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The Young Ones

Bingo Winner

About love and lechon...

Good news: Aabot ata ako ng four year plan ko.

Bad news: But how can I be sure my heart won't just be bludgeoned again like a turkey for Thanksgiving? Maybe not now but it would probably happen sometime. This time around, I don't think I can completely put my happiness in someone else's hands....

Thank God for lechon to ease any potential heartache (and just pile on heartburn). hahaha.

Christmas vacation

I am too lazy to encapsulate everything in detailed postings. Suffice to say, I have not spent a single boring minute here in Cebu. Of course, as klutzy and clueless as I am sometimes, Murphy's Law always kicks in for me every time (talk about consistency!).

Off for Cebu!
I was all dressed up, packed and ready to go to the airport when I got bad news from Jco at around 10 am. Turns out my BKK-MLA flight is going to be delayed by one hour. My mind immediately processed possible consequences and turned up with one horrifying possibility: I might miss my flight to Cebu! ( my original BKK-MLA flight had only one hour leeway between my MLA-CBU flight. So a one hour delay in the first flight would mean no breathing time at all , plus the hassle with lining up for immigration, customs...you get the picture ). I promptly cried on the phone (trust me, this happens rarely now and on special nerve-wracking occasions only. hehe. Give me a break, I just got home from Chiang Rai at around 3am!). After putting down the phone, I called my agent to ensure I get hotel booking in Manila at least if I do miss my flight and a sure seat for the flight the next day. I called my dad to cancel the band waiting for my arrival at Cebu airport (hehe. joke). I called to tell him I might have to fly in the next day and spend the night in Manila (which honestly got me all scared and jittery -- notwithstanding the fact that I have actually lived there for almost 6 years).

Anyway, the flight to Manila was quite uneventful, save for those direct questions I posed to my travelling partner (which probably made him most uncomfortable. I apologize, truly. Hehehe. I admit though I learned a lot of things). I arrived in Manila 20 minutes late for my connecting flight to my beloved hometown. Fortunately, it seemed PAL was holding the Cebu flight to wait for us (much to the chagrin of its passengers I presume). So we rushed through immigration and customs (they simply just plastered the yellow sticker on my bag. whew!) and I was off running for the domestic terminal. A hurried text to my family was sent to inform them that I was on my way (by now, they had dispersed after my cousin's kiddie party).

The feeling of coming home after a year of being gone is strangely mellowing. You tend to forget all the bad memories that happened to you in a particular place and you simply focus on getting to the people who matter to you the most -- family. I am happy to be home in Cebu, to eat lechon again, to play (yes, play ) with my cousins, meet my relatives, spoil my family and just rest a my tired and restless spirit. I love Cebu and it will definitely be home to me always, but I know that I am not meant to stay here because I need to make my mark in another part of the world. (naks, eto talaga effect if I write my blog entries at midnight. I become so utterly cheesy).

Medellin Madness

This Christmas, we spent it in our grandparents' place in Medellin, a sleepy little town north of Cebu (after Bogo). Its weird. This town has never changed -- from its dusty, disheveled, rocky roads to the sugar cane littering the streets to its quiet and very rustic and rural quality -- it is similar to the town I knew and loved as a child. This is probably helped by a lot of governmental neglect (surprise surprise) and apathy on the part of the people of the town itself. So the whole clan was in place ( all 16 cousins, with mom and dads in tow). Imagine, all of us crammed into this two storey house with four bedrooms. You can imagine the fights and the bickering that went on in the rooms as everybody jostled for space. Being the eldest, I tried to be as bossy as possible to get the best bedspace for me. hehehe. Here is a pic of one of the railways in front of my lola's house.
Pic of my cousins and me during Christmas!

An aunt bought Magic Sing so medyo we had a karaoke Christmas. Plus of course, the much awaited family bingo game. I think my family has huge gambling tendencies. Everyone was really into the bingo game. My uncle, the bday celebrant, won the bingo black out. I won the first round where we had to form a square but I had to share the prize with two others. boo hoo. hehehe.

And I learned how to drive! Sobrang cool pala when you are behind the wheel. Of course, my uncle/teacher was shouting at me everytime : BRAKE! CLUTCH! CHANGE GEAR! Medyo nakakairita but then whats the best way to learn but from a person who screams in your ear right? Haha. At least it wasn't my lolo who taught me. I heard he can be quite the taskmaster and perfectionist (not to mention easily irritated).

Unfortunately, on Christmas day, my parents weren't feeling really well. Turns out both of them had pneumonia. So we had to rush to Cebu and went straight for the ER. I stayed in the hospital for 3 days. Fortunately, gumaling din and we weren't going to spend the first few hours of 2006 cooped up in the hospital. Now if only my dad would get the message and STOP SMOKING so his and my mom's health wouldn't get worse. Really talaga, mahirap magpalaki ng mga magulang. Matitigas ulo. Tsk tsk tsk.

Waterfront Rendezvous

I met up with two of my closest high school friends and we had a sleepover at Waterfront Hotel in Lahug. One was very much pregnant and the other was getting married next year. Honestly, I felt quite left out. I mean, here were two kabarkadas getting ready (or in the midst of ) settling down. Am I in that age bracket already where people I know begin to talk of walking down the aisle already, of spending an entire lifetime with only ONE person and talking about diapers and baby names? Am I? Am I? Did I suddenly jump into the future and can come back to find that the present still values singlehood?

I am happy for them and sincerely hope the choices they have made will turn out well for them in the future. :) Anyway, we spent half the night and the whole of next morning just chatting and catching up with the one year that we haven't seen each other. They regaled me with tales about our other high school batchmates, about work life in Cebu and in turn, I talked about Germans, about elephants, Patpong shows and everything else in the Thailand tourist category. hehehe.

Hay, by the time I am writing this, I am now over budget, in debt and will be working my ass off in January and February to pay off for my spending this December. Honestly, I feel a family member is lurking at every corner of the mall. But I don't mind (well, maybe just a tiny tiny bit). After all, basta lipay family nako, lipay naman sad ko. hahaha.

VL na ako!

Yey! I am finally starting my vacation today. And what a way to start it. It is 2:49 AM Bangkok time and I am still in the office, slaving over a program. It's a wonnnddddderrrrrffffuuuuuulllllllll layf. Grabe.

Anyway, I am just thinking about the things I will do tomorrow (my only day of rest because after that comes Chiang Rai then trip home). Hmm...Art hair, Central, Office, MBK, Suan Lum. That in a nutshell summarizes my day tomorrow. Assuming of course that the short trip to the office for a bit of knowledge transfer doesn't take too much of my precious time. And sana, Panginoon sa Bintana won't forget that naka VL na ako... :(

I can't even write coherently into my blog anymore. I am so sleepy and so lazy and just plain tired.

Why won't the stupid program work????? Grrrrrr.

LSS ko today

Pussycat Dolls
Don't Cha

Oh, baby dolls

I know you like me (I know you like me)
I know you do (I know you do)
Thats why whenever I come around shes all over you
And I know you want it (I know you want it)
It's easy to see (it's easy to see)
And in the back of your mind
I know you should be home with me

[Chorus]
Dont cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me
Dont cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me
Dont cha, dont cha
Dont cha wish your girlfriend was raw like me
Dont cha wish your girlfriend was fun like me
Dont cha, dont cha

Fight the feeling (fight the feeling)
Leave it alone (leave it alone)
Cause if it aint love
It just aint enough to leave a happy home
Let's keep it friendly (let's keep it friendly)
You have to play fair (you have to play fair)
See, I dont care
But I know she aint gon' wanna share

[Chorus]
Dont cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me
Dont cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me
Dont cha, dont cha , baby
Dont cha wish your girlfriend was raw like me
Dont cha wish your girlfriend was fun like me
Dont cha, dont cha

I know I'm on your mind
I know we'll have a good time
I'm your friend
I'm fun
And I'm fine
I aint lying
Look at me, you aint blind [2x]
See, I know she loves you (I know she loves you)
I understand (I understand)
I'd probably be just as crazy about you
If you were my own man
Maybe next lifetime (maybe next lifetime)
Possibly (possibly)
Until then, Oh friend your'e secret is safe with me

[Chorus]
Dont cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me
Dont cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me
Dont cha, dont cha
Dont cha wish your girlfriend was raw like me
Dont cha wish your girlfriend was fun like me
Dont cha, dont cha

One year na pala!

I bought a new phone! hehehe. Ironically, this is the first phone I actually bought (which I didn't wheedle out of my father) and my first colored phone with camera! To be honest, I wasn't really going to replace my trusty, albeit rust-covered nokia phone. But the prospect of my family warning everybody to get out of the way because my phone might give them the tetanus infection was enough incentive to make me change my mind and rid me of my phone-miser tendencies.

I already finished packing all my 'pasalubongs'. I just need to finish up on my shopping for five other people and I'm done! Hopefully, there would still be space inside my luggage for my own stuff. hehehe. My parents (yep, hi tech na parents ko. Online all the time. Well, except for the time my mom manages to download viruses and the PC has to be fixed) sent me an email yesterday with a countdown on when I am coming home.

Last week, I turned one year old in Bangkok already. Time really does fly fast. This week last year, Reysiel, Ria , Mervin and I were making our way in a strange new city, with a different language and a different culture and hanging out with non-Filipinos. It has been, and still is (for the most part), a fun and learning experience here. I have to say, I haven't regretted one bit in making the decision to pack up and leave Manila for Bangkok. Of course, the fact that Ria, Reysiel, Eileen and kuya mervs (and now Paui) are here made the transition much more comfortable and less alienating. In a way, this experience changed me and perhaps made me more resilient (hello! I don't cry any more at the littlest tukso. hehehe.) and a bit more appreciative of family, life and friends. Working here has helped me immensely in my role as family breadwinner too. I don't grumble so much anymore when I send money home (though sometimes I still do). hehehe.

And since marunong na ako mag attach ng photo sa blog, here is a pic of us 4 in Baiyoke last New Year’s eve.

Happy One-Year-in-Bangkok guys and hopefully, here's to a more exciting year ahead for all of us. :)