Useless me. Everytime I go to the mall and make an effort to buy presents for my family and friends, I just end up buying stuff for myself. Sheesh.
Now, my list is getting more and more, and I haven't done a single thing. I end up fulfilling only my wishes.
Guys, for this Xmas, can you just be happy for me and cancel out my gift???? :)
*hugs*
*kisses*
Like a little boy, I am excited to meet 2008 and welcome it with big wide hug greeting it with huge smile!
2008, here I come!
To all of you guys, have a good year. God bless us all.
You know you love me...
Best little boy, Francis.
I was waxing nostalgic the other day missing my old friends...
I miss my highschool bestfriends and college friends plus other friends and close friends I met along the way. Though they will never get to read this, maybe not just yet.. but I will dedicate this space anyway.
Tintin is my super best friend. She now resides in Iloilo and I am missing her a lot. We used to be constant phone buddies. She's having the time of her life there and she likes the simplicity of life there. She went there nursing a broken heart, and a little less than 2 years after, she's just counting the days before she becomes a wifey. I would have wanted to be by her side as her love story developed but then she's far away... I am going to see you soon my friend.
Roxy is another best friend. I love her ability to make me smile and feel special. I admire her business skills and passion and zest for anything frou-frou. She's quite a chameleon: she used to be twice my size, then she became half my size, then twice my size and now back to half my size. I don't know how she does it (actually I do) but girl, you better behave. Rox had the hots for me before. hahahaha! and i think until now... kidding!
Cesar completes our foursome. We lost touch before but now we're trying to become close again. We have the same interests, but only I am more behaved. Hahaha! I miss hanging out with Ces. He's the only one who can really argue with me. He's the only one whom I can't seem to manipulate enough. Tough guy.
I miss my other friends too from college. I miss JJ (who gave birth already), Isay, Kareen, Val (whom I jus had lunch with at GT the other day), Jerv, Noel from my block. And of course, my JMA friends too!
I miss Maia Joven too - she's my first FGF. (maia, ask me what it is)
And then the other people I met along the way too. Sigh. There's a lot of you I am missing and it will be unfair if I write all of them and then miss out some.
No, I am not working abroad. And I am certainly not terminally ill. I'm just nostalgic.
And the reason why I miss all of them is because I have devoted sooo much time thinking about work and when I am not, I will be working. I have been cloistered too much that I lost touch.
I do not regret working. In fact, I am the one who chose this. I love this work. But If only I could have more personal time...
I miss. I just miss you.
I declared December 28th my last working day of the year! Withstanding the 10million things I have to do on January 2, I am really imposing a no-work, not even think about it for a single moment attitude. I am sooo looking forward to enjoying my last few days of really not doing anything.
Ohhh. Kahit na di ako na-approve last Friday, it's okay! It's the last working day of the year anyway.
ER and I trooped to Serendra for a little night cap. And we had a blast. It was to have walked on the cool paved streets of hi-street.
More important, we saw Allie!!!!!!!! Welcome back Girl!
I am quite a fan of carnivals, peryas and themed parks. I feel young once again everytime I go to one. But carnivals are not created equal. What interested me with Global Fun was the fact that I can see it from my messy desk everynight. Since I am seated beside the glass windows of GT, I have a magnificent view of Manila Bay, (not too fabolous view of) South Cemetery and Edsa and all the way to QC. In anycase, every night, the lit ferris wheel catches my fancy. It's so big that I can't help but compare it to Paris' The Eye. I had a preview of the site two Christmases ago. But then, by the time we got there, the park was already closing (last day, five minutes away). Aside from the fact that only Yeng Reyes and I were able to go past the guards without paying, the lines were too long. Oh well.
But since they're back this year, I had to go there and try it for myself. I nearly peed when i saw the carnival being set up. Geez.
Cut to December 24. My family went there to make the little tykes shut up. I joined them. And since the ALL ACCESS Pass was quite expensive (500 bucks), my sister and I wasted no time to ride all the attractions. The carnival gave us 2 hours to finish everything. They were closing early due to Christmas Eve celebration.
My first ride, I will call it flying fiesta. It's how it's called in EK. Flash back muna: two sundays ago, I watched Dyan C. puked in all her athletic glory. She said she got too nauseos from the ride. And I thought, what a puff ball? How can someone so fit like her be so frail in this ride. You're just going to fly around in circles??!! What's so nauseauting? Having thought of this and expecting nothing else but this, I went in in fully glory almost schmuck about this. When the thing started rotating I even blurted out "Child's play!" It was just spinning round and round until...
The swings started to move tooo fast I was literally being brushed to the sides and the seats rotating 360 on top of the whole revolution! And the worst of them all, it was moving up and down in various speeds. Fir the first time, I felt like my stomach soooo empty and so light headed. I knew I was ready to throw up. Yuck. I just kept swearing for the next 5 minutes. That ride caught me unprepared; belittling it was not the brightest thing I did.
Then the ranger ride happened. YOu will be literally suspended on mid-air in reverse glory for like 5 seconds and you anticipate what will happen next. Will it dive down face front, or slide down back first. What hurts the most was the fact that most of the other riders was seated with someone and screaming their lungs out. I was almost choking sa higpit ng cushion in my stomach and no one was beside me. Hmmph. On top of, I was kinda scared that someone might throw up and you know the law of gravity...
The other rides was so-so. But the most challenging was guarding my three little tykes. Di sila natakot at all while we were at the highest point of the wheel. And Im talking about a 5, 6 and 8 year old kids. They kept moving around, making harot and really making the capsule move. I wasn't scared of the ride. I got more scared with the responsibility of having to look after them.
The perya games were too difficult! The food sucked. The ground was made with stones. It's so hard to walk on them. And it was too humid.
I guess I'm just dizzy. My only source of happiness are my cute photos. I am posting them separately later on.
Are you familiar with this line? "I know you love me... xoxo" No, it's not another line from Ate Luds (or a follow up to her popular "Kilala mo ba ako?" - in a very raspy voice). It's a line from CW's Gossip Girl.
Gossip Girl is nothing earth-shattering. In fact, the story's quite gasgas already. But I am such a fan of catfights. Gossip Girl is a story about two best friends and their entangled love lives and society brouhahas. And all these are documented by a know-it-all blogger called (what else, but the title role) Gossip Girl. She's the society chronicler of anything dirty and scandalous. She's not necessarily the eye-witness, she's just the messenger to the world. I think here lies the charm, gossiping is such a favorite pasttime. But rumor-mongering and judging the lives of celebrities and pseudo-icons, it's fantastic! You see, if you're someone who loves to ready lifestyle and society pages more than the headline section, then you will love this series.
Gossip Girl features the lives of Blaire Waldorf and Serena Van Der Woodsen. And Gossip Girl is very busy spreading the news: the return of S from a mysterious hiaitus to a boarding school off-manhattan. The return enrages B. She's quite confused with the return of her best friend especially since she's ruled her class in her absence. She's become the Queen Bee no less. But with her return, not only is her stature in limbo, but a lot of other things unravel too: discoveries about her boyfriend Nate's relationship with S, discoveries about her father and her constant disinterest with S.
Cruel Intentions / Dangerous Liaisons and this show have very similar plot. It's about high society schemes and how manipulative they can get. And this is where catfights come to play. They try to steal each other's thunder by playing dirty. While in the end they become BFFs again, the road to recovery is really interesting.
Maybe, just maybe (and I will never admit it), the thing that I loved too about this is that they live such grand lives. While they are school-aged children, all they do is party, drink, make out and have more parties. I've never seen social calendar this busy. Then again, if my surname was Waldorf, or Ayala or Ty, I would do the same too. Oh wait... I'm not admitting that for the risk of being called shallow. Hehehe.
Point being, the lives of the rich and famous are ever so entangled because they're desperate. They try their best to keep themselves interesting and everything just revolves around it. It's quite highschool, if you think about it. Of course, those people living in Manhattan and the landed rich, they never really care about anything else, all they care for is to keep the family jewels and then get some more.
I finished the DVD in 2 days (that's something for me especially since my attention span is only comparable to a fly's). On top of this, I switched in between episodes of the whole season 2 of Heroes.
Like I said, I broke family tradition this year. Instead of trooping to a movie house to watch an MMFF film, I instead fixed myself a very comfy spot at the sala and without taking a bath, nor standing up, unless uber necessary, I became a couch potato. The only thing missing? Flies.
It's all good. I get to rest (a much deserved one) and recreate! Nice!
I'd love to be Chuck Bass. Watch Gossip Girl now. Start Gossiping.
C'mon! Don't be self-righteous. I know you'd love this too. Admit it.
Wait, I think it would be lovely to....
I've allergies on my neck now. It came from something I shouldn't have eaten in the first place, but did. Now it's haunting me. Everyone thinks it's a hicky. I will not comment any further. Lot and Myrrh know the real story. Ask me if you want to know too.
Anyway, last night, I kissed a couple of girls in the party. And then I got kissed too. It was a pleasant surprise. I love it. And until now I cherish it. As to who it was, that's a secret.
McCann had its Christmas Party last night at Warehouse. It was very, very fun, especially the mini-programs they organized. Since McCann has a lot of new hires, it only meant more production numbers. I would love to give my comments but let's save that for another entry.
For this entry, I am just going to reflect on what / how I felt last night. Since the theme was VHMA or Video Music Awards, we had to come in as like we're attending the awards night, either as celebs or as fans (i guess since some people didn't bother dressing up!). Anyhoo, it was fun and all. I wanted to come in as a member of the FALL OUT BOYS and then changed it to RIHANNA but then I am too white for her. So I went back to FOB. Then someone called. I was going to be part of this presentation daw. Heavens. First time ko sumali sa isang program. Kakatuwa naman but of course, nakakatakot yun.
Mas natakot ako when they said we're coming in as Madonnas. Like the VMAs in 2000 where various drag queens appeared as Madonna through the decades, we were going to do one like that. I couldn't think of a song, but in the end, I-van gave me Take A Bow. Hmm, I thought it was kind of decent. Cut to the video that Adel sent. Shucks. Mahirap. May emote emote pa si Madge dun.
I was in denial for like a long time until when finally when Peter was calling for rehearsals na. It was then I realized this is serriiious. Peter had his gown made. I-van din. JC din... Then Dennilu nags me for not preparing at all! Well, sa totoo naman, I have never crossed dress in my life nor put make up on. That was new to me. At siyempre, wala rin akong high heels or anything like that. So parang lost boy talaga ako.
Being the el cheapo that I am, I called a reliable stylist and asked for her help. I gave her the video she needs to copy. And she did naman. The whole look, mood and tone looks right naman but siyempre magkakatalo yan pag nagsuot nako.
I came to the venue late since I had to work pa. By the time I got there, most of them are already prepped up. When I was changing, I realized how difficult and tense this whole thing was. But I know it's just for fun. But I guess my only beef is that I've always been conscious when I am with people then biglang ganito. Oh well. One night only.
So while changing, I couldn't help laughing because rather than looking like Madonna, I ended up looking like a Principal from a HS in Binondo, well perhaps a sluttier version of that. And when I wore the shoes, akala ko duduguin na ang mga ingrown ko. It was hard enough to stand still and to muster the pain (ang lapad kasi ng paa ko eh), but to walk around was harder. Para akong maton na bading. Ang pangit.
Then when I was ready to go out na, Lisa gasped and noticed that aside from the fact I look matronly, I actually had zero transformation. I didn't have make up on, no hairstyle, and my goatee was still there. Lisa called for an emergency action with the capable hands of JC. In 15 minutes, I was coiffed to look like the matronang tita of francis chua, na titser DIN sa Binondo. oh well.
I had no idea whatsoever what my make up was like. when I looked at myself, i realized na i look kinda stupid. What with the blue highlights and big face. Para akong arinolang may toilet duck! pero ang galing ni JC to have put it together. The drama is really there. Galing galing ni JC!
During rehearsals, I was supposed to emote like I lost someone; that I was crying and trying to look for comfort, as like the video. But when i acted it out, everyone guffawed! Sabi nga ni Lisa, para akong si Mao Tze Tung. Ang tigas ng galaw and all.
But last night, after 5 stolis with royal, I think I gave a good performance.
To top it all, muntik nako matalisod while emoting. Manipis yung takong kasi. Eh Im just wearing my undies underneath so medyo flashing ito (pero mas matindi ang flashing ni Gem). I intentionally pulled my skirt up since maganda naman hita ko: Smooth, sexy and nicely-shaped (nyahahahaha!). So every time i sit down, hello fresh air! Mas masarap pala mag-skirt kesa mag shorts. It's like you're on commando!
Anyway, the night finished and several photos after, I realized that this whole drag thing is really not for me. I'd never have the guts to walk around outside wearing that. More important, I don't think I can stand on elevated heels for more than 10minutes.
(here's a trivia: that pair of shoes I wore was the exact pair beatiful model Isabel Roces wore during a shoot. Yes, she's also a size 10! Could you believe that!?)
The party was super fun, but really, I think it will really take a huge lot from me to be wearing drag again. Oh well. One night only, as the dream girls said.
I got this sms last Sunday that cracked me up. I found the text quite witty actually. Read on:
Ngayong malapit na ang Pasko,
Dalangin ko kay SAN MIGUEL na isakay ka sa RED HORSE patungo sa WHITE CASTLE, doon sa BARCELONA, para makilala ang GENEROSO at mabait na EMPERADOR na si ALFONSO at manood ng mga MATADOR habang umiinom ng FUNDADOR.
To those who think otherwise, pagbigyan niyo na ako. I am come on, can you do something like this?
I've been shopping the last few days a lot. It's not even because the bonus this year was big. It's only because I've been feeling terrible from all these stresses I've been having. I guess sa sobrang asim ko the past few days, I've channeled them all to therapy, retail therapy that is.
Imagine, I bought all these stuff in like two weeks!
Viktor Jeans: though i am so excited to wear them. I got an all white pair with white leather straps and yellow stitches on the side. oooohhh..best of all, slim fit.
Puma gold shoes: it's a steal. I've been getting raves for this. Soooo worth it.
Brown Suede Puma Shoes: Nice. Nice. Nice.
Topman Jacket x 1
tyler polos x 2
Zara polos x 2
CK Underwear x 2
And some other small stuff. Well, to other people this isn;t a big deal, but for me it is. I think (or want to think) all my hard earned money is going to all these pieces.
Now I have to work harder to be able to pay for them. hehehe.
It's been a very busy December for me despite the fact that we're just a week away from Christmas. And I thought that this was going to be my much needed respite from whole year's labor but no, projects still kept coming. I guess the saddest part was that I expected to have a vacation. Oh well. But now I'm back and I can afford to write a few entries here. I guess I shouldn't complain. I just want to take this chance and look at things differently. This is perhaps that time where I can prove to myself that I can do other things aside from activation and retail stuff.
The last TV campaign I did was a year ago. It was for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This was produced alongside the launch of Buhay Coke and Coke Light Have it All. While the Coke TV spots were all canned, the other ground work was all localized. And having to do it by yourself (alongside with your boss), and a control freak client service director, things would really get messy.
I have no regrets working on that alone as I can say I matured pretty quickly from that. I learned to be resourceful, to smile under pressure and to be very thorough. I learned how to take control of my time and to use it to my advantage. I guess those are the upside. But the downside is, I'd go home late at night feeling really empty and tired. I felt empty emotionally as all I can see is just work (and clients) and not being able to go out and have a little break. That really drained me to bits.
But this time it's different. It's the holidays, for crying out loud. Can't one even afford to feel what this season is all about, thank Jesus and have a chat with the family? I guess not. We have deadlines for the 24th and the 26th. Requirements just keep coming. And clients sometimes forget that we manage people here, and not vending machines. And that we actually need to pluck this people out of their houses when we have to ask them to come to work.
I guess some people can be really simplistic about these things. They're paid anyway, they'd say. Worse, they have this very sickening thinking, "others would die to get this". That's no way to treat a person, a partner, a confidante.
My three years on this account has been getting quite predictable. Dec 2004, I was the only AE left working on the floor during the long Christmas Break. Dec 2005, me again. Dec 2006, me with a handful of other AEs. Dec 2007, it will be me, Ria, Myrrh, Lot and Shali and Emma. Oh well. At least mas marami na kami this time.
I am not really complaining or anything. I just feel a little bit Grinchy and Scroogey about this whole thing. Other people expect us to bend over backwards and tell us what to do and what not to do because they have already planned their lives ahead. In this case, we can't even say no. After all, I am paid to do this.
Merry Christmas Office.
What can I say? I am really corny. I am bakya. I am jologs.
:)
I will not name here because I believe in protecting people's credibility. But I just really want to share this funny experience with her while it's still fresh in my head.
HY is the head of this pseudo-powerful group in this quite powerful network. I have known her name from way back since she is kinda showbiz anyway. Little did I know that my impression about her was true. She is indeed kukubel.
We started talking at 5:15, and when we finished it was about 7. For almost two hours, she had nothing but praise release. Praise release as to how her ward is like the country's most popular, the sexiest, talented, fairest and most educated out of showbizlandia. To her mind, Claudine and Juday don't exist; only the "brightest" of her ward exists.
Well, she's the group big manager anyway. That's expected. But what I can't stomach is how she started throwing her moldy-oldy ideas like they were Cannes contenders. And how she pointed out that SHE SHOULD BE WORKING FOR AN AGENCY. Well, for a motor-mouth like her, she could certainly be in Accounts. But her ideas are all moldy.
What more, when she started dishing out her mumbo-jumbo about her latest "discoveries", she was almost orgasmic how this "miss real estate" was like God's gift to mankind. I asked myself (i tuned out since 5 minutes into the meeting), why is there even a contest for miss real estate? What's it for? Ang babaeng amoy lupa, kasing lapad ng condominium unit, or has the potential to sell the most? Or was it a dummy search for rich DOMs to donate their real estate to?
Anyway, she went on and on talking about the (yawn!) things she did for her group. She even, at one point, told me how to do my job! And whenever I tried to bring it back to topic, she would find a way to get back to her story and the role her new "discoveries" are going to help.
Finally, she was near tipping point. She was already arguing with herself (like GOLLUM) as to whether this girl is her talent or not...
It ended with her giving out this very blonde and ditzy comment about her ideas. It's sooooo cute! (I DON'T NEED CUTE. I NEED SALES!) I love it so much (OPERATIVE I. ONLY YOU LIKED IT; I DIDN'T) . I'm so sure you liked it too. (NO, NOT REALLY) Really, I think it's going to be cute if we do this!!!! (AGAIN, I DON'T NEED CUTE. I'M NOT REPRESENTING SANRIO HERE.) TOGETHER!!! (NOT IN THIS LIFETIME)
My response: Let's see.
I'm not even a fan or an avid watcher of that network!
Most of the time, I take the FX going to work. Aside from the fact that it's very convenient and cheap, I feel quite safe riding it (compared to riding the train, bus or jeep). But this morning's trip was rather unusual. It was a mixture of feelings.
Since I left home quite late, I thought I should go take a cab to work. But then the Chinese side of me said I should go take the FX instead. And so I made para this jeep and went in. There's this lola inside who kept smiling at me. And as soon as I sat down, she immediately looked for her coin purse and started counting coins. I initially thought, "wow, this old lady was very happy to see me, but why? Is she our family friend??" And when I saw her taking her coin purse out, I then thought maybe she's going to give me ang-pao (hey, it's never too early for Christmas!) but why here? Hehehe.
No, seriously, I know she was glad to see me because now she has smeone who she can make utos to hand her fare. Nice one. But then when I gave her fare (P7.00) to the driver, the driver asked where...
(loud ugly music playing)
Lola: sa Tayuman...
Driver: huh?
Lola: Sa Tayuman...! (irate with the loud music)
Driver: Eh, kulang po ito. tumaas na po ang pamasahe. P9.00 na. P7.50 na ho ang pamasahe.
Lola: Ay, senior po ako.
Driver: Eh dapat po, P8.00 hindi P7.00; kulang pa din.
Lola: Ang mahal naman..
Then enters this girl with fake swarovski crystals and belt bag. She immediately asks, knowingly, "ano ba ang problema, senior sya ah!"
Epal Girl (to the driver): Magkano ba hanggang Tayuman (why is everyone going to Tayuman?! Visiting Tita Minerva sa Singalong, Ricky, Joey, Amy and Tikboy??)
Driver: P9.00 po.
Epal Girl: Ang mahal naman! Dati, P8.00 lang ang binabayad ko ah. Ang mahal. (she mutters incessantly.)
Driver: (Sounding very annoyed already) Eh tumaas na nga ang pamasahe eh. Tumaas na ang pamasahe! Kaya P9.00 na.
Epal Girl: Eh hindi ba pwede tawad? P8.00 nalang. Senior naman siya (point to lola) eh.
After much discussion with the driver, the already-annoyed driver just said yes (hoping to end the long discussion). This know-it-all paid P8.00 TOO for herself and her kasama.
But she proceeded to babble along to the lola in Chinese discussing that one should never giving up when it comes to haggling otherwise they will really BE CHEATED. And that she should assert more next time.
*************
Here are my random thoughts about it.
1. My initial thoughts about the lola have all been erased with the entry of miss know-it-all. She literally made pakialam everything! And since when did we start haggling for jeepney fares? Though I know that jeepney drivers are not the most honest and decent drivers around, but heck, they drive for a living. And with gasoline prices skyrocketting every month, I think a peso spared is still a big loss. Now, again, back to the point, and since when did we start haggling for fare prices? It was an indiscreet act of disrespect.
2. The fact that those passengers could afford to pay a peso more, what stingy people they are! C'mon. They're not pulubis off the street that they cannot afford to pay a peso more. This girl with the fake swarovski jewelry was loaded. She was wearing a knock-off Lacoste top, knock-off Lacoste bag, some fru-fru pair of jeans and ipanema sandals plus carrying a knock-off Lacoste purse (what's with Lacoste and it being faked?), I know she could afford to pay P2.00 more. She has a hired help for crying out loud. Let's say she's underpaying him, but the fact that you are able to shell out at least P1,500.00 more each month, what's P2.00???
3. They are Chinese. Call me conservative but I never argue with anyone (unless I am right) on the street, especially if it's about money. You lose it, you gain it back later on. My world's not going to end because I was shortchanged. But what bothers me is that they were Chinese arguing about petty amounts, and trying to make barat and lamang to worker. C'mon! I think that's really wrong. I won't stand for them.
When I got down the jeep, I gave miss know-it-all a doubtful look. I just wanted to tell her that though she's old and perhaps cunning, she should be fair. It's not even because she wants to get even, or something, but she has to follow rules and be discreet with her ways.
***********************
Cut to FX ride. I was just too relieved to see that the FX was still there. Then we waited for like 20 more minutes until the FX got quite filled. On the 21st minute (time brought to me by Speedo), the ninth passenger sat. Hmmm, one more passenger then we're off to Makati. Ten more minutes passed but the tenth passenger hasn't arrived yet. I was getting impatient. Late na nga ako umalis, late pa yung FX, anong oras pa kaya ako makakapasok nyan?
So I checked my pocket if I had 35.00 pesos more. When I got out of the house, I know I only had the exact amount since I haven't withdrawn money yet. But thank God, I kept extra money in my wallet (actually, I took it from mom's change this morning, hehehe). So I paid for the tenth person's fare so we can all go.
Then this guy tapped my knee cap and said thanks. I didn't hear him, though I know he said something (i had my earphones on). I removed my other earphone and he said thanks again. I gave him a strange look, and he said, "para sa bayad. buti nakaalis na tayo." And I just smiled and nodded my head.
That guy was sweet. Now time to get back to The Company singing Now That I Have You.
****************
Blah.
The seniors really freaked me out this morning. I have always been biased about lolas. I think they're cunning and opportunistic. They use their "seniority" as an excuse to "get ahead" and get something done.
That's just my opinion.
