every thing started once upon a time, long long ago...

... and if that was really the end, well it was indeed a "happily ever after" ending. i think the best thing for me really is seeing them all together on stage and having fun. of course the performance and the songs were a big bonus, but i would always love their music. unlike the last reunion concert, this one had more "life". they were talking to the audience. they were talking to each other. and sobrang kukulit nila! unlike the last one, eto parang hindi pilit. hindi parang binayaran lang talaga sila para mag-perform. it seems like they were there, playing music together, because they REALLY want to! nakakaiyak sa tuwa. my fave moments are:

• marcus's version of "Huwag mo na itanong"
• raim's performance of "Slo mo". syempre sobrang kinilig ako dun sa part na nagtabi sila ni ely and nag-a-act sila in slow motion
• ely's performance of "Kailan". sobrang nakaka-in love and i especially like yung singit na "i love you too, pare" na hirit (which i have to thank mapet's friend for. hehe!)
• their performance of "Superproxy" followed by the chorus of "Kaleidoscope World" as tribute to FrancisM. it was very sad and touching moment...
• nakakaiyak din marinig yung "Minsan". i hope that's how they feel about it each other now, at the very least.
• the "group hug" of sorts in the end

my only regret is not getting the 5k VIP ticket. that extra 2k would have been worth it! if i could have my birthday wish, then that wish would be for them to play music again together. hindi kelangang concert, hindi kelangang as "eraserheads". but i think they appear together so often in gigs with their new bands anyway, they could always call on each other and perform/have fun on stage. they do that usually already with other people in the industry, so why not with each other. i wish they have that kind of relationship back. but anyway... right now, i would really want to hug each of them and thank them for that wonderful saturday night. it brought me back to the best years of my life. salamat sa soundtrack ng buhay ko na ginawa nyo. i love you, mga pare!

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.

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. :)

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. :)

my first birthday gift

i was out to lunch with some officemates when i received a phone call. i wasn't sure that i heard it correctly, but i thought it was from a flower shop and they were asking me in what unit my office was. when i got back, there was a commotion in the office. i got some box on my desk. which contains this... and just in time, i had the same color on too. :D of course, my "ever-supportive" officemates, who are always fans of non-existent love lives, won't let this "event" die down without a BANG!

thank you very much to my dear bestfriend Faye! i have always loved yellow flowers (and as Mapet said "hala! nagiging babae na si cherry"). this is definitely one of the best gifts ever. i wish you were here to celebrate it with me. love yah! mwah! :)

smile! it really is a good day! :)

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

this is the season to be merry christmas!

so, i am planning to do some Christmas shopping this coming week. and if you are too, and planning to get something for me, here's my Christmas wish list in no particular order! :D 1. a new DVD rack, which rotates! seriously, i have 7 DVDs right now which is just on top of my sofa because there's no more space for it. 2. more DVDs to put in my new rack. top choices right now are "A Lot Like Love", "The Wedding Singer", "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Pirates of the Caribbean 3", "Spiderman 3", and "Hairspray". 3. more Neil Gaiman books. I am still lacking Good Omens, Mirrormask, Smokes and Mirrors Trade Paperback edition, etc. 4. something that you made. 5. something that cooked or baked. so, what do you want for Christmas? :)

Surviving the Urbanathlon

yes, i am still alive! i would like to share with all of you my greatest physical achievement for the year, that is finishing the Urbanathlon! What is the Urbanathlon? Well basically, it's a 10 kilometer run/race plus 2 laps (except for the wall) of obstacle course. The obstacle course includes overcoming four 4.5-foot high marine hurdles, climbing 4 pickup trucks, walking through a 4-feet long 4-inch thick wooden plank, "jumping" over four 3-foot high barricades and finally, conquering an 8-foot wall. and yes, i came out alive, it's a miracle! many many thanks to my teammates who helped me throughout the race. i wouldn't be able to climb that wall and marine hurdles without you. for my officemates and grish for the cheers and support. and especially to mapet for being our official photographer and producing "proof" of our greatest achievement up to date. :) below, a step-by-step guide on how to climb an 8-foot wall. prerequisite though: 3 grown men!

step 1: hold the rope and put your feet up.

step 2: everyone, push!

step 3: hold on for dear life!

step 4: get reinforcement at the top.

step 5: for someone with no upper body strength like me, have someone clamp your feet over the wall, and another one to boost you up through your other leg. requirement though, a bit of flexibility or high tolerance for pain.

step 6: for someone who just went through much pain, rest a bit at the top.

step 7: climb down.

step 8: put both feet on the ground. ta-da!!!

yey! and we crossed the finish line together. that is team building for you! :)

all posted pics here and in my multiply are from mapet. thanks mapet! :)

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.

bora bora boracay... again!

yep, went to boracay again. and yes, i went to the beach AGAIN. i might be unrecognizable to someone who hasn't seen me in the past month. i've got a tan! i am dark! anyway, i went with my ex-officemates this time. and though i've only been to boracay last May, this is definitely a different experience. it's like being in a new place. first of all, we weren't dying of dehydration or heat stroke this time. now, only was there no sun, there were strong winds and some rain. it was not peak season, so there were less people. no lounge chairs on the shore. there were waves -- it'd sure be great if only i know how to skim board! the water activities like parasailing, banana boat, jetskiing, etc. that we used to see last summer was replaced with people kite-boarding. and most fun of all, there was definitely a lot of time for drinking and relaxing! yes, despite all the bitching because of the weather and the constant "who's bright idea is it to come here on September, anyway?!!", i did have fun. thanks everyone for coming! ;) now, on with the pictures!

the jump shots. we always do some everyday.

people in the pics with me are j, parks, paul, vida and kuya bry.saturday night drinking. after devouring 1 liter each of Smirnoff vodka, Kahlua and Baileys. i love these group shots very much. it's so iskul bukul. hehe!wasak pictures on Sunday night. i have never been this red from alcohol my entire life. i even had red spots on my leg! we drank about 3 liters of Vodka, etc.

i also got a new henna tattoo of a celtic cat, which i really liked. however, 15mins of walking later, it sort of got smudged and ended up looking like a fox instead. still ok, i guess.

pics were from Kuya Bry's cam. got lazy taking pictures. blame the weather! anyway, hopefully i get to upload them in my multiply. check them out if you have the time! :)

bora bora bora boracay

ok, so i'm the third person to use the title. heheh! went to boracay last week. had so much fun. now, it seems so long ago. going back to work does that to you. but still, thanks to the company for sponsoring this great summer outing. i rode on the banana boat, did not fall, so i tried parasailing. so far, that's the most daring thing i've done in my life. it was fun, though a bit scary. but i think it really is worth it. i'll be going there again this September. sana lang walang bagyo that time. maybe then i'll try the Flying Fish and look out for more adventure. i'm sure it'll be great again. anyway, more pics? i have more here. enjoy! :)

updates, updates, updates

ok first of all, i've moved! i've been in my new apartment for 2 weeks now, and i just finished unpacking all my stuff. i still have to get rid/sell some of my things, but at least now i can move around the house. i got a studio apartment, somewhere very near my office. rent's almost thrice my last one, but i think that's the price you pay for living alone (in makati). living alone is quite new to me. i still get late to work because i have trouble sleeping. and i can't sleep because i'm still a bit freaked. i have to leave a night light and the TV on (i need the light and the noise). i've been meaning to invite some people over for some sort of "house-warming party". but my place is much smaller now, so it won't be much of a party if we can't breathe anymore. but if you want to bring a lounge chair for my balcony (see pic above) as a house-warming gift, then you're very much welcome. hehe! i'm on the 24th floor by the way, so just think about that before you decide to look down from my balcony. the view is still nice though. anyway, if you could help me, i'm trying to sell my blue orocan drawers. the condo's got a built-in cabinet so i'm using that instead. besides, i'm trying to make the place less crowded. i initially thought of selling my gigantic sofa, but it's got sentimental value and i can't bear to get rid of it... yet. (sorry for the tons of pics, i don't have a resizing or "collaging" tool right now. :p) ----------------------------------------------------------------- last April 27, after a month of medication, i went back to have my FT4 and TSH levels checked. good news is, the meds seem to be working, my FT4 is down to 53.36 from >100. however, that is not yet normal (ceiling for normal level is 22). but i've been feeling "more normal" lately. i don't feel so warm anymore, sometimes i even feel cold (omg!). i don't pant so much and even the trembling of my hands lessened. i relatively can sleep easier now, if only i am less freaked by my new apartment. but, i became less jolly and still easily irritated. and worse of all, i am still fat! anyway, i still have to go back to ask for new medication. they need to adjust the strength otherwise, i'll have hypothyroidism instead. but i'm currently on a 11-day work week (more about that later) and things are really hectic, so i'm already 2-weeks off medication. i just hope my thyroids did not decide to overwork again just because i'm off my meds and make me start all over again. ----------------------------------------------------------------- we're going to Boracay next week!!! and the best thing about it is, it's free!! well, almost. our company outing will be in Boracay. it's going to be my first time to step on the Visayan region and i'm really excited (though i'm trying not to be). everything is paid for, except for our lunches. too bad i am still fat. but dont wont stop me from partying, drinking and eating! i dont plan to spend too much time on water though since i can't swim. anyway, i still have to buy lots of stuff for the trip. and i still don't have a big enough bag (or a bag smaller than my luggage bag). anyone willing to lend me a bag? :D

c'mon, make me feel special just this once

yes, i am almost begging. pathetic? hey, this is what single people do. we do the reminding ourselves since we have no "significant-other" tasked to do the reminding. and oh, my best friends are currently, mostly "occupied" with someone else more special. anyway, here's the reminder, which i almost forgot and just remembered last Thursday... my birthday is coming up. (if you dont know when it is exactly, then you are not invited!) anyway, i still have very vague plans. i don't know when i am celebrating, who to celebrate it with, or if i am going to celebrate at all. 26 is such a weird number. and everyone is really so busy nowadays, including me. besides, i have no mother-hen to do the planning. I AM ALWAYS the mother-hen when it's about someone else's special thing. but these things are for sure, if i celebrate, it would still be in groups (so there's the pisay friends, college friends, content dev, labmates, officemates, etc.). and i love gifts (you can give me a comic book, a dvd of Friends, flowers, chocolates, hugs, swedish massages, etc.). and showing up is considered a gift (even if i call you "cheapo!" afterwards. hehe!). so if you think you can make it whenever, drop me a message. i don't mind the planning, but i want to have some "basis" for the planning. i dont want to spend time planning a party if i'll just end up celebrating with 3 people (i mean, i could have done something better given that!)

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