Naisip Ko Lang…

Naisip ko lang… bakit ko ba pinahihirapan ang aking sarili eh maaari naman akong sumulat ng blog sa Tagalog? Eh pwede pa nga kahit may bahid ng kabadingan! Di hamak naman na mas masaya basahin kung maligalig ang blog, di vah?! Sa kabilang banda, maganda rin ang sumulat sa Ingles… napapalago (wow, lalim ng term hah?!) nito ang aking talento sa pagsusulat! Oo na, di ako kagalingan sumulat! Sumusubok lang naman po… frustrated writer eh! Hehehe! Kaya heto, Tagalog muna tayo na may halong konting kabadingan…

Naisip ko lang… lungkut-lungkutan pala ang laman nitong mga huling naisulat ko. Hmmnnn, sanhi yata ito ng tunay na nararamdaman ng may akda (ang lalim talaga ng terms, in fairness!). Di vah nez, sabi nga nila, sa sining naipakikita ang tunay na emosyon ng lumikha. At ang pagsulat ay isang uri ng ng sining. (Carry-belles pa ba ng powers nyo ang Tagalog ko? :-)). Anyway highway, di ko na carry ituloy ang explanation ng sining at pagsulat… kaya kayo na ang mag-isip ng konek sa mga talatang yun! Hehehe! Ngunit dapatwa’t subalit, balikan natin ang aking lungkut-lungkutan issue. Nabanggit ko na dati (2 to 3 blogs ago yata) na hindi na ako malungkot. Trulily naman yun… mali lang yata ang term na ginamit ko. Siguro dapat ay ‘seryoso’. Naging seryoso lang ng bahagya ang mga huling naisulat ko. Di ko rin alam kung bakit. Kaya subukan ko na muling ibalik ang saya at ligalig sa blog kong ito…

Naisip ko lang… ano kaya ang nahihita ng mga taong nagbabasa ng sinusulat ko? Una sa lahat, may nagbabasa naman kaya? (Bukod kina Jhoen at Jopet, ah! Hahaha!) May napupulot ba naman kayang ‘churva’ sa mga kababawang pinagsususulat ko? Eh, ano naman kaya ang nararamdam nila sa tuwing binabasa nila ang aking mga akda? Sila kaya’y natutuwa? O baka naman naiinis o naasar? O baka naman tinatamad na sapagkat puro na lang ako, ako at ako ang laman ng blog ko. Eh bakit ba? Akin naman ito ah! So care nyo care bears kung ano ang gusto kong isulat dito! Hehehe! Wala pa po sa mga plano ko ang maglathala ng mga naggagandahang payo tungkol sa buhay o pag-ibig… di naman kasi Tiya Delly o Joe D’ Mango ang pangalan ko eh! O di kaya ay magbigay ng kung anik-anik na tips tungkol sa kung anik-anik na mga bagay. Haller?!?! Di ako expert sa mga bagay-bagay around me so wala akong K, ok?! At mas lalong wala ako sa wisyo na sumulat ng mga highfaluting opinions tungkol sa pulitika o relihiyon. Opinionated ako pero hindi sa serious topics ah! Opinionated lang… as in outspoken, taklesa, at higit sa lahat, laitera! Yan ang expertise ko! Bwahahaha! Payak lang ang aking mithiin… ang sumulat ng mga pansariling pananaw at simpleng kaganapan sa aking buhay na sa palagay ko ay maaring magdulot ng saya, ligaya at aral sa aking mga kaibigan, katoto, kakosa, kamag-aral, ka-federasyon, kaaway (eto marami ito, pero wiz sila kasama sa friendster list ko kaya di nila mababasa ito, hahaha!)… at maging sa mga bagong kakilala…

Naisip ko lang… may katuturan ba ang isinulat ko ngayon? Parang wala eh! Parang nag-aksaya lang ako ng oras. Pero in freshness, este in fairness pala, binasa mo naman! Nasayang ko ba ang oras mo sa walang kwentang blog na ito? Hehehe! Haaay, nawa’y wag kang madala sa pagbabasa ng blog ko. Promise, next time eh with full of sense and essense na ang isusulat ko. Pangako yan!

Yun lang po… naisip ko lang! 🙂

P.S. Sakit ng hinliliit ko sa kaliwang kamay! Ang dami ng letter "a" hah!

P.S.S. Di ako masyadong nag-nosebleed ngayon… less effort sa English! Hahaha!

30 Things I Miss the Most…

I have lots of ‘alone time’ on my way to and from work. And during these times, my iPod and cellphone are the only things that keep me company. This so-called ‘alone time’ also gives me time to think… about lots and lots and lots of things in my life. Just the other day, while I was on my way to work, I thought of things that I truly miss… things that I haven’t done or people I haven’t seen for quite some time now. And so, I thought of writing it down and sharing them with you.

Here are the top 30 things I miss the most. Again, not in chronological order.

1. A good laugh… one helluvah good laugh with friends.
2. A meaningful conversation… I like talking about life and its deeper meaning.
3. My crying time at the Adoration Chapel… I used to frequent our parish’s Adoration Chapel and cry my problems out to God in prayers. I’ll do this again one of these days.
4. Watching 3 to 4 movies in a row… sa movie house, huh? I used to do this with a friend at ang sakit ng ulo namin after watching those movies 🙂
5. Traveling alone… as in going far far away by my lonesome self. I was planning to go to Baguio yesterday kaso tinanghali ako ng gising eh!
6. Traveling with friends… as in road trip or mega out-of-town travel!
7. The beach… I like to spend some relaxing time at the beach, besides may mga 2-pc swimsuits pa akong di nasusuot!
8. The spa… or simple Shiatzu massage. Sarap ng feeling after every massage, di ba?!
9. Pa-morningan gimmicks… as in inuman sa bar, huh?!
10. Dance-til-you-drop gimmicks… this is a superb stress-reliever!
11. Sweating out in an athletic activity. I’m not a sports buff but I tried playing volleyball and badminton… ibang klase ang pawis on these sports!
12. Jogging alone at CCP… then, taebo after the jogging session. Try this some time… ok din to jog alone. Just make sure you have your iPod or MP3 player with you para deadma ka sa world 🙂
13. Shopping for jeans… matagal na rin akong di bumibili ng jeans. Imagine that?!
14. Eating as if there’s no tomorrow… yung parang gluttony mode! I’m on a diet again… di na kasi maisuot yung mga ibang damit. Sayang naman kung itatapon lang 😦
15. Wearing skimpy clothes… no special occasion to wear such clothes, eh! Kainis!
16. Mango-flavored ice cream… this is my favorite!
17. Lazy coffe hours at Bag of Beans… and I really mean hourssssss!
18. Unplanned dinner in Tagaytay… panalo ito!
19. Breakfast at Starbucks Valero… kelangan talaga specified ang branch?! I used to have my daily breakfast here, eh! Sosyal noh?!
20. The black car that used to park outside our place… my official transport service to work. And the best part is it’s free of charge!
21. Short hair… I tried a bob-cut once and kinda liked it. Kaso magastos sa mousse as my hair is too straight and needed to be styled to keep it prim.
22. My long shiny black hair… I used to have this great looking hair before. I now have silver streaks… kasaar, mas na-stress ako whenever I see them!
23. Simple hang-out with my college barkada… not sure if it’s still possible for the four of us to meet in one simple kita-kitz.
24. My father… he was my best friend before I became real close to my Mom. I’m a daddy’s girl po!
25. Father… try to speculate on this one! Hahaha!
26. Holding hands… yung may romance involved, huh?!
27. Sweet hugs… yung may romance involved uli, huh?!
28. Kisses… yung may romance involved pa rin! Preferrably with so much passion. Hehehe!
29. Tunganga moments… with special someone, of course!
30. I miss him… eto di ko rin alam kung sino… basta I’m missing someone right now! (Hmmnnn, pa-mysterious effect noh?! Hehehe!)

Well, as you would notice, some are doable. But for some, too bad, I will just have to continue on missing them!

This is all for now.

Dreams! Dreams! Dreams!

My apologies to disappoint you but this is not about the so-called ‘aspirations in life’. Today I’m writing about dreams… defined as a series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Nice definition huh?! Thanks to dictionary.com, hehehe!

My mom and I share the same bedroom. But since I’m not comfortable having a “katabi” on my sleep, we don’t share bed together. Our beds are located far apart each other. The other night, I was still watching TV when I heard my mom murmuring words while asleep. I immediately woke her up because I heard her crying. She was having a bad dream. As soon as she woke up, she asked me if we could transfer to our ‘sala’ as she feels her dreams would recur if she’d go back to sleep in her bed.

Well, to cut the long story short, I gave in to Mommy’s request… but I ended up having a bad dream. Lumipat yata sa akin yung omen ng bad dreams nya! Hehehe! My dream that night wasn’t actually a nightmare as it was a usual dream for me. My dreams are kinda strange and keep on recurring like a cycle… with different scenarios and cast, eer persons involved pala! Hehehe!

These are my “usual” dreams:

(1) I would always dream of falling from the upper most part of our stairs. Don’t worry, mababa lang bahay namin so I won’t get hurt that bad… at sarado na yung hagdan ngayon! Hahaha! Anyhow, I don’t usually see myself hit the floor… madalas napuputol yung dream and would transpire into another scenario. This dream usually occurs before I completely go to sleep… others put it as “half-asleep”.

(2) I would always dream of being chased, attacked or hunted by a person. The attacker varies from friends to relatives to unknown persons… and the weirdest of all, monsters and aliens! In my dream, I would always feel frightened, scared and too afraid to get caught. I don’t usually get caught though because I know that I was only dreaming… so I would always make it a point to wake up before anything bad happens. Whenever I tell Mommy about this, she would always laugh at me and say, “Ayan, ang hilig mo kasi manuod ng kung anu-anong palabas! Pati tuloy sa panaginip mo eh may aliens!”

(3) I would always dream of being naked in the midst of a crowd. There are some scenarios though that I would be forced to get naked… like those taking-a-bath-before-going-to-work scenes. Weird part of this dream is that I always take a bath with a set of people watching me. This dream naman would usually occur in the morning, a few minutes (or hours, I guess!) before I wake up. Then I would realize na I’m still lying in my bed… akala ko ready for work na ako! Kaya hayun, late na naman for work! Hehehe!

These dreams are bothering me for quite a while now. I have been checking dream interpretations in the net in order to have a better understanding why these dreams have been recurring. Most of the sites I visited said that my dreams are considered as the most common ones. And here are the basic interpretations of my so-called ‘usual dreams’:

Falling Dream. (1) Falling is an indication of insecurities, instabilities and anxiety. The dreamer is feeling overwhelmed and out of control in some situation in his/her walking life. (2) It also often reflect a sense of failure or inferiority in some circumstances or situation. It may be the fear from falling in one’s job/school, loss of status or failure in love.

Chase Dream. (1) It often stems from feelings of anxiety in the dreamer’s walking life. (2) It may represent one’s way of coping with fears, stress or various situations in life. Instead of confronting the situation, the dreamer is running away or avoiding it.

Naked Dream. (1) Nudity symbolizes a variety of things depending on one’s real life situations. Becoming mortified at the realization that the dreamer is walking around naked in public, is often a reflection of one’s vulnerability or shamefulness. (2) Nudity also symbolizes being caught off guard.

They say that dreams are manifestations of our inner desires… things that are long-kept in our subconscious minds. I do believe that some of the interpretations are applicable to me. The words “insecurities”, “fears” and “vulnerability” are so very true for me.

Some of you may not realize this but I have my share of “insecurities” on a lot of things… may it be physical aspect or personal achievements. I sometimes wish I had more than what I have now. Please don’t get me wrong, I am sooooo much thankful for all my blessings in life but the real world somehow makes me feel that sometimes my bests are not good enough. A friend once told me that I need to avoid comparing myself with other people because there will always be someone better than me. Well, he doesn’t have to remind me… I know that for a fact. I guess my experiences have contributed a lot on this “insecurities” as I have always been in competitive environments… I feel I’m just an Average Joe in the midst of Einstein- and Bill Gates-wannabes. Well, to confirm this claim, you better check out how intelligent all my HS classmates are! 🙂

I don’t usually discuss my “fears” to friends… not even to the closest ones. I feel that discussing things like these will only weaken me or show my weak side. Well, even the most powerful persons on the planet have fears of their own. Mine are rather similar to most people I know. I have ‘fears of losing a loved one’… may it be death or just mere separation. Well, I guess it’s only but human-nature to want to spend our entire lifetime with the ones we love. There are other people I know that they fear of losing their loved ones because they are overly-dependent on them. I’d like to think that this one doesn’t apply for me. I also have ‘fears of getting hurt’ because I usually get devasted when I get hurt… main reason why I don’t indulge myself on falling in love. I have my share of hurt and pain in the past and I know how it feels like to be in that not-so-pleasant situtation. It’s a truly devastating feeling… and I’ve been there for years. And now that I am somehow out of that situation, I’d rather prevent myself from experiencing the same thing again. I have some other fears but I intend to keep them to myself as they are rather nakakihiya to share. Some of you might not believe me anyways 🙂

Despite my strong personality, I think I’m really a “vulnerable” person most especially in my downtime… in my lowest moment! Yes I know, we all try to be strong for ourselves. But I remember this one time when I sought a friend’s help because I could no longer bear the pain I was feeling. This too is a rare moment for me as I don’t easily seek help from other people… most especially when it’s heart-related. My friend was really surprised to see how emotionally broken I was. But she saved me some pride and maintained a very light conversation… too light that she didn’t let a single tear fall off my lonely eyes.

I’m so sorry if my writing today transpired into a dragging confession. My initial intention was to share these weird dreams of mine and hopefully help those who are experiencing the same thing… help them analyze things and better understand what they are going through.

Again, I’m so sorry… I really did not plan to end on an emotionally dragging note. But hey, as I said in my blog description, my site or rather, my writings will give you a better understanding of who I really am… a glimpse of the things that are long-kept unsaid… and most of all, a journey to my mind.

Funny Correlation Between Shopping and Men

This post has long been due as I have thought of writing this article years before I created my blog here on Friendster. Since I now have this blogsite, I thought of giving it a try. Hope I could do it well. Here it goes…

I am a self-confessed mallrat. I really don’t know why malls keep me relaxed even if it entail endless strolls which later on give me an I-can-no-longer-walk-coz-my-feet-are-too-numb feeling. It really helps me unwind from my busy life at work. Every Friday afternoon, I would always rush from work as soon as my computer clock hits 5:30 pm. People can expect to see me strolling my way to the nearest mall. And most of the time, I am alone as I want to spend this special mall-day-of-the-week with my lonesome self and perfectly execute my stroll-til-you-drop window shopping activity without any guilt. There are times though that I tag a friend or officemate along… para naman may kasama akong mapagod sa paglalakwasta sa Glorietta! Hehehe!

My weekends are almost always spent at the malls basically for the following:

• Shop (I don’t buy too expensive items though!)
• Grocery (I do this every other weekend a.k.a. after-payday weekend)
• Dine out (if there are something to celebrate for or Mommy is just too lazy to cook)
• Meet up with friends (most of the time at Starbucks, where else???)
• Watch movies (I used to be a full-time movie addict but now, I watch highly-rated films only)
• And my no. 1 classic habit… window shopping!!!

Well, we all know that shopping and men really don’t blend that much. I have known a lot of men who accompany their women to the malls. But they would always end up sitting on the sofa of every shoe and clothes store. Very seldom do I find men who are willing to help out women to browse tons of garments scattered around those famous only-for-girls stores during a mallwide sale. I guess, men really think that shopping is such a ‘girly’ activity that could and would never be part of their oh-so-manly intrests… unless they are the ones who tagged us to shop for those all-similar-looking rubber shoes, hard-to-understand-why-they-buy-such-thing car accessories and I-actually-don’t-need-but-just-want-to-upgrade gadgets and the worst place that they could drag us in… Handyman or Ace Hardware, where else?!

Whenever we are at the malls, we see signs or identify items depending on their status. There are these usual ‘shopping signs’ that we don’t pay much attention to. But for me, they don’t simply go unnoticed. Despite this unmatched notion about shopping and men, I thought of a funny correlation between the two. Let us individually decode them now…

• New Arrivals. I relate these items to flavor-of-the-month kind of guys. They are considered as the “in” thing for the season or more popularly known as ‘fad’. Guys who would last for 6 months to 1 year (Rough estimate only, huh?! Hehehe!). Girls usually take the new-arrivals-kind-of-guys only for fun… and are usually replaced when there’s another set of “new arrivals” coming their way, thus, making the current beau obsolete. Eeerrr, that’s bad huh?!

• Display Items. These are the “almost perfect” items we see in every display window. They are considered best of the best. The most attractive and highly-saleable product any store could offer. And if they were gadgets, they are the ones with the highest specs. Just like men, they are the nice-to-have kind of beau… but are too irritatingly perfect! Other women are lucky to have these “display item” kind of guys. They don’t work for me though as I don’t go for guys like them. I would rather pass on and stay away from them as they would only emphasize my imperfections. Display-item-kind-of-guys are not definitely in my league!

• Stock Items. These are the “replicas” of the aforementioned display items. But prior to purchase, we need to try them on and check if they fit well or look good on us. We need to thoroughly scrutinize them before we make our trip to the cashier. And if you see some damages, don’t worry because there will always be this 7-day return-and-exchange policy… and in the case of actual relationships, we call it as “break-up”. Hehehe.

 

• On Sale Items. I love discounts. Sale promotions are like kryptonites for me. I get things at lower prices. They give me so much savings. And they allow me to buy more things! There are actually 3 reasons why items are sold on discounted prices: (1) there is an on-going mallwide sale, thus, all regular items are marked down at 5% to 10%, (2) a particular store is having an end-of-season sale with price cuts from 50% to 70%, and (3) there is a clearance or everything-must-go sale where discounts are pegged at more than 80%… simply because the store is closing down! Ouch! But at any rate, these are the ‘bestest’ finds. These, on the other hand, are correlated to all-in-one-package kind of guys. They possess the man-of-my-dreams characteristics which truly gives great value for our money! Sana lang uso rin ang ‘buy 1 take 1’ for these kinds of guys! Hehehe!

 

• Sold Items. Whenever I see “sold out” tags on items that I really like, I would always end up saying, “Sayang, I should have bought that thing last week!” I associate these “sold out” items to the so-called “married men”. These are the guys who could have passed my standards (Although I would always deny that I have standards on men, hehehe!) but are unfortunately taken or owned by some lucky women. Single girls like me can only admire them from afar and wish that “manufacturers” will someday make something of the same kind… or better yet, an upgraded version! Hehehe! A female friend of mine once entered my bedroom and commented that I have nice taste on furnitures (Ooops, I’m not bragging huh?!). I think my furnitures are rather simple and easy-on-the-eye. I jokingly replied to my friend, “Ay sorry ka, nabili ko na yan! Not for sale!” This again can relate to those “sold out” items. I think that these same words are uttered by wives/women whose husbands/men are still very “papable” despite their “attached” or “committed” status.

But don’t fret just yet! There’s one more type of item that I will not miss out. These are outside-the-mall shopping alternatives and actually offer greater value for money. We call them by the name of “ukay-ukay”… short for “halukay-halukay”! Hehehe! Honestly, I don’t really enter ukay shops here in Manila as I find it rather nakakahiya to be found inside such stores. But whenever I am in Baguio, almost 50% of my time is spent in “ukay-ukay”. Here’s a little trivia: Baguio locals are not familiar with the term “ukay-ukay” since it is more popularly known there as “wag-wagan”.

Anyhow, here is my special correlation-con-explanation of ukay and men:

• Ukay Finds. There are a great variety of items found in an ukay shop. Ultra-obsolete things, but others would coin them as ‘vintage items’. Overly-used shoes, bags and clothes… one more use and to Payatas dumpsite they go! There are a lot of really ‘good finds’ in ukay shops though… most especially those slightly-used items which can be mistakenly identified as brand new but was dumped by the owner just because they are so-last-season. Ukay session is such a time-gruelling experience. You have to dig deeper and look harder in order to find that “one” good find. I then relate these items to guys who were dumped or abandoned by some women for one reason or another. On-the-rebound, separated or divorced guys would perfectly fit the bill. As I said, one just has to look a little harder in order to realize that these guys are “such good finds” as well. So as the sayng goes: “One woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure”. There’s just one downside though… these men always come with excess baggage! Well, we just have to live with it! Hehehe!

For me, purchasing a “good find” is somewhat of an accomplishment as I usually spend much time browsing and canvassing for items before I buy them. I also have this very strange habit of hopping from one mall to another just to buy a specific item that I really like… the main reason why I term this hobby as “mall tour”! Call me meticulous, but I would rather exhaust all my energies to buy the “it” item than spend sleepless nights for the rest of my life thinking, “Sayang, wala na… I really should have bought that thing last week!” 😉

I don’t have to explain my last paragraph… I will let you do the analysis on this one! 🙂

My Best Dates So Far…

Every night, my mom and I have our mother-and-daughter chat during dinner. I would usually update her on things happened to me at the office and she’d do the same for me. Well, since she’s a stay-at-home mom, she would always tell me house-related matters, teleserye updates (Filipino, Korean, Spanish, name it!) and of course, neighborhood-happenings a.k.a. tsismis! Hahaha!

I have always been open to sharing all my personal experiences to my mom. She knows a lot of personal stuff about me… all the men in my life (mga tatlo lang naman ito so it’s easy to talk about, hahaha!), happy escapades, bitter moments, sad experiences. There are certain "things" though that I tend to keep to myself as I feel they are "too personal". Shhhh, don’t you dare tell my mom na I’m keeping secrets from her, huh?! 🙂

I really can’t remember how our conversation the other night started and transpired to discussing my best dates. I just found myself enumerating the most romantic dates that I have ever experienced. Our discussion instantly took me down memory lane and is still keeping me on a light mood up to now. And so, here I am again, blogging my thoughts out and wanted to share my best dates so far. Don’t worry, short list lang ito.

• Tia Maria’s Restaurant, Greenbelt (sometime 1996). A close friend invited me to dinner to celebrate a very special accomplishment that he achieved. At that time, Tia Maria was still a fine-dining resto so I really felt previleged and special for having been taken to such place. It was a very simple date, yet I can vividly remember all the details… from the food we ate to the conversations we had. But the one thing that made me earmark this date to my mind was that very romantic thing my friend did. He asked the in-house musicians to serenade me. He requested for the song "Forevermore" as he knew that I’m a die-hard Side A fanatic. Unfortunately, that song was not in their line up. So, my friend requested for "My Girl" instead. We can both relate to the song as we watched the movie (of the same title) together. Haaaay, nakaka-panlambot tuhod talaga! Feeling long hair talaga ako at that time… literally and figuratively speaking! Sayang, a kiss could have made this date complete!
• Tony Roma’s Restaurant, Glorietta 4 (May 30, 2002). A good friend took me to this resto as a belated birthday gift. I wasn’t really expecting for a Tony Roma’s-treat but he told me that I deserve much more expensive resto than Tony Roma’s. Hmp, bolero noh?! Eh Jollibee lang ok na ako! Hahaha! Anyways, another special thing happened with this date. As you know, Tony Roma’s has this dim-lighted-perfect-for-romantic-dates atmosphere. We were seated near the glass walls with a great view of the Glorietta fountain/park. In the middle of our conversation, fireworks suddenly popped out in the sky… literally! It was Makati Day pala! The fireworks display was spectacular. It lasted for like 15 to 20 minutes. We both stopped talking and simply watched the colorful lights in the sky. I felt like it was one of those movie-kilig moments… scenes we usually see in Aga Muhlach films! Again, a kiss could have made this date complete!
• Nurture Day Spa, Tagaytay (April 24, 2004). This was a birthday gift from a very "special" friend. I have been to this place already but I really wanted to share some moments with him in that serene and relaxing place on my special day. We had our reservations arranged weeks before my birthday… the package included a 1-hour Shaitzu massage, set of scrumptious lunch, unlimited day-access to the place and a 4-hour stay in one of the cottages. Oooops, don’t think of dirty thoughts huh?! We just slept in the cottage! 🙂 Unlike those first two dates I mentioned, nothing spectacular happened with this one. The only thing special about this day-at-the-spa date is the person I was with. And yes, it was a complete date for me… guess, what made it complete??? Okay, you can now run some naughty thoughts! Hahaha!

There are some much simpler dates that are also nice to think of and make me smile whenever I remember them. Those lots of tunganga moments in various places in Tagaytay like Taal Vista, Viewpoint, Residence Inn (patulan ba pati zoo?:-)) and Caleruega. Of course, what makes it more special to remember are the holding-hands sessions while having endless-talks-on-things-under-the-sun.

There is also this one fun date I had with a friend. It was just a simple let’s-have-dinner-meet-up followed by a Baywalk-bar-hopping session. We were having this "okay" time together until an old fat lady approached and offered us "hula". I don’t really believe in "hula" but it was really fun. Manang Manghuhula even told us that we would end up together… funny, di ba?! Sayang, din ito, it could have been complete with a kiss… from Manang Manghuhula, Hahaha!

Other dates are some kinda blur to me and some are kadiri that it makes me go "Eeeewwww!" everytime they cross my mind.

I once told a friend that I don’t call all my going-out-with-the-opposite-sex sessions as "date". I really didn’t know how to defend my statement then, but I now have the answers. Here are my top 3 requirements:

• The guy would pick me up from our house and take me back home… with his own car, of course! Demanding ko noh?! Hehehe!
• The guy pays for the bill! Although I would always offer to pay for my share… pero kunwari lang yun! Pakitang tao lang! Hahaha!
• We are both into each other… or more like, may pagnanasa ako sa kanya! Hahaha!

So, what now is my idea of a date? I’m way past that know-each-other-over-dinner, movie-watching-followed-by-a-stroll-at-the-mall or HHWWPSSP-along-Baywalk stage. I think, going out-of-town would really be a more fun thing to do… and the beach would be a perfect venue! All I need is an SMS advise… naka-impake na kaya yung mga 2-pc swimsuits ko noh?! 😉

Hey, you don’t have to squeal these things to my mom for she knows every detail of it already. And guess what? She’s eagerly looking forward for my next date to happen! My gulay, kelan naman kaya yun?! 🙂

P.S. On my last post re: sadness, I’m ok now! It was just a small drama that I needed to let out. 🙂

Why Do I Feel Sad?

This one is far different from all my past entries. It actually took me a lot of courage to post an entry of such topic. But what the heck! This is my space and I’ll post whatever I want to. (Galit??? Opening remarks pa lang, nagsusungit na agad!)

Last week, a friend browsed my site and commented that he had fun reading some of my blog entries. Told him that I haven’t posted anything lately as I am not in my usual happy-blog-writing mood. When he asked why, I instantly replied, "I feel sad."

Telling a friend my melancholy state is kinda bizzare as I don’t usually confess things like these. Besides, I am known as this laugh-your-heart-out-girl-who-never-gets-tired-of-talking-all-day-long… so, I need to keep that crazy-for-all-season image! 🙂

And now, I’m telling to the whole world that I’m kinda sad. Yes, I don’t feel too well lately.

Of course, I have my share of sad moments in the past but I knew how to easily cope up with them. I would always keep myself busy in order not to entertain any thoughts of sadness. I also followed Tinkerbell’s advice to simply think of happy thoughts… parang Peter Pan ang dating! Yun nga lang, I don’t get to fly! 🙂

I can’t say that I’m leading a boring life because my life is getting better each day. My social life is currently active as I frequently go out with friends… from simple chum-moments-over-coffee sessions to all-night-long-dance-til-you-drop gimmicks. Yes, it keeps me happy and pre-occupied for a while but after an hour or two, for no reason at all, boredom would cloud me.

I tried a lot of things already to distract me from this weird state. I flipped my tons of Cosmo magazines to keep me hooked to reading various relationship and self-improvement articles. I re-hashed my iPod thrice and downloaded lots of songs from the net. I braved the Glorietta-sale and got myself some good finds. I drowned myself with Starbucks mocha frap… venti po, huh?! These are really the best-seller motivators for me… but nothing worked!

I am glad though to have spent some weekends with my nieces and nephews for they bring me much joy. I just wish I could spend all my time with them… but duh? I need to work!

I don’t think that work is the main cause of this sadness, boredom, gloominess, or however-which-way you want to call it.  Work is fine alright and I have managed to deal with the ever-increasing pile on my desk.

I actually thought of 3 things that make me sad… let’s see if my theories are true:

(1) I think I am experiencing an Ally McBeal syndrome…. also known as "single-girl’s drama".

(2) I am missing someone so very badly… and he doesn’t even have a single clue!

(3) A pimple popped out on my nose. Darn, it really makes me feel ugly! 😦

Ewan ko lang ha! Feeling ko yung number 3 ang main cause ng aking kalungkutan! Haay… siguro derma lang ang solusyon dito!

My Baguio Weekend Getaway

Last weekend, my office sent me to Baguio to conduct a product orientation… that was the last pitstop of my series of orientations! Woohoo, I’m done at last!

I decided to stay for another day in Baguio as I tagged my mom along with me. Baguio is not a new place for us as we frequent the place at least once or twice a year. I almost feel it’s my second home.

I usually go to Baguio if I want to experience the cool atmosphere the place brings. Not to mention the endless stroll along Session Road and visit to my favorite spots like Minesview, Camp John Hay and PMA. I also make time to hear mass at Baguio Cathedral and spend some silent moments at the Pink Sister’s Convent. And of course, my usual activities like Ukay-ukay session for some good finds, pasalubong shopping in palengke, and pasta-and-buffalo-wings indulgence at Don Henrico’s.

But my last visit was kinda different. I discovered a new place… thanks to my good ol’ friend Jopet for the reco! (Bes, luv you more for this!) I went to this place called "Tam-awan Village". It is located in Pinsao, some 20 minutes away from Session Road.

My mom and I arrived in Tam-Awan Village around 8 a.m. There were no visitors yet except for a couple of guys having an al-fresco breakfast. Ronnie, a Tam-Awan staff member, was kind enough to accommodate us. He advised us to visit two cottages. I really do not know what to expect… but we headed to the cottage anyways! The room was filled with paintings… great paintings! I was overly amazed. I hurriedly took out my digicam to take some souvenir photos. Water color, charcoal and oil paintings were hanging all over the walls! Every artwork has a story to tell… emotions to share. The artists’ talents were all over the place!

The second cottage was even better! More paintings on the walls. Ronnie was kind enough to take a picture of my mom and me. He pointed to an arwork entitled "Mother and Child", told us that it’s a solar painting. And so I learned that Solar Painting is done using sunlight and magnifying glass as mediums. Just by looking at it, I can almost feel the artist’s passion while making the artwork. The details were very exquisite… close to perfection!

My mom and I further explored the place. Took some more pictures and bought souvenir items at the cafeteria-con-souvenir shop. As we were about to leave, we met two artists, Sir Roland and Sir Buddy. They  encouraged us to stay a little longer. But time was of the essence to us as we need to meet up with our other companions in a couple of hours. And so, we left.

On our way to Minesview, I noticed that something was missing. I left my digicam case in Tam-Awan. I know it wasn’t that important but I really felt the urge to go back to get it. And so I did!

One of the artists, Sir Roland saw me and said, "O, nagbalik ka!" I replied, "May naiwan lang po ako." Then he told me, "Pinabalik ka talaga para magpa-portrait." Well, I have the same thing in mind. I felt that my digicam case was left there for a reason. And so I gave in… and had my portrait taken. Eh hindi rin naman kasi ako mahirap i-convince… minsan! Hehehe!

They advised me to sit on a monoblock chair. Seven artists sat in front of me. I was kinda nervous at first since this is not a usual 2×2-picture-taking session. I was asked to sit still and maintain a steady, relaxed pose. But it wasn’t that easy! There were 7 sets of artists’ eyes passionately looking at me… trying to capture every single detail for my face. Grabe, ganun pala feeling ng painting subject! Nakakangawit!  I jokingly said, "Pagandahin nyo na lang po ako sa painting ha!" Sir Roland commented, "Sana ma-capture namin ang mata mo. Ang ganda kasi!" Ged, another artist, seconded, "Yes Ma’am, asset mo yang mata mo!" (O walang dagdag-bawas yan ha! Actual comments po uli yan! Wag na kumontra! Hehehe!)

One by one, the artists stood up as they finished their respective work. I was too eager to see the results but I was requested to remain seated until the last artist, Ged, was finished. And when he did, I immediately approached the counter to check my portraits. Every artist has a different interpretation. Some have resemblance of actresses Eula Valdez, Rufa Mae Quinto and Gladys Reyes… others captured the loneliness of my eyes. But I instantly liked Alfonso Dato’s work for it was the nearest resemblance of me… sa palagay ko lang ha! I really liked how he captured my eyes… it looked kinda tired. The imperfections of my face were likewise displayed in his artwork. It was me… definitely the ‘Winkie’ I see everytime I look in the mirror. So I had it framed!

The portrait session was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. What’s even more amazing is I’ve got to keep all the 7 portraits for just P100! Ang saya, di ba?! I told them, "Babalik ako dito… next session, nude naman, ha!" Hehehe! Eh teka, P100 pa rin kaya yun???

Tam-Awan Village is really overflowing with so much talent. The place has so much more to offer aside from that portrait session. The Cordilleran culture is truly alive and preserved in that place. The richness of its culture is expressed not only in its structure but also in every painting displayed all over the place. People from all walks of life who truly appreciate nature will surely love this place for it offers serenity and tranquility… truly, heaven on earth!

Too bad, we had to go back to Manila on that day. I would really love to stay a little longer to at least experience more of the Cordilleran culture. Well, I promised myself that I’ll stay there on my next Baguio visit… so nature-nature naman ang drama ko next time! Hehehe!

I invite you to visit their site so you’ll get more glimpse of my Tam-Awan experience: www.tamawanvillage.com. Happy browsing!

And to the Tam-Awan artists and staff, thank you for the wonderful experience! Kudos and more power to all of you! See you all soon!

The Power of the Charmed Ones

I am currently doing a DVD marathon of one of my favorite television series, Charmed. When it started airing in 1999 in a local channel, I instantly got hooked simply because I liked watching Shannen Doherty as I used to see her in another Aaron Spelling-TV series, Beverly Hills 90210. Based on some write-ups about Shannen, she has this bitchy attitude that the late Aaron Spelling had to kick her out in both TV series. Hey, I didn’t like her for that huh?! I just find her pretty, that’s all!

Anyways, let’s go back to Charmed. I’m not into witchcraft nor believe in such thing. The storyline really tickled my interest… plus the outfits of the Halliwell sisters are too darn hot and sexy that made me think of wanting to be a witch if modern-day witches look like them.

Just a brief overview, Charmed is about this 3 sisters, the Halliwell sisters, who came from a long line of family of witches. Prudence (Shannen Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) got reunited and unlocked all their powers to become the most powerful witches the world has ever known.

Each of the Halliwell sisters has a special power. Prue, the eldest sister, can move things with her mind and later on discovered that she could astro-project. Piper, the middle sister, can freeze time by just waving her hands.  Phoebe, the free-spirited youngest sister, can see the future with her premonition power.

So, what if I have all their powers? The storyline suggests that the powers of the Charmed Ones are not to be used for personal gain. But what the heck! This is my storyline now and I will use them the way I want to! LOL!

The Power of the Mind. Prue can move objects with her mind so if I were Prudence, I would use my power to do household chores while doing fun things… otherwise known as ‘multi-tasking’. Here are some of my ‘multi-tasking’ ideas (my Mom would be happy for these):

• Sing karaoke while doing the laundry. So, no more running to and from the wash area just to sing karaoke while waiting for the washing machine to finish spinning the laundry. Plus, no wet hands for me! LOL!
• Watch TV while cleaning the house. I can just wink at the broom or feather duster to do the cleaning for me as I sit like a couch potato and watch all the movies/shows in HBO, Star Movies, Disney Channel and Lifestyle Network.
• Surf the net while washing the dishes. I really hate washing the dishes so I always keep myself busy surfing the net. At least I have a valid excuse for not having my hands wet. Salbahe noh?!

The Power to Freeze. Piper can freeze time whenever she wave her hands. I think this power will be very handy for me. So, here are my ideas on how to use this power for my own benefit:

• Save my daily work attendance. I’m not a morning person so I always wake up late. And no matter how early (or late) I wake up, I always find myself rushing every morning to beat my 8:30 a.m. time-in. I wish I could just wave my hand to stop the time and spare me from my daily marathon-while-in-my-3-inch-heels dilemma.
• Stare at a date… if he’s too attractive! I had a couple of dates before but I never had a grand time to "really" look at them… simply because I think it’s not nice to stare and I don’t want to give them the pleasure to feel that I am into them. If I have the power to freeze time, I wouldn’t think twice to use it on them. Bakit ba? Gusto ko lang naman tumitig sa guapo, ah! Masama ba?! Hehehe!

The Power of Premonition. Phoebe can see the future whenever she touches a person or a thing. This allows her to prevent future misfortunes to happen. This power can be very useful for gamblers as it can be used to see the winning Lotto numbers… or even the amount inside the briefcase on Deal or No Deal! Isn’t it, Banker?! LOL! But since gambling is not my line, I think I would have more fun using the premonition power with these:

• See my own future. I don’t need to seek the help of some lame fortune tellers just to check if I’ll get married in the future… or probably stay single for the rest of my life… or be a single mom (And who the heck is the father of that child?! Hahaha!).
• See people reactions. If I could know how people would react on some tactless words or nasty things, the world would be a better place. There would be less misunderstanding.

There are a lot more things I want to write, but I need to log off now to continue my Charmed-marathon.

Since I do not have the ‘charmed’ powers of the Halliwell sisters, I guess I’ll just have to rely on my own charms to do my thing and get all the things I want. Besides, a Fil-Am guy I dated some years ago told me that I have this stare (I think the right term was "sexy" stare! Ehem! Ehem!) that can make people (or rather guys) submissive to me.

And oh… one of these days, I’ll have this triquetra tattooed at my lower back as I find this sign sexy and captivating!… pero henna lang ha! LOL!

Back To My Old Liberating Habit

After my product orientation stint yesterday in Malolos, Bulacan, I requested our company driver to drop me off to Glorietta since I wanted to unwind a bit after a long, tiring day. As I was strolling the alleys of Glorietta, I suddenly felt the urge to watch a movie. Transformers, of course! What else is worth watching these days?!

It’s been a long while since I last watched a movie alone as I used to tag my mom or a friend along these past few months (or years, I suppose!). Transformers is something that wouldn’t interest my mom as she did not watch the animated series with me when I was younger. So I really did not opt to take her to that movie. I did invite a friend but kinda begged off as he has previous engagement. Well, I guess, it was a sign for me to head the movie house alone! LOL!

Getting a movie pass was so much of a hurdle as the Glorietta 4 cinema lobby was jam-packed with Transformers fanatics and movie addicts like me. The crowd was overwhelming! But it did not stop me from falling in line for the movie pass. Besides, I have my cellphone and iPod to keep me company me all-throughout that time-consuming-buy-a-precious-movie-ticket experience.

As soon as I got my movie pass, I immediately handed it to the guard. While checking my bag, the guard asked, “Wala po kayong kasama, ma’am?” Of course, my sungit nature clouded my answer. “Eh kelangan bang may kasama ‘pag nanonood ng sine?” (Haaaay, magbiro na kasi sa lasing ‘wag lang sa matandang dalaga! Hahaha!)

In fairness to the guard, I guess he find it kinda weird for a female movie-goer to see a sci-fi action film alone… so mukha pa rin akong babae kung ganun! LOL! Well, he should have seen me watched Dare Devil! That film was too darn dark! 🙂

I really wanted to try this liberating experience of watching movies alone. I can still remember the first time I did this. I started it off with an animated film, Cinderella! (Very challenging huh?!). I thought it would be safe for me as most of the movie-goers are children with, of course, pop-and-mom. I kinda liked the experience and so it became a habit.

Watching alone is such a relaxing experience for me. I can watch any movie I want without thinking if my companion liked the film as much as a I did. It lets me do things I want at my own pace and time… and I don’t have to depend on friends’ availability. Well, of course, I’m also cautious of possible things that could happen. I’m always wary of those “bad guys” who do “bad things” inside the movie house. And I tell you, I’ve my share of experiences. Still, it did not stop me from going to the movie house alone.

But when I started working, I was able to find 3 regular moviemates. These guys stopped me from my habit. When I got into a relationship 3 years ago (yes, naka-boyfriend ako! di ko lang ipinagsabi! hehehe!), my then-BF forbid me to watch movies alone. Since I’m a good GF, I simply obeyed 🙂 They all convinced me to end my liberating habit.

Well, thanks to Transformers! I’m now back to my movie-watching independence.

Transformers is such a great movie. I was overly amazed as it was aesthetically done… there were some scenes though that made me say, “Duh?! You can take that girl in blue dress out of the scene!” But generally, I truly enjoyed watching the film… without the company of anyone.

I look forward to watching alone again… but I guess not with the next installment of Harry Potter. My mom volunteered to pay for the movie tickets. She doesn’t want to miss it daw. Sayang, libre ito! LOL!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 Things You Hate About Me

I was browsing my DVDs and came across Julia Stiles’ chick-flick film entitled “10 Things I Hate About You”. The story is about a strong-willed girl named Kat Stratford. Despite Kat’s (Julia Stiles) strong personality, she fell deeply in love with the easy-go-lucky Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) which led her to write a poem “10 Things I Hate About You”.

Well, this is not about love or me falling in love with a hot easy-go-lucky guy. I just thought of writing a similar list for myself… the top 10 things people hate about me (as far as I know!)

So here it goes… not in chronological order though!

• BITCH, WITCH, BRATINELLA, PASAWAY, PRIMADONA, MALDITA. Yes, call me whatever you like… I wouldn’t mind at all. This is the way I really am. So just live with it, ok?! Some real bitchy attitude, huh?! LOL!
• SUPLADA, SUNGIT. My being suplada is my way of protecting myself from all the harmful entities around… or let’s just say, I’m not that overly friendly. Sungit, on the other hand, is the twin sister of suplada… LOL!
• HOT-TEMPERED, SHORT-TEMPERED. The first time I received this comment was in prep school… in my report card! As early as 5 years old, people detected my being hot- and short-tempered. I really do not know why I have such temper. Bugnutin lang talaga siguro ako since birth! Hahaha!
• STUBBORN, HARD-HEADED. If given the chance, I do things my way. No one or nothing can make me change my mind if I am up to something. I don’t easily seek advice or help from those around me as I want to do things my way… alone!
• COLD-HEARTED. I have this strong level of coldness especially when I’m too angry with something or someone. And I keep that anger for a very long time… sometimes years! But when I forgive, expect total forgiveness. I’m not the type who would upbraid all mistakes of the past.
• OVERLY TALKATIVE. Talking is my middle name. I can really go on for hours talking about anything or anyone (aay, tsismosa!) under the sun. I have lots of stories to tell about myself… so much opinion about anything or anyone (aay, pintasera!)… I simply like to talk a lot! But if you ask me to listen, well, I can keep my mouth shut… I can also be a good listener. 😉
• MAARTE… in the real essence of the word! For those of you who can’t still accept that I am a ‘girl’… well, sorry but I sometimes have a hard time keeping my one-of-the-boys image. It seems like my arte-ness have mind of its own… kusang lumalabas sa kahit anong pagkakataon!
• MOODY (read: excessive mood swings). No further explanation on this… I just have this weird moody attitude that can’t be explained or controlled. Sorry!
• SELFISH. I’m an only child so I always get all the attention! I’m not blaming my parents for this though. It’s just that I expect people to give me all the things I want or say… and most of the time, they do! It makes me feel like I’m sooo blessed with very generous and patient friends. Hahaha!
• LATE… most of the time! Call me unprofessional but I really hate to wait. So I always show up late in any meeting, kita-kitz or event. I would rather let other people get angry with me than me getting angry with them because I waited too long. I tell you, that would be chaos! And please, don’t arrange morning kita-kitz… I’m just not a morning person!

Hmmmmnnnn, I can almost feel your eagerness to add a lot more items to my list. But hey, let’s limit it this way. My blog space might get clogged up if you’ll add whatever you have in mind now! Hahaha!

I am well aware that I am not the perfect friend that anyone could ever have. I have sooooo much flaws that make me distinctly the way I am. But you have to be honest with me, you still love me as a friend despite all these. It’s just a matter of accepting me… the “real” me 🙂

I will try to redeem myself by coming up with another post entitled “10 Things You Love About Me”. It may take some time though to finish as I can’t still think what is it love about me.  LOL!