A long overdue update...

Hey guys...

Sorry I've been out for a few months now. I'm currently fixing my "new" laptop so I'll upload the page with pictures I've taken in here.

By the way, "in here" means I'm in San Francisco. I'm here for three more weeks so I hope to get you updated. Mukhang gaganahan ako kasi bagong laptop eh! hahaha!

See you soon!

How I Love HIMYM...

My friends have always been discussing this US show How I Met Your Mother and I was curious as to what the buzz is.  So I downloaded the first season a few weeks ago and started going through the episodes.

It has gotten me hooked, and here are three reasons why:

A. Barney Stinson is perhaps the greatest bachelor to ever set foot on this planet.

This guys has tons of chicks, and he's doing it with suave and a suit.  Infinitely better than Friends' Joey Tribbiani, and he's incredibly enjoying his time as a bachelor maybe a little too much.  I love how in Halloween he packs up three costumes, namely:

1. A Navy pilot from Top Gun while Danger Zone is playing in the background;

2. A devil who's trying to convince Ted to go to the Victoria's Secret party instead; and

3. A penguin to convince Ted that he's the girl Ted's looking for. 

He's living the life of a bachelor, and he has the money to live it.  He's something I wish I was but I know I couldn't be.  You can call him LEGEN... 

Wait for it...  Wait for it...

DARY!

B. I have a huge crush on Robin Scherbatsky, the character or the real person.

She's beautiful, gorgeous, attractive (I really don't want to put all adjectives to describe her beauty) and she's willing to be friends with someone she knows likes her.

'Nuff said.

C. The fact that "I" was more or less Ted Mosby, the main character of the show. 

Yes, I am somewhat relating to the main character.  This guy is a hopeless romantic.  He wants things to happen in a certain way and he's willing to wait for the perfect moment or timing for this despite the others telling him that there's no perfect moment; just a moment of knowing of whether you made a mistake or not.

The best trait (or worst depending on you) is that he's an OVERthinker!  He comes up with scenarios in his head on what would happen if he said this or he did that, etc., when he should only live in the moment and just look at what he'd done later.

A true gentleman as well, he knows his relationship with Robin will be as friends so he keeps the fact that he still likes her for the longest time while keeping the friendship intact.

You ultimately know as early as the pilot that Ted and Robin won't be together, but it was fun going through the episodes of how Ted tries to make it work and the universe just doesn't seem to cooperate.

That's it for now.  I can't wait to start on Season 2 as soon as I finish downloading it. ;)

Quiz, Quiz, Quiz!!

Here's what Quizbox says about me (my comments in red and italics):

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INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Open this website : http://www.quizbox.com/personality/test82.aspx
2. Take the Personality Quiz (it's VERY short and easy, really)
3. Copy Paste the result to Facebook.
4. Tag your friends including me.
================================================

Your view on yourself:
You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

I have to agree. Mwahahaha!!!

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:
You like serious, smart and determined people. You don't judge a book by its cover, so good-looking people aren't necessarily your style. This makes you an attractive person in many people's eyes.

No comment.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:
You prefer to get to know a person very well before deciding whether you will commit to the relationship.

Correct. Kaka-know the person ko palagi kaya laging sablay eh... hahaha!

The seriousness of your love:
You like to flirt and behave seductively. The opposite sex finds this very attractive, and that's why you'll always have admirers hanging off your arms. But how serious are you about choosing someone to be in a relationship with?

I don't think I like to flirt. Many admirers? Hmm... Pwede!!! hahaha!

Your views on education:
You may not like to study but you have many practical ideas. You listen to your own instincts and tend to follow your heart, so you will probably end up with an unusual job.

Tend to follow my heart? Yes!!!

The right job for you:
You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life.

I hope this comes soon.

How do you view success:
You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

Probably my greatest fear is fear of failure or rejection.

What are you most afraid of:
You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.

Kaya ayokong nakakarinig ng chismis tungkol sken eh! hehehe!

Who is your true self:
You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

Better ask the others. I'm not too sure of myself! hahaha!

I'm here wide awake again...

So guess what? I'm still awake! No sleep, and I can't afford to sleep now or something bad will happen.

I tried to sleep, but I was tempted to look at the movies and series I downloaded from torrents. While waiting to completely download the first season of How I Met Your Mother, I decided to watch Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.


The movie was about Nick (Michael Cera) and Norah (Kat Dennings) who chanced upon another as they were on a quest to find where the band Where's Fluffy? will hold their concert. Nick was trying to get over his ex and his gay bandmates of the band, The Jerkoffs (later Fistful of Assholes), were trying to get them together since Norah was a nice girl anyway. After a lot of stuff happening, they ended up having each other.

I like the soundtrack in the movie and the setting was absolutely great, New York at night until the wee hours of the morning. I wish I could fall in love with some girl in there. Sigh...

Back to the movie, the interaction was great, and there were a lot of funny moments too, such as the Randy's lone fan breakdancing to the adventure of the bubblegum. Some guys have cameos as well - Andy Samberg was a homeless guy, Seth Meyers was a sex-starved guy hailing Nick's Yugu thinking that it was a taxi, and John Cho (aka Harold from Harold and Kumar) was announcing "Are you Randy?"

Overall, it was a perfect movie to keep me awake tonight as I head to work later.

Traffic!!

Two hours!!! Two hours!!!

I just got home about an hour ago, and it seemed like days before I got here. Cars were just everywhere!

There was a traffic jam in E. Rodriguez Avenue as I tried to avoid the traffic in EDSA. And once I get back to EDSA hoping that traffic will cease once I hit Buendia, I was dead wrong as the traffic stretched until Mantrade.

What made the trip hard was that I was so sleepy and I turned the radio up and was literally shouting inside the car so that I don't catch myself sleeping on the wheel and getting into an accident.

Once the Mantrade fiasco was done, I headed to the next gasoline to grab myself something to munch and drink on. I was already thinking of going up to Skyway as I was afraid there's traffic in Bicutan. Of course the genius in me said that I won't be in a jam. Sure enough, cars and buses were there to greet me in the C-5 ramp, which took me another 20 minutes to get out of.

Sigh... I'm so tired already...

Hoping that tomorrow's traffic situation will be much better than today's...

The biggest loser

Well, I'm in another office pool contest where we need to lose excess poundage or suffer the "monetary" consequences.

For our part, we have to lost 10% of our weight during the initial weigh-in. I started at 228 pounds and now, I'm at...

228 pounds!

Yes, and with roughly 3 weeks left in the contest, I need to lose 10% that fast!

So what's my plan? Well, I started heading to the gym since last week so that my metabolism goes up again. I really don't want to go all diet because that would mean I can't go to the gym - you know we need to eat so you won't have any fainting spells there like I did.

I wish Nanay was here to cook me some vegetables to eat everyday. Maybe I should buy those vegetable sticks instead?

Well, I'll keep this blog updated by Friday as the weigh-in countdown starts then.

Sorry for recycling.

I've been feeling a little bit peeved these past few days and while I was talking to K, at first I believed I was irked because of rumors flying about. However, as the conversation moved on, I realized that it's not about the rumors, but the expectations they have on me.

What sucks is that they perceive me as a good guy who's very much responsible that when I royally screw up, it's like my myth has been destroyed.

Anyway, here was a post I wrote in my previous blog. It's about expecting.

Expecting…

What is it with expecting? People are guilty of this, as I am.

We expect good things to happen to us, whether it’s just to make us happy or to accomplish something. When did you not expect to pass an exam after all the hard work you did the night before studying? When did you not expect to go early to work after getting all prepared three hours before your shift?

But still, something happens, whether for some dumb luck you didn’t follow the instructions in the exam negating all your right answers, or you experience a heavy downpour and the traffic jam extends for kilometers. In the end, you fail the exam and you come late for work.

What’s surprising is that if what you expected actually happened. When you pass an exam when you feel confident and you expect to pass, you are not surprised at all. When you get to work early after preparing early, same thing. In the NBA, you expect the Spurs to win, and when they won, most of us were not surprised, right? It’s like there’s no big deal at all.

What then is the result if the opposite happens? The surprise kicks in! Many of us expected the Pistons to win over the Cavs. We were wrong, and disappointed at how the Pistons imploded. Whenever I feel confident about passing an exam and I failed, I get disappointed because I thought everything would be fine. When I leave early to get to work and then I became late because of a traffic jam, I’d feel disappointed too.

What’s the common denominator for the "something wrong" scenario? Disappointment.

Maybe we should just start living life without any expectations. Life is full of surprises, right? Why not enjoy those surprises instead of expecting something to happen?

Expect, and you expect disappointment. That’s something new I learned today.

For those people, I'd like to say I'm sorry for screwing up big time. But I won't be sorry for making you set the bar that high. That just proves you're so wrong about me.

Images with Words

This is exactly what Anakin Skywalker was thinking when Padme Amidala said she was pregnant.

I miss you Maury Povich!


So true.


Like every Thursdays.


If I like this image more and more, I think I'd fall in love with it.

Sigh, I really miss being on the left side of the equation.

P.S. Thanks to Craig's site for these equations. Visit his site here.

Why I don't miss my very first blog

One day, I told my friend K about someone I found special then and eventually I showed my MySpace profile which I haven't opened in about 2 years.

Nothing changed. Everything is still as when I left it before. Three pictures are displayed showing who I was then. K continued looking and went so far as to look at her profile and pictures. Eventually, I let her in to my Friendster account so she can look at her profile there as well.

That's when K saw her blog and I had to tell K that I had a blog there as well. Yes, my very first blog. Of course, K read everything from the beginning, but I never did. I suddenly remembered everything, from the emotions I felt then to the words I said on my blog.

I then realized that I miss everything.

It's true that you try to forget the bad parts of your life and remember those good parts, and I can say that I haven't forgotten the good times we had together.

I miss those times, and maybe that's the reason why I keep looking for the one I can be in love with.

Here's what I really miss:

1. I miss being able to make a girl happy with a simple gift or gesture.

2. I miss being able to hold someone's hand.

3. I miss being able to constantly talk to someone.

4. I miss constantly saying "I love you" using any form of communication.

5. I miss being called or calling someone "baby".

6. I miss waking up and knowing that there's a girl thinking of me too.

To sum it up, I miss being in love and everything that comes with it.

Dream (Part 1?)

I had a dream last Thursday where I was at work, doing my calls while sitting on this:



Now remember, this is a dream so you shouldn't wonder why my office seat is a toilet bowl. Of course, toilet bowls are there for a purpose; I was doing the "deed" while I was working.

Of course hilarity ensues as people do their normal workload and continue to use me as resource, all the while with my pants off! Clients are hearing the water being led out of the toilet as I keep flushing the "thing" down the drain to lessen the smell. My colleagues keep asking me to stop the flushing as they can't hear what the clients are saying.

Pretty weird, no? And all the time I was in there, one thing comes up in my mind:

"Paano ako magpupunas nito?"

The Countdown Begins

Unknown to many, but today, March 26, is when I officially start counting down the days until my birthday.

Birthday Alert! Birthday Alert! Birthday Alert!
Birthday Alert! Birthday Alert! Birthday Alert!

April 23, my Mom's birthday, is exactly 2 weeks before my birthday.
March 26 is exactly 6 weeks before my birthday. Every year I use March 26 as my marker as to when I'll turn a new page in my life.

Why March 26? Because it's also my forever crush's birthday!

December 1988.

Let's call her M. She was my seatmate during class; has always been my classmate since preschool. She was very much fun to talk to; we had lots of great conversations together, none of which I can even recall now. I realized that I liked her and for some strange reason I revealed this secret to some of my classmates and my teacher. Of course those guys do not want to keep my secret, so they planned something.

During our Christmas party, we were playing hot potato. If you do not know the game, it's passing a thing (which we'll call the "potato") to your seatmate while the music keeps playing. Whoever holds the "potato" as the music stops, he/she gets a consequence.

As usual, we were seated beside each other as the game played. My thought was to pass the "potato" as soon as it gets on my lap as I'd rather not get a consequence. Of course, stupid me did not realize that they can always get to M, and they did.

The consequence? She gets to kiss me on the cheek.

She begs that she not do it. With my knees shaking, I implore the others not to let her do it. Of course at the back of my mind I'd rather let her do it! Who would not in my place?

In the end, she did it, and somehow it ended between us. We somehow avoided each other the rest of the school year and we just talked when the need arises.

The next year, we were on different classes. And the next year, and the year after, and the year after next, etc. The awkwardness made us grow apart and we did not have any communication at all for the next 5 years.

We became classmates again during my 3rd year in high school. The awkwardness somehow lessened as we were able to talk to each other. It also helped that no one remembers that I had and still have a huge crush on her.

She was classmate again in my senior year. This time, her friends keep teasing me to her, or sometimes the other way around. I paid no mind since I can easily say that that thing was a long time ago.

Everything changed when it was revealed to me by the bf of one of her friends that she had a crush on me during 3rd grade. I felt so happy, like somehow it was the 3rd grade again. Of course, she didn't know that I knew, or maybe she knew I knew but she didn't tell. It didn't matter.

I mustered enough courage to give her a Parker ballpen during Christmas (which she immediately lost a few weeks later), and a small teddy bear with "Congratulations!" written on its tummy. Yes, it's cheap, but it was all I can afford then.

Of course, everything's moot as we never became an item. I never even had guts to ask her out on a date or court her. We went to different schools after graduation. She found her guy who eventually became her husband, and they now live happily with their 2 children.

Until now, I always remember her birthday. After many calculations, I realized that we will always end up with the same day for our birthdays, and so I used her birthday as my countdown.

I sometimes recall the "hot potato" incident and those moments when we're together, and I'd always wondered if I'd missed the opportunity to be with her. She's happy now, so I guess it's better this way.

I'm happy for you and your family M. Happy Birthday!

Woohoo! I like my shift!

Home at last!

This is the first time I've been on a 2 am to 11 am shift, and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the traffic conditions going to and from the office.

My typical ride should take around 40 to 50 minutes using my usual route, which was riding along the SLEX. But ever since the PNCC started phase 2 of Skyway, I swore to myself that I won't use that stretch going to the office. So a detour had to be made, which has extended my travel time by 15 to 30 minutes.

So I left home at around 1 am and arrived safely at the office at around 1:40 am, which was impressive. Last night, I did not encounter anything like this:




Once my shift ended, I realized that I needed to gas up, and the cheapest premium gasoline nearby was at the EDSA Shell station. This is not normally my route home since I know that the traffic is bound to be terrible. Nevertheless, I needed the gas so I headed there. Once the gas is filled up, I noticed that traffic from EDSA going to Cubao was somehow at a moderate pace, with no signs of buildup. So I continued along EDSA, only encountering the usual traffic at Crossing and Buendia.

WOW!!! That was fast!

Instead of this:



I get this:



Or something to that effect.

So here I am at home, seemingly happy at the good fortune I had traveling. Maybe it's because school's out and summer vacation has started, but hopefully everything's the same for the rest of the week.

This gives me more time to sleep, IF I'm even able to sleep! haha!

Money in the Bank!

urely you know the old stories on how people store their money, right? Well, we've pretty much made fun of how my lola did it - with a handkerchief.

Of course it evolved to wallets and whatnot, but we still made fun of how she'd always use the safety pin and bind that wallet with her duster's pockets.

We knew she had money coming from pamigay from my balikbayan aunts and uncles, so we usually ask from her whenever we come up short. To make the long story short, umuutang kami sa kanya! hahaha

She didn't mind anyway, so she always doles out what we need and she does not ask us to pay for it. So we ask and we ask as long as we're short.

After Nanay died, we were looking at her stuff in the room at the back, as we knew she had a wallet that we could not find. What we found it a few weeks later was not just one, but three wallets/bags with money on it.



Of course, we counted the money yesterday, and those stacks totaled at least 100K. We could not believe that she just kept it in her wallets! She actually has more money than I have!

And look, she has her Social Security Card from when she was in the US then.



There are lots of stuff we also unearthed, but that comes at a later time.

OMG!!

I just had a heart-to-heart talk with my boss yesterday about what I did last week. Guess what? I did it again today!

What the hell's wrong with me? It's like I'm subconsciously sabotaging my career over nothing!

F*CK!

RAAWWRRR!!!

I'm not good at words, but here it goes: I just feel sad to see people hold you in such high regard or status that they think you could not do the unthinkable. If that unimaginable thing does happen, people look at you in disappointment, as if all hope is forever gone.

Well, I'm just human! I don't think I can restrict myself to how people perceive me to be, as somehow the "EVIL" in me will come out.

Should I feel sorry for letting that evil come out? It's not like I don't know I have that in me, right?

Introductions

I'm a certified Lola's boy (LB), nurtured by my grandma and her home cooking for 29 years.

The simplest reason for a BIG me is her. She has a big, generous heart, always ready to share, and I think that's a big reason why I'm somehow like her.

She's passed away for over a month now, and I can say that I'm really starting to miss her cooking. I wish I had learned a thing or two to pass on the legacy, so to speak, but I was too lazy to even try. Now, we're stuck with fried eggs and whatever food we can buy outside.

So I named this blog for you, Nanay. I not only miss your cooking, I sorely miss you too.