So this is how it feels. I'm on my first day of vacation before I start on a new job next week. Elaine said that there are guidelines in being a bum that I wasn't aware of and here they are.
No. 1 watch TV the whole day. Check. Just watched ANC and a bit of CNN. Anjali Rao is back.
No. 2 wear your pajamas from last night for the whole day. Check. I'm still in PJs at noon time.
No. 3 have food delivered. cooking is not allowed. Check. Just ordered from Mcdo. Make sure to have someone else prepare food for you.
No. 4 Turn on the computer and go online the whole day. Check. Well, i'm blogging now.
No. 5 Have disheveled hair. I'm close to achieving this.
No. 6 Have lots of junk food lying around. Where are my marty's?
No. 7 In between TV and Computer breaks, sleep. ----- That's it. I'm close to being a genuine bum. -------
In relation to no.4 above, please check my new photoblog. I'll be posting daily pics there from now on.
...this post is dedicated to you. Because...it is written by you! bwahahaha (plagiarize alert!)
Since, i don't have anything profound to write, I will just use your essays instead.
Happy Birthday again Elaine!
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"Pleasure is very seldom found where it is sought; our brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks." - Samuel Johnson
Whenever we think of pleasure, or joy or happiness, we often associate it with things we worked hard for, or things we seek for ourselves. We often believe that there is no greater satisfaction than in being in a place we've been working so hard to get to, or in winning the rat race, against so many competitions. Yes, it's true, there is true pleasure and happiness we gain from these things. How can you not be happy when you are supposed to be happy? These are the things you want, right? And you're expecting that there is a big smiley face at the end of this rough road, so of course you're happy when you reached that destination. But sometimes, the happiness is not that great because the journey has taken such a toll on you that you just feel so tired to be so happy. Sometimes, in your quest for happiness you forget the simple pleasures you get in your journey.
I agree with Johnson, that our 'brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks.' Mine usually is.
I'll have to dedicate another story for my life's simple pleasures, but these ones are my life's pleasant surprises: The surprise birthday party that you didn't really expect from family and friends. The card from that someone you've been crushing on for a long time but thinks he doesn't know you exist. The text message that says he missed you and he remembered your college days. The email that you're hoping to get, but not really expecting to, made your whole week. A startling smile from a gorgeous driver during a stop sign at an intersection in Makati. A sudden laughter from your audience when you made a joke and you're afraid it'll fall flat on your ears. Notes that say 'you brighten my day' and 'you're cute' when you're expecting to get some boring notes that says 'you're a good classmate'. A pat-in-the-back when you think you did a bad job.
A sincere compliment that came out of the blue from a classmate you've been bickering forever with, and there you are now wondering why you put up with him. That compliment probably started your eight-year friendship.
A hug, even when you're happy and you don't really need one. An 'I love you' from your parents, forgiving and full of love, at the time when even you wouldn't want to have a child like yourself. When you got a birthday song over a phone sang in a hoarse voice that is like a gift in itself. An animated conversation with an artist, who is not really that good at talking, which lasted for eight hours when you think the night will be like any other boring night.
And just the other night, I was thinking that my day couldn't get any more uneventful and boring. Just between you and me, I hate feeling bored. I think boredom is a state of mind, and you just need to change your attitude or outlook in life. So I really hate the day and myself at the same time that night. Just before midnight, while watching TV and waiting for myself to doze off, I got a text message from an old friend, saying something corny, funny and cute. It was such an unexpected little surprise that gave my heart a lift and saved the day. I slept with a big smile on my face.
I can list a thousand things that bring me happiness and joy and pleasure during the most unforeseen time and place. It only tells me that although we can work our way to happiness, and we can seek pleasure in gaining material things, we should learn to appreciate the surprises of life. We should also take notice of the little things, the seemingly non-consequential things that happen in our lives, those sudden bursts of happiness, those are the memories you can keep forever.
We should always be ready to be surprised and be amazed, for we never know when life will suddenly give us the unexpected gift of happiness. And let me tell you, if you open yourself up and be aware of these things, I promise you that life will always surprise you. Life always does.
It's 12:14am, Manila time and I went on sick leave today (...or was it yesterday?). Now typhoon Lupit is wreaking havoc somewhere up north. My computer hasn't been working properly for almost a week now, and my cellphone couldn't contact any number earlier. Times like these makes me wanna wish i was here... (bohol beach club, Feb 2008)
I've been meaning to post something after a loooooong blog hiatus, but my mind is filtering out what and what not to write. Might as well post an old pic.
I am not a gadget/tech-savvy person, but I appreciate it when I come across a good product. You see, my roommate and I have been renting a place where we had to apply for our own internet and cable, and we had no landline for 3 years. Having used to the comforts of having free phone at out parents' house made us realize the importance of a landline. The most impotant activity that we missed when we had no landline is calling our neighborhood fastfood restaurant for food delivery. This is vital to one's survival especially when nobody around is patient enough to cook meals.
But finally! After a long-wait, we found a landline service which caters to our needs. My father introduced me to one of Globe's new products,called DUO. We didn't have to purchase any phone unit or pay for any fees. We just activated the landline service (via text) using our existing postpaid SIM, and voila...our landline was instantly activated in minutes! I've been using my landline for a few weeks now, and so far so good. I'm sure, not everyone will agree with me, but I, including my family have been loyal Globe subscribers since 1998, and I find them efficient eversince. Even my internet connection while writing this entry is from Globe.
Okay, it's time to order my burger and fries from Jollibee.
It's my third time of watching the Lost Tapes at the Discovery channel, and I can't help but wonder if the scenes of the so-called 'lost tapes' aired on the show are real.
Last week, it was about the Devil Dragon which is believed to be living in the rainforests of Australia. Another lost tape was about Sharon Novak, a lone sailor who was on the last day of her around-the-world adventure, but encountered something mysterious in Monterey Bay and vanished. The last scene was a silhouette of a plesiosaur, a pre-historic sea creature moving towards Sharon Novak. And then tonight was about Thunderbird, so massive that causes thunder when it flaps its wings, and last was about Cave Demons in Tora Bora.
If the tapes are real, I think it is too disturbing and it's impossible not to talk about the stories after watching the show. But if they're fake, I think it is still interesting to watch, because watching an episode is like watching a Japanese Horror film that stirs the viewers' imagination.
"Wake up, Liza! They're here!", my brother said when he shook me up from slumber in our old house in Project 8. A family friend was fetching me and my brothers for our first ever trip to Baguio in their new Toyota Silver Edition. That was 27 years ago. But I can still remember the exact outfit that I was wearing back then. And at the time, I always picture Baguio as a place like that of a conventional way of describing heaven, cool and plenty of clouds that are of arms length. You know how imaginative kids are. And like most of us, there are memories in our childhood that are etched on our minds. And my first time in Baguio is unforgettable. Which is why I can't help but compare Baguio back then to what it is now.
En route to Baguio, I was sleeping most of the time. It was a 7-hour trip from Manila and we rode the regular air-con bus of Victory Liner. I knew that we were in Baguio when we passed by a tunnel which I didn't see in our last trip. And when we reached the Victory Liner Terminal, we hailed a taxi cab and asked the driver to take us to the address of our reserved transient house. I was hesitant at first in flagging down the cab, because it was an FX (AUV for others). I thought they were like those FX Mega Taxis in Manila which have designated routes. But FX taxis in Baguio are like your regular taxis in Manila, except that they don't have the air-conditioning turned on. Baguio's climate was better than some air-conditioned taxis in Manila anyway. The only downside is you also get to taste the pollution outside the cab. The flag-down rate was P25, which is cheaper than in Manila. You may hire a taxi for an hour for P250.
After check-in, we went out for lunch at Cafe by the Ruins and ordered some of their specialties. I'm a big fan of breakfast meals and had Longganisang Hubad placed on top of fresh lettuce, with mountain rice and egg. The meal was perfect after a long trip from Manila. And I find the lettuce a good contrast for the flavor of the longganisa. I wish we have that kind of lettuce in Manila. So fresh, that I think it doesn't taste like vegetable at all.
After breakfast, we went to Tam-awan Village which was about 15-20 min. drive from the city. I think it used to be Ben Cab's Ifugao village before he had his own museum. The place has some Ifugao relics and replica of the Kalinga huts. There are also some artists/painters on standby who you can ask for a sketch of your portrait for a fee.
I'm glad that someone thought of creating a place like this where they aim to show people the Ifugao/Kalinga tradition (I'm still confused between the two). I hope there are more sites like these aside from our museums.
After Tam-Awan, we went to the Grotto which I have this vague recollection of. I am not sure if I had a chance of reaching the top before, so I braced myself and went up the 252 steps.
And then the next day, we went to Camp John Hay, the former place of R&R for american soldiers. It somehow reminded me of Subic, especially when we passed by the Mile-Hi center. But what really amazed me was the lawn area at The Manor. It was Palm Sunday at the time and the hotel staff prepared an area for the Easter Egg hunt for the following week.
Are those Cherry Blosooms? I asked myself. We have Cherry Blossoms in the Philippines?!? A tropical country? How did that happen?!
I checked it out and when I got near it, it was a fake tree. Who ever made it is a genius! I wish I had a better picture of it to show here.
They tied several small pink chiffon-like cloth to dry branches and made it look like the real thing. amazing.
Afterwards, we bought several peanut brittle bottles for pasalubong (baguio paradise taste like romana's, but cheaper) and went to SM Baguio, to kill time before our trip back to Manila. SM had a sale at the time and it was full of people, just like Christmas season at 168. Instead of shopping, we preferred to just stay at Mocha Blends and wait for our departure time. And to our surprise, this came out of nowhere...
Maybe somebody prayed for it as a sign, but I was glad that I was there at the right time to experience it. It seldom that we see rainbows in Manila. And what's more great is that it's free for everyone to see.
And when it was time to go home, Baguio bid farewell with this...
Before starting this entry, I was planning to write how more congested, polluted and expensive Baguio is than what I used to know. But while writing, I guess, I did enjoy the trip and that Baguio still has its unique charm amidst the late night riots we hear in the news. I just hope that whatever fascinates us to Baguio, may it be the culture, the people, food, etc...will stay and that whatever is good be preserved.
I'm on sick leave today and plan to rest before cough/colds get worse. As I was about to finish checking e-mails and after informing my boss about my absence, I thought of visiting this interesting website...and made this...
Up to this day, there are still instances that my friends manage to amaze me. :)
Guess who's behind this comic strip. I guess most of you (especially GXS peeps) know him. Eddie, the 'callcenter boy' looks a lot like him except for the hair.
Going back to the province is like a love-hate relationship. I’d love to visit it more often, but I hate the insect bites that I get as souvenir after visiting the place. While I’m writing this, some made themselves visible which I hope won’t stay for 3 months on my skin just like what happened last time. Nonetheless, the trip was comforting for it gave a different perspective on things and I hope to do it frequently.
It's been weeks since I last saw my parents, and when they invited me to join them for a weekend in the province is just something that's hard to pass up. Besides, I miss them. I guess that's one of the things that someone realizes when living away from home. Somehow, (even if others may deny it), you'll be looking for the conversations and bonding sessions you had with your folks when you were still living with them. And the past weekend was spent to do just that. Reconnect. And hope to do it often.
Bloggers that are tagged need to write on their own blog about their 10 things and post these rules
At the end of your blog, you need to choose 10 people to get tagged and list their names
Don't forget to leave them a comment telling they're tagged, and to read your blog
Here are 10 facts about me.
10. I like watching old Tagalog movies in black and white like those of Gloria Romero. I’m fond of seeing the Philippines during the post-war era.
9. I love moleskine and other kinds of journals. I still keep a traditional journal apart from my blog. It is so entertaining reading entries you made that are at least a year old.
8. I love reading blogs like chuvaness.livejournal.com, celdrantours.blogspot., moleskinerie.com, misterhubs.blogspot.com, jessicarulestheuniverse.com and elaneyg.multiply.com and those of my other friends.
7. i’m a technical writer by profession and a licensed HS teacher.
6. it took me almost 3 years, 2 job transfers reading Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. Finally, I’m done reading it. I can’t wait to see the movie next year.
5. I used to have a disease called thrombocytopenia when I was a day old and my doctor then is a Filipino scientist. On my first month, I had blood transfusion and was inside an incubator.
4. If I had it my way, I will wear chucks, t-shirt and jeans everyday. I just find it hard wearing sneakers everyday…it’s bad for my toes.
3. I’m one of those people behind bggirlsdontcry.multiply.com
2. Most of the guys I find cute are almost or totally bald. (Andre Agassi, Jude Law, etc.)
1. I love listening to people with an English accent.
Cheat: last…I love drinking coffee after a meal. Duh…that’s why I have this layout.
Now I tag you!
1. Cez
2.Lian
3. June
4. Mel
5. Liz
6. Mitch F.
7. Nette
8. Kaye R Garcia...pati na rin si Irene. I'm just not sure if she's in my contact list.
Yes...this is another plug for BGDC (BggirlsDontCry). A new batch of items were posted recently which you can see here.
Today, there are a lot of online shops around and even some celebrities set up their own. Some of these stores have interesting layouts but nothing comes close to this one.
Someday, I hope BGDC can come up with something like that too. For now, I have to practice 'the secret' vibe.
After watching Narnia last Friday, my friends and I decided to go on a road trip to spend the long 'freedom' weekend. On top of our list of destinations was Banaue with 'budget-friendly' trips in mind (versus Baguio and Matabungkay). Here are the pics...
En route to Baguio, I was sleeping most of the time. It was a 7-hour trip from Manila and we rode the regular air-con bus of Victory Liner. I knew that we were in Baguio when we passed by a tunnel which I didn't see in our last trip. And when we reached the Victory Liner Terminal, we hailed a taxi cab and asked the driver to take us to the address of our reserved transient house. I was hesitant at first in flagging down the cab, because it was an FX (AUV for others). I thought they were like those FX Mega Taxis in Manila which have designated routes. But FX taxis in Baguio are like your regular taxis in Manila, except that they don't have the air-conditioning turned on. Baguio's climate was better than some air-conditioned taxis in Manila anyway. The only downside is you also get to taste the pollution outside the cab. The flag-down rate was P25, which is cheaper than in Manila. You may hire a taxi for an hour for P250.
The meal was perfect after a long trip from Manila. And I find the lettuce a good contrast for the flavor of the longganisa. I wish we have that kind of lettuce in Manila. So fresh, that I think it doesn't taste like vegetable at all.
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