Consoling Myself Posted on Friday, December 30, 2011 | 0 comments

Mr. Right? Nah! He's just a friend.... British... And he's married... =)

By the way, that's Ervic Vijandre at the back... Waiting for "the kiss" to happen... LOL!

It is quite late for me to create a new post but since my eyes are not shutting down anytime, I will make one.

I felt rich this season but it will soon last come January as all the money I have saved get sucked by my credit card. I have not seen the bill yet but more or less I already know how much I might have to spare for myself. This only means that I will have to live a more humble life than how I lived in December. As a nurse in the Philippines, you are not expected to be rich but it doesn't hurt to look like one. But that is just the superficial me and I am leaving it all behind in 2011. Bye superficial me.

So where did all my money go? Cab. Coffee. Gourmet. Etc. I am actually trying to console myself that all my expenses were reasonable especially when I shared a bulk of my blessings to my humble brother.

I just had to be thankful that I always get home safe no matter how late it is. There were even indecent proposals which I politely declined. Good thing my amiable face and charm still works. They don't insist.

Knowing The Worth Of An Ounce Of Blood Posted on Sunday, September 11, 2011 | 0 comments

Free WiFi at the Siaton Plaza...

My stay in Siaton (my hometown) was quite short but it was relaxing and it gave me an insight on my priorities in life.

My admiration for my brother is beyond compare. He is the most determined and most understanding person I know.

The moment I arrived home it was my brother who picked me up at the bus terminal. The last time I went home (2 years ago), it was not one of his skills. I felt proud but a bit guilty because at some point I told my mom not to let my brother drive because he was too young. When they bought his ride, Mom and Pop did not tell me.

That same night, I asked my brother to drive me around town because I wanted to visit some of my friends. But I forgot that in my hometown, everybody sleeps as early as 9 o'clock in the evening. So my brother and I just did an OBT (One Big Tuyok) around town and checked-out the new must-see drinking and hang out places.

The next day, Mom, Pop, and I had a little catch-up session before Uncle Melvie came asking us to have lunch at Lola Inday's place. As usual, my Pop stayed at home while Mom and I went to Lola Inday's place to have a little tete-a-tete with family and friends.

This kind of gatherings remind me of Sunday lunches and the games I play with my cousins. Most of the kids are no longer kids but we still bully them.

Among my cousins, I'm closest to Dovie because we were batch mates in elementary and we kinda grew up together. Even when we were in high school wherein we went to different schools in Dumaguete, we still wait for each other at the bus terminal so we can go home together. She wears her Silliman University High School uniform while I wear Saint Louis School - Don Bosco. The one-hour trip wasn't enough for our catch-up chika.

Dovie and ViVi in front of the old tambayan where endless chikka happened...

Dovie lives in Lola Inday's house which is a stone-throw away from my house. And seeing her again made me reminisce at how our childhood was. Dodong Rey was also at the gathering flirting with Ginoben, which I expected to see given that Ginoben was his first kiss. Eeeeeehhh! (Kilig!) I was also surprised that Ginoben was present. I thought he's in Guam.

To complete the family lunch, I had to take the blood pressure of every single person in the family. Even the kids asked me to get their BP! But I obliged myself to do it since these gatherings don't happen everyday. It got me drained, so I slept the whole afternoon. Pop did the same thing.

Johane on her wedding day... =)

Later that night, Gj dropped by at my place to get her accessories. She left it in Manila so I had to bring it with me. Even when I was younger, my parent were a bit overprotective. They abhor my night-outs! They don't get the point why young people do it. But this time, they did not react too much. My mom simply wanted to confirm that we're going home before 12 o'clock midnight. Nobody goes home like Cinderella. I'm not going to do something stupid that will destroy the family's reputation anyway.

Gj, Dovie, and I went to our friend, Johane's place to invite her for some drinks. BUT!!! She has a baby already and her baby was quite sick that night so she was not able to join us. We were left with no choice but to take care of the booze on our own. Good thing, Ruel was there and he invited Norberto and Julius to join us. Both are cute guys and so I just flirted with them the whole night! (KILIG!!!) Norberto drove me home and the most embarassing part was an image of myself puking near a burger stand in what was considered the Time Street of my hometown. I guess I just ruined the untarnished reputation of my family.

The culprit!!!

The next day, I received a sermon from my mom. She was quite effective when she told me the story about Uncle Timmy and how he is at the moment. According to my mom, when Uncle Timmy was younger and richer he had so many friends. He partied a lot and he had boys - a lot of them! But now that he is old and poor, nobody notices Uncle Timmy. My mom described Uncle Timmy as thin and "gusgusin". She pities him so much and my Mom doesnt want that to happen to me. What a very nice story. It touched me.

But of course, I had to clarify with my mom that I don't spend money on my boys! They spend it on me. But it still got me thinking of how I should lead my life. It made me realize that maybe I should take care more of my body and of course my family. As the Spanish proverb goes, an ounce of blood is worth more than a pound of friendship. I just thought that my Mom is tired of competing with my friends.

Actually, she doesn't need to. I just need to reassure her that I value my family as much as my friends. And it made me feel so guilty and so to make up for it, I must do something to prove that they really are important to me.

Seemingly Purrfect Birthday of the Number 1 Party Goer! Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2011 | 2 comments

One of the happiest day and will remain as a highlight for the year 2011..

I dint know what to do the whole day... I wanted to try on the clothes that I planned to wear for the night... I also sent messages to my friends who I invited for the party... Some confirmed... Some dint... But at least among the 20+ invites that I sent.. 13 came...

I was very touched because some of the people who came had law school midterms, others were from work and were too tired, others have work the next day and they only had less than 2 hours to get a decent sleep... But they still came...

I felt happy and loved the whole week... I couldnt ask for more... God is such a wonderful God... And he has never forsaken me, despite the numerous bad things I've done in the past... And some bad things I might do in the coming year... I just wish that not too many bad things will happen in 2011... And most of all... Bad things should not come from me... I will be all good and happy this 2011...

"My Number 1 Guest of the Night - Miss Ladybug"

"V - The Official Party-Like-Cinderella-Because-of-Duty Guest"

"Ervy and Ikay"

"Ryan - The Love of my life who came even if he had midterms at law school"

"Kyle - Official Bruno Mars of the Night"

"Because I've always been Mara and Clara"


"It was nice to see the Happy Shiny People in one place."

"Who I reallw wanted that night was not Bruno Mars... I wanted his hot friend on my left."

"My Babies were there too... - Katrina and Ivana!"

"The party wont be complete without my college barkada - Babes and Mica. The guy is Erwin and the nicest boyfriend of Mica... =) "

"Among the Happy Shiny People - Terry came very late... Excuses Excuses!"


"We wrapped the night at North Park"

From sober....

To Mighty Fucked Up!



Epic Party for 2011!!!

Family, Love, Health, and Wealth --- XOXO!

Red Mango Fridays with a Fashion Design Student & a Tired Nurse Posted on Sunday, July 25, 2010 | 2 comments

"Red Mango Greenbelt"

I was surprised to receive a text message from Dursky - a friend from Dumaguete who is here in Manila to study at the School of Fashion and Arts (SoFA). He was in Greenbelt waiting for me. I did not know we had plans of meeting up. Well, he mentioned that in the past but I was just caught off-guard. I was on-duty but I was not really doing anything anymore because there were no more patients. They have all flown because its a Friday.

I panicked because I thought that Dursky was alone at Greenbelt. I never liked being alone. So I thought, I don't want him to be alone there too.

"Dursky"

Took the FX from MakatiMed to Greenbelt and went directly to Powerbooks because he was there waiting. Then we went around Greenbelt in my white nursing uniform because I did not come prepared while he was in preppy clothes with a Vuitton at hand. I realized that I did not want Coffee Bean because I was there last week so I decided to bring Dursky at Red Mango. He got some frozen yogurt while I got my Cafe Americano which was so bitter that I had to ask the lady to bring two sachets of sugar and creamer. She was so nice to give me what I wanted. And so Dursky and I started catching-up.

All the while I thought he just arrived from Dumaguete but the truth was, he has been here in Manila for two months. He received a scholarship from SoFa for a year of their diploma degree. I have always believed that he has the potentials in becoming the next big fashion designer in the Philippines. I have seen his sketches in college and I saw his creations and they were good- very innovative and artistic. His talents are boundless and that will take him to greater heights.

"Terj"

Terj, the tired nurse came grumbling about his job and I did not know what to do with him anymore. He is my designated "melodramatic" friend but for the past weeks he has been very sparkling and sunny except for today where he has with him his payslip.

The fashion-design student, the tired nurse, and I had dinner and coffee. After realizing that its already nine thirty in the evening, we hurriedly went home and walked to our designated jump-off points.

It was a happy night and you can find all the synonyms of the word to describe how we were that night.

Photo Credits: Red Mango by Call Center Confidential

A Date with Lhei Ann Posted on Sunday, July 18, 2010 | 0 comments

As soon as the clocked ticked digitally at 4:00 PM, I hurriedly changed clothes from all white to all Noynoy - that is all yellow and jaundiced. Lhei Ann and I are meeting up for a little bit of catching-up over coffee at Coffee Bean Trinoma because the last time I saw her was January of last year before she left for Doha, Qatar which means that a lot of things have happened while she was away. I don't know how it happened but we got too hooked on work or the lack of it that's why we decided to stop communicating but the friendship never did.

I met her in my IELTS review class at California English, right in front of the Philippine General Hospital. We were both friendly, so we became friends. Laughs.

Anyway, she loves Doha because with the money she's earning she gets to buy the things she wants. Blackberries and iPhones are all over the place - she has an LG phone to be unique. Their malls are quiet compared to Trinoma and it has a hotel-feel. I cannot help but ask about the beaches there and she told me that you can go nude as long as you are in the hotel.

Sadly, our nice conversation was cut-short because we both need to go home. And we forgot to take pictures of the meet-up because we were too engrossed with our White Chocolate Ice Blended Coffee and our in-depth conversations. That means, I need to wait for another year before I see her and have a picture with her.

Until When Posted on Friday, June 25, 2010 | 0 comments

McVee was too bored at home and he needed a dose of McSt. So he sent a message to McSt that says, "I don't know if it is still a good idea to see you but I think there are still a lot of things that we need to discuss."

McSt replied and said, "I think so too and I have to make bawi for the emotional turmoil I caused you."

"I'm free tomorrow. We can talk about us over coffee." McVee was smiling while texting.

The next day McVee was very excited. Looking at his face, he was all smiles from ear to ear. He hurriedly went out of the house and told everybody at home that he's going to do something about his license at PRC. But we all know the truth, he is going to meet up with McSt at Starbucks.

McSt was already sipping his Caramel Frapuccino when McVee arrived. McSt's eyes looked tired since he was on the night shift while McVee looked dashing because he slept with a happy heart after receiving the confirmation that both of them are meeting up the next day.

"Hi! You're late, as always." said McSt.

Mcvee smiled and said, "GOSH!!! Traffic was bad and I had to cross the street because the overpass was too far and I did not feel the urge to follow pedestrian rules."

After a series of conversations about other people, McVee tried his luck on opening his issues with McSt. Of course, McVee was very hesitant but he did not see the point of not talking about their own issues.

"I see you're very happy with your new love. But I just wanna know what happened to us. You caught me off-guard by bringing your new love to the party." Mcvee was smiling while flipping his phone pretending that what he just said did not affect him.

"McVee, I realized that I was too patient with you and because of that you took me for granted. I am happy now with my new love and he makes me feel that I am important to him. He makes me feel that I can also be a priority and not just an option."

"I know you are happy and I can see that. I'm sorry. I was just too confident that you love me so much, you wouldn't look for someone new. Well, at least I know now and everything seems clear to me." McVee was teary-eyed but he never felt more at ease with McSt.

"This time, I want to make the right decision of loving someone who loves me more than I love him. I may not love him as much as I love you but I can always give this one a chance. I think I deserve to feel that I am special and I did not feel that with you. I know though that you did not deserve what I did last Saturday and I would like to apologize for that."

At the back of McVee's mind, he was sure that McSt was determined to standby on this decision. Mcvee was just regretful that he took McSt for granted but he took this as a lesson very well learned.

We should not be too confident when someone tells us that he loves us. The real question is "until when?" because frankly, just like seasons, people change so do feelings.

Just when McVee thought it was all over, the moment McVee arrived home, McSt sent a message that said, "I miss you and I don't know if I made the right decision."

*Thanks to Erika Pilangga for the second to the last paragraph. While writing this post, she sent me that message which I thought was very appropriate as a parting paragraph.

Staying away from potentially sticky situations.... Posted on Thursday, June 24, 2010 | 0 comments

I don't know what crossed my mind when I panicked after seeing his comment on one of our friends pictures. It was not something worth panicking. But yah... I still panicked. It was the urge that I wanted to talk to him that made me send a message on Facebook and on Yahoo Messenger. I wanted to talk to McA because I wanted to catch up on what is happening with his life. However, he did not reply to any of my messages. My initial reaction was to browse and choose among my 1,000++ friends on Facebook and pick the best-person-to-talk-to-in-times-of-distress.

Then I picked Angie. I picked her because I knew she'd reply right away knowing her reputation as a certified netizen even at the workplace. I wanted to talk to her because the whole situtation was new to her which eliminates all sources of bias. Her suggestion was to let McA know that I miss him so much and if that sounds very uncomfortable then I can tell it to him in Cebuano. (Which by the way was more dyahe!). I cannot imagine myself telling McA, "Gimingaw kaayo ko nimo Bay." Hence, I wanted to hear another opinion.

I finally clicked on JM's name after not talking to her for the longest time. After narrating to her everything that I'm going through at the moment, she said "Noooooo don't fall! hehehe hold on! Stay away from potentially sticky situations.. kanang mga walay klaro, walay angay. Yeah.. and if it's too hard, sometimes distance helps.. not forever, but for a while.. until you can be his friend, just his friend.."

Basically, I got over it. I was over the idea that McA and me will ever be boyfriends again. We were meant to be friends and we function well when we stay in that circle. I was just surprised at how easily I got over the idea. Prior to that realization, I thought I'm gonna be in deep shit. But then, I felt better and I totally understood JM's point.

I then talked to Darcy with a happy heart. Since she has her own issues too, I allowed her to do the talking and I felt a lot better knowing that amidst my own drama, I can still afford to listen to other people's problems.

Indeed, some moments require friends insights because there are things that you don't see because you are just too blinded. In some cases, we refuse to see.

Makin It So Difficult For McV Posted on Monday, June 21, 2010 | 0 comments

McV cannot decipher why McA can't even make a wall post on his Facebook Wall. McV then thought that McA is not proud of him as a friend. That McV will never be good enough to be someone McA can be very proud of. That McA cannot just post something on McV's wall because other people might think that McA is gay. Maybe this is just McV's paranoia because he saw McA's post on his friends wall.

But for now, McV is OK with it. He can still live with it. He wants to focus on the people who love him back because he learned that he should only love the people who can love him back. McV just needs assurance and is sad because he is not getting any. Well, my question to McV is... "Do you really need a wall post from McA?" And McV knows the answer... but is not satisfied...

V --- Caught Off-guard!!! Posted on Sunday, June 20, 2010 | 0 comments

Issues have sprouted out of nowhere. Suddenly, someone was caught off guard with the introduction of a new love. At some point, he thought S will be there the whole time.

V opted to attend the office reunion at some drinking place near ABS-CBN. It was meant to be a feast among friends who wanted to meet-up to at least update each other on each other's lives. But unfortunately, it ended so badly.

V and S have been going out for some time. From steady to rocky then steady and back to being rocky again. All the while V thought that S will be there. That S was happy with their rendezvous. However, S brought a date with him and left V in a very pathetic and loser moment. S had a new guy while V was stuck with himself and some friends who gave a frienly tap on his back but still couldn't fill up the emptiness. V went to a loyal friends place after the drinking that night. Indeed, it was a crying moment but it opened V's eyes that he's not the only one for S. That S is capable of breaking his heart. Because all through out.... V was confident that S will always be there.