Here's another funny conversation that transpired between A and me last night.

Me: Baaaabe! You're starting to act like a monkey in heat! I think I'll start calling you "Monkey." Come here, Monkey (I pronounced it as Monk- kay)!

A: (laughs and makes a lewd remark)

After a few hours, out of the blue,

A: I think I'll start calling you "Anabel."

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, our new pet names to each other are "Monkey" and "Anabel," after the popular local children's game, "Monkey, monkey, anabel..."

That's right. And it's called: Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince.

Don't believe me? Check it out. Go here.

I know it won't be out till August next year, but my goodness! I got goosebumps from the excitement of learning the latest title!

"Gentxt has spiderman 2
sreening 11pm tonight at
glorietta 4. If you want to
watch, pls let me know how
many tickets you need.
--Ms. _____"

This message woke me up this morning. Did I want tickets? Did I want tickets on the first day it was showing here in the Philippines??? Was Peter Parker bitten by a spider?! Did webs shoot out of Spiderman's wrist?! Can he not swing from building to building like Tarzan?! Hell YES!!!

I asked for 2 tickets (since only A and I are the only ones I know whoe can watch, considering it was late) even though I was hesitating. Why?

1] Knowing these events, it will start very late. Like 12 midnight. It would probably end at past 2am. My dad doesn't want me out driving at 2am. I had to ask permission.

2] A has basketball practice. His company lost in their first basketball game by 30 points! Yup, 30.

3] I wasn't sure if we had our weekly managerial meeting tonight.

But luck is on my side today. My dad allowed me. A's basketball practice was cancelled (due to the storm). The managerial meeting was moved to tomorrow because it's pay day today, and there's usually a lot of people in the restaurant on pay days.

So, yes, tonight, I'm seeing Tobey Maguire in red tights.

My five year old brother, Don, was checked in the hospital late Monday night for pneumonia. I know that to make him feel better, I have to buy him a toy.

If I buy him a toy, Xavier, who's only 3 and already exercises world domination by claiming everything as "mine!", will get jealous. Thus, to avoid any conflict, I as well have to buy Xavier a toy, better than Don's, if possible.

If I buy Don and Xavier a toy each, I have to buy also Judo, who's 7 and the eldest among the three monsters, as it would only be fair.

It's too expensive buying toys for these kids.

I, therefore, conclude that my brothers shouldn't get hospitalized.

A few weeks ago, I learned a new hiccup remedy from my officemate. According to her, it was told to her by her boyfriend's mother. The remedy was one of those superstitious ones, an old wives tale, really. All you have to say is this one line and the hiccups will go away. She said it was 100% effective. It was so absurd, I told myself I had to try it out once I got a case of hiccups

Yesterday, I had the chance to test it out. On my second hic, I asked her, "Ano nga ulit kailangan kong sabihin para mawala yung hiccups? (What do I have to say again to make the hiccups go away?)" She told me to say it along with her,

"Nagnakaw ako ng itlog, sa 'yo na lang. (I stole eggs, you can have it)."

I promise you, I never got to my third hic.

I went to another bridal shower this weekend. It was my second bachelorette party, actually. The bride is the fiancee of A's kabarkada and all of the girlfriends of the kabarkada were invited to the party, while the guys went to the stag party, which was happening simultaneously (ours in a condotel, theirs in a strip club). Among all the girlfriends, only me, Elaine, Jin, Irene and Cris were able to make it.

It was awkward at first, since there was only 5 of us who really knew each other as opposed to the 15 other people there who came from the bride's highschool or work. It was so me against the world. During the party, they regrouped us for the games. We played the first game where we had to make a penis out of clay and the group that made one that looked like the bride's own model would win. After that, the stripper came out to do his first dance number. He came out with a towel wrapped around his waist. And slowly teased us by bearing his thong. Not a pretty site. It was a good place to hang out sans the workout. Probably because the guy looked like he got picked up from the red light district. Eew!

The next game was charades. Each group would choose a representative to act it out and for those groups that didn't get to guess it right, the bride had to choose a representative to do a consequence. That would be fine, right? But what if you had to guess which sexual position they were acting out? Would you be okay with it? I'm not really conservative but I admit I was a bit surprised. I guess it was okay. After all, we were all girls and it's all in the name of fun.

But what if the consequences were sexual positions that you had to do WITH THE STRIPPER? In front of all those people you weren't even friends with? Would you do it?

When I found out that consequences included the stripper and saw how they had to do it, I was disgusted. It was just too bastos (indecent) and vulgar for me already. As Glady put it, it was distasteful. True. While the bride's friends were okay with it and would even make fun of the positions, there were some who hesitated at first but went through it anyway. I kept wishing that we won't get chosen by the bride to do the charades, especially the consequences.

Unfortunately, the bride just had to choose Elaine to do the charade. I told her if she needed a partner, I'll help her out, all in the name of support and sisterhood as I know how uncomfortable it was to be out there. Unfortunately, the charade required one person. When the time came to choose who would do the consequence, the bride chose me. As she approached me, I kept shaking my head "no." Eventually, I had to say, "Cris, ayoko talaga. Magagalit si A. Di ako papayag. (Cris, I really don't want to. A will get mad. I won't allow it.) I guess I said it with a dead serious tone that she let it go and chose someone else from the group. Elaine told me later that I curtly told off Cris or tinarayan ko siya. I felt bad because that was not my intention and I felt I had to put my foot down, that I was against, not only the consequence, but the concept of it. Call me kill joy, call me conservative (though honestly, I'm probably the most liberated among my friends), but it really was too vulgar. Nakakabastos na nga eh. When I told this incident to an officemate, she told me that it was a good thing I didn't go through the consequence because doing so was like disrespecting myself. True. By the way, what was the consequence? I had to pretend to lick the stripper from neck going down. I tell you, that's already tame compared to what the others did.

I've been to one bridal shower, the one before this, and it was fun. We had games where we had to make a wedding dress out of rolls of tissue paper and condoms in eggplant and it was ten times better than the last party. A bridal shower can be sexy yet still be wholesome, clean and fun. While writing this blog, I realized that a bridal shower is supposed to be a send off party to the bride who is embarking into a new journey where she will be sharing her life for all eternity to the husband. But in last Saturday's bridal shower, it was a send off party to a life filled with sex. Trust me, not even the words, "wedding gown," "ring", or "flowers" were heard! The bride even forgot to give us the wedding invitations!

I have never ever joined a gym, much less enter a gym as I have been gifted by a fast metabolism. My boyfriend never had to lie to the much dreaded "Am I fat?" question. Some people sigh in envy that I'm so lucky I was naturally thin and even sexy (though I'm really flat- chested. Thanks to maximers, my boobs are proportioned to my somewhat J.Lo butt). To make them feel better, I always tell them that once I get pregnant, it would all catch up on me.

When 2004 came in, a well known (and expensive) gym opened near the restaurant. A good 2 minute walk. I was thinking that it would be a good new year's resolution to join the gym. After all, it was time I start toning my muscles and with all the crap I've been eating for the last 23 years of my life (trust me, my daily intake is 50% junkfood or chocolates, as I consider them a basic food group), I surely need to take care of myself.

January. February. March. My New Year's resolution became "to join the gym in 2005 (no particular month)." I was that lazy.

Today, I was surprised that my dad signed up at the gym. It was a bloody miracle (say that again with matching British accent, please!). It's been years that we asked him to enlist in one and was practically like pulling teeth to do so. When he got back to the office, he was holding a Grilled Chicken Caesar sandwich and a tumbler of a fruit shake. The sandwich was good! I told him that I wanted one too but since I'm not a member, they won't let me in.

We went to the gym and he introduced me to the receptionist as his daughter (doi!) and told them that I'll be coming over once in awhile to buy food for him (good lie, which will probably be true anyway). We went upstairs where I bought a sandwich for myself. I was amazed at how high tech it was. In a span of one minute, I waved to like three people I know. It was a good place to hang out and socialize sans the workout. And then, I realized:

While the rest of them came here to lose weight, I came here to buy food.

I love playing ditsy with A. Here's one example of a conversation where I'm playing ditz. The conversation happened yesterday via SMS:

A was telling me that his company is having its first basketball game against another agency today. I asked him where the game would be held and he gave me a street in Makati that I'm not familiar with. I told him I wanted to go. He said it's okay if I don't go since he wants to see first if he'll play. It would be embarrassing if I went and he got benched.

Me: So?! I'd still cheer for you! All I have to say is, "Put A in the field!!!" and "A! A! He's our man! If he can't hit a homerun, no one can!!! Woohoo! Go A!!!"
A: It's basketball, baby! :p
Me: Yeah! So? What's wrong with I said???
A: That's baseball.
Me: What's the difference?

Thirty minutes later, I guess the curiosity was killing him so he SMSes me, "Were you serious about the baseball thing?"

I just had to laugh. I must be good at playing ditz.

The ironic thing is, the reason why I love playing ditz is because it's such a challenge for me to think of ditzy remarks. :)

Warning: Shallow entry ahead.

After reading my last blog, I realized that 2 months ago, my Saturdays wouldn't be as packed. My Saturdays were spent waiting at home for A to pick me up at around 6pm so we could go out. In fact, sometimes we would argue because he loves sleeping in on weekends while I wanted to do as much as I could so as not to waste the day and time.

You see, two months ago, I didn't have a car. Two months ago, I didn't know how to drive. Yes, at the age of 23, I relied on a driver. The opportunity to learn was there. In fact, I did learn but I never got to practice because I didn't have a car to practice on. My family had 2 cars. One car was an automatic, which is my dad's. The other was a van shared by my mom and the kids. I couldn't really practice with the van since it was always out of the house, bringing and picking up my siblings to and from school and any time in between, the car was being used by my mom. So having no car to practice on was my reason. (By the way, I found out that this was also the reason why some of my girlfriends don't drive!)

I was beginning to hate the situation I was in. I hated relying on others to bring me anywhere to the point that I would decide not to go anymore because I didn't want to inconvenience others. I thought of getting a second hand car with my own savings. My dad discouraged me because getting a second hand car was like getting second hand headaches. Whatever troubles the former owner had with the car, I would also be inheriting them. True. My dad told me that it would be best to just buy a brand new car and pay for it the monthly fee for four years. With my salary and the benefits I'm getting now, I could do that. But, who knows if I'll still be working for the same company in four years? Four years is a looooong time! Knock on wood, but what if something happens to the company? Because of that uncertainty, I had to shelf the idea for awhile.

After a short while, probably two weeks after making such a conclusion, one February day, a fairy godmother, in the form of my grandmother, gave me a call. My grandmother convinced my grandfather to give me his car because he was buying a new one. My grandfather was buying a new car because his car got involved in a marital dispute. The car was the victim. Apparently, the car was parked outside his office in Ermita. A woman was so furious with her husband that she chased him with a kaldero (pot) in her hand. In her anger, she hurled the pot at him. The husband, obviously had good reflexes, ducked. And poor car's rear windshield shattered to smitherins. Good ol' Grandpa just decided to just buy a new car (wow! where's the logic there?).

Going back to the phone conversation, my grandmother told my grandfather to just have the car fixed and give it to me instead. She told him that I was doing well at work and sometimes, I take a cab going to the office. Grandma confides that it's better if the car goes to me rather than somebody else (my grandfather is known to be very generous to his friends). My grandmother gave me a "script." She told me to call my grandfather and say, "Lolo, sabi ni Lola bibigay mo raw sa akin yung kotse! (Grandpa, Grandma said you're giving me your car!" This way, my grandfather can't back out. My lola is so funny and sneaky, I love her! Hehehe!

I contributed to the growing traffic of Manila on 23 March 2004, the day I got my license. I still enjoy driving myself around. Sometimes, in the middle of traffic, I catch myself thinking how lucky I am to have gotten my own car without shedding a penny (or in our case, a centavo). I can now come and go as I please. Before, my dad would make me up at 9am and tell me to get ready because we were going to the office already... and then, we would actually leave the house at 1pm. It was the waiting for him to get dressed that killed me. If I hitched with my mom, she would be dressed early but she was doing so many things (I swear, her time management skills are the worst!) that we would leave 2 hours later (It was waiting for her to get things done that also killed me). At night, my dad would leave the restaurant at 12mn or 1am. Where as I have been wanting to go home since 9pm (It was boredom that was killing me). As a result, A would pick me up everyday and take me home. I felt bad for him because he could have just rested at home but no matter how tired he was, he'd take me home. Since he took me home, we didn't want him to just drop me off. We wanted to spend time together. Thus, he'd leave my house at 1am and wake up for work at 6am that day (it was the lack of sleep that killed A).

Now, nobody cares if I wake up at noon, shower and leave the house right away. Nowadays, I even bring A home. My weekends are more packed now because I didn't have to wait for A to pick me up to take me shopping or do my errands. I can now meet up with friends for lunches or dinners, unlike before, where I had to be picked up by one of them. Though I must admit that up to now, I haven't gone to any mall because I was terrified of parking. I couldn't parallel park to save my life! As for parking at work, luckily, there are parking slots alloted to restaurant owners in the area where I work and when I do parallel park, there are hardly any cars. Usually, I'm the first one to arrive.

In a sense, having my own car gave me independence. If I had something to do, I just leave my house. Sure, I'd tell my parents where I was going but they did not stop me nor was I being stopped because I had no means to get around. Since my car was given to me by my grandparents and not my parents, they can't just use it to do errands for the house. If they need my car, they would have to ask me first. In that way, I also felt a sense of ownership.

Probably the one downfall of having your own car is the expenses it entails. I spent so much to have it fixed up (change tires, add a CD/ MP3 player, add a car alarm and central locking, buy seat covers, etc). I spent more again when the air conditioning system broke down and a part had to be replaced. I spent once again when I had to buy a new battery for my car. Yup, a huge chunk of my savings went down the drain. I'm just lucky that the engine doesn't consume much gas.

I know I keep raving about my independence though honestly, after 2am, I'm not. My dad starts calling me after 2am if I have the car with me. He worries about me getting into accidents as there are a lot of drunk drivers on the road after 2am. But goodness, if I didn't bring the car with me, he wouldn't even bother to call! (I like it that way actually!)

Having my own car gives me a sense of responsibility, independence, and yes, even adulthood. Sometimes, while sitting in traffic (yes, we all do a lot of thinking while stuck in traffic), I smile to myself, half believing that this is real-- that I have my own car and I could just come and go as I please and that yes, I am very, very lucky that I have generous grandparents.

Here I am sitting in one of the tables outside the restaurant. I look up and see the dark clouds slowly setting in. While it's not drizzling yet, I took the opportunity to blog outdoors, enjoy the cool, early evening breeze and watch the restaurant slowly filling to the brim. Fridays are our busiest days yet the most un-busy day for me in terms of paperwork and phonecalls.

I'm waiting for my weekend to begin. I'm waiting for A, who just called me saying that he's on his way home to change clothes and pick up his car. I'm waiting for an SMS from Elaine, the girlfriend of one of A's best friends, to let me know if we're still meeting up tonight. I'm thinking where should we move locations in case A's aunt pushes through with her plan to dine here. A claims that if she does go, we have to evacuate because he can't be seen smoking (hahaha!!!). I'm thinking about tomorrow and my busy schedule ahead. I have to:

1] Get a manicure. (My nails are so long, I broke my thumbnail the other day!)
2] Go to the dentist. (My tooth needs refilling)
3] Have the dress I'm wearing to a wedding altered
4] Go to Park Square and check if my uncle's barong is now ready for pick up. (Stupid me! I didn't get the phone number of the shop. I was just told to wait for their call. The shop isn't even listed in the directory! So I don't have much of a choice now. By the way, my uncle is getting married in the US. Since they couldn't get a decent barong there, he sent me his measurements and asked me to have one made instead!)
5] Find out how much is the dollar exchange rate in money exchange shops. (My mom wants to buy the dollars my uncle sent me to pay for his barong. Dollar exchange rates are lower in money exchange shops than in banks.)
6] Probably go back to the DVD central and exchange some of the DVDs that aren't working or aren't clear.
7] Go home and change into my outfit for the bridal shower (A's kabarkada is getting married so I'm going to the bachelorette party of the (duh!) bride while he goes to the stag party. I heard the organizers of the shower hired a stripper and he's doing 3 rounds!)
8] Pick up the cake from Kink Cakes
9] Head off to the shower at Astoria.

That's only my Saturday. I still don't know what my Sunday will bring. It's either we go to my grandma's house and have lunch with the entire clan or my dad gets lazy and decides to stay home, and therefore, making me free to go out with A. I just love Sundays with A cuz we seem to do a lot! Either way, I'm happy with both. Have a great weekend, everybody!

Growing up, I've always thought that I had such a unique last name. It is so unique that some males in our country bear this as a first name. Yet at the same time, it is also a common name because it is the name often used in local folklore and tales. On the other hand, my first name is very common. I remember in grade school, I had 2 other classmates who had the same name as I. Although spelled differently, it sounded the same and thus, when called upon for recitation, the 3 of us looked at each other first before figuring out which one was being called (why do gradeschool teachers call you by your full first name rather than your nickname, like in college?). Common first name but very unique last name, I knew that no one in my batch, or even in the other batches, shared my last name except for my siblings. Mind you, I went to a huge Catholic school where there were 45 students per class, 10 sections per year level and I was very sure that only my siblings and I carried the name.

Until one day, I found out that there was another girl who shared not just my last name but also my first name! Though her name is a more sophisticated and exotic version to my saintly, virginal one, we often use our nicknames.

One day, I was blog hopping and found her site. I left a comment on one of her posts. In return, she visited mine and left a message on my tag board. Well, you know how the system goes. :) I left a message at her tagboard, thanking her for visiting my blog and how I found hers. Then I dropped the bomb "By the way, wanna know something weird? We have the same name."

She told me she learned of my existence more than a year ago and I told her how I learned of hers. We were both happy to finally meet each other albeit virtually. We exchanged stories on how some people would mistake us for the other. She told me her boyfriend was just as shocked as she was that there was another girl with the same name as hers and even said, "There's two of you?! The world is not big enough!" True. True. It was weird yet very cool.

I'm glad that not only is she very nice, down to earth, approachable and cool about this, she is also beautiful and intellectual (haha! feeling close na kami!). So who is she? Visit her site: Calamansi.

What about you? Have you met your name doppelganger?

Okay, I didn't splurge on books this time. But I splurged again on one of my indulgences and I hope that Chairman Edu Manzano of the the Optical Media Board of the Philippines doesn't read this.

I splurged once again on DVDs. Pirated ones. Hide!!!....... Okay, coast is clear. No raiding team coming out to get me. I spent well over a thousand bucks. Here are the titles I bought:

50 First Dates
Along Came Polly
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Mean Girls
Coyote Ugly
The Girl with a Pearl Earring
Le Appartmente
Sylvia
Peter Pan
Cold Mountain

I shop and splurge at least once a month. Once, after Christmas, I bought all seasons of Friends. My sisters were so happy and watched it all right away. Where as I choose not to watch it without A. After six months, I'm still in Season 8!

Okay, I know I'm sinning by buying all these pirated videos and I'm robbing off lots of entertainment companies, actors and actresses, production companies for their royalties and what have yous. And I know a lot of people out here are doing the same thing too and we practically have the same reason: original copies are too expensive! In today's time (and prizes), you got to be reasonable. Anyway, it's not like I'm selling them or re-producing them. As a consolation, I told myself, I will never buy DVDs or VCDs of local films. Now, that would hurt the showbiz industry and affect the economy.

Hahaha! Seems like I'm whitewashing my sins away.

The entry below was inspired by a post from Ara's blog:

My dad's youngest sibling was only 6 years old when I was born. Being the first grandchild and first niece, naturally, all the attention was showered on me. My uncle did not like this at all. When my parents were around, he'd pretend that he absolutely adored me but the moment they weren't looking, he'd pinch me or pull whatever little strands of hair I had on my head. When I wailed from the pain, he'd look at my parents innocently and shrug his shoulders (my parents learned of his modus operandi later on).

One afternoon, my mom, then 17, took me and my uncle to the village park. On the way home, he asked her if he could push my stroller with me inside. Thinking it would be harmless, she let him. We were going along so well when suddenly, both my uncle and I fell. He, and my mom, forgot about the two steps going down the walkway. From that incident, we both suffered a scar under our chin.

Growing up, we put the incident and any kind of "sibling" rivalry behind us. In fact, we get along so well now. But that's not the point of my story. Let's move along.

21 years later, A and I got together. One day, he noticed I had a scar under my chin. I told him how I got my scar. He, then, said, "You know why I noticed? Look." He points to a spot right under his chin, exactly where my scar was on mine. A scar! Apparently, he got it when he was young while his dad was teaching him how to shave. I was amazed with the coincidence, how both of us lovers bore a scar under our chin.

A now calls us "scar- crossed lovers."

I work as a marketing manager for a chain of bar and restaurants. Every week, the management team and department heads hold a meeting to discuss issues, problems, and occassionally, chismis (rumors).

I found out 2 meetings ago that in one of our popular branches, where it is very hard to get in due to the crowd and long waiting line, some guy would tell the bouncer that he is the marketing manager so that he'd get in. Of course, the bouncer didn't know better. He didn't even bother to check for an ID and just gave him the benefit of the doubt. (My fault too since I don't visit the branch as it is so far for me and I'd fear getting lost on the way there).The vice president of operations who is somewhat assigned to the said branch learned of this story and told the bouncer that it was impossible because I am the marketing manager. We asked what he looked like and according to the bouncer, "Pangit siya (He's ugly)." Everybody laughed. I pretended to be appalled and said, "Sana sinabi niyo hindi siya pwede maging marketing manager kasi ang marketing manager niyo maganda! (You should have said he can't be the marketing manager because the real marketing manager is beautiful!)" That got them laughing even harder.

I wasn't actually surprised that somebody was pretending to be me. Almost a year ago, when the branch was newly opened, I received a phone call from a woman asking for a certain male person. I said that no such person worked for us. She clarified again and said that he told her he was the marketing person of the bar. I said no such person exists in the company. I was thinking perhaps he was one of the stockholders, though the name still didn't register. Perhaps a friend or relative of a stockholder who was assigned with such task, only I wasn't informed about it. I clarified later on that nobody with that name worked for us, nor is the name familiar. We let it go.

Last night, he was caught. The bouncer recognized him and pointed him out to the VP. (Details to follow as I will ask him what happened-- sorry, bitin ba?) Needless to say, he was kicked out and banned from any of our establishments in front of his friends! He even asked if he could finish the remaining of his beer and he was told he could finish it outside. He even pleaded that he was close to Al, some regular guest who is very close to the owners. Apparently, he felt ownership by affiliation. Upon hearing this Al retorted to his face, "Oo, kilala kita pero hindi tayo close noh! (Yes, I know you but we're not even close to each other!)"

Imagine how embarrassing that was to him, especially to his companions who believed all along that he was the marketing manager? Serves him right! Shame on you, Mr. Marketing- Manager- Impostor!

I'm so happy! I went online shopping yet again. I discovered an online store here in the Philippines and tried it out. The clothes are affordable and of nice quality. The owner deals with you personally and makes sure you're well taken care. Once you make an order, they either text or email you to confirm your order. If there are any problems with deliveries, they let you know right away. It's all very interactive, really and I absolutely enjoy shopping there. I recommend that you visit them: www.tianggeonline.com Here's what I bought:



And because I'm so special (hahaha! kidding!), they threw in the earrings for free!

Pretty good stuff, don't you think? I can't wait to wear the blue and blue green striped halter top with the earrings on one of my night outs. I'm sure I'll look fab!

While answering the survey in my previous post, I asked A, over yahoo messenger, what are my top 5 best and worst personality traits:

A: true friend
A: loving
A: thoughtful
A: quirky
A: crazy
A: down to earth
A: great taste in stuff
A: and those are just your bad traits pa lang =P

My heart melted.

This survey was extracted from Rica's blog:

5 Things That Scare Me
1] Death of a loved one
2] My loved ones or me getting a terminal illness
3] The political and economic situation of this country
4] Being a victim of any crime
5] Not winning the lottery =p Kidding, flying cockroaches na lang.

5 People Who Make Me Laugh
1] A, my boyfriend
2] My Aunt Karoll
3] My sister, Cami
4] My friend, Karla
5] My Uncle Francis

5 Persons I Love
1] Doi! A, obviously!
2] My parents
3] My siblings
4] My relatives
5] My close friends

5 Attitudes I Hate
1] People who think they are better than others
2] People who are rude and inconsiderate
3] People who wallow in self pity yet do not do anything to change the predicament they are in
4] Okay, this is mean but here it goes: Street children who beg you "ate, akin na lang yan! (older sis, can i have that?)" while you're consuming your food/ drink outside a resto. I bought it for a purpose and it's mine.If I didn't want it, I wouldn't have bought it.
5]People not learning from their mistakes (such as voting a has- been actor into Presidency)

5 Things I Don't Understand
1] Why my college took out Applied Integrated Studies from it's curriculum... it was such a good subject, probably the one I learned the most from
2] Why one must be a college graduate, or at least has reached college, to be able to qualify for a rank and file position, but to be the President of the Philippines, must be a high school graduate.
3] Lack of common sense
4] Why people with curly/ wavy hair have their locks straightened, while people with straight hair have their locks curled.
5] Euclidean Geometry (how I was able to pass were results of sleepless nights, vigils and novenas, and a stroke of luck)

5 Things On My Desk Right Now
1] My laptop
2] Wireless phone (and mobile phone)
3] Piles upon piles of paper
4] My sunglasses
5] One Tuna Pie from Jollibee, a pasalubong of our manager when she arrived

5 Things I'm Doing Right Now
1] Checking my Friendster
2] Editing my blog
3] Working on purchase orders
4] Waiting for a client to come over and make a downpayment
5] Waiting for my food to be brought to the office

5 Positive Traits that Describe My Personality
1] Good sense of humor
2] Blunt
3] Determined (when I want something)
4] Sweet/ Thoughtful
5] Down to Earth

5 Negative Traits that Describe My Personality
1] Proud
2] Stubborn
3] Hot tempered (on my bad days)
4] Blunt
5] Workaholic (sometimes!)

5 Things I Can Do
1] Multi- task
2] Make a damn good oreo cheesecake without the use of an oven
3] Go on a whole day without eating (blame it on work!)
4] Take care of 3 little boys all at the same time (trust me, it's not easy)
5] Make a set menu (as my work requires it, but please if we're eating out, do not ask me to order food for the group!)

5 Persons I Listen To
1] My paternal grandmother
2] Dad
3] Mom
4] A (though he claims I don't ever listen =p)
5] My Uncle Francis (aka my boss; at work, his word is law!)

5 Absolute Favorite Foods
1] Piknik Ketchup Fries
2] Keebler's Soft Batch Cookies
3] Green Mango with Shrimp Paste
4] California Maki, Maguro Sashimi
5] Carpaccio from Pasto

5 Things You'd Like to Learn
1] How to speak French
2] How to play the drums
3] Stock Market
4] How to put up a business/ company
5] Adobe Photoshop

5 Beverages You Drink Regularly
1] Brothers' Burger's Strawberry Milkshake
2] Coke Light
3] Water
4] Iced Tea
5] Arizona Juices' Green Tea with Honey and Ginseng

5 Things You'd Bring If You Were in A Deserted Island
1] Sunblock
2] My boyfriend
3] My two piece bikini
4] Lots of Bottled Water
5] A strong, sturdy, sharp knife

All last week, the world mourned the death of a great leader, Ronald Reagan. The 10 year battle with Alzheimer's disease was finally over. Former President Reagan didn't really mean much to me while growing up. All I knew of him was that he was the first President of the United States that I knew and that my uncle and his young wife had a picture with him in the White House grounds.

I was watching on a documentary about him on the NBC Night News on ETC, when the feature dabbled a little on his First Lady, Nancy Reagan and their love affair. The voice over said that she was a very supportive wife and she stood by him all the way, quite literally, in fact. They showed picture after picture and video clips upon video clips of her standing beside him, gazing lovingly up at him, you could practically see stars in her eyes, while he would address the crowd. They were totally enarmored with each other. Imagine, she stayed by his side throughout the 10 years of Alzheimers. It was an emotional rollercoaster ride for her and definitely exhausting at that, not just emotionally but physically as well. After all, she's old herself.

Ronald and Nancy Reagan were no longer just the couple that governed the United States back in the 80's to me. While growing up, we all have heard stories of political leaders and icons engaging in scandals such as the Clinton- Lewinsky and the royal love triangle of Diana- Charles- Camilla. Even our very own country has it's versions too. Remember Ms. Baby Arenas rumoured to be Former President Fidel Ramos's mistress? The current First Couple is even rumoured to actually be married in name only. They were separated before she came into office and had to "get back together" when she got elected for it would not look good if a divorced woman ran the country. With leaders such as those mentioned above, you'd think their love is only a facade.

One night, I was checking the latest news on my GPRS service and read Reagan's daughter, Patti Davis's accounts on her father's last moment. The exact quote went:

“At the last moment when his breathing told us this was it, he opened his eyes and looked straight at my mother. Eyes that hadn‘t opened for days, did. And they weren‘t chalky or vague. They were clear, and blue, and full of love. If a death can be lovely, his was.”

And I remember getting goosebumps as my tears welled with tears of sympathy and I thought to myself, "Wow!!! Alzheimer's (disease) makes you unable to recognize your family and your friends, or anyone for that matter. But with him, at the last moment, he knew his wife! He recognized her and that last look was like telling her that he loves her and he was saying goodbye. Now, that's the power of true love."

In her testimony, Patti Davis even quoted her mother, saying that one last look was: "The greatest gift he could have given her.”

She adds, “In his last moment, he taught me that there is nothing stronger than love between two people, two souls...it was the last thing he could do in this world to show my mother how entwined their souls are...and it was everything.”

How can one not be moved to tears? It was a love beautifully shared. It was a love that transcended all.

I want a love like that.

Ooops, I did it again! I bought 2 new books and spent a thousand bucks on both of them. But, wait! Before anybody complains, here me out first especially those of you who enjoyed The Shopaholic Series by Sophie Kinsella.

Her new book is out! Yes, our favorite Shopaholic is back! Becky Bloomwood- Brandon has returned in:



I had to buy it, you see! I thought that Becky Bloomwood lived happily ever after after her 3rd book so seeing this book surprised me. But A and I believe I was meant to buy a book.

It was 11:30 pm when I dropped by Powerbooks in Glorietta. I decided to drop by and grab In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner, a copy which I reserved earlier. Since I had a Powerbooks track card, I looked for other books I could buy so I can reach the amount needed to collect stamps. I wanted to take my time but felt so rushed as A was waiting for me in the car. While walking around looking for books and computing my total amount, I stopped and saw it. The book was placed on a pile of books, completely out of place. I couldn't believe it and even had to read the back twice to make sure it wasn't just one of the old books reprinted and re-titled by another publishing house. And so I bought it. I asked the saleslady if it was the last copy and she said there were still alot. I searched for other copies and found them in a bookshelf I didn't pass and they were in the top shelf! In my haste, I wouldn't have seen them. It was really meant to be!

I kind of feel guilty though. The book was priced at Php 915! But since Powerbooks had a 20% discount on all international titles (cuz it was Independence Day-- go figure!), I got it at Php 732. At the discounted price, the book was still expensive. Practically enough to feed a poor family for two weeks!

I've bought too many books already and I've got quite a lot in my reading list so I made a resolution not to buy books in the upcoming weeks and I've employed A's help for my addiction. Every time I'm about to buy a book, he has to stop me. He gives me this smirk that said, "yeah right!" Both of us knew that deep down, he can't stop me. =p But I'm really gonna try.

To put A to the test, when we got to Greenbelt, I asked him if we could pass by Powerbooks. He easily said yes. I whined that he wasn't helping and I needed him to really stop me from book shopping. When we were about to go home, I told that I just wanted to see Powerbook's window display.

While other women went window shopping and splurged on clothes. I window- shopped and splurged on books. Some things never change.

After talking to my mom about my sister's break up with her boyfriend:

Me: Why are we so affected?

Mom: Cuz it's her first boyfriend.

Me: How come you were never like that when I broke up with __________?

Mom: _________ Who????

Me: (Smiling) Good answer!

I've been staring into space for the past few minutes or so. My attempts to distract myself are useless. My sister dropped the bomb today:

She and her boyfriend of one year and 364 days broke up. Yes, 364 days. Their 2nd anniversary is tomorrow. What a day to decide a break up. But more than that, before their two year relationship, they had something going on for two to three years. They were in a way committed to each other though it wasn't formal yet. He courted her when she was in 2nd year highschool, he was in 3rd year highschool. Now, he's in senior year of college, she in junior year. Yep, practically 5 years of being together. So you can say that aside from being her first boyfriend, he was her first love. They've been through so much together and I could tell that he really loved her.

But I guess she knew it was coming. My parents asked her to stay home today since we had no helpers. She told them she had to do something. Asked what, she replied, I have to talk to _________. With this statement, my parents also had an inkling. They asked me to try to talk to her and find out what's going on. My sister was never really the talking type. She confided everything in her journal. She never voiced out her feelings, always supressing and just taking the blows in. For this, my parents were always worried about her.

When I woke up this morning, I asked her what's the deal. I was surprised that she didn't deny that there was nothing wrong. She just said that she and her boyfriend haven't been seeing each other for so long, the time frame was just too much. Naturally, I thought, since both of them were into so much extra curricular activities at school. My dad later on asked me if they were breaking up. I was confident in saying that they weren't. After all, it was their anniversary tomorrow.

But I was wrong. When she got home, the first thing I asked was if they celebrated their anniversary tonight. She said no. Tomorrow then? No. Why? We broke up. I make a joke about choosing a more appropriate date for breaking up. She laughed. I asked if there was another person involved. None. Who broke up with whom? Was it a mutual decision? It was mutual. Was she okay? Yes. I joked that he still has my Forrest Gump DVD. She laughs and says it's not like they're not talking to each other anymore. They're still friends and they were even joking around awhile ago. I asked her if she cried when he dropped her off. Again, she stated that they've decided to be friends. I told her that she may feel okay now but the fact (of breaking up) hasn't sunk in yet. Maybe tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, sometime next week, she'll realize it. And she'll start questioning and would want some answers and eventually she'll get mad and depressed. At this point of the conversation, she was getting ready to log on her laptop. I joked that now she has to change her civil status in her Friendster profile from "In a Relationship" to "Single." She laughed. I left it at that.

Yet, I was so affected. I texted her boyfriend and told him that I knew what happened and I was surprised and sad at the same time and that I didn't see it coming. He was such a great boyfriend to her and that we'll miss having him around. He was almost part of our family. We would even take him to our family outings. He was a good conversationalist and he had a great sense of humor. Because of my sister, he became more responsible with his studies to the point that he beat her to the dean's list! His parents loved her for the change she evoked in him. They made such a good couple. I thought that though they were young, they had it made. In fact, I couldn't picture my sister being with anyone else!

When my mom got home tonight, I told her. Immediately, tears sprung in her eyes. I told her what happened with difficulty as I tried to supress the lump in my throat from getting any bigger and my tears from spilling. My mom said that maybe they were just drifting apart. They were outgrowing each other. After all, they're still young. He hasn't visited us for awhile too.

I guess the reason why I was so affected is because, aside from my reasons stated above (see 2 paragraphs up), I know it would be so difficult to get over a person you've been with for almost five years. A person who has been your bestfriend, your partner in crime, your date. It would be quite a drastic change actually. No more good morning SMS to start your day. No sweet goodnights to end your night. No one to hug you when you can't watch a scary movie scene. No one to hold your hand when you're afraid. Don't get me wrong, my sister is one tough chick and I know she can handle it. All I'm saying is, it's gonna be hard.

In my entire lifetime, I've had two boyfriends. Three, counting my high school obsession, but he didn't know he was my boyfriend (hahaha!!!) My relationship with my first boyfriend lasted a year and a month. The day we broke up, I cried my heart out but the very next day, I was smiling already and I never looked back. I got over him just like that. Maybe it's because we never really had chemistry to begin with. I got into the relationship thinking that he has changed his ways (based on stories (not rumors) I'd hear about him and his previous relationships from mutual friends). Apparently, he hasn't. So when we broke up, I was glad.. no, relieved.. to get out of it.

So what's my point? My point now is that yes, getting out of any relationship is hard but when you've got something so beautiful for so long, it makes it even tougher.

Another one leaves again...

Why is it we are so unlucky with domestic helpers?

Eversince we moved to this house a year and a month ago, we seem to be so unlucky with them. Four of our maids have stolen from us.

DH1: Stole a pair of earrings that my only godmother gave to me from my closet. When my dad confronted her early the next day, she said it was just there. My dad made her prove that it was there. She came out with my pair of earrings nestled in a wad of tissue in one of my jewelry boxes, which I was so sure I checked again the night before, right before I slept. There was no tissue there. She said it was nakakalat (scattered) in my closet and so she kept it for safekeeping. Chhhyeeah, right!

DH2: Stole my brothers' Christmas money. After taking home gifts from my grandma's house, my mom later realized that the boys' Christmas money from our grandparents were missing. She said she left it in the bag of opened gifts (for the life of me, I do not understand why she left it there when she could have placed it in her purse instead!). She asked the maids and one said that she kept it. She gave the wad of cash and said she kept it because she didn't know whose money it was and in case someone asked, she'll give it back. My parents questioned why it wasn't in the envelope. She claims she burned the envelope along with the other gift wrappers my dad asked to burn. Ah! But each envelope had a name stating who the money belonged to. Clearly, she knew the money belonged to the kids. She didn't return it back right away. She claims she would return it if someone looked for it. So does that mean that if nobody looked for it or asked for it, she wouldn't return it? DUH!

DH3: When she lost her cellphone, Cami was kind enough to lend her her spare cellphone. Eventually, she got a new one and didn't return the cellphone right away. One day, another maid overheard her talking, saying that she'll pretend that the cellphone got snatched that's why she couldn't return it. True enough, when she got back from her day off, she said her story. Upon further investigation, the truth was uncovered. She was fired. We were having problems with her anyway.

DH4: Before leaving for Boracay, Cami decided to stash the cash she needed to buy her school books and uniform inside a hard bound Harry Potter book, which she kept on her bed. She didnt have any place to hide it except her closet. Now hiding it in the closet is not a good idea because the only helper left at home is our laundrywoman, who would definitely have access to our closets. But I guess one day while my sister was away, she went through the discarded clothes on my sister's bed, thinking it was laundry and knocked off the book and found the envelope where she hid the money. She took half of the amount. Upon further investigation by me and my dad, we found out that she really didn't go home to her home town last Monday to pawn back her ring, like she told me. Instead, she went out shopping in Cubao! We found out from one of our helpers who had to rush home to the province because of an emergency. Apparently, she still kept in touch with our other helpers and that's how we found out she was in Cubao. We also found out that whenever she asked for extra money to buy more soap, she'd pocket the change and throw the receipt.

What I noticed is that all of them had the responsibility of cooking. DH1 and 2 were cooks. DH3 and 4 were originally hired for another task but had to take over the cooking whenever our cooks left simply because they knew how to cook. Before my family left for Boracay last week, one maid rushed to the province. Our cook wanted to leave because she was homesick (she was new and I think she got scared when my dad got mad at her). The new yaya went with my family to Boracay so it was the laundrywoman, who became our cook for a few days, that was left with us. Maybe our stove is cursed!

Aside from that, maids just come and go. Somehow, they have to leave because tragedy has struck their family. Or they have fights amongst themselves because of attitude problems. Sometimes I think that they're just saying that because maybe they find my mom too demanding. Or they feel that my mom is always getting mad at them because they didn't follow her instructions correctly. Miscommunication plays a big factor too considering that my mom's tagalog is not as fluent as yours and mine, while the maids only understand either the visayan dialect or tagalog, very little english.

It's just so sad that when your household helpers steal from you, not because they stole but because you trusted them with your home. After paying for their medicines when they get sick, or let them loan to buy toiletries, letting them eat the same food you eat on the table, they betray you. I would say my parents are good "bosses" compared to others.

Eversince, we're constantly replacing household helpers so much so that I can't keep track anymore. I can't remember who was who or who did what. We never even had this problem when we were young. Our maids stayed with us for such a long time before they moved on to get married or they had to go home to be with their family. I envy those families who've had their helpers since the kids were still small and they are no longer helpers but part of the family.

I can't help but wonder. Is this all too much of a coincidence? An act of chance? Or is all the bad luck brought about by our breaking of some feng shui no- no?

The following post, though non-fiction, should be taken as a joke:

Yesterday, my dad was talking on the phone. After the placing the phone on the receiver,

Dad: (arms raised in the air) I'm annulled (to your mom)!!!

Me: Really?! (Wow! Finally! After so long! My stepmom's gonna be real happy!They can get married in Church already!)

Dad: Yup, I just have to pay another P15,000 for the processing fees.

Me: How much did you pay initially?

Dad: Oh, around P15,000 too.

Me: Great! That means I should start putting away P30,000.

Dad: Gago!

Coming home from a night out with another couple last Saturday, A and I settled on the sofa to watch Season 8 of FRIENDS. The left side of my upper lip began to itch. Thinking it was nothing, I gnawed on my lip to relieve the itchiness . A minute later, I realized my lip was a little bit swollen. To make the swelling go down, I decided to put ice on it. A was feeling sorry for me that he held the ice pack to my lip the entire time. And while watching and laughing to FRIENDS, I rested my lips on the ice pack. It was so sweet

(Big mistake, by the way. I should have put hot compress. My inflammed lip ballooned up to twice its size!)

And even though I felt like a freak show, A kept assuring me, "You're still beautiful."

Just a few minutes ago, I got an SMS from A asking me to call him. When he answered, he said, "I found shoes that can go with pleated skirts!" You see, I've been wanting to buy a pleated denim skirt but I don't know what kind of shoes go with them. Hence, the phone call. Apparently, he saw the skirts being paired up with chunky thong slippers at the window display of People Are People. I swear, that A can get too cute.

I'm definitely taking a trip to the parlor before heading out to a night out with friends and Harry Potter. I'm badly in need of a manicure and pedicure. If only a salon was open right now, I'd go.

I was too busy blogging to actually go to Bench Fix. Addict!

Oooh, Time is now 11:27. Better make a wish!

This entry was taken from my old journal, written on 20 November 2003. Find out why I loveloveLOVE books.

Damnit! I was just complaining in my past blurty entry that I don't have time to read books and I still got 11...count them...11 books to read when I purchased 2 more books last night! Damnit!

I couldn't help it. I met up with my mom at a small high end mall where she works and decided to drop by the bookstore. Lo and behold, they had the paperback version of one of my favorite author's latest novel! I had to buy it. Just when I was about to leave the bookstore with my new book, I spotted a hardbound book for sale at a waaaaaay discounted price. I grabbed it and made a beeline to the cashier without hesitating.

You see, books are my weakness... Books are my first love. I used to hate reading. Never picked up a book when I was young. But when I hit fourth grade, we were assigned to do a book report on any novel of the mystery genre. My mom bought me several books. I picked my first book called THE HAUNTED HOUSE and I fell in love. Shortly, I picked up my first Sweet Valley Twins book and I fell harder. I aimed at completing the entire series.

I would walk the aisles of the bookstores every weekend, piling all the books I wanted to buy in my arms. I would buy 10 books at a time! Geek, I know. When I hit seventh grade, I started reading Sweet Valley High. I was in ecstasy, book heaven, when my mom's cousin gave me her entire Sweet Valley High collection, complete from numbers 1-50 AND all the special series. While girls my age went shopping for clothes, shoes, bags and jewelry and went out every weekend, flirting with boys, I spent my entire savings on books and spent my weekends cooped up in my room, lying in bed, hugging my pillow while reading a book. Sometimes, I'd sleep way late at night as I couldn't put down the book. Eventually, I moved to romance novels. The thick kinds. The one with half naked, muscular men with gorgeous women wearing loose dresses that practically fall off already exposing their breasts sprawled in their arms on the cover. And now, I'm starting to read grown up books... philosophical books like The Alchemist... but still, I don't get it. Halfway through it, I got lost. And yet half of the population in Friendster declared it their favorite book. Whhaaaa-- am I missing something? What's wrong with me? The last time I counted, I had over 500 books to my name. Unfortunately, lack of shelf space made me realize that it's time to let go of all of them and just leave a few. It hurt... it really did.

But what made me fall in love with books is it's ability to transport me to a different time and be someone else. When I read a book, I become the heroine. I experience the emotions that she goes through. When she laughs, I do too. When she's in pain, so am I. Yet at the same time, as a reader, I witness first hand all the sides of the stories. In a way, you got one-up cuz you know what's going on all along (for instance, you know what the hero thinks or feels whereas the heroine is still wondering what's going through his mind and heart...get it?)

In a way, reading books has made me gone through "experiences" that I could adapt and learn from though I never really did experience in real life. Though the stories are the heroine's, I could still learn from them so that when my turn comes to be in the same , if not similar, situation, I would know more or less what to do.

Sure, we'll definitely get more to learn from real life experiences compared to some fictional character's experience but you still learn a little from that. Who wouldn't want the extra knowledge?

When you think of it, our life story is one book in itself. We are the hero/heroines and we've got a partner. We've got a sidekick and an antagonist. We have all genres in our life story...comedy, romance, drama, horror and action. Each day in our life is actually a page in our book. Each dilemma or trial surpassed is a chapter closed. And who is the reader who knows every thing that's going on? It's gotta be God. :)

I started reading romance novels back in High School, when my bookworm of a friend, Glady, lent me "Until You" by Judith McNaught. I loved it so much that I bought my own copy and her other books so well. In fact, up to now, I re-read her books especially those novels whose plot is situated during the London Regency- era (yes, all those dukes, countess, courtesans, forbidden love and arranged marriages). Thus, my liking to Kat Martin whose stories also include British royalty and strong- willed and beautiful women who are ordinary members of society.

When "The Alchemist" by Paolo Coelho became everybody's favorite book, I checked it out too to see what's everyone raving about. I was amazed with the subliminal and substantial messages yet half way through the book, I got lost and couldn't catch on, subliminally. I tried once more with "Down By The River Piedra, I Sat Down and Wept" and well, I think there's something really wrong with me.

The last genre I got into was Chick- Lit. Basically, they're stories of women, written by women. (Trivia: Now, there's a Dick- lit. Yup, you guessed it. Stories of men, written by men!) My first Chick Lit was "Confessions of a Shopaholic" by Sophie Kinsella. I got into the chick lit bandwagon because I noticed "Confessions of a Shopaholic" peppered the 'Favorite Books' section of Friendster profiles. Curiosity got into this bookworm and here I am.

And if online journals are considered literature, I would say that this is also another genre I enjoy. There's nothing better than real life stories, especially stories of people you know. :)

While waiting for Tesa at Greenbelt 3 today for our lunch date, I decided to hit Powerbooks and check out their latest merchandize. Maaan! There's so many books I wanted to buy! I started computing how big of a hole my next book shopping trip will burn on my pocket: Php 1,643. Eight additional stamps to my Powerbooks track card. Damn! That's a lot of money.

Here's my book wish list of today:

Thirty Nothing by Lisa Jewell
Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner
In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner
The Pink Slip Party by Cara Lockwood
Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot
The Guy Next Door by Meg Cabot
One Hit Wonder by Lisa Jewell
(Obviously, I'm on a chick- lit binge.)
FRIENDS 'Til the End: The Official Celebration of All Ten Years by David Wild (The book about the best comedy tv show, FRIENDS)
Kiss and Tell: Sex and The City by Amy Sohn (Behind the scenes of the hit comedy HBO- produced show, Sex and The City-- doi?!)

Here's my pending pile of books to read:
The Fire Inside by Kat Martin (my current read)
Secret Ways by Kat Martin
Fanning the Flame by Kat Martin
No Place for A Man by Judy Astley (seemed like a chick lit and it was chucked into the bargain bin being sold for P75. Wouldn't hurt if I got it now, would it?)
Pleasant Vices by Judy Astley
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
Hollywood Wives by Jackie Collins (What's the fuss with her anyway? That's why I'm going to find out!)

So many books, so little time!

Damnit! I'm trying to write short and sweet entries so that anyone who reads this will not get bored.

Somehow, the entries seem getting longer and longer. It's the talkativeness in me, I tell yah.

Well, there you go. Ladies and Gentlemen, my shortest blog.

The entry below was taken from my old journal, written last 02 May 2004:

Let me start this off first by saying that I rarely remember my dreams..and when I do, they're barely realistic.

A few weeks ago, right before A and I had a big fight, I had a dream. I don't really remember how it started. All I remember was this:

A suddenly dropped to one knee and popped the question: Would you marry me? I couldn't believe it! I was so happy that my eyes started watering and all I could see was a blurry image of A. I started laughing. Trying not to choke on my tears and laughter. I was sooo elated. In between my tears and my giggles, I was able to muster a "yes.." A was so happy that he didn't know whether to put the engagement ring on my finger or to pump his arm into the air with a hearty "YES!" first.

A few days later, the dream was some what continued. I dreamt that the next day after A proposed, we got married at Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes. I couldn't really see the details of my dress (shucks! it would have been my dream wedding dress! pun intended!). I knew it was my wedding but I was watching it from afar...from above. Right after the wedding, we went straight to the honeymoon. No reception whatsoever. The weird thing is, my entire family went with us! And I mean including my aunts and uncles and grandparents. Our honeymoon was set in a island which was a cross between Boracay and Hidden Valley Springs. It had the shores, water and sands of Boracay and the back of the island had the forest and hidden falls of Hidden Valley. The weird thing is that just when A and I were about to do "it", we were both stripped down to our undies, my aunt and 2 uncles walk in on us. Of course, we tried to cover ourselves and nonchalantly act like it was nothing. My aunt and uncles came in like they didn't even see anything! My aunt went up to me and said, "here's the medicine you guys were asking for earlier. I only have paracetamol." A was so embarrassed that he had to go out and smoke. After my relatives left, I waited for A to come back. But when he didn't, I went out to search for him. It started to rain outside and since our room was in the middle of the forest, it was gloomy and dark. I was going to the different parts of the resort looking for him until I stumbled upon a recreational room where you could borrow books. I stopped looking for him for awhile and browsed through the books and found a book I wanted to read... and then I woke up. Where are my priorities there? Books over A??? Hel-lo!

A few weeks later, I had another dream. I had a black puppy cradled in my arms and I remember having so much love and affection for it. The puppy got sick and later on in the dream, the puppy turned into a cute, cuddly baby! (Now this is normal for me... weird, unrealistic dreams) And just like the puppy, I loved it just the same. I was happy to have that baby.

A few nights ago, I had another dream. The last in this sequence (so far). I dreamt that I was pregnant and that I gave birth to a baby. I'm not so sure if it was a boy or girl. I don't remember giving birth. I was just pregnant one second and had a baby in my arms the next second. I felt so motherly. I adored the baby and loved it to bits. I was happy.

I wonder what this all means?

Just last Saturday, I had another dream. This time, it was the day before my wedding and I was so excited getting ready for the first day that A and I will be sharing one last name (though I always kid him that when we get married, he's the one who has to change his last name and adopt mine, not the customary way where the girl uses the guy's last name). I don't remember much except that I was very sure it was A I was marrying. I even remember seeing my wedding dress but I didn't focus on the design (Damnit! There goes my chance to see my dream wedding dress!). I do remember I was standing at the end of a long corridor with sunlight pouring behind me and I was fixing the skirt of my gown. It just looked so... so... dream-like! (Doi!) I looked so ethereal.

Again, the question: What does this all means?

Are these premonitions?
Does it mean that I'm ready to settle down?
Does it mean that I have finally found the one for me?
And if you stick to the saying that "Dreams mirror the opposite of reality," does it mean that, gasp! horrors of horrors! I'm not marrying A?

My biological mother who is into tarot readings, astrological interpretations and the like once told me that usually your emotions in your dreams reflect your emotions in real life. I'm relieved that in all dreams I was happy that I was marrying A. :p

Because I was curious of the hidden meaning in my dreams, I decided to check the dream dictionary . Here are the meanings based on the symbols in the dream:

Wedding- To dream of a wedding is a sign of a death and a funeral (Oh, Good God, NO!!!). There are various other meanings, but this one has always been the cardinal rule for weddings as they symbolize new beginnings, but only at the cost of the death of the former 'life'. This death could mean various types of endings, not necessarily that of the body. (I definitely hope so. I don't want anybody just dying yet).

Book-If books were the main theme of your dream the situation in your life is stable and you will make slow, steady progress to the top of your chosen profession. look to the other symbols in your dream to tell you in what context you should place the book, or books, in relation to your own life situation, bear in mind that the action associated with books is progress. Well, dreams were not really the center of my 'honeymoon' dream but I did stop looking for A for awhile because I saw books I haven't read in awhile. So if it means that in real life, I chose career over my love life? I guess in a way, it is true. There are times that I put my work first before A but thankfully, he understands. After all, he does the same thing too! It's all good.

Puppy/ Dog-A dream of dogs is usually a fairly good omen. A dog barking happily shows that you will have a pleasing social life. A friendly, happy dog shows that you have lots of good friends.

Baby-A clean baby speaks of a wonderful love affair or even the making of many new friends. A nursing baby can mean contentment or even deception when taken in relation to other symbols in your dream. Dreaming of a baby can also denote the state of your soul life, again in relation to the other signs.

Pregnancy-If the dreamer is a woman and you dream you are pregnant then you will see a big increase in your income. Hey, hey, hey! This, I like. Show me the money!!!

Light-(the light I'm pertaining here is that of the sunlight streaming behind me while I was fixing the skirt of my wedding dress) A light shining out of the dark, or a flashlight beam, shows that you will finally find the truth in a situation or the answer to a personal problem that you have been searching for.

Hmmm, with all these meanings, I'd say, not bad at all. I just hope I don't dream of a wedding again! Yikes

Here are the ups and downs of the Black Eyed Peas Concert:

DOWNS:
- Opening acts who can't perform.

- Opening acts who just scream into the mic as if the lead singer was transforming into a werewolf while riding the Space Shuttle at Enchanted Kingdom.

- The hosts were DJs from the sponsor radio station and they sounded like Fil- Am mice!

- The hosts who came out to host a game unprepared. One of them kept chanting in a high pitch voice "Where are the cuuueeee cards?" for a good 2 minutes. She finally decided to go backstage herself and get them.

- Opening Fil- Am acts who were flown in from the US and Canada. Apparently, these acts were being built up in the US in hopes also that they would bring pride and inspiration to our countrymen, just like Allan Pineda of BEP. One opening act reminded me of Andrew E. Along with him was a tall, blonde girl who was made to walk around the stage while the rapper chased after her. He'd be rapping in tagalog and she'd make all these "talk to the hand" and "whatever!" gestures as if she understands what he's saying. Sadly (for him) and fortunately for us, his stint was cut short because they had to give way to the next front act.

- Although it seemed like they were rushing the next two acts, BEP was still late.

- The organizer eventually went up on stage to host. If it came to a point that the organizer had to do that, it's obvious how disorganized an event was. To make it worse, the organizer had to explain that BEP has finally arrived but they need to rest for awhile, to catch their breath.

- The next act was of a teeny bopper who looked like a chubby Stacy Orrico (isn't she chubby already?) minus the mole, singing pre- 'Centerstage' Mandy Moore songs like "Cotton Candy" (because she "wears cotton candy, smells like cotton candy, tastes like cotton candy and melts in your mouth" Everybody, all together now, "Eeewww!") It was so sad that when she got out on stage, the first few words she said was "Now, don't 'boo' me just yet, hear me out first.." All these because people were getting annoyed and pissed off wanting to see the main act. Lucky for her, when she exited, people clapped, and some even cheered, for her. If I was her and people didn't clap or cheer, I would have been like, "Earth, swallow me na!"

- The boring, plain, "get to know him" video presentation of DJ Rocky Rock, a well- known Fil-Am DJ from San Francisco, California. If you had to dazzle the crowd with the accomplishments of this DJ, at least add some pizzazz to it! But honestly, the DJ was really good.

- In the middle of the main act, the sound system experienced technical difficulties. Thus, the concert had to stop for a good 20 minutes!

- Will.I.Am declaring the Philippines as the best mo' fo' country they've been to so far. Makes you wonder, is this bull?

- When Allan was giving his thanks to Will.I.Am, saying how grateful he was to have him in his life (or something to that effect). It was such an emotional moment that you could tell there was this uncomfortable silence on the audience. Obviously, they weren't homosexuals but you could almost hear someone from the audience make some joke about it. That must have been embarrassing for the two artists and the audience as well.

- No encores!

- One large venue, one tiny exit.

UPS:
- Only the main act was the saving grace!

- Allan speaking in Tagalog. He tried giving a speech in Tagalog but he ran out of words after three sentences. He was embarrassed but the crowd cheered him on.

- Damn! Fergie's got great abs! Not only is she pretty, she sings and dances well too! Some girls are so gifted!!!

- Will.I.Am speaking in Tagalog without any American accent. He kept saying, "Babalik sa yo! (It will come back to you)." During the technical repairs, he kept chanting over the mic, "Babalik kami... (We're gonna return!)" None of those fake "Mah- hel kohw kah-yohw! (Mahal ko kayo!) (I love you!)" shit!

- When the sound system went haywire, Fergie, who was performing solo, kept on singing. She didn't even throw a tantrum or flare up, at least, because of the inefficiency of the inefficiency. Yup, the show did go on and she was professional about it.

- When she realized that problem wasn't going to be fixed anytime soon, she stopped while Will.I.Am took centerstage. Even though the microphone made him sound like a chipmunk at the edge of a cliff, he still entertained us. "Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Can you see me?" and "Maybe we should just rap in sign language!" and he proceeded into sign language while rapping. At first, everybody was just giggling and eventually, they cheered him on, raising their arms, shouting, "Yeay!" and "Whoo-hoo!" everytime he turned to look at a certain section of the audience. After that, Allan came next and we played charades. One of the acts we had to guess was "eating balut (unhatched chick)."

- Will.I.Am asking, "Anyone here from the providence?" You could hear people snickering and giggling. Then Allan interjects, "Province!" So Will.I.Am corrects himself. Nobody answers. Then he goes on to asking if anyone from the audience is from Manila. Everybody cheers. (Notice how this crowd is easy to please?)

- When they finally got back on stage, they gave each member of their band a chance to do a solo.

- Fergie doing a solo, showcasing her singing prowess. Her voice escalating until she's out of breath and already laying on the floor. After she belted the last note, she pretended that she died out of tiredness. The crowd went wild but she didn't get up right away and laid still on the floor. When the crowd quieted down, Apl came up from behind saying, "Huy! Anong ginagawa mo diyan? Ang dumi- dumi diyan!" and he helped her up. That was so funny and so sweet. She sweetly said, "Thank you, Allan!"

- Will.I.Am admitting that he likes Pinays. His ex-girlfriend is even a Pinay and "She broke my heart," he said, "and that's the truth." This statement brought out an "awww..." from the audience.

- That admittance segued into a skit between Fergie and Will.I.Am as a couple fighting except that they were singing/ rapping their lines. Cami's friend swears that she heard Fergie say "sinungaling! (liar)." It wasn't heard clearly because she had difficulty pronouncing it. Doi! Of course, it wasn't a skit for nothing, it was the intro for the song "Shut Up." When Fergie finally shouted, "JUST SHUT UP!!!" People went wild. It was as if they didn't even see it coming!

- Everybody singing "Where is The Love?"

- Everybody swaying their arms from left to right in unison.

- When they brought up Allan's mom on stage and they hugged. It was just so emotional. While they were singing "Where is The Love," they showed Allan's mom on the wide screen and she was crying tears of joy. You could tell that she was so proud. After the song, they introduced her, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the woman who gave birth to Allan, Ms. Christine Pineda!!!" and everybody clapped and cheered for her. It was just so heartwarming!

- Allan launching into an emotional speech how his mom had to send him to the US at 14 years old and have him adopted in hopes of giving him a better life. It was such a difficult decision to make but he was so grateful to her. He also said thanks to Will.I.Am who took care of him and made sure that he lived straight, that he gave his friendship. Will.I.Am said that when Allan arrived in the US, Allan didn't even know how to speak Tagalog. Two years later, he was rapping. Five years later, they formed Black Eyed Peas. Six years later, they are the best mo' fo group in the world! Everybody cheers again!

- Will.I.am declaring the Philippines as the best mo' fo country they ever been to. Okay, give him benefit of the doubt.

- Allan's speech on having confidence in one's self to be able to achieve dreams.

- Will.I.am saying that the Filipinos are like one big family.

- Will.I.am asking "Are you proud to be Filipino?". Everybody cheered. It was amazing. These days, I was beginning to think that nobody, including myself, was proud of being one.

- Taboo saying that seeing the Filipinos together, being so united, cheering for their countryman who has made it big elsewhere, made him feel hope for himself and his own countrymen... The Mexicans.

- Allan giving words of advice about the choosing the right President (too late for that now!), equality (no rich, no poor) and good and evil.

- Taboo shouting, "On the 2014 elections, vote for Allan Pineda!!!" Everybody cheers once again!

- Because it was such an emotional moment, Fergie was moved to tears. She actually cried!

It was a great concert! I liked Black Eyed Peas' songs but now I'm a fan.. as my sister is an even die hard-er fan! She bought the album, Elephunk, the next day and it has been in rotation since. She even claims that once, while Fergie was on our side of the audience, they had eye contact. Cami took this opportunity to wave at her and Fergie waved back! She later tells me, "I could just die! (giggles)"

Read her blog and see how the concert was in her eyes.