Thursday, June 03, 2004

Hmmm... what do you guys think?



From Portrait Illustration Maker

* * *

Wow, will have to register for classes tomorrow --

Erg -- will need to defend proposal in July. ~sigh~

* * *

Harry Potter opened yesterday and I was in Megamall with my sister and my J -- grabe! the lines were soooo long! (will wait until the madness dies down before I go to watch it)

* * *

Finished reading Tom Holt's Falling Sideways, which is a departure from my usual reading list -- (but I read it anyway because the cover had a frog on it and the chapters are numbered by frogs ^_^)

Some nice soundbytes:

Love, after all, made the world go round; one of the many things it had in common with severe concussion.

...

That's love: possibly the sneakiest trick ever played on any variety of life form by a notoriously conniving Universe.

...

In fact, if we're going to have any kind of lasting relationship, I can see that fairly soon we'll need to have a whole series of long, dreary, horribly embarrassing conversations about it, of the kind that can only end in tears, recriminations, slammed doors and mutually assured sulking. What I'm hoping is that after a while, we'll both get so sick and tired of the subject that we'll leave it alone. Unlikely, though. You can't have a serious relationship where you only talk about nice stuff; that'd be like skipping the main course and having a triple serving of ice cream.

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

What a day! --

Yesterday felt like it was going to be a great day -- and it was!

I had so much fun and the universe never felt so right -- but, then again, the universe always feels/is right when am spending time with my J --

Games of Fluxx with D and T early in the day -- lollies all around from that Japanese mart (Co.Op along Amorsolo -- EVERYTHING is for PhP75) my J and I discovered on our adventure through Salcedo Village.

Had lunch with my J at Mcdonald's where I accidentally spilled Coke on myself -- (my J was so galing! He didn't panic or fuss at all -- he handed my his hanky and went to the counter to get more tissue. ^_^)

Yes, we continued to eat (I needed time to dry my skirt a little) --

When we got back to the store, G was already there and I brought her to Mocha Blends. It had been a while since we've gotten together for a conversation and so much has happened to her recently (and I wanted to make sure she was okay--)

G is always great to talk to -- she makes it so easy for you to open up to her and the conversation just flows easily. I learn so much from her (and I realize so much about myself after we talk)

(am never confident about giving advice to others, so I usually give them random soundbytes as food for thought -- am glad that some of it actually makes sense ^_^)

It was a pretty slow day at the store so my J and I decide to take a cab and go to my place so I could shower and change out of my sugar-sticky clothes =P

Oh, did I mention I also nearly tipped over the drink I had at Mocha Blends? Hehehe -- it gets better, when we had gotten home that night (after dinner and a movie -- Shrek2!!!), I also nearly tipped over the glass of water on my computer table --

After I had cleaned up, my J and I went to Greenhills Shopping Center to do some errands and to watch Shrek2 (fun movie! Puss is sooooo cute!).

Lots of really nice theory books at Booksale -- will have to consider getting them. (So many books, so little money! ~sigh~)

* * *

First of the Month --

Wow, it's June already -- two weeks before school starts. Will have to register for my thesis class on Friday -- (the plan is to defend my Chapter 1/Proposal this first semester and defend my thesis in December so I could graduate in March)

Am really excited for the start of school -- I wonder how I'll do as a teacher ^_^

Time really flies by fast -- my summers are usually agonizingly slow (fewer customers at the store, etc.) but this summer was a blast! (The new card games my bro brought back from the US really helped -- also the people who hang out at the store = excellent, excellent company! ^_^)

* * *

Activities for June --

It's the start of French Spring in Manila and here is the schedule of activities -- I want to watch the jugglers! ^_^

The French Film Festival starts this Friday at Greenbelt 3.

Fete de la Musique is on June 19 (Saturday) at Eastwood

and Cinemanila starts last week of June (opens with Zatoichi?)

In July, the Metropolitan Theater Group is staging A Midsummer Night's Dream ^_^

Sunday, May 30, 2004

What Is Your Battle Cry?

Yea, verily: Who is that, striding along the freeway! It is Kiteflying, hands clutching a studded crowbar! She cries thunderously:

"For the love of beatings, I am on a crash course with bloody destiny!!!"

Find out!
Enter username:
Are you a girl, or a guy ?

created by beatings : powered by monkeys


From M's LJ friends ^_^

Check this out -- it's an LJ trading card/tarot card generator ^_^

* * *

KKind
IImportant
TTrustworthy
EExtreme
FFlirtatious
LLuscious
YYucky
IInspirational
NNeat
GGlorious

Name / Username:


Name Acronym Generator
From Go-Quiz.com

Saturday, May 29, 2004

Politics annoys me --

Am not entirely apolitical (I didn't vote) -- I pay enough attention to know what's happening (and to check how it's affecting the peso-dollar conversion rate) --

Last night, on the cab ride home, my J and I were listening to the joint session(?) on the radio -- God, our politicians talaga are sooooo effing annoying! >_< Hearing them speak and how ridiculous their thoughts are just irritates me -- they try to sound like they know what they're talking about and complicating very simple motions with their highfalutin words --

One of the motions voted on was whether congress would be willing to spend every waking hour of the seven days of the week to count to CoCs before the June 30 deadline (Pimentel motion?) -- jesus, as if they're really going to spend every waking hour of the seven days of the week doing so --

And that whole hysterical session with the representative from Maguindanao --

I share that anonymous note's sentiment -- just shut up and do your work already --

Grrrr....

~sigh~

* * *

Today's horoscope -- (May 29)

Capricorn:
You'll be thinking about commitment, and the repercussions of such an action -- and well you should. This is the stuff that major changes are made of. Are you sure?

- from Yahoo! Astrology

* * *

Wow --

Am watching the Counting Crows perform on the Today show on ETC -- they've been around since 1993

and my sibs and I have been fans for just as long -- August and Everything After was one of the first CDs we bought/owned in Iloilo --

My favorite Counting Crows songs:
Mr. Jones
Round Here
Long December
Big Yellow Taxi Cab
Ghost in You (Clueless OST)
Angels of the Silences
Colorblind (thanks C for reminding me ^_^)

Thursday, May 27, 2004

Hmmm --

This was for Capricorns for Friday --
Put your heads together and plan a big adventure. A fun camping trip, exotic vacation or romantic weekend getaway all sound like fun, but first, start with a lovely dinner.
- from Yahoo! Astrology

* * *

^_^ --

Tuesday, May 25, 2004


Which Legendary Actress are you?

* * *

>
WARNING
kiteflying is radioactive. Wear protective clothing at all times.

Username:

From Go-Quiz.com

* * *

Got my teaching load for the first semester -- I'll be teaching an En10 class and an En11.

And my sked is soooo nice! (I was worried that they might give me the early morning classes because I'm new and am part-time --)

EN11 (R28) MWF 130-230 CTC-302
EN10 (E24) MWF 230-430 CTC-206

* * *

Because today is May 25 --

My J and I went to UP and I got to try Rodic's for the first time -- Tapsilog = YUM! (I want to go back! ^_^)

My bro had this 100-item question sheet regarding 80's pop culture and I was very pleased with my J because he knew so much! *clap! clap!* (We missed 16 of the 100 = who remembers who teddy ruxpin's best friend is?)

It was fun reminiscing about old cartoon shows (Shirt-tales, Smurfs, Visionaries, etc. ^_^)

Oh, and, yes -- I am giddy in-love with my J. ^_^

Saturday, May 22, 2004

Ah, this is a nice one --

Your Years at Hogwarts
by nevermindless
Name:
The Sorting Hat places you in:Ravenclaw (Blue and Bronze)
Subject you are naturally best at:Charms.
Your favorite book:Saucy Tricks for Tricky Sorts
Pet you bring to school:Mexican Burrowing TOAD
You are most known for:Nothing. No one notices you.
Created with the ORIGINAL MemeGen!


* * *

And this one --

If Shakespeare had written you... by Velfire
Name
GenderFemale
Age15
Character typeTragic
HomeThe Woods
Favorite wordplayNaught (bad, not)
Where you end upWitness to everyone else dying
Created with the ORIGINAL MemeGen!
Ah, I like what this means -- ^_^

This is fun ^_^

kiteflying
The sensation of suddenly feeling that your entire life is a plot device.

Try it out! (Had to take out the actual meme because it was affecting the layout again)

* * *

Lomo goodness --

So last week my J and our friend C brought me to UP's Beachhouse -- I decided to bring along my supersampler so I could take pictures inside UP (a change of scenery for me ^_^)

Here are some -- (apologies for the quality -- the supersampler doesn't have a flash so some are grainy and my scanner is almost dead)

BBQ!

Siyempre, I haven't asked permission to load these pics --

Anyhoo --

This is a nice shot of my J and C

Sunken Garden!!!

~tee hee~

~tee hee~ part 2

pretty sky! (I also like how the pedestrian lane looks in each frame)

Friday, May 21, 2004

Am back!

It was so rain-y! (But that didn't stop me from enjoying myself there ^_^)

I really love going home to Iloilo -- I love how nice and relaxed the pace of my life is there.

But am back and there is work to be done.

I've started reading again for my thesis and the book of choice is Said's Orientalism, which my bro got for us when he was in the US.

Very interesting reading --

Will try to finish reading it by next week ^_^

* * *

Highlight the books that you've read --

Beowolf
Achebe, Chinua - Things Fall Apart
Agee, James - A Death in the Family
Austen, Jane - Pride and Prejudice
Baldwin, James - Go Tell It on the Mountain
Beckett, Samuel - Waiting for Godot
Bellow, Saul - The Adventures of Augie March
Bronte, Charlotte - Jane Eyre
Bronte, Emily - Wuthering Heights
Camus, Albert - The Stranger
Cather, Willa - Death Comes for the Archbishop
Chaucer, Geoffrey - The Canterbury Tales -- not the whole thing
Chekhov, Anton - The Cherry Orchard
Chopin, Kate - The Awakening
Conrad, Joseph - Heart of Darkness
Cooper, James Fenimore - The Last of the Mohicans
Crane, Stephen - The Red Badge of Courage
Dante - Inferno
de Cervantes, Miguel - Don Quixote
Defoe, Daniel - Robinson Crusoe
Dickens, Charles - A Tale of Two Cities
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor - Crime and Punishment
Douglass, Frederick - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Dreiser, Theodore - An American Tragedy
Dumas, Alexandre - The Three Musketeers
Eliot, George - The Mill on the Floss
Ellison, Ralph - Invisible Man
Emerson, Ralph Waldo - Selected Essays
Faulkner, William - As I Lay Dying
Faulkner, William - The Sound and the Fury
Fielding, Henry - Tom Jones
Fitzgerald, F. Scott - The Great Gatsby
Flaubert, Gustave - Madame Bovary
Ford, Ford Madox - The Good Soldier
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von - Faust -- just the first book
Golding, William - Lord of the Flies
Hardy, Thomas - Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Hawthorne, Nathaniel - The Scarlet Letter
Heller, Joseph - Catch-22
Hemingway, Ernest - A Farewell to Arms
Homer - The Iliad
Homer - The Odyssey

Hugo, Victor - The Hunchback of Notre Dame -- read Les Miserables
Hurston, Zora Neale - Their Eyes Were Watching God
Huxley, Aldous - Brave New World
Ibsen, Henrik - A Doll's House
James, Henry - The Portrait of a Lady
James, Henry - The Turn of the Screw
Joyce, James - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Kafka, Franz - The Metamorphosis
Kingston, Maxine Hong - The Woman
Lee, Harper - To Kill a Mockingbird
Lewis, Sinclair - Babbitt
London, Jack - The Call of the Wild
Mann, Thomas - The Magic Mountain
Marquez, Gabriel Garcia - One Hundred Years of Solitude
Melville, Herman - Bartleby the Scrivener
Melville, Herman - Moby Dick
Miller, Arthur - The Crucible
Morrison, Toni - Beloved
O'Connor, Flannery - A Good Man is Hard to Find
O'Neill, Eugene - Long Day's Journey into Night
Orwell, George - Animal Farm
Pasternak, Boris - Doctor Zhivago
Plath, Sylvia - The Bell Jar
Poe, Edgar Allan - Selected Tales
Proust, Marcel - Swann's Way
Pynchon, Thomas - The Crying of Lot 49
Remarque, Erich Maria - All Quiet on the Western Front
Rostand, Edmond - Cyrano de Bergerac
Roth, Henry - Call It Sleep
Salinger, J.D. - The Catcher in the Rye
Shakespeare, William - Hamlet
Shakespeare, William - Macbeth
Shakespeare, William - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Shakespeare, William - Romeo and Juliet

Shaw, George Bernard - Pygmalion
Shelley, Mary - Frankenstein
Silko, Leslie Marmon - Ceremony
Solzhenitsyn, Alexander - One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Sophocles - Antigone
Sophocles - Oedipus Rex
Steinbeck, John - The Grapes of Wrath
Stevenson, Robert Louis - Treasure Island
Stowe, Harriet Beecher - Uncle Tom's Cabin
Swift, Jonathan - Gulliver's Travels
Thackeray, William - Vanity Fair
Thoreau, Henry David - Walden
Tolstoy, Leo - War and Peace
Turgenev, Ivan - Fathers and Sons
Twain, Mark - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Voltaire - Candide
Vonnegut, Kurt Jr. - Harrison Bergeron
Walker, Alice - The Color Purple
Wharton, Edith - The House of Mirth
Welty, Eudora - Collected Stories
Whitman, Walt - Leaves of Grass
Wilde, Oscar - The Picture of Dorian Gray

Sunday, May 16, 2004

Before I leave --
Some things I learned from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy:

- there is such a thing as prune butter. Yes, butter from prunes. Don't ask. Don't tell me. I don't want to know.
- a chofa is a chair that is a sofa.
- how to tie a tie and make sure it has a "dimple"

... I love this show. ^_^

* * *

Am off to Iloilo! --

Yes, I know it's early. Cab will be here at 630am. Wow, can't believe I'll be having batchoy for lunch. (Yay! This is always a good thing. ^_^)

Can't wait to see my parents again. ^_^

See you guys on Thursday then. ^_^

Saturday, May 15, 2004

Quotes from Mike Gayle --

It all depends how brave you are ... It will always be easier just to cool off and let things go back to normal. And, yeah, it might be that things go wrong and you could fall out for good, in which case you'll lose a good friend. But if you get it right, if you take your time and don't rush into things, you might get more than you ever dreamed of. You might get someone who will always be on your side, someone you nevcr tire of looking
at, someone who's your perfect soul-mate.

* * *

...I think love is a face. A face that you see day in day out. You wake up in the morning, there's that face again staring at you from the pillow opposite. You have breakfast there it is once more hiding behind a packet of cornflakes. You kiss that face goodbye as you go your separate ways to work. Eight hours later you kiss that same face hello. The face tells you about its day at work. You tell the face about your day at work. You cook for the face, and it does the washing up from the previous day. And when you go to bed, you kiss the face once more and hope you'll see it in your dreams.

* * *

But what's the use of having all the time in the world if you're always wasting it on things that don't mean a thing?

- Dinner for Two, Mike Gayle

* * *

Am off --

I'll be leaving for Iloilo tomorrow to spend some time with my parents. I'll be back on Thursday.

~sigh~ It will be difficult hunting for a place to check my mail and post some stuff. Oh well... ^_^

* * *

Guess where I was yesterday --

My J and our friend C brought me to the UP Beach House for lunch yesterday. The pork barbecue was yum!

I brought my Lomo Supesampler with me and took lots of pictures. ^^

I'll write more about this when I have the photos na rin.

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

This one amuses me --
(much to my J's dismay ^_^)

My friend C dropped by the store today to pick up some comic books for her boy -- she forgot to get the comics (because she was in a rush) and ended up just returning some magazines she had borrowed quite a while back. She also gave me this --



It's a really lovely reversible bag, which she made for me. She pointed to the two bunnies and said that was me and my J --

Isn't it just cute?

* * *

This pleases me. It's the sequel to Before Sunrise and will be shown in the US in July.

I want to watch this! >_<

Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Erg --


How evil are you?


* * *

Yay! --


DKNY: Classic with clean edges and very business
like. You don't like to get outrageous or
overly boisterous. Keep It Simple is your
motto and you do it well.


What fashion designer fits you
brought to you by Quizilla

* * *

Although I've only seen the movie (thanks to J) --

my cowboy bebop theme song is cats on mars

what's your cowboy bebop theme song?


* * *

Someday --

My J and I will visit this place. ^_^

I just want to go everywhere with him! (I think we'll have a great time. ^_^)

And I want us to go to a place where neither one of us has been to pa, para we can just get lost together. ^_^

Monday, May 10, 2004

New Blog Template--

Saw that Blogger had new templates to offer and this one was just too cute to pass up. My J also changed his blog template -- hehehehe ^_^

Sorry if the whole thing is a mess -- am ignorant of html codes and whatnot. If you guys see anything wrong, please let me know and I will have my bro fix it for me.

* * *

What I did today--

Well, I didn't go out to vote -- (I just don't believe in the system right now).

Spent the morning playing pRO and watched Iron Chef with my sibs on the new cable channel: ETC.

My J came by in the afternoon and we went to Greenhills Shopping Center -- it seems that the two of us have been seeking out and sampling Sago't Gulaman from every establishment we come across. So far, we haven't found a really yummy one --

We visited Booksale and I found a copy of Willow for my sister. There are also 4 copies of Gregory Maguire's Mirror, Mirror HC available (for PhP185). Will pick up a copy this Friday siguro.

Maguire also wrote Wicked, which was turned into a Broadway musical (and is nominated for the Drama Desk award)

* * *

Can you say "thwarted"? --

My J has been wanting to watch a movie since last Friday. We had dinner with my friends and planned to watch Van Helsing after -- we were in Galleria, but I convinced him to watch it at Theater Mall. So we take a cab to Theater Mall only to discover that we had missed the last full show by about 15 minutes.

Last Sunday, we decide to try again -- we were on our way to Greenhills Shopping Center when it rained really hard. We got stuck in Ash Creek and decided to take shelter in Pancake House (and then Starbucks).

~sigh~

Troy is coming up this Wednesday. I wonder how packed the cinemas will be on Friday -- I really want to watch this one! >_<

Sunday, May 09, 2004

Forgive the keso --
This one goes out to the one I love*: my J --

It's amazing how you
Can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word
You can light up the dark
Try as I may
I can never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing

The smile on your face
Lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes
Saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand
Says you'll catch me wherever I fall
You say it best
When you say nothing at all


... I was watching Notting Hill on Studio 23 last night and this song came on. ^_^
*by REM

* * *

Sunday Morning --

While helping my J organize his desk, we found the copy of his one "dinky" poem -- (his favorite image is dust motes)

I closed my eyes, hugged him tight and listened to him read it to me.

We were standing in the middle of his room and it felt like we were dancing --

And this is interesting reading: Reflections on a Mote of Dust by Carl Sagan

* * *

Holiday!

No work tomorrow because it's the National Elections. I really don't know what I'm doing -- will probably spend the morning at home and will go to Greenhills Shopping Center in the afternoon ^_^

Thursday, May 06, 2004

Dance Me to the End of Love by Leonard Cohen

Dance me to your beauty
with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic
till I'm gathered safely in
Lift me like an olive branch
and be my homeward dove
Dance me to the end of love

Let me see your beauty
when the witnesses are gone
Let me feel you moving
like they do in Babylon
Show me slowly what I only
know the limits of
Dance me to the end of love

Dance me to the wedding now
dance me on and on
Dance me very tenderly and
dance me very long
We're both of us beneath our love
we're both of us above
Dance me to the end of love

Dance me to the children
who are asking to be born
Dance me through the curtains
that our kisses have outworn
Raise a tent of shelter now
though every thread is torn
Dance me to the end of love

Dance me to your beauty
with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic
till I'm gathered safely in
Touch me with your naked hand
or touch me with your glove
Dance me to the end of love
The first thing that comes to mind (at the moment):
A - Apple Pie (with lots of cinnamon, please and vanilla ice cream), College acapella goodness ^_^
B - Bowling (my J wants to take me bowling -- help! -- apparently, PE niya sa college =P), Bang! (fun game my youngest bro discovered)
C - Chocolate!, Cheesecake!, Champorado! (haven't had this in a while -- hmmm...)
D - Dawson's Creek (wala lang, trip lang), Dave Matthews Band, "Do you play croquet?" (What the Queen of Hearts asks Alice in the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland)
E - Ericsson Z600
F - Frog
G - Gibberish (which I apparently am fluent in when am sleepy -- hehehehe)
H - Happy (which I am right now ^_^)
I - Ice Cream (with chocolate syrup, nutella and whatever other sweet stuff can be found in the house. Hmmm... I wonder what it would taste like with peanut butter?), Iloilo (where am from)
J - my J!!! (my first thought in the morning and the last at night)
K - Me! ^_^ (Kamikaze Koala!!!)
L - lemonade, lumpia, lechon kawali (damn, major food craving!)
M - May 25, 2004 (~tee hee~), Milo Freeze from the AdMU caf (yum!), Munchkin (fun game we play at the store), "May I Feel" (by ee cummings)
N - Nutella! New Job at AdMU!
O - Orange Juice (vitamin C goodness ^_^), "Obvious" (by Westlife)
P - Potato Chips (my J's favorite junk food), Peanut Butter (because we just watched Unwrapped on Lifestyle Network and this is what they featured, Poifull jellybeans
Q - UP Quill (my J's college org), quizzies online (excellent for those days when you have nothing else to blog about)
R - "Raar!" (Kamikaze Koala sound), Rent (favorite musical)
S - "Sunday Morning" (by Maroon 5), solitude (which I love --), Singapore, shopping (My name is Tin and am a shopaholic... ^_^)
T - Tomorrow (saw a glimpse of the future -- it's lovely ^_^), Tori Amos ("am glad you're on my side...")
U - "Under the Table and Dreaming"
V - Vivaldi
W - "Want to watch 50 First Dates with me?" (nuninuninu ^_^)
X - (marks the spot ^_^)
Y - Y Tu Mama Tambien (my youngest bro got me a DVD copy --)
Z - Zenys (Ragnarok Online currency)

Wednesday, May 05, 2004

"Welcome to the Ateneo!
I am pleased to inform you that we have accepted your application to teach at the Department of English."


... can you tell how happy I am about this?

I first received an e-mail from the new department head three weeks ago asking me to come in for a preliminary interview. I was pleased about being considered for the job. (This was the second time I applied to the English Department -- last year, I got a letter in the mail telling me that they already had a full roster of teachers.)

I did my demo two Mondays ago -- OMG! What an amazing experience! I was so scared because I hadn't been in front of a class (to teach) in 4 years, but, when I stood there in front of the class and started talking, I fell into the groove of it again. It is like riding a bicycle. (Although, I did learn how to ride a bike and I did forget how to -- lol!) When I was there, I knew that was what I wanted to do. I wanted to teach.

Last Monday, I went in for a panel interview and I was told that they would know if they need teachers by this week (waited for sections and confirmation from other teachers whether they would be coming back to teach).

Kaya imagine my surprise to receive a phone call and an e-mail message on a Wednesday informing me of my acceptance. ^_^

!!!!!!!!! <--- this is how I feel right now. ^_^

* * *

from one of M's friend's LJ --

WHAT WILL MATTER?

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no days, no hours or minutes. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.

Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear.

So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will all expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won't matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived.
It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Your gender, skin color, ethnicity will be irrelevant.

So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what you got, but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success, but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage and sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence, but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.
What will matter is not your memories, but the memories of those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident.
It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice.

CHOOSE TO LIVE A LIFE THAT MATTERS. ~ by Michael Josephson ~

* * *

and this one also --

Fill in the blanks ^_^

- - - - - - - - - -

I ______ Tin.

Tin is ______.

If I were alone in a room with Tin, I would _______.

I think Tin should _______.

Tin needs _______.

I want to _______ Tin.

Someday Tin will _______.

Tin reminds me of _______.

Without Tin, _______.

Memories of Tin are _______.

Tin can be __________.

Worst thing about Tin is _________.

Best thing about Tin is _________.

I am ________ with Tin.

TIN! Don't you dare ________.

* * *

you are aqua
#00FFFF

Your dominant hues are green and blue. You're smart and you know it, and want to use your power to help people and relate to others. Even though you tend to battle with yourself, you solve other people's conflicts well.

Your saturation level is very high - you are all about getting things done. The world may think you work too hard but you have a lot to show for it, and it keeps you going. You shouldn't be afraid to lead people, because if you're doing it, it'll be done right.

Your outlook on life is very bright. You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation.
the spacefem.com html color quiz


Tuesday, May 04, 2004

Some interesting things courtesy of C --

15minuteficlets
Take on the challenge! Read the word for the week and then write! ^_^

... I made the mistake of reading the word for the week and I didn't have time to write the ficlet, so I have to wait until next week to try.

thebookyoucrew
You submit your list of top 20 books and they will rate your literary taste. I discussed this with G before she left for Dumaguete and the prospect intrigues us. Am now thinking of what my top 20 books are.

* * *

Book Haul --

Visited Powerplant last night with youngest bro and my J -- found a copy of Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch and Mike Gayle's latest, Dinner for Two and they restocked their Terry Pratchett shelf (my bros are happy about this one ^_^)

And Rustan's Fresh now has Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream!!! Yay!

Sunday, May 02, 2004

A belated thing --

Poem In Your Pocket

The City of New York and The New York Times invite you to join us on April 30, 2004 for Poem in Your Pocket Day. April is National Poetry month and there is no better way to culminate this tradition than a citywide celebration of poetry and literacy. New Yorkers are encouraged to carry a poem in their pocket and share it with friends, family, coworkers and classmates. Public schools throughout the five boroughs will highlight poetry on this day through readings, poetry workshops and specifically designed lesson plans. Tuck a poem in your pocket and see what surprises may come your way. What will your poem be?

To commemorate the end of National Poetry Month, blog about your favorite poem and provide at least one link to other poems and/or a bio of the poet.

Here's mine:

The Saddest Noise
by Emily Dickinson

The saddest noise, the sweetest noise,
The maddest noise that grows, --
The birds, they make it in the spring,
At night's delicious close.

Between the March and April line --
That magical frontier
Beyond which summer hesitates,
Almost too heavenly near.

It makes us think of all the dead
That sauntered with us here,
By separation's sorcery
Made cruelly more dear.

It makes us think of what we had,
And what we now deplore.
We almost wish those siren throats
Would go and sing no more.

An ear can break a human heart
As quickly as a spear,
We wish the ear had not a heart
So dangerously near.

Plus, an interesting Emily Dickinson link.

* * *

12.5 %

My weblog owns 12.5 % of me.
Does your weblog own you?


* * *

Interesting weekend --

My J and I met up with his friends last Friday for dinner and drinks -- I thought I was going to feel so woefully out of place because they're all from the same org and from the same university, but I didn't -- they were all so nice and so funny! I couldn't stop laughing! We started at Absinthe in Greenbelt 3 (had their Bailey's Shake -- yum!) and then went to Tiananmen along Makati Ave (great music).

... my J hasn't met my friends yet. (I wonder how that will turn out ^_^)

Saturday, saw G before she left for Dumaguete today and was able to get an update about her -- it's always good to touch base with friends and am glad she's doing okay. ^_^

We decided to close the store really early because we realized it was Labor Day and no one was there --

* * *

Spent the rest of the day with my J and we ended up playing Trivial Pursuit --

Here are snippets from various stages of the game:

my J: Amp! Anobanaman'tongmgatanongna'to?

- - -

Me: Fuck! How the hell am I supposed to know that?!?

- - -

my J: Shit, andali ng tanong ng gago.

- - -

Me: Damn you! (I chucked the six-sided die at him)
my J: *incredulous look*

erm... etc. ^_^

For something as "intellectual" as a game of Trivial Pursuit, we were swearing a lot ^_^ (but it was a fun game and we finished in less than an hour -- we both had difficulty with Sports and Leisure and my J was galing with People and Places and Arts and Entertainment)

* * *

Oh, and if you get a chance to visit Ice Monster -- try their Halo-halo (the finely-shaved ice really makes a difference ^_^)

Thursday, April 29, 2004

2:24am

Yes, I am awake and I don't know why.

Bleh --

* * *

These days --

Dragged my J to the Clubhouse for lunch yesterday -- it was my first time back there since undergrad and, sitting in those benches, (drowning my inihaw in suka) brought back so many happy memories of freshman and sophomore year --

I was returning the courtesy -- last Saturday, my J took me on a walking tour around UP (brought me to see his old org tambayan and his college) and treated me to isaw as a final stop -- yum! (I want to go back for more ^_^)

I'm thinking of taking him to Cervini Caf (but they changed concessionaires daw? Does this mean no more basilog?) or ISO next -- (and am hoping he'll bring me to Chateau Verde -- *hint hint* ^_^)

* * *

Finished reading Wendelin van Draanen's Swear to Howdy -- disappointing =P (it lacked the charm of Flipped -- all it had was a really pretty cover)

On my read list:
1. White Teeth by Zadie Smith (my J lent me a copy)
2. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (it never fails -- every summer I try to read this book and I haven't been able to finish reading it. Maybe this time I will ^_^)

Saturday, April 24, 2004

No. No, you can't... STOP. Please don't go away. Please? No one's ever stuck with me for so long before. And if you leave... if you leave... I just, I remember things better with you. I do, look. P. Sherman, forty-two... forty-two... I remember it, I do. It's there, I know it is, because when I look at you, I can feel it. And-and I look at you, and I... and I'm home. Please... I don't want that to go away. I don't want to forget.

Dory, Finding Nemo

* * *

Watched Hellboy with sibs last night --
Had dinner at this Korean BBQ restaurant in Greenhills Shopping Center (we had my youngest bro pick out the resto) -- interesting food. No, we did not try the Kimchi. Had dessert at Goodies and Sweets -- "yum!" as usual -- we tried their Chocolate Lava Cake -- it's a cake with a truffle in the middle. When you order it, they heat the cake so the truffle inside melts (the "lava" part of the cake) and it's served with vanilla ice cream. It reminded me of souffle, I don't know why.

I enjoyed Hellboy -- Ron Perlman was perfect for the role. (Am glad del Toro and Mignola stuck to their guns and insisted on casting him for the role. Took them six years daw to convince the producers that Perlman was their guy...)

Now I want to read the Hellboy TPBs but we don't have them in the store -- ~sigh~ Oh well ^_^

* * *

So many movie trailers --

Am looking forward to:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
King Arthur
The Day After Tomorrow
Troy
Around the World in 80 Days

* * *

For Fellow Capricorns, our horoscope for today (from Yahoo Astrology) --
No matter who you're with, and whether you're feeling platonic or romantic love, you'll be doing quite a bit of hand-holding tonight. Don't forget to light the candles and put on some nice, soft music.

* * *

Am currently reading Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic -- M calls this "chick lit". I can somewhat relate to Rebecca's need to accumulate material things -- I enjoy shopping (especially when you have money ^_^). I find it weird, though, how she can continue to think of shopping when she is in debt.

It's an interesting read -- I'm told there are follow-ups to this. I'm not sure I'll read those na. (one book is enough capitalism for me ^_^)

Next on my list -- Wendelin van Draanen's Swear to Howdy

* * *

For people who will find themselves in the Ortigas area this Saturday afternoon --
A theater group is staging Man from La Mancha in Podium at 4pm. Yes, it's free. ^_^

* * *

And replies to the tagboard posts:
Laika: Am doing okay. "Busy" with store stuff ^_^
Cuppkeyk: Visit us sa store and play! It's really fun and people who are familiar or play RPGs will appreciate the humor. ^_^ (And MET group is the Metropolitan Theater Group, based in Loyola Heights)
Gabs: How are you? Hope you're feeling better. ^_^
Mahar: We handle stress poorly? hmmm....

Thursday, April 22, 2004

...currently getting brain-freeze from Ice Monster's Strawberry Ice

From my J's blog:

1.WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
4ish and then I sleep again and wake up at 6ish

2.IF YOU COULD EAT LUNCH WITH ONE FAMOUS PERSON, WHO WOULD IT BE?
First thing that came to mind was Tori Amos, and then I thought of Tony Leung Chiu-Wai...

3.GOLD OR SILVER?
Platinum ^_^

4.WHAT WAS THE LAST FILM YOU SAW AT THE CINEMA?
Taking Lives

5.FAVORITE TV SHOW?
CSI Las Vegas

6.WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST?
Depends on what the housekeeper feels like preparing -- most days it's bacon or corned beef

7.WHO WOULD YOU HATE TO BE LEFT IN A ROOM WITH?
Anyone who hasn't taken a bath (or brush their teeth) in a week

8.CAN YOU TOUCH YOUR NOSE WITH YOUR TONGUE?
I guess I can -- if I try hard enough...

9.WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Everything has a potential to inspire me -- it's a matter of me realizing it

10.WHAT’S YOUR MIDDLE NAME?
Uy

11.BEACH, CITY, or COUNTRY?
Country

12.SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer

13.FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Selecta Double Dutch

14.BUTTERED, PLAIN, OR SALTED POPCORN?
Buttered and salted popcorn ^_^

15.FAVORITE COLOR?
Black or Blue

16.FAVORITE VEHICLE?
Volkswagen Beetle/ Mercedes A-Class

17.FAVORITE SANDWICH FILLING?
Peanut Butter or Butter and Strawberry Jam

18.WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SONG AT THIS MOMENT?
I keep listening to the many versions of True Colors and Time after Time

19.WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DO YOU DESPISE?
?

20.FAVORITE FLOWER?
tulips and roses

21.IF YOU HAD A BIG WIN IN THE LOTTERY, HOW LONG WOULD YOU WAIT TO TELL PEOPLE?
I'd tell my family and my J kaagad --

22.FIZZY OR STILL WATER AS A DRINK?
erm -- Tap? ^_^ (as long as it's clean and drinkable -- I really don't care)

23.WHAT IS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT DURING HIGH SCHOOL?
Graduating from it? ^_^

24.HOW MANY KEYS ON YOUR KEY RING?
2 keyrings with one key each -- one to the house and the other to my bro's place

25.WHERE WOULD YOU RETIRE TO?
a private island off the coast of Iloilo (para I can still go to Iloilo and enjoy the food and take trips to Bacolod or Cebu)

26.CAN YOU JUGGLE? IF YES HOW MANY?
No ~sigh~

27.FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK
Everything good happens on a Wednesday ^_^ (but I like weekends, too)

28.RED OR WHITE WINE?
Red

29.WHAT DID YOU DO FOR YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY?
Spent the day at the store. Friends visited. Had dinner with friends at Penang. (Fun!)

30.IF YOU COULD ASK FOR JUST ONE THING (CAN’T BE MONEY OR MORE WISHES) WHAT WOULD IT BE?
world peace! (am serious) ^_^

* * *

We have discovered a new game and it is called Munchkin. We've been playing it in the store with whoever is willing to sit down and learn the game for the past week. My bro got it when he was in the US. ^_^

I'm reading the Szymborska collections of poetry which I asked him to get for me -- in a word: "Wow!" ^_^

* * *

In 3 weeks, we will be electing a new president --

~sigh~

I didn't even register to vote. I just don't believe in the current system and I don't care for any of the candidates -- it really is just a case of settling for the least of all evils. =P

I'd like to believe that there's still hope but, looking at the list of people running for public office, it's just the same names over and over -- nothing's going to change.

One time, in the store, I was discussing this same thing with E and M and I agreed with what M said -- I'm looking forward to a time when all these people would have retired because of old age and the true "new" blood will be the ones running for office.

... not that that's going to change anything either.

Can you say "vicious cycle"?

(... and, yes, I am guilty of perpetuating it by not registering to vote)

Wednesday, April 21, 2004

... i have ice cream beside me -- Selecta Double Dutch (and there was a bottle of chocolate syrup in the fridge, so --)

Your Life: The Soundtrack

Opening credits: Canon in D by Pachelbel
Waking up: Dreams by The Cranberries
Average day: Stones in the Road by Mary Chapin Carpenter
First date: I Melt with You -- Jason Mraz's version (or The Way You Look Tonight -- Frank Sinatra or Harry Connick Jr.)
Falling in love: Need to be Next to You by Leigh Nash (or I Love You by Sarah Mclachlan)
Love scene: Crash into Me (or Say Goodbye) by Dave Matthews Band
Fight scene: How's It Going to Be by Third Eye Blind
Breaking up: Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day (or My Immortal by Evanescence or No More "I Love Yous" by Annie Lennox)
Getting back together: All I Want is You by U2
Secret love: Pure Snow by Yuko Sasaki
Life's okay: Beautiful Day by U2 (or Shiny Happy People by REM)
Mental breakdown: Why by Annie Lennox, Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata
Driving: Taxi Ride by Tori Amos (or Salva Nos, Blanc Dans Noir-Noir OST Vol. 2)
Learning a lesson: These Days by Nico (The Royal Tenenbaums OST) (or You Learn by Alanis Morissette)
Deep thought: Shadow of Doubt, Vision of Escaflowne OST Vol. 2 (or Mothersbaugh's Canon, The Royal Tenenbaums OST)
Flashback: Seasons of Love, RENT OST (or Praise You by Fatboy Slim)
Partying: La Vie Boheme, RENT OST
Happy dance: La Vie Boheme, RENT OST
Regretting: Finale B (Rent OST)
Long night alone: Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper (or Intimacy by The Corrs)
Death scene: The Last Rose of Summer by Charlotte Church
Closing credits: Closing Time by Stereophonics

* * *

What song...
...reminds you of your first school?:
...reminds you of your first kiss?:
...reminds you of your first boyfriend/girlfriend?:
...reminds you of your first or a favourite pet?:
...reminds you of your parents?:

The Best and the Worst. Which song...
... reminds you of the best day of your life?:
... reminds you of the worst day of your life?:
... reminds you of the best night out you've had?:
... reminds you of the best sex you've ever had?:
...reminds you of your best friend ever?:

Which song...
...makes you cry the most?:
...makes you smile the most?:
...makes you think aww!?:
... drives you to hit the dance-floor?:
... do you just *have* to sing along to?:

What is...
... your favourite song right now?:
... your favourite song ever?:
... the song playing on your stereo/mp3 player now?:

And lastly...
... which song reminds you most of the person you got this survey from?:

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Mirror by Sylvia Plath

I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful --
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over.

Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
Searching my reaches for what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
I am important to her. She comes and goes.
Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.

* * *

"I know. But then I reconsidered. 'Cause I figured out what I really wanna do with my life, what I want to do for a living is I wanna be with your daughter. I'm good at it." - John Cusack, Say Anything

* * *

in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
the heat I see in your eyes
- In Your Eyes, Peter Gabriel
//10 bands you've been listening a lot to lately: -- not band-specific eh, songs maybe
1) dave matthews band
2) counting crows
3) red hot chili peppers
4) maroon 5
5) barbie's cradle
6) REM
7) the corrs
8) greenday
9) third eye blind
10)

//09 things you look forward to:
1) april 25, 2004
2) march 25, 2005
3) completing my thesis and graduating
4) kill bill vol. 2
5) shopping session with the girls
6) boracay (in the future, with my J)
7) the met group's midsummer night's dream (this july)
8) happy shipment day every friday
9) the future ^_^

//8 things you like to wear:
1) skirts
2) sandals/slippers
3) a watch (am lost without one)
4) my pjs
5) my glasses (am blind without them)
6) perfume? ^_^
7) my accessories (bracelets, anklets, etc.)
8) nice, comfy tops

//07 things that annoy you:
1) poseurs
2) Philippine politics
3) Philippine economy
4) stupidity
5) mind games
6)
7)

//06 things you say most days:
1) "pucha"
2) "hay naku"
3) "sorry ha"
4) "what's up"
5) "plans for the day"
6) "god-effing"

//05 things you do everyday:
1) talk to people on y!m
2) go to the store
3) have lunch
4) play card/board games with people at the store (current faves: Landlord and Munchkins)
5) go to National Bookstore or Rustan's Fresh

//04 people you want to spend more time with:
1) my J
2) friends (the girls ^_^)
3) my sibs
4) E, G and all the other store people

//03 movies you could watch over and over again:
1) Before Sunrise
2) Royal Tenenbaums
3) Hero/In the Mood for Love

//02 of your favorite songs at the moment:
1) Deep Inside of You (3eb)
2) She Will Be Loved (Maroon 5)

//01 person you could spend the rest of your life with:
1) lol! take a wild guess -- ^_^ (my J!)
WHAT TREE DID YOU FALL FROM?
Find your birthday and then find your tree. This is really cool and somewhat accurate, also in line with Celtic astrology.

Dec 23 to Jan 01 - Apple Tree
Jan 01 to Jan 11 - Fir Tree
Jan 12 to Jan 24 - Elm Tree
Jan 25 to Feb 03 - Cypress Tree
Feb 04 to Feb 08 - Poplar Tree
Feb 09 to Feb 18 - Cedar Tree
Feb 19 to Feb 28 - Pine Tree
Mar 01 to Mar 10 - Weeping Willow Tree
Mar 11 to Mar 20 - Lime Tree
Mar 21 - Oak Tree
Mar 22 to Mar 31 - Hazelnut Tree
Apr 01 to Apr 10 - Rowan Tree
Apr 11 to Apr 20 - Maple Tree
Apr 21 to Apr 30 - Walnut Tree
May 01 to May 14 - Poplar Tree
May 15 to May 24 - Chestnut Tree
May 25 to Jun 03 - Ash Tree
Jun 04 to Jun 13 - Hornbeam Tree
Jun 14 to Jun 23 - Fig Tree
Jun 24 - Birch Tree
Jun 25 to Jul 04 - Apple Tree
Jul 05 to Jul 14 - Fir Tree
Jul 15 to Jul 25 - Elm Tree
Jul 26 to Aug 04 - Cypress Tree
Aug 05 to Aug 13 - Poplar Tree
Aug 14 to Aug 23 - Cedar Tree
Aug 24 to Sep 02 - Pine Tree
Sep 03 to Sep 12 - Weeping Willow Tree
Sep 13 to Sep 22 - Lime Tree
Sep 23 - Olive Tree
Sep 24 to Oct 03 - Hazelnut Tree
Oct 04 to Oct 13 - Rowan Tree
Oct 14 to Oct 23 - Maple Tree
Oct 24 to Nov 11 - Walnut Tree
Nov 12 to Nov 21 - Chestnut Tree
Nov 22 to Dec 01 - Ash Tree
Dec 02 to Dec 11 - Hornbeam Tree
Dec 12 to Dec 21 - Fig Tree
Dec 22 - Beech Tree

YOUR TREE

Apple Tree (the Love) -- quiet and shy at times, lots of charm,
appeal, and attraction, pleasant attitude flirtatious smile adventurous, sensitive, loyal in love, wants to love and be loved, faithful and tender partner, very generous, many talents, loves children, needs affectionate partner.

Ash Tree (the Amition) -- extremely attractive, vivacious,
impulsive, demanding, does not care for criticism ambitious, intelligent, talented, likes to play with fate, can be very egotistic, reliable, restless lover, sometimes money rules over the heart, demands attention, needs love and much emotional support.

Beech Tree (the Creative) -- has good taste, concerned about its looks, materialistic, good organization of life and career, economical, good leader, takes no unnecessary risks, reasonable, splendid lifetime companion, keen on keeping fit (diets, sports, etc.).

Birch Tree (the inspiration) -- vivacious, attractive, elegant,
friendly, unpretentious, modest, does not like anything in excess, abhors the vulgar, loves life in nature and in calm, not very passionate, full of imagination, little ambition, creates a calm and content atmosphere.

Cedar Tree (the Confidence) -- of rare strength, knows how to
adapt, likes unexpected presents, of good health, not in the least shy, tends to look down on others, self-confident, a great speaker, determined, often impatient, likes to impress others, has many talents, industrious, healthy optimism, waits for the one true love, able to make quick decisions.

Chestnut Tree (the Honesty) -- of unusual stature, impressive,
well-developed sense of justice, fun to be around, a planner, born diplomat, can be irritated easily, sensitive of others feelings, hard worker, sometimes acts superior, feels not understood at times, fiercely family oriented, very loyal in love, physically fit.

Cypress Tree (the Faithfulness) -- strong, muscular, adaptable,
takes what life has to give but doesn't necessarily like it, strives to be content, optimistic, wants to be financially independent, wants love and affection, hates loneliness, passionate lover which cannot be satisfied, faithful, quick tempered at times, can be unruly and careless, loves to
gain knowledge, needs to be needed.

Elm Tree (the Noble mindedness) -- pleasant shape, tasteful
clothes, modest demands, tends not to forgive mistakes, cheerful, likes to lead but not to obey, honest and faithful partner, likes making decisions for others, noble minded, generous, good sense of humor, practical.

Fig Tree (the Sensibility) -- very strong minded, a bit self
willed, honest, loyal, independent, hates contradiction or arguments, loves life and friends, enjoys children and animals, a social butterfly, great sense of humor, likes idleness and laziness after long demanding hours at work,
has artistic talent and great intelligence.

Fir Tree (the Mysterious) -- extraordinary taste, handles stress poorly, loves anything beautiful, can become depressed at times, stubborn, tends to care for those close to them as well as helping strangers, rather modest, hard worker, talented, unselfish, few sexual relationships, many friends,
doesn't want foes, very reliable.

Hazelnut Tree (the Extraordinary) -- charming, sense of humor,
very demanding but can also be very understanding, knows how to make a lasting impression, active fighter for social causes and politics, popular, quite moody, sexually oriented, honest, a perfectionist, has a precise sense of judgment and expects complete fairness.

Hornbeam Tree (the Good Taste) -- of cool beauty, cares for its
looks and condition, good taste, is not egoistic, makes life as comfortable as possible, leads a reasonable and disciplined life, looks for kindness and acknowledgment in an emotional partner, dreams of unusual lovers, is seldom happy with its feelings, mistrusts most people, is never sure of its decisions, very conscientious.

Lime Tree (the Doubt) - intelligent, hard working, accepts what life dishes out, but not before trying to change bad circumstances into good ones, hates fighting and stress, enjoys getaway vacations, may appear tough, but is actually soft and relenting, always willing to make sacrifices for family and friends, has many talents but not always enough time to use them, can become a complainer, great leadership qualities, is jealous at times but extremely loyal.

Maple Tree (Independence of Mind) -- no ordinary person, full of imagination and originality, shy and reserved, ambitious, proud, self confident, hungers for new experiences, sometimes nervous, has many complexities, good memory, learns easily, complicated love life, wants to impress.

Oak Tree (the Brave) -- robust nature, courageous, strong,
unrelenting, independent, sensible, does not like change, keeps its feet on the ground, person of action.

Olive Tree (the Wisdom) -- loves sun, warmth and kind feelings,
reasonable, balanced, avoids aggression and violence, tolerant,
cheerful, calm, well developed sense of justice, sensitive, empathetic, free of jealousy, loves to read and the company of sophisticated people.

Pine Tree (the Peacemaker) -- loves agreeable company, craves
peace and harmony, loves to help others, active imagination, likes to write poetry, not fashion conscious, great compassion, friendly to all, falls strongly in love but will leave if betrayed or lied to, emotionally soft, low self esteem, needs affection and reassurance.

Poplar Tree (the Uncertainty) -- looks very decorative,
talented, not very self confident, extremely courageous if necessary, needs goodwill and pleasant surroundings, very choosy, often lonely, great animosity, great artistic nature, good organizer, tends to lean toward philosophy, reliable in any situation, takes partnership seriously.

Rowan Tree (the Sensitivity) -- full of charm, cheerful, gifted
without egoism, likes to draw attention, loves life, motion, unrest, and even complications, is both dependent and independent, good taste, artistic, passionate, emotional, good company, does not forgive.

Walnut Tree (the Passion) -- unrelenting, strange and full of
contrasts, often egotistic, aggressive, noble, broad horizon, unexpected reactions, spontaneous, unlimited ambition, no flexibility, difficult and uncommon partner, not always liked but often admired, ingenious strategist, very jealous and passionate, no compromise.

Weeping Willow (the Melancholy) - likes to be stress free, loves family life, full of hopes and dreams, attractive, very empathetic, loves anything beautiful, musically inclined, loves to travel to exotic places, restless, capricious, honest, can be influenced but is not easy to live with when pressured, sometimes demanding, good intuition, suffers in love until they find that one loyal, steadfast partner; loves to make others laugh.

Sunday, April 18, 2004

+ Ten Things I Miss:
[1] my bro (one of them is still in the US)
[2] potato salad from Oliver's
[3] Fully Booked/PowerPlant -- haven't been here in a while
[4] my blanket in Iloilo
[5] batchoy (from Iloilo)
[6] well, I am missing an important book =P (I can't find it in my house!)
[7] slushies
[8] QOO (damn my youngest bro for introducing us to this)
[9] some of my friends (but I think am meeting up with some of them this Wednesday ^_^)
[10] evenings in Chaos with J and B (and occasionally, their friend P)

+ Nine Things I Hate:
[1] Quezon City bureaucracy
[2] the coming May elections and the circus that is campaign period
[3] that the exchange rate is almost PhP56 to $1
[4] stupidity (I really cannot tolerate this)
[5] liver and ampalaya
[6] the Bureau of Internal Revenue
[7] being abandoned
[8] days when I am not zen with the world
[9] all those American Idol-wannabe shows on local television (and Kris Aquino)

Eight Things I Love:
[1] my J!!!
[2] my sibs!!!
[3] clothes (skirts! and pretty tops)
[4] getting to spend time with my J!!!
[5] bonding sessions with sibs!!!
[6] shopping for clothes (lol! do you detect a pattern already?)
[7] really good plays/musicals (the whole first run of RENT and Blue Rep's Footloose and Mr. 80%)
[8] quiet time

Seven Things I Want To Do Eventually:
[1] teach in a university
[2] submit to the Palanca
[3] go to the beach and wear a bikini ^_^
[4] participate in quiz night at the Craic
[5] learn how to drive
[6] take yoga/pilates
[7] travel with my J

+ Six Favorite Cities:
[1] Iloilo
[2] Singapore
[3] not a city -- Cambridge
[4] New York (only because of Broadway)
[5] Manila
[6] Cebu

+ Five Songs I Can Hear Over and Over:
[1] Crash into Me by DMB
[2] Pachelbel's Canon
[3] the OST for The Classic (yes, I am cheating and including an entire album)
[4] Taxi Ride by Tori Amos
[5] What Can I Do by The Corrs

+ Four Words That Describe Me:
[1] Weird/Crazy
[2] open-minded
[3] practical/rational
[4] loved ^_^

+ Three Things I Want to Change:
[1] my grade for the comprehensive exam (a higher mark, please ^_^)
[2] the economic and political situation in the Philippines
[3] some aspects of my past (but not really -- I wouldn't be who I am now if it weren't for these things in my past)

+ Two Kinds of People I Want to Disappear:
[1] everyone who works for the BIR/corrupt people in government
[2] evil people (serial killers, murderers, etc.)

+ One Thing I Want:
[1] some money to go clothes/shoe shopping ^_^

* * *

Had a fun Saturday --

It was the last tourney for the Prophecy League (VtES) and the outcome was great -- all the fun people were there. ^_^ The games were pretty fast (everyone was bleeding!) and we ended before 4.

J and I decided to abandon our initial plan of going to Eastwood and ended up going to Galleria to watch Taking Lives (in hindsight, we really should have bitten the bullet and just watched Paycheck).

It was a wonderful day -- I felt bright and cheery the whole time (even if I got massacred in all 3 rounds of VtES games). (I really like it that things are falling into place ^_^)

* * *

Am LJ-hopping right now --

1. My REAL first name:
2. Where did we meet?
3. Take a stab at my middle name:
4. How long have you known me?
5. When is the last time we saw each other?
6. What kind of car do I drive?
7. How many piercings and tattoos do I have - can you name them all?
8. When you first saw me what was your impression?
9. When's my Birthday?
10. Color hair?
11. Color eyes?
12. Do I have any siblings - if so, name them and their gender(s)?
13. Have you ever had a crush on me?
14. Have you ever been jealous of me?
15. What's one of my favorite things to do outdoors?
16. Name my favorite childhood pet and what it was?
17. Do you remember one of the 1st things I said to you?
18. What's my favorite type of music?
19. What is the best feature about me?
(Don't answer if you don't want to.)
20. Am I shy or outgoing?
21. Would you say I am funny ha ha or funny sarcastic?
22. Am I a rebel or do I follow all the rules?
23. Would you consider me a friend, an acquaintance, or a good friend?
24. Would you call me preppy, slutty, average, sporty, punk, hippie, glam, nerdy, snobby, or something else?
25. Have you ever seen me cry?
26. If there were one good nickname for me what would it be?
26a. Do you know my childhood nickname?
27. Who is my favorite author?
28. If I had broccoli stuck in my teeth would you tell me?

Saturday, April 17, 2004

Fun Quiz!




Your Vampire: The Masquerade Character
Name/Username
Gender
Clan Lasombra
Sect Camarilla
Generation 5
Why did your sire Embrace you? They fell in love with you.
What does the local prince think of you? They don't bother with you.
Discipline you're likely to master in the future Protean
This QuickKwiz by Shahrizai - Taken 134 Times.
Currently listening to: Pachelbel's Greatest Hits--The Ultimate Canon
(yes, it's the same piece in different versions -- 15 tracks of it ^_^)

* * *




Dork-o-Meter
Username
Dorkage - 86%
This QuickKwiz by pixielust - Taken 162 Times.





Open a fortune cookie!
Username
Do you like chinese food?
Your fortune Patience is the best remedy for every trouble.
Is luck on your side? (8) - Better not tell you. - (8)
This QuickKwiz by Confused_Pete - Taken 4770 Times.


* * *

Got this from M's sister's LJ -- I thought it was interesting --

I want everyone who reads this to ask me three questions, no more no less.

Ask me anything you want.

Then I want you to go to your journal, copy and paste this allowing your friends (including myself) to ask you anything.


* * *

Thngs fall into place--

Everything has been great so far -- my life's moving forward, I caught a glimpse of the future (and it's really lovely ^_^), things at home are great and I've never felt more at peace with myself than I do now (and the most important thing is my J).

Just when I thought things couldn't get any better, they have -- I've received news of something that I've always wanted ... no, dreamed about for so long now. I've considered this one one of my end goals and I've gotten my foot in the door na --

I am thrilled beyond belief and am hoping that _this_ is it.

Yes, am being vague -- I don't want to jinx it or raise expectations or set myself up for a fall -- I'll share when things become more clear. ^_^

I remember the entry I posted a while back about being part of some cosmic canon -- and it's apt that I am listening to 15 versions of it as I reflect about how things in my life (and in my J's life) are falling into place -- it is an amazing feeling: this sense of things just coming together and being able to see a complete image (instead of just pieces of it).

I'm glad my J is with me -- there's no describing this feeling of knowing that he's there for me; that he's with me.

I'm just in awe -- and I wonder what I did to deserve this good fortune... but am not going to bother with answers right now. I'm just going to savor the moment and let things be. ^_^

* * *

My youngest bro is back -- I missed him din pala. Hehehehe (*sweatdrop*)

We travel around a lot. Sometimes together, but most times separately and I've gotten used to this nomadic existence -- we were all born with wanderlust, so --

And then you realize that something is off when one of my sibs isn't there --
Something's missing when one of them isn't there --

And how things are restored when they come home. ^_^

It was a wonderful thing last night -- seeing my bro hunched over the boxes of VtES cards fixing up a deck for today's tournament. So normal, so mundane -- so right. ^_^

(Welcome home, bro ^_^)

* * *

And the loot!

Hehehehe -- best part about my bros travelling is the pasalubong you get when they come home ^_^ (and youngest bro always gives the best and most thoughtful presents ^_^)

He got us (we're both fans) ALL (and I mean ALL) the Jimmy Liao books -- he got me a blank book, a 2004 calendar and a set of notecards with Jimmy Liao's art on it. ^_^

And then 2 Szymborska collections of poetry ^_^ -- oh joy and jubilation! ^_^

And Wendelin van Draanen's (author of Flipped) Swear to Howdy -- (to fans of Flipped, I will lend you this book when am done with it. ^_^)

It promises to be a great weekend.

I'm loving this month. ^_^ So many good things are happening. ^_^ (and it's just halfway through -- gads! ^_^)

Thursday, April 15, 2004

On my way to Greenhills Shopping Center, I saw a perfectly good pair of shoes left on the sidewalk -- they weren't the most sensible pair of shoes (very high heels and wood) -- but I wonder about the woman wearing them.

Did she decide, mid-walk, to just take off her shoes and leave them there?
Was it a woman driving by and thought that corner was a good spot to abandon shoes?
Or maybe a man?

So many questions -- ^_^

* * *

My youngest bro comes home tonight -- didn't think I'd miss him this much. But, then again, he is bringing home my KKNJ DVD boxed set -- ^_^

* * *

This weekend, the Philippine Opera Company will be staging AR Gurney's Love Letters at Eastwood City -- it's for free. ^_^ Here's some info on the play.

Show starts at 8pm.

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Angel: I've been hearing violins all night.
Collins: Anything to do with me? Are we a thing?
Angel: Darling -- we're everything.

- from Jonathan Larson's RENT

* * *

Open your eyes
Dream but don't guess
Your biggest surprise
Comes after Yes
- Muriel Rukeyser

* * *

The Conjugation of the Paramecium
Muriel Rukeyser

This has nothing
to do with
propagating

The species
is continued
as so many are
(among the smaller creatures)
by fission

(and this species
is very small
next in order to
the amoeba, the beginning one)

The paramecium
achieves, then,
immortality
by dividing

But when
the paramecium
desires renewal
strength another joy
this is what
the paramecium does:

The paramecium
lies down beside
another paramecium

Slowly inexplicably
the exchange
takes place
in which
some bits
of the nucleus of each
are exchanged

for some bits
of the nucleus
of the other

This is called
the conjugation of the paramecium.

(from www.poets.org)

* * *

Rent
Jane Cooper

If you want my apartment, sleep in it
but let's have a clear understanding:
the books are still free agents.

If the rocking chair's arms surround you
they can also let you go,
they can shape the air like a body.

I don't want your rent, I want
a radiance of attention
like the candle's flame when we eat,

I mean a kind of awe
attending the spaces between us---
Not a roof but a field of stars.

Monday, April 12, 2004

Something to think about --

B sent me this via SMS:
"If good things lasted forever, would we appreciate how precious they are?" - Hobbes, the tiger

* * *

Tomorrow I am spending the night in Katipunan. Am supposed to be fixing up the stuff that I need to bring to Katipunan -- and I don't know what to wear! It's so effing hot these days =P --

It's 921pm and I am sleepy.

*yawn*

Sunday, April 11, 2004

From M's blog

Name Four Things You Are Thinking About
1. thesis
2. work/happy shipment day today
3. household concerns
4. my J

Name the Last Four Things You Have Bought
1. A top from U2
2. The Chocolate War and the sequel to it from Goodwill (each for PhP80 because they're on sale!)
3. film for my Holga
4. some CDs

Name Four Drinks You Regularly Drink
1. water

2. orange juice
3. the occasional soda (sprite)
4. yakult

Last Time You Said 'I Love You' And Meant It
When I tell my sibs or J --

Last Time You Cried?
While watching "The Last Samurai"? while reading Flipped?

What's In Your CD Player?
BOCA '99 (Best of College Acapella)

What Color Socks Are You Wearing?
Am usually in slippers -- but I like dark-colored socks or cute quirky ones

What's Under Your Bed?
books, thesis stuff, more books, notebooks

What Time Did You Wake Up Today?
430am

Current Hair?
short, too short -- (but am dying for a haircut =P)

* * *

How apt! I love this poem ^_^ -- yay!


Which poem are you?

Sonnet 17 by Pablo Neruda

Aw, you're a romantic. You believe in true love and all that sort of stuff. How cute are you? To you, love is incredible and amazing.

Personality Test Results

Click Here to Take This Quiz
Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.



* * *

From AS Byatt's Possession:

'I love you,' Roland said. 'It isn't convenient. Not now I've acquired a future. But that's how it is. In the worst way. All the things we -- we grew up not believing in. Total obsession, night and day. When I see you, you look alive and everything else -- fades. All that.'

* * *

A day of 'firsts' --

Saturday:
I met my J's parent's for the first time. First we visited his dad at the Magallanes columbarium. (Earlier that day, I visited the Agora Market for the first time to buy flowers -- it was an experience! I think it was pretty obvious to the people at the market that I was new to the place and they were all nice enough to give me directions and point me to where the fresh flowers were being sold. I wanted to go around some more to see what other things I would find there, but I didn't have enough time and my sister was waiting in the car.) We walked around Magallanes and ended up having brunch at Pancake House. (Another first!)

Over blueberry pancakes and french toast, I found myself thinking "So this is what bliss feels like." -- it was the most comfortable and natural thing, to be seated across him early in the morning, having brunch and having a conversation. I want more mornings like that. ^_^

I also got to meet his friends and hang out it with them -- fun people. There was the initial shyness, but I was immediately at ease with them -- they were telling stories of their college life and I was laughing and trying to imagine how they were back then. ^_^ (Am wondering how things will go when he finally meets my friends)

* * *

(It is never enough time --
there is always something more
to do,
to see,
to feel,
to talk about,
to hear,
to learn --)

~sigh~

* * *

Back to work, back to life. ^_^