odd jobs

an odd day indeed. while i was seriously thinking about what to cram in my thesis, some crazy thought distracted me. i thought, what odd job am i actually game for?

*warning: i would be exposing my mischevous side of me in this post. and obviously, i would only want to have these jobs for a day (or more like, i can only keep these jobs for a day), considering how soon i'd get fired once i start playing around.

1. the girl behind the mascot of whoever. nope i didn't have jollibee in mind. rather, our purple tastebud friend grimace. why? well i guess, he's the only one who seems huggable and child friendly (in spite not knowing what he actually is). i remember when i was a kid, i didn't even want to get near ronald nor his criminal friend hamburglar or even birdie. (come to think of it, how do mcdonald's expect the kids to actually enjoy the company of a criminal?! oh and frankly speaking, for the one who thought of grimace as a tastebud, i could not classify him/ her as creative, imaginative, or queer. have you created a decent explanation that would be good enough to explain to your future kids his identity?).

2. have you seen those body-painted guys in eastwood and manila baywalk? the pseudo-statues that earn P2,500 a day. yep. you read me right. they are pretty well compensated. and all they have to do is to stand still and scare some kids whenever they feel the need to move their bodies. and of course, though i do get shy of getting my picture taken, i wouldn't mind considering i'm unrecognizable anyway.

3. a pager hotline operator. too bad pagers are now officially extinct nowadays. you see i remember, my friends would give the craziest message that would take forever for the operator to know about.

friend (in a ngo ngo voice): hengo?

operator: yes sir, can i have the pager number please?

friend (still in a ngo ngo voice): nge nguwa ngay ngu ngu ngri ngebeng.

operator: sir, can i have it again?

*repeat last two lines five times

*finally, operator gets it

operator: can i have your name?

friend: ango mischer ngua. ingkaw engtingde?

operator: come again sir?

*again, repeat last two lines another five times

*finally, operator gets it

operator (sounding irritated, pissed, getting impatient): your message sir?

friend: ingaw pungta rito bingongdo, bilisang mo.

operator: come again sir?

*repeat last two lines, thrice

*getting a bit used to it, the operator gets it already third time

*next thing you hear is a dial tone from the operator.

that actual conversation lasted for more than ten minutes, mind you.

and yes, i would love to actually fool those prank callers such as my friend.

and yes, it would definitely be interesting to eavesdrop on their messages.

and yes, it would be fun to comment something crappy after a sweet message is to be relayed.

and yes, wouldn't it also be interesting to mix up the message or totally change it to its opposite. :)

... more to come...

the entrance. wow. my photo isn't good enough to capture how beautiful it really was. 

the nokia logo from behind. i took this during the nokia 7260, 7270, and 7280 launch at the ayala museum last thursday. 

ha! something i can be proud of. getting an A from one of the teachers that is difficult to please--sir sev 

lessons (on culture) i learned from sir sev's events class

if sir sev were to teach in UP, he would be one of the best professors of PANPIL.

1. filipinos love a show. although we may not be familiar with the broadway plays, we are awed by vaudaville dancers, colorful backdrops and costumes, lights and good music.

2. filipinos hate ala carte. food matters a lot to us. now i know why buffets are more popular in wedding receptions, debuts, and other parties.

3. filipinos are a relatively forgiving audience. they don't really look for mistakes. ateneans are the only ones that do so, not only in events, but in everything in general).

4. when hosting an event, we shouldn't be using the line "we apologize for the technical difficulties" when such happens. we tell the audience frankly the specific nature of the problem. we live in the age of high technology dependency, therefore, we must know something about it.

5. according to smokey manaloto, jollibee has imbalanced features. oo nga naman, with his big butt, big torso and small wings, how can this bee fly?

trivia for the day.

today's game k n b? 1-million question: who is the patron saint of television? the answer: st. claire of assisi.

once again, i'm supposed to be doing thesis, but i'm blogging.

worth watching at the theaters 

best watched while babysitting 

two movies in one weekend.

last friday, for some reason, i was itching to go out. thank God jacqe was at ian's house (which was near). they saved me from boredom. but because they were dieting together, we couldn't go drinking. thus, we ended up watching movie at eastwood. we decided to go see christmas with the kranks.

so how was the movie? it's one of those that you'd have mixed emotions about, therefore not being able to pinpoint exactly if you actually like it or not. there were parts that were good. the story was nice, but there was something too cheesy about it. tim allen was great. jaime lee somehow overreacted in this movie. the set was nice though. you'd wish frosty was popular here in this country much as he is there in the states.

off to another movie. last saturday, after helping out in halikinu radio festival (which i'd never find interesting), i went to power plant to watch a dance performance by my friend and her group at grassi's. they were to perform during intermission of the battle of the bands. i witnessed how pathetic some of the bands were. that's the sad thing about a lot of young "indie" bands. they try too hard that they just end up annoying rather than entertaining. they almost ruined my day, but thanks to...

national treasure, my day ended very well. this has to be one of the best films for this year. (of course, i haven't seen troy, nor the incredibles, and etc. etc.) but i'm not going to compare it either to before sunset (which is also one of the few that i have enjoyed for this year, and was even willing to watch it in the movies). because berns, reena, and i were obviously not willing to stay and watch the battle of the bands, we decided to watch a movie instead. people, however, have been warning me not to watch alexander. next choice would therefore be national treasure. and take note, for my friends who have seen this movie, none of them disliked it.

what would therefore make you enjoy this movie:

1. you'd be inspired to consider archaeology as a potential career.

2. nicholas cage plays the perfect role for him.

3. humor that isn't so disney (meaning not too kiddie).

4. the unending chases--jon turtletaub found a way not to make it too dragging.

5. the wit behind the movie. (i don't really care if some reviews branded it as a da vinci code spin-off)

6. great props and set.

7. great casting.

8. how the masons did the map was fascinating.

9. it made history look nice and more interesting.

christmas wishlist

i have to admit. i have become choosy with gifts.

wish number one: too personal. won't say anything, but i have been asking for this for almost three years now.

wish number two: a relatively high-paying job that i'd like after graduation. advertising, production, PR, or events.

wish number three: a house away from family/ living alone after graduation.

wish number four: a new car bought with my own money. mitsubishi outlander in specific.

wish number five: a brand new 15-inch powerbook with superdrive.

wish number six: a collection of both foreign and local films.

wish number seven: big money in my bank account.

wish number eight: trips to bacolod, palawan, bohol, fort ilocandia, boracay, phuket, and the states.

wish number nine: finish school.

wish number ten: enough funding for further studies.

wish number eleven: happiness for my loved ones.

wish number twelve: better knees and ankles.

wish number thirteen: sims 2

wish number fourteen: christmas dinner with the people i love.

wish number fifteen: a chance to be a member of the audience in oprah's favorite things episode.

random thoughts on the 21st of november 2004

i am listening to: mariah carey's subtle invitation

just this evening, i thought: for the prisoners' shirts, why the color orange?

ironies in life:

1. in things that we don't possess, the thrill/ challenge/ excitement lies not in having it, but in not. once you get that, it doesn't appeal to you as much as when you were merely thinking/ dreaming of getting it.

(got that from the movie THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE)

2. in times when we have everything we want, we seldom feel complacent. we tend to be too paranoid/ fearful of fate taking something from us, or giving us another headache. in other words, we look for problems. thus, we will never be genuinely happy in our lifetime.

i want to learn how to cook and bake. if i just have the money, i'd enrol in switzerland as soon as i graduate.

thank God there weren't a lot of classes this week. it's by far the moodiest week i've ever had.

my body needs a massage. i've been punished with the ten games i played yesterday for the bowling marathon.

i feel bad turning down ate duday for her invitation to possibly join her in her current adventure: law school.

television has been successful in boring me. i have managed to spend more time doing other things than watching television.

i need to watch movies this week: the incredibles, santa santita, taxi, and wicker park. for this coming wednesday: alexander. i heard the modern day greeks' got mad with how oliver stone made this movie--alexander as gay with waxed legs and blonde hair?! intriguing, though i'm no collin farell fan.

for some reason, the palm version of text twist is way easier than the yahoogames version. can anyone tell me why?

i feel sad. kimi raikonen will no longer be with my mclaren. i don't really care about david.

first friendster, now blogging. blogging has now officially been invaded by the jologs. and yes, it's my elitist side talking.

if you want your blog to be full of comments, try writing something bad about sandara park. trust me. i have learned my lesson.

i won't be able to watch regine's concert. bu-hu-hu.

if you watched the buzz today, you must be laughing your heart out like i did. the buzz had a live interview with carlo maceda regarding the issue of him hiding/ kidnapping the sick-crazy-fickle-minded-i-feel-like-a-lesbian-today-but-i-wouldn't-be-anymore-tomorrow-aleck bovick. during the interview, while carlo was explaining his side, three weird girls shouted, "LIAR! LIAR!" and there was a commotion, with boy abunda being overly defensive about him not knowing about anything, quickly stressing that it was not a set-up. and before the three girls left, they disclaimed that their presence in the show was not intended for publicity. oh crap! what a show!

if you watched SOP's opening number today, you would have felt weird by the flying regine and the robin hood ogie. how pathetic. sometimes, i get confused if i indeed like regine or despise her. oh and her curly hair in her latest album, as what my friend would love to joke about, would make anyone pray to her as if she were sto. niño.

now listening to: more more more by kylie minogue

i miss kylie's album. i have to find it soon.

i heard her new album isn't as good as fever. damn.

i ate so much today. tried kfc's new asian chicken. it's good.

i love sergio mendes' the ultimate hits--3 decades of music. expensive but worth it. next on my list: swing out sister's new album.

i feel sad for kim de los santos. may God bless her.

damn. missed both the premier and the re-run of this week's sex and the city.

now listening to: love at first sight by kylie minogue

commiting to society

thanks to immersion, i'm skipping regine's self-proclaimed final major concert. hooray. $%*# and where is this immersion going to be? in pampanga, paying visits to the OFW communities there. i would have appreciated it more if we were able to choose the fisherfolk community in laguna or the farmers within the same area. fine. it's good enough. rather than sleazy bar-hopping in ermita or a visit and service to amang rodriguez public hospital in marikina, where we'd be assigned to help in the pediatrics department, SURGERY WARD, and of course, the EMERGENCY ROOM.

when we were freshmen, for intact (which is intro to ateneo culture class-- a zero unit mandatory class for the freshmen. and no, we weren't taught how and why ateneans have become branded as elitists, or coños, nor were we taught about how to deal with bench trespassing. from how i see it, the class is very idealistic. it wishes to bring out the men-for-others, for the greater glory of God, ideally atenean qualities... ahem. if they indeed exist. reality check.) on one sunday we went to a small community in libis (not the e rod. jr. ave libis). we were supposed to bond with a family assigned to us and get to know their lives more, their hardships, etc. etc. of course, we were expecting that they were really "filthy poor". but surprisingly, they were rich enough to afford vcd players and components that functions too as their videoke machines, big television sets, (if flat tvs were already trendy then, perhaps, they would have them too.)

i hardly remember the name of the family i stayed with. but they were nice people. i remember chatting with the mother. if i remember it right, her husband is a seaman. he goes home only once or twice a year. he gets to spend time with them only a maximum of 15 days when he's here. they have a lot of children. and one of them, a boy, is feared by the mother as gay. i remember he even danced for us that day. the other son played chess with me the whole time. and of course, he didn't want me to let him win easily, so i seriously played the game with him. when i was about to leave, they even gave me a piece of paper fold.

they were too nice that they made me want to promise them to come back. and that was one of the biggest mistakes i ever made. i wasn't able to keep my promise. that's what all the facilitators keep reminding the students who visit such communities--no matter how much you want to, never promise them (especially the kids) that you'd go back and visit them. they'll sincerely wait, and if you don't come, they'll really feel depressed about it, validating their feelings of being unwanted, outcast members of the society.

just last sem, for abnormal psychology class, we went to the national mental institute in mandaluyong. (just to correct the public knowledge-- it is an institute, not a hospital) it's huge, with more than 20 pavillions each catering to different subcategories of different illnesses. and yes, it's old and dirty. but, they really are a family there. there were even stories of nurses and patients who fell in love with each other. i must admit that i was a bit scared, especially when we went to the male ward. but during the open forum with one of the main psychiatrists of the facility i felt sad for the patients. she said that place was bought by a realty firm, and they have plans of putting up a mall there. the patients will therefore be relocated to some smaller institutions around the world. thanks to gloria macapagal-arroyo.

the immersion's coming up. and it's going to be a new adventure for me. it might not be as exciting as the fisherfolk or the farming community, but i'm hoping that i'd get to learn something new again, which i can never learn from somewhere else.

unskipping christmas

now listening to: toni braxton's version of the christmas song

i officially started to feel christmas yesterday, thanks to our businessworld trip. for this year at least, i haven't seen any place decorated well as what they did to bw. white wreaths, a minature snowman with a few little blue lights, hanging white pine tree leaves, it was just beautiful.

it's a month and five days before christmas. here is my agenda for this year:

1. go to bazaars.

not to shop. or at least avoid it. i promised bea and maisie to help sell their stuff.

2. drive around the posh villages and policarpio street in mandaluyong.

it has always been my dream to go around all the villages. i just love looking at and taking pictures of brightly-litted houses in december along with life-size santas, raindeers, and snowmen. i have to give it to ateneo. you should see how they lit up the big trees.

3. finish the simbang gabi.

val and i have this plan of going to a different church for each of the nine days. nothing beats eating bibingka (minus the egg) and puto bumbong topped with lots of muscovado sugar and coconut to be taken with a cup of hot chocolate in the cold dawn. and even if my classes start late this sem, i wouldn't care.

4. buy and learn to wrap gifts.

since my christmas list doesn't contain a lot of people, might as well do it myself. our thesis teacher gave us a lighter pre-christmas break week, so i'd be worried only about theo and philo.

5. watch the fireworks display on the weekends of december.

last year, after dinner at greenbelt on a december saturday, i nearly cried of joy watching the almost 15-minute long fireworks display. i am such a sucker for pyrotechnics.

6. listen to my christmas songs collection when i'm driving and in front of my computer.

definitely not the disco versions.

7. have christmas dinners with bea, sid, ate duday, buds, katre, and maisie.

this has definitely something to do with growing up. rather than going to baduy christmas parties.

8. buy happy and sativa a christmas hat.

my cousin's maltese happy hates me in spite of my constant bribing. maybe this time, it'll work.

sativa is my favorite. so far, he's the only one who super loves me. he's vicky's (bea's sister) playful yorkshire.

9. clean and organize my room.

new start for a new year.

10. attend christmas eve mass at st. james the great.

just like last year, hopefully, this time without my mom.

11. find a friend/ friends who need help in putting up christmas decors.

you don't just feel christmas. you do christmas.

12. write christmas cards.

sometimes, christmas cards make better gifts than material things. however, a lot of people buy cards and write this way, dear blah blah... merry christmas... love blah blah. if that were the case, why don't you just give them nothing at all.

based on how i know myself, doing all these twelve is almost impossible. i wanna give them a shot this year.

things to be happy about

baka kasi masabihan nanaman akong life full of hatred, here are some of the things that make me happy and would make me look forward to waking up to a new day"

1. my dates with ate gail.

now that she's taking her time off from law school, she was sweet enough to pay me a visit last thursday. we had merienda at red ribbon, then shopped with her at national bookstore. i'm happy to hear that she's doing so well in law school and in her love life. on friday, we'll be watching cabaret together! yehey! :D sadly though, it's gonna be her birthday exactly a week from now, and i still am having a hard time thinking about what to give her...

2. I'm finally losing weight and controlling my appetite.

until yesterday, i've limited my intake of carbohydrates. i have only taken brown rice and a pack of magic flakes french onion chive alternately. i have been skipping breakfast and dinner. no junk food. product? 5 pounds less in a week-and-a-half's time.

3. my friend and i are making plans for misa de gallo.

this year, i vow to complete the nine nights. must. should. obliged. required.

4. my newly acquired cds--best of sergio mendes, regine velasquez's cover, and freestyle's once in a lifetime

listen to track one of freestyle's album--sa ayaw mo at sa gusto.

regine's version of di bale na lang is a duet with andrew e. the intro sounds like a barbie-ken conversation as my friend puts it.

i love her version of araw-gabi and the ogie original (track 1).

disappointments

1. bush remains as the president of the united states.

frankly, i'm no kerry fan, but i'd rather go for him than bush. and i know of a lot of people who feel the same way. i spent the whole afternoon november 3 watching the election results at nbc via etc channel. i would have to agree the analyisis of the political analysts there. although clearly kerry won the debates, between the two of them, it was bush who had more leadership quality over kerry. although bush's decisions are probably questionable, he nonetheless sticks with them. kerry, on the other hand, has the tendency to be bendable and fickle-minded.

2. short sembreak and a short semester.

HOPEFULLY, i'd be done by february. it seems that we should all be rejoicing about it, but not for me and majority of the graduating batch. just imagine, with a barely two week long sembreak, we had to come up with at least a 15 page chapter for our thesis. and now that classes have resumed, we have to finish the fourth chapter by the end of the month. why? two weeks before christmas break, we should have been done with the whole of our thesis. by january, it'll be defense. for our once-a-week classes, we merely have 12 meetings. just this lunch time during philo class, a placement officer went to our class to teach us the proper way of writing resumes. we have barely three months left. God help us.

3. poor babies.

if you've been watching the news for the past two days, you'd probably been saddened by this "trend" of mothers throwing away their newborn babies. last night, i learned of a mother who attempted to flush her baby into the toilet of a jollibee branch. another mother left her child outside a house and ran away. a day later, both these mothers have changed their minds in leaving their babies.

4. lack of christmas spirit.

it's not usual for me to not feel christmas by this time of the year, especially that evernings til dawns have already began getting cold. and sadly, i don't think i'll be able to feel the christmas spirit even soon until i get my thesis done. i don't think i can still have the time to do early christmas shopping (or even christmas shopping at all) since i have to save for next year's trip (that would hopefully push through).

5. the two filipino captives.

after angelo dela cruz, it seems that we haven't learned.

6. my declining social life.

not that i'm a typical college student who goes out every night barhopping, but i was hoping that i'd have a breeze this sem, going out more often than usual, and going back to my drinking habits. again, because of thesis, i'd have to let that wait til next year. and in case you might complain that why blog if i have thesis, i need to. i'm getting sick and tired of examining the love teams from the spanish days to today.

7. my eyesight getting worse.

when before i can get away without wearing glasses, last sembreak, i was having a hard time watching 24 without glasses. i realized that my eyes' condition has really gotten worse when i could no longer decently read without my glasses (that are loose as of this writing--and my mom hasn't brought them to the optical shop to have the screws tighten).

well, i'm pretty sure that there would be a lot more that i'd have to include soon....

p.s. to the latst person who commented on my blog: i sincerely appreciate what and how you've written your comment. :) i don't really feel violated at all. but just to make it clear, i'm not discriminative of nationality, of race (except my intense hatred against the old chinese), etc. etc. i'm sure as long as sandara continues to learn more about the language, i'd get to retract what i have said here. thanks once again whoever you are. :)

disclaimer

I never thought there would be a necessity to write a disclaimer here in my blog. With the recent comment posted, I realized that I might indeed have to. I am hoping that this would be that last time I would have to explain myself.

To anonymous:
With all due respect ma’am, believe it or not, if I were given the chance to get to know Sandara, I might even would want to. I don’t have anything against her personally anyway. Maybe I was too harsh when I said that I find her stupid. I based it on an interview anyway. That was what I thought of her the way she answered the interview question. And if you happen to have watched that episode, even the host, Luis Manzano was shocked when he heard that. Nonetheless, my apologies.

I’m not saying I’m perfect, but if I made a mistake, I wouldn’t mind people calling me stupid for doing such. I hope you don’t get that wrong. With what you said about the “look at my own faults first,” well, maybe you might want to remind yourself of that too. Aren’t you doing the same thing now? And besides, I do admit that I do silly, foolish, stupid things some times. In fact, if you know me personally, I have done the most stupid things possible.

When I read your comment, I couldn’t help but be disappointed. Just so you know, blogs are basically journals. And in journals, you write your thoughts. I respect that you do not wish writing your thoughts. It’s your choice anyway. But I do hope that you genuinely respect not only my opinions but also my ways of expressing my thoughts, anyway, this is my blog. Besides, I’m doing it in a manner that is not even bad enough to have everyone agree to punishing me through capital punishment. If I wish to write them down, why hate me for that? I would like to think that I have the right to do so. It’s my space anyway.

You say that you respect my opinion, but it doesn’t seem like you really do. The words you used to show your disapproval of my opinion, are to me, consider me like I were the most ruthless person on earth. I am not picking a fight with you nor putting you in shame. Simply, you might have to consider a lot of things first before you indeed do something about it.

P.S. I don’t really live a life full of hatred. Put it simply, I cannot imagine myself being a hypocrite, conditioning myself to think that this is a perfect world and there are no such things that can actually annoy me. There are a lot of things that I appreciate. It has been evident in my blog.