About last night

I came home last night all perky and happy... but ended the evening feeling absolutely crappy.

I don't want to go into details, so here's the short version: for about 30-plus minutes, my mom spewed out a litany of (apparently long held) pent-up frustrations regarding how Eric and I were planning our wedding.

I ignored it at first. In one ear, out the next. You have to understand, see, that in our household, defending yourself is tantamount to "answering back," which is cause for a whole new set of sermon. So good thing it was my turn to do the dishes, at least I had something to occupy myself with. But the more she talked, the more her words started to get to me. I felt it was unfair that she wasn't letting me defend myself, but at the same time, some of what she said was beginning to make sense.

My brother kept muttering at me to ignore her, ignore her.

My dad sympathetically told me, "Ang hirap malagay sa gitna 'no?" and told me this was only the beginning. He told me I have to understand that my mom had the luxury did not experience having in-laws, so she does not know what it's like to be in my shoes. So I have to cut her some slack.

By the time I went out for my regular nightly jogging, I felt like I was going to explode, my mom's words kept ringing in my ears. Endorphins were no help at all, hehe.

When I spoke to Eric that night, I didn't tell him anything. I certainly didn't want to fight with him over this, but I couldn't help but act a bit snippy either. Luckily, he didn't push, I think he thinks it's just PMS.

So I went to sleep feeling very, very shitty. Because my mom was mad at me. Because she was mad at me for something that I know isn't my fault. Because, as my dad says, this is only the beginning.

I felt better when I woke up this morning. When I saw mom, we both acted like nothing happened last night. I don't think she's even aware how hurt I was. But oh well...I'm still spending another 5 months living with her, no sense staying morose all that time. So deadma. Move on.

But now I know why some people choose to run away to get married.

Galing-galing

One of the great things about my job now is I get to work with a bunch of VERY talented graphic artists. I'm not being a kiss-ass, they're REALLY good. I've realized that good copy is nothing if you don't have a nice layout to attract the readers' attention in the first place.

One of our artists is Jonas. Check out some of what he's done for us here. He's also a really nice guy, by the way.

TGIF

There's something about Fridays that makes time pass by so much faster.
And that's even considering we didn't do much work today.
Actually, all in all, it was a pretty easy and laidback week.
Or, as my brother puts it, "like the calm before the storm."
Yikes.

***
Things to look forward to this 3-day weekend:

1) Marc and Sheryll's wedding. I've always loved weddings, bonus if the priest makes his homily really personal and doesn't just drone on and on about 1 Corinthians chapter 13.

2) Girls' night out with Anndee and the rest of the gang. We haven't gotten together for an all-girls gabfest in months. Always something to look forward to.

3) Meeting with a printer for our wedding invitations. If we get her, then we've officially completed our list of suppliers!
*fingers crossed*

4) Waking up late on Monday.

Some girls have all the luck

First, Kris Aquino is paired with Derek Ramsey in the new San Miguel Beer commercial!

And now Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise are dating!

Waaaah.....

Extra challenge

Am finding my next assignment for Entrepreneur a bit intimidating. Per my editor, I have to:

"Interview three business owners who set up their company using funds from liquidated investment portfolios (i.e. stocks, mutual funds, trust funds, bonds, etc.) to come up with an article that discusses the pros and cons of raising capital this way, plus success tips."

There's always been something about business-y words like "investment portfolios" (along with "stock index," "trade volumes" and "market shares") that scare the be-jeezus out of me. Probably because I always associate them with figures and numbers and, well, I've never been good with those.

But since I'll be joining Entrep full-time (2 weeks and counting!!!), I need to suck it in and conquer this fear.

My other problem lies in finding interviewees. I've texted everyone I can think of for leads, from my old boss to my wedding videographer, but have gotten zilch. So am sending out a plea to cyberspace—if you guys know anyone who fit the above criteria, please, please email me. I'll give successful tipsters one free Summit Media magazine of their choice.

Zombie me

Spent the whole day feeling absolutely shitty. When I woke up, my whole body was aching, my stomach queasy, my head fuzzy.

It was pretty much like this for the rest of the day.

I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with me. Could it be indigestion, caused by the 2 Lord Stow's egg tarts I had for dessert last night? Or could it be because I sat in front of the electric fan while watching Darna, after coming home all sweaty from jogging?

A nap during lunchtime helped a bit, but by mid-afternoon, I was totally useless in the office.

Boy, if today were to be the basis for my performace appraisal, I'd be fired for sure.

Bawi nalang ako bukas.

Time to call it a day

I'm hungry.

I think I'll go home now, before I succumb to the lure of the junk food being sold outside the office.

Sana masarap ang dinner mamaya.

Simple pleasures

The best things in my life are not necessarily free... or expensive... They're the little things that make me smile, sigh, or squeal with delight (and people who know me know I rarely squeal). Such as:

-- Strolling into Powerbooks Megamall on a whim and finding out that it's their Annual Summer Sale! 20% off on all imported books! Until April 30!
-- Egg tarts from Lord Stow's Bakery
-- Yakult
-- Sleeping on freshly-laundered bedsheets
-- My bolster pillow
-- Successfully downloading an episode of season 4 Smallville
-- Coming across an unfamiliar but good movie on cable
-- Coming across an unfamiliar but good song that my brothers had downloaded into our computer (my latest discoveries: Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down and Clementine by Mark Owen)
-- When I'm wearing my am-not-in-the-mood-to-dress-up jeans and T-shirt and Eric still tells me I look hot great nice
-- Trying out a new restaurant and finishing the entire meal without any regrets
-- When my masungit baby cousin deigns to give me a kiss on the cheek... and I didn't even have to bribe her with food!
-- Not having to wake up in the middle of the night (and interrupting the dream I was having of me and Julian McMahon) to pee
-- Short lines by the ATM when it's payday
-- When Eric calls me in the middle of the workday just to say "hi"
-- Girls' nights out
-- Running into former professors at the mall and finding out they still remember me
-- Good hair days
-- Finding the perfect pair of jeans... at 50% off!
-- Hugh Jackman's smile
-- 3-day weekends

Share yours!

Blow hot, blow cold

One of the downsides of working in an air-conditioned office the whole day is I forget how frickin' hot it can get outside. Every weekend, I grouse and grouse about how hot and humid it is, only to hear my parents tell me, "It's always like this."

But when push comes to shove, I'm more ginawin than mainitin. Everytime I sleep in an air-conditioned room, I wake up with the sniffles; if I'm going to Power Plant, Podium or any moviehouse, I almost always need to bring a jacket with me, otherwise I start shivering before the start of the opening credits. I very rarely break out in sweat; Eric says that whenever I start complaining how hot it is, that can only mean it's really, really, hot.

Eric, on the other hand, is my total opposite. He breaks out in sweat just from walking across our driveway to our front door; he oftentimes finds the air-conditioning in Greenbelt 3 cinemas not cool enough; he cannot not sleep without air-conditioning, not even if it's the coldest day in December; if he starts wearing a jacket, that can only mean it's really, really cold.

Our sleeping arrangements once we get married should be a funny sight. I'll probably be the one buried under layers of blankets, and he's the one sleeping on top of them.

Things that made me go "What the F@!!#" today

Saw DOJ Secretary Raul Gonzalez and, in another table, Presidential Son Mikey Arroyo (with his wife) lunching at the Summer Palace of EDSA Shangri-La this afternoon. Government austerity my ass.

***
Oh, and let's not forget the army of bodyguards who were waiting for (I assume) Mikey outside the restaurant. Like anyone would want to take a shot at him. Oh, right, there's me.

***
How can Anwar Robinson be out of American Idol.... but not Scott Savol or Anthony Federov?! Are Americans deaf?! Sure, Anwar may not be the best, but he's certainly better than Scott or Anthony!

***
And there's rumor that Anwar's gay! Not that there's anything wrong if he is, but.... how come 8 times out of 10, if a guy is good-looking and talented, odds are he's gay?!

***
Lizards (a.k.a butiki) are invading our house! Saw one in my bathroom just as I was about to take a bath... and another one on our kitchen countertop when I went downstairs 15 minutes later! Where do they come from?!

Thank God tomorrow's Friday....

I refuse to get stressed

Fara told me before that she's been having nightmares about dealing with her suppliers. Recently, I've been having my share of wedding nightmares, but they take on different forms.

Like last night, I dreamt that my wedding date had to be postponed because there wasn't enough time to finalize all the details. In my dream, I was panicking, because that meant we had to foreit all the deposits we made to all our suppliers, not to mention worry if they would still be available on our new date.

The other night naman, I dreamt that I mistakenly informed a cousin of mine that he would be one of the groomsmen. When I realized my booboo, I didn't know how I was going to take it back.

I have yet to wake up screaming and sweating, though, so that's a good thing.

"Meeting" Martz through math

My brother told me the other day that when he searched for my name on Yahoo, he came across a guy, Martz, who had read my "Math and Me" essay in Youngblood 2.0 and posted his thoughts about it here

I checked it out and was doubly surprised (and also a bit relieved) to find out that he's a friend of John's. What a small world. It also made dropping him a line easier, since at least I'm assured he's not some psycho.

Wala lang. It's always a nice feeling when strangers take notice of one's work.

Vanity fair

I started doing abdominal exercises the other night (part of my look-good-in-time-for-my-wedding regimen), so now I'm feeling the effects. It hurts when I get out of bed (or when I get up from any prone position, for that matter), when I sneeze, and when I laugh.

I've also started lifting some light weights to tone my arms, so those are hurting a bit too.

I can do this. All I need to do is keep repeating (through gritted teeth):"Beauty before comfort"..."Beauty before comfort"...

***
I've also been thinking of getting my teeth whitened, via laser. But one session costs around P15 to P20K. Yikes. Beauty before poverty? Hahaha. Now that's something I'll have to think about a bit more.

Hey, jealousy (2)

Do you guys remember the girl I wrote about here? Well, she has a boyfriend now. Funny, but I still don't feel assuaged by this bit of news. Maybe it's because Eric was one of the first people (in fact, one of the few, select people, I might add) whom she told. "Eh kasi nga close kami," he explains when I wonder aloud. Yeah, but still...... What's wrong with me?! I think I need help.

***
Eric, on the other hand, is probably the most un-jealous guy I know of. He's not the type to ask me where I'm going, what I'm doing now, who I'm with, or who's that guy I'm talking to. I think he has to see me holding hands with a guy first before he'll even think something is up.

His lack of jealousy used to bother me, because I felt it meant he didn't love me enough, that I was "expendable." But now I don't complain (so much) anymore. Because given my line of work, where I spend whole days and even late nights with various male models, graphic artists, photographers and male co-workers, I realized it would really be a pain if I had a boyfriend who would question everything I did and everyone I spoke to. So I'm glad he's the way he is. ...Sort of.... Sometimes...

Re-visiting Baguio

Spent the weekend in Baguio with my family. We make it a point to go up there at least once a year for some R&R, but more often than not, because we're there during the holidays, we spend more time in the hotel to avoid the crowds and the traffic.

But because it wasn't the peak season this time, there was minimal traffic, ample parking space and, ergo, lots of time for us to explore the other interesting sites that the city had to offer.

1) Mount Sto. Tomas
This is the moutain that you pass when you go up to Baguio via Marcos Highway, and the one with the two radars at the peak. It's also the first thing that we see every morning when we step out of the hotel (we stayed at Green Valley), so we felt it was practically daring us to climb it. Well, we finally did.


A view of the mountain from the driveway of our hotel. Unless you're wearing the right shoes and have the stamina for it, I suggest you just rent a vehicle (ours cost P400 for a roundtrip) and drive up. Even then, expect a bumpy ride, because the road is very rough. It takes about 30 minutes to drive to the top and another 30 minutes to get back down; when you do get to the top, you'll still have to walk a bit to get to the nice photo-op spots.


Photos from the top of the world (or, at least from the top of Baguio).

The best time to go up would be early in the morning, because by 11am, the fog is starting to roll in; by the afternoon, it would be very hard to see in front of you, making the trip quite dangerous.

2) Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary
Another place that requires a bit of hiking. We first thought it was just one big garden, but as we walked, we realized it's actually one big exhibit about the earth's history. There are replicas of the Tabon Cave and pre-historic huts, totems that represent the different religions of the world (including paganism), even a mini-Stonehenge.



Entrance fee is P15 person. Don't go wandering off alone because they don't give you maps of the place and you're bound to get lost. Plus, if you trip and break your ankle, I doubt anyone will hear you if you call for help.

3) Cafe by the Ruins
I had been wanting to eat here for ages, so I would consider visiting this the highlight of this particular trip. The restaurant got its name because it was built over the World War II ruins of the home of a former Americal governor-general. All dishes are organically-grown and cater to the health-conscious, so much so that they don't even serve softdrinks. Just juices and teas. The ambience could be described as semi-fine dining, and the prices average P150-P200 per dish. If you've been to Sonya's Garden in Tagaytay or Chateau Verde in UP Diliman, Cafe by the Ruins is something similar to those. The restaurant is small and I can only imagine how crowded it can get when it's the peak touriust season. My brothers sniffed that the food was nothing spectacular, but they conceded that the Old Nick's Tuna Sandwich that my mom got is yummy. Cafe by the Ruins is located at Chuntug Street, across the Baguio City Hall.

***
Random thoughts:

-- Baguio locals are super friendly. They give clear and concise directions when you ask them, and do so with a cheerful smile. If The Amazing Race were held here, the contestants would have a breeze.

-- I was a bit disappointed to find that 99% of the boutique stores and restaurants in SM Baguio can also be found in Manila. And, just like in Manila, the SM here is PACKED with people. Or maybe it's only because it was a payday weekend?

-- I wasn't expecting Baguio to be super cold because it was summer, so I didn't bring the right sleepwear. My mistake. I spent the first night not sleeping so well because I was shivering from the cold. Made me wonder (and worry) how I was going to survive honeymooning in winter Europe.

*YAWN*

Have you guys ever had a dream that's so vivid, so real, that you feel as if you're part of the action? And when you wake up, you literally feel exhausted, so your sleep was all for nothing?

I hate it when that happens.

La-dee-da

Am so not in the mood to work today. Maybe it's because I'll be on leave tomorrow (going to Baguio!), or because am going out with Eric later (always something to look forward to). Or it could be because there's really nothing much to do. We've finished all our turnovers and right now are just waiting for the proofs to arrive to do final checks.

This is how it is here at work. Things can get insanely crazy one week, to the point that I wish I could make like Michael Keaton in the mvoie "Duplicity" and make clones of myself.... and then get relatively peaceful and quiet the next week, when everything is done and the dust settles. One week, I feel like crying... another week, I just look back at all that's happened and wonder at how I was able to pull it all off.

So I guess it's true you need to experience the negative things first so that you can appreciate the positives. I'll keep this in mind when I go through the next hell week.

Drummers rock!

I've never had much appreciation for drummers of bands, but that's changed ever since I got an mp3 player. Because the music plays so close to my ears (and quite clearly at that), I sometimes find myself "isolating" bits of the song—sometimes it's the back-up vocalist, sometimes the piano or guitar... lately, though, it's been the drums.

When it's a particularly catchy, foot-thumping, head-bobbing tune, I would find myself straining to pick out the beat and then tap it out with my fingers. I then try to imagine the drummer, executing the rhythm using his two hands and foot, and I would find myself amazed at how talented one really has to be to be able to syhchronize all three body parts to form coherent beats.

There are also times when I would imagine how a certain song would sound if it did not have percussion, and I realize all the more how important those instruments really are.

I have yet to learn how to tell a good drummer from a bad one, but nonetheless I now have a great deal of respect for these musicians. I now also understand why, more often than not, it's the drummer (and not necessarily the vocalist) who scores the most chicks.

What's in a (sur)name

The more I think about it, the more I feel annoyed indignant miffed that I have to change my surname when I get married. Because, really, why should I? Why should all women, for that matter? The way I see it, it really boils down to being turned into someone's possession.

Ok, to be honest, am not really peeved over the name-change per se—after all, I can (and I will) hyphenate my name for my bylines, so that I'll still retain some semblance of my original identity. It's more of why I have to be the only one to go through the process of change; why do I (or all married women, for that matter) have to be the only one to go through the hassles of changing my name on my passport, driver's license, SSS, BIR, PhilHealth, and who knows what else? How come the men don't have to do a thing?

Buti pa ang mga Chinese. They may prefer sons over daughters, but at least their daughters get to keep their names when they get married.

Another side of Subic

My family, never one to pass up a holiday, decided to go to Subic last Saturday. It's been years since we last went there, and trust me, there's now more to that old military base than duty-free shops, beaches, and monkeys by the roadside.

***
The first stop was Ocean Adventure, where we caught the Sea Lion Show and the Whale Show. I expected to see the usual tricks—i.e. sea lions balancing balls on their noses or whales and dolphins jumping through hoops—but was pleasantly surprised to find none of those. Instead, the animals performed skits to teach the audience about marine conservation. Don't get me wrong, the shows weren't super serious or preachy; some parts were quite hilarious (like the seal lions doing the cha-cha and the whales dancing to Ricky Martin's "La Vida Loca"). I just liked that they entertained and educated at the same time.


One of the sea lions waves hello. It was my first time to be this close to a sea lion, and I was surprised to find out how huge they really are. As my brother, Rainier, condescendingly explained to me, "Kaya nga 'lion,' e."


Sayang, I wasn't able to take photos of the whales and their trainers doing tricks together in the water—as in the whales would throw the trainers into the air, or the trainers would use the whales as a surfboard.... It looked so much fun, I was actually envious! Is it too late for me to become a whale trainer? Because it seems like such a cool job!

Another attraction of Ocean Adventure is their Aquarium.


We saw lots of colorful, exotic-looking fishes, I couldn't help but go "Wow!" everytime I moved to a new set of fishes. I felt like a 4-year-old kid.

***
After lunch, we were off to the Zoobic Safari, which is about 10 minutes away from Ocean Adventure. According to the news articles, Zoobic is more than just a zoo, it's a wildlife sanctuary and adventure forest park. Zoobic isn't complete yet, but there's already enough to see.

The whole tour takes about an hour and 30 minutes—some parts are by foot, others are by car—and is divided into different areas. There's the Zoobic Petting Zoo, where some of the animals roam freely for you to touch. There's the Savannah, where you'll need to bring your own vehicle. Here, you can see over 20 varieties of ostriches and over 200 pot-bellied boars and guinea fowls, all roaming around freely—some of the ostriches even come up to cars to peck on the windows! I felt like I was on an African safari.


There's the Serpentarium, which contains the fattest reptiles I have ever seen. I'm not really fond of reptiles, but seeing them up close and so...fat.... all I can say is they're...disgustingly fascinating.

The highlight of Zoobic is their Tiger Safari. Here, you ride a special safari jeep (the sides are open and enclosed with chicken wire) and go into a tiger encolure, where there are about 12 tigers also roaming around freely! For P200, you can buy a live chicken, bring it with you into the jeep, and feed the tigers!


My one and only shot of the tiger, because my camera had run out of batteries at this point. Grr.

***
Yeah, I was feeling upset towards the end of the day, because my camera had run out of batteries just when we were getting to the good parts. Blame it on my brother, who wasted it taking photos of fishes and fat reptiles. So I wasn't able to take photos of the tigers tearing a chicken apart; George, the HUGE 13-year-old tiger and Zoobic's resident stud (I'm serious, he's the only adult male tiger there and the zoo brings all the female tigers to him to breed); the two 1-week-old tiger cubs and the 9-week old ostrich in the Zoobic Animal Clinic's nursery; and the ostriches and pot-bellied boars in the Savannah.

I've been in denial far too long—I really need to buy a back-up battery.

***
Ocean Adventure and the Zoobic Safari are located on the northeastern-most point of the base. When you get to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority tollbooth, there's an SBMA Tourism Office right next to it, where you can get a map of the entire base. The people in the office are very nice and they'll even use a highlighter to mark the routes you have to take.

We still got lost a few times, though. My map-reading skills really suck; as my brother puts it, if we had been in The Amazing Race, we'd be eliminated for sure.

***
P.S. I've posted pictures of my Tagaytay trip! You can view my updated post here.

Last song syndrome (2)

I first heard this song when Bo Bice sang it during last week's episode of American Idol. It's from the musical Pippin, which I've never heard of; but thanks to this very catchy, i-can't-get-it-out-of-my-head song, you can bet I'll be first in line when it gets staged.

Oh, and the message of the song is pretty nice too. "I've got to be where my spirit can run free, gotta find my corner of the sky."

Leave me a message if you want the mp3!

Corner of the Sky

Everything has its season
Everything has its time
Show me a reason and I'll soon show you a rhyme

Cats fit on the window sill
Children fit in the snow
Why do I feel I don't fit in anywhere I go

{Refrain}
Rivers belong where they can ramble
Eagles belong where they can fly
I've got to be where my spirit can run free
Gotta find my corner of the sky

Every man has his daydreams
Every man has his goals
People like the way dreams have of sticking to the soul

Thunderclouds have their lightning
Nightingales have their song
And can't you see I want my life to be something more than long?

{Refrain}
So many men seem destined
To settle for something small
But I won't rest until I know I'll have it all
So don't ask where I'm going just listen when I've gone
And far away you'll hear me singing softly to the dawn

{Refrain}

I'm having trees at my reception!

But I'm getting ahead of myself....

Eric and I met with our florist, Tony Rodriguez, yesterday. We went to that meeting with a totally "I don't care, it's up to you" attitude about the decorations because we know nothing about flowers and aesthetics; when we left though, I was high with excitement over his ideas and suggestions. I'm having trees at my reception! Wow!

A Thai, a Kiwi, and a "donkey"

I always tease Eric that one of the reasons I'm glad he's my boyfriend is because he has a lot of foreigner-friends, cultivated from his days of studying abroad. For someone like me who loves to travel but never really gets opportunities to do much of it, meeting these friends of his whenever they come over for a visit is a treat, because at least I get to experience a little bit of their country in them.

Last Saturday was especially fun because we got not just one, but two, foreigners to hang out with—Eric's Thai friend, Ply, and Ply's client, Rob (who hails from New Zealand but is currently based in Bangkok). They were both here on business, but Eric and I made sure they had time for leisure as well.

The itinerary: Tagaytay during the daytime for some sight-seeing, and Megamall/Podium in the evening for shopping.

Some quotable quotes for the day:

"Oh my God, that bus is just an inch away from you!" -- from Rob, when Eric was driving along EDSA and playing patintero with the buses.

"Is that a donkey? No, it's a horse. No, wait, it's a donkey. You have donkeys here?" -- from Rob again, when he saw the back of a pony trotting along the road in Tagaytay. It really was a horse.

"Oh, good, there's a yellow line. I was wondering how you could tell where the opposite lane starts." -- from Ply as we were driving along the road from the Sta. Rosa exit leading to Tagaytay. I guess all roads in Bangkok are clearly marked.

"This is the Skyway? Looks more like the Shortway." -- from Rob

"Is this for making out?" -- from Ply, when he saw one of the seating areas (complete with curtains and cushions) on Sonya's Garden.

"You definitely can't have sex here," from Eric, after seeing one of the Sonya's Bed & Breakfast cottages. Scratch off this place as a honeymoon location.

Check out some of the photos we took from that day. In the meantime, Ply and Rob say they'll be coming back to the country often, at least a couple of days a month, until December (because of work), so I'm already thinking of where we can take them next. Excited!

***

Rob, Eric and me at the conservatory of Sonya's Garden. The last time I counted, Sonya's has about 5 dining cottages; when you call for reservations, ask to be placed at the conservatory, because it's the only one with a garden.


Ply on one of the "Is this for making out?" resting areas.


The boys in front of one of the Sonya's Bed & Breakfast cottages.


Eric and Ply squinting against the heat at the People's Park in the Sky.


Me and Eric practicing our "pang-honeymoon" pose, hehe.


The very last picture taken for the day; at the topmost part of the People's Park.

Productivity is a state of mind

I had a very productive day at work yesterday... because I was able to use the time to attend to some wedding-related stuff. Hehe. That's right; in-between brief "just following-up" emails and sporadic edits of non-rush articles, I was able to

1. Book the florist for our church
2. Talk to the one in charge of our church to get deadlines for submission of materials and payment of balance
3. Talk to the people conducting the pre-marital seminar to finalize our schedule
4. Talk to Aileen to find out what the next step is re our wedding cake
5. Research ideas for wedding cakes
6. Set an appointment with our reception's emcee
7. Research honeymoon packages so Eric can start choosing

My defense: I was in a bit of panic mode, because last Saturday officially marked the start of the 6-months countdown to D-Day, and I felt I still had a million preparations to take care of. I certainly can't work effectively if these things are constantly at the back of my mind, so I figured I might as well use the day to unload some of them. For my own peace of mind. So now that I've reduced the items on my Wedding To-do List, I'm now free to concentrate on work for the rest of the week. The end justifies the means. *BOW*

A case of Foot-in-Mouth Disease

Ran into a former officemate at the mall yesterday.... I haven't seen her for years, she even had to remind me who she was because I totally drew a blank when she called me. When I finally recognized her, the first thing I blurted out was, "Hi! Wow, are you pregnant?"

"No, I'm just fat," she laughed.

Argh, that was embarrassing, My only defense was that she really did look preggy. Promise.

It's been 24 hours now but I still cringe at the thought of how tactless I was. So excuse me while I go and knock my head against the wall again.

TAR and Tagaytay

Caught the replay of Episodes 5 and 6 of The Amazing Race last night, and I have to stay it's the Best.Episode.Ever. The good guys won, the bad guys lost, and viewers who were unsure of their feelings for Rob and Amber finally saw what asses they both really are. I think the Roadblock (where racers were made to shop for items to donate to a local orphanage) was a nice idea, like it's the show's way of giving something back after raking in all those millions from their advertisers all these years. Well, at least that's what I like to think their intentions are.

*****
Going to Tagaytay tomorrow! With Eric and Ply (Eric's friend from Bangkok who's visiting, and the reason why we're going on this outing). Tagaytay is one of my favorite places and I always looking forward to going back. I also love playing tourist guide, even if it's just proudly pointing out the smallest volcano in the world, hehe. Plus, Eric and I hardly go out of town, so this is definitely a treat for me.

Eric says Ply isn't a big eater, so lunch at Sonya's Garden is out of the question (drats!). We'll probably go to Leslie's; I haven't eaten there yet, but I hear the bulalo is the best. Can't wait!