friday is roadtrip day

i had just finished celmol class and was bumming around school when i saw the ls bookstore tarps. they looked like fun stuff [plus, i had time to kill and didn't really want to go through the immediate commute back home IN THAT HEAT], so i decided to check things out.

as i was scouring the aisles, looking for something spontaneously perfect, i got a message from my high school friend jules. she wanted to go greenhills and chill, and, being the spontaneous glory that i am, i obliged. on the condition that she would pick me up, of course. ;)

and then there were calls and confirmation messages and small talk, and finally, i was waiting for her to arrive. when i received the message that she had indeed reached my destination, she went, "i'm here na. ateneo med."

O. M. G. :))

i had specifically told her that i was in loyola, but i guess she didn't catch that. so we laughed it off, clarified things and i waited again.

i had purchased a pretty little lanyard and had edited it with a rubber attachment from my old one. and then, since i didn't have a book with me to distract me from the terrible heat, i plugged in my in-ears and blasted summer covers from my nano video as i took in the landscape of the gesu. i sat on one of those plastic benches at the front area of xavier hall and had my back turned against the road my dear friend was going to come from.

and then i felt a sudden, almost-bruising pain in my right shoulder. OUCH.

being the crazy dorks that we are, we fell into a high-pitched excited hug that always happens when we see each other. jules and i sat and marveled at the lifestyle changes we had just gone through since we celebrated mine and jen's birthdays last february. happy thoughts were shared, until we decided to get going.

there was a sudden shift in like when jules declared it was actually her burger day that day. she had been checking out burger place reviews online [like i said, dorky. ;p] and wanted to experience something new. so a trek to the burger project in maginhawa street was in order.

i remembered that quaint place we chilled at a weekend ago [if i'm not mistaken], van gogh is bipolar, and remembered that it was somewhere near there. since we were already in the spirit of new experiences, why not, right? :)

sadly, though, it was still closed [we were there at effing 12noon, hello!] so we just decided to burger away and head to katipunan for dessert. :)

in the semi-pileup that is midday traffic, we gabbed on and did some catching up as we passed a series of twists and turns [it was elliptical road, i think?] to get to teacher's village. after crazy laughter, too-much-heat headaches and re-exploring music from high school courtesy of julieta's old cds, this is the interesting sign that greeted us when we finally reached the finish line:

interesting ;)

it was exciting and such a fun experience, because we were both new to it. so we did the tiny clipboard thing, and then suddenly decided we would get one of those specialty burgers instead. now, let me introduce you to the Western Bacon Melt:

*drool*

check out all that angus goodness, slathered with just the right smokey-sweet barbecue sauce, bacon, melted cheese, tomatoes and breaded onion rings [surprisingly yummy!] on a sesame seed bun. given that it was a little too large-and-in-charge for our wonder-filled beings, we decided to split it and get a sloppy side of spicy buffalo wings with a tiny tub of ranch to balance it all out :)

*mmmmmmm*

and as soon as our plates hit the table, the signal gun was fired and it was time to devour our newly-discovered goodness. :) when i tried a bit of the saucy wings, though, something strangely familiar greeted me. i was trying to pinpoint that sauce it tasted like, but was so excited with the heat that i momentarily dismissed the thought.

and then it hit me: SUNSHINE!!! :D the buffalo wings had that thick jamaican pattie hot sauce which i loved and piled on my pattie when noc and i celebrated faith's birthday late last year [backtrack to that entry here].

*happy dancing* now, lemme add another recipe to my culinary agenda. :)

after that fat-infested hour, we decided to drive to UP before heading to the dessert place. we wanted to find a new and interesting place to kill time at, but ended up parking near palma and walking our satisfied asses off.

some unidentified object hit the car roof and julieta froze. when we got out of the car, i noticed the ginormous tree with oddly-shaped fruits hanging from its branches right above our parking space. as soon as i pointed that out, though, julieta panicked and quickly transferred slots.

better to be safe than sorry. LOL *parking memories*

it was a long time since i last explored UP [or since i EVER tried exploring it], and a lot has changed--at least that's what i think. the trees formed a sort of shed for everything on the road to be protected from the angry sun, and, i must admit, it looked pretty amazing. :) this is the sad photo julieta took that didn't quite justify how interesting it looked to me:

near the tennis court, i have NO idea what place this is. heehee :))

and because it was TOO hot, we decided to forgo riding the ikot and just walk around, experiencing the scenery. along the way, we discussed the actual location of the sunken garden--among other things--and, frustratingly, never really got that resolved. we weren't from there, so we gave a good laugh at how crazy the conversation might have sounded to people who overheard [or for those picnic-king authentics, as jules called them, by the sunken field, for that matter. lol].

after my geometric principles on walking [the shortest way between two points is a line--kudos to ate myls for teaching me that], and because my right ankle hurt really bad, complements of the sprain i've had since forever, we left UP and made a beeline for dessert heaven. but we didn't find gayuma [another craving] and went around in circles. and since we didn't want to move around the nooks and crannies of katipunan to get to the ateneo or even conti's and chill there, we went to the banapple katipunan on the other side to get julieta's sweet tooth satisfied. and because this was her first visit, i suggested a basic crowd-pleaser:

Banoffee pie :)

and because i was an almost regular, i deviated and got something equally mouth-watering:

Oreo Fudge Brownie Cheesecake <3 

we were too full of stories and food and everything else funny and wonderful, and we talked endlessly about everything under the sun [painfully literally. and figuratively]. and when i realized i had work that night and julieta had to dodge traffic going back home, we called it a day and it was the end of our adventure. :) so the search is on!!! :)

rockstar! :D

hell yeah, Callie!!! :)

All of these lines across my face / Tell you the story of who I am / So many stories of where I've been / And how I got to where I am / But these stories don't mean anything / When you've got no one to tell them to / It's true, I was made for you / I climbed across the mountaintops / Travel across the ocean blue / I cross over lines and I broke all the rules / And baby, I broke them all for you / Oh because even when I was flat broke / You made me feel like a million bucks / You do, I was made for you / You see the smile that's on my mouth / It's hiding the words that don't come out / All of the friends who think that I'm blessed / They don't know my head is a mess / 

No, they don't know who I really am / And they don't know what I've been through / Like you do, and I was made for you / All of these lines across my face / Tell you the story of who I am / So many stories of where I've been  / And how I got to where I am / Oh, but these stories don't mean anything / When you've got no one to tell them to / It's true, I was made for you / Oh yeah, and it's true that I was made for you...

midnight mercato

weeeeee Off beat :)

just when i thought i was gonna spend another lazy leave day stuck at home, kuya sees me run off to the loo and bellows from his room, asking me if i had work that fateful friday night. of course, with a tiny smirk, i say "no, i don't" and await the next lines he'd throw. and then he asks if i wanted to go to the midnight mercato. my sleepy brain instantly went DUHHH and i coolly answered, "okay, in a minute" and made a beeline for the loo, quickly showered, and was nice and chill after a couple of minutes. :)

given that this was my maiden voyage to anything mercato centrale, i was definitely excited to see all the wonderful goodness that would kill me in more ways than one. and so the sojourn began with a flurry of crazy overtakes and ex-squeeze me moments until we got to the first destination: manang's chicken. :)

the line was looong, good Lord, and all we wanted to get were 2 glasses of freshly brewed pandan iced tea for the walk. so we waited -- ho-humm -- and finally got the iced tea and went on our way. kuya wanted me to scour the entirety of the tents before i made a decision, but lectured me on all the crispy-licious saucy goodness of manang's chicken.

okay, fine. so we're getting that. ;)

so we walked and squeezed in and did the whole nine yards. despite the almost workout that was finding a space to walk on, though, i still couldn't take that image out of my head:

ooey gooey giant cheese sticks from Off beat

since i originally thought they were mexican somethings, i wanted to get them badly. kuya hates mexican food [i have NO idea why], so that's a no. but i wanted them anyway, and being the good big brother that he is, we got them still ;)

a few minutes after, we realized they weren't actually mexican babies and found out they were giant cheese sticks. so kuya relaxed and i got my treat. :) there was a minute, though, when i semi-screamed at the poor boy preparing our cheese-infested goodness, because he was holding the ginormous mayo-filled squeeze bottle over the food. kuya let me go "WAAAAAIT!" and i asked what that white thing was. and because it was mayo [yechhh], it was definitely OUT of the question. :p

and as i waited and had fun checking out the sights, i got my Twilight moment [i tweaked the photo a bit so i'd look less pale and more human ;)]. and here's my lady-in-waiting photo:

as you can see, there were other things being served by these guys. and i checked them out while waiting for my delightful giants :) and, lo and behold, the things i DIDN'T eat: 

glazed doughnuts --obviously Krispy Kremes-- for bread [which i thought were bagels! ugh] and all the love inside. 

yikes to the BACON FAT that's slipping and sliding riiight there. #killmenow

i would eat this, ONLY without the bacon fat and with actual bagels for bread. *death*

moving on to the next victim.

burger patties that looked really inviting, sans the sliced BACON FAT that totally ruined everything for me.


can you say death by cholesterol? yechhh.

so, of of course, i didn't get that. ;) i just took my giant cheese sticks and we ran along. :)

we got another round of drinks-- fruit shakes this time --before the hard part of actually deciding on what to eat. kuya asked me to find seats while he queued for manang's chicken, and i asked him to get me the extra spicy sauce on the side [because he's not too much into intensely spicy things] instead. and so i went into the tent with the a/c [i reeked of grilled-ness already, thank you very much] and found a sweet spot and *finally* got to sit down. :) and when the manang's chicken arrived, yay! :D 'twas time to eat! :D

Happy Camper <3

sadly, though, the moist chocolate, vanilla-frosted muffins were sold out, so, boo-hoo to the dessert junkie. :( someday, when i return, i shall conquer that 9-piece box of vanilla frosted, moist chocolate muffins. *drool*

AND sooooo, i will definitely go back. ;) i'm feeling a little barx night out-slash-food frenzy soon. :D

73 pesos of happiness :)

it started with a spontaneous promise over brunch. well, a dare, actually. :p

so the dare included ate bing [our helper] accompanying me to the market right then and there to get stuff for what randomness i blurted out that i'd prepare for mum's post-birthday. everyone laughed, of course, because it seemed absurd [and because they didn't believe i'd actually go marketing]. but hey, i stand by my dares. ;)

and then it rained.

resigned to my fate, i found myself glued to Facebook, Tweetdeck, and editing-slash-uploading Midnight Mercato photos. half of me wanted the market trip to cease, but then i heard my name called, and ate bing said she's ready to leave.

so WTH. off to the market we go.

i was planning on wearing flipflops, but then the thought of gross--dirty, bacteria-infested wet market puddled floors with murky-water-that-splash-on-your-legs-when-you-wear-inappropriate-footwear came to mind. so, no. flips were out of the question. and so were jeans or anything else long.

and off we went, with a couple of things in mind. i actually missed going to the market, mainly because it's been too long since i last saw the inside of a wet market. the past times i'd shopped for ingredients for things i cooked were in big, air-conditioned supermarkets. so imagine the excitement. :D

it was quieter when we got there, [it was past noon, after all.] and most of the stalls left were those of fruits and vegetables. just like any old market, every stall had the same thing, and it was your duty as a buyer to scout for the best finds with the lowest price.

it was exciting to see everything just there, and so cheap at that. and i ended up buying waaaaaay more than i needed [which is fine, cz i can always cook the same snack thing anytime this week :)]. and after scouring the stands, i ended up with these ingredients:

cheese blocks, lumpia wrapper and green chilis :D

this is really just part of what i bought. remember, everything was just too much for one cooking session because we overestimated portions. oh well. i might do this again sooner than i think anyway. ;) maybe later? heehee. :p

and after minutes of OCness...

ta-daaaaaaaahhh!!! :D

well, hello there, cholesterol. :))

glee's anatomy. lol :D

http://tv.yahoo.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-greys-anatomy-musical-episode--2648

lovelovelove :)

whirlwind summer

in a nutshell, i just love how the Maker moves in perfect timing. :) the arduous struggle of a two-month wait finally materialized, and it's just GREAT. :) thank you to everyone who believed and prayed on my behalf, i will forever love and be grateful for you all. :)

it's just soooo overwhelming that people are happy for this turnaround. i love how i'm being supported by the people i love. again, i can never be thankful enough.

it's such a rush! intent letter, reg, confirmation, follow-up here, update there. then i go and have myself politely transferred and wait for the development while i deal with other things. i'm so GV it makes my heart go aflutter :)

i guess i've never been so excited to do summer school. like what kuya said, if you know, you KNOW. that no-breathmark decision is one helluva ride.

"oh yes, it's true... I WAS MADE FOR YOU." ;)

because of the groundbreaking clinical trials

i get a lot of grub from watching Grey's Anatomy. i mean, seriously.

in the episode where meredith had to choose which "groundbreaking clinical trial" she would want to be part of [alzheimer's vs. type 1 diabetes], there was a tiny line cristina threw at her: "it's sophie's choice." and i am more than intrigued by this because it wasn't something i knew right off the bat.

and so i researched, and researched. and, finally, checked multiple websites and got my answer.

though i haven't watched the entire film yet, this is something i would definitely look forward to seeing. i was not able to go visit the concentration camps and the holocaust museum when we were in Berlin, and it's one of the things i probably will be sad about for a long time. but, i'll be sure to go there next time when i go back. meanwhile, let me just share some heartwrenching tidbits i got from youtube...

tears of an angel

so one of these years, i promise myself i will get to watch this film.

the inspiration

after multiple bashes at my entirety, i found a pretty little thing in the world known to us as youtube. and because i'm bored, why don't i share some of my musings?

summer: old school vs. the present

growing up: old school vs. my time

and i guess there'll be more analogies that'll hit me sometime soon. but this is all for now. *heehee*

livin' la vida loca

Dear SUMMER,

Someday, I will actually experience the real essence of celebrating you.

Love, Jai :)

my thoughts, exactly.

déjà vu

it's making me a little uneasy that things are seemingly going back to the way they were. it's not that i want things to end, but i'm seriously scared that things will turn out to be as ugly as it once was a few breaths ago.

yes. i'm scared.

i mean, i'm all for reunions and the happiness it brings. but i don't think i want that happening anytime soon just yet. i want YOU to think about it. because i want you to know exactly what you're getting into once you decide to do this again.

then again, like i said, you will still end up deciding for yourself. and you know i'll still be the supportive friend who has your back. but promise me this, whatever happens, please take extra care. your monumental episodes were not pretty, and i don't want you in any way, shape, or form anywhere near that again. EVER.

i'm just praying hard that things will get better, soon.

one leaf down

it took FOUR SECONDS for me to randomly act on my--erm--hormones and send a matter-of-fact message to someone after all my faith in that person had gone out the window. therefore, i think, that made my initial resolution for the year ring true: that i should let go of all the hurt in my heart and learn to forgive.

*sigh*

i believe these *sigh* moments are triggered by my ongoing crazy hormones, and i am still left bewildered. when will this stop??? i'm having the ride of my month in a not-so-comfortable debilitating series of events, and i am aching for change to commence. may i be normal now, please? *batts lashes*

and then i see a particularly familiar name stuck onto the glass divider that mediates me and ray [or a part of it, at least].

and then i smile. heehee. ;)

so, yes. right now, i need saving. from all the actual annoying physiological pain i'm experiencing.

the past

i must admit, in the most non-bitchy of all the bitchiness that i am, i miss you.

since facebook has been revamping most of its interface, i get to see something new everyday. the new layout, perhaps, or the new links and such that randomly pop up.

which brings me to my newest discovery: that sidebar of memories. :) it annoyed me, at first, to see something seemingly nonsensical flash before my eyes AGAIN, but as i saw some statuses of mine with actual substance posted there, i caved and went on clicking almost everything heartstrings-tugging that i saw.

and yes, i miss my old life, too. my old, even-more-flawed self, my escapades, my feelings, my crazy friends. and it actually hurts to think that some of them have been lost. somewhere, i don't know.

i wish everything would reach its conclusion, so that most things can go back to normal. yes, that's right, i WISH.

*sigh*

so, cheers to new beginnings, and i shall continue to pray for miracles to unfold. :)

back to the grind

it's been so long since i last attempted to do anything here. work happened, yes. and so did life. :)

 apart from work happening, life kept on hitting me in the arse. this, of course, made everything even more impossible and sanity-threatening. LOL. but it's fine. like i said, suddenly, i see a light at the end of the tunnel. my two-deadline week turned out to be a single-deadline week, giving me a little space to breathe.

as i was traversing the streets of my alma mater before heading home the day before yesterday, i ran into ate luch and was effing giddy-happy from all the excitement of finally seeing each other after one fateful chill night. i loved that the insight on moving forward had been inculcated into her system, but talking about technicalities still seem to wear me out. for some strange, demented reason, it still pained me to see them on the road less taken.

well, whaddya know? i still have a heart. and a big heart at that.

i knew that a step forward would be for the best, but i wanted the steps forward to be thought about and carefully planned. so, i guess, what freaked me out the most was that the feelings harbored while stepping up were not of total happiness. why? because i have found it in my heart to forgive. it wasn't easy, of course, but i tried and have let the pain go. i just don't want them to go through the pain anymore.

*sigh*

on a lighter note, in spite of my girl pains, i HAVE found a light at the end of a tunnel. to make matters worse, aaaaah i won't allow it to get worse. LOL.

que me hizo sonreír, después de todo. :) heehee :)

badass happy dancing

i never realized how things can take an instant turnaround when the going gets fun. :)

last night was a sudden gush of happiness to hearts in despair, presenting a beacon of light to those who have experienced the worst. and, just like magic, everybody made happy dancing sooooo badass the floor was burned everytime we hit it with our grooves. :)

thank you, merry christmas, happy new year, and everything else. cheers to a great eleven-oh! :)

scratch that

I SPOKE TOO SOON.

i am royally pissed at one being. add to that the fact that everything has not been going swell for the past few hours. i am fuming mad.

go enjoy your "real" friends. good riddance.

amber is the color of my energy

i'm sooooooo excited! :)

i'm finally going to be able to see my barx again. after 10 million years, we shall reunite! :) awww. i miss you all. at least we will be able to spend some part of christmas together. PLUS, we'll do it in 2 days! :D though we may not be exactly complete during those days, at least there's progress. and at least we're together. aww. i missed them freakazoids. :)


back in 2004, post- grad practice! :)

 i'll see you later, crazies! :)

rekindling kid love :)

i remember vividly how i pestered my mom to get me pink-lined lisa simpson sneakers when i was younger. i tried looking it up online, to no avail. this is the best shoe i saw of the crazy family i love to bits. :)

my lisa simpson pair was much simpler, though. it was plain white with random pink details and pink soles. plus, on the outer side of each shoe, she was playing her saxophone and making bad-ass music [at least i believe so]. :D

i remember wanting to use that pair until it was SOOO worn-out and all dirty and gross. well, not really. just when it almost reached that point. heehee. but it's ubercool nonetheless. :D

soooo. lisa simpson was one of my chilhood heroines. she was cool then, and she still IS now. :)

i just realized that i've been really showing how much i love these guys, even when i'm at work. why? because even my batchmates see me browse through pages upon pages of their material, and i stuff my hard drive with things related to them. but this guy ruined my prowess:

Apu Nahasapeemapetilon

and i will forever despise his Quik-E-Mart-dwelling ass because of that. HAHAHA :))

i would've guessed it if it had been one of the aunts, considering a gesture depicting big hair was made. it would've been gravy picking between selma and patty. LOL. in whichever case, though, i would go for selma as a charade answer. heehee. :))
    

                                       

                      Patty Bouvier                                                                            Selma Bouvier



see the bigger hair? that big-hair-act seemed SOOO selma. haha. oh well. what's done is done. let's get over it already. heehee. :))

anyhoo, i love how kids can be kids. hence, exhibits A and B:

        

ooh, how i love being a kid. ;)

testing every ounce of my patience

people seem to think it's april. everybody wants to test all i have.

just when i've gotten over my nimbus day, another dark cloud comes. SHEEEEEESH. do i look like a joke? it's beginning to offend me already.

so i guess it'll be a quiet day today. Merry Christmas to me.

my post-christmas grown-up self

yes, i know it's a little bit too late for this. but hey, the holiday just ended and everything's going well [for me, that is].

be grateful that you don't have everything you want. that means, you have the opportunity to be happier tomorrow than you are today. :)