ChickLit!ChickLit!ChickLit!ChickLit!ChickLit!

I'm addicted to chick lit! Well, the Kinsella chick lits. :) Can't wait to read The Undomestic Goddess next. Nahahawa na ako kay Becky. I'm beginning to be really, really into SHOES. I just realized a while ago that nowadays, they're the first things I look for when I enter a mall or a shop. Kakaiba. Dati-rati wala talaga akong mashadong care sa sapatos mga sapatos in general e. But no, ngayon...gusto ko na ata mangolekta! Haha!

This morning, I came from my friend's house and before I left, I decided to look for shoes. For job interviews, ganyan, since next year I'll be having a lot of them. It's a career investment, as Becky would put it. I left their place at around 8:30. There was no traffic so I got to Ayala just before 9:00. And the mall opens at 10:00 pa. So what did I do? I WAITED 1 hour for the mall to open. Nakaupo lang ako sa may Starbucks. Buti na lang I brought a book with me. So, inaassume niyo siguro na nakabili ren ako ng sapatos eventually. Hehehe, actually, hindi ren. I sorta ended up just trying out different shoes and getting their stock numbers (so that I could check if there's stock of that particular style in SM Bicutan)...window shopping. And so I found nice black pumps sa Janylin. Round-toed, low-heeled (about 1 - 1 1/2 inches i think). Kaya lang New Arrival. I'll have to wait for a sale before I buy it. Mahal e, hehehe. At hindi ren kase talaga ako mabilis magdesisyon pag ganyan e. May pagka-fickle ako, I admit, but oh well. I had fun naman all in all. (And after that I went to SM Bicutan, where I accidentally bumped into my tita and my sister, who were shopping for stuff too. Jackpot, woohoo!)

Des! Bring the book ha! Yay! Yay! Thanks! :D

YM Conversation: On the New Year and, well, mainly Dating

stella: siguro ilang lang ako sa "best foot forward" part
stella: feeling ko kase pretentious e
stella: wala lang
stella: pero binabago ko na yung tingin kong ganun dun
stella: hehe :)
jhersee_d_goddess: well, gaya ng sinasabi ko before...there's nothing wrong with putting your best foot forward, after all it's still YOUR foot.

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In fairness Eunice, point made.

Wallowing

I want to go to Bulacan! Hmph.

Nalulungkot tuloy ako.

Buti na lang Shopaholic's here to brighten up my mood. Becky Bloomwood's the funniest and the craziest. Pero lovable pa ren.

My two most recent favorite authors are Brits. I love Rowling and Kinsella. Kung pwede ko lang sila i-hug ngayon. Hay.

Sana tlga matuloy kami nina Ish bukas sa pyrolympics. Fun yun e!

For some reason gusto ko nang pumasok. Hmm...ano kaya yun? Let's think.

Nag-update na si Tonet ng blog! Yehey! Da best talaga blog mo e, super kulit. Peyborit ko talaga ever.

I like Vivo of Starstruck.

Mulawin is SO overrated. Super overrated talaga. Kamusta naman ang A-rating na binigay dun?! Ano na lang kaya ang kalagayan nung ibang mga pelikula kung ganun?! Magandang part lang dun yung part na may Encantadia e (sinong biased?!).

Nevertheless, I want to watch Blue Moon. And Shake, Rattle and Roll 25K (for purely sentimental reasons). Tara friends, nood tayo! Calling the Wednesday Movie Club people!

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I want to see the world not pass by in a frenzy...but pass by in a considerably slow and easy pace, so I can marvel properly at how life takes its course and how beautiful it is to live in a place that captures the feeling a sanctuary may bring.

Untechy-ness

I was supposed to place my blogthings result here to share with everyone who visits my blog.

But I don't know how. I thought I knew, but I don't.

I am sooooo not techy. Grrness.

On that note, I realized just a while ago that I want a pretty blog too. But then again, the not techy limitation.

Someone, help me. Please.

*sigh*

Kapag Gusto Mong Maglaho ng Parang Bula

Minsan may mga sandali sa buhay ng isang tao na hinihiling niyang sana mawala na lang sha sa kinalalagyan niya sa susunod na kurap ng kaniyang mga mata. Yung tipong bigla na lang niya maiisip yung mga librong nabasa niya at mga palabas na napanood niya at awtomatik na sumasagi sa isip niyang sana nakakapag-apparate na lang sha o di naman kaya'y mayroon shang kakayahang magteleport o mag-blend-in sa pader at his own will.

Pero naman, di ko naman akalaing gugustuhin kong mangyare yun palagi. Nakakastress. Nakakapagod. Nakakasawa. Nakakawalang-gana.

Di bale, makikita niya. Tingnan natin kung kanino mapupunta ang huling halakhak. Darating din ang araw na...MAGIGING INVISIBLE NGA TALAGA AKO! Bwahahaha!

Ampait.

On Following One's Heart

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Following one's heart is a very romanticized thing. Someone choosing to take that course always earns the highest of praises and admiration from general public. Fine, they are admirable. But all the laudatory remarks of bravery and guts forget the other, equally admirable half of the picture: The someones who decided NOT to follow it.

Let us shed light to this from another perspective. You see, in dreamworld you fly into the night sky without wings, an effect of the Tinkerbell's fairydust and yourself conjuring up happy thoughts. You frolick along the meadows full of flowers of different colors with your favorite storybook characters. You have picnic by the flowing chocolate river inside Wonka's factory, while eating mint grass and candied fruit. But then not all people get to stay and enjoy dreamworld. For others, morning comes...

...morning comes and they wake up to the unevitable realities of living in a world where dreams may have the potential of becoming a burden to one's heart. Because dreams have to be put aside for things that are said to be 'Right'. 'Practical'. 'Speedy'. Because there are times when dreamers are not just dreamers. They too are Sons. Daughters. Brothers. Sisters. Nieces. Nephews. Breadwinners. Leaders. Mothers. Fathers. Hopeless Romantics. Saviors. Heroes. People who are brave enough to give up their dreams so that other dreamers could have a chance to make theirs a reality.

Bravery shows a new face. A usually unspoken and actually forgotten one at that, but a true merit in itself.

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Slice of Choco Productions Proudly Present...."PRESENTS!"

Yay! Merry Christmas to everyone!!! :D

I was thinking of what exactly to write in this entry on mine. I've been to a few blogs of friends of mine, and they were all about the meaning ofChristmas and how it's about love and family and friends. Hmm...I don't actually like to write about those just now. And besides, others have written about that angle of Christmas already so it would be best if I provided a bit of diversity. So I am writing about presents!

Certainly, presents were the best part of Christmas back when we were young kids. I remember, I used to search all the closets and all the other possible hiding places my parents might use to find out what they got me for Christmas. Come to think of it, they were quite good at hiding our presents. I only ever did find mine once, out of the ten Christmases I looked for them (it turned out to be the Barbie doll I really wanted!).

But yes, Christmas presents very much excited me. I loved receiving presents. But I love giving them even better. It's the thought of making people happy that makes me love it so much. I always gave gifts when I was young (shucks, mas mayaman pa ako nung bata ako kesa ngayong matanda na ako...tsk, tsk); from my schoolmates to our neighbors to our employees, etc. Buying gifts and wrapping them up was some sort of a yearly tradition. God I miss those days.

But what fascinates me about gift-giving is the "power" it holds in expressing how much a person means to the giver. Gifts are given out of one's own free will, selflessly. It is often thought about well, usually researched about in order to be sure that the person receiving it would like it. Being so, it is often a testament to the relationship the giver has with the one he's giving the present to. That's why presents don't necessarily need to be expensive in order to be special and memorable. A stranger can give you a thousand bucks but you'd treasure the card your little sister made for you more than money from someone you don't know. It just has to be something that comes from the heart, that is especially shared between two people. It sounds very cliche but with presents, it is the THOUGHT that actually counts.

On that note...to my "Santas" this Christmas, thanks so much!!! I am loving your gifts...but of course, I love you all more. :D

Huh? Uh....Uhuh.

Oh yeah. It's confirmed.

And so my foreshadowing skills fail to fail me again.

*sigh*

I do hope next time I forsee something good for a change... I mean, good on my part.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...'

And so goes the beginning of the all-time classic A Christmas Carol. And my Christmas Eve blog post. Which will sound nothing like a classic Christmas story.

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We went to SM Bicutan after lunch to do our yearly last-minute Christmas shopping. Very harassed we were. But we've developed tactics that would reduce the stress of last-minute shopping over the many years we've been doing it. Here are some of them:

1) List down everything you need to buy
2) Bring a lot of family members with you (so one could be in-charge of pushing the cart, one for getting the stuff needed, one who would fall in line while the others go around and get the things you'lll be needing, etc.)
3) Establish a "system" within your family. Think of it as a team thing. Work as a team. Do codes; strategize even.
4) Call SM and all the other shops you're going to beforehand to reserve certain in-demand items you'll be needing to buy and they'll be ready for payment and pick up when you finally get there
5) Wear comfortable shoes/sandals/slippers (for easy walking and standing around)

Since we're experts in the field, we finished shopping in record-breaking time. We only took under two hours to get through it all (and that includes falling in line ha). Our game plan worked. Hehehe... we even had time to go to the parlor for a haircut.

Hmm...now I kinda get how I've become 'Crammer Extraordinaire'.

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I love giving gifts. It's just great when you know you've picked out a gift the person you'll be giving it to will really like. I'm kinda looking forward to making my own money if only for that. I especially like giving gifts to kids. Ang saya nila maging masaya e.

I've made a mental note of what I'd be giving certain people if I had the resources. Here are a few of them:

- this certain book that Joey likes. and Care Bears stuff too.
- a trip to Europe for my tita
- real Havianas for my sister Joanne
- an Illlustrated, hardbound copy of the Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons for UL
- a date for Letti (well, resources is a very broad term, hehehe)
- half of what Tonette and Leo needs for their thesis
- original DVDs of all the seasons of FRIENDS for Maggie (and myself na ren)
- P5000 concert tickets to Backstreet Boys live in Manila for Des
- a cool camping hammock for Ish
- an eat-all-you-can treat for Jaymie. and for Den na ren.
- more sleep and rest for Dana (hyper ang internship ninyo, Doc)
- the first, nice, purple thing I see for Tel
- a set of new clothes for Jeffrey (the CDC kid)
- books for Boyong (another CDC kid)
- a guy flick lit for my commhead
- something sweet for baby Neo
- something on the mushy side for Beans, like a collection of love poems or something (hahaha! peace tayo!)
- and that Nike shoes that I told Laurie I would buy her when I make my first million

Hehe, I am actually enjoying this. :D There will come a time na mabibigay ko sa mga tao ang gusto talaga nila! That would be fun... :D

Last Trip to My Jerusalem

I can feel the leaves of the last chapter of this volume of the story of my life being turned quite briskly by whoever's reading it.

It just seems as if every activity is some farewell of sorts. Well, I'm talking about Ecosoc activities in particular. I found myself getting teary-eyed and sentimental in the middle of the song number by the special children in Divine Providence. I was then thinking that it would be the last time I would be going there. My last Divine Providence Christmas Party. I've been going there for three years already and it has become my favorite CDC place. I love the feel of Christmas there. Everyone's just bursting with excitement about the holidays, it's (nakakahawa). I am reminded of what Christmas' meaning truly is when I'm there. Nakaka-attach.

Now I realize how the org has become part of my life in college. It even came to a point that it literally became MY LIFE (execom, hay). And now as the org's staple activities take place one after another, each being MY LAST of whatever it is, it just feels as if I'm slowly wrapping things up, taking moving on one event at a time.

Woohoo, kasenti ng post na ito. That's why it's nice to know that I'm not the only one who had the same reaction to the kids' singing, although she isn't writing about it so I'm kind of writing for the both of us.

I never thought I would get this attached. I didn't quite understand how the seniors (during the time I was still a freshman) so loved the org and stayed so late in the tambayan and attended almost all the org activities and really worked for it. Now I get it.

Question...

Is it wrong to hope for the best?

Because I refuse to settle for anything less.

Not that I think others are less.

I just know what I want.

Or at least I think I do.

Which brings me to the part where I admit that I am in a (absolutely very fleeting) state of denial.

(An exaggeration of the cinematic type too)

Which will be gone tomorrow.

After I bask in it.

And sleep it off.

Good night.

When Limbo Doesn't Rock

Nowadays I feel as if I'm somewhere in between two somethings. Two feelings? Two places? Two states of mind? Two situations? Honestly, I don't really know. It's like I'm in some kind of an emotional limbo: where emotions are suspended inside someplace and you end up being sort of nonchalant about things that you normally aren't nonchalant about. I feel like I'm hanging by the moment, I don't really know what it is I am hanging around waiting for. But, there certainly is that feeling of expectation. Of things to come I guess. Of beautiful things to come? I hope. The status quo is okay as it is. Doing good, having fun, enjoying every bit of the day...but sometimes there are just random moments when I catch myself zoning out in the middle of conversations, thinking about nothing and everything at the same time. Which is kind of hard to picture doing now that I've put it into words. But I do that.

This somehow reminds me of a recent chat I had with my "crush soulmate"(the term begin so because we have the same crush...and other things in common as well) . We share the EXACT same views on a topic (actually, more than just one topic), and have experienced very similar situations! Finding kindred spirits is always comforting. It gives you the reassurance that you aren't alone in the world and that you are completely normal. *sigh*

We will meet our match dear, yes we will.

I have such a shifty, cluttered trail of thought.

Thesising = Headache

I've been online for a few hours now, searching the net for possible related literature and models to support our thesis topic. And my vision's getting a bit blurry and my mind is starting to get clouded and I am seriously beginning to grow dizzy. This is the effect that hardcore economics has on me. And because of these negative effects, I have concluded that a career as an economist in its truest sense is quite far down on my options list. Not when its side effects seem to be the symptoms of high fever or high-blood pressure.

Don't get me wrong. I love econ. I've grown to love it over the years. There was even a time when I really liked an econ elective I was taking that I really did advance-reading for it and really studied and took notes and all. That too was the time that I flunked that certain econ elective's midterm exam. Man, did that hurt. So you see, I love Econ but it doesn't love me as much. Hahaha, typical. But yeah, I still love it.

I guess my attachment to econ doesn't come from the study of the law of supply and demand alone...it's eveything that comes with it. The people, the place, the org...people I've shared lots of experiences with, the place that I've considered home, and an institution I've grown to love: somewhere I belong. Ooohhhhh, sentiness.

Thesis is actually cool. You may not believe me but it is. It's like testing if you really learned something in your 4 years of studying. I always thought I didn't know a thing about econ even if I took all the required subjects and electives. The first time I reserached for related lit in the lib, I was so surprised that I could actually understand the economic journal I was reading, I actually laughed! I knew something after all, hihihi. It all comes back to you when you need it. Come to think of it, why would someone be casually pondering about the process of doing a multiple-variable OLS regression on a normal day while riding the MRT to school? It would be extremely mental.

I like thesising. I, surprisingly, like spending the day inside the econ lib, reading economic journals and books, jotting down important points on my thesis notebook, searching for other books on the OPAC, etc. I know, it sounds nerdox. And I admit it is. But the point is, I like doing it. And what the heck, it's about time that I seriously learned something about econ. I AM GRADUATING in 4 month's time!

To Be Proven Wrong and Loving It

Hehehe...hmm. Wala lang. Minsan talaga masaya ren na mali ka sa mga inaakala mo e. Nakaka-high-EQ ren pala yung ganun. Coolness.

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TK ako sa mga tao. They're not helping me make another person happy. :( Now I have to think of plan B. Pero TK talaga. Super thank you to Tel, Den, Rocky, Letti, Mace, Enteng, Neo, Billie, Abbey, and Angel.

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Hohoho, malapit nang magPasko. Although I am not really feeling it. Ang weird e. Nagbago na talaga ang Christmas nowadays. I used to be so excited about it. Ngayon parang wala na lang...

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Tralalalala. Shet, wala akong magawa. Correction, wala akong magawa na di kailangan gawin. (Kase may mga kailangan ako gawin na ayoko namang gawin e...not at the moment at least)

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Ma-nga-nga-roling na lang ako:

Pasko na sinta ko
Hanap-hanap kita
Bakit nagtatampo
Nilisan ako
Kuna mawawala ka
Sa piling ko sinta
Paano ang Paskong
Alay ko sayo?

Sayang sinta ang sinumpaan
Na pagtitinginang tunay
Nais mo bang kalimutang ganap
Ang ating suyuan at galak?

Kung mawawala ka
Sa piling ko sinta
Paano ang Paskong
Alay ko sayo?

Favorite Christmas song ko. Well, at least na kinakanta sa choir. Woohoo, caroling nanaman!:D Fun lagi yun e! Anu-ano naman kayang mga fun things ang mangyayare ngayong caroling? Hehe, can't wait.

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Narealize ko kanina na I'm such a sucker for chick flicks and feel-good movies and romantic comedies. I watched Guess Who and Meet the Fockers kanina e. Wala lang.

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Wala nang sense ito. Tama na muna.

Head Over Feet

... or since sabi nga ni Mace mataas ang standards namin, I thought Head Over Talampakan would be more appropriate.

Sound trip kame kahapon sa tambayan e. Nagpapatugtog ng mga kanta sa laptop ni Maggie. Ang sarap talaga kumanta ever. Lalo na yung tipong feel na feel mo talaga yung kinakanta mo. E kahapon, tamang-tama, marami sa amin ang nasa mood para magkakanta ng ganung level (kahit walang alkohol sa katawan). Fun, fun! I wish I could always sing that way. Give na give at walang paki kung tama yung tono basta masaya ka lang sa pagkanta kasama ng ibang tao na nag-e-enjoyn ren sa sariling pagkanta nila. Mukha kang loka-loka pero kebs! At least masaya kang loka-loka, hehehe.

Yun na nga, shempre, among the top fave songs na napatugtog sa laptop ay ang Alanis classic na Head Over Feet. Da best talaga yung kantang yun e. But I think really feeling firsthand what the song is talking about is even better. Haayyy...

Akala ko date wala akong specific preference sa music. Narealize ko nito lang na meron pala. Gusto ko pala ang mga banda/singer na 'to:

- Dishwalla (Opaline is the best album ever! Pwede ko shang pakinggan ng paulit-ulit-ulit-ulit-ulit....)

- Eheads (The band that started it all)

- Rivermaya (214 = favorite! elesi at alapaap na ren)

- ColdPlay (na recently ko lang nalaman na gusto ko pala yung mga kanta nila through an orgmate's iPod)

- The Corrs (sarap pakinggan)

- Alanis Morisette (the best ang first album!)

- Sugarfree (may mood na masarap ito pakinggan)

- John Mayer (back to you!!! plus the fond first year memories that come with it)

- Stevie Wonder (...I don't wanna bore you with this, you know i love you i love you i love you...)

-Carrie Underwood (this has AI bias)

- The Company

- Mandy Moore

PLUS, the following songs:
- Time and Tide
- All I Want
- As Long As It Matters
- Breakfast at Tiffany's
- Superstar
- Bless the Broken Road
- Sana Maulit Muli
- Ngayon at Kailanman
- Wonderwall
- Hanging By the Moment
- Don't Wanna Miss A Thing
- Someday We'll Know
- Your Song
- Drops of Jupiter
- Buses and Trains
- Stay
- I'll Be There For You
- If Only
-Penny and Me
- Breakout
- Harana


Ang boring siguro ng mundo kung walang musika.

...You are the bearer of unconditional things
You held your breath, and the door for me
Thanks for your patience...