Dream home

I think it took a while for me to figure it out, but I'm slowly building an idea of what my dream home would look like, or at least my dream starter home. Inspiration comes from Nate Berkus's Manhattan apartment, and all those Domino mags I've gone through.

(Photos from oprah.com...of course my kitchen wouldn't have Nate in it...)

I love the black-white-blue-tan combo and the French doors. I love that it looks so comfortable and gender-neutral, so H could actually live in it. (So sue me. At least I'm not writing about my dream wedding! Haha.) I'd change a few things here and there (Nate's living room is way too masculine for me) but this is pretty much what I'd wanna have.

For now. Haha.

A super random post

Wow, it's been a while since I've had to stay at work 'til this late. We have youtube access again so I've been searching classic videos for ambient music. Hehe. It made me think about songs on my personal playlists...

My feel-good songs:

• Summertime in the LBC - The Dove Shack
• Twentyfourseven - Artful Dodger feat. Melanie Blatt
• Someone to Call My Lover - Janet Jackson
• Tell Me How You Feel - Joyce Enriquez
• My Place - Nelly feat. Jaheim
  
• Escape - Enrique Iglesias! Haha.

My sing-along songs:

• To Be with You - Mr. Big
• Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough - Patti Smyth & Don Henley
• I Touch Myself - Divinyls
• Baby Can I Hold You - honestly, the Boyzone version. Hahaha.
• Born to Make You Happy - Britney Spears!
  

Current favorite songs:

• Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani feat. Akon
• I Love Them Girls (Part 2) - Tank
• Collide - Howie Day
  

They're just in playlists in my head, haven't gotten around to actually loading 'em onto my iPod. Which is probably kind of a good thing 'coz at least I won't get sick of them.

Zzzzz...

I've read dear Jo's message a few times, and I can't help but get the feeling that Harry's going to die.:( I don't know what it is about these lines in particular...

"I'm almost scared to admit this, but one thing has stopped me collapsing in a puddle of misery on the floor. While each of the previous Potter books has strong claims on my affections, 'Deathly Hallows' is my favourite, and that is the most wonderful way to finish the series."

Sigh.

Thank you, Paulo Subido, for uttering the words I've been longing to hear: "Do you need help with that?" Kay saya!

(And my reply, which he probably found so strange, was, "THANK YOU! You don't know what this means to me!" Hahaha.)

Roses, chocolate, and cheese

Outside the office, there are still men who make me believe that not all hope is lost.

At around 11:00pm, H calls to ask how my day went and to say goodnight. We talk for a bit then I go back to work. (Yes, work. I was home though.) At midnight, my phone rings again. "Happy Valentine's Day!" says H, who's supposed to be in bed. "I have a surprise for you."

And I find him outside my house with a bunch of huge roses.

We're cheesin' it up today, and I love him for it.

I walk into the house and my bleary-eyed mom hands me her little Valentine gift--a heart-shaped chocolate lolly. Yum.

Am I lucky or what?

Chivalry is dead

What do you do when you see a tiny lady, such as myself, struggling to carry huge plastic bags filled to the brim with pullouts, causing the veins on her temples to show, and her very face to turn an unflattering shade of crimson? If you were a "man" in this same office, you would just look at her and say hi, then waltz through the door, allowing it to slam on said lady's face.

Is that any way to treat a woman?

A while back, I wrote about the lack of men in this place--the kind that I could talk to about basketball, the kind who didn't own an arsenal of hair products or knew anything about women's fashion. Add to that: the kind who possess a single, teeny helpful bone in their gym-inflated bods.

I'm still a bit sore--literally and figuratively--from the sheer number of heavy bags I had to carry all of last week, with nary a member of the male species offering to help. (That incident in the opening paragraph actually took place.) I remember this one instance when I was carrying a stack of chairs (!), and this huge guy stopped and asked, "Where are you going with that?" After I told him, he basically said, "Oh OK," and kept on walking. WTF?

Am I to blame women's lib? Screw that. This isn't about independence. It's about being friggin' helpful and doing a good deed for someone in need. Or perhaps good deeds are reserved for the Scarlett Johanssons of this world.

Someone's a bit of a grouch today.

Get me out of here

Photo by Ocs Alvarez

I so need a break.

Last week was particularly mad, so much so that I ended up skipping a couple of meals because I just didn't have enough time to eat. Gasp! It's an indication of just how bad things are when I can't even say "Screw work!" for a measly 10 minutes to grab a bite. Plus, I hardly had time to work out. Roar. I'm not liking this situation at all.

What I would give for a week in Boracay. Now na. Hahaha.

Sigh.

Delaying tactics

My plate isn't quite as full as it was yesterday, so I lifted this off of Camyl's blog.

Q: what's the last text message on your cell phone say?
A: Mornin baby.:) on my way 2 d seminar. I left my sun fone so txt me thru here na lang. (Which is fine since I can't really text him through Sun til Thursday...)

Q: whose bed did you sleep in last night?
A: Mine.

Q: most recent movie that you watched?
A: In the cinema, Stranger than Fiction! I loved it.:) On HBO, Shrek 2. I've seen it so many times. Haha.

Q: name one thing that you do everyday?
A: Eeeaaat.

Q: what's the color of your bedroom walls?
A: Some sort of coral. I was in a bright and happy, Mexican-y phase when I chose it.

Q: how much cash do you have on you right now?
A: Probably a little over a grand. I took out around P50 worth of coins this morning. Bigat eh!

Q: what is your favorite part of the chicken?
A: Boobs. Haha. Breast. Mmmm white meat.

Q: what's your favorite sport? (only one)
A: To watch: Basketball. To take part in: maybe cheerdancing or ultimate.

Q: i can't wait till...?
A: I can dance again!

Q: when was the last time you saw your mom?
A: This morning.

Q: what did you have for dinner last night?
A: Sweet liempo at H's.

Q: look to your left. What's there??
A: Carlo's Zsazsa Zaturnnah poster.

Q: whats the last piece of clothing you borrowed from someone?
A: Hmmm...maybe a gorgeous skirt.

Q: what website(s) do you visit the most during the day?
A: Yahoo News and Yahoo Mail.

Q: do you have plants in your room?
A: Nope.

Q: does anything hurt on your body right now?
A: Yup, my knee.

Q: what city was your last taxicab ride in?
A: Pasig.

Q: recent time you were really upset?
A: Last week.

Q: would you have a problem if your friend went after your ex
boyfriend/girlfriend?
A: I don't think so. It'd just be really weird.


_______Last________
1. Person you saw:
The art direcor who just walked by my desk.

2. Talk on the phone with:
H

3. You Hugged:
H

4. Hugged you:
H

5: You kissed:
H

6: Kissed you:
H

7. YM:
Chingy, and that was last week pa.

_______Today________
1. What are you doing now:
Delaying the inevitable. Haha.

2. What are you doing tonight:
I was supposed to go to dance prax, but the knee won't allow it. So I'll just go home and work on a racket.

3. What are you wearing?
Jeans, a top from the kids' section at Nordstrom (haha), a white jacket, and flipflops. Comfy! I'm feeling blah today, plus I'm sourcing and don't wanna attempt to wear heels with this knee.

4. What did you eat for lunch?
Yesterday, I had this Vigan longganisa-type thing with sinangag and fried egg. Today I think I'm having a salad.

________Tomorrow___________

1. would be:
Wednesday.

2. Got any plans:
Hang out with H.

3. Goal:
To get my arse out of bed early and run 5k, although I know I should take it easy first.

4. Dislikes about tomorrow:
None that I could think of right now. I'm actually looking forward to it because I feel like things are taking a turn for the better. Or at least, that is the hope.:)

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

Bad luck, begone!

I've been having a string of bad luck lately...

• I met my "quota" for the year. Let's leave it at that.
• I didn't get something I was really hoping to get. I thought I didn't really want it that much, but when there was some sort of finality, it just...sucked. Let's leave that at that!
• My Sun phone was stolen. I'm just pissed off because all my friggin' business contacts were there--one-and-a-half years' worth of homeowners, makeover winners, plus some really great messages from H. However, I am so not a techie that both my phones are so old school...as long as it calls and texts, I'm good to go! The Sun one was actually cute, but what the thief didn't know was that it was falling apart--with a damaged crystal case holding it together--and that the screen was acting up. I sort of feel sorry for the chap.
• I injured my knee at gymnastics. Tigas kasi ng ulo eh, pinilit pa rin! As a result, walking was a bit of a chore last Saturday. But it's gotten better since then. Going down steps is still a bit of a challenge though. (Imagine how horrible it was yesterday when I took the MRT. Argh.) I was so upset because I hadn't worked out for about a week, and was really looking forward to getting in some good workouts this week. But today I woke up and it was feeling much better, so I should be able to hit the gym in a couple of days.
  
• And a bunch of other little, annoying things that I can't even remember now!

At the start, it was so not funny, but now I'm kind of just rolling along with what fate's been giving me lately. Bring it on, biatch! Haha. No, I don't mean that. I'm ready to welcome good stuff for a change.

Blast from the past

Lately I've been feeling like my days are too short for everything that I have to do...but here I am! Haha. Just a quick post, taking a breather from all the stuff I have to write and worry about.

So I think the theme lately has been "reliving the past," or maybe "reconnecting with old friends." Jay celebrated the big 3-0 last Friday in Eastwood, and I got to hang out with my generation of CADsters (as opposed to the much younger batches at practice)--including Byumi! Oh, I'm sorry, she is now known as "Byumi Yoanna" to match her new...uh, assets. Hehe.

(From top) With Byumi Yoanna, Karem, Jem (and her short hair!), and the doktora, Crisel; with Randy and the birthday boy.

And Ruds was in town for Tek's wedding, so it was cool seeing him again. We hung out at the office (a.k.a. the mall) for a bit the day he got back. Then we both watched the B-Boys' basketball game--where we served as yayas for an hour to Gian's daughter, Joey--before he, Rene, and I headed to Mall of Asia. Had dinner (or, more appropriately, pigged out) at Hai, where we got to see fireworks in the middle of our meal, then downed a cup each of super evil ice cream at Cold Rock (mmmm, cookie dough!), then caught Night at the Museum, which the two boys pretty much slept through. In Rene's car, we listened over and over to Enrique Iglesia's Escape, which Rene sang with much gusto. (That's an understatement, I tell ya.) The night before Ruds left--or was supposed to leave--we got together at Mic's house, where it felt like we were back in early college again. The boys reminisced as they talked about their high school escapades, and I stayed much longer than I was supposed to--I had a bit of work waiting for me back home. (P.S. Ruds missed his AM flight! He ended up staying an extra day.)

And then the other day, I had to go back to my old high school to give a career talk. (Good grief.) I actually had to give two--one to the juniors, and one to the sophomores. Marns and I were marveling at how these kids talk now--I was like, "Nagtatagalog pa ba ang mga 'yan?" Twas a roomful of Valley girls. Haha. The juniors were more receptive, and I think I actually enjoyed giving that one because those who were present were the ones were supposedly genuinely interested in my field. I got a few laughs, but I don't know if it was because they were laughing with me or at me. I think I'd rather not know. Haha. In the beginning of my talk, I slipped and said, "Wait, I have to get my dork on," to which they said, "Huh?" And when I put my glasses on, they were all, "Ohhh, your dork on!" It was only after when I realized that those wearing glasses might have taken offense! Hey, dorks are cool. A paradox, if I ever read one. Haha.

I felt like the sophomores weren't in the proper frame of mind yet to listen to a talk about their future (which, to them, probably seems like an eternity away), and it was their entire batch, so many of them weren't actually that into the topic. So it was kind of an anti-climactic end to the afternoon, but it's all good.

It was great being back at the school, seeing my old Filipino teachers (and many might not believe me, but I was excellent in Filipino class) and the spankin' new Little Theatre. It made me really miss high school--hideous uniform and all!

So those are the highlights of my whirlwind week. And it ain't over yet!