charity that backfires

It's two hours prior to the kiddie party! yay! kiddie party? ... YES! we don't have kids yet but we love kids so I guess that's enough right to be invited to a kiddie party! ... We're already armed with the Barney Videos the 2-year old will be receiving as a present. Wait! yes, I said we will buy Dora, the explorer but then we saw this really fun Barney Video which is a set of 3, so we bought that, plus we added 1 Dora DVD just in case she gets bored of the singing purple dinosaur or when she gets Barney overload! ...'happened to me while I had to babysit my niece and all we watched was Barney. I started singing his song and went over and over, that my husband had to tell me to stop because he too had been singing it the whole day or whenever, wherever. yikes! Anyway, if we had been letting our kids watch this, might as well know the effects.

WHAT this blog is doing to me is to live life per minute as it happens, noting the interesting things that occur and hoping that my mind would be able to keep it and translate it into words ... or my fingers to be fast enough to catch up with these thoughts! (I didn't do typing lessons, so my fingers go criss-crossing and makes loud unsynchronized sound on the keys whenever I type!) hehe. Well, a day is a day and never will it be the same the next time you wake up and live it. So better yet be loud on the keyboard than to let these musings of mine float in the air, never to be seen and read. ever!

SO! what I've been up to now is to unclutter our apartment with things that I never and rarely use anymore. My mom tells me that if you haven't used something for at least two years, it is NOT considered yours anymore but owes it to charity...

That! I'll do, I have to put loads of clothes that I have'nt seen for a long time that's tucked at the far ends of my closet in a box. They are still pretty good clothes, I'm even thinking of setting up a garage sale and make money out of it, but then ... why not consider charity? afterall, I haven't been randomly generous lately. A box or two of these good clothes to people who'd need them, will even do me a favor, ' coz I'll have more room in my closet and it'd be such a relief to my husband who's giving me the look whenever I'm folding clothes after laundry!

Besides clothes, I'll also have to sort out shoes and bags. This idea is making my husband happy, but he is also thinking that I'm clearing away my closet and the shoe rack for ... taadaaa! shopping?! ... hah! of course not! ... he's just underestimating my drive to be charitable without something in return. I will not do any shopping for the ... time being... I will enjoy seeing my closet breathing and the room to be almost new and wider. The real point here is, do unclutter your house for things you can do without and might be of use to others. Actually our problem with space is not having ENOUGH space for our things, but for having TOO MANY things beyond our apartment can handle! Imagine us, considering to move because of the things we received as gifts for the wedding and we still have more left at my parent's house..arrgh.. maybe we have to move as I remembered!

BUT still, we can do charity even if we did not intend to. Actually, I consider random generosity as I call it, the most pure and sincere act of giving. That is why we need not go buy NEW things for others in need, we may have something that's sitting unused for years and that is just a SIN to be keeping it from people who'd put it to good use.

So, definitely that is the plan. Unclutter and be randomly generous and will not take money for my used things.

Here comes Santa in May!

Today I have a mission to buy the coolest gifts for a 2 year old birthday girl, Nikka and a 30 year old, single and "hot" lady, Liza. haha... she likes that! Anyway, I was thinking of giving a Dora, the explorer DVD to the little girl, because she loves to watch these interactive kid shows ... I do watch them too, it's colorful and I love answering to them because I know all the answers! haha ... To my friend Liza, she'll probably get a book because she haven't read the Shopaholic and Sister by Sophie Kinsella yet! 'Love her or hate her but she's out there and I do find her writing entertaining though sometimes the heroine gets a little to whiny, yeah like whining all the time which I think is ... very, very me and of course if there is another me and she's writing about her, we could be thousands of readers in the world thinking that the book is about her... well ... uhmm... ok just don't mind that!

But I'm going to give her the book because it has no pressure on the head, like you don't have to be all poetic or imaginative and ... investigative to be able to understand the characters and the scenarios, because believe me! in our line of work, the last thing you want in a book is the one that'll give you complexities and mind boggling endings... or tragedy, the worst of all!

So, it's light, romantic, drama that I'll give her since she is sort of a "hopeless romantic" and member of the N.B.S.B, as she calls it ... N.B.S.B (No Boyfriend Since Birth) that is. haha... oh she laughs about it like it doesn't matter but actually she does mind that Mr. Right isn't here yet to sweep her off her feet ... maybe here but we're not sure who among here?! ... Anyway, she's had some guys wanting to go out with her, there was this Croatian guy, an Italian guy ... yeah, she traveled with me once and boy! was she hot among the guys of the foreign land!!! haha ... but well ... she's not entertaining them, I think she still prefers a Filipino guy, though nothing's wrong with being with someone not Filipino, I think it's more of a cultural thing ... it's probably difficult to relate with someone who's raised in a different environment, culture, values and "language" ... it does work for others but you know, it's hers and as long as she's happy, foreign or not, we're here for her!

Anyway, I have to go work now and help out the economy! haha... ciao for now, I'll tell you later about the gifts I bought... Ooohhh! by the way though, another friend has celebrated her birthday and my present was a limited edition magazine about her favorite movie star, (you know that one who secretly got married! haha) well, it's a magazine about her, absolutely all about her! That she shrieked in excitement when she saw it on top of her desk along with a mug and some of my favorite Forest Fruit Tea, that I'd like her to try ... 'cuz she will love the flavour! ...and I wrote: Enjoy the mag. and the mug!

I love all my friends. Especially the birthday girls!

So really, this is ciao!

Don't stalk me, I'm not celebrity.

Great! I had been out for a while but now I'm back with a vengeance!harhar....well, I was caught up with work and nothing excites me other than that! (oh really?) naahh! It's just getting worse everyday that my numbers wont sum up properly! well, whatever!

Anyway, ever had or have a person in your life that creeps you out? ... but it's a creepy person that you can't just ignore or push away like you can avoid someone you see and talk to everyday because you have to be nice and give all that cheesy comments like "oh! how cute!" "how nice you got a new ...blah...blah" ... because you're just waiting for the right moment when you can actually just move on with your lives as "unique" individuals! Yeah, she creeps me out like having the same stuff that I have, hairstyle and what's major is she's sort-of patterning after my lifestyle ... uhmm... am just being neurotic here? or it's really happening?! Anyway, the bag! was the bottomline! If she hadn't bought the same brand, same style and same color and showed it to me! and I was like ... "oh! what a nice bag, I have the same one right here, see?!" and then I turned on my heel muttering "you bitch!" under my breath! (god! so sorry I had to) I would've forgiven her for everything that she thinks is all hers if it wasn't for the stupid bag!

Well, I'm not at all changing even if we have things in "common" though I'm struggling to keep my patience and tell myself that it's actually a flattery to be imitated, I'm sort of wondering what should I do whenever I have something and she always turns up with a story of the same thing and like even better! always! always! ... and did I just said always?!

Like I don't have any right to be better than her and her ideas and things which I never have to compare against her because I'm trying sooo hard to stay clear of her ... uhmm... ideas? style? choices? well, those!

hmnn... BUT! ya know what? hehe I'm not mad .. I just sound like it! ... I'm just baffled ... that now I try to relate so many things about her and me, ooh! we could be friends actually! haha for liking things together ... I'm just wondering if she ever really like the things that she bought or just to show me or ... well, we went shopping together one time and ... she bought everything I said was nice though there was a time in between our shopping that I tried to see if my wonderings are all real (or I was just making it all up in my head!) I gave her stupid choices and the poor thing just clutched everything I chose heading for the register ... but then I stopped her ... "you really don't need those huge pink plastic earrings ... cuz uhmm .... they are not in season!" she bought none of the stupid choices I made, don't worry...it was just a test. Like some Jedi master I am. The point is, whenever I go back to that ... moment? event? whatever, I just feel for her, like I'm not supposed to be mean at her, she could have some issues with herself which I should understand 'cuz the TEST somehow proved it. But then again, what will I do if she turns up everytime with things and stuff that I have, or even making decisions in her life that is necessary for me, but not for her! ... ever wonder what "patterned" lifestyle I mean? or "decisions in life" I mean? ... well, let's say I had a "birthday" party which I celebrated with hugeness! Like it was an event of the year for my friends, and her ... her birthday was like 6 mos. ago, what she did was to come up with a post birthday party, hugest and grandest than mine if possible! ...and she'll be wearing the same color of the gown I wore ... that is so sad to realize. But still I'm helping her out with planning and I give her tips (not stupid tips, dont worry!)hehe ... it's going to be expensive I bet, more expensive than mine! hmmphh ... if only she realize that she could do her birthday at least next year, so it wont be obvious!!!

oh well, things happen for a reason, maybe I've got a purpose with her... maybe I'm her ... what? I don't know what to do with her so I let her be.

HELP.

hugest boxing fan is me

What a good morning! Now I'm convinced, he really is the best! Incase you're not a boxing fan like me and my husband are, in fact our whole country are ... we're talking about Manny Pacquiao who has won on the ring about an hour ago against Ricky Hatton of Britain. Oh we were sooo anxious about his fight ever since contracts were signed between the parties for this fight to happen... and now! it's all done, Manny won in just 2 rounds with a knock-out! ... the first few seconds of Hatton on the canvass made us cringe ... he was not moving, only breathing so heavily ... god! we thought he's gonna ... you know ... die?! and made us feel really guilty Manny was sooo good at boxing that he had stopped the man who fought him like a brawler. Now you see? all the trash-talking by Hatton's trainor Mayweather Sr. didn't waived Manny's confidence. I think it's really not good for trainors or athletes to bash at each other like unprofessionals... good thing that Hatton and Manny are both respectful of each other's skills that they didn't do any trash-talks.

Anyway, Manny always starts his fight with kneeling on his corner and praying, he trains well, observes dicipline so with all these it's not hard to believe he'll be a champion. He has taken down the best of the best in boxing, I was a huge fan of Antonio Barrera and Oscar dela Hoya before Manny came in to the boxing limelight.

Well... by now, as he defeated Ricky Hatton, he's now the best pound for pound boxer in the world!!!

PS. 'gotta find that limited edition/collector's item Nike shoes made for Pacquiao!

back from outer space!

Rodel my officemate and me at Khao Pad
Thai Cuisine at Khao Pad, Ortigas Center
Halo-Halo, Razon's of Guagua

ok so where was I? Oh! I have been all over ... like work on the weekend, shopping at the grandest sale ever!!!, ate at a fantastic Thai resto ... and uh... did I just say work on the weekend? ... like I mean earlier today?! haha... yes, if that was confusing, it was actually earlier today that I had been to work... you see the craziness of my schedule? I was blobbering about my day being sooo idle and now here! I had to work for the weekend to get a job done by Monday ... well, no worries! 'cuz I was on my way to the sale anyway! Yeah, 3 days and midnights of sale galore! Of things I need ( I never admit to my husband that I just bought some things that came to mind when I saw them!) Well, who knows when I'll need a pack of beads!!! ... they're all so pretty that I plan to ship it to my sister anyway... so there! I had fun at the sale though we couldn't really stay until midnight 'cuz there were too many people, traffic was bad ...so we're trying to avoid the already worsening rush!

Today... I also had the yummiest Thai food in Manila! Wow, so yummy that I want to take my husband there too! When I told him all about it, I showed him pictures that looked sooo mouthwatering he was convinced that we had to go there one of these days! yum....

Well...I wound up at that place when our boss took us there for lunch today... The place is called Khao Pad ... an authentic Thai Cuisine place. Good thing that we know a bit of Thai, though the boss is the one who's so fluent at it that the owner tried to converse with us and we were there dumbfounded! haha ... I should've known! Never start a conversation in a language that you know too little about 'cuz the conversation will get going without you! haha ... anyway, we've resolved that, my boss just said in Thai "they don't speak Thai very well, but they've been to Thailand in Chonburi"... then smiles. smiles.

I have been to Thailand thrice and it's always closest to my heart. Though I didn't like the food they were serving in the office canteen when I was there but at the resto ... YUMMY! Almost everything is spicy but you can also request it to be a little less spicy ... though it's a challenge to do so ... they don't speak English very well, so 'better be ready with your grandest miming expressions ever! You'll need it!

But here, in Khao Pad... The spices were a bit tamed but I still had bitten into raw red chili on a fried rice, still ... i went on eating like there's no tomorrow!!! It was just delicious as I describe it. Anyway, if ever you come to Manila and want to eat Thai food ... err... why would you do that anyway? why not go to Thailand and eat Thai food? ...haha ... it's at the Ortigas Center ... place with lots of resto and bars, and funky shops. Very nice place... I even felt like a tourist in my own country! weird that I was taking lots of photos, as if the place is not a few meters away from my office building! ... It's very cool to be there ... so we had to stay a few minutes more before going back to work and had dessert at the Razon's of Guagua ... they serve this Halo-Halo, that's unique to the Halo-Halo (hah-lo - hah-lo) I'm used to with lots of beans and colorful jellies! This one, is served with only white and yellow colored fruits and stuff I dont recognize 'cuz they lose their form when you mesh them into your glass...i tasted crushed ice (the softest I've had so far), milk, banana and young coconut ... the other fruits, I do not know ... cuz again they were all meshed in my glass! You can actually feed me anything that has ice and meshed and I'd eat it!!! haha ... oh! not to forget the Leche Flan on top.... god! heaven!

So, nice day huh? yeah, pretty! ... Next week, I'll be joining my husband who's just gotten into Airsoft ... yeah, I'll be gaming too!!! Me and my hubby are newbies so pray we don't get hit too many times 'cuz were paying the game hours fair and square!!!

'till then! ciao!

P.S.

Thanks Carmela, of Khao Pad for the corrections... appreciate it!

why did she wed without me?! why!

One of the most brilliant actresses I love weds in a very private ceremony yesterday morning at 7AM. aaww... how romantic, but I also feel like I was cheated....cheated?! of the scoop! Of course I wanted to know and of course I wanted to see as it happens ... though we all knew she'll wed but they never told the press WHEN!

... so WHEN happened... yesterday, at 7AM... I was probably still sleeping that time, or yeah right, she's a big deal superstar that everyone around her had kept the secret really well that when the news came, I wasn't prepared!...yeah right. har.har. like I even exist in her world!

Anyway, if I was so bummed about it, maybe I should consider her as being the one getting married, who'd want things to be perfect and not so publicized! Not that my wedding was ever public but I probably had more guests than she had for keeping hers a secret ... oh! somehow I envy the thought of a romantic getaway wedding!

WELL... Mine was not a romantic getaway but a perfectly fun wedding! FUN, with laughs, giggles, you know ... when all your friends gather in one place, you'd expect it to be that way!

Anyway, I'm not ready to talk about my wedding, as it is still very, very precious to me, that I do want to keep it private for sometime, maybe later like ... when we reach our first year anniversary, that'll be a good time to tell the story ... it's just beautiful and magical to me that I wanna keep it for now... well, we have a "wedsite" haha ...

http://ramil-and-mj.weddingannouncer.com

Everything's there, pictures and stuff! hah! too much of keeping it to myself, huh? haha... well, sometimes ... I change my mind.

ciao!

...hello! I'm here keep me busy!

I had a day of things going around like mad in the office, like I don't know where to put myself after I had been done with a project and was said to be transferred to another, and then the other project just wont badge at the moment when I'm so ready to work at it 'coz ... doing nothing is actually harder than I thought, I wound up tidying my desk every 10 minutes! I do pray for breaks but ... having a break for a long time just wont do for me! Especially when I still have to wake up early and report to work before 8:30 AM just to:


1. Check my mails.

2. Eat lunch

3. Munch on snacks

4. Tidy my desk.

5. Munch on snacks.

6. Have Java Chip Frap

7. Check my mails.

8. ...Count my pens? ...

Never easy to be idle. It also doesn't help that my office overlooks malls, Starbucks and other "spend here" related structures! That my mind frequently works on where to go after work, that I'm sooo anxious to get out of the office, that makes time seem to stand still...longerrrr!

Anyway, speaking of jobs... I just realized that some jobs around here offers a lot of customer-care, that we've become the most "spoiled"customers in the world. For one we have people for pumping gas, in most parts of the world that I've been to... we do that ourselves, we get out of the car no matter what the weather is and pump gas. When buying groceries, we don't have to bother bagging the items we bought 'coz somebody will briskly do it and when you've got plenty, they'll even have a cart for you with a sign that says "no tipping please" ... though I sometimes feel like giving, they just wont accept, and lately, I noticed that now their vests says: How May I Help You? AND! whenever we eat out... we don't have to put away things, we just pay and go no matter if it's just the fast food or a restaurant ...well, probably by these we get our moneys worth or maybe they still charge us a bit for it ... like VAT for the government, but this one goes to some "hidden charges" ... I dunno but I definitely appreciate the convenience!

Reminds me though of a PC game I'm addicted to ... Diner Dash ... ever heard of that?! madness! completely madness but I loved it! You get to play as a waitress with all those chores and had to keep the customers happy or else they lose heart points and give you lesser tip! aarrgghhh... that game! But I have now a much higher respect for the one's that works in customer service, I mean ... it's a tough job to meet different kinds of people everyday wanting to get the BEST service out of you ... what if you're really tired? what if you're not feeling well?

... So, even if one time a pharmacist had forgotten to put the medicine I bought in my bag and I needed it badly, I didn't lash out at her considering the trouble that I had to go out my way just to get it the next day ... worse she herself has forgotten if she did or did not put it in my bag ... hmmphh ... if I had been another customer, I would've been really mad! But I was calm and just made her feel that I'm the sincerest person and I'm not lying about the medicine, I just want it now because I need it, I'm sick and that they could check the stocks later and left them my number because I don't buy their excuse of not being able to account it now 'coz there'd been a lot of customers wanting to buy my medicine ... really? ... wait! really?! It's not like I'm buying vitamins!

Anyway, with lots of smiles and sunshine, the manager had given me the tablets I need, without making me wait until they had their stocks accounted. Great! see? a calm and very respectful way of arguing could lead you to a very amicable settlement...

... Now what?! My dress shirt got stains ... from the java chip frapuccino I just had... my boss had to point on my shoulder where the stain is! aaccckkkk....


Well.well. wadayanaw! I also have some stains in the front ... oh yeah right! I was trying to get to the bottom of my drink where the chocolate chips are, which leaves me frustrated 'coz they keep clogging the straw! How trivial to notice, but I do... when things are not happening for me lately!