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"Do you use a (panty) liner?" Since Jon started working in trade marketing, he seems to have touched onto his more feminine side. He has become the go to guy for the advice on milk baths, lotions (Aveno), and napkins (I quote, "Have you heard of Sisters? Maganda yun and cheap!"). It has also made him the king of most inappropriate questions ever. Although it's not something the promise of product samples can't fix. --- Jemai had just returned from his grad trip to Paris, where he was able to hear Sharapova's grunting from the bleachers at the French Open (hate him!). As his pasalubong, he gave moi a pocket Moleskine, something I've wanted for a long time but just never had the will to shell out cash for. On our way back to the real world from spending the day at Nine Waves with Cris, Paul, Yna, Greg, Edgar, Jon, and a very late Jonar, we agreed that the worst thing about going to Europe is that when you get back to your third world country home, everything just feels so blah. Nothing seems as beautiful as Paris with its free pooper scooper stations in parks, or the Renaissance paintings at the Hermitage, or even something as quaint as drinking a warm beer at a London pub. You miss the smell of rain on the old roads, or the whishing sound of the street cleaner, or the meaningful conversations with random locals. It seems as if even their street food kicks ours in the balls. I still remember buying sugar crusted belgian waffles topped with strawberries and whipped cream at the market in Sweden, I miss the still warm waffle cones topped with mounds of ice cream, or the blue collar fish and chips served in cones of old newsprint, and even Milan's pizza-by-the-pound. In Europe, it feels like people constantly take moments to live and to breathe in what makes life richer. I miss that. Visiting countries in Southeast Asia and even the US doesn't make me wish the place I called home were somewhere else, but visiting the cosmopolitan areas of Europe does. And having Jemai back recounting his Paris adventures somehow makes me feel that all over again. Tags: me
Current Mood:  contemplative
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At Cris's invitation, we spent the day at Nine Waves to celebrate her grad and Paul Lim's birthday last monday. Attendance was low - Me, Yna, Cris, Paul Lim & Cris (duh!), Jemai, Jon, Greg, and a very late Jonar - which meant more food for everyone, and lunch was on Cris. For a wave pool resort located in the middle of nowhere, er, San Mateo, it wasn't bad, amenities-wise. If one finds themselves desperate to at least imagine themselves at the beach with waves splashing, this is the place to be, only a good 30 minutes from Philcoa. Warning though, the wave pool is only turned on when there are 25 or more people in the pool (and then turned off when there's suddenly less). And the level of service is quite horrible, and there is the unavoidable and very noticeable blaring of the Nine Waves jingle every fifteen or so minutes. While it may sound like the refuge of the desperate, with the presence of desirable company (as there was today), it becomes almost fancy. Tags: me, summer
Current Mood:  okay
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 | I got this from somewhere.
[/] worried about getting bullied by fratmen or getting killed in a riot
[ ] got bullied by fratmen or was killed in a riot
[ ] witnessed a riot -- sa AS
[/] watched the Oblation Run
[/] made friends with a teacher
[/] was tricked as a freshman into attending a rally/prayer meeting
[/] wore red or black on one of those wear red or wear black days
[/] wore red on Valentine’s Day
[/] wore black on Valentine's Day
[ ] celebrated a birthday at Mang Jimmy's
[/] learned UP Naming Mahal (and forgot it immediately after)
[ ] got on the dean's list as CS or US
[/] slept on a bench -- sa Engg during Engg Week
[ ] was an RA or SA
[/] lied or begged to an RA for a slot in class
[/] participated in a there's-only-one-more-slot-are you-feeling-lucky?
[/] jogged around the campus
[/] visited the Vargas Museum
[ ] knew at least one xerox lady, manong, or technician by name -- <Not by name, but there are Eng'g Xeroz ladies are close to my heart.>
[ ] attended university level graduation
[/] got an activist for a teacher
[/] watched a La Salle vs. Ateneo UAAP game
[ ] watched a UP vs. any school basketball game
[/] studied in CASAA
[ ] studied in McDonald's or Jollibee Philcoa for one full night and bought just one regular-sized drink
[/] studied along Katipunan cramming in Mcdo/Starbucks
[/] studied along Katipunan and affected the mannerisms of a stereotypical Atenean -- <I wish this were a joke but yep. Like they say, when in Rome...>
[/] watch a play that's not required for Comm III
[ ] went stargazing
[/] ate in Chocolate Kiss, Tea Room or Chateau Verde -- <All three!>
[/] slept in the lib
[ ] struck up a conversation with a taong grasa
[ ] wrote to/for the collegian.
[/] seriously pondered about the identity/ies of the people described in Eksenang Peyups
[/] went to the chapel
[ ] got a pebble stuck in your shoe/slippers while walking in Sunken Garden - That's nothing. How about na third base sa Sunken Garden? X-P
[/] cut class with your block to watch a movie
[ ] had a voltes V for a teacher
[ ] took a class under Joseph Palis
[ ] lied to the transcript lady to get a transcript earlier than the standard 3 months
[ ] went to a Freshman-only concert where you had to show your form 5 to prove freshmanhood
[/] subsisted on just streetfood (ex. fishballs, half footlongs, kwekwek, squidballs/rolls, mais, dirty ice cream) for a day --- add monay and cheese
[ ] learned how to smoke
[/] went on an out-of-town trip with blockmates or orgmates
[/] fell in love
[/] actually read the book you keep borrowing from the lib -- <In an effort to do ala Dinggs, and to just get my mind off things.>
[/] played cards during your free time
[/] dress in business attire
[ ] sumabit sa jeep
[ ] got sung to or sung to someone in class during Valentine's day -- <Haha, somehow there's a part of me that wishes this happened to me.>
[/] watched the lantern parade
[/] helped out a total stranger
[ ] helped out a total stranger because he/she was hot
[/] learned to stay awake for more than 24 or 48 hours straight --- nakakabangag I swear
[ ] got bullied by fratmen and feeling cool wannabe people who were actually losers
[ ] took Wednesday and/or Sat classes WILLINGLY
[ ] volunteered for the pahinungod
[ ] ate "tasteless white sauce" pasta from cock-a-noodle-doo
[/] got a boyfriend/girlfriend
[/] took time to read the vandalism in the CR
[/] watched a sexy art film for any GE class -- <Pwede nang half a check. I watched a sexy art film. Period.>
[ ] got held up or pickpocketed
[/] felt depressed because you were not as good academically as you were in high school
[/] did a last minute paper
[/] had spent a lot for 1x1 ID pictures
[/] got exempted from final exams
[ ] got exempted from a final exam but still took it
[/] attended a varsity pep rally
[/] watched LIVE AIDS, Androgyny, Maskipaps or any well-known variety show
[/] promised to quit smoking -- <And did, by the way.>
[ ] got into at least one (org- or council-sponsored) adventure race -- <I organized one. Does that count?>
[/] knew where the best restrooms are on campus
[/] joined an org
[/] allowed yourself to make mistakes --- EMO???
[ ] went to the gym in spite of having no PE class just to ogle varsity players
[/] took summer classes
[ ] admired the oblation
[/] made a video for a project
[/] had a crush on a teacher - Mr. I look like Bobby Andrews in Physics 72.
[ ] had a teacher who had a crush on/tried to court you
[ ] attended your ROTC Bivouac
[/] faked sickness to get an absence excused
[/] got your car scratched by one of those "kuya bantayan ko kotse niyo" kids
[ ] took a PE class where you had to pay for tuition (i.e. sportsclimbing, ten pin bowling, etc) -- ten pin bowling at SM North
[/] went to school in your crappiest yet most comfy clothes
[/] learned how to use the Bayantel pay phones
[/] participated in school activities
[ ] caught the UP Pep Tryouts
[/] dated someone from UP
[/] rode an IKOT and TOKI
[/] found a tambayan
[ ] went drinking at Sarah's
[ ] learned how to beg for a higher grade
[/] used your 6 allowable absences wisely
[ ] lived in a dorm
[/] volunteered to be beadle or go-to guy for your group/class
[/] had the worst schedule -- <What
[/] realized that there really is just one coconut tree on the sunken garden
[/] not used up all 6 allowable absences
[/] ate in ISSI, Treehouse, Mama Thai's and other more obscure cafeterias
[/] ate food Aristocart-style
[/] was active in your org
[/] attended an ACLE
[ ] got as many app forms as you can during the job fair
[/] learned how to cram
[/] sold tickets for (or watch) an org-sponsored movie premiere
[ ] saved money to Xerox all of your seatmate's notes
[ ] had accidentally seen a make-out session
[/] slept in class
[/] finished a homework/assignment/paper in the shopping center or philcoa
[/] had mountains of unused sample exams and/or old testaments
[/] resolved to be "better this semester"
[/] slept during a test --- Econ 100.1 after EWOC party
[/] had groupmates from hell (ie no-shows, babblers, dependents, airheads, dreamers, idea stealers, plagiarists)
[/] learned how to work with groupmates from hell
[ ] perfected the art of parking on campus
[ ] had a bad encounter with one of the guards on campus
[/] developed a love for sisig -- enzo!!!!!!! hahaha!
[ ] practiced those UP cheers in the first meeting for PE class
[/] looked at microfilms in the library or poked through archives
[/] reserved a classroom, AVR, etc. for a class or org function
[/] attended UP Fair
[/] went to a library other than your own college's to research
[/] lost a perfectly functioning umbrella -- guru left in somewhere in sunken garden. not my fault.
[/] used consultation hours properly
[ ] went to the Guidance Office for real, heart-to-heart guidance
[/] went to the infirmary
[/] attend class with a hangover or tipsy --- attended class while drinking??
[/] drink beer or alcohol while inside UP grounds
[ ] walked all the way to Philcoa or Katipunan
[ ] bought frogs from NSRI or a Bio department
[ ] maxed out on the 6 allowed unexcused absences but DID NOT drop
[/] got invited or pursued by a sorority or fraternity - about three times. cant remember.
[/] wore slippers to school -- most of the time
[ ] had a professor who smoked in class
[ ] got diagnosed by the Infirmary as pregnant or infected with STD |
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I was in Alabang last week for what perhaps is the most paranoid Pre-employment exam ever. I arrived extra early because I wanted keep the duration of my fast as short as possible. My last meal was at 8pm of the previous evening and by 7am, I was starving. How anorexics manage is a wonder. (This another indicator of why I will never be stick thin). I was expecting it to take only a couple of hours, but I was at the Clinic from 830am to 2. It would have probably been an hour shorter if it didn't take me so long to submit a sample for the drug test. No it's not because I've on something, but they wanted me to fill two whole sample containers at just one go. As if that were not enough, I had to do it in plain sight of the attending nurse, behind a sliding door which turned out to be made of glass. What pressure! I'm extremely paranoid about my health. It's because I don't want to die a painful death. And because i don't want to die early (I'm still holding out for the age of the teleport). And mostly because I don't want to miss out on certain things in life just because I have a condition that tells me not to. Plus, as Pbear says, I'm really too cute to die. Haha. Anyway, the medical exam had a tad bit more tests than your typical X-Ray, Drug Test, and Pee Test. The nurses took an ECG, an audiogram, and that breathe-in-breathe-out test I used to take when I was a kid with bad asthma. That kind of freaked me out for a bit because for a split second I thought, "What if I have a congenital heart condition and I only have a few years to live?" or "What if all that eating has ballooned my stomach and now my lungs have no space to breathe?" or "What if someone snuck drugs into my punch and now they think I'm a junkie?". Okay, the last one was overreaching. (It's funny, because sometimes the things you're paranoid about are not the things that happen, and the things you didn't worry about at all are the ones that do.) Diagnosis in. Everything is normal. Well, not everything. For one my cholesterol is above normal, but in my blood's defense, last year was my feasib schoolyear, dose, and included a good two months of lechon debauchery (it seems to be the gift of choice nowadays). My lungs aren't in three-nonstop-rounds-around -acad-oval shape anymore. (I have to go back to letting it experience what it's like to actually breathe in a whole lot of air because it has to). I have mild hearing loss, (Damn you, loudspeakers at my events!) which could explain why I'm tone deaf, but maybe I just did the audiogram thingy wrong. Oh, and I have an infection, but I they made me take a pill for that. I feel bad that I'm not at the peak of health. But that's really my fault. I've always looked at "getting fat" as a weight issue. And while I tend to obsess about it one blog entry at a time, I've never thought of it as that big a deal because that's just me: one moment I'm tanned (or not tanned) athlete crazy about the best running shoes, backpack, attire, and sports date and another moment, I'm a couch potato drowning in FTv. But now, the truth is, I've been waiting a whole lotta time to get out of this fitness rut. And it's always been one step forward in that direction and two steps back. Reading this over, I sound like some crazy woman. Or a heroin addict. But this restaurant-eating-couch-potato lifestyle is really my addiction. And like some junkie, I'm kind of blaming it on certain people (Let's stop eating steak, and cupcakes at Serendra, and half dozen Krispy Kreme with coffee breakfasts!). Really, I've been trying to ease myself into being healthy, but the last time that worked for any addict was... never. I'm going cold, cold, cold turkey. Without the buttery giblet gravy. Tags: me
Current Location: ate joanne's office
Current Mood:  determined
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I'm going to be depressed, I just know it. It's too early to be up on a saturday. Attention, all friends: Don't call at 4:30 am. Calls in the morning are reserved for emergencies - car trouble, I-may-be-pregnant calls, my-girlfriend-dumped-me-calls, and coyote ugly happened to me calls. So now, I'm awake three hours early, and praning. I hate waiting, especially for bad news bears. (Be ready for bear). People always tell me, "Don't sweat the small stuff". I can't. It's because the small things do matter. And sometimes, many times, the small things manage to become big things, and you find yourself at a low. Please Lord, just give me this. I promise to eat more fish. And to laugh more. Tags: me
Current Location: at the edge
Current Mood:  anxious
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Over the past few days my free time (and I have many) I've spent surfing the net and among my favorite sites is Anna Bayle's. Whoever thought a model's blog could be such a fascinating read? The wonderful thing about it is that while her articles cover mostly the fashion industry, which is often perceived as shallow, she provides great insight into the industry's issues and provides her readers with an understanding of the industry and its influences. In many ways she reminds me of the almost perfect woman (as human beings, we're only entitled to the quest for perfection, I like to say). I don't mean statuesque and beautiful (although I understand these are definite plusses), but articulate, educated, independent, and most of all relevant. I love when women are incredibly strong, when they have a "big" personality that does not necessarily translate to big mouths. That she's a Filipina doesn't make much difference to me, it's great, but really her achievement - career-wise and self-growth - are her own. In contrast, another model blog: ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) elysesewell. Fans of America's Next Top Model may remember her as the elvish, French speaking third placer in the first cycle of the series. At the end the episode where she got eliminated she said that she was going to become a doctor, her first dream. She actually ended up modelling for a lot of Asian publishings of Elle, Cosmo, and the like. Her blog is very, very, different: there is the issue of age. While her views on the industry are few, it's interesting to be able to read "a day in the lifes" of an American model working in Asia. In many entries, she is often surprised at how far she can stretch her dollar in the many third world countries she's visited (In one entry, she's actually in the Philippines eating battered and fried boiled eggs). I like that she reads a lot, or at least, listens to books on tape. All women should read, if they can find the time. Or as in elyse sewell's, if they can find a way. It gives us a chance to learn, understand, and see the world in different angles. It also improves our vocabulary. --- This is entirely off tangent, but someone I know who is not a model, of fashion, anyway, but a model of "almost-perfection" is my friend, sorority sister and senior, Dinggay. Like Anna Bayle, she is beautiful, intelligent, articulate, and strong minded (the running joke is cold bitch). Dinggs was a voracious reader, and in her mind there was always this passion to learn something new and to improve herself. Maybe that's how women become relevant. So what if more guys have the world's focus as opposed to women? When you think about it, they've had a headstart - they haven't exactly been oppressed. Let the men hog the spotlight, while secretly (or not so secretly) we read, and write, and understand the world, and life, and love. Tags: oh so random thoughts
Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: tralalalala
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My Lolo's favorite dish was Bringhe, a Filipino take on the always festive Spanish Paella. Nobody ever cooked it at home, though, it was simply among our fiesta parties' most awaited dishes. And only Aching Zeny, our cook in Pampanga, could get the right mix of ginger, lihia, meats, and malagkit rice. Everyone else's was either too bland, too green, too yellow, or too dry. When Lolo passed and Aching Zeny retired, that was the beginning of the end of our Bringhe days. Only one other person's Bringhe could match the Bringhe of my childhood memories, and that was Lola Pacing's. It was her one sure way to get balikbayan relatives to visit her at her cottage en route to Angeles, and her one sure way to score dollars in the process. Sadly, because of some family feuds (and sometimes, there are many in my family though they too pass), we no longer get a taste of Lola Pacing's Bringhe. Last Christmas, I mentioned to Tati how much I missed Lola Pacing's Bringhe. She snorted and said with much conviction "I can do better." Mom and I tried her recipe last weekend, at it really is a better Bringhe. --- Tati's Bringhe recipe is a fusion of Filipino and Spanish and even, Italian recipes. Instead of malagkit, she uses Arborio or Carneroli, a nutty Italian rice (found at Santi's and certain Rustan's branches), and instead of Vienna Sausage, she uses Chorizo de Bilbao (the Marca El Rey kind). What makes it taste even better is the addition of seafood - crabs and shrimps - to the mix. The traditional Pampanga recipe makes use of only chicken and sausage. Of course, Tati won't cook it without using the secret seasoning - vetsin. Here's Tati's email. Dear Kim, We celebrated Lolo's B-day also by attending mass in the morning and then we ate kebobs at a Persian restaurant nearby. Regarding the green bringhe. You have to saute chicken pieces in oil including gizzard, liver and chorizo de Bilbao..Add turmeric and coconut milk. Cook until tender and sauce is reduced. I'll saute the arborio in oil or butter, add a little lihia (the ingredient used in suman bulagta), then line rice cooker with banana leaf before I put the sauted arborio, Add the reduced coconut sauce from the chicken plus approprate amount of chicken stock. Cook rice according to rice cooker instructions. When rice is almost cooked, add and mix sauted chicken, boiled shrimps, boiled crabs,raisins and cover with banana leaf until rice is "inin". To serve, top with green peas, sliced pimiento and hard boiled eggs. The lihia will extract the green color from tha banana leaf'. Don't forget the patis and secret ingredient (vetsin) Correct seasoning, enjoy and happy eating! Love, Tati Tags: my family can cook, recipes
Current Mood: indescribable
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