Lots and Loaded

Ever had a day when it started like you wanna blog already and not go to work?!haha...well, I had that feeling this morning and as my left foot stepped right out the door ... my husband had to "sort-of" drag my other foot out! funny. So what's the issue all about? arrgghhh ... just some guy slurring racist comments against Filipinos in an article he wrote for a Hong Kong Magazine ... god! wont these people ever stop?! I mean what did we do? Just because were poor? Is that it? and as if these people feeds the entire country for free! ... hmmn.. that really made me so upset but I wasn't alone, in fact it made the whole country upset. Imagine the impact of words on others ... tsk.tsk. if it's just for publicity, that this guy (Chip Tsao) wanted, why on earth would he rant about the Filipino Domestic Helpers?! tsk. tsk. this guy is crazy! To pick on his house helper about the Spratly Islands! Why? What is wrong with being a house help anyway? It's a job. It's not like corruption in the government!

hmmn ... well, I just don't get it why ... Filipinos have always been hospitable and friendly to foreigners, especially to the Chinese people, who even have their own community here, the "Chinatown" in Binondo where their businesses have flourished through Filipino consumers, their kids attended our schools, they've built their houses in our lands ... arrgghhh!!! Now, I just wanna shake off the idea that "Tourism" is good ...

Earth Hour: World Record: Philippines

What a great news! For an environment-saving cause, we got the world record for participating the most in switching off our lights in response to the call for an hour of energy saving.

Well, if we at home had to do it, maybe it was big deal, maybe it was indeed on to set a record! As for me, I just thought it's an event that I wouldn't miss or like a birthday that I had to text my friends about to remind them that it's time to turn their lights off with a smiley in the end. Only to get a response from one of them that they already had their lights off and that my watch is like 50 seconds late!!! ^0^

And so it was an event that we had known from friends of friends, from concerts held using solar panels for energy, shirts printed and worn around by anyone, billboards everywhere, TV ads ... even church bells were rang! So, the intention was there, and ... though I noticed from the next door that they had switched off their lights early thus turning it on early too ... that I being soooo observant and excited about this whole lights-off thing whispered to my husband that they were Earth Hour-ing at the wrong hour! tsk.tsk. hehe (i was just making him laugh...)

Anyway, this is a moment of unexpected pride! We hope that more and more people will consider it as an event like New Years or something ... an hour wouldn't hurt anyway if given for the environment.

broke but happy

It's in my vow, I know through thick and thin, in sickness and in health ... etc. etc. so? NO question, I'm here, he's here and together we will sort things out, you'll see.

We're broke after paying off our bills, loans and the 10% we have to set aside from our salaries monthly, which we can never, ever touch because it's an investment to a fund-loan program in the office, we can only claim it by the end of the year with interest unless we pull out our share ... Sooo... yeah were broke like the word itself we're trying hard to make ends meet... and today we ate a take-out lunch and had to share on one dessert. I guess this too happens to any other regular couple who's just starting off. What amazes me, is the "coolness" on how we are handling this ... when did I ever become so calm about money issues? I guess when you're married, everything you have, you have to share and while we lie in bed this afternoon thinking of what dinner would be, a thought came to me ... isn't it better to have someone when you don't have money, than to have no one and still have no money? hehe .. I mean, I've lived alone once, when I was just making it in the BIG city and hardly had anything ... it was lonelier. But now that I have someone, it seemed not to matter!

By the way, not to worry when you're in need in the Philippines ... neighbors are always there. Not that we asked or anything, but this is graduation month ... and uhmm... it means there are celebrations everywhere of proud families! So? So, our neighbor happened to drop by with spaghetti. Oh! were delighted. It's an added blessing!

But by Tuesday, this "ordeal" is over. We're expecting money from our monthly pay and some more from our small time cologne retail business ... so ... it would be better days once more. But I'm glad to have had this experience, because I know at this very early stage in our married life, there'll be tough times ahead and for sure we will know how to survive them!

karaoke fever

Nope no need to call the police! ... it's just me singing. Well, it's a beautiful, sunny day at last after 2 days of drizzles that I thought summer's over before I could enjoy it! BUT, now it really is SUMMER!!! weehee! ... so what's up with the singing? ... uhmmm ... I know, that's why I stopped before the weather turns ugly... ^0^ well, my husband after breakfast went online to show me this website that he signed up to, where he recorded his own voice, singing to "old" music ... yep, he's into that "oldies" music thing. Anyway, he showed me how it works, it's an online karaoke where you could record your song and store it in a playlist sort of way, you can either post it publicly or privately ... by going public, people could rate you ... uhmm ... not my kind of stuff! I don't really sing, I just do it for fun and whenever the "chance" arises! ...and so my husband made me choose a song for which I chose a Norah Jones song "Don't Know Why" (my fave) ... and sang it! ... I did have pitch issues and uhmm... pauses. But heck! I'm actually enjoying it! haha... I went on to recording a few other ones, which I'm not too proud of! haha ... my husband thinks it's funny that I "didn't" like the idea but has actually recorded a couple of songs! silly me!!!

Anyway, try it out. It's fun! www.simsonstage.com (yikes! is my singing that bad that they had to close down this site?!) ^0^

fave gadget.

For this post, I have to close my eyes and feel the keys of my laptop ... hmmnn... summoning all the inspiration that could make my blog the coolest! haha ... nah! I was just feeling the keys, cuz I forgot how they feel ... not that you should but I just wanted to remember when and why I got this baby... I had too, I mean I watch movies in it, keep pictures, burn cds, store music... this is a piece of investment.

I got it from my very first trip to the US, customized for me by HP with swirls and wave designs as permanent skin, yep! I dont have to buy those skins to make my lappy look different and cool, mine is already how I want it to look like. ^_^ ... with specs that I also chose with the help of my "computer" savvy friends. I think next to the cellphone, my laptop is second for the most important gadget of my life!

mmmm....Anyway, my day went fine though this morning I wasn't sure how things are gonna be, knowing that I had a deadline at work ... a very crucial, very detailed fabrication drawings of glass and aluminum panels for a skyscraper in New Jersey. I've been praying for all God's favor to come my way and ... Viola! not only that my schedule was moved, we had an office meeting the whole afternoon ... hmmnn... there is miracle!

child of the 80s.

If there's anyone who could probably attest to what the '80s is all about ... I'm probably waving my hands up in the air like crazy!!! me! me! me! YES me. I was born exactly when the '80s began ... that is in 1980 and boy I'll be so excited to tell you how it was back then. Though I was still very young and it was really my sister who was "Madonna" crazy, I have vivid recollection of things and stuff that people do and what was "hit and hip" just by being there ... young with a sponge-like brain easily absorbing whatever it can! haha

Well, If the thought of being able to buy PEPSI at 1.oo peso is ridiculous! Then you wouldn't wanna bet on how much my parents gave me for "snacks" or baon?! ... it's 2.00 pesos! I get to buy a hamburger with Pepsi, for 2.00 pesos! That is in 1987. I was in Grade 1. By the time I was in Grade 2, Pepsi price also increased at 2.00 pesos ... Yes, I maybe weird to account my life with regards to the price of Pepsi! haha but it's just sort of "amazing" to think that we too can tell these stories to our kids and they'd be like us when our parents used to tell us ... "oh, we only had 25 cents for baon" and have to walk to school to save the .5 cents fare so we could buy Pepsi! haha... you see how life is somehow equated with Pepsi? (^_^)

And that's not just what I have to tell you about ... I also remember our first TV! at about 8 years old, we had no TV yet. I only saw a big wooden box with sliding doors that had a what looks like an opaque mirror inside sitting at the corner of our house, my sister would tell me... that is was a broken TV set and told me how it works, though I never get to understand what it's like until one afternoon, a tricycle stopped by our bamboo fence and came my parents with a huge box. Oh we had to keep the arrival of this huge surprise a secret, as not to let the neighbors know we had TV! ... 'know why? because it might get stolen! That is how precious a 14"inch, black and white TV was, with a wooden casing and a knob that's supposed to change channel but ... there was only one channel back then so... it's no use to make 12 rounds on the knob to find just one TV channel that's actually nice and clear through the help of an antenna ... an antenna tied up to a pole on our roof with a long, flat wire that dangles through our window attached to the TV. haha...cute... I watched the Wonder Years, Night Rider, Miami Vice, Dynasty, That's Entertainment, Vilma (my moms favorite every Friday night), Murder She Wrote (also my moms fave!) ... ahhh... Santa Barbara in the afternoons at my nap times!!! But it didn't take long before our neighbors find out we had TV, that each night (before they got their own TV sets) Our neighbors would come by the house and watch TV with us, some by the porch, some leaning on the window sills, some squatted in our living room floor ... it's such a wonder those times ... hehe and this TV up until now, probably still works. We never had a problem with it until it got replaced by a 21" inch color TV and this replacement TV, 'mind you, is still the TV that we use at my parents house! ... still works so why replace it?! haha ... AND the TV is not the only appliance in our family that's been decades old but we still use (yup! 2009) haha ... we still use our first ever refrigerator ( G.E. brand, 1990) white with wooden handle and metal casing! haha I was only 10 years old when we got it! ... our ever comfy couch and living room set is also our very first ... and of course our Karaoke. Karaoke before is this free-standing, stereo that plays casette tapes ... the "equalizers" can be adjusted if you're using a "multiplex" tape that filters out the voice and you could sing along with the music on the microphone... still works! haha. We'd like to keep them for as long as they still work ... afterall, "vintage" is in! haha

Well...Those were the days ... they say... and probably now that I'm 28, I'm becoming more appreciative of the "old" times ... our generation was a unique one ... padded shoulders and all! ... it's part of history, everyone could probably tell the '80s apart from other years that's gone by and indeed! what a decade it was! 'Can't wait to share it with our future kids and wait for their shrugs! haha

charmed.

Charmed in yellow.

How cool is having a friend who could tell your fortune? SUPER!!! ... of course at first I was hesitant to have mine read, I'm NO believer in such but out of curiosity and from my friends prodding for fun, I did let her read my palms ... She, the charmed young lady, is a soft-spoken and gentle being... not intimidating at all if you think she's gonna be like a super natural goddess, with things going for her according to her whim ... She, is very naive about her gift, she doesn't even acknowledge the fact that she has it! so how did we find out? From friends of friends of friends! ... who are all amazed by how "bold and specific" her readings are! hehe... kinda creepy but she's a friend so ... anything she says makes it a little less creepy! She might filter out the bad ones and just make it appear better! haha as if I can actually influence my fate if I tell her to censor the negatives!!!

so how specific? Well, she told me that I will have 2 kids in less than 2 years, a girl first, then a boy! you see?! ... but all the other details I have to cut-off ... why? hmmmnnn ... because I dont want to get obsessed about the things she told me. I wanna live my life according to God's plan and that is the right way to do it! I dont wanna be keeping a checklist whether things had happened or to expect for things to actually happen!!! That is not going to help how I will live my life! Now that I'm just starting a new phase ... ' just got married! Sooo, I wanna enjoy this, I wanna live this life and see what's ahead without PEEKING!!! hehe

ticket and stuff

Today we went to the BUS terminal to get tickets for the road trip home, as I've been working in the Big CITY for 4 years now but for most holidays I try to go home ...Home is where Mayon is ... (the world's most perfect-cone volcano!) hehe... well, just the very sight of it is "home", I mean ... I grew up in the Province, until I had to work and now live in the BIG city ... but home is home ... I love my family, my highschool friends are there and ... just the mere simplicity of the place is what I miss the most ... clean air, 20 minutes to the beach ... aaarrrggghhh ... this is why I have to set a goal with my husband, we have to live and work here for a while and save enough money so we could invest and go back to the province! That should be the plan!

haha...it's just a ticket that we bought that made me feel sooo happy and excited that I made all these musings! I mean ... you know, FAMILY first. What's money? There will be money until the end of time, it's the TIME that we all have to decide on where to spend ...

hmmnn... anyway, were still lucky to get tickets 'cuz most of the BUS lines had their tickets sold out! The rush during Holy Week is like Christmas and New Year's ... it's just that Holy Week (Lent) is supposed to be spent for fasting and reflection but ... a lot of people take this holiday as an opportunity to go to the beach or touring ... mmmmm ... no comment.

So, after getting the tickets, we rewarded ourselves with ICE CREAM!!! It's a hot, hot, hot Sunday, we NEEDED ice cream ...

it's a RED day Birthday!

My young husband and I are broke for his birthday and of course, no matter what there has to be some sort of celebration or at least make him feel special though a party is hardly an idea ... yep, we're that broke! ...

...besides broke, were still sad over the loss of Ramil's father, so a party? mmm ... maybe not.

But what our friends did to make his day special was to wear RED. very, very touching... in fact, one of those moments that I'm grateful for having them around! In bad and happy times, we know we got them and that's such a great feeling. Probably the best GIFT for Ramil is just having company, having fun chats, knowing that we will never have empty hands and lonesome shadows... oh we love them!

What's amazing is : I too had worn RED...without an idea that they too will. You see? when you're always with the same people everyday, you somehow get a "vibe" of what they think! hehe. So, what I got Ramil for a present is ... well, something I made. (broke, remember?) I made five (5) small picture cards, that I drew and colored with oil pastels, like a polaroid picture that I put messages at the bottom. It was simple but the thought was there ... I love him.

Anyway, that's just how life goes ... with or without money, friends will always be friends, lovers will always be lovers.

Going Green!

Well,what do we have here? ... a GREEN Bag! Nice. I do very much support the campaign for using the "Green Bag" at the SM Malls, actually they have already started using Biodegradable plastics which is really something ... I mean, I've never heard of Biodegradable Plastics before but now that they use it for every purchase made, it's indeed a BIG help to the environment.

And this "Green Bag"? I must have it ... and so does my mom! Actually, what it does is to lessen the use of plastics at all or even paper bags. Of course, even without the "Green Bag" the idea is there... use a BAG whenever you do your groceries or shopping instead of having your purchases be put in plastics or paper bags every time. That simple.

At least by this bit, I'm able to help save the earth and if there's more like me who are doing this bit ... the help is greater than we think is possible.

Change.

Well, things are slowly healing ... I'm not forcing it though. BUT I wanted healing so bad right now ... that I want to see myself and Ramil to be like we were. All these thoughts that I've kept for days are hardly coming out into words ... I guess that's just the way it is when you grieve.

BUT enough! I say it's enough. You know ... when you are faced with mortality, you get scared, it's normal to be scared, it's normal to feel as though you want time to stand still ... never age, never change, never die.

BUT it's life. "You just make the most out of it" ...

For sure, we will all move on ... for sure we will be moving on! The world is waiting... and like my "old" self, I will be optimistic, I will be living and loving life as it is precious and fragile.

I have friends, I have my parents, I have Ramil ... and this is the last time I will write about SADNESS.

Life

... And for days and days, I tried to find words. Tried to find reasons ... sometimes blaming, at times angry, mostly in fear, and then grief ... a very, very dark and unimaginable feeling of loss.

BUT THIS TOO SHALL PASS.