Fryday --

It was so effing hot today! And we had so many errands! >_<

1. Meet with our interior designer in her office in Reposo
Her name is Nina Santamaria and she was my J's orgmate in college. Her office is in the LRI building in Reposo. My golly! It's a wonderful place to be in! It's a building that houses interior designers, furniture shops and art galleries! It was a good thing my J and I arrived early, we had a fun time going around and checking out the furniture and other stuff.

Nina was being interviewed by ANC so we had to wait a bit before we got to sit down with her. The people from ANC approached us and asked if they could interview us -- we said yes. (We'll be on ANC -- I don't know when. IF you do happen to catch the show, ignore the ginormous pimple on my forehead and the sweat on the rest of me. ^_^) It was fun (and we got to advertise Nina ^_^)

We finally got to sit down with her and she showed us two concepts she has in mind for the space. It was like being on Knock First (show on ETC) -- she showed us some paint swatches and took note of which ones we responded to. After the meeting, we went around the place and we pointed out the pieces of furniture which we liked.

2. Meet with Coordinator in Greenbelt
3. Meet with our Invitation Maker
It's "Araw ng Makati" ("Makati Day" sounds off) and they closed off Ayala Avenue -- my J and I had to walk from the edge of Ayala Avenue to Greenbelt. It was so hot! Thank goodness for the covered walkway that links most of the Central Business District. It was a long, long walk but my J and I kept ourselves entertained by talking about the design of our place and about where we were going to have dinner. (This was at 430 in the afternoon. Yes, we love food.)

Our coordinator says my J and I are too organized. (I'm taking that to be a good thing. ^_^) We sat down to decide what music to play during the reception and what songs to play for our first dance (yihee~), grand entrance O_o and cake cutting.

Actually, our coordinator and invitation maker are neighbors so it was very easy to handle this part of the trip. We submitted the corrected invitation to our invitation maker (Her name is Jong and she runs Write Impression. She's my age.)

4. Pick up comics in Greenhills
My J and I took a cab to Greenhills. Poor cab driver, he forgot to set the meter on his cab. My J and I calculated that he lost about PhP20 so we added that to the fare he charged us.

We decided to have dinner in Greenhills and we ate in Won Ton. Lesson for the day: if the restaurant is named after a particular food/dish, try that (unless it's Chili's -- ooh, spicy!) -- the wonton in Won Ton was really, really yummy! (And the prices are okay. I had a bowl of beef and shrimp wonton noodle soup and my J tried their mixed congee. We ended up switching because my J wanted to slurp noodles and I wanted to put chili sauce into something -- and congee tastes really yummy with the chili sauce)

We ordered some fried shrimp puffs to take home to my sister and she really enjoyed it. ^_^

* * *

So that's what that feels like --

Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day --

When the store was open, this would be the highlight of the summer. FCBD was always a fun day for us because it brought friends and comic-book enthusiasts to the store. It was also a chance for us to get people to read new titles.

I was always on the giving end of FCBD -- and that was a wonderful feeling -- to give a stack of free comic books to people who came by.

Today, I was on the receiving end of such generosity. I was looking at the titles and the lady behind the counter just pulled out all the titles (4 - DC's The Batman Strikes, Marvel's Marvel Adventures, Betty and Veronica, Uncle Scrooge) and even gave us a copy of "The House of M". I felt such a rush, leaving the store with a bag of comic books that I got for free.

Fun, fun. ^_^

* * *

More tidbits from IMDB --

- David Schwimmer dated Natalie Imbruglia O_o

- Matthew Lillard dated Neve Campbell (not so O_o)

- Before Ben Stiller married Christine Taylor, he was dating Jeanne Tripplehorn

- Nancy Cartwright (voice of Bart Simpson, Lu and Chuckie Finster) is also the voice of the Arabian Prince in The Chipmunk Adventure (my favorite line: We are not amused. ^^), Kip Kangaroo in Shirt Tales and Gloria in Richie Rich

- Yogi Bear and Elroy Jetson were voiced by the same person - Daws Butler

What happens when you spend the evening looking through IMDB.com --

You find out --
1. that Tim Burton is engaged to Helena Bonham Carter and that they have a child.
2. there is a movie about the Darwin Awards O_o
3. that Kenneth Branagh dated Alicia Silverstone (and that Kenneth Branagh married a woman his former girlfriend Helena Bonham Carter introduced to him)

Peanut-Butter Wednesdays! --

Everything good happens on a Wednesday --

The morning started out a bit sketchy with the phone ringing before 9 and I had to answer it. (For people who don't know, mornings are sacred to me -- I like to be quiet and just gather myself for the day ahead. I don't talk except to ask for the newspaper.)

For the past few weeks, my sister and I have been besieged with errands -- annoying albeit necessary ones. We've been very diligent about attending to all of them.

Today, we decided to treat ourselves to a movie. The first show for Kingdom of Heaven at Podium was at 1120 and we were determined to watch it. The plan nearly got derailed with another phone call telling us to wait for important documents to be sent over.

We managed to leave the house at 1020 but encountered massive traffic along Ortigas, near LSGH. We got to Podium at 5 minutes to 11 and were the first (and only) people in line for the movie.

Got good seats and popcorn. Sat through an amazing, amazing movie. Had a wonderful lunch at China Star (they have a really great deal on meals from 2pm to 6pm -- PhP99 for a plateful of yum -- in my case, a bowl-full of yum! ^_^)

My sister and my J were patient enough to let me go inside Just G -- one of my favorite clothing stores. I have my eye on a skirt there. Will probably get it this weekend when I have more time. ^_^

I'm glad today happened. ^_^

* * *

On Kingdom of Heaven --

I loved it! It's 2 hours++ but you won't feel the time -- it's a wonderful story and a very compelling cast. Orlando Bloom was amazing! (This is definitely the movie that legitimizes him as a serious actor.)

The most interesting aspect of the movie is that it is an honest and unapologetic commentary on the state of religion in the world. It is sad that what happened during the Crusades, almost a thousand years ago, still happens today. The writer was careful in how he dealt with all sides of the story -- that of the Christian, the Jew and the Muslim. I thought it was a fair representation of the Crusades.

Lots of memorable lines. Lots of memorable scenes.

Am looking forward to the DVD ^_^ -- (according to rumors, the DVD will be 195 minutes O_o = 3 hours++)

* * *

This is interesting --

One man's What If?

Hmmm --

Your #1 Match: INFJ

The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity. Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is. You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience. You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher.

Your #2 Match: ISFJ

The Nurturer You have a strong need to belong, and you very loyal. A good listener, you excell at helping others in practical ways. In your spare time, you enjoy engaging your senses through art, cooking, and music. You find it easy to be devoted to one person, who you do special things for. You would make a good interior designer, chef, or child psychologist.

Your #3 Match: INFP

The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world. Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships. It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close. But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist.

What's Your Personality Type?

On Wednesday --



We've narrowed our choice of cinemas to two places: Podium and Power Plant -- I hope we go to Power Plant -- Caramel Popcorn ... yum!

* * *

What's been keeping me occupied --

A nifty old game called Rise of Nations. My hand went numb kanina. XP

* * *

In T-shirt design news --

I wanna make a shirt with this design.

* * *

More Garden State Goodness --

Was listening to the Garden State OST this morning -- it really is beautiful. ^_^

* * *

Reconstruction --

Redoing all of my notes for the thesis. Not a fun thing to do, but it forces me to look at the data from a different perspective (older but, unfortunately, not wiser) and it's giving me ideas on how to proceed with the damned chapters.

I've also asked my sibs and my J to motivate (read: force) me to work on it.

* * *

Huling Hirit --

For my J -- (I love you!)



<-- image is the cover art by Becky Cloonan of Demo #12 (written by Brian Wood)

Demo is an amazing series -- go buy the trade when it comes out. ^_^

*bleep!* --

If you can't think of anything appropriate to say you will please restrict your remarks to the weather. - Sense and Sensibility (the movie)

I actually have a lot that I want to say, but I find that I must censor my thoughts and resolve them quietly and internally.

I'd want to write a reply to all those people who seem to think I'm not capable of making rational decisions.

(I am, by the way.)

I'd want to write a diatribe about how certain people just can't seem to let go and live with the decisions they made.

~sigh~

But I won't.

Instead, I will say:

It's been very hot and I hate sweating.

My J and I watched the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and now I'm craving chocolates.

Off to the movies! --

Yesterday --

Attended the premiere of Sa Aking Pagkakagising mula sa Kamulatan, which a friend edited. (His name is Carding and he is very talented. ^_^)

It's a very interesting film. My J and I had a really in-depth discussion about it during the cab ride home. On Y!M this morning, the group that watched the movie had a fun discussion about it as well.

And we made plans to watch Kingdom of Heaven on opening day.

* * *

Yesterday --

We finally ordered our invitations. Grabe, I really am getting married. w00t! ^_^

* * *

Today --

My J bought me a book from Goodwill in North Edsa -- The Wonder Clock by Howard Pyle.

Discovered a wonderful, wonderful surprise from Mase on her blog. ^_^

My J and I also tried Selecta's Banana ice cream, which comes in their 3-combo tubs. Yum.

Also watched Bo sing "I Don’t Want To Be" and his performance gave me goosebumps.

* * *

The song --

I Don't Want to Be by Gavin DeGraw

I don't need to be anything other
Than a prison guard's son
I don't need to be anything other
Than a specialist's son
I don't have to be anything other
Than the birth of two souls in one
Part of where I'm going, is knowing where I'm coming from
I don't want to be
Anything other than what I've been trying to be lately
All I have to do
Is think of me and I have peace of mind
I'm tired of looking 'round rooms
Wondering what I've got to do
Or who I'm supposed to be
I don't want to be anything other than me
I'm surrounded by liars everywhere I turn
I'm surrounded by imposters everywhere I turn
I'm surrounded by identity crisis everywhere I turn
Am I the only one who noticed?
I can't be the only one who's learned
I don't want to be
Anything other than what I've been trying to be lately
All I have to do
Is think of me and I have peace of mind
I'm tired of looking 'round rooms
Wondering what I've got to do
Or who I'm supposed to be
I don't want to be anything other than me
Can I have everyone's attention please?
If you're not like this and that, you're gonna have to leave
I came from the mountain
The crust of creation
My whole situtaion-made from clay to stone
And now I'm telling everybody
I don't want to be
Anything other that what I've been trying to be lately
All I have to do
Is think of me and I have peace of mind
I'm tired of looking 'round rooms
Wondering what I've got to do
Or who I'm supposed to be
I don't want to be anything other than me
I don't want to be

* * *

Time to swoon ^_^ --

A friend's sister makes these. Check this out.

I want! >_<

I like --

Brie. It's a new thing for me. So now, when we go to the grocery, I actually look at the wheels of Brie available. I'm looking for other ways to enjoy it so I checked out Allrecipes.com and found this:

Fettuccini with Basil and Brie
Prep Time: approx. 25 Minutes. Cook Time: approx. 10
Minutes. Ready in: approx. 1 Hour 35 Minutes. Makes 8 servings.
Printed from Allrecipes, Submitted by LISA DELANNOY

12 ounces dry fettuccine pasta
4 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups cubed Brie cheese
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1 In a large bowl combine chopped tomatoes, minced
garlic, brie, chopped basil, olive oil, vinegar, salt and
pepper. Mix well. Cover and let stand at room temperature to
marinate for 1 to 2 hours.
2 In a large pot of boiling salted water over high heat,
cook the fettuccine until al dente, about 12 minutes.
3 Drain the fettuccine and toss with the sauce. Sprinkle
with grated Parmesan cheese.

* * *

I also like --

Mustard. Lots of it on a hotdog.

Yum.

Day 2: --

So I did get sick -- my throat hurts and I have a cold. Imagine that, a cold in this heat.

I've been productive, though -- finally finished Wicked by Gregory Maguire and I also finished Mary Poppins. I'm reading the second book in the series, Mary Poppins Comes Back.

I finally pulled out my copy of my Chapter 1 (Thesis Proposal) -- I'm glad I set it aside for a while. My experiences as an instructor for the English Dept and having been a reader for a Senior thesis gave me some insights on how I can further improve on my Proposal. I'm also getting ideas on how to proceed with the next 5 chapters.

Wow -- can't believe I'm talking about this again.

^_^

* * *

Consumer Complaint --

I love Wendy's. I think they have really great burgers and I absolutely LOVE their Shrimp Sandwich.

Their delivery service sucks, though.

A few weeks ago, we had some Shrimp Sandwiches delivered and it took them 2 hours to deliver it. Granted that I live in San Juan and the closest Wendy's branch is Megamall and Aurora -- but 2 hours?!?

Today, my bro was interested in trying it out so we ordered Shrimp Sandwiches again. Anticipating that it would take them 2 hours to get here, we ordered at exactly 10. Like the previous time, the order did arrive at 12.

And then we discovered that they gave us the wrong order.

We called them to inform them of the mistake and they offered to replace it.

Our original order of Shrimp Sandwiches finally came at 1. 3 hours after we had made the call.

Fun Links! --

THE popcorn site <-- I love popcorn. For me, that's part of the movie experience. ^_^

Elsie Hooper by Robert Krzykowski <-- really nice black and white sketches. What caught my attention is this one.

I love my J --







If you want to see me jump, click here. ^_^

* * *

Bleh --

I think I'm coming down with tonsillitis -- my throat hurts. =(

April 19 --

Busy, busy day --

Had to go have my trial make-up done in E. Rodriguez. After that, my J and I decided to walk to Tomas Morato for lunch and we tried Steak MD, which was recently featured in the Inquirer -- read article here.

The place is known for its really affordable steaks with yummy, yummy rubs.

My J had the t-bone with Ang Charub rub -- a combination of sweet and spicy. I had the liempo, which was also recommended.

In a word? Yummy.

And, because we're silly enough to actually take pictures of our food, here:




We also had our prenuptial pictures taken by Pilar Tuason and that was a fun experience. (Will post more about it tomorrow with pics ^_^)

And I made these this evening --





(My J helped by holding down the silkscreen while I ran the squeegee through the frame. ^_^)

Tomorrow promises to be just as hectic.
1. Pick up the CD with the prenup pictures from Makati.
2. Meet with coordinators for update.
3. Go to Katipunan in the morning for errands.

I'm really glad I decided not to take classes this summer. ^_^

Hot off the silkscreen! --

Couldn't figure out how to cut Elphaba and Galinda -- so I cut and made this instead ^_^





I like cutting out letters -- (except for D and I think I won't like the letters "o" or "e" or "p" or *shudder* "b") I did this in about 5 minutes and am happy with the way it turned out. ^_^

* * *

Guess what I got today --

My bro sent us a copy of Avenue Q and the Garden State OST. ^_^

Yay! New things to listen to. ^_^

* * *

On Sahara --

My J and I watched Sahara today. So-so movie. When I checked out IMDB to look for a particular photo, I saw that there was a link to Memorable Quotes from the movie and I thought, "There were memorable quotes?!?"

Anyhoo, the highlight for me was the scene when Penelope Cruz comes out wearing a bikini and a beach cap --



The cap in question reminded me so much of this.

I couldn't stop laughing.

Out loud.

Thank goodness it was the first show and we were the only people in the theater.

Discoveries --

A nifty online shop called Super7 and an amazing artist by the name of Manny Silva. Of his works online, this is my favorite --

Weekend --

Saturday --

I baked the chocolate crinkles which I mixed and chilled the day before. This is how it turned out:





There's a bit of discoloration on the sugar -- I think this is because our oven gets really hot really fast. It was really thrilling seeing the first cracks appear. ^_^

My J and I also met up with some friends at Megamall. Powerbooks is on sale, btw -- 20% off on books. My J and I had dinner at Yoshinoya. I tried their Yakitori (new on their menu) -- I didn't like it. It looked different from the picture in their counter. Our friend Pacoi treated us to Dairy Queen and then we sat with him and Abi as they had their dinner at Wendy's.

Fun, fun, fun. ^_^

Oh, here's the Amelie-esque stencil --



Sunday --

Met up with my J in Makati. I promised him that I would go with him to visit the Goodwill branch in Glorietta. I ended up getting a copy of John Updike's Gertrude and Claudius.

We stopped by Powerbooks in Greenbelt and I got a copy of Gregory Maguire's Lost. I also got a copy of the latest Fables TPB.

We also visited the Large TV Expo at Abensons -- we were drooling over the Plasma TVs and the Super Wega. ~haaaay~ So expensive.

We took the MRT to Megamall to check out the last day of the furniture fair. So many lovely pieces. We had fun imagining all of the pieces that we liked in our imaginary future house. ^_^

* * *

And then --

One of my absolute favorite professors from Ateneo is Emmanuel Torres. My sister and I took up the classes he offered for 3 semesters. We even delayed the completion of our course work because the schedule for one of our pre-requisite classes conflicted with his class. (We took his class and had to wait an entire year to take the pre-req course. ^_^)

He retired about two years ago and we've been keeping touch ever since. We finally arranged to meet today -- my sister and I visited him at his home.

It was a pleasant afternoon visit. We talked about EVERYTHING. This is one of the things I love about talking to him -- I learn so much after and I walk away wanting to know even more.

When he found out I was teaching in Ateneo, he set aside some of the books that he used when he taught there and he gave them to me today. I was so, so honored.

We made plans to meet up again for lunch/dinner some time soon and I am really looking forward to that. ^_^

OMG! part 2 --

But for a different reason --

BelovedFablesandBatgirlcoverartistJamesJeanhasawebsite! And he sells his art on this website!

Expensive stuff. Pero I will get one before I turn 30.

* * *

Today --

Cookie dough in the fridge.

Found Hanes 100% cotton t-shirts at (what I think is) a bargain and I silkscreened the Amelie stencil. It didn't come out as nice. The image looks a bit off. My sister says it looks a bit pop art-y and that it would have been nice as part of a set of the same images (a la pop art talaga).

Will make the Wicked stencil tomorrow.

I have two more shirts to play with. ^_^

On Finding Neverland --

The word that comes to mind is spellbinding --

I was crying through most of the movie.

I'm glad I waited to watch it on the big screen.

* * *

My luck amuses me --

My J and I decided to go watch Finding Neverland in Theater Mall.

I cried through the movie.

I come out of theater and bump into a group of my students.

Gah!

And then we head off to The Shops, and then I bump into another student.

* * *

Today's activity --

I decided to cook lunch for my sister and my J -- simplest thing to prepare is pasta.

My J and I discovered this absosmurfly delicious cheese sauce in Shoppesville called Kesovore. We've spread it on crackers and even used it as cheese in tomato-based pasta. (We're contemplating using it as dip for chips and as a filling for jumbo shells (conchiglioni) or cannelloni or even lasagna).

Decided to play with it today -- had bacon and button mushrooms available and a bottle of extra-virgin olive oil. I was supposed to mix everything together in olive oil and toss it in a bit of Kesovore but, while taking off the stems of the mushrooms, I got the idea to just stuff the mushrooms with the Kesovore. I cut the leftover stems and mixed it with the bacon in a bit of olive oil (fried the whole thing) and tossed the pasta (fusilli) in it.

I placed the stuffed mushrooms into the oven and waited for the Kesovore to start melting.

It was yummy. ^_^

re: the names for pasta -- I had help from this website. ^_^

* * *

Tomorrow's activity --

Chocolate Crinkles II
From Allrecipes, Submitted by Ingrid

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar


Directions
1 In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and
vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the
vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into
the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours.
2 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line
cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into one inch
balls. I like to use a number 50 size scoop. Coat each ball
in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared
cookie sheets.
3 Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand
on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to
wire racks to cool.

... let's see how it turns out. ^_^

* * *

I love brie --

Tasted really good brie during the Mandarin food sampling and bought a small wheel of brie for the house from Unimart. Yum!

* * *

OMG! --

I visited the Count Your Sheep website and I looked through the archives. I usually check out the post for my birthday and for our anniv --

This was the Count Your Sheep post for March 25, 2004 --



"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

Guess what happened to me yesterday --

Think red ants.

Think red ants large enough that they are visible 5 feet away (my height -- so when I look down, I can see them clearly).

Think lots of red ants swarming a concrete square about 2 feet long and 2 feet wide.

Think walking into concrete square with lots of red ants.

~sigh~

I've been trying to get in touch with the grad school coordinator since Friday --
1. I needed an advisement slip so I could enroll in that 4-day Educ workshop. (I wasn't able to because she came in too late and classes started yesterday.)
2. I needed to discuss my thesis schedule with her.

I called at around 8am and she wasn't in yet. I called again at 930 and the secretary informed me that she was there na.

So I rushed to Katipunan. The travel took longer than expected -- I got to Ateneo at around 1115 and I gave myself until 1130 (because there's a lunch break at 12noon).

Walking, walking, walking -- texting at the same time, I didn't notice what I had stepped into.

Shit, sobrang daming ants! At first, I tried to just shake them off, but they were persistent little buggers. I took off my sandals and walked barefoot for a few feet and then started to just brush them off my barefeet and from my sandals.

Those things can jump pala -- I think one of them went up my skirt -- the perv.

There were passers-by and I'm sure they thought I was insane. (When I told my sister this, she asked me if people saw me and if people thought I was insane. I said yes. ~sigh~)

I got to the department on time, but I was so sweaty and frazzled na. Met with my coordinator and we discussed my sked.

Thesis Proposal defense during the first semester -- I could do it this summer, but we haven't found the readers yet and they have to read the proposal.

Thesis defense by December.

Graduate by March.

So my plan for the summer is to write as much of my paper as I can so that I don't have to attend to it during the first three months of the semester.

I had to walk the same path back and, from a distance, you could really see that that particular square of concrete was darker than the rest (because of all the ants) -- I walked around it.

* * *

Today is Wednesday! --

Which means it's movie day! Yay!

I checked ClicktheCity for the movie skeds and I was so happy to see Finding Neverland on the list of new movies this week.

I know the original DVD is out and there are fake ones around, but I resisted them because I really, really wanted to see this on the big screen.

Finding Neverlang
Theater Mall Cinema 2
11:10 1:25 3:35 5:45 7:55

Yay!

Oh, my J and I also want to watch Sahara. O_o;;

* * *

Cuuuute! --

Jin introduced me to this strip:

Count Your Sheep

I love Wes Anderson! >_< --

Finally got to watch Rushmore on Star Movies last weekend (for people wanting to see this, it will be shown again on Tuesday April 19 at 1:25pm on Star Movies) -- it is an amazing movie! Now, all I need to do is find a copy of Bottle Rocket and I would have watched all of his films. ^_^

While watching Rushmore, I got a sense of the movement Anderson's films go through -- the word that came to mind is parabola. It always begins at a certain point and then proceeds in a downward curve, but you never quite hit bottom before rising up again. I also vaguely remember that parabolas never touch lines and that seems to be the case with Andersons's stories -- it is a limitless inching-towards-something and where he ends is the point of resolution but it is also not the resolution.

* * *

Activities --

I don't have a teaching load this summer. I was supposed to take some classes at Ateneo but that plan has been slightly derailed.

I still have wedding preparations to attend to so I guess that will keep me busy.

This is interesting:
Contemporary Bookbinding Workshop

It's from May 7 to June 11 at the Lopez Museum.

Hmmm...

Books to Read for the Summer --

1. Wicked by Gregory Maguire <-- am halfway through this.
2. The Adventure of English by Melvin Bragg <-- purchased this a long, long time ago and I haven't even bothered to take it out of its shrinkwrap
3. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay by Michael Chabon
4. Slick
5. Urgent 2nd Class: Creating Curious Collage, Dubious Documents, And Other Art From Ephemera by Nick Bantock <-- which my youngest bro got for me a long, long time ago
6. The Stars Dispose by Michaela Roessner
7. Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Comes Back by P.L. Travers
8. The rest of the Jasper Fforde series

I'm reading at a slower pace now -- I think my attention span has gotten shorter.

* * *

Book Sale! --

Goodwill Bookstore is on sale! 80% off on paperbacks. The Roessner book was originally priced at 229.50 and I got it for 45.90 --

Even the saleslady had to check to see if she was punching the right numbers. ^_^

It's until the end of the month.

* * *

What Else? --

1. I'm compiling a list of all the DVDs that I want to own. It's a long, long and very, very expensive list.

Will post it when I'm done.

2. I also had a pleasant stroll down memory lane when I found a burned copy of a FLCL fan-made music video -- it's the one with "Shimmer" by Fuel --

What made it even nicer was that I played it on the Skyworth so I watched the whole video on my television instead of on my monitor.

3. I'm addicted to Chippy.

4. I'm contemplating whether I should get my hair cut or whether I should grow it long for July.

I want! --

CHOCOHOLICS, brace yourselves. The Manila Peninsula is bringing back its chocolate buffet!

Get ready to taste chocolate crepes, cakes, ice cream, truffles, drinks and more! Executive Pastry Chef Berndt Beitmann will serve chocolate in every imaginable form. Seventy percent of the menu is new, so if you loved the Chocolate Nights Buffet last year, you'll love this even better.

It's pricey at P495, but true chocolate lovers will definitely not pass up on this one. Get your fix of everything chocolate and eat to your heart's content beginning April 8.

The Chocolate Buffet will be held every Friday and Saturday night at The Lobby of the Manila Peninsula from 8:30 pm to 12 midnight. P495 for adults and P295 for kids, including coffee and tea. For
reservations and inquiries, call +63 2 8872888.

<-- got this info from one of M's LJ friends.

* * *

I like this poem --

Variations on the Word Love
by Margaret Atwood

This is a word we use to plug
holes with. It's the right size for those warm
blanks in speech, for those red heart-
shaped vacancies on the page that look nothing
like real hearts. Add lace
and you can sell
it. We insert it also in the one empty
space on the printed form
that comes with no instructions. There are whole
magazines with not much in them
but the word love, you can
rub it all over your body and you
can cook with it too. How do we know
it isn't what goes on at the cool
debaucheries of slugs under damp
pieces of cardboard? As for the weed-
seedlings nosing their tough snouts up
among the lettuces, they shout it.
Love! Love! sing the soldiers, raising
their glittering knives in salute.

Then there's the two
of us. This word
is far too short for us, it has only
four letters, too sparse
to fill those deep bare
vacuums between the stars
that press on us with their deafness.
It's not love we don't wish
to fall into, but that fear.
this word is not enough but it will
have to do. It's a single
vowel in this metallic
silence, a mouth that says
O again and again in wonder
and pain, a breath, a finger
grip on a cliffside. You can
hold on or let go.

The Book Quiz --

You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451. What book do you want to be?
The Oxford English Dictionary -- all 20 volumes.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
Griffin from Bantock's Griffin and Sabine set -- I wanted him to write to me and send me those lovely postcards and letters.

Roland from Possession -- and then they had Aaron Eckhart play him in the movie adaptation -- yum!

The last book you bought is...
Hehehe, it's still in its Goodwill plastic, The Stars Dispose by Michaela Roessner

Five books you would take to a deserted island:
1. Possession by A.S. Byatt
2. Tikim by Doreen Fernandez
3. the latest edition of This Diary Will Change Your Life
4. Matilda by Roald Dahl (or James and the Giant Peach)
5. From Hell by Alan Moore <-- it will give me a chance to read the endnotes

What are you currently reading?
Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Who are you going to pass this stick to and why?
My J becase he loves books and has been reading a lot more than me.

Gabs and E, but they've answered this quiz already -- because they have great taste in books.

My bro -- curious ako what 5 books he'd bring.

* * *
Fill in the blanks! --

My journal is titled ____ because ____.
My subtitle is ____ because ____.
My friends page is called ____ because ____.
My username is ____ because ____.
My default userpic is ____ because ____.

My Answers:
My journal is titled "Serpent Beneath the Flower" because I like the idea of "what lies beneath."

My subtitle is the quote from Macbeth that inspired the title for my blog because, during my one semester of Shakespeare, this was the line that stuck.

My friends page is called "Blogstops" because that's what they are -- blogs I stop by to visit and read. ^_^

My username is kiteflying because, back in college, for Philo class we had to come up with a pseudonym to guarantee an unbiased grade for our papers and I was Kite.

I can't answer the last one because I don't have a default userpic. ^_^;;

* * *

The Music Test --

a. Post the names of 20 of your favorite musicians.
b. See who can guess which is your favorite song by each.
c. Once someone guesses right, bold that row and include the song.

A lot of people with LJs have been doing this quiz -- I guess it's just a bit more difficult for those of us using Blogger --

Anyhoo -- I just want to see if I can even name 20 musicians. ^_^

1. Tori Amos - Taxi Ride
2. Dave Matthews Band - Crash Into Me (Say Goodbye is a close 2nd)
3. The Corrs - Intimacy
4. Kajiura Yuki - Salva Nos <-- Yay! Cupkeyk! ^_^
5. Mark Mothersbaugh - Motherbaugh's Canon (from the Royal Tenenbaums OST)
6. Kohei Tanaka - the theme from Sakura Taisen
7. Sting - Fields of Gold <-- Cupkeyk!
8. Yoko Kanno - Platinum (from CardCaptor Sakura)
9. Counting Crows - Colorblind
10. Green Day - Time of Your Life <-- Cupkeyk!
11. Cyndi Lauper - True Colors
12. Eagle Eye Cherry - Save Tonight
13. The Cranberries - Dreams
14. U2 - Beautiful Day <-- Yay! Mahar! ^_^
15. Nico - both her songs from the Royal Tenenbaums OST: "These Days" and "The Fairest of the Seasons"
16. Yuko Sasaki - Pure Snow
17. REM - Shiny Happy People
18. Westlife <-- Yay! Boy Band! - Obvious
19. from RENT (Jonathan Larson) - One Song Glory
20. from Wicked (Stephen Schwartz)- Defying Gravity

April 14, 2005 -- decided to fill in the answers to the music quiz ^_^

I am today's "crazy woman" story --

My J and I are house-hunting. My mom is also looking for a place for my brothers. She was going to look at some units available in Prince David along Katipunan and I decided to tag along to check them out also.

We were told that the key to the unit would be with the guard. When we got there, we made inquiries with the guard and the guard told us the key was with the admin office.

The guard gets my ID and gives me a visitor pass and then opens the door that leads to the stairs and tells me to go down the admin office. I proceeded down the stairs and checked each floor for the admin office and couldn't find it. I had gone straight through to the third-level basement (where it was really poorly-lit and scary) without finding the damned office.

The stairs system to the basement of Prince David is very odd -- it's one way down and then you exit and go through a different door to go up. On my way up, I couldn't get any of the doors open -- I reached the 2nd floor stairs (from Basement Level 3) and that's where I exited. I went back to the lobby to inform the guard that I couldn't find the admin office and requested that she have the key brought up to the lobby. She told me that the procedure was to have people proceed to the admin office to get the key there. I then asked to speak to the building manager but he refused to talk to me -- from what I could hear from his conversation with the lobby guard, he seemed annoyed that I got lost and was asking me to go down again. At that point I just asked if they could someone to accompany me down to the office.

A guy comes in from the elevator to bring me to the admin. I was already opening the door to the stairs and the guy pushes the button to the elevator. Of course I knew that the elevators go all the way down but I had to act ditzy just to get my point across. I told the guy that I wasn't aware that I could take the elevator down and I wondered out loud why they had me take the scary stairs.

The elevator took a while. As an act of spite, I told the guy that we should take the stairs going down to their office. When we got there, the manager rudely asked me what my business was with the unit I was looking at and I told him that I was a prospective buyer. I asked him why people had to go through that to look at units and he told me it was a security measure.

It's a valid reason -- but it's bad service. I don't think you should drag prospective clients to the nether regions of the basement to get a key. I don't think it's a good business practice to direct prospective clients to go down a scary stairwell to an office that isn't marked or visible. I thought it was bad form for admin people to take the elevator when they let prospective clients take the stairs.

(And to think they get a commission from the sales -- they really should treat people better.)

The manager then asked the guy who brought me down to escort me to the unit. Siyempre, guy pushes button of elevator again. Siyempre, spiteful me tells him that we should take the stairs.

I didn't like the unit -- which added to my annoyance, considering all the trouble and rudeness I had to put up with. My mom and I had a few more units to look at, but the people who owned the units were a bit late. So I was there, sitting at the lobby of Prince David swearing in a mix of Chinese and English.

There were some people who were also at the lobby -- they probably couldn't understand what I was saying, but they could understand the sentiment. I didn't even try to hide my annoyance.

I was in a bad mood na, so I decided to get a drink at Seattle's Best. That made me feel better. During the time I was gone, my mom asked our yaya to go to the admin to asked for the key of another unit that she found out was also available. The same thing happened to my yaya -- she went all the way down to the bottom and went back up to the lobby.

The bright side? I didn't know I could be that fluent in Chinese.

The other bright side? The two other units happened to be gems.

* * *

I want a copy of this! --

Eros, three films by three directors -- two of whom I love: Stephen Soderbergh and Wong Kar-Wai (the third director is Michelangelo Antonioni).

Here's the Yahoo! Movies page on this movie.

Yum! --

I wanted to be sisig...


Lechon Baboy: Roasted to a crisp. The main act on
a Filipino buffet repertoire.


Which Filipino Food Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

More cute art --

Miki Amano's website

(She has a frog movie in her "Products" link)

* * *

If you want to know what I did yesterday --

Click here.

* * *

Hurrah! to me --

After several weeks of obsessing over silkscreens and crafts and stuff, my bro finally dragged me to National Bookstore and helped me purchase green film, a silk screen, the squeegee and paint.

I have this really cute design ready using the green film, but we couldn't figure out how to transfer the image to the silkscreen.

Last night, I decided to do it the old-fashion way -- with a transparency film.

So I found this image:


And turned it to this using Adobe Photoshop:


I cut out the stencil this morning, during Internet time (while waiting for pages to load, etc.) and made this:





Whee! ^_^

* * *

Future Projects --

I want to make my J a shirt with this image:


But I will make this one first:


And if I still have the patience, I will make this:

Lookie what I found --

Roald Dahl figurines!

Look at how cute she is! ^_^

Where You Lead
perfomed by Carole King (Theme from Gilmore Girls)

Wanting you the way I do
I only want to be with you
And I would go to the ends of the earth
Cause, darling, to me that's you're worth

Where you lead, I will follow
Anywhere that you tell me to
If you need, you need me to be with you
I will follow where you lead

If you're out on the road
Feeling lonely, and so cold
All you have to do is call my name
And I'll be there on the next train

Where you lead, I will follow
Anywhere that you tell me to
If you need, you need me to be with you
I will follow where you lead

I always wanted a real home with flowers on the window sill
But if you want to live in New York City, honey, you know I will
I never thought I could get satisfaction from just one man
But if anyone can keep me happy, you're the one who can

And where you lead, I will follow
Anywhere that you tell me to
If you need, you need me to be with you
I will follow where you lead

* * *

I never talked about sitting through the 9-hour marathon of Gilmore Girls on Studio 23 during the Holy Week.

Well I am now.

So there. ^_^

Really good show.

From Joan of Arcadia --

(Thank you ETC for this show ^_^)

"Whatever you do, don't play the other person's game. Play your own."

*

"Prayer can never hurt, as long as you understand you may not recognize the answer right away. Most miracles occur in hindsight."

The Chase is On! --

My J and I couldn't resist it -- we ended up getting our books today instead of tomorrow (when Podium goes on sale -- I asked the lady at National if they are participating and they said they are -- 20% off on foreign titles).

We spent the afternoon in our jammies, reading -- he his copy of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and me my copy of Chasing Vermeer. (hehehehe -- just realized how badly written this part is ^_^;; -- apologies for the grammar)

I'm really enjoying the book and it has a lot of very memorable lines -- (am up to Chapter 11 pa lang)

Some really neat lines/ideas:

"Ask a question that doesn't have an answer."

*

For one of their school exercises, they were asked to answer the question "What makes an object a piece of art?" by "choosing an item at home that feels like a work of art... Describe this object... without saying what it is."

One of the main characters wrote this:
"This object is hard on the outside and bendable on the inside. It is the color of an unripe raspberry, and it weighs about as much as a pair of blue jeans. It smells like a closet in an old house, and it is an ancient shape. It holds things that are hard to believe. There are living creatures falling like rain and objects that float by themselves. People vanish and reappear.

It is made of substances that once grew, that once bent in the wind and felt the night air. It is older than trips to the moon or computers or stereo systems or television. Our grandparents might have seen it new when they were young."

<-- guesses peeps? ^_^

*

"We shall pick up an existence by its frogs." <-- this is for my bro

*

"This was a calm, deliberate world, a world where dreams were real and each syllable held the light like a pearl. It was a writer's world --"

* * *

Be Cool! --

We watched this today at Podium and we were the only people in the theater. Hurrah! I thought it was a really funny movie and am curious to see Get Shorty.

Every Monday and Tuesday, Podium sells their movie tickets for PhP80 from 10 until 3.

I wanted to be Edna --


Which Incredibles Character Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

* * *

I thought I would be Lawful Good --

... and I ended up an Elf, just like my J. The funny thing is, Elves are my J's least favorite characters for D&D. ^_^

Chaotic Good Half-Elf Bard

Alignment:
Chaotic Good characters are independent types with a strong belief in the value of goodness. They have little use for governments and other forces of order, and will generally do their own things, without heed to such groups.

Race:
Half-Elves are a cross between a human and an elf. They are smaller, like their elven ancestors, but have a much shorter lifespan. They are sometimes looked down upon as half-breeds, but this is rare. They have both the curious drive of humans and the patience of elves.

Primary Class:
Bards are the entertainers. They sing, dance, and play instruments to make other people happy, and, frequently, make money. They also tend to dabble in magic a bit.

Secondary Class:


Detailed Results:

Alignment:
Law and Chaos:
Law ----- XXXXX (5)
Neutral - XXXXX (5)
Chaos --- XXXXXXXX (8)

Good and Evil:
Good ---- XXXXXXXX (8)
Neutral - XXX (3)
Evil ---- (0)

Race:
Human ---- XXXXXXXX (8)
Half-Elf - XXXXXXXXXX (10)
Elf ------ XXXXXX (6)
Gnome ---- XXXX (4)
Halfling - XXXXXXXXX (9)
Dwarf ---- (-1)
Half-Orc - XXX (3)

Class:
Fighter -- X (1)
Barbarian - (-2)
Ranger --- XXXX (4)
Monk ----- XXXXXXXX (8)
Paladin -- XXXXXX (6)
Cleric --- X (1)
Mage ----- XX (2)
Druid ---- XX (2)
Thief ---- XXXXX (5)
Bard ----- XXXXXXXXXXXXX (13)

Take this test here.

* * *

We're having a heat wave, a tropical heatwave --

I'm getting so dark na and my face is getting really red! Waaaaah! I thought I was smart na when I scheduled all my errands in the morning -- it's just as bad pala. Bleh.

I remember last year, around this time din -- I was complaining about the heat and stuff and science-geek-beloved bro had to ask the question --

"Would you rather be sweating in the heat or get wet in the rain?"

Hmmm --

* * *

Big News for me! --

I finally did it! I finally got myself a 128mb Memory Stick for my camera. ^_^

I got so tired of constantly having to erase pictures from my 8mb sticks so I asked my sister to get me one and she gave me the money for it. Hurrah!

This comes just in time as we are set to do food sampling this Monday and I would like to take pictures of my J and me "sampling" the food at Mandarin. ^_^

The experience of wanting to get a new memory stick made me realize that I really am afraid to commit to big purchases -- I've been planning on getting a new memory stick for the past month and my sister has always been very supportive and gives me the money for it. Each time I go to the place, though -- I panic and freeze. I always end up going home and returning the money to my sis.

Apparently, I can easily spend (and buy) as long as the item is priced under a thou -- beyond it takes serious contemplation.

An attempt at gathering thoughts --

.
.
.

Not a spoiler alert

.
.
.

But I just want you to get a copy of the movie and watch it first. ^_^

.
.
.

Since I watched The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou last night, I’ve been trying to put into words my thoughts about that movie.

The movie begins with a statement – a simple, straightforward statement from the main character, Steve: “I'm going to go on an overnight drunk, and in 10 days I'm going to set out to find the shark that ate my friend and destroy it.” The statement is reminiscent of the one Melville’s Ishmael makes in the beginning of Moby Dick and brings with it the same sort of problem: he is chasing after something that may or may not exist – he is his own witness and the test is how strongly he believes in himself.

Steve Zissou has a lot going against him. He hasn’t made a successful documentary in nine years, his wife is indifferent to him, he recently lost one of his closest colleagues and he is being challenged by another oceanographer who appears to have a lot going for him.

Despite the obstacles, Zissou presses on. It becomes a quest for completion: the documentary he shows at the beginning of the film is “part 1” and he does say there will be a part 2. It is also a quest for completion in his own life: to find and avenge the death of his friend; to figure out who Ned is to him, etc.

Ambiguity is one of the main devices used in the film – we see this in Steve Zissou’s quest for the Jaguar Shark and also in the introduction of Ned Plimpton’s character. Steve has to decide whether Ned is really his son from another woman or not. The whole idea of “revealing in half concealing” gives one the sense of being on the brink of something and the choice to be made is to either take the leap or to turn around.

Zissou takes the leap and so do we (otherwise, we would have stopped watching the movie ^_^). Midway through the movie, Steve's faith is challenged: first, by Cate Blanchett's character (she questions his abilities as an oceanographer and rejects his advances) and then by an encounter with pirates and then with a "mutiny" by some of his crew and lastly by a terrible tragedy but Steve gathers himself and moves forward and we are all rewarded for that.

At the end of the movie, we realize that simple statements are anything but simple – Steve Zissou proves this with the many twists that he encounters in his quest for the Jaguar Shark. There are never straightforward paths from point A to point B, instead we accept that life is an adventure and we embrace everything that happens to us, good and bad.

Do you wish you could breathe underwater? --

Your way's four inches, mine is an inch and a half. Do you want to pay for the extra gas?
- The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Finally got to watch "The Life Aquatic" -- I loved Anderson's previous work "The Royal Tenenbaums" and I was really excited to watch this movie.

In a word? "Wow."

(Let me gather my thoughts about the movie and I'll try to write about it. ^_^)

I checked Wes Anderson's information on IMDB and I found out that he's working on "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" -- a film adaptation of Roald Dahl's work.

Hurrah!

* * *

Monday was hot --

Not only was it hot --

According to PAGASA, it was the hottest day of the year. And my J and I were out traipsing about Greenhills and Galleria. We watched "Robots" in Theater Mall and were very very happy to be the only ones in the theater during the 11am show. (The popcorn that day was yum!)

After the movie, we decided to take a short cab ride to Galleria and we had the great misfortune of getting into a cab with a busted air conditioner. I really don't like the new system in Greenhills Shopping Center.

We were slowly roasting inside the cab as it inched through traffic going to Galleria. When we were in front of LSGH, we decided to just walk the rest of the way.

It was so, so hot! >_<

I've decided to postpone all afternoon activities and to schedule everything during the morning or after 6.

And I'm rethinking my plan to take up classes this summer.

* * *

Oh --

One more thing:

I love my J.

Weekend --

This weekend was all about really good food and great books.

Saturday
For our anniv, my J and I ate at China Star in Podium. I've read about this restaurant in several newspapers and I was curious about it. We tried their Fried Rice Fookien and Salt and Pepper Squid and some dimsum. Everything was yummy! We couldn't stop talking/raving about the food.

We decided to walk around before having dessert (because we were both so full from the meal =^_^=) and we ended up at Bestsellers, the National Bookstore branch in Podium. My golly! There's a lot of really great books out for the summer:

Here's our list:
1. Slick by Daniel Price <-- it was a toss-up between this and #2 on the list. My J opted to get this first.
2. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark
3. Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett

<-- we're getting these 2 this week. Either Wednesday or Friday (when Podium has their sale -- hoping Natio will offer a discount.)

Sunday
It was my youngest bro's birthday and we decided to treat him to Queen's in Jupiter. We had their Mutton Curry and Mock Duck Szechuan and many many others. And everything was so, so delicious!

Before lunch, we went around Power Plant and found a lot of really great books in Fully Booked and some cute, cute craft stuff in the toy store there.

One of the nice books we found at Fully Booked:
Men and Cartoons by Jonathan Lethem

There were loads of other books there -- but I forgot to take note of authors and exact titles. ^_^;;

* * *

For our anniv, my J gave me a really cute pair of pink rubber slippers. Perfect for the summer. ^_^

And here's a picture my bro took of us at Queens -- inggit ako sa camera ng bro ko -- it's a digital camera that can mimic that LCA in that you can modify exposure and such. ~sigh~



Fun, fun weekend. ^^

* * *

And for more nice images --

Visit the ispot.com --

Yay! --

Take the quiz at dicepool.com

You are a good old-fashioned six-sided cube, otherwise known as a d6. Others know you to be plain, predictable, conservative, average, ordinary, and downright boring. You prefer to describe yourself as dependable, honest, practical and trustworthy. People usually know what to expect from you, since you rarely hold any surprises. You hate to make decisions, and if forced to decide, you'll always fall back on how it was done in the past. You always order the same thing at your favorite restaurant, and your jokes, while funny, are never too offensive. It seems that you are well liked, but maybe that's simply because there's nothing to hate.

* * *


You are a STUDENT of the English language!


You are on your way to becoming
gramatically sound; however, you must keep
studying if you ever want to become a master.
You do manage to speak better than most
Americans, but then again, that's not really
saying too much. Keep studying, little
Student.


How grammatically correct are you? (Revised with answer key)
brought to you by Quizilla

* * *

I am European



Which America Hating Minority Are You?

Take More Robert & Tim Quizzes
Watch Robert & Tim Cartoons



* * *

Full Circle --

May the mozzarella of our respective pizzas remain forever entwined.
- Mike Gayle, My Legendary Girlfriend

So I got bitten --

... by the Craft bug -- I visit a website called Crafster.org and get inspired by the many, many ideas there.

Today, my sister and I dropped by the Crafts Shop in Galleria and I bought Crayola Fabric Crayons.

I also bought a plain white t-shirt from the Robinson's Department store.

Now I'm looking for a nice design to draw and iron-on.

Here are some fun places I visit for images:
Tack-O-Rama
All Things Kawaii <-- I have a feeling Mase and Gabs will go crazy over the cute, cute images found here. ^^ (Click on "Directory" and go to "Graphics" and then proceed to "Illustrations" -- but the "Adoptions" page is also cute ^_^)

Here are some samples:
(From Girl! Girl! Girl!)




Now I want to get Iron-On Transfer Paper so I can make t-shirts with these images! >_< (But Transfer Paper is so, so expensive! About PhP600 for 10 sheets in National Bookstore!)

I also want to figure out how to do silkscreen transfers! >_<

I also want the Print Gocco! >_<

This is what boredom does to me.

* * *

In other news --

I don't have a teaching load this summer, but I do have a Thesis Proposal to defend.

I'm also thinking of taking up some classes just to enhance my teaching in preparation for the next school year --

Hmm --
EN 201
THEORIES OF LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGE LEARNING
M-W-F 0900-1130

EN 212.5
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE TEACHING
M-W-F 1430-1700

EN 216
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF LITERATURE TEACHING
T-TH 0900-1245

ED 246.3
LANGUAGE ARTS AND THE TEACHING OF READING
D 0830-1600

ED 246
SEMINAR/WORKSHOP: TEACHING THE LANGUAGE ARTS
D 0830-1600

COM 127
BASIC PHOTOGRAPHY
SAT 0800-1630 <-- but I don't think I'll be allowed because I'm a graduate student and this is for undergrads =(

* * *

Oh, and a reason to get your passport --

(I found out about this from one of M's LJ friends)
Starting April 5, Tiger Airways will be flying from Manila to Singapore --

Check out how much the airfare will cost: S$25.98 = PhP860 one way (PhP1720 round trip).

And, if you think Hotels will be a problem, it won't be -- they've affiliated with a company that offers really cheap hotel packages:

For 4D3N, Twin Sharing with Breakfast Buffet, it's as cheap as S$152 = PhP5026++
(In my favorite hotel, Carlton, it would cost S$692 = PhP22,900.)

Compare this to how much it would cost to travel via Singapore Airlines or PAL --

The catch is you have to go to Clark (the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport).

Can you say "adventure"? ^_^

Paint! --

You can paint a virtual house here. ^_^

How about love? --

Date Vs. Non-Date

[in Portugese]
Jamie: Beautiful Aurelia, I've come here with a view of asking you to marriage me. I know I seems an insane person - because I hardly knows you - but sometimes things are so transparency, they don't need evidential proof. And I will inhabit here, or you can inhabit with me in England.
Sophia Barros: Definitely go for England, girl. You'll meet Prince William - then you can marry him instead.
- Love, Actually, directed by Richard Curtis

This is the story of how my J and I watched the movie Love, Actually:

I cannot remember what day it was or what month -- I remember sitting down in front of the television with a pitcher of water on one side and a bowl of microwave popcorn on the other. The movie had just started and it was my "alone" time --

About 10 minutes into the movie, my phone started buzzing (it is always on silent) -- it was my J commenting on something I was watching at that very moment. It turns out he was watching the same movie at his place.

And that was how the evening proceeded -- with the two of us exchanging thoughts and insights as the movie was playing. At one point, I remember saying that, with the frequency of the messages, he might as well be there watching the movie with me.

It is an amazing thing, to find this one person who shares the exact same birthdate as you. Even more amazing is to be able to form a relationship with one such person. The odds of it are astounding -- I've had smart people try to calculate the number and all we could get is a formula and all the values.

Considering that the odds of winning the lotto (and getting all 7 numbers correct) is 1 in 45 million, what I have with my J is like winning the lotto -- twice. When I told a friend that my J and I are "twins," he said "God doesn't play dice."

Mr. 80%
The Wiz
Enemy of the People
3PO
Merrily We Roll Along

Saturday is the day between Friday and Sunday --

Had a pretty full day today:
- went for a fitting at Njork. This time it was cloth and the fabric is really, really beautiful. When I wear it, I want to cry or laugh or cry and laugh. It's exhilirating to wear something so beautiful meant for such a beautiful occasion. Basta -- beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

- made sure my digital camera was working well and even got batteries for it -- but I think the batteries we got were old because it couldn't handle the demands of the camera. It's okay -- took some pictures with my phone and Francis (the designer) also took pictures with his camera.

- made plans to meet with friends for an afternoon in Greenhills. We met up at Galleria and walked to Metrowalk for some *ahem* stuff and then we went to Greenhills. Discovered that many of the stores from Virra Mall transferred to Shoppesville. Found lots of really cool stuff.

- my J and I bought matching shirts. ^_^ Will take a picture of us when we wear them at the same time. ^_^

- had two "dud" drinks today -- the first one is from Gloria Jean's and the second one was from Bag of Beans. This is our second time in Gloria Jean's and we still don't know what to order when we're there -- we tried their Strawberry and Cream, which was mostly Strawberry (which I like) and not a lot of Cream. The second one was at Bag of Beans -- we tried their milkshake. I think they were rushing the preparation for it because it was mostly milk and no ice cream. =P

I had a fun day -- was with fun people and did fun things. ^_^ Fun, fun, fun. ^_^

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee --

"So what's it like to have your heart broken?"

Believe it or not, that's how our first conversation started. It was over really crap fries and crap drinks.

I asked him because I wanted to find out if we were alike -- if we felt and experienced things the same way.

It was a gamble -- I've always perceived him as very guarded and not very talky. But, that afternoon, he was. We talked for about 3 hours -- the fries had gone soggy and the ice had melted into our drinks.

And that was when it began. It became a regular thing -- to go off for a cheap lunch in the area and to talk.

And we could talk about anything and always have something to say -- some shallow and some really deep and insightful. And always, always, I walk away learning something new about him and about me and about us.

With my J, I am never afraid to express myself --

I can tell him that I mentally raze down structures along Katipunan and build imaginary condominiums or residential buildings and he will ask me what kind of buildings I am building.

I can point to the first star of the night and he will tell me to go ahead and wish on it.

I can tell him about my silly dreams and plans and he will tell me to go for it and ask me how he can help.

I can talk about what I watched on Oprah and he will pull out a hanky because he knows how sappy I am and that I'm bound to be crying already.

Mr. Flame
Mocha Blends
Katre
World Topps
Bento Box
Thai in a Box
Kamirori
KFC
Pancake House
McDonald's
Fruit Magic
Chateau Verde
Bon Appetit
Rodic's
Starbuck's
Seattle's Best
Ice Monster
Manang's/Clubhouse
Ateneo Caf
Panciteria Lido
Chowking
Coolking
Mann Hann
Sbarro's
Wendy's
Andok's
Wasabi
Hue
La Piadina
Taka's Tea Bar
Cafe Mediterranean
Max's Fried Chicken
AA's
Cinnabon
Tater's
Dencio's
Chinese Monk
Goodies and Sweets
Lolo Mao
Cheesecake Etc.
World Chicken
Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
Pho Hoa
Lemon Grass
Soup Kitchen
Yoshinoya
Taco Bell
Hungry Hippo
Ministop
7-Eleven
North Park
Josephine's
Fazoli
Super Bowl of China
Tokyo Tokyo
Jumbo Japs
Bread Talk
Cibo
Auntie Anne's
Chicken Bacolod
The Old Spaghetti House
Munch
Delifrance
Dimsum n' Dumplings
David's Tea House
Hap Chang
Figaro Coffee
Mushroom Burger
Lord Stow's
Mangan
Luk Yuen
Mexicali
Mongkok
Sweet Inspiration
Sugarhouse
T Salon
Yellow Cab Pizza
Banana Leaf Curry House
Jamaican Patties
Popeye's Chicken
Rai Rai Ken
Shakey's
Pizza Hut
Le Ching
Sandosenang Halo
Smokey's Hotdog
Sugi
The Big Chill
Malacca Desserts
Oody's Bar and Restaurant
Ah Siu
Cafe Breton
Penang
Gloria Jean's Coffee
Kagura Okonomiyaki/Little Tokyo
Jollibee
Crepes and Cream

* * *

You are my very first thought in the morning
And my last at nightfall
You are the love that came without warning
- Westlife, "Obvious"

We interrupt this contemplation with a discovery of a new artist --

Check it out!

Now back to our regular programming. ^_^

How do you measure a year? --

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

It was a Thursday -- that much I remember. We were sitting on the floor at the foot of my bed, watching "Lover's Concerto," a Korean film. Halfway through the film, I had fallen asleep and was leaning on his shoulder.

In that hazy minute of being awake and falling asleep, I could hear my brother telling him, "She really falls asleep through things. Just let her be." And he did.

I guess I knew then that he was it. He was the "one" -- He was my one.

I have these tests to see how comfortable I am around people -- if I can eat in front of you, that's something. If I can eat something more than a salad or a sandwich, that's something. If I can eat rice in front of you, that's really something. ^_^

With my J, the eating was easy. All those years of being friends made him a comfortable presence --

The sleeping is my ultimate test. In my entire life, I've only slept over very few friends' houses (3) --

I finally woke up when the movie was about to end -- when it was almost time for the big "reveal" scene. He turned to me and said, "There's something I've been wanting to tell you--"

What he didn't know was that I knew what he wanted to say -- one of his friends let it slip a few days before -- the friend was so happy to see how "in love" his friend was with me.

Still, when the moment came, it surprised me -- to hear the words and to know they're meant for me.

He loved me.

It was the first of many, many more "I love yous" and of many, many more yet unsaid.

We made it official during a walk from Galleria to Podium when he asked me if I loved him enough to be his girlfriend and I said yes.

50 First Dates
Hellboy
Troy
Shrek 2
The Day After Tomorrow
Super Size Me
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Spider-Man 2
King Arthur
The Village
Along Came Polly
Garden State
The Incredibles
Wimbledon
Blade Trinity
Wimbledon
Sideways
2046
Constantine
A Very Long Engagement
In Good Company
Imelda
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Closer
Alfie
Taking Lives
Van Helsing
Chasing Liberty
Zatoichi
A Mighty Wind
Kung Fu Hustle
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
The Notebook
National Treasure
Napoleon Dynamite
Before Sunset
Meet the Fockers
13 Going on 30
Lost in Translation
Fahrenheit 9/11
Around the World in 80 Days
The Prince and Me
Shaun of the Dead
House of Flying Daggers
Elektra
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Princess Diaries 2: A Royal Engagement
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

.
.
.

I love you, my J.

* * *

yes is a pleasant country:
if's wintry
(my lovely)
let's open the year

both is the very weather
(not either)
my treasure,
when violets appear

love is a deeper season
than reason;
my sweet one
(and april's where we're)
- e. e. cummings

According to IMDB, these are the top 50 indie films:

Trying to check how many of them I've actually seen --

1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
2. Pulp Fiction (1994)
3. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
4. The Usual Suspects (1995)
5. Memento (2000)
6. Psycho (1960)
7. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
9. Apocalypse Now (1979)
10. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
11. Se7en (1995)
12. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
13. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) <-- saw Life of Brian
14. Léon (1994)
15. American History X (1998)
16. Before Sunset (2004)
17. Amadeus (1984)
18. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
19. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
20. Fargo (1996)
21. Donnie Darko (2001)
22. Voyna i mir (1968)
23. The Lion in Winter (1968) <-- saw the recent Hallmark remake
24. The Graduate (1967)
25. Sideways (2004)
26. Amores perros (2000)
27. Platoon (1986)
28. The Straight Story (1999)
29. Campanadas a medianoche (1965)
30. A Man for All Seasons (1966)
31. Sling Blade (1996)
32. Lost in Translation (2003)
33. Magnolia (1999)
34. Invasions barbares, Les (2003)
35. The Terminator (1984)
36. Trainspotting (1996)
37. Henry V (1989)
38. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
39. 21 Grams (2003)
40. Mulholland Dr. (2001)
41. The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
42. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
43. Being John Malkovich (1999)
44. The Big Lebowski (1998)
45. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
46. Whale Rider (2002)
47. Secrets & Lies (1996)
48. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
49. You Can Count on Me (2000)
50. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

I shall call him squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my squishy.
- Dory, Finding Nemo

On how much my J and I love Robinson's Galleria Cinema 1 --

We do. A whole lot.

We watched Constantine there yesterday and we were the only people in the cinema.

Galleria is actually my preferred movie place because of the caramel popcorn, but I really didn't like the cinemas there -- some are too cramped and others just yucky. We had settled already to wait for movies to show in Cinemas 7 - 10 (the ones on the second level) because those, while cramped, were somewhat better than the cinemas on the first level.

Until we discovered Cinema 1.

It costs a bit more, but the seats are comfy and the place is roomy.

Oh, and Constantine -- it's a nice movie. (Note that I am not saying that it was a nice movie adaptation of the comic book.) I thought the actress playing Gabriel (Tilda Swinton) was cool.

* * *

Weekend Blehs --

Yucky weekend started last Friday with the house-hunting fiasco. The series of stops and starts and stops finally got to me and I just broke down.

Saturday was supposed to be better -- I was fitting my wedding gown for the first time. I brought my digital camera and made sure there was enough space in my memory stick for pictures. It's a magical moment to step out and see yourself in your wedding gown. There is something about it talaga -- leaves you breathless and giddy with excitement. (more on this when I've organized my thoughts)

I asked my sister to take pictures and she did -- or so we thought. On our way home, I checked my camera and none of the pictures turned up.

Siyempre, me and my fragile state crumbled again -- I was thinking talaga, pucha not even pictures of my wedding gown?!? I couldn't even be allowed that?!?

That house-hunting hitch, which forced me to cancel a day with G finally happened. The place was lovely and the view from there was grand.

The catch: the current tenant plans to renew for another year. Her contract ends July 2005 and she intends to renew until 2006.

In real estate rules, the current tenant has first dibs on the place. That she's planning to renew until 2006 means I can't.

~sigh~

Saturday ended with my J and I going to mass, which I really didn't feel like going to because of my mood. But we went and I'm glad we did. Church is really more quiet time for me. It's a chance for reflection and a time to gather myself.

On the way home, my J and I stopped for fruits and I told him I was feeling better na. When we got home, I gave my sister a hug and apologized for being mad at her. She apologized too.

(I'm having my second gown fitting on the 19th. I will definitely make sure there are pictures for that one.)

Sunday was wonderful. My J and I went to Galleria to watch Constantine. We decided that it was going to be a day of trying out new things -- so we ordered Taters Onion Rings instead of our usual flavored chips and we had butter-drizzled popcorn instead of Caramel.

After the movie, we visited Kashieca, which is slowly turning into one of my favorite clothing stores and my J picked out the nicest outfit for me. We're at the stage na that we know what the other one likes and what will suit him/her. The day before we went to the Novecento sale in Tomas Morato (70% off on items!) and we got a really, really nice button-down shirt for my J.

For lunch, we tried out Ah Siu -- so-so food, decent service. We met up with my sibs after and I treated everyone to Auntie Anne's pretzels (they still have their "Buy 3 for PhP100" promo -- we got chocolate chip instead of the usual Cinnamon Sugar or Sesame. Iffy flavor for pretzels -- especially since the chips get burnt.

We dropped off my bro at his condo in Katipunan and we decided to check out another place in the area. I think we may have found the one -- the hitch for this one is the current tenant was giving off really bad vibes (super suspicious and was locking everything) and the owner is just as weird (instructed me not to inform the current tenant that we were thinking of acquiring the place, etc. etc.).

The day ended with me and my J going to Greenhills to have some PC games exchanged and we checked out the tiangge. Lots of really cool stuff that we will probably check out some time during the week (when it won't be so crowded).

It's Monday and I have two exams to proctor at the same time. In two different classrooms (they're beside each other naman, so that's ok).

I just love my life.

Seriously.

* * *

Oh --

And I'm currently reading "Howl's Moving Castle" by Diane Wynne Jones. Hayao Miyazaki adapted the book for his latest movie.

* * *

Is this me? --

Results
Your answers suggest you are a Supervisor
The four aspects that make up this personality type are:



Summary of Supervisors
Bring order to their home and work life
Like to act on clear, achievable goals
Think of themselves as stable, practical and sociable
May be irritated when people don't follow procedures

More about Supervisors
Supervisors like to make plans, organise people and get things done efficiently. They are natural administrators who dislike chaos and strive to bring order to every aspect of their lives. Supervisors like jobs where the goals are clearly defined and there are proven work methods in place.

Supervisors are most likely to say they prefer a job which involves a series of separate projects, according to a UK survey.

Supervisors use logic to solve problems and believe in being open and direct in their communications with others. They prefer to work and socialise with like-minded people.

In situations where they can't use their talents or are unappreciated, Supervisors may reject the opinions of others and insist they are right. Under extreme stress, Supervisors may feel cut off from the people around them and lose confidence in their own ability to cope.

Because they like to take charge and organise activities, others may find Supervisors too bossy.

Supervisor Careers
Supervisors are often drawn to jobs in management or administration that require logical planning.

Take the test here.

* * *

How about this one? --

You are an Intrapersonal thinker

Intrapersonal thinkers:
Spend a lot of time thinking about and trying to understand themselves
Reflect on their thoughts and moods, and work to improve them
You understand how your behaviour affects your relationships with others

Careers which suit Intrapersonal Thinkers include
Psychologist, Teacher, Pilot, Child care worker, Explorer, Drama therapist

Take this quiz here.

I am not in a good mood --

I started the day with joy in my heart (deep, deep down in my heart) -- after months of searching, of having to bear the heat and the disappointment, of trudging through god-forsaken parts of Katipunan, we were supposed to see the place where we would live in after we got married.

My J and I promised ourselves that we would exhaust all possibilities before deciding on a place -- today, I went on an expedition to the far reaches of Katipunan (think: beyond Rustan's Fresh) to check out one such possibility. It turned out to be a dud. (So we scratched that off our list)

I wasn't discouraged, though -- despite the heat and my aching feet... this was because we were supposed to visit this really cool condo unit along Katipunan later.

We had to reschedule this several times already since Monday because the owner's schedule and the tenant's schedule and our schedule just couldn't mesh -- until today.

The meeting was set for 5pm. My sister even volunteered to come along to help us look at the place and so we would have a ride home after.

And then the owner informs me that the tenant won't be in and we had to reschedule again for tomorrow.

I couldn't stand it anymore -- the frustration and disappointment that I've accumulated in the past couple of months over this just exploded.

(There goes joy from my heart. Hello darkness my old friend.)

I already had plans for Saturday -- my first gown fitting and then meet up with G for lunch and some window shopping and then meet with my J after.

Siyempre, had to fix schedules again. (And I have this gnawing feeling that, when I call to confirm this tomorrow, I will be told that we need to reschedule again.)

For the first time this school year, I let my cubiclemates see how upset I was. Poor L had to suffer my venting.

July is less than 5 months away -- L told me that the place I'm meant to live in will come to me in due time ... I really should just be patient and wait for it.

~sigh~

* * *

A bit of good naman --

My J and my sister knew how this was stressing me out so they really went out of their way to try to cheer me up. My sister treated me to Shakey's thin crust pizza and my J was giving me hugs and reassuring me all the while.

M must have unconsciously sensed my despair -- he showed up at the dept with handmade notebooks and he gave me one of them. So, so pretty. And so, so thoughtful of him. Thankies --

* * *

I want to visit this place --

My cubiclemate T told me about this place today --

Library Hotel in New York

Curious concept -- the floors and rooms are named after sections in a library.

Check out the room amenities in Fast Facts. ^_^

Photos! --

Discovered that Island Photo in Shoppesville can copy pictures from your phone and burn it to a CD.

Discovered also that all I need is one of those infrared port thingies and I can do the same at home.

I took this one during one of the English Dept-sponsored seminars and I volunteered to help with registration. I really, really love taking pictures of the SocSci building in Ateneo. Interesting talaga yung structure niya.



On my way home one afternoon late last year, the sky was this really strange mix of gray and pink. The only camera I had with me was my K500i -- Good thing it still turned out okay.



And this one, G calls "blog-worthy" -- my J and I were in Starbucks Magallanes waiting for Druid's Keep to open. Cute lang talaga ng hun ko -- couldn't resist taking his picture.

... I love my K500i -- beginning to wonder how much nicer these would look if I got the S700...

* * *

More quizzes! --

I took this one because my bro loves science. (hahaha -- that didn't make sense -- oh well ^_^)

Mo... Molybdenum
You scored 37 Mass, 36 Electronegativity, 75 Metal, and 0 Radioactivity!
I like to think of you as the miracle worker in The Princess Bride... you can do anything and you do it for the betterment of society. Just because you can raise the dead and make flying wagons and stuff doesn't mean that you show off about it though. You are capable of forming bizarre webs of relationships in which individuals are accomplices, lovers, coworkers, and so on all at once. I once saw you hanging out at the center of a cycloheptatriene... it was completely freakish and bizarre, and I'm not sure I've known what to think of you since. But hey, to each their own. Oh, and stay away from the carbon monoxide... you suck that stuff up.

Take the test! Which chemical element am I?

For Edgar Allan Poe fans! Grabe na test!

This is how I did:
You know SHIT!
You scored 44 Poe points!

Jumping on the bandwagon -- A Da Vinci Code Test

Da Vinci Code Maniac
You scored 73 points!
Congratulations! You almost know the book's every line! That's great, means you enjoyed the book as much as I did!!!

For people who love comic books.

Seth Cohen.
You are 65 percent comic book geek!
You've got a significant amount of comics know-how, yet can still get non-creepy members of the opposite sex to talk to you. You're sitting pretty, my friend.

* * *

Why all the quizzes? --

The semester is almost ending and I have some free time because I finished checking all my papers and I've encoded all of my students' grades. I'm really just waiting for final exams on Monday and final drafts on Wednesday and then I am done, done, done for the school year. ^_^