Warmed

Before anything else, HAPPY BIRTHDAY OMAR! Wish you plenty of bungisngis smiles, impulsive calls to yours truly and everyone in the family, and teary eyed nights from getting love letters from across the Pacific. And congratulations on graduating next year! I believe you will.

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Yey, I’m back in what I can only call my “resurrected self”. That’s what 14 hours in bed on a Saturday can do for me. I finally feel rested, a state that’s been eluding me for the past 3 weeks. Who can ever feel rested when your dreams are of the bottles of the client’s products screaming at you? Anyway, okay Week, BRING IT ON.

One of my closest friends is resigning. Sniff. I’m still in semi-denial. Whatever that is. I wish you didn’t have to go but you do. So I wish you happiness.

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Just to cover all the bases… We’re an “us”. I do believe 15 days have passed since that night. And I only realized that because someone asked us last night. Hahaha… I am apparently a “guy” when it comes to remembering dates. Anyway, it has felt like it’s been on for quite some time so I’m not too conscientious about keeping track of that particular date. But I will be mushy on this thing: that I now have hands to warm my chilled ones.

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It’s a terribly comforting and extremely loving gesture to me.

To the very bones

It seems like I just go home just to take a bath and sleep. Somewhere in between there, I feel an incredible sadness. There was even a night where I didn't even have the energy to open a water bottle.

What is burn-out?

Not So Bad Monday, Give me Five!

Usually, I wake up on Mondays and can't help groaning and trying to grab some more (read: 10 seconds more) sleep. But to day I woke up and my tummy graoned instead... Uh-oh! At sinulat talaga...

Work load wasn't so bad either. Anyone new at MR, pray and pray hard for a difficult and complicated project to be your first project. Own it, cry over it, lose sleep and maybe friends (although I hope not) over it. Work really hard at it and embrace the experience. After walking through that kind of hell, the rest of your days in MR are in the RIGHT perspective. You NEED that perspective. Trust me on this.

My sleep cycle is discombobulated and I have GOT to fix it. Trying to stay awake at 3PM is... Terrible.

I watched SATC last Saturday. Warning #1: Watching the movie will make you want to buy shoes. Warning #2: Watching the movie will make all the shoes in the mall look like UGLY, DREADFUL CREATIONS. Blue Manolo Blahniks in the closet Carrie never got to use, be mine!

Had some good shrimp last night. Totally worth the P49.50 Claritin I had to take to stop looking like a total freak. Thanks C.

Wow, this is some random post. Hahaha...

Two Steps Up the Ladder

"We're promoting you to..."

Got accelerated so I skipped a year of work as a Research Executive 1. Effective July 1, I am a Research Executive 2 and promotable to Senior Research Executive next year.

I can tell you that walking out of the conference room after getting the news without doing a petite allegro combination (pas de chat to pas be bourree, sissones in arabesque...) was a real challenge.

Thank You, thank You God!!!

Dear all at home in Pangasinan, you gotta let me take you guys out to dinner now!

I am excited. I am grateful. I am utterly terrified! But as I'm learning ever so slowly, Fear doesn't have to be my enemy.

Bursting at the seams

Lots of blessings in my life and the life of those I love lately:

• Family is safe and healthy and our home is intact after a terrible storm ripped through my home province. Still there is no electricity and water in some areas and a lot of other people have yet to recover their losses so do pray for them. Mom, really, you gotta stop worrying about the prime beef. I really just want to see you and don't care if I don't get another beef and broccoli dish there.
• Cousin Stein will be done with his PhD soon! And wedding bells may toll soon for him and Melissa... AWESOME!
• The amazing career oppurtunities I've had lately that have given me a renewed interest and passion for the industry I work in. I'm not in the dead end I thought I was in. God's reassurance for this doubter that He knows where He's leading me. The tricky part is whether I follow or not. =P
• Evaluation today. A step up the ladder. The bottom of the bottom of the food chain I am not. Bottom of the food chain na lang. I've paid my dues. Now there's someone else I can ask to proofread and translate. Oh, oh, oh! CODE PLANS be gone!
• Starting to gel with roommates! Never thought that was possible but God has a way of turning things around. Duh.
• Yams-skies is IN! I know that the journey has been hard for you dear but I know you're looking back now and thinking of how fruitful it has been. Aja!
• C is... He just is. Hahaha.

Thank You Father.

Forget Post-it (TM)

Things I absolutely adore and need for my office space and my living space (wherever that may be in the next two months) but will most probably only look at every now and then to remind myself that I am not rich and earning dollars. :(

The life organizer. Sometimes bad things happen to organized people. Be prepared for disasters, both major and minor, with the Life.doc Organizing Binder from Buttoned Up. The Life.doc Binder has eight sections including: Family Basics, Insurance, Legal, Caregiver Information (won't be needing this for a while though), In Sickness & Health (oh, this I do need!), Dollars & Sense (probably what I need most), Emergency Plan and Home Sweet Home

These? Because maybe it will make me feel better about all the files on projects I have...

And this kind of office space except in blue and purple. But since when did corporate slaves have spaces like this? :(

misty eyed

I don't think I'll forget the image of our dear Pastor Bel Magalit raise his hands to heaven, look up with tears in his eyes and saying in a broken voice "I cannot understand how a loving God can allow this to happen"

And then lower his hand and bow his head and say "But I know that He is just"

And so much more...

Amen.

Christ have mercy

The bombings in India...

The typhoon in Burma...

The earthquake in China...

Thousands dead, thousands more missing.

30 things guys should know about girls

Stolen from Angela who stole it from… who cares? The GUY (emphasis intentional) who wrote says he has a lot of experience… again who cares? But I read through it and most of it is GOOD stuff! Fave’s are in blue, comments in violet

1. Whatever you do, don't just show up at their house...they run around in their underwear just like we do

2. DON'T CHEAT ON THEM. It may seem foolproof, but girls tell each other everything about everything. Trust me, they WILL find out and you will be mud. [And do not deny when you are confronted. Coming out or confessing is the better option here]

3. Beware of every single male relative and all guy friends. Any of them would kick your ass at the drop of a hat, and a lot of them wouldn't even wait for the damn hat. [hahaha...]

4. Never miss an opportunity to tell them they're beautiful.

5. Don't refuse to kiss in front of your friends. If they laugh at you, it's because they're jealous.

6. If they slap you hard, you deserved it.

7. Don't be afraid to touch them if you want to. If they're going out with you in the first place, it's because they like being in your arms.

8. If you don't sleep with them, do not tell your friends that you did.

8.5 If you DO sleep with them, don't tell your friends that you did.

9. You can be dirty minded in private, really...most of them are not offended by it...

10. Not all of them eat like birds, a lot of them can eat like whales.

11. Most of them don't mind paying half of everything, but they do discuss these things with their friends. Realize that if you make your girlfriend pay half all the time, everyone will know about it and your friends will know you're a pussy…

11.5 Do you honestly need all your money that much? Be a man, pay all the time!

12. Every girl should eventually get three things from her boyfriend- a stuffed animal, one of his sweatshirts, and a really pretty ring. Even if it's not a serious relationship. [doesn’t have to be a sweatshirt and doesn't have to be a ring]

13. Make sure she gets home safely as often as you can. If you're dropping her off, walk her to the door. If you aren't dropping her off, call to be sure she's home safely. [to be honest, I didn’t know I wanted (neigh, utterly adored) this until someone actually did this for me]

14. If a guy is bothering her, it is your right to beat the shit out of him [even if we believe in nonviolence, we would love to watch]

15. If you're talking to a female friend of yours, pull your girlfriend closer.

16. Never, ever slap her, even if it's just in a joking way. Even if she swats you first, and says, "Oh, you're so dumb" or something, never make any gestures back.

17. Go to a chick flick once in a while. She doesn't care whether you enjoy it or not, it just matters that you went.

18. You're dead meat if you can't get along with their pets, parents, and best friends. Be prince charming to their friends, Mr. Polite to their parents, and make sure to be nice to their animals.

19. Don't flirt with their moms… That's just freaky.

20. Don't be freaked out by PMS. It's not gross, and it really does make them feel like CRAP, so be understanding.

21. If you don't like the way they drive, you do it.

22. If you're officially dating, and you're introducing her to your friends, you'd better damn well introduce her as your girlfriend.

23. Don't stress where you go for every date. They REALLY only want to be with you.

24. If they complain that something hurts, rub it for them without being asked.

25. Girls are fragile. Even if you're play fighting/wrestling, be very gentle.

26. Memorize their birthdays. You forget her birthday and you're basically screwed for life.

27. Don't marinade the cologne, but smell good.

28. Don't give her something stupid for her birthday or Christmas or Valentine's day. It doesn't have to be expensive, but it has to be meaningful. Jewelry is always nice.

29. If you think the relationship isn't going to last, don't wait to find out. It will only hurt you more if you draw it out.

30. After you've been dating for a while, realize that they really have started to trust you. When you have a girlfriend who truly trusts you, you have a lot more responsibility, privilege and control than you would think. Be careful with it, most guys would kill for that kind of power, and it can be lost in a nanosecond

Keeel me now

So Joy showed me her awesome (read Fi-erce!) pictures taken when their church went to the 100 Islands...

And I found myself utterly jealous and miserable. Dude, that amazing place is in MY province! And I've been there twice but never really taken pictures like that and never had THAT MUCH fun.

Why why why? *Bawls*

Hopscotch

Back and forth we go

Trying to stay at square one

With our pennies already on the other side

Hop hop

We laugh

Then another hop back

As I hide my sad smile