to sixteen years of friendship

Day 14 » Your best friends.

I love and hate this picture at the same time. 

I love it because almost all of my closest friends from high school are here (only Allen is missing). And this shot was taken in the back lobby of pisay, our favorite hangout place. 

I hate it because i'm not in it. And i have no idea where i was when this was taken.

Well, there's been too many pictures since this. We've been through so many changes in life. But i'm lucky to say that i'm still enjoying their friendship after all these years.

I've always wondered what kind of person i will be if i never went to pisay and never met them. I'm sure life would be a lot more difficult. And for having them, i'll forever be grateful to my alma mater.

the doctor is in

Day 9 » What’s Who's in your room? 

This is my friend, Tami. "Eric" for his patients. He is currently crashing on my bedroom floor. Good thing Tami does not read my blog. Otherwise he'll kill me for taking this picture and posting it in the world wide web. 

Tami is from Pangasinan. He suddenly had to come here to Manila because MMC called him on Tuesday to say that his residency application is being considered. And so he has to "work" (for free!) in the hospital for 3 weeks while he's being evaluated. His first day of work was on Wednesday though.

So obviously, with no more time to look for a place, he ended up on my floor.

Does anyone know of any bed space or transient rooms for rent here in Makati? I don't think he can stay on my floor for three weeks.

to my best friend

15 years ago, our fathers, who were both very proud but probably bored of having to accompany their daughters through high school enrollment, were the first ones to strike up a conversation with each other. and that's when i met her. she gave me a big smile and i immediately felt at ease with her. i knew i met my first friend in high school. we have been through so much together. moments that were full of laughter, some with tears. we had our share of fights and misunderstandings. but in the end, she has always been there for me. and she has been a better friend to me than i have been to her. i cried when she had her first boyfriend. and i cried on her wedding day. i was afraid things would change and they did. but she will always be one of my best friends. i love her and i miss her every day. thank you for always being there for me in the last 15 years, faye! and here's to 15 more years (and more) of friendship.

do i really have to put a title? i can't think of anything. hmmm...

It seems like my last post gave a sort-of wrong impression to those who have read it. Sorry about that. I am very thankful for all the kind words and support my friends have given me. But seriously, i am okay. :D I actually made a lighthearted intro for that blog to set the mood. But the blog itself was already too long, so i removed it (and it was nonsense anyway). The last post is just what it is -- a look back on life and a check on who i have become. And i was hoping also it would help people understand me better. I think i should help as much as i can on that aspect, it's pretty darn hard to get me. Hehe! I was over-thinking, as i said. It's my new hobby. Anyway... moving on. :D ------------------------------------ So, one of the results of my over-thinking is the resolution to be more available and spend more time with my friends. I think that was just put on the test when yesterday i invited my friends jae, jem and jam to go out and they responded by inviting me to watch a johnoy and kakoy gig in route 196, which is in Katipunan! Well, if you know me, then you know that it'll take some convincing to make me leave the comforts of Makati. But yesterday, i did not even hesitate. (naks!) Also, i just have to find out what really is the deal with johnoy and kakoy! I've been hearing a lot about them especially from my pisay friends. There was this one time when all my Soupagetti bandmates went to watch their gig somewhere down south -- where they DID NOT invite me by the way(!) though i doubt i would have come anyway if they did. Then the next day at band practice they were all talking about it, especially the free truffles they got at the end due to kakoy or johnoy. I hate being out of place... and there were FREE truffles, come on... Anyway. There i was with my boys at route 196, with jonas and alekos joining us later that evening. I very much enjoyed the gig. Johnoy really has a very good voice, and Kakoy is just ridiculous on the guitars! There was this song they played after 'Lightning Crashes' which i really liked. So [for the nth time that night] i asked the guys what is the title of the song or who sang it and they were as clueless as i was. It turns out, it was one of their original songs. Enjoy Johnoy and Kakoy's "Waltz in D". Thanks to jem ("weird na yung title is "waltz in d", especially since key of g yung kanta!") for finding the video for me. :D ------------------------------------ The toast last night was "mabuhay ang mga single". But i would like to offer a toast also to all my married girl friends. Happy mother's day sweeties! *hug* Hanging out with the boys was fun. But it's not the same without my girls. I miss you everyday. :)

PED XING: A PSHS Fund-raising concert

Poster grabbed from Dac's blog

THIS IS IT! November 29, 2008 5pm - 12am PSHS Gym, Agham Road, Diliman, QC It's finally tomorrow! Please come and support us. For more details, check this out.

shameless plug

My not-so-secret alternate life, yung medyo "real life" and hindi lang work. November 29, 2008 7-11 pm Pisay Diliman grounds We're having a fund-raising concert for our Alma Mater which unfortunately was hit by fire recently. More than 15 bands will be performing, which includes Soupagetti! So please come and support us, and help us raise the much needed funds.

I missed this pictorial last Wednesday due to, guess what, work. Got this pic from Jem earlier, taken by Vicki Abraham of Batch 82. Not sure if i can post this though (sabihan nyo na lang ako para matanggal ko).

See you then! :)

i just wanna gloat

pagbigyan nyo na ako please... :D 12 or 13 years ago, i was able to fulfill one of my secret ambitions in life. and that is to rock! back then, digicams and video cams are not very common things for a high school student to have. so you'll barely see proof of the coolest moments of my life. except maybe for very unflattering shots such as this: now, they are all very well documented! (and can be edited. :p) i enjoyed our performance so much. and i hope we'd be able to play again soon. for now, enjoy our version of "Ang Huling El Bimbo". we originally did not plan to play this, and was about to play Plush instead. however, we were so inspired and touched by the Eraserheads reunion concert that we just had to play something they never had the chance to play. about 3 hours worth of practice for this, hope we did it justice at least. :) ok, now i am done gloating. i promise to post a more sensible homecoming post later. but for now, i have to sleep... and continue dreaming.

quick survey: if...

... there's only song that you can play, which came out between 1994 to 1998, what song would that be? i am freaking out here! our batch was tasked (or should i say "forced"?) to play as an opening act to the hired band for our homecoming on Sept 6th. given the very little time that we have left, and considering that we could only get a handful of people to be involved in this mini-project, i found myself filling up some "holes" again (like acting as participant in our last mini-project). well, the hole this time is a slot on the batch band. i used to play the drums in my high school band, Invictus. and i enjoyed those times tremendously. but i'm hesitant this time because i haven't touched a drum set in 9 years!!! and i'm supposed to learn 2 new songs in two weeks??! *panic attack, hyperventilating* what's more scary is that the drums is the only loudest instrument in the band. if i mess up, it's going to be very very VERY obvious. huhuhu! the pressure. and it's not like i really know how to play the drums. i can play some beats but that's all. before, when our band will be playing a new song, i always get the "lessons" from old classmates like Crisanto and Joel (and from my kalayaan roommate Astrid when i played once in college). now, where are my mentors??? well, i've been trying to get out of the band and looking for a way to help them in just some other manner. i'm trying to get someone else to play the drums, or maybe i could play some other instrument (but like what? i haven't played the guitar in a long time too, and i can't sing... anyway, different issue). but anyway, worst-case scenario is that they settle with me. anyway, enough rant and back to the survey... our batch band is supposed to play one song of our choice, and another song requested by Batch 83 (head of the jubilarian committee). personally, i want to play something that came out when we were in high school. but i cannot seem to think of one song where most of the batch could relate. i even revisited one of my oldest blog to get some ideas, but most of these songs are not really "band-playing material". and our first jamming session is about one hour from now. nuninu.... so what do you think? any suggestions?

signing on again to real life

yes, i am still alive. and i'm trying to go back to "real life" again. however, i still don't have enough time and so before i get back to work (yes, on this sunday afternoon), let me just blog about the last weekend where i last had non-professional social contact. the speed dating event we were organizing is finally over with last July 25. we didn't get the amount of participants we were hoping for, but at least we got enough participants to gain profit. i ended up being one of the participants because initially, there weren't enough females to even out the number of guys. so i went on a date with 20 guys, half of which i already know. well, what can i say?

1. going on 3-minute dates with 20 guys is very tiring. it's like you're talking non-stop for one-hour. and you have to talk loud enough to be heard over 19 other pairs talking at the same time.
2. i'd say i got my little share of weird dates (just a little because the other weirdos in the bunch were the guys i already know. :P). i think the most "unusual" SERIES of questions were "are you single?", "how old are you?", and "have you had a boyfriend before?". i was pretty sure the next question would be, "so what's wrong with you? why are you still single?". and i did have an answer prepared, he just didn't continue and ask.
3. lastly, i still enjoyed myself very much. and i would like to try speed dating again, i just don't want to be the organizer for it anymore. maybe next time i'd give different names or professions to every guy i meet. that would be more interesting.

what i loved most about it also was it became a venue for a mini-reunion with my high school batchmates. thank you to everyone who helped making it work, especially to Jae, Allen, Jeng, Urk, Ria and Dacs who were basically there from start to finish. also thanks to Mapet and J for helping me get participants. and to everyone else who i share a mailing list with for keeping up with my nagging emails. :D anyway, on to the next event... i watched the lifehouse concert in araneta last Saturday, July 26. it's the first time i've seen a foreign band perform live. and i love lifehouse, so it was a very good place to start (kahit ano pang sabihin mo, jae!). my only regret is not spending 1k more to be in the front row seat. i wish i caught at least one of the sweaty towels and drumsticks they used. yes, this is my best fan girl mode. thanks to my friend lino who took notes and the little videos i took during the concert, we managed to recreate their set list.

• Make Me Over
• Spin
• Am I Ever Gonna Find Out
• Simon
• Hanging By A Moment
• Blind
• Take Me Away
• Somebody Else's Song
• From Where You Are
• Bridges
• Better Luck Next Time
• Whatever It Takes
• You and Me
• First Time
• Disarray
• Broken

videos will be uploaded soon in my multiply site. :)

i need help!

my high school batchmates and i are organizing this speed-dating event as a fund-raising activity. i am currently looking for interested participants. please let me know if you're interested. i need to get the finalized list early next week. for more details about the event, please check this out! :)

partey!!!

as you prolly noticed, i have been looking forward to my birthday (umm.. let's count how many blogs i made related to it...). obviously, i wasn't excited about getting old. i was actually very much excited to the celebration i have been wanting to have for years. and last night, it finally happened. :D my "party" was held in the Top Grill restaurant in Jupiter Street, Makati. i chose it because it was near and seems accessible, and when i was there once, i noticed that their prices are not that steep. the food isn't bad at all, and they also have videoke. only you would have to sing on the stage! :D i really really wanted to invite a lot of people. but there were still budget constraints since (as you know) i have no savings whatsoever, and i also need to keep some money because i will probably be moving again (which will cost about 3-months worth of rent). i'm really sorry about that. i originally had a guest list of about 50 people, and i counted 29 attended last night. it was too bad though that lots of people couldn't make it, and some even canceled the last minute (too bad since i could have invited more people if i only knew... :P). by the way, you guys would still HAVE TO make up for it (paging Jonas, Novis and Tami). hehe! :P but anyway, i am really really thankful to all that came. my birthday has really been special because you were all there with me. my favorite moment was when everyone sang "happy birthday" when the clock struck 12mn. it was expected, but it was still special when it happened. thanks so much again! :'D

my pisay friends. they turned on the smoke machine that is why the picture is a bit blurry.

my college "wehehe" friends.

my friends from work.

someone needs to start using the videoke and sing on stage. but no one was gonna do it first. so i requested Oliver to do it with me. and after that, the dam was wide open. :D me with my best and longest friends. my birthday "loot". the gift from J has gone missing though. waah! i'm sorry. i wonder where it went. :(

overall, i'd say the party was a success. most of the people i wanted to be there were there. there seems to be enough food and drinks for everyone, and still i didn't go over budget. i had so much fun and i hope everyone else too. and by the end of the night, i was wasted. :P see you all again next year. :) more pics will be available in my multiply site soon. check them out. :)

first blog of the year!

which is already a month late. but since i want to blog about new things, yet i feel guilty about skipping stuff i was about to blog about, and i just finished the document i and everyone in my team has been laboring over for 3 weeks, and it is already 2am and i have a meeting at 10am... i am doing this the quick way and get it over with! so here comes a barrage of picture posts. hope you like pics. :D ------------------------------------------------- December 18 Our office Christmas party, which was the most fun one I've had yet. Four days before the party, we decided to turn it into a costume party! Can you guess who we are? :D (L): The J2ME team, (R): Everyone! ------------------------------------------------- December 19 The day after the party, i was on a leave due to my friend Richie's very persistent request to go out of town. So we went to The Farm in Lipa, Batangas. We barely have pictures of us, but i have a lot of pics of the place. It was very pretty. (L): Over there by the pool is where i got my massage, (R): The lagoon. They had a postcard of this for sale, so i had to took a picture too. ------------------------------------------------- December 22 was Faye's church wedding. The reception was in Nurture Spa, Tagaytay. I told Faye before that i will make a detailed blog about her wedding. I will still do that, but this is my teaser! :D (L): with my pisay girlfriends, (R): with my college barkada ------------------------------------------------- December 27 and January 2 Leo was getting married so a few days before that, we had dinner to catch up before he becomes "un-single". Then i had to take a leave again to attend his wedding which was held in the Guadalupe church, while reception was at the Coconut Palace in Manila. (L): SAL SAs with single Leo, (R): SAL SAs with the couple Dawn and Leo ------------------------------------------------- January 2 and 3 Faye was leaving for Australia again! And we just cannot let her go without a proper goodbye. After Leo's wedding, i met up with Faye and our pisay friends. The next day, we spent hours in Red box singing and drinking tequila with Faye's cousins and our college barkada. :D (L): Our high school friends, (R): At red box with our wehehe friends the end! and more to come. beware! :P

i really should blog...

about the last musical play i saw, Avenue Q, and how "there's a fine fine line between love and a waste of time." about the zipping class i took last Wednesday with J and how i am liking it even if i've only tried it once. and i'd really like to dance again, and try on a new sport. about my new TV show obsession, How I Met Your Mother, and the funny things in life that it reminds you of. how it made me realize, for one, that i love being the person people go to bitch to (not "bitch about"), and how it'd be nice to find the person i'd love bitch to (not "bitch about"). and most of all, how it'd be funny, annoying and awesome at the same time to have a friend like Barney. about Gary and Dyan's wedding last Friday, and how i almost ended up with the bride's bouquet. that i found it funny to realize that i was the only "eligible contestant" in our table for the toss. and i thank my sort-of old basketball skills which enabled me to catch that last rose and saved me from the "higher, higher" garter tradition. how the girls with me in the table, Ria and Hannah, were talking about babies, their babies (!), and how it made me realize that we really are getting old and it made me think if i'm sort of late already for this rat race called "family life". but then i see the guys with us and can't help but notice how they have not changed since high school so maybe it hasn't been that long or it isn't late at all. about how it makes me sad that my best friends are moving somewhere far and so it would be much harder now to meet up, catch up and see them. how i would miss them sleeping over in my place on Friday night, watching DVDs even if half of them already feel asleep halfway through it, and how they'd wake me up before 8am on Saturday which makes me hate them. but of course they know how much i love them. and finally about how i think i am ready for phase 4, i'm just scared to admit it. well, let's see what happens.

long due post on Christmas (?) reunions

yey! blog blog blog! i missed blogging so much! i've been really busy lately and though there were lots of things i wanted to blog about, i just have NO time. so how long has it been? let's just say that www.blogger.com was not in my browser history anymore, so is "Sakura Mind Speaks". anyway, enough of the "emo"-mode... here comes the multi-blog again. :) A lot of my friends came home this past Christmas season that many mini-reunions cannot be helped. Seems that lately, people only have the time or the excuse to get together when it's because of "something/someone special". (heheh! drama!). anyway, fun fun fun for me! i love get-togethers! but sad sad sad for my wallet, despite the many libre of the balikbayans. let's just say that i cannot use my credit card anymore after that (and i mean CAN NOT). happy new year, yeah! ------------------------------ ContentDev Dec 22, 2006 first off was the reunion/dinner with my former officemates. we had dinner at Banana Leaf in Glorietta 4. it didn't last long since people are already getting OLD and CORNY! they were all gone before 10pm (can you believe that?!?!?)!!!! hehehe! but anyway, it was still nice to catch up with my good old officemates. pictures here c/o Kuya Bry. ------------------------------ Pisay '98 Dec 29, 2006 then just before new year, i met with my great friends from high school. we've all been friends for almost 13 years now, what more can i say? :)

before:

tagaytay retreat, January 1998. where did i get the frisbee???

now:

hindi kami kumpleto, pero magaganda pa rin. hehehe!

we sure are getting older. now we usually meet for special events like someone's wedding or someone's child's baptism. and we're all growing, horizontally that is. except for Luz who still managed to stay under 100Lbs. hehe! :) ------------------------------ UP EEE SAL Jan 11, 2007 next get-together was with my college labmates. these guys helped me through the last years of my college life. seriously, CoE got much easier after i joined the lab, seriously! oh, and it was these guys' fault that i became a JAVA programmer (i was a C-fan before then. now i don't remember C at all.) the "guest of honor" for this gathering was Richie, who was about to return to California then. i don't have much pictures since Kuya Bry was there as well. hehe! so just check out his multiply site. ------------------------------ UP EEE '98 Jan 18, 2007 And then, just when i thought the spending was about to stop, Nox emailed me that he would be here in the Philippines for about 2 weeks. I haven't since him since after graduation (that's about 3.5 years ago) so it would really be so wrong not to meet him. but all is good, i missed the guy. we met up with a LOT of our old classmates. apparently, Nox is THAT important (hehe! joke lang nox). anyway, i'm really glad that a lot of my friends were here during the season. it made my Christmas much more special. and though i'm now drowning in debt, i'll take it anytime if it means spending more time with them. :D

high school life, oh high school life...

early this week, i "re-watched" the anime, Azumanga Daioh. I've seen it about 4 years ago and i remember liking it back then. Azumanga Daioh is about the life of 6 high school girls who are... well, going through high school. It is very funny, very addicting and very catchy. i assure you that you'll fall in love with AT LEAST 3 of the main characters. anyway, after watching it again, i realized that i like it now more than i did before. watching the last episode (it only has 26 episodes) made me very sad. probably because i will miss watching it and i will miss the characters. but it is more because i realized how much i miss high school. their sports fest reminded me of our intramurals; that cheering competition and soccer game during senior year.. and the first time i played basketball back in freshman year where i always get the 3-second violation. their culture fest reminded me of the "linggo ng wika" days where we did "sabayang bigkas", "kundiman" and interpretative dance. It also made me miss that day in our 4th year, where we have to make a "live diorama". most of all, those group of friends reminded me of my girl friends from high school. each one different, each one great in their own way and each one i love. the "graduation" episode was funny, but left me with a heavy heart. watching it made me relive my own graduation day, and i remembered those old feelings i've long forgotten. well, these are things for sure: (1) until now, those 4 years in high school were still the best years of my life, and (2) Azumanga Daioh is my rediscovered favorite. whenever things get out of a hand, i'll watch it and relive the happiest days of my life.

man, i need to blog!

do i miss blogging... i mean, i've been on blogging hiatus before.. but it was different this last time. before i don't blog because i have nothing to blog and don't want to blog. but this last time, i just don't have time for it. work has literally taken over my life. i'm such a loser! waah!!! anyway, just some updates before i get back to work (sh*t!). ------------------------------------------------------ today, it's been 6 months already since this. time really flies. anyway, i didn't get a raise. just some additional tax-shield that's supposed to increase my net salary by a few thousands, or maybe just a thousand... i've yet to know. i don't know how i feel yet. definitely disappointed but i don't know how much. also, i've kinda prepared myself for this after hearing ET's story. so i'm not really shocked. but what i can say is that i really worked my butt off for the last five months (yeah 5, coz i wasn't really doing anything the first month), more than ever. and now that i'm writing this, i realized that i'm also a little bit angry. they promised bonuses though, for the projects i worked on, once they are signed, sealed and delivered. but from experience, i learned that PROMISES SUCK! and so.. well, you know... anyway again, i know that i shouldn't complain much. i know i was getting a little bit more than the other people here (stress on the little bit) for starters. so they get the raises, i dont, and we're all equal now. after all, i did say the organization here is "flat! mas flat pa sa lupa!". yet, why do i get this nagging thought, "kasalanan ko ba kung may experience na ako?". i mean, i did spend my first 1.5 working years earning less than the standard! ang gulo ko noh. balak ko na rin naman umalis dito early next year, ang dami ko pang satsat. hehe! :D ------------------------------------------------------ i met up with Jam, Allen and Luz last night, just to have dinner. ang sarap magkwentuhan. i missed my old friends so much. it's so nice to be back in that comfort zone, di ba? :) ------------------------------------------------------ i just finished watching House Season 2 (thanks mapet! :D). i can't wait for Season 3, which is about to start this September. sobrang bitin naman kasi nung season-ender e. hehe! anyway, i like this season better than the first one. well, except for Friends, i noticed that the best season of the TV shows i like is the 2nd season. Don't you agree? However, it's not like that when it come to movies. yech! ------------------------------------------------------ i've completed my Calvin and Hobbes collection. i was supposed to start on a new collection, like Sandman. But then Mapet showed me this, so i guess i'll be waiting. For now, i'll be parasiting on Chris' Fables collection which is really good, by the way. :D ------------------------------------------------------ i'll have dinner with my ex-officemates tomorrow. wala lang, dinner lang. i hope lots of people will show up. i missed their company so much. iba pa rin talaga ang ContentDev.

random thoughts

i just recently saw Bridget Jone's Diary movie (yeah the first one). it's the first time i've seen it in full though i've seen the ending 5 times already. anyway, i just wanna say i fell in love with the movie, not to mention that i now have a terrible crush on Colin Firth. it's my new "My Bestfriend's Wedding" movie. you know that kind of movie, which at a time in your life, you can SOOOOO relate to? and just to be clear, i'm not referring to the "it's raining men" part. ----------------------------------- sometimes, i wish i could fall in love easily, or not take romantic relationships too seriously, or trust easily. problem is, i always think too hard and i always try to rationalize my emotions. i think that the more it try not to be stupid, the more stupid i get. ---------------------------------- i miss my friends, and i miss the old times.

my high school friends, my first friends and best friends.

and my not-so-sentimental but nowhere less than good friends, my college barkada.

---------------------------------- on a lighter note, i've finally been to SM Mall of Asia last Saturday with my very good friend, Dennis. taking into consideration Maco's and Dionne's blog, i wore rubber shoes, sleeveless shirts, pants and tied my hair. hmm.. i didn't think the mall was too big. but that could be because we were on the 2nd floor most of the time. the land is big though; it's got it's own park by the bay area, two car parks, and it's own rotonda with the big globe (parang universal studios) on the front. Dennis and I decided to eat in a restaurant which you wouldn't find in other malls (or so we thought). so we picked this very american and classy place, Stars and Stripes. i enjoyed my food very much, i think they were delicious and the serving's pretty big. the prices are about the same as in other american restos like Chili's or Friday's.

i ordered U.S Beef Strips with Mashed Potato. Price: 390 PhP i liked it very much. the beef was salty but it's just the way i like it. too bad i was already full just halfway through the meal. :(

Dennis had the Barbeque Pork Chops with Java Rice. Price: 300 PhP you can see he's enjoying his food very much.

so 7 hours later, 4000 pesos-less (each!) and aching legs, we decided to go home. too bad it was raining and it seems that the whole metro manila population who was in the mall, decided to leave that time too. it took us two hours to get a taxi.. grr...

me, TRYING to call taxi service. see the "globe" behind me?