around. it's not quite about the whole issue of quarterlife crisis, but the choices that go with some parts of it. i like zach braff but hated his character here. anyway.

Rant Ahead

2006-11-20T17:05:00.000-05:00

“ladies and gentlemen, we’re being held momentarily in this station. we thank you for your patience.”

i get easily ticked off when trains get delayed or fall behind schedule. majorly ticked off. i have no patience to speak of when it comes to these things. i know, i know, these are the things that are beyond my control, and i can choose to be affected or not. yadda, yadda, yadda. my problem is, it gets dark really early these days, i get out of the office at 5 and it feels like it’s 8pm. aside from that, seats are nowhere to be found. isa pa, yung katabi ko amoy ginisa. ano ba to? gahd.

so when the train finally pulled to my stop last night, you know what i saw? the long-ass escalator (which is equivalent to 5 flights of stairs) was stationary. as in not working. crap.

ladies and gentlemen, this is where my frickin’ taxes go.

One Place

2006-10-20T17:03:00.000-05:00

“If you’re here for four more years or four more weeks, you’re here right now. I think when you’re somewhere, you ought to be there. It’s not about how long you stay in a place, it’s about what you do while you’re there, and when you go, is that place any better for your having been there?”– Karen Hall and Jerry Stahl, Northern Exposure, Soapy Sanderson, 1990

The Good Wife?

2006-08-24T17:03:00.000-05:00

WTF, right? i got this as a forwarded message and it's too controversial not to share. i sure hope this isn't a real, published article.

excuses

2006-08-20T17:23:00.000-05:00

the month of august turns out to be going a little faster than i thought, we barely have two weeks left of it! i must say though, i'm really looking forward to starting with the '-ber' months, there's a certain tingly feeling knowing the holidays are just around the corner, albeit it's not christmas manila-style. i digress. it's too early for me to be talking about the holidays.

anyway, the last few weeks found us trying to make the most of what's left of summer. bbqs abound within the family, and there's another long weekend in the beginning of september to look forward to. j and i have gone out on a 'gimik' (haven't used that in a while) in the city one night about a week ago to catch a live band at cafe wha? in greenwhich village. nights like those have become worth mentioning as of late, because we rarely go out on late night fares, except to dine out. when you get a certain age and the fast ticking of the clock becomes the enemy, relaxing around the house on weekends seems to be a more appealing and necessary option as opposed to getting hammered and just plainly making 'rampa' in hot spots during the wee hours of the night.

my cryptic updates are still up, as you can see. i guess i can talk about the previous prospect now that, well, i had 'closure' on that one. (it's such an awful word, btw). to put it quite simply, i didn't get in, i learned late last week. but, blessings do come in many forms, because prior to the news, another prospect knocked in, this time i feel more promising. i don't want to bank on it just yet, but i guess in a sense it kind of gives me the motivation to continue seeking what else is out there. i can tell you right now that i don't motivate myself as much as i should, and i'm quite satisfied as long as i am in my comfort zone, but nothing wakes a person up sooner than knowing he deserves better crap than what he's being bargained for. it's not so much an epiphany but pretty much a wake-up call from a long slumber, from hibernation, if you will. oooh boy, let's hope i don't get dooced by all these.

....
oh god. i got distracted, i am watching the teen choice award right this minute and orlando bloom's totally rocking the white v-neck bacon shirt and distressed jeans. shet.

Dreamy

2006-08-20T17:01:00.000-05:00

the science of sleep

dreamy. and i don’t mean gael garcía bernal. looks like a must-see.

another cryptic update from yours truly

2006-08-15T21:46:00.000-05:00

sweetmotherofjesusihopethisistheone.

~~~
on second thoughts, you do get used to things like these. while jitters make their presence known, it is kinda numbing. no wonder novocaine is addictive. so i say, bring it on, spank me like you mean it.

~~~

nakakainis yung ale sa train kanina. chaka na nga ang sungit pa.

Life Experiences

2006-08-14T14:03:00.000-05:00

nicked from leah. you know the gist.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

yikes. i didn't even cover a quarter of the whole list! naku, sinasabi kona nga ba't napakailap ng panahon!

undeniably starstruck in the jaded city

2006-08-08T15:38:00.000-05:00

"You know the drill: Ignore the star as she walks toward you, then start texting all your friends the moment she’s passed you by."

- New York Magazine.

hehehe, i remember when my cousin saw christian slater at serendipity sometime last year, she called me immediately and said he was behind her on queue to be seated, but she sounded more like "'by, nnnndito si kuurrschun sluyter sa ulkod ko." para namang maiintindihan ni christian (close kami bakit ba) yung sinasabi nya.

unhinged

2006-08-07T13:16:00.000-05:00

the mind wanders as soon as the light fades out. with thoughts in rapid motion, it whirls through concoctions of aimless pursuit. but like a certain bashful leaf, it folds when touched; it tries to hide when exposed. it refuses to come out into the great wide open.

wahooo!!!

2006-08-03T13:05:00.000-05:00

Starbucks is giving New Yorkers a break. A coffee break, that is. They are giving out one free tall iced coffee from 1pm to 3pm, and that's today only.

pagkakataon ko na to, hehe. i will milk their cow for what it's worth.

*grabs ID and runs out*

Edit: I got my free iced coffee, although medyo nadyahe ako sa sarili ko, pinoy na pinoy, kahit mainit sa labas pinilahan ko talaga.

this is how summer sounds

2006-08-01T20:32:00.000-05:00

i love how you give
the dried leaves of summer
a soft kick
towards my direction
the crisp, crunching sound
sings beautiful music to my ears

ang iniiiiiitt!!!!

2006-07-31T13:45:00.000-05:00

God, i hate this weather.

i feel like i'm in an oven when i'm on the streets. the ac on the last cab of the E train wasn't working, so it's dry freakin' air. shit. and the lady who sat next to me fell asleep and kept leaning the crap on me. nudge nudge.

argh. anubah.

my way

2006-07-23T12:49:00.000-05:00

aherm, excuse me while i gloat.

give me some lovin', for a first timer i thought these didn't look so bad. :)

selecta

2006-07-21T09:03:00.000-05:00

tumataginting na $8.99 per half gallon! pero ang saaarrraaapp!!

hollywood goss

2006-07-18T12:20:00.000-05:00

christie brinkley gets cheated on by husband with such a young broad.

the teen claims she doesn't know better and was eventually coerced into having an affair with the guy because of his advances. she also said that she needed a job and money that's why she took on the guy's offer of doubling her pay if she worked for him.

now she's crying foul because she said she "was a little naive" and didn't "think it's like that". i think the husband is as much to blame, if not more for such situation. but come on, at seventeen-effin-years-old, you don't know better?

the path of least resistance

2006-07-13T14:21:00.000-05:00

I’d rather be sipping a cup of cappuccino. Or serving you one.

If I didn’t have bills to pay, that is. When I was a kid, I didn’t have grandiose dreams of wanting to become a doctor, a lawyer, or a president. None of those at all. At 5, when I learned to draw a house I wanted to become an architect. In 5th grade, I tried drawing a house again and discovered it doesn’t look any different from the one that I did when I was 5 so I scrapped the idea.

In junior year, the pressure to decide what course to take became prevalent. I remember thinking, ‘is there a course I could major in that has to do with how nice of a person I am?’ Don’t be fooled, I’m no goody two-shoes, but back then I didn’t know what career path to take, I was under the illusion that I am a good listener so I thought, ‘Hey, I could be a social worker, right?’. Later on, I realized that “being nice” will not provide me with new shoes and clothes, so I balked.

But I digress. I am at a 9-5 environment, it could be exciting. But. Eeh you know.

~~~
My cousin asked her daughter what she wanted to be when she grows up. The girl answers.

“Gusto ko maging Miss.”

My cousin elated (for some reason), that her daughter wants to be a beauty pageant title holder, asked further.

“Talaga, bakit, bakit mo naman gustong maging Miss Universe?”

“Hindi, hindi yun. Yung, ‘Miss, meron kayong ibang size nito?’, Yung sa SM!”

~~~
When my sister was in Nursery school, she wanted to become a nurse. J wanted to become a jeepney driver because they literally have wads of cash on their hands. My younger brother wanted to become a truck driver. My older brother wanted to become Rico J. Puno because he can sing “Kapalaran” at a young age.

~~~
So I say, if it were up to me, I’d rather own a bakeshop and create succulent creations. Or if that’s too much of a dream, I’d be waiting on tables at a café in Europe while writing mediocre musings on the side. (Syempre magwe-waitress na rin lang ako sa magandang lugar na para inspiring diba). In a perfect world, I suppose we would all be happier doing what our gullible little hearts desire. Oh precious naiveté!

Seriously, if money, fame and status were not an issue, what would you rather be doing?

ocean city, md

2006-07-11T08:53:00.000-05:00

it's obviously not boracay but the short trip was a much needed break. i am back to work and i'm so out of it, so i'll leave it at this.

:)

tell me it's friday

2006-07-07T20:21:00.000-05:00

greasy lunch plus a great spot at liberty park right by the office.

loving it.

rasterbator

2006-07-03T18:21:00.000-05:00

a little bit of pop art, self-exaltation, and creativity that costs a lot less than anything you'll see in Ikea.

have fun and create yours here. just make sure you don't get busted using up all the copy paper in the office. yes, you! aminin!

p.s. let me know how yours looked!

panacea

2006-06-30T22:18:00.000-05:00

the pain
is self-inflicted
as it goes deeper
and deeper into
the abysmal shadow
of the past

the intent obscure
yet inviting,
cunning
senseless.

it seeks relief
but fails to realize
that the cure,
elusive as it may seem
comes from within

fragments

2006-06-27T11:01:00.000-05:00

I was in a slump as of late, hence the obscure posts. I guess it’s because of the wait at yung growing disdain ko sa trabaho ko ngayon. I realized though that for someone who’s been in a long-distance relationship for quite a while, I’m ashamed to say that I have no patience to speak of. Epiphanies. sigh.

I am hanging by a thread waiting for that second call, hopefully with good news but then I decided yesterday not to dwell on it too much anymore. You know what they say, when you don’t expect, you don’t get disappointed. At least not by a long mile. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed, in this case bahala na si batman.

--------
oy i saw The Break-Up over the weekend. say what you want, but i liked and felt the movie, hehe. it could have used more laugh and kilig factor, but why would i look for that when the title speaks for itself. to those who saw the movie, enlighten me, did they or did they not get back together?

cocoon

2006-06-25T20:55:00.000-05:00

because there are days
when you just curl your emotions
in a fetal position

Da Vinci Code's House

2006-06-21T13:04:00.000-05:00

dear all,

i will be cryptic once again and tell you that i have one foot on the door this morning. i was awed when i stepped into the lobby and saw that the books they published over time have been glass-encased from floor-to-ceiling. i became a kid in a candy store.

the desire to be a part of it all preoccupied me once more, i hope a second call bears good news. at the risk of sounding redundant and furtive, i again ached to see myself there. len, i pray that paolo coelho is right on the dot.

cryptically yours,
a.

my shadow

2006-06-19T11:12:00.002-05:00

sometimes i miss you only because i know that i can shamelessly let myself go and not worry about wandering souls, about wretched hearts and about being an open book; because i have the autonomy to expose myself to only a select few.

but who am i kidding, i filter myself more for being out there even with your guard. at times i find myself almost jumping over a cliff and taking a deeper plunge while you're there to catch me. but the fact remains that though it only takes so much as a leap, it's not always easy.

i can almost see myself there.

2006-06-16T13:17:00.000-05:00

i never wanted an opportunity like this sooo bad before. ever.

so please please please please.

not another one!

2006-06-16T08:28:00.000-05:00

i saw this on the news last night and can't help but laugh at another shot of dubya's putting your foot in your mouth moment. the man clearly never runs out of cheap shots to spew around.

2006-06-11T12:22:00.000-05:00

aarrgh nicky hilton i envy you, i want the balenciaga motorcycle bags to begin with, the fact that it's a black-and-white stripes makes it all the more unbearable. i love anything black and white! i am michael jackson that way!

the cost alone is enough to last me at least five years worth of bags/purses and unfortunately, i can only afford the knock-offs at this point, and even so, the supposed 'real, authentic' ones cost an arm and a leg, so hanggang tingin na lang muna, hehe.

image from here.

5 train, 5:17pm

2006-06-05T21:19:00.000-05:00

she writes an elegy
with the pink felt-tipped pen
while i cast a furtive glance
from where i was standing.
sensing a watchful eye,
she guarded her thoughts
and discreetly covered
the yellow post it note
with her bony fingers
it's too late, i thought.
i saw the writing in your eyes.

parallels

2006-06-02T11:06:00.000-05:00

aah, so the the lake house is an adaptation of il mare pala...

akala ko kasi tayo lang ang mahilig gumaya sa plot ng iba ng walang pasabi eh. :P

moondish

2006-05-31T13:04:00.000-05:00

i just discovered a new "panandaliang aliw" for my always on-call stomach:

i'm not a big fan of instant food, real, home-cooked meals are much better syempre, pero this brand comes close. i like their bicol express even more. good enough for those days when you're craving for lutong gata and there's just no way in hell you will bilad taro leaves in your front yard.

the sun came up at santa monica blvd.

2006-05-25T12:33:00.000-05:00

spontaneous vacations happen so few and far between for us because of work issues, so when we received a wedding invitation from J’s cousin, we jumped at the chance to take a couple of days off and head west. we arrived thursday night and marveled at the weather, and i thought, ‘wow, california feels so much more “stateside”, ang daming palm trees!’ we stayed with my parents’ good friend, and may I say, we were overfed, not conducive for someone who kept complaining about the dress she’s about to wear, but what the hell, i’m only human, and i just cannot resist food temptation.

we rented a car and with a map in tow, J and I planned to go around LA. But a well meaning distant uncle suggested he’ll go with us lest we get lost. The three of us went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, so he took a picture of us, nakakatawa dahil sa dinami-dami ng stars dun, pinagpose pa nya kami dun kay Barbara Streisand! no offense to Babs fans out there, but come on now, you don’t go to that strip and pick her star, at my age especially!

we headed home after dropping him off his workplace. right before we got in the house, he called to say he forgot his jacket in the car and his keys were in it. So we obviously have to bring it back to him, at 5pm, a rush hour, using LA’s freeway, and then be back in time to meet a friend at 6:30pm. sweet. how we managed to do it, only God knows. J and I just laugh about it now, i mean, he was really being nice, after all.

on saturday, after driving for more than 5 hours, j and i, and my sister in law got to 7 degrees in laguna beach, where the wedding took place. i should note that we got dressed and did our makeup in the car, we understimated traffic and didn't have time to lodge in and out of the hotel. what a feat!
the wedding was short and beautiful, the reception was a celebration in and of itself. i met some of j's relatives for the first time, glad to say i didn't generate strange looks so i guess i did fine.

sunday was spent with J's relatives. early evening we made a short trip to where jollibee, red ribbon and chowking were. nadyahe ako sa madaming pinoy so i didn't get a picture taken with the mascot, pero i was none too shy to buy 10 peach mango pies and 5 yumburgers, hehe.

aaay this entry is too damn long, if you didn't go this far i don't blame you.

chicago feels like fall on a spring time

2006-05-23T15:05:00.000-05:00

we went to chicago to visit J’s sister on the weekend of the 13th. we were scheduled for the 6am flight but we missed it by a mere 25 minutes! the attendant refused to let us in on that plane because there wouldn’t be enough time for baggage check-in and security inspection, so we were bumped to the 8am flight. so much for getting started early.

we arrived at midway airport about half past 9am. NY temp at the time we left was in the 60s, so we were a little disappointed that it was still cold out there but tried not to let it dampen our moods. we got to where D stays, and we were awestruck at how great the place is, the unit has such huge windows all around the living room that overlooks lake michigan. i was telling J that if we didn’t have any plans of starting a family i would gladly move there, rent seems to be cheaper, at least based on what I saw.

anyway, we didn’t really plan on going the touristy route since we only have a day and a half in the windy city, but turns out J’s sister scored tickets to a cubs vs. padres game. we sat all the way on top and froze our butts off. i’m not a big baseball fan, but enjoyed seeing people get so hyped up nonetheless.

sunday was J’s birthday, and i kind of feel bad for not handing my gift to him there (i had it at home, gusto ko kaming dalawa lang, naks!), pero he’s okay naman. we walked some more and had a late lunch at Navy Pier, after which we were then dropped off to the airport. no sad goodbyes this time, since we’ll see her the week after. we got home and i gave J his gift, he's happy even without a big celebration, I have a feeling he’s more content and thankful that he was able to spend some time with his sister, a short but sweet trip indeed.

my turn

2006-05-22T22:27:00.000-05:00

i've been tagged by cynch!

Instructions: Name ten of life’s simple pleasures that you like the most, then pick ten people to do the same. Try to be original and creative and not to use things that someone else has already used.

hearing the crunch of dried summer leaves as i step on it
i'm a happy camper when after so many photo ops you get that one shot that totally defines the moment
i bask in glory when people compliment my cooking skills (?)
the vibrant colours of autumn.
phone calls to manila and hearing the unending laughter of my mom, sister and brother across the miles, as we remind each other of our childhood antics.
i always get butterflies in my stomach when J puts his hand on the small of my back
the cold flush in my cheeks as i walk the streets during winter
newly changed bed sheets and pillow cases.
hearing a bad joke but still laughing at it
goodnight butterfly kisses.

i'm tagging everyone who wants to answer. :)

i am a sucker

2006-05-16T12:35:00.000-05:00

i wanted to have a light lunch today since i thought about cooking lomi tonight at home. i went to get soup at soupman next door.

i got a bowl of seafood bisque and the fuckers charged me $9.70. grabe! for a bowl of soup close to ten bucks? jesus. i could have gotten a lipgloss for that!

an unquiet mind*

2006-05-12T12:54:00.000-05:00

one way or another, people become fascinated with the idea of a break down, of having a mental shakeup. I don’t think it has anything to do with losing your bearings at all, it’s just a natural reaction that means we are individual with feelings. add to that the fact that no matter how secure we feel about ourselves, we also thrive at the attention that another person gives us. as human beings, we have this need to know that we are appreciated and valued at best, noticed at worst. it doesn’t matter how mundane or significant it is, good or bad we do something to catch someone else’s attention.

inasmuch as we want that kick in the banality of our existence, our fear of misguided consequences and the effects it has on people who matter most to us far outweighs the unnecessary drama that we momentarily want to bask in. easily, we can just go about with our lives and dismiss this ‘feeling’ and attribute it to, say, a bad event or situation that happened in the past – a bad breakup, death in the family, financial loss, trauma, whatever it may be. there’s always an excuse for that little drama in our lives and it somehow makes us less of a criminal when we let our guards down.

I have, on some occasions in the past tritely thought about the idea of it, of an unquiet mind. reading books such as Sylvia Plath's the Bell Jar and seeing Prozac Nation on bookstands makes it all seem okay. i mean, the veracity of an actual situation such as this never did occur to me before. i was in idiot. i still am.

how then, do you deal when someone close to you tells you that the breakdown has been going on for quite a time? can you simply just attribute it to a bad loss or breakup? what if you learn that as an early teenager, s/he struggles with the idea of being numb about death, of analyzing thoughts so deep it ceases to make sense? how do you make of an overachiever with such moving revelation? even more troubling, what would you do if s/he refuse to disclose information to anyone else aside from the select few for fear of having those close to them become distressed?

how do you deal?

*with apologies to the author of the book with the same title

garbled

2006-05-10T08:48:00.000-05:00

we're going to chee-ca-go this weekend, and dammit i can't wait. ata had a fare sale last month, it's a pretty good deal at 50bucks each way so we'll visit my sister-in-law there. work's toxic lately, and J has been having a bad, bad case of arthritis. it'll be the big 3-0 for him on sunday too, so the trip is a much needed picker-upper for both of us.

oh. and LA the weekend after. his cousin's getting married and it's a perfect excuse to go on a mini-vacation. ang saya. i haven't been to either state so it'll be a good first vista. any suggestions on good eats in both places?

~~~

is it just me or does anyone else think that the brats of my super sweet sixteen on mtv have such a warped-up attitude about display AND value of money? grabe. i must admit though, that show's like a trainwreck, you don't really like what you see, and yet you can't resist watching it.

to each his own

2006-05-08T08:25:00.000-05:00

after a quick errand to jersey city, we went to canal street on friday for a late night dinner. since it was past 11pm, there's not much places open on the side of chinatown, so we drove a couple of blocks and went to little italy. no one was up for an italian dish so we ended up in nyonya, a hole-in-the-wall malaysian resto alongside al fresco italian restaurants.

the place looked a bit like cendrillon only bigger. anyway, we were starving and ordered food as soon as we were seated. as the appetizer was served, one of the old white guys (sorry, i'm not even going to try to be politically correct this time) seated behind us started bitching to their host about his sizzling platter. he kept insisting that "he knew what he saw, and this is not what he ordered". his partner, a more laidback old man, tried to pacify him to no avail. he kept lambasting the food saying it's not malaysian, that it doesn't look the way it's supposed to, how the egg shouldn't be on top of the noodles, how the noodles are not angel-hair, how he had something better somewhere and so on. their host remained very calm and somewhat apologetic, explaining to him that what they cook is authentic malaysian cuisine and slightly pointed out that perhaps he may have had a generic malaysian dish before but this is how they do it in their restaurant.

all this while we wolf down on our own meal. my brother kept taunting and making parinig, complimenting the hosts and giving them superlatives about how good the food and the service was. the prick kept berating the food and the restaurant until the end of their meal, albeit his plate was running on empty. argh. kapal noh? i don't get how some people would sample something, and if they don't like it or it doesn't cater to their palate they would go for hours on end to berate it. i mean, if you decide to try something, consume it with an open mind. it's not like the cook asked you to shove their food down your throat naman eh. if he were looking for a mainstream taste he should've just gone to an american diner and ate french fries and stupid burgers. grrr. kainis. low tolerance for differences.

this incident reminded me of this and this. leche.

this is bad

2006-05-04T07:57:00.000-05:00

may joke ako:

misis: darling....wala akong panty.... *in a sweet voice*
mister: naku!oh hayaan mo't bukas na bukas eh ibibili kita!!

oh god, sorry. i woke up at 2am last night and thought of that joke, i was snickering while J snored beside me. talk about nocturnal flight.

2006-05-02T19:35:00.000-05:00

my 8-year old niece goes straight to our place after school ever since they moved, as there's only about two months left in the school year so her parents decided not to have her switch schools. j gets home first so he looks after her when she's there, and he basically lets her eat whatever's in the fridge.

i got home tonight and found this note on the table:

she apparently found the big slice of sans rival ( meeya this is what i told you about) that i have on the freezer. J gave it to her earlier and when she finished it off J jokingly told her that i might look for it so she quickly wrote me a 'love note'. the note melted me faster than the tiramisu i have on the corner of the fridge. :)

may na???

2006-05-01T14:50:00.000-05:00

my, oh my, we’re almost halfway thru the year, don’t you think days just creep by unnoticed as you get older? at least to me it does, i always feel shortchanged for time, like i panic when I see it’s ten o’clock at night and I’m not in bed yet. old-timer na. hehe. [...]

i tried to do a little more than that paragraph but i hit the backspace quite a number of times and i just couldn't place coherence in my thoughts. i am darned tired! the weekend in fragments:

-a pho eat-out on friday, of which i'm not up for stuffing myself. suprise, suprise.
-i made like madonna because it's still a tad chilly.
-j made like bob marley just because.
-inihaw na pusit, chicken bbq and pork liempo

i hope there's much to be said for everyone else's weekend. i promise to go on loudspeakers next time, i need to get some sleep!

p.s. can someone please tell me why most staple pinoy restaurants like goldilocks, jollibee, red ribbon, max's and gerry's only open in california? and can someone please let the powers-that-be know that there's a massive filipino community in the east coast as well? i would really like to get myself a pink-sauced yumburger and palabok fiesta. now na!

they did say we were indifferent

2006-04-25T14:50:00.000-05:00

amuse yourself and eavesdrop here.

this especially cracked me up today. yikes!

this is like milli vanilli in publishing

2006-04-25T13:59:00.000-05:00

girl was so clooose . look, several books have spoken to me profoundly, and honestly some blog entries have too. i'm pretty sure though that if we all do this and pull a shift+F7 everytime we pen our thoughts we'd get pretty sick of what we read because it will essentially become trivial.

pretty lame move, if you ask me.

strained

2006-04-23T15:45:00.000-05:00

blogger should really start working on privacy options, if they haven't already and i'm the silly goose who never knew about it yet. that's what i like about LJ, you have the option of filtering who can view your entries. i mean, what if i run for public office someday (dibadibs, pinoy na pinoy, naglaro sa isip ang politika hehe), i don't want all of my skeletons out of the closet now, do i?

aliens

2006-04-18T08:16:00.000-05:00

i bought a bag on sale at macy's the other day. nothing fancy, just a huge canvass bag big enough so i can put my packed lunch and heels to work without having to bring another paper bag. i got home and showed it to J.

me: (slings bag over shoulder) ok ba? isoli ko kaya? i wasn't really planning on getting this pero sale eh.
him: sus, wag na! gagamitin mo naman eh!
me: (hehe) okay.
him: ...pero diba yung ginagamit mo wala pang one year mo yun nabili?
me: (stares in disbelief) you're kidding right?

nge. i bought the "old bag" last october.

men. they will never understand women's affair with bags. and shoes.

of hypocrisy and lamona allegre

2006-04-16T20:46:00.000-05:00

the weather has been very cooperative for the last few days, the season has definitely started to show her good side. holy week came and went as just another holiday weekend around here, and while i keep telling myself to just assimilate when it comes to lenten season (it's been a decade for crying out loud), somehow the catholic schoolgirl in me can't quite suppress the way i thought holy week is supposed to be spent: by reflecting. however, differences do come into play and really, i can only speak for myself as to how i think it should be. so relativity it is.

but before you deem me Holy Molly and start leaving "you hypocrite!" comments, let me tell you that i always fall short of my suppositions above. i ate meat last (this?) week more than once except for friday, i didn't really "reflect" as much as i want to, and well, let's just say my mother would have shushed me if she's here. see, it's not always monkey see, monkey do.

so anyway, J and i did go out on friday night (galing ng segue noh). i usually don't like cooking on fridays anyway, so we decided to just eat out. we went to mardi gras restaurant, i had a seafood platter and J had the mardi gras salmon that had us both bursting at the seams. syempre forget about the previous post about weight issues right, and just lamona allegre all the way. yet again. we felt ripped off with the drink though. it's supposed to be passion hurricane with rum whatever, but since i'm not a big drinker i didn't like it. i said yes when our waitress recommended it, thinking it would only cost me 3-5 bucks. when we got the bill it was priced as ten freaking dollars. jusko. i could have gotten a side order instead! i just comped myself with the fact na it was the 14th and a date night na lang. hmp.

the rest of the weekend was pretty relaxing, a far cry from the previous weekends we've had ever since we moved. we spent saturday at my brother's place and did some grocery shopping, then went home on sunday to hear mass. it was a pretty lazy day so in the afternoon we hauled ourselves to cunningham park and just relaxed on the grass. i told J that we really should go jogging or play a sport to get on with my supposed "weight-loss" goal. o diba, food betrayal at best. he asked me to look around for badminton racquets so we could go and play in the park during weekends. hehe, let's see what transpires. knowing me, i'll sweat myself out laughing because i wouldn't be able to serve the damned birdie across the net. i'm that clumsy, believe you me.

will the real slim shady please stand up

2006-04-10T15:50:00.000-05:00

because i am self-exalting, and i is a copycat, i will pilfer Mrs. G's Delurking Method. if you be so kind enough to indulge me with your presence - lurkers and/or friends, known or unbeknownst to me. andy warhol says we all have our 15 minutes of fame and this may be my only chance of quasi-celebrity status.

*how obvious is it that i'm bored at work?

lafez

2006-04-05T13:47:00.000-05:00

i must have gained 3-6 lbs. since we got married early last year. although i know it's not much, i can feel the arms kind of rounding up a bit and the thighs more err, in touch with each other. and try as i might to stay away from evil that is carbs, ang hirap! di ko kaya! i also keep equating the pounds to ground pork. as in, 2lbs worth of ground pork for lumpiang shanghai must be like the weight added to one of my arms, and god knows how many people that can feed, if you know what i mean.

aherm. do i do anything about it? nope. i just went out and got myself a McFlurry and fries because it stopped snowing on a spring day and really, i need matchsticks to get these damned eyelids open. if it's any consolation to myself, i am aware that i need to be engaged in some sort of physical activity, what i have in mind though is not enough to shed off the pounds.

good god. if only i could get on ahead with the 12-step weight loss program without having to go through the first eleven steps. oh wait, i think i hear the ice cream truck coming.

2006-03-30T15:51:00.000-05:00

Oh no! What will become of Prado, Guese, and Tendi?

i remember when i went to chinatown with my cousin a couple years back, we were looking at this bag, the vendor came up to us and said, "you want i can make it prada or fendi for you!", with the detachable fake tags in his hands. mercantile at best!

we're still moo-ving

2006-03-29T10:17:00.000-05:00

we've been packing clothes, lugging boxes, and going back and forth moving things. on top of that, i've been sick for the past week! haay!

i'll be back for real updates soon!

meanwhile for those people in the states, take advantage of Spa Week in April. $50 for a treatment at participating spas in or around your area. go na!

and it's only wednesday

2006-03-22T09:19:00.000-05:00

he apparently doesn't have any son to withdraw from the field. and hey, leave it to the next guy to clean up after you while you're at it.

~~~

paula abdul can surely annoy the hell out of someone without batting her fake eyelashes. she keeps sugarcoating her friggin' comments to no end!

~~~

i can't wait to see this.

audrey tatou and tom hanks? let's see how the movie fares out.

image from here.

2006-03-21T09:45:00.000-05:00

it's
not
easy
being
green.

i'll take one more serving please

2006-03-14T12:57:00.000-05:00

i was in bibingka lust all day so I tried to satiate my craving by googling pictures of it. hay. you know how they say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? my father never fails to retell the story of how he was hooked for a lifetime when my mother started to prepare fruit salad for him. he loved it so much because he claims to have never tasted anything like it before, and he remembers just having ginisang monggo (na parang nilaga) that's all watered down so his mom would have enough to feed him and his seven siblings. so yeah, he had his first taste of fruit salad in the early 70s, loved it, and asked my mother to marry him. hah. i jest, of course, but he does attest to my mamsie’s fruit salad.

which lead me to this bibingka story. J kept denying that he made ligaw (hehe. i've been wanting to inject a dose of conio speak one way or another, finally!) because he knew from the get-go that i crush him. actually, as one movie line goes, it’s more like i “stampede” him. but then again, he brought juanchito’s bibingka and kowloon house siopao whenever he visited our house with my friend M (the supposed tulay of all that is now) a few years ago. o diba, mr. pa-effort. eh of course, i’m elated. pero little did he know that for the most part the cause of elation is the bibingka, aba i don’t get to eat that in ‘tate eh! see, i don’t need friggin’ belgian chocolates and long-stemmed roses. i’ll take a good serving of bibingka and siopao bola bola any day and i’m yours!

now if only i could convince my neighbor to smuggle these when she goes back to manila in may.

image from here.

showbiz linggo na aaaaahh

2006-03-10T14:59:00.000-05:00

remember her?

(clue: 4:30 na!!!)

i was reading metro earlier and saw her face on the page, aba looks family! i googled her and apparently she starred in a few off-broadway shows here na pala. i never really thought she would make it big (although i never really did put much thought to it), pero nadaig pa nya si antoinette taus na ilang beses nang nag-attempt sa hollywood pero deadma pa rin ang career. galing!

rush hour

2006-03-09T09:44:00.000-05:00

Clack clack clack
Says the heel of my shoes
As it hits the pavement of
The underground loop
Hiss
The train swished
A buzz of flies
Swarmed
As the door slides open
Amidst the sea of faces
I, drown
Emergence, resurgence
Out of the tunnel
To the open sky
Swerve swerve
Says the man in blue.
Yet again
The throng appeared.
In a moment,
Clack clack clack
Says the heel of my shoes
As it makes it way
To my refuge

2006-03-08T11:08:00.000-05:00

i want.

chloe paddington handbag

but no means. i'll pine for now.

acquisitions and depletions

2006-03-06T15:02:00.000-05:00

last week on a whim, j decided to get a new vroom vroom because its selling price was such a steal. never mind that he doesn’t have a drivers’ license here yet. ladies and a handful of gents, may i introduce you to my husband, the practical one. at first i was hesitant because i am kuripot and i don't really see the point of paying car insurance monthly when i can use my father's car during weekends (i take the subway to work, traffic+no parking in the city=horror). i caved in afterwards, i mean i realized that the price was indeed such a great deal, if we sell it tomorrow we could still make two grand off of it. but still. i don't just buy a pair of shoes for $500 you know.

this just in: my brother just told me that his landlord will raise their rent by another 100 bucks once we move in. gahd. and we were so bent on moving in the house a couple weeks from now. just between you and me, but i think j doesn't care about the rent increase if only he can get a pet. i know this for a fact because last saturday we went to a pet shop and he almost bought a pair of love birds. he's kind of saving up for a pet for when we move (since we can't have pets in the apartment we're in now), he can get one na. so aside from the car basically depleting our bank account, throw in a couple hundred more and you'll find us eating crackers in a few. :) i hate goddamned money matters. blech. it's something i'm definitely not good at.

sacrifice

2006-03-03T14:02:00.000-05:00

i will TRY (operative word) not to eat rice for the lenten season.

so God help me.

image from here.

self-exalting at its best

2006-03-02T10:56:00.000-05:00

taking advantage of web blogs' ubiquity, in comes a software from Blurb, a publish-your-own book service. now you can get those favorite entries available in print, and bragging rights to say that you've got your "works" published.

you know you want it. hehe.

top this!

2006-02-24T22:17:00.000-05:00

no doubt, this is what you call sticking to the wedding budget!

blah blah blah

2006-02-24T09:43:00.000-05:00

Oh goodness. I rarely, if ever at all, blog about my political standpoint regarding things back home, since discussions as such almost always borders on dangerous grounds. Hearing things like this makes me crestfallen at best, indifferent at worst. And while a lot of us have gotten pragmatic about the worsening condition, you can’t quite quash that gnawing feeling of hope at the back of your mind. Sigh.

On an entirely different note, we might move to a new apartment by April. My brother will leave their old one for a house they got in long island, and we jumped at the chance to take their place. Although the move will set us back a few hundred bucks more than what we’re now paying, it’s still slightly cheaper than most NY apartments in a quiet residential area. Besides, this time we’d feel more hubby and wifey-ish. Hehe. Before J came, my cousins and I live in one house. And while there never really was any issue with privacy and such when he joined me, we’re inevitably moving anyway, so it really couldn’t have come at a better time.

J heard about Todd McFarlane’s Exhibit at MoCCA (he’s a big fan of Spawn, he had the symbol tattooed on his inner ankle way back when, ngek), and he bugged me early on that we go to the museum as soon as we’re free. The exhibit opens tomorrow, and I bet there’s going to be mad people there, so nippy weather notwithstanding, i guess i don't have a choice but to go. i'll see if i can put it off for another week or so.

have a great weekend ahead!