Everything Good List

My Good Things List:

-Getting back to playing golf again and being able to hit the balls consistently.
-Having a golf buddy, and buddies.
-Suman at Tiendisita's - the Original, Ube, and Chocolate top my list.
-Seeing someone you like unexpectedly.
-Getting my bonuses plus other freebies at work (Woohoo!).
-iPod mini - listening to feel good songs.
-Royce's praline truffles and Cacao chocolates - the best!
-A pleasantly surprising ym message.
-Finding inspiration in the smallest things.
-Getting a nice compliment even when you're feeling lousy.
-Establishing a good rapport with everybody.
-Singing your heart out in the bathroom.
-Getting that butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling and having absolutely no idea why.
-Being uncannily positive the whole day.
-Getting my nails and toes done - nothing beats having clean nails and toes!
-Smelling good.
-Getting off early from work.
-Reaching home before 7pm.
-Ticking things off the to-do work list.
-www.getbusiness.biz
-Clark Kent, Susan, Bree, Lynette, and Gabrielle - not to mention I'm also hooked with The OC.
-The holiday season...

Artsy Fartsy Pop Art

Here's my feeble attempt to create a digitalized Andy Warhol pop art of myself. Thanks to Photoshop.

Happy Birthday Amma!

It's my Amma's (translation: grandma, lola) 90th birthday today. I think giving her a tribute is just proper.


My Amma Adams is very special to me. I sometimes call her Amma Adams to differentiate her from my other Amma whom I call Amma Columbia. Adams and Columbia by the way are street names of where they live. I used to call Amma Columbia, Amma Kabignayan. Hehe In case you don't know, Kabignayan is in QC.


Amma is a superb cook. Her fresh lumpia, adobo, spare ribs, and miki are my top favorites. It is through her that I've learned to love avocado with milk and thin sliced saba topped with sugar. I miss her cooking terribly. I wished she was strong enough to teach us her secret recipes.


Most of my childhood memories come from my Amma's house. I remembered staying there often. We would always sleep at her room. We would eat breakfast together. We played while she would sew or take her afternoon siesta. Sometimes we'd also tag along with her to Unimart, Ongpin, or to the piggery. I remembered when I was sick with german measles, I stayed at my Amma for two weeks. She took care of me just so my sisters wouldn't get sick.


I will also always remember my Amma and her Chinese drama betamax tapes. This was her afternoon pastime. I would watch along with her sometimes even if I didn't understand a word. She would also have an assortment of biscuits and cookies at her side. And every time it was time to go, we would shout from below, 'Be ki lo Amma!' ('Bye! We're going Amma.') and she would always reply from the window, 'Cha ko lai!' ('Come back again.')


Amma isn't as strong and coherent as she used to be. I'm not sure if she still remembers me. It's difficult seeing her weak and all. She has always been there for us. I just wish I could do something, perhaps make her feel a litter more comfortable and better. I want to be there for her and somehow return back the favor in my own little way.

I love you Amma. I will always be here for you no matter what.

Crap!

If there's anything that I hate, it's those people who are accusing and judgmental of others. There's this one at work who had the nerve to air out her 'concerns' which involved me and my teammate. I really didn't mind if she had something to say, after all it was her opinion and I respected it. I couldn't careless actually. But it was the way she said it that bothered me. She didn't have to say it in such a provoking manner with all those unnecessary 'parinig'. It sounded like as if she was blaming me and my teammate for her being unable to perform her duties effectively. It's really a lot of crap. Who the hell prepares at 11pm? We're no magicians who can guess that she'll need something from us at such a late time. It would have helped a lot if she had told us ahead of time. Putting the blame on somebody else for one's lack of preparedness and lack of responsibility really pisses me off.


I was tempted to answer back at her provoking statements. I've got a lot of valid retorts that will silence her. But I decided not to. I realized I didn't need to stoop down to her level. I don't need any of that anyway. People know that it takes a LOT to make me angry. I was never one to pick fights. In fact I stayed out of them as much as possible. So if I get pissed off, you can bet it's really a valid one.


And to think I've been very accommodating to her all this time. And to think I've kept mum when the others were talking not-so-good stuff about her. I sometimes even defended her. Well now I understand why she doesn't score well with others. The others were probably right all along. And I'm just glad that I don't have to put up with her sh*t for long.

Lost and Not Found

I lost my cellphone today... and it wasn't even mine. And now, I have to pay for it. Dammit. My officemates and I had a lunch out at Glorietta and I left it in the taxi that we were riding. After a few minutes of trying to contact my number, the phone went 'unavailable'. Somebody probably got it already and obviously, he or she is not planning to return it anymore. As expected. In a country such as ours, I'd be too naive to even think or hope for a second that somebody would return it to me.


I've just realized losing a cellphone is such a hassle. Since the cellphone and the SIM was not mine (company's), I had to file an incident report and make the necessary requests of having it disconnected and barred. Mind you, I also had the actual phone unit barred just so whoever stole it will not be able to use it. Too bad. He/She will have to spend at least 200-300 bucks first to have it unbarred in Greenhills or wherever. I also had to request for a replacement SIM which will probably take a couple of days to process, and which would also mean no free monthly load for me anymore. Boohoo...Hassle talaga, not to mention having to have my Smart Money account de-linked and re-linked to another MIN. Now, I don't even to know what my new W-PIN is anymore.



Well at least I've learned my lesson. A pricey one at that. Hehe It's okay at least someone's happy because he/she got a new cellphone. I just hope his or her good karma wouldn't run out.

The Big Tweeny Four

We went up to Tagaytay yesterday to celebrate my (and Candice's) birthday. We left Manila at 10 am and arrived at around noon just in time for lunch. Lunch was really good. We had a full sumptuous set meal at Antonio's with the nice scenery backdrop all around us. The weather was also extra cooperative that day...airy, breezy, and not too warm. (Mental note: great 'date' place) Oh, and I also have to mention that I like their clean 'homey-like' comfort rooms. Hehe


Lunch ended at around 3pm already. I thought the day was perfect. Well almost perfect if not for the ride home, which took almost 3 hours! Edsa was in full force traffic which is unusual for a typical Saturday. It seemed like the entire town was out last Saturday. But nevertheless, my birthday ended with a huge :)





ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY: Dad, Valerie, Candice, Amma, Me, Tin, and Ma at Antonio's

Current State

As much as I want to be in the moment, as much as I want to be on the top of things, and as much as I want to fully immerse myself in the things that I do, it's not possible. There are just too many things to do and too many dependencies as well. The OC in me is screaming for order. I'm tempted to do everything on my own. But I've realized it's no good. When people say 'No man is an island.' I better damn believe in it.


I don't like explaining things or justifying something that doesn't need one to begin with, meaning: it really neither has anything to do with what I'm doing nor does it concern me the most. I don't enjoy (who does anyway?) cleaning up after other people's mess...and asses for that matter. It can be very frustrating. I'm not trying to imply something (am I? Hehe). It's just that I don't want to see myself getting stuck in a similar situation not in the near future anyway.

ICAAA Badminton Tournament

The annual ICA alumnae badminton tournament was held yesterday. Played three games and lost in all of them. It's been awhile though since Candice and I have played badminton. We're both a little bit rusty and it took awhile before we got our groove together...just like diesel. Hehe


Two of our games was against our aunties who were in their mid 30's and 40's already. We thought we could beat them. Tough luck. But then again, they get to practice more often than we do. Excuses. Excuses. We played our last game with Kato and Jacq who graduated from batch '92 and '96...and whom we beat last year. But not this year as we lost to them. Boohoo.


I've been on a losing streak since last week. So this is how it feels pala. Hehe As if naman. Dibale bawi na lang next time. My only consolation was the goodie bags and freebies I got from the tournament. Candice won a Robinsons certificate which means only one thing...Topshop!!!

From the top of my head

Whether consciously or unconsciously, some if not most people like to think they know everything there is to know and believe they're doing the right thing even if it's not.


We have our own beliefs and principles that we firmly hold on to. It is inevitable that there are going to be disagreements, differences in perspectives and opinions. What we do or say may sometimes not stand well on others. For me it's tuning in to the majority. If a lot of people are saying the same thing about me, then perhaps it is telling me something right? Maybe there really is something wrong. I mean if you think you're not doing anything wrong but 3 or 5 people are individually saying the opposite about you, then there is a high probability of them being in the right side. Well as long as these people are reliable (read: family and close friends), it's better to consider their opinions because nobody else can know you best than they do. But then again, that's just me.



YESTERDAY...



I played badminton the whole day. My dad's high school batch (Xavier '71) held a badminton tourney. Major workout. My entire body aches. I'm 23 and yet I feel like 40 years OLD. I have to painstakingly make the effort to sit or get up. And to think I didn't win in any of the matches. But our team won overall though. I don't know if it's because of age or from lack of exercise, I tire easily now. I could usually play for hours non-stop but now I can't anymore. This can only mean one thing, I need to exercise more! Hehe

Baptismal Post

I haven't been writing religiously. It's September already. Where did August go? And September is fast disappearing as well. I've been so preoccupied the past few months I have not even noticed how close Christmas is. Speaking of which I can't hardly wait for it to come. I'm longing for a looong vacation...a goood vacation. With or without the usual Sy clan trips I don't really care just as long as I have a good long break. I've got a lot of tv shows piled up that I've been wanting to watch but haven't got the time to do so. Desperate Housewives and The O.C. Season 3 are all waiting for me. I have also planned on going back to the driving range but until now haven't gotten to do so. Not only am I getting rusty, my clubs are from not being used. Then there's the long overdue workouts that I have vowed on starting but haven't done so, not even a 30-minute run on the treadmill. None at all. Zilch. Nada.


If there's anything at all I'm happy at being productive and busy. Not the super busy-I'm super harrassed kind though. I just like being busy, the normal busy kind. Not only does it helps me stay focused on the more important things, it keeps me off from thinking too much. What about you ask? Well, small things and those petty worries that don't really have an answer because "only time can tell" is the answer...if you know what I mean. More often than not I'm so tired at the end of each day, all I want to do is not think and just relax and sleep.

My Weekday and Weekend

This week has been a good one. I took the half day off at work on Tuesday. I had a valid excuse though since I had to go to the dentist to get my retainers. I got to go home early for a change! If you could only see me grinning from ear to ear now. That's how happy I am. Babaw ba? Hehe Then I spent Thursday and Friday attending seminars-orientations at work. These are the last of the several trainings and seminars that I had to take after which I would no longer be officially called a new hire. I'm now as regular as a regular employee can be if that makes sense at all. I had a good time, a very good experience indeed. It was nice meeting new people from different departments. I was the only one from my department so I had no choice but to interact, whether I like it or not. My people skills were definitely put to test. Surprisingly I was more at ease and more comfortable than usual.


Aside from having a good work week, I got to meet old friends as well whom I haven't seen for the longest time. Jane and Krizia are finally back. Yehey!! It's been almost more than a year now since we've last seen each other. I already miss our lunches, outings, our intimate and not so intimate conversations together. Jane's not staying that long though. Boohoo. I'm looking forward to our dinner this Tuesday... Red! Big time na si Jane. Haha While they're back, Kim and Ro naman will be leaving for China next week. I was supposed to go with them too but I didn't get the green light from my mom. :( Anyways, I had lunch with them today together with Lizsa and Kathryn at Masa's and went to the Vintage Bazaar afterwards at Rockwell. The place was jam packed. I really didn't get the chance to shop because there were people, loads of people everywhere which was good in away since I didn't have to spend away my hard-earned earnings on unnecessary stuffs. I got to buy one top though. Hehe



Also had dinner awhile ago with the Ateneo peeps at Greenhills Promenade. It has also been awhile since we all got together. With work and the different schedules that we all have, it's hard to bring everyone together in one place unlike when we were still studying, parang ang dali lang to make plans. Now that we're out of college and all working, it takes double effort just to keep in touch with everybody. The more I get older, the more I realize how much I value and appreciate the existing relationships that I've been able to maintain with several people, at the same time realize the importance of time and effort put into building new ones. Haay... I feel so old na. Hehe