furtive notes from a broken soul

Moving, moving, moving...gone.

2010-09-05T19:32:00.000+08:00

Hej! Since I've moved continents a few days back, I've decided to move to a new blogspot address:

dyowsatres.blogspot.com

Im keeping my multiply account to consolidate everything (although it's not efficient in doing so), but don't bet on it's update schedule. :)

See you there!

-Rica, blogging from the land of the gentle giants.

Retiring the JacketS

2010-07-30T01:55:00.002+08:00

I have a thing for jackets.
Aside from the simple truth that they keep my huge arms wrapped and out of sight, jackets for me serves the most practical purpose of pulling a person together.
It may be that pulled together look crisp jackets provide, or the security of providing a private wiggle room to breathe (because good jackets hide insecurities like heavy breakfasts or heavy thighs).
It keeps you warm, and protects you from dust.
If Ally McBeal had her pajamas, I had my jackets.

My two most special pieces are entirely different from each other (in no order, whatsoever).

2005. Graduate School sa NUS. Mahal pa ang kanin noon.

I got my Political Science Forum (TPSF) jacket in 2002, and it's a sort of sports-wind breaker jacket with the hood. It was very memorable, because I remember pretty well how I got it, and the things that were going on that time. I was among one of those 'first' few people who got this black jacket with grey piping (hence the cloth used for you jacket was entirely different from those made later on), and I remember Tere (the now Atty Teresa Bautista), our Board Member, insisting that being officers, we get to have our jackets for free. It was such tumultuous times at the TSPF, because judging by the things our organisation has gone through over the past months-- impeachment proceedings, factions and all this real life political circus, I can't believe we were even able to make it through in our Senior year. Not everyone survived. I remember that time--after receiving my jacket for free (I have to emphasize free goods as fundamentally cherished by college kids like me), an impeachment some people believed I discreetly masterminded, and new found friends within my major-- I felt that I belonged. At last.

Ever since, I've used this jacket to guard me (and my hoochie bags) from rain, from nocturnal insects whenever we decide on road trips in the provinces, and contact from people I don't like (no kidding). It became my comfort blanket for eight years, and it served me well.

Now Im sending it back to Manila, to retire. It served me well, and I'll probably still be using it every now and then, when rain showers grace Ortigas Pasig. But it should be respectfully returned to this very country I grew up in, endured heartaches in, and yet in the end, still love to the core of my soul.

Fres na fres. Yess.

My other favourite jacket was from my ex boyfriend, Jay. :) He gave me this jacket in 2004, and it's a black cotton zippered number from Esprit. I loved it so much, I still wear it often even if its missing a real zipper slider. I've worn it with literally everything, and was even called JLo while wearing it one time. My sister loved it and asked Kuya Jay to buy one for her. My then-boyfriend had no choice, and dollars poorer later, he was instantly declared as the jacket-supplier.

2008. Wala nang slider yung zipper nyan. waw.

Now, this post is not just about the jacket and their impending retirement. This is also about my sister, Tinay. We were sorting clothes for laundry last week, and when she saw the state of distress of this six-year old jacket I've been wearing, she offered to give me her jacket since -eherm- it wont fit her anymore. It was a 'Jay' jacket with minimal difference in style. She supplies me everything, actually-- pants, shoes and underwear (I only shop for tops). I was just so glad to have it and it didn't tell that I was touched by her generosity and her way of getting out of her way when she helps other people.

My sister doesn't earn that much when she was back in Manila, and will probably correct me in saying she earns better now. Because that's not so true. But really, I've never met anyone who can give more than what they get, without expecting in return, and just give for the sake of giving. She's not the nicest (haha) person, nor is the easiest to deal with, and this may mean to show that we have our own quirks, strengths and weaknesses.

My sister is the most generous person I've ever known. And I pray, really really pray that the universe take care of her the best way possible, and not to let anyone take advantage of that generous heart. I was lucky enough to have a sister like her. I'm never trading her with any shoes, pants or jackets.

A Chanel bag? Maybe.

Wanted: donations for Dyowsa's Flickr Pro

2010-07-26T01:40:00.003+08:00

To make benefit glorious nation of beckystan. :D

Give to charity. Give them a home:

All taken with an LC-A+, 35mm film (which for the life of me-- I can't remember which, but I do believe it's not Ektar).

i love your side burns. :)

Patrick is Mr Changi airport.

T3, how much do we love thee?

the father

the mother

the post-woman

hanapin si becky and win a prize!

holdap!

Lan Kwai Fong, HK

i wake up to where the skies are blue...

and margarine... are... well... carved from mountain-hills.

And I accept paypal.

una bien merecida victoria, España

2010-07-12T05:43:00.002+08:00

Extended yung game. I've never stayed up this late (or early. and sober) since college years, at nagtutukatok nako ng konti.

Iniesta's goal was the clincher.

I love Spain, but my number two is Team Oranje.

Wesley Sneijder is sad. Pa-hug nga. :P

They wore their 'away' jersey.

Cos for the love of God, parang acid trip kung sakaling ang match ay Red- Oranje.

What's funny is that everyone wanted Netherlands to win, cos they're the so-called underdogs. But really, by how everyone would display their hopes for Netherlands to win, La Furia Roja looked more like the underdogs. In any case, it was a well deserved Championship. Viva España!

sleep na!

Notes to self:

2010-06-30T12:09:00.001+08:00

1) Huwag mag madali, makakarating ka rin.

2) Huwag atat. Mas mataas ang market value ng taong marunong humindi.

3) Matutong mag enjoy (talaga naman).

4) Huwag pilitin ang mga bagay na hindi ayon sa panahon. Ang manggang hinog sa piliit ay mapait (naks).

5) Hindi 'relatively' malapit ang mga lugar na bina byahe ng tren in 8 hours. Hindi talaga.

6) Bukod sa babae ka, at nakaka-exicite isipin na adventure ang mag byahe ng mag isa sa iba ibang bansa na mag isa, isipin mo din na may mga taong aatakihin sa puso, iniisip pa lamang ang mga pwedeng mangyari sa'yo. Wag mo naman silang pahirapan.

7) Huwag kalimutan ang mga unang napagkasunduan at huwag magpa-distract sa mga 'extra'.

8) Matuto sa mga aral ng nakaraan--iwasan ang maagang overexposure, be choosy with your battles (refer to item 2).

9) I-enjoy ang natitirang mga araw. Mag-aral ng iisang bagay na matagal mo nang gustong aralin, mamasyal at magbigay galang sa mga ninuno, sulitin ang natitirang mga araw na may literal na 'araw', magbigay pugay sa pamilya at mga kaibigan. Huwag punuin ang schedule. Maglaan ng 'alone' time.

10) Chillax lang.

Little Boxes

2010-06-26T14:50:00.000+08:00

cover by Regina Spektor (bet you saw that coming. :) )

Little Boxes

Malvina Reynolds

Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses
All went to the university,
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same,
And there's doctors and lawyers,
And business executives,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf course
And drink their martinis dry,
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school,
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
Where they are put in boxes
And they come out all the same.

And the boys go into business
And marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

Mga tala sa pagluluto (Cooking ng ina mo)

2010-06-25T13:13:00.002+08:00

Palagay ko, in our more recent times, may dalawang bagay na uso sa mga Pinoy, under the 'hobby category'. Yun ay ang 'semi-professional kuno' photography at cooking (ay culinary arts pala).

Dati kasi ang ultimate jaforms accessory ay ang telepono. Well thats so 2000. Kasi napalitan na nitong bagay na maitim, mabigat at mejo maasim (ang strap) na tinatawag na DSLRs. Uso na ang photoshoot parties. May mga kilala akong hindi na makakain ng maayos at araw araw, para lang makabili ng lente at flash at kung anu ano pa.

Ngayon, ang 'culinary arts' ang talagang pakay nitong post na ito, kaya hihinto na ako (dearest Lord, ayaw ko ng DSLR. Gusto ko ng Leica. Kahit anong Leica. basta Leica) on grappling with semi-professional photography (aka mediocre, pero okay lang nde naman ako professional eh). (Pektyur: Paella Mixto. Paborito ni Chet)

May mga ibang taong seryoso, at talagang pagluluto ang ginagawa nilang vocation. Dati nang uso ang culinary schools, pero mas uso sya ngayon. Ever. Maganda ito, kasi para sa akin, ang pagluluto ay art at science. Kung mas madami ang bata na maiintidihan ito, edi mas magaling, kasi hindi ako naniniwala na ang husay ng pagluluto ay naka-tuon lang sa iilang tao na para bang hindi na magkakamali, o hindi nagbabago ang mood.

Pwedeng kumain ka sa restaurant na paborito mo ngayon at natuwa ka, pero pwede ding sa susunod, mainit ang ulo ng kusinero at candidate ka na for food poisoning.

So imagine mo nalang kung pwede ka palang magluto ng gusto mong pagkain. At nasa kamay mo ang kapangyarihan na mapaalat, mapasarap o mapabuti ito.

Imagine mo kung madaming tao na ganyan. Hindi ba mas masarap nang mag pot luck? haha.

Kaso, ang culinary arts, tulad nang photography at 'reading books', ay subject to popularity. Minsan, para lang makiuso, sasabihin mong mahilig kang magbasa ng libro, kahit na brochure lang ng make up ang nabasa mo (yung unang paragraph lang). Bakit mo sasabihing mahilig ka sa culinary arts kung ang alam mo lang na lasa eh patis at suka? Hindi ba nakakalinlang ito? Bakit mo sasabihing mahilig ka magluto kung ayaw mong natatalsikan ng mantika, at once in a blue moon ka lang magpainit ng kaldera? At so totoo lang, madaming tao na ganon. Hindi ko tuloy alam kung sasabihin kong hobby o interest ko din ang culinary arts, kasi hindi ko sya nakikitang ganon. (Pektyur: Pininyahang manok. Paborito ni Jay na ulam ever, mukhang pumapangalawa lang sa version ng biyenan ko)

Para sa akin, ang pagluluto ng masarap na pagkain ay necessity. Mahal at nakakataba ang araw araw na kain sa labas, at kung hindi mo gusto ang luto mo, eh gudlak--hindi ka talaga kakain sa bahay.
Ayaw mong ma-disappoint ang mga pinagluluto mo (kahit na ikaw lang yun at wala nang iba), kaya ibibigay mo ang higit pa sa iyong makakaya.

Hindi ko alam kung bakit, pero nare relax ako pag nasa kusina akong mag isa, naghihiwa, nagpapakulo o nagdidismantle ng body parts (carnivore alert!).

Dati, ang reklamo sa akin ng nanay ko, matagal daw ako magluto. At masyadong 'scientific'. Hindi ako naniniwala na scientific ako. Ang scientific na pagluluto ay para sa mga nagbe-bake. Baking ang isang bagay na mangangamote ako, pramis. Hanggat nakakagawa ako ng puto gamit ang steamer, hindi ko muna papasukin ang pagbe -bake. Mahina ako sa measurements at conversions (pero magaling ako sa mag-estimate), at ang huli kong ni-bake na crinkles ay nagmistulang kuchinta (i know. pathetic).
Im happy to report na mabilis na ako magluto ngayon. Siguro kasi wala na ako sa bahay namin at pwede nang magmalakas na apoy sa kalan. haha.

Bukod sa ex-boyfriend ko at isang kaibigan na gustong gusto ang aking lechon paksiw, wala na akong matandaan na pumuri sa akin sa aking pagluluto.(hindi legit ang mister ko. syempre sasabihin nyang paborito nya lahat ng niluluto ko, kahit maghain pa ako ng bubog at alambre).

Hindi ako naghahangad na mapuri, kasi basta nasarapan ako, okay na sa akin.

At maniwala ka, maarte ako sa pagkain. Ayaw ko ng matamis na ulam. Ayaw ko ng dry. Lalo nang ayaw ko ng hindi mainit (well, unless sashimi sya).
I suffer this mental illness called 'snooty tummy syndrome', kung saan kung hindi mainit ang ulam, o kahit kanin man lang, nilalamig ang tiyan ko at nawawalan ako ng gana. Pero hindi ibig sabihin ng masarap ay mahal. Ang bistek, for example ay kadalasang masarap sa mga karinderya. Kaya pag ikaw ay nagluto nito, at sinabi kong lasang karinderya sya, take it as a compliment. (Pektyur: Tapa!)

Kung may isang award nga na proud na proud ako, yun ay ang 'Best in THE (technology and home economics) award ko nung graduation. Palagay ko dine- deserve ko yun ng tunay, bilang nag iisang tao sa school namin na alam kung ano ang pagkakaiba ng rice cooker at slow cooker, o braise at saute.
Mahilig din akong gumawa ng versions ng mga tipikal na ulam. Ilang taon na ba akong nagpa pasta na walang tomato sauce o kahit white sauce (hindi alfredo yun. hindi lahat ng white sauce eh alfredo. suplada, ampota), aglio olio lang. Minsan may chinese sausage (na ang tawag sa atin ay chorizo de bilbao, na wala naman pala talagang ganon na chorizo sa bilbao).

Para sa akin, ang mga nanay ang isa sa mga taong magagaling magluto in general (in general ha. alam mo na, kelangan i-rule out ang mga taong naglalaga ng sapatos).
It may come with the package, but they seem to always burst with generosity. It's as if their ability to love and give without anyting in return reflects a mother's way of cooking.
Isa yun sa mga dahilan, kung bakit ko gustong maging nanay eh. :D

So ayun. Hindi ko malaman kung paano sasabihin ito with whole eloquence, pero para sa akin, ang pagluluto ay isang form of expression.

Sa pagpili palang ng ingredients, andun yung sense of importance. Kelangan fresh. Kelangan okay ang source.

Humahangos ka pauwi ng bahay, bitbit ang iyong mga pinamili, magsasalang ka na sa kalan ng lutuan.

Magmamadali kang mag chop/mince/cube ng sangkap, lalagyan mo ng ga-patak ng mantika ang lutuan (hindi ako mahilig sa naliligo sa oil. yak).

Ilalagay ang ingredients, maaamoy mo maya maya ang bell pepper, o onions o garlic, acquainting with each other.

Magdidikdik ka ng paminta sa almires (oo, meron akong almires), maghihiwa ng basil, o magbubudbod ng turmeric.

kukulo, titilamsik, magsi simmer.Ihahanda sa mesa.

Hectic.

At gustong gusto kong ginagawa.

Well. Obvious ba? :)

Prep stage ng bacon at asparagus. Para sa mga vegetarian. hohoho. :)

It's so fluffy Im gonna die

2010-06-21T10:50:00.001+08:00

And this my friends, is what's keeping me from jumping on a plane to the land of the Emeratis. Cuteness. I wonder where I can buy one of those. (her name is Agnes, btw. ferpekt.)

Poseur 101: World Cup Appreciation

2010-06-18T01:12:00.001+08:00

Naiinip ako sa football, pramis.
Nakaka frustrate kasi yung makikitang nagtatakbuhan sila, sinisipa yung bola gamit ang paa (duh),
tapos magta try sumipa ng malakas or pa-spike, hoping na pumasok sa goal.
As if naman napaka dalas ng ganitong pagkakataon.
Pag sinuwerte ka, may makaka-goal nang isa.
Malas lang talaga pag draw.
Tinatawag na 'the beautiful game' and larong ito, at talaga namang gusto ko syang ma-appreciate.
Siguro by next year, I'll learn how to appreciate it.
Ayaw kong sabihing I love it eh, kasi hindi ko sya masyado pang naiintidihan.
Alam mo na, si God lang ang love ko na hindi ko din masyadong maintidihan eh.
Di pwedeng dalawa. :)

May mga teams na nga akong niro root for. :)

1. Espagna!- dahil sa kanila nakasalalay ngayon ang economy ng continental Europe. Sana winning the cup will give them better decision making skills. haha.
2. Oranje- Flying Dutchmen Wint!
3. France- dahil andun si Henry Thierry (ay pota, Thierry Henry pala. anubah.)

Teka, may football team ba ang Scotland? Gusto ko kasing dun mag aral for my Phd (yessss naman, saying it aloud!).

In other news, alam naman natin na malakas ang racism sa beautiful game na ito. (social relevance ampota)

Nakapagtataka

2010-06-17T23:18:00.003+08:00

1. Baket hindi ako na-impress sa bagong custom layouts ng multiply? Nainis nga ako ng slight, pramis. Wala akong nagustuhang style na may maayos na font, at kung hindi sya masyadong boxy, masyadong dense.
2. Baket pumapasok parin ang Miss Iggy posts sa multiply ko, kahit na hindi ako ang nag post nito?
3. Baket ako tinatamad ever? May assignment ako, pepetiks petiks parin ako?
4. I wonder when is the good day to start a new blog. hmm.

So, kmusta ang buhay mo naman?

p.s.
wala akong form spring, or whatever shit you call that q & a thingy for blogs, pero kung meron akong ganon, eto ang tatlong madalas natatanong sa akin:

1. Payat ka na ba?
Sa totoo lang, ang mga katanungan na ganito, kasama ng forever remark na 'bakit ang taba mo, diba pumayat ka na?' ay malapit ko nang ipa-patent. Kung hindi man, magra rally akong gawing illegal ang tanong na ito. Obviously, kung tumaba na naman ako edi bumalik ako sa dati. Swerte mo kung buntis ako at hindi ako maiinis sayo. Kaso hellooo...I've always been a chubby kid, 'no ba ang problema mo? Imagine if I start answering back 'baket pumanget ka?' o worse-- 'O, panget ka parin?' If you have nothing good to say to someone you're meeting after sometime, zip it. If you feel the urge to say something, for the love of humanity, lie. Or say something vague like 'iba ang aura mo ngayon'. Ganon. But you see noo...Filipinos love doing this, para bang they delight in press releasing that someone has put on weight. Or is still heavy. Hindi baleng taga-dila ka lang ng sobre sa opisina nyo, o mahina ang ulo mo, o kaladkarin ka. Basta hindi ka mataba, okay ka na.

2. Saan mo nakukuha yung scholarships mo? Paano ka napipili?
Nakukuha ko ang scholarships na ina aplayan ko sa net. You know...google? :) Yung unang Singapore stint ko, nabasa ko lang sa poster tacked bulletin board sa UST, hindi pa yata sa AB Building yun. Malalaman mo naman kung pwede ka sa mga papasukan mo, kasi may write ups sila. Ayoooon. Dun mo nga pala magagamit ang mga panahon na ginugol mo sa pagbabasa ng kung anu ano. Pag madalas ka magbasa, at may kaunti kang imagination, mas madali nang i-relate yung sarili mo sa mga bagay na labas sa school. Syempre, after reading you go through the process of application. Dito mate-test yung focus mo, kung gaano mo ka-gusto yung bagay. Kasi they usually ask for paper work, like certified true copy of grades, or referrals na sangkatutak. Pag tamad ka, eh goodluck sa buhay mo. Sa totoo lang, madaming tao akong kilala na super qualified at accomplished, pero pag tinamad sila, they can only be as good as intentions. Yun lang.
Pano ako napipili? Well, I dont get chosen all the time. I don't always get what I want, and that applies to everyone. But I still try. And trying, makes all the difference (see item 1).

3. Do I need good grades for this sort of shit?
Of course you do. But not only good grades. As these grades are given by other people-- of their assessment of you, you would have had only needed to be a good student. Cos there are other things that come with free will-- things you did, aside from studying. And things you want do and accomplish. You have to be dead convincing. They call that statement of motivation. Lahat yata ng scholarship applications may ganyan.

Bugged: Reflextions the Art of Reflexology

2010-06-16T20:42:00.003+08:00

I prefer to keep this entry in English, as I feel the urge to inform anyone who'd chance upon this article, or is looking for any reference on the matter:

Last Saturday, I together with two other companions went to Holland Village to eat brunch at Bakery Provence. It was then all three of us decided to get a foot reflex/massage, for 45 SGD. Along the rows of shops at Lor Liput, together with Provence and Paris Silk is 'Reflextions the Art of Reflexology'. We went there for our massage, and one hour and ten minutes later, left the place. We walked back home, as we usually do, as Holland Village is merely 10 minutes walk from our Block. Upon reaching home I noticed that my legs started itching, especially my left leg. I looked at it closely and to my horror saw big red rashes. Or so I thought, as they seem to have appeared out of nowhere. And they were an awful lot. They looked like rashes at first look, although they appeared to look like big red dots, bigger than your usual rash. I then looked at my right leg, and lo and behold. I had the same thing. Red big rashes that are raised on my skin. My left leg looked more severe though. Thought Im having chicken pox.

Now, I tried ignoring these spots to distract myself from scratching them . Really, I was more scared of how they will turn out to be--will they scar? I may have logs for legs, but one thing I can be all proud of is that I don't have 'coins' or 'mga piso' on them.

I went to see the doctor last Monday afternoon and upon seeing them (my legs), the doc said 'oh, those are insect bites'. 'Because some had bite marks (teeth). I asked which (insect), and upon hearing about what I did before I got those, she simply 'tsk tsked'. 'Go show this to them. Right away, not when it's healed ('cos Im giving you a good cream, she'll say later on), but in this state'. From her office, I began taking pictures of my poor legs through my iphone.

I just came back from Reflextions Holland Village. With the intentions of 'showing' them what happened after I got a good foot massage from them, I had to: a) explain the whole thing to a non-English speaking therapist, b) talk to a certain 'lady-manager' over the phone c) wait for someone to call back and talk to me again (because, as the girl insisted, she's not the one in charge, and that she cant (or the spa, rather) owe up to what had happened to me, because this is the first time someone has complained), and d) talk to the supposed-owner of the place, who said, in verbatim that 'they clean (their) place every week, with dettol', and that whatever happened to me is not their fault. I said this is the first time that this has happened to me as well. And it was just so coincidental that I got bitten by insects after less than an hour of foot reflexology. I was even pointing out that I suspect it's the leg stool--those stools you rest your legs on. He just muttered (like what the lady-manager said): we can't.

I said Im filing a complaint then. He said, 'Go ahead, file a complaint, then if further investigations prove to be false (mine: whatever that means), I will sue you'. I said 'I did not even wanted to resort to legal action, I was hoping you'd say that you will look into it'. He said 'Fine, we will look into it'. We were both shouting. I have no idea who shouted first, but things really got into me when he threatened to sue me.

So here is my account of what happened. I am not sure on whether or not this is defamatory, but let me set this straight. I may have been bitten by some insect on my way home (while my sister who was beside me the whole time had nothing on her legs). Or I may have been bitten by bugs at that massage place.

And that Im just not anymore complaining of insect bites. Now, I am complaining of bad customer service (no one in the shop knows English). I don't think threatening to sue a customer just because she's upset that she got insect bites, and MAY have gotten them from your leg stool is anywhere near proper.

Picture (yucky):

The pakers

2010-06-11T18:03:00.000+08:00

'on the move'. by the becky (2009).

We've been packing things like crazy (well, Jay is). Since he leaves soon for the sandy dunes (oh it rhymes), he has to make sure all his things are inside the eponymous balikbayan box we're sending to Ortigas. Gee, I wanted to say 'send back', but it wasnt like that for us. These things are products of almost a decade of life here in Singapore, and they've acquired over time. We had to do away with sentimental value (in forms of hard rock cafe singapore cocktail glasses, circa '03) and just be practical about things. Come to think of it, whichever we ship we'll still have to deal with in the future. Im keeping the loveletters of course. :) And the small notes, postcards and good school essays/papers. I sorted through my bookS (thats a big S alright) last night, and kept my Gaimans. Textbooks from '03, books I got hold of because of a former job that has no commercial value whatsoever, I trashed. hehe. I might be bringing 5 books with me to Holland, all study-related. There's this Dr Phil book given by a collegue whos ironically been single for 10 years and counting, Im keeping. Simply because it's from a Harvard educated person, and relating one to the other cracks me up.

By end of the month the room will look like a funny (but clinical) scene from a divorce, where you'll say 'Someone used to sleep on this side of the bed/someone used to have his things on this other side of the room'. It will be half empty. Im not keen on 'appropriating' my things have them occupy this newfound empty space. I have to remind myself that Im leaving soon too.

Oh we migrated files as well. We did it manually, silly us. We've swapped machines, and Jay is now a proud owner of a 21 inch iMac to make NBA season in sandy dunes tolerable. Im missing him already (the iMac, not Jay).

Now my clothes, I have to deal with later on. The standing order on the boxes is that the husband fills them up to becky-friendly height (which is midway and a few inches to the top), then I'll take it from there. Should I ask Jay to pre-stick the packaging tape as well?

Im trying not to be overly dramatic about it, pero this is it. Our life for 7-10 years. In a box.

Oh good thing I dont have much shoes.

hanubers: Marriage, Globalisation and Citizenship

2010-06-07T17:38:00.000+08:00

So, ganito nga, inaayos na namin yung lahat ng papers papunta Amsterdam at Spain. Naloloka ako ng slight, kasi naman si mister ay aalis na next week, at ewan ko kung paano magkaka uga ugaga sa pagse schedule ng mga bagay bagay:

1. Dahil 'spouse' status sya at student ako, kelangan naming magsabay ng apply sa Holland Embassy para hindi na mas mahal yung bayaran namin at nang hindi 'family reunification' chervaloo ang drama (study-papa lang. hahaha).
2. At dahil aalis sya at sa bandang Agosto na kami magkikita ulet, at aalis na naman sya, kelan kaya kami makakapag apply ng visa nyan?
3. Panu ang 'Sweden project' na dapat ang time frame namin eh before Oct (Nov na kami ulet magkikita yata, after August. syet) para ma-present namin sa Prague.
4. Madami dami na akong taong naaway sa phone, dahil lang sa tono ng pagsasalita. Humihingi naman sila ng pasintabi after masita, yun daw talaga ang speaking voice nila. rude. :D
Naiinis ako at parang ngayong babalik na ako sa pag eestudyante ulet, parang nde nako empowered to complain or something. Para bang hindi ko na pwedeng sabihin na 'who's your immediate superior?' o 'Magkano ba ang halaga ng oras mo?' ganon ba. May mababait namang tao na ever helpful.
5. Kaso ang hindi ko ma-dig eh ang iba't ibang papers na kelangang lakarin, lalo na't I'll be studying in two countries and two schools for my first year. Josme. Ang Spain ay gusto ng police report, ang Holland ay gusto ng....pera. haha. joke. It kinda makes me see things in a very international scale (waw), na lahat ng agencies at individuals ay may kanya kanyang interest.
6. Ngayon, ang kasayahan ng lahat ay naglalaho kada may documentation na kelangan ko pang i-legalise. Hinihimatay ako kada naririnig ko ito dahil:
a) wala naman ako sa Pilipinas
b) takte, alam mo bang 2,550 pesos ang kada document na ile-legalise ng Holland Embassy sa atin? Bago nyan, magbabayad ka pa ng 500ish sa DFA, at kung NSO certified yung document mo, edi pati yun. Josme! Para bang ang pag aaral talaga ay para lang sa may kayang magbayad. Buti nalang at maibabawi ko itong mga gastos na ito sa September, pero lekat...naiiyak ako at naghihirap. :(
7. NGAYON...baket ba kelangan ng ganitong procedures? Ang kadahilanan nito ay yung tinatawag na Hague Convention on Legalization of Foreign Public Documents.

Hindi kasama ang Pinas sa mga assignatory dito, at ewan ko kung bakit. Andun naman ang China, Brunei. Kahit Aruba, assignatory. Why ah? Im really beginning to feel that my citizenship is this huge barrier to go wherever I want to go. Im no student of International Law (hmmm), but really. Anu naman kaya ang kadahilanan?

iPhone 101 sa Tsim Sha Tsui

2010-06-04T23:17:00.003+08:00

Short trip sa land of the hongkees, Miromay and Stella's favourite place (Lantau) with my folks (they flew in from Manila, while I flew in on day 2). Wala lang, para akong lumipad ng HK to give my father a crash course on the proverbial iPhone. Masaya naman. :)

Yesss naman. hahaha.

Eh dahil la la land of toys din ang hk, someone's ready for September. :D

hoy jay

2010-05-29T01:05:00.001+08:00

sana lagi mo akong isipin. :)

dahil mami-miss kita ever.

last na, na long distance relationship ito ha? :(

andyan ka palang sa kabilang mesa,

nami miss na kita.

ampanget mo.

hmf.

(belated) Happy Birthday Stella

2010-05-28T01:36:00.000+08:00

she's 'celebrating' her birthday month, and

wants to go somewhere special. Guess where?

Boy-crush alert

2010-05-14T00:09:00.000+08:00

oh, he's cute. :D

Updates, updates!

2010-05-12T11:02:00.000+08:00

1. To everyone who greeted me on my espeysyal day...maraming salamat po. Salamat din sa Fezbook, at sa mga virtual cakes na pinadala nyo. haha.

2. Im Becky, and Im 28 years old.

3. Oh gawd, I don't feel like one. Or look like one.

4. When I was younger, people who I associate with such age 'look' the part. They all looked grown up, they seem to have all these grown up issues and problems, they appear more sophisticated.

5. Anyway--so Im not. :)

6. But that's fine, Im going to Europe anyway.

7. For two years.

8. Yay!

9. All paid for.

10. Yesss....

11. And towards my PhD. :)

12. To study migration and Diaspora.

13. And (hopefully) in the future--sustainable cities, GIS and urban planning.

14. Yeah, those geeky stuff.

15. I think visa problems, sort-of career uncertainty for the husband and family reunification (extended honeymoon) are adult problems. Don't you think? Oh goody. Im an adult.

P.S. Still working on the 'bump'. Been wanting to get one. Badly. Hey-- a post grad student-mommy scenario is most welcome!

And since Im a sucker for ads that play with my emo-ness, here's something I think everyone would enjoy (and it's just part of a series!).

Sometimes you need to go far away to find yourself.

I don't need a taxi.

I don't need them to tell me.

I don't need four years guarantee,

I don't need them to wrap it up for me.

I don't need to sleep, in order to dream.

I don't' need to know where I go.

I need my life to be a journey.

Black and White Pektyurs ever

2010-05-08T00:33:00.001+08:00

Analogue Love. Past two months.
Maganda pala ang black and white film. (Mga kuha ni Panelomo. da husbandry.)

Umattend kami ng kasalan (renewal of vows) ng tiyuhin namin sa SSA Forbes Park.

Eto kaming magkakapatid (minus ate tintin) bago magpunta. AT ma-late ng dalawang oras. omaygas ang trapik ng pa-makati ng ala-sais ng hapon. takte.

Kung ikaw man ang matrapik, diba.
(ako kumuha nito! save, double save, period, no erase!*)
*contentious pa kasi.

Nung kinabukasan, naisipan kong mag sponsor ng ice skating challenge sa MOA. huwahaha. (L-R: yung Kabute sa Mario, si Marianne, si Jason (goes to hell).

Eto ako habang nag-iisip kung ano ba talaga ang saysay ng aking buhay. Baket ako mahilig mag-aral...at...so yes....it was map reading all along. duh.

"Today is your lucky day...makakatagpo ka ng taong namimigay ng pera".

dahil maarte akong lomographer

2010-05-05T00:57:00.000+08:00

gusto ko lang i-correct yung ad ng La Senza, kung saan ginamit ang Diana F+, na tangan tangan ng model na walang idea kung nasan ang 'totoong' shutter button ng camera na ito. Kaya naman naisip nyang 'pumindot' sa film advance cog.

lasenza.com

May isa pa akong ad na nakita, sa train station sa Orchard, kung saan para lang masabing may 'all white, hip' camera yung male model nilang naka all-white, ay pinagbitbit sya ng Holga na puti. Syempre, with the wrong gesture si manong. (Let me get you a picture of that soon)

Ngayon, according to the French press, Audrey Tautou is seen here (below)with a 'petite Leica'. Oh sure. Someone did their homework. :P

nicked from the LSI website. Oui. :)

Mondays

2010-04-26T01:12:00.000+08:00

ah yeah.

PAL Midnight Sale. EPIC Fail

2010-04-25T01:31:00.001+08:00

Philippine Airlines...You have a lot of explaining to do.

Matutulog na ako. Nakakainis lang, at mega may midnight sale pa silang nalalaman sa website ng PAL, tapos takte, the first hour was terrible. Eto ang sabi sa main site, from 12:05 am to 1:00-ish am:

Service Temporarily Unavailable

The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later.

I can't believe they did not anticipate very high traffic. Matapos ang isang oras, of refreshing browsers, switching and wishing something happens, you get directed to this shady site main page:

Edi aakalain mo, okay na. You try browsing for tickets, and while the first time may have glitches the second (*or third) time sends you to a page with ticket prices that look awesomefreakingly normal. Potah. Yan din ang nakita ko na presyo kahapon ah. Mapapakamot ka ng ulo.

A) They did this crazy sale without even providing what's at stake. So you have no idea what the terms and conditions are (kelan yung promo flights, from where to where).
B) They are prolly using a mirror site na dated 2008 pa. Kasom yung flight dates ay from 2001. Anubayun.
C) Did not anticipate traffic?? C'mon.
D) 300SGD for a Econolight return ticket from Singapore to Manila is a normal price (na-hike up na nga, at it used to be 230 lang). Asan ang promo dun?

Grr. midnight sale my a**.

what ive been up to, in 100 words

2010-04-21T17:52:00.000+08:00

an ex colleague of mine asked about my whereabouts, through fezbook. This is what I told her.
And I liked what I saw. :)

im in wk 3 of my taitai programme, and have been eating veggies and all that shit. :P no babies yet-- those nasty critters which is the whole point of my taitaihood, and to put it mildly, im getting impatient. thought i could buy them off grocery shelves. anyway, im trying my best to be zen about it (see funny wall status). oh. some good news--i got into this scholarship for a euro masters. im targetting a phd afterwards (i know, the pressure), so wish me luck. :D and how are yah?

engrish so powderful oredi

2010-04-21T15:33:00.000+08:00

You've probably heard about this game called 'Just Cause 2', and this character Bolo Santosi whom now everyone calls the the most annoying voice-over for a female character in a game? Well, the first time I heard her, she sounded very...familiar.

Singaporean lah. And what's so funny is that among the very negative reviews , the citizens of lala land are not owning up. They said it's very different from their Singlish mah. How can be, er? Someone sabo (sabotage) them liddat (like that)?

Oh well. I dunno, but I believe from the countless church lectors I've heard so far, colleagues who've introduced/presented and dramatized in events...it's no joke. That's an educated Singaporean woman without the fancy British accent. Spot on!

Na-exxag daw? Weh. :)

Sabi nga ng isang gamer na kausap ko: 'Hearing her, parang gusto mo talagang pumatay'. :P

Check out the shoebox

2010-04-12T10:36:00.000+08:00

You've prolly heard about this project. So...on a good Friday, from 5 am to 2:30 pm (ayan ha, before 3pm yan), some people werqed it. Hindi nalang nalalagay ni fafa jay yung accordion type na salamin sa banyo, pero tapos na sya. yay!!

Check out our crib...er...cribette. :)

All the way from New York...Wedgehead made it.

we heart photoclips!

loved how this was framed, but yuck-- i looked disgusting here.

rawr!

kitchen-ette. adik sa photoclips.

and this is where we keep our magnetic trophies. :)

that circular thingy? thats jay and his photo clips ideas

uy, retro!

didja see our framed wedding photo? naka-landscape yan,

at ngayon lang daw nakakita ng ganyang klase ang biyenan ko. :P

the blessing was supposedly scheduled for last Easter. Kaso na overbook yung pari

na taga-Lourdes (nakakaloka, gusto ko i-habla ang Rufo's. hehe). Buti nalang at anjan si Father. (na super grateful kami, kasi by divine intervention, pauwi na sya ng Palawan that Thursday, so he travelled from Batangas to Manila (airport), en route Ortigas).

He looks familiar noh? Pogi parin. We are really convinced now that he's our official priest ever.

Tapos, naisipan naming mag swimming minsan.

At mag party kinagabihan. :)

things to do before I turn thirty

2010-03-29T23:52:00.000+08:00

1. See the northern lights (from either: Reykjavik, Norway or Yukon)--> mega priority ever

photos (above) nicked from: http://www.trustedlog.com/category/space/

this one is from wiki commons with this attribution:

The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, shines above Bear Lake, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Modified version of photo taken by Senior Airman Joshua Strang.

2. be able to swim for 100 meters non stop (regardless of how long it will take me and the stroke...hehe). 200 meters will be my target by the age of 35. (believe me--I am not even a good swimmer)

3. learn how to drive. learn how to dance Tango. and Salsa. (okay, thats pushing it)

4. Learn to converse in two more foreign languages. (Singlish is not counted, lor. That one, Im quite powderful oredi.)

5. Aherm--work my ass off for a PhD scholarship. and a Channel bag. Cos Im intellectually superficial like that. :)

Going Dutch 101

2010-03-23T14:58:00.001+08:00

Nakakatawa itong term na ito. In an attempt to familiarise myself with the Dutch language, I googled for a wiki entry of the above term, which is, for the life of me, the only Dutch word I know. Pathetic, noh? And its not even Dutch. Josko. Anyway, nakakatuwa yung write up about emytological relativity (read on, you'll learn a thing or two):

ps. Pero eto ang panalo:
In the Philippines, it is referred to as KKB, an acronym for "Kanya-Kanyang Bayad" which can be translated in English as "Pay for your own self".

According to the wiki:

The phrase "going Dutch" probably originates from Dutch etiquette. In the Netherlands, it is not unusual to pay separately when going out as a group. When dating in a 1 on 1 situation however, the man will most commonly pay for meals and drinks. English rivalry with the Netherlands especially during the period of the Anglo-Dutch Wars gave rise to several phrases including Dutch that promote certain negative stereotypes. Examples include Dutch courage, Dutch uncle and Dutch wife. In some parts of Italy (especially the south), the expression pagare alla romana can be translated as: "To pay like people of Rome" or "to pay like they do in Rome". It has the same meaning as "going Dutch". This can lead to misunderstanding, because in other parts of Italy pagare alla romana means to divide equally the total cost between all the commensals.

The corresponding phrase in Turkish is hesabı Alman usulü ödemek, which can be translated into English as "to pay the bill the German way". Alman usûlü = German style
Ironically, in Dutch the phrase Amerikaans feest is used for "going Dutch", which means "American Party".
Some South American countries use the Spanish phrase pagar a la americana (literally "to pay American style") which refers to a trait attributed to people from the U.S.A. or Canada.
In Egypt, it is called Englizy, which translates into "English style".
In Argentina specifically, 'a la romana' (exact translation of Italian's 'pagare alla romana') is widely used and 'pagar a la americana' (pay American style) doesn't exist.^{[citation needed]}
In Guatemala the phrase is "a la ley de Cristo... cada quien con su pisto" which is used more as a rhyme with the word "Cristo" and "pisto" - rather than having a religious connotation.
Almost the same in Honduras where the phrase is "Como dijo Cristo... cada quien con su pisto".
In El Salvador the rhyming phrase 'Ley de Esparta... Cada quien paga lo que se harta', which means 'Spartan Law, each pays what he/she eats'.
In [South Korea], they usually call it as "Dutch Pay", other modificated version of the slang
In India, the practice is called as TTMM - Tu Tera Mein Mera Hindi (or Tujhe Tu Majhe Mi in Marathi) meaning 'You pay yours and I pay mine'. When the expression going Dutch is used, it often refers to splitting the bill equally. In Pakistan, similarly, Apna Apna is used to mean 'Each his own'.
In Thailand, the practice is referred to as "American Share".
In the Philippines, it is referred to as KKB, an acronym for "Kanya-Kanyang Bayad" which can be translated in English as "Pay for your own self".
In Mandarin Chinese, the appropriate term is "AA制 (AA zhì)，" where zhì is the Chinese word for "system". Explanations vary: "AA" could stand for "Algebraic Average" or "Acting Appointment".
The gambling term dutching may follow this same route as it describes a system that shares stakes across a number of bets. It is commonly believed, however, that the Dutch reference here was in fact derived from a gangster (Dutch Schultz) who used this strategy to profit from racing.

The term apparently is being supported by the second wave of feminism Aliw!
So what new thing did you learn today? :)

Pasintabi

2010-03-21T02:01:00.001+08:00

galaw galaw.

2010-03-17T20:02:00.001+08:00

Ang hirap nang may hinihintay. hindi na nga ako magkamayaw, malapit ko nang i-"therefore conclude" na ang buhay ko ay isang malaking waiting game, at ako ay napaka sigasig na kalahok. Kaninang tanghalian, habang naglalakad (ng kinse minutos, one way. suicidal ako eh), tahimik kong pinakikiusapan ang sarili ko na kelangan kong tigilan ang mag isip ng mag isip, at hindi ko na naman na-eenjoy itong mga nasa paligid ko. kaya mula ngayon... nde ako maghihintay. hahayaan ko lang syang dumating. Kung ayaw nya, edi huwag. I will live the present, and will cherish every single moment.

yak. mushy.

--o--

PANELOMO is Lomo Home of the Day!
Ang asawa ko na adik sa lomo ay nanalo nang LHOTD! Hindi Lot yan, as in House and Lot (wish ko lang, diba), kundi Lomo Home of the Day, kung saan binigyan sya ng 50 piggies ng LSI. Nanalo sya kahapon--na monthsary namin (of course we celebrate monthsaries. im a pain in the butt like that). Matagal na nyang pinag dadasal na makuha ang lomo version ng Nobel peace prize na ito (na araw araw eh may nananalo. come to think of it. wah. amfani). Bago pala ito, nanalo din sya ng fenk na pis-eye, na kanya namang iniregalo sa aketch as belated valentine's day gift. aww. :)

mukha akong abnoy dito.

at dahil pinakasalan ko sya dahil mahal ko sya (at hindi dahil sa pera, dahil wala naman syang pera. NOTE: ang habol ko daw kay Jay, according to him, ay ang kanyang katawan. weh.), pwede narin nating sabihin na nakuha nya ako sa piggies. at pink fish eye.

Aye?

mas bagay kay Zia.

--00--
Eto pala ang isa sa mga cute kong inaanak at ang kanyang magic show (aka Ninong Jay's comedy program)

Blogger, why you liddat, er?

2010-03-11T23:03:00.003+08:00

Hindi ko maintindihan itong blogger.

1. May mga bagay na dapat published sa left hand menu na hindi lumalabas.

2. Lahat ng kumukutikutitap kong pektyurs ay kina-cut nya pag masyadong maganda

3. ayaw nya ng madaming pektyurs

4. ayaw nya ilabas ang profile ko

5. kabagal nyang mag load.

6. yung pagkaka-organise nung left hand menu ko, hindi nya sinusunod

7. grrr

8. malapit na akong magtampo. :(

Paris

2010-03-09T23:48:00.001+08:00

Ay sori naman, hindi na ako nakapag post ulet tungkol sa Europe trip namin. I know I still owe you more stories, and I have to document all these good memories before I forget (and acquire more good ones). So....Paris... (in lomo and my trusty compact cam named chiquita...mukhang nde kinaya ng blogger ang dami ng photo uploads ko, kaya eto nalang muna. oh well. )

Ahh... I also loved Paris. Never mind that I only know of two phrases when I went there, which were Bonjour and Excusez-moi I learned my troisième and quatrième words onsite):

Deux
Kakadating lang naming Paris, transitting to Barcelona via Orly airport. We took this transfer bus from the airport (at 7am, freakin’ 10 degrees in the morning). Sabi ko kay madame driver (na naastigan ako, kasi waw…isa syang big bus driver na babae, na napaka gracious and witty. This I find amusing kasi A)babae sya B)she’s French (so kala ko ba ‘di sila friendly?) “two please?” Sabi nung madame, “deux?”. Wah. So ayun pala yun. Call it my most abused word for the entire French –speaking trip (Paris, Cannes, Malta).

Bonsior
Sabi ko sa cars le france driver nung galing kaming Orly Sud, for our last leg of the trip “Bonjour!”, tapos sumagot sya ng “Bonsior!”, tapos napaisip ako—is it the “Bonjour” way to address women? Tapos ni-google ko, at jomaygas—good evening pala ang ibig sabihin nun! josko.

What I love about Paris is this certain air of fine, old world culture that’s oozing with effortless sophistication. My ‘omaygad, I’m in Europe’ moment lingered here, starting even, with Charles de Gaulle Airport driveway. It was so foreign yet somewhat accessible. We stayed in this small hotel around the 10th Arr. The easiest reference to it is the Tour de Eiffel and adjoining Champs de Mars, which is literally two blocks away. Our usual morning and evening route consist of bypassing the nearest Metro station (our hotel had one beside it, the Piquet-Granelle), walking past the Eiffel and taking the train from any metro beside the Seine to anywhere. We even tried walking from Champs Elysses to our hotel. Twice. All these resulted to very tired feet, of course, but we could have not done it any other way (naaks). Walking brought us to Invalides, Km 0 (Isle de Paris), Palais de Tokyo, Musee de Arab, Marie Antionette’s kinky ‘play village’ (we took the train to the outskirts—Château de Versailles) and the banks of river Siene. Madali lang i-navigate ang Paris (well, kasi mas naligaw kami ng ilang beses sa Barca kesa dun. Hehe). Isa pa, kahit saan ka yata magpunta may famous landmarks and place of interest. And the weather was ‘waw’. May lamig, may sunshine at magaan. Ang hindi ko lang gusto sa Paris ay yung airport nilang CDG. Marahil dahil nakatira ako sa Singapore, at nakita ko na ang airport ng Barcelona (na naiyak si Jay sa pagka-mangha. I repeat. Haha), pero hanep talaga. Parang hindi ko malaman kung ano ang mas okay, yung NAIA natin, o itong CDG. It looked okay naman sa arrival. Yung departure lang talaga siguro—parang lalo kang naeexcite na uuwi ka at hindi ka na magtatagal pa sa airport nila. Haha.
Feeling ko ay napaka overrated at super hyped ng Champs Elysee. Mas nagustuhan ko pa ang vibe ng Avenue George V na tahimik at feeling posh talaga, compared sa mahabang kalyeng ito na parang nasa gitna ng EDSA at Orchard Road ang lapad. Madami ngang tao, pero para namang hindi espesyal. Or it’s jas me. Madami ding taong nagsabing iwasan ang ‘tourist trap’ na lugar na ito, kung saan mataas ang krimen at presyo ng bilihin. Eh sa kadahilanang gusto kong bumili ng *ehem* souvenir--pinuntahan namin sya.
Ang paborito kong lugar ever sa Paris ay ang--hulaan nyo.

Yung Shakespeare and Co. na antiquarian bookstore.

Ang boring ko talaga.

Ay! nagpunta din nga pala kasi sa kung saan saang museums sa kadahilanang gusto naming (reads: ko) sulitin ang aming museum passes. Bumili kami ng pass kasi may malditang gustong maki-usyoso dun sa dating bahay ni Marie Antoinette sa Chateaux de Versailles na asa labas ng Paris. Kung bibili ka ng museum pass na good for 3 days, makakapasok ka dun, sa Louvre, sa Centre de Pompiduo at sa kung saan saan pa. Mukhang nasulit naman namin itong pass na ito, dahil sa totoo lang mahal kung iisa isahin mo yung kada museum. Iwas pila pa. Well, somehow.
Syempre hindi mawawala ang Eiffel tower experience, kung saan, salamat sa research nung researcher sa amin (ako yun!), napag alaman na kumikinang pala ang tore na ito on schedule sa gabi. Kumikinang at mega dancing lights. Nakita nyo na ito malamang sa youtube, pero I'd have to tell you--it felt and looked so much better when you're there, breaking a case of stiff neck.

Syempre sino ba ang makakalimot sa 'Jay moment'? Hindi si Jay. Definitely. :P

here laid (and lied) Marie Antoinette (and friends). hehe.

Chateux de Versailles.

Au Revoir, Paris. :)

pimp my shoebox project

2010-03-03T18:27:00.003+08:00

ah. they call it nesting.
and might literally be as small as a nest, pero bakit ba.
it's ours, and the husband and i think that's all to it.
yun na yun. :)

actually, i thought it's just nice.
it's a studio apartment somewhere in the city.
a good place to start.
and although it is a small space,
we can't wait to spruce it up a bit.
(Note on the 'a bit' part. kaya naman pala maliit lang sya, it chose us and our budget.)

Anyway, there's this wish list we have (oh c'mon, you know what to do!):

1. Joefert wall clock (meron pa yata nito sa Pablo, sa Cubao X)

2. a rectangular mirror frame for our breakfast corner (will have it at sitting person's face level, horizontally) that's got this thick black frame, parang ganito (bigger one), but in black.

(from www.arenascollection.com)

or this

(from apartmenttherapy.com)

3. and a *eherm* escuse me jay*-- a soft, green grasss rug

(from besthousedesign.com)

*my husband thinks a green rug combined with some red furniture looks like a scene for christmas land. we already saw this cheap rug from ikea with the strangest, erm, quirkiest colour (kermit green), and he said no. now its all sold out! nyark.

4. square plates (divisoria/baclaran, here we come)

(mondo wares, from white-porcelain.co.uk)

will keep you updated. we also accept donations. hehe

Suntukan nalang tayo

2010-03-02T18:45:00.002+08:00

prustrated akech.

sa aking palagay,
hindi dapat nag pinahahawak ng mga project na may kinalaman sa interngek ang mga taong hindi naman IT-inclined.
kasi may sakit sila.
sila yung mga taong bibigyan ka ng sakit ng ulo,
sasabihan kang mali ang ginagawa mo,
samantalang ni wala naman silang idea kung ano ang facebook.
o twitter.
(hindi ibig sabihin nito ay olats ang mga hindi nagpe facebook. ang ibig kong sabihin ay mga taong HINDI alam kung anu ang mga ito).

sasabihin nilang ayusin mo ang lenggwahe mo pag nagse set up ka ng forum,
at pag sinabi mong 'sige nga, ikaw ang gumawa ng post',
ang forum post nila ay nakapangalang 'twitter forum'.
at 'facebook forum'.
ay eto pa ang bago: 'blogging forum'.
josko.
Po-protektahan nila ang mga researcher na gagamit kuno ng site mo, sa pamamagitan ng pag-gamit ng pormal at tuyot na lenggwahe.
akala nila gusto ng mga researcher na pag usapan lang ang mga boring na bagay, at walang kinalaman dito ang mga bagay na informal tulad ng buhay, pagkain, usapang kanto at sapatos.

Sila at yung mga taong magaling mag-pad ng write up tungkol sa mga features ng bagay na ginagawa mo,
pero walang ka ide-ideya kung paano gamitin ito.

argh.

Eh nagugutom ako eh.

2010-02-20T15:32:00.000+08:00

Remember this skittle ads?

I can so relate.

Red Day today

2010-02-14T02:36:00.002+08:00

uvey!

Nakekelam lang...

2010-02-11T11:24:00.001+08:00

Siguro lang talaga, may mga propesyon na hindi ganon ka-dependent sa email.
May mga propesyon na ang tanging gamit ng email--well, bukod sa 'email' ay pang set up ng yahoo messenger a fezbook account.
o, pang forward ng sangkatutak na chain emails ('bad luck will befall anyone who doesnt forward this to 20 friends?? potek, lima lang ang friends ko')
at pictures ng mga baby na nasa basket/aso na nasa basket/baby at aso na nasa basket, atbp.

anyway--
ang ibig ko lang sabihin ay may mga taong hindi kinalalakihan ang kanilang unang email address.
oh.
thats another point.

may mga kakilala akong may asawa't anak nang tatlo, pero ang gamit parin nyang email ay yung
'loveless_disisaizzz@hotmail.com' email nya from high school.
O yung taong magagaling na nilalagay pa ang kanilang idad sa kanilang email address, at nakakagoyo ng mga teenager at mga kapwa nilang di-kabataan sa chat rooms, sinasadya man o hindi.

may mga kakilala din akong nagpapahanap ng boylet, mga established na duktor sa kanilang linya (so you do the maths).
matapos kong hingian ng email, bibigyan ako ng sagot na 'babygirlchenes@rocketmail.com'.
sana pediatrician sya. at least.

yung isa kong bestfriend from college ay big shot na abukado na,
at sya ang nauuto--este, napapakiusapan kong makipag deal sa mga legal na bagay on our behalf.
gusto ko sanang manakot ng isang tao tungkol sa legal cheverlin ng mga kalokohan nya, by saying:
"on cc is my lawyer"
kaso, kung ang lawyer mo ay may email na 'kaluskos_musmos@xxx.com', eh nde ko alam kung matatakot yung tinatakot ko.

well, kung iisipin--mas mainam siguro yung ganito, lalo na't obviously may anonymity ang mga alias. Pang-buwag sa mga telemarketer. Alam naman nating lahat na madalas ay nanghuhula lang sila ng pangalan, at ang swerte mo kung ang pangalan mo ay naka-saad sa iyong email (o isa kang talong na gumagamit ng office email sa pagsa-sign up sa kung anu anong personal subscriptions).
Sabi ng isa kong kakilala na nasa HR, tinitignan daw ng boss nya ang email addresses ng applicants, as they reflect professionalism.
Sabi ko, hindi pa ako masyadong 'sold' sa idea na ito (bukod sa aking palagay na madaming oras sa kanyang kamay ang boss nyang ito). Depende sa linya ng trabaho siguro.
Ibig sabihin ba ng 'cute' na email address ay 'cute' na tao?
Pwede bah. :)
Ibig sabihin ba ng address na may buong pangalan na naka-saad ay professional?
Hindi din siguro. Alam naman nating hindi dapat nagbibibigay ng mga personal na info readily through electronic means.
Sa totoo lang, mas mahirap ngang makagawa ng maayos na email address na sa iyong palagay ay nag-eembody ng iyong sarili, without giving out any personal info.
Kailangan ng matimtimang creativity dito, dahil sa araw araw na may gumagawa ng bagong email account, baka kailangan mo pang mag isip:
Paano ka naiiba?

naisip ko lang naman.

In memory of Agnes

2010-02-08T21:56:00.006+08:00

Superwoman.

(Sept 2, 1963- Feb 8, 1991)

Had Rica Agnes in 1982.

Cristine Joy in 1983.

Patrick Henry in 1989.

We love you, Mama.

priority.

2010-02-05T12:13:00.002+08:00

sabi ko sa boss ko nung isang araw,
"hanggang leeg ko na po ang trabaho, ate. ano po ba ang uunahin ko dito?"
sabi nya, lahat daw.
Ah.
Magaling ako dyan, lahat gustong gawin saby sabay.

Pero.
Iba ngayon.
May uunahin ako.
Kala ko habambuhay na akong magiging bumbero.
fire fighting kasi ang tawag nila sa mga taong nagmu multi task dito.
Pamatay sunog. Parang angkop nga naman.
Kapag tinatanong ako kung baket ngayon ko pa naisipang mag iba ng kinagawian,

Malilito ako sa isasagot.
Mapapaisip na naman ako.
At magtatanong muli sa sarili,
"Ano kaya kung kaya ko namang pag sabayin?"

Kapag naitanong ko ulit ito, paki supalpal nga ako.
Paki ulit na hindi ko hawak ang kinabukasan,
hindi ko hawak ang plano ng may kapal.
Pero may laya ako.
At may kakayahang mag desisyon kung dapat bang kumilos.
At gawin ang makakayang gawin.

May uunahin ako.
Hindi natin alam kung tama ito, pero kailangan natin syang bigyan ng pagkakataon.

Naks. Im so makata na.

About fez... (Happy Anniversary Espeysyal)

2010-02-03T00:56:00.005+08:00

About Us Section, mula sa aming wedding announcer site.

cos we're keso like dat. eew. :)

Very briefly.

They met one fateful night in 1999, known to Thomasians as the 'Paskuhan'. She was in her early college years in the Faculty of Arts & Letters studying Political Science, while he--well, he's been around for quite some time (hehe).

They're not from the same college (he's from Architecture), and even if they are, the 'time-space continuum, a.k.a. age difference will not allow them to bump into each other on campus (unless of course he does a PhD). While both attended the same school for their pre and primary schooling, even sharing some 'memorable teachers' (the girl, after grade one, moves to Pasig while the boy--bless him, stayed on the looongest time. Yes, a loyalty awardee), it was evident that they wont be seeing eye to eye, unless it is possible for a high school lad to find a kiddo in grade one 'cute and worth pursuing' (personal joke). So you can imagine how their first meeting went. It was a mixture of 'familiarity', contempt (corruption of minors, hala!) and ChowKing Chicharap (the 'menu' for Paskuhan that time). It was talk, talk and talk, with some minor interruptions from her friends which varied from debates about au naturelle hazel eyes, cartwheels and Chicharap. Before they knew it, they were actually sitting on the part of the field 'directly' under the fireworks' close range and had to scramble to their feet to get away, and yes--it was already her curfew.

On their way back to her dormitory, he learns that she's going back to Laguna for the holidays the next day. Being a man of few words (hah), he surprisingly blurts out 'Tara, simbang gabi tayo'. Now, who wouldnt say no to a 'simbang gabi, diba?' she recalls. It was a good, noble cause--waking up very early in the morning to attend mass. So a few hours later they see each other again, while everyone else is either asleep, partying (still), or attending mass. She gets invited to have breakfast at Jollibee Dapitan afterwards, and by the time they'll go on their separate ways, the sun was already up and bright. She goes on her way, while he, on a 'segue' (personal joke, go ask Jay--ohhh...rhymes!).

After few email exchanges during the holidays, his offering to bringing her to 'Glory's', for cheap grocery come school time, and a poem (eherm!) he wrote for her, right after they went on separate ways (for a man with few words!), more emails, dimsum and more groceries--he asks her to be his girl. She stares at him incredulously:

'Neknek mo'.

And so it began.

The Becky

Ze bride is from Santa Rosa Laguna--the land of Enchanted Kingdom, car manufacturers, semi-Tagaytay breeze, hardcore municipal politics, and teenybopper wannabes on TV. She traces her lineage from the two opposite sides of Luzon: Abulug, Cagayan in the North, and San Juan Batangas. (so, she might be bipolar). She's got a degree in Political Science from the University of Santo Tomas and a Masters of Social Science under the ASEAN Graduate Scholarship from the National University of Singapore. She loves to travel, read, write, walk and control. the weather. occasionally. She is currently based in Singapore as a Researcher for the Southeast Asian Studies Programme at the Naitonal University of Singapore.

The Jay

Our groom is your proverbial 'Manila Boy' --or so he thinks. Past neighbors include the bell star dancers and Pipoy, to name a few. His parents are both from the Ilocandia provinces, and he can give you three words in Ilocano on a good day. He has an Architecture degree from the University of Santo Tomas, with part time units from Cora Doloroso to enhance his modelling career*. He likes sports, is naturally athletic** and cooks a (quote)mean(unquote) 'Nilaga'. He looks like someone popular (hint hint) and will shamelessly admit it happens all the time.

The Jay is an Architect based in Singapore.

*paid for by 'Friends of Jay'

**paid for, by Jay

The keso starts here

2010-02-01T09:28:00.004+08:00

Una: Ang wedding vows ko nga pala ay impromptu.

Ah yes. Ito ang isang bagay na na-overlook ko, sori naman. Wala kasi kaming wedding coordinator dahil nagpapaka-astig kami (at nagtitipid, at control freak ako, at ayaw ko ng keso, at…). Hindi din naming ginawa yung ‘huwag munang magkita ng isang araw bago ang kasal’ chenes, dahil nag praktis pa kami ng kaunti sa Caleruega ng mga ala-sais ng gabi (na lekat, madilim na pala at nuknukan ng lamig). Hindi lang kami nagsabay kumain ng hapunan, dahil may handaan sa kanilang bahay, samantalang nanlibre ako ng bulalo sa mahogany market para sa aking mga jolalay (read: pinsans at kapatid, pati narin yung gwardya ni Papa na inarkila naming magmaneho for us. Hehe.). Mga alas dos na nang gabi nung matapos kami ni Jay (at nang mga pinsan ko at kapatid) na mag-ribbon ng mga regalo sa ninong at ninang at mag assign ng upuan sa reception. Parang ang paalaman na nga lang naming nung oras na yun ay ‘O, kitakits memya’.

Ngayon, natulog na kami at dahil na-underestimate ko ang lamig (o excited lang talaga ako), hindi ako makatulog. Ang pakiramdam ko ay madaming langgam sa kama na kala ko ay guniguni ko lang, ayun pala ay meron nga, pero hindi marami. Exxag lang ang senses ko. Ala-sais na ng umaga, tahimik ang lahat. Naupo ako sa salas habang nakatingin sa aking traje-de boda (naaks). Parang pasko, pramis. Tahimik, malamig at may kaunting init na nararamdaman ko lang pag sigurado ako sa sarili ko.

Hindi ko na alam ang timing ng mga susunod na pangyayari, pero sa aking palagay ay nag super fast forward ang lahat pagpatak ng alas dose ng tanghali at katatapos ko lang kumain ng bihon na may lechon (hanep sa pre-party lafang, ano?). Syempre late kami. Behind schedule ng mga trenta minutos, kung hindi ako nagkakamali. Ang mister ko, ayon sa post-wedding ‘bull session’ ay nagpaka-‘stage husband’. Kung ang ibang mister ay nagchi-chill nalang ay hinahayaan ang nautusan na magpa-pila ng entourage, sya ang nag-mwestro. Sya din ang namili ng background music para sa paglalakad ng entrahe namin (na nakalimutan ko ding aregluhin, josko). Nangumpisal ako sa pinsan kong pari, winasiwas ako ng magulang ko sa labas na tila ayaw pakawalan (kaya tuloy hindi ako ako nakapaglakad ng mag-isa, demet). Wala na sa akin kung gusto nilang magmaganda at hindi ako bigyan ng ‘me-moment’ (haha), dahil ang iniisip ko nalang nuon ay…

“Nag prepare kaya si Jay ng vows??”.

Dahil napag usapan narin naming yun dati.

Kami ang nagpumilit na dapat may ganong ‘innovation’ (sabi ni Father, yun daw ang tawag dun eh. Parang experiment-sounding.)

Kaso, ang dami kong inasikaso. Ang dami naming pinagkakaabalahan…

Hinatid sa altar, nag mega cry cry yung isang bata,

Nagkaiyakan na ang lahat.

Pag upo namin walang anu-ano... “May vows ka?”

Sabi nya, oo.

Wadapak…

Sabi ko, ay tuloy ba yun?

Sabi nya, “Diba?”

Ayun na nga ba ang sinasabi ko.

So…eto ang sinabi ko, matapos ni Jay sabihin yung sa kanya (na nakasulat pa sa papel na binigay nya sa akin, afterwards. With the Coach bag. Hahaha):

‘Hi Jay. Happy ninth year anniversary. So, ngayon…Wala akong vows na hinanda. I didn’t prepare any vows. (naiyak ako ng konti. Sa kahihiyan siguro) And I’ve never felt so unprepared my whole life. Pero okay lang. May nakapagsabi kasi sa akin na you will never be ‘too’ ready for anything. You can only be ready when you get there. And in front of our God and all these people dear to us—I’m ready.

Jay, I will not promise you a perfect life. I can’t promise you that things will be easy, and that there will never be hard times. What I can promise you is that as long as I live, I will do my best in everything we go through. I will be your muse, your pro-bono consultant, your wealth manager, your bestfriend, your wife and mother to our kids. We will laugh, we will cry, we will live a life and marriage that’s perfect in a way because—it is ours. I promise to take care of you and our family the best way I know of. And I promise to be there for you, to support you and complement you, in everything you do. To be by your side. No one else will travel through the shadows with me,only you. And you alone. (paborito kong linya, hiniram kay Neruda) I love you very much.

Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios

2010-01-16T11:38:00.004+08:00

(Ay, I have to give credit to Gingmaganda for this title . Ayan. Credit. hahaha.)

I'd say it's just one of those days.

When you feel like a total fool.

A mismatch.

You trudge through the chores of working life

You get paid for things you don't even get pleasure from.

Like prostitutes. Oh fekk that, maybe worse.

So you think of other ways to divert your sad state.

Temporary drugs to keep you going.

Your body maybe willing, but your soul--MIA.

Then you think of escapes, of so-called 'dream sequences'.

You just want something you 'want'. You like. You are passionate for.

I don't think such indicates what I'm doing right now.

And calls have to be made. Soon.

When I grow up

2010-01-13T00:39:00.003+08:00

I will play really really hard.

I will make sure I enjoy whatever Im doing for the day.

I will appreciate blue skies and sails more often.

I will dance along bands, playing on cobbled streets.

I will be wise enough to understand simple joy of doing things together.

Everything by my LC-A+ "minerva".

cos we're lomo like that.

Nakakapagod din

2010-01-07T12:13:00.002+08:00

Kanina, sa balita:

Sanggol, tinago ng 17 year old nyang nanay sa washing machine, 'under a pile of clothes'.
Ni hindi nalaman ng nanay ng dalagita na buntis at nanganak sa 'toilet bowl' ang kanyang anak.

Noong New Year's Eve party sa Sentosa, babae minolestiya ng 'mga foreigners'.
'Eh, ginusto nya yun eh, magbi-bikini bikini sya (sa beach party), tapos lalapit lapit sya sa kanila na tila nag eenjoy'.
'Ayan, yan ang nagagawa ng mga 'foreign talent' sa atin'.

Sabi nang amo ko minsan:

'It's different here. This is not like where you came from. We work differently, unlike where you came from'.

Actually, this is already a repeat. Pangalawang taong nagsabi sa akin. Nagbitiw ako sa trabaho nung unang nangyari ito. At wala ako nasabi. Pangalwang beses na. Natawa lang ako. Masyadong mabilis ang mga pangyayari eh.

Sana sinabi kong 'I don't really have much work experience from 'where I came from'. I worked in Singapore, my whole career life'. Na tama naman. Straight facts.

Sana binigyan ako ng gift of gab at quick thinking sa mga panahon na ganito. May part sa akin na gustong magsalita kasi ng masakit, o mamersonal. Kaso hindi naman naman ako ganon. Hindi ako magsasalita ng basta basta. But not all people are like that.

So. Kamusta ang buhay mo?

The geek in me has urges

2010-01-05T12:11:00.003+08:00

"(Subaltern is not).. just a classy word for oppressed, for Other, for somebody who's not getting a piece of the pie....In postcolonial terms, everything that has limited or no access to the cultural imperialism is subaltern - a space of difference. Now who would say that's just the oppressed? The working class is oppressed. It's not subaltern....Many people want to claim subalternity. They are the least interesting and the most dangerous. I mean, just by being a discriminated-against minority on the university campus, they don't need the word ‘subaltern’...They should see what the mechanics of the discrimination are. They're within the hegemonic discourse wanting a piece of the pie and not being allowed, so let them speak, use the hegemonic discourse. They should not call themselves subaltern.”" -Spivak

de Kock, Leon. “Interview With Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak: New Nation Writers Conference in South Africa.” A Review of International English Literature. 23(3) 1992: 29-47

Looking

2010-01-02T18:15:00.002+08:00

Im still in the process of finding a monthly planner that best suits me. I've been going around the island, and Im almost resigning to the fact that for 2009, no one working under procurement has humour nor taste. Im on the brink of calling my mother for good old papemelroti, pramis. We're going to orchard tonight, and I'm giving the stationery industry two more days ultimatum. Yesterday's selections were waaay better. Last night a sales lady tried convincing me that calendar notebook planners with more than 12 pages (a thick book.. omaygas) are the rage these days. That, and cross selling those with cute, fluffy characters compensating for the loss of good engrish grammar. Monthly planners are serious business, people! You'll have to stick with them for a year or so. In the first place, I just wanted a calendar that's inside a notebook, with big boxes per day, that's also light and very thin, and soft bound. No springs for me, as they don't really last. Not in my bag.

This is what I had with me for 2009. Imagine how it still manages to surprise me and make me smile.

and being a person with very immature and specific wants...

this is what i want for 2010.

Ivler's mother and some unimportant 'me-news'

2009-12-28T10:36:00.003+08:00

Pumasok ako sa opisina ngayong umaga. Natulog ako sa bus ng papunta. Walang pakialam kung naghuhumampas ang aking mga kamay sa ere sa bilis ng patakbo ni uncle driver. Antok na antok, na tila pagod na pagod. Lumampas ang sinasakyan ko sa aking ‘usual stop’. Sinadya ko ito, nang maiba naman. Naglakad ako mula Raffles Hotel, nagpumilit makipag patintero sa mga sasakyan, napaalalahanang walang ikabubuti ang pag gamit ng ‘short cut’. Dumaan sa McDonald’s para sa 2.50 dollars na McMuffin with coffee (good deal ito, pramis) ‘for take away’. Nagtaka kung bakit halos walang tao sa opisina. Kumain ng umagahan sa mesa. Nag bukas ng talapindutan (computer, bagong kaalaman, o-ha), nang lotus notes at mozilla.

Sabay galing sa email ni Emma (Williams. Sorry, it had to rhyme eh): Schmap Barcelona Ninth Edition: Photo Inclusion .

http://www.schmap.com/barcelona/activities_guided/p=83143/i=83143_119.jpg

Aba. Sino ang mag-aakala?

Magandang umaga.

--00--

In other news, ang nanay ni Jason Ivler ay masyadong paimportante. Sa kanyang palagay, na set-up daw ang anak nya, dahil sa kanyang sinulat na libro (‘Warrior of Heaven’) kung saan binabatikos nya ang Amerika at ang kanilang “killing machine”. Hindi ito matarok ng aking pag iisip, na parang gusto kong paulit ulitin ang Singaporean small talk phrase na “ Reee-li? How come ah? Sure or not?” Hindi ako magtataka kung sa huwebes man ideklara na magugunaw na ang mundo, aaminin ni Ginang Ivler (na kapatid ni Ka Freddie Aguilar, at Marlene Aguilar sa totoong buhay) na modus operandi lang ito, para takutin sya, at the expense of the whole world.

Now, about that nose…

According to her website, she’s a very accomplished arts publisher and literary icon of some sort, garnering praises from well known people. Lookatdat!

Mega Crush is back.

2009-12-20T23:58:00.003+08:00

and he's got two movies to make us happy. haay.

This one comes out on Christmas.

And this... just in time for my birthday (well, next year)

God rest ‘ye Merry Woman

2009-12-16T12:38:00.001+08:00

My LSS (last song syndrome, for you non-acronym loving reader) for the past few weeks has been this Mariah Carey (I know. Heh) version of “God bless ‘ye merry gentlemen”. The song gets to me like mad, and not that I detest it, I actually find it comforting and –er exciting. With how things are looking up these days (or maybe age is a factor), Christmas for me has suddenly turned stressful and non-episodic. There good Lord, I said it. Non-episodic in a sense that it no longer brings out this excitement usually felt by kids, probably in anticipation to presents they’ll be receiving or I dunno—just the simple joy of knowing its Christmas. What I know now is that Christmas day is a celebration of someone’s birthday—a friend’s birthday. And while it’s not yet due, and I have A LOT of things to attend to (new office hours, meetings by default, deadlines until the 24^th), I’m just carrying on like it’s a normal day, until ‘I get there’. And I realized, just this morning, that this has to stop. But where and when do I stop? So far, the only thing that ignites the Christmas spirit in me is this song.

Upon googling the ‘correct’ lyrics of the song, I got to know more than just lyrics. According to wikipedia (don’t we all), it was referred to in Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’:

"...at the first sound of — "God bless you merry, gentlemen! May nothing you dismay!"— Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action, that the singer fled in terror, leaving the keyhole to the fog and even more congenial frost."

Now, I have read that book when I was eight, and there’s a back-story in it. It starred a small girl who was given this book and one more (Beauty and the Beast, not the Disney version--as far as she can recall) almost twenty years ago, and that time, it took her a year to take interest in each book and read. Each book was lengthy and had scary pictures (well, the beast and Scrooge’s ghost friends, on a non-Disney packaging are dead-on). When she finally decided to read Dickens, it took her almost forever again, to finish it, as she’ll read from the beginning then forget where she ended up, then re read from the start—for how many times. You need to know that that girl lost her mother one month after Christmas, and we wouldn’t remember whether she did finish the book even before her mom passed away, or a year after that. But she did finish reading it. It was a troubling story for her, because it was not a normal kid’s story. It bespoke of all these adult-sy things like being ‘human’ and greed. Most of all, it featured death undeserving characters in the story, and on a Christmas day. However, this story taught the girl the power of a person to change for the better, and how powerfully magical Christmas can be in this process of change.

I have no idea how to wrap up this entry, but perhaps writing this just made me realize one thing I’ve always promised myself to do, which is to seize the day like a kid anticipating for Christmas morning. Do it for yourself and those people around you. Remember—Scrooge did so, in the end of the story. When we age, our priorities will change, and so do our temperament. But that does not impair us from being like our ‘old, younger selves’, only wiser and with waay more baggage. Haha.

May peace of mind and a kid’s sense of anticipation dawn upon all of us this holiday Season.

God rest you merry, gentlemen,

Let nothing you dismay,

For Jesus Christ our Saviour

Was born upon this day,

To save us all from Satan's power

When we were gone astray:

O tidings of comfort and joy,

comfort and joy,

O tidings of comfort and joy.

Comfort and Joy. Just what I need.

About Barcelona

2009-12-12T23:27:00.003+08:00

Casa Batlo's resident ass display-er. :)

You do know that we've contemplated about moving to Barcelona, right? Surprised? We've seen looks of people shift from pleasant to 'wtf??', some even retorting 'ay, baket?' or 'Talaga? I didn't like it there, mukhang madumi eh'. Well, we loved Barcelona. Of all the places we've been to in our Euro trip (well, Mediterranean trip, plus Paris to be geographically correct), it's where we felt at home. Para bang walang ka-hassle hassle. I mean yeah--Las Ramblas was packed with tourists, also Gaudi's Parc Guell. Pero for some reason we haven't really figured out yet, it felt like a place you can call yours. Well, ours. A friend of ours supposed "Ano, familiar yung mga lugar? May Echague ba, o Avenida Asturias?" Yeah, she's referring to our streets in old Manila. Can it be the reason we felt more 'at home' there? Hindi siguro. Yes, there were very familiar names (for one, the surname Castaneda, with an enye felt so much in place in that enye-abundant country. hehe) and words (napalaban ako ng espanyol sa taxi, aba siningil kami ng extra. Well, okay--that's pushing the term 'napalaban' too far. hehe. Pinaliwanag kasi nung driver na may tarifa. Edi napa "Tarifa? Para?" ang lola mo (yun lang, pota. hahaha). Edi paliwanag si Senor...kasi daw nga galing kami ng cruise center. "Bueno" sabi ng lola mong halos bumagsak sa Spanish 101 at Advanced Spanish in college, even if she sings Enrique Iglesia's 'Solo en ti', with matching voicing to save her life. )

shooting Barcelona (from Tibidabo).

yes, this aeroplane ride overlooks that view from above picture.

Casa Mila (La Pedriera)

Mabalik tayo. Barca is not the cleanest city in the world, nor is it the safest. But it's so alive, and I don't even mean 'night club or bars' alive. It's got lots of things going on in it--very diverse and active arts scene, interest groups for every erm interests (hehe), it's got this very cool 'by-cing' (bikes you can rent from the side walk) atmosphere, different sorts of people and personalities, it's got a monastery carved out from a mountain (Montserrat), scenic places from each end of the city, one of which even has an 'antigo' theme park in it, just below a small cathedral , a bustling port, effective transport, ZARA everywhere, and an omg chica airport. Pramis, chica ang airport nila, that when my husband walk through it, he looked like he was ready to cry. Barca strikes me as a place na walang ka kiyeme kiyeme sa buhay. Hindi insecure, and things were just happening naturally.

And art is soo accesible. Below is a "metro art". Actually, lahat ng stations eh ginawang playground ng artists. Para bang naisipan lang nila, while deliberating all these na gumawa ng 'call for tender or collaboration among these artsy people". Hanef.

best metro art ever. Was soo inspired from looking at this that when I get a room to vandalise, I'll do something inspired by this quirky tiled mural. aww.

somewhere in la boquiera...

check out those legs. hehe.

you know pare--that's sagrada. you know. :)

pictures pa dito o!

Oh, have I told about the Mussels (tahong)--the best and freshest I've ever tasted. At ang Bacalao?? Josko. Seafood heaven. Even their goodies for desayuno (breakfast)--salami, queso and jamon were unforgettable. And the people? Mababait. Very informal.

Oh yes, we're soo coming back. :)

p.s. Syempre, dahil Pinoy tayo, and we can be found anywhere in the world (kahit sa antartica, according to reports, haha)--madami ding Pinoy sa Barca. Most of those we've come across are families, as in mga Ilocano couples na may kids, plus the lola and lola. Sabi nga nila, there's this huge probability that the person preparing your paella is Pinoy. They seem to have integrated very well, some of them are even Spanish citizens na. I was really glad to hear about this, kasi their stories are not of the 'paiyak' varieties. Very empowered and proud. Wala lang, i had to put this down, kasi ang galing eh. :)

Dear Rica Agnes

2009-11-28T01:41:00.000+08:00

Love, Neil Gaiman. :)

naknang... (blogging from blogger)

2009-11-22T22:30:00.003+08:00

Well. I tried importing a new blogger template to give this page of mine a new lease in life. And it was an epic fail. Josko. All I wanted was a template that does not chop my pictures when I post them big and effing big. I'm looking around for other alternatives--livejournal or wordpress, but Im not keen on moving again. Not yet. Ugh.

Anyway--a few weeks back, we were in Napoli, Italia. With Mt Vesuvius in the background, we walked around the once buried (and forgotten) city of Pompei.

potable water. in Pompei. o ha.

It was cool and creepy at the same time--thinking that this excavation site, now uncovered from Ash (but not totally) was once a flourishing city. Fave part of the tour was the brothels. Hehe. Ang kyut kasi eh, their 'menus' were 'pictured' on the walls, while some of the hand writings bespoke of 'customer feedbacks'. Oh. And the phallic markers were everywhere. Ganyan cguro talaga nung mga panahong wala pang ESPN at wii. :)

this way po, sir/madam. :)

and the menu goes on and on...

speaking of menu (minus the lewdness)-- we ate 'Napolitan food' for lunch, which consisted of pizza Napolitana, Spaghetti Vongole and calamari fritti. In any order.

Ay, ang Vongole ay napaka sarap. And although we heard not so good feedbacks about Napoli (it being crazy and not safe), that Vongole made it so much better.

with matching musicians. weh.

Our first gelatto. one of how many. :)

more. more. more.

p.s. excuse my sudden illiteracy (not that illiteracy is funny, it's not. naaks) , I'll try to blog more often. It's just that Im into something right now that's just sucking the life out of me, yan tuloy I'm always too tired to blog. saka na kwento. hehe.

jay moment

2009-11-01T02:02:00.004+08:00

Before I begin yakking my way in narrating how our Singapore-Paris-Barc

elona-Mediterranean-Malta-Naples-Rome-Pisa-Cannes-French Riviera-Barcelona-Paris-Singapore (whew) trip went, let me just take this opportunity to greet jay--da labs o my life (keso na itoh), a happy birthday. He celebrated his birthday last 23rd, onboard the Norwegian Gem (with special grazies to Koya Mandy and Koya Reyson and the entire cast of the 'Let me call you sweetheart chorale'), with morning side trip to Pisa, Italy.

with his 'very well done' porterhouse steak

(that poor thing, kinatay na nga, kelangan pang i-overcook)

let's hear it from the cagney's steak house crew

(and being majority pinoy, of course they had to sing 'Sanay malasing mo kami'. perfecto)

si koya mandy. bawal cgurong nakangiti sa blue penguin suit.

buti pa si mikey arroyo, este si koya rey.

see, he looks oh so happy. impacho yan.

then came the pimped-up room.

so this is what VIP meant. :P

and now...for the ultimate jay moment...

We were in the Centre Pompidou in Paris, walking around the exhibition area when someone walked towards Panelomo and points to his camera (see below). (At dito ako magsisimulang mag -tagalog. hehe). Sabi nung babae, na medyo muffled, 'Oy, pareho', or something to that effect. Nabanggit nung babae na naglo lomo din nga daw sya, at sya ay taga-Nice, sa Pransya, pumapasyal lang. Sabi ng aking mister ay kami din, taga Pinas kami, pero galing Singapore, (or something to that effect). May isa sa kanilang nagtanong kung aktibo ba yung isa online, at dahil parehong oo ang sagot nila, nagtanungan sila ng pangalan. AT... nung sinabi ni miswa ang pangalan nya, natawa si Jay. Nakikita nga daw nya ito online. Sinabi tuloy ni panelomo ang kanyang code name shaider AT DAHIL JAN...DAHIL JAN...kitang kita sa mata ni miswa ang pagkamangha. Magaling daw si PANELOMO kumuha ng litrato (reads: litratong overexposed, at patong patong), gusto daw nya ang kanyang mga kuha at isa daw syang FAN. Oo, Regina...FAN. as in pamaypay. Ang bongga kong asawa, hindi man lang sumagot ng 'ay, ikaw din, magaling ka'. WALA. taray talaga nun.

syet.

baket nga ba hindi nalang ako nakuntento sa dati nyang hobby (fonts collecting)?

Syempre hindi na namin kinailangan ng escalator

sa pagbaba, at hindi na sumayad ang paa ni jay sa lupa (may pakpak na sya sa tenga eh).

So ayan...mamang barumbado, mahilig sa lomo, maglinis ng banyo, fan ng Lakers, fan din ng bakers (at bakeries), McDo, fonts, pininyahang manok at segues...

hafiberdeys, my labs. muwah.

P.S. Well, he actually celebrated his birthday twice: you see, during our flight from Paris to Singapore last Thursday, he was treated by the SIA crew to a 12 inch chocolate cake (which, by the way was suuper yummy. They should be opening their bakery chain as well, pramis.), which we had to take with us when we landed in the morning (yay!).

Tuesday morning. I must be in Valetta, Malta

2009-10-30T22:04:00.002+08:00

Date: 20 October 2009

inevitable question: ano kaya itong specialty nila na

Lampuki Pie? (above)

eto pa yung iba!

Baon

2009-10-15T00:41:00.004+08:00

Salamat sa nagbigay nito, you know who you are. yoohoo... :) makakapag-Charlie Chan na ako, sa wakas. :) Salamat din kay Kuya Matthew. The girls are all giddy with love.

If a jet-pack is on sale here, I'll definitely smuggle one for you. hehe.

Happy happy joy joy.

2009-10-13T23:52:00.007+08:00

Diba nga eh nanalo si Jay sa Jones Soda-LSI (that's Lomographic Society International for you) contest, kung saan ang mala bulldog kong picture ay nakasama sa

winning shots for week one?

After what seemed like eons...

Eto na yung LC-A+ ko. Dumating na sya.

Ang sarap ng libre, naiiyak ako. haha.

omg. look at that grin. kaya ko ni-black and white eh.

Kadiri. Hindi pa bukas ang shutter. hanubah. Skeletor ishdatyou?

Kalahati nung test shots ay ginamit ko para sa kasalang ito.

Ito naman yung ibang non-wedding shots.

In fairness, mahal ko na sya.

04-11 AS2, Kent Ridge

2009-10-13T13:42:00.004+08:00

May mga lugar at sulok na feeling mo kabilang ka.

Mas madaling buksan ang pinto, malinis ang banyo na kahit matulog ka sa sahig ay pwede.

Masarap ang umagahan,

tanghalian,

at meryenda (na waffles with nutella).

Kung saan hindi mo kailangang tumakas,

o lumabas.

Walang masasamang espiritu at mangkukulam.

Ikaw ay ikaw.

Wala nang iba.

Malaya kang gawin ang nais mo.

"You had the freedom of the underworld', ika nga nung Earl sa 'Neverwhere'.

Dito sa kwarto na ito.

Dito ako nag plano nang aking kasal.

Dito kumatok si Jay isang umaga bago magtanghali, may dala dalang maliit na box ng cake at isang malaking OX na Uglydoll.

Dito natutulog ang mister ko gamit ang dalawang upuan na pinagdugtong, kapag sinusundo nya ako sa opisina.

Dito nagla-lounge si Janssen, kung saan kakatok nalang siya, at may kasamang bisita.

Dito sa kwarto na ito ako nangarap na maging boss ko, balang araw (hehe).

Dito sa kwarto na ito ako natataranta pag may deadlines,

Naghakot at nagkahon ng mga gamit,

Nagsayaw ng mag isa.

Dito sa kwarto na ito.

Ako nagtrabaho.

At noon--ako'y masaya.

I'll be back, Kent Ridge. :) Magkikita tayo muli.

Julian and Moppet (shot on film)

2009-10-08T10:38:00.004+08:00

First ROM Solemnisation I've witnessed here in Singapore. Moppet Navarro and Julian Lim's 'first time' to get married (haha). First time I've shot with an LC-A+ (film is Lomo 200 ASA). First time I've used an analogue camera to capture a wedding ceremony. Don't we just *heart* first times? :)

Baka ma-draft si Charice. haha.

2009-10-05T10:38:00.003+08:00

Below is one of my favorite comedy clips of all time. It also bespeaks of a notorious Filipino past time--yung pag 'angkin' nang lahat ng taong sikat. Kahit 1/32 Filipino nalang yung dugo nung celebrity, eh pota, asahan mo--magiging headline yan. Tipong isang linggo mong makikita yung pag mumukha nung international celebrity na yun sa talk shows, sa dyaryo, sa print ads. Iinterbyuhin ang barbero, dating kaklase nung kinder, kapitbahay na hindi naman nila nakasalimuha ever, saksakan na layong kamag anak na sa icture lang sya nakita. Wow, you wouldn't believe the power of instant relativity here.

Now, there's nothing wrong with being proud of your roots, and as the fil-ams call it 'REpresent' (hindi ko parin nage gets yung mala-rapper stress sa RE), pero naman--huwag naman sapilitan. Nakakahiya din minsan eh. Si APL ng Black Eyed Peas, ayun--he's shouting it out loud. Okay yun. Si Rob Schneider nga eh, diba. His 'loser' flicks has this one certain scene na he'll mention that he's Pinoy din. That's cool. Self initiated bah. Pero yung sabihin mo in Prime Time TV, ala-tabloid na si Mariah Carey o si George Clooney ay may dugong Pinoy...naman. Give it a rest. They'll state it out loud if they are, and are proud of it.

Anyway, kung ganon ganon nalang, edi sana sumali narin tayo sa Racial Draft (below).

Well, we're pushing for the following celebrities to be officially drafted as Filipinos:

Ewoks- kasi nagta tagalog sila. pramis!

George Clooney - kahawig nya kasi yung mga Zobel (pinoy ba sila? haha)

Quentin Tarantino

eto yung pwede nating i-trade:

Charice Pempengco

David Pomeranz

Chappelle's Show

The Racial Draft

www.comedycentral.com

Buy Chappelle's Show DVDs

Black Comedy

True Hollywood Story

Sige sige

2009-10-05T10:16:00.003+08:00

Unbelievable talaga ang admin/HR dito sa opisina ko. Ang labo, men. Ilang buwan na nyang dine-delay ang payroll ko, tapos ganito:

Dahil kada a-singko ng buwan ay dapat nai submit na ang forms daling sa nakaraang buwan, para makuha mo ang sweldo mo sa katapusan (na hindi pa nangyari sa buong buhay ko ever), nag-submit ako ng forms nung Biyernes. Time sheet ito, kung saan araw na ginawa ng diyos ay isusulat mo kung ano ang silbi mo. Ngayon lang ako naka-encounter nang ganito bagay, at sa totoo lang, malala pa pala ito sa pinapasulat sa amin nung Theology teacher ko sa uste na 'good deeds/bad deeds list' na kulang nalang ay ipakulam nya ako, nang meron akong maisulat.

Imagine. Araw araw. Sabi nila, madali lang naman yun, copy paste lang at recycle. Wala--hindi talaga ako naging kumportable sa bagay na ganito--yung tipong para kang bata, kailangan isulat ang ginawa mo nung summer vacation.

Ngayon, mabalik tayo--itong si miss maganda ay lagi nalang bumi bingo sa akin. Hindi ko alam kung bakit. Galit kaya sya sa akin? Nang aasar lang? Kada magsa submit nalang ako nung time sheet (AT isa pang time sheet, this time wala nang detalye ng mga pinag gagagawa ko), may bad news sya. Kesho mali daw yung binigay nyang deadline. Mali yung sinulat ko, o wala nang time. Kung pwede ngang isulat nalang nya na ayaw nya, gagawin nya eh. pramis.

So ang naging mga resulta ay--2 buwang delayed na sweldo, pag hihirap at stress.

Tapos ngayon, nag submit nga ako nung Biyernes (ika-2). Ang tapos ng Sept kasi ay nung Wednesday (ala namang mag submit na ako nung forms nyan, eh hindi pa tapos ang araw. Hindi naman ako nambobola ng timesheet noh), at may sakit ako nung Thursday, so ang tanging panahon na lamang para mag submit ay nung Biyernes. Tama naman, diba? Oct 5 ang deadline eh.

eh wala pala sya ng Biyernes. (face palm here)

So ngayon, na wala akong pasok, magse send sya sa akin ng email na mukhang hindi aabot ang documents ko for the deadline.

eyng? Hindi ko na gets. Panong hindi, eh ngayon yung deadline? Nag submit na ako, nung Biyernes pa.

Eh kasi daw, ise send nya ng internal mail sa Finance, at aabutin daw yun ng 2 araw pa.

So--baka sa katapusan nalang daw ng November ko makukuha yung sweldo ko from the month of September.

Ano daw ang masasabi ko.

Sige.

sige na nga.

hindot ka,

pero sige.

They need our help: Paypal donations for Typhoon Ondoy Victims

2009-10-01T10:32:00.004+08:00

Look, you can donate via paypal to PNPR.

Maraming Salamat po.

aw, this must be love (a.k.a., sucks to be Jacque Bermejo)

2009-09-27T22:53:00.003+08:00

Eto ang isang taong fezbook na nag shout-out nang ganitong mensahe:

Ngayon, inuulan. Oh. let me put it accurately--binabaha ang fezbook page nya ng mga comments galing sa mga taong kaibigan nya (DATI), mga nde nya kilala, at maalikaya inc. At dahil dyan, isa na syang rising fezbook celebrity. Burahin nya kaya ang kanyang account?

Sayang naman, bihira lang magkaroon ng ganitong taong pwedeng makapagpa-unite sa mga pinoy. tumakbo kaya syang presidente? Ang nakakatawa ngayon, may mga taong ni-capture yung mensahe nyang ito, at pinag-po post nila sa kani kanilang streams, so kamusta, galit na sa kanya ang lahat. Ang kagandahan dun, ni defend pa nya ang sarili nya, saying:

'cuz of u dont understand!!!! judge me cge!!!!kaya ala kayong asenso.even nature now is making statement big time!!!!!

exhibit B:

...starfishes have no

brain...maybe that's why i'm like this... (ayon sa kanyang multiply account)

Pati nga ang multiply account nya, pinutakti. Ay mali. Binaha. Hanggang baba. Eto siguro yung literal na 'deep shit'. At take note, ngayon lang ako nakakita ng multiply account na mega real time ang update ng comments. As in hindi kelangang i-referesh, pumaasok lang yung comments ng ganon ganon. Real time talaga. Tipong sampung tao per minute. Oha.

as of 11:19 pm, pacific time...may 2977 comments na sya sa kanyang account. Biglang sikat ang gaga.

Eto ang ilan sa mga paborito kong dedication:

Umuwi ka dito sa pinas ipapakidnap kita sa airport palang at lulunurinh kita sa marikina river gago ka tangina mo

WOOH!! DIE FUCKING A HOLE!!!! WOOOOH!!!

shit. muka ka tlgang kalyo sa paa.

PAKANTOT KA NA LANG SA CAMEL TOTAL MUKHA KANG KABAYO

ANG DAMING NAMATAY, BAKIT HINDI PA IKAW????

Puta ka!

MUKHA KA LANG BULBOL NA NAGPAREBOND!

WALA KANG MASABI NGAYON!!

DUROG KA TE NO? KAWAWA KA NAMAN,.

dapat sayo ilagay sa bathtub na puno ng tubig at kuryentehin. GAGO!!

DAPAT SA MGA GAYA MO, NAGPAPAKAMATAY NAMBONGGA

SIGURO MAY TITE KA. EWW.

in fairness, mas maganda pa katulong namin kesa sa'yo ha

eto ang paborito ko so far:

madaming pilipino sa dubai. mag ingat ingat ka na sa paglabas, pota ka.

aw. trust on pinoys to never run out of very creative expletives. balita ko bibigyan ng prize ang 10,000th entry eh.

Mejo Relative na Parallel (sort of relative and parallel)

2009-09-26T10:46:00.005+08:00

I was looking through my not so plenty doll collection when I figured out that hey--they have 'corresponding partners'.

In the doll corner

On the green corner, may i present to you: kermit jr and ms green. (si ms green and aking mascot--sya ang una kong avatar sa flickr. she's all clay, and I made her three (or was it four??) years ago. Nandyan parin sya, madungis na and all. haha. Eto namang si Kermit Jr--abnormal kasi ako ever. Jay gave this to me 9 years ago.

at syempre (L-R)--ze little birdie and Dolor . :)
Ngayon, etong si Dolor ang ultimate chick. Matanda pa yan sa lahat ng inaanak ko. she's nagdadalaga na--actually, nagdadalaga na sya 10 years ago. haha. I 'gifted' Dolor to 'myself' at Giftgate Recto nung 1999. :)

ah yes, im so abnoy. :P

Tahimik (silent nayt)

2009-09-24T12:43:00.004+08:00

Ayoko masyadong magpaka-public ngayon, sori.
Hence the non-bloglaloo.
May mga bagay kasi akong hinihintay at ina anticipate at ayakong ma-jinx ang mga chenes.
Eh wala naman akong ibang masabi na medyo meaningful. :P
Anyway—nag resign na ako nung isang linggo, at sine serbis ko na ang aking isang buwang requirement.
Haay. :)
Ngayon, kung marunong lang talaga akong mag relax, at gamitin ang libre kong oras, edi sana mas okay.
Eh ako? Mag rerelax? Well, Im trying. (omaygad, I didn’t just said that ‘im trying’. Haha)
Bahala na si Lord.
Ah yes, spiritual din pala ako.

In other news:

- Ay, ‘ber’ months na nga pala! Salamat Geraldine, sa pagpapaalala. :D
- At... nagkita na kami ni Chiqui (oo, tinigilan ko na munang magmaganda at mag ambisyon ng Leica Dlux) . Si Chiqui yung ate ni Chiquita. Nung nagpunta kami sa IT Fair nung isang linggo, ang balak lang naming kunin ay si Chiquita. Halos pareho lang sila ng ate nya, kaso si ate ay may mas malaking screen. Mas mabigat din ito ng kaunti, na mas okay sakin, kasi nga, sinasabi ko kay Jay—‘baka maihagis ko bigla, sa sobrang gaan’. Isa pa, nung ni test shot namin silang dalawa, parang nagpapasikat si Chiqui—mas okay yung mga kuha ko na gamit sya. So, pwede ngang pareho sila, kaso mas pipiliin mo syempre yung mas okay kumuha, pag ikaw ang gumagamit diba? Si chiqui ang aming backup camera, para sa aming project na sana (goodLawrd!) ay matuloy.

Eto ang ilang test shots ni Chiqui. No flash lahat yan, Im trying to do away with less flash, if no flash at all.

macro, no flash, night shot

no flash, zoom.

zoom, shot from a moving vehicle.

macro ever.

no hemmorhoids were hurt in shooting this.

no flash, low light ever. para sa mga madidilim na lugar (duh) like museums and catacombs

(did I just say catacombs?)

movie test

2009-09-24T12:40:00.000+08:00

movie test
Originally uploaded by dyowsa

Squares

2009-09-21T14:57:00.005+08:00

all in analogue, square format.

blackbird, fly, 100ASA

Manila.Singapore

August-September 2009.

*click on the images nalang, to see everything. olats parin ang basic blogger templates eh, nde pwede sa mga taong mahilig sa nagmumurang images. watch out for the swan picture--click it to see the small person. haha.

more, more, more.

p.s. yeah...no updates for half a month. sori naman. :)

Hay, John Lloyd

2009-08-31T10:20:00.003+08:00

After these past few days' movie marathons with Jay, I therefore conclude that John Lloyd Cruz just replaced Kjwan dude Marc Abaya as my celebrity mega crush. In fairness to Marc Abaya-- he made so easy for me to let go. That episode of him with Maegan Aguilar was a total turn off, malaman man natin ng katotohanan or hindi. Now John Lloyd may not come out so clean after all, pero omaaygas--i rest my case. :)

Kaya pala I continue to wear swatch

Of course we're watching this. :)

Karir, circa 2003 (after graduation)

2009-08-28T11:29:00.004+08:00

Baka kasi sabihin nyo, niha-hao siao ko lang kayo. I came across this aged newsletter upload from the Singapore Embassy in Manila just recently. Aba. I have a newspaper cutting of the picture below (yung may banner, at ka-height ko yung ambassadress ng Singapore. hehe). Sa PDI yata namin nakuha, or sa Philippine Star. Hindi ko na alam kung saan yung clipping na yun, pero naaalala ko ha, mejo parang mas game kami dun sa litrato na yun, parang group hug na ewan, na walang trapo na kasama (este, Congresman pala). Thankfully the newsletter archives of the Singapore Embassy was brimming with info-all you can.

The caption read: Ambassador Lim Kheng Hua (fifth from right) with Congressman Nereus Acosta at the SIF-ASEAN Student Fellowship award ceremony held at the Singapore Embassy. This year's fellows are: (L-R) Tina ALejandra Firmalo, Jayeel Cornelio, Nicklaus Erick Sy, Martin Angelo Sunaz, Rica Agnes Castaneda, Kaisy Mae Cortez and Sam Christopher Lim.

Eto yung time na nagpunta si Mr Purisima (then-from), SGV. Hindi ko ito malilimutan, kasi josko, first time ko (naming lahat) sa No Sign Board Seafood sa may Esplanade. Allergic ako sa alimango, pero napakain ako ng chilli at black pepper crab (the Best I've ever tasted, not that I've tasted many. haha). Susyal na susyal ang dinner namin nun, at mega alam naming mahal ang aming kinakain. libre pa. haha. Maaalala ko ito everytime na may mga big shot na magtatanong sakin kung saan masarap kumain. Ito din ang ni-recommend ko kay Dr Josef Yap nung na meet ko sya for the IMF-WB Annual Meetings nung 2006. Ngayon, kung alam kong budget lang ang requirement mo, ang ire recommend ko ay yung mga shabu shabu sa Marina Centre, yung 12 dollars lang eh lamon all you can, with chilli crab. Oh syet, nandun pa ba yun? Wala na yata? Ugh.

Ano ba

2009-08-24T17:42:00.007+08:00

Nagpadala kami ng isang piraso na papel papuntang Pinas nung isang linggo. Ito yung certificate of employment ko, na kelangan daw to process our loan. Mahaba na ang kwento tungkol sa loan na yan at saka ko na uuriratin at baka lalo ako mainis. Ang gusto kong ireklamo ngayon ay ang nuknukan na corrupt na customs natin, pati narin ang Philippine post office. Nagpadala kami ng isang pirasong papel via EMS na inabot ng kamahalan, with the thinking na mai-dedeliver ito agad, at mata track ko kung nasaan na ito. Pinadala namin ito ng Sabado, at pinaliwanag sa amin ng post office dito na baka abutin ng mga Friday 'the most' bago ito makarating. So fine. Aba, lunes na, wala parin ang papel sa pinadalhan namin. Hindi naman bundok tralala ang lugar na papadalhan, nasa kalagitnaan ito ng EDSA. Nag check tuloy ako via tracking t lo and behold--nasa customs ito. CUSTOMS. Nung isang linggo pa. Ano ang ginagawa nya sa customs? Ang sabi sa tracking ay HELD BY CUSTOMS AT DESTINATION.

(click to enlarge)

May isang Blythe mommy na nag blog tungkol sa malaking kaululan na ito--her experience I call the 'wig travesty' . Ngayon, tumawag na ako sa tatay ko, at mukhang sya na nga ang mag aareglo. Ang una nyang tanong ay: 'So ano ba ang laman nun?' Sabi ko ay papel. Second question ay : 'So, hindi ba yung pinadalhan nyo na ang dapat kumuha nun?' Pinaliwanag kong mabuti ang EMS sa kanya, pati narin ang mga bagay na ni-EMS ko before. Ewan ko, sana walang involved na suhol ito, kasi talaga namang hell hath no fury like a woman extorted.

Snap Photo Assault

2009-08-23T00:57:00.004+08:00

nung nakipag inuman ako sa mister ko. via chat.

paella ni rica. at salmon sashimi.

view mula sa bagong opisina.

minsan gusto kong tumakbo papunta dyan sa kakahuyan. at huwag nang bumalik pa. haha

Singapore Toy and Comic Convention (pant, pant...ang haba)

2009-08-19T22:22:00.005+08:00

Remember last year's toycon with Stella (and AJ who joined in, right then and there)?

This year was Coco's turn.

above: this is a classic 'whodahellareyou??' award

I fear that Coco has a penchant for scruffy looking boxer-wannabes, with 'make shift' X for their navels, most probably in their underpants.

We *heart* you, Mr Monopoly Guy.

attack of the Blythes! The Fairy Sprites (above shelf) scared the hell out of us. hehe. Below are some of the finalists for the Blythe beauty contest held in Tokyo (last year? not sure). hehe.

Coco (finally) meets 'the godmother'. Looking 'maton' and all, Ge texted us his whereabouts when we were on our way to the convention hall: 'Dito ako sa may pink na arko'. Ah, he found the Blythe exhibition. (more of drawn to-- i believe. :) )

This photo op elicited so much laughter in the galleries. The storm trooper is a fan!

A whole area for uglydolls! i may have wet myself. :P

Aha! Bumblebee got the memo. :)

more pictures here.

Hello, Love

2009-08-17T10:21:00.003+08:00

translated as:

Matagalnakitanggustokasomahalka. OA.

Hindi ko naman birthday, at wala akong desenteng sweldo ngayon.

I can snub you for all I care, and opt for your cheaper twin.

But it's you I want, demmet.

Must be that red dot.

Nako.

Pag hindi ako nakatiis, kami nalang ni chiquita (see? I even gave her a name)

oh bitterness.

im listing this (Leica dlux 4) down as my xmas wishlist number 1.

rationale: wala pa akong digital camera ever. :(

dlux 3? keri din. M8? pwedeng pwede!

pokpok ako eh. :)

drools. sigh.

Sagot ko ang isang lata ng M.Y.San Biscuit

2009-08-06T23:36:00.003+08:00

Ewan ko kung totoo itong caption na ito or someone so immature played with photoshop, pero wadahek. Galing daw ito ng Manila Bulletin eh, not sure. Sana may makapag-confirm.

If this is a genuine caption, ang masasabi ko lang ay isa itong nakakatawang pagkakamali.

at isang mahabang AHAHAHAHA. :)

thank you.

Rest in Peace

2009-08-04T23:53:00.006+08:00

Alam ko pong ang buong bayan ay nagluluksa ngayon sa pagsabilang buhay ni Corazon Aquino. Sabihan nyo na akong morbid, pero palagay ko masaya na si Cory. Makakasama na nya ang love of her life na si Ninoy. I believe it's been a long while.

--00--

Nung linggo, napag usapan namin ni tintin ang 'dorm buddy' naming si Jack Boniol. Ladies man itong si Jack, at isang napaka buting kaibigan. Kung kaya nyang gawin para sa'yo, gagawin nya. Lahat yata kami sa Tierra Linda Ladies' Dormitory sa V Concepcion ay may 'Jack moment'. Nabalitaan kasi naming nag asawa na sya, at nagka-anak. I guess we really had a good time with him, so it's hard not to reminisce every now and then. Mahilig itong taong ito sa inuman, sa mga sasakyan, mga business ventures at malalalim na conversations. Sa simula, he'll strike you as a devil-may-care party person or kung hindi naman, malakas lang mag-trip. Kaso he'll surprise you every now and then, with his random acts of kindness and sincerity. Naalala ko nun, kaibigan nya yung mga batang kalye sa tapat ng dorm namin. Pasko nun, at nagdala sya ng mga bagong damit para sa kanila. Kung yung mga bata, tumatakbo paalis pag ay nakikitang DSWD na sasakyan (kasi they'll take them away, tapos maglalayas din sila everytime na nangyayari yun), pag andyan na si Jack, tatakbo sila palapit. Hindi naman sila nanghihingi ng pera (well, minsan), nakikipag kwentuhan lang.

Ay, alam nyo bang member sya ng MENSA? Nung mga panahon ko, nagmamaneho sya ng baby blue na box type na toyota, na hindi tinted. Kung nasaan ka man, at pwede sya--pupuntahan ka nya, kung kailangan mo sya.

Ang aming mabuting kaibigang si Jack...ayon sa google search ni Gwendolyn nung lunes (dating roommate), ay yumao na pala. Noong December pa, last year. Actually, writing that he passed away is putting it mildly.

Body of kidnapped trader dumped in Candaba

Monday, December 15, 2008. Sun Star Pampanga

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga -- The body of a Rizal-based businessman who was earlier kidnapped by still unidentified men was found in a grassy area in Barangay Mangumbali, Candaba last Sunday morning.

Reports reaching Central Luzon police director Leon Nilo dela Cruz identified the victim as Domingo Caezar Boniol, 31, of Angono, Rizal.

His Toyota Hilux pick-up truck was found also on Sunday by members of the regional Highway Patrol Group headed by Senior Superintendent Fernando Villanueva in Guagua town.

Investigation showed that Boniol whose family reportedly has animal feeds and veterinary products business was last seen when he left his office around 9 a.m. last December 10.

Around 11 p.m. on the same day, the victim's wife received a call from kidnappers who allegedly demanded P2 million for his release.

It was not immediately known what transpired afterwards.

The victim was strangled with "guile wire knotted in metal tube," according to a police report.

Boniol was blindfolded and his feet and wrists were wrapped with wires and gray-colored packaging tape.

The victim's body was brought to a funeral parlor in Arayat town for autopsy. (JAM)

Wala nang nasulat na development nung kaso sa mga dyaryo. Nahuli ba yung mga masasamang loob na pumaslang sa kanya? Na-identify man lang ba sila, at hinahanap na ng pulis ngayon? Sana lang, mabigyan ng katarungan itong pangyayari na ito. Mabait na tao itong pinatay nila. Bakit ganon?

Hindi ko alam--the very knowledge that he's gone is very unsettling. Para bang nung nandyan pa sya, and you didn't really think about it that much--things were the same. It felt safe. For some reason, it did. And now that he's gone--these places you used to be in--they no longer 'feel' safe at all.

Rest in peace, Domingo Caezar 'Jack' Boniol. Sa kanyang anak, at asawa na mahahanap ang entry na ito pag ni google nila ang buong pangalan ni Jakong, my sincerest condolences.

Jack--'ayos ba tayo dyan?' :(

Pick a number

2009-07-30T00:14:00.002+08:00

it's a not good week, believe me.

but the Thais--they are good.

so good, that my husband wants to learn how they did this. (the steps ha)

Mukhang mauunahan pa ako sa aking hangaring maging isang 'Wondergirl' ah.

Tsk tsk. Not good at all.

award

2009-07-25T21:54:00.003+08:00

para kay jay, na ex boyfriend ko.

What if we stop having a ball?

What if the paint chips from the wall?

What if there's always cups in the sink?

What if I'm not what you think I am?

What if I fall further than you?
What if you dream of somebody new?
What if I never let you win, chase you with a rolling pin?
Well what if I do?

I am giving up on making passes and
I am giving up on half empty glasses and
I am giving up on greener grasses
I am giving up

What if our baby comes home after nine?
What it your eyes close before mine?
What if you lose yourself sometimes?
Then I'll be the one to find you
Safe in my heart

I am giving up on making passes and
I am giving up on half empty glasses and
I am giving up on greener grasses
I am giving up

I am giving up
I am giving up
I am giving up on greener grasses

I am giving up for you
I am giving up for you
I am giving up

wak ka nang malungkot

2009-07-24T14:07:00.002+08:00

minsan (and today is one of those days), pag naloloka ako sa mga pangyayari sa career ko, iniisip ko nalang na hindi pa naman katapusan ng mundo. May ibang tao nga, wala trabaho, tapos ako nagrereklamo ng exag? OA ha.

tigilan na nga. :)

--0--

Just finished reading 'American Gods' in pdf. haha. anyone who fancies a copy, just tell me and I'll be glad to send one to you. Now, Gaiman has this book uploaded for free in his publisher's website and yes-- I spainstakingly read through it. Cheapo me. haha. Well, we've been hunting it down in all bookstores in the island for weeks now, and not a single one has it on stock. In fairness, I could have just carried on reading it via the link, but hah--it's not the complete novel. So yeah-- I had to google for 'American Gods, free, headline version (note: the headline version is 12,000 words longer than the mass market edition (US ed))'. Bought 'Anansi Boys' earlier, so I dug in after a day or so. hmm. For some reason, and call me juvenile--I get really uncomfortable with stories that deal with someone close to the main character 'tricking' him, like his brother pretending to be him (and aftewards) seducing his then-fiancee, pops her cherry....so on... Then the story just carries on. Without vengeance, without anything to indicate that what happened isn't right. Im not sure if I'll finish the book. I kinda lost interest.

big brothers and playmates

2009-07-19T23:21:00.005+08:00

When I was younger, I thought it was unfair for these cool things called robots to be normatively- designated as toys for the opposite sex. You see, I grew up 'among boys'--categorised as either the matons in our neighbourhood in Pasig who taught me how to ride my bmx, care for pigeons (kalapati) and ask my parents for a 20 in 1 nintendo game; and the 'badings' who taught me how to tie my hair and sward-speak 'til kingdom come. I might be an unofficial member of the 'hood, you see. And while I play with dolls (until now), I've always thought that robots are so cool, specially if they can 'transform'. Daya.

So yeah--it may be hereditary.

Naglinis kasi ng room ang housemate naming si Fafa Chet. Natuwa ang mga dalaginding ko, upon hearing that 'his boys' has to stay out muna.

'akala ko ba blythe meet ito?'

'dang, wrong venue'.

AJ would like to introduce her prom date.

i therefore conclude: eto ang totoong adik. haha.

Tokyo nga ba? (click pics to see everything)

2009-07-18T23:18:00.007+08:00

o diba. these three looked good together.

I haven't found an apt name for her. I think she's Japanese (and for how long have I wanted a Japanese alter ego. hehe), so an English name will not make the cut. Or ewan ko. haha.

Baka Josie, as in Josie Natori that Pinay fashion designer and CEO of the Natori Company. (who kinda looks like her. sort of lang. hehe).

or O-ren Ishii, after my favourite 'Kill Bill' character.

baka I'll end up calling her Tokyo. or Minami Kurihashi (after that place kung saang

kangkungan kami nakarating, one fateful train ride in Tokyo).

Mas masaya pala pag tatlo na sila.

i decided to take a 'stock outfit' photo. AJ and Stella have not worn their stock outfits for the longest time. natuwa ako, parang memory lane chervalin ang dating.

ang kulet nung dinosaur ni manong jay ha. :)

oh. hello.

2009-07-14T18:38:00.003+08:00

She's here.

Ohayo Gusaimasu. :)

Meet Purima. hehe. sabi kasi nung kaibigan ko sa phone, nung nag iinquire sya sa Junie Moon 'Purima Dorry'.

Mga surpresa (Surprises)

2009-07-13T23:22:00.003+08:00

Natapos ko ang raket ng bago mananghalian kanina.

Ewan ko, para may isang malaki at mabigat na bagay ang nawala sa aking ga-santa claus na sako of baggages. haha. At mega gumaan ang feeling ko ha, pramis. Gusto ko sanang samahan ng p.s./N.B. note yung email ko sa raket-giver eh, na sa totoo lag eh naging sanhi ng pighati at sama ng loob sa isang buwan na ginagawa ko ang raket. May panahon na ngang sinabi ko sa boss kong ibigay ko nalang kaya na libre yung raket (na ni-dedma naman nya, so tinapos ko tuloy kahit halos nangalahati yung proposed budget ko. haha). Gusto kong sabihin sa raket-giver na dahil pinilit kong matapos ang lahat ng kalokohang ni-propose ko (at tinawaran nila, mercilessly) eh trinangkaso ako, at hanggang ngayon eh malamya parin, hindi makatulog sa gabi at lahat lahat na ng ka-lechehan. Kaso wag nalang. Waw, naiintindihan ko na siguro ang ibig sabihin ng work hazard. haha. Ang nais ko lang at this point eh mabayaran agad. Eh egad--wag naman sanang paiyakan din itong proseso na ito. Ipag-pray po natin. :P

Medyo tinoyo ako kanina-- talagang seryoso ako nung sinabi ko sa aking fezbook status na gusto kong magpunta sa isang lugar na may sariwang hangin at araw. Yun yung feeling ko nung natapos ko yung raket. Para bang bigla akong naniwala na pag nagpa-dagat ako or something that very afternoon, makakatulog ako, mahi-hynotize ng tunog ng dagat at alon ang aking kamalayan at mega makakaramdam ako ng warmth at well being. Ewan ko--kung totoyohin din ako bukas, baka totohanin ko na itong beach interlude na ito. Saan pa nga ba, edi sa Sentosa. May iba pa ba? Ewan ko--biglang nag-long ako for traquility and restfulness. Sorry naman, walang maayos na beach dito eh.

Ngayon, dahil hindi nga ako natuloy sa Sentosa, naisipan kong i-check ang EMS cherva nung bagay na napalanunan ko sa online loterya. Wah. On her way to our house na si Purima! At shet, walang nag eemail sakin (kahit na naka-register ang email add ko for updates chenes). Ni check ko ang oras--pocha, past 2 o'clock. It should get to our house by 3pm. Aiyoh. Nasa opits pa ako, at mukhang di ako uuwi na maaga, kasi may importanteng lakad ako sa hapon.

In short, mag aalas diyes na nang nakauwi kami ng bahay. at nandun nga sa estante ang delivery advice. Syet. Nakakainis na nakaka-excite. Tatawag nalang ako bukas (sa totoo lang, ni try ko pang magpa redelivery schedule. at 10 pm diba. wala akong patawad) sa Singpost.

Purima, dyan ka lang! wak ka malikot, magkikita din tayo bukas. gudnayt!

(oo, retarded ako)

So sino ba kasi itong si Purima? haha

wadahell...

2009-07-12T00:31:00.005+08:00

may sakit ako ngayon. si mamang trangkaso came for a visit, hopefully he leaves by tomorrow, at ang IKEA dining set (see earlier post. haha) namin eh, susunduin at iwe-welcome namin bukas.

in other news...

(excited. naknampota...haha.)

kakatapos ko lang mag online bank hopping, at bago umalis ng kwarto si mister ay sinabi nya sa akin na may weird na nangyari--may bumati daw sa kanya sa lomography website, informally--kono congratulate sya at nanalo daw sya sa Pop Soda chenes chervalin contest. Sabi ko, ano sabi mo? sabi nya, nagreply daw sya nang 'i did not win' ever. Emo kasi si Jay eh. haha. Hemingweys, nde sana ako masyadong magpe pay attention, kaso biglang sinabi nyang ang prize daw ay LCA (wala nang proof reading ever ito, nagmamadali ako magtype. haha) at POP 9 na camera. Naknampota. So medyo na excite ako, so kinulit ko sya. Hindi naman daw sya nanalo, at chineck na nya. Kanina pa daw nya nga chine-check. SO...

nung umalis sya ng kwarto, nagbukas ulet ako ng mac. at inurirat ko. hehe.

AT..

potangena! ako yun o! (yung mukhang bulldog sa upper right). shet. (oo, shet--imagine malalagay sa ilang bote ng Jones Soda itong bulldog na mukha na ito. leche)

okay. so yun lang. masaya ako at may LCA nako. haha. at higit sa lahat...

It simply validates that I really am a researcher. (yun!) babaw noh?

o sya, join na kayo. May two more weeks pa.

Urm, I'd like to thank da husband, Panelomo, for the bulldog underwater shot. :) Hindi flattering, pero award-winning. haha.

end of the world

2009-07-09T17:32:00.004+08:00

Di ba nga, wala kaming dining set ngayon. May napipintahan na kaming bago, at nasa IKEA pa sya, hinihintay kaming lahat malibre sa kanya kanyang schedule, para maiuwi ito.

Ngayon, hindi ko nai-press release pero wala narin kaming TV set sa living area. Nung nag renew kasi kami ng contract nung April, pinakuha na namin itong nakakaawang TV ng land lord namin, kasi bukod sa panget ito, eh--well, panget ito. wala pang remote. ngayon, naisip naming huwag munang bumili, kasi hindi pa naman kami nababagot sa mga movie downloads at youtube. Baka sa December nalang, maka-tyempo pa kami ng 200 dollars na 32" LCD Plasma. haha.

So oo... medyo bare na ang common area namin.

ngayon...

may magaling na naliligo na nagwa water heater, tapos di sinasara

so tumaba yung hose tuloy, mukhang nainitan.

at for some reason tumutulo ang gripo ever ng malakas this morning.

bumigay na.

kelangan ko i-shut down ang buong tubig ng bahay tuloy.

so wala narin kaming tubig.

dapat nabang mag panic?

tanungin natin sya...

thankfuls

2009-07-09T10:30:00.006+08:00

Hay. Salamat Lord.

1. for cheap air tickets.

2. for comics that relate to everyday life.

3. for yahoo messenger

4. for my brothers' speedy recoveries (yeh, nag shifting sila sa hospital yung isa eh AH1N1 scare (na hindi naman pala), at yung isa eh dengue boi.)

diba ang kyoot kyoot nila. (more than a decade ago. things change. of course.)

5. for funny and nostalgic pictures like these, taken eons ago (at payat ako nun! yeh!)

5. for my personal mafia, aka the husband. he's the best, you know. :)

and i quote carly simon: "nobody does it better".

Ikaw, what are you thankful for? :)

In two acts

2009-07-01T17:01:00.004+08:00

I promise to use my thoughts more appropriately. Think less negatively, waste not on anxiety and helplessness. Be more accepting and forgiving, with my and other people's shortcomings.

Janice in Redscale. by Becky (c)

This time, I'll take it easy. And keep things relaxed and fresh.

beach bums. by becky (c)

Nietzsche and the Wondergirls

2009-07-01T16:16:00.004+08:00

Im not much of a dancer. But I like to dance. In my own office, where everyone else is outside, in seemingly abandoned streets. I recommend it to those with knees not fit for running. It's a form of exercise--you sway your hips, you can raise your arms and be quick with your feet. You do whatever you want. When done by yourself or with reckless abandon-- it raises your confidence, making you feel good. Pheromones.

Now, Nietzsche recommends dance too. He's a dancer, I read somewhere. In his usual self, he wrote:

I would believe only in a god who could dance. And when I saw my devil I found him serious, thorough, profound, and solemn: it was the spirit of gravity - through him all things fall. (Zarathustra, "On Reading and Writing," PN 153)

I wrote a very long paragraph expounding on this, then I thought--ayako ko syang i-post. hehe.

(NB: seryoso ang lola mo! )

Okay--back to dancing. Kilala nyo naman siguro ang wondergirls, diba. So this is what I've been dancing to, for some time now. likeness!

mas gusto ko itong Korean/Asian version nung MV, yung walang dubbed into english.