Because I am noo-nee-nooing while waiting for stuff to edit...

First

• First job: Editorial assistant
  
• First screen name: mermaid
  
• First funeral: My brother's. Does that count? I was still in my mother's womb. I think the whole reason I didn't need anyone to explain death to me--remember "Farewell, Mr. Hooper" on Sesame Street?--was that I already...knew what it was even before I was born.
  

Someone pass me some tissue, please.

• First pet: A Japanese Spitz named Brandy (sorely missed)
  
• First piercing: Ears
  
• First tattoo: N/A
  
• First credit card: An extension of my mother's
  
• First kiss: I don't kiss and tell.
  
• First enemy: This older girl who bullied me because I sort of got into a fight with her cousin (and the cousin couldn't fight her own damn battles).
  

Last

• Last car ride: On my way to work
  
• Last kiss: See "First kiss"
  
• Last movie watched: Mamma Mia!
  
• Last beverage drank: Water
  
• Last food consumed: Turon (one of my two current food addictions; the other is sour gummi worms)
  
• Last phone call: Mike, asking about a Saturday morning pick-up game
  
• Last time showered: This morning
  
• Last CD played: Something in H's brand-spankin' new car
  
• Last website visited: Youtube, to look for the Mr. Hooper video
  

Now

• Single or taken: Happily taken
  
• Gender: Female
  
• Birthday: Dec 28
  
• Sign: Cap
  
• Siblings: Juan Antonio (†), Juan Miguel, Juan Carlos
  
• Hair color: Black
  
• Eye color: Milk chocolate
  
• Shoe size: 6.5
  
• Height: 5'1.5" (On Friday, a couple of girls told me, "I thought you were at least 5'3". You look tall." The next day, the 5'11" superstar asked me, "May 5' ka ba?")
  
• Wearing: A camisole under a comfy, flowy top; a denim skirt; gladiator sandals; a scarf used as a headband; a gold bangle with a weave pattern
  
• Drinking: Nothing
  
• Thinking about: Dinner with the girls tonight
  
• Listening to: People chatting
  

~*~*~*~

Ten movies you’d watch over and over: Gladiator, Ever After, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Return of the King, Meet Joe Black, 50 First Dates, Waterboys, Cruel Intentions, Step Up

Nine people you enjoy the company of: H, Mads, Patching, Marie, Tata, Anton, Diego, Marga, my team (daya!)

Eight things you’re wearing: A skirt, a top, a camisole, my left sandal, my right sandal, a scarf, a bangle, concealer

Seven things on your mind: H, disc, that racket I just said yes to, a section I'm working on, dinner with the girls, an upcoming trip, my health

Six objects you touch every day: My phones, light switches, my Mac, my laptop, the refrigerator door, my beddings

Five things you do every day: Shower, brush my teeth, communicate with H, eat, pray

Four bands or musical artists that you couldn’t live without: U2...you know, I'm not one of those people who can't live without certain artists.

Three of your favorite songs of the moment: Toy Soldier, Teenage Love Affair, When I Grow Up

Two people who have influenced your life the most: Mumsy, H

One person who has been nice to you today: Carly

Enough of this.

Discaholics Anonymous

My name is Tisha, and I am a discaholic.

Damn. It annoys me that all I can think about now is playing disc--and my weekend was just packed with all things disc-related! This is an obsession, and I don't like it. I don't like getting hooked on something this much, because it just makes everything else seem...irrelevant.

Saturday training

Saturday morning, I was at the Sunken Garden to introduce Mike's co-workers to disc. (Disc and dancing are probably the only two things that can get me out of bed early on a weekend without feeling resentful about it!) Doc and Superstar Peng were also there to help out. Cacho was around, showcasing his awesome throws (honed since his younger days) yet again.

Afterwards, we all (sans Cacho) went to Katips for a big lunch, before heading back to UP to drop the Superstar off. He told us about disc burnout, his two dogs (Olga and...I forget the other one's name), and how he likes "pinchable" girls. ("OK lang ang pinchable...huwag lang grabbable." Haha.)

Mike, Doc, and I stayed a bit to watch a few "holes" of discgolf. It was the first time I got to see it, and realized that it's great for practicing long throws and accuracy. Hmmm. Warriors discgolf, anyone?

We then proceeded to Urda for our 4:00 pm training. Alas, we were early, and ended up getting drenched. By the time the others arrived, the rain had stopped and we were the only ones rain-soaked. Oh well. I spent a couple of hours with H before calling it a night.

Muddied but unbowed

Next morning, had to get up at 5:30 am to make it to 6:00 am mass. (Our last game was scheduled to end past 5:00 pm, and I figured I'd be back in Manila too late to make it to mass.) Met up with new teammate Felix at Farmers--finally, someone I could hitch with!--before heading south. We found that we had to share the field with a bunch of German Shepherds, all taking part in some dog show. Ahh, the smell of dog was thick!

Our first game was versus Espana United, probably one of the best teams in our pool. We spoke with a couple of them at PowerUp last week and joked, "See you at 12:00!" when the game was actually at 10:00 am. Unfortunately, a lot of them showed up on time. Haha.

We didn't think we would win that game, so our old quota was alive again! We were aiming for four points, but went over by one--I scored the last point on an assist from Lawee Boy. Yay! (I also quite liked my block on that dude posted near the endzone. Hehe.) We lost, 9-5, but it was a good game. It was uber muddy that day, so by the end of game one, we all looked dirrrty (except for Ivy, who used her sakit as a get-out-of-mud-free card).

Next game was versus Jogadores, a team we had previously played against during Summer League. This time, there was no sun beating down on us--but we had rain coming down in torrents! Mighty hard to see anything amid all that falling water. A lot of the boys stripped down (and it was one of the rare times I was wishing I were born a boy--that jersey was heavy!), including "Skeletor" Ian. "Nagtatago nga ako sa mga aso, baka habulin ako eh!" he joked. It was so hard to score and there were a lot of long points, given the rain and the wind, but we came out on top, 7-4.

In between our second and third games, we watched SP01 versus SP02! It was a highly entertaining game--they played barefoot, and made a rule that points wouldn't be counted unless the goal was a layout! We heard stuff like, ".5 lang 'yon, hindi maganda layout mo eh!" Some guys on D, including Teacher Christian, tried to "camouflage" themselves, patiently lying on their stomachs at the endzone; when the disc would come flying in, they immediately sprang into action! One guy even sat at the corner of the endzone with the cone on his head, saying, "Hindi niyo ako nakikita!"

Fun time over, we trudged across the mud to Field 5 to play our last game of the day, versus Molokai. Our previous meetings with this team were pretty intense, but we all agreed we would play a good-spirited game. "Kahit hindi manalo, basta good spirit tayo," said co-captain White Dragon. "Let's just have fun!"

Mundz had a highlight play, catching the disc in the air and throwing it to Jacq before landing out of bounds. It's funny coz I was visualizing this scenario the day before, and it actually happened! The game was tight all throughout; we were deadlocked a few times, then Molokai took the lead, 7-6, with four minutes to go. Then we scored, with two minutes left! Tied at 7-7, we were playing for the last point. I was exhausted, but somehow Sarah managed to cajole me into going in for the final point. (She later confessed that she was at the sidelines about to have a heart attack.) Each time we were so close to scoring but ended up with nothing was agony. And each time Molokai came close to their endzone was torture. But finally, after two previous fumbles (if I remember right), Lawrence caught a pass from Papa G. Game over, Warriors win, 8-7! I knelt in the mud, screamed, and nearly cried (from relief), while those on the sidelines ran to Agent 0 to give him hugs. "'Have fun lang' pala ha!" I said. "Kung alam ko lang kung gaano kalaki 'yung pressure, baka hindi ko nasalo 'yon!" said Lawee, not realizing just how badly those in the sidelines were willing a win. He said that he thought he couldn't reach the disc, which was really sailing overhead, but that he gave himself one last push. Thank gawd.

Because the man behind the all-important last point deserves some blog space: Agent Zero to Hero, lookin' all intense. (Mr. Danekalbo, Sir, please don't sue me for stealing your photo. I'm not making any money off this blog... Thank you!)

I am bummed that I can't play on the third day of Monsoon. I'm going to be out of the country, whooptidoo, but I think I'm so addicted that even a free trip can't take the sting out of a day without disc. Bisyo na 'to. I'll see everyone at the finals!

Mamma Mia! with mamma mia

I was supposed to watch Mamma Mia! with a couple of friends, but they ditched me. Haha. No big, coz I ended up watching with mumsy. In fact, I think I should thank my friends.

I don't think mumsy and I had ever gone on a movie date prior to last night, but this was perhaps one of the best movies for us to watch. It's not because we're Abba fans, but it's because of the whole Donna-Sohpie dynamic. Since I'm the only girl, and was sort of brought up by my mother, the movie resonated with me. The scene where Donna helps Sophie get ready for her wedding was especially poignant, and I'll admit that I cried. I hid it from my mother, but after the movie, I found out that she cried, too! "Naalala kita. Gusto ko nga hawakan ang kamay mo eh," she said. I hugged her as we were on the escalator.

The lyrics were on the screen (so the audience could sing along), so I was able to pay close attention to the words. The song's entitled Slipping Through My Fingers...

Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile
I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness
And I have to sit down for a while
The feeling that Im losing her forever
And without really entering her world
Im glad whenever I can share her laughter
That funny little girl

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see whats in her mind
Each time I think Im close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sleep in our eyes, her and me at the breakfast table
Barely awake, I let precious time go by
Then when shes gone theres that odd melancholy feeling
And a sense of guilt I cant deny
What happened to the wonderful adventures
The places I had planned for us to go
(slipping through my fingers all the time)
Well, some of that we did but most we didnt
And why I just dont know

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see whats in her mind
Each time I think Im close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture
And save it from the funny tricks of time
Slipping through my fingers...

Slipping through my fingers all the time

Schoolbag in hand she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile...

~*~*~*~

The words, the various scenes showing mother and daughter were so touching, and I'm tearing up right now as I think about my own mother. Oh, how I love her so!

Drama out of the way, I'm also glad I got to see this movie because it made me less afraid of growing old. While I am the youngest in the family, I am the oldest in my barkada, and one of the older ones on the team. Age has been a bit of an issue with me in recent years; in recent months, in fact, I've been fearing that time has been going by too fast. I was feeling that my best years were behind me, that the time for great adventures had passed. But seeing Donna with her two friends, jumping into the sea, all wild and carefree--ahh, my friends and I have a lifetime's worth of adventures ahead of us, with years of friendship to see us through. Growing old? It won't be so bad after all. Iba ang may pinagsamahan!

The movie also made me want to have a daughter--not just think that it'd be nice to have one, but actually want one. In my old blog, I wrote about how I wanted sons, not daughters, because daughters more easily betray their mothers than sons do, I heard. Every now and then I am reminded that a mother-daughter relationship is indeed something truly special. Mamma Mia! reminded me that.



Wow, so many realizations came with this one musical! What can I do but...say thank you for the music...

(You knew that was coming.)

I'm getting too old for this

It's Wednesday and I'm just posting about my weekend now. It took me that bloody long to recover.

Friday night
...was turnover night, but wonder of wonders, we ended before midnight! I thus hightailed it to Harbor View Bistro near the Mall of Asia for AMP's anniv after-party. I didn't get to stay long, and I looked like crap (especially since most everyone else was in semi-formal finery), but it was worth the out-of-the-way trip to greet our new partner/financier. Hehe.

Saturday
Surprisingly, I had practically the whole day free! Mike and I were planning on joining a pick-up game at the Sunken Garden, but 1) it turned out to be some sort of closed practice, and 2) the rain was coming down in sheets! So instead, I indulged in something I hardly get to do on the weekends anymore--a delicious afternoon nap. Ahhhh. I loved getting reacquainted with the TV and remembering how good I am at being a couch potato. I loved reading a few chapters of my novel before going off to Snoozeland for an hour. I loved having nothing to do for a change!

And then I was off to Urda for our regular pick-up game. Afterwards, we headed to Yelle's place for a team goal-setting meeting/mature drinking session. Dondi was voted captain; Greg, Sarah, and I are now co-captains. (I like to think of myself as Dakilang Taga-text though.) We had to pull a Cinderella because we had three games the next day--including a really early one--but, for once, I was the delinquent who stayed out late. Met up with the CADsters at Piedra for some dancing--our first real dance gimmick (not counting Pam Q's birthday last year)! Would've been cool if there were more of us, but it was great hanging out with them nonetheless.

Sunday
The next day, I dragged myself out of bed after getting just three hours' sleep. The sun was just relentless that day, beating down on us on what was supposed to be the Monsoon League. All hopes of rain were shot with puffy white clouds marring an otherwise pristine blue sky and the intense glare of the sun. (I am hesitant to call it "sunshine"--too harmless a name for something so merciless.) I scored about three points in the first game but we still lost. Damn. I would gladly have traded my points for a win. I scored in our two other games--which we won!--and was involved in the now-infamous gulungan sa damuhan scene. How embarrassing. But thankfully, only about half the team was there to witness it, and they were all too busy laughing to remember to take a picture. Bonus: No recap!

That evening, I went to mass with H, who played the part of Awesome Boyfriend and gave me a foot and back massage. I promptly fell asleep on the couch.

Monday, I woke up with a runny nose, watery eyes, a sore throat, and an even sorer body. I ain't gettin' any younger.

Going Batty

Got to catch a special screening of The Dark Knight last night, with free popcorn and iced tea, to boot! Joel Schumacher, pay attention. This is what you do with the Batman franchise! (Tim Burton's off the hook--I liked what he did with the first one.)

Yes, the movie was awesome--it was a little unsettling because I felt like I got sucked into Gotham (a brighter, cheerier Gotham than I'm used to. I just realized that when I think of Gotham, I think of night). But I wouldn't count it as one of my Favorite Movies of All Time. I wouldn't mind watching it again though.

Yes, I preferred watching Maggie Gyllenhaal over Katie Holmes, but I think they still could've picked a better Rachel Dawes. Maybe Rachel McAdams? (Brunette, of course. Batman with a Mean Girl just doesn't seem right.)

And yes, Heath Ledger was really good. But is his performance Oscar-worthy? To be honest, I don't think so, and apparently, all the award talk is just if-you-build-it-they-will-come hype. A nomination, sure, it's possible. But I'm guessing people (including myself) are willing Heath to win a posthumous Oscar more for sentimental, rather than thespian, reasons. I'd love to be proven wrong though. (P.S. Jack Nicholson's Joker is one of my all-time favorite movie villains. How does Heath measure up? It was...different. And he did make me laugh. But I can't decide just yet whose performance I preferred.)

I was quite happy with the plot--it wasn't mind-numbingly simple (like a lot of other superhero flicks), but it wasn't so serious that it ceased to be entertaining. ("Why so serious?" indeed.) And it was cool going in there not knowing what to expect. I heard Aaron Eckhart was playing Harvey Dent, but it was only at the beginning of the movie when I remembered his significance in the Batman world. And I realized that I would love to have Michael Caine as a butler. Haha.

Hmmm, yeah. I would see it again.

Agent Zero hearts Manila

Gilbert Arenas thinks everybody should visit Manila. And because of this, Manila loves him, too!

That's the thing about Pinoys--say one good thing about our country and we'll practically start a cult for you. I wasn't even a fan of Gil before, and neither was H. But after reading his blog entry, I'll admit I'm a convert, and H is even thinking of buying dem Adidas shoes. Haha.

On the flip side, say one bad thing about our country (no matter how valid it is) and you're blacklisted forever. We take it personal that way. Right, Claire Danes?

Weekend warrior

Date with the BFF
Chingy and I were supposed to watch Mamma Mia! but the screening time we were after was sold out! We ended up having dinner with her co-workers, then heading to Serendra for some cupcakes. H dropped by for a bit since he was in the area, but for the most part, it was quality time with the best friend. We just ate and talked about stuff we normally can't talk about around other people. Haha. We called it a night at 1:00 am though coz I had to get up early for...

Feeling hot, hot, hat
...my first hat tournment! Woohoo! It was oooodles of fun. Leah, Mike, JM, and I were all put on one team, together with another Mike, Christian, Anna, Eng, a couple of guys from BC, a couple of college kids, a middle-aged dude named Cacho with the sickest throws ever, and later on, Kat V and Candy. I think all four of us scored. Mike played awesome, and I think I played relatively well, scoring a few points, except in the second game. Which we lost. Boo!

Oh, we made it to the championship--which we won! Yay!

Part of my personal highlight reel was Christian's hammer throw from mid-field. Looking at the disc hurtling towards me, I was like, "You gotta be kidding me." But I caught it, so yay! Later on, Christian was very Jaguar Po-like in saying that he couldn't resist throwing it since I was open. The instructions I kept receiving from him and from Cacho that day: "Takbo ka lang ha?" Proved effective a couple of times.

Funny conversation on the field:
(Guy from opposing team catches disc at end zone)
Candy: In or out?
Guy: Line.
Candy: Eh di out 'yon.
Guy: In pala.

Acheche.

Den of sin
The family basketball game was called off on account of rain, so some of the grownups just played mahjong, while the rest of us played poker! I was supposed to go to a party, but decided to stay home and spend some quality time with my relatives.

Iggy taught us how to play, and some people partnered up so we could have 10 "players" (there were over a dozen people in the cramped poker room). Hilarious how Kuya Roji and Ate Bing could read their kids--hence, they were cleaning up! The plan was to let Kuya Roji's mom play so that she could take their money. Haha.

My bro and I were survivors that night. Whenever our stash would dwindle to a few measly chips, we would win. At some point, the two of us faced off, the last two standing after everyone else folded. He went all in, and when I called it, he said, "Talaga?!" Sure, why not? It was fake money anyway. Haha. I had a pair six...and he had a pair seven! Damn. I was out. Headed to the kitchen for ice cream. Two of my nieces, depressed over losing all their fake money so early in the game, followed. Mmm ice cream. I got four flavors of Big Scoop for my ice-cream-crazed fam: Vanilla, Strawberry Fields (which I got especially for birthday girl Dawn), Mint Chocolate Chip (which my godson had three scoops of...and seconds), and Midnight Cookies n' Cream. Tita Au brought Rocky Road as well.

Plus we had two kinds of cake!

Bowled over
I spent most of Sunday at home. I wanted to do a bit of cleaning, but was entirely too comfortable being a couch potato. In the evening, my mom, H, and I again joined the relatives at the Eastwood bowling alley. We took up a grand total of six lanes--and we still had to wait for our turn! (We rented a total of 25 pairs of shoes.) I scored the lowest in the adult pool but whatever. No money involved--fake or otherwise!

With the kids...

...With the grownups. I think I am somewhere in between. Hehe.

Afterwards, we hung out at a coffee shop and ate some more. Good weekend!

(P.S. The jeans that were loose a couple of weeks ago are now a perfect fit. Haha. Must stop all this reckless eating.)

Congrats and best wishes to the Manicads!

Highlight reel: With Ate Vi! Grabe, star-struck ako. Haha

Marns is now Mrs. Manicad!

The engagement lasted two long years, but I suppose it took that long to plan the flawlessly executed wedding! Videos were aired, speeches were given, all like clockwork. The theme was also really solid--coffee and Choc-Nut. At the entrance, people looked for their tables and found their names printed on Choc-Nut with custom-made wrappers indicating their table number! And the giveaways? Divine-smelling Choc-Nut body scrub. Smelled good enough to eat, I swear. (On the lid, a warning: "Do not eat"! Haha.)

More than the hoopla and the fanfare, the best thing about the occasion was experiencing yet another milestone with my girls (and my man!). We've been through grade school and high school together, boyfriends and breakups, college and first jobs, and even a couple of kids. It has been years, and the more time passes, the more I realize just how important these fabulous women are to me, and how cool it is that we're so involved in each other's lives--even if we don't see each other that often. Now that's girl power.

(On a related note, we also had a Spice Girls reunion! Too bad they didn't play any Spice Girls songs, so we just contented ourselves with posing as our alter egos.)

Cheers to Marnie and Jiggy!

June 2008 highlights

Damn, half a year has gone by!

June wasn't packed with a lot of new experiences or anything--but it was more about quality than quantity. My top two picks:

• Bi-anniv. Seven-and-a-half years, baby! We had a lovely dinner at Bulan resto (yet to blog about it, sorry). I am incredibly blessed to be with this man.

• The Warriors' post-summer beach trip. It was cool playing ultimate on the beach, figuring out my threshold for alcohol (see previous post), and just spending time with my team.

Photo by Kring. My back was a bit too arched, but it's cool coz I didn't even know I got my legs all the way up.

And now, we are in the second half of 2008! Gasp!

My name is Tisha...

...and I am off the alcohol!

I now know just how bad my allergies can be. Saturday night saw me wheezing and crying in panic because I felt like my chest was constricting. It was kinda like I was drowning on dry land. There was a doctor in the house, and he carried me (I'm told. I vaguely remember being carried) and lay me down on the floor, put my feet up, and talked me through it. Apparently, I had too much oxygen in my system and not enough carbon dioxide. So I had to exhale longer than I inhaled.

I shall be happy to go back to my duties as designated cleaner-upper.

On the up side, it was another fun beach trip. Our new members have been officially inducted into the Warriors School of Partying. But all the ugly things that happened in Laguna shall stay in Laguna--bits of spaghetti and chunks of beef empanada and all. Haha.

Although they're bound to make an appearance in the brand new Boom-boom Room. Golden Ticket, lezgo!