Ein gutes neues Jahr!

In 31 minutes, it'll be 2010 in the Philippines!

Here's to wishing an awesome 2010 for everyone!

I wrapped these up!

Holy crapappy.

Now I understand why they say it's difficult to sing Taylor Swift's You Belong With Me... dang. It *is* difficult to sing. I keep running out of breath!

But it's such a nice song and I want to be able to sing it in karaoke!

Frohe Weihnachten!

I hope you all have a wonderful time celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

Have a wonderful and happy Christmas, everyone!

Cat stories

Mimiw was lounging on the cold tile floor...

Me: Hoy Miming, in heat ka ba?
Mama: Grabe ka naman. Ang bata bata pa niyan para ma-in-heat.
Me: Eh bakit sa malamig na sahig sya humihiga? Baka in heat nga.

LOL!

The convo is me asking my cat whether she's in heat. My mom is shocked that I would think that because Mimiw is but a kitten.

Test

Another test. Posting from my phone.

Edit (10:22 p.m.): I'm putting back comments on Disqus to Blogger. It just bothers me that I cannot see what posts have new comments on my dashboard because they've all been pinged back to Disqus.

And there's also something wrong with the template I used before because it won't show how many comments a post has. Grrr.

Meet Mimiw

Mimiw (as she is called by most of us in the family) is the latest addition to our home. I got her from a friend's friend who saved her from a nasty life on the streets.

I love that she's very sweet! She lets me carry her around like a baby. And she almost always stays with me whenever I pick her up, i.e., even if she wants to get down, I make her stay and she stays.

My mom's having fun with her. Right now Mimiw is cradled in my mom's left arm and she's being rocked and cooed at. Having a "baby" in the house has started the baby jokes again. My mom often says, "Since I can't get a real grandchild, I guess you'll have to do Mimiw." *eyes roll*

Starbucks' salted chocolate drink

My Plurk friends have been talking about this salted choco drink from Starbucks. We've never had anything like it available here in the Philippines so I googled it.

I found a recipe that's hopefully a copy of the Starbucks drink. Now I only need to buy the ingredients so I can try it!

Still mad

I'm still angry with one of my brothers. I yelled at him the other night for not cleaning properly the container he ate in. Imagine if I did not inspect the container he left on the sink to dry, the idiot would've just left it there with the hardened cheese stuck to the side. My mother would wake up in the morning angry if she sees that.

He is such a slob! And I hate him. I really do. If I could give him away, I would. I will not tolerate filth and laziness in this household. It's not like he's being asked to clean the entire house. All he has to do is pick up after himself. How hard can that be?!

Hoping...

Remember this?

Well, the last part is over and done with so now I wait.

Part of me is glad about the timing because it means that if things push through, I won't have to do anything till next year. But part of me is also scared at the prospect of starting again.

New Moon

I am very, very glad to let you know that New Moon is really good. And I mean really good. Way better than Twilight, which completely sucked IMO.

I loved the effects they did for the wolf phasing, chases and fights. It was awesome! It made the hair on my arms stand on end.

The sucky parts were very few, thank goodness. I hated the scene were Alice showed her vision of Bella and Edward running slo-mo. It was too cheesy. Cheesy, too, was the scene in the water after Bella got whipped by the waves after she cliff-dived. Too bad she didn't die because I swear it would have made me feel better. And it's not even because I want Edward for myself. The pasty-faced dude can go to hell for all I care.

And seriously, what were they thinking showing Edward's body right after having your eyes feast on Jacob's oh so delicious bod?! What the hell were they thinking? Seeing Edward's white-out white body and oh my god your body has got nothing on Jacob's bod made me want to puke.

All I really wanted to say was: get your sorry, scrawny, ewww excuse for a body out of my face, Edward!

Thankfully Jacob got his hair cut when he started going wolf. I swear long hair does not suit the face of the actor they cast as Jacob. It made him look horribly ugly. I couldn't get past how ugly he was with long hair.

But, really, I would definitely encourage anyone to watch the movie. It was really nice. I guess it's a plus that I can hardly remember the story of the first three books so it was like being tabula rasa when I watched New Moon.

Itinerary today

I told you all (well, my Plurk friends anyway) that I'm meeting Jenn (May's friend), right?

Well, today, we're planning to meet her in Causeway Bay coz that's where she is (getting a mani).

(11:42:09 AM) may: anyway, puwedeng brunch lang tayo sa Maritime tapos i meet natin si Jenn sa Causeway Bay. Andun kasi siya today. Subukan natin yung cheesecake place.
(11:42:42 AM) may: Go around the area a bit (andun yung high-end shops_ + Ikea. Tapos punta tayo IFC, take Star Ferry. Mas maganda kasi pag gabi.

I'm now in Hong Kong!

Hello there. How are you all doing? It's 1:15 in the morning and I'm not sure why I'm still up. I feel sleepy but I also feel like I should not sleep yet. I know, it doesn't make sense. So here I am typing away while Mayomee is sleeping. Yup, I'm finally in Mayomee's flat. Hehe! She has to go to work tomorrow and I'm going to sleep in a bit before going out to meet up with her after she's done with work.

It was an interesting ride to Hong Kong. Instead of taking the ferry like I did the first time I was here, I took the company shuttle with DS and with a bunch of other folks from the company who were also going to HK. It was too long a car ride and I don't think I'll do that again (if I ever have to go to Shenzhen again). The ferry, even though it made me feel dizzy, was a shorter, better ride than taking the car.

So May met me at the airport and she treated me to dinner at Delifrance. I got pasta (linguine bolognese) and hot lemon tea. We then took the train to go to where she lives. We went through a mall where I was sorely tempted to buy tops at G2000. The store had stuff on sale, too! It was an awesome walk towards her building. I loved it! It was cold but I wasn't feeling cold (I have an awesome jacket from the Weatherproof Company that I got at Marshalls real cheap). I could live in Hong Kong! :-D I want weather like this. Cold but no snow. It's awesome!

Oh at lunch today (or yesterday), DS shared some interesting stories from his college days touring with a band in Japan. It was also my first time to eat duck. The verdict? I don't like duck. The meat is too tough. I'll take chicken any time.


I have to remember to blog about my stay in Shenzhen. So far this has been my most tiring trip. Tiring because I was actually working from 8 to 5 throughout the duration of my stay. It *really* was a business trip. LOL. I'm just glad that this trip gave me the opportunity to drop by HK and finally visit May.

Okay, I think I'm ready to sleep. Till next time, folks!

Second to the last day in Shenzhen

I was going to go downstairs but I wasn't sure what to do. It's not like I want to go to the theme park (there is one across the hotel). Spending money buying stuff I wouldn't use doesn't seem like a good plan. And it's not like I'm not going to shop in Hong Kong because I'm sure I'll be shopping some, if not a lot. There's nowhere else to go unless I take a cab and ask to be taken to a mall. Never mind. I have some work to do anyway so I'll just stay in my room. I was actually on my way to the elevator thinking all this when I turned back and decided to just stay in the room. Hay, life.

So now I don't know what to get for dinner. I'm kind of thinking, maybe, pizza? But what about dessert? I've had the tiramisu and the cheesecake. There's nothing else on the menu that's calling out to me. I kind of want to have the cheesecake again, haha! Even though I wasn't really all that happy with it. I don't know what it is with me lately but I've been craving cheesecakes like nobody's business! I hope there's a place where I can get good cheesecakes in Hong Kong. Paging, May!

So... my colleague and I chatted a bit in the car on the way back to the hotel. He was telling me about his family. I was mostly listening and commenting---okay, *mostly* listening. I tend not to talk a lot when I have only met someone for the first time. It's not that I'm uncomfortable being around him, no, it's more like I don't know what to say because I'm not interesting and I don't do anything interesting. I don't have any activities outside of work and home. Malling and eating out are notinteresting activities. He's an interesting guy, very nerdy, very geeky. You should hear him talk about the project we're doing---very intense! Too bad he's married. LOL He has a twin brother, though, but with my luck he's probably also married. And, no, I don't have a crush on the dude. But I will admit that he is crushable. I mean, hello, someone who is the chief officer and chair of a standards organization? C'mon, how many times do you meet guys like that? I can't tell you what organization it is because it's a dead giveaway. And he might be someone who googles himself. I don't want him clicking on my blog.

I gotta tell you, the hainan chicken rice (or hainanese chicken) that I had for din din last night was not what I expected it to be. I mean, sure, there's a lot of it but it didn't taste as good as I thought it would. I've had better hainanese chicken in the Philippines.

Hello from Shenzhen!

In my hotel room at the Crowne Plaza, Shenzhen, China.

Almost set for China

Well, I'm almost packed for my trip to Shenzhen tomorrow. The only thing I have not packed is my shoes. I'm not putting it in yet because I'm airing it out in our garage/laundry area.

I ended up bringing my huge suitcase because I packed a *lot* of clothes. I know I'll only be in Shenzhen for four days, and then I'm spending half of Friday till Sunday in Hong Kong with May, but I packed more than 4 days' worth of clothes. I'm still thinking about whether I should only bring my trusty white Keds (it saw me through my trip to Munich last year) or bring another pair of shoes (flats).

*sigh* I hate thinking about whether I have enough space for the stuff I will shop for in Hong Kong. There's not enough space left in my suitcase. But I really would not be able to shop that much (now that I think about it) because I did not save for this trip to HK.

*****
My tummy's still buggy. I feel slashes of pain in the stomach area every now and then, and I haven't told my mom about it because I don't want her to worry about how I'll be when I'm in China. My UTI is almost gone. I got checked Thursday afternoon and the result showed very significant improvement.

Not too great

I have what my doctor says is bad urinary tract infection. Pus content was seen in my urine sample and it's pretty high. My tummy's been spasming really bad. I wish this would be over soon. I have a ton of things to do at work and my being out sick and the trip to Shenzhen (hopefully) next week takes even more time away from my other tasks.

Yeaaah, it's all about work, isn't it?

This reminds me of a question I was asked earlier. The dude asked me what activities outside of work I engage in that helps me do my work. Honestly, there's none. Nothing physical or anything that involves physical interaction with other people anyway. After work I'm either at home, in the mall, or at home on the computer again. What could I tell him? Well, guess what I ended up telling him? I told him that I'm online all the time on forums (Plurk is what I mean! haha!) and my virtual interaction with the peeps there help me handle the virtual interaction with the team in other parts of the globe. I know, it sounds kind of lame, but there was nothing to say!

Gingerbread

So cute, yeah? I felt like a kid when I saw this at Starbucks the other evening. My friend bought it for me to eat while she got a Christmas frappucino drink.

The Starbucks gingerbread cookie wasn't as good as the gingerbread house I got at the Christmas maret in Garmisch. But it's an okay substitute.

The sock is done!

I just gotta crochet the other stuff that goes on it. I hope you can see what goes on it if you click on this link.

Excited!

I am excited about something, but I can't tell you what it is yet. I don't want to jinx it. I will tell you about it when there's something more definite to tell.

I am praying that things push through, that this is happening because God wants to make it happen for me.

It's working!

Unbelievable. If I had just stuck to following the pattern, I wouldn't have had to frog my first attempt to make this Christmas sock!

I'm happy that I got it! Yay! Can't wait to crochet the snowman!

PS. This is not finished---not yet anyway. But I'm getting there!

I hate this feeling

Here I am again, thinking about going back to Wordpress for blogging. Crap! Why can't I just stop thinking about what blogging engine to use? CRAAAAAP! This is insane---I'M INSANE!

But, no, I'm not moving. If I do move, it will be to buy a domain name for me, but I won't be leaving Blogger.

Let's talk about the trip to Hyderabad

I'm sure it's obvious that I'm back from Hyderabad. I got home Wednesday afternoon, around 4 p.m. Thankfully there were no delays on the flights. We even left Hyderabad a couple minutes earlier than scheduled. I love trips like that!

Unfortunately I did not get to shop as much as I had been planning to in Changi Airport. I did not get much sleep because my flight was at 12:20 a.m. (GMT+5.5). In Changi I had to keep going back and forth because the gate where we got in was far from the gate where I'm to board the flight to Manila. And I did not see any sign about what direction to take to get to Gate E28 (We got in gate E7 or something). I did not even get a decent breakfast at Changi, even though I wanted to. I was just too tired and did not feel like eating. I had maybe $20 to spend on breakfast and all I got at Spinelli's was Earl Grey tea. Blech. I managed to buy a neck pillow at that $20 store in Changi. I did not bring my blow-up neck pillow and was having a heck of a time sleeping because I couldn't position my head comfortably.

Anyway, you obviously also know that I had a great time in Hyderabad. I wasn't sad or weepy or anything. Not like I was my first two days in Munich. You know, I forget why I was sad my first two days in Munich. I better go dig up that blog post about it. I'm sure I'll laugh reading it because I can't imagine why I was sad and weepy then. All I could think of is that Munich is the first city I've been to where people spoke languages other than English, and I wasn't used to it. I felt lost, and scared that I will stay lost. And the town where my hotel is is a place where very, very few people spoke English. The up-side to the Munich trip was that I wasn't as apprehensive going out by myself, taking public transportation. In Hyderabad, I was advised by a Hyderabadi not to take the auto-rickshaws. I e-mailed this guy whom I found online. He had a website about Hyderabad. A week before my trip I asked him what places would be nice to visit and where I could find so and so stuff. He told me a bunch of things including what kind of transportation to take.

My teammates met me at my hotel, Ista, on Sunday morning, 11 a.m. Before I go into what we did, let me tell you about the Ista Hotel. The Ista is a wonderful hotel! I totally loved my stay there. It was my first time to stay at a five star hotel so you can just imagine how awed I was by the service and the facilities. They were so wonderful! I've mentioned it once here, I know, but I want to say it again: I still think those two boys from in-room dining are very, very cute! I only got one of the names, though—Jacob, I'll never forget you! If I could've stayed pen pals or e-mail pals with you, I would. You are too cute! I wish I could've gotten the name of the chinky-eyed dude. He was also cute.

At the end of my stay I gladly filled out the guest survey form and made sure to give it to them. In return, one of the hotel managers sent me an e-mail to thank me for taking the time to fill out the form. How about that! Too bad I never got the chance to check out the pool. I was wanting to but I found out that some people from our other sites (one from Tempe and one from Marlborough were also in Hyderabad visiting our office) were also billeted at the same hotel. I didn't want to run into them at the pool. Yeah, I'm shy that way (as if you didn't know).

So... I felt a little stupid when I first met my teammates. I immediately handed them the stuff I got for them (dried mangoes and a mini jeepney to remember the Philippines by haha!) and after saying hi and asking who was who, I led them outside so we could look for the driver and the car I had reserved for that day. When we were in the car, I was mentally smacking my head—I should've sat down at the hotel lobby with them first and gone over the itinerary. I'm stupid, what can I say. Plus I was also feeling way too shy and felt that I needed to keep things moving/going so I won't have time to feel so absolutely shy.

We first went to the Golconda Fort. I had read about it in an online forum and thought it would be a nice place to see. It was a nice place to see, but the timing could've been better. We should've gone there later in the day when the sun wasn't so annoyingly bright and hot. We didn't get to go to the top of the fort because 1) it was tiring, and 2) it was super hot. We'd have collapsed had we tried. I had fun looking at the empty rooms in the fort. You'll just have to get on Wikipedia to read about it because I can't remember half of the details. What was interesting about the place was their means of informing each other when there's trouble. Several places had this diamond-shaped depressions in the ceiling. This structure created an effect that helped them communicate with each other over long distances. For example, if you stood in the center of the place where the diamond-shaped depressions were, you could clap and the clap would echo 24 times (I think is what they said) and you could hear the clap from way beyond. There's also this room where they said the guests of the king were made to wait or sit, and in that room, whatever they talked about could be heard by the king from way up in his room! It had the same diamond-shaped things in the corners of the ceiling.

Oh, funny story at the Golconda. There's an entrance fee and it's 5 rupees per person and 100 rupees for a foreigner. The guy at the ticket booth said I was okay to go in for 5 rupees but the security guard would not let me get away with just 5 rupees. My teammates argued with him about it and they told him that I was from Northern India and that's why I looked the way I did. So then the security guard started talking to me in Hindi and I was like, "I'm sorry? What are you saying?" LOL! Raj had to pay the 100 rupees for me to get in. It was really funny.



We finished at the Golconda at past 1 in the afternoon. We went to a shopping mall and had lunch at an Indian restaurant. Seena treated us to lunch as it was her birthday the week before. Lunch was very good. Unfortunately I took no pictures. I was too hungry and didn't want to make them think I was weird or something if I had to make them wait before they could eat just so I could take pictures. Plus the server started serving the food as soon as it was on our table so I could hardly ask him to stop and put things back. LOL. I'm glad my teammates were not into anything too spicy. I asked them to keep things less spicy because I wanted to be able to eat the food and taste it. :-D They were very accommodating.

Hyderabad is a lot like Metro Manila—the crowd, the traffic, the driving, the motorcycles, it was all similar and very familiar to me. They have places that remind me of Quiapo, Divisoria, Quezon Avenue, etc. The area where the Charminar is looks very, very much like Quiapo and Divisoria. You can buy all sorts of stuff there. I got my sister's beads and stones at some stall in Charminar. But Seena says that the Charminar isn't the cheapest place to buy souvenirs. She says it's even more expensive there as it is a tourist spot. I'm thinking the vendors at the Charminar know how to play the tourists.

I'm glad I was with my teammates when I bought my sister's stuff. If they were not with me, I'd have probably been scammed! You won't believe how much one dude was charging me for a couple of strands of stones and pendants. It was crazy.

We didn't get to visit too many places that Sunday but I still had fun. They showed me the Hussain Sagar Lake and we drove around it before we went back to the hotel. I was so tired that evening that it was easy to fall asleep. I had a very, very good dinner of Murg Ka Raab soup and lemon cheesecake.

It was back to work on Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday I took them to lunch at The Spicy Venue restaurant, and then they took me to this crafts village near the office. Unfortunately, we did not get to go through the whole place because I had to get back to work to get in touch with someone. :-( There were so many cool things to buy at the crafts village and it would've been nice if I had had the chance to go through each stall and bought stuff to give to friends. Not having enough time is a bitch, I tell you.

I wish I had stayed one more day like I had originally planned. But I had stuff to do back home. I'm hoping there will be a next time. I want to spend time with them again! They are my teammates after all and I manage them now. Hopefully the company will allow a second business trip to Hyderabad?

Click here to see pictures in my Hyderabad Flickr set.

Second attempt to crochet a Christmas sock

I bought a pattern off Ravelry for crochet Christmas socks. They're supposed to be for decor and come with crochet snowmen and gingerbread men. I keep making a mistake following the pattern for round 29 onwards. It's doing my head in! I frogged my first attempt because I just knew I was doing it wrong. So here's to trying it the second time around. I hope I do good this time!

Not feeling well

I called in sick again. *sigh* and it's true. I have been unable to sleep. The only reason i'm awake right now is because i still haven't been able to sleep. This really sucks!

Weirdness on the plane

I can't believe that after all this time he still gets to me. On my way back to the Philippines, I cried on the plane ride from Hyderabad to Singapore. Thinking about it now makes me want to tear up again. I guess it just reminded me of how lonely I was when I went home in September 2008 after spending 12 days with him. You won't believe how pathetic I was---me, crying over a guy?! Eww.

But, yes, I cried. And on that plane ride to SG, I cried. I kept thinking about how things should have been if all had gone according to plan. I was sure he was the one. I felt it. It just really sucks that it was a failed relationship. Again.

It's funny how during the first few days after we had broken up I was happy that I was taking the break up quite well. I wasn't weepy. I wasn't catatonic. I was not the the girl who could hardly eat or sleep in 2005 when another relationship fell apart. I thought it meant that I was okay with it all. I guess I'm really not. On December, it will be one year since we broke up. We were broken up longer than we were together. That thought alone makes me want to cry and hurt him or whoever really bad. I want to inflict pain on someone, anyone, because I am still hurting. Even after all this time.

Again?

I'm going to lose another person I admire and respect at work.

When is it going to stop?

I fukken hate writing goodbye/thank you letters. I hate it!

Trust what you know about yourself

I always, always think I will change or be better at accepting things especially when it comes to food. This evening I learned (what my mind keeps saying to me time and again, and yet I fail to listen) that I could only do 'heat' at the jenfur (i.e., me) level, and never the level that Indians or whoever else likes spicy things could. I ordered Dum Biryani for dinner and asked if they could make it less spicy. Unfortunately the mix is pre-done so they couldn't adjust the heat. After maybe five spoonfuls of the thing (I valiantly tried, mind you), I quit. I just couldn't take the heat. I couldn't taste the food anymore because it was too spicy (for me). But boy could I smell it. It smelled so good, so delicious. But it was too spicy. :-(

I don't know why I keep insisting on doing things the opposite way, the way I'm unaccustomed to. It's insane that I keep trying because past experiences show that there are things that are meant to be done the way I have always done them. No amount of pepping or getting egged on will change it. In the end, if I do things a different way, try things I normally would stay away from, I become sorely disappointed. And then I mentally smack my own head for thinking that I could do things differently.

And, yes, the second para also hints at a recent situation at work. If you're in Plurk, you know what I'm talking about.

Saturday in Hyderabad

I haven't done much except call R and talk about the plans for tomorrow.

I finally got my dollars exchanged for rupees. I also just ordered lunch; it's 2:18 p.m. here and I'm hungry. I had to wait for the guy that I was getting my Indian currency from and had to get bigger notes changed to smaller ones to use for tipping.

I also called for transportation because I need to go to the bookstore and to the supermarket to get some supplies. The food items in the mini bar are too expensive! I already opened the Doritos they had because I was so hungry! I did this at 2 a.m. this morning as I was still up then. I have to get paper bags for the dried mangoes and miniature jeepneys I got my teammates for souvenirs from the Philippines.

Tomorrow we're all going out! :-D I hope the transportation service isn't too expensive for our trip tomorrow.

Cute guy alert

A cute guy brought up the breakfast I ordered earlier. He was *really* cute! I wish I had asked if I could take his picture. I just don't know what reason to give. I hope I run into him again (if I manage to venture out of my room!) and take photos of him in secret. LOL!

Man, I'm hungry.

I created a photo set for Hyderabad in Flickr. The photos that are up were taken in Changi and some are pictures of my hotel room. Hehe! Just keep checking my photostream for updates.

Finished socks

I finished my mom's socks about a week and a half ago.



She wants more! LOL She also asked that I make one for my dad.

I'm so happy I finished the socks. This is only my third finished knit object. Hee hee.

Hello from Hyderabad, India!

Yes, friends, I am in Hyderabad.

I am holed up in my room enjoying air-conditioning. It looks to be quite hot outside, just judging by how bright the sun is.

I am staying at the Ista Hotel in Gachibowli. While my room isn't as big as what I'm used to when I go on a business trip to the US, it *is* pretty nice. I just discovered a couple minutes ago that the TV automatically mutes when you are on the phone (room landline)! How cool is that? I've never been in a hotel where they had that feature. Amazing!

I don't feel too good, though. It may be because of all the coughing and sneezing at the boarding area last night in Changi airport, while I was waiting to board the flight to Hyderabad. I am ordering breakfast in the room because I don't feel too well to go downstairs to get breakfast.

Today I have to call my teammate to tell him what time is okay to start tomorrow. Yes, my teammates are all meeting me tomorrow here at my hotel and they are going to take me around the city! I am so excited about this! Then I have to call the travel agency to ask them to have someone from their company come over so I can change US dollars to India rupees. I had US$100 changed in Changi last night so I have money to pay for the cab. The exchange rate was INR41 to US$1 so I got INR4100. I'm missing INR600, if we are to go by the going exchange rate. But 41 to a US$1 is still a pretty good deal I would say. Not like when I changed US$1000 to Euros in Schiphol. I only got around 600 Euros for US$1000. Can you believe that?!

I am waiting for breakfast while typing up this post. I should try to remove the SD card from my mobile phone so I can use my card reader to download pics. Windows sucks in that I can't use the bluetooth to connect to the phone and browse the SD card. Sucks! That's one of the things I love about my Mac---it lets me connect wirelessly to devices and browse its contents. The annoying thing with my phone (a Nokia 6700 classic) is that the SD card is a pain to take out! I think the probability of me taking off a fingernail is higher than getting the damn card out.

Socks for big people

I am knitting my mom a pair of socks!

I finished the first half very early this morning, around 4 a.m. I couldn't sleep so I thought I would just keep on working on the socks.


I am very excited about this! But I have to say, my hands hurt a bit with the repetitive knitting motion. My mom is excited, too! She was surprised when I made her fit the sock this morning. She probably did not think I would finish it. :-) Technically, I am *not* finished, but I am determined to see this through.

I made chocolate muffins!

They didn't look great but they tasted okay (I'm still debating on whether I should put up the one photo I took or not). I wasn't expecting it to taste super duper great since the mix I bought wasn't the best. It was a local el-cheapo mix that I thought I'd try. I just followed the instructions for muffins on the back of the box. When I poured in the mixture, I added Nutella to it. I think I should've melted the Nutella a bit so it swirled inside. Oh well. Better luck next time. Next time I'm going to mix my own batter instead of getting the ready mix ones. And then I'm going to melt the Nutella a bit to make it more like chocolate syrup. :-D Can't wait to do that!

But first, I really gotta buy my mom better bakeware. The lack of nice bakeware in our house is frustrating!

I feel like doing something, but what?

I was supposed to have gone to a wedding today but I skipped. I'm not particularly close to the person getting married and I have no doubts about not being missed. I also do not feel like getting dolled up and enduring making small talk with people I often see at work. I'll see them again at work on Monday so I doubt I'll be missing anything.

I feel like going out today, though. I want to go to the mall to get a gift for my friend (who's been my friend since college) who is celebrating her 30th birthday tomorrow. I'm not sure what to give her. I'm thinking about buying a book, but we'll see.

There's also the matter of just going out to get coffee and cupcakes, people-watch, and knit. I really also want to get a couple of local yarns to knit into decorations for our Christmas tree. I want to put up a Christmas tree this year. We totally did away with decorations last year because my mom, sister, and I were too lazy. But my mom and I were talking yesterday about re-arranging the furniture in the living area to free up some space and get some areas cleaned, and hopefully we'll have room to put the tree in.

Last night my mom and I also talked about what we're preparing for Christmas eve dinner. We both want to keep it low-key and stress-free. And so we've come up with the following food to serve on Christmas eve:

• Hotdog cocktails—We plan to go to a deli to get cold cuts to use with the hotdog cocktails and some yummy cheese!
  
• Lumpiang shanghai—I think this is what other people call spring rolls?
• Fresh lumpia—fresh spring rolls as opposed to fried
• Pancit
• Margarita—drinks for the girls (water for the boys haha!)
  

We haven't talked about what to do for New Year's eve fare. I'll most certainly put it down here.

*****
I'm kind of torn between using electronic devices to keep notes and using pen and paper. I have an E2 Tungsten that Robert gave me when we were still together. I have not been using it at all. I also bought this notepad from Barns and Noble a couple years back and it has since been gathering dust in my cabinet. Let's not even get into my cell phone that is a smart phone and you can use it to keep notes as well.

When I think about going electronic, I think about how it's a pain to keep the item charged. I mean, it has to have power so you can use it. But what's nice about electronic devices is you don't need other lighting to use it because it has its own lighting. If I go with pen and paper, I can't write in the dark.

*****

Where am I going with this post anyway?!

Nowhere, it seems. I just want to "talk". And Plurk is dead-zone land today what with the North Americans sleeping, and my European friends sleeping or working.

First knit sock!

OMG, I was able to knit my very first sock!

Yes, it's just a sock. LOL.

You see, I'm planning to send knitted Christmas items to some friends so I tried to see if I could follow a sock pattern. Thankfully, someone in Ravelry put up a free pattern for a baby sock! It was easy to follow---just as soon as I had figured out what to do after googling for videos of sock knitting. I made a few boo boos during the course of following the pattern because I had never knitted using DPNs before. The videos I googled helped a lot and it became very easy after that.

I also lucked out on the kitchener stitch. I followed a written tutorial (without practicing!) and just did it! I'm not sure it came out the way it's supposed to, but, heck, who cares?!

I also want to show you the hole in the gusset that I forgot to close after I weaved in the loose end.

Pattern: Just Your Basic Baby Sock by Patti Pierce Stone

My Ravelry page for this FO.

Cheesecake!

I don't know what happened but I've been into cheesecakes lately. I'm still very particular about how it should taste like, meaning I don't want my cheesecakes to taste like the cheese you use when making cheese sandwiches. Ugh.

Anyway, I've been following a blog called Bake at 350, and she posted a recipe for a no-bake freezer cheesecake. I am so going to make this!!!

I also shouldn't forget that I want to make snickerdoodles. Rho (an NFF*) talked about it in Plurk and shared a recipe from Martha Stewart's website. I so cannot wait to make this cookie!

Wish me luck!

*NFF: new-found friend

I ❤ Burt Bacharach

I've been listening to his songs whenever my dad plays them but I never bothered to find out who composed it/sang it until this afternoon.

I was rolling some bilo bilo for guinataan that my mother's making when I heard "This Guy's in Love with You" playing.

I can't get it out of my head. I wanna head outside and sing it in karaoke.



Just look at him. He may be old and he probably has trouble playing, but he still ends up playing it so well. I love it!!!!!!!! I can't tell you how much I love it except by plastering this post with a lot of exclamation points!!!!!!!!!

Can I also just say he looks so damn good? He's super sexy for an old dude. And look at the Japanese girl, she looks just about ready to swoon or drop dead at Burt's sexy feet.



This Guy's in Love with You
by Burt Bacharach

You see this guy
This guy's in love with you
Yes, I'm in love
Who looks at you the way I do
When you smile I can tell
We know each other very well
How can I show you I'm glad
I got to know you, 'cause:
I've heard some talk
They say you think I'm fine
Yes, I'm in love
And what I'd do to make you mine,
Tell me now, is it so?
Don't let me be the last to know.
My hands are shaking
Don't let my heart keep breaking, 'cause
I need your love
I want your love
Say you're in love
In love with this guy,
If not I'll just die.

Ondoy is one of the worst, if not the worst

The rain has finally stopped. It had been raining since 7:30 p.m. last night and it only got worse when today broke in. I slept to rain and awoke to rain. I had to cancel a dermatologist appointment because the main road outside the subdivision is flooded. There was no getting out.

This typhoon is probably the worst I've ever been through. I know I did not have to get on top of our roof to escape rushing waters, none of my family did. But it was bad because streets in Quezon City (where I live) that do not normally flood as bad as España* does got flooded real bad today. Imagine Katipunan Avenue getting flooded. I have lived in Quezon City for more than 10 years now and I have never known Katipunan to get flooded as badly as it did today.

The news is filled with reports of people stranded in the topmost floor of their houses. Some are even in trees and on their roofs, waiting for neighbors to help them get across to somewhere where they can walk, dry off and get food. The pink fences that the MMDA put up in various parts of the city got torn down to allow cars to turn and pass through. Some areas are so flooded that even parked cars have become submerged. It's just downright horrible. I saw a video on Youtube where a car looked like the Titanic sinking.

You know, I do not know what the people who went out today were thinking. If they were not going to work but were going somewhere to have fun, what were they thinking?! I find it stupid that they would venture out in this kind of weather when it hasn't stopped raining since last night. And then they complain about being stuck in the highway, with no supplies in their car.

Another thing that strikes me as stupid is countrymen who keep wailing about not being rescued. What exactly do they think the government is? It's a government, not the Justice League or the Super Friends. They do not have Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman, Superman, The Green Lantern, Hawk Girl etc., at their disposal. That's not how they work. You have brains people, think! Save yourselves. Don't wait for a Superman to come fly you to dry land. You can't expect the government to have all the resources to help everyone that needs help. Not even the US government can do that. You need to think for yourselves.

Anyway, power was out for several hours today. I thought I was going to spend the night without electricity. Thank God it came back around 8 this evening.

The typhoon is on its way to the central provinces of Luzon*. I hope my mom's family in Pangasinan won't have to deal with flooding and will be safe.


-----
*España - a street in Manila (another city) that floods instantly at a little bit of rain
*Luzon - the northern island of the Philippines

Water on the moon and AIDS vaccine

I want to read these articles later on. I just don't have the time right now.

It's Official: Water Found on the Moon
In a first, an AIDS vaccine shows some success

Going to India sometime in October

I'll be away on a business trip sometime end of October. I'm not sure what else I'll do there besides attending to business. But I am excited about meeting the Hyderabad team.

Um, I am also planning to stay a couple of days with a college friend who wants to visit India. She is currently based in Singapore and has long since been asking me to go on an overseas trip with her. When she found out I was going to India on a business trip, she asked whether I could stay a few more days so we could explore together. So I said, why not?

I was surprised to know that only two countries can enter India without an Indian visa. Everyone else has to get a visa. The good news is that the processing time for an Indian visa is not as long as a Schengen visa. At least here in the Philippines. Then again, I can understand why it takes so long to process a Schengen visa since this visa is valid for all EU member countries.

*****

I have not been doing much of anything lately... except work. I haven't even gone to see any new movies. I know I should feel sad that I haven't gone to see a movie because, you see, it's my thing. I love watching movies in the cinema. Lately, though, I just haven't felt like doing anything. And it doesn't even make me feel sad. I work because I have to, and then I go home to soak up some personal Internet time. I find myself hanging out in Farmville or playing Bejeweled. It's Bejeweled most of the time.

And then lately I seem to be falling asleep earlier. I used to struggle with sleeping because normal bed time for me is 1 to 2 a.m. Now I'm usually asleep before the clock hits 12. I also seem to need someone or something talking in the background while I try to sleep, which is why I have taken to re-watching episodes of Seinfeld.

*****

I am still struggling with losing weight. I've been taking pills to regulate my monthlies (and to help my zit-infested face) and it seems to make me become hungrier more often. I try to not eat so much during dinner but I end up eating a lot. But around 10 or 11 in the evening, I get hungry. And then I eat. It's not even healthy food that I reach for but cakes, cookies, ice cream! Yikes.

I have this uncomfortable weight in my middle. I want to lose it.

But you gotta see some of the food that I have been gorging on.


Grilled Liempo. I think liempo is a particular part of a pig. I am just not sure where.


Sisig. This is chopped up pig's cheeks, ears, nose. Writing that down makes it sound disgusting. But I try not to think that this is a pig's cheeks, ears, and nose. It's pretty tasty, and something you shouldn't knock till you try. :-)


Adobong Kangkong. Kangkong is swamp cabbage. This is really good. A very good compliment to the sisig.


Caramel Fudge Cake. We had this at Banapple, which lately seems to be our breakfast place of choice on Sundays. This cake is way too sweet and not something I really like.


Rolled Lasagna. I split this with my sister for breakfast last Sunday at, you guessed it, Banapple. This was unbelievably good! It's a simple dish that was soooo good! It made me wish I hadn't split it with my sis.

As always, these photos are also available on my Flickr account.

Why do we have to go to work tomorrow?!

I don't get it. I really don't.

See, the government announced an off day tomorrow for everyone else except the BPO and Electronics industries. Granted it's not even a valid holiday (tomorrow is the burial of a religious sect's high leader)---it's just paying respect and having employees avoid the traffic that the event is going to cause---but the reason why my company has office tomorrow is just plain stupid. The Department of Trade and Industry asked the palace to exempt those in BPOs and Electronics because of the 24/7 nature of their work. So now I'm like, "What the hell are you talking about? My office is an R&D facility and not a manufacturing one, and we definitely DO NOT work 24/7." I wish the local HR and Employee Communications people who are responsible for issuing announcements had more backbone, and more functioning neurons because it seems to me they're not thinking very well.

*sigh*

I wish we had buko pandan in the fridge right now. I need something to cool me off this latest irritation.

Living healthy

Here's a nice article I came across this evening. Click on the quoted text below.

What Doctors Wish You'd Do
By Alyssa Shaffer

Skip the 11 o'clock news, respect your mouth and 18 other stay-healthy musts...

Interesting things about me based on FB quiz results

Apparently, I am:

ISTJ - The Dependable One

You have a strong sense of duty and possess the one trait that will help ensure success in whatever you put your mind to - the ability to persevere and focus on your goals. When it comes to getting things done, you are dependable and consistent at delivering.

Some of your personality traits include:

* Value tradition and security
* Strong work ethic
* Dependable
* Loyal and faithful
* Stable and practical
* Family-oriented
* Natural leader
* Prefer to work alone, but work well in teams when necessary
* Very observant
* Respect for facts and concrete information
* Objective, logical and rational decision-making
* Dislike of change, unless shown concrete benefits
* Strong opinions on the "right" way to do things
* Appreciate structured, orderly environments
* High standards for yourself and others
* Not strong on empathy

Some of your suggested careers are:

* Business Executive, Administrator and Manager
* Accountant and Financial Officer
* Police and Detective
* Judge
* Lawyer
* Medical Doctor / Dentist
* Computer Programmer, Systems Analyst, and Computer Specialist
* Military Leader

And that I have a:

Balanced Brain: 17 Left-Brain Responses/ 13 Right Responses

Of 30 questions, 17 of your responses indicate you are left brained dominant. 13 of your responses are indications of right brain dominance. These results indicate you have a balanced brain, with no tendency to think towards either side.

Those who are middle-brain dominant tend to be more flexible than either the left or the right-brain folks; however, you often vacillate between the two hemispheres when you make decisions. You sometimes get confused when decisions need to be made because, neurologically speaking, you could do most tasks through either a left-brain or a right-brain method!

A balanced score means you are able to draw on the strengths of both the right and left hemispheres of your brain depending upon a given situation. This combination makes you a creative and flexible thinker.The down side to having a more "balanced brain" is that you may sometimes feel paralyzed by indecision when the two hemispheres of your brain are competing to solve a problem in their own unique ways. You may also find career choices difficult due to your proficiency in several different areas.

I get into giggle fits whenever I see this because some things do ring true.

Some photos from Andrea's wedding

Head on over to the Raymundo-Realeza photo set on my Flickr.

Wedding equals gathering time for friends

It's been a while since I saw my friends from college. I think it was in April when we last got together. It seems the only time we get together is when one of the following happens:

• a friend based outside the country is home for a visit
• someone is getting married
• someone's kid is getting baptized
• someone's kid is having a birthday party (future event!)

Yesterday, another one of our friends from college got married. Rox, Mau, Edward, Len, and I got invited to the wedding. And since Len was here, she asked that I ask our other friends if they wanted to get together after the wedding. Unfortunately, only Ann made it to the get-together. But we still had a blast! We went to a karaoke bar and sang and talked and laughed. I even videoed some of the conversations! I think I'll let Leah know about this blog coz I haven't been e-mailing her much. She'd want to see the videos, too, so I'm going to restrict access to them when I put them up in youchoob.

It was so much fun talking about how things were like when we were still in college (we always do this every time we get together!) and updating each other with what has been happening to our batch mates. Some of the news we had to share with the others were news we got from Facebook statuses. LOL Speaking of Facebook, I got some tips on how to 'level-up' in Farmville. I'm going to put those tips to practice as soon as I finish this post. Farmville was one of the major topics of conversation last night. That and stuff like the H.Kho sex scandals. I was not able to help myself and told them about P being in a relationship with T and how disappointed I was about this state of affairs. It's funny when I think about my reaction when P and I rarely talked when we were still in school! (To be honest, I don't remember ever having talked to him in school.) So then my friends had to go and tell me (for the nth time!) how I had a crush on each and every guy in school! Even the ones that I never paid attention to, they would say I had a crush on him. It used to make me feel bad during the first few years after college whenever Rox brought it up because I can pinky swear that I did not have a crush on every guy! I used to despair about meeting up with my friends and having them tell me who I had a crush on. I came to a point where I was debating with myself whether to tell her off or not. But she's my friend and I guess she's just playing or wanting to be funny and didn't mean to make me feel bad. But thankfully I'm not as affected and not as annoyed as I used to be. Last night, when they were talking about it I even laughed and I can swear that I didn't feel bad.

I have a secret, by the way. I saw this guy that Andz and I used to work with and he looked kinda cute. He looked very mature and dignified. I was hesitant to approach him because I wasn't sure if he remembered me. We rarely saw each other when we worked together (because it was a telecommuting kind of work) and mostly talked via YM. He gave me advice on how to play in the stock market, which I never did. I still kept the logs of our conversations and the e-mails we sent back and forth talking about it. He went to the same school as me and Andz but he was from a higher batch. He made a lot of money developing web-based systems, but I'm not sure if he's still developing such systems. Anyway, I'm kind of thrilled I still have him in my YM contact list. We've never chatted again since I left the company four years ago, maybe because I kept myself invisible to him. Hehe. But you can bet that I am going to be in his face in YM from now on! I hope I'm still in his contact list.

Anyway, one of the highlights of the wedding, besides the spectacular fireworks and very cute decor in the reception hall, was having Raymond Fortun and his group carry out the photo and video coverage (at least I think it was his group that did the video coverage as well). Before we left, I made sure I had my pic taken with Raymond. My friends had theirs taken, too! And that was after teasing me for going after Raymond, asking to have my pic taken with him. For those that do not know, Raymond is a well-known lawyer here. He was brought to prominence for having taken on Erap's case. That's all I know about him. Well, that and photography being his hobby. He's taken to doing work as a photographer for weddings and other events.

I still have to edit photos and convert videos so they're not so big in size. Will post them when they're ready.

Testing moblogging

I just registered my phone to do moblogging here. I want to see how this translates.

Off today + Facebook Purity

I took PTO today to make my weekend a 4-day weekend. Hurrah! Most employees in the PI have Monday, August 31, off because it is National Heroes Day.

Unfortunately, I had to join a telephone conference at 8 a.m. today and so I had to wake up at 7:30 to prepare myself. I wanted to go back to bed but couldn't sleep. I switched between being on the intarwebs and watching tv. And then I told my mom I was going to cook dinner. Boy, was she ever so happy when I said that. Hehehe.

This is what I ended up cooking:


It's miswa + sponge gourd (patola) + ground pork. We eat this with rice, which is why you can see bits of rice (right side of photo). This is so easy to make. You just saute the onion and then throw the ground meat in until the meat is all browned up. Pour as much water as you like---the miswa and the sponge gourd soak up water. Leave it until it comes to a boil and then add the miswa. I stir everything a couple of times to make sure that the miswa separates. Otherwise the noodles might fuse together and then you'll have lumpy miswa, and you don't want that. I let it come to another boil and then I add the sponge gourd. Give it about 3 minutes and then turn the stove off. The heat from the water will cook the sponge gourd all the way through. It's important not to leave it on the fire too long because the sponge gourd might melt away into nothingness. Of course you should not forget to season this with salt and pepper to taste. I didn't use salt because my mom had already seasoned the meat. She intended to make meatballs with it and just told me to get some for this dish. Instead of salt I used Maggi Magic Sarap. It's an all-in-one seasoner that my mom loves. It makes her dishes taste so good! She uses it instead of salt. Sorry I didn't use proportions. I bought two sponge gourds last night and used all of it for this dish. I eyeballed the amount of miswa I used and the water. Onions, too.

****

You'll be glad to know there's a greasemonkey script called Facebook Purity that strips your home feed of all the annoying application messages your crazy, application-loving friends post. Don't care to know what they're up to in Mafia Wars? Who bought who in some 'buy your friend' application? Facebook Purity takes out all that crap! You'll be left with updates your friends actually type in. I'm using it right now and FB looks better crap free!

You need to install greasemonkey for Firefox first before installing Facebook Purity. If you're using other browsers, just search for the greasemonkey add-on for these browsers.

I miss M's cats!

After what seemed like a millionth prodding, he finally sent me pics of The Shiggidy and Wickiedy.

I have their pics saved on my work computer and shared this pic of Shiggidy with my online friends. One of them suggested that it be sent to LOLCATS and she even had a line to go with the pic!

Btw, M said when he went to stand over Shigshig to take his pic, Shiggy assumed this position. After M was done, Shigs went back to hugging the keyboard. ^.^ He sure likes to sleep next to or on top of that particular keyboard.
Doesn't he look so cute? I swear I miss him so much! I'd go back to CO if only to visit the cats.

As for the Wickiedy, here's an old pic of him that I took, um, I forget if this was August or December. He's looking quite pensive here. Wonder what he was thinking about?!

That thing called werk

I received word from my local manager that I got the Tech Pubs manager position.

My other manager, the tech pubs manager, sent me an e-mail last week telling me he had good news for me and to keep the news to myself, that he will call me next week (which is this week) to talk about it. And I was like, "Huh?! You didn't even say what the news was about!" LOL But I knew what it was without him saying it.

Why am I going on and on about this?

Honestly, I don't know. I guess it's an update of sorts.

And sometimes when I give this more thought, I kind of get to thinking that maybe I'm not that ready?

But when I think that, the next thought that comes to mind is, "If I don't do this, who else can I trust to handle the team?"

Dreaming of shit

Man, I had the weirdest dream last night, or should I say this morning? (I was up until 4 a.m. this morning.) I dreamt that I was in the loo crapping. But the crap towards the end just wouldn't exit cleanly. You know that feeling right? Most of the shit has gone out, but there's still some of it left in your rectum and you are having the shittiest time pushing out. *That* was the kind of crap I was dealing with in my dream. I so wanted it to be over but the damn thing just wouldn't exit! Another thing that wasn't nice about this dream was that it felt semi-real. When I woke up, I remembered that I have not deposited in the loo for two days already---must be why I dreamt of shit. It wanted out!

My apologies for this post. I felt like I had to speak about the experience. LOL!

Old people can be so trying!

I seriously felt like killing the senior citizen that was yakking her mouth off at the ticket line at the cinema this afternoon. I did not hear what she was yakking about but the lady at the ticket booth got fed up and answered back saying, "Don't get mad at me. I'm also getting confused here. There's so many of you and all of you want to be attended to immediately."

I wasn't going to say anything but I was just too mad and annoyed. First there were these two old biddies to the back of me, pushing me. Like their pushing me would get them to the start of the line faster. I swear to god it felt like they were humping me from behind. And then I see a bunch of old people forming another line parallel to my line and I'm like, "What the hell do you think you're doing?! There's only ONE line!" I saw some more old people talking to these idiot girls from the Citibank booth and I gathered they were asking where they could line up. The idiot girls from Citibank told them to line up in the newly-made up line. I started seething. I kept telling my sister what a bunch of idiots these people were. I called them bobo* over and over. When it was my turn to get my tickets, the exchange between the girl in the ticket booth and the old woman from the other line happened. The old woman kept yapping away even after the woman at the booth told her to stay cool. I couldn't help it, I had to say something! I had to let the anger out, so I said, "Look, there's only one line and it's this line. They did not tell you to form that line so you should not have been lining up there anyway." And she still kept yapping. So I ended up saying, "Well, YOU'RE A BUNCH OF IDIOTS!"

And while I was picking out seats, the two old biddies to my back were leaning on my back, looking over my shoulder into the monitor. And I'm like WHAT THE FUDGE?!?! Could they not wait for their turn? One of them even held out her senior citizen card and pushed it on the desk. For pakshets* sake woman, wait for your fucking turn! If I had not contained myself, I swear I would've rammed my elbow to their dumpy boobies. Gawd! I swear to god most Filipinos are a bunch of insensitive, rude, want-to-get-their-own-way lot.

I was still seething after that. I kept mumbling how bobo those people were. Over and over. They're lucky I'm not the president of this country because if I were I WOULD HAVE HAD THEM CARTED OFF AND EXECUTED!

*Bobo is Filipino for stupid, idiot.
*Pakshet is a Filipino play on a popular English curse word.

Well here we are!

Yay. I hope to not act stupid again and let the peeps IRL know about this blog.Is my theme so cheesy cute or what? It reminds me of Hiltrud and how she likes bears so much. I'm thinking I will let her know about this blog so she knows how I'm doing. We said we would keep in touch and I really want to keep in touch with her. But if you know me, you know I'm kind of bad with e-mails. I answer work e-mails because I absolutely must, but personal e-mails are something else. I don't know why I've gotten lazy answering personal e-mails. Wait, did I not just say I will keep IRLs from this blog? Hmm.. okay, IRLs that I do not want to know about me. How's that?

I have some stuff to share! I'll get right on it as soon as I've filled my tumtum (dinner time!).

About Me

I normally do paragraphs in About pages but right now I’m not feeling paragraphs. How about I try an unordered list?

• I am the eldest kid in a family of six.
• I love to read. I got started reading adult books when I was in Grade 4. I like cheap romantic pornographic stories. The more graphic, the better.
• I have a messed up mind.
• I like to crochet and knit (I’m just a beginner though). I like to start them but not finish, or get halfway through and then frog even though nothing’s wrong with my stitches.
• I would love to not get on the computer all the time.
• If I don’t get on the computer that means I’m probably dead.
• I love makeup and used to spend hours online looking at EOTDs (eye makeup of the day) and trying to replicate them.
• Unfortunately my hormones started acting up and now my face looks like a dozen land mines had gone off on it.
• My mouth has a mind of its own sometimes most of the time. I keep talking even when coherent thought is not completely available.
• Most people seem to find me offensive. I don’t know why. I don’t even know basketball.
• Yes, the previous statement makes sense. To me.
• I am a Denver Nuggets fan. Linas Kleiza lured me in. So did Chauncey Billups, Kenyon Martin, JR Smith, Nene Hilario, Renaldo Balkman,… Okay fine, I have a crush on the whole team. Except Carmelo Anthony. I just don’t think he is cute even though he is a talented player.

I will add more to the list as soon as I think of something.