I'm sitting right now at the front row of the Black Eyed Peas concert with A, Cami and Enzo. Yeeaahh, baby!

Cami and Enzo are watching the Black Eyed Peas concert tomorrow night thanks to me.

My company works closely with Globe Telecoms, one of the two leading telecommunications company in the country as we've got lots of tie ups with them. Negotiations with Gentxt, the special privilege card for their subscribers, are made with none other than the Executive Assistant to the President of Globe. Wow, second degree separation to the Ayalas! Originally, Globe arranged for BEP to have dinner at the bar I work for.

Anyhow, my sister is a huge fan of BEP. When I told her that BEP would indeed be having dinner at the restaurant, she said she'll ask my dad if she could go and see them. He said yes. I guess he was so happy with my sister's grades from summer school that he asked me to ask for 2 tickets from Ms. Executive Assistant to the President. Though the dinner wouldn't push through, she said she could give us 2 tickets to the concert tomorrow. They'll be seated near the stage, I guess, since the tickets were the 2nd most expensive ones (P1,960). Damn lucky! Had Ms. Executive Assis- well, you know how it goes- offered 2 more tickets, I would have gone with A, just like that (snaps!). But I already felt so kapal just asking her for two tickets. I couldn't ask for another pair!

She YM-ed me her thanks (for scoring the tickets for her) and told me her biggest dilemma: How can she sneak in a digicam into the conert. I jokingly said, "Hide them between your boobs!!! Oh, yeah, what boobs?!" And then I realized, why are cameras not allowed in such public events? After all, you came to see your favorite artists. Shouldn't you have something to capture that moment so you could treasure it forever? (For some people, having an actual picture of some star gives them bragging rights. "See? I saw Fergi of Black Eyed Peas! She's hot! I swear, man, she definitely noticed me! See how she's looking straight at me? I'm telling you, man, she was flirting with me through out the 'Shut Up!'") I've got two theories why cameras and video recorders are not allowed:

1] To avoid higher rates and damages of pick pocketing. Everyone knows that the price of cameras, especially the good ones, nowadays averages 5 figures. Thus, worthy of pick pocketing and re-selling. If venues ban cameras, there are less items to pick pocket and if you do become a victim of such crime, be grateful that the damage, the loss, isn't as high as losing a camera.

2] To prevent temporarily blindness of the performers and ultimately, expensive lawsuits. Imagine if everybody brought cameras and took pictures whenever they wanted. All those flash bulbs popping, going off in all parts of the venue, sometimes at the same time. Don't you think the artists would go blind?! That's a lawsuit waiting to happen. And if the performers go blind, they wouldn't be able to concentrate on their song and dance number. If they screw up, the audience would boo them for putting such a bad show. Thus, another expensive lawsuit hanging upon the organizer's heads.

I'm guessing the answer is theory no.2. After all, in show business, it's all about the money. When I told Cami that they should allow cameras because people would want to take pictures of their favorite star yadda- yadda- yadda (as I mentioned earlier, no need to repeat it), she said and I quote, "I know!!! argh. they're so stupid! they know people will be able to sneak in naman the cams eh! nag rule pa sila! theyre such dumb asses!!!"

"Ooooh! Blog material!" I quipped.
"Yeeeaaaahhhh!!! Updating now!" She replied.
"Don't forget to say 'I lurve my sister talaga!'" I joked.
"Hahaha! I'll give you a shout out." She said.

I'm gonna check out her blog to see my name in stars once I post this.

Damnit! Britney's new song, Everytime, is playing in my head the whole day! Especially that part that sounds like a tune coming from a musical box with a ballerina dancing on top of it. The worse part is, I can't get it out of my system by singing it because, I don't know the words! Argh!

Working as a creative in one of the leading ad agencies entails working overtime and in some cases, overnights, brainstorming until your brain cells are fried, undergoing intense pressure and sometimes, tough competition within your co-workers and your rival companies.

Tonight was not an exception. A was working so hard that he hardly had anytime to answer me in yahoo messenger. Since I just got my car back from the shop (why it was in the shop is another blog entry), I decided to give him a surprise visit with our favorite milkshakes in tow.

I tried calling him just to make sure he didn't leave the office yet. I texted him only to realize he didn't have any credit for replying so I had to send him load. As I parked behind his building at 10pm, I received a message from him. "CRB." CRBs or Creative Review Boards usually take hours! (For those who don't know, a CRB is when all the creatives assigned to a certain account present their ideas to the big boss. He/She (It, in some cases) picks one to three studies to present to the client. Damnit! Of course something had to screw up my plan. Why me? Why me? I can't believe that the one sweet gesture I've decided to do in such a long time isn't going according to plan. Worse, my car didn't have a stereo! I had to take it out before bringing my car for repairs. So there I was, sitting in the middle of an empty parking lot, alone without any music to keep me company, two strawberry milkshakes melting on the seat beside me. S-A-D! Hoping that he'd get out soon, I decided to stay and pass the time. I called up my high school bestfriend, Glady, and told her about my dilemma. Since she came back from the US, this was the only time I got to talk to her. So what did I tell her? Blogging! She said she had one but it's empty. What?! Why???

And then A texts me that I could call him now. So I did. When he picked up, he sounded so tired. I asked him how the CRB went (not well. all of them were assigned to think of more ideas before they present to the client tomorrow. yikes!), if he was going home na (in a while. which, in his terms, could take hours!) and then I asked him to guess where I was. I told him I was at the parking lot behind his building. "Really?!" he said, no longer tired, you'd think that the boulder on his shoulders were lifted and suddenly he was Mary Sunshine. I could imagine him smiling widely that even I had to smile. Then I said, "I hope you're craving for milkshakes." He quickly replied, "I'll be there in a while. I'm going down."

When he rode my car five minutes later, I handed him his milkshake and he said, "Wow!" You could tell from his eyes that he's kilig. We talked about his work while he smoked a couple of sticks. 15 minutes later, I had to leave and be home "early." (At 10:45pm, going home at that time still is early.) Since my sisters, 2 maids and I were left home alone. Everyone else was at my grandma's place/ resort, where the company my mom works for was having a planning seminar.

When I got home, I received a message from A saying thank you and that it was such a sweet gesture. I simply replied, "You needed it."

When Cami came home from summer school, she told me there's this boy in 5th grade that she found cute and that he's short (about as high as my sister's shoulder). "Camille! He's younger and shorter than you!" "But he's cute eh," she said. Her admiration for him was comparable to that of a little girl and her first pet puppy. I guess it's not one of those heart thumping, breath stopping, vocabulary losing crushes. Anyway, she found out that he's crushing back at her. I asked her how did she find out. Apparently, this other school girl she was hanging out with knew about it. My sister asked her if he has a girlfriend. The girl answers, "No, he broke up with her when he saw you."

"But you know what? He knows that I know he likes me and he didn't make me pansin in school kanina.

Ah. Young love. So sweet. So simple. So shallow.

I discovered something weird today. Don cries whenever you tell him "STINKY FEET!"

Camille was playing with the three little boys. She ran up the stairs and into our bedroom, locking the door behind her. The boys chased after her. Upon reaching our bedroom door, they started kicking the door. I don't really know the object of this game but it does happen a lot in my household. Sometimes, Cami would tease the boys by opening a fraction of the door and then closing it again the moment they realized she opened the door. Hence, the banging commences again. This morning, whenever Cami opened the door, they'd throw toys through the narrow slit in an attempt to hit her. Cami started calling them names. She called Judo "Nose picker" (well, no need for an explanation there) while Don "Stinky feet." I wondered why the name. She told me a story...

"One day, Mom was at work (she works in an upscale photo studio that specializes in family and baby pictures). She brought Don with him. She told the photographers, 'You know, I think I know what makes kids cry. Watch.'* She carried Don in her arms, looked at him and said, 'Don! Stinky feet!' Don suddenly broke into tears, hugged her tightly and started pounding his fist on mom's shoulders out of anger! Mom felt so guilty nga eh."

*(Hmm.. according to Cami's blog, my mom said that studies have shown this.. that kids cry when you tell them "stinky feet!")

To prove her point, while the other two boys were gone to grab more toys, leaving Don to keep watch, Cami opened the door and called out to him in rapid succession, "Stinky feet! Stinky feet! Stinky feet!" He was so furious that he lunged at her, making "GRRRRRR!!!" sounds with a passion! Cami had to hold him off with both arms. So she said, "I'm kidding!", brought him out of the room and ran back inside, locking the door again behind her. "See?" she says.

Later on, she calls on Xavier and does the same thing. I didn't really see this part so I'm just gonna copy the story from Cami's journal:

Next was Xavier. He was easy to tease. Just one saying of stinky feet and he'll cry his eyes out. He was funny. I go, "hey Xavier! Stinky feet!" then he'll go, "N-n-n-no! y-y-y-you stinky feet! tamil (camille)! aaahhhhhhhh!!" then he'll start crying. LOL!ü

But the war wasn't over. Cami started slipping post- it sized notes under the door. Notes such as "stinky feet" and "nose picker" (I helped her there by drawing a boy picking his nose using both fingers... just like how Cami would taunt Judo... I shouldn't be proud of this :p). To retaliate, Judo writes back using a long bond paper. In block letters, it said, "I HAT YOU!" Cami laughed and said mockingly out loud, "I hat you?! I hat you?!" Making her sound almost British. From behind the door, we heard Judo say, "Ay! I forgot the (letter) E!", which totally cracked us up.

It was just sooo cute for a seven year old.

Most people know that I come from a HUGE family. We're 7 kids to be exact though there's suppose to be 8 of us had my stepmom did not get an ectopic pregnancy this year. Yes, you read it right. Stepmom. That explains the number of kids. My dad remarried four years after being separated from my biological mom. There were four of us kids... 3 girls and a boy (Often referred to us the big kids). Then there were 3 little monsters. I mean, boys! Since I'll be talking about my family a lot in this blog, I've decided to make brief descriptions of the Brady Bunch Plus 1.

Dad (41): Yup, pretty young to have a 23- going- on 24 daughter. He and my mom had me when they were only 17. Obviously, they forgot their prophylactics. Dad is bald (by choice) and big. He used to be very strict with us four big kids. We were hardly allowed to go out and play in the street. Or if we went to malls, a yaya had to accompany us. I used to be so scared of him to the point that I'd avoid him and I wouldn't talk to him unless I had to ("Dad, can I go out to..."). That wasn't the end of it. If he did allow me, I had to submit a piece of paper indicating the who's, where's, when's, how's and contact numbers! But when he remarried, he became more lax with us kids. Whenever I ask if I could go out, he just says "ok." We're still scared of him sometimes. I, for one, panic whenever he calls or SMS me after 2am on a night out. But he can be a funny dad. He makes jokes and teases us. Dinner can be pleasant because of the stories he tells. Like us kids, many people are intimidated with him. I guess it's the "I'm a damn tough guy, don't you ever make the mistake of messing up with me!" aura he exudes. Combine that with the fact that he's a big guy and he's bald, that just doubles the terror. But one thing that amazes me is that he's got a LOT of friends that he helps out. In return, they are willing to break an arm just to help him too.

Mom (39):Whenever my friends see my mom, they always gush on how pretty she is. People actually stare at her when she walks by them. But beneath the beautiful exterior lies an equally beautiful heart. She is very sweet and always thinks of other people first. She loves throwing baby showers and surprise parties. She is very involved in all her kids' school activities. In fact, she was once president of the parent association of her son's kindergarten. She treats us all as her own. She's been a real friend to me. Someone I could just talk to whenever I have any problems. When she and my dad first started dating, I warmed up to her easily. We would talk in my room for hours on end talking about my obssession back then, some cute guy named Paolo. Looking back, I am amazed at her patience listening to some teenybopper with stars in her eyes, helplessly in like with her high school crush go on and on about some kilig moment where his eyes met hers in the cafeteria. Back then, such small, meaningless moments meant the world to that psychotic stalker disguised as a high school junior wearing a plaid skirt.

The BIG kids

Me:Nuff said.

Ara (20):Ah! The braniac of the family. She was in the honors class all through out high school. She was always involved in extra curricular activities, even until now, that she's hardly at home. She once told my dad that apart from her "clubs" in school, she wanted to join the swimming varsity. My dad said that he's getting fed up with the school and its activities. My sister pleaded not to get mad at the school and explained that joining such activities were her choice. Dad said, "That's why I'm not getting mad at them. I'm getting mad at them for not stopping you from joining too much organizations!" He was just joking, of course. Now this girl doesn't let anything stop her just because she is a female. Thus, she is the most boyish among the three girls. She's not at all tomboyish though. She had a "boyfriend" before I did. Among the three of us, she has the longest, most beautiful hair. She wears skirts to school and when the mood strikes her, makes her own earrings. Not at all boyish but definitely someone who could beat you up!

Enzo (17): It's no secret that growing up, Enzo and I would engage in screaming matches. Being the eldest child, next in line after my parents when it comes to authority, and him being the trouble maker, something would definitely spew between us. But being more mature now, I try not to engage in arguments with him. I believe that he, too, has changed for the better so it lessens the conflict between us. Enzo is one friendly person. He's not afraid to approach people. He gets along with adults more than kids his age. Enzo is also a whiz in computers. He's practically the troubleshooting manual of those unfortunate souls with computer disasters.

Camille (14):Currently, she is the sibling I'm close to. She is the most kikay among the sisters. Constantly whining about her curly, Hermione- like hair and thus, forever sitting in front of the mirror with her straightening iron. Yes, even if she's just staying at home. She has finally discovered the wonders of shopping and make-up. At times, I consult her on what to wear on dates with A. I even borrow her earrings. She's got good taste, I tell yah. We often discuss the latest in pop culture and I tell yah, whatever is the latest teenybop movie, she's obsessed with it. She searches the entire world wide web looking for tidbits of her latest movie fave. One time, she was so into Harry Potter that she joined an online trivia competition and won! We all thought she was busy studying for an exam cuz she'd prepare flash cards. We didn't know it contained Harry Potter trivia. She's fun to talk because she's got a shallow sense of humor. She doesn't get mad easily when you tease her. Sometimes, she could be really funny even when she's serious. Read her blog, you'll get what I mean.

The little kids

Judo (7):Being hearing impaired in one ear did not stop him from being the best that he could be. Currently studying in Ateneo (I'm telling you, he's a die hard Atenean, cheering the loudest during UAAP games, holding "We Believe" signs that he picked up lying in the parking lot of ADMU. In birthday parties, while other kids are having Nemo or Shrek painted on their faces, he'd ask for a blue eagle and the letter A!), he's one of the smartest in class. Still so young yet already a leader. He's a soccer player and prefers to be the goalie than the forward during seasons. He's the wildest among the 3 little boys. The most hyper. Sometimes, the most brattish. Boy, when he gets mad, he gets really mad. He throws tantrums and bangs doors. He knows how to answer back to his elderly siblings (except me!). Yet, he can be the sweetest. He'll just suddenly wrap his arms around you and plant a big fat kiss on your cheek. And just like that, he's back to being an angel again.

Don (5): Probably the most charismatic one among the three. He's very clingy with mommy and very sensitive. I guess you could say he is the most emotional one. He's also a mama's boy. Mom told him not to fight with Xavier, his younger brother, and not to resort to punching or pushing even though Xavier does that to him. One time, Xavier grabbed his toy from his hands. He pleaded to give it back and snatched it from him, though Xavier quickly got it back from him. Like most kids, he would have hurt his younger brother to get back the toy but since mom said not to do that, he crawled up the couch, buried his head under the pillow and cried out his frustration. Poor kid but it was just so sweet. And eventhough Xavier can be rough by sitting on his brother's face while watching tv or pulling his hair, Don doesn't do anything. I guess he doesn't mind or he's too busy watching cartoons that he doesn't even notice that his younger brother is practically beating him up. One thing I like about Don is his cute voice and laugh especially when he's so excited.

Xavier (3): The baby of the family. My dad calls him "jungle boy." Just like his kuya, he can get very wild. Being the baby, everybody in the family just lets him be because anything he does is just "adorable". When he gets into a scuffle with his brothers, he cries and runs to mommy or daddy and makes sumbong, even if he's at fault. He pretends he was the one hurt even though he bit, pinched or punched first. Still, this makes him very adorable to all of us. It's the age he's in. I'm sure give it a couple or three more years, it's no longer cute!

And there you go, Brady Bunch Plus 1. I'm sure you'll hear more of them as I'll be writing anecdotes especially about the three little monsters.

Twice I called two people not knowing they were out of the country.
Countless times I made long distance calls, negotiating with event organizers who live in the beautiful islands of Boracay (lucky bastards!).

Not to mention the numerous instances where I had to call A because I was too lazy to SMS him.

THen there's the 2 ring tones I downloaded, one of which I had to download twice because I stupidly forgot to save it in my phone. I got "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5 and "The Reason" by Hoobastank. Both ring tones are especially for A's calls. Unfortunately, he hardly calls me. Lost cause. (Can I just share that as I type this, I can hear myself in my head dictating my entry with a British accent! How bloody weird is that?!)

Lastly, I have no idea how much it's gonna cost me but I do know that sending an entry to your blog via the email feature of your phone and GPRS will be charged. Who cares?! I wanna try if it works. Besides, I need another blog dosage.
Yup, expect my mobile phone bill to sky rocket this month. I wouldn't even act surprise!

Yes, that's what I am. Isn't it obvious from how I was able to customize this online journal all in one day? Sshhh! Don't tell anyone but I was sorta putting off work for my blog. And when guilt got the better of me, I compromised by working in between blogging (mind you, it's the other way around... not blogging in between working).

When I transferred to Blogspot, the only thing I knew was to post an entry. I didn't know jack about uploading pictures or putting links or making my blog even more interesting. I envied the other bloggers whose journals were more interesting because of the tidbits that reflected more of their personality.

It's all in the template. When I clicked the "edit template" button, I was greeted by all sorts of letters, numbers and symbols forming some gibberish language. How I'm going to spice up my blog, I do not know. But thanks to the HELP button and some trial and error, I did it. As my friend said while we were chatting, comparing blog how- tos, on YM, "Naks! Computer geek ka na (You're a computer geek now)." To which I replied, "Kunyari lang naiintindihan ko siya (I just pretend I understand it)."

But uh, I guess, trying to figure my way around some strange gibberish computer language makes me a geek... that, or I'm just really resourceful. I prefer the latter. :p

When my boyfriend arrived, I was surprised that he was at my door already. Could that much time have passed since he SMS-ed me that he's on his way home already from work? I was just so immersed in this blog makeover that time flew so fast, I didn't even notice! But he arrived in the nick of time. I just completed the last touch up and proudly presented my blog! As if that wasn't enough, I had to shoo him for awhile to type this! I let him use the other computer in the office and told him to go check his mail! I'm so bad! Nope, bad isn't the fact I'm shooing him away. Bad is the fact that I'm blogging right now instead of spending time with him! That's worse! I guess I've reached that point of no return. I'm a blogaholic.

I have joined the ranks of my brave friends who have confessed that blogging is all they want to do. Blogging has lowered their productivity level at the office. Blogging has made them wish their were more hours in a day exclusively alloted just for blogging. Blog, blog, blog, blah...

Until I find a cure for my addiction, I'll just keep on having my blogging fix. But For now, I'm gonna log off and go back to my boyfriend and give him my undivided attention.

A, here I come...

Yesterday afternoon, my dad decided to treat us (my youngest sister, Cami, and my other sister, Ara) out to the beauty parlor. We all decided to get our hair trimmed and blow- dried stick straight.

My dad brought us to Bench Fix in Katipunan. It was really sweet of him to take us and pay for our indulgence in vanity. He sent me an SMS telling me to just text him when we're done so he could pick us up.

A few hours later, the three of us were seated beside each other, staring at our gorgeous locks. I told Cami to text our dad so he could pick us up. He replies, "Can you take the trike?" All 3 of us looked at each other with the same horrified expressions on our faces. "The trike?!?! But our hair!!!"

And so we had no choice but to take the trike. Our coifs ruined the moment the trike started moving. Ara's still long and naturally stick straight hair flying all over the place. Cami and I, who have naturally wavy hair, were holding down our hairdos.

When we got home, my dad heard us approaching the front door. He came out saying, "Let me see! Let me see (your hairdos)!" I replied, "Wala na, dad. Sira na buhok namin! Pinag- trike mo kami eh! (No more, dad. Our hair's ruined. You made us ride the trike!)" The three of us looked like we came from a cat fight. Cami complained the entire day (and night) that her hair was so puffy from the trike ride. She's the vainest among the 3 of us.

It took only a 5 peso trike ride to ruin a P200 haircut.

I have been keeping an online journal for the last seven months now in a different journal site. However, I haven't been updating it religiously. When I started it, I hoped to talk not just about my daily comings and goings but also my thoughts on the different aspects of life. I was only successful after one entry.

Eventually, I became addicted to reading other people's blogs. I told a friend about this new addiction, how I liked reading about the soap operatic lives of strangers. I guess it's the usisera in me. My friend then decided that she should put up a blog too since she's got a lot to say and stories to tell. She became so addicted to it. She even SMS-ed me one night all the way from Hongkong, saying "My name is _______. I'm a blogaholic!"

I guess her enthusiasm rubbed off on me. Plus the daily musings of my favorite blog authors who write anecdotes even on the littlest things inspired me to capture in writing the little things that make me smile.

So here's to a new online life...