in the company of REALLY GOOD FRIENDS

i had the best time last weekend.

since pam is leaving soon, we all decided that our monthly "date" be spent on the beach.

a good 3 hours drive from manila, Sabangan Beach is ideal for intimate weekend getaways. the cottages/bungalows were few so there weren't many people on the resort. each unit was built a few meters apart providing enough privacy for the guests. resort employees were very accommodating and the beach (with the exception of the coarse sand) was clear - clear enough that i actually went swimming (well, that plus the fact that i love meann to bits!).

but more than the beach, the food and the booze, it was a weekend spent with GOOD, GOOD FRIENDS. ayi, who, despite of what he's going through still manages to make us laugh with his usual witty remarks; meann who gives a damn but refuses to admit that she does, beyond the tough exterior, she is one of the most caring person i know and i miss her dearly; pam, whose determination and constant hunger for better opportunities is finally paying off; jacky, whose naivety and kind heart allows her to trust and see the good in people, i'm with her in her so-called quest for our shrek; dennis, whose smile simply lights up a room not to mention makes head turns, his passion to support kids with cancer is indeed admirable. it would've been perfect had mamu, shai and alexis been there as well.

they are simple people with simple joys. and i am glad to have them in my life. the friendship i have with them is one i will NEVER trade for anything. i have their backs as i know they have mine. they know when to listen and when to say the right things. they are part of the few who i'd want to be BOTH in my wedding and in my funeral.

and though we don't get to spend as much time together as we want, they are simply wonderful blessings which i will forever be grateful for.

out in the open

so the secret is out. while i was frolicking away, my sister finally told my parents that she's getting married.

the best part is that my parents like the bf and they have no apprehension so long as marriage is really what they want for all the right reasons.

he brings out the best in my sister. he makes her laugh. he encourages her to pray. my sister has turned into a completely different person - happy and positive. and from an older sister's point of view, that's all that matters.

so to you my dearest sister, congratulations. all the best to you and marlon. he better not make you cry or hell will freeze over. you can bet on that.

the jologs in me

yes, i have tons of jologs bones in my body and i ain't ashamed of saying so.

i am a certified PBB addict! i try to make it home early as often as i can just so i can catch it on TV!

i've seen almost all Aga Muhlach movies and i still get excited everytime.

i love squid balls. especially the ones being sold along Ayala Ave. yummmm!

i recently discovered that when it comes to beer, nothing beats red horse. it's cheap, tastes better and the best part, 2 bottles and i'm done!

i still have my Yves Dignadice scrapbook which i made when i was in 4th grade. i dunno why i keep it though. i just can't seem to part with it hahaha!

so there, love me or hate me. take your pick :D

crappy mood no more

yes, i have been a bitch the past couple of days and dan had been my sounding board. well, more like a punching bag hehehe. for that, he has earned his first mention in this blog.

just a brief intro, i met dan online a few years back and since then, we have been each other's rant partner.

so to you my friend, maraming salamat. we may fight a lot but i know we both mean well. inuman na!

==========

i met "the bf" this week. he seems nice. he doesn't talk much though. one thing's for sure, my sister looked happy.

imma have to wait and see.

my ears get tired too

i am deeply honored that people come to me to confide or simply rant. i have no problem with that. on the contrary, i love listening.

but there are times when i want to have my turn. i too have my episodes. and when i have them, i want someone who would listen without prejudice. someone who would shut up and hear me out. sadly, the numbers are quite few.

one thing i learned in life is that you can't expect everyone to treat you the way you treat them. those who rant and come to you in times of distress and desperation may not be there for you when you find yourself in the same pithole. it sucks when reality bites.

as in a movie, each plays a role. i just have to accept that mine is the one who listens.

i have this blog anyway. i have you to read and listen.

i'm getting married, please be happy for me

deep down i know i should. she seemed so sure and she said she's happy. but a big part of me was blanketed by sadness when she told me about her plans.

it was too soon. it was unexpected. i wanted to protect her. tell her she could be making the biggest mistake of her life. but i couldn't.

all my life, i've stood by her decisions, be it good or bad. she's a free spirit who does what she wants at all costs. she's had to deal with bad decisions and i didn't love her less.

a friend of mine once said, if there is one thing that a person should be selfish about, it's his/her own happiness. maybe my friend is right. and maybe that is why i won't stop her.

i want to understand, believe me i really do. i wanna share her happiness and be excited for her as every bride should be. but i still can't.

for days, i thought about the way i reacted. trying to find meaning in the way i feel. and every single time, i only arrive at one conclusion. i am the one being selfish. instead of being happy for her, all i could think of was that i was going to lose someone really dear to me to some guy i haven't even met.

it sucks i know. it's just that i wanna make sure she's doing it for the right reasons. when i know that she is, then i can be happy for her.

tell me, am i being a bitch in the one time i hope i'm not?

partying on josh's concert

josh groban arrived yesterday for his scheduled concert this week.

i won't be able to watch it though as money, obviously, didn't grow on trees. besides, it's my bestfriend's BIG 30 bday bash on the same date and i'm sooo lookin forward to it.

themed Mini Mad Mod 60's, it sure is gonna be one for the books. all guests are to come in 60's fashion so we're all playing dress-up. imma be wearing this really cute 60's mini dress with a mod make-up to match.

and though there's a slim chance that josh will have another concert here in the future, i don't mind. after all, it's not everyday that my bestfriend will turn 30.

Happy Birthday bitchsis!

welcome to the fab world of 30-something women! cheers!

happy sad

pam, a dear friend from my Chinabank days, just got her US VISA yesterday. this is what she's been workin hard for and i couldn't be happier.

among the group, i always knew she would go places. she dreams big, works hard and parties even harder. her nothing-can-stop-me attitude sure paid off as she's bound to leave some time in january.

she will be missed and i too am a bit sad. but i knew it was inevitable. it was just a matter of time. and it has come.

good luck to you pammy dearest. do take with you all the good times and leave the bad. it's time for you to start anew and i'm sure you're gonna do fine.

all my love and prayers are with you always.

the thing about GOOD relationships

is that there is no need to apologize. a simple nod or a hug will suffice and everything will be back to normal.

fights/misunderstandings, no matter how trivial or grave, as in any relationship, is normal. they spice up romance, jolt one to reality or simply stress a shortcoming.

some survive while others do not transcend.

mistakes do happen. and like everything else, how to deal with them is a matter of choice. some choose to forgive albeit not forgetting the lesson learned. some choose to forget and pretend that nothing happened. while others choose to let each mistake pile on top of the other, refusing to rise above it and allowing their relationships to dwindle and fall apart.

your life, your choice.

i choose to be the one that forgives. i have forgiven, i have moved on. and while it's true that the same mistakes are to made again, it doesn't matter.

my life. my choice.

thank heavens for babies

it's amazing how a single picture can change one's mood. even more amazing is the effect that babies have on everyone. in their presence, one can't help but smile.

with their cute lil hands and feet, chubby-pinky cheeks and their oh-so innocent smiles, they exude an aura of peace and simplicity. they live in a world where the biggest problem lies on trying to say a word or taking that very first step. where hugs and kisses make troubles go away. a world free of life's complexities and oftentimes subject to the envy of adults.

i chanced upon a picture of my inaanaks who happen to be twins. emil and emir are now 2 and they are simply adorable. they talk a lot using words only they can understand which makes it all the more fun listening and watching them play.

looking at them sure turned my sour mood to sweet and i can't wait to see them again this november as they turn 3.

a bitching to end the week

i'm mad...oooohhhh i's so friggin mad!

meaning well and giving constructive criticisms is one thing, being a self-righteous obnoxious jackass is another.

i know my faults. i know my shortcomings. no one asked for your advice as i'll go and ask myself if i find the need for one. there are better ways of getting your message across. how you did it (have been doing it) was not one of them.

you're my friend and i love you. just give me this day not to like you. maybe tomorrow we can be normal again. apologize even, for calling you a jackass. just not today.

hurray! hurray!

and so the countdown begins! Sex and the City : The Movie is scheduled to be released sometime in May 2008.

earlier rumors about Chris Noth aka Mr. Big not being in the cast proved to be wrong and i can't help but give a lil squeal. he is, after all, the main man of the show.

the ladies are back. fiercer and more fabulous than ever. if the movie is anything like the series, i'm sure it's gonna be a hit.

oooohhhh i can't wait!!!!

***photos courtesy of Sex and the City : The Movie (2008)

an odd ad

tagged "ANG MAMATAY NG DAHIL SA YO", Nike's ad campaign for Manny Pacquiao gives me both the chills and the creeps.

admittedly, the way it was presented is amazing, awesome even. and to have it weeks before a major fight, the timing was perfect. it was pure genius.

however, i can't help but think that it kinda sends a creepy, bordering on morbid message. but then again, it's just me.

go pacman!

things to be happy about

as a song goes, you've got to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative so that's what i've been doing the past couply of days. my personal life took another dramatic episode. but instead of moping and sulkin, i learned that it's best to just look at the good.

so, here are things that i'm happy about:

after weeks of sucky turnover, i'm finally enjoying my new job. i feel like for the first time in years, i'm using what i learned in college and i'm so up for any challenge that may come my way.

i'm learning and i'm happy.

~~~~~~

pau's new car came today so it's time to enroll in driving school. she took me for a spin when i got home tonight and i must say, for a beginner, she drives better than some people i know.

we have yet to name her though. that's always crucial so we're gonna have to wait til she gets baptized. hahahaha.

~~~~~~

we're going home to bulacan this sunday for the annual town fiesta. i always get excited when we go back to my birthtown as i get to see my cousins who i grew up with. this year, it's gonna be extra special as kuya eugene is back and well on his way to recovery. we all have missed him so we can't wait.

~~~~~~

my sister and i have gone closer. she is my best friend as i am to her. and whatever drama that we're going through right now, i know we are each other's ally.

bring it on!

tickets for Avenue Q

i made ticket reservations last thursday and was supposed to pick them up the next day. however, since we were in the hospital til sunday, i failed to claim them hoping that i can still get tickets for the show on the 23rd.

so i called both ticketworld and Atlantis today and much to my utter disappointment, tickets are sold out on all the remaining shows. deng it!

all for the sake of beauty

since my sister had her upper lip waxed, she had been nagging me to do the same. she even volunteered to pay for the salon just so i can have them removed. personally, i don't think they're even that bad. i mean, i'm far from lookin like a man nor do i have the need to shave or anything. in fact, some even say it adds to one's sex appeal.

this afternoon, however, since she just got discharged from Asian Hospital (she had severe tummy ache thursday night so we had to rush her there), i figured i had to give in.

so, armed with Epilin, a lighter and a candle burner, i allowed my sister to have her way with my upper lip. i braced myself for what was expected of hot wax on skin and i was surprised that it wasn't so bad. in fact, we were laughing the entire time.

now, not only does my sister feel better, my upper lip is hair-free. what a weekend indeed.

sucky turnover

i was supposed to start with my new team last monday. but no! my former boss still wants to keep me for a few days more so i can make the proper turnover.

i have nothing against this. in fact, i have prepared the documents last week so transition would be a breeze. but what the heck am i going to do with damn documents if the person i was supposed to be turning them over to IS ALWAYS ABSENT! talk about irresponsibility!

now, i'm stuck doing my old job until he shows up for work.

patience was never my virtue ESPECIALLY when it comes to incompetent colleagues. whatever happened to work ethics????? grrrrrrrrr!!!!

Avenue Q

voted Best Musical in the 2004 Tony Awards, Avenue Q is a play where people and puppets share the stage. the story evolves around princeton, a college grad who went to New York in the hopes of making his dreams come true and the people who live in a neighborhood called Avenue Q.

i read about this musical thru bobby garcia's blog today and fell in love with it right away. i wanted to watch it so naturally, i went online to purchase tickets . however, since the venue is a bit small i found out that there are no more seats available on Ticketworld.

i'm keeping my fingers crossed that there will be seats left when i call Atlantis tomorrow (actually, i called tonight but it's past office hours hehehe!) as it only runs til the 23rd of Sept.

wish me luck!

bibidi-babadi-bu

ayi, pam, dennis and i watched Disney's Cinderella for Kids @ OnStage Greenbelt today.

the story is the same and the music, familiar. but Rep Children's Theater made it an interesting production as the audience became part of a few scenes. kids screamed and raised their hands when prince charming went around the theater asking lil girls to try on the glass slipper and when fairy godmother asked what the magic word was. everyone was singin bibidi-babadi-bu!.

a new take on a classic, Repertory Philippines version of the Disney animation is a must see for the kids and the kids at heart.

blogs ghosts of the past

i opened my old blog account today since i wanted to include the old entries in this website. since blogger is unable to import from another blog site, i had to go through each and transfer them one by one (unless of course, there is another way of doing it, which i didn't know about)

as i went from one entry to the next, i can't help but feel weird about it. it was my life in 2005 and boy, what a year it was.

-- had a boyfriend
-- fell in love (yeah, the falling in love part came in later hahaha!) -- fell in love with his kid
-- was confronted by the kid's mom
-- an ex got married (to someone who looked like me! hahaha!)
-- turned 30
-- found out the bf was cheating on me from the girl he was cheating on me with
-- broke up with the bf and never saw him again since

reading about the past brought back familiar feelings. while a bulk of what happened ended on a sad note, i no longer harbor such feelings.

but to say that i wasn't affected is an absolute hypocrisy. it was, after all, part of what made me the person i am today.