new year's eve

This is the 4th year we are awaiting the new year without my sister and her family. I can say that new year's eve 2005 (this time) is the loneliest, while new year's eve 2002 comes in at close second. The only time between the said years that i can really feel the greeting "HAPPY new year" was new year's eve 2003 when i was in Mississauga.

People. They come and go. It is only your FAMILY that stays.

update naman

busy sa lokal. tinatamad akong mag-update. maraming nangyari pero marami ring trabaho. naghahabol kase ng orders ang mga distributors namin at magkakaroon ng price increase sa ilang mga produkto namin sa susunod na buwan. malaki ang benta namin ngayong Disyembre. Marahil sa lamig ng panahon. hehehe...

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Schedule

kahapon - nagkita kami nina pareng Ker at L-ey sa Mocha Blends sa Pearl Drive. dumating din si Mia at nalaman kong taga-Kamuning pala siya (si Mia)
December 29 - makipagkita kay Kila at samahan siya sa Bel Air
December 30 - i-"treat" ang mga kapamatok sa kapisanang KADIWA
December 31 - tumupad ng mga tungkulin sa lokal
January 1 - mangasiwa sa PNK at umuwi sa Pampanga
January 2 - balik-trabaho, manood ng Ako Legal Wife kasama si Mariel
January 3 - manood ng Kutob kasama si Cool Lani :) (hindi pa ito confirmed)
January 8 - (tentative pa ito) pumasyal kasama ang barkada at si Froggy Buddy...

teka lang, dumating na yung lunch namin. kakain muna ako...

... a f t e r l u n c h ...

ayan. nagtext si friend. mon or wed na lang daw yung muvi date namin. so, pinili ko ang Miyerkules kase may ensayo kami ng Lunes. Kaya siguro, Tuesday na lang yung muvi date namin ni Cool Lani (kung pwede sha)

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may nadiskubre akong masarap na popcorn dito sa may amin. ang business name ng gumagawa ay Holy Kettle Corn. suger-free, no cholesterol, at super yummy ang lasa. sayang. kung kailan malapit na kaming umalis dito sa ortigas, saka ko lang nalaman na masarap pala sya. dati ko lang dinadaan-daanan ito kapag pupunta ako sa kabilang opisina. at kahit bumibili lagi ang pinsan kong si Roi, hindi ako naging interesadong tikman yun. kamakailan lang. hayy...

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naka-chat ko kanina si bayaw at ang dalawang pamangkin ko na pinapayagan nang humarap sa computer. may kanya-kanyang email addresses na nga ang dalawang mokong. nasilip ko sa webcam ang bunso kong pamangkin at parang gusto ko nang lumipad papunta dun, bukas na bukas din. hehe... parang nasa Cubao lang, eh, ano?

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nag birthday si inay at hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa kami nakakapag date. sa new year na siguro matutuloy ang date namin.

naalala ko tuloy, niregaluhan ko ang sarili ko nitong nagdaang linggo, matapos kong makuha ang bonus ko. sa mga susunod na entry ko na lang ikukwento kase gusto ko, may larawang kasama sa kwento para mas ok ang pagbabasa, diba? basta para sa akin yun. isang simpleng bagay, pero mahalaga at nakakaaliw.

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gusto kong makarating sa Cebu, anong petsa na???

i now recollect---

i knew it... :P

Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern 90% Robin 80% Superman 70% Spider-Man 60% The Flash 60% Supergirl 50% Hulk 50% Wonder Woman 30% Iron Man 30% Catwoman 20% Batman 10%

Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...


Happy birthday, mom! :)

Company Dinner / KTV

12.20.2005

Our company held a dinner / KTV treat for everyone, as our holiday social gathering. Before office hours are over, my partner packed some giveaways to our distributors and its personnel, and one of the giveaways are the TRUST Premiere condoms, tied with red/green-colored ribbons. Then we were all excited to eat dinner as we all prepared for it by not eating much at lunch time. hehehe... talk about pigging out for free meals. :P

So we went straight to Gloria Maris in Greenhills, and shared a hearty, mostly seafood-dinner. Red wine was served and we had a good time chatting with each other.


(L-R standing: Boss Ed, Boss Jen, Jon, Des, Ems, Ramil, CJ; L-R seated: Czah, Didi, Bhea, Dylan, Mang Nes)

Afterwards, we went to the much-awaited KTV reservation and sung the rest of the night out. Of course, we didn't miss out the signature KTV song: Abba's Dancing Queen







:P

ang nagdaang katapusan ng linggo

marami nang tao sa mga malls kahit saan at sa ganitong mga panahon ay hindi talaga praktikal na makisabayan ka sa mga tao na namimili sa mga department stores at iba pang tindahan na kung saan usung-uso ang mga panregalo sa iba't-ibang mga tao. kung hindi matibay-tibay ang resistensya mo ay maaari kang mahilo sa kakaunting oras pa lamang ng paglilibot sa mall o iba pang lugar ng pamilihan. maging sa mga supermarkets o grocery stores, makikipagbunuan ka talaga sa pagtungo sa bawat hilera ng mga gamit na nais mong bilhin, at idagdag pa ang "ten years" na paghihintay na makapagbayad sa kahera. (BABALA: sobrang malala ang sitwasyong ito ngayon sa SM North EDSA.) ito ang tinatawag na "Holiday Rush" sa bansang Pilipinas.

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Palabas na pala sa Canada ang The Family Stone at nakakuha ito ng mataas na antas sa movie review na inilalathala ng Toronto Star. Narito ang excerpt ng review:

"The Family Stone (PG), 3 stars
Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker plays the prim, stylish girlfriend who spends Christmas at the rural New England home of her beau's aggressively liberal family. Can you say "fish out of water"?

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Nakuha ko na ang CD na ibibigay ko kay froggy buddy sa kanyang pag-uwi dito sa Pinas, ilang araw na lamang mula ngayon. Napag-uusapan na rin lang ito, napaisip akong bigla. Marami palang balikbayan ngayong buwang ito at isa sa inaabangan ko ay si Boss Noriel na nakatakda nang magpakasal sa Enero.

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pagod at kulang sa tulog, subali't malakas naman at busog ang aking kaluluwa sa mga biyayang natamo buhat sa Diyos nitong nagdaang pagpapasalamat sa Kaniya. Sa Diyos lahat ng kapurihan at Kaluwalhatian! :)

fulfilled & unfulfilled

fulfilled

1. 1st hour of choir performance for the church thanksgiving (5:45 am)
2. taught lesson to the CWS, Ridgemont-Brookside area (9:30 am)
3. taught lesson to the CWS, St. Anthony-Brookside area (11:30 am)
4. met up with former colleagues at SUN Cellular (2:00 pm)
5. claim my dad's new mobile phone unit courtesy of SUN Cellular's "retention program", which eventually (the new mobile unit) will be used by myself. (4:00 pm)
6. email boss noriel with my suit & pants measurement for his upcoming wedding.

unfulfilled

1. opening a new account @ EPCI-Robinsons Metro East (1:00 pm)
2. meeting up with Bro. Kila @ Makati (4:30 pm - i had to cancel)

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i won't be having an AT scooter which i thought i will have before this year ends. but still, i'm happy because i'll be having my new bike which i can use in nearby destinations. two things: exercise & saving gas.

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i'll be hitting the sack around 8 pm tonight (and that's approximately a few minutes after i publish this blog-post. still "loaded" tomorrow. God-willing, it'll be a more fulfilled day than today, from dawn to dusk.

Rainbow

(South Border)

Fallin' out, fallin' in
Nothing's sure in this world no, no
Breakin' out, breakin' in
Never knowin' what lies ahead
We can really never tell it all no, no, no
Say goodbye, say hello
To a lover or friend
Sometimes we never could understand
Why some things begin then just end
We can really never tell it all no, no, no

But oh, can't you see
That no matter what happens
Life goes on and on
So baby, just/please smile
Coz im always around you
And ill make you see how beautiful
Life is for you and me

Take a little time baby
See the butterflies color's
Listen to the birds that were sent
To sing for me and you
Can you feel me
This is such a wonderful place to be
Even if there is pain now
Everything would be all right
For as long as the world still turns
There will be night and day
Can you hear me
There's a rainbow always after the rain

Ohh, whoa

Hittin' high, hittin' low
Win or lose you should go, yeah yeah
Getting warm, getting cold
Weather could be so good or bad
But baby this is life now don't get mad no, no, no

Coz oh, cant you see
That no matter what happens
Life goes on and on
So baby, please smile
Coz im always around you
And ill make you see how beautiful
Life is for you and me

Take a little time baby
See the butterflies' colors
Listen to the birds that were sent
To sing for me and you
Can you feel me
This is such a wonderful place to be
Even if there is pain now
Everything would be all right
For as long as the world still turns
There will be night and day
Can you hear me
There's a rainbow always after the rain

Life's full of challenges
Not all the time we get what we want
But don't despair my dear coz I know now
You'll take each trial and you'll make it through the storm
Coz you're strong my faith in you is clear
So ill say once again this worlds wonderful and
Let us celebrate life that's so beautiful, so beautiful
Ohhhh

Take a little time baby
See the butterflies' colors
Listen to the birds that were sent
To sing for me and you
Can you feel me
This is such a wonderful place to be
Even if there is pain now
Everything would be all right
For as long as the world still turns
There will be night and day
Can you hear me
There's a rainbow always after the rain

3 reasons

...why i should go back to Mississauga---



and four more pictures of them:

mobile phone-less days

for the past one month, i've tried to have mobile phone-less day twice, and today is the second time. i've been thinking if i could survive a day without a mobile phone, especially here in Manila that mobile phones have become a part of every persons life. Para syang wallet na puro pera, na hindi ka makakilos kung naiwanan mo ito sa bahay at ikaw ay nasa paaralan o opisina. But i survived a day. So i thought i can also survive this day without a mobile phone. Anyway, most of my contacts are also busy with their everyday thing, and some of them i'll be seeing tonight at our choir practice. oh well... life--- i like it when it was much more simple: less worries, and less complicated.

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i miss my ate. we've haven't been together all the time of our lives even when she was still here in Manila. When we were still young, my most fond memory of us together was when she carried me all the way from the lobby stairs of our school in Trinity College up to my classroom since it was flooded on the way and she didn't want my feet to get soaked in the rain-flood water so she sacrificed herself to get wet instead and get drenched in the flood water. I was grade one then and she was a freshman high school.

next thing i remember, we were fighting and she was running after me inside our house in Bacolod City. when she caught me, she spanked me hard at my back and i threw up. i cried hard and maybe her conscience got into her, she embraced me afterwards, cleaned me up and changed my shirt. that time, i was in the 3rd grade and she was a junior high school student.

then she studied in Manila for college, while i lived in Pampanga for my high school years. it was only after high school that we lived together again, this time in our new & permanent home in Cainta. Then she got married, bore two kids and left for Mississauga with her family.

i miss her.

so this office pc desktop of mine is dedicated for the "siblinghood":

Saturday Delight!

Two good news i heard today:

1. 13th month pay to be given on our next payroll; and,
2. Holiday bonus is now being discussed by the bosses and will hopefully be given before the office party on the 20th.

last item posted in my wish list granted!
in one mighty voice rejoice, rejoice!

Gift-giving Season

Since i don't really celebrate xmas but nonetheless can't help it being involved with the season of generosity among the people, i might as well make a gift-suggestion list in case some people are planning to give me gifts this month for no reason at all. Call me assuming but i don't wanna take chances in receiving gifts that i don't really need OR like so here goes:

1. Venetta brand polo shirt. This should be the most useful thing i can ever have since i use them to church at least twice a week. ;) Brand name doesn't matter but i really like those style by Venetta.

2. Bicycle. It would be great if i can instead ride a bicycle instead of driving the van whenever i go to places that are not so distant from our place. Saves gas and it gives me exercise.

3. Motorcycle. Not the "big bike" but just the most common AT motorcycle/scooter which i can consider using when i go to work. It's crude oil consumption is lesser compared to the van, and it's more advisable to use in a heavy-traffic-infested streets like Ortigas Avenue and Bagumbayan.

4. Nokia 6230i. This is at the bottom of my wish list since i don't consider the mobile phone as a necessity anymore. hey, i lived for almost 25 years of my life without a mobile phone so i can't see any reason why i can't live without it in these hi-tech times. One advantage of not having a mobile phone (and a very plus factor at that): No one can contact/locate me whenever i feel like spending time, or even a day, by myself.

hmmm... i haven't thought of anything else of (my) urgent need since i do my regular grocery shopping for my "everyday" necessities. Regarding the above-list, it turns out that i only want to receive the #1 item from loved ones who would have the thought of "rewarding" me something. Numbers 2 to 4 items listed above are supposed to be a reward for myself, from myself. It has been my goal to have one of those items.

OK. since a polo shirt doesn't cost too affordable, here's a rather more friendly wish list:

1. FHM's 2006 Calendar featuring Katrina Halili (on top of the list but not on top priority, hehehe)

2. Bob Ong's Bakit Baligtad Magbasa Ng Libro Ang Mga Pilipino? (i have this copy until a friend of mine borrowed it and never bothered to return afterwards, grrr... i hope she reads this entry of mine!)

3. Jughead Jones Digest (Or any of the Archie's Digests, Double Digest should be better. I want to REVIVE my collection of it. :p )

4. Harry Potter Series (soft-bound books may do. i haven't had ANY of its books from book 1 to the half-blood prince, and i already told myself that reading them will be my new year's resolution)

5. A box of sweets (Specifically home-made brownies and/or food for the gods)

6. Fruit salad ingredients (That will include BIG cans of fruit cocktail, whole kernel corn, cream & condensed milk)

7. 13th month pay AND holiday bonus (This one, i'll leave to my boss. although i'm expecting the 13th month pay already on our next payroll, i'm still crossing my fingers for a "generous" holiday bonus before the year ends.)

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Speaking of goals, i am thinking of investing on something where i can generate enough "resources" to have a house built in our Tagaytay lot. I have promised my dad long ago that it will be my project for the family. And i have no plans of breaking that promise.

1st day of the 12th month

of course i'm talking about the year 2005. :)

it's our boss' birthday yesterday and he decided to treat us for lunch at Casa Armas in The Podium. So, our office was closed from 12 noon to three pm. it was indeed a long pigging-out moment for all of us, especially that we seldom dine in those kinds of restaurants. Casa Armas is a Spanish-resto, and their specialties include some of the food that we ordered: suckling pig, valenciana, callos, garlic chicken, and some yummy appetizers that i haven't noted the names.

The cake we ate for dessert was Decadent from Goodies & Sweets and it even tasted more mouth-watering with the caramel topping we all poured on our cake slices. umm... yum yum... *slurp*

After the *hearty* lunch, what was left with the poor suckling pig was just its cute nose and some of its *dead* meat...



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my cousin Roi generously gave me a box of their new product: San Mig Flavoured Coffee. He works as an auditor in San Miguel Corporation. Our offices are just a few blocks away from each other so we occasionally go out for lunch. This afternoon, i was buying these kids book (Filipino publication) from a slae bazaar in Megamall, and Roi opened the topic that they're gonna be marketing these new flavored coffees. Perfect timing for me to show my sarcastic side, i told him that their San Mig Cafe 3-in-1 mix coffees don't taste good. So he resorted to boasting about this new product of theirs which isn't out in the market yet (well, as of this writing). So i told him i want a taste of it and be the judge. He asked me what kind do i like from the following: regular, cappucino, mocha (?) or hazelnut. i chose the latter. If only i won't be writing about this in this blog of mine and must show its individual packaging (sachet), i wouldn't have opened it right away. It's packaging looks elegant and nice that i thought twice in removing its plastic packing.
Coffee time again! hmm... i smell coffee! :p