PF

It was pretty funny how our office janitor shyly handed me this month's PF magazine yesterday, and I had to stop and wonder why he was doing that.. Then it occurred to me! He's handing it to me to show me.... because it's the issue that included my feature....!!! Nye!!

That was my first reaction. Nye!! Then I thanked him and flipped the magazine over to my section. My second reaction was.... Hahahahahahahaha! I found it so strange to see my image stare back at me, then another image, and another image! Hahahaha! True, I did the photo shoot and interview, and all, but those things never felt real..... but here is the evidence staring at my face! Hahahahahaha!

Showed it to some friends at the office and finally took the copy home to show my family last night. My cutey father said he'll go out today and buy copies for everyone he knows. True enough, he bought himself 10 copies today. Shocker for me on the part where he plans to show it to everybody in his contact list, but a really good, appreciative feeling for his being proud of my little shot at fame. Hahaha! I still can't believe it.. Even Dennis is looking all smitten and proud.. :p

Oh well... in fairness, the feature is actually not bad... The writing was pretty decent, although I think I looked really pale in my photos :p Hehehehe...

new book!

Got this book today, with Darling Hub in tow because he wanted to buy comic books... Told him I didn't really get the allure of comic books, to which he replied, well, I don't quite see the point of that book either... Hehehe... sa bagay....

Presenting--



Based on real accounts, this book chronicles the adventure of one fashionista in the constant pursuit of the famous yet unattainable Hermes Birkin :p Should be a fun fun read :) Hopefully I get to start reading it tomorrow, after I finish grading the marketing papers I assigned to my class... :)

immune shots...

Finally, I completed the 3-installment anti-cervical cancer vaccine shots... Hurts like hell, but at least it's finished :-)

medical exam....

Had my annual physical exam the other day. I'm feeling a little nervous about the breast exams, as the doctor not only reacted with mild concern over my ultrasound results, she also requested that I take a digital mammo and an actual mammogram. I'm scared. I've never even considered the possibility of having something wrong in that area... at this age. I mean, I'm barely 26. It just can't be.

Darling Beau is also in denial, insisting I'm perfectly healthy and it's impossible that they'll find anything. Hay..

I'm tempted to research online about this, but I'm scared of scaring myself to death. So I've decided to just wait for the results to come out and worry about things when they're actually written down on paper for me.

Please pray nothing is wrong.

8/8/08!!!

I came home early tonight to catch the 2008 Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing, China. At 8:08pm, I sat down with my family to watch....

And it was nothing short of amazing!!! I'm so proud, at this very moment, to be Chinese. Many have considered this to be China's coming-out party, and it definitely didn't disappoint. After so many years of seclusion and isolation, China finally came out, and came out with a bang, it did!!! I love it! We even sang the national anthem along with the people watching live... :)

Happy 8/8/08!!!! :)

bkk....

I'm on my third work trip of the year.. this time to Bangkok. I've never been, and I hope it's as good as people make it out to be :p

The only trouble is I've missed my MBA class for the second time so far, because of work trips.. Tsk tsk... Hope this is the last one...

updates!

Haven't updated this blog for the longest time. Been sooooo busy with:

1. MBA: Even if I only have 1 class this sem (in an effort to manage my time better given #2 item below), my economics class is super challenging! As in, it's the toughest class I've had so far in my fledging career as an MBA student, that it's almost like taking a full load.. Hay..

2. Teaching: I started teaching about three weeks ago, and so far, I'm proud to say that it's been going well. Partly because I've had the chance to really sit down and plan my lectures ahead of time. My problem now is that the next few weeks is gonna be quite hectic for me, so I don't know how my next few classes will go. Wish me luck. Hay, and oh, I almost forgot to mention that... it's true what they say about nobody ever becoming rich from teaching :p Hehehe... So, if you're in it for the money, don't even bother, man...

3. Work work work: For some reason, just when my school work started and my teaching load commenced, my work load also started intensifying. Totally unexpectedly! My bosses just started paying intense attention at my business and started demanding more and more of my time and efforts... gosh! :p Though it's a good thing, really, as Dennis keeps reminding me, that at least they keep on appreciating my worth in the organization, it's also incredibly tiring. Plus the fact that I have a work trip this week, which I wanted to avoid and was desperately hoping will be cancelled, in light of #4 below... But, oh well, it's pushing through. So, hello, Bangkok, here I come....

4. Kaye's wedding! Yay! : Kaye's wedding is coming up in 6 days. MY GOSH! It seems only yesterday when we were saying Kaye's wedding was still 1 year and a half away and she has all the time in the world to get it all together... and now, ilang tulog na lang, it's here! Guia is picking up my dress for me since I'll be abroad when it's ready... My plane from BKK arrives on Friday afternoon, which gives me just enough time to fit a nail spa appointment in before a family thing in the evening, and before I'm supposed to take my beauty rest for the early wakeup call on Saturday morning. I'm so excited! :) Beyond excited, actually :p

Boy, time really flies when you're having fun.. or when you're really busy :p hehehe. Before I know it, one of my bestest friends in the planet will be married and get swept off her feet for her honeymoon... then, it's Darling Beau's 29th birthday, then it'll be finals season (for both MBA and my teaching classes.... OH MAN!) and then before I can get a wink in, it'll be my birthday, then Christmas, then 2008 will be over, then 2009 will be here and it'll be my best friend's wedding by May. Woah, time, please stop for a bit! You're going way too fast for me :p

i can't wait!!!!!

Go to www.powerbooks.com.ph to make an online reservation :)

new slippies! :)

Yay! I love it! :D

i can't wait!

http://www.sexandthecitymovie.com/

dress in the making...

So, we had our second fitting yesterday for our bridesmaids' dress, to be worn to the First FILC wedding.. I'm so excited, you can totally see how the dress will more or less look... it's so beautiful! I love it! Can't wait to see the finished product :)

wife fund

So, for some strange reason, my mom sat me down tonight to give me a talk about saving more and spending less, as I'm approaching marrying age, and therefore, I need to prioritize increasing my assets... and no, bags and clothes are not "fixed assets" :p

She told me that, while it is true that this is the one time in my life (now that I'm not married yet) where I can spend my money in whatever way I want, without regard for what anyone else thinks, it is also the one time in my life where I can (and should) save my money as much as I can. Once the husband and the kids enter the picture, I will find myself spending at a rate that's so much less controllable than it is now. While I can think of this time in my life as a carefree time where I should enjoy my money, she says it's wiser to think of it as the time in my life where I can accumulate as much wealth.. (aka the wife fund)... as I can, because I will never be able to save as much as I hypothetically can right now. Now that, in her words, kargo ko lang ang sarili ko.

Well, in light of my previous post, that's going to be challenging.

But she's right. I have approached this single life thing all wrong. Instead of appropriating my money in "life-enjoying" manners, I should be saving substantially so as to cushion myself for married life, where costs will inevitably balloon, given the ff reasons:
- I currently do not pay for utilities like electricity and water, which when I get married, would not be the case anymore
- I also currently do not pay for maids, groceries, etc. Again, such won't be applicable in married life
- Should darling beau not able to buy me a home and I refuse to live with his folks, we'll need to rent our first home.. (Though thank God I managed to have a car already for us...)
- Baby = haaaaa?!?!?!?????

There you go. So, now, my wallet will be on a strict diet.

Or at least I'll try...

Good thing darling beau and I managed to land teaching gigs recently. Hopefully they pay a decent amount and hopefully they are not just one-offs, so the money generated can go towards the new save-money plan...

:p

at the rate i'm going, i'll have no savings when i turn middle-aged...

'nuf said..

turn your trash into treasure...

happy 3rd anniversary!

So, I was in Cebu last April 28, which marked the third anniversary of my relationship with Attorney. Good thing he's so understanding, and he didn't give me a hard time about it. We just celebrated on April 26th to make up for the lost time together.

As agreed, we presented each other with our less-than-two-thousand-bucks gifts. I gave him a black leather Fino wallet to replace the dillapidated one he's using, and he gave me---



He gave me the entire trilogy of Twilight, which amounts to roughly 2k! Sakto! Hehehe. So, admittedly, using a criteria of judging by the degree by which the gift reflects the recipient and the happiness level it is expected to bring to the recipient, he is the runaway winner.

However, seeing as how I was such a sore loser, we decided the final decision is a draw and that we split our anniv dinner date. Hahaha! I love this guy! He makes me pag-bigyan even if I don't deserve it. Hahahaha!

Happy Anniversary!

little surprises

I was pleasantly surprised last Saturday when the former dean of my college course, who now serves as Communications Director of the school, invited me to join the faculty as a part-time professor. He offered me to teach 1 block on the subject of Marketing Management. Coolness! I was flattered and surprised, so all I could initially say in response was "Sure!" Then I followed it with a standard line "as long as it's on a Saturday, preferably afternoon", to which he gladly responded, "of course!" He said it's for first sem, so it should start in June, when I'm well on the way through my 2nd sem in my MBA course. My gosh. This year is going to be one busy year!

I'm excited. I've been thinking of the possibility of teaching for quite some time, and I'm happy it will be at my alma mater, and it's about a subject matter so close to my heart and to my everyday job / life. Plus, the added income would be very much welcome, though money is definitely not my main motivation. I am just really excited to teach. :) Hopefully, everything goes well.

Apart from that, this weekend was full of other little surprises, like my darling beau's mom gifting me with really nice pasalubongs from her cruise trip, and my grand-tita who's fresh from overseas just met Dennis for the 1st time, and despite my earlier estimations, she really liked him! As in, two thumbs up si Attorney! Naks! :)

Happy, happy, happy... :)

jetting off...

to Cebu tomorrow... Actually, in about 6 hours nalang, since my flight is at 4am tomorrow :p First business trip of the year... :)

WWE and boys

As soon as we step into the restaurant yesterday to have dinner with my family, my brothers immediately signaled to darling beau to sit next to them. They looked so excited, I found myself intrigued to know what's up. Turns out WWE Wrestlemania is being shown live in Glorietta tomorrow night, and they were inviting Dennis to join them in watching.. Shelling out P320 per person to watch a bunch of sweaty, over-muscled men jump on each other while wearing neon colored tights with paint on their faces.

My darling beau, on the other hand, the ever-so-graceful and dignified attorney, didn't waste a single breath before he agreed whole-heartedly and asked what time he had to be in Glorietta, since he had a full day packed with hearings. Then the three boys proceeded to spend the good first quarter of the dinner chatting and debating over wrestling news and trivia. Hay, boys and wrestling....

Though I have to admit a big part of me was kilig to see how my brothers have embraced Dennis as practically their new older brother. I love it! :)

a good partner

I feel so bad for my friend, who married a good man who is turning out to be not as good a husband. Not that he's abusive or anything like that. He's the perfect gentleman, giving her everything she needs materially and allowing her to relish in the returns of her materially fulfilling job. He indulges her whims and lets her do whatever she likes. At first, I thought things got better when they got married. After all, you're supposed to imbibe those very vows you spoke at the altar, when you promised to give all of yourself to another. Turns out a good wedding doesn't always make a good marriage.

I worry for her. Worry that she walks her path separately from her husband's, which is precisely what marriage is not supposed to be about. I worry that, as much as he does genuinely love her, he isn't capable of giving her what she truly, desperately wants-- a true partner. Someone who's totally devoted to you, someone who actually hurts more than you do whenever the world hurts you, someone who's your biggest fan and your staunchest ally, someone who doesn't only support your dreams but owns them as his own as well, someone who lives and breathes you, someone who's dedicated to live his life to make yours easier, someone who is with you 100%, truly, madly, deeply, someone who will marry you over and over and over...

Because if you don't have that, you don't have a marriage. You don't have a partner. All you have is a ring on your hand and the memory of a grand party. All you have is a roommate, a housemate.. All you have is a sounding board, not a soul mate. All you have is a companion, not a kindred spirit. All you have is a life you settled for, not the life you dreamed about... Happiness shouldn't be something you have to convince yourself you have.

I don't know how to help her..

HK money meltdown

The HK trip proved very costly for me... very costly... hahaha! But I love my purchases. Beautiful beautiful beautiful :)

In fairness to this company, despite all its flaws, it has allowed me to afford all the things I want. So in fairness... pwede na rin... hahahaha!