A Little Thing Called Love

I saw someone posting this in FB, watched my first ever Thai movie, 'A Little Thing Called Love'

Aww so sweet, makes me wanna be young. :(

I dont know if most of the girls will agree with me. I think each of us has this moment, probably at least once. You seem to like someone a lot, so much that you want to change for the better, to improve in different ways. You change the way you look, the way you dress, the way you walk so that you can be physically attractive enough in his eyes. You want to excel so that you'd be someone worthy of having him. You just wanna do stuff (sometimes funny and obnoxious) to catch a little of his attention, a little of his time, a little of his concern, because simply doing so makes you happy.  And seeing him smile makes you happy.  And yet you keep holding back without telling him because you dont know what to say.

Aww God, pity these kind of ladies, help them get the man to do something instead, and not drowning in the pool like this poor charming lady.  

Enjoy the OST:

Time na?

Sometimes guys can be quite blunt, too blunt that you know they are not a bit interested in you that they dont think twice lol, no sugar coating.

Below is a narration of a sad fact of life, or rather it's actually a happy ending

I have a guy acquaintance whom I recently discovered to be married from facebook, I was soo surprised that I couldn't stop stalking virtually (read: virtual stalking is basic woman's instinct, or should i say even man's. In this virtual world, facebook knows best.)

I met this guy before coming to SG (probably sometime after I graduated). He's probably one of those extreme naughty guys from outer space, well I dont know if his stories were real though. His typical short encounters with someone he casually met from a bar, from work, from anywhere. In short, he wont 'hesitate' if there's an opportunity (that's the most I can describe in a wholesome post). I cant remember the exact details but seems like he had some bad break-up encounter before, and he did have quite high standards on women's physical appearance too. We lost touch until after I moved here. Out of the blue, he messaged me that he was here. We met up and again the humor popped up whether I wanted to be one of those 'girls'. Aba lakas ng loob. (Perhaps I dont have to tell what the response is, up to you to judge)

Sidenote: women are creatures who are hard to decipher.
If you get asked by someone you dont like, you'd feel nabastos ka.
If you dont get asked by someone you really really like, you'd also feel nabastos ka? It's a damn if you do, damn if you dont thing. Headache!

Anyway so after that, I dont know what happened to him until only recently when I saw his fb status and his wedding pictures. Basic woman's instinct again. The first thing you wanna know about such a naughty guy, so finally who did he end up with? Who is the lucky (or not-so-lucky) girl? :p How does she look like? And to my astonishment, it was such a surprise. For someone like him, I thought he'd end up with some pretty chinita. If I have to describe bluntly using his language, aba mas maganda pa katulong namin, seriously! Note: our househelper looks good because she does look like a kolehiala, much prettier than my other filipina friends). Sorry sometimes I can be cruel to people who are cruel :))

So back to the story, I greeted him over messenger and had a small talk. He strikes my curiousity. I wanted to know, why, why? :) So I told him, 'I didnt expect to see you married so soon. You're not the type of guy who will settle down'. He's in his early 30's btw. And again to my surprise, his response is bluntly 'Time na kasi'...

Did I hear correctly? I have the habit of asking the same questions consecutively when I dont get a satisfactory answer :)) Or actually sometimes when you keep asking, you dont get consistent answer. (Hmm sometimes it works for me like that hehe)

Then he added 'I still want to see my grandchildren'.

Wow how blunt is that. Deep inside, I am amused and laughing. See when guys are not interested in you, they dont really care to pick the right words. They just answer you bluntly.

Ok I am not expecting glamorous answers like 'I found the love of my life', or 'yeah we are so compatible, she's the one I'm waiting for'. But 'time na kasi'? Ouch. If I am the wife, double ouch. Ano yun, napilitan ka ata hehe just murmuring those in my head, I stopped asking before he finds me annoying.

Perhaps it is indeed true. Marriage is a state of mind. People who want to settle down will find a way to settle down. In the same way, people who dont want to settle down yet, will find a 100 excuses why not to. Anyway, I'm happy for him and wish him luck. I guess he's tired of playing too and wanted some serious stuff.

p.s. I still dont know who my prince is. I hope he knows where to find me.
Photo courtesy of faceinahole. Does princess style fit me? :)

Funny Preferences

Not until I met the lady friend who's so fixated about a man's virginity, I realize women have their own weird list of turnons and turnoffs (about men) - whether or not they are logical. :D I'll just do a short turnoff list this time.

No to non-v's
I havent given up trying to convince this friend about the topic.:p If you are an 18yr old girl dating an 18yr old guy, ok your requirement is fine. But if you are already 28 yrs old and dating 30+ yrs old guys, it will be too hard to filter out! Bka wala ng maiwan sa listahan mo! Besides, bka malamang ginusto naman nung babae nya, not something out of force. And also, I actually still wonder if it is fine to ask a guy his virginity status on the first few encounters. :p

No to veggie haters
It seems quite common to stumble upon men who dont eat veggies at all, I have a few male friends like that. I know of a lady friend who takes her veggies so seriously. To the point, if a guy picks on her like 'yikes puro gulay', her interest just drops so quickly. Likewise, it is so + points to her if a guy eats veggie.

and I figured out what my answer is :)

Apart from smelly/stinky scent (hygiene-related) which I seem to overly blogged in so many previous entries, let me share one more. Dont hate me for saying this, my interest level drops when guys have extremely BAD taste in women :). Come on, you are what you choose. I have a friend who has put it more harshly by saying 'basta nakapalda (pwede)'. Anyway honey, everyone's free to choose so me will be happy if you are happy. (hmm that rhymes)

I'm still X entries away from my ideal number of annual entries. With so few days left, I guess I have to write more useless entries like this one! :D

Christmas 2010 and Scribbles

Few days before Christmas time.. and yet i still dont genuinely feel it, except for a few parties on hand.

It's the first time I attempted to give a little christmas feel to my room. :)





This year was again a different year compared to previous years.

For one, I tried to move to a better job since I dont really seem to have a better reason to go home yet, I would wish I had, so as to spare me of some guilt... And this job has seized me by the neck. Fortunately things turn out ok so far, as they say the best way to conquer an enemy is to befriend him. Me and teammate are now ok, nilaglag nga lng ako pero tinulungan pa rin naman ako in the end :). Nothing much to rant.

I seemed to live in depression for about 2 months last year after the careles accident at home and rushing myself to emergency alone, dont worry I can laugh about it now. It might sound like a biggie, but this seems to be the most difficult issue I've faced after my dad passed away. Scary to be standing in the mirror everyday, trying to ignore the obvious but yet still thinking 'what the hell has just happened'. I felt uneasy, cant blame it women are women, they worry about how they look. When it's there, it's there, which is quite true. Thank God time heals all wounds, let's just leave it like that. Totally ignored.

And even I didnt expect I could regain the confidence and had this overwhelming photoshoot where I felt like a star. It was the first time I felt excited and insisted to my friend, 'hey put your (logo) watermark on it!' And I started using my marketing ideas for a tagline for her website, that is targeted to premium market. It goes something like this: 'Youth and beauty are priceless, let me capture them and make them forever'. She said 'wow, ang classy naman ng pagkaoffer ko, may talent ka sa mga ganyan ha'. Hehe of course I dont want to be the sole person to benefit from the effort, I think the pictures she has taken of me would be quite good to put in her website, the lighting, postproc, and my expressions are good (I dont know how I did it too) :) And as another advertising effort, I tried chitchatting with my MUA (make up artist) and she requested me to send her the pictures. I was betting maybe 50:50 she'll use use my pix. And yes, she liked it and put it on her website as well (cause it would also benefit her to show off her makeup and hairstyling skills). Sometimes you can kill two birds with one stone. Everybody happy kumbaga. :)

I didnt make good progress with love, if I can only force myself or teach my heart, I would have done so eons back. Sometimes my friend and I have this funny saying 'God kung magbibigay ka ng lalaki, lubus-lubusin mo naman sana, wag installment, may sablay eh' :))

I think my cooking skills have improved, or at least the decoration skills have :) My dishes look more appetizing now. I'm in the midst of honing my 'specialty dish' hehe. At least some fallback career when I retire, maybe I can do catering. Wow dream big! Honestly I cant cook for more than 2-3, mahirap magtantya talga. So there's much more practice needed here.

I travelled two places this year: Cambodia and Vietnam. I think I'm done with Southeast Asia. I like to travel, so many more spots to go. Yeah I love Europe and am still having this crazy idea that the time I'll be going there will be on honeymoon. My friend scolded me, 'gaga malaki ang Europe, just leave Italy and France on the last, until you get a yummy guy to marry to'. Ok this is normal for girltalk, dont squeak. Here's my converstaion with God: 'Lord, kung ndi mo pa ako bibigyan ng asawa, sana matinong travel buddy man lng '. :))

Stepping into 30 is again another scary number haha. But probably I just want to make peace with myself and hopefully be at peace with everyone. As much as possible I dont want to lie to myself anymore. Sometimes I feel I lie to myself too much. :D And I aint gonna worry about tomorrow. Life is just going to be simple. :)

Men's Watchout Manual for Stressful Women

Is my title catchy enough? :p

I almost forgot how it feels to have close female friends until I left for SG. So far I've met several here and formed real good friendships with them. I can vouch for any of them as good gf/wife material :D They are considerate, responsible, independent, well-rounded, fun to be with especially on vacation trips. All, except one. (may) God forbid me for being honest. I never lost my temper and patience with any close friend, yet. Unless you currently fall so hard, head-banged, with a girl who happened to be similar with what I'll be describing below, I strongly suggest you shun away every possible opportunity. Else, be ready indeed for a stressful life.

1) Self-centered and full of herself
The center of the universe. It's always her. When you talk, you want me to listen to your same heartache stories with your boy over and over again that it's already so annoying. When I talk, you dont listen because it's too obvious you dont remember what I've been saying.
I couldnt get more upset when you tell me 'hey mauna ka naman oh, try mo kung anong meron dyan. Takot kasi ako. Mas gusto kong mauna ang iba then tell me na lng what's inside'. - It sounds similar to me like 'mauna ka na bka nakakamatay yan, para safe ako. Ano ako, guinea pig?'


2) So so vain and slow
Before I thought I am considered quite ma-picture in trips until I met you, you are almost 10X worse than me. You want a picture in every corner (even beside some bushes and stones?), taken several times again and again with exactly the same background. When you have a few hair strands out of sync, it is considered unacceptable and you want me to retake again and again. You want every shot to be perfectly neat, which I find too monotonous, hey wind blown hair is quite acceptable to me (well my current profile pic says so) I never expected na ako ang susuko. I am so tired of taking pictures of you, yourself and yourself.

I understand women like to retouch (make-up), well I also do in dates or if I am out with a guy, paimpress or just to look good. I cannot understand what's taking you at least 15-30minutes for retouch in every break when you are just with me and some tourmates. I dont see the need, parehas tayong babae. And because of that I am always waiting forever and chasing on you, 'uy bilisan mo naman, maiiwan na tayo ng tour bus'.. Until we really got left behind by the bus and was asked to join another tour van. I finally lost my temper when the driver asked me to sit in the very small uncomfortable foldable seat in the middle lane of an L3 van. It's ok for a short ride, but hey it's a 4hour+ ride and I am suffering because of your slowness, we could have avoided it grrh!


3) Overly pacute in an attempt to be kid-like
A must-visit section in a department store, for me kid's section is not really an essential part of it. We both dont have kids yet so I dont see the urgent need to visit kid's section in a tour. It felt tiring to hear 'uy ang cute-cute ng bear oh', 'ang cute cute ni pooh', 'ang cute ng blouse'.. Lahat na lng 'ang cute cute'. And it was already 830pm and I didnt have dinner yet. Seems like it's going nowhere that I finally blurted, 'd ka ba gutom, kain na tayo, bka masarhan pa tayo'.

If you look like Kim Chiu, then I definitely will tell you it's ok to be kidlike and it just fits so perfectly and naturally. But if you dont, please don't attempt.


4) Strange thoughts
Perhaps it's me growing old and patience shrieking, but hey we are just born few months apart.
Nakakainis sa work, naiinis ako kay ganito. naiinis ako kay ganon. Even if you change project assignments, change jobs, it's still the same story. - Someone told me before that if your problems are always the same, chronic, repeating in every environment, it's a sign that the problem is not them, it's you.

Gusto ko ang magiging bf ko does not have any past relationships and should be a virgin - I almost choke. Nosebleed ang requirements :). May ganon pa bang lalake? Well I dont know. Perhaps if a guy did it with a serious gf (hopefull the gf is also of considerable 'quality' standards), it shouldnt be too much to condemn and dwell on? Well of course, you also still respect guys who are disciplined to keep their chastity. But in the ever-advancing modern generation now, people have changed havent they?

Sana may PA (personal assistant) tayong kasama para someone will carry my stuff and bags when we take pictures, para makapagpose. Nosebleed again. D ko tlaga masakyan. :)

I hope someone writes a similar guide for Women lol.

Remarkable Answers (What A Guy Wants)

In all the encounters I had when I run into discussions about what are you looking for in a partner, so far these 2 are the standout answers from men :p

Attitude/Personality:
The very obvious trait 'maalaga' as top anser. I dont know how many times I've heard of it. Men like to be nursed, period. Few years ago, I remember an early-20's guy saying, he likes ladies who have an ambition. 'May ambisyon sa buhay'. That is striking. I've never heard of anyone who treats that as a best quality?

Perhaps now after years passed by, my outlook probably has changed, so has the crowd of people. To be honest, I dont know if I still have any ambition from a career perspective :p I get satisfied easily, I'm ok with what I have (dear God I cant take a more challenging job that this). I'm sometimes crazily thinking that maybe I should resign and follow Liz Gilbert 's ways in 'Eat Pray Love'. I'm happy that I'm not the only one. In fact, there are many of us, who wants a simple life.

People have the notion that women working abroad are hard-core career women. I was surprized that a friend here told me her biggest dream is to live in a small town. She asked me once what I fancy doing if I do settle down in the future, I gave a funny answer, 'gusto kong samahan ako mag-grocery'. :p

Anyway, I still find the 'ambition' answer to be quite unique.


Physical:
Top answers are usually 'cute' or 'ma-appeal'. I got this remarkable answer from a mid-30's married guy. He said his main criteria is 'yun mukhang bata pa rin ang mukha kahit tumanda'.

I was totally captivated. Obviously, we are not referring to women who are OA and childish! I kept insisting, how do you assess or foresee that? Can you actually predict accurately if this face would grow old in a lousy way and this wont? He told me it's a skill.

When I saw his wife, then I understood a bit. A mother of two kids, however her aura still looks like a young lady. So I blurted out, 'eh sa tingin mo, ako kaya mabilis akong tatanda'. Of course, we just ended up in giggles and I didnt get a definite answer to my question. He just said, 'you're ok', whatever an ok means from a guy.

Time to update skin care collection. I actualy sent tons of Olay home to my mom. Actualy I think it works on her, her skin looks better now, I managed to freeze her age a bit hehe. Time to freeze my own.

Men are from Mars...

Sometimes there are really men who are too dense. Ok I am also dense at times because I can get soaked up in my thoughts easily and ignore hints around me. But I feel men are worse, for mistaking even the obvious. Oops.

An easy one, take for example a number’s game. 90% of the time, the numbers that a woman uses are usually related to some important dates around her. It can be her birthday, her anniversary date (though I don’t recommend unless you are sure your bf won’t change), her parent’s birthday or wedding anniversary date, her favorite number, a date or a number that has a significant meaning, etc. But do avoid using such on your bank pin codes, but it should be fine for online account names. Net, it’s quite rare that it’s a number out of nowhere.

Whenever a fellow lady asks me for my messenger id, and I give them XXXXX716, it’s almost always 100% obvious to them that it sounds like a birthday. I would automatically get questioned, ‘oh your birthday falls on July?’ On the opposite, a guy could be talking to me for months in ym and has no idea what the numbers are for. See the difference?

Ok to be more explicit, I recently talked to a guy friend. He had a gf for the past 3 years, and he suddenly gets dumped for reasons he doesn’t have any clue and it’s killing him. He had been filial all the while. He tried all sorts of ways to win her back, countless attempts. Including standing in front of her house on a Christmas eve and he wasn’t let in, not until her parents let him in.

I, of course, don’t know what exactly happened but obviously this Christmas eve story sounds way too much. Honestly, from a girl’s perspective, this sounds like hopeless. There is a very thick line between ‘pakipot’ and ‘its over’. Different girls have their own pakipot ways, that I cannot expound clearly as it’s more of a gut feel.

Nevertheless, I don’t want to provoke a suicidal guy haha. In an attempt to help him write a birthday note for her, I composed the short lines below. Magnifico.

...Happy happy birthday. Wishing you all the best cause you really deserve it. I miss the days having you around in my life and I hope you could give us another chance. But if this is not what your heart truly desires, I sincerely wish you happiness and peace of mind. Thank you for sharing your life with me for the past 3 years. God bless.

Short and sweet isn’t it? I like. Not too edgy. Kung ako iyon, ndi ko cguro matitiis, unless I have a heart of stone, I think I would at least do something. Ok ok enough of being nosey in other people's businesses..

Hmm what do I have to say about Mars? Despite few people frequently asking for my opinion about their love issues, personally I don’t feel qualified at all to give guidance on such matters! I’ve previously dreamt of having a child before hitting 30. To accomplish that means I should be running around now like a mad whore every night and conceive in a few week’s time in order to make it happen. Probability: 0. And the reason of having 0 is that I might also be living in my own Mars.

Let me a cite a straight-forward one. When I visit Manila, looks like I am now bearing a sticker on my forehead that reads: ‘Beware, LDR’. Do not attempt the uncertain. (Google might not have the translation, it’s an unofficial yet common acronym that sprouted out of nowhere, especially in the world of overseas workers). In a world where physical presence is favored over cyber presence, I know. And yet, there seems to be a common statement people throw at me so frequently. If I happen to talk to random people in Manila and when I cannot relate to something localized that we are discussing and happen to flash a puzzled look saying ‘ay bkit ndi ako alam ito’, I will be immediately replied with ‘eh lagi ka naman wala d2’. :p It’s just a neutral statement of course, perfectly fine, nothing to be annoyed with because it's true. Just that… how should someone in Mars interpret it? Is it as it is or am I supposed to dwell on it if there’s any other attached implication. If I don’t dwell on it, I sometimes can become an official resident of Mars. If I dwell on it, it can also appear like my imaginations are way over nirvana.

Ok enough before my tongue slips.. my pen slips.. or even my finger slips in this blog. Let’s just remember this, whichever planet we are in now, can we all go back to Earth once in a while and speak in simple English, even if you dont have any major major problem. (Raj syndrome Aug 2010).

P.s. A funny entry in the midst of chaos in hostage incidents.
... and I am still lagging 30+ entries behind!

A Different View on Birthdays

People who know me probably would know how I used to fancy birthday greetings and birthday parties and all. Being a person who claims to have passion for life, I’ve always considered birthdays as a blessing. It just happens once a year, it wouldn’t hurt to celebrate no matter how busy I am or how lack of money am I running through. Actually to be precise, I have witnessed the lack of it, and so I do cherish it more. (I am not a party animal either)

This year, I finally seem to relate to people who prefer to be low-profile on birthdays. I have a close college friend who took out all his birthday reminders registered online. I even asked him ‘mamatay ka ba pag binati ka’. He replied, ‘hindi naman, hndi ko lng feel, pero gusto ko rin malaman kung sino tlaga nakaalala’. I answered back with a joke, ‘hindi pa rin yan accurate, malamang naalala ka lng dahil may reminder sa cellphone. Khit ako bka makalimutan kitang batiin kung nalowbat ako kasi hndi ko memoryado ang bday mo!’. It was just a whim, what he said actually has a point, khit ba na celphone reminder may effort pa rin.

True, or should I say sadly, in the gadgets and dotcom world, no one remembers birthdays by heart anymore.

I don’t know what air brings me to this realization this year. It suddenly makes sense. I disabled all the reminders that I can remember to have registered online: facebook, friendster, yahoogroups, etc. I am not thirsty for greetings, but I can be honest to admit that I am still probably dying to hear sincere birthday greetings from a few bunch of people who really matters to me (say probably 10). And I really do appreciate people who remembered. Childish, but a fun gambling game.

And yes, to my disappointment there were like 3 or 4 people who still missed it! Better late than never, but I still appreciate people who remember on time. May konting kirot pero ok lng, it makes it easier to filter out which people takes a conscious effort and which don’t. hahaha. Just for a change. :)

Kidding aside, I guess at this point in time, this is what I can say in my blog:
The hardest person to lie to … is not other people, but rather, myself.

Have a blessed everyone, this year and all the nexts!

Wind

I'm supposed to read some docs for next project, but my system seems to have shut off. Nothing is registering, absolutely. All I can think of now is what to do on my vacation. Yes u bet.

I guess I'd run out of nature elements to write about if I continue to be idle :p Who cares.

The sun shines through the vivid sky with shadows casted on the horizons. Casting a spell on me bedazzled by the stills and motions.

I love how you kiss away my tears as you blow through the skyscrapers, with a sweet song lingering on my ear.

I love how you make me long for your embrace, as if waiting for spring to come and surround me with blossoming roses.

I love how you shower me with dewdrops, giving life to the unearthened layers of rocks and pebbles.

I loathe the day you disappear, taking away the colors that I see.

I feel empty and lost in the wilderness without your guiding murmurs.

I wish you exist in every corner, every dimension, every breath that I take.

I feel heaven and see butterflies whenever you are around.

- Wind

Movie Reviews: of Love and Laughter

Revolutionary Road

When I knew that Leo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet are teaming up again for a new movie named Revolutionary Road, I was quite excited. Mostly because I like Titanic and would love to see the couple again together onscreen. However I cannot find someone as excited as me. Most of the the people I've asked preferred Fast and the Furious 4. I watched Part 3 and all i remember are nice car racing scenes but story is crap. Here's one again of my uncompromised surges, okay fine I watched it alone yesterday. Movie is based on a novel with same title. Initially I felt Leo and Kate look quite mature (probably I'm still stucked in their gorgeous era), eventually the characters sinked in. Kate is really a veteran now, with all the award nominations and wins, she played the neurotic wife so well. It was basically about marriage problems, a wife insisting on living in Paris thinking a change in environment could help salvage their unhappy marriage; and
the husband wanting to stay put and satisfied with his current life. The husband initially gave in but later on backed out because he got a job promotion and another conflict is that his wife got pregnant. Thoughts:
- wives shouldnt think of too fancy, unrealistic dreams
- husbands shouldnt give false hopes
- lastly husbands shouldnt be too dense! my goodness the last scene obvious spells Kate is about to do something unusual. Spills: It was actually alarming that Kate actually committed abortion (with some rubber tubing sucking apparatus yay!) by herself and died. Morbid. Pyschotic. Disturbing. It's the first intellectual film I've watched for this year! :p Cheers.

Warning: the next few ones below are purely no-brainer hehe

Look for a Star

Stars Andy Lau and Shu Qi, romantic-comedy. Somehow recent HK films dont give me the kilig satisfaction that I used to have while watching the 80's and 90's genre before. I did like the setting though, it's based in Macau and that time I just came from Macau so I could relate quite well with the tourist spots.

Detroit Metal City

One funny movie! I joined my friends without a single clue what the movie is. It's based on a popular Japanese manga of a boy who dreams to be a ballad singer but later on ended up as the lead singer of a Satanic Rock Metal band called Detroict Metal City. The actions and mannerisms are quite hilarious, his soft-effeminate personality is totally different with the rockband singer. The tagline: 'No music, no dream!'

He's Just Not That Into You

The title caught me and I earmarked this in my calendar long ago. A bit dragging but it does exhibit the pathetic fact that every woman at some point would commit some stupid things to charm the opposite sex and eventually goes into some hallucination as to why is the guy behaving like this. There are 5 couples in the story. #1: One girl is extreme 'pathetic-ness'. She'll go on blind dates and keeps on waiting for a guy to call, and makes all sort of excuses to calm herself like 'maybe he's busy, maybe he's sick, maybe his fone got stolen, and she'll literally sit by the phone and wait for it to ring and the list goes, and some creepy crawling and stalking to appear in front of the guy. #2: Another was about a 7-year live-in couple, the girl dreams of getting wed while the guy doesnt. 'He's not proposing because he's not interested'. The other couples are not interesting so my synopsis ends here :D

Confessions of a Shopoholic

I've watched Devil Wears Prada in HBO and liked it that's why I'm watching this chick flick. A hilarious serious vain shopaholic addict who swipes $$$ into her numerous credit cards for the sake of vanity. Despite bearing so much credit card loan, she ironically became popular with her financial investment articles. I like the auction scene where she sells off her most beloved item, the green scarf (it was a symbolic item as it brought her to her beau and her job and all). It didnt fail to give a warm ending.

Random Thoughts Apr09

Start of April is start of petix period for me. Work cycle is like getting through hell of overtime work in Feb and March then getting a taste of heaven with nothing else to do in April. Okay I dont have a right to complaint because I'm paid whether I work or not. I've searched all sites that I can think of during office hours and actually running out of sites to surf.

What Happened?

I've seen almost all my batchmates' frndster and fb profiles.To the guys I have admired before. The slim and macho have become bloated. Receeding hairline. Disfigured. What happened?

To the married girls who have kids. The kids are really cute but I dont know what happened to the moms. Some are able to maintain their figures, some aren't and you be the judge. Upsized, double-sized. Huge binti-pata. Again, what happened? Normal women double their size during pregnancy. The lucky ones shrink back and probably carry additional 20% of their original size, which is still acceptable. Now I understand obesity is a serious issue. Vain guys watch out.

... and I'm afraid I might be told the same comment 'what happened' haha. If one day I really depreciated and grew so ugly, well maybe I wont appear in front of you. I'd rather you remember just the good side of me and leave footprints in your hearts (whew that was a cheesy one). Okay so I went for a haircut to trim down a bit the long hair. 'Promo' price from a salon costs me 31sgd. It might be cheap for SG standards.. but hey on 2nd thought that's 976php. I dont think I'd shell out 1k for a haircut in Ph.

Tip: I'm not really a fan of short hair. Go for a medium-length straight cut as an unadventurous safe play, khit sino magmumukhng bata sa ganon.

Girl Talk

I'm in touch with my depressed friend back in Ph. I dont know why she is always in a depressed state. She will rant about guys who havent sent her an sms. Things like '930am na wala pa cyang text'. 'Buong araw ndi cya nagtext'. 'Nun isang araw lng cya nagtext'. 'Wala cyang kwentang katext'. I dont know what to react, because for me as long as the person shows concern (magparamdam) consistently in whatever medium of communication (not limited to txts alone) is enough (consistent has its own definition though). I dont consider myself a txt-centric person. Too bad eversince I started working, I am not in a job with the luxury of too much petix time all the time. I suddenly feel glad, good thing I am not a guy, I might be be shouting 'Get Lost' in such case hehe. Probably that is the normal life, a girl should be waiting for txts. I wonder if that suits me, literally waiting for texts and more texts and nothing more. I got surprised when she said she hopes to be in my shoes. Whew! There's nothing much spectacular in my life. My life doesnt seem normal. I'll lend you my shoes, give me a new pair. :p

Traditions

In relation to the above, suddenly I feel that sometimes there are too much unnecessary traditions.

The friend above is being courted by a guy older than her by 6 years. And her concern is 'chiong' (this is about a Chinese tradition that couples with 6 years or 3 years age gap are not compatible and are therefore avoided) I would expect oldies folks to follow it, but someone of my same age, not really? If I'm in the same situation, my primary concern would probably be something like does the age gap bridge too much indifferences, do we think in the same wavelength, stuff like that.

During my sister's wedding, I remembered asking her why is chicken (or is it duck) taro pie not in the menu, as I knew she likes the dish. Then she told me her hubby doesnt like violet. Violet for some is the color of death, that's why you almost never see it as motif in weddings. I'm just surprised that there are people who are so particular that even food items are not supposed to have a violet color.

Lastly, I got a bit pissed recently. When I got back from Cameron, my legs were really sore and I cant bend properly initially with the muscle pain. That same night my friend confirmed that her friend will be staying in my house. My friend used to work in SG and now trasferred else where. She has a friend (whom I dont know) travelling to SG for a few days and needs a house to stay and she volunteered my place, huh? This unknown friend is meeting her bf in Sg who'll be on a biz trip that time. I just cant help to wonder. Why does this 'unknown' person prefer na 'makisiksik' sa kwarto ko and not stay in her bf's company-sponsored hotel accomodation? I didnt ask but I would assume it's again the filipino or rather the fil-chi mindset of avoiding unnecessary rumors. Dont get me wrong, I am not a promoter of any pre-marital thing. She can rent some cheap hotel for her stay? It's just that it's not the right timing, I'll be packing my things soon for my 'uwi' and having someone in the room is a bit hassle. If you're someone I know,then I would be more than happy to entertain you. I'm not in the mood to be a Good Samaritan.

Hats Off

I remember I blogged about the 'brownies' girl before. (the one bringing self-baked brownies in school) I got to meet her last year here in a reunion. In our chat, I got to realize that she really has the passion for culinary stuff. She even went to US to take internship and worked in a hotel resto. I was mistaken. :) Somehow I do have to take back my words. I have respect for people who pursue unusual goals. Even if I might have the liking for cooking, I dont think I can be that serious to go that far for it.

Entrepreneur Magazine

I used to read this mag once in a while in Manila. During my petix browsing, I found out that their online site has some featured articles as well. It takes some people to think of something spectacular and weave the logic into reality and sell. There's one story about EZ maps, it was a brilliant idea of the owner who once got lost in Makati and thought that a good map doesnt exist yet. EZ map concept is quite legibly drawn and scaled and complete with tourist spots and recommendations, something handy for out-of-town roadtrippers and foreigners. When will I think of the next mega-fantastic, awesome, fabulous idea?!

New Company

De ja vu. I'm again in another merger-acquistion phase. Our company has been brought over after the scandal last January. We're sold! Funny that this is already my 4th company! (in actual, it's just the 2nd). Sometimes cant help feeling lame hehe, I haven't changed job nor house since I moved here! I am just to lazy to change anything or go out of comfort zones, except if given a trigger. I guess I have what it takes to be a battered housewife after all lol. (hey I probably wouldnt have left hp if not for my bestfriend who stabbed me at the back, thanks to her, I wouldnt be richer by a few sgd if not for her :p)

Agent at your service

It's really amazing to know that I referred a friend to a job successfully, not once but 2 consecutive times. I got in touch with her recently to find out that her present employer is crap (my 2nd referral) keeping them entangled in bonds and more bonds in different offshore IT projects. Then I asked her where does she plan to move. The answer was 'depende kung san mo ako ulit irerefer'. Hahaha nice one!!! I think I should be running a recruitment agency. :p

Phil Govt Office Sucks

I recently recalled the incident I had in LTO while applying for driver's licence. That was my first vacation in Ph on Jul 2007. I deliberately dropped by LTO to apply (or was it renew) for license, actually needed the ID for some other purposes that I cant remember. Given that I had limited time then, I paid some express lane fee from a driving institute (read: lagay) so that I wont have to queue very long. By the time I got there, everything was smooth, took picture, took urine test, filled the form in clear capitals, etc. In dismay when I got the card, there were so many typo errors!

1) my address lacks the unit-number/letter of the house.

2) the spelling of the street name is wrong. Now the more unforgiveable ones...

3) my weight is printed as 66kg instead of 56 kg. (so i look like someone in 145 lbs?)... and the last one is the killer

4) My birthday is printed as 1971 instead of 1981. #!%#~!

Goodness, I was really so disappointed. I would assume these ppl are at least high school graduate. How can you be so dumb and careless?? I cannot accept such lousy work. I asked one official there, how can I get this corrected. 'Ay maam mahirap po, naprint na yun card eh'. 'Ano ba yun procedure?', I asked. 'Ay maam wala po ata kaming ganon (how can that be?), tska sayang po un card, usually hindi naman chinecheck un mga details ng mmda eh, okay lng po na may mali'. 'Tingin ko po irequest nyo na lng na baguhin yun details nyo kapag nag-expire na'. Excuse me, the expiry is 3 years! Ang hirap-hirap magsingit ng sched in my short vacation to go there, and all I get is a lousy piece of sh*t that I cant use as an accurate valid ID. Pointless arguing with them. Is this really the BEST that Ph govt workers can do???

Sablay

Another winning clause from the puzzled guy (which I also blogged before) from 'alam mo nakakataba ang stress', to the newest one 'matulog ka na bka dumami ang pimples mo'. This is really an endangered clueless specie :p

Practical Choice

'Practical', one powerful word. What is a practical choice? Are we supposed to make decisions based on practicality alone? Does it really cultivate happiness and harmony in the long run?

I'm going home for the holidays again. A bit excited. I hope I get some enlightenment.

P.S. Countdown officially starts!!!

Chinovela Marathon

Some of the chinovela series from TW that I watched the past few months:

Romantic Princess

Adopted by middle classed parents, Xiao Mai has always had a dream to be an heiress. Suddenly it was discovered that Xiao Mai's biological grandfather is the head of a prestigous aristocratic family and after many years of searching, he finally finds his long lost granddaughter. As she starts her life as an heiress, everyday is filled with excitement, and there she meets Jin, the supposedly succesor for the aristocrat clan.
-> Review: visually appealing, the setting, wardrobe and all goodlooking artists. All I can say is that Wuchun is amazingly gorgeous. Unnecessary kissing scenes, the theme actually doesnt need any kissing scenes for Wuchun (or was I just scrutinizing biasedly haha) I finally got to see him in person when he promoted his movie 'Butterfly Lovers', which I find the storyline to be disappointing. It's supposedly a remake of the most famous chinese tragic love story 'The Lovers', and yet it failed to move me, nor even was I convinced that they are in love.



Corner with Love

Xin Lei (Barbie Xu), a girl from a wealthy family, and Qin Lang (Alan Luo), a guy who came to Shanghai to pursue his dream of becoming an artist, meet by accident at a corner when her car and his bike crash into each other. They meet again when Xin Lei goes to the restaurant that Qin Lang works at. They truly get to know each other when Xin Lei asks him to teach her how to make oyster pancakes. Then, Xin Lei's parents' company goes bankrupt. Without telling her, Xin Lei's parents go into hiding, leaving only a plane ticket and a key to their house in Taiwan. To make matters worse, Xin Lei's fiance breaks the engagement, due to his parents' wishes. The only two people she has now are Qin Lang and her best friend Xi Xian. Qin Lang then tells her that he is leaving for Taiwan, so they bade farewell. When Xin Lei arrives in Taiwan, she finds out that Qin Lang's family has been living in the house for years! After much controversy, Qin Lang's grandmother finally lets her stay. Thus begins a magical love story.

-> Review: Watching the series made me crave for oyster pancake (o-a-chian)! Barbie is stunning and she exactly looks like a princess and acts like one. (did I hear that our hair is similar lol) Alan is charming and portrays his role very well, a guy who obviously loves the girl so much but lacks the confidence to admit because they live in two totally different worlds. Barbie's decision choosing Alan over her rich fiance is applaudable. The essence of love, following one's heart despite practicality and social pressure, is just that. Though sometimes easier said than done, but people like that do exist so never underestimate the power of love.



Fated to Love You

A really unfashionable working class girl Chen Xin Yi has the desire to tie down her handsome boyfriend to be with her. Due to certain reasons, her boyfriend gets her to go on a love cruise and she started to ponder on how to lose her virginity and tie down her boyfriend. Xin Yi ended up taking cold medicine which made her drowsy and went into Ji Cun Xi's room. Cun Xi is the sole male heir to his family's company and has been in love with his girlfriend, Anna, for a long time. He planned to propose to Anna on the boat but she didn't turn up on the cruise. An island owner added drugs into Cun Xi's drink and Cun Xi became disorientated and returned to his own room. Xin Yi and Cun Xi end up having a one night stand. Xin Yi later finds out that she's pregnant and Cun Xi's grandmother forces them to get married. Will a couple forced to marry for the sake of their unborn child find love with each other?

- Review: My o my, after like 5 years, I finally found a series that made me stay late till 4am 5am watching because I can't control myself. I was just simply HOOKED. I like the martyr Xin Yi, willing to bear a child and leave and always giving out wholeheartedly and selflessly. After their separation, she became strong, learned how to dress up and became confident, sweet revenge comes knocking. I like how Cun Xi would be torn and guilty (karma :p), childish and yet sweet, and that the more he denies, the more his feelings are assured. The whole story has a lot of funny elements that just keeps you giggling and wondering what happens next. And everything seems to be a destiny, it's not a coincidence, they are just simply meant to be. I fell in love with Cun Xi! :p Oh btw, this is by far the highest record-breaking viewership drama of 10.+, beating Meteor Garden and other famous series aired on TV.

The first 12 episodes is a 4 THUMBS UP for me (including my feet :p) Storyline is very fast. Then they switched to Shanghai but still okay. I seriously think there's no need to drag the ending by putting unecessary conflicts like they get kidnapped and the lead guy goes blind, the funny element is going overboard. Good acting and musical score. Still, a recommended one from me.

Movie Marathon

Marathon session with the DVDs (pirated) I brought from Manila :p

Kung Fu Panda

- After everyone has watched and all the positive comments that I heard, I finally took the time to sit down and conquer. And yes, this movie does live up to all the good words. Entertaining and insightful, appeals to the emotions and touches the heart. I like the way Po will gulp down food, the siopao. There's no secret, agree.

Enchanted

- Another movie that lives up to the hype. Not as plain as I would expect from a disney-comes-to-life theme. The most powerful thing in the world is a true love's kiss. Her curtain outfits are adorable.

When Love Begins

- Anne plays well, very convincing in her role. Her personality is a commonplace, you'll find a handful in the real world - No commitments, no obligations, no limitations. The movie has scenes shot in Bora. Makes me wanna have a Bora vacation, I miss the beach!

Puzzle Continued

Here's the next part of the encounter with the puzzle guy (in my previous post), this is the guy who is courting my friend back in Manila.

My friend seems to have a lot of complaints about him :p
'..imagine ilan days n and2 d pa kmi nagmemeet.once palang tumawag sa landline.puro text...eh d parng same lang dba? ang diff lang eh piso nalang ang rep nya sakin..'
I was in giggle when I saw this msg from her, yeah difference is piso na lng ang txt haha. :p Somehow I can understand the guy, managing schedules during short vacation back home is quite tough, so few time, so much things to do. It takes a lot of effort to squeeze quality time.

On a later time she ym-ed me their long conversation which ended up in tampuhan. I actually cant quite comprehend what was happening. It appears that this girl was talking about something, and the guy doesnt seem to be listening and not responding to the topic and talking about something else. Well for a fact, men dont listen as good as women anyway. She also told me that she finds something annoying about how the guy makes kwento, he is giving too much inessential details and the more important ones are always being left out.

I thought my friend was just being too hard on this guy. When a girl really falls hard, she won't notice and will ignore and tolerate all flaws. However if there's not even a single spark, she can find a hundred reasons to say he is unbearable. :p The second seems to apply in their situation.

Then I realize I was wrong :p

This guy is the talky type, he yms me during office hours and asks me my reaction about their situation blah blah. It was okay, medyo naawa din ako sa knya. Here is a guy who is trying his very best to woo a girl, but somehow not reciprocated. The patience to really hold on to uncertainty, the daily sms para manligaw etc. That deserves a rebulto I would jokingly say.

Then came a time when I was feeling bad about some incidents. Sakto he ym-ed me, so medyo nagkwento ako why I was upset. Initially it was ok-ok, he seemed to listen well. Just that he joked back saying I'm bitter and started making fun calling me names. Then he apologized and offered that maybe I need someone to talk to and asked me if I'm free the next day. I said okay.

We met up for dinner the next day. Then I did notice his 'strange' way of story telling. He is really giving too much info hehe, he'll mention ALL the names eg his friends, whom he met up with in a party, what they ordered etc. He'll describe each of the friend, the names of the gfs or spouses.. Hmm I was thinking.. hold on, we just met, I hardly know you and I dont know your friends? Actually to be fair, this is not really a no-no trait, some can still get away with it and be considered 'cute' or 'funny', only if you got the looks and the attitude that people can possibly overlook odd traits. However not everyone is part of the lucky few exceptions.

Then he related his past stories. Like the last girl who dumped her. Out of the blue, this girl texted him one day (last year) and said she needed a companion. That sounded to me like a positive start. Then started their frequent encounters. He was this martyr guy who makes hatid-sundo and gives her midnight snacks in her office (she's on night shift). It went for like months - that was too long for a courtship. Then one day the girl told her she didnt feel comfortable with what he's doing. My guess is probably his motives were not apparently obvious and he just went on with his martyr actions without a clear picture of where it was leading to.

Then when it was my turn to kwento, I just elaborated the reasons why I was upset and that I even cried about those stuff. The dinner was okay, it's the first time I get to know him face to face, though not my type, but I wont consider very annoying as a first impression.

Later that night he ym-ed me that they were in 'tampuhan' mode again. And again sent me their long conversation in ym. (whoo why did I suddenly become Dear Joe, Dear Charo or Dr Phil for this couple). This ym was quite funny. They were arguing about something and he then he asked my friend to sleep. 'Alam mo nakakataba ang stress, tulog ka na'. Why did you say that? He said sya rin nagsabi na iremind ko cya magdiet at matulog nang maaga. I replied, kahit na! My friend is not slim, she is chubby! And probably every guy should know that any girl in this world wouldnt want to be associated with anything fat? It probably wont be offending when you are talking with anorexic or obviously thin people, but to relatively bigger sized people, this is a killer.

Before the conversation ended, he asked me again about my case. And to my surprise, he again did the same thing, laughed at me and called me names like bitter and ampalaya. That's it. I was pissed off. I said not funny, stop it! Deep inside I was thinking, I already told you that I even cried and how could you be so rude to make fun out of it!

He apologized several times. I wasnt really hurt much anyway since a new acquaintance won't have that much impact on me.

Few days after, he was in depression. He said my friend said, it's better na we stay as friends muna, kasi hindi mo nadedeliver ang mga expectations ko. Hehe what a choice of words, I never heard anyone declining with those terms, napaka-formal naman. Sounded like office blues, sorry boss I cant deliver your expectations. :) It's partly harsh and partly funny. Since I dont want to piss him off further, I just said 'be glad, probably it's not yet the right time, it's not really a basted statement yet (notice that there is the word MUNA), there's still some hope, maybe in the future'.

I refrain talking to him too often since I'm also quite busy nowadays, ayoko na maging Dr Phil, too depressing. :p

He does have a big problem which he might still be unaware of. He is INSENSITIVE!
你有病! 豬頭!

Clueless and Puzzled Creature

It's really funny whenever I remember the 'amazing gift' na pinasuyo sa akin to bring back home last July. It was from a guy in SG who is courting my friend in Manila. Pardon me but up to this point, I still cant figure out the logic behind. :p Anyway it's my first time to be a bridge, let's just wait and see if this one's a happy ending.

Profile of the girl: She used to be my bestfriend and suddenly we lost touch after high school. Earlier this year, she greeted me in friendster saying she was surprised that I have changed a lot based from my pictures. And that started our frequent chatting. She's a simple girl who studied in CEU and currently works in a bank. I know she really wanted to have a bf but seems like she hasnt found one that's fit for her as she related. Dinalaw ko cya last July and I was glad that our closeness is still there despite the time and distance factors.

So anyway I got to know this guy from her. Seriously, bilib din ako sa tiyaga because this guy was literally sending sms to her everyday, calling her, online chats and lasted for already 4+ months. Whew for a guy to pursue someover overseas and engaging in posible long distance relationships, it must be real diligence and I respect him for that matter. We got to chit chat sometimes over ym. He was asking me for ideas what gifts to give. I told him looking at her friendster page, it was quite obvious as it was clearly stated that she likes accesories, 'anything kikay' I said. Then he told me he was planning to buy Body Shop products. My goodness, I dont know what he is thinking, there are so many Body Shop outlets in Manila, why bother, and I dont want to bring liters of lotions in my luggage! I said think of something unique that is only available in SG. I even gave him clues, if you find it difficult to buy accesories for women, well maybe just buy small bags, or perhaps kikay blouses.

'Pano kung hindi magustuhan' he said.
'Hindi yan.. or kung gusto mo buy one each of what I mentioned, khit sa tiangge lng, hndi naman kelangan mamahalin lahat. Cguro may magugustuhan naman cya khit isa lng dun'
'Naku bka magulat yon, sabihin bkit ang galante naman nito, hindi ko pa naman sinasagot'
I was like ha? Deep inside I was thinking what harm is there na magulat???
Then he continued,
'Hindi pa rin eh, hndi naman sa mayabang ako, what if naging kami, tpos mag-expect na lagi big-time ako magregalo. Mahirap yun ganon'

I was dumbfounded. What ??###!!@#. Here again is one guy who is worrying about what chicken dish to cook before the eggs are even hatched. And I dont see the logic behind giving gifts and being pressured what gifts to buy the next time to supercede the previous delight level. Isnt it giving gifts is a voluntary act? I give people gifts because I want to and probably because I care, not because I am forced to. Maybe it's a good trait that a guy has a clear grasp of future planning, however it's also because of this too much thinking left and right that stops them from progressing? That's it. He could have my vote, but he just blew it all away hehe. Anyway I dont intend to share this part with my friend, I dont want to be a factor para mabasted itong guy, because as a 3rd party, I can still see some goodness in this guy.

Anyway, when we met up, he has this nice silver box with a nice silver ribbon and placed in a dainty violet tiny bag. It looks perfect to me. I started teasing him 'hey teka ano ba laman nito. Naprepressure ako, bka pag nawala ko, hndi ko toh kayang bayaran'. (I was thinking it might be some watch? or maybe some accesory or jewelry, that was the impression actually of the size of the box and packaging). He just kept on smiling and saying secret secret. Later I was already serious, ano ba talaga laman, of course I dont want to bring any liquid or anything that might prohibit me from entering the plane right, at least give me a general idea. Deep inside I have the feeling somehow I have the right to know kasi pina-hassle mo na nga ako magdala. I asked once, twice, thrice, ayaw pa rin sagutin, tawa lng cya nang tawa. FINE. It's hard to talking to you. I gave up. :p

When I met up with my friend in Manila, of course she was really surprised that I brought her a gift from this guy back in SG. Girl talk chismisan, I simply told her 'hey buksan mo naman, I want to know what is it'. Medyo kilig pa cya when opening. So what was the big fuss all about. My goodness, it was several small pieces of puzzle packed in a tranparent plastic bag. The suspense didnt reach the climax part and drop down dead in a nano second..! I can't explain what my friend's expression was, and I had to be very careful to mind mine coz I dont want to upset her by laughing hard. Then I asked her, mahilig ka ba sa puzzle? Hindi. Cya mahilig ba? Hindi rin. Then I became speechless, I dont know what to say. Cge buuin mo na sa bahay. :p Then I changed the topic. The next day the girl called and told me she asked her kuya to form the puzzle which has something written like 'you're special to me'. The intent of the guy was that she extracts the message to the last piece. Poor thing, it didn't serve the purpose then.

Okay the intent was probably unique and has some substance in it. But then again, it's barking at the wrong tree. Hayy it's complicated! :p

Crazy Love

Just thought of sharing some of the love stories of my friends, the kind of stories that are truly one of a kind.

Absurd Reason for Quitting SG
That was how people perceived her for quitting a job in SG to be with a 1-month bf in Ph then. But seems like it was all worth of it, as the guy did propose to her and they're getting married this year. Galing!

Online kind of love
And I never knew this works until it happened to a friend. It started out as an online thingie, some US sites. And my pinay friend chatted with the foreigner guy, met up after a few months in one of the nearby Asian countries, and now he is asking her to move into his country. Fabulous! Lakasan ng loob :p

Cool Rings
The boldest and coolest things that I've ever heard done in a wedding were all here. Bora setup, hip hop dance number for first dance, classy wedding gown with colored beads, and the rings that would take you off your seat. Kakaloka :)
http://jasondeg.multiply.com/photos/album/100/Dont_want_to_miss_a_thing_-_Mon_and_Mias_Bora_wedding#2

We're all entitled to our own CRAZINESS!

'Di Naramdaman

It does feel good to have old friends coming back and sharing life's stories.

My good friend in high school messaged me in friendster one day and that started our frequent chikahan recently online. We've lost touch after high school and drifted apart leading our own lives, until few months ago she popped some greetings.

Funny to hear her say that she was glad 'I'm still the same' person, she even doubted whether I would reply. Why are most people expecting that I have changed? :) and what is wrong with me?? :p

Anyway, of course when girls get together, they talk about boys haha. It was amusing to hear her love stories. One funny thing is there are guys who claimed na 'nanligaw' pero 'd naman nya naramdaman'. HAHAHA that sounds familiar :p I wonder why some guys just can't get it straight across? It wouldnt harm to be a bit straight-forward. Why wait for destiny when you can create your own fantasy :)

There's also one incident where one guy sort of ditched her because the mom is against them. She mentioned that some FilChi guys are known to be mama's boys. That is the second time I heard that comment this year. I never really thought about it, havent noticed that with my circle of friends. For me, I am never against about being obedient to parents, but merely following without rationalizing, that's something else. We're all entitled to our own happiness and we should take full responsibilities for our own lives.

Extra Challenge: Chinese Poem

I just notice I forgot to post my Chinese masterpiece. I think this would be my first and last attempt to create such a long poem :). It has 28 stanzas, 8 liner each stanza. AND it RHYMES! I finished this last December, got me churning for appropriate words and phrases, what a challenge! And oh, I miss my petix days hehe. :)

Seriously, I really feel good when I learn a skill without having any formal lessons. For me, Mandarin is definitely not something I learned from school. The exposures just accumulated to my present level now. I don't have any special skill to be proud of. If there's one single thing I can do better, let's say more than 50% of the filchi fipinized population, I guess this is it. :p

Sharing my first stanza. :0

風花雪月 眼花遼亂
天長地久 海枯石爤
字字句句 深印心坎
不知不覺 回憶片段

Chained Hearts for Valentine's

I took this image from Sentosa Flower Festival. I like it. :)

Just some quotes to share for post-Valentine's

It's better to have love and lost than never to have loved at all.
I am reminded of this while watching the trailer of a local movie here. Quite deep.

If loving you is a sin, then I want to be jailed forever.
This is a funny quote, which I first heard from Rico Yan (nun buhay pa cya).

Inspiring Email about Love

A friend forwarded to me an advice email sent to him, a true-to-life story of love. It's a very inspiring email. How rare is it nowadays to find men who stand for whom he loves against all odds, who follows his heart over praticality, who remains firm and doesnt get swept off by just money. I have high respect for he who wrote this email. :)

This one is really catchy:
"So what if hindi ka naka porsche or hindi malaki ang bahay mo? will that make you less of a person?"

Here are the highlights:

...Its like a been there, done that scenario for me. Well ano ba talaga ang gusto mo? I hope you wont be offended, pero tingin ko kaya mo lang sya gusto is for the image, money, at siguro naprepressure ka kay tita.

maybe xxxxx has everything - good background, education and money, pero ang tanong ko, would you be happy in the end? dumaan din ako dyan. Kilala mo naman yung mga naging gf ko diba? when i met your ate (my wife), syempre iba sya from the past gfs ko, kaya nagpanic si mama. di mo lang alam ang away na pinagdaanan namin, both with mom and my wife.

or baka naman takot ka maghirap? i know if you went for the xxxxx girl, you'd probably be set for life. narinig ko na yung xxxxx company nila sa xxxxxxxxx. its a big company. if that happened, you'll be realizing your dreams mo of having it all. nice houses (plural), expensive cars, designer clothes, at mga rolex siguro. ang tanong ko lang siguro uli, hindi pa ba enough kung ano ang meron ka ngayon? i mean, you are far from poor, do you really have to have it all? chong, dont go overboard. baka greed na yan.

siguro ang worse case scenario is you being cut off financially if you went for the other one. would that be the end of your world? I doubt. youre educated so you can look for work anywhere. Swerte ka pa nga, kasi we both didnt work when we got married. Struggle talaga, tiyaga lang. With us naman, after really struggling for 7 yrs, confortable kami kahit papano, making ends meet, but no where close compared to my life before. Ang daming bills a, from house rent to xxxx's tuition. My car is a brand new honda jazz, far from the Porsche I wanted or the Benz I used to drive before. But trust me, I get more satisfaction driving the jazz compared to the benz kasi mas masarap kapag pinaghirapan mo. siguro nga i may have less compared to my friends, pero I could say that I am happy, contented and wouldnt change a thing if I lived that part of my life again. Teamwork lang kami ng ate mo, at yun ang importante. Siguro if naging kayo ulit nung isa, maganak nalang kayo kagad, for sure hindi yan matitiis ni tita. like xxxx, spoiled sa lola.

bsta ito lang advice ko. follow your heart. Tama na image. Tama na porma. you have nothing to prove in terms of that. dont worry about what others will think or say. they dont control your life, nor do they feed you. So what if hindi ka naka porsche or hindi malaki ang bahay mo? will that make you less of a person? Just remember, if you're happy, everything will fall into place.