Ooh La La!

I’m a self-confessed John Lloyd fanatic. Have been one since he protrayed Rovic in Tabing Ilog. From there, he had become my ultimate showbiz crush. Consistently. Haha! This is so despite the nasty rumors about him being the actual opposite of his on-screen roles. I also religiously watch his movies in cinemas TWICE eventhough I am sometimes not in favor of his loveteam partner. That’s quite an unconditional fanatisicm, I guess. Then out of nowhere, there comes this other guy who causes a shudder on my love for Lloydie.

Him!

My first kilig moment brought about by this guy was through ABSCBN’s late afternoon series, Katorse—aired in 2009 or 2010. I was once absent from my work and got a chance to be a couch potato for that day, when I luckily chanced upon this tall gwapo guy on TV. He is Xian Lim and boy was he charming!

Last year, My Binondo Girl (in which he was a part of the primary cast) aired at late nights. Given that I was under his spell, I stayed up late just to have a glimpse of him. With the ending of Binondo Girl months ago, I rarely see him on TV. Then, just this afternoon while channel surfing, I saw this TVC that caused the hypothetical melting of my insides. Note: If you are also a fan, then watch closely on 00:12 and you’ll surely be as delighted as I am!

I hope Xian’s acting talent will keep on improving (although it seems that he could getaway with his charms in delivering his lines most of the time) so that his fans (including I, of course!) would be seeing more of him on TV and on silver screen. Just like my ultimate showbiz crush who has this tremendous talent on acting and on giving girls that fuzzy feeling everytime he smiles… and even when he cries. Hopefully, Xian will get to that status, because he surely looks promising.

Bittersweet.

I have just accomplished my first week at my new job (yehey!) but until now, I still could not conjure up the words to express my appreciation regarding everything I learnt from my previous job. Maybe I’ll write a better blog entry about it months from now, when I am already pining for Camp Aguinaldo, particularly Bulwagang Mabini and everything and everyone in it.

For the mean time, I just want to say that working for the Office of J5 is one of the best experiences that I’ll surely tell my future kids about. A part of that story would go like, “Cupcake, did you know that your mommy’s weight used to be 112 lbs before it whished to way heavier than 112 lbs which was in 2009? (Haha, no, I won’t divulge my weight figure until I get it back to about 115 lbs.) I would tell them how their mommy partook in consuming free food three times a day everyday (breakfast, lunch, and snacktime) care of all the meetings, conferences, socials, coffee money, etc. and how their mom tried to wash the calories away by jogging inside the camp for sometime, ergo, she eventually grew the love for running.

But, seriously, OJ5 has given me more than a weight gain. There are my co-researcher analysts, the enlisted personnel and high ranking officials who have also become my friends, and the blessings slash perks of working for the Armed Forces, over and above the training in becoming a better and more flexible employee.

Below is my picture on my last day on March 09 after clearing my cubicle. Those are all the belongings I collected over the past two years and three months in the camp.

It was a bittersweet moment.

Life is short. Travel often.

I was born to a family which loves discovering and experiencing places, I have a boyfriend who is keen to exploring territories, who also has a family which enjoys spending vacations at random destinations they have never gone to before (in which, usually, they tag me along and allow me to enjoy their company that is always a delight). Not to mention, once in a while I get to flock together with birds, aka friends and colleagues, of my same feather, who also happen to be kaladkarins slash jet-setter-wannabes! Given this, I have always indulging the LAKWATSERA in me since I was little.

If you have much time to kill for the day and decide to browse through my old posts, you will see that some of my blog entries are about my travel accounts that I posted maybe a day, a week, or if I was really lazy, a month after the getaway was accomplished. Now, I wish to share to my few readers some of my old adventures that I never got to post. Adventures that if I estimate are currently tallied to less than 25 (not sure. Not in the mood to add up), but I plan to increase that number if the world would just not end yet this year. Most of the travels I would share are at local places basically because it is more fun in the Philippines! Well yeah, that, and because my budget for travels is just a sheer bitch.

So, kindly bear with me if I post stories that are way past its due. I will do my best to make my reminiscing interesting.

“With my backpack, camera, and shades, ready na sumabak sa kahit anong lakad!”
Photo: Taken by Jonathan at Mt Pinatubo last year. I’ll share the story soon!

This and Last Year’s Love Day.

A beam was stretching on my face as I read my post for Valentine’s Day way back in 2008.

And yes, I wiped that chocolate cake off my face so clean that God has been blessing me to spend V-Day with the same special person for two years now. Since all the laziness available on earth was lured by yours truly all throughout 2011, I did not share and post any story regarding the love day last year. Hence, let me just share this picture of flowers my Jonathan gave me on Valentine’s of 2011.

The story behind it:  We were about to go on a warm up session before jogging inside the camp (where I work) that sweet afternoon when I found those flowers on the seat of his car. My face is honestly awfully small for it to depict a vast smile that it wanted tomuster from so much kilig. I then found out that it was not the only surprise he had prepared. He gave me a hand-written letter, which, according to him, he had never done in his entire life. That letter just brought about three or four drops of happy tears down my cheeks just ’cause I’m a cry baby like that. It is definitely one of the millions of his sweet gestures.

Fast forward to this year. There were no flowers or letters, but we had one great conversation over great food tonight. You see, since his work hours are opposite mine, we rarely make time to dine in fancy restaurants. Read: The time I go to work is the time he gets off his, and this started months ago when he finally become part of their IT department. Anyhow, given that we both love to eat (and it shows, literally! Haha!) we had a dinner date at Cyma in Eastwood. We stuffed ourselves with sumptuous flavors of baby back and lamb ribs, and cheesy appetizer. I just missed sharing a good meal with him and I’m glad we had it again on V-Day.

 Oh, and before I forgot, earlier today, I found someone smiling at me this morning. 

This fluffy pink bear (and flowers for my mom) was left by my dad in front of my door before he left for work. Thanks so much, Papa!

Until now, this beam is still on my face; not just because of my old post but also ‘cause I just realized yet again how blessed I am today on Valentine’s and on every single day of this life.

Trying again.

One moment, I was missing blogging.

The next moment, I find myself starting this entry on a clean, unspoiled, white sheet of a new document.

I rarely think of blogging anymore, to be honest, and I believe it’s not shocking considering that micro blogging has been the trend on world wide web. So when I remembered to check this Betamax blog, it came as a surprise that it had only been a year that this blog was left in hiatus, although I was actually expecting about a year and a half or almost two years of no new entries. Well, what actualy surprised me more was the lost of my ability to login to this site! My goodie gulay, I could not remember my own password for my most personal account! With this, I could not forgive myself. Right after going through the troubles of verifying the user, having my old password reset by the server, and eventually changing the provided jumbled letters and numbers into my own choice of password, I decided (and still continuously hope) that I’d be able to go hurl myself back into writing, posting, and sharing stories again. It has been what… my third or fourth time on this site that I promised myself to get that urge back to post snippets again… and with all those trials, I miserably failed. So, this time, I will try harder. 

Likewise, I thought of moving to a new site. You know, for a fresher restart? But being a sentimental jerk that I am, I opted to stay here where I started all my tactlessness, rants, and chismis.

Here, I am making this a statement again. No excuses for me anymore! No books, movies, gimmicks, games on my gadget, and food shall steal my time for my Betamax. And note to self: This time, it better be for real.

On former CS and SND’s death

He should not have committed suicide.

Para naman di siya sanay sa Pilipinas at sa mga ningas cogin nitong trials. Because the truth is, eventually, his decision to end his life, along with the revelations, hearing sessions, and corruption, shall all be forgotten by the Filipinos.

Baka nga pwede pa sana siyang magpresidente, sa sobrang bait ng mga Pilipino.

Sayang lang.

Happy Birthday, Babe!

“When someone loves you so much,

you feel like you are the luckiest person… no matter what.”

I love you!

Oh, hi there, 2011!

Nothing gets better when you celebrate and welcome a promising new year with your family. 

I am wishing everyone a healthy life all-throughout twenty eleven! 

THEY turned 30!

Thank you for keeping the promises you made right in front of the altar 30 years ago, even if I was not there to witness it. Despite the significant incompatibility, you two could manage to be strong together, thus, you give us the basic comfort everyone wants and needs—a strong happy family.

We are never cheesy with each other and I know it would feel weird reading super kind and sweet lines from your Bunso.  So I’ll just suddenly stop here. Haha!  

Well, for everyone else, the following pictures being showcased are from the 4days 3nights trip (20-23Nov2010) we had in Cebu and Bohol to celebrate my parents’ wedding anniversary.  It was our second time in these provinces, but on our first trip in 2006, Crown Regency was not yet constructed, which has the rides we were really dying to try.  Another thing, we really love everything Bohol has to offer—people, places, and sceneries—so, it was not hard for us to decide if we shall visit a province we have not gone to before or if we shall just revisit… and now, I know for sure, this will not be the last time I would be in Cebu and Bohol.

Our Undas That Was

"I have never set foot in Mindanao.."—NOT ANYMORE!

I have been in so many parts of Luzon and some parts of Visayas, but never been in the largest island in our country. Until this week!

It was one of the “biglaang yayaan” of my boyfriend’s cousins. And so, isa isa na kaming nagpa-book! To Cagayan De Oro! 

First adventure —White water rafting on Cagayan De Oro River, which I didn’t know is the boundary of CDO and Bukidnon (Hi to my Social Studies teachers in elementary! Blame it to my short-term memory! Haha.)

Then we savoured the food at Panagatan in Misamis Oriental, which was just a 145-peso taxi ride (one-way)from CDO. Panagatan, as its name suggests, is a seafood restaurant by the bay.

After our adventure (and dinner!) on water, we headed to Barangay Dahilayan, Bukidnon for an air adventure. Well, sort of! Hahaha!

I checked Mr. Google and got this ZipZone decsription fom ExploreCDO.com

“Dahilayan Adventure Park is famous for it’s longest dual zip zone consisting of dual carrying cables each 840 meters long from point to point, safety cable is also 840 meters long. Total length of cables is 2,460 meters. Elevation drop is 100 meters with estimated speed ranging from 60-100 KPH.”

So, only now I understood why it was such an awesome experience!!!

Just kilometers away from the ZipZone Park, we went straight to Del Monte Clubhouse to have a taste of their famous steaks! Yeah meeeeen, MEAT!

After several slabs of meat and a 10-pound weight gain, we toured the CDO’s city proper for some pasalubong! And when I say some, I mean 90 kilos of additional baggage weight on plane just cause of pasalubongs! Hahahaha! Well, it mostly contained 30 kilos of fruits, and I-don’t-know-how-much-kilo-of-pastel and CDO t-shirts! It’s always fun to turn the place upside down just to find the perfect pasalubong for your family and friends, even if it usually costs you much!  And their appreciation, oh men, it is just priceless! It so feels nice to know they recognize the fact that you were thinking of them while you were away and while you were having fun! (Emo moment? Haha, sorry!)

Definitely, this getaway was uber exciting and greatly memorable! It was a 4-day delight and now, I can say  “I have never set foot in Mindanao —no more!”

:D

Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Just sharing a story I stumbled upon on Facebook. Some say it’s Paulo Coelho’s.

This great story which i received through email, i am told, is from Paulo Coelho’s blog. Not my own story. sharing this to friends.

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year  old son waiting for him at the door.  

SON: ‘Daddy, may I ask you a question?’ 

DAD: ‘Yeah sure, what is it?’ replied the man.  

SON: ‘Daddy, how much do you make an hour?’  

DAD: ‘That’s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?’ the  man said angrily.  

SON: ‘I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an  hour?’  

DAD: ‘If you must know, I make 150 pesos an hour.’  

SON: ‘Oh,’ the little boy replied, with his head down.   SON: ‘Daddy, may I please borrow 75 pesos?’  

The father was furious, ‘If the only reason you asked that is so you can  borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you  march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you  are being so selfish. I don’t work hard everyday for such childish  frivolity’s.’  

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.  

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy’s  questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?   After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to  think:   Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that 75 pesos and   he really didn’t ask for money very often.

The man went to the door of  the little boy’s room and opened the door.   ‘Are you asleep, son?’ He asked.   ‘No daddy, I’m awake,’ replied the boy.   ‘I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier’ said the man.   ‘It’s been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here’s the 75 pesos you asked for.’   The little boy sat straight up, smiling. ‘Oh, thank you daddy!’ he  yelled.

Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.   The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.   The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his  father.   ‘Why do you want more money if you already have some?’ the father  grumbled.   ‘Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,’ the little boy replied.  

‘Daddy, I have 150 pesos now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home  early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.’  

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he  begged for his forgiveness.  

It’s just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We  should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some  time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.

Do  remember to share that 150 pesos worth of your time with someone you love.   If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily  replace us in a matter of hours… But the family & friends we leave  behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

Uh-oh!

“That’s why everyone hates you,

             because of your f*cking attitude!!!”

-Michelle to Jon on Survivor Phils., Celebrity Showdown

If a romantic relationship has altered into something like Michelle and Jon’s, I believe, it’s time to end it. Too much drama kills. No one wants to die unhappy.

Waddup?

Yeah! Shouldn’t we all be?

Oh, how I heart barney!

Ours is.

LOVE should be easy. LIFE is hard enough.

UAAP Season 73 Cheerdance Champs

Sa mga nagtatanong kung bakit sunflower ang pompoms ng UP: Natatakot kasi kami na kainin ng zombies ang aming brains.

Thank you University of the Philippines Pep Squad, for yet giving us again the BRAGGING RIGHTS! Wag lang pag uusapan ang Men’s Basketball. Haha!

Could have been just another morning.

This morning, I rode a jeepney to my work, just like every other weekday morning in the past 10 months that I have been part of my current office. And just like each of those mornings, I take out my paperback, read it through the ride or sometimes, when I have offered myself only five hours of sleep or less the night before, I fall asleep in between the novel’s pages. This morning was a hangover of that five-hours-or-less sleep. I was in the middle of my nap when I was woken up by a strong bump on the jeepney I was riding. I immediately learnt that we hit the tail of another passenger jeep at Philcoa. The driver and his wife, who was the kundoktora, said that our vehicle’s brake failed to halt it. She was explaining while she gave out the balance of our fare. Great, I whispered. Although I am not sure if my voice was soft enough for a whisper because the girl at my left looked at me, as if wanting to tell me “I know, right? This sucks.”

I was able to get to another jeepney right after I claimed my fare balance. While I was sitting in a jeepney, my mind was wandering.

This day would be remembered by me because something unusual, something out of the ordinary happened. I tried to recall any other mornings I spent on the road going to work. In a week, I have got five days for work. The product times four weeks, and then its product times 10 months. Oh! Minus around 20 days for non-working and my self-declared holidays. Roughly, I already have 180 mornings and among those days, I would able to remember just less than 8 mornings, because probably, something unusual happened to those as well. Like when it was raining so hard that I felt my feet already soaked in water, inside my favorite shoes that I just wanted to cry along with the clouds. Or when I suddenly turned illiterate and not able to read well the placard showing Ever/Libis/Rosario and not Libis/Gate1–which eventually lead me to several road turns and made me found myself walking at the pavement of a street unknown to me. 8 mornings. It is like our minds have black holes which suck in every idea that we hardly ever use.

My mind reminded me of something, an idea I have read in one of the novels I finished on the road. If we cannot remember everything that we do or everything that happens to us, could it still be considered that it actually happened? And say, it did in fact happen, well, what is the point of going through the heap of experience if you are not to keep it at least in your own memory?

I now wonder what is the point of all the happiness and hassles in life. I asked the driver to pull over at Aurora, since I will be transferring to a Libis/Gate1 jeep to get to the office. By that time, my brain has stopped inquiring and I started to appreciate the fact that I, along with about 19 other passengers, almost died from an accident had our jeep cruised at a higher speed with its loose brake. I started appreciating the experience that we could have died in the middle of the Commonwealth Avenue which is not a fab place to die at. We are all still alive, free from bruise. I went on with my day not knowing if I would remember everything tomorrow and if there is something special that I should tattoo in my head so that I will not forget it. Nonetheless, I would certainly remember thanking God yet for keeping me safe despite the mishap.

I’m this shallow.

  (his Facebook status on 19 August 2010)

Telling me you appreciate the simplest things I do for you gives me that great happy feeling.  Learning that you let everyone know how much you do, like you are just so proud of me, gives me a greater kind of happiness. It’s like the feeling of a frolicsome kid in a toy store.  Imagine the euphoria.

Me, asking.

Why don’t I pity the holdaper caught on video while he was brutally being “punished” by Pulis Maynila? 

Despite the confirmation of his wife and relatives on national TV that he certainly lived an unlawful life and that he was convicted due to it several times already, everyone’s feelings are riveted only on the angle of torture and violation of his human rights.  Hey, what about, how many innocent commuter had this holdaper stabbed for “free” wallets, phones, and purses?  Has anyone on media cared to ask and report about it?  I mean, didn’t that person disrespect and violate THE LAW?  Just a reminder.

I understand that everyone is entitled to our constitution’s human rights and I don’t mean to offend the holdaper’s family (nor the human rights activists.)  I know that they are having hard feelings about the torture and the killing thereafter.  He is their loved one after all, we can expect nothing less from them but to react that way.   But, come to think of it, if he had not violated any law, would he be in that situation in the first place?  And if all of this did not happen—if he were not caught, not treated that way, and continued to live—would he have a good epiphany?  Maybe not be contented with just being a holdaper and decide to find a decent source of income or perhaps just simply turn himself to God?  Would his family be certain that he won’t go back lurking on streets, waiting for some victims?  Would he be back praying instead of preying?

A question goes for his family as well, have they asked themselves if they actually did something to make the man change for the better which would have somehow prevented the incident from happening?  Or did they just applaud him each time he brought home good food in spite of the knowledge where it actually came from? 

Again, I’m just asking.

Likely, not so many would be happy with what I am pointing out here on my entry, because at the end of the day, everyone’s being maka-Diyos at makatao.  And believe me, I am that as well.  On the other hand, I am just being rational and I always believe all stories have good and bad side.  And with this “torture story”, it’s like I don’t see any other side.  Tell me again please… Why should I pity this criminal?

Dengue-free!

Natakot ako bigla while watching TV Patrol kanina. Basta, ang mga narinig ko lang, puro LAGNAT, DENGUE, WALANG NAKITANG SYMPTOMS, STAGE 3, NAMATAY.

WOW!

And since, matindi-tinding lagnat ang naramdaman ko kahapon, ayun, ginising ko ang nagpapahinga kong nanay at humarurot kami agad paputang hospital!

We just got home and thank God, negative ako sa dengue.

Now I can have goodnight sleep! Be safe, everyone!