wish ko lang!

dear santa,

i know this letter may be a bit too late now. the post office is in a frenzy trying to keep tabs on their christmas deliveries and they don't have the time for a stupid little letter addressed to you from a girl bored out of her wits. but i'm writing this anyway and i'll post it on my blog 'coz i know you frequent a lot of blogs while you are making your list and checking it twice.

i'm not the nicest kid around. i've been naughty a couple... a few... er a lot of times this year. i probably don't deserve to get something from you this year.... but come to think of it, i have yet to recieve something from you after the more than 20 years of believing in a bearded fat man in a red suit. so you see, you owe me big time santa! for more than 20 years, i believed in you and i get nothing in return. so sit back and brace yourself as this is quite a list i'm giving you.

• i want that philippine vacation i am planning in april next year to push through.
• i want that car i've been planning to buy, to be on the apartment building's parking lot by the middle of next year. if you're generous enough, kindly throw in a navigation system along with it.
• i want a carribean cruise with my friends. most preferably on the third quarter of next year.
• i want me and my friends to have time for that carribean cruise next year.
• i want good health and safety for all my loved ones.
• i want an itunes music store card, so that i can download all the songs i want on my ipod.
• i still can't decide between a PS2 or an xbox, but i'm leaning more on the xbox because i wanna know if i'm actually good at playing halo. ok, maybe i want both. can i have both?
• i want a membership to a gym.
• i want to have the time and the discipline to go to the gym regularly once i get the membership.
• i want a new set of gym clothes and a new pair of cross trainers.
• i want one of those cute pajamas and tank tops of victoria's secrets.
• and before you think that i'm a selfish materialistic bitch, i also want world peace, because honestly in these days... who doesn't?

questionnaire

what do you do when you run out of things to blog about and you have lot's of time in your hands? simple, answer one of those questionnaires that are making their rounds on the internet. here's one:

what is your greatest fear?
untimely death

what is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
being anti-social

what is the trait you most deplore in others?
stupidity

what is your greatest extravagance?
electronic gadgets

what do you consider the most overrated virtue?
friendliness

what do you dislike most about your appearance?
my height

which living person do you most despise?
nobody in particular but to me plastic people are despicable in general.

which words or phrases do you overuse?
"yeah", "oh yeah" when talking to my co-workers
"oo nga eh!" "mao", "bitaw" when talking to pinoy friends
(i just realized i get to agree a lot most of the times)

what is your greatest regret?
not making the most out of college life.

which talent would you like to have?
guitar skills

what is your current state of mind?
depressed

what is your most treasured possession?
my sanity

what do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
being depressed and all and crying while watching late night tv.

what is your favorite occupation?
reading and surfing the net

what is your most marked characteristic?
silence

what is the quality you most like in a man?
intelligent-funny-maginoo pero medyo bastos combo

what is the quality you most like in a friend?
them being on the same wavelength as me (in short, hindi ko na kailangan pang i-explain ang sarili ko, my quirkiness, moods and all)

what do you most value in your friends?
tolerance

how would you like to die?
in my sleep

what is your idea of perfect happiness?
being in the moment

boiling point

it's been exactly nine days of not being able to blog about anything.... i am getting lazier these days. as usual, i am blaming it on my work. everyday i would wake up and find myself resenting every minute of work that is looming ahead of me. i would always pray to god to give me a little bit more reason to love what i'm doing and immediately, i would be thinking of the bills that are coming my way every month, of christmas that is fast approaching and of my ever growing wishlist of material things. i am getting to be a little bit more materialistic nowadays, and i know it's bad. i have to stop lusting about things which evidently is not practical to be had. stop me! stop me! stop me!

anyway, we were in nyc last weekend. we had fun. i became quite grumpy at one point (i'm sorry to the girls who had to take the brunt of my crappy mood) dahil mainit ulo ko pag gutom...my apologies. pagpasensyahan na ng ang mga topak na lumalabas pag deprived ng sugar and utak... he he he.

we stayed overnight in this dingy hotel over at astor place because we wanted to get the most out of our weekend in new york, and i swear it was almost like a scene out of mtv's boiling points.

this is what happened: days before we were to go to new york, i booked a room for four for an overnight stay. i told the girls not to expect anything fancy because the only hotel that has rooms available for us for that night was the cheapest one i could find. but it's decent enough, as it has it's own bathroom, it's airconditioned, and it has a tv and two queen sized bed. "no problem!" sabi nila. as long as we have a room where we could stay for the night. fine. fast forward....so we checked in and made our way up the two flights of stairs. there was no elevator pero keri pa rin... when we went inside the room it was like a furnace. i would've expected the devil himself to welcome us inside because the room was hellishly hot. we tried turning on the ac but it wouldn't turn on. i called the man on the front desk and this was what ensued:

me: hello, im calling from room 30 and we would appreciate it if someone would assist us in turning on the ac because there seems to be some problem with it... it wouldn't turn on.

devil incarnate: oh i'm sorry, but that aircon is broken and so is the entire airconditioning system we have here. the system has been down for quite a while now.

me: is that so? and nobody told us about it? do you expect us to endure this heat?

devil incarnate: it's hot in there huh?!

in my mind: ay hindi, nanginginig nga kami sa lamig dito eh!

me: (timpi ever!) oh yeah! and you have to do something about it.

devil incarnate: well, i'm sorry there's nothing we can do.

me: (can you believe this man?!?!) what are you trying to say? you mean you don't have anything to offer? not even a fan? my god!!!

devil incarnate: well, i could give you back your money and you find another place to stay.

tang-ina! he has the guts to say that because he knows that all the hotels nearby were already fully booked.

me: you know what? i'm gonna talk it over with my friends first. i'll call you back.

after 3 minutes the devil incarnate rings us.

devil incarnate: well are you guys gonna be staying or do i have to return your money? (hayup talaga!)

me: (in a mahinahon na tone) we need your help in finding us a place to stay near here. maybe you could give us the phone numbers of some nearby hotels?

devil incarnate: i can't do that! i'm not allowed to do that.

me: pucha! so you mean we're stuck here in the heat of this room? what kind of a place is this?!?

i hung up. usap kaming lahat what to do next. the devil incarnate rings us again. zoe picks it up this time.

devil incarnate: so what's your plan?

zoe: we still have to call our friend, because we don't know of any place that would have a room available for us.

devil incarnate: i'm going to send somebody up to fix the ac. (huwaaat? so pwede na man palang ma-ayos?! uubusin mo pa ang english ko sa pakikipagtalo, punyeta ka!)

zoe: ok that would be good.

it turned out, wala na man palang sira ang airconditioning system nila. the guy who came to "fix" it said there's nothing wrong with it. kailangan nya lang i-unscrew ang buong airconditioning unit from the wall at ilabas ang plug nito from where it is hidden. anak ng statue of liberty! anong klaseng hotel ba ang magtatago ng plug ng aircon nila to prevent it from being used? it doesn't make any sense, hindi ko makita ang logic. masisiraan ako ng bait, trying to realize how bad their customer service is. he he he... it was an exciting experience for all of us though. it made the rest of the rainy weekend bearable for us because after that incident nothing worse could happen.

sari-sari

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

i've been sick these past couple of days. i thought it was the flu but it turned out to be tonsilitis. i've been chugging a lot of water lately and had only been surviving on soups and juices for 2 days. after taking the prescribed antibiotics, the pain subsided and my appetite is back...digestive system: were back in business!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

after spending days sleeping, reading, shivering and most often just being sick under the warmth of my comforter i am going back to work tonight. can you say bummer? the good thing is, it'll only be one night of work and then i'll have another 4 days of no work stretch.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

i am currently hooked with this star circle national teen quest thing on
abs-cbn (i am so in not out!). i've been watching it regularly on line and i can't believe i am now having my own favorite questors (yes, you can now roll your eyes!) i've read that gma also has a tv program similar to this one and i bet i would be hooked too if they had it online but they don't.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

tomorrow, me and the girls are going to new york to watch a freestyle gig. i hope the weather would be good. i hope there would still be enough leaves on the central park trees to remind us that it's autumn. i hope we won't lose our way. i hope the room i had reserved would be decent enough. i hope we would have lots of fun.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

i may be having a slight winter depression and to think that it's not winter yet. i was watching ernie baron on tv patrol doing the weather when i felt the sudden urge to cry. pucha! naloloka na ba ako? i need to go out. i definitely need another break.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

i have finally come to terms with my feelings for somebody-who-musn't-be-named-for-fear-of-self-incrimination. i have quashed all my hopes of a happily ever after with him while i was busy taking care of myself the time i was sick. i have closed any doors of possible romance between us with a wonderful finality and i was feverish at that time, just so you know, so any decisions i made is due to my hyperthermia.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

i would love to watch bridget jones' diary the edge of reason if only i had the time.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

it's only 32 days 'til christmas! how come i don't feel festive? why am i not excited? why is it that christmas celebrations here does not compare one bit to how it is celebrated in pinas? bakit walang simbang gabi? o puto bumbong at bibingka? o parol? o ang kinaiinisan ko dating carolers? why don't i give a damn even if there's a promise of snow falling outside?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

two things

you're looking at the post of somebody who just passed the new jersey drivers license examination. wuhooo! i am now officially allowed to drive the streets and freeways of jersey. the only problem is that i dont have a car... yet. my driver's license may lie inside my wallet safe and secured for a period of time because i still don't have plans of buying a car this year. probably next year when i have the funds ready for the down payment. i'm still not decided if i'm gonna buy a new one or start with a pre-owned. i'm kinda sold to the idea of a brand new car, because with my measly know how about repairs and stuff, i don't wanna get stuck in the middle of nowhere with a broken pre-owned car and cursing the high heavens for even considering buying it in the first place.

a lot of people around me are giving me advises that differ. some say a new car is impractical because i'm just going to be driving around in circles in this little town of somerville, which i daresay is a total underestimation of my tendency to make lakwatsa. still some would say "go for the new one" because one: i'll have less problems with maintenance, two: that is what i really wanted anyway and three: i can afford it. ewan ko, naloloka na ako! i don't know which advise to take, so i'll just probably rely on my own decision. it is my money after all and it is going to be my goddamn car.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

i just finished re-reading Daddy Long-Legs by Jean Webster. do you remember the morning animated cartoon series(Judy) on abs-cbn before? yes thats the same children's story that was immortalized on tv and tagalized by the people of channel 2. i remember downloading a copy of this story on project gutenberg by the time the series was about to end. i now have a copy of the book which i bought at a Goodwill (a second hand store) near my place for only 89 cents! i am such a cheapskate.

anyway here's my favorite line:

"most people don't live; they just race. they are trying to reach some goal far away on the horizon, and in the heat of the going they get so breathless and panting that they lose sight of the beautiful, tranquil country they are passing through; and then the first thing they know, they are old and worn out, and it doesn't make any difference whether they've reached the goal or not."-- Jerusha Abbott

which totally makes sense. life is not a race. it's not a matter of who finished first or who ate all the dust way behind the finish line. it's a matter of how much you've learned, how you've kept the friends you met along the way, how many memories you've made, dreams you've shared and fulfilled and how well you'ved loved the people that are dear to you in the life that you've lived. kumbaga, it's the trip not the destination.

honey, where is my super suit?!?

we watched the incredibles yesterday and i have to say, pixar did it again and with their first PG rated film at that! the animation was great as it always usually is with pixar movies. the underwater scenes, above the water scenes and the jungle/rainforest/island animation is super, parang totoo. i love the fact that they have humans (er.. super humans) as the main characters this time and that they are shown to be vulnerable to the same kinds of problems encountered by the average suburban family. things like boring day jobs, growing beer bellies, bulging hips as well as doubts about husbands cheating, typical of the midlife crisis were presented. the issue about stupid frivolous lawsuits and the red tape of insurance companies were not spared in this movie. basta! it's a movie that's made for kid's in mind but adults will end up enjoying it even more.



"There’s nary a talking fish, insect, toy, or monster to be found in The Incredibles; these stars are all people with real problems and familiar personalities. This little switch has the surprising effect of making us care far more about its heroes than ever before. You could have served up Nemo as sushi for all I care -- he’s a freakin’ fish! Mr. Incredible’s got a wife, kids, and a mortgage, and his boss is a jerk. Toddlers may prefer a surfing turtle, but the rest of us are going to find The Incredibles Pixar’s best film yet." --Christopher Null

oh and let's all be prepared for a part 2 because the last scene in the end was screaming "SEQUEL" all over. and so with this, i am ending my blog entry reminding everyone (much like what edna mode advised) that no matter what happens, never ever get a super suit with a cape... stay away from a caped super suit.

it's been a while

i've been doing a lot of work lately. in fact i think all that i do these past few days is work, go home, get some sleep, eat, go back to sleep, wake up again only to find out that it's time to go to work again. i would've wanted to go out but my schedule combined with the blasted cold weather is preventing me to do so. imagine doing a 3 day succesive 12 hour shift, a one day off (which is really only used for catching up with lost sleep), and another 4 days of succesive 12 hour work. try doing that for at least three weeks without going out to get some time out for yourself and you'll surely go bonkers.

but who am i blaming. this is what i wanted after all. this is what i had been waiting for all along. all those exams, requirements, interviews, paperworks and what have you's i have to go through are over. i am finally living the life that some other nurses in pinas can only dream about. but am i happy? maybe... or maybe not.

okay, enough of the whine. on with my new (or maybe not quite new) read. i have on my hands now, a copy of The Best Philippine Short Stories of the Twentieth Century. i have been wanting to buy this book eversince i saw copies of them on the shelves of National Bookstore and when i lost my compilation of photocopies of short stories i kept in college. now that i have it, i am once again reading the stories that we have enjoyed discussing in sir espina's class in college. ((note to self: blog about my all time favorite professors sometime.)) the classics such as dead stars, how my brother leon brought home a wife, the summer solstice and faith, love, time and dr. lazaro has brought back memories of the rainy afternoons spent inside room 401 right before the dreaded anatomy and physiology class which is a door away where the stinking cadavers were kept. yes, it's fun reading and rereading them again and again along with other stories which i didn't knew were written by filipino authors.

it's so much easier to relate to something pinoy there's really no doubt about it. i've learned that, while i'm reading books of filipino authors and watching pinoy movies. my room mate has started a collection of dvds all of which are hollywood ones. i started to get bored with them after a while and found that i am craving for the old cheesy pinoy movie formula. i miss the ones where the characters suddenly breaks out in a dance and song number before the credits would roll in, or the ones where everybody would hit the beach or go to a picnic or an outing even if it's not really necessary in the development of the story. come to think of it, i am missing those rene requiestas movies (may he rest in peace!) that i think i may be a closet rene requiestas fan, he he he. oh well, among the dvds lined up on the shelf under our tv are two pinoy movies. one is the fun, dark and quirky keka which i thoroughly loved and the other one is all my life which inspite of its cheesiness gets an approval from me and the rest of the girls in the apartment building (blame it on our lack of something pinoy on our televisions).

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anyway, while blog hopping one time, i chanced upon a doctor's blog and found THIS pretty amusing and very clever.