|realizations_over_churros.con.chocolate|

i met up with sophia and lester last night to catch up on each and everyone's lives so-far with the holyweek over and all. well for me there were more than just catching up on things. in highschool up until now i have managed to have the reputation of having vested interests whenever we meet up for anything. for me it's simply excercising hitting two birds with one stone. being able to multi-task on things would be a more technical way of expressing such behavior. for them, it's plain old taking up time to control a social system or activity from which i derive private benefit. point-taken, moving forward.

so over our favorite merienda (churros con chocolate) in dulcinea at 8:30 in the evening, half-an-hour shy of the mall closing its doors on us, we went on with our all-time favorite topic for discussion, highschool life and how we can't have enough of it. there we went, stories of our misadventures and comparing it to the everyday hardships that life bring now that we're part of the struggling working class. angsts that go as far as how the country had failed us citizens in providing a decent and comfortable life. on how i personally felt shortchanged by the institutional government that makes me break out and seek for asylum elsewhere. gone were the days where all you have to do is worry on how to spend your school allowance hard-earned by your parents. now, we worry on how we can make ends meet up until the next pay day with all of our adult obligations and with the pay that we're getting in return to the specialized skills that we've managed to have developed from the best schools the country has to offer.

i also had lester look into my new insurance policy that would suppose to be better than that of what i first got last year. him being the statistican that he is with keen attention to details as a minor talent, he supposedly knows more of the rudimentaries and technicalities involved in understanding these things. sophia told us the complications of her policy as well and the jargon of insurance policies and who's got a better deal with amongst us all. my payable in 76 years insurance policy is a particular favorite and apparent winner. no joke, it's payable in 76 years! with a promise that it will "self-pay" after 15 years depending on the economic state of our country. NOTE TO SELF: lesson learned--read the contract before signing and never forget the fine print. after asking lester to scrutinize the odds and ends of the policy, he referred me back to the insurance agent and left me to think of questions that i may want to ask. thanks lester...you've been an eye opener.

shortly after having a dutch-treat get together and 2 glasses of colf water to drain the sweetness of the thick chocolate, we all parted ways to get home and made arrangements for another similar meeting in the weeks to come.

***

earlier today, i realized that you can't insist on doing something even if you have the noblest intentions becuase others surrounding you may perceive it as something appalling. insisting it can even lead to it being held against you later on albeit something that you can be blamed on. different people may react to this adversity but as for me, i just had to excercise that respect that i have for others and oblige on making out of that something and decided not do it anymore.

the thing with making compromises is that it takes a great deal of understanding and respect for both parties that allows you meet them half-way. i think that was the best way to go.

|easter_monday_madness|

so many things happened while i was away. and so many things i needed to attend to when i got back in the office this morning.

1. work-- work will always be work no matter what.

2. blog-- enough said.

3. upload photos-- work on my Flickr before the end of March till I use up the allotted space for uploading pictures. wishlist: flickr pro account.

4. update-- update on my 40Things checklist.

5. check out-- the links of people who visit my blog, flickr and 40things and make friends along the way.

around lunch i walked to sunlife to pay for the insurance premium for allan whom asked it as a favor. walked back to the office under the hot sun--what a humid weather we have. grilled honey chicken lunch at stefano's. lots of ice and water. more work afterwards but nonetheless was nonchalant about it. one hour massage at the mabuhay spa at the makati golf club after work to end my day.

|holy_thursday.visita_iglesia.holiday_vacation.blog_hiatus|

i took a much deserved break during the holyweek and so did my blogging efforts. all i did was to go to calaruega in tagaytay on thursday with allan and my college buddies, winnie and o'mer, had a hefty lunch at kitaro and coffee at starbucks overlooking the lake. it was warm and humid but a fine day indeed.

we managed to squeeze ourselves through mcdonald's petron along the south superhighway early that day for breakfast. business seemed to flourish more in this gasoline depot amidst flocks of people spending the holy week differently, mostly on their way to get out of town and escape the summer heat. from car care to food establishments, they all seem to be making more money during the holyweek than any other time of the year.

traffic was inevitable--anywhere you go as long as you're in the philippines. philippines is synonymous to traffic and corruption and anything in between. enough said. that's the way the cookie crumbled ages ago.

after calaruega, lunch, after-lunch coffee to take off the busog and lots of never-ending kuwentos, we headed back home to the metro before dusk. we chanced upon paseo along greenfield city (which i couldn't remember for the life of me where it exactly is) but to no avail, the depot outlets were closed as well. tried going to alabang town center as we all craved for halo-halo or ice monster...closed. finally we hoped to pass by chowking along c5 or eastwood city...closed. we ended up having mc coloso in mcdonald's katipunan before heading home.

|quarter.of_a.century_plus_one|

it's a happy birthday for me and a fun-filled life of 26 years so far with the exception of minor bumps along the way. there are a lot of lessons learned with each and every day with experiences that should teach us to be more mature in dealing with issues and being responsible with our actions. i want to believe that rationality in thinking and the capacity in understanding things that can and cannot be changed are needed and should come above anything else in assessing various situations in life. aside from these, humility to accept ones mistakes, willingness to move forward and not hold grudges are better ways than being driven with pride, stubbornness and a sense of superiority among others. gaining trust and respect from people around you means earning it and being able to reciprocate that as well. i believe that once trust is broken, it's difficult to gain it back but not impossible. having the capacity to spread love and touch the lives of many is better than hatred, anger and greed.

people fail us everyday. doors close, but new ones open. life is too short to dwell in the past. being proactive and recognize the ways to improve and to live life is always a better way to go. no one is ever born perfect, but accepting the things that need change is next to perfection.

i'm getting my self-respect back and moving on...forward.

|advance_birthday_bash|

my saturday birthday bash was a blast! since my birthday falls on the tuesday of this week and the following weekend is still part of lent (where the rest of the catholic community is still either sensibly mourning or getting their signature beach tan lines), the 19th was the most appropriate time to have the joyous celebration. and what a joy it was!

my hearfelt thanks to all of the people who shared this special day with me:

--my mom for preparing pasta and her suptuous cakes: carrot, oatmeal brownies and crema de fruta. for bringing out all our party utensils: spoons, forks, paper plates on woven mats, glasses, punchbowl (this is so pinoy), etc.

--my dad for helping me keep our house in tip-top shape and helped me clean it.

--mark for helping eat the food that was prepared. =)

--allan for coming over early on within the day and ordering mutant buffalo wings from don henricos. can't have enough of it.

--geka for bringing lechon manok and being an early bird.

--jenny and ate che for the grille queen pork, chicken, squid barbeques. there were a lot...as in a lot!

--adrian, cecille and ish for the chocolate cake. it was a real winner like last year. very rich and full of flavor. all i know is that it's from oakwood. thanks so much!

--liz and rodel for the two rolls of cake that they brought over. we managed to stuff everything in the ref afterall.

--o'mer for the ice cream that up to now i haven't tasted since it's well tucked inside the freezer. let me take note of that.

--dennise with her cosmopolitan look was a scene stealer as she brought cake also. i wish i'd gain some weight with all the deserts.

--dave, tess and carissa with their chicken fajitas tucked in pita bread pockets. yum!

--abel, chel and tiana for their california maki. still a rowd favorite.

--winnie, for her starbucks tumbler gift, i'll use it on our trip to tagaytay on thursday!

for all the people who were behind in preparing for this, my heartfelt thanks. it's always nice to have you guys in our humble home.

due to time constraint, pictures will be posted at a later time.

|do_more.be_more|

i am guilty as charged in neglecting my duty to blog. i promised to blog more and yet i haven't been lately. sob, sob... if only i can have the ability to do so many things all at the same time. this will definitely change in the coming weeks.

so many things have happened and yet i wasn't able to blog it. i was able to take pictures of these though so these will be posted in my coming blogs.

thanks to junnie for telling me about 43Things. i recently signed up for one hence i can keep track of a list of things that i have to do in a prescribed amount of time. my own 43things can be found here. so nice.

|urban_detoxification|

for the working class, how does one cope with stress in the workplace?

i came across a similar question in memento's blog entry and have thought of sharing my coping mechanism on stress. i had a challenging day yesterday in the office that i felt that i just wanted to sublimate into oblivion. that would have been a definite first (but that would have to be another blog entry)! but the thing is, i still had another appointment with a colleague later that evening that i couldn't get out of.

so here's what i did to recharge in between.

at times i walk to the ayala station of the mrt from our office in gt tower. it's a long 30-minute walk and and can be tiring for an already stressed out person such as myself. this time, my appointment was in glorieta so the proximity is practically the same. anyway, with my handy-dandy iPod ready and all juiced up i went on with my walk while listening to nathalie merchant of 10,000 maniacs, tori amos, texas, annie lennox, some christmas tunes and astrud gilberto. NOTE TO SELF: with the diverse music i listen to, the iPod shuffle will definitely work for me as well. it wasn't humid that evening and there was just a slight breeze brushing onto my face so that was okay. i then decided to use the walkway and thought of dropping by powerbooks greenbelt3 to relax and unwind. it was a great choice indeed! entering the premises, i just stood in awe seeing tons of books (that i wished i could all take home) stacked together on the table and arranged neatly one after another on shelves. as i flipped through pages of a book, the smell of ink printed on paper made me slightly slip away from the thought that you buy books for the content and not for the smell of ink on paper and the texture of the cover of a hard-bounded book. for paperbacks, i love the waxy surface of the cover as it adds character and appeal to the book. whether it's gonna be a bestseller or not, who knows if the cover will make a difference. my fingers were delighted to shuffle along the pages and slide on the waxy surface of a book. i thought my fingers were smiling with me and thanked me for that treat! =)

fiction, chick lits, fantasy, movie tie-ins, classics, philippine publications lined the shelves on the first floor so as a table showcasing featured bestsellers for the month like works of mitch alboom, paulo coelho, dan brown, arthur golden (memoirs of a geisha), nicholas sparks, rick warren, john grisham, antoine exupery, stephen covey, and a whole lot more.

since i didn't bring extra cash for any possible book buys, i ventured into the second floor and did more book sniffing. first-hand books smelled so fresh like bread out of the oven. magazines, religion, business, hobbies, gardening, cooking, health books occupy the entire floor. though some books are already yellow and had been on display for quite a while, the first time its pages are flipped still emanate a smell that you wouldn't get on any e-book. as compared to an electronic document, the element of involving your sense of smell deprives you of that enhanced experience. NOTE TO SELF: be reminded to delete e-books that are of no use and taking up space in my hard drive.

my last stop was the children's section and browsed some works by dr. seuss and the late shel silverstein. the giving tree is my favorite among shel silverstein's works but last night i read his other popular book, a giraffe and a half. after 5-minutes reading the entire book, it somewhat took care of my 5-days worth of stress and personal problems. even if it's just a temporary work around, it felt like eternity at that time.

how i wish i can be a kid again. for now, i can just be an adult with a big heart of a kid fixing software bugs, making test plans for execution, running test scripts, developing and reporting updates.

postscript: shortly after lunch, i wanted to unwind and stepped out of my cubicle and walked around the vicinity to the nearest used bookshop and got for myself a photography book in good condition for my reading pleasure. it did cost 25% less than if i were to buy it from a first-hand bookshop like powerbooks. i miss borders bigtime, my ultimate bookshop haven.

what's playing in my iPod now?

Hanggang Ngayon - Kyla

When It's Over - Sugar Ray

|cluttered.thoughts_friday|

finally i was able to squeeze in blogging while working. and i could even fill-out a survey (which i'm starting to be fond of) that i borrowed from a blogger friend.

10 random things about me.

10. i need to have at least one caffeine fix (chocolate, coffee, cola) per day. two would have been be better and three would be a blast!

9. i have a blue coleman lunchbox that doesn't contin contain food but my stuff for work.

8. i still want to go to a culinary school.

7. i have so many books and mags in my collection i haven't read yet.

6. the bathroom is my favorite part of our home.

5. arial size 8 is my favorite font.

4. i absolutely adore jansport and crumpler bags

3. a wishful ibook owner wannabe.

2. i'm listening to my christmas box playlist and i'm smiling.

1. i am thinking on where my next travel destination would be.

9 ways to win my heart:

9. be open and receptive to feedback and unsolicited advices.

8. not to be insensitive and dense.

7. meet and exceed my expectations.

6. do something unpredicatably sweet.

5. listen intently to my rants and raves.

4. laugh with me even if it's corny.

3. cook a dish that we'll share and eat together.

2. always stay clean and tidy, fresh and sweet smelling.

1. a good massage.

8 things I carry everyday:

8. my sony clie

7. my digital camera

6. my iPod

5. my cellphones

4. my wallet

3. my school supplies: notebook, mechanical pencil, eraser, gel pen, post-its

2. my hankerchief

1. my brain

7 things that annoy me:

7. stupid drivers

6. traffic jams

5. slow moving trains

4. bad coffee

3. bad customer service

2. phil politics

1. being made to wait

6 places I've visited:

6. Singapore

5. Donsol, Sorsogon

4. Camiguin Island

3. Cagayan de Oro

2. Ilocos Provinces

1. Puerto Galera, Mindoro

5 things I want to do before I die:

5. ride a red hot air baloon.

4. take spectacular pictures of the world.

3. have a book featuring all my photographs over the span of my lifetime.

2. visit and have a tour of a chocolate factory.

1. go on a thrill ride of a rollercoaster.

4 things I'm afraid of:

4. losing my eyesight

3. animals being abused or killed

2. spiders and other small creepy crawlers

1. snakes

3 things I do everyday:

3. listen to my iPod for comfort

2. take pictures of life passing by

1. add a blog entry

2 things I'm trying not to do now:

2. eat while surfing the web.

1. worry about my bills.

1 person I want to see now:

1. SpongeBob SquarePants (?)

What's blaring in my iPod now?

Island in the Sun - Weezer

Somewhere Only We Know - Keane

Uptown Girl - Billy Joel

Hold Me Now - The Thompson Twins

You On My Mind - Swing Out Sister

When You Know - Shawn Colvin

'Wag na 'Wag Mong Sasabihin - Kitchie Nadal

Say What You Want - Texas

|avid_reader_comments|

nikki, one of the avid readers of this blog, my cosmopolitan friend and very dear since the 6th grade had been not only reading but diligently adding comments to my entries. yet, i have not been replying to her comments...not even to single-handedly thank her added efforts even with her hectic schedule as a big boss.

so this one is for her, for adding insights to my so-called-life.

Comment 1: |valentine's.day_madness&mayhem|

hee hee ako din addicted to belgian bites cos mister donut (as much as i don't like their donuts, i'm pro dunkin and gonuts) has a stall here in our office pantry. you can finish 3? ako one lang. i like the one with peanut toppings and my boyfriend likes the one with chocolate sprinkles. eleven pesos din ba yun sa inyo?

nikki, i discovered that they sell it for ten pesos in the malls! what a one peso rip off! hehehehe, recently i had been munching on four belgian bites a day, during the afternoon until early evening. i like the one with little peanuts on top, the one with white chocolate streaks and the one that has a bit of crunch into the bite since it has a chocolate filling added. similar to what your hombre likes, the choco sprinkles is the fourth favorite. it makes me crave this early on.

Comment 2: |slow.wednesdy_midweek|

awww...I'm touched. Thanks!!! we should still meet up you know. when you're not in the boondocks communing with nature, let me know hehe. CORNDOGS!!! Super craving ko yan, i've only tasted the one from muscle beach and with ketchup & mustard, ayos na ako! san pa ba masarap?

we should have coffee or have a chocolate fit at max brenner. as in! about my corndog craving, i like the one from MiniStop since it's cheap and filling. MuscleBeach sells it at 68 pesos but it's really big and it has more hotdog in it than the batter. nacho king also sells corndogs when i went to rockwell but i haven't tried it yet.

Comment 3: nice.day_friday|

hiyee! thanks for lending me under the tuscan sun! but the book is better! i haven't seen love actually...pahiram!!!! hey, i didn't know lost in translation was showing on HBO already!!! and i have that san miguel CD...i super love their version of the coconut nut! haha!

you're welcome. i know you take good care of my stuff so you're always welcome to borrow them. sige, i'll get a copy of the book (under the tuscan sun) so that i can add that to my reading list which has gone longer over the past months. i have little or no time time to read, i always fall asleep while reading. =P love actually is a bit funny but it has a very powerful message on love. it shows love in many ways and forms and for sure there would be one applicable for you. i didn't know many as in many people liked lost in translation! it's a bit off with the usual movies that we see from hollywood but i found it interesting nonetheless. and apparently so did you and so many more. it wasn't really popular here when it was shown but i liked the movie. i love the songs in that cd! and it was priced so cheap...it was a good buy! if it were sold at 450-pesos, i think it would have been money well spent. when it's sang by a chorale, it sounds like a wedding song...hahahaha! the new cd by the company is a good buy as well. nice!

Comment 4: |going_gaga_over.doughnuts|

sounds like an episode of Unwrapped on the Food Network to me! hehehe!

i absolutely love that show! i can watch that all day, it amazes me when i watch how interesting things are made. next time corndogs naman.

|going_gaga_over.doughnuts|

i'm so happy i got into the office before 9am that i had time to eat breakfast while checking on my email and blogging simultaneously. my eating menu would usually consist of a corndog and ice-cold pineapple juice, that's it. sortly before lunch, i'd have pretzels for the heck of a salty-food craving. this time i had a chocolate doughnut from Hot Loops together with my corndog. this much talked about doughnut joint had some popularity as with Go Nuts Donuts so i decided to check it out. checking it out would mean tasting it and doing some online research as well.

here's what i found out from the Universal Robina Corporation website:

...owned and operated by one of the largest filipino conglomerates JG Summit Holdings Inc. (JGSHI).

...dine-in shops can be found at the annex of Robinsons Place Pioneer and 4th level of Robinsons Galleria. but they have small stalls in Mini Stop outlets.

...selections to choose from: Choco-Lickety, Strawberry Good, Strawberry-Filled Forever and Bavarian Dream, are combined with novel, exciting varieties such as Peanut Better, Caramelt-in-your-Mouth, Choco Caramel Crunch, Choco-Nutty Rush, Original Sin (Apple Cinnamon), Cheesecake and Vanilla Crumble.

here's what i think about loopy Hot Loops:

...it's reasonably priced like Mister Donut and Dunkin Donuts.

...donuts are fresh and are made of high quality ingredients.

...has a wide-array of flavors to choose from.

...nothing so special with the other doughnuts in town. all offer the same quality and basic taste. it's just the various flavors that enhance your eating pleasure that makes it different.

...i'd give it a 6 out of 10 for effort.

...will i eat one again? if someone will give it to me for free, i would.

i'm waiting for Krispy Kreme to open their stores here in manila. and to conclude my mini-research on doughtnuts (this is so geeky...), i came across this article on the what started it all. the first doughnuts were made of raised dough and a nut baked into the center therefore calling it a "doughnut". this was one of new england's earliest sweets, although it did not originate in new england. dang!