backwards

Got this from Bel, my coworker. I truly enjoy doing this.

Ten movies you’d watch over and over:

   1. Closer
   2. Lemony Snicket
   3. Only You
   4. Ten Things I Hate About You
   5. Sabrina (the Audrey Hepburn starrer and its remake)
   6. Jerry Maguire
   7. Love Actually
   8. My Sassy Girl
   9. Elizabeth
  10. Little Miss Sunshine 

Nine people you enjoy the company of:

   1. My family
   2. Rosary, Jen, and Ng Rhea
   3. Fides and Rizzalyn
   4. Ate Riza
   5. Maureen
   6. Mark
   6. Telos DOCTeam
   7. Sis
   8. Ate Minerva
   9. the Valero 4 + the inactive NANAs

Eight things you’re wearing (now):

   1. Slips-on
   2. jeans
   3. blouse
   4. jacket borrowed from my sister
   5. earrings
   6. eyeglasses
   7. ring
   8. undies

Seven things on your mind:

   1. tomorrow
   2. deadline
   3. rewriting stuffs
   4. weekend
   5. writing whatnots
   6. can’t wait to finish this survey thingie
   7. home

Six objects you touch every day:

   1. mouse
   2. computer keyboard
   3. cellphone
   4. wallet
   5. my hair
   6. my bag

Five things you do everyday (aside from the basic stuffs):

   1. travel to and fro home and office
   2. listen to music
   3. have a stress-free breakfast and lunch with my co-workers
   4. laugh
   5. read my nephew a story (because he always asks me to) before I go to sleep, hehe

Four bands or musical artists that you couldn’t live without:
(this is hard…huhuhu)

   1. me
   2. myself
   3. I
   4. Gene
(explanation: whatever I sing (which is definitely a bad cover of any song) is my "music" harhar)

Three of your favorite songs of the moment:

   1. Best of My Love by the Emotions
   2. Glass Danse by The Faint
   3. Hooplas Involving Circus Tricks by Say Hi To Your Mom

Two people who have influenced your life the most (aside from of course my parents):

   1. Ate Ivy Rose Ramos
   2. Queen Elizabeth I (etchos!)

One person who has been nice to you today:

   1. Whoever invented the Internet (etchos ulit!)

Some days I just want to listen to 80’s music, not the new wave stuffs from China Crisis or Modern English. I just want to burn my ears with Whitney Houston, Madonna, Boy Krazy, and Go West, to name a few. Music that is usually performed by live show bands of today… songs that Sharon Cuneta, Alma Moreno, and Vilma Santos used to sing and dance to (I used to watch Alma Moreno’s and Vilma Santos’ variety shows on TV, my mother was a fan of those two actresses). Thank God for the Internet, my craving has been cured. I was able to download the following songs via Multiply.com (plugging multiply here?):
1) Best of My Love by The Emotions
2) King of Wishful Thinking by Go West (i think this is included in the Pretty Woman OST)
3) That’s What Love Can Do by Boy Krazy
4) Holiday by Madonna
5) Heaven Is A Place On Earth by Belinda Carlisle
6) I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston

I am still looking for Houston’s How Will I Know. Anyone who has an MP3 of that song, I hope you are kind enough to share it. Hehe

Anyway, these songs sort of transport me to days when I was still in grade school. I had a happy childhood, with my six formative years spent in Calinog, Iloilo. How I miss having Safari, squid Rings, Pritos Rings, White Rabbit, Serg Chocolates, and RC Cola or Coke for recess. And whenever I got sick then, my mother would fix me a bowl of maggi noodles with egg or buy me grapes and Fita biscuits. Weekends and after school were spent in front of the TV, watching Voltron, Voltes V, Thundercats, or Uncle Bob Lucky Seven Kid’s Club — did I get the program’s title right? (and drool over toys being advertised during breaks)… and Superbook or Flying House. And watching Tanghalan ng Kampeon and the Vilma Santos Show during Fridays. Or watch the Regal Stories, Magic Kamison, and some other shows that Regal Films produced for TV then on channel 12 (13 here in Manila). Oh yeah, That’s Entertainment, who could forget that. I love their Saturday contests - you know, when each group would have a presentation with a theme. There’s this pre-Holy Week presentations, etc. 

And most of all, rainy days would mean buying cute umbrellas with whistle or a raincoat and frolicking in the rain with kids in the neighborhood. And wearing USED miniskirts or pencil cut skirts paired with converse sneakers (not chuck taylors). How about you? Do you still remember how you were during the 80s?

Mark (former PNU classmate & seatmate/brother of my co-worker) lent me a couple of CDs. It reminded me of our PNU days when I would be looking forward to our Saturday classes because my friends would always have something to talk and laugh about. With Mark, it has always been music, movies, and traveling. has always been my music supplier. when classes get boring, we would swap info and stories about new bands, musicians, his latest mp3 acquisitions, and even, movies.

And today, I found five CDs on my desk. Mark has told me days ago that his sister would bring the CDs he wants me to listen to… I just didn’t expect that it was a lot because later on, his sister handed me two more CDs. My weekend will surely be music-filled. Here are the CDs that will likely burn my ears over the weekend:
1 The Best of Smashing Pumpkins-Acoustic - listening to this one right now.
2 The Killer In You - Smashing Pumpkins Tribute
3 My Chemical Romance-Piano Tribute
4 Acoustic Tribute To Dave Matthews Band (I wish they did a string tribute instead)
5 Foo Fighters’ Skin and Bones
6 Music and Lyrics OST
7 Korn Unplugged

Talk about diversity.

Still on music, the 2007 Fete de la Musique is on June 23 at Malate, Manila. The music fest will run from 2pm until all musicians lined up to play have performed. This yearly festival is in line with the ongoing French Spring Festival. It features diverse music from World, Blues, Jazz; Hiphop; and Rock.

World stage is in Nakpil Cor. Ma. Orosa; HipHop in Adriatico St; Universal/Main in Plaza Rajah Sulayman; and Rock in Remedios Circle.

Among the artists I want to check out are Daydream Cycle, Drip, Bagetsafonik, Paramita, Sound, Spy, and Pinikpikan (because I have heard so much about them). Puro sa World, hehe…

Remember how I would protest that I can’t bring myself to write whatevers… it seems I have lost touch with words and emotions that would fuel me to play with words. Well, well… I could stop protesting now. Suddenly, every day of my life, I am just compelled to pound on the keyboards and write down my thoughts on whatever that pops in my mind.

Just a minute ago, I browsed through a co-worker’s blog and one of her entries left me thinking about success. I know it’s quite cliched to say that success is not having a lot of money to buy a big house, a sleek car, the latest gadgets, and all those branded and fashionable (kuno) clothes that you ever dreamed of. I am not sourgraping but I never see having so much money or receiving a six-figure monthly salary defining a successful man or woman (but it wouldn’t hurt to have a six-figure salary, harhar).

Success, to me, is being able to make a difference in someone else’s life… it is making the best of what you have… it is standing by and fighting for what you believe in, not compromising your beliefs and principles because of money, fame, or power… it is to be genuinely happy.

And I can say I am getting there… to the point where I can say without hesitation - Yes, I am successful.

For other matters, I just can’t get enough of Kings of Convenience… and I just discovered the wonderful music of Cassandra Wilson. For slow days at work (which I really don’t mind because you can only get lucky once in a while), I love listening to these two. (check out KOC’s music at my multiply account)

There are a lot of people who die, not only physically, because of love. Love, as they say, can make you, and worse of all, break you. That is, if you allow love (or so you thought) to swallow you alive. You wallow like you have died a thousand deaths. You find yourself saying, "I’ll never love again. I can never love again." Who haven’t been through that kind of death? And of course, you will remain dead if you just allow your life to get stuck in that heartache. No one, not even your parents, can revive your heart… to make it alive again if you do not will it. You can only grieve so much but not waste your whole life grieving over a love lost.

You can ask the questions - Why did he/she leave me? Am I not good for him/her? What did I not have that his/her current gf/bf has? Didn’t he/she love me? - a million times and might have them answered but you will remain hurt and bitter if you would continue to live in the past… in his/her past promises, in the fairy tale that maybe he/she will come back, maybe he/she will realize it is me he/she wants. I just hope it wouldn’t end up like that… I just hope that it wouldn’t reach to a point where time simply passed you by because you have convinced yourself that fairy tales come true and he/she will come running back to your arms.

Our life doesn’t stop in one or a dozen of heartaches… in one or dozen of men or women who will make us laugh and eventually make us cry after breaking our hearts. We shouldn’t stop laughing when the one who made us laugh left… because there is something else that brings us laughter and joys. There is so much out there to indulge in and be happy about. Believe me, they are just waiting for you.

For B and for everyone who is trying to fix a broken heart.

When I was a little girl, I considered my father my superhero… He is the guy I really looked up to. And just like most of the little girls, I always say I would marry a guy who is like my father - intelligent (especially in math), smart, jack of all trades, humorous, responsible, loving, caring, family-centered, God-centered, amiable, articulate. Yes, I could go on and on. My father almost had it all. He was my super idol… until I reached college and became a professional, my father’s super-idol image has slowly faded. I didn’t know that a hero like my father would have flaws and shortcomings. I know it’s unfair to ever expect my father to be a perfect hero. Even heroes, like Spiderman or Superman, have their weaknesses and flaws. So, it shouldn’t be surprising that my father would have a longer list of weaknesses and flaws than the fictitious heroes we have around. But then I was too crushed to know that my father is not a hero that I have always seen him to be. I was quite disillusioned… and it came to a point that I was no longer in awe of my father. I knew my father felt my animosity and even felt so bad that he can no longer impress nor amuse me. He has been relegated to the sidelines, even against his wishes. And then… yesterday, during a mass, the priest spoke about giving fathers a chance to change. I felt guilty because even if I see good changes in my father, I always allow past resentments and disappointments to rule that I would find myself saying, "Why is it that it’s only now that he saw things this way?" I felt bad that I didn’t give my father chances to change… instead I became so prejudiced. Just like what the priest said, "It’s never too late to change." If your father did something wrong, learn to really forgive and give him a chance to change… just like how God gives us so many chances to make up for our mistakes. No matter what my father will always be my father… He will always be the man who taught me the value of respect, politeness, education and charity. He will always be the man who would endlessly defend, protect, love, care, and guide me and my siblings. And even if I have a lot of mistakes in life… even if I have hurt him for my irascible actions and animosity before, I know he will always say, I am proud of you and I love you.

To Papa, I am sorry for everything. Happy Father’s Day.

First, I’ve been hook to Gwen Stefani’s 4 in the Morning and Dashboard Confessional’s latest album "Dusk and Summer."

And then… classes have officially started yesterday and as expected traffic has worsened. Today, I left for work at 6:09am and I was quite surprised that as early as 6:09am, tricycles have ran out already… and traffic was bad going out of Carsadang Bago until Nueno Ave. in Imus. I didn’t expect students to flock to school this early. Well, I underestimated students’ excitement over first week of classes. I am sure by mid-July  their excitement will wane. Anyway, I saw some of my former students on my way to work (as the school where I used to teach is just along the way going to Aguinaldo Highway). Of course, they didn’t see me. Seeing some of my students, I couldn’t help but think what if I didn’t leave my teaching job. Most probably, I would feel the same mixed jittery-excitement feelings I had last year. It was also June 13, when I officially could say I was a teacher. I remember my first day as a teacher. Carrying a chalkbox and the must-have teacher kit (which is a green folder containing the lesson plan, syllabus, and later on, seat plans), I entered room D-401. It was a 7am class with 3-Radon. As soon as I stepped into the classroom, I was quite surprised that the students are there already… and when they greeted me in unison, I knew that was the start of my (short) journey as a teacher. That day rolled swiftly… and day by day, I got to know each one of my students. Who is participative… noisy… restless… smart… intelligent… shy… funny, etc.? Looking at and being with them had somewhat transported me to my own high school years. My HS years were not so special. Anyway, you come to think of it, high school people are fairly similar. There will always be the cool clique, notorious group, the beauties, the nerdies, the jocks, the rockstars, the plain janes and joes, etc. Then I remember my own bloopers and mistakes. And I guess, if I am still teaching, I would try not to make those same mistakes and do things differently.

The long weekend turned out to be a good rest. I got to take my nephew to see a film featured in the ongoing French Filmfest… finished the book I’ve borrowed… saw The Empire Strikes Back… and best of all, got together with friends from college.

On Saturday, my nephew was all excited to see a movie. He loves to see movies and also traveling. So, the movie outing also gave him a chance to travel by bus and MRT. And saw the cityscapes… although he got quite restless during our bus ride going to Shangri-la. Anyway, Roselyn agreed to meet us up and watch the movie too. I was excited to see Roselyn (Bb Ro) as I havent seen her for almost three years now. We only keep in touch through text and friendster. I also got excited after knowing that the movie is free. We watched Arthur and the Invisibles, which my nephew liked. He was attentive throughout the movie. The movie, which was in English and not in French as I expected it to be, was really for kids, anyway. Though, I kind of enjoyed it too… and I got another surprise as the movie was directed by French director Luc Besson and Madonna, David Bowie, and Robert de Niro were the voices for the characters in the semi-animated movie we saw. Besson directed one of my favorite movies - Leon, the Professional. After the movie, Roselyn and I, with my nephew, ate downstairs… and mentioned that Cedric agreed to meet up tomorrow.

On our way home, I don’t know what made a middle-aged man seated beside us give Joaqui a bag of biscuits. He just did it out of the blue… Maybe, he found Joaqui too cute as my nephew kept on pointing at the buses and motorcycles on the road and he identified them correctly. Anyway, Joaqui got scared because he suddenly kept quiet and hugged me. I guess he knew that he cant just talk and take something from a stranger.

The next day, it was my brother’s birthday… and Rosary and her future husband dropped by. As they were about to leave our house to catch a mass at Greenbelt, I got messages from Roselyn and Cedric, asking what are the plans for tonight. So I decided to go with Rosary and meet with two of good friends who have been our colleagues in the college paper. Cedric arrived at the meeting place on time… Tapos kawawa pa kasi we had to wait for Rosary and John to finish hearing a mass at the chapel. So most of the time, we just sat at Fresh Bar and traded stories of yesteryears and the present days. Then we had to walk back to Glorietta again to meet with Rosary kay nagsala sila. We would have been complete if only Jen was there but… of course, we know family comes first. So over dinner at Giligans, more stories (most of it were funny ones) were traded. Hope we could have another get together before Cedric will go home.

Yey, it’s a long weekend once again. So, what am I gonna do during the long weekend?

As much as I want to travel somewhere, I can’t because of two reasons: no travel buddies to share accommodation expenses and insufficient budget. So I might as well catch a movie featured in the ongoing French Film Festival at Shangri-la Manila and stay at home, watch DVDs, sleep, and read a book.

French Film Festival

This year’s filmfest will run through June 17. For the screening schedule, click French Film .

I will definitely see March of the Penguins and The Perfume: Story of a Murderer. Tomorrow, I will take my nephew to see Arthur and the Invisibles. I am sure he would appreciate seeing the said animated film. Joaqui loves watching movies with us. Most of the time, he would sit beside my brother or me whenever we watch a DVD movie at home. A few weeks ago, we brought him to see Pirates 3 at SM Bacoor and he was quite behaved during the movie.

Btw, I’ve heard this year’s Fete de la Musique (a spin-off of the original, French Embassy-backed Fete) will be held on the 23rd in Malate. Both Fete and the filmfest are part of the annual French Spring Festival.

On Sunday and Monday, stay at home, watch DVDs or read a book. Mark’s sister, who is also my co-worker, lent me a novel by Susan Isaacs (Shining Through). Sunday is also my youngest brother’s birthday… so there would be some mini-celebration for it.

I haven’t been to anywhere this summer. I haven’t done any swimming or traveling. 
Sometimes, I think the way I live my life has changed drastically. I miss traveling… I miss the high I feel whenever I haul myself to somewhere new.

But I am kind of getting used to having my weekends spent at home… sleeping, fixing stuffs at home, and watching TV and DVDs with my nephew and my brother. I’ve just finished watching the seasons 1 and 2 of One Tree Hill, which it’s like our locally made telenovelas… love triangle, evil family member, revenge, love… and more love twists. Anyway, the last episodes of Season 2 had me wondering about giving up and pursuing dreams… whether it is right for one person to abandon the one she/he loves to go after her/his dreams.