The Versatile Blogger Award

Basking in my (second) glory, 
it’s about time >=)

I have got to be honest, when I read that Maudey got this award, I kinda prepared for my turn, haha!  Not because I deem myself to be a versatile blogger, *because I truly believe that I am not but I’m sure I’ll get there* but because she is a dear friend and it’s somehow predictable that she will grant this award to me.  Hahaha!  Don’t get me wrong em, I will be totally devastated if you didn’t and I really really rea-hee-hee-lly appreciate this. :)  Plus, I look up to your writing prowess ever since the day I met you and receiving feedback from you, it just makes me wanna blog more.  So thank you.  So so so much! :)

Now, just like the first, this too comes with a responsibility.  15 random things about me are not enough, eh?  Here’s 7 more:

1/ I don’t know why but my feet hate shoes.  I go to work on my sandals and only change to the “required” black shoes once I get to my seat.  But even while sitting, I take them off.  I sometimes even walk along our corridor barefooted.  I only wear shoes when I need them, that is when I need to go to the CR or to eat or to a meeting or to somewhere that is one to two meters away from my chair. Haha.

2/ Kingkong is our family dog and ever since the day she came, I’ve been over using her name.  I insert the word “Kingkong” in almost every song I sing when I’m at home.  Heck, I yawn and say “haaaayyyy kingkong” right after, every time (except when I’m conscious with the people around me).

3/ I find Anne Curtis really attractive.  I find her hot more than I find Derek Ramsay hot. Haha! But no, I’m not a lesbo, but maybe for Anne I am, hahaha!

4/ I love cute dogs and I keep on thinking that if the love of my life makes the biggest mistake of his existence by leaving me, I will not have me a next boyfriend.  I will buy lots of cute dogs instead! Haha!  But that wouldn’t happen; V is too smart to lose me. Hahaha! :-p

5/ I hate the smell of Vaseline shampoo.  I also hate their “uno, dos, tres, kwatro” commercial. :-p

6/ On normal days when no one’s pressuring me, I spend a minimum of thirty minutes taking a bath.  But I can adjust to 10-15 minutes when extremely needed. ;p

7/ I don’t use facial wash, I just use whatever soap is in our bathroom for my face.  I actually am scared of putting unnecessary what-have-you’s in my face that’s why I just stick to the basic.  Plus, the basic works for me, because as you can see my face is still clean of pimple marks! :)

*****

Now, I’m passing the award on to two blogs whom I recently fell in love with.

Stuff No-one Told Me >> Gosh, if I could only create comics like this guy, I wouldn’t need a haircut to boost my self esteem!

Mommy Fleur >> Maudey’s been talking about this blog ever since I can’t remember when, I wasn’t interested before because I had my own list of to-love blogs. But once I gave reading it a try, guess what, it swept me off my feet! Haha! I love her bubbly personality (though I don’t know her personally, I can see it in her posts) and how I can feel her emotions in every word she writes. I also love how there’s so much going on in her life that everything seems to be blog worthy! :)

*****

Now excuse me while I let these people know they are being loved. :)

The “do not pass on a chance of getting reunited with your good old friends” Rule

Do not pass on a chance of getting reunited with your good old friends

 

Why? Because you will miss A LOT. 

The stories, the laughter, the to-be inside jokes, the mishaps, the getting out of the mishaps, the food, the drinks, the pictures, most especially the experience (uh, the scenic views are just a plus).

 

It’s been a year since UBE 5 was held.  We were fresh out of college then and having spent every freakin’ day of our lives, plus almost all summer and sembreaks (out of town) together, our friendship was still as tight as any other group who spent five years of togetherness would have been.

 

But since we were all busy building our careers now, we weren’t able to plan UBE 6 right away. It took us one long year to finally think of the idea and to actually clear our hectic schedules for it.

Given this, I thought the reunion would start off shaky.  Since we’ll be doing a lot more of catch-ups than bonding, I thought this time will be less fun.  But no, I was wrong.

When the day finally came, I was surprised by how nothing has changed!  We were still as intact and as loud as we were a year and a half ago.  The long catch-ups I imagined would happen occurred in between laughs and guffaws.  The dead air I thought would take place, did not at all.  It was just like the good old days, the only difference is we are making our own money now, haha! :)

 

I so love these guys and how they were able to suck out all the stress in me all the time we were together.  I love how everybody is fun to be with and how each of us are as excited about this as the other.  Maybe absence really does make the heart grow fonder, because it also made our UBE a lot more fun. :)

To the “famous fourteen”, thank you guys, for the weekend well-spent and for the overflowing supply of lovely memories.

Though our ULTIMATE boat ride was definitely a risky act, and though the Mindoro Sling left us numb (still, let’s thank it for the BONDING it brought about), being with you guys is and will always be an unforgettable EXPERIENCE.

Until the next UBE mga labs, is it Boracay this time? ;p

The “Do not drink the Mindoro Sling” Rule

Do not drink the Mindoro Sling 
(or do, if you wanna get wasted ;p)

No, don’t be fooled by the first taste.  This drink might not spank you at the first few drinks, but it surely will and when it does, you will find yourself… errrr… scratch that, you will not find yourself! Haha!

Don’t get me wrong, the Mindoro Sling is sweet tasting.  One of the few drinks I could stomach because it tastes just like juice, the alcohol content is not dominating at all, which I love.  But after the tenth drink (an estimate, haha) you will experience a little dizziness.  But you will not mind that because you are having a good time, what with the party feel of the place plus the fire dancing going on here and there, you will not mind the lightheadedness.  Heck, you’ll take a few more.  You’ll laugh and giggle with your friends not knowing you already finished one tower and is now waiting for the second.  You will doubt yourself if you could still handle more drinking but you just cannot let this bonding end.  So you take a few more.  And more. And some more ;p.  You’ll take a swaying trip to the C.R. every once in while, that’s just normal, and when you meet your tipsy friends there, you’ll laugh at yourselves and how drunk you are, that’s just normal too.  What the hell, you will not mind if you’re noisy or scandalous with your acts, you can’t control it anyway.  Going back, you’ll see one of your pals vomiting her stomach out.  Is that normal, too? Of course. Haha! If you did vomit, you’ll hate the feeling, but if you didn’t you’ll wish you did thinking that that will make you feel better.

You’ll float your way back to the house, laughing and shouting some more, then you’ll eventually lie flat on your back and fall into a deep sleep.

Waking up, you’ll still feel woozy, but you’ll feel much better now.  You and your friends will talk about the nasty things that happened the night before and you’ll laugh while somebody is reenacting someone else’s comedic feats.  You’ll watch pictures and videos of you thinking “I did that?!” while laughing your heart out. :)

Ahhh… The Mindoro Sling, taking you by surprise, leaving you with unforgettable memories.  What else can I say? Drink at your own risk? :D

The “Take the weatherman seriously especially when you're going on a ferry ride”

Take the weatherman seriously especially when you're going on a ferry ride

Four months ago, UBE 6 was set to a plan. The target dates were October 22 to 24, it was the perfect date then, we saw no problems going along with it. But then typhoon Juan came. And by some sort of misfortune, it came a week before UBE 6!

What seemed to be the perfect plan suddenly became a blur, the reaction was a given, all of us were threatened. Are we going to push this through and risk our lives while in it? >.< But we weighed things over nevertheless. We were dead scared because the transportation by water would last from 1 to 1.5 hours (as what we heard) but we were also excited and we wanted this so bad because this will be the farthest the gang will go to spend UBE. We even had plans B and C (that is to just spend UBE in Laiya, Batangas) if the weather will not be kind to us that day, but to no avail. Kabayan (plan B) and Virgin Beach Resort (plan C) were so darn expensive and we cannot afford them, not yet ;p. We lost three supposed joiners along the way, but 14 remained positive. Yes, the optimism reigned. Or you may call it stubbornness, whatever, but we never said never. To hell with you Juan, we decided to bravely venture into the wild waves of whatever ocean it is between Batangas and Mindoro. We journeyed to Puerto Galera. :)

The bus ride was a breeze. We left Manila at around 7 AM and arrived at Batangas Port after almost 2 hours. No traffic at all. :) While we’re on the way, we saw Mr. Sun smiling, and we took it as a positive sign. Maybe Juan felt our rage towards him and hurriedly flew away. Yeah, well that’s what we thought.

When we finally boarded the ferry (a large outrigger boat that is), the horror began.

It’s also kinda funny ‘cause I wasn’t really frightened of boat rides (before) because I lived in that mode of transportation all my life. But that totally changed as I sit there, eyes closed, fists tightly clenched, praying “Lord God, I know I told my friends “mamatay na kung mamamatay” when we were deciding if we should carry on with the Galera plan, but I was just kidding. You know I was kidding right? I’m not yet ready, please don’t let this boat sink. Please don’t let me die. You’re the best Bro. Amen.”

Imagine you’re on a boat in the middle of a vast ocean where no island can be seen and the waves are aggressively rocking it. Imagine! I can’t even look at the boat’s entrance because when I try to, I could see the water almost coming in. Darn this lucid imagination of mine, I keep on picturing the boat sinking, all of us panicking, screaming, and begging for our lives. :( Oh, and did I mention the guy holding his rosary all throughout the ride? Gosh, looking at him makes me panic even more, it’s like a scene in the movies where the people are all doomed and in the corner is someone praying hardly for their safety, yet they all still get killed, rosary left on the floor or left sinking in the water if they were on a sinking boat. Haha!

But still, I thank God for receiving my prayers on time. We eventually got out of the trickiest part of the ocean after what seemed like a lifetime. We eventually landed on safe grounds. ^_^

Yes, you are correct, going home was a burden we all had at the time, but we temporarily dismissed the idea so we could enjoy the beach. It is, after all, our time to have an ultimate bonding experience. We already had the “ultimate” boat ride; it was time we moved forward to the “bonding experience”.

But if you ask me, will I ever do that again? (the boat ride per se). Noooo!!! Gosh, why don't they have land transpo to Puerto?!

The 30 day blog challenge - Day 05

A picture of somewhere you’ve been to

Last Friday, my oh-so-fun-to-be-with college friends re-bonded. :) Since 2nd (or 3rd?) year, we've been spending our summers and sem-breaks on beach resorts and private pools.  We call it UBE, short for Ultimate Bonding Experience.  And we count them, haha.. We started our UBE zero in Nasugbu, Batangas.  The next ones were generally spent on various Pansol, Laguna private pools (I can't remember the names, though). The only exception was UBE  4 which was on Subic (the farthest we've been to at the time ;p).  Now we're on our seventh UBE -- UBE 6, that is (plus the zero kasi).  

Guess where we went? 

Well..

No less than..... 

Puerto Galera!!!!!

A picture? Are you serious?! I'm not giving you A PICTURE. I'm giving you PICTURESSSSSS!!! Haha! *Daming S?!* It's my first time, so.. yeah. Haha!

 Enough of the above water sceneries, let's go under. :) *thank you my super water proof D10 camera!*

Oh, and here's the gang... the famous fourteen :)

 

Enough of the pictures. Watch out for my next post, I'm gonna attempt and convert the UBE-6 joy into words. Toodles.

The 30 day blog challenge - Day 04

List 15 songs that represent your life’s soundtrack

I realized I’m still far from day 30 of this 7^th rule yet I promised to finish this before the year ends.  So excuse me while I kinda rush into this. Haha! Here goes Day 04. :)

Here’s how this will work: I’m gonna share the 15 songs that went on top of my head as I tried to squeeze out the “soundtracks” of my life. I will also try and categorize them according to whatever I so damn please.  Plus, let me include my favorite lines from the song. ;-)

Here you go:

When I’m having a bad day:

#1 Bad Day by Daniel Powter (of course! lol)

‘Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride

#2 Boston by Augustana

I think I'll go to Boston...
I think I'll start a new life,
I think I'll start it over, where no one knows my name,
I'll get out of California, I'm tired of the weather,
I think I'll get a lover and fly him out to Spain...
I think I'll go to Boston,
I think that I'm just tired
I think I need a new town, to leave this all behind...
I think I need a sunrise, I'm tired of the sunset,
I hear it's nice in the Summer, some snow would be nice...

#3 Please don’t stop the Rain by James Morrison

I don’t know where I crossed the line
Was it something that I said
Or didn’t say this time?

When my heart is breaking:

#4 Faint by Linkin Park

So, I let go watchin' you, turn your back
Like you always do, face away and pretend that I'm not
But I'll be here 'cause you are all that I've got

#5 My Favorite Mistake by Sheryl Crow

Did you know when you go it's the perfect ending,
to the bad day I'd gotten used to spending.
When you go, all I know is you're my favorite mistake
You're my favorite mistake.

#6 Kasalanan by 6cyclemind

Sa iyo lahat ay paharang dahil ayaw mong magparaya
Habang siyay bigay ng bigay at ipinauubaya lahat ng
Makakabuti kahit na pang huling butil ay iaabot sa iyo.
Parang ikay isang inutil na hindi nagiisip wala kang
Nararamdaman subukan mang pumikit wala kang
Natatandaan lagi mong inaalala ang para lamang sa yo
Walang iba kundi ikaw at kailanmay walang kayo
Mapalad ka kung hihingan mo ng tawad ay nagagalit
Ikay sasaktan at sumisigaw ng salitang pumupunit kaysa
Pilit mong kausapin ay di na sasagot akapin
Man ng mahigpit ay di mo na maabot (Patawad)

#7 Lightyears Away by Mozella

It's almost like you had it planned
It's like you smiled and shook my hand
And said

"Hey, I'm about to screw you over big time"
And what was I supposed to do
I was stuck in between you
In a hard place
We won't talk about
The hard place

When drowning in love:

#8 Today was a Fairy Tale by Taylor Swift

Today was a fairytale
You've got a smile that takes me to another planet
Every move you make, everything you say is right
Today was a fairytale

#9 Things I'll Never Say by Avril Lavigne

If I could say what I want to say
I'd say I want to blow you--away
Be with you every night
Am I squeezing you too tight?
If I could see what I want to see
I want to see you go down--on one knee
Marry me today
Guess I'm wishing my life away
With these things I'll never say

On Life:

#10 Always Love by Nada Surf

Slow demands come 'round
Squeeze the air and keep the rest out
It helps to write it down
Even when you then cross it out
But Always Love, Hate will get you every time
Always Love even when you want to fight

#11 I Hope you Dance by Lee Ann Womack

Don't let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance

When reminiscent of friends:

#12 Kanlungan by Noel Cabangon

Lumilipas ang panahon
Kabiyak ng ating gunita
Ang mga puno't halaman
Bakit kailangang lumisan?

#13 On the side of me by Corrinne May

I'm not the easiest person to love
I'm often the one who lets things go unresolved
Yet you choose to be
On the side of me

On loving myself:

#14 Don't Rain on my Parade by Glee Cast/Barbara Streisand

Don't tell me not to fly--
I've simply got to.
If someone takes a spill,
It's me and not you.
Who told you you're allowed
To rain on my parade!

My Favorite Videoke Song, haha!:

#15 Linger by Cranberries

But I'm in so deep, you know I'm such a fool for you
You got me wrapped around your finger
Do you have to let it linger
Do you have to, do you have to
Do you have to let it linger

The “Think this when you’re really annoyed” Rule

Be thankful you are not like them

When I get so pissed off with a person, but I can not shove how infuriated I am to his face, I get even angrier.  I curse him without him knowing.  I plan on getting back, on picking the most hurtful words I can muster so I could throw it all on his way.   I picture out the execution of the plan and with much gritted teeth, my fire of hatred burns even more.  

I’m like this when I feel I’ve been wronged.  

But I’m such a wuss that my “get back plan” remains a plan most of the time.  I just love the idea of hurting the ones who hurt me (or pissed me off), but I really can’t do that. I cannot take the idea of me stooping down to their level just so I could get even.  I don’t know, I just feel like doing it will snowball the bad karma on me at the end, I guess I don’t want to do something stupid then regret it someday.  So I eventually end up in forgetting the mad emotions.  Instead I alter the madness and change it to a feeling of thankfulness. 

No, I don’t thank the person for annoying me, duh?! Haha! 

After all the frustrated attack plans, I end up thanking the heavens above that I am not like (not even close to) the annoyance the person whom I hate is.  I’m not only referring to one person, I’m referring to every irritating person I get to meet in my life.  There’s no sense in hating them.  What with all the negative aura hating will bring, it will be just a waste of energy.  It will not change them anyway.  But thanking, gosh, thanking my family for bringing me up this way, thanking my friends for being such good influences, thanking my teachers for being so effective that I get to become like this, the not-so-perfect- but-not-aggravating-in-a-disturbing-way girl that I am.  Thank God I can still call myself “pleasing”, well maybe not to everyone, but at least to the important persons in my life.  I guess the important ones are all that matter. :-p 

So if you are consumed in anger right now and you can’t do anything to release the resentment you feel.  Just stop for a while.  Gather all your might and withdraw from the fury.  Contemplate.  Inhale. Exhale. 

The last and the best resort of letting go of the rage is to feel thankful, that although you are wronged, pissed, annoyed, irritated, maddened, agitated – at least be thankful that you are not one of them, that you are better than them.

The 30 day blog challenge - Day 03

Day 03- A habit that you wish you didn’t have.

Procrastinating.

Here in the Philippines, it is more popularly known as the “Mañana Habit”.

(proof of this habit is this entry. LOL.)

I think it’s been a good 20-30 minutes since I typed the first sentence of this post.  One minute I’m composing, the next I’m lost in tweeting, downloading and facebooking! Hahaha!

Anyhoo..

I procrastinate at almost everything, I procrastinate everyday.  I procrastinate at work, I procrastinate at home, I procrastinate at the mall, I procrastinate on the web.  I do it like I do breathing, very easy, a norm. 

Maybe I just get so overwhelmed when I’ve a lot of things to do that I am busy at one thing and the next minute, I find myself doing another.  I am a mess like that, but I still finish things nonetheless. 

Or maybe I’m just plain lazy. I easily lose the eagerness to do something when it makes me exert an *extra* effort.   I tend to find other easier things to do when the going gets tough.  Then when it gets hard too, I leave it, and I go back to the first.  It’s a cycle, you know.  Haha!

So there you go… A habit I wish I didn’t have (though I still can’t imagine my life without doing it) is procrastinating.

Soooo….. If admittance is the first step, then what’s next? Haha.

The “Stop Hating. Start Appreciating” Rule.

Stop Hating. Start Appreciating.

How do you describe this picture?

Is it a glass half full?  A glass half empty?

Are you more appreciative of the good things instead of brooding over things that you have no control of?

Are you more aware of what’s lost rather than what is there?

If you say this is a glass half-empty, I pity you.  For you saw past the blessing and dwelt on what’s missing.  Most of us are like that, we may be oblivious about it, but (based on observation) most of us are bound to see the ugly first before the beauty.  But we have got to change that, there are tons of reasons why.

To start off, will hating do anything helpful to you?  Will it change the world?  Will it make you happy? NO.

On the other hand, will seeing the brighter side of things make your world a better place to live in?  Will it make your day lovelier?  Will it make you happy?  YES.

So you hated that you’d have to wake up so early on a Monday morning after you’ve spent your Sunday night on a party.  You were still too tired to go to work.  Will you tolerate the feeling and be gloomy (not to mention less functional) all day at the office because you didn’t want to be there?  No, you should not.  A lot of people out there wish to be in your situation, but they couldn’t be.  They have no job.  You, you have one.  What is there to hate?

Sure, you hate that your partner annoys you every now and then.  You hate how he/she doesn’t always do what you want.  You hate how he/she isn’t always the “better-half” you expect him/her to be.  But the fact that you got someone who loves you no matter how annoying they are (I’m sure you annoy them too sometimes), is one grand something to be thankful for.  Just imagine how many people around the globe were not blessed to have somebody by their sides.  And you, you got someone.  Imagine how those people would appreciate it if they, too has someone.  Shouldn’t you be feeling lucky than annoyed?

Yeah, you hate almost everything. 

You hate your noisy neighbor.  But aren’t you just glad you could hear? 

You hate that your ISP’s speed is 1 kbps when they advertised 3.6Mbps.  But you are computer-literate unlike some percentage of the population who aren’t, right?

You hate that your legs are tired from all the mall strolling you just did.  But you did have the time and the money to go to the mall, yes?  Aren’t you just simply grateful you could walk?

I could go on stating a lot of “you-hate-that-but-aren’t-you-thankful-for-this” speeches.  But I’m hoping by this time you get my point.

I know it isn’t easy to automatically see the beauty of things most especially when the ugly is screaming in front of your face making you forget all the others.  I never meant for you to don’t mind it anyway.  All I’m saying is that, despite its presence, you must always see past it.

Find the courage to know that although there is a bad side to everything, there’s also a good one, and that there is no use in settling in the hate, you must always make a move to go and appreciate. :)

jaq rules for a month now!

Weeeeee!!!

Unbelievable. :)

Happy one month blog!  My wishes for you:  I hope you be filled with more sensible posts.  I hope those sensible posts earn you more loyal followers.  Most of all, I hope your author will not get tired of you. Haha! I'm just glad you got to reach your first month! :)

One month on a 10-10-10! :)  Now if you may excuse me, I want to post my 10th rule on this 10th day of the 10th month of year 2010.

Weeeeee!!!! :)

The “Stuff No One Told Me but I learned Anyway” Rule

You don't need anyone's permission to do what you feel is right for you

I am borrowing this rule from this cool blog site I happen to bump into yesterday.  He's had only a few posts (which made it easier for me to pick a favorite).  I like how his comics say a million words.  I wish I had his talent. :)

On needing anyone's permission to do what you feel is right for you, yeah, you don't need it.  Besides, would it really feel right if you'd have to ask for somebody else's (mind you, that somebody does not think like you do) permission before you go and decide for your own?  I don't think so.

Forgive me if I wouldn't elaborate on this rule that much, I think it's already too long to be overly stated again and again. =p

Visit this blog and see all Alex Noriega's fine work. :)

Before I go, here's another favorite of mine.

Sweet. :)

The 30 day blog challenge - Day 02

A picture of something you cannot live without

Hmmmm.. something I cannot live without.

 
If you're thinking mushy, please stop. No, I will not paste the photo of my boyfriend here.  I will not go on that direction.  Although I definitely could enumerate thousands of reasons why I can't (or should I say “can-but-I-choose-not-because-I-don’t-want-to”) live without him, still, I will not play the role of an overly sentimental girlfriend in this post.  That would be so predictable.  What can't you live without? My boyfriend… Argh…

 
 Nor will I state the obvious fact that without water, I cannot live.  Of course I can't! Alright, show of hands of those who can. (Waiting…) Yeah, that's what I thought. =p If I would be discussing the scientific explanation of why I am (well, all of humanity are) not designed to last without the universal solvent, that would be plain boring.  Well, that would be amusing if I were Sheldon Cooper of Big Bang Theory.  But I'm not, so there you go.

Sssssssssoooooooo… what can I not live without? Hmmmmm…. Aha!!

Sleep!! :)

Ah..my sweet escape.

Try as I may, I am not nor will I ever be capable of making it through life without taking a nap.  Sure, I survived sleepless nights back in college.  And yeah, I also have sacrificed a lot of snorts due to a lot of reasons.  To name a few: heart aches, night outs, blog hopping, book reading, etc.  But after all the happenings and mishaps in my life, I do take a halt.  At the end of the day, I still end up lying down, closing my eyes and falling deep into the dreamland, where I am always welcome to put my mind to rest even after all the times I put it on the bottom of my priorities. Yeah. Just like the prodigal son who’s coming back home.

If I ever regret a thing in my life, that was when I always stubbornly refuse each time my mother forced me to sleep in the afternoon, way back childhood days.  I hated siestas so much.  But looking back and knowing what I know now, I thought… if I had only known how precious sleep was, I would’ve gladly obeyed.  I would’ve jumped at every given opportunity that I could to take a break from all the craziness of my day.  But that was over and gone.  The then “take me whenever you want” sleep, is now a “take me now or you may never get the chance again” sleep. *sigh*

Now, why can’t I live without it?  Let me answer that question with another one.  Can you? =p 

If you’re saying you can, you probably are making a fool of yourself (and that’s not healthy).  Sleep is the ever reliable reward one can give to himself after a tiring day.  It deletes whatever issues you have in mind (until you wake up and you realize you don’t want to get over it yet, haha!).  It is an underrated act of giving one’s self a heaven’s treat.  It’s just that sleeping is so ordinary that we do not see and appreciate the beauty of it.  But as I am thinking deeply about it, it is after all the part of the day we look forward to the most. :)