Help Cat Get Her Groove Back
Sunday, January 23, 2005
It's been 2 weeks since my last post. I feel guilty for neglecting my blog. It's not that I am (neglecting it) but I just feel that lately, I haven't had anything to write about.
The same things happen almost every day and at the end of each day, it seems I am empty handed, no blog worthy material. I'm stuck in a rut.
Don't worry, I'm trying to get out of it.
One day, hopefully real soon, I'll get my groove back.
The same things happen almost every day and at the end of each day, it seems I am empty handed, no blog worthy material. I'm stuck in a rut.
Don't worry, I'm trying to get out of it.
One day, hopefully real soon, I'll get my groove back.
A Replay on 2004
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Buckle up, people! We're going on a ride down the memory lane of 2004.
January
+/- We found out that my mom was pregnant! But it was an ectopic pregnancy so she had to be operated on. We would have been 8 kids in the family!!! Goodness!
- A's car almost gets towed because it was double parked in Katipunan. Dad comes to save the day.
+ Bought the entire series of Friends on pirated DVD!
February
+ Big surprise of my life: My grandfather gave me his car! A White Toyota Corolla 1999 Model.
+ Spent Valentines Day at Bellarmine Field in Ateneo, lying under the stars with A while eating Gonuts Donuts and sipping Starbucks coffee.
+ Went to my first ever bachelorette party, complete with a male stripper
+ Went to my first wedding since I was a flower girl
+ A gets an interview for Lowe Inc and gets in four days after!
- Spent P33,000 to have my car fixed: installation of alarm system and central locking, installation of MP3/ CD player, change tires, installation of tint, body rub down
+ Enrolled in a driving refresher course
March
+ Organized an event with very little assistance, produced and directed an in house event with no help from the management team because they were all drunk!
+ Booked flights to Boracay and room accomodations for 30 people one month before Holy Week. It was a nightmare because every thing was fully booked but I was able to swing it!
+ A starts working at Lowe Inc.
- Spent P24,000 on my Canon Ixus- I digicam.
+ Got my driver's license!
+ Wifi installed in our house! And discovered that a lap table is a great tool so you could blog from the comforts of your bed!
April
+ Went to Boracay for Holy Week to handle events. A came with me. :)
- Got into my first vehicular mishap. A truck hits my car from behind.
May
+ Discovered the best "cheap" milkshake: Brothers' Burgers' Strawberry Milkshake
+ Moved to a new home: http://www.blogspot.comand , got my sisters hooked on blogging as well
+ Discovered online shopping in the Philippines: www.tianggeonline.com
+ Front row seats to the Black Eyed Peas concert for free!
June
+ My parents finally get a church annulment
- Non stop problems with the domestic helpers
- My sister, Ara, broke up with her boyfriend. We were so affected by the break up.
+/- Bought too many chick lit books
- Former US President Ronald Reagan passes away. I discovered that I want the love that A and I share to be that of the former President and his wife, Nancy.
- Found out I had an imposter in one of the bars I work in and he got caught! Hehehe!
+ Finally met the other "me" who I've been hearing about. Because we have the same name, we often get mistaken identity cases. Check our her blog.
+ Learned how to be more independent and free just because I can now drive myself around, anywhere, anytime
+ Went to my second bridal shower
+ Watched Spiderman 2 for free, courtesy of Gentxt
July
+ Planned a special day for A on his birthday
+ Went to my second wedding for the year and had a girls night out with Jin and Elaine after, while our guys played counterstrike!
+ After two years of sneaking yahoo messenger in the office, making sure I don't get caught chatting while working, my uncle makes it mandatory that all members of the management team have yahoo messenger accounts.
+/- Imposed a 40 day hiatus from buying books
- My old laptop crashed. :(
August
+ Got a new laptop, company paid, of course!
+/- My first credit card application got rejected!
- Chester, the Black lab we borrowed, returns to his family. We got a new black dog that resembles a labrador though he's half golden retriever, half belgian malanoise. Sadly, he's not the same.
September
+ Started going out more often with my college barkada
+ I get 3 boxes of tampons from the US, enough to last me 2 years!
+ Re-discovered my scrapbook/ photo albums
+ Went to my first videoke/ Magic Sing party. A had a blast more than I did!
October
+ Had a family pictorial with my cousins as a birthday gift to my grandmother. All 20 apos in one picture.
+ Drove my farthest- Katipunan to Alabang
+ Got my Fully Booked discount card. Unfortunately, up to this date, I haven't been able to use it.
- Got into my second vehicular mishap: My car got sideswiped by a jeepney but you could barely see the damage. Whew!
+ A's first commercial airs. The lead character was named after me.
+ Went to Boracay again for the second time this year. This time, I had to handle the anniversary parties of our branch there. I also went parasailing for the first time.
- Almost got into my third vehicular mishap. Luckily, I was able to step on the brakes in time. All because of a speeding tricycle inside the village at midnight.
+ Went back to Boracay for the third and last time this year to oversee events for Halloween weekend. A came with me this time.
- Missed Halloween in Subic with my family because I was frolicking in the sun in Boracay
November
+ A and I took my little brothers to see The Incredibles. It was so tiring!
+ Bagged one of the biggest accounts
+ Finally got my permanent driver's license
+ Threw my first party in 5 years, all organized and paid by myself. It was a charity fund raiser and I was able to raise P44,640.00 which went to Missionaries of Charity of Mother Theresa and Pacem Foundation.
December
- Four typhoons hit the country, one after the other.
+ Handled a slew of Christmas parties this year.
- Wasn't able to blog much because I was too busy
+ Finally got to meet up with Meg, the ex of my ex, and exchange stories!
- FPJ passed away
+ Got hooked in downloading Desperate Housewives
- Got into my third actual vehicular mishap. My fault this time!
- Tsunami hits South Asia
Goodbye, 2004! I must say... despite the natural disasters, personally, it was definitely a great year!
January
+/- We found out that my mom was pregnant! But it was an ectopic pregnancy so she had to be operated on. We would have been 8 kids in the family!!! Goodness!
- A's car almost gets towed because it was double parked in Katipunan. Dad comes to save the day.
+ Bought the entire series of Friends on pirated DVD!
February
+ Big surprise of my life: My grandfather gave me his car! A White Toyota Corolla 1999 Model.
+ Spent Valentines Day at Bellarmine Field in Ateneo, lying under the stars with A while eating Gonuts Donuts and sipping Starbucks coffee.
+ Went to my first ever bachelorette party, complete with a male stripper
+ Went to my first wedding since I was a flower girl
+ A gets an interview for Lowe Inc and gets in four days after!
- Spent P33,000 to have my car fixed: installation of alarm system and central locking, installation of MP3/ CD player, change tires, installation of tint, body rub down
+ Enrolled in a driving refresher course
March
+ Organized an event with very little assistance, produced and directed an in house event with no help from the management team because they were all drunk!
+ Booked flights to Boracay and room accomodations for 30 people one month before Holy Week. It was a nightmare because every thing was fully booked but I was able to swing it!
+ A starts working at Lowe Inc.
- Spent P24,000 on my Canon Ixus- I digicam.
+ Got my driver's license!
+ Wifi installed in our house! And discovered that a lap table is a great tool so you could blog from the comforts of your bed!
April
+ Went to Boracay for Holy Week to handle events. A came with me. :)
- Got into my first vehicular mishap. A truck hits my car from behind.
May
+ Discovered the best "cheap" milkshake: Brothers' Burgers' Strawberry Milkshake
+ Moved to a new home: http://www.blogspot.comand , got my sisters hooked on blogging as well
+ Discovered online shopping in the Philippines: www.tianggeonline.com
+ Front row seats to the Black Eyed Peas concert for free!
June
+ My parents finally get a church annulment
- Non stop problems with the domestic helpers
- My sister, Ara, broke up with her boyfriend. We were so affected by the break up.
+/- Bought too many chick lit books
- Former US President Ronald Reagan passes away. I discovered that I want the love that A and I share to be that of the former President and his wife, Nancy.
- Found out I had an imposter in one of the bars I work in and he got caught! Hehehe!
+ Finally met the other "me" who I've been hearing about. Because we have the same name, we often get mistaken identity cases. Check our her blog.
+ Learned how to be more independent and free just because I can now drive myself around, anywhere, anytime
+ Went to my second bridal shower
+ Watched Spiderman 2 for free, courtesy of Gentxt
July
+ Planned a special day for A on his birthday
+ Went to my second wedding for the year and had a girls night out with Jin and Elaine after, while our guys played counterstrike!
+ After two years of sneaking yahoo messenger in the office, making sure I don't get caught chatting while working, my uncle makes it mandatory that all members of the management team have yahoo messenger accounts.
+/- Imposed a 40 day hiatus from buying books
- My old laptop crashed. :(
August
+ Got a new laptop, company paid, of course!
+/- My first credit card application got rejected!
- Chester, the Black lab we borrowed, returns to his family. We got a new black dog that resembles a labrador though he's half golden retriever, half belgian malanoise. Sadly, he's not the same.
September
+ Started going out more often with my college barkada
+ I get 3 boxes of tampons from the US, enough to last me 2 years!
+ Re-discovered my scrapbook/ photo albums
+ Went to my first videoke/ Magic Sing party. A had a blast more than I did!
October
+ Had a family pictorial with my cousins as a birthday gift to my grandmother. All 20 apos in one picture.
+ Drove my farthest- Katipunan to Alabang
+ Got my Fully Booked discount card. Unfortunately, up to this date, I haven't been able to use it.
- Got into my second vehicular mishap: My car got sideswiped by a jeepney but you could barely see the damage. Whew!
+ A's first commercial airs. The lead character was named after me.
+ Went to Boracay again for the second time this year. This time, I had to handle the anniversary parties of our branch there. I also went parasailing for the first time.
- Almost got into my third vehicular mishap. Luckily, I was able to step on the brakes in time. All because of a speeding tricycle inside the village at midnight.
+ Went back to Boracay for the third and last time this year to oversee events for Halloween weekend. A came with me this time.
- Missed Halloween in Subic with my family because I was frolicking in the sun in Boracay
November
+ A and I took my little brothers to see The Incredibles. It was so tiring!
+ Bagged one of the biggest accounts
+ Finally got my permanent driver's license
+ Threw my first party in 5 years, all organized and paid by myself. It was a charity fund raiser and I was able to raise P44,640.00 which went to Missionaries of Charity of Mother Theresa and Pacem Foundation.
December
- Four typhoons hit the country, one after the other.
+ Handled a slew of Christmas parties this year.
- Wasn't able to blog much because I was too busy
+ Finally got to meet up with Meg, the ex of my ex, and exchange stories!
- FPJ passed away
+ Got hooked in downloading Desperate Housewives
- Got into my third actual vehicular mishap. My fault this time!
- Tsunami hits South Asia
Goodbye, 2004! I must say... despite the natural disasters, personally, it was definitely a great year!
You Can Teach Old Dogs New Tricks
You know the saying "you can't teach old dogs new tricks?"
Apparently, my paternal grandmother feels that way.
In this time and age, it has become important to be techno- savvy. My little brothers know how to operate a computer though Judo now knows to never ever press the delete button. (He learned the hard way- that to Cami's screams and cries). My maternal grandmother has a lot of software in her computer and I learned recently that she tinkers around with Adobe Photoshop. In the late 90s, my grandfather had a waaaaay better desktop and had more knowledge of the Internet than I did. Even my friend Rizzie's grandparents joined the Friendster bandwagon!
But my grandmother consciously avoids learning how to use the computer or a mobile phone because she feels she could never get it.
When mobile phones started to become a necessity, my uncle decided to get her a Motorola phone because it was the easiest and fastest way to get in touch with her. Otherwise, if we wanted to talk to her, you had to wait till late afternoon or early evening to catch her, after a day out doing charity work or being with her group of friends. Although she disliked it, she learned the basics- answering and making calls and storing numbers in the directory. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less.
To give you a sample of how un-techie my grandmother is, here's a scenario:
One day, my lola gave her mobile to one of my aunts.
Lola: Paki- basa nga yung mga messages ko. May natatanggap ako pero di ko alam pano basahin. (Please read my messages. I keep receiving messages but I don't know how to read them.)
Aunt: (gasps after reading one message) Ma, patay na si (insert name here)! (Ma, (insert name here again) is dead already!)
Lola: (gasps) Ha?!?!?! Kelan?! (Huh?! When?!)
Aunt: Nung August pa!
It was already October.
We always laugh at this anecdote. Everybody knows never to send a message to my grandmother because she'll never read it. But imagine my surprise when the day after Christmas, the day of my cousin Chino's birthday, I received an SMS message from my lola! It went something like this:
"Gd am, Chino! Happy 18th bday! We love you very much! Love Lolo & Lola Linda & Nanding"
I found it cute that she learned how to use shortcuts in her messages and that sometimes, there were 3 spaces in between each word. I figured that my grandmother must have mis-sent the message to me since in the family directory, my name and Chino's were right beside each other and so I forwarded the message to my cousin (who replied to my grandmother and mis-sent it to me too!).
Later on, I went downstairs while my family was having breakfast. I shared the news to them.
Me: Hey, guess what? Lola mis-sent me a birthday message for Chino!
Ara: Me too!
Mom: Me too!
Cami: I got that one too!
Apparently, my grandmother didn't know how to send messages completely so she just sent it to every member of the family. Eventually, she's gonna hit the right one, right?
Who says you can't teach old dog new tricks? You can! It's never too late. Just take a look at my grandmother. She's halfway there.
Apparently, my paternal grandmother feels that way.
In this time and age, it has become important to be techno- savvy. My little brothers know how to operate a computer though Judo now knows to never ever press the delete button. (He learned the hard way- that to Cami's screams and cries). My maternal grandmother has a lot of software in her computer and I learned recently that she tinkers around with Adobe Photoshop. In the late 90s, my grandfather had a waaaaay better desktop and had more knowledge of the Internet than I did. Even my friend Rizzie's grandparents joined the Friendster bandwagon!
But my grandmother consciously avoids learning how to use the computer or a mobile phone because she feels she could never get it.
When mobile phones started to become a necessity, my uncle decided to get her a Motorola phone because it was the easiest and fastest way to get in touch with her. Otherwise, if we wanted to talk to her, you had to wait till late afternoon or early evening to catch her, after a day out doing charity work or being with her group of friends. Although she disliked it, she learned the basics- answering and making calls and storing numbers in the directory. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less.
To give you a sample of how un-techie my grandmother is, here's a scenario:
One day, my lola gave her mobile to one of my aunts.
Lola: Paki- basa nga yung mga messages ko. May natatanggap ako pero di ko alam pano basahin. (Please read my messages. I keep receiving messages but I don't know how to read them.)
Aunt: (gasps after reading one message) Ma, patay na si (insert name here)! (Ma, (insert name here again) is dead already!)
Lola: (gasps) Ha?!?!?! Kelan?! (Huh?! When?!)
Aunt: Nung August pa!
It was already October.
We always laugh at this anecdote. Everybody knows never to send a message to my grandmother because she'll never read it. But imagine my surprise when the day after Christmas, the day of my cousin Chino's birthday, I received an SMS message from my lola! It went something like this:
"Gd am, Chino! Happy 18th bday! We love you very much! Love Lolo & Lola Linda & Nanding"
I found it cute that she learned how to use shortcuts in her messages and that sometimes, there were 3 spaces in between each word. I figured that my grandmother must have mis-sent the message to me since in the family directory, my name and Chino's were right beside each other and so I forwarded the message to my cousin (who replied to my grandmother and mis-sent it to me too!).
Later on, I went downstairs while my family was having breakfast. I shared the news to them.
Me: Hey, guess what? Lola mis-sent me a birthday message for Chino!
Ara: Me too!
Mom: Me too!
Cami: I got that one too!
Apparently, my grandmother didn't know how to send messages completely so she just sent it to every member of the family. Eventually, she's gonna hit the right one, right?
Who says you can't teach old dog new tricks? You can! It's never too late. Just take a look at my grandmother. She's halfway there.
Tiny Talks: Part 5
Thursday, January 06, 2005
One day, my little brothers, Judo (7), Don (5), and Xavi (3) went to my cousins' house. My cousins, also 3 little boys, are in the same age group so you can imagine how rowdy they are.
While playing, these impatient, rowdy little monsters-- err, kids, i mean-- were noisy. They were so noisy and naughty that little Don couldn't take all the shouting anymore.
So, he goes to the living room, sits on the couch, assumes the Indian sit position, closes his eyes, places one hand on each knee, makes the number 3 on each hand and silently hums. In short, Don, all of 5 years old, does a yoga pose.
My stepmom and aunt are surprised.
Mom: Don? What are you doing?
Don: I'm doing yoga, mommy!
Mom: Do you know what yoga is?
Don: Yes, mommy. It balances my brain.
Mom: (surprised) What does it do to you?
Don: It's not so noisy now. My mind's at peace now, mommy.
Mom: (growing more surprised) Where did you learn that?
Don: On TV!!!
My mom, in still reeling from the shock, looks at my aunt, whose jaw dropped open in equal surprise.
Kids these days! And the things they learn on tv!
While playing, these impatient, rowdy little monsters-- err, kids, i mean-- were noisy. They were so noisy and naughty that little Don couldn't take all the shouting anymore.
So, he goes to the living room, sits on the couch, assumes the Indian sit position, closes his eyes, places one hand on each knee, makes the number 3 on each hand and silently hums. In short, Don, all of 5 years old, does a yoga pose.
My stepmom and aunt are surprised.
Mom: Don? What are you doing?
Don: I'm doing yoga, mommy!
Mom: Do you know what yoga is?
Don: Yes, mommy. It balances my brain.
Mom: (surprised) What does it do to you?
Don: It's not so noisy now. My mind's at peace now, mommy.
Mom: (growing more surprised) Where did you learn that?
Don: On TV!!!
My mom, in still reeling from the shock, looks at my aunt, whose jaw dropped open in equal surprise.
Kids these days! And the things they learn on tv!
10 Reasons to Smile
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Reason 1:
For the longest time, I have been wanting Will and Grace Dvds and I couldn't understand why Makati Cinema Square wasn't carry this series when it's one of the absolutely funniest sitcoms being shown in the Philippines. They had shows like Malcolm in The Middle, Queer as Folk, 24, Alias, which are shows that are shown on cable but no Will and Grace, which was aired on a UFN channel. So I pleaded with my suki to look for the sitcom. Last week, I texted her to ask if she found it already and to my surprise, she found not only the first season but until the fourth season! I was sooooo happy!
Reason 2:
I haven't seen a single episode of The OC because my schedule doesn't permit it. So one day, as I ran out of Desperate Housewives and Joey episodes to download, I decided to move on to other shows- like The OC. My sisters love the show and I bet I would to if I began watching it so when my suki in Makati Cinema Square told me that they now had The OC Dvds, I had one set reserved! Ever since I found out that the Dvds are available, I often hear the opening credits playing in my head. After all, it is catchy. (Note: There are 7 discs in all. My sister, Cami, was watching the 5th disc while I took the picture.)
Reason 3:
The next day, after telling A that I wanted the 2 sets of dvds, he went to Makati Cinema Square to buy Will and Grace dvds as a surprise for me. Unfortunately, since I told my suki that I was picking up the dvds on the 30th, which was the following day, she didn't bring them with her. I found out his intention when he called to ask me if I was sure about buying The OC dvds because he would buy it instead. So it's not much of a surprise anymore, but the gesture was well appreciated.
Reason 4:
My photo memory bracelet is finally here! I just love it! Thanks, Tin, for featuring it on your blog. I just adore mine!
Reason 5:
I've got a new personal hairdresser- my sister, Cami! All those nights playing with her hair in the bathroom till midnight just because she's got no one to talk to and is bored actually paid off! Check out my picture taken during the New Year's Eve party at the bar where I work and other pictures taken as well.
For the longest time, I have been wanting Will and Grace Dvds and I couldn't understand why Makati Cinema Square wasn't carry this series when it's one of the absolutely funniest sitcoms being shown in the Philippines. They had shows like Malcolm in The Middle, Queer as Folk, 24, Alias, which are shows that are shown on cable but no Will and Grace, which was aired on a UFN channel. So I pleaded with my suki to look for the sitcom. Last week, I texted her to ask if she found it already and to my surprise, she found not only the first season but until the fourth season! I was sooooo happy!
Reason 2:
I haven't seen a single episode of The OC because my schedule doesn't permit it. So one day, as I ran out of Desperate Housewives and Joey episodes to download, I decided to move on to other shows- like The OC. My sisters love the show and I bet I would to if I began watching it so when my suki in Makati Cinema Square told me that they now had The OC Dvds, I had one set reserved! Ever since I found out that the Dvds are available, I often hear the opening credits playing in my head. After all, it is catchy. (Note: There are 7 discs in all. My sister, Cami, was watching the 5th disc while I took the picture.)
Reason 3:
The next day, after telling A that I wanted the 2 sets of dvds, he went to Makati Cinema Square to buy Will and Grace dvds as a surprise for me. Unfortunately, since I told my suki that I was picking up the dvds on the 30th, which was the following day, she didn't bring them with her. I found out his intention when he called to ask me if I was sure about buying The OC dvds because he would buy it instead. So it's not much of a surprise anymore, but the gesture was well appreciated.
Reason 4:
My photo memory bracelet is finally here! I just love it! Thanks, Tin, for featuring it on your blog. I just adore mine!
Reason 5:
I've got a new personal hairdresser- my sister, Cami! All those nights playing with her hair in the bathroom till midnight just because she's got no one to talk to and is bored actually paid off! Check out my picture taken during the New Year's Eve party at the bar where I work and other pictures taken as well.
Another year for A and I
Ara, Me, Cami and our stepmom
My sisters and stepmom dancing with my little brothers
Me, with a sleepy Xavi
My mom and dad swing dancing.
(Well, not exactly since she jumped on him after)
(I'd love to do this with A but we'd just topple over)
Reason 6:
While everybody greeted and hugged each other at the stroke of midnight, my uncle and I hugged and he whispered his thanks (for helping him out) and how happy he was this year (2004) and how he is so proud of me. While I try to work hard and not to disappoint (because people think that I was hired just because I'm the niece of the owner), I'm glad that it actually paid off.
Reason 7:
As of December 16, my company still didn't have any corporate gifts to give out. Though it wasn't really stated who should take care of the presents, I took responsibility for it since no one bothered to. Because I was so busy with reservations and functions, I couldn't take care of it. Luckily, there were 2 bazaars being held near my office and I was able to find items to give out as presents. By December 22, I had presents for 150 plus people. The fact that I was able to buy presents already is a big load of my shoulders. All I have to do is send them out by the first week of January.
Reason 8:
Christmas season is the craziest, busiest, most challenging time of the year for us. In a way, I look forward to the 24th of December because there are no more functions and we can all sigh in relief. But this year, there are still more functions coming in, even after Christmas! And that's a reason to smile because that means more commissions for me!
Reason 9:
Every couple goes through a rough patch in their relationship. Admittedly, A and I have our share of fights so bad, we'd scream and walk out on each other. In the morning of January 1, after a night of partying, we had a very nice talk in the car about our resolutions for our relationship. The fact that we are going to try to curb our bad attitudes and focus more on the good and that we're working to make our relationship last is another reason to smile.
Reason 10:
I woke up with the most terrible headache. I was feeling dizzy and nauseous. But because I was sleeping the whole day, I didn't want my waking hours still confined in bed and so I made plans to go to Rockwell. A picked me up from Pasay, all the way to Quezon City. We went to Rockwell, only to find out that the stores close at 8PM, instead of the usual 9PM, because it was New Year's Day. I wanted to go to Fully Booked to check out books that aren't sold in Power Books but since they were closing, we opted for dinner at Burgoo instead. I really wasn't feeling well. So I decided to just head home. On the way to the car, he kept hugging me so hard, closed to smooshing me, that I ended up laughing. I half slept in the car on the way home though I could feel A patting my knee and rubbing my legs in an attempt to make me feel better. There wasn't really much he could do but those little gestures showed that he cared and he wanted to take care of me and that made me smile.
So, have you had any reason to smile lately?
