Monday, September 24, 2007

Escape Blogging

I promise after this post, I will go back to studying...

I have been procrastinating the past few days which explains my bountiful entries here in my blog. I am running away from something again or some things if I should state it correctly. I am running away from Cisco Sem 3 hehe... I have a stubborn chapter 2. I know Sem 3 only has 9 chapters but darn, the chapters are really long. Plus, I have to read them online because we do not have a book. I read poorly on the monitor.

I have also been running away from my dissertation proposal and my URCO research. I have to get start doing that as well. So after this blog, I am going back to Sem 3.

Last Sunday, Tita Vivian celebrated her birthday at the Legend Chinese Resto near World Trade Center. It was my first time in that restaurant and the food was pretty good. Vince texted me that morning to tell me that Tita Vivian was inviting me to go to the celebration. It was a bit short notice and so we did not have a gift. We picked out the gift at MOA after the lunch.

While picking out her gift, I chanced upon this skirt that I have been looking for since I was sixteen. Eleven years later, and several varicose veins and cellulite later, it appears before me. Darn it! I might never get to wear it or at least my family might never let me get away with wearing that in public so I think it will just be worn when no one is around. Still, I revel in the comfort of knowing, after all these years, I have found the skirt. I guess I was ahead of fashion hehe... Which makes me out of fashion. Darn it.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Gay Saturday!

Today, after swimming (Yay for me again! I have to stop using parentheses (it's annoying!)), my sister and I took a cab (promise, last one for this entry hehe... my car is in Cavite, my brother's car is sitting on our parking slot here) to MOA and skated for hours! I am glad that she has finally gotten the hang of it. For so long, she was not interested in skating. Thanks to peer pressure from her classmates, she suddenly felt this urge to learn! And now, she is all interested and wanting to learn how to figure skate! I cannot be more proud! She is indeed part of the family after all.. hehe... She was the only one who did not know how to skate in the family, well not counting my dad who is in Saudi where they use wax for ice. I know because I have tried skating in those. I did not know yet how to skate on ice then, but I knew how to rollerskate and it was terrible! I even got a burn to prove it. Not a blister but a burn. Yes. I forget the concept of pain when I am having fun! :) I know I said it was terrible but because it was skating, it was still fun. It was just a bit difficult to do because the blades kept on slippin on the thin was. Whoever thought of that should be sacked. Anyway, I still kept skating on wax until my dad forced me to get out of the rink and when I took off my skates, rectangular raw flesh was crying in pain in front of my very eyes. What did the staff of the rink do? He heartlessly sprayed on painful meds on my open wound! The rubber boot kept on rubbing against my leg and burned it. I know it's called rubber but I did not think it would literally rub my skin to raw flesh!

That was a really long side story! Anyway after skating, Vince met us at the rink so we can see Chuck and Larry. My sister has seen it with her friends but she watched it again tonight with Vince and me. We were supposed to see it last night but all seats were taken at GB3 so we opted for Joshua instead.

The movie was so funny! It's mostly about gay discrimination and really good friendship. I enjoyed every minute of it! No wonder we could not get seats last night, Adam Sandler has done it again! :) Along with all of his consistent supporting actors in Happy Madison productions.

If you have seen the Bee Movie trailer, you would know that Steven Spielberg said that E.T. is made of chicken wire and PlayDough. There is a part of the trailer where a CG Bee with the voice of Jerry Seinfeld says, try doing this with chicken wire and PlayDough and the guy two seats from where my sister was seated said, "Hello? Jurassic Park?". Talk about a guy who cannot take a joke. My sister thinks it was a first date with a girl. In most parts of the movie, according to my sister, the guy was making embarassing remarks. I did not notice because after last night, I had my fill of side shows.

You see, last night, while we were watching Joshua, there was a couple who were fighting. A Filipina and her foreign boyfriend were fighting about something and the girl just kept on hissing and for most of the time, talking out loud. The foreigner was crying already. It was amusing at first but after a while, it gets old.

Speaking of Joshua, the movie fell short of my expectations. The boy's acting was noteworthy though. Freak factor was definitely lower than that of 1408.

I know I am so disorganized, then again, I always have been. I am no closet case so I won't bother to restructure this whole thing. Drafts were never my thing.

After skating and before Chuck and Larry, we went to Time Zone because my sister had a loaded card. She played Guitar Freaks while Vince and I sat on a bench. I appreciated his warm armpits hehe... my hands were still freezing after skating for hours without a jacket.

Vince and I took a shot at the difficult stage of Dance Revo and did horribly. On the second round, we tried tag team. On the third round, we danced on one pad. He did the down and left button and I took care of the right button. It was fun! Thanks Janine!

After TZ we went to Jatujak and had our fill of Thai cuisine! Yum yum!

Then off to the movies we went!

I had so much fun with two of my favorite people in the world! :)

Thanks guys! :)

Hello Hungary!!!

Visa

To those who said prayers with me, I thank you because tonight,I have once again laid my eyes on my passports! I sent two because my older visa has the valid US visa. Apparently, Hungary uses it as basis too because if you have one, your application has a bigger chance of getting approved. It's even on their website.

Consulate
I was not able to send a self-addressed envelope (something my mom told me about two days ago, this is required for US visas) because it was not stated as part of the requirements in the website I viewed. Then again, that website was assuming I live in Jakarta and that I will be applying from Jakarta and not the Philippines. I do not know if they have to walk in or send their documents as well. In any case, it was the Hungarian Consulate Office of the Philippines' job to inform applicants of requirements. In fact, they should be the one sending the documents to Jakarta in behalf of the applicants. Sadly though, when you call them up all they tell you are fragments of what you need to know plus the lady who takes care of these things are as friendly as a plywood. Well there are days when she is even irritable. I had to ask myself if I was annoying and if I have asked my questions several times in my past life because I definitely asked them for the first time in this particular lifetime!

The first time I called, she said that I should just put in 35 Euros in the package. I was going to send it already but my fiance stopped me and asked me to check with the consulate again just in case I am forgetting anything. So I did.

The second time I called, she said that I should just put in 35 Euros in the package. I had to ask this time around about how my documents will get sent back. She paused for a while and told me to put in 20 more Euros for the shipping. Darn! It was a good thing my fiance stopped me from sending the package lest I would never see my documents again! Doesn't she have a list or something?

Obviously, this lady in the consulate (I do not want to generalize everybody working in this firm), does not understand how important these documents and this application are. She does not take her task seriously and she should be assigned to do some other task that she will hold in high esteem. Maybe this is just committee work in their firm, I wouldn't know, but if you agreed to do it, you should do it right.

Pagkamulat

In introspect, I think I should apply this for myself too. I have been Pagkamulat coordinator in the past three years and so far, I think I am doing okay. I mean the Computer Literacy program has won the Harvest of Winners award and this year it was nominated for Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations or at least the two orgs I have been working with, LSCS and CLAY. But these past few months have been terrible, I have been less responsive, partly because of all the work that I had to take care of. I realized now, that this has to change. I have agreed to be the coordinator so I should do my task with fervor and passion. I will start by soliciting books for the MACE Learning Center.

I guess deep down, I understand where the lady is coming from, but then again, the documents she is taking care of are really important so I do hope that she be careful with the instructions she gives out.

Mix of Rants and Raves

In the meantime, I should start reading on what to expect of Budapest because I am going there this Saturday! :) I better not binge while I am there! Most of my extra pounds are courtesy of all my other trips! :)

Oh and yeah...

I might be going to Taiwan this November for a kick-off meeting of the approved FP7 project. :) The French Embassy is sending me. They said they'll take care of my air fare. I am not going if they do not take care of my accommodations because that will be too much strain on my budget already, and the project has been approved already anyway. :D

After I get back, it will be hectic again... I will be teaching Sem 2 of Cisco every Saturday and then I will be taking my Cisco 3 and 4 starting October 15 to October 29! Yikes! And then, November 19, I will be off to Taiwan if all things fall into place. I have to finish my incomplete dissertation proposal and my URCO research is due this term as well... Oh my! Thank goodness the wedding is not until July of next year hehe!

I swam three times this week! Heard mass thrice too, next week I plan to make it five. I am falling back into my old routine, and I am just happy to be back! :) I have also started attending bible studies again, had two sessions already and it was refreshing!

Thank you Lord for sending my passport back to me. I was so stressed the entire week. Thanks for sending me my loving fiance who kept me sane the entire week! For never forsaking me Father, thank you!

Friday, September 21, 2007

Getting Hitch-ed

I saw Hitch again this morning because it was on cable. This was the first movie that I saw with Vince along with my high school friend Bhennie (who introduced us with the encouragement of her mom). Watching it made me reminisce that experience.

I was coming from an outreach by FORMDEV, went home first to freshen up and then I met up with my friend. We invited him to watch the movie with us since he did not have anything better to do that time (or so he said). I was so panicky. I cannot remember why, but I was so self conscious then. I was worried that he might see something he did not like. It's superficial I know, but I guess dating sort of starts out that way. It's funny because now I cannot even remember what I was wearing anymore that day.

During the movie, Vince cried. I thought it was kind of cute that he cries in movies. He seemed sensitive. :) He was a gentleman throughout the film except that his right knee kept on touching mine and I kept moving my left knee away. :) He is still denying that this happened!

When we saw the movie we were not in love with each other yet but it feels nice looking back because I did not think that the man I was going to marry was that man next to me as I was watching Hitch. We saw this movie as unhitched people and now we are about to get hitched for life!

I am glad things turned out the way they did.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Cisco Po!

I have started reading Cisco Sem 3. It has only nine modules but so far I am still in Module 2. As always there are a lot of things that I must remember. I have not so much time left until the five day crash course begins so I do hope I get to finish soon.

On the lighter side of things, we won the game against Ateneo! Also, I got to swim! Yehey for me! I do hope this becomes a regular habit. I was not able to hear mass today though because I moved very slowly this morning and I was also very sleepy. I think I am still tired from our retreat over the weekend. After swimming though, my muscles are feeling better already.

I cannot write much today even if I wanted to because it's already 1:30 in the morning and I would like to hear mass tomorrow before I begin a day of many meetings!

Whoever reads this today, please join me in praying for my passports' return. I sent my documents to Indonesia because the consulate office here basically does nothing. And, it has been two weeks and still I have not received my passport. I should be leaving on September 29 already for Hungary.

Thanks!

Monday, September 17, 2007

Reboot

Last Friday evening I found myself in a bus on the way up to Antipolo, listening to my iPod while holding in my pee. I was on my way to Our Lady of Antipolo Retreat House. I had no expectations. I felt far from the Lord for a while. I have not been hearing mass everyday anymore. This started when I had to do my Cisco training and right after that, I had to conduct a series of seminars at NCC. My routine was gravely disrupted and somehow, I have never gotten back to the program.

I attended a retreat with my LSCS students since I am their adviser. I have been for I don't know how many years already. I do not know when I started being their adviser. I'm glad I was able to go on a retreat with them because it was a very different experience.

Of all the retreats that I have attended, this was the most physical one. We literally cradled those who wanted to be prayed over. We literally washed the feet of the students so we can feel how, more or less, it felt like when Christ washed the feet of the apostles. Over all, it was a beautiful and meaningful retreat. It was led by Noel Judith.

In summary, I learned I am like a pencil. We all are.

  • We have some good in us. (i.e., Graphite that makes the pencil write)

  • We are sharpened every now and then.

  • We have erasers for when we make mistakes.

  • Somebody is holding us. (i.e., Jesus Christ)

  • We have to leave a mark.



So now it is Monday, I am back in Manila, with all the distractions and work and so many things to keep myself busy with. I still have fresh in my head my retreat and my confession to the priest (something I have not done in a while) and I am glad, slowly, I am coming back to my routine. I got to hear mass again today. It was a good one.

When I confessed, father said... "Don't be too hard on yourself.". My penance? Fr. Balatbat asked me to pray for those who have hurt me in the past. The Lord is a merciful God and I am just glad to be back Lord.

Movies!

After the mass in Antipolo, I heard mass again with my fiance because he picked me up from HP. The bus could not go nearer Taft Avenue due to the board exams. I have missed him too so we decided to spend the rest of the day together. We saw The Brave One and it was such a great movie! Another Jodie Foster must watch film! Gave me the creeps though. I had so much fun last Sunday with my Baby! I love him soh much! Just really cannot wait to be his wife!

Okay it was not as creepy as Stephen King's 1408. Another must watch for those who just started dating! A guaranteed hug for the guys from the really scared date hehe...

Friday, September 14, 2007

Term Break

28th Month

Vince and I celebrated our 2 years and 4 months with Janine at Sentro. I was coming from Ysabelle's because I checked out their gown which turned out to be sold already. I saw it at the Wedding Expo. Anyway, they can make me another gown made for me but it will be for 20K. I have not paid yet so I can still change my mind. I brought Janine along for a second opinion.

Vince met us at Sentro. He had dinner (by that time, we were already done) a bit late because he had to finish some work at at the office. After dinner, we decided to watch Hairspray, another musical from Broadway. It was a fun musical and it starred Zac Efron from the High School Musical! It was fun, that Janine, Vince and I wanted to dance along after!

After the movie, we stopped by Bizu because Janine and I were craving for an Opera cake. We had it take out because Vince was going to go home late already. Janine also picked out some macaroons that are still in our ref to this day.

Sonya's Garden

The term break has come and gone but I do not think I wasted a day of it. Last Thursday, we went up to Tagaytay and had lunch at Sonya's Garden. I love their garden! It's so pretty! I have been there with my baby on several occasions and I wanted to share the experience with my family.

They loved the place but my mom did not like the food very much since most of it were greens. I love eating salad! I can eat salad all day if only it were cheap and if it were easy to find all the greens. Maybe when I am married and I can make our own meals. Vince, prepare yourself to live the life of a goat hehe... grass here and grass there... Meh! Vinaigrette's my fave dressing but all they have is ranch dressing that's yummy too... and fattening. :) They also had frozen jackfruit that delighted my sister and of course other fresh fruits like melon, pineapple, etc. We also visited their Bed and Breakfast, my mom was appalled that all comfort rooms had big windows so that you can see nature and vice versa while you do your thang! :) She loved the house but we chose not to stay there because they did not have television sets, phone and the place is too far. It's in Alfonso, Cavite by the way just after the Royal Estate and Splendido.

Taal Vista Hotel

We were not really planning on staying overnight but you see, after eating so much my mom and Janine wanted to sleep so we decided to check in at Taal Vista Hotel (yup they don't call it Lodge anymore). We slept until six and then headed out for Antonio's.

Antonio's

It is such a romantic place! Hay. And the food... Yum! Don't get me started! I love their soup, salad wit Raspberry Vinaigrette hay these alone are enough to make my mouth water. The Sea Bass was just soh delectable and the dessert too! I got to meet Chef Antonio. I was surprised that he was still very young! Antonio's is such a great place i do not mind the difficult drive going there. My mom plans to come back soon in spite our bill of 5K haha!

Casino Filipino Tagaytay

After Antonio's, we headed out to Casino Filipino. I parked my RAV at Taal Vista first and then walked to the Casino Filipino. I was wearing my Havaianas so I did not mind but then I remembered that flip flops are not allowed in the casino and so I had to walk back to the car and wear Janine's tacky Happy Feet. It was a difficult walk back to the casino. Janine was able to go inside because she already had her license.

Inside, we got to play slot machines. Almost had a conflict with old women who did not want to give up their machines. Janine was waiting patiently but after the old woman's coins ran out she still did not want to give up the machine so I asked her nicely to allow us to play since we only had a few coins. She did not talk to us, instead she took the chair and turned it slightly over so we cannot sit down. She even told the woman beside her to make sure we do not touch the machine. Instead of provoking her further, I asked Janine to settle with the more expensive machines since there were less people there. Hehe... That was my first encounter with casino addicts. The slot machine should have two handles, that way they get to tone both arms. :)

After the casino, we went back to our room to watch some TV and sleep. It did not take us long before we went back to our room because the slot machine a.k.a. one-arm bandit stole our money in a very short time. We were not born to gamble (except in the stock market) so we did not bet so much that night. :) We were just in it for the experience.

We were supposed to have breakfast at the Bag of Beans but Janine insisted she wanted to have it in front of the Taal volcano so we had it at the Taal Vista. The food was yummy there too but of course the Bag of Beans experience could have been more different. Maybe next time.

Picnic Grove

There is nothing to see at the Picnic Grove really but my sister was inisting that we go. When we left the market (my mom bought some jackfruit and some steak) the weather was really great. But as soon as we got to Picnic Grove, it started raining soh hard! You'd think there was a thunderstorm! As soon as we got out of the Picnic Grove (20m. from it) the sun was shining again! Really weird! Anyhow, we just decided Picnic Grove was not meant for us to visit that day.

Pink Sisters

That morning, I also asked Janine to write a letter so that the Pink Sisters can pray for her. We went to the Pink Sisters to pray and to drop off our letters. After that we headed for Angels Hills.

Angels Hills

This place is where I had my Singles Encounter retreat right before I joined the Singles Apostolate of the St. James Renewal Movement. I wonder when I can convince Vince to join SE! :) Anyway, during the retreat, I got to try their Buko Tart and it tasted nice. I decided to get a box for mom, our unit and for Vince's family.

After the Angels Hills we were on our way back to Cavite.

Cavite

I have not been in Cavite for the longest time. I think it has been more than a year. I missed the exercise machines. My mom has a collection of gym equipments. She has a treadmill, a stationary bike, climb master and other abs stuff that she has put away. I decided to make the most of my stay by running on the treadmill and sweating it out on the climb master. It was fun! My mom prepared steak with mashed potato gravy sauce for dinner and of course, fresh jackfruit!!! Yuhmeeh!

Condo

After dinner and some bumming around, we were back to the condo. We decided to come home because our beds were not made up and we did not want to bother my mom further.

Avenue Q

The following day, my sister, myself and my mom (Vince had his badminton tournament) got to see Avenue Q! It was such a fun musical. I thought Rachel Alejandro did very well as Kate Monster and Lucy The Slut. Hilarious! The playwrights and the composers are pure genius! Aiza did a great a job as Gary Coleman too! She definitely exceeded my expectations! Princeton's voice was nice but a bit soft. Christmas Eve was played by Frenchie Dy I think. She did good too... I think. I do not like Christmas Eve as a character per se... maybe that's why I did not give her performance much thought. :) I am still listening to the soundtrack and learning the music by heart because I am just soh in love with the musical!

The following day, we cleaned the condo because Jet was coming home from HK and we did not want him ranting about how dirty the place was. Later that night, we went to Italianni's to have dinner with my dad. Then we went to Hai to have beer with my dad. Yes, I do not drink but because he asked us to drink (including Janine) I had half a San Mig Light bottle! Janine had one bottle!

Jet will be on an all boys night out with my dad this Sat and on Sunday he'll be off on his way back to Saudi again.

So you see, my term break was definitely maxed out because I kept myself busy! Not that I am not busy right now hehe... :) This type of work gets me drained the term break activities got me all charged for this term. :) So to help me with stress, I am back to swimming! Yahoo!!!