In Response to Stephenie Meyer's Address to the Midnight Sun Leak
Saturday, August 30, 2008
It was a sad, sad day in the Twilight fandom. Stephenie Meyer finally addressed the issue on the leak of her unfinished draft of her next book, Midnight Sun.
Many of the fans replied saying that they were devastated, crushed, angry and sad. The hardcore fans even vowed not reading the partial draft, that Stephenie Meyer posted on her site just so fans don't have to go around the internet and downloading it illegally, out of support for their beloved author. The hardcore fans even called those who downloaded/ read the draft as not true fans.
Many speculated who leaked the draft and even blamed the cast of the movie who Stephenie Meyer gave copies to to help them further understand the lead male character.
I couldn't help but speak out of the moral and ethical dilemma I went through before downloading the book. This was my comment in one of the top fan sites:
"To be honest, I stumbled upon the unpublished manuscript last Monday, 23 August, on a site whose membership was by invitation only (which means not just anyone can download off the site). The source said that she got it off another site and she’s not sure if it’s authentic or real.
I downloaded it out of curiosity (yes, it’s in human nature to be curious) and read it under the assumption that it wasn’t the real manuscript (and therefore, to me, it was just fan fiction that was enough to get me by).
But I also thought “What if the manuscript is real?” And so out of respect to Ms. Meyer, therefore, I vowed never to repost the link of my source(so that others won’t be able to download it). I also vowed that I will buy the book once it comes (even reserve a copy prior to the release date and line up at midnight to get it).
It was only yesterday, when Ms. Meyer addressed the issue, that I confirmed that the manuscript I got was authentic.
Ahhh, that was one instance in my life where morality and ethics came out to play.
Do I feel that I contributed to this fiasco? No, simply because I did not leak the manuscript and if I did not stumble upon the link, this issue would still explode because there were other fans who downloaded it as well out of curiosity, out of weakness, out of temptation. Had I not stumbled upon the link earlier, I would still have read the partial draft in Ms. Meyer’s site because I’m just like that. I don’t mind getting spoiled. I’m the type who reads the end of the book first. So by reading the draft, it doesn’t make me less of a true fan (unlike some fans think but hey, I respect your opinion. No bashing there, please).
Do I feel bad that I downloaded the manuscript and read it before Ms. Meyer posted the draft on her website? No, because honestly, it was beautiful- typographical errors, grammar glitches and all. Just like Alyssa, it made me look forward to the book even more. Just by reading Chapter 1 before, it made me even want this book to come out before Breaking Dawn!
Do I feel bad for Ms. Meyer? Yes, of course. My heart goes out to her. And I do hope that the love and support of her fans (and her love for Edward) inspire her to continue writing Midnight Sun.
Oh, and just my two cents about who leaked the draft. I don’t think it was anyone she gave the draft to. Most likely, someone found that particular draft lying around somewhere and scanned them. It was a careless mistake made by the person Ms. Meyer gave that particular draft to to leave it lying around. I’m guessing the person who scanned it thought he/she was doing the fandom a favor by spoiling Midnight Sun but it backlashed and now he/she is stewing in his/her guilt. Fine, that person’s identity is anonymous now but I bet her conscience won’t let her rest.
I know this is quite long but I’ve been silently lurking and I just felt I had to share my story, given the risks. Thank you to all those who read this!"
I know I sound like a lawyer but I figure, if I sounded professional, there would be less bashing. Fans of the Twilight Saga are not only supportive and protective, they are very, very rabid! :)
Many of the fans replied saying that they were devastated, crushed, angry and sad. The hardcore fans even vowed not reading the partial draft, that Stephenie Meyer posted on her site just so fans don't have to go around the internet and downloading it illegally, out of support for their beloved author. The hardcore fans even called those who downloaded/ read the draft as not true fans.
Many speculated who leaked the draft and even blamed the cast of the movie who Stephenie Meyer gave copies to to help them further understand the lead male character.
I couldn't help but speak out of the moral and ethical dilemma I went through before downloading the book. This was my comment in one of the top fan sites:
"To be honest, I stumbled upon the unpublished manuscript last Monday, 23 August, on a site whose membership was by invitation only (which means not just anyone can download off the site). The source said that she got it off another site and she’s not sure if it’s authentic or real.
I downloaded it out of curiosity (yes, it’s in human nature to be curious) and read it under the assumption that it wasn’t the real manuscript (and therefore, to me, it was just fan fiction that was enough to get me by).
But I also thought “What if the manuscript is real?” And so out of respect to Ms. Meyer, therefore, I vowed never to repost the link of my source(so that others won’t be able to download it). I also vowed that I will buy the book once it comes (even reserve a copy prior to the release date and line up at midnight to get it).
It was only yesterday, when Ms. Meyer addressed the issue, that I confirmed that the manuscript I got was authentic.
Ahhh, that was one instance in my life where morality and ethics came out to play.
Do I feel that I contributed to this fiasco? No, simply because I did not leak the manuscript and if I did not stumble upon the link, this issue would still explode because there were other fans who downloaded it as well out of curiosity, out of weakness, out of temptation. Had I not stumbled upon the link earlier, I would still have read the partial draft in Ms. Meyer’s site because I’m just like that. I don’t mind getting spoiled. I’m the type who reads the end of the book first. So by reading the draft, it doesn’t make me less of a true fan (unlike some fans think but hey, I respect your opinion. No bashing there, please).
Do I feel bad that I downloaded the manuscript and read it before Ms. Meyer posted the draft on her website? No, because honestly, it was beautiful- typographical errors, grammar glitches and all. Just like Alyssa, it made me look forward to the book even more. Just by reading Chapter 1 before, it made me even want this book to come out before Breaking Dawn!
Do I feel bad for Ms. Meyer? Yes, of course. My heart goes out to her. And I do hope that the love and support of her fans (and her love for Edward) inspire her to continue writing Midnight Sun.
Oh, and just my two cents about who leaked the draft. I don’t think it was anyone she gave the draft to. Most likely, someone found that particular draft lying around somewhere and scanned them. It was a careless mistake made by the person Ms. Meyer gave that particular draft to to leave it lying around. I’m guessing the person who scanned it thought he/she was doing the fandom a favor by spoiling Midnight Sun but it backlashed and now he/she is stewing in his/her guilt. Fine, that person’s identity is anonymous now but I bet her conscience won’t let her rest.
I know this is quite long but I’ve been silently lurking and I just felt I had to share my story, given the risks. Thank you to all those who read this!"
I know I sound like a lawyer but I figure, if I sounded professional, there would be less bashing. Fans of the Twilight Saga are not only supportive and protective, they are very, very rabid! :)
The Weekend with the Bonding
Monday, August 25, 2008
One of the up sides of A working abroad for a few weekends is the chance to see friends over the weekend and spend quality time with them so you can guess what I did this weekend.
On Friday, I met up with the girls of our poker group. The girls are actually girlfriends of A's highschool and college barkada (Ateneo all the way, that's why they maintained their group). It's funny because we girls seem closer now than the boys. Anyway, two of the girls are now exes of the boys but we still meet up. We had to meet to discuss our hotel accomodations in Bangkok and of course, find out the scoop in each other's lives.
On Saturday, I had a full day ahead with Glady and Jeane, my highschool bestfriends. We were to try this spa that was cheap and allowed you to stay for 8 hours and even avail of the free food! Glady and I availed of the package worth almost P2000 but included a body scrub, a body massage, manicure, pedicure and facial. Too good to be true, right? But the facilities needed updating and the attendants needed more spa etiquette. It was only then that I realized how much I valued the expensive spas A and I frequent. Needless to say, I don't think I'm going back there.
Anyway, the 3 of us entered at like 3:45pm and left at around 11:30pm. We headed to the nearest Starbucks and talked for hours!!! We stayed till like 3am.
On Sunday, I spent the entire afternoon and night transferring files and backing up my Ipod into my new 320gb external hard drive. I also spent the afternoon looking for sources for chick lit audiobooks but to no avail. I recently discovered the joy of audiobooks as I can listen to them while driving long distances. It really helps the passing of time and traffic. My regular sources of torrent files did not have anything. I tried checking a torrent site that can only be accessed through memberships which can only be obtained by invitation and true enough, the audiobooks I wanted were there! So now it was a matter of finding someone who was a member. I was so desperate that I was thisclose to sending a private message to a member, a virtual stranger, asking- no, begging- for an invitation. Suddenly, my highschool kabarkada, one I get to see only once a year, went online and I thought of him. Is a bit of a techie and I figured he would download torrents too. Oh, he didn't but he was kind enough to ask his brother if he was member of the site and true enough, he was! Oh, I was just ecstatic when he gave me an invitation that I offered to treat him out when he went to our bar!
So I spent early morning on Monday searching for torrents I usually can't find.. and boy, was there a lot. Like A LOT! It's a whole different world in that site. Many of the torrents were not even available in my regular sources. I found the Breaking Dawn audiobook too AND chapters 1-12 of the unpublished manuscript of the last book in the saga. (Note: I'm being vague here because I don't want to get slapped with a copyright lawsuit or anything similar). The last book in the saga is said to be a retelling of the first book, however, in the male lead's point of view. So far, the writing style and the events is very consistent with the first book so it makes me believe that it's authentic. If it's not, well, it's enough to get me by until it gets published. If I was ecstatic about finally getting an invite to the site, I was over the moon when I found the unpublished manuscript. I wanted to do cartwheels at 3am! I vowed, however, that I won't put the manuscript out there in the regular torrent sites out of respect to the author. (Hahahahaha! Ironic, isn't it, as I am a DL Queen?)
Today, I started my day by vacuuming our room. My dad asked if I wanted to come with him to look at locations for his and my uncle's next business venture. Every member of my family, those who lived at home anyway, went and we spent a great time bonding in the car, joking each other. On the way home, my dad announced that he was hungry and asked who wanted pizza. Of course, all 3 of my little brothers shouted all sorts of restaurant they wanted to go to. We ended up having dinner at 4pm at our ever reliable favorite restaurant- Teriyaki Boy.
When I got home, I read a few more pages of the manuscript before falling asleep for a nap. And now, here I am. :)
How was your long weekend?
On Friday, I met up with the girls of our poker group. The girls are actually girlfriends of A's highschool and college barkada (Ateneo all the way, that's why they maintained their group). It's funny because we girls seem closer now than the boys. Anyway, two of the girls are now exes of the boys but we still meet up. We had to meet to discuss our hotel accomodations in Bangkok and of course, find out the scoop in each other's lives.
On Saturday, I had a full day ahead with Glady and Jeane, my highschool bestfriends. We were to try this spa that was cheap and allowed you to stay for 8 hours and even avail of the free food! Glady and I availed of the package worth almost P2000 but included a body scrub, a body massage, manicure, pedicure and facial. Too good to be true, right? But the facilities needed updating and the attendants needed more spa etiquette. It was only then that I realized how much I valued the expensive spas A and I frequent. Needless to say, I don't think I'm going back there.
Anyway, the 3 of us entered at like 3:45pm and left at around 11:30pm. We headed to the nearest Starbucks and talked for hours!!! We stayed till like 3am.
On Sunday, I spent the entire afternoon and night transferring files and backing up my Ipod into my new 320gb external hard drive. I also spent the afternoon looking for sources for chick lit audiobooks but to no avail. I recently discovered the joy of audiobooks as I can listen to them while driving long distances. It really helps the passing of time and traffic. My regular sources of torrent files did not have anything. I tried checking a torrent site that can only be accessed through memberships which can only be obtained by invitation and true enough, the audiobooks I wanted were there! So now it was a matter of finding someone who was a member. I was so desperate that I was thisclose to sending a private message to a member, a virtual stranger, asking- no, begging- for an invitation. Suddenly, my highschool kabarkada, one I get to see only once a year, went online and I thought of him. Is a bit of a techie and I figured he would download torrents too. Oh, he didn't but he was kind enough to ask his brother if he was member of the site and true enough, he was! Oh, I was just ecstatic when he gave me an invitation that I offered to treat him out when he went to our bar!
So I spent early morning on Monday searching for torrents I usually can't find.. and boy, was there a lot. Like A LOT! It's a whole different world in that site. Many of the torrents were not even available in my regular sources. I found the Breaking Dawn audiobook too AND chapters 1-12 of the unpublished manuscript of the last book in the saga. (Note: I'm being vague here because I don't want to get slapped with a copyright lawsuit or anything similar). The last book in the saga is said to be a retelling of the first book, however, in the male lead's point of view. So far, the writing style and the events is very consistent with the first book so it makes me believe that it's authentic. If it's not, well, it's enough to get me by until it gets published. If I was ecstatic about finally getting an invite to the site, I was over the moon when I found the unpublished manuscript. I wanted to do cartwheels at 3am! I vowed, however, that I won't put the manuscript out there in the regular torrent sites out of respect to the author. (Hahahahaha! Ironic, isn't it, as I am a DL Queen?)
Today, I started my day by vacuuming our room. My dad asked if I wanted to come with him to look at locations for his and my uncle's next business venture. Every member of my family, those who lived at home anyway, went and we spent a great time bonding in the car, joking each other. On the way home, my dad announced that he was hungry and asked who wanted pizza. Of course, all 3 of my little brothers shouted all sorts of restaurant they wanted to go to. We ended up having dinner at 4pm at our ever reliable favorite restaurant- Teriyaki Boy.
When I got home, I read a few more pages of the manuscript before falling asleep for a nap. And now, here I am. :)
How was your long weekend?
Labels: Weekends
Hollywood Has A Heart
This is the best Hollywood news I've heard all week.
When Heath Ledger passed away early this year, everybody and their mother was affected. Personally, my thoughts went to his little girl, Matilda, as I was worried about her future since his old will was not updated and therefore, did not include her.
So it was nice surprise to read this.
According to UK's The Sun, 3 well known Hollywood actors who played different versions of the late actor's character in his last work, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, donated their salaries to the child.
So who are these actors with a golden heart? Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrel.
Impressive!
When Heath Ledger passed away early this year, everybody and their mother was affected. Personally, my thoughts went to his little girl, Matilda, as I was worried about her future since his old will was not updated and therefore, did not include her.
So it was nice surprise to read this.
According to UK's The Sun, 3 well known Hollywood actors who played different versions of the late actor's character in his last work, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, donated their salaries to the child.
So who are these actors with a golden heart? Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrel.
Impressive!
Coca- Cola Zero Ad by A
Sunday, August 24, 2008
So finally someone uploaded the Coke Zero ad conceptualized by The Boyfriend on youtube. I've been looking for it so that I can have a compilation of A's work. Of course, I can't trust him to compile his hard work. Pffft.
I'm posting it here for posterity.
I'm posting it here for posterity.
Mixed Emotions
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Here's another update about the developments in fulfilling our dreams:
Today, A and I found out that our house loan is approved. We shall be in debt for the next 15 years!
To be honest, when I found out, I had mixed emotions about it actually. I am:
Relieved- because I was so worried that our finances wouldn't be enough.
Scared- because I'm worried we won't be able to make the monthly amortization especially in cases of emergency expenses.
Sad and dread- because gone are the days (again) that I didn't have to pinch pennies and now I have to go back to living in the real world and being an adult.
Grateful- because, well, the loan was approved and it took 3 months for the loan to be processed so that bought us more time to settle whatever debts we had left over: credit cards, phone bills, etc.
Amazed and awed- because the approval of our loan just shows yet again how this future home is meant for us.
We're signing the papers when A gets back in two weeks.
Today, A and I found out that our house loan is approved. We shall be in debt for the next 15 years!
To be honest, when I found out, I had mixed emotions about it actually. I am:
Relieved- because I was so worried that our finances wouldn't be enough.
Scared- because I'm worried we won't be able to make the monthly amortization especially in cases of emergency expenses.
Sad and dread- because gone are the days (again) that I didn't have to pinch pennies and now I have to go back to living in the real world and being an adult.
Grateful- because, well, the loan was approved and it took 3 months for the loan to be processed so that bought us more time to settle whatever debts we had left over: credit cards, phone bills, etc.
Amazed and awed- because the approval of our loan just shows yet again how this future home is meant for us.
We're signing the papers when A gets back in two weeks.
Labels: Dreams Come True
The Weekend with The Credit Card Damage
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Seriously, I'm scared to see my credit card bill after spending the long weekend with A. A left for Malaysia today for a two week tv commercial shoot then he comes home for like 2 days and then leaves again for Bangkok for 4 days.
So on Saturday morning (afternoon actually), I woke up to this message, "Babe, let's go shopping! :)" He needed to buy more clothes for his trip. How can I say no to that? Originally, I was suppose to accompany him as he fit clothes but we ended up going separate ways because well, it was more effecient that way considering we didn't have enough time. So the damage:
1) 2 sets of underwear, 2 panties and 1 bra
2) A trench coat from Zara (simply because the only coat I have which I use for the office just disappeared into thin air and no amount of prayer to St. Anthony would resurrect it from the dead. Trench coats make me feel very New York-ish especially if I wear them with my high heels and mini skirts to work. And it goes with everything!) That alone was like P3600! (Hey, I was desperate to replace my trench coat! The one I really liked was worth P7000 AND was thickly lined, it wasn't fit for Philippine weather).
3) Sale sa Mango eh! So I bought a top for work which could double as a top for a night out.. just unbutton the last two buttons and voila! Hello belly ring! And this (I don't know what you call it) cream short sleeved sweater/ vest with no buttons but with a low tie around belt.
4) 2 pairs of Gel Soles for my shoes
Plus dinner at Teriyaki Boy. That night, we played poker at a friend's house.
The next day, we met up in Rockwell where we had lunch at Pepper Lunch at 5pm (Yup, that's lunch!) then headed to mass. I went around while he got his haircut and when he was done, I was tired from walking one end of the mall to the other, all floors, mind you, in high heels that I wanted to stop and just sit. Since he wanted to go around this time, I decided to get my Ipod from the car (and switch to my flip flops) and listen to the New Moon by Stephenie Meyer while sipping Mocha milkshake. And when he was done going around, we watched Wall.E.
Sunday was pretty much low key as I had to work that night. I just met him in Ortigas, after he went to the ukay ukay held that day by his boss (think Italian shoes worth P10k sold only at P1300) and bought dvds.
It was a long weekend, indeed. But I felt we could have done more. In a way, I'm grateful that it's a long weekend again next weekend and he'll be out of the country because that means I'll be spending less... or will I? It is, after all, the perfect opportunity to spend time with my girlfriends.
So on Saturday morning (afternoon actually), I woke up to this message, "Babe, let's go shopping! :)" He needed to buy more clothes for his trip. How can I say no to that? Originally, I was suppose to accompany him as he fit clothes but we ended up going separate ways because well, it was more effecient that way considering we didn't have enough time. So the damage:
1) 2 sets of underwear, 2 panties and 1 bra
2) A trench coat from Zara (simply because the only coat I have which I use for the office just disappeared into thin air and no amount of prayer to St. Anthony would resurrect it from the dead. Trench coats make me feel very New York-ish especially if I wear them with my high heels and mini skirts to work. And it goes with everything!) That alone was like P3600! (Hey, I was desperate to replace my trench coat! The one I really liked was worth P7000 AND was thickly lined, it wasn't fit for Philippine weather).
3) Sale sa Mango eh! So I bought a top for work which could double as a top for a night out.. just unbutton the last two buttons and voila! Hello belly ring! And this (I don't know what you call it) cream short sleeved sweater/ vest with no buttons but with a low tie around belt.
4) 2 pairs of Gel Soles for my shoes
Plus dinner at Teriyaki Boy. That night, we played poker at a friend's house.
The next day, we met up in Rockwell where we had lunch at Pepper Lunch at 5pm (Yup, that's lunch!) then headed to mass. I went around while he got his haircut and when he was done, I was tired from walking one end of the mall to the other, all floors, mind you, in high heels that I wanted to stop and just sit. Since he wanted to go around this time, I decided to get my Ipod from the car (and switch to my flip flops) and listen to the New Moon by Stephenie Meyer while sipping Mocha milkshake. And when he was done going around, we watched Wall.E.
Sunday was pretty much low key as I had to work that night. I just met him in Ortigas, after he went to the ukay ukay held that day by his boss (think Italian shoes worth P10k sold only at P1300) and bought dvds.
It was a long weekend, indeed. But I felt we could have done more. In a way, I'm grateful that it's a long weekend again next weekend and he'll be out of the country because that means I'll be spending less... or will I? It is, after all, the perfect opportunity to spend time with my girlfriends.
Labels: Weekends
No Hanky Panky
The other night, A texts me that the people from the Malaysian production house that they granted the project to is in Manila and they're taking them out. They chose a swanky night club.
A: Don't worry, babe. No hanky panky.
Me: Define hanky panky.
A: Just look, no touch. :)
Me: Hahahaha! That goes both ways, right? If the girls ask you to touch them, I want you to say 1 Our Father and 1 Hail Mary, okay? "Thank you, God!" is not a prayer!
A: Hahahahaha! Okay, love. :)
A: Don't worry, babe. No hanky panky.
Me: Define hanky panky.
A: Just look, no touch. :)
Me: Hahahaha! That goes both ways, right? If the girls ask you to touch them, I want you to say 1 Our Father and 1 Hail Mary, okay? "Thank you, God!" is not a prayer!
A: Hahahahaha! Okay, love. :)
Labels: The boyfriend A
Welcome Me Back, Blogging World!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
After a year in hiatus, I am back.
There were many reasons why I left blogging. The first reason being that I simply lost my writing mojo. The second was I just had no time. The third being not finding a new blog template that I really liked to inspire me to write. And the last reason being that my old ISP wouldn't let me view my blog simply because my blog address has an underscore and therefore, it is deemed an invalid address.
I came back because I was inspired by my sister's very personalized blog. The blog design was appealing and reflected her personality plus, it had widgets that made the blog seem more fun. It took me just two days to find a template design that I like. Secondly, I needed an outlet to write the petty and shallow things that happen everyday yet make me laugh. I was reading my archives one time and laughed at incidents that happened years back that I wouldn't remember had I not blogged about it.
Many have happened in the year that I have been gone. Off the top of my head, these are the major ones:
1) A and I finally paid off the 35% downpayment for our condo. We're just waiting for our loan application to be approved. No rush though because while waiting, we get to save up more for our monthly amortization.
2) My family has finally moved into our own house. It took a couple of years to build but it was worth the wait. Everybody in the family loves the new home. It's actually huge (but we are a family of 9 plus 4 helpers, 1 houseboy, 1 driver and 4 dogs) that even after living here for 4 months, it still astounds me that we live in such a house. Well, it is the house my parents will be living in for the rest of their lives so it's only right that they make the most of it. A few days after we moved into the house, I told my parents that for the first time, living in the house made me feel that we truly are a family. I'll be posting pictures soon.
3) Just two weeks ago, my company transferred offices. We have moved to the province-- Taytay, Rizal, where it's far but everything is cheaper! Bigger space too!
4) My boyfriend A made the regional tv commercial for Coke Zero. He's leaving in a few days for Malaysia for two weeks to shoot the second commercial.
5) I found out that for the year 2007, A is number 32 among the top creatives in the country and number 700 ++ in the world. (I'm blogging this for prosterity's sake).
6) I have become close with the girlfriends of A's kabarkadas. So much so that the girlfriends see each other more than our boyfriends see each other. One guy calls our girls night out as "Cabinet Meetings." When there's gossip he wants to find out, he asks me, "the chairwoman" (his words, not mine) to call a meeting. Of course, I tell him it's not my story to tell and the person involved should be the one to call the meeting. Hahahaha! Very chairwoman-ish!
7) Oooh, I got addicted to the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer and got other peole addicted to it too: Cristy, Kat, Chi and Glady. I call them "my newborns." Hahaha!
8) Oh, how can I forget! I got my new laptop. Crossed off another item on my wishlist. This laptop rocks my socks!
9) A buys me a digital camera for Christmas! Woot woot! It was funny how he kept playing it down saying that he couldn't get me what I wanted, etc etc. But I knew deep inside that he was pretending. When I got the elaborately wrapped box, it was a bit heavy and when I lifted the top, I found TOWELS inside the box! But the box was too heavy for just towels, so I lifted the towels and found the camera's box! I kept laughing after that. Of course, the towels were a decoy. He bought them for himself actually. I retaliated by giving him a new phone for his birthday. His 3 year old phone's life was hanging by a thread.
10) A gets a raise just in time for us to start paying our monthly amortization. Again, I am amazed at how God works. When you're in need, He provides. And again, this just proves how this future home is meant for us.
11) This just happened last week: In a span of one week, I got a traffic violation twice which means I had my license confiscated twice (once in Makati and the other in Pasig). About 3 hours after I got my license the second time around, I got caught again for something I didn't do. My uncle's driver was driving my car (because the car he and 2 other officemates took broke down and I offered to give them a ride) and I told him to let me know where he would like to be dropped off so he can commute going to my uncle and then I'll just move to the driver's seat when he gets down. The driver decides to get down and parks the car on a, apparently, no loading/ unloading zone. When I transferred to the driver's seat and started driving away, the traffic enforcer stopped me. I couldn't believe it! It was my 3rd time to get flagged down in 7 days and this time, it was something that wasn't my fault! I ended up calling our VP who happens to work in the NBI as well, and he talked to the traffic enforcer and of course, the mere mention of "NBI" scared the enforcer and told me to go. But before leaving, I argued with him as to why he would give me a ticket for something I didn't even do. Even he knew I wasn't at fault because he admitted that he saw me transfer to the driver's seat when the driver left. But basically, his reason for flagging me down was because a) I was the one who brought the car and b) the person at fault was already gone (and he couldn't catch him anymore). Of course that pissed me off and so I asked him why give me a ticket for an offense I did not commit? So what if I own the car? I wasn't the one driving. I wasn't the one who made that decision to stop in that particular spot! He even said, "Binigyan ba kita ng ticket?! (Did I give you a ticket?!)" and I replied, "No! But you were going to!" and then I launched my tirade again. In the end, he said, "Sige na, sige na!" like he was annoyed and that our conversation wasn't going anywhere. I was just so exasperated that I was flagged down three times in one week! From then on, I told myself I'm gonna stop being kind and offering rides to my officemates if they were going my way because I end up getting caught for something. Both instances were for unloading passengers at a non- loading/ unloading zone. Of course it didn't help the signs were tiny and it was dark. Even my stepmom adviced me to stop offering rides because it ends up being more dangerous.
12) I finally fixed my sleeping habits. Sleep by 2 or 3am and wake up by 10:30am (though I'm trying to make it earlier).
I'm pretty sure there's a lot more that happened but I can't recall all of them as it is 5:30am already (What did I just say about my sleeping habits?! I'm rationalizing that it's the long weekend anyway so I can stay up late!)
I don't know how to end this post so I'm just gonna say...
Welcome me back, blogging world! It sure is good to be back!
There were many reasons why I left blogging. The first reason being that I simply lost my writing mojo. The second was I just had no time. The third being not finding a new blog template that I really liked to inspire me to write. And the last reason being that my old ISP wouldn't let me view my blog simply because my blog address has an underscore and therefore, it is deemed an invalid address.
I came back because I was inspired by my sister's very personalized blog. The blog design was appealing and reflected her personality plus, it had widgets that made the blog seem more fun. It took me just two days to find a template design that I like. Secondly, I needed an outlet to write the petty and shallow things that happen everyday yet make me laugh. I was reading my archives one time and laughed at incidents that happened years back that I wouldn't remember had I not blogged about it.
Many have happened in the year that I have been gone. Off the top of my head, these are the major ones:
1) A and I finally paid off the 35% downpayment for our condo. We're just waiting for our loan application to be approved. No rush though because while waiting, we get to save up more for our monthly amortization.
2) My family has finally moved into our own house. It took a couple of years to build but it was worth the wait. Everybody in the family loves the new home. It's actually huge (but we are a family of 9 plus 4 helpers, 1 houseboy, 1 driver and 4 dogs) that even after living here for 4 months, it still astounds me that we live in such a house. Well, it is the house my parents will be living in for the rest of their lives so it's only right that they make the most of it. A few days after we moved into the house, I told my parents that for the first time, living in the house made me feel that we truly are a family. I'll be posting pictures soon.
3) Just two weeks ago, my company transferred offices. We have moved to the province-- Taytay, Rizal, where it's far but everything is cheaper! Bigger space too!
4) My boyfriend A made the regional tv commercial for Coke Zero. He's leaving in a few days for Malaysia for two weeks to shoot the second commercial.
5) I found out that for the year 2007, A is number 32 among the top creatives in the country and number 700 ++ in the world. (I'm blogging this for prosterity's sake).
6) I have become close with the girlfriends of A's kabarkadas. So much so that the girlfriends see each other more than our boyfriends see each other. One guy calls our girls night out as "Cabinet Meetings." When there's gossip he wants to find out, he asks me, "the chairwoman" (his words, not mine) to call a meeting. Of course, I tell him it's not my story to tell and the person involved should be the one to call the meeting. Hahahaha! Very chairwoman-ish!
7) Oooh, I got addicted to the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer and got other peole addicted to it too: Cristy, Kat, Chi and Glady. I call them "my newborns." Hahaha!
8) Oh, how can I forget! I got my new laptop. Crossed off another item on my wishlist. This laptop rocks my socks!
9) A buys me a digital camera for Christmas! Woot woot! It was funny how he kept playing it down saying that he couldn't get me what I wanted, etc etc. But I knew deep inside that he was pretending. When I got the elaborately wrapped box, it was a bit heavy and when I lifted the top, I found TOWELS inside the box! But the box was too heavy for just towels, so I lifted the towels and found the camera's box! I kept laughing after that. Of course, the towels were a decoy. He bought them for himself actually. I retaliated by giving him a new phone for his birthday. His 3 year old phone's life was hanging by a thread.
10) A gets a raise just in time for us to start paying our monthly amortization. Again, I am amazed at how God works. When you're in need, He provides. And again, this just proves how this future home is meant for us.
11) This just happened last week: In a span of one week, I got a traffic violation twice which means I had my license confiscated twice (once in Makati and the other in Pasig). About 3 hours after I got my license the second time around, I got caught again for something I didn't do. My uncle's driver was driving my car (because the car he and 2 other officemates took broke down and I offered to give them a ride) and I told him to let me know where he would like to be dropped off so he can commute going to my uncle and then I'll just move to the driver's seat when he gets down. The driver decides to get down and parks the car on a, apparently, no loading/ unloading zone. When I transferred to the driver's seat and started driving away, the traffic enforcer stopped me. I couldn't believe it! It was my 3rd time to get flagged down in 7 days and this time, it was something that wasn't my fault! I ended up calling our VP who happens to work in the NBI as well, and he talked to the traffic enforcer and of course, the mere mention of "NBI" scared the enforcer and told me to go. But before leaving, I argued with him as to why he would give me a ticket for something I didn't even do. Even he knew I wasn't at fault because he admitted that he saw me transfer to the driver's seat when the driver left. But basically, his reason for flagging me down was because a) I was the one who brought the car and b) the person at fault was already gone (and he couldn't catch him anymore). Of course that pissed me off and so I asked him why give me a ticket for an offense I did not commit? So what if I own the car? I wasn't the one driving. I wasn't the one who made that decision to stop in that particular spot! He even said, "Binigyan ba kita ng ticket?! (Did I give you a ticket?!)" and I replied, "No! But you were going to!" and then I launched my tirade again. In the end, he said, "Sige na, sige na!" like he was annoyed and that our conversation wasn't going anywhere. I was just so exasperated that I was flagged down three times in one week! From then on, I told myself I'm gonna stop being kind and offering rides to my officemates if they were going my way because I end up getting caught for something. Both instances were for unloading passengers at a non- loading/ unloading zone. Of course it didn't help the signs were tiny and it was dark. Even my stepmom adviced me to stop offering rides because it ends up being more dangerous.
12) I finally fixed my sleeping habits. Sleep by 2 or 3am and wake up by 10:30am (though I'm trying to make it earlier).
I'm pretty sure there's a lot more that happened but I can't recall all of them as it is 5:30am already (What did I just say about my sleeping habits?! I'm rationalizing that it's the long weekend anyway so I can stay up late!)
I don't know how to end this post so I'm just gonna say...
Welcome me back, blogging world! It sure is good to be back!
