finally, lovestruck.

i'm back, baby!

2008-09-26T02:08:00.000-07:00

oh, i miss blogger so much! more posts to come! :)

on blogger break

2007-08-13T08:54:00.000-07:00

since i am a busy girl with work, law school, family and of course, hunnybun (yihee!), and because i find multiply to be more convenient and easier to use plus the fact that all my friends and sorority sisters are there to read my spur-of-the-moment journal posts, i am declaring myself to be on an indefinite, blogger break. oh, boohoo. =( i will definitely miss blogger because this is where i started as the gorgeous blogger that i am. teehee. anyway, i promise to be back, mr. blogger, as soon as my schedule relaxes a bit (i.e. sembreak). so for the meantime, guys, please feel free to be updated about me and what i do and think about at http://starcie.multiply.com

toodles!

quickie update

2007-07-19T22:14:00.000-07:00

i am still alive. given my jampacked schedule of work, school, hunnybun and family, i have less and less time to blog. argh. oh well, certain sacrifices have to be made. after all, i can sneak in a few minutes of blogging every once in a while. like now, for instance, while i'm eating chowking takeout (siomai is LURVE) and procrastinating a bit into finishing my criminal law assignment. hunnybun, on the other hand, drove me to and fetched me from UP a while ago and now, while i'm here all alone at home, he's out studying with his study group. i told him to do a cinderella though and be back home before midnight or else, i'll turn him into a pumpkin! hahahaha. :)

anyhoo, i know i'm rambling since this is my outlet for my otherwise hectic life. this is my way of deviating from my world of schedule and order so please bear with me, guys. hehe. oh, to all my friends who didn't know, i was sick the entire week last week and was even hospitalized. it turned out that i had acute hyperacidity and my cough has complicated but i'm pretty much feeling better now though i still have to go through a lot of medical tests. hopefully, everything will turn out to be fine.

i promised myself that i will not let the stress of law school get the best of me and so far, though i have been pretty much non-existent in cyberspace, i know i am doing fine. i said to myself that law school is just a part of my life, not my life, so i will not let it rule everything i value. it is one of my priorities but it is not the only one. that is why, everytime i feel stressed out, i shop, watch television, spend time with my family and hunnybun and of course, eat and sleep. hahaha. i still am a grepa at heart, no matter how busy i may become. i miss all my friends though that i can't wait for the sembreak! anyway, my idle time is up again. good night, everyone! :)

P.S. i'm going tomorrow night to megamall since the schu branch there is the only one having a midyear sale. YEY! i am EXCITED. i am certainly getting a ton of pairs! :) plus, hunnybun and i will be going on our usual, friday night date. WEEEEE!! :)

a prayer

2007-07-05T00:29:00.000-07:00

God, i know i am difficult. i am moody, messy, whiny, bratty, and impatient. i am demanding. plus, i have become so busy that even the smallest things irritate and annoy me.

thank you, Lord, for hunnybun who buys me lunch and dinner everyday, who supplies me with my needed medicine, cleans up after me, washes the dishes that i have used, lays down my change of clothes on the bed for the night, drives me to and fetches me from school, fixes my discarded stuff, runs my errands for me, in short, pretty much does everything to make my life easier. oh, thank you, God, for giving me irving. he is my rock here on earth. during moments that i am ready to give up and i tell him my lonely dreams, everything seems all right again with just his embrace. please, God, help me be worthy of having such an amazing and selfless person as my life partner.

no sacrifice, no victory

2007-07-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

busy, busy. ok, so this has been keeping me uber-occupied lately so i don't blog that often anymore. however, i still manage to squeeze in some quality time with my family and with hunnybun, of course. and shopping! how would i destress without it? and like last night, hunnybun and i watched transformers, an amazing movie, hence, this post's title.

ok, my idle time is up! back to reading. :)

needing retail therapy

2007-06-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

law school has officially started and even if i have only endured two days of it, i am experiencing a little bit of stress, the kind of stress that makes me want to drop everything, drive off into the sunset and go to the beach. i miss having lots of free time! i miss watching soap operas on television and eating dinner at home with hunnybun. pfft. plus, i miss doing absolutely nothing! i am so busy lately that i am on the verge of lashing it out on almost everyone. oh no, i certainly do not want to throw bitch fits!

that is why I BADLY NEED TO GO TO SCHU, MANGO, ZARA AND RUSTAN'S TO SHOP. i really, really, really need some retail therapy! that's it, i'm going tomorrow before all hell breaks loose!

P.S. i used to destress by flirting. hahaha. the problem is, there is nobody in my classes i can flirt with! :p oh phooey. peace, hunnybun! :)

over margaritas and lots of cobwebs

2007-06-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

approximately two years ago, i started this blog. on that note, let me greet my blog a happy second anniversary! cartwheels and somersaults all over! weeeee! :) anyhoo, i remember that the first guy i blogged about and was particularly giddy about was a guy that i grew really, really close to over the past two years. yes, we had our ups and downs and even ended up pulling each other's hair and got into the loudest, shouting matches but i consider him now one of the really few people who know me and understand me, even at my most superficial state.

even now, despite my commitment to coupledom bliss, he is still a staple in my life and since my bestfriend is so unreachable lately, he has become my 911 for anything, from the most mundane of dilemmas to the most personal, even love problems! ok, ok, when has he become my dr. love? when he was so complicated when we were "together?" yes, things have turned out to be somewhat ironic but i appreciate the time and the attention he is giving me now. he is one person at this point in my life who would be there for me with just one text message and he would materialize in a flash to wherever i need him to be. and that's the beauty of this irony. when we were romantically linked, he was never there and i could not feel his compassion. but now that we're just friends, i totally feel it and i see how concerned he is for my welfare and happiness. i am happy now that we have reached this kind of relationship. if we couldn't be together, at least, we could be really, good friends.

over margaritas and some reminiscing the other night, i realized that we have gone through a lot. we had fun and we were able to experience a lot of things other random people wouldn't have. he taught me a lot of things and without my relationship with him, i wouldn't have discovered who i really am and what i really want for myself when it comes to love. he made me realize how important one chance is and when you blow it, it would be hard for a partner to trust you once again. i regret my mistakes but i am glad that i made them because without those mistakes, i wouldn't be this happy, contented person now.

while we reminisced the past, it was funny that i could barely remember the things that happened to me before and the wild things i was able to do in front of him. he kept reminding me of people, places and stuff that happened and it was so funny that he remembered them better than me. i saw then that even if he was putting on a nonchalant face before, he was paying attention to me and he was concerned. though i reached out to him that night over a superficial, selfish problem, i was enlightened in a different light. though i saw him all the time as a flaky, indecisive person, i know now that he is a person who will stay, a person who will be with me in the years to come as i make my dreams come true. yes, it's been a long, long time since i blogged about him and i know this would cause some people to raise some eyebrows and even irritate my boyfriend a bit, but what the heck? people like him come only once in a girl's life. he has seen me at my absolute worst but admits that he loves me (not in a romantic way, he says). over margaritas and lots of cobwebs, i learned that i love him too, but NOT in a romantic way as well.

hahahaha. :p

and no, i am not backsliding. :)

ONE

2007-05-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

on the eve of our first anniversary outside HEAT, edsa shangrila hotel.

Let's go drive till the morning comes.

And watch the sunrise and fill our souls up.

We'll drink some wine till we get drunk, yes...

Let me drink you, please, I won't spill a drop, no, I promise you.

Lying under this spell you cast on me.

Each moment the more I love you.

-Crush by Dave Matthews Band

mom in oz

2007-05-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

my mom left for sydney, australia last night on vacay. how shalei. anyhoo, hunnybun, my cousin ate cathy, my little brother and i brought her to the airport and had dinner with her before she boarded the plane. her PAL flight left manila at 8:05 pm, assuming that it was not delayed. i was giggling the whole time because my mom looked like a million dollars. she went to the salon before we went to the airport and got her hair fixed and her face all made up like she's going to a photoshoot. hahaha. she was even wearing tons of her jewelry as if her entire jewelry case fell on her. the airport people even thought that she was an australian citizen here on vacay and is about to go home to sydney. my mom is funny that way, she dresses up for EVERYTHING and dresses extra special for special occasions.

she'll be staying there for two weeks so shopaholic me surfed the net for the best sydney shops. i made a list of everything i wanted to be bought as pasalubong and gave it to her during dinner. i like the dresses of alannah hill, lisa ho and collete dinnigan (these are australian designers). and i also like swimsuits from zimmermann! i wrote everything down and mom better buy me everything or else i'll throw a big, childish tantrum! nah. just kidding, maybe just an itty-bitty one. hahaha.

mom is in oz now and i'm really excited for her, being that this is her FIRST vacay ever for a very long time on her own and one that doesn't involve business. i'm really hoping mom will have a lot of fun there at sydney, shopping, eating out and seeing all the tourist spots like the opera house! i wish she'll also get to hug a koala and see a kangaroo! hahaha. my mom brought my camera, david, so i know she'll take lots of pictures to remind her of this beautiful trip. maybe, next year, i'll go with her too! :)

which HERO am i?

2007-05-22T16:07:00.000-07:00

ok, ok, i have had this school girl crush on peter petrelli ever since i became a heroes fan. man, his powers are the best, considering he can have all of the other heroes' powers just by being near them and then even after he isn't in contact with them anymore, he can retain their powers! my dream power, indeed! anyway, it delighted me that my personality was matched with his on an online test. :)

and oh yes, i can be really EMO. hahaha. :p

Your Score: Peter Petrelli

You scored 54 Idealism, 70 Nonconformity, 37 Nerdiness

Do you ever... get the feeling that you were meant to do something extraordinary?Congratulations, you're Peter Petrelli! You are a compassionate, idealistic person, which is great. You're searching for your identity and purpose in life, and you have a strong desire to be special, and do something great for the world. You're a bit on the emo side, but you have the best of intentions.
Your best quality: Empathy Your worst quality: EMO

see me.

2007-05-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

limits

2007-05-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

i don't know why but i just feel so tired and so emo today. i have done a lot of stuff for the past few days, from over-exerting myself at my swimming lessons to shuffling back and forth between manila and quezon city to run some last-minute errands for my mom since she is going on vacay to australia tomorrow. i may just have pushed myself to my limits too much and i didn't have time to relax lately. the only relaxing time i had for the past few weeks was the time before going to bed when hunnybun and i watch prisonbreak on dvd and we play with our babies. i mean, i don't even have time to go to the gym anymore and i destress by online shopping and hoarding dresses and accessories which i don't even have the occasion to wear. blah. i.am.so.emo.

but, i have a happy thought. hunnybun and i will be celebrating our FIRST ANNIVERSARY this coming 27th! weeee! we're celebrating it the whole weekend so i will FINALLY get to relax this month. ah. finally. anyway, we're checking in for the night at the richmonde hotel in ortigas, getting a massage at the spa, having dinner at HEAT edsa shangrila and then lunch at the podium on sunday. this thought will definitely get me through this tiring week. ok, i have to go to the gym now while i'm on lunch break. i badly need some endorphins. no limits will get me down. i might as well prepare myself for the world of stress that is law school. toodles! :)

the second coming of santa

2007-05-16T16:02:00.000-07:00

the santas just won't stop coming! as a pre-anniversary gift (our first anniversary is this coming may 27), hunnybun got me the biggest bottle of the paris hilton heiress perfume. and since the store was having a promo, hunnybun also got the swarovski-encrusted watch for me as a freebie! oh, i love it! talk about bling-bling. hehehe. :p i love you soooooooooooooooooo much, hunnybun. forever and always. naks. :)

mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the heiress of them all? ME, ME, ME! hunnybun spoils me so much. :) here is the entire gift set.

paris hilton swarovski-encrusted watch on me.

santa came early!

2007-05-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

someone really, really nice, sweet and endearing gave me this toy as a gift. and as a tribute to the santa-like person who gave me this, i'm naming my new baby, DAVID. yes, he has a pink pouch but don't all hot guys look extra hot in PINK? :) guys, meet my new canon digital ixus 70 camera, david. you can call him DAVEY if you want. this baby and i are surely going places! :p

my new baby, DAVID. birthday: may 12, 2007. birthplace: abenson, robinson's place, manila.

impromptu, weekend getaway

2007-05-08T09:06:00.000-07:00

whew! i am still quite tired from the long trips we made for this weekend getaway but the blogging itch has been bothering me from the time we arrived in manila up to now so here is my cagayan post. :)

day 1, may 5, saturday: we arrived in tuguegarao, cagayan after leaving manila at 9pm, friday night. the four of us were so tired from the long, 10-hour trip but our excitement still got the best of us and we were quite energetic. my mom's driver fetched us up at the bus station with one of my mom's sportscars and he let me drive it! how shalei. i loved driving it! i actually kept on hinting to my mom that i wanted one. :P but of course, i still love my vitara and i wouldn't trade it for any sports car in the world. naks. anyhoo, we dressed up for my yaya's civil wedding which was held at our house, ate a lot during lunch and then, hopped on a van to sta. ana, cagayan where we ogled at sportscars, swam at night at the beach, drank a lot of booze (they did, i didnt!), ate a huge dinner and sang ourselves silly at the videoke. we retired at around 1am for the night.

day 2, may 6, sunday: we were supposed to go to palaui island but the resort people told us that the waves were too big and it was dangerous for us on a boat to go island-hopping. darn. we were all so disappointed and frustrated that we just swam again at the beach where i taught emman some basic swimming! hehehe. naks. yes, i know how to swim already! after a big lunch of grilled fish, lots of other viands and some barbeque, we hopped on our van again to go to callao caves and morroran in penablanca, cagayan. it took us almost four hours to get there but it was definitely worth it. though i have been there countless times, it was really fun this time since i was with fun people namely hunnybun, emman, my officemate randy, my cousin kuya reggie and his cute son, baby carl. we went spelunking at the callao caves and reached all its 7 chambers. after that we went on a boatride to morroran where we got wet at the rio grande rapids-ish mini falls and then went on to a cove where we were the only ones there. we stayed at this cove for an hour and had so much fun swimming, taking pictures and eating chips! the water was so clear and cold that it was the perfect cap to a very hot day. at around 6:30pm, we reached our house in tuguegarao, got ready for our trip back to manila and again, ate a huge dinner of shrimps, adobo, pata tim and more. we left tuguegarao at 8:40 pm abound a deluxe bus.

two days surely weren't enough! we promised to go back sometime again this year and FINALLY go to palaui island. *sigh* fun, fun getaway! :) here are some photos. more can be seen at emman's multiply site, http://ikotoki.multiply.com/photos

my oh-so-shalei sportscar.

thesis partners forever.

with my darling brother.

my new car. hehehe. :p

at our faux civil wedding. hahaha. :)

should i buy this BMW?

or this eclipse?

my tour group. (from left to right) emman, irving my hunnybun, me, and randy my officemate.

ready for some island hopping. hunnybun got me this big, floppy hat from boracay!

with my hunnybun at the beach. who the hell is there at our back? hahaha.

with my mom at the sta. ana beach.

booze overload.

at the beach with family. baby carl is sooooooooo cute! :)

coca-cola model. hahaha.

tour group at the beach!

comfy at the bus with fanty.

certified SWIMMER.

with my hunnybun at the cove near morroran.

hunnybuns on a boatride.

spelunkers.

survivor callao caves. hahaha. :p

climbing the 184 steps to the caves.

the perfect ending to a perfect, weekend getaway. :)

more happy thoughts

2007-05-04T10:30:00.000-07:00

i've got mail, part 2. now, now, what do we have here? hunnybun got me a supplementary card to his credit card which had a really, really high credit limit. this wasn't a surprise since i knew he wrote me in his form but i was surprised at how fast i got the card! hunnybun told me i can use it as much as i want, as long as i stay within his limit. whenever i'll use the card, he'll be billed for it, making me unaccountable! sweet. i love you sooooo much, hunnybun! i can't wait to go shopping! :p

some wine to go with that whine. last wednesday night, i was whining about how much my head hurts because i have sinusitis. to take my mind off my headache, hunnybun and i drank the strawberry wine that my officemate, who recently went to baguio, gave. there was a delicious buzz in my head after and i slept like a contented infant that night. cheers to strawberry wine! :)

P.S. hunnybun, emman, an officemate and i are off to cagayan for the weekend! my yaya is getting married so naturally, i have to go. it's also the perfect excuse for an impromptu, weekend getaway with hunnybun and my friends! we're going to palaui island in sta. ana and to the callao caves in penablanca. i'll post photos next week. happy weekend, everyone! :)

happy thoughts

2007-04-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

the list. ok, ok, the list is officially out. this list has 201 names which includes those who were interviewed and passed and those who didn't have to be interviewed. out of 6,000 LAE takers, 201 were chosen. lucky, lucky us!

to all those who were expecting me to fail and who weren't too confident about my making the cut, here's one, big and loud PAKYUENYORPAMILYTRI to all of you! whew. i just have to get that out of my system. sorry, guys, for the negative vibes. anyhoo, my BFF also passed. i'm number 186, he's number 185. it's so surreal seeing his name just exactly before mine, being that i predicted it to happen exactly a year ago! damn, i'm really psychic! :)

wishy-washy. to inspire me to learn fast on my first, ever swimming lesson yesterday and as an 11th month celebration gift, hunnybun gave me this wishing bracelet last saturday night after we went bowling and had dinner at italliani's. i totally love it! i was so inspired to swim with dolphins, i now know how to swim, the basic style, that is. i can't wait for my next session this coming weekend. :)

wishing bracelet on me. hunnybun promised to take me to donsol and interact with the whale shark when i'm a good swimmer already! YEY! and, we're going to take diving lessons together! WEEEE!! :p

wanderlust

2007-04-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

ok, guys, here is the link to my bohol trip album in my multiply site, http://starcie.multiply.com/photos/album/34

P.S. i am still experiencing serious wanderlust right now. i want to travel, travel, travel. i do hope i get to go to kuala lumpur before classes start at UP. ok, i am channeling these thoughts to my mom because she DID promise me that she owes me something to celebrate my passing the LAE and the interview and getting admitted to UP Law. maybe she'll take me to KL, being that she, herself, is going to australia this coming may. oooohhh..the possibilities! maybe she'll even spring for her future son-in-law hunnybun's KL plane tickets! weeeee! :) but if circumstances don't allow me to go to KL this summer, there's always my birthday this coming december. after all, i still have to save up for a lot more trips this year! :p

the verdict

2007-04-23T15:12:00.000-07:00

i'm in.

back from vacay

2007-04-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

crazy over crocs. back from vacay, do you know what hunnybun and i first did? we bought ourselves some crocs! WEEE!! a pair of gold mary-janes for me and a navy beach pair for him! i can't wait to wear them already. :)

i just got back from vacay at bohol! it was definitely the most relaxing and most fun vacay i've ever taken and i'm really, really happy hunnybun went with me. we stayed for two days, soaked some rays, frolicked in powdery-white sand, stargazed, ate pizzas and yummy, grilled food and swam in uber clear water at alona beach, panglao island; went dolphin watching and snorkeling at balicasag island; stayed for two days in tagbilaran city; and had a bohol countryside tour where we went to the chocolate hills, hanging bridge, clarin ancestral home, hinagdanan cave, python sanctuary, tarsier reservation, loboc river cruise, blood compact site, baclayon church and the mahogany, man-made forest. good food, great places, warm people, beautiful scenery, perfect company..sigh. if only i could go on vacay all the time, i would. :)

anyhoo, i'm emo today and quite jittery about some law school admission results that are scheduled to be released tomorrow so i'm not posting any photos taken during our trip yet. and, maybe i'll upload some later on this week. for the meantime, let me be lazy and emo while i wait for the news. i am keeping my fingers tightly crossed. wish me the best of luck, everyone! i also hope everyone's having the best summer! :)

P.S. i love you soooooooooooooo much, my hunnybun! the stars shine brighter when i'm with you. naks. mushy. :p

i'm it!

2007-04-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

i was tagged by emman and melodie. :) ok, ok, this will be my last blog post before i jet to bohol, the land of white beaches, dolphins, chocolate hills and tarsiers, baby! according to the rules, i'm supposed to list down 10 things that people don't know about me. hmmm..are there any? being that my life is practically an open book but here goes.

1. i don't like fish cooked with soup. i feel that the fish is still swimming in water so i feel nauseated every time fish soup dishes are served. so please, don't make me eat fish soup. i totally hate it.

2. i got my first kiss at a creepy, abandoned building when i was 12.

3. i am actually lactose intolerant but i still drink a lot of milk and frappuccinos. hahaha. go figure i get stomachaches every now and then. :P

4. i lived in pakistan till i was five. my mom had an employment agency and salon there so i was raised there first.

5. i didn't know how to speak in filipino till i was six because my nannies talked to me in english all the time, especially when we were in pakistan.

6. i don't know how to swim, even if i go to the beach all the time. i just stay in the water near the shore. that is why i NEED to take swimming lessons SOON!

7. i have three brothers and one sister from my father's first family. they're all in the united states now but i'm not really close to them so i seldom send them e-mails. they write to me all the time though.

8. i joined beauty pageants all the time when i was in high school. hahaha. mostly for the prize money, of course. and i was always a big winner that i couldn't count how many titles i have since then. my mom is really the ultimate stage mother that she made me join every competition i was eligible to join.

9. i love eating cereals as a midnight snack.

10. i google myself and other people all the time. when there are no search results for a certain person, i label him or her a LOSER. hahaha. sorry, my own, silly, guilty pleasure. :)

now, i tag everyone reading this! toodles! :)

zamba trip

2007-04-10T14:40:00.000-07:00

heavenly solitude. taken at potipot island, candelaria, zambales during the lenten season. i went with my hunnybun and my high school bestfriends, erwie and ronsy. i'm a bit emo today so i'm just giving you guys a link to my multiply site where the rest of the photos are uploaded, http://starcie.multiply.com

my boyfriend really, really lalaloves me!

2007-04-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

fresh from boracay. yesterday, hunnybun came back from boracay and arrived with goodies for me! hun really knows me so well that he bought stuff i really, really liked. a floppy, summer hat, a summer bag, an ETC shirt, mother of pearl earrings, a pink boracay tank top with dolphins and the piece de resistance, a SPONGECOLA, autographed cd! the band, whom i love so much, performed as fitness first's guest at their event in partnership with del monte. we didn't know they were going to be there so i kind of regretted not going with hun but it's ok, all the goodies made up for it!

fantasy boyfriend meets real-life boyfriend. look at yael's message on my spongecola cd! it says, "arcie! your boyfriend loves you! amen!" OMFG. i am so giddy! now, my fantasy boyfriend knows how much my real-life boyfriend loves me! :)

lazy monday

2007-04-02T16:31:00.000-07:00

my weekend sans hunnybun was really exhausting which made me really lazy today. so, i'm just giving you guys a link to my multiply album that i have just uploaded an hour ago. here it is, http://starcie.multiply.com/photos/album/30. toodles!

breathe for you

2007-03-28T10:44:00.000-07:00

there are days i hate something about myself. often, it's a decision, a thing i've bought, a word i've said, a moment that i have lost control of the situation, a minute that has passed by without my saying anything, the list goes on and on. i know i may have come across as this person who loves herself ultimately but sometimes, i really do engage in some serious self-loathing. don't get me wrong, i do love myself to smithereens, but of course, i do have my moments of regret and instances where i keep on asking myself why i have done this and that. i'm only human and no matter how often i proclaim in my blog that i regret nothing, i do regret the little things and the big things whenever a bad day gets the best of me.

lately, i have been agonizing over one particular decision i have done last year. the effect is permanent and i know i am scarred for life. i can't redo this anymore or nullify the effect it has done on my life. it's there and the scar will forever be in me, with me and eventually, become me. a period of three months has passed since i had this done and though that doesn't seem long enough for me regretting it, there are really days like these that i wish i could take back that moment i said yes to my brain when it decided to push through with this. i'm stuck in this situation and since it is now a part of me, i don't want to hate myself forever and be tainted with something that i was actually proud of before, something that i actually showed off to my friends and family when i got it.

blogging is really therapeutic and now that i have exhausted my feelings here on my blog, i have come to realize that i shouldn't regret it at all. this decision has meaning to me. it symbolizes my acceptance of the new me and the things that i would look forward to in the future. it made me realize that i can do something without thinking what other people may say and that i don't need anyone's approval just because i want to do something. i can do anything i set my mind to and i am the only person who has control over my mind, my body and my heart. it was also a joint decision with a person that i truly love and that gives it more meaning because it is something we share, a scar that we will both have for life and whenever i realize that i have that scar even 50 years from now, i will remember him and i will remember how madly in love i was then and how i have savored every moment. it will remind me the feeling of being in love and not giving a damn on how people will react. it's a reminder of the moments i felt safe in his arms and the times he made me feel that we are sharing one life now. it is our most visible connection and i don't want to regret having that at all. regretting it would mean regretting the fact that we are sharing our lives now and that is something i would never even think of doing.

i am now looking forward to a lot of things this year, things that will force me to mature and to think more clearly. in the days to come, i will not look at this decision anymore as something i regret. instead, i will look at it as a symbol of my ability to achieve the things i want to achieve and my innate gift to do things that are out of the ordinary. i now know i can do anything i focus my mind into. any symbol which can make me realize this is thus, not to be of regret but of appreciation, pride and gratefulness. i vow to never regret this, ever again.

i'll breathe for you. in my heart, you'll stay. permanent.

back to reading

2007-03-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

since my interview for a particular law school is nearing and my supervisor who came from that school keeps on telling me to read substantial books for that interview, i stopped by powerbooks yesterday before hitting the gym. i actually considered buying at national bookstore since i'm laking national and all but it was so crowded and the books were not organized well when i got there that i decided to go to powerbooks instead. i don't know why but i think powerbooks is more conducive for novel readers to peruse the various bestsellers. the place is cozy, well-lighted and clean. the books are even stacked neatly, without a trace of dust. i totally love the shop's atmosphere i instantly felt at home there yesterday when i went pass its glass doors.

i wanted to buy a lot of books, one of which is the fountainhead by ayn rand. this ayn rand book is loved by two of the closest people to me and for this, i have been wanting to read it for the longest time. however, i decided to buy it next time being that i don't want to read it in preparation for something but instead, i want to read it at my own pace and absorb it as much as i can. it had a strong impact on my friends and i would like to understand why and find out if it will have the same effect on me.

reading has always been a passion for me. it just so happened that i stopped reading intelligent novels and books since i started working because i was reading all day at the office mostly decisions, resolutions and of course, blogs on the internet. my eyes are tired at the end of the day that i tend to get lazy to read when i get home. as such, the latest book i have read is the devil wears prada just because i love fashion and i would like to work in a glossy, fashion magazine someday. however, i don't think this book will impress interview panelists at all. so what if i know who jimmy choo is? or donatella versace? or marc jacobs? or stella mccartney? and so what if i can differentiate faux designer items from real ones? law school is a whole, new world that i don't think fashion trivia would be beneficial for my interview answers. i decided then to buy two books with a legal side so that i can actually sound lawyer-ish. hahaha. so i chose judge and jury by james patterson and f. andrew gross and are you afraid of the dark? by my favorite novelist of all time, sidney sheldon.

i wanted to buy the sheldon book for a long time now but this was the only time i had the chance to so i'm quite giddy to start it. though it is a serious novel without the fluff and flowery, candlelight dinners on the balcony, one of its main characters is an international supermodel. weee!! see? it's a win-win situation. i get my fashion fix while having an intelligent read. plus, i have loved sidney sheldon ever since i read bloodline, which is the first novel i have ever read in my life. after that, i was hooked on novels. sheldon is practically my mentor. :)

i started judge and jury last night because i wanted to warm up on the legal stuff. i'm really beginning to enjoy it since it's also about a woman, who is an aspiring actress and a single mom picked to serve jury duty for a high-profile case versus a man ala-The Godfather. it's a typical mafia story but i'm crossing my fingers it will have a delicious twist since the male lead character is a dashing, FBI agent out for blood to jail the mafia lord.

happy reading to me! :P

just making daldal

2007-03-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

hunnybun and i looked into some furniture and home things yesterday and i find some stuff i really liked. a dining set, a squishy couch, a study table, comforter set, dinner set, glasses, curtains, frames, candles, plants, pillows, etc. i had already decided on a blue and white motif so i'm looking for stuff that are in these colors. it is so much fun looking for stuff to put in your first apartment so i was busy all afternoon long listing down the items and their prices so that i could tell my mom how much i need to set everything up. i also took photos of the furniture and i just emailed them to her so that she could check them out. i managed to come up with a reasonable budget so i know she'll definitely approve.

one thing i'm not going to let her buy though is my new, double-sized bed. she told me i could just keep my single bed at home but i think i have finally outgrown it. besides, it had some remnants of the past and some wild memories they are, mind you. hahaha. plus, hunnybun has gained tons of muscles making that bed too small for comfort. i chose this beautiful, black bedframe with a double, 8-inch mattress and i can't wait to have it delivered! :)

even if i am expecting my mom to spring for a lot of the stuff, i am saving now every chance i get. oh, and hunnybun is saving too to help me buy some cutesy stuff for the apartment. so last week, we just bought some dvds and watched them at home. i finally got around to watch some movies i was dying to see like the pursuit of happyness, music and lyrics, borat and coach carter. here are some quick reviews:

the pursuit of happyness. definitely a tearjerker. will smith is wonderful in this film and you'll easily sympathize with what the lead character has to do in order to support and raise his son and make something of himself. their hardships were indeed pitiful but in the end, will smith's character succeeded and triumphed against all the odds. his son, jayden, is cute and portrayed his part very well. it was moving and inspiring.

music and lyrics. a typical romantic comedy with a formula that hugh grant has already mastered. drew is quirky and entertaining as the female lead and they made good music together. i especially loved the character, cora, though. cora is the movie's pop princess, more successful than britney and christina combined! she's so pretty and danced very well that i think she could make it into the music industry for real. her character was a bit inclined into buddhism in the movie and her music was indian-inspired which was so "sexy and sticky." this is the movie to watch on lazy, tuesday evenings. hahahaha. :p

borat. the stupidest movie i watched last week. yes, i know a lot of people said it rocked but i really don't get it. it had a lot of really, really unintelligent humor and i practically puked every time at borat's antics. it was stupid, stupid, stupid! i totally hate it and i don't care how much hype it received last year. it really sucked for me.

coach carter. this movie was produced by mtv films and it totally rocked. it made up for the trauma borat has caused my filmwatching psyche. it is reminiscent of one tree hill given that skills from tree hill is also on this film as a good basketball player in high school. it is based on a true story of a basketball coach who worked so that his players can earn basketball scholarships, do well in their classes and win games all at the same time while living in a crime-infested community in california. it was a feel-good movie and inspiring to all athletes out there. the flick also had a great soundtrack and the actors led by samuel l. jackson were amazing in their roles. it is a film both guys and girls can enjoy.

whew. last week was definitely productive. the sour note in that week however was my dream which involved my latest ex-crushie. the dream involved a heavy make-out session and he was convincing me to be unfaithful and cheat on my hunnybun with him. ok, ok, he is cute but not even my ultimate crushies, pete wentz and jake cuenca, could convince me to do that! however, i felt guilty upon waking up because in my dream, i kissed that guy back. what the heck, it was just a dream. next time though, i'll just give him a peck on the cheek instead of full-on snogging. hahahaha. :p

moving out

2007-03-16T09:17:00.000-07:00

i've read plenty of blog entries by random bloggers about their first home away from home. i chuckled at their quirky experiences of living alone and independently for the first time and strongly wished that i would experience those kind of circumstances the same way that they have. the struggle of paying your own bills, getting to decorate your own place, budgetting and eating instant noodles because your next paycheck has yet to come, doing your own laundry, etc., etc. i would love to have all these and now, i will finally be one of those independent people. yes, my friends, i am moving out of my mom's pre-approved and pre-selected for me house. a year after graduation, i have finally decided to move out and be independent.

i signed the lease yesterday and deposited a whopping amount. it practically wiped out my entire savings and the next thing i have to do is to fill the unit up. i am moving to an unfurnished condo unit so i need a lot of stuff! a refrigerator, gas stove, dining table, study table, etc. so aside from my stuff in my bedroom at home, i will be starting from scratch. living independently is going to be costly. the bills, the repairs, argh! i have yet to move on april 1 but i am now starting to feel the tension and the exasperation. i am praying and crossing my fingers really hard that i will survive given that i signed a one-year lease contract. besides, after pleading with my mom to let me live on my own now, i don't have the face to go crawling back to her asking for money or for help because i wasn't able to make it on my own. i can and i will. :) one thing that is making me hesitant though is the fact that i am moving to MANILA, which is totally out of my comfort zone, QUEZON CITY. i will forever love quezon city and no place can compare to it in my heart. there is definitely no place like qc, baby! MANILA really sucks because it has really bad traffic, cramped space and really dirty sidewalks. blech. but oh, maybe i'll just get used to it soon. :p

i am moving very near the supreme court, practically a three-minute walk from my workplace and it's a one bedroom-unit which is roughly 40 square meters, with a small kitchen, a bathroom and a balcony with an amazing view of a petron gas station. hahaha. :P it's still bare but i know i can fill it up one payday at a time. i still have to apply for a phone line and cable so i now know where my next paycheck is going. oh well. these will all be worth it, i know. here are some photos of my first home away from home. not bad eh? :)

to my friends, don't hesitate to visit, ok? just let me know. :p

the room to the bathroom, the small kitchen, and the receiving area.

the bathroom. duh.

the bedroom with the balcony.

a frightening magic i cling to

2007-03-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

You're cinematic razor sharp

A welcome arrow through the heart

Under your skin feels like home

Electric shocks on aching bones

-You're All I Have by Snow Patrol

73 days to go and we're together for an entire year. soon, a trip to vigan for the holy week. a summer trip to bohol. moving in. sharing experiences. going places. heck, the fun has just begun. cheers to more years, hunnybun! yes, the magic can be called frightening but i welcome it with every second that i spend with you. i will forever cherish the day you took me by the hand and i told you i didn't mind. now, we don't have to fear anything.

partay-ing!

2007-03-05T13:56:00.000-08:00

Everybody's looking at me

But it's alright, I like attention

The club's not hot until I walk through

They stop and stare and watch me move

Like "Damn, I like that"

I'm sexy and you know it

Clap your hands

Oh, it's like that

I'm not afraid to show it, understand?

Yeah, I'm hot, bitch

Don't be mad at me go check your man

Turn You On, Paris Hilton

despite feeling major lazy last friday night and just wanting to be bulok on my bed watching ghost whisperer, i was convinced by hun to go to the masig party. he said we need to do some socializing because as i have pointed out weeks ago, we have been spending ALL of our time together. so, ok, i need some outside world mingling. besides, i missed my masig friends and emman terribly! so, i picked up hun, ynard our matchmaker extraordinaire and hun's frat brother, and emman at gateway around 9ish and off we went to fresca, katipunan extension for the partay! i saw a lot of my masig friends and then, camille my batchmate arrived around 10 so we partied and danced some more! we drank lots of tequilas and some vodka, of course, and then gorged on calamares, sisig and baked tahong. i normally don't like to party like this but this night was major fun! i especially liked the fact that paris hilton's song, turn you on, was like playing in my head all night and was like my soundtrack of the partay! here are my favorite photos from that night.

partay-ing couple. hun and i after tons of tequilas and vodka. hahaha. :)

girls just wanna have fun. forever thesis partners! :p

squeeze in! we danced the night away. whew! it was fun partay-ing after a stressful week at work. (respective workplaces: MBS Tek, philippine daily inquirer, supreme court, fitness first, from left to right)

the rest of the photos are in my multiply, http://starcie.multiply.com

hanging out at the podium

2007-03-02T14:34:00.000-08:00

hunnybun and i went out for the first time this week! i was so excited because hunnybun's schedule is so busy from monday to wednesday so we really can't do anything special at night during those days. usually, we just have a midnight snack of ice cream, cake or chips at home or walk to the nearest burger machine joint. hahaha. anyway, i picked him up at fitness first, ortigas center where he works and we drove to the podium. we ate dinner at the banana leaf and then played around toy kingdom where we were supposed to buy a new baby! however, we couldn't decide what animal to get this time so i just took photos of the cute, stuffed animals! besides, finny needs more time to be our youngest baby! :)

anyhoo, i took these photos using my new nokia 6280 phone (a gift from my mom, yey!), which has a 2 megapixel camera and flash, so i think they look clearer than my previous photo posts. :p

bananaleafing. at banana leaf, podium, you have the option of eating your food on a banana leaf which makes the food so appetizing! i was so full last night and the quite pricey amount we paid for our dinner was worth it all!

the requisite coupley pic. hunnybun and i while waiting for our food! i was so hungry when this pic was taken.

pandan chicken with sweet chili sauce, roti with cream and vegetable stir-fry.

the interiors and the lanterns inside banana leaf. the place was so cozy and dimly-lit, perfect for romantic dates!

beef curry with potatoes. this dish was great but a bit too spicy for me. hun loved it though.

future babies. tigers, lions, ponies! oh my, i am in stuffed animal heaven! they're all so cute! and they're not too pricey too, a lot of them go at only php 350 apiece! they're so fluffy and soft too. :)

which care bear are you? care bears are love. they're so colorful and soft! i had a collection of these when i was in grade school but i seemed to have lost them all. silly billy! anyhoo, i'd love to have them all again. *hint hint* to hunnybun. hehehe. :p

more photos at my multiply: http://starcie.multiply.com

PLUG: the alpha sigma fraternity, who has members i'm really close to *snicker snicker* and the fraternity my darling boyfriend belongs to, is having a cocktails-all-you-can tonight at fresca, katipunan (formerly tapika), 8pm, for only Php99! there will also be a DJ who will be playing house, trance and rnb music for you to dance the night away! i'm going with some friends so please drop by and let's partay! :p

mmmmmmmmmm!

2007-02-28T14:42:00.000-08:00

i am so giddy! my mom got home from tuguegarao yesterday and apparently, she missed me! she brought home a lot of goodies for me! weeee! she gave me bebe blouses, a coach purse, white gold earrings with diamonds and a matching ring. the piece de resistance however was the calgon mmmmm! line. she gave me three sets containing lip gloss, lotion and body mist in cotton candy, marshmallow and vanilla swirl! i was so excited about all these especially about the vanilla swirl set because i am a total vanilla junkie. i was devastated when a body shop lady told me that they are discontinuing their vanilla line. i remember thinking of where i'll get my vanilla stuff, most especially my perfume! victoria's secret has a vanilla product but i think it smells too much of alcohol so i was scrimping my last body shop vanilla shower gel and perfume. imagine my delight when my mom gave me vanilla swirl! the packaging was so cute too and the smell is divine. it is sweet without making you nauseous, i swear. i loved the cotton candy and the marshmallow too. they make you smell so yummy and delectable! :) i can't wait to get the rest of the mmmmmm! line. for more information, you may visit the calgon website, http://www.takemeaway.com. i don't know if these products are already in the malls though being that my mom bought these from the states. but, you have got to check them out.

why am i being so giddy about vanilla? for those who don't know me personally, let me explain. vanilla is my signature scent. i've written about this here in my blog before at the time i started liking and wearing vanilla. my friend, ieth, told me that a majority of males tested associated love with the smell of vanilla. so when a girl is wearing vanilla, guys, most of the time, fall for her. and believe me, this is so true! i've gotten a lot of dates when i started using it or is it pure coincidence? nah, it doesn't matter because vanilla has a lot of benefits too. it has a calming effect and relieves the body of stress. it also initiates positive vibes and relaxes the whole psyche. look it up in the net and you'll see. :)

anyhoo, moving on, my mom also gave me her vintage LOUIS VUITTON bag! i am in handbag heaven! :) i know it costs a lot of money so i'm really taking care of it. oh, i love my mom to smithereens! i'll post a photo of it here soon. hehehe. :p *EDIT* i just looked it up in the louis vuitton website and i found out my bag is a SAUMUR! totally a classic LV bag! look it up in the website, http://www.louisvuitton.com.

aside from getting all these stuff, i had another reason to be happy yesterday. my mom took my cousins out for dinner and she asked me to pick the restaurant. being a bit lazy to drive far, i chose chocolate kiss cafe in roces avenue. besides, i missed eating at the UP branch so i'll settle for any chocolate kiss cafe fix! plus, my mom's treating us. i even brought my brother along and i had the hickory spareribs and some chix in a basket, which is some fried chicken breast with barbeque sauce and french fries. the food was superb! i even had the devil's food cake for dessert. around 9:20, my mom said we should get going but she asked me to pick out a cake to bring home. i chose carrot cake and asked the cashier if i could buy it with 20% discount since they do that after 9:30 pm. he said he'll give me the discount even if it's not after 9:30 yet IF i take pictures with three of the waiters. it was so funny because i noticed camera phones were aimed at me by the waiters the whole time we were there but i didn't think they were taking photos of ME! i thought they were just taking photos of the place. always game for anything and a sucker for discounts, i agreed. i felt like a celebrity being that they took turns shaking my hand and posing beside me. i was wearing a scarf last night and some vintage accessories so maybe, i should start wearing scarves more often now. hahaha. :)

another thing that made me really happy last night was how i convinced my mom to let me work while studying this coming june. i told her the advantages and besides, i would learn a lot here if i continue working. instead of JUST studying for four years, i'd be studying AND working for five years. i think that's an amazing feat and would knock the socks off my future employers. it would make my resume kick ass. that's more years of work experience and it would help me a lot in my chosen career. plus, i even convinced her to let me live on my own now starting APRIL! i chose to live in manila so that i can be nearer my workplace so i'm saying goodbye to quezon city, my comfort zone for five years! goodbye, comfort zone. hello, pollution and traffic! argh. but, i'm welcoming the change. it's about time i moved on from things that i've gotten used to so much already. i started househunting and i already found one i liked. i'm so excited to dress it up to my style and vibe! of course, it's good that my mom approves because fixing up a flat and vamping it up is going to take a lot of money and manpower. weeeee! my own place, at long last! my first venture into the real world and i am soooooo damn excited! mmmmmmmmmm! i love it!

weekender post

2007-02-23T02:38:00.000-08:00

the internet connection here in the office REALLY sucks. it disconnects every after a few minutes and we have to restart our computer server just to have the connection working again. argh. this is really irritating, being that i need to research about the things that i write about and when there's no internet connection, it makes things really hard. i believe in the power of google so please, please, destiny people, send someone smart to fix our connection unlike the mediocre guys you sent a while ago. they just tinkered with the computer and when they left, the connection wasn't working anymore! argh. how totally unprofessional. they didn't even make sure that it's finally working. i could rant and rant about this but i can't. it is a friday after all so i won't let this sucky connection disillusion my possibly fun, fun weekend.

this week has been average and tonight is the first night this week that i will go out. everyday, i just go to work, work out at the gym and then go home to eat dinner and watch episodes of ghost whisperer with hun. how utterly wholesome. hehehe. but, it's ok. sometimes i need this kind of routine to calm myself down and remember to breathe every once in a while. besides, i have finally reached the point in my life where going out at night almost every day of the week is boring and typical. hey, i am not tired of conversations over beer and drinks but i'm ok with doing it every once in a while only. i'm now the girl in sweats watching dvds at night with her boyfriend in matching sweats. typical, old couple behavior but i love it. :)

my friend, anna, told me that she is living the "nonchalant, arcie life." i laughed when she said this because it was so true. i was practically one of the most nonchalant people in the world for the longest time before when it comes to dating. i don't agonize over what the guy i just dated thought of me. i don't get jealous. i don't demand for time or for attention. i enjoy hooking up with them when i see them but i'm not one who fixes things and work at it to establish a relationship. i'm nonchalant about the whole, dating process. for me, we go out, we have fun and we part ways. if we go out again, then good. and if we don't, it doesn't matter. i was not in any hurry to get into a relationship and i wasn't even keen of following through and establishing one. it was fun and i loved it. i even miss it sometimes. the spontaneity, the premise of having no expectations, not getting hurt over anything just because he didn't remember to call and the chase. yes, the chase, the time when the guy realizes i'm nonchalant and he does everything to reverse that. i just didn't care before and it's exhilirating when you do things when and where you want it without compromising with some other person. it's liberating.

but, now that i'm seriously committed, i have settled down and found out that it's ok to be like this. be all fuddy-duddy and go out occasionally all glammed up. i am not nonchalant anymore but it is equally liberating. i feel safe and i have the feeling of being invincible because i have a person by my side whom i envision to be the one who will help me make all my dreams come true. he is my soulmate and i find comfort in the fact that he will never let me down nor let me go. the chase is still there and i still smile at every sweet gesture and word. i have been to both sides of the fence and they're equally fun. but now, i know it's time for me to be at this side. after all, sticking to one routine gets boring after a time. this is actually a refreshing change and i don't think i'll get tired of it for a very long time. it's a fuzzy feeling and it gives me a certain kind of high. you guys should try it! i think the era of having lots of boys is so forty-eight years ago now. ;p

and yeah, hun and i are going out for pizza later because i saw jennifer love eat pizza last night at one episode and i was seriously craving for it. pizza, pizza, pizza! see, we're going out for pizza! i'm officially a fuddy-duddy! but, i don't care if i am. now, that's something i can be nonchalant about. :)

an open letter to britney spears

2007-02-22T14:16:00.000-08:00

dear britney,

i have been one of your biggest fans ever since i saw you on your video, "baby, one more time." i totally adored your talents as a pop singer as well as a performer. i was giddy everytime a new music video of yours came out on tv and i followed your career as much as i can on television, the newspapers, magazines and on the internet. i knew all of your songs by heart when i was in high school and though people during college smirked at me for saying i really, really like you, i continued being your fan.

i didn't care if they told me you had bubblegum music and none of it made any sense. i love your music and i still keep every CD you ever released including DVDs of your concerts. i even watched your movie, crossroads, and though reviews said it sucked, i thought it was a great, first movie for you. i was excited when you started dating justin timberlake because like my admiration for you, i also admired nsync back then. though i like justin for you, i understood you when you married kevin federline because i thought you have finally found the one.

now that your family and the people around you are pleading with you to get help, i am also joining their plea. please, please check back into rehab, britney. please get well and lose your addiction. then, after your stint in rehab, release your comeback album and surprise everyone by how smashing it is. stop partying like there's no tomorrow and try to spend time with your sons. lose the extra pounds and show up in hollywood looking hotter than before. hire a stylist. get a makeup artist and the best, damn hair extensions or wig out there that your millions can afford. please, please, britney. you can do all these, i know you can and i know you will if you'll just listen to the plea of millions of your fans all over the world.

i know that you may never get to read this but i believe in the power of the mind. i am channeling all these to you. i hope you'll clean up soon and come out as the pop princess you were and deserve to be. i will be looking forward to reminiscing with your fans in the future of how funny this phase in your life is and how happy we are you have moved on from it. you have a lot of potential as a performer and as a star that it is not impossible for you to make an easy but successful comeback.

i am rooting for you, britney. please don't let me down.

love,

starcie

weekstarter post

2007-02-20T14:43:00.000-08:00

don't be afraid to speak up. please feel free to comment here. :) nice photo huh? notice the cocktail rings on my fingers? these rings are SO in right now. i am thinking of selling them. if you are interested to buy from me, leave me a comment with your name and mobile number or e-mail address and i'll get back to you. i can also make rings the way you want them! :)

i've enabled commenting again on my blog because i want to know what you guys think about what i blog about almost everyday. i realized i need some feedback especially now that my blog is evolving into more than something i write my daily thoughts in. however, to avoid nasty comments which are totally uncalled for, i am now moderating my blog's comments, meaning i have to approve them first before they get to be published online. i had a nasty experience about people who leave comments who are totally hurtful and rude even if i didn't have anything to do with them. these are people who take joy upon hurting others and i don't want these kind of people getting space in my blog. so to my friends out there in cyberspace, i am looking forward to your comments! fire away! :)

i was quite the lazy ass this past weekend. i didn't go to the gym at all because i was feeling tired from hanging out at the deadbeat friday night fair. argh. it was so boring. oh well, at least i got to see my journ friends, sorority sisters and some other people i went to college with. this was the silver lining. and oh, i got to meet an officemate of one of my closest friends who was a bit cute. hahaha. after nine months of not crushing on anybody, he became my first crush. he IS cute and looked smart and funny and clean. hehehe. he even reminded me a bit of kenji so that's what first endeared him to me. but after a night of being all giddy about developing a crush and gossiping with my friend, i decided not to have a crush on him anymore. aside from the fact that i am really, really committed, i don't want to be tempted to do anything that would possibly hurt my hunnybun. hurting him would hurt me. so, i decided not to pursue this crush. after all, the giddy feeling i experienced for over 24 hours is enough to sustain me for months. hahaha. i'm now happy cyberstalking him and asking for gossip about him from my friend. :P

i spent the whole day saturday sleeping, watching television and finishing the first 7 episodes of the fourth season of one tree hill. i can't wait for it to be completed on dvd! that night, hun and i watched apocalypto. it was a really long movie but it was worth watching for its cultural merits. you'll get to see an in-depth view of the mayan civilization's culture and how they evolved as a people. there were also sneak peeks on their rituals and their hunting and trapping techniques. it's a must-see for national geography freaks out there like me. hahaha. the subtitles are good too so it's no problem if you can't understand a word of mayan! haha. :)

one word: WHITE. this could pass for a detergent ad promising to give you the whitest white for your clothes! this was taken when hun and i were waiting for our food at pizza hut last sunday.

hun coaxed me out of bed on sunday though and dragged me to robinson's galleria where we ate at pizza hut. after stuffing myself with pizza and pasta, we were supposed to watch ghost rider but lazy me wanted to just buy a pirated dvd and watch it at home. so, we headed to st. francis square but no dvd copies were available yet. we then decided to buy the dvd of the first season of ghost whisperer. when we got home, we watched the first three episodes and it was sooooo addicting! it was so much fun watching jennifer love hewitt see ghosts while others can't and then see her help them cross over to the spirit world! it's perfect for late-night tv watching, the kind of show you watch just before you go to sleep. all you need is a chilly night and a fuzzy comforter and you'll be transported to their world! we're on episode 6 now and i can't wait to finish it and then grab season 2!

LURVE day date

2007-02-16T10:23:00.000-08:00

of course, we're the quintessential mushy and can't-get-enough-of-each-other couple so we just had to go on a date. hunnybun was really prepared. on the night of february 13 before we went to the up fair, he gave me FINNY the dolphin! he then gave me a rose and LOADS of chocolates on february 14. we went to the mandarin oriental manila where we had a barbeque buffet and did some hot, salsa dancing! it was so much fun dancing with hunnybun, he's a quirky dancer! hahaha. here are some photos of that tres fabuloso date.

the arrival of finny the dolphin. this was taken before we went to the fair last tuesday. we brought home finny to meet his brothers but they were all envious of him because we keep on holding him! awww..he's still a baby so he needs extra care and attention. :)

finny's day out. here is finny in front of my computer last valentine's day. i just had to bring him to work! he's so cute.

kissing mom. this was taken during our drive to makati to go to mandarin oriental. finny loves mom so much.

hun's reserved table. this is so shalei and official-looking right? i loved it when i saw it on our table. hunnybun really prepared for this date!

who do i look like? hahaha. the grepa peeps told me i look like a showbiz diva who brings a microwave oven and tons of prada, valentino and other high-end branded clothes to shoots. guess who? sometimes, i don't think so but sometimes, i do because of photos like this. :P

the plate of a carnivore. this was what my plate looked like at the barbeque buffet. swordfish, chicken, pork, steak, etc! there were even german sausages! YUM. i LURVE meat. :)

now for my sweet tooth. apple cobbler with chocolate ice cream, sprinkles, cream and chocolate syrup. aaahh..heavenly.

sweet indulgence. strawberries with cream and chocolate syrup plus flourless, chocolate cake = sugar shock.

chocolate overload. these are some of the chocolates that hun gave me on valentine's day. i'm one spoiled and sugar-happy girlfriend! :P

more photos at my multiply site, http://starcie.multiply.com

our road trip weekend

2007-02-13T13:04:00.000-08:00

hunnybun and i went on a road trip last weekend! we overslept and didn't wake up early enough for our awesome planet's day trip so we decided to go by ourselves. without a map, directions and an itinerary, we drove to clark field, pampanga using my trusty vitara last saturday. we toured around the field at the international hot air balloon fiesta but we weren't able to see any balloons because we came late! anyhoo, it was ok because we got a feel of the event. we also had lunch there where we ate sisig and tokwa't baboy which was definitely a cholesterol overload! though we didn't see the hot air balloons, we saw the various flying exhibitions and oohed and aahed at their stunts.

around 1pm, we left clark and drove to subic to go to ocean adventure! we were supposed to go to zoobic but since we felt we had seen enough zoo animals at the tagaytay mini zoo two weekends ago, we decided to see dolphins, sea lions, false killer whales and fish! the dolphins were so cute and i had fun watching them do their tricks! the drive is a bit too long though at two hours from clark and the entrance fee is a bit pricey at P450. but, go if you want to see dolphins do some entertaining moves! i even convinced hun to buy me a dolphin stuffed toy for valentine's day as our fifth kid! i'm naming him dolfy! hahaha. :)

last sunday, we went to mandarin oriental manila to make reservations and pay for the barbeque buffet and salsa night at the poolside on wednesday, valentine's day. i'll blog about our valentine's day date later on this week so more on that soon. after making the reservations, we went to glorietta to eat at pho bac and do some malling. around 6pm, we drove home, ate dinner and finally got around to watching our blood diamond dvd! it was a very interesting movie but it was a bit dragging at the beginning. the acting and production design was superb though and leo definitely deserves an oscar this time. it's a must-see for leo fans out there like me! it's actually now one of my favorite films.

we also got some interesting mail last weekend! i'm posting a photo of both envelopes.

anyhoo, enough with my rambling, here are some colorful sneak peeks of that weekend. more photos at my multiply site though, http://starcie.multiply.com .

we've got mail! guess who got which envelope? though there's a bit of a giveaway at the corner of the photo. hehehe. :)

fast car. together we can get somewhere. teehee.

during lunchtime at the international hot air balloon fiesta. it was so hot there! we even ate spicy food so we were definitely scorched. the summer's coming, everyone!

under the sea. this is me trying to imagine how ariel the mermaid feels everyday. hahaha. :P

at the dolphin show. hun and i had so much fun watching the dolphins and false killer whales do their moves. when i become a gazillionaire, i'm getting a dolphin pet! but, i'm not going to keep him in captivity. i'll buy him an inlet somewhere and let him roam free! :P

i love dolphins! i wish valentine's day would come and i'd get my stuffed animal already! :)

at pho bac, glorietta. a friend said i'm getting hotter exponentially and that it maybe because i'm so in love! well, what do you know, i think he's oh-so-right!

the requisite coupley pic. spring rolls at phobac is love.

with two babies. here we are while watching blood diamond with our two youngest kids, fanty the elephant and nash the baby! they're so cute! :)

PLUG: up fair has already kicked off yesterday for the entire week! i'm going tonight so to those who want to experience a night of music, food and fun, let's go! i'm hoping to see a lot of friends there and pig out at the various food stalls! i wonder if emman's provincial org is still selling kapeng barako and doughnuts, hmmm..that i'm definitely looking forward to. see y'all! :)

fuck that

2007-02-08T12:42:00.000-08:00

for some fucked up, unknown reason, i seem to be forgetting NAMES and FACES of people frequently lately. for those people i don't see that much or talk that much to, i can't freakin' remember their names and worse, for some people who ARE actually acquaintances of mine, i don't recognize them when i meet or see them wherever. now, there's nothing wrong with my eyes because my doctor said i have 20/20 vision and i know i don't have amnesia but what the fuck is wrong with me? i happen to have a photographic memory but now, i am seriously doubting its existence.

argh. fuck that. i have to start going out more with other people. i can practically see my subconscious rolling her eyes at me with a look of disdain and disgust. i have become too sheltered with my world that the social butterfly side of me is lost and gone. oh phooey.

spending time

2007-02-07T15:40:00.000-08:00

the dad of one of my friends passed away recently and this had an eerie effect on me. i haven't met her dad ever before but i always read about him in her blog so i had managed to have a mental picture of him. he was relatively young to die so even if we were never introduced because there was no chance to, i felt a certain feeling of loss and grief. this incident made me pause for a while in my office cubicle and contemplate on how short life really is. i also realized how much i miss my mom and how it would totally devastate me if the same thing happens to her.

last night, i texted my mom and asked her how she is. she said she has been really busy lately because she now has 60 cars on display at her showroom. but, it's a good thing her cough is gone and that she is feeling better now. i miss her like hell because she has been staying at the province for the past couple of months now and been visiting for a couple of days here only. death made me want to spend more time with her and i vowed to myself that if i'll get some free time, i'll ride a bus going home and spend a weekend with my mom. i don't want to keep on postponing this so i have to do that soon before i never get around to doing it. until that time, i'll just keep on texting and calling her to make her feel how much i love her and how grateful i am that she is doing everything for me.

life indeed is very short. though i know i get away with pretty much everything making me the subject of envy of a lot of people, i still have a lot of things i want to do and accomplish in life. go to law school. travel. get married and have lots of kids. have a renaissance with my art and paint again. take photography lessons. learn how to swim. the list goes on and on. so many things to do but i have a feeling that i wouldn't get to do them all if i procrastinate and put things on delay.

i had my closest brush with death last july 16, 2005 when i got into a car accident where one of my friends died. i promised myself that time on that i will live a life with no regrets and do everything i want to do without hesitation. throw all caution to the wind, i say, and live my life to the fullest. now, more than ever, i reiterate that. however, i will add one more entry to my to-do list. that is, to spend more time with my loved ones, with the people who ultimately matter, with those few people who i want to be at my side when all my dreams come true. and that is that. :)

speaking of spending time with loved ones, last night with hunnybun was fun even if we just stayed home. we had dinner, watched some television and then popped a night at the museum dvd into our player. we watched this ben stiller movie while pigging out on potato chips, marshmallows, e-aji and cookies! it was a good comedy and i really enjoyed it but somehow, the twist felt shallow to me. the concept of having everything inanimate come to life at night was refreshing though and it was fun watching how the filmmakers put that concept into the silverscreen. heck, it's something that i would like to happen to me given that hunnybun and i have kids who are *gasp* really toys! don't tell them that! hehehe. anyhoo, it's a must-see for you guys if you just want to have fun and get a look at ben stiller's excellent comedic timing and expressions. the production design is excellent too. i give it three stars out of five! :p

later tonight, hun told me we're watching blood diamond. yey, hooray to leo! now, i can't wait for that. and then tomorrow, hun and i are driving to his hometown in bulacan to celebrate the town fiesta. oh boy, how provincial! i can't wait to play games at the fair and eat lots of cholesterol-laden food! :)

eternal sunshine of the spotless hard drive

2007-02-02T02:36:00.000-08:00

a virus had infected my trusty laptop last week so i immediately brought it to my favorite technician at sm north cyberzone. he said that i should have it reformatted to ensure that the virus disappears. of course, i wanted my laptop to get well so i said yes. he asked me if i wanted all my files and installed programs recovered but i surprised myself by saying no. all my files there were files i acquired and made during college and the photos there were all saved in my multiply site. i didn't feel the need to save anything and i felt it was time to let go of everything that remind me of my past. heck, college seems so long ago now and i feel that it is time for me to move on, to start filling a blank hard drive from scratch which will make me remember my life now when i try to look back to this time in the future.

i got my laptop at the end of the day i dropped it off. upon getting home, i turned it on and checked everything. it felt liberating to have an empty hard drive. it's like getting a fresh start of anything. i feel new and i am excited to see what kind of files i will get to fill it up again. this made me realize that all the removed files are not anymore reminiscent or symbolic of the person that i am now. if any, they speak of a different person, someone very self-centered and someone very superficial. at my laptop's reformatted stage, i see that it runs faster and accomplishes tasks quicker. this made me happy because emptying it seemed to be the right choice. it is empowering and i now feel like a new person, even like a kid with a new toy that i can't wait to use over and over again.

somebody told me that starting over is one of the most refreshing phases in life. it is when you get to realize the things you are really capable of, sans assistance from anyone or anything. it is also when you learn to figure out what are the qualities that make you uniquely you and what are the things or people you couldn't live without. for sure, you'd go back to them the first chance you get and imprint yourself with them again. some people might say that i am overanalyzing my emotions too much from emptying my laptop's hard drive. i say i'm not. though it seems insignificant, i know it is one of the biggest decisions i have ever made in my life as of today. finally, i have learned to let go of everything that may have held me back from doing the things i would like to do now. i feel like a totally, new person.

however, this new person that i am right now still loves the same person, my hunnybun. the first thing that i did with my empty hard drive? i saved all our photos from my burned CDs in it. it's my first step of establishing ME again in my computer, my first move in forming my identity as that toshiba satellite notebook's owner. as always, it comes back to him, it always comes around back to him. now, more than ever, this only established in my brain how much of a fixture in my life i want and need him to be. no matter how spotless my hard drive may come to be, our memories together are the ones i'd save over and over again. i wouldn't delete them or toss them over to the recycle bin. forever, i'd back them up, if not in CDs, flash disks, iPods, diskettes, they'd always be in my mind, my heart and my soul. forgetting would then be impossible and no amount of reformatting me or my laptop can change that.

************************************************

well, enough of my emo talk. hehehe. anyhoo, hunnybun and i went on a date last night. teehee. we had an all-you-can-eat dinner at thai kitchen, tomas morato and then, kopi and roti with kaya jam at kopi roti, tomas morato. the thai buffet was oh-so-delicious and affordable for 199pesos only! the buffet is only on tuesdays and thursdays though so if you guys want to go, better schedule it on those days. the food, especially the chicken and mussel dishes, are really good, i swear! you'll enjoy this buffet if you're a sucker for things sweet and spicy!

finally, i get to have a taste of the kopi and roti almost everyone in the blogosphere is raving about! the coffee is good but it's really nothing extraordinary but the kaya jam for the roti (french toast) is really good and sweet! it's the thai version of our coconut jam but it's colored green and has eggs in it. it's a must-try for those who love sweet stuff. it just occurred to me that last night was our thai night! hahaha. hmmm..doing this is fun! maybe for valentine's day, we'll try one cuisine that we haven't tried ever before and make it as a theme for the whole date! oh, i love sharing experiences with my hunnybun! :)

grepas at gateway plus tagaytay vacay with hunnybun loooooooong photo post!

2007-01-30T17:19:00.000-08:00

my last weekend was, so far, my best weekend this 2007! i had so much fun! friday night was spent with my closest friends, the grepas, in gateway. joe is leaving for the states so we just all had to meet up! we all had dinner then ewa treated us to drinks at dencio's. of course, my hunnybun came with me. it wouldn't be fun without him! sigh. it's truly nice catching up with friends and laugh about how hilarious our experiences before were. we talked about everything! from photos of girls in bras to oh-so-serious journalism! cheers to the grepas! i lalalove them all! i hope to have more nights like these this year. :)

the following day, hun and i left for tagaytay city at around 10am after a quick breakfast at jollibee. we got there around 1pm and checked in at casa bella, a new lodging house that you will see on your right when coming from the sta. rosa exit. its accomodations were great, very clean and it's new! the room has its own bath, colored television and airconditioner. plus, it's 2000/night only which costs the same as those motel-like inns that are really dingy. anyhoo, here are the photos we took there and some of course, from gateway. :p

oh, tagaytay! this is the magnificent view of taal from the people's park in the sky.

snakes and giggles. my first, ever encounter with a snake! i was actually giggling when this was taken because this slimy snake was moving through my neck! it's no big deal, really, just like holding a humongous worm. this was taken at the tagaytay mini zoo on our second day there.

hunnybun's new groove. hun loves to feed the animals! hahaha. here he is feeding the emperor who became a llama! :p

what an itty-bitty horse! this miniature horse was so cute! i actually want one for a pet. hehehe.

sunday brunch at bag of beans. this coffee shop has the best brewed coffee ever! rumor has it that it uses alamid droppings? hehehe. even though i knew this, i still enjoyed the coffee. we had sausages and fries, a large omelette and the cinnamon and raisin bread with butter and jam! yummy! our bill reached a thousand though but it's definitely worth every peso. eating at the garden with all the birds provided the perfect tagaytay ambiance. :)

saturday dinner at kaye ryan grill. i don't look sick, huh? i was actually feeling really bad when this was taken because i had a very high fever that night. i slept with five layers of clothing so i was able to sweat it all out. and, i took lots of vitamin C tablets and paracetamol! i couldn't remain sick, i told myself. besides, i am the captain of my soul and the master of my fate. if i decide not to be sick, i won't. by the way, our dinner of liempo, sisig and rellenong talong was delicious at this grill.:)

honeymooners! taken in front of our lodging house, it almost seems like we're in another country! this was a beautiful, windy day! perfect for going outdoors. :)

family photo. of course, a vacay with hunnybun wouldn't be complete without our kids! of course, we brought them along. we didn't bring nash though because he was too big and couldn't fit into our bags. anyhoo, we bought him lots of fruits as pasalubong to make up for it.

no water under the bridge. taken at the hanging bridge at picnic grove.

the requisite couple-y photo. taken at picnic grove, look at my peace joe shirt! snazzy huh?

irving flintstone. here is my hunnybun eating the bone when we had a bulalo lunch at mahogany market, tagaytay. hahaha.

at dencio's while drinkin' with the grepas.

after a taco bell dinner. i really like this photo. :)

the grepa family! i missed them all soooo much! however, it was too bad anna wasn't there! hehehe. cheers to the best friends ever in the whole, wide universe!

now with my two BESTfriends in the universe! oh my, hun and i really, really look alike now! we're like twins! hehehe. :)

the malandi shot of me. with caroline, joe and dano. :)

full of hot air

2007-01-26T10:12:00.000-08:00

photo taken by anton last year of Our Awesome Planet

who? or rather what? hot air balloons, duh! hehehe. anyway, since i love to travel and take photos, i so want to go to this year's international philippine balloon fiesta in clark field, pampanga. it's on the 10th of february, on a saturday so i'm free to go. anton of Our Awesome Planet, one of the blogs i regularly visit, is planning a road trip and i so want to join it with my hunnybun! you can check it out at his post, Our Awesome Planet, Balloon Fiesta.

it's a whole day road/food trip because you also get to taste some of pampanga's cuisine and oh, the group will also visit zoobic in subic! this is a perfect pre-valentine's day date. it's great for groups of friends too! any of my friends want to go? just give me a call or send me a text message, you guys can ride with me. =)

what's up?

2007-01-25T20:30:00.000-08:00

everything is going great! i haven't been updating my blog for the week because i don't know, i just didn't feel like it. but being the addicted blogger that i am and because i have some free time tonight, voila! i finally managed to create this entry and post some photos. i got lazy with multiply though because it now takes eons to upload my photos. anyhoo, i know more people read my blog more so off i go into this post.

my weekend was so much fun. after my facial at dermclinic capitol, i picked hunnybun up at home and off we went to the peter pan musical at the ccp! i didn't take photos there though because cameras weren't allowed but let me just say that the play is worth every peso of the pricey ticket. you will get to feel the magic of the peter pan legend and feel like a kid again! some of the characters were on harnesses so they were all able to fly across the stage. the sets and props were so colorful and peter pan spread glittery pixie dust everywhere. i was ooohing and aaahing with the audience all the time. watching it was an adventure itself. if you guys have some time, i really recommend this for you to watch. i think it runs up to next weekend. you can call ticketnet for tickets and oh, globe subscribers get a discount. :)

anyway, after the show, hunnybun and i headed to harbor square at the side of ccp, beside the side parking lot. it was my first time there but i loved the ambiance of the place, very fisherman's wharf at san francisco! people can eat al fresco at practically all the restaurants but since dencio's had the best view of the bay, hun and i had dinner there. i took some photos but silly me accidentally deleted them a while ago. moving on, harbor square is definitely a good place to go to after watching at the ccp. i know zsa zsa zaturnnah is also running there up to this coming weekend.

last sunday, hunnybun and i hit the gym because we both knew we needed to burn the calories we got from eating a lot the night before. but after gym, we had a quick dinner at kowloon house, west avenue which has the best and biggest dimsum in the area. i was so full from siomai and siopao that i immediately fell asleep when i got home.

now, during the week, here are some photos. enjoy! teehee.

the requisite kiss-me photo. my brother also loves to kiss me! this was taken when we went to the spa with my mom last monday. we had dinner after.

gorgeous gams. also taken at the spa by my brother. i lalalove my leopard print wedges! definitely one way to show off my toned *ahem* and smooth *ahem* gams! nyahaha. :p

artsy-fartsy. i don't know, there's something about candid photos that i really likey. hehe.

these boots were just made for loungin'. these are the boots that i bought last week. snazzy huh? i lalalove them! they look so chic with all of my skinny jeans! definitely my favorite trend of the season!

somebody up there...

2007-01-18T14:43:00.000-08:00

really, really LIKES me! i. freakin'. passed. that. exam.

i am overjoyed. giddy. ecstatic. exhilarated. vivacious. blissful. gladdened. joyful. delighted. cheerful. cavorting. chuckling. there are certainly not enough words to describe what i felt yesterday when i learned the glorious, glorious news from a text message. i repeat, somebody up there really, really likes me! =)

it's comforting to know that all my hard work, i.e. reviewing till the wee hours of the morning, paid off! not to mention those long afternoons at starbucks, tomas morato, studying and waking up early for sunday morning review classes. now, there's only that freakin' interview to hurdle. BUT, i am confident that i will do well. i plan to buy a whole, new suit and red heels for the interview though. something that says, "i mean business." hahaha. after all, first impressions do count.

anyway, thanks to my mom and my family for the support. thanks also to my hunnybun for inspiring me to be good and do good. without his taming me, i wouldn't have focused on reviewing and done this. major thanks, hunnybun. you inspire me in a way i can't even explain. thanks for the unending patience and selfless love. =)

finding emo

2007-01-17T10:39:00.000-08:00

i don't know if it's because of my one tree hill marathon last night which may have made me feel so melodramatic or i'm just simply emo today. i just learned of something that happened that totally made me feel left out of my group of friends. yes, i know that i haven't been spending time with any of them lately because it's either i'm at work, at the gym, at home or with irving. but, i just feel fuckin' left out. this event made me realize i now have a whole, new life with a whole, new routine. now, i can't do the things i used to do in college. and, i. fuckin'. miss. everything. (sorry for the swearing, i'm still on an entourage high.)

i can't wake up 30 minutes before class and arrive just in time before the professor closes the door. i can't drink myself silly on a monday night. i can't dress up in tank tops, miniskirts and flipflops everyday. i can't hang around with my friends and simply stare at people walking by. i can't stay out late just because. i can't skip weekdays and just do nothing. i don't even have time to stare at my ceiling anymore!

i miss being rash and irresponsible. i miss battling rumors and the people that come with it. i miss the act of doing nothing for hours on end. i know this isn't a good thing but i just miss the person that i was before. i practically don't know myself anymore. i'm too much of a goody-goody already i cringe whenever i realize it. i have changed TOO much and TOO fast. my life's circle has somewhat closed in and i no longer have that noisy lifestyle i had before where every day has its own drama and controversy.

but, irving assured me that this change is for the better. definitely for the better. i shouldn't be a lesser person than the person i deserve to be. i actually like myself better now even if it's the first time i disclosed it. though my lifestyle is not that noisy anymore, i am sure that that doesn't make it any less exciting. i am sharing experiences with my hunnybun, going to places, discovering new things, meeting new people, entering more meaningful relationships, encountering opportunities and earning my own money. i should be happy and i know i am. this is just me being all emo and nostalgic. i get it now. i just miss being that throw-all-caution-to-the-wind person and of course, i miss all of my friends.

i shouldn't have this depress me though. i know that some of my friends also feel left out of everything that has been happening to me that they don't know about. i used to share everything with them and now that i'm not or rather, sharing it with somebody else, i know they miss me too. but, my life's different now. some of the pieces of the old me won't fit into it anymore and it's time that i let those pieces go. i have done this for the past few months and i realize that i can live this new life. i am at peace and i am really contented with what i have right now. all i have to do is strengthen my relationships with the people that matter so i won't feel so emo and left out anymore. besides, all that really matters right now is that i have irving and i know he won't leave me out of anything. ever. and that, is something i can smile about for the first time today. =) plus, hunnybun told me he's buying us tickets for peter pan at the ccp for this saturday's show. weeeeeee! i do, i do, i do believe in fairies! :p

NOTE: and oh, watching one tree hill can do this to you. it gets you all emo but it has the best soundtrack ever. hahaha. anyway, do you guys know that the show is one big soundtrack itself? the episode titles are actually titles of songs by kick-ass bands and artists. so, if you want to be musically educated (at least with emo and punk artists), i really suggest you watch the show. besides, it has a nice storyline. even guys would dig it, i swear! =)

feel-good weekend

2007-01-15T16:42:00.000-08:00

my weekend was full of GOOD vibes. weekends like these rank high up in my book because way back in college, it was during weekends where i paint the town red. yup, this leads to an adrenaline surge but sometimes too much adrenaline kills. hahaha. anyway, moving on, hunnybun and i went out for our usual friday night date. hunnybun wanted to actually "go out," meaning gimik which is something he rarely wants to do. uhuh, he is a good, ol' fuddy-duddy but that doesn't mean he doesn't know how to have fun every once in a while. besides, it's not his fault he got stuck to hanging out in malls for a big part of his college life. his crowd and the people close to him were like that so he became like that. remember, people who get bored become boring themselves. hahaha! that's why it's time for him to finally have some real fun! ok, ok, i'll take him by the hand and take him to places. i'm doing this because i'm such a positive *snicker, snicker* influence and a good girlfriend. ok, enough of my rambling, back to my story. anyhoo, since i was feeling lazy to go out of quezon city, we went to esquinita in sgt. esguerra.

it's been a long time since i went there and it has definitely changed. there are more people and it has a louder party vibe. we had dinner at vanilla and ate some delicious lengua. yum! after that, we headed over to graffiti, an internet cafe and bar owned by john lapus and drank a few beers. and since my alcohol tolerance is practically approaching zero, i got tipsy so easily. hahaha. we ate some barbecue too and some isaw! yum! we even saw john lapus around the bar and chokoleit! hehehe. =p shortly after midnight, we went home and i instantly fell asleep. quite a turnaround from my partying days though, i'm now officially "wholesome." even emman, my thesis partner, is more malandi than me now. whoa. now, that's amazing. =)

the following day, saturday, i went to dermclinic to see my dermatologist and she said i should start the glycolic peeling treatment for four sessions for the month. i got a facial and the peeling treatment and bought the prescribed derm products. as of now, i am peeling! hahaha. it's a good thing i'm just in my office all day. anyhoo, hun and i watched rocky balboa on dvd that night. i wasn't that entertained but the boxing scenes were good and looked real. go, rocky!

sunday, i went to the gym, bought some groceries and bummed around the house a bit. hun and i watched the black dahlia on dvd that night. i love scarlett! this movie has a dark mood to it but it was fun trying to figure out who killed the actress in the story. it was a mystery so i was hooked and it gave me a glimpse of the glamorous 40s where girls dressed so elegantly and men wore suits all the time! i don't know if this has been shown in theaters already but i highly recommend it to everyone. =)

well, enough kuwento for now. here are a few photos. sorry there are only three because my internet connection's acting up. more photos from this weekend soon but i'll post those in my multiply site. toodles!

the requisite before-leaving-the-house photo. duh, this was taken before we left for esquinita. and yes, my room is PINK.

now, stop looking so coy. this was taken after a couple of drinks. i now look prissy, don't i?

beautiful. now, we don't need to be drunk or tipsy to be like this. i love my hunnybun forever!

NOTE: i wrote this entry yesterday but as some of you may heard from the news, we had a minor fire yesterday here at the supreme court. we all hurried out of the building so i wasn't able to post it, i saved it on my drafts instead. and oh, no casualties were reported. everyone and everything in the court is a-ok! =)

random stuff

2007-01-12T09:29:00.000-08:00

i have a fucking cold. i hate it but after three decolgen tablets, i am actually starting to feel better now. damn this fucking weather. sometimes, it gets so cold at night i turn off the airconditioner even if hun constantly complains. oh well, i had a drastic decrease in body fat so i really can't tolerate that much cold now. great thing my hunnybun hugs me so tight. hehehe. maybe i'll give that baguio trip a try after all.
i bought leopard print wedges yesterday and i'm wearing them now to work. i lalalove them! animal print stuff are so in right now and i'm liking the trend because of their message, "go wild!" i've had my bout of wildness before and it's invigorating to relive those moments even if i'm just wearing shoes that are supposedly "wild." speaking of shoes, i'm buying knee length-boots this weekend in black or dark brown. i have been lusting for them for the longest time and i have finally decided to get myself a pair. i'm thinking of wearing them with lots of my skinny jeans. weee!
hunnybun and i went to the quiapo dvd haven yesterday afternoon. he fetched me here at work and we eagerly trooped to get our pirated dvd fix. hahaha. we are maximizing the use of my new dvd player so we often buy lots of dvds. anyhoo, we bought the departed, marie antoinette, borat, the illusionist, rocky balboa, black dahlia and one tree hill, season 4. after dinner, we watched the departed. i'm a leo and martin scorsese fan and i love mark wahlberg as well so i enjoyed the movie. it had a very dark mood to it though. it's a must-see for those interested in the mafia life. well, i'm expecting the following nights with hunnybun to be of dvd marathons. hmmm..a bit too wholesome and classic for my taste but it's alright. at least it's with my hunnybun.
my office friends are planning a mountain climbing trip in rizal this coming 27th. incidentally, that's hunnybun's and mine's 8th month together! yey. we're thinking of going and we're already 90% sure that we are. i'm excited! the mountain has a beautiful waterfall and a picturesque view of the metropolis and an amazing sunset. wow. i can't wait for this climb!
it's a friday night! as some of you already know, it's tradition. hunnybun and i go out every single, friday night we've been together. tonight, it's either we go to magnet katipunan for some joey ayala and cynthia alexander music (hun has to culture himself! hahaha.) or off to serendra for some sonja's cupcakes. yum! if i get too lazy AGAIN, we might just go to esquinita and drink a few beers but i don't drink that MUCH anymore. my tolerance for alcohol is practically non-existent because i have been alcohol-free for a very, very long time already. way too wholesome, i know, but it comes with the territory of taming myself and striving to be a "good" (snicker, snicker) girl. hun is totally happy about this but sometimes, i do get tired of being too much of a goody-goody that i shake things up to create some badly needed drama in my life. hahaha. all is good though. i'm on my way to really becoming a good girl, sans the prissyness, of course. besides, a little change is refreshing and doesn't hurt anyone. =p
i just got one of one tree hill's soundtrack last month and i am loving it. one track i really, really like is halo by haley james scott (one of the show's characters). it's endearing and the melody is excellent. it's a bit girly, not too rock-ish, but i like it. look it up in the net and you'll be addicted to it too! =) hmmm..i'm also thinking of snagging a copy of the latest urbandub album, embrace, but i'm not decided yet. any of my friends have copies i can just add to my iPod? hehehe.
i have just recently gotten in touch with some of my grade school classmates in southville international school, paranaque. it's been sooooooooooo long that i have seen any of them and i am ecstatic! my, how we all have grown! thank goodness for the internet that we have found each other. i'm planning a get-together with some of them soon. i'm definitely looking forward to swapping stories about our grade school days and how childish we all were then! blasts from the pasts are not always horrible, after all. some are really comforting to one's psyche.
i'm getting a fruit-based skin peel and facial tomorrow at my personal skin clinic, dermclinic, capitol. i need this treatment because i haven't gotten peeling for a very long time now even if i like my skin lately because of the l'oreal pure zone skin line. (tip: cleanse, tone, moisturize! hahaha.) i'm a bit apprehensive though because my skin's going to be peeling for days. my dermatologist told me not to worry though because it's not going to look like my skin's melting. it will all be worth it, she says, so i said yes. besides, i trust dermclinic even if i have been with belo for a year last 2005. so, say hello to my renewed skin soon!

one of the reasons.....

2007-01-10T16:11:00.000-08:00

i'd really, really love to be back in UP is this.

these are three of my orgmates from the up journalism club, gelo, mark m. and misha. now, why weren't they dressed up and amped like this when i was still a resident member? oh, phooey. girls are now probably flocking to the club like groupies. hahaha. =p

nah. just kidding. I LOVE UPJC!

i just seriously miss them all. =(

(photo nicked from gelo's friendster profile)

fuckin' lost my phone

2007-01-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

i fuckin' lost my phone last wednesday night but i am not going to rant about it anymore because i am now at peace with what happened. my mom lent my sun cellular phone to her korean client and i was living on my globe phone alone so i really had no choice but to buy a new phone. i bought a nokia 3230 last thursday night which has a 1.3 megapixel integrated camera so i was excited to start camwhoring. besides, my photos during my tuguegarao trip were all in my lost phone so i can't post those anymore. anyhoo, here are some photos taken using my new one last week. =)

family photo. after buying my new phone, hunnybun and i took photos with our kids, nash the baby, chicharon the puppy, timmy the rabbit and fanty the elephant. cute, cute kids!

sparks will definitely fly. my little brother took this photo on night mode but the camera hasn't adjusted to the dark yet so the shot is a bit dark. however, the fireworks in the background were excellently captured so i decided to keep the photo. this was taken last friday night at the world pyro olympics, esplanade, at the back of the mall of asia.

with my funny, little brother. hunnybun and my brother picked me up after work to go to the world pyro olympics. after watching the display of australia and poland, we had a huge dinner at gerry's grill, mall of asia. my brother was so full he couldn't walk and then, fell asleep at the backseat during our drive home. =)

i love coca-cola. this is a giant bottle of coke! hahaha. i bet klara would love to have her picture taken with this. =p

fighting boredom, looking chic. on a slow morning, i took this photo, which is one of many, at my cubicle in the office. my new phone is lurve. hahaha. =)

more photos at my multiply site: http://starcie.multiply.com

hello, 2007!

2007-01-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

arriving from tuguegarao yesterday from a nine-hour bus ride made me sore all over. i was even too lazy, again, to upload the photos of our trip so i'm postponing it to tonight when i am more relaxed and more grounded into the routine of my house-work-gym-house lifestyle during regular weekdays. i went with my bestfriend, caroline and with my hunnybun last new year's weekend to tuguegarao to spend the holidays with my family on my mom's side. but, that's enough info for now. i will post a tell-all together with the photos i took later on this week. =)

2006 has been a very, very good year. saying this is even an understatement because last year gave me a whole lot. i have been so blessed and so loved last year that welcoming this year makes me a bit sad. what if this one's going to be a bad year? what if it doesn't live up to my 2006? however, i told myself i have to be all about positivity. think great things will happen and they will happen. if they don't, then make. them. happen. with this strengthening resolve, i welcomed 2007 and crossed my fingers that it will be a more wonderful year than the last.

last year, i graduated from college with honors. i got a job. i travelled. i fell in love and was loved unconditionally in return. i shopped till i dropped. i took risks. but, i had my share of disappointments, shortcomings and mistakes. saying hello to 2007 means i can now leave all those behind and live life armed with the knowledge i got from making mistakes and stupid decisions. this is going to be a better year, i know, because i know i am now stronger and wiser. aside from leaving all emotional baggage, i am also carrying all the positive consequences of 2006. i am bringing with me the relationships i have fostered last year into the present and continue to live alongside people i love and care for. truly, i don't have to be scared of a new year because i know i will be alright. better than alright, even.

i am actually excited now because of all the new places to go to, food to eat, clothes to wear and try on, people to meet and experiences to share. this 2007 will definitely kick my 2006's ass. plus, i am waiting for a certain positive outcome this year. i am praying that this year will kick off with a good start. =p

i only have one new year's resolution this year though. that is to be less of a brat and more of a lover to my hunnybun. the people close to me can totally understand why i am making this my resolution so i don't need to explain it here. i am mustering all my strength to see this resolution through and i believe i can, provided that my hunnybun helps me in some circumstances my inner brat shines through. hehehe.

to end this post, i am recommending a tv series i finished during the last few days of 2006 to all my readers. ENTOURAGE is the bomb, especially for those who love hollywood and its celebs. i already finished seasons 1-3 and i can't wait to grab season 4! year 2007 wouldn't be complete if you don't get your entourage fix. and oh, i am also recommending relaksasi spa at sm north, 3rd level. hun and i chanced upon this new, thai-inspired spa two weeks ago so we went before we left for tuguegarao. i had a chocolate scrub and wrap which was both heavenly and yummy while he got a relaxing balinese massage and scrub. the service was great and not too pricey too. plus, they have rooms for couples. taking this trip to the spa makes the perfect date. =)

well, that's it for now. i will post photos soon. happy 2007 to everyone! peace, much lalalove and rock n' roll! =)

the loooooong holiday weekend...

2006-12-27T10:40:00.000-08:00

was an absolute blast! this may come down as one of my best christmas holidays ever! i have loads to share so i'm writing this post detailing the highlights of each day. =)

december 22, friday. after work and hitting the gym, hunnybun and i met up at promenade, greenhills. i was dying to eat at peri peri chicken so we had dinner there. after a scrumptious dinner of spit-fire chicken, java rice and yummy, fruit shakes (he had lychee and i had banana), we did some shopping at the midnight market at the greenhills parking lot 1. i bought gifts for my titas in the province, eight bags in eight, different colors. of course, the night wouldn't be complete if i didn't buy stuff for myself too. fun, fun night!

december 23, saturday. again, i hit the gym and relaxed at the steam room for a bit while conditioning my hair. (vain!) i hurried home to change because my journ batchmates and i have this get-together at tiendesitas. yey! i arrived there around 8pm and hun arrived a few minutes after me. we had dinner with my journ batchmates and i drank two beers while eating yummy sisig and chicken skin. ok, ok, i wasn't counting calories that night, just because maya and tetel told me they have never seen me this slim. sexy! hahaha. anyway, just when i was enjoying myself, hun told me he has this christmas party to go to. argh. ok, we'll go, i told him. but, we have to return here. he agreed BUT he left out this detail that this party he has to go to is in freakin' bulacan! i was in a foul mood while we were driving along NLEX but ok, i know there will be other get-togethers with my journ friends while he rarely sees his high school barkada. fine, fine. i plastered a smile in my face and made the most out of our night. besides, his friends turned out to be ok. plus ynard, our matchmaker, came with us so it's all good. see what lalalove can do? =)

december 24, sunday. i hit the gym around 2:30pm at fitness first, sm north because hun had a client there. after working out, i waited for him a bit and then we had frappes at this frappe stall at the block. hun did some last minute christmas shopping while i did some shopping for myself. hahaha. after that, we drove home and we picked up this delicious mango torte from dulcelin, which is the best mango torte in manila! we were spending christmas eve, together with my yaya, with his family in bulacan so we were bringing this torte for noche buena. after resting for a bit at home, we drove to bulacan and attended mass with his family. ok, ok, i'm not catholic but what can i do? besides, additional brownie points for me! hahaha. after mass, we ate a late dinner and opened gifts. after some chit-chat and fooling around with his sister and his dad, we drove back to manila around 2am. great, great christmas eve. =)

december 25, monday. we overslept and woke around 12noon. after a quick lunch, hun went home again to bulacan and my yaya and i went to the 168 mall just because i wanted to go shopping again. hehehe. i splurged on loads of girly stuff and bought a few gifts and some shirts and guy necklaces for hun. after dinner, we went straight to sm north the block to meet up with hun and then, we watched shake, rattle and roll 8. it wasn't that great of a movie but there were some terrifying scenes throughout. i went home sleepy, nevertheless.

december 26, tuesday. i woke up just in time for my braces appointment with my dentist. after a quick shower, i drove to her clinic and had my elastics changed to baby pink! hahaha. i went home right after, ate lunch, updated the songs in my iPod with the soundtrack of one tree hill, the OC and songs from the corrs and had an entourage marathon using my new dvd player which hun gave on my birthday. weee! =p i lalalove entourage because it totally gives its viewers an inside look on the lives of the celebrities in hollywood. plus, it has really witty dialogues. around 6pm, i finally took a bath using my new apple shampoo, shower gel and bubble bath all-in-one from philosophy and because i was seriously craving for kid-style spaghetti, hun and i went to jollibee when he got home from work and pigged out on classic, jollibee fast food. hehehe. we bought doughnuts from krispy kreme, serendra for my mom and then watched the grudge 2 on dvd when we got home. this day perfectly caps off my loooooooong holiday weekend. =)

hmmm..it looks like i spent practically everyday with hun. well, what can i say? we're codependents and we're addicted to each other. (this is a line from entourage.) =p

coincidentally, today marks our 7th MONTH together! cheers to 7 months of love, friendship and oh-so-much-fun, hunnybun! i hope to have more animal babies with you. hehehe. =)

our beachin' weekend in photos

2006-12-19T22:39:00.000-08:00

a new tattoo. yes, my hunnybun and i now have identical tattoos! this was totally spontaneous and the tattoo artist designed this STAR just for us. =) why this design? because we are each other's sun, moon and star, after all. totally MUSHY. =p

no biggie. honestly, getting a tattoo doesn't seriously hurt. it's better than getting a facial, believe me. hehehe.

how snazzy! finally, i have one.

this is not a faux tattoo. it's permanent!

my favorite emo photo.

camwhoring while wearing hun's aviator shades.

my hunnybun is scorching hot. =)

the requisite beach pic.

thanks to fitness first. hehehe. =p

at the beach with our kids, chicharon, timmy and fanty!

beachin' couple.

at daybreak.

at a bar where we drank lumumba, a chocolate-infused alcoholic drink. yum!

oh-so-fresh. after taking a bath. =p

with my favorite baby, chicharon, on the bus. =)

on my birthday

2006-12-19T21:40:00.000-08:00

my hunnybun's gifts. hun gave me our newest baby, fanty the elephant, a dvd player and a starbucks 2007 planner! wee!

my officemates made this poster as a surprise for me on my birthday! totally sweet. i love them to smithereens! =)

my officemates gave me this yummy, chocolate cake too. =) the icing got mushed up but it originally reads, "happy birthday, shalei!" hehehe. how shalei.=p

teaser

2006-12-19T14:01:00.000-08:00

blind item. make an intelligent guess. duh.

which hot couple went to the beach last weekend for some rest and relaxation and to celebrate the girl's birthday? find out tonight at this blog.

ok, ok, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out. but, what can i say? i got lazy yesterday to upload photos so i don't think it's going to make sense if i make kuwento without some pictures, right? and a blog entry about one of the most important days of my life sans pictures is just plain blah. my birthday and the weekend following it was an absolute blast. that, i can say. hehe. those three days were eventful and truly fun-filled! you guys would just have to wait till tonight when i get home where i can upload and blog all i want. well, till then, toodles!

third life

2006-12-14T09:48:00.000-08:00

yesterday, i found out from my doctor in capitol medical center that i may be seriously sick. i had two options, he said. go for an ultrasound exam, wait for 6 months and then get one again to compare both results or surgery. since he assured me that surgery is not urgent and that what i'm going through is not an emergency, i opted for the ultrasound exam. during lunch time today, i went through the exam and luckily, the doctor said that what i have will not become cancer or increase the risk of my getting cancer. what i have may naturally go away on its own, he said. i heaved a big, big sigh of relief.

tomorrow is my birthday, something i've been looking forward to for weeks. though i was being quite superficial about it and being utterly materialistic by shopping almost everyday just because it's my special day, my birthday probably means more to me now than it ever did. before my birthday, i was assured by medical specialists that i'll definitely live through many more of my birthdays. i cried a bit yesterday, nervous over my diagnosis. i cried for myself, my birthday and the upcoming christmas season. i was pondering if i can still find the strength to celebrate, to rejoice when deep inside my heart, i know that my life is being threatened. i may die, i pondered on. what i'm going through is a big deal and not something that could be casually brushed off. i was feeling manic.

on my way to the hospital, a flood of sad thoughts occupied my head. i still have a lot to do in life. i still want to do many things, go to many places, eat different kinds of food and meet more people. in my family, i know i will leave a significant void. who will take care of my mom when she gets old? who will see to it that all the bills for the month are paid? who will take my little brother out during the weekend? who will kiss my boyfriend good night? i was dreading somebody taking my place or rather, depressed that i will be leaving my routine with no one left to fill it immediately. i know i'm ready to die, being that i feel i have created memories and went through experiences that will last me for a lifetime. i have loved and i have been loved. i have reached a point in my life where i am fully contented. but, what about the people i will leave behind? are they ready for a life without me? yesterday was surely a turning point in my young life.

today, however, i feel very relieved. i feel overjoyed, even. tomorrow, on my birthday, i am armed with the knowledge that i will definitely live for the years to come. for me, this is the best birthday gift i have ever gotten in my 21 years of existence and i promise myself i will not let this gift go to waste. i have been saying over and over again that this is my second life, having survived a fatal car accident a year ago. now, i can say that this is the start of my third life. i have been given another chance to live, by altering what my doctor previously diagnosed me with. i am safe. i am not in for a long bout of suffering. i am as healthy as i can be. i thank God for this development. everyday, i will be thanking him by living my life to the fullest as positively as i can and touching as many lives as i could. i will strive to be a better person and live each day as it was my last.

kiddie date

2006-12-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

kiddie date. hanging out with my little brother is, actually, really fun!

every weekend, i make it a point to take my brother out to the mall for him to play at the arcade and eat at jollibee. when i'm feeling extra generous, we watch a movie together, pig out on popcorn and nachos and hang out at the toy stores and buy him a toy or two. i started this tradition ever since i started working because one, i think i need some form of release from everyday stress. i mean, i need to be a kid once a week, at least! and second, i pity my little brother from being cooped up in the house for a whole week every day after school. even if he's just in third grade, he studies practically everyday because of a very demanding curriculum. plus, he gets all cute and teary-eyed every saturday asking me to take him out. naturally, i'd give in to the little brat. hehe. =p

anyway, last weekend, after my weekly checkup at the capitol medical center, i took him to sm north's the block. after peeking at the dog show, we decided to watch a movie. he wanted to watch happy feet but since i have watched that already, i coaxed him into watching wag kang lilingon instead. he said and he'd like to watch that as well so off we went. naturally, before entering the cinema, we loaded up on popcorn, nachos and sodas.

wag kang lilingon, i thought, was going to be a typical pinoy horror film. i was mistaken. it fooled the audience insinuating that it was made up of two mini-movies but the twist in the end explains the connection between the two. the twist was really surprising and puts emphasis to consequences of events. i like this aspect of the film where it shocks the audience ultimately as the film draws to a finish. there were the occasional surprising appearances of ghosts and ghouls and an effective, scaring soundtrack. there were some details left out though and one may ask himself a lot of questions after watching it. nevertheless, i didn't think it was a waste of money and time to watch this flick. my brother was even covering his eyes and ears during parts that were supposedly too terrifying for him. the actresses were not that convincing though and i think the mood, music and the setting of the movie carried the story to make it an effective horror film. it was actually fun watching it and at night when i'm alone in bed, i have that occasional tingle in my spine while remembering some parts of the movie that freaked me out. hahaha.

after watching, we did a bit of window shopping, ate some humongous burgers at wham and then went home. i was exhausted upon reaching home but i felt satisfied, like the day has been immensely productive. hmmm..i wonder what we'll do next time we go out. i can't wait. =p

wishy-washy

2006-12-06T09:41:00.000-08:00

just because everyone's posting their wishlists, i am now posting mine. hehehe. =p though it pretty much sucks that my birthday wishlist comes the same time as my christmas wishlist, it's a-ok. at least, people are kind of compelled to give me gifts because not only is it my birthday month, it's also the yuletide season! it's like hitting two birds with one stone, eh? anyhoo, here's the list (note: this is a realistic wishlist).

1. portable dvd player with lcd screen (any brand will do, even some brand i don't know as long as it will work!)

2. altec lansing iPod speakers (original, those suited for a room. maybe 1000 watts?)

3. maybelline blush mousse in pink marshmallow (they keep on running out of stock of this shade!)

4. paris hilton perfume (the first one. i still like nicole richie more though.)

5. tops from mango, zara, topshop, folded and hung and people are people. (i love these stores!)

6. white leggings (no frills or ruffles!)

7. large, chunky leather bags (in black, white, brown, yellow or green. no brand required, they have loads in 168 or greenhills!)

8. ralph lauren HOT perfume (because i'm HOT. hahaha.)

9. cds of dashboard confessional, the ramones, the cure, keane, my chemical romance and gnarls barkley

10. aviator shades (any brand would do though those from i2i look really chic!)

pfft. this wishlist is so realistic it might eventually end up as my shopping list! phooey, i may end up buying all these for myself or asking them from my mom because i can't wait to have them all! oh, well. =p

happy holidays, everyone!

because i'm a fan

2006-12-04T16:32:00.000-08:00

URBANDUB is now officially my favorite local band. i have been given a cd by my cousin a year ago of their second album, influence, but i never listened to it because i have never heard of urbandub. months ago, i saw that my friend and blockmate, maya, was going crazy over urbandub. my curiosity aroused, i popped that cd into my player and i was BLOWN AWAY by how good they sound. the lyrics were great, poetic and made perfect sense. it was like listening to poetry with melodies.

i have never talked about urbandub before in my blog so i felt i have to do it now, being that i listen to their album in my iPod every morning when i go to work and because i'm a fan. it sucks that this band doesn't get much attention from the public and the media because, believe me, they deserve every bit of attention any hokey, comical band out there is getting for simply being wacky. their lyrics are impressively written, especially the tracks, fallen on deaf ears, a new tattoo, quiet poetic and soul searching. the vocalist has a powerful, resonating voice that can woo you to sleep or energize you with a certain kind of power. it's good that he won as vocalist of the year at this year's NU rock awards. *applause* the guitarists and the drummers are both adventurous as well as ingenious as they effectively transform notes into strong impressions. i never get tired of hearing an urbandub song, ever.

their songs have helped me a lot in moments i feel crappy or depressed over something. a certain kind of power reverberates in them, making me feel invincible enough to take on anything and anyone. their songs also lift my spirits up whenever i'm feeling down and sometimes, talk some sense into me whenever i'm in the verge of doing something totally wrong.

i badly need to go to an urbandub gig. anyone want to go with me?

Quiet poetic, her body breaks into rhyme

Quiet poetic, her tongue is her mind

Quiet poetic, she speaks through her eyes

Quiet poetic, her moves says it all.--Quiet Poetic by URBANDUB

photoblogging

2006-12-03T16:31:00.000-08:00

i'm bumming around in the house for the whole day today. it's definitely a lazy sunday, with hun at his review center and me, waiting for him to be free. pfft. normally, i would have gone to the gym but it so happens that i'm sick. my doctor said i have sinusitis and a teeny-weeny, teensy-weensy blood clot in my right temple from my car accident last year. though this clot is nothing serious and it's nothing the medication he has given me can't cure, i have been told to take it easy until my next MRI and until my headaches lessen. of course, there's still my sinusitis which makes my headaches worse. the antibiotics i'm taking are killing all my good bacteria making me susceptible to bad bacteria! argh. anyhoo, enough of my medical ails, it's depressing me. pfft.

so, i'm home with my little brother, watching CSI reruns. making use of idle time, i uploaded new photos to my multiply site, something i have been procrastinating and uploaded some too at my friendster account. you can view them here, Starcie's Multiply Site and Starcie's Friendster Profile.

for those lazy to click on the links and for my stalkers who are too SCAREDYCAT to view my sites because of trackers, here are some sneak peeks.

stylish emo. taken by ieth inolino at heaven n' eggs, eastwood. my friend, ieth, and i had lunch yesterday at this ethereal place. the dear eggs, love bacon dish was GOOD! not to mention the pineapple syrup.

6 months and countin.' taken at somethin' fishy, eastwood where we celebrated our 6 months together! we had a scrumptious dinner of crispy baby squids, fried chicken, grilled salmon steaks and green mango shakes.

primpin' for our friday night date. hun and i have this tradition of going out every friday night. this photo was taken on a friday where we went to dish and then to starbucks for some coffee. we both have planners now! wee! (i gave mine to my mom though) =)

finally

2006-11-27T16:49:00.000-08:00

finally, it was over and done with. i felt happy when it was over because i have been thinking all along that i'll be agonizing over it by the time i get to answer the last question. instead of feeling drained, i felt giddy. i was expecting that it will be so difficult that by the time i was taking it, i was in utter disbelief over how easy it was. i'm not bragging that i found it to be extremely easy, it just so happened that it was easier than the reviewers our review center had given us to study. i also had this belief that it will tire my brain and send it to shock over how nerve-wracking it's going to be.

it turned out i over-overestimated that particular exam because everyone around me was acting as if it's such a big, big deal. well, it is but i think i even kind of overprepared for it. i acted like it was some kind of board exam, managing my free time to study for it. the reason i did this was because i didn't want to blame myself in the end when i don't get my desired score. i didn't want any "what-if-i-studied-more" questions rattling in my brain. well, i think this did me good. i know now that whatever the outcome is, i will not be pulling my hair out and shrieking, knowing that i had not done my very best. because, believe me, i have.

God has definite plans for me and i know He will not let me down. He will show me the right path and i will follow it. now, all i have to do is to wait which is, for me, the truly agonizing part.

i am crossing my fingers, wishing, hoping and praying that i will not be disappointed. deep inside my heart though, i know i won't be. i did my best, i have nothing to be sullen about.

***thanks to everyone who bid me good luck. thanks for the support and the prayers. special mention to my mom, who called me up minutes before the exam, and to my hunnybun who served as my driver, assistant, cheerleader, masseuse and more during that memorable sunday. =)

****************************

today marks the 6TH MONTH of irving and i together. i. am. so. happy. cheers to half a year of love, friendship and two animal babies! i have truly found my own penguin. (hehehe. we watched happy feet last friday. cute, cute movie!) =p

on top of my christmas/birthday wishlist is...

2006-11-23T11:21:00.000-08:00

this handsome phone!

it has 8GB integrated hard-drive memory, can store up to 6000 songs, has a 2 megapixel camera, bluetooth, wi-fi, stereo speakers with 3d sound, 3G connectivity and the list of features go on and on! practically my dream phone for this season, that is. hehehe. =p

i'm going to name him, vinnie, the moment i get it later this month or in december. but, definitely, i'm getting it before my birthday. weeee!

so nicole richie

2006-11-22T16:59:00.000-08:00

last weekend, my mom visited me here in manila, being that she has been staying in tuguegarao more often than here in the metropolis. she was surprised over how much weight i've lost and she kept on saying that i should be eating more because i was regularly working out at the gym. she was even complaining and getting worried that i might be sick or i might just faint because of not eating right. well, this is so nicole richie. hahahaha. on the contrary, i am eating right, but in moderate amounts. unlike before that i'd always go back for second, even fourth helpings of everything, i'd stop eating when i feel that i have had enough. i am eating adequately, i insisted.

inspite of my having my ideal weight which is good, she treated me out to lunch for the whole time she was here. (she left last night) at dinner, she kept on forcing me to eat second helpings and lots of dessert. she even went to the grocery store last monday and stocked up on plenty of my favorite sweets, chips and snacks. heck, she even bought like 8 gallons of milk for me to drink before going to sleep. plus, she bought this "bio-enzyme" syrup-like liquid for me to drink three times a day from a cup as big as a shot glass. this liquid is full of vitamins and minerals, she says. i think it's like eating eight oranges every time you drink a shot. hahaha. talk about vitamin-rich. =p

my mom is such a worrywart. she's acting like i've become nicole richie or something because she keeps on seeing her in ET and i've been telling her i like how nicole dresses. hahaha. anyway, though she worries too much, i find this sweet. she's also worried that i won't have the strength to study anymore so she wants me to load up on snacks. hahaha. oh, well. i'm definitely going to pig out later when i get home. =p

one, big fight

2006-11-20T21:05:00.000-08:00

funny that on the day that manny pacquiao won one of the biggest fights of his boxing career, we also had one of, if not the, biggest fights of our relationship. i admit i do tend to be overly melodramatic to the point of being maudlin. but, i can't help it. he's close to perfect and it irks me every time i see even one of his flaws. i am still in denial that he is human and that he has imperfections of his own. despite the issue being shallow and quite a minor glitch, i overblew it to something bigger. yes, yes, i also tend to overreact. and instead of dealing with the anger i feel inside, i channel it to something evil. instead of sublimating it, i seek to hurt him, to make him feel worse than i do. when i accomplish this, it's only then that my anger subsides.

last night was supposed to be one of the times i sought to hurt him, pretty bad. but being the unconditional lover that he is, he stood by my side and calmed me down despite my selfish, really, really, hurtful outbursts. i got so mean i couldn't even believe what words were escaping from my lips. i wanted to sink the needle at the right spot, just where it really, really hurts. i didn't want to be at the losing end. there were tears and those tears satisfied me a bit. if he hurt me, i should hurt him more, i decided.

after a couple of hours, i finally relented. though i was all dressed up to go out to hurt him more, i stayed home. i started to feel pity for him. plus, my cold got the best of me and i was feeling sleepy already. feeling annoyed at missing the chance of hurting him more, i started yakking the night away with mean, uber mean words.

however, the big fight came to an end when i got tired talking and all i could do was stare daggers at him. upon doing this, i realized my ranting and raving were not worth it. i love this guy, i said to myself. i am, again, being childish and silly. the thing i was angry about didn't deserve this amount of time and magnitude of anger. the issue was practically a needle in a stack of hay. it was insignificant in the whole scheme of things. in short, i was acting downright stupid. and mean. and self-centered. worse, he didn't do anything wrong at all. i was creating my own ghosts, so to speak.

the fight soon came to a stop. a kiss happened and all is well again in the planet of vanilla smiles and strawberry kisses. next time, i have to remind myself not to be so stupid and irrational. oh, phooey.

psyching up

2006-11-17T09:14:00.000-08:00

the clock is ticking. one week to go and i am about to be tested, mentally and emotionally. though i feel the pressure, especially from my mom, i am going to take it as calmly as i can. with no anxiety, expectations and ego. i am taking this as something i have to take, to finally see if that world is for me and if i am for that world.

i know i have made adequate preparations. now, fate will take charge. but in the end, i know, that i am the captain of my soul and the master of my fate. i. can. do. this. and i will, excel in it even.

this is for my future. i am taking a risk in something with purpose and meaning. now, that's something that doesn't happen to me everyday. i am praying that this risk will be worth taking. may the good Lord help me again, as he has been doing all those times that i take risks.

nothing can stop me now.

take me to the beach...

2006-11-16T07:18:00.000-08:00

on my birthday.

i am ecstatic! hun and i are really, really going on my birthday weekend. FOR SURE. we're calling next week for reservations and getting a map on how to drive to laiya, batangas. ahahay. can my birthday get any better? not to mention fun-ner? =p

what a perfect way to end this wonderful year. life is great. =)

oh happy day

2006-11-15T00:38:00.000-08:00

today is a glorious, wonderful day. i got some of the holiday bonuses today and i am now sure i can buy my mom an oh-so-shalei music component for christmas. she asked me for one when i asked what gift she wants for christmas this year because this is the first christmas ever that i have a job and my own money. i have been worrying about it ever since she told me but now, i'm so relieved that i can surely give her the gift she really wants.

i am now starting to feel the christmas spirit and sniff the air of the holidays! not to mention the excitement upon reaching my 22nd birthday. though i am now working, i am really, really positive that my mom and my favorite titas will give me their yearly, birthday cash gifts! ahahay. i am starting to finish my wishlist for this year and i know i'll be able to get them all. yey. yes, yes, i know. money can't buy happiness but i just turn giddy everytime i get a lot of stuff. =) besides, i know, even without these stuff on my wishlist, i will still be happy nonetheless. i have a great family, a loving boyfriend, caring friends and a job that both enlivens and sometimes, frustrates me. hehe. all is well. material things are just a bonus to my happy life.

to cap off this perfect day, i am getting a facial, pedicure and hair trim later. hey, i deserve to splurge. i have been getting out of bed extra early for the past couple of days so that i won't be late for work. the traffic is like hell, i tell you. it maybe because of the students going to school since the sembreak's over already. plus, i have been studying every night for a certain aptitude exam. i definitely need some pampering this week. =)

i'm so happy i wish i could bake a lot of cupcakes with yummy icing and give one to everyone i see. maybe i'd do that for my birthday..=)

cheers to everyone! this week is truly redeeming last week's sucky events.

glorious weekends

2006-11-13T15:49:00.000-08:00

a lot has happened for the past few days that i haven't blogged. pfft. emman even said that with my lack of updates, my blog has already been swarming with flies. oh well, towel. things have become so hectic lately. i also had occasional mood swings which made me feel too lazy to blog. last week was quite abysmal and i kept repeating to myself that that week had to redeem itself on the weekend. i was wishing for a glorious weekend! though i thought things couldn't get any worse, my friday night witnessed a riot, a disaster involving people that were really, really close to me.

i finished off friday at work feeling a bit giddy because hun and i were going to a birthday celebration of one of my closest guy friends ever who also happened to be his diliman brod. i went home in high spirits and even ordered a chocolate marjolaine cake from red ribbon to bring to the drinking binge. after all, i love the birthday boy. as in, really. i waited for hun and we went to meatshop (yes, how nostalgic!) around 9pm. we had initially agreed that we'll head home at midnight because he had to wake up early for work. the party was fun, being that i was with people i haven't seen in ages again. the lively banter was there and there were still some of them teasing me from time to time though i can feel the restraint because unlike before, i now have a serious boyfriend who happens to be their brod (albeit heney and the others).

a little after midnight, chaos struck. a misunderstanding led to a bedlam, a brawl among my friends and some guys also in the place. bottles were flying everywhere. hun was even on the forefront hitting anyone who dared hurt any brod with chairs and tables. he was constantly on the surge and was acting really violent. ah, fratmen. what did i expect? diplomacy? nah. blood spurted and everyone had scratches and bruises while i was shouting myself hoarse calling hun to stop fighting. the brawl lasted for approximately 10 minutes. the guys from the other side soon trapped us inside meatshop shouting that we will never get out of the place alive. they were acting bigheaded and all because they held large knives from meatshop's kitchen that they had managed to snatch during the rumble. however, the police arrived shortly so the situation was calmed down.

we all agreed to congregate somewhere and upon leaving the place, i was shocked. i had been a meatshop mainstay so i couldn't believe my eyes. everything was cleared. there were no tables and chairs anymore but pieces of broken glass on the floor. the doors and glass panels were smashed and it looked like a tornado hit the place. hun was even slightly injured on his right hand. the night ended with us at the east avenue medical center, frustrated over the turn of events. the birthday boy was even injured on his face. tsk, tsk. plans of revenge were mentioned but i doubt it. we didn't even know who the guys really were in the first place. so much for the weekend redeeming the week. argh. i got home sad over what happened but a bit relieved that nobody was seriously injured. i also got lucky that i didn't get hurt or anything. ah, the perils of being close to fratmen and being in love with one. the only good thing that came out of this event is my full realization of how close i am to these guys. during their meeting at a brod's house before heading to east avenue medical center, i was the only girl there but they acknowledge my presence nonetheless. and everytime one of them leaves, he either shakes my hand or kisses me on the cheek even though i am not one of their sorority sisters. awwww..such sweet guys. hahaha. well, our shared experiences were so plenty it would definitely irk me if they weren't like that. =p

i slept for the whole morning of saturday because i was dead tired but i spent the afternoon at the gym and then with my brother at the arcade where we even tried the bump cars. i even treated him to his comfort food place, jollibee! hahaha. after dinner, hun and i did some studying at starbucks tomas morato to collect more stickers for the planner we are competing for! hehe.

sunday was blah. i spent the entire day at home watching tv and pigging out on sandwiches and fish crackers and coke! i also managed to study for a bit before sleeping. total grepalifing but i had trouble sleeping for the night. listening to satellite by dave matthews band and you're all i have by snow patrol on my ipod, law, easily brought me to slumber land though. (trivia: these are two of my most favorite songs of all time)

the weekend was a-ok but it didn't redeem that sucky week last week. hmmm..i hope this week will be better. oh, puhlease. and speaking of glorious weekends, i'm planning to go out of town on my birthday weekend with hun. i'm already looking on some beach resorts but this resort really caught my eye and my fancy, Virgin Beach Resort. click the link to check it out. i'm definitely going on my 22nd birthday on the 15th of december! =p oh, glorious birthday weekend! i surely need the catharsis and the detox.

convince yourself

2006-10-31T10:22:00.000-08:00

i will be travelling to tuguegarao tonight, spending the whole day of nov. 1 there and then boarding a bus on the night of that same day. talk about exhausting, the only amount of sleep i'm going to get is the time i'm spending on the bus. argh. and i tell you, i can't sleep on a freakin' bus that has a temperature as icy cold like a freezer and with squishy, upholstered seats. plus, the driver or the bus conductor chooses a lame, action movie to show during the beginning of the long nine-hour ride. i am definitely not looking forward to this kind of travelling.

i really don't have a clue why my mom is so insistent on making me go home there for nov. 1. heck, i won't even be staying there for 24 hours! she told me she wants me to see her new car, a honda odyssey, new resthouse and the new car showroom she's been working on for the past two months. but, i think the majority of the reason she wants me there is that she wants to show me off to our relatives who haven't seen me for almost a year. i'll eat my shorts if she doesn't end up bringing me to all their houses and then have them rave over how gorgeous, intelligent and independent i have become.

this is really an investment of my time, my energy and my money. do you have any idea how much a bus ticket to tuguegarao costs? it costs 750 freakin' pesos! going there and going home to manila would cost 1500! ok, ok, i'm being a cheapskate but what makes this even more unbearable is the duration of the trip. 9 hours going there + 9 hours going back (not counting bad traffic hours) = 18 hours of making my ass sore in a bus! argh. argh. argh. and if i won't go, i can sleep all i want at home, watch more one tree hill episodes and hbo and be rested enough for the following work day. but no, being the angelic daughter that i am (hahahaha!), i said "yes, mom. i'm coming home." somebody kill me now and bring me back to life on thursday.

i also watched on the news last night that it's quite dangerous travelling to the north because of the typhoon, paeng. but, i see that nothing is going to stop me from going home. my mom insists. well, there'd better be something in all of these for me. hmmm..i'm really going to coax her to give me a cut on the check i received from my car accident's case settlement. prior to the settlement, we had agreed that she will take it all. but now, i'm deciding that i want some of it too. you'll see, it's time i become all whiny on her again. one thing about my mom, she can't say no to a whiny and bratty daughter. ok, there. i just convinced myself to go to tuguegarao.

post-5th month post!

2006-10-30T08:16:00.000-08:00

last friday marked the 5th month of us together. cheers to five, amazing months of love and friendship! it has definitely been made of pure, real bliss. i am extremely happy and so is he. i am in the world of vanilla smiles and strawberry kisses. =p

too lazy to go out last friday, we opted to stay home but had dinner with caroline (my bestfriend) and ynard (his bestfriend), our matchmakers, at gerry's grill near abs-cbn last saturday night. we also had a few drinks with them at brothers' in teachers' village. saturday was a fun, fun night. here are some photos from that night but the rest are in my multiply site, Starcie in Cyberspace.

this is my phone's current wallpaper.

kissy, kissy! hehehe. =p

top view of our vanilla smiles.

hun's fifth monthsary gift to me! this is the two-in-one CD pack i have been lusting for since last week. i had no idea he got it for me. teehee. i was so giddy when he gave it to me last saturday. =) i'm on a non-mainstream music phase (like one tree hill's peyton) so these CDs are the best! plus, they have music of ALL my favorite bands. this CD package is love. thanks, hunnybun! you're definitely my hunnybun forever!

vanilla smile

2006-10-26T22:57:00.000-07:00

Taken during an Up Dharma Down gig at 70s' Bistro, Oct. 25, 2006

The sun is upI'm so happy I could scream!And there's nowhere else in the world I'd rather beThan here with youIt's perfectIt's all I ever wantedI almost can't believe that it's for realI really don't think it gets any better than this
Vanilla smileAnd a gorgeous strawberry kiss!Birds sing we swingClouds drift by and everything is like a dreamIt's everything I wished
Fr: MINT CARby The Cure

as of tomorrow, it has lasted for exactly five, beautiful, amazing months. five wonderful months of love and friendship. to some, it may seem too short, too insignificant to label as life-altering. but for me, it feels like an eternity of bliss. nobody can blame me if i'd want to live forever like this. likewise, for me, this is an achievement. i have finally, after almost 6 years of being fickle, stubborn and sometimes, unfaithful; chosen to stick to one. fortunately, the someone i chose decided to do just the same.

love is definitely not just overrated this time, we both say. it's at last, real.

time for catharsis

2006-10-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

i can't seem to escape the ghosts of the past. yes, they're all done and over with but everytime i try to forget, a detail resurfaces and all i can manage to do is cringe, cringe at the thought and eventually get irritated with the fact that it's always different with those you have a history with. i, for one, am guilty of this. i am still close, both in proximity and relationship, to my past's ghosts. though having history has its advantages, nothing beats starting fresh and then putting into use the knowledge you have gained from committing mistakes in the past. but everytime i am reminded that the foundation is still quite shaky and something that stood the test of time existed before it, i get pissed off. majorly, stupendously pissed off.

he's mine. mine. and. mine. alone. i am selfish and i don't want to share him with anyone, even with the mere memory of someone and the experiences they have shared. if only i could erase his past with a giant eraser or stain it completely with a black, magic marker, i would have.

i am being unfair, i know. i had a more shady and controversial past than him and i definitely had more relationships. he is reminded of them every single day because i am surrounded by these people and the things that represent them and encounter circumstances where my reputation precedes me. but still, he keeps his cool, tells me he is affected, waits for my apology and assurance that he is the one and smiles again. he holds my hand all this time. on the other hand, on the very, very rare occasion that a ghost of his pops up, i get all primadonna-ish and agitated. i ignore him for hours until he assures me over and over and over and over and over again that that ghost doesn't mean anything anymore. sometimes, i even get avengeful and flirt with my own ghosts, even threatening to get back with them just because he irked me. what can i say? i am a brat.

i still don't know what to do about my paroxysm (look it up in the dictionary!). i am reminded of the cliche, "let the past remain in the past," though. i hate cliches, honestly. but i'm betting that i should stick to this one. or else, i would eventually be reduced to a ghost of the past, instead of being his present and his future. nya. i hate moments like these, when i am compelled by myself to act all mature and shit. i am mentally pulling my hair out and stomping my feet. but. i. have. to. i don't even see or fathom the need for me to wallow in those he had a history with. there's a reason they're now history. duh. so he could be contemporary and soon in the future with me. this is kismet (again, look it up!). i don't want to spill chaos from my chaotic personality into it.

i badly need to release this unwanted angst. it's great then that i'm going to an up dharma down gig with friends at 70s' bistro tonight. time for some angsty music and worry-free bonding over beer. now, that's more like it. cathartic, i say. =)

a night with emman

2006-10-17T16:40:00.000-07:00

over oreo mcflurries, fried chicken and french fries, my ultimate comfort foods ever, emman nailed the word which aptly describes he-who-makes-me-happy. marvelous! though we didn't mean for our catching up conversation to be funny, we laughed a lot and did a lot of gossiping about our own lives and of course, about others.' hanging out with my perpetual thesis partner is cathartic and it reminded me of how much fun we had working on our thesis together. i think we have grown a lot together with the thesis that we had put together for almost the entire year last year. emman and i have become cultured in the sense that we are now aware of what's trendy, worth going to or buying and pardon my use of the word, cool.

we planned to do something racy last night but changed our minds at the very last minute because we didn't want to be ogled at by guys in tacky suits! hahaha. seeing them in a private circumstance is racy, i admit, but it was scary coming up to them and actually buying entrance. we have done so two years ago with our blockmate and also close friend, ryan, but we chickened out now and decided we'd go if ryan can. hehe. besides, there's power in numbers. we ended up walking along tomas morato and then stopping at mcdonald's to grab a bite at about 1am in the morning.

emman and i did a lot of talking and though i have been repeating it for almost a year now, his company is soothing. we can talk about anything and i can admit to him anything and i know he won't condemn me for it. he said that plenty have noticed that i'm a good girl now. well, ah, i actually am now. the tables have turned and i find joy in the most wholesome of get-togethers. my priorities have changed for the better, he says. he also hopes that this positive change would continue despite the evil, or rather petty, insults i had for he-who-makes-me-happy. i just can't help but feel exasperated over he-who-makes-me-happy's simplicity and being naive about some stuff. it's like a paradigm of a country boy meets city girl scenario. he is so freakin' sheltered and it irks me sometimes.

instead of taking me by the hand, i am the one guiding he-who-makes-me-happy on and that sucks. sometimes. anyhoo, emman made me realize that every person has his/her own flaws. i should feel lucky that that's he-who-makes-me-happy's only flaw. he is making me the happiest girl in the universe and no amount of innocence can make that happiness tacky. or make him more of a dork. hehe. =p

after a productive conversation at mcdonald's, we crashed at my house, just like old times, and tried to watch rent but i was damn sleepy. i fell asleep at the beginning at around 4am and i woke up at 7am, just in time to get dressed for my 830 am hearing at the qc hall. i left my house with emman dozing in the large mattress we slept in together. hahaha. =p i still can't get over seeing his blond streaks. hehehe. how glam rock. =) i'm egging him to try green next month though.

i had a lot of fun last night and early this morning. emman is one of the links to my college life and it warms my heart with a feeling of nostalgia to hang out with him again. i'm definitely wishing there will be more makisig-or-mcdonald's nights in the years to come. friends are jewels and i know my friend, emman, is a glistening diamond. wow, how shalei. =)

i love...

2006-10-11T16:27:00.000-07:00

Things I'm Loving Right Now:

1. online shopping (i had bought a ton already, including two large handbags, two lindsay lohan/nicole richie-inspired tops, black leggings and more!)

2. kettle korn sweet and salty twister (i don't know why i'm suddenly craving for this)

3. black nail polish by chanel (present from mom, it's uber stylish. very glam rock, eh? surely beats the one salons use on my toenails)

4. slouchy, bubble tops and boho-inspired blouses (ok, ok, i'm on a glam rock phase. i'm wearing black clothing for the first time ever!)

5. celebrity gossip blogs (they're entertaining and addicting!)

6. large handbags (the accessory of the moment)

7. the steam room at fitness first (staying inside is so soothing. it's a way of detoxifying. i feel my stress melting away everytime i spend about 5 minutes or so there. plus, it's good for the muscles.)

8. e-aji nachos and ridges (yum! e-aji is love, with their scrumptious chips and tasty dips!)

9. l'oreal pure zone deep control anti-imperfection regulating moisturizer (whew! what a long name. but this is really a face saver. it controls oil, acne, and blemishes and evens out the skin's complexion. it's a bit pricey though.)

10. multiple pendants/charms on necklaces (i can't wait for my favorite online store to post their new releases! i'm definitely buying!)

"what-might-have-been"

2006-10-06T14:07:00.000-07:00

the fog has cleared. i get it now, after almost one year of denial and nonchalance. we were good together and he said i could have been happier with him but that is not the point. what would have mattered is willingness to fight for me and the act of sacrificing one's pride and relinquishing one's fears. and of course, love. love ultimately matters. if he was afraid of loving me then, how could he love me now?

is it a case of sour-graping? now that i'm happy, he's regretting what he has done and admitting that he was wrong. i LOVED him and i love him, as a friend, now. ours was a dysfunctional relationship from the very beginning and he said, if one particular event didn't happen, we would have worked things out for the better, stayed together for a long time and helped each other grow to be a better person. that was what he perceived to have supposedly happen if things weren't messed up. this is our "what-might-have-been." it made me think, pause for a while and question my present state of bliss.

this contemplation ended shortly. i shouldn't even be thinking about this anymore. there was a reason it never worked out in the first place and i don't want to commit the same mistakes again, of investing in a person who's too scared, who's too chicken to show what i mean to him because of some circumstances. if he didn't fight for me before, why should i fight for him now? he doesn't deserve such unselfishness.

he is not closing his doors to a future of us. but, personally, i think i'm ready to do just that. yes, we were good together but i believe i am at my best now. i owe that to my guy. now, this argument is something not even a wonderful "what-might-have-been" could falter and weaken. i know now that i made the right choice, but not necessarily the safe one, last may. i took a leap of faith and my guy luckily caught me in the nick of time. everything is perfect. there is no space for doubt nor cowardice anymore.

my boy_friends

2006-10-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

tommy, one of my closest friends ever, recently made me a testimonial. you can check it here, Starcie's Friendster Profile. it just really sinked in to me how close i was to several masig guys and how close they were to me. almost throughout my senior year in college, i was with them in almost all of their nights out and even on campus just to hang out and poke fun at each other. and yes, i was linked to some of them too and though i had my share of controversies from being close to these guys, i really had fun, so much fun that i even went to their sem-ender at the hundred islands last summer. take note that i was the only girl they brought along.

i was soon associated with these guys and whenever i was seen without them, i would be asked, "o, bakit wala kang kasamang masig?" it was funny, really. however, some people even mistook my friendship with them as totally wrong. others raised eyebrows and spread really, ugly rumors. seeing one girl hang out and drink with a group of guys is certainly not something conservatives and busybodies would enjoy.

but beneath the malicious exterior that people mistook our friendship for, these guys really took care of me. they brought me home every night we were out together and protected me like a princess. there were countless times that they would even wipe my puke on the floor and covered for my mistakes. they helped in my scheming, in my mischievous ways and even in stuff that only close friends would understand.

what made them more endearing to me is how they would understand me, no matter how wild or crazy i can become. they were never judgmental and whenever i did something people would normally scold me about, they take it as it is and accept it for as long as i'm happy with it, they're happy with it too, they would often say. they understood my ups and downs, my complexities when it comes to love and infatuation and never failed to include me in all of their plans. in the end, i developed close, platonic friendships with most of them, regardless of how those friendships came to be and what circumstances brought them about. they were like the brothers that i never had. i have fraternity brothers of my own but i am not close to them as i am to these guys.

now, i haven't seen them in almost four months. and though my boyfriend is from masig, it's not the same since he's from manila and i'm close to those from diliman. i just now realized that i really miss them, as in really, really. i miss those nights where we would make fun of each other, of everything in sight and then go home a bit drunk, but looking forward to drinking as a group again tomorrow. tommy said that they were still the same, old crew and quipped "ikaw nga lang ang absent eh." he said they miss me very much. well, i miss them very much too. and that is why i told him i'd hang out with them sometime next week, if i'm given permission from my masig boyfriend, that is. after all, though they used to be MY boy_friends, irving is MY boyfriend now.

plans

2006-10-04T00:07:00.000-07:00

some of my sorority sisters are planning a trip to the beach next, next weekend. my batchmate, hannah, invited me to go and every inch of me is ecstatic! i so want to go. not only am i free that weekend, i badly need some beach time. i need to frolic in the sand and water and bathe under the sun! besides, i also need some time away from the city and from my house. things have been so routinary and i have become more cranky than usual in the mornings. i am crossing my fingers so hard that this trip will push through, come hell or high water.

it is my bestfriend caroline's birthday tomorrow and i don't know if she has any plans. well, blame it on my laziness of texting anyone nowadays. it seems like the only person i text to and call is my boyfriend using my sun cellular phone. (read: unhealthy!) i have been neglecting my globe phone for the longest time and though i have received very important messages from my car's casa manager, blockmates, friends and ok, ex-boyfriends (read: possible infidelity=unhealthy!), i fail to manage a reply just because. anyhoo, i miss my bestfriend sooooooo much it makes me want to cry at the bottom of my house's stairs. hahahaha! we don't get to talk much anymore, owing to my irving-packed schedule and of course, she's busy datin' and studyin.' the good thing is i don't feel disconnected with her, i know we are still as close as ever that there wouldn't be feelings of awkwardness when we meet up again. she even surprised me last week by visiting me here at work! talk about hating surprises, i actually loved this one. =) it's already october and this year is about to come to a close. two months to go! her having a boyfriend is my only prediction that hasn't come true YET. well, having my predictions come true doesn't really matter now. what matters is that she's happy and that she won't succumb to any half-baked love out there. i want my bestfriend to find the love i have right now, love that is a burning thing, a can't-live-without-each-other-love, ridiculous, mind-boggling, romantic love. i hope that it will be this year's birthday gift to her. she deserves that love, i know. heck, she deserves it more than i do, being the crazy girl that i used to be.

i actually planned to take a leave out of work tomorrow to spend the entire day with her. but of course, i don't want to get in the way of her plans. she may be spending it with a certain someone. *wink wink* hehehe. so, i'm just waiting for a text message from her inviting me to do whatever tomorrow or tonight on the eve of her birthday where we would count down the minutes to midnight. =) this time, i will reply.

i have been doing a lot of online shopping lately. it's so much fun and addicting! yes, i know i'm too lazy to go to the shops now and would instead plant my lazy ass in front of my computer and look at the latest products at my favorite online shopping sites. well, all their merchandise is in line with the latest trends and with really reasonable prices. i'm planning to buy this sleeveless, green polka-dot dress with an adjustable waistband this weekend and pair it off with this pair of black leggings i bought yesterday together with this nicole richie/lindsay lohan-inspired blouse. and oh, a pair of esprit black skinnies and a black boho blouse too! these outfits are love. =p i have reserved the dress and the blouse already up to monday. oh, retail therapy. it's to keep me busy while my boyfriend's at work and not yet home. hehehe. =)

today at lunchtime, i also plan to get a pedicure. yey for my toenails! my last pedicure was, i think, a week and a half ago, so i need one now! brat. i plan to get this lustrous, kohl-colored polish this time. something so glam rock to go with my new glam rock outfits! ok, i will stop now. i'm starting to sound like a ditz. hahaha.

i'm off for that pedicure. toodles!

rare moment

2006-10-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

one of the rare moments i'm actually proud he's an ex-boyfriend of mine, Making Love Mock Reality Show. peace! you guys figure out who he is among the guys in that show. =p

he's been plugging it to me for the past couple of weeks so i'm plugging it now here! silly. some people actually think he's also guwapo. hmmm..hahaha. =)

in equilibrium

2006-10-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

yesterday was very productive. last day of review class, a meaningless fight, shopping, hanging out with old friends at chris' house then to starbucks, coming home and making up, dinner at jordan's grill, haircut and hairspa with the boyfriend and then, some sound sleep. this may seem a lot for one somewhat crappy day for myself. yes, i did a lot and i also realized a lot.

i have to stop defining myself in terms of my relationships with other people. i have to define me in terms of being ME, of what i want and what makes me different from other people. yes, i am happy with someone but does that mean i am happy with myself as well? other people bring me happiness but i have realized that i have to get my own life, a life not dependent on a person, a life not dictated by what another person wants and a life i can first call my own before i amalgamate it with someone else's. my happiness doesn't have to depend entirely on one person alone.

over one tree hill banter, i told a friend that i wanted to be like peyton. for me, she's so cool. artsy-fartsy, into good music, rebellious and her character has depth. lucas even said that she is covered with issues from head to toe. but then, my friend said that i am totally brooke, not peyton. well, i knew that. every time i watch a one tree hill episode, i see myself in brooke all the time. we even react to the same things the same way and we even like the same stuff like clothes, makeup, parties, accessories, girly stuff. she's superficial most of the time and usually depends on a guy to make her happy. but, she isn't shallow. most of the time, she's just hiding behind a mask of superficiality to conceal her sadness. i know i have my superficial and ditzy moments but those are just my defense mechanisms to wipe away my negative emotions. peyton, on the other hand, is complicated and makes really, really difficult decisions and goes with them all throughout the way. she has unusual strength of character which i admire but which i fear as well. she does things her own way and even works alone. she's not perky and cheery like brooke and i but she handles things with a mature perspective.

upon realizing all these, i decided to focus on living my life the way i want to now, without relying on anyone's expectations or suggestions. i want to be alone every once in a while, have my "alone" time and stare at cars passing by and people promenading while sipping a macchiato and puffing that occasional nicotine fix. i want this time for me to put things in better perspective so that when i go back to my world full of people and relationships, i'll be more level-headed, calm and a better person to those i share a life with. i want to know the real me better and engage in stuff i personally like, stuff nobody else has encouraged me to do.

i miss being alone because my life is so full of people, so full of noise that silence seems so precious. my mom said that she is seeing that my life is slowly recovering back to its stable state. well, yes, it is. i want that to continue and it only will if i say yes to myself and no to the world sometimes. this doesn't mean though that i will disappear from everyone's reach starting today. my friends know that i am scarce enough as it is. this only means that i will take occasional breaks where i will do things by myself and have fun in the process and in solitude. these breaks will not be a hiatus and sometimes, will not even be noticed by the people around me. it's just my making quality time out of my otherwise idle time.

people who know me are aware that i am cranky at times. quite moody. a bit self-centered. a spoiled brat even. but maybe, just maybe, if i finally sort out my moods and needs by myself, i'll be a bit different from what i used to be. no more meaningless fights and being sorry for it afterwards. my life would be streamlined and i would avoid hurting people i love and care for. nothing would be half-baked and lacking. by then, my life would be truly happy and in equilibrium.

i want some cocaine

2006-09-21T23:15:00.000-07:00

i have been so clean, so sober lately that i need some of this. yes, i am on a natural high but please, give me some artificial highs. i miss the effortless feeling. hahaha. =p

i want six cans of this for my birthday on december. and since it's only sold in the states, you guys still have time to order and have it shipped. yay!

some background info from socialitelife.com: The legal alternative is said to be 350% stronger than Red Bull and lasts for five hours. A concoction of high doses of B12 and simple sugars create a buzz feeling and tastes like cherry Jolly Ranchers.

The drink was created by Redux Beverages that brewed "Cocaine" in their home base at Las Vegas. The target consumer is for party goers versus the health nut. "Cocaine will be sold in the Manhattan area in nightclubs and a few select stores."

A few guinea pigs tested the drink and reported mixed feelings.
"I don't like the tingly feeling in my chest. I feel my heart racing - and I'm not being paranoid . . . I feel looped!"

The makers of the drink did admit to adding an ingredient to simulate the oral sensation and numb the throat that comes with using the real drug.

golly, i likey! it's only caffeine-amped, you see! =p

a year after

2006-09-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

it's been a year since last september that i was at my craziest. comparing that time to this september, i can't help but heave a sigh of relief that i am no longer at that phase, that stage where i neglected all the norms and went on with the unconventional. i am a miss priss now compared to then. i got so crazy i shunned every reasonable piece of advice that came my way. i didn't care. nothing mattered except for the things that i wanted to do and the people i wanted to do them with. i became so self-centered that relationships with people became like games to me, where i would persist to win. my life was at a frenzied pace. i couldn't find peace that i tried to mask everything with spontaneous, unrestrained actions.

i was sort of demented. i have mistaken attachment for love, infatuation for passion and nonchalance for vengeance. at such, i ended up fast forwarding everything and sleeping as much as possible to escape the fact that i am wrecking everything. my life was so full of noise, controversy, rumors and stupid decisions.

but now, i feel at peace. i savor in the tranquility. i wake up everyday refreshed and would rather stay home than go out and party till i become all silly and loopy. i properly acknowledge my priorities and try to act as maturely as possible. i have changed. my world has become smaller, somewhat sheltered, but i am not aching to have my old world back. i actually think that this is the one that suits me, the one that brings out the best in me. he is a vital factor in this change.

it's why i don't find my spending way too much time with him wrong or unhealthy. if any, it is what's making me feel more alive than ever. prior to being us, i was also on the threshold of bouncing back to that crazy lifestyle. i couldn't let go but he made me want to relinquish that chaotic life and say yes to myself. he saved me at a time i need saving the most. if that's not destiny, then, i don't know what destiny is. his love made me want to be good for him and it is also what's gently chastising me right now, to do what is right and to avoid settling for being someone lesser than what my true self really deserves.

a story of a boy and a girl

2006-09-19T14:08:00.000-07:00

boy meets girl. boy falls in love with girl. girl falls in love with boy. now what?

it was one of the most nerve-wracking nights of her life. the tension in the room was so thick she could slice it with a butcher's knife. it was weird. they were both 22, graduates from a prestigious university, now in the workforce and reasonably mature individuals. asking permission to do something conservatives would bash them for was really something she never expected them to do. her parental unit is known for her coolness and leniency but she was playing with a hunch that she would inevitably say no, given that she has really high hopes and expectations for the two of them. and yes, she likes him but is that enough? can she accept the fact that times are changing and that the thing they are asking for is pretty much accepted and shrugged about?

though they had a good argument, things went emotional. well, it was expected. they were all emotional in the room, having a topic so sensitive that almost no only child would ask the woman who brought her into this chaotic but beautiful world. but, good old lady luck helped them out and she, to their surprise, said yes. given that there are certain arrangements, of course. and that it wouldn't get in the way of their studying, blah, blah, blah. and that they would be responsible to face its consequences, no matter how hard and life-changing they may be. it's nice to know that she came from someone so liberal and open-minded, the girl thought.

after the quite short but really tense conversation, they heaved a sigh of relief. it was over and done with. they had permission. now, they have other domestic stuff to think about. gahd, she's hoping they won't be at each other's throats soon. she does tend to be messy, after all. sharing the exactly same land coordinates is not going to be all chocolates and rainbows. though they know, days are bound to be fun. the future looms ahead for this boy and girl, who are both wishing for a happy ending.

defined in extremes

2006-09-15T23:52:00.000-07:00

"i am extraordinary, if you'd ever get to know me."

if i die today, i know and i firmly believe that i would die happy. i would face death with a grim expression and say, "bring it on." if it's really my time, dying wouldn't scare me. instead, i would welcome it with the happy thought that i will finally be enlightened on all the mysteries of a higher power and the universe. i have led a wonderful life. this one's actually my second one, after surviving a terrible car accident, that i believe that i have lived each day to the fullest and have extracted every happy and sad experience out of all the things i have done and places i have gone to.

i know there are a lot of things that i can still do and that i want to do. but, i have been so blessed in my 21 years of existence that i feel that asking for more might mean asking too much out of life. i have loved and been loved in return. i know i have touched plenty of people's lives and theirs have touched mine as well. i have gone to places that have showed me how beautiful it is to live, to smile, to cry and to simply, stare at the horizon for hours. i have committed plenty of mistakes and i have learned from all of them.

i believe that i have become both book-smart and street-smart. i have done a lot of things that would make my mom cringe. hahaha. and i know i have, during one part in my life, thrown all caution into the wind and done everything i wanted to do for the heck of it, just because i wanted to, regardless of the consequences and it felt great. it was exhilarating. given another life, i would do everything again and i wouldn't change anything at all. i regret nothing because everything i have done and all the people i have done it with molded me into the person that i am today, a person not afraid to be her own person. a person who does not rely on other people's impressions. a person who actually breathes amidst a busy schedule. and a person who may sometimes think that all things in life are petty and that some things shouldn't be taken way too seriously. despite the numerous rumors that i have heard about me, i don't even bat an eyelash or raise an eyebrow whenever i hear a new one. after all, it's not the stories told about me that ultimately matter but what i meant to the people who know the real me.

my reputation has been somewhat overrated and some of the negative things people spread about me are 70% untrue and 30%, pretty much accurate. my image has been defined in extremes, from the prissy girl to the wild, party chick. both are true, by the way, and now, i am still struggling to define which one fits me best. maybe, the one in between? but the most important thing i have learned from this life is to stop defining who you are and just live life one day at a time. relax and set goals. work hard to achieve what you want and be nice to those you meet along the way. pay it forward, if i may quote. and then, everything will fall into its place. most of all, i learned to be resilient and never fear falling in love and loving people the whole world might say are wrong for you. defiance sometimes builds the strongest of backbones and brats often persist to be the best. i am a spoiled brat and i have no plans of morphing into someone i'm not just to satisfy civil society's expectations of how a 21-year-old woman should behave.

i am truly happy and i say that with conviction. again, if i were to die unexpectedly, there wouldn't be any ghost of me screaming and shrieking around like a banshee because it wouldn't move on from this world. i know i have reached my highest highs and enjoyed even my lowest lows. life has given me a lot and at this point in time, no words of bitterness can escape from my lips.

this is such an emo entry. hehe. a nice prologue to my future autobiography, eh? =)

to spain, russia and france

2006-09-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

as one of the supreme court's usherettes in the upcoming global forum on liberty and prosperity at the makati shang, the sc has required me to attend the spanish, russian and french classes every monday, wednesday and friday. part of me is thrilled because i would like to go to spain, russia and france someday and knowing their conversational languages would definitely come in handy. a part of me though is agitated because i know i have a VERY short attention span which causes me to get bored easily. the classes are for two hours per session. in UP, classes are normally for one and a half hours. with that, i was easily bored already and i couldn't wait to get out of the room. how much more when the language class is for two, full hours? argh. oh well. it will be a learning experience, is for FREE and has free modules as well. who am i to complain, eh?

anyway, i attended the spanish class last monday and i enjoyed every minute of it. i already know a bit of spanish already and i easily grasped the grammar rules and pronunciation. spanish is quite easy if you ask me, maybe because a lot of spanish words are already included in the filipino language. plus, the lecturer was young and was very witty.

yesterday, i attended the russian class and let me stress this, russian is quite HARD. they have a different alphabet and would you believe that they pronounce C as S and P as R? i was a bit confused but it was also fun nonetheless. i now know how to write in russian! but, the diction is quite hard and the words are really long.

tomorrow is the french class and i am really excited. ooh-la-la! i love everything french. french fries (haha!), french manicures, french drapes, french doors, french perfumes, french labels and designers..well, you get my drift. hehehe. =p and hearing people speak french sounds so classy. i am definitely looking forward to my french class.

i feel so deprived in college because the journalism curriculum didn't include and authorize language classes. so, it's good that i'm being exposed to language classes now. and, i can put in my resume that i can speak conversational spanish, russian and french. wow, how shalei. =p

well, that's it for today. adios, poka and au revoir! teehee. gracias, spasiba and merci for dropping by. =)

etched in my brain

2006-09-13T17:52:00.000-07:00

i saw an old friend at v-mall, greenhills last wednesday and though we haven't spoken to one another for almost two years and i was a bit hesitant of calling out his name, i did. my cousin, bap who also grew quite close to him, also called out his name with me. fortunately, he heard us, waved and smiled back. a weird feeling overcame me at that moment. i didn't know if it was plain relief or pure happiness that he wasn't mad at me and would still acknowledge my presence when the time comes that we're around each other.

he was one of the closest guy friends i have ever had. we were really great friends when i was in junior year in college and i practically relied on him for almost anything. i pretty much believed that he knew everything so whenever i encounter a problem, it was his phone number i dial or his cellphone number i send a text mesage to. plus, i used to borrow stuff from him all the time! i would stay on the phone for hours with him and watch television shows together. we were very touchy-feely and my friends even thought that we were on the verge of getting together. i loved him dearly as a friend and i often went to him for advice and whenever i'm down in the dumps over a spat with a guy.

then, i had a boyfriend. he was shocked when he heard the news and asked me why. it was then that i discovered that all of my friends' suspicions were correct. he was in love with me while, i, on the other hand, didn't consider him as a choice. he was a close friend, nothing more, nothing less. i didn't look at him as someone in a romantic level. i considered our relationship to be platonic and he takes care of me the way an older brother treats his younger sister. yes, i was uber dense. i didn't know he had feelings for me that intense because he didn't tell me so. i didn't want to assume so as result, i turned blind to what was supposedly signs of love.

learning he loved me was difficult. i was stuck. i didn't want to lose him as a good friend but i know he was constantly hurt whenever i mention my then boyfriend. after some time, he got a girlfriend who i also knew. nobody knew that he loved me and i think it was best that way. we became really good friends again and he was the "crying shoulder" of my senior year in college.

when he graduated, we barely talked on the phone anymore and exchanged text messages. we lost touch and i remember one time that i just called him up to ask the phone number of one of our common friends. when he asked, "that's the only reason you called?" i replied, "ah..yup?" he grunted and said, "ok, ganyan ka naman eh. naaalala mo lang ako pag may kailangan ka." i was speechless and dumbfounded. i knew he was right. i then realized that in a friendship, sometimes you have to consider that a friend may need to talk to you, bond with you or simply exchange silly stuff with you even if they don't say it. i was too self-centered because when everything's going well with my life, i forgot about him. i neglected him. and i failed to reach out to him the way i used to when everything was going bad. worse, i even broke his heart. stupid, stupid girl.

that was the last time we talked because i was too embarassed and apprehensive to talk to or text him. last week, i realized i actually miss him. he was the only one who called me "sheila." i could invent words and he would laugh at them. he stayed awake just to entertain me on the phone during sleepless nights. he helped me with my homework. he woke up early just to lend me something. he treated me to chicken nuggets all the time. he bought me a McDo watch because i found it cute. he understood me when everyone else thought me to be irresponsible. he supported me in everything. and he always complimented me though sometimes, i knew i just did something stupid. he even did one of my major projects in one of my classes and cooked my groupmates dinner. we hung out and went to places together. he was really a genuinely good friend. and it sucks to realize now that i freakin' took him for granted.

argh. now, i don't know what to do. should i reach out to him? i think two years practically changed both of us and it would be hard to rekindle the friendship. but i would forever beat myself up if i stick to the act of letting a really good friend go. forever. good friends are, after all, hard to find.

should i call him? or text him? after all, his digits are forever etched in my brain.

movie and cheerdance review plus yael sighting

2006-09-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

i am mentally kicking myself in the shins and pulling out clumps of my hair. hehe. almost all of the spongecola e-group mails were all about how great the album launch was, how awesome the band was and how nice they all were as they signed all the listers' album covers. argh. i am so regretting my not going. so where was i that night? because i was feeling lazy and it was raining cats and dogs last friday night, i opted for a pedicure, met hun for dinner at world chicken and watched with him the movie that i was secretly craving for to watch, you are the one. though i love spongecola to smithereens and have the biggest crush on yael, i considered it a fun, fun friday night.

the movie was a girly romantic comedy and yes, i am classifying it as a movie typical of sam milby. sam milby+lovestruck, funny female lead+out-of-town trips in the film=instant hit. no, i don't consider his type of movie as jologs. i actually like this type of film because it is a refreshing flick from all of the overhyped Hollywood movies that we, Filipinos, flock to. it's fun to see fellow filipinos act on screen and depict feel-good everyday experiences. plus, this movie is also about filipinos wanting to migrate to the US. toni gonzaga's character also works for the government which i can really relate to. plus, her parents are bugging her to go to the states as much as my mom is bugging me. hahaha. i loved this film as much as i loved close to you, the sam milby-bea alonzo-john lloyd cruz starrer. cheers for tasteful pinoy romantic comedies. though, i admit, i hated the part in the end where sam talked as if he was in his "i want to be complete" centrum commercial. it's a bit overboard. yeah, yeah, i know you're endorsing centrum. blech. and toni gonzaga doesn't look too pretty in this movie. i don't think her hairstyle suits her face's bone structure and features.

saturday was a grepa day but i managed a hair treatment and a trim into my lazy schedule before dinner. hehe. and then on sunday, i went to my usual review class where i was taught by the best lecturer we ever had so far. at 12 noon, i rushed to the araneta coliseum where hun was waiting for me to watch the UAAP cheerdance competition. i thought FEU was going to win, with UST second and then UP, third. but it turned out that UST won. AGAIN. though i was impressed with UP's routine, i thought they didn't outdo themselves this time. i knew they can do better than this year's routine. i think what made FEU garner second place is because the FEU crowd were in full force, with special color-coordinated uniforms, hankies and banners. audience participation is 10 points so they may have achieved full points for that. and they have pretty impressive jumps and choreography. though he was in UP for five years, it was hun's first time to watch the cheer competition. what a dork. hahaha. i told him he was unlucky because UP didn't win second, as compared to the past four (?) years. well, we're going to watch it again next year. hopefully, UP does better. UP, fight! hehehe. =p

anyhoo, after the competition, we ate at razon's and walked around araneta center for a while. i practically fainted when we were walking along a parking lot and, a black RAV-4 maneuvered to enter the lot. guess who was in the RAV-4? it was YAEL driving! and he was alone! i gripped hun's hand so tight my fingernails were imprinted on it after. maybe it was fate telling me that i should have gone to the album launch. or maybe it was fate's way of compensating my missing their gig. it was totally serendipitous. i was giggling and acting like a total fan-girl. i was really, really starstruck. if i wasn't with hun that night, i would have definitely stalked yael and found out where he was going. hahaha. creepy stalker. i'm just kidding. i might have waved hi to him though. i didn't because hun was practically staring daggers at me out of jealousy. hahaha. =p

i'm definitely buying a copy of their new album, transit, this week. congratulations to spongecola for a successful album launch! it's really too bad i didn't go. oh well, there's always their next gig. =)

sick in the midweek

2006-09-08T19:00:00.000-07:00

i was sick for three, straight days and i missed two days of work. blech. i hate being sick because i don't get to do anything productive and even simple things like going up the stairs take me out of breath. i had a really bad cold which makes everything taste like paper and even my favorite cookies and chocolate mallows failed to bring a smile out of my pallid, miserable face.

however, being sick has its advantages. i was able to sleep all day, watch VCDs/DVDs of movies i haven't watched yet like the exorcism of emily rose and red eye, drink as much apple C2 as i want and be pampered to the max by my mom, my yaya and my boyfriend (duh!). everybody's lives revolved around me and i enjoyed ALL the attention. hahaha.

last wednesday night, my mom wanted to take us shopping and treat us to dinner since it's her birthday tomorrow and she won't be here in manila to celebrate. i forced myself out of bed because even though i was really, really sick, it was my mom asking me to have dinner with her. and who was i to say no? not to mention she's taking me shopping! so, we (my mom, my cousin, bap, my boyfriend and my mom) went to greenhills shopping center, shopped for a bit and then, ate at italliani's where the waiters and waitresses sang happy birthday ala italliani's to my mom. though i was sniffling and coughing 75 percent of the time, i had fun nonetheless. =)

yesterday, i woke up feeling worse. i concluded it may be because of all the walking around greenhills that led me to this. so, i stayed home. again. in the afternoon, my mom was asking me to go to david's salon with her. though i was excited to get a hair treatment and a pedicure which will all be paid for by her, i declined because i was, well, SICK. darn it. i slept the afternoon away and woke up at dinner time. after dinner, my mom left for tuguegarao already with her parting words saying that i should go to the doctor, blah, blah. my mom is such a worrywart. and oh, hun and i got her this big, black leather bag from wade as a birthday present. she lurves bags! especially black ones.

and then today, i'm feeling a bit better and i'm back at work. i'm definitely looking forward to a pedicure and some shopping later. happy weekend, everyone! please pray that i won't get sick again. =p

fun, fun weekend with some blasts from the past

2006-09-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

my weekend was an absolute blast! hun and i went to the penshoppe denimlab rockfest last friday night and it was so much fun! we pigged out on wendy's burgers, fries, corn (both popped and cooked) and drank a lot of iced tea we badly had to pee after the show! hahaha. instead of sitting at the upper box, we serendipitously got into the lower box right smack the ramp! talk about being lucky. plus, we got there early despite worrying we might arrive late because we came all the way from traffic-induced manila!

the rockfest was great and i enjoyed spongecola (of course), sandwich, kamikazee (doo-bi-doo!), up dharma down, dicta license (they rock!) and the one and only bamboo (they closed the show). jericho rosales, heart evangelista, nikki gil and some hot models walked the ramp. it was so much fun teasing hun that i looked like nikki gil a lot! well, it's true! hahaha. i have this entry way back here showing a photo of mine and hers put side by side and you can't deny the similarities! everyone says so. duh.

anyway, we got home at around 12 midnight where i immediately fell asleep from exhaustion out of screaming myself hoarse at the concert. my highschool bestfriend, erwie, actually slept over that night but i didn't get to see her till saturday morning. when i woke up, we had lunch and then met up with another blast from the past, ronson, one of our best friends ever. the three of us, together with laj and sonar (two other guys), were really tight in highschool so it was so much fun catching up and talking about the good, old highschool days. we even took a lot of photos which i will post soon on my multiply site, STARcie in cyberspace. we went to robinson's place, manila because hun was there working out at fitness first. we roamed around the mall for a while, watched the spongecola performance where ronson sneaked in backstage to take a photo of yael (he is so ridiculously funny!) and ate dinner at some grill place. then, the four of us went to malate and drank pina coladas and danced the night away! erwie, though tired from dancing at the jam-packed dance floor, took a bus to baguio at 2am. talk about a short encounter but anyhoo, she'll be back again this coming weekend.

i woke up really late sunday morning so i skipped my review class and just had lunch with ronson at home. he went home right after lunch and i planted my lazy ass in my bed, snuggled in my comforter, watched television and dozed to sleep from time to time. i totally grepalifed. at around 5pm though, i took a bath, ate some chips and sandwiches and self-studied the stuff i missed from my review class. though this day was like 80 percent grepa, it was fulfilling to finish all the chapters on logical reasoning that i missed. i then went to sleep with a smile of satisfaction on my face. sigh..i definitely live for this kind of weekend. =)

"artistahin!"

2006-08-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

i saw this thingie in klara's blog so being the naturally vain person that i am, i tried it out! hehehe. well, i'm just curious on which celebrity out there has the same level of gorgeousness as i. hahaha. =p

MY COMMENTS:

rachel mcadams. hmmmmm..i've always known i'm the "queen bee." now, i know why i can relate to her character, regina george, in mean girls so much. hahaha.

fan wong. who the hell is she? anyhoo, it makes me want to get bangs like anne hathaway's in the devil wears prada even more.

jodie foster circa 1980s. wow, she looks so sultry and alluring when she was young. i can't believe i actually look a bit like her in that photo.

mischa barton. the gorgeous girl-next-door. i can so totally relate. *wink wink* now, it doesn't hurt to look like her since she's really hot right now. hmmm..i could replace her in the OC though she's gone by the end of one season.

alessandra ambrosio. this girl's one of the foxiest models right now! how shalei that she's one of my celebrity look-alikes! nyahaha.

proud lister

2006-08-29T16:20:00.000-07:00

i am a lister of spongecola's e-group. yes, i am and i am proud to say that if there's one OPM band i'd really, really like to meet and greet, it would be spongecola. i first heard their underground single, "crazy for you" two years ago and i was hooked. yael yuzon's voice is deep and soothing. my cousin then gave me a copy of their CD, palabas, and i instantly fell in love with the band.

i even watched one performance of the play, romeo and juliet, where spongecola performed after. they are really great performers and musicians, i tell you. they HAVE substance and their songs are not composed of fluff, wrong grammar, senseless lyrics and "pogi" rock. yael, especially, is so full of passion when he performs on stage and clearly gives his all in every song the band plays.

this coming september 8, friday, spongecola will be launching their second album, transit, at metrowalk ortigas, 7pm. the album's carrier single is bitiw and though i haven't watched the video yet, i have heard from the e-group members that it is really, really great and compelling.

hmmmm..i hope i get to go to this gig. after all, it's been a long, long time since i've been to a spongecola performance, let alone a gig. i miss the passion for the music which reverberates all throughout the venue. and of course, i'm still beating myself out for missing ROCKESTRA. anyhow, i know i'll really be going to the penshoppe rockfest so i'm feeling pretty ecstatic right now.

fun, fun weekend

2006-08-28T06:45:00.000-07:00

hun and i went to the 168 shopping mall last saturday to go shopping! we had so much fun especially when we saw the dvd stall right smack the entrance. i bought the complete 3 seasons of one tree hill (yey! no more waiting for tuesdays!) and he bought the complete 2 seasons of grey's anatomy (well, he wants to become a doctor). after that, we roamed around the stalls and i bought some shorts, jogging pants for gym, slacks for work, a shiny, orange trash bin for my room, a jacket for my brother, a blouse for my yaya and some white socks for gym (all i have are multi-colored ones with cartoon characters on them! hahaha.). we then ate some quail eggs, fries from jollibee and some hotdogs! i went home full and of course, feeling fulfilled over my purchases.

yesterday marked our 3rd month together. yey! so after my morning review class, i bought a cake, waited for him and then, we went to the mall to eat my most favorite burger in the world, the WHAM burger! we were also supposed to watch the devil wears prada but it turned out it wasn't showing at SM malls yet. so we became mall rats and roamed the mall. when i was already feeling sleepy, we went home and we had dinner at my place. we had the cake for dessert and took pictures of our blowing the number 3 candle, just like we did during our 2nd month together. i'll post photos in my multiply soon. i've been feeling lazy lately to transfer the photos to my laptop.

after eating, we watched batman begins and christmas with the kranks on hbo, two movies i haven't watched yet! hahaha. well, both were shown last year and i was the ultimate grepa then. i shunned from malls and i would rather hang out with my bestfriend at home, at school and of course, katipunan! result, i ended up being outdated last year when it came to movies. except of course, harry potter and the occasional tagalog film with emman. =p anyway, i ended up liking both films even if i got a major headache from staying up too late. it's a good thing i had enough resolve to wake up early this morning and arrive on time for work. wee!

i'm going to the gym later with hun even if i still have this cracking headache. i can't seem to open my eyes very well and i find myself squinting. hmmm...i may need glasses. nooooooo! i know i'll look like a complete GEEK with glasses AND with braces! i.will.not.get.glasses. even if this headache kills me. pfft.

and oh, hun gave me chicharon (l likey!) and a cute stuffed dog that i liked so much at the mall as a surprise last weekend! because the dog came with chicharon, i named him chicharon! now, our bunny rabbit which we won at timezone, timmy, has a brother! hehehe. it's so funny watching us play with the two stuffed animals as if they're real and they're our kids! oh, the quirkiness of being in love. =)

a pound a day

2006-08-22T00:40:00.000-07:00

i lose one pound whenever i go to the gym and work out. hahaha. at this rate, i am definitely going to beat my boyfriend at our bet on who can lose the most weight in two months. i can't wait to wipe that smirk off his face whenever i just walk on the treadmill and he jogs! =p

last saturday, i spent the entire afternoon at fitness first abs-cbn. it was refreshing being alone for a time and i got to ogle at the cute body jam instructor who has an uncanny resemblance to one of my ex-boyfriends. hahaha. yup, he was hot and it was entertaining watching him shake his booty. nyahaha! at around 7pm, i grabbed a chicken teriyaki kariman at ministop (this is a must-try! it's crunchy and delicious!) and then, went home to finally get to watch high school musical! it's a feel-good film about going after your dreams, regardless of what other people say.

and then, last sunday, after my review class, hun and i met at abs-cbn to go to the gym together. per tradition (already), we took a body jam class together and drank loads of coffee at the member's lounge. after a couple of hours, i took a jazz class while he used other gym equipment that i am too weak to use. haha. =p we then had dinner at world topps, timog, where despite my love for world topps' rice toppings, i opted to order pancit canton and garlic bread. but, as hun said, it was the best pancit canton in manila! yum, yum.

i promised myself to hit the gym four times a week. aside from the fact that i have to make the most out of my overpriced (i think) membership, i really want to beat hun at our bet. plus, i want to look really, really hot when we hit the beach this coming october. =p

funny dream

2006-08-18T16:32:00.000-07:00

i had the funniest dream last night. and since i have this splitting headache and i'm killing time before 5pm, i'll narrate the story here.

one day, i was chatting with two guy friends (i don't know them, actually) who told me that their new housemate is get this, jao mapa! i started giggling and squealing, "oh my god, i had the biggest crush on him when i was like, fifteen! he is so cute! "

guy friend 1 said,"that's funny. we have pictures with you scattered all over the apartment and jao also has a big, as in massive, crush on you! he said he sees you around school and even has an idea of how you are as a friend since she sees you with friends all the time."

in the dream, i didn't have a boyfriend so i was telling them to introduce us to each other. i was so giddy and blushing all over that jao has a crush on me. hehehe.

the following day, i learned that jao is now the newest member of one fraternity i'm very close to. according to one of them, in one of jao's initiations, they asked him, "sinong crush mo sa UP?"

"baka kasi hindi ninyo kilala," jao replied.

"sige, sabihin mo lang name niya," one of the fratmen ordered.

"si arcie sercado." jao answered.

"si starcie? ok, you're in." the guy in the highest echelon declared.

and then, i woke up. hahaha! this dream is totally hilarious. i hope jao won't get to read this and think that i am such a screaming fan girl who dreams of him at night. hehehe. =p

come to think of it, i miss seeing jao mapa on television. the last time i saw him was when he was in this fast food chicken commercial (?). i totally loved pare ko way before though and i would watch it whenever it's shown on cinema one. =)

****************************

hun and i did a bit of shopping during my lunch break today because there is a big sale at rob manila. since we wanted to go to the penshoppe denim lab rockfest with 20 bands performing like bamboo, hale, parokya, up dharma down, and spongecola, we bought a bunch of stuff from penshoppe to get tickets! yey. so we're definitely going on the first of september! wee! =)

it's a great, great deal. i have new jeans, a pair of shorts, cream cheek tint and some neutral loose powder and i got the ticket for free! wee! =p

i guess this is to make up for not being able to go to ROCKESTRA because my car broke down this morning, we forgot to buy tickets and hun has to prepare a demo lecture for the review center he's applying to. those, and because we're feeling lazy. hahaha. =p

honeymoon-ing

2006-08-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

yesterday, hun and i went to fitness first, rob manila together. it was the first day of my 18-month membership at this gym so i am finally bidding goodbye to my beloved arena fitness gym in quezon ave. i really didn't plan on signing up for fitness first because i was happy with arena. i really enjoyed my yoga, pilates, hiphop and belly dancing classes there because the instructor knows everyone and all the members of the class are familiar with each other. the gym community there is more intimate because there are only a few members. there were a lot of cute guys though. however, my boyfriend got himself a fitness first membership so naturally, i'd go where he goes. plus, it will be fun going to the gym with him and taking dance classes together.

after hitting the treadmill, trying the stationary bikes and doing some cardio exercises, we took a latin dance class together! it was so funny watching him dance and wiggle his hips! hahaha. this guy cannot dance but it touched me how he agreed to take the class because i wanted to. even if he knew it would be embarassing for him, he still danced to the latin beat so that he could be with me. sigh. what a sweetie. =)

last friday night, we had dinner and then, watched the movie, click. the movie was so funny with adam sandler's trademark quips and humor and of course, his extremely forgivable acts of violence towards other characters in the story. i so love adam sandler ever since i was a kid and i have watched all of his movies from billy madison to the present! and then last saturday, we spent the day loafing around my house, randomly falling asleep, pigging out on fast food and watching TV. yup, grepalifing. hahaha. my favorite thing to do! =p

and now, as i'm typing this, he's on his way to pick me up for lunch. this coming thursday, he's going to come with me to this mediation thingie that my lawyer and i have with the guy who crashed into my car last year in july to discuss the settlement. heck, my car (hayden) was a total wreck, i had slight physical injuries not to mention the trauma and the sleepless nights! they should be able to financially compensate for all my losses! i am hoping the settlement will be substantial. after this thingie, we're going to UP to visit my bestfriend. i miss her so much already!

and this friday, we even have plans to go shopping together since rob manila is having a huge sale. that plus it's either ROCKESTRA that we haven't bought tickets for yet or the UP EnggSoc Acoustic JamEngg event which my bestfriend, caroline, will be hosting.

i seem to be spending all my time with him. some will say this isn't healthy and that we should give each other space to breathe. but for now, to those who love me, let me be like this for the time being. i am happy, genuinely happy. let me savor these "honeymoon" moments first.

love y'all. =p

quickening pulse

2006-08-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

Film Review: PULSE (KAIRO)
Marie Arcie Anne M. Sercado
Color/ 2001/ 117 mins.
Screenplay and Directed By: Kurosawa Kiyoshi

SYNOPSIS: A freighter roaming endlessly into the ocean, the captain seeks contact, in vain, with the shore. Among the few people aboard is a young woman, Michi. She starts her story. When she was working for a small company and visited a friend she hadn’t heard from a while, she found him at home. But nor much later, he hung himself. On the wall was a strange black patch, as if there have been a huge short circuit. His friends search the apartment and found a diskette that seems to have a strange virus. Is there any link with the suicide? A young man looking for games on the Internet plus the diskette in his machine and seems to spy on the boring life of strangers with a webcam. A message appears: "Do you want to meet a ghost?" (Taken from the EIGA SAI 2005 Primer, September, UP Film Institute)

Being a self-proclaimed movie buff, most especially on horror movies, the idea of watching Pulse thrilled me. On a particularly rainy afternoon, I set out for the UP Cine Adarna, alone and slightly wet from the rain but giddy for a free movie. As the credits rolled, the film started with an ominous scene from the present. With this, I was immediately hooked. My pulse quickened and even literally stopped with every twist and revelation.

Pulse is centered on how the Japanese are overly pre-occupied with their work and their technology that they forget to connect with the people around them. In this fixation, they fail to foster and strengthen their relationships with the people that ultimately matter. Instead of being connected with people, their lives become a manifestation of how technology eats up the essence of living as a human being and how it prevents them from going out and see what the natural world has to offer. As it appears, their world is slowly being confined to cyberspace. The experience of simply being outside and staring at the ocean is lost and eventually forgotten over the promise of the Internet and how it can make one experience voyeurism by the mere use of a webcam.

Busy with their everyday lives, everything becomes so routinary that they get bored and lonely. With this bouts of world-weariness, people in the movie wither, fade away and die. This clearly symbolizes how one dies with the absence of excitement and connection. With this, breaking away from normalcy is good. As they say, it is helpful for one’s soul to take a break and smell the flowers, so to speak, every once in a while. Or else, the soul feels trapped and becomes weak to the point that the person finds it useless to continue on living.

The male and female lead characters are well-developed. As the story progresses, it is shown how their lives are interconnected. The family life, apartment, and friends of the female lead, Michi, are vividly relayed to the audience. The apartment, school life, relationships with people most especially with a schoolmate, fascination for the Internet and childlikeness of the male lead are also brilliantly shown by the cinematography. With this, the viewer becomes a voyeur as well, sneaking in into the lives of people who are practically strangers to him. At such, watching Pulse can be compared to doing something forbidden, since the viewer is invading the privacy of the lead characters. It is voyeurism through the video camera amidst a story of voyeurism through the webcam. Also through revealing aspects of the lives of the characters, the viewers successfully empathize with what they are going through and catch the dramatic and romantic hint of this horror movie.

The two leads meet towards the end of the movie, help each other out and form a bond only shared experiences can establish. With this turning point, the conflict is clearly acknowledged. Pulse discusses how man constantly clashes with his environment, a supernatural force and with his fellowmen. Conflict is inevitable but in Pulse, it is shown with an unexpected spunk. With this, conflict rears its menacing head and incorporates itself in the lives of the characters. Instead of appearing to be external, the antagonist forces root from the internal perception of the leads. It is them against themselves. Pulse has a very thick symbolism that only the intellectual viewer can decipher.

All throughout Pulse, the acting is pretty convincing. The actors have ominous looks on their faces all the time. The emotion comes from their eyes, most especially from the female lead. Pulse is then effectively scary in some parts, primarily the one scene where the walking woman with the disturbingly, long hair is shown. However, the visual effects look cartoonish. This is redeemed by a very moving soundtrack, with the right sound effects in the appropriate time.

The ending of the movie ties up with the beginning of the movie. This is a commendable aspect of the movie since despite the numerous twists and turns, the viewer gets to understand how the beginning came to be. It links the past into the present and gives the viewer a chance to look back and anticipate the events that make the present as it is.

Pulse is just one of the numerous horror films the Japanese has produced. As a fact, it is very noticeable how the Japanese horror film industry became a worldwide phenomenon. Spawning numerous Hollywood remakes, their horror films are not that showy but their subtle approach to scare the viewer can send chills up the spine.

Japanese horror is most of the time implied. The object meant to scare doesn’t even have to be shown frequently but the promise of terror lingers all throughout the Japanese horror film. As seen in Pulse, there is also an emphasis on makeup. Moreover, the ghosts or the scary creatures are always those that have haunted pasts and troubled souls.

A distinct quality of Japanese horror films is the practice of existentialism. Everything happens for a reason and there’s always a twist explaining certain events in the story. The beginning is threatening which makes viewers think about the reasons for the occurrence of particular events. With this, Japanese horror films appeal to the emotion and brings about a dramatic horror genre.

Despite being a phenomenon which is expected to eventually wane, the Japanese horror film industry is still producing more movies to attempt making the pulses of every viewer quicken and bring to a standstill. With this premise, it is then safe to say that this phenomenon is now a classic aspect of world cinema. In the years to come, more quickening pulses can be expected in front of the silverscreen.

*****i wrote this film review for a class during my senior year in college. now, as i had predicted, the movie has eventually spawned a hollywood flick. showing in the US on august 11, the hollywood version is entitled "pulse" as well. but, i am definitely looking forward to watching it because it stars kristen bell, the star of one of my favorite shows of all time, veronica mars! plus, i can compare the film with the original, Japanese one.

i'm betting the film will be shown here in the country sometime next month. thank goodness! i'm still recovering from seeing the black, gory flower girl in sukob which hun and i watched last weekend. but hey, i actually liked feng shui better. anyhow, up until last night, i still went to bed with my lights on. yey for scary movies! =p

one day

2006-08-04T00:50:00.000-07:00

chris has always been a staple in my life. boyfriends came and went but he has always been there, in the shadows of our past relationship and urging me, supporting me to beat the odds and live each day to the fullest. he always knew the right words to say whenever i'm feeling like everything is going wrong and made me feel beautiful even if i'm wearing my rattiest sweats. we were too in sync with each other that i felt he was the male version of me. we liked the same things and hated the same stuff. things that irked us were also similar so as result, we rarely fought. the relationship was a smooth ride, with bumps that were not noticeable at all and with storms that failed to rock our foundation of friendship.

he was my dawson, my 911 and my couch potato-ing buddy. everything was perfect. he even lived five houses away from me. his family loves me and my mom treats him like a son. there were even talks of nuptials after five years. everything came crashing down though when i started to mess everything. i began to pick at every little thing and was frustrated that the relationship was so stagnant. everything was going too well. i ended things after a month of being uncontented. yes, i was so selfish. having realized that, i promised myself, him and all the people close to us that i would always be there for him, and instantly once he needed me.

now, i know he needs me the most. i know i'm the one person in the world who knows him best and would bring a smile to his lips now, in the most difficult of situations. he needs my presence to be comforted. he said so himself and despite the distance, i can still hear his silent plea for my company.

what depresses me is the fact that i couldn't do that anymore. again, i couldn't keep a promise. what hurts more is that i made that promise to someone who single-handedly made me believe in love. pure, unconditional love.

well, all i could do now is pray for him. i'm still keeping our notes though. the caramel is still sweet. our friendship is eternal and will transcend anything.

amazing august

2006-08-03T16:38:00.000-07:00

things to look forward to this month:

1. watching sukob with hun and babe, finally!

2. dinner at shang makati with family

3. KWADERNZ concert sponsored by the Delta Lambda Sigma Sorority, 8pm, august 4, up bahay ng alumni

4. lazy weekends with hun sans his reviewers! hahaha.

5. paydays on the 10th and the 25th

6. hair treatment and facial

7. spa day with hun

8. ROCKESTRA on the 18th at the folk arts theater with hun (klara's going to sneak me backstage to meet CHAMP of hale! yey. and oh, up dharma down too!)

9. hun's oath-taking at the manila hotel on the 29th

10. hun's big blowout

11. watching the devil wears prada with grepa friends

12. watching click with hun

13. buying a new DVD player

14. more shopping!

15. dvd marathons with hun

16. LAE review classes (nerd!)

17. going to tuguegarao for the weekend with hun

18. more days at the office

19. more time with hun

20. dinner at heaven n' eggs with hun, finally!

i am so blessed. it's going to be a really wonderful month! =)

wonderful news

2006-08-02T10:44:00.000-07:00

my boyfriend got a text message from his review instructor last night telling him, unofficially, that he scored 6th place in the PT board exams! yey! since it's unofficial, his rank can even go higher! *EDIT* it's official! he ranked 6th out of 1,419 examinees! it's in the inq7.net website. =)

finally, all his hard work and efforts paid off. not to mention my support! hahaha. heck, even if i'm not a fan of mornings, i drove him to UE for two consecutive mornings even before the crack of dawn! and to think, i came from the pussycat dolls concert and then from xaymaca with my family the next night where i drank several beers. nyahaha. AND his hotel was in manila! see what love can do?

it's definitely no surprise why i'm feeling a bit under the weather lately. the weekend has been exhausting. but, i don't care. now, am i a lucky charm or not? =p

*****my mom was so happy when we told her the news last night! we even came home with this delicious chocolate cake for her. 1000 brownie points for her future son-in-law! hehehe.

some of these are so true!

2006-07-27T15:34:00.000-07:00

What You Really Think Of Your Friends

Dano is your soulmate.

You truly love Irving.

You consider Rania your true friend.

You know that Caroline is always thinking of you.

You'll remember Ewa for the rest of your life.

You secretly think Bapbap is creative, charming, and a bit too dramatic at times.

You secretly think that Ieth is colorful, impulsive, and a total risk taker.

You secretly think that Anna is loyal and trustworthy to you. And that Anna changes lovers faster than underwear.

You secretly think Joe is shy and nonconfrontational. And that Joe has a hidden internet romance.

What Do You Think of Your Friends?

especially the one about irving! teehee.

the devil wears prada

2006-07-26T14:38:00.000-07:00

yep, i am finishing the book and i haven't watched the movie yet! i asked my grepa friends to watch it with me since 1. dano has great taste in fashion, 2. ieth has worked for cosmo already and 3. because i simply miss all of them! watching the film would be so much fun.

but since it is taking SOOOOO long for the flick to be shown here in the country, i opted to read the book it was based on for the meantime. i am truly loving every word in the book! it's quirky, has lots of tips in fashion and beauty and even has romance, family and friendship angles. though it's technically chic lit, i couldn't care less. it's a refreshing read from all the SC decisions and resolutions that i am reading here at work. hehehe. =p

i could identify a bit with the main character, andrea sachs. like me, she is fresh out of college, on her first job and is in a stable relationship with a guy. plus, she is smart and pretty confident. and like me, she was used to laid-back dressing. all of a sudden, she has to dress formally, with spiky black stilettos and dress shirts. but heck, she got used to it like i did. the only difference is that i bought the clothes with my own money while she got the clothes from her office's closet! i don't envy her though because i don't have a terror boss! yey for that. while her job practically tortures her, i am happy to say that not only do i enjoy what i'm doing here at work, i don't get to be terrorized by my bosses. another yey for that. =)

flurry of activity

2006-07-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

my tita mila and my cousin, michelle, are on a two-week vacation here from the states! they arrived last friday, july 21, and because of this, there will be a flurry of activity in the days to come. shopping, eating out, taking them around and cramming all these into exactly fourteen days! i am so excited.

moreover, irving's board exam is going to be this weekend. talk about eventful. i have so much to prepare for, not to mention things at the workfront. anyway, it's all about time management. i know i'll be able to meddle through. =)

i have TWO things to look forward to, really. first is the PUSSYCAT DOLLS concert on friday with my family and then the ABS-CBN studio tour and being in the WOWOWEE audience with my family and irving on monday next week. wee!!!

but the ultimate thing that i'm looking forward to, definitely, is irving having his board exams over with. finally, i'll have him all to myself! yey! no more reviewing! =p