Beaches and bruises Part II

In reply to my brother, who so eloquently put it in the Comments section of my post below:

"People will think that you have wild sex with a bruise like that."

You know what, I really don't think they'll think that... In fact, I think they'll think my husband BEATS me, because it looks really nasty.

Because now it's not just purple. It's purple with tinges of yellow and pink.

So now my goal is for the bruise to be less visible by SUNDAY, because there's no way it will disappear overnight in time for tomorrow.

But I'm still packing my swimsuit just in case.

Pwede naman mag-swim sa gabi e.

3...2...1... I'm outta here. See you guys on Friday!

Beaches and bruises

I won't be going out of town this Holy Week, but I think the weeks before that will more than make up for it.

There is, of course, that upcoming trip to Maribago this Wednesday to Friday.

When I come back, I rest for a day and on Sunday, I'm off to a hot spring resort in Pansol, Laguna, with Eric's friends.

And then a few days after that, Friday to Holy Monday, I'll be in Baguio with my family and Eric. And since it's Eric's first time to go to Baguio in ages (as in I think he wasn't even in pre-school yet when he last went up), I'm doubly excited to take him around.

A teeny-weeny bummer is the not so teeny-weeny bruise I have on the side of my thigh. If you must know, Eric's pony-sized (I kid you not!) labrador retriever kinda chomped down on me yesterday and while he didn't tear a hole in my jeans (thankfully, especially since I was wearing the pair that cost P4,000!!!), he left behind a souvenir that's getting more purple by the hour. I don't plan on parading myself on the beach but you have to admit it'll be harder to look confident in a swimsuit if you have a huge blemish on an exposed part of the body. Eric (gleefully, I think) says I should just ditch the swimsuit and walk around in shorts, but waah, nag-beach pa ako pag ganun, di ba?

Any tips on how I can make it look less-purple by Wednesday?

Perfect for "fat mode" days

I've come across my share of good reads, but I can hold off continuing to read them until I get home at the end of the day.

Not Jemima J. My cousin lent it to me last Sunday and after browsing the first few pages, I couldn't put the damn thing down, to the point that I bring it with me almost everywhere I go. to the bathroom. Down to breakfast. At the MRT. In the car (I read it when the stoplight is red... Bad of me, I know...). At my dentist's clinic. Even at work (I sneak in a few pages once in awhile, it's been a pretty slow week anyway).

The story is nothing new—plus-sized heroine dreams of living a better life as a stunningly slim blonde, but once she gets to that, she realizes that being physically beautiful isn't all that it's cut out to be. But the writing is simple and funny and the characters are lovable and funny (even the resident anti-heroine bitches) and the book really imparts a lesson that I think all women can relate to. After all, what woman doesn't wish she was taller, thinner, had lighter-coloed hair, etc.? Plus-sized or not, I think there's a Jemima in all of us.

I'm almost sad to have finally finished reading the book, but now I'm debating if I should just buy a copy of my own to keep. Because I think it'll just the perfect thing to pick me up on days when I feel all bleh and ugly.

So what if it's for work?

Maribago Blue Water Resort
March 29 - 31, 2006

Please, God, don't let it rain.

Heartbreak

Next to getting dumped by the man you love...

Or seeing a toddler beg for food on the streets...

I think there is nothing more heartbreaking than seeing/hearing your brand new cellphone fall to the ground for the first time.

I didn't know if it was the clatter of my phone hitting the tiled floor or my expletive that had even co-workers in neighboring cubicles raising their heads to find out what had happened.

Yes, both were that loud.

So far, there doesn't seem to be any visible damage, and there's no rattling sound when I shake it.

I think someone out there should start inventing some kind of mobile phone accessory where one's hands can practically be velcroed to the phone.

Guilt trip

I really need to take up a sport or a form of exercise. Lately, a lot of my interviewees have been asking me what exercises I engage in as part of post-interview small-talk, and it's getting embarrassing to not be able to say anything.

Well, okay, to be honest, I do have things to say... except they're more half-truths....okay, okay, LIES if you want to get all technical about it.

But hey, in my defense, I do brisk-walk or jog (but that's to and from the MRT when I'm running a bit late)...

And yeah, when I say "I used to do wushu, but I've been so busy lately...." I don't have to add that "used to" meant 8 years ago and it was just something I took up over the summer.

My other "used to's" include badminton (I think I was in grade school then!), ping pong, tennis and some indoor calisthenics (which I always tell myself I'm doing whenever I do household chores)...

And yes, I go swimming, although the pool we have at home is shaped in a for that's not exactly conducive to doing laps, so I don't think I'm getting real exercise when I go for a dip.

I need an exercise buddy. Or I really need to update the playlist in my MP3 because going jogging alone at night is just boring.

Or I think I need to get a dog, so I'll have a good reason to go out and walk at night.

Or maybe I just need to get off my butt, period.

Meet Sammy

Most subdivisions have problems with stray dogs, stray cats, and (for those who have nice gardens), stray salamanders.

But because OUR subdivision is known to be a sosi one, the strays also have to be sosi.

So...meet Sammy...the stray squirrel!



Actually, this wasn't the first time we saw Sammy. I saw him crossing the electrical wires outside our house a few months ago, but Eric and I didn't want to tell anybody because we didn't have a camera with us and no one might've believed us.



Well, Eric saw him again a few mornings ago in our garden and...ta-dah!



When we first moved in, we were already warned by Eric's friend, Renato, to expect the likes of Sammy. See, according to Renato, he visited another friend at our subdivision a couple of years back and when he went into the house, he saw his friend's driver playing with a slighshot. He thought the slingshot was for the stray cats, but when he asked, the driver said, "Hindi, sir, para sa mga squirrel."

Which was why I think of all our friends, Renato was the most excited when Eric and I moved in, because we could validate that friend's driver's claim.

So we weren't really surprised to see Sammy.



I haven't been this excited about a visitor coming to our home since....since...well, you really can't compare a squirrel to anything or anyone else, can you?

The last time I did something for the first time

Last night, I guested on RX 93.1's Heard on Thursdays program to promote the magazine and our special issue on 50 of the country's top entrepreneurs.



I was nauseous with nervousness on the way to the station but fortunately, everything was smooth sailing once the show started. I didn't sound like some ditzy kolehiyala (fear #1) and I didn't get bulol (fear #2).

Okay, so it helped that my two co-interviewees (featured in the special issue) were witty, articulate and, sige na nga, cute as hell, so subconsciously, I knew I couldn't afford to screw up in front of them.

Props also to the deejay/host, Raffy, who seemed genuinely interested in what we were talking about, so we felt quite at home.

And thank god for the wireless mics, which enabled us to sit wherever and however we wanted, so we were really relaxed.

Since I doubt I'll get this kind of opportunity again, let me thank the people who made the experience doubly memorable:

My mom, who recorded the show even if I didn't think of asking her to, so that I could hear how it all sounded...

My friends and relatives who sat through the entire one-hour program (no commercial breaks!) even if I know the topic can quite boring to some...

And of course to Eric, who gave up his nightly teleserye marathon to listen to me talk about something I know he also finds boring.

The only teeny downside was when I found out after the show that my mother-in-law had also tuned in! And I didn't even greet her on air when Raffy gave us the opportunity to do so towards the end of the program! Nyar. She didn't say anything when we spoke, of course, but still...Nyar.

But then again, how would I have greeted her? "'Hello' to my mother-in-law"?? Doesn't that sound weird?

Speak, Bruno, speak!

I'm worried about our neighbor's dog.

Which is a weird thing to be worried about, I know, but here's the story.

See, our bedroom and dining room is located right beside the neighbor's garage. Starting a few weeks ago, we began hearing the residents call out things like "Sit, Bruno!" or "Bruno, come here!" or "Bruno, no!" So obviously, they got a dog.

But the thing is, that's all Eric and I hear—the neighbors talking to the dog. Strangely, we've never heard the dog "talk" back. Not even a bark or a whimper.

"Maybe Bruno's not a dog," I told Eric one day. "Maybe it's a....rabbit?"

Because really, no dog is that quiet. Unless it's a chihuahua?

But who the hell would name a chihuahua "Bruno"? It's got to be a big, mean dog.

Then again, I suppose I should be thankful the dog's so quiet. I've experienced living next door to someone whose dog wouldn't stop yapping, and yeah, it can be really, annoying.

So the mystery continues. Abangan...

Jologs quiz

If I felt a frission of thrill when I saw that Judy Ann Santos' character is using the same bedsheets as I am in her teleserye...

Does that make me super jologs?

Space filler

Yiii, I can't believe I've been so remiss in updating my blog for the past weeks.

Thing have been crazy at work and in my personal life, and while they're the "good" kind of crazy, I don't feel comfortable sharing them here because there's the risk that I'll come off as...well, mayabang. But just to set the record straight, no, I haven't made editor-in-chief yet, and no, I'm not yet pregnant. But there have been a couple of other occurrences that have pretty much been making my days.

And, of course, there were the occasional "bad" kinds of crazy, but again, that's all in the past so no point talking about it anymore.

So I guess this whole update is absolutely useless, and I think I should've just not posted anything at all.

I, Joanne

There's this girl who was once my classmate in PE during my freshman year in college. Yes, imagine how long ago that was. We didn't exactly become close but because we went to the same college, we would always walk back together after class and trade gossip about professors and other campus figures. So we were okay.

Anyway, apparently she works in the building adjacent to the mall I'm in, because we've been running into each other every so often. And everytime we do, we wave and buss each other on the cheeks and exchange quick "hello's" and "Take care's."

The thing is, everytime she's with someone, she introduces me to that friend as "Joanne, my classmate from college."

I don't bother correcting her because...

I had forgotten her name myself!

I'm just glad that I'm always alone when I run into her. If I had to introduce her to MY companion, I wouldn't know what to call her!

Athough I have a feeling her name starts with a "J" as well. Still, I hope this theory never has to be tested.

Why you now REALLY have to catch "Crash"

To be fair, I haven't watched Brokeback Mountain yet so I don't know if it deserved to win, but either way, I'm thrilled that Crash won.

Thrilled because the win sends a message that you don't have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to make a film that people will appreciate.

Thrilled because it's really a good movie with a good message to impart.

Thrilled because I can honestly say that, ehem, Eric and I watched (and appreciated) this movie way before it generated Oscar buzz.

Nest stop: Now who wants to watch Brokeback Mountain with me?