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Claire Soleil |
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| The Longest Day of the Year. Also called Midsummer. Falls on or around June 22. Six Degrees of Separation lazy meandering mindswap beybieinjel loose screws black sigil multiply |
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| Jul. 27th, 2007 @ 06:14 am New Outlook, New Adage | |||
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Mood: predatory
Beggars can't be choosers.Music: Aqualung - Brighter than Sunshine I don't remember when I started using that as my motto. Not that I really put it into practice much. Can't find anime dvd rips? Beggars can't be choosers. Settle for the poorly subbed series off torrents. No moolah for cab fare? Beggars can't be choosers. Take the subway. Can't get The Sims 2 add-on to work without a cd? Beggars can't be choosers. Don't complain, you're using Alcohol 120% and an iso file. Now...it's different. Stuck in training for a job that makes your cry during your calls every 5 days? Fine, quit if you want. You don't really need the job, do you? You've got an extension credit card. You can just run back to mummy and daddy and live in your room forever. But... Beggars can't be choosers. Don't quit just because you feel a teeny ounce of hardship. Fight back. Don't be weak. Face your fears. Take the pain. And all that crap. Survival of the fittest. Time to pounce, princess. This just means that I still have a shitty sched. But I did get a 4-day break from the contact center industry during my quasi-resignation. Four days away from the headset and I was starting to look younger again. Today was my first day back and when I got home, I swear. The dark circles under my eyes were back. | |||
| Jun. 30th, 2007 @ 08:13 pm Stuff I'm a Little Late For | |||
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Mood: sleepy
What have I been up to lately?Music: PCD - Buttons *7am to 4 pm sched from April 27 to May 12 *2pm to 10pm sched from May 15 to May 19 *11pm to 7am sched from May 21 to June 15 *7pm to 4am sched June 18 to June 30 is my body clock ok? go figure. *went out two nights in a row during the 3pm to 11 pm sched. *downed a beer at 7 in the freaking morning on the first day we took in calls (June 15). Oh, the shock, the stress, the trauma. *did not celebrate Summer Solstice this year. *cried three days in a row during the last week of applied learning lab. hint: i soooooo am not a drama actress filming her latest tearjerker. *got screamed at by some stupid b*tch...make that two stupid b*tches living in the so-called super power of the world today. soooo un-politically correct. *was taken by her co-trainees to a gotohan/lugawan/videoke place in the immediate vicinity of the Alabang Public Market to sing Somebody to Love at six in the bloody morning. Waaayyyy First Time Coooool. *drove to Tutuban with co-trainees after a quasi-green-mango margarita at Aplaya (on a hotsilog full stomach). Walked around eating a hot fudge sundae. Tried on skinny jeans (eeewwww...sooooo not me). Bought 2 hoodie overruns. Wheeee ^__^ *no social life T_T *mcdonald's nuggets dinners at 11 in the evening *almost got transferred to the production floor next week. thank god for my eons-long average handling time!!!! wheeeee ^__^ have the ogre to thank for this although am still fuming over the first-day-call-time-jitters-greeted with-"ask yourself why we can't expire that plan" and the i-have-the-flu-i-can't-come-in-today-res *have been told 4 times (by all 4 different team leaders) that i lack empathy and apology statements. i wonder why...wahahaha :p hint: "my phone fell into the toilet"..."i'll have to connect you now to my partner in the equipment replacement department, ok? please stay on the line" [lacks: Awwwwww (with a hand over the heart). Mr. Slow, I'm so sorry you were stupid enough to bring your phone with you to the bathroom to do god-knows-what that it had to drop straight into the water closet. It's so tragic...really.] *got 80.56 for my communications grade :( passing is 80 T_T guess i really mess up my pronunciation and grammar when i'm rambling for lack of product knowledge and confidence when i'm on the phone ~cry~ *stable at 120 lbs :) ~cheer!~ *want to collect all bloopers made by me and my co-trainees :p | |||
| Oct. 22nd, 2006 @ 10:43 am So Funny | |||
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| I just came across this...after an eternity. I still find it funny. Hee. The Tale of Three Guys With Nothing in Common But Their Eyes I. And to think all in the World seemed right when he smiled While walking through the halls one day Eyes met mine along the way Although the owner wore no smile I saw the laughter in his eyes 'twas heaven when we fin'ly talked 'twas better when with me he walked To see me off while rain poured down I drove on home without a frown I saw him at the Ball one night It turned into a horrid fright So now i look at red-waxed tiles Instead of mocking, laughing eyes II. This guy could win stare-me-down competitions hands down While I sat through my physics class Bored to death upon my ass I saw a flash of genius there Along whith eyes like lasers tear Transfixed, I perched upon my seat His tilted eyes to watch and meet Alas, my way they never came I did not even know his name One time he sat a chair behind A decent pose I could not find My back, would it be better here? I could not think! He was so near Now everytime he passes by To met his eyes, so hard I try But I just melt and feel quite shy Should he find out, I'd surely die III. Guy Number Three (how very articulate) While copying my classmate's work Derivatives, so on so forth He laughed, a joyful sound to hear I turned, as he drew near and near He had the cutest slanted eyes I saw in them to my surpise Laughter like what I'd just heard And something in me truly stir'd The chance to talk to him once more Came after Physics, by the door He came to me, to my surprise To share his work on Pascal files He sat from me, a breath away We talked and how I wished he'd stay But then a friend told me the truth He's taken, heart and spleen and foot IV. The Guy Lesson The moral of the story is My dear, next time, for your sake please Do not look up, his eyes to greet Look down instead and check his feet Geez | |||
| Oct. 11th, 2006 @ 04:10 am stuff | |||
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| I love our bedroom here in QC. There's so much sunlight pouring in, I am actually awake in the mornings now. It's so quiet, too. Apart from the roosters in the next lot and the birds chirping from the nearby trees, I mean...at least these sounds occur in nature. The phones ringing off the hook in the office...they drive me crazy. Literally. I actually ventured out of the house yesterday...something I have not done in a loooong time. It was nice to feel excited about some stupid adventure to...Ever Fairview, he he. I wanted to buy stuff from the Japanese home store. When I came upon this really silly device...a universal counter! And i just had to buy it. Because Mike and I both caught Ben Affleck's perfume ad...the one where he has a counter and he clicks every time a girl smiles at him. Turns out a far less attractive bellboy/messenger/elevator guy received far more smiles then Ben did. Sadly though, the only person I can force to smile at me is Mike. So now I just count how many times I make fun of him, he he. | |||
| May. 21st, 2006 @ 01:44 pm Abbey | |||
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Mood: bored
Mike caught me blogthing-ing early, early this morning at six. And he saw my results: You are 60% abnormal. He said my name should be Abbey. And he inquired as to why I didn't cut and paste my results for that particular quiz: How Abnormal are You? Well, I don't need some online quiz to tell me what I (and people who know me) already know. Hee. I totally cannot believe I have been reduced to cutting and pasting quizzes like some teenage blogger maniac. (No, not you, Sue.) I am waiting, waiting fr my family to visit me here later. Well, they are actually going to visit Papa and Mike - not me. I hope they bring Eddie Alden. :) | |||
| May. 21st, 2006 @ 05:27 am I Should Stop | |||||
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Mood: crappy
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| May. 21st, 2006 @ 05:23 am One More TIme | |||||
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I swear I didn't cheat!
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| May. 21st, 2006 @ 04:55 am Ennui | |||||
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Mood: awake
Billy reminded me of the word "ennui" when he answered the phone last night. They were wallowing in it, apparently.Music: the bloody roosters outside Having been estranged from my family for, like, 3 days, I was feeling quite homesick so I called home. Looks like we are all feeling the same thing. No, not homesickness. Boredom. My mum disowned me when I spoke with her. She said I was not immediate family anymore as I was married already. I am hoping she is bored as well. Otherwise I will have to think of another reason for her having quasi-teased me so. I spoke with Fred longer than I spoke with Kreny, who is actually the voice of Fred. They are going to have problems, the two of them. I can tell. See? Even I see them as separate entities now. Here I am, four in the morning, not an inch near sleep in our sage/amethyst bedroom in QC. So I hopped to blogthings.com, which was what Curl suggested weeks ago to alleviate boredom. And this is what I get:
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| Mar. 28th, 2006 @ 07:18 pm Ohhhkaaayyyy | |||
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| Yeah. So I said I couldn't bear to write over my Chad? But I am sooooo bored. Stuck alone in this apartment in The City that Never Sleeps, The Capital of the World. Not if you are under self-proclaimed house arrest with a hacking cough that stabs your back like ice and a fever that has, well, at least for now, gone down. Mum and Kreny drove with Aunt Cecille and Uncle Jaime to Atlantic City. And all I asked for was Starbucks New Jersey mug (which I failed to procure during our eeky Newark stint). Onnnllyyy. Only to have Kreny tell me later that Starbucks never made a New Jersey mug. The Starbucks guy there said that they would finally be having one made. But it would be coming out in summer still. Sooooo. It made me feel a bit better about missing Atlantic City. Until Kreny and Mum went to the outlets. Well, they called to ask me if I wanted lotsa stuff. Stuff I couldn't see. So I mostly said no, no thanks. I've watched 3 movies since I got here: 1. Brokeback Mountain. Missed it in Manila. Going past the gender-bender storyline, it is just a love story at heart. And I am a sucker for love stories. And what beautiful, intense love story this was. 2. She's the Man. Loosely based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. So much better than I was expecting. I was thoroughly entertained. But then I like these silly teen flicks. And I am quite shallow. Hee. So maybe I am not the best judge. 3. Match Point - Woody Allen's latest. Totally dragged in some parts. But I found myself rooting for the protagonist in the end (despite his very, very bad acts). But I can't wait to get home to Eddie, who desperately looks for me when Mike and I turn on voice on Yahoo! and I call for him. He whimpers and searches Mike's workplace for the source of the whistling and the cajoling. I am driving him insane. Hee hee. Well - this is what happens on days when you are stuck at home when you could have done been doing something potentially bigger and more productive. Ha. | |||
| Jan. 2nd, 2006 @ 07:18 pm My Shadow | |||
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Just a few days ago, I was thinking of the many names I called my youngest pet dog by. First there was Kerry. Because it rhymed with Eddie, his dad. And because my Dad wanted him named after one of the US presidential candidates who was running around the time he was born. Kerry then grew older and realized who his true master was (the one who gave them all the yummiest doggie treats) and started following me around wherever I went. He never tired no matter how many times I'd get up from my desk to go to my room, or peep into Mum's room, or go out to the workshop, or cross the street to go to the house - he'd jump right up and trot along happily behind me. So his name officially became Shadow. And how he smiled! This weird happy grin that showcased all his teeth. Which brings his next nickname - Posty (totally not my idea). Short for pustiso (false teeth). Which Mike thought he seemed to be wearing whenever he'd bare his teeth. And Dad called him Ado because, he said, dogs only remember the last few sounds of their name. That is why trainers say one-syllable names are best for dogs. But I never called him Ado and, most certainly, Posty was never used. Shadow then evolved to Shad, Chad and The Chad. Then Chaddy. Sometimes Chadoink and Chadoink-doink which both sounded as goofy as his smile looked. Chibi Chibi was used while he was being pinched in the cheeks when he was found immensely cute. Although, in truth, he was probably cute only to me. And because his tail never stopped wagging while I was petting him, even when he was on my lap, he was also called Waggy. Shadowy cropped up whenever his eyes got sad and his tail drooped. Then he got sick and we affectionately called him Chuka Boy whenever we'd rub him down after one of his vomiting spells. We brought him to the vet on the December 29, 2005. He didn't make it back home.  My Shadow November 11, 2004 ~ January 02, 2006 | |||
| Nov. 24th, 2005 @ 02:15 pm Road Trip | |||
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| We (Mike, me, Mum and Tito Edgar) went to Pampanga yesterday primarily to deliver an order to a client. We used to go to Mum's hometown often when we were younger. We spent long, lovely summers there playing hide and seek, exploring the backyard and getting in the way of our grandmother's chores. The highlight of our summers was the town fiesta, which also fell on Mama Sita's birthday. During the more prosperous times of the town and the house, you would wake up to the sound of a pig being slaughtered for the feast and go down to find hot chocolate, eggs and ham waiting for you. And the town band would pass by in the afternoon to serenade Mama from her rambling lawn while she waved and smiled at her guests and neighbors. Everything and everyone was gay and merry. My parents would usually take us back to the suburbs that day. And we would wait 10 long months before we would return to our roots. But just six months later we would be back. The holidays weren't the holidays without games of hide-and-seek and base-stealing with my sisters and cousins. And exchanging (rather, receving) gifts and going from house to house on Christmas day for aguinaldo. Of course, any amount we painstakingly worked for would be turned into dad and mum's starting money for mahjong that night. But now, the Grand Old Matriarch has gone on to The Grandest Home, the Big Green House is in shambles, and no one goes home anymore. And what happens is the people who used to live there all their lives, those who used to know every one of their neighbors, those who used to go to school with the other barrio children; And their children who used to spend summers there, who were used to the long drive but would celebrate when they turned at the San Feranndo exit - well, they turn into tourists the next time they visit, don't they? Mum, Mike and I bought lots of Pampango goods for home (which we shared with Auntie Ed's family on the way home). First, at San Fernando, we bought tibuk-tibuk, moche (pronounced mauchee as opposed ot Mike's moochee, atchara, okwee. and taba ng talangka. Then we drove 40 minutes to the plaza of Mum's hometown and went to the market to buy tocino, chicharon, longganisa, shrimps and more taba ng talangka (but this time from a old trusted neighbor). We also stopped at the local bakery where I was volunteered to buy monay so we could try the crab fat in the car. When I said I'd buy a loaf of monay, Mike and Mum laughed and Mum had to come down, too. Turns out monay is bought by the piece and comes in large and small sizes. They are like heavy pan de sal but have broken slightly at the top in a straight line. But I saw sliced monay which was smooth on top and sold by the loaf. So I was not that far off. At any rate - we ended up buying something else. They looked line dinner rolls but were much better. And when you are a tourist, you no longer stay long after dinner and get to the city close to midnight. By 7:00 PM, we were home. Knd of anti-climactic, but in a good way since we weren't so tired. Not even Mike who drove because the NLEX was so smooth and fast. Such a far cry from our childhood road trips. But the fees? Exorbitant! Ahhh. And though Mum cooked a sumptuous, sumptuous lunch today from all the food we bought yesterday, there is nothing like taking home food from the feast, from Mama's table, and eating it at your table miles away, and taking a part of your childhood with you. | |||
| Nov. 16th, 2005 @ 02:54 pm Con Te Partirò (Time to Say Goodbye) | |||
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| We are finally home. After 2 1/2 months. But that is not what my title is about. (Well, not really.) Con Te Partirò is the title of a duet by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman (who has the voice of an angel). It is in Italian (which adds to its mystery) and is the most beautiful love song. It is poignant, poetic and sounds exactly how a farewell should. I have been listening to it non-stop. It could have been the background music to our trip to JFK, marked by our hailing a taxi at the curb of Central Park West and West 69th. But, unlike the movies, our taxi driver stepped on the gas as soon as his doors were closed. And Kreny, with Central Park behind her, became a tiny blur so quickly, so suddenly, while I waved earnestly from the backseat. It was not surreal at all. But real - as real as the 26 hour trip home. So here I am, feeling warm in November, eating voracious meals three time a day, waking up early - early, wearing ironed clothes, downloading music like crazy and helping fix mum and dad's computers as the machines seemed to know to crash now that we were home. But tonight, tonight, we are going to watch Harry Potter with Arj. Two full days before it comes out in the Northern Americas. Although I have already watched Just Like Heaven and Prime which are coming out here mid-November still. Still - this is Harry Potter. So, apart from missing buying leather coats and returning them, apart from missing Kreny who now takes nothing but Coke Zero, apart from missing the frenzied pace that is New York, it is good to be home. | |||
| Nov. 2nd, 2005 @ 10:48 am Observations | |||
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| 1. Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, perhaps a tad vulgar for its time, was nonetheless funny and romantic. I say vulgar because, although fiction, it spoke openly on some parts of how women of the period (or their mothers) would catch the men's fancies. I daresay this was something that was not broadcast so openly at that time, the woman having to be demure and graceful and suffocating in their corsets all the time. But it was meant to be humorous, and maybe a but satirical. At any rate, it is a wonderful love story. But the prose! Oh, the prose! I have contemplated wanting it written into something more, hmmmm...readable. But translating into modern speech would destroy it. So I will have to read it over and over as it is. And wait with anxious breath each time to see if Fitzwilliam Darcy will propose a second time to Elizabeth Bennet after her thorough rejection of him. I am just glad that, in the trailer of the newest movie version, Elizabeth, in answer to Darcy's statement that he found it difficult to converse with others, simply answered that he should practice. Instead of launching into a lengthy allegory involving her fingers and how they would not have sped over the pianoforte's keys with speed and agility were it not for hours of practice. Which is what her book counterpart did. Below is one of my favorite lines. It is said by Mr. Bennet, after listeing to his two youngest teenage daughters gush about officers, their crushes I suppose. "From all that I can collect by your manner of talking, you must be two of the silliest girls in the country. I have suspected it some time, but I am now convinced." 2. New Yorkers walk fast. On the sidewalks, in the subway station, on the stairs. It doesn't matter where or what time. There is always hurry, if not speed, in their gait. And you have to walk just as fast to keep up. But in church, after receiving communion, they walk slowly, slowly back to their seats. The contrast is so striking, it is nice to see them slow down and take their time as they contemplate their faith. Or their trespasses Or their blessings. Or how communion tasted like breadsticks. (Violet had her first communion last month a day after she turned 8 and that was all that she had to say about it). 3. New Yorkers don't like to be photographed. They stop politely while you're making a picture on the streets or in museums. Or walk hurriedly past and hide their faces (like you'd want their pictures anyway). But on one night in the entire year - they will smile for you, pose for you, perform for you! Indeed, even invite you to take their pictures. Because that night is Halloween. And they are in costume. They are Superman. Or sexy candy strip(p)ers. Or Playboy bunnies. They are not being themselves. Or are they? One shows his full self when under the safety of a disguise. | |||
| Oct. 27th, 2005 @ 12:27 pm Art | |||
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| These last few days we visited more contemporary museums that showcased modern art (read: no dinosaur bones, no Egyptian artifacts, no medieval statues). Just paintings, sculptures and the occasional digital media display. The Guggenheim was a whirlpool (literally) of paintings and sculptures. We started from the top and made our way down the spiral floor plan that also served as a huge spiral staircase (albeit without the steps). The architecture in itself was a reason to visit the museum. The MoMa was a gleaming, organized gem - as new as some of the works it displayed. There were huge glass sliding doors, lighting that enhanced - not detracted from, and wonderful trinkets in the shops to test your souvenir-shopping will. However, because of the unique structure that is the Guggenheim, placement of the artwork on the walls could not be done as scientifically as the museum would have liked. The walls were low (they would have to be for the sloping staircase to inspire a gradual, unhurried descent - or ascent for that matter) and there was not much room to maneuver in so the bigger paintings were right in your face and everything seemed too close together. It was also a bit tiring on the eyes as you had to shift your line of sight often as the paintings were not always at eye level. The MoMa, although bigger, was easier on the eyes as the centers of most of the paintings were all in one straight line. Technicalities aside (I can't help it, I studied a bit of ergonomics at school), that little observation does not make me an instant candidate for curator. It does not change the fact that I am uncultured and unedcuated about art. So you could say that all the creativity I was surrounded in those days was lost on me. That the amount I paid to view the artworks totally did not justify the meager knowledge I gleaned from my brief visits. "Who the hell knows what these are?" I muttered softly to myself, glaring at four huge abstract paintings before me. The woman a few feet away must have heard me because she looked at me quite queerly, maybe even a bit reprovingly. Just out of curiosity, I looked at the artist's name. The paintings were made by Kandinsky. Comissioned by the owner of Chevrolet for the entrance to his aparftment or something like that. Thought to be the artist's interpretation of the four seasons. Oh, fool that I am, I may never understand Kandinsky's little doodles, or Picasso's angled abstractions, Dali's melted clocks, or Malevich's black squares. But there were some paintings that I actually stopped to look at and stood before for quite some time, questions running in my head. Like On the Way to a Village Funeral (or something like that). There is a country road. A woman is at the reins of a horse cart. On the cart is a small coffin, a seated child and another one lying next to the wooden casket, seemingly ill, maybe even lifeless. The woman seems to have stopped in the middle of the road, defeated and grieving. The seated child has one hand on the coffin. So. Where is their father? Is there a child in the coffin already or is it for the one lying down next to it? What could have taken the person's life? Why is no one else helping this family? There are also some that suck you into the frame and you are transported to the artist's world for just a tiny moment. A Letter from the Front brought me into the terrace where a young boy was reading his soldier father's letter to the rest of his family. Christina's World made me wonder if she was a girl just like me. Mike mentioned the same thing as we were nearing the end of our Guggenheim visit and I actually thought we were going to have a lively , quasi-intellectual discussion about the art we had just experienced. But I knew too little. Mike remembered too poorly. And we walked to the subway, none the wiser, none the better. | |||
| Oct. 25th, 2005 @ 11:40 am Two Weeks Notice | |||
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| Well, a little less than a fortnight, actually. We've decided to fly back on the Saturday after next. So instead of going to other states, we're just going to bid New York goodbye. And what a sad farewell it is going to be. This city of the world that I have grown accustomed to, where there are always lights on somewhere in its labyrinthian streets, where Central Park is just to the left when you pop your head out the window, where I can eat chips, ice cream and jello for dinne r and no one will mind, where I can order stuff online and shipping is free and I don't have to worry about the site not accepting international cards (not that I have shopped much). Tonight, we watched a movie. It has grown so cold that I have had to borrow a heavier jacket from Kreny and keep gloves in its pockets even though no one has started wearing gloves yet. It is raining as well so on the way, I was giggling through the two, wet avenue blocks to the theater. What else is there to do when you are freezing through your jeans, the wind is making your nose cold, and tiny beads of rain are multiplying on your (borrowed) jacket? Nothing to do but giggle in the streets and watch your breath fog up in front of you. I could have played all night like that. But Elizabethtown was waiting. Everytime I come from Loews, my list of movies to watch and videos and books to buy increases. My current to see and/or to buylist: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Pride and Prejudice (Keira Knightley) 6. The Family Stone (Luke Wilson - okay. so he's not the star but he's the reason I'm gonna see it) 7. Everything is Illuminated 8. Harry Potter 4 (but that's a given) 9. Rumor Has It (the newest Rob Reiner. No I'm not watching it because of Jennifer. I'm watching it because it's a Reiner) 10. Proof (Gwyneth) 11. Prime (Uma) 12. Aeon Flux (Charlize) 13. That Paul Walker and Jessica Alba flick (Paul Walker) 14. Shopgirl 15. Casanova (Heath Ledger) 16. Star Wars III (to buy) 17. Mr & Mrs. Smith (to buy) My current to read or to buy list: 1. 2. Everything is Illuminated 3. the new Amy Tan 4. the new Nick Sparks 5. the Nick Hornbys 5. Everyone Worth Knowing (from The Devil Wears Prada author) 8. Anansi Boys (for Mike to read first as he has completely gobbled up Neil's other works here. Thanks, Arj & Cliff :p) My current to buy or, more likely, to download list: 1. David Gray - Life in Motion 2. Dave Matthews Band - Stand Up 3. a great U2 compilation 4. maybe the new Switchfoot 5. maybe the new Depeche Mode 6. Elizabethtown OST maybe (Cameron knows how to pick a mean soundtrack. except for Jerry Maguire) | |||
| Oct. 21st, 2005 @ 09:13 am Piggybacking | |||
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| A wonderful person nearby using a Belkin 54g wireless router is allowing my laptop to piggyback off his (or her!) connection. Kind, generous beings do exist on this side of Manhattan! Although it may be too early to tell as this is only the second night in a row that I've been able to successfully connect. We went to New Jersey today via train. And it was both great and bad at the same time. We caught our ride at Penn Station. The trains were quiet and fast, those belonging to the New Jersey Rail Transit were anyway. I don't know about the Amtrak trains. We were positively enthralled with the printed timetables of Amtrak trips to other states we pocketed as many as we could. Boston, Washington, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Florida! All these other states we could visit! Suddenly the world as we we knew it got a little bigger - so many unexplored regions, so many landmarks to see, so many more Starbucks Barista Series City Mugs to collect! Now comes the bad part of the trip. When we got to Newark (they pronounce it Nwark as opposed to my New Ark - and the trip took just 20 minutes!) we walked and walked and walked and we found just one Starbucks. And they didn't have the New Jersey mug! Ugh! What a total waste! I chose to get off at Newark Penn Station because, well, I assumed the station and city would be bustling just like the NY Penn. Nothing was further from my imagination! So here I am, empty-handed, wishing we had taken the ferry instead. But excited nonetheless about other worlds to walk upon. | |||
| Sep. 6th, 2005 @ 02:10 pm Back to my Old Sleeping Habits | |||
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Mood: contemplative
The first three days after we landed at JFK, I thought my sleeping habits had changed forever. I was sleeping by 9:00PM and rousing at 5:30AM. A miracle, a miracle! But it was just jetlag. So here I am at 2:00 AM (if this blog says otherwise, it's because I have no plans of changing my laptop's clock) wide awake and absolutely enthralled with the Internet, which I haven't surfed in more than a week. A week! For me, simply, that is 6 days too long.Music: Alternative Punk Playlist So here I am - enamored once again with the Information Superhighway. And pissed at this crappy connection. I keep getting disconnected and still I persist. Despite its very-low signal strength, I am taking full advantage of it because it's the first time ever we've been able to mooch off bandwidth in this neighborhood and it might be because it was Labor Day yesterday and when Jennifer wakes up tomorrow, she might have the NYPD ramming down our door if we as much as browse available networks. For the past 12 days, we've been staying at the Philippine Pastoral Center. Okay. So, it's totally not the Four Seasons where I imagined I would be staying if I ever visited New York City. But at 50 bucks a night, I am soooo taking it because everything is so expensive in this city! Where else can you order a $10,000 glass of wine (not that I actually have) or drink plain everyday bottled water (akin to Viva) that costs PhP130 or eat a 300-peso Subway 6-inch. I can't seem to stop converting between currencies. I'll never be able to see a dollar as loose change. Here, it buys a small pack of chips. Back home, I'd have canned soda to go with the chips. But as obssessed as I am with the math, I can't help but lose myself in the shops here - especially the pharmacies (which are really like groceries) as they sell so much more than drugs, the therapeutic kind, naturally. They even sell cosmetics (which, unlike food, cost half the price here). I just love browsing the aisles and looking at the merchandise. And then I look at the prices. Do the maths. And walk away. Funny thing is - back home, I might have been able to actually afford some of the stuff I see. Just that everything seems so costly here, the Benjamins (not that I have whole ones, actually) don't last long in my wallet. And we mostly buy food and MetroCard credit. Speaking of MetroCard, I will never be able to figure out the subway! Mike thought I had it down pat. He hadn't realized I was just following him! Sure, I knew where to enter and exit and, rarely, knew in which direction to walk coming up from the station. But this rapid mass transit system is one which I doubt I will ever master. And all this walking is driving my feet crazy! On the third day of walking and walking, I suddenly had a vision of Lara Croft in my head and I never missed the Rav 4 so much (or any type of comfy personal transit system for that matter). One thing I like about this trip is all the wonder and amazement that comes with seeing places that I only read about or see in the movies. The most awesome moments were seeing Manhattan for the first time coming in from Queensboro Bridge, seeing the Empire State Building and Times Square. Seeing the Washington Arch was also memorable (as I fully remember it from When Harry Met Sally) and so was walking along Coney Island's boardwalk. The Statue of Liberty we saw from afar as we crossed the river towards Saten Island. We didn't get good spots on the ferry so that kinda spoiled the moment for us. Ground Zero was as heart-wrenching as the others were amazing. It was just too sad for words to see where the Twin Towers once stood proud. Gazing through the fence, you could feel the pain, the grief and the hurt. And all you can do is look and look and look into the void. Despite all the lactose and sweetness that's supposedly oozing from this land; despite the retrogression of my own land - there is no place I would rather be. Probably because Dad and Mum are there. I wouldn't mind, though, if all my family, friends and pets moved here. Then I could earn at least $10/hour and buy all the McDonald's I want instead of scrimping and eating a 150-peso slice of pizza for brunch everyday. | |||
| Jun. 1st, 2005 @ 04:49 pm June | |||
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| Past week was pretty hectic. Kreny actually said it very nicely so I won't spoil it. Feel quite stiff today. That's what two hours on the dentist's chair can do to you. Mum gets to keep one puppy from Missy's latest bunch! He he. Poor Daddy. He wanted to give them all away. | |||
| May. 3rd, 2005 @ 06:14 pm | |||
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| Violet and I, we personalized her mobile phone. She is only 7 and she has a Nokia 8210. Well, it is really her dad's (who was dismayed that his masculine, black phone with the Batman operator logo had morphed into a pink, Powerpuff mobile). Violet's Operator Logo: Buttercup, Bubbles & Blossom Violet's Welcome Note: The Powerpuff Girls with a balloon over their head that reads: Hello Mikee! Violet's Ringing Tones: 1. Powerpuff Girls Theme (replaced Buffalo Soldier) 2. Scooby Doo Theme (replaced Timezone Remix) 3. Looney Tunes Theme (replaced Spiderman Theme) 4. Rurouni Kenshin Theme (replaced Fallin') 5. Oops! I Did it Again by Britney Spears (replaced...I can't remember) Violet's Caller Groups: 1. Family - Ernie, Bert, Kermit & The Cookie Monster 2. Friends - Pochaco, Hello Kitty & Keroppi 3. VIP - Puglet, Pooh, Tigger & Eeyore 4. Colleagues - The Kero Kero Keroppis (three of 'em) 5. Other - Mickey & Goofy Violet's Profiles: 1. General 2. Silent 3. Loud 4. Vibralert 5. Headset 6. Britney (: | |||
