Sucker for magic numbers

We're calling this race "21 at 31."

This is it, kids. I'm getting back on that running horse, by hook or by crook.

With numbers like that, who wouldn't be inspired.

Sorry, really mababaw like that when it comes to running.

WOOHOO! Let's go do this!

10Xer and the fight against mediocrity

I'm reminded of a concept in Jim Collins' Great By Choice today.

My google search for 10Xers led me to this article, with an excellent closing statement:

On the one hand, 10Xers understand that they face continuous uncertainty and that they cannot control, and cannot accurately predict, significant aspects of the world around them. On the other hand, 10Xers reject the idea that forces outside their control or chance events will determine their results; they accept full responsibility for their own fate.

(Source: www.27gen.com)

Inspired, I search for Jim Collins on Twitter. Although I don't find his account (he may not be socially connected here as he's busy touring the world to research content for upcoming great works) I find quote after wise quote:

The signature of mediocrity is not an unwillingness to change but rather, a chronic inconsistency.

(As tweeted by @MaryIrungu)

Its these little bits of learning that get me thru the daily grind. And become a fount of inspiration for the passionpreneur in me.

Temporary Bio

This was my bio on twitter yesterday...

"Not-yet-master baker. Online shopper. Theater dreamer. Introvert at heart. Extrovert for the job. Kinda dumb and comes with anger issues."

Me, in 160 characters (spaces included) or less.

It was the first time I'd put something under bio on that social medium, seriously, since I started tweeting ... last ... Jan 2012 (apparently not too long ago!). Not sure exactly what compelled me to put it in there but it felt like this sudden need to be able to identify myself.

I deleted it three hours later.

I realized putting myself in a box that way limits me. Yes, true that I am getting a groove on baking, but it's not the only thing I do in the kitchen. I make awesome pastas and entrees, too. Yes, true that I just bought a ton of stuff online, but that mostly because 1) lately I haven't been to the mall, and 2) browsing thru pretty and nifty kitchenware takes away my stress. Its the same as any other homemaker who calms down whenever she nears pots and pans in the department store. Yes, true I've always dreamed of being part of a theater production, as either a chorus member or a stagehand but it's been relegated to the backburner, revived only recently (as in, yesterday) by an ad for Miss Saigon auditions within the month.

But there is much more to me than these. These statements may represent me now, or over the weekend, or for a quarter or two but it doesn't seem right to limit me to these. I sing, I work too much, I'm obsessed with cable TV, I apparently like to decorate things, I enjoy writing the senseless ramblings of my brain, I used to run, I have never eaten dinuguan, ever, etc etc etc.

To be asked to describe yourself in 160 characters or less is insane.

Online Shopper

Hello.

I'm Tippie, and I'm an online shopaholic.

Gah! Yes. I admit it! I'm into internet shopping. Surprise, surprise!

I have thus far bought:

1) my wedding gift of a friend
2) my baby shower/hello baby gift for a "new-mom" cousin
3) a food processor for miself
4) 5 Christmas lights
5) 2 ceramic frying pans
6) and 2 non-stick cookie sheets

To-date, only the wedding gift has been retrieved (and already given away). *tear*

Items 2 & 3 are arriving on the 29th, while 4, 5 and 6 get here on Friday.

I think I should stop with 6.

Please disconnect me from the world wide web of happiness...

But seriously, have you tried to shop online? It's actually very... soothing. Okay, fine, that's justification talking but really, there are tons of great deals online.

Take the soon-to-be-mine-but-already-paid-for food processor I got from www.cashcashpinoy.com. I paid 1,500 bucks for it, when normally food processors cost 3k and up. How reliable is the brand? What brand? I don't know! It's not like I'm going to use it on a near daily basis for foodstuff. It'll be worked weekly, max, for the baking thing. It'll be fine! (Justification talking again.)

Then those ceramic frying pans I got for 730 and 480 (large and small, obv). Its home shopping advertisement prices them at 4,000 bucks! Granted they're sold as a set but who needs a set of 3 pans? I got two for less than the food processor. From where? www.lazada.com. And I only pay when the items are delivered. Not bad at all.

So yeah, there are risks in shopping online, but there are great deals and excellent buys, too. Not trying to turn anyone else into an online shopper like me but hey, shopping's just so much better with company, right?

LOTR vs GoT... Hello! No Contest!

I had this conversation once, with a friend, who asked me, as a fantasy sci-fi reader, which do I like better: Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones?

My adamant reaction was, how dare someone even ask that? Nothing compares to Tolkien. NOTHING! N-O-T-H-I-N-G!!!!

Wrong. Three months later, I figure it out and realize my answer should have been... nothing. LOTR is much too different from GoT, so much so that the only thing they do have in common is their section in the bookstore.

Plus the fact that I have not read a single book in the GoT series (even though I have two of 'em sitting and gathering dust in my library), I really had no right to even answer the question.

But first, let me explain my near-violent answer three months ago.

I am obviously a very righteous fan of Frodo and the great Hobbit adventure. I think I've read the books 3 times each on average. I can't tell you how many times I've seen the movies (the extended versions are part of my yearly Christmas break ritual). And The Hobbit was the very first technically adult fantasy novel I bought for myself and devoured whole. I've said hobbit one too many times in a paragraph, haven't I? Might be 'cause I'm EXCITED for the movie.

So yeah, I'm a fan. But more than being a fan, I've considered myself to be a believer, of the themes and ideas Tolkien wrote of in his masterful trilogy.

Back in the (when were they published) 1950s/60s, as industry boomed after the war, Tolkien knew Mother Nature would struggle under the steel wheels of mankind, so he wrote of the importance of trees and the forest, how everything is better with good tilled earth. Amazingly even, he wrote of nature fighting back. Ents gatecrashing Saruman's dilly-dallying is one of my favorite scenes in Two Towers. He was, essentially, one of the world's first environmentalists.

Tolkien was also one of the first to write in women as strong characters into his storyline. Sword wielding Eowyn. Serene, collected yet strong-willed Arwen. Awe-inspiring Galadriel. They all had their role to play in the road to free Middle Earth from the fear of the would-be wrath of Sauron. Arwen steers Aragorn to accepting his fate as King of Gondor. Galadriel gives Frodo the bottled light of Earendil which saves him from Shelob. And Eowyn destroys the Witchking of Angmar ("I am no man!", another favorite, this time from Return of the King).

And Tolkien's presentation of good and evil is as clear cut as it gets. You knew goblins, orcs, Sauron, the Balrog, the Ring Wraiths and the Urukhai were evil. And you knew elves and dwarves and hobbits and eagles and men were good. Black and white. Good had to conquer evil and there's no going around that.

That was my main argument to the question posted. I said, I find the notion of politics, intrigue, cheating and lying and not ever knowing who's on whose side, makes GoT blurry and complicated. Guess it's why it makes for a good series. Its a book per season, you know. So GoT fans who rely solely on the telly, you've got a long way to go.

Fast forward to today, and I look into the books I'm into now. Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time blurs the lines of good and evil too, exploring the weakness of men (and women) to the temptations of power. Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn explores cult formation and history manipulation, to rile the oppressed to fight or hide an unbearable truth from the general public. From my reading of Stromlight Archives B1P1, looks like Sanderson'll further delve into questioning what is right and what is wrong and peel back more layers to expose humanity for what it is.

Maybe its the trend of the new millennium. These are complicated times we're in. Nothing's as A or B as 20, 30 or 40 years ago. There's not just one road-not-taken here. The fork has morphed into a superhighway cloverleaf. Inasmuch as we'd like it to be, the world where Tolkien wrote his story is gone, replaced by this muddled sense of "hey, your own mother-in-law could be a serial killer". Okay, that may be too weird or extreme an example, but you get the point. Good isn't just simply good anymore. Good may be the president who calls in the explosion of an Afghan town that wipes it off the map in order to rid the world of the Al Qaida. Bad may be the corrupt police officer who just needs the extra money to pay for his son's school book photocopy. It's not as black/white clear cut anymore.

So, dear reader, people do turn over new leaves and sometimes eat their words. I honestly still prefer LOTR but I'm not going to put down GoT or any other budding fantaseries in the process of defending it.

Except maybe 50 Shades of NO WAY. But that's another entry for another day.

Been too long

 but tides' a-changing and its high time I steered mi boat into a brand new adventure.

:)

Erm, no. Not quitting the job. As imperfect as it is, its still waaaay better off than most things.

Erm... no, nothing drastic's happening either in the realm of familia. And no change either in relationship status (to answer your awkward unasked Q).

One new thing is this entry. After a lull and a silence, I'm back to writing. Hope you don't mind all the other (howmanynumberof) posts here tonight. Its a writing spree, I tell you.

And I'm off!

If you want to get paid for your freelance work...

...then you ought to find and lead a tribe, build a base of people who want you, and only you, and are willing to pay for it.

-Seth Godin

Words to live by. :-)

Derailed, and the slow road of getting back on track

The past 9 months of 2012 have not been the best to me.

Nix that.

For the past 9 months of 2012, I have not been the best to me. I've let myself go, be moody, not read, not write, and get lost basically in a hullabaloo of work. As much "fun" and "experience generating" going back to media is, it's come at the consequence of losing focus on loving myself.

The past few months have found me angry at anything and everything in the world: inane drivers, idiotic pedestrians, worthless traffic enforcers... yes, they're mostly found on the road home after my rage has reached its tipping point for the day. I've been known to even lash out at colleagues, granted they weren't unwarranted but uncalled for nonetheless.

A few weekends ago, though, hope shone thru with the rediscovery of a passion for baking. It started with an episode of Everyday Baking, when host/baker John Barricelli showed how damn easy it was to make lemon custard squares. I couldn't believe how simple it was that I had to try it out for myself. Amazingly, they turned out pretty great!

That started a trend of experimentation of trying different things: red velvet cheesecake, blueberry lemon cheesecake, milk choco butterscotchies, choco swirl blondies, oatmeal apricot cookies... And hopefully to many more as the weekends push on. I have a few ideas to try out but I've built up a good repertoire of goodies for a viable SME.

And a good miniature, tiny tiny SME is the next step for me. The most of 2012 may have derailed me from a certain track but maybe its because I had to eventually find this new one I'm fixing my wheels on. I still hope to get back my healthy, fit self, but right now, the burning desire to make something out of nothing is so much stronger.

So how does "Hip to be Square" sound to you?

Big Fish

(I wonder how many of my posts begin with...)

Seth Godin's latest blog entry talks about being #1. He figures being #1 in a small market is a whole lot better than being #3 in a big market. Ouch. That might feel like a slap on the face to a certain businessman somewhere... not anywhere in particular.

It's good advice, me thinks. Small market doesn't necessarily mean smaller profit nowadays. Hollowing out a niche for yourself allows leverage to dictate price due to remarkability of your product. And as your niche catches on, it eventually becomes the norm of the masses. Small pond gets rained on with habagat-like proportions and turns into... what do you know! Big pond!

It's like the real MVP announcing his twitter account today. He chose to sell this piece of info to the market who worships: the newbies of professionalismdom obsessed social media. He's king of that pond. Of course the entire fish population of that pond have their smart phones in tow, start following him in microseconds, tweeting and retweeting that they're now a techy degree closer to their demigod. Drip-drip-drop little April shower and now there's a game on twitter called "Watch the followers grow." 2,590 followers in less than 30 minutes. All this and not a single tweet to his name.

So, lesson learned. For passionpreneur project, I shall be the big fish in my bar none pond. I have no idea how yet but I guess that's something I have to figure out in the next few weeks.

4,016 followers already, and a tweet! Wonder when he'll get the "verified" tick mark...

Unforgiving

I have a temper.

It's the kind of temper that fires up with bad driving, stupid pedestrians who don't use the sidewalk, the self-absorbed, and negligent workers.

It comes in bursts, granted they're short but of late they've come too often in a day. I try to control it but to reel it in would be untrue to myself. People are afraid of me because of it nowadays. They think of me as a sort of Jekyll/Hyde monster. Sweet and understanding one moment... Angry and hotheaded the next.

I guess there must be some way I can adjust my temper a bit for some to be less fearful of me. My boss advises I learn diplomacy and poker-faced-ness. I kind of don't agree because when I find something to be wrong, I am unafraid to speak, and speak loudly about it.

I hate it when people hide behind fake laughter and forced smiles, which is unfortunately the very base of the industry I work in. Unfair though, that for being truthfully unforgiving I am marked as near evil. Just because I can't force myself to be friends with the shallowly gorgeous faces of the media industry, I am dubbed mataray. Just because I rant over the stupid mistakes of others, I am dubbed ill-tempered.

I am not two faced. I am sweet and kind and caring. But push me far: don't answer my questions, ignore my emails, don't do your job so I can do it for you... that calls for a beating 'til you're a bloody pulp. And I will.

Inspiration

When I want to take a step back from work, I look for comforting images that remind me of my passionpreneur project.

Here are some inspirations I found online today. :)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Icebox Cake

Twix Cake

No Bake Strawberry Milk Cheesecake

Southern Caramel Cake

Aren't they gorgeously, outrageously, delicious looking? I can't wait to try these out when the Kitchen Clean-up is finally done.

The Power Of Words

I got this video link from my dad. He forwarded an email with the link to me with a simple one-liner. "Tips, this is one form of marketing."

I guess he wasn't referring to the obvious viral video execution.

On Being A Manager

Don't think I fully understand what it means...

Don't think I was quite ready for what it entails...

Realizing only now how ironically weak this position is...

It's like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Devil and the deep blue sea. Sylla and Caribdis. Wait. That's the same thing. Oooh! Frying pan and the frier!

Can't believe I'm possibly losing friends because of this. Seriously. I need to know how to deal with people better. Need to know how to project myself to 1) the bosses, 2) my peers, and 3) the real people who do the nitty-gritty.

But for tonight, I think I'll just sleep on it.

The Passionpreneur (A.k.a. Getting off the 9-5)

I was talking to an officemate earlier today about starting a business. Another colleague of ours recently tendered his resignation citing he needed to focus on one of his budding businesses as his reason, and the thought of entrepreneurship came to her (like the Holy Spirit descending upon the Apostles... only less holy and more greedy).

Her first question was how she could get money without doing any actual labor. I was tempted to retort, "Have you tried the lotto?" when she explained herself a bit further. Our recently-resigned colleague's business is... tadah-dahdum... a spa; they're opening up a branch somewhere in QC and he's going to be basically in charge of it. Safe to say, though, he won't be the one doing any of the actual massaging. At least we hope not. So that's what she meant. Money coming in from a business where the owner isn't doing any of the manual involved. Basically be the manager of her own business.

Of course I couldn't help but chime in with my thoughts.

I believe there are two types of entrepreneurs. There are those who simply have a knack for business: gleefully diving headfirst into any business opportunity, whether its a sari-sari or hardware store, a load-a-phone franchise, or a spa, and getting ROI by the 5th monthsary. These are the businessmen who treat business as a field, the same way marketers treat marketing like a field. Coffee is coffee is coffee to the regular folk, but a marketer knows how to position a Starbucks Komodo Dragon from a Nestle 3-in-1. These businessmen-by-profession only have one goal in any project they get into: turn a profit.

Then there are the entrepreneurs who start a business based on a passion. These are the people who don't necessarily have a business degree, admittedly know nothing about starting a start-up, and look at the 30% profit margins last. All they know is, they're tired of the day job that stresses them out incessantly from 9-5 and would simply rather be doing something else. I call them the passionpreneur, and their journey starts with a simple question: What would rather be doing on everyday than this?

Doing = Labor. But then again, its laboring over something one loves. Something one is passionate about.

Passionpreneurs are the likes of Chris Guillebeau, Sweetapolita, Carlos Celdran, the folks of Las Casas Bataan, U2, JK Rowling, Steve Jobs and Seth Godin. Businessmen-by-profession are Richard Branson, MVP, Donald "You're fired" Trump, and now our officemate who's resigning to do this spa thing. His other businesses include a restaurant and a bar. We kinda wonder why he wanted a day job in the first place.

If I were to choose a path to take to get off the 9-5, I would choose to be a passionpreneur. Not that the other way is the wrong way. I'd just rather be focused and work on what I really want. Now, to answer the question, what WOULD I rather be doing on a daily basis than this?

I think I'll save that for another post. I know it already. I really, really do. :-)

Books I want

(a.k.a. Books to grow mi collection with)

(a.k.a. If-you-love-me,-you-will-give-me Book List)

The latest from the goddess of supernatural writing. Off her affair with the religious, Anne Rice goes back to her roots of mystical beings. Done with the vampires and the witches, she now takes on the challenges of lycanthropy and the elusive werewolf. Not a read for everyone, obviously. But when did I ever read the books everyone else liked.

Another awesome book from one of the best business authors on the planet. Jim Collins further delineates the good from the GREAT by identifying his "10xers." Reading the except has made me a believer: "Nature only evens out the playing field. Behavior that makes the difference."

@Lord_Voldemort7 most intriguing interview of the young twenty-something novelist drove me to do my bit of research on the developing Divergent Series. The plot kind of reminds me of 9 (Nine), with each of the factions representing a uniquely human characteristic. Pitting factions against each other brings about the question, which trait is best to have, and which ones are better abandoned. I predict the ending will be, "have 'em all" but I'm intrigued by how Roth will end up with that conclusion.

I just got Part One over the weekend, and I'm hooked as always, in the fantastical world weaved by the words of the master. As always, Sanderson sets up Roshan, it's dynasties, political intricacies and religious factions. A true society build, if you ask me. (I'm such a nerd!) Kind of torn between gobbling up Part One soon as possible or not, because I don't have Part Two yet! Gah! I so want to get in the world of Shallan and Kaladin already. Fully Booked, get your act together and shit out Part Two (Gollanz) already. kthanksbye.

Those are but a few of the ones in my dreamlist. Maybe someone from far, far away will give me these books tomorrow! I need a book sponsor.

Food post

You know what's good... and I mean extremely, superbly, unbelievably good...

The devil made this.

Sisig Hooray's Barkada Pork Sisig with 1 cup rice.

Damn it.

I swear to you, those bits of chicaron are laced with something... crushed E maybe...

Maybe if I keep writing about it, something will happen.

Like a fairy godmother will appear out of nowhere and miraculously make me want to run again.

I hate this idea that I need to run because I'm fat. When I started running two years ago, it was because I was ... well... peer-pressured into it... then I fell in love with it.

And no matter how late it was, and no matter for how short, I found the time and energy to run.

Now, 15 pounds later (Yes, 15 pounds. FUCK.) I have zero energy, zero time and zero motivation to run. Other than I'm frikkin' Fat Bastard fat.

And I hate the idea that now I have to run because I'm fat.

GAH! Stop this pity party. Where are my weights?

Bad one coming

There are just days when I completely rethink this field and industry. Rethink why, for all that is good and holy, do I choose to be in media marketing? In free TV media marketing?

Why?

Is it the perks? Is it the shiny, fame-y, famous things that come with the job? Is it the idea that I work in TV? Is it because I get to sell entertainment to an entertainment hungry public?

WHY?

I seriously don't know anymore.

I know I'm not fooling myself when I say I can't imagine doing anything else. Managing executions, book-ending activities, doing promos and giving stuff away, looking for the big idea and making it happen on-screen, on-ground, online, in print... basically everywhere. Its what I know. And at one point, I thought it was what I know best.

Now... I'm not sure anymore. And the phrase, you don't necessarily love what you're good at, just keeps haunting me. You want the perfect plan and the prefect presentation to go with it? I'm your gal. You want me to be happy doing it... that's gonna take a bit more work.

Damn. And I thought the angry job posts were through.

Dear someone, anyone... help.

Sound Trippin': Ours

Elevator buttons and morning air
Strangers' silence makes me wanna take the stairs
If you were here, we'd laugh about their vacant stares
But right now, my time is theirs

Seems like there's always someone who disapproves
They'll judge it like they know about me and you
And the verdict comes from those with nothing else to do
The jury's out, but my choice is you

So don't you worry your pretty little mind
People throw rocks at things that shine
And life makes love look hard
The stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is ours

You never know what people have up their sleeves
Ghosts from your past gonna jump out at me
Lurking in the shadows with their lip gloss smiles
But I don't care 'cause right now you're mine

And you'll say don't you worry your pretty little mind
People throw rocks at things that shine
And life makes love look hard
The stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is ours

And it's not theirs to speculate if it's wrong
And your hands are tough but they are where mine belong in
I'll fight their doubt and give you faith with this song for you

'Cause I love the gap between your teeth
And I love the riddles that you speak
And any snide remarks from my father about your tattoos will be ignored
'Cause my heart is yours

So don't you worry your pretty little mind
People throw rocks at things that shine
And life makes love look hard

Don't you worry your pretty little mind
People throw rocks at things that shine
But they can't take what's ours, they can't take what's ours

The stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is ours

(Advanced) Happy Birthday, Insights!

I'm not good with remembering dates so I'm writing this now while it's still in my head, because if I hold off this post to May 6... I might never get to write it and miss another bloggiversary.

So...

(Advanced) HAPPY BIRTHDAY, INSIGHTS FROM THE MOVIES!

Woohoo! You are (unofficially) two years old! Eww. In blog-years, that's nearing mid-life crisis... like 30 or something.

Wait... I'm 30...

Hennyhoo! So, you're two and here's lookin' at you! Still hodge podge. Still a publicly available online journal of your writer (moi!). And still as crazy and inane as that very first entry, "Funny Thing About Shit, Only Good Things Grow Out Of It."

And I wouldn't change you one bit!

May we see each other thru the successes and failures of our lifetime, and cheers to more human years with ya!

The Hunger Games

Finally... I've found time to write my thoughts on the ever-in-no-one's-favor movie, The Hunger Games.

Why now? Because I've got my computer on, I'm waiting idly by for something work-related to be done, and I can't think of a more productive way of passing the time besides bloggin' mi thoughts away.

So, on to the insights!

First of, let me explain that I was not as obsessed with The Hunger Games trilogy as I was with ... The Bartimaeus Trilogy of Jonathan Stroud, The Mistborn Trilogy of Brandon Sanderson, The Harry Potter Series... heck I was admittedly more manic over Twilight.

By obsessed I mean I was not scouring the net for anything HG related after reading Book 1. (After I read Twilight, I got on Google, types Twilight+Stephenie Meyer and found www.stepheniemeyer.com. Within the next few hours, I read ALL (and I mean ALL) of the outtakes posted on the site. Including Midnight Sun. I mean that kind of obsessed.) I didn't really feel the need to go digging for more information on the series. Probably because I already had books 2 and 3 with me, waiting to be read, but I also I think because the story is fairly straight forward.

Iron-fist rulers keep minions in line thru slavery and savagery. It's the dictator's dream come true: be so powerful that whatever you say, even when its as insane as "send me your kids to die," is set in stone. Given a few years of conditioning, the reasons behind the insanity blur out to become the accepted truth. It's like that cartoon of the monkeys, the ladder and the bananas. Simple enough really, even hits home on some aspects of modern day society. However, instead of beatings, what's been accepted is an annual massacre of children.

I guess that's where some non-readers got confused. It was the question I encountered the most: "Why in the world were they doing that?"

Besides to keep citizens in line... hunny, the movie came from a scifi fantasy novel. If it didn't start with the premise of murderous children, it wouldn't be different from any other Tom, Dick and Vampire Diaries. That's why.

So anyway... the movie. Let's start with the things I disliked (my blog, my voice):
1) Too long! Went in the cinema at 3:30. Came out at 6?!?! Where have all my afternoon gone!? My butt was aching by the time Foxface killed herself by eating the nightlock Peeta set aside.

2) Unclear backstory of how Katniss became the survivor that she is, even before she entered the arena. The struggles she went thru with the passing of her dad, the depression of her mom, and her "utang-na-loob" to Peeta. For me, that "utang-na-loob" (what the heck is it in English?!?!) (It's not gratitude. It's deeper than that. There should be this tinge of embarrassment somewhere...) was one of the main things that drove Katniss to be the best bet to win the 74th season of The Hunger Games.

3) Missing Madge. The mayor's quiet daughter, whom Katniss thought of as a true friend despite them barely having said anything to each other... Madge gave the Mockingjay pin to Katniss. I'm not sure why exactly this is important to me, but I find it deeply symbolic that the inspiration to topple a tyrannical government came from somewhere within it.

4) Rue's murder not bloody enough. And the spear (in my head) came from behind, while rue was still in the net. I just think that could've made her death more dramatic. Then again, i was crying enough with how it was made so I guess its fine.

5) No cabin in the woods with the lake. Nothing to represent escape... from District 12, from the games, from the soon to be revealed District 13... oops... have I said too much?

Then again, there were things I did like:
1) The concentration camp-esque feel of The Reaping. It was exactly how I pictured it in my head. Besides being a starkly compelling contrast to The Capitol's crazy-colors, the greys, browns and blues of the girls' dresses, and the boys' slicked-to-the-side hairstyles just compounded the dreariness of the situation. Therefore, adding only more drama to the three-fingered salute Katniss received when she got on stage instead of her sister. I was teary-eyed in this scene.

2) Seneca Crane's character development. The head of it all. Game master. He thought of every single evil thing in the games, but all with this twisted mentality of "it's only entertainment." Because, stupidly, that's really how the citizen of The Capitol saw the games. It was their annual season of Survivor: reality TV completely detached from reality. Seneca's character in the book was hardly touched. In fact, I was thinking they'd bring up Plutarch Heavensbee, since he's a key character in books 2 and 3. Was wondering where the punchbowl was when Katniss shot the arrow through the apple. The other part of Seneca that I appreciated was his connectedness with President Snow. How, despite being head of the 74th season of The Hunger Games, President Snow still controlled him as the neck of the entire operation. Kudos. Too bad he's dead. That development would've been a wonderful addition to the Rebellion.

Those are the things I can think of for now.

Overall, it was still a good movie. Hopefully though, Books 2 & 3 will be slightly shorter... but chances of that happening are slim to none.

The Me I Wanna Be (Online)

I am choosing today to be a slow work day. Since it's a slow work day, I shall be a-writing one more entry before I call it tonight (to the strangers stumbling in here... that's "before I call it a night" said in very broken-English).

So, slow work day started at about 12nn today. (I wasn't unproductive, work-wise, the entire day.) And it started with visiting my ever favorite photographer/baker/mother/sweet-tooth blogger, Sweetapolita! Sweetapolita isn't her real name. It's Polita. No. Pulling your leg. It's Rosie. ANYWAY, Rosie's my go-to gal when I need quick pick-me-uppers because the pictures of her baked (and sometimes no-bake) goodies are certified as upper, hyper-inducing drugs! They bring absolute joy to the desolate soul and her step-by-step guide on how to recreate them for your own gives hope that maybe someday, I can create something that's just as beautiful, and lovely, and sumptuous, and delectable...

ANYWAY AGAIN, Rosie's latest blog entry featured not food this time but another foodie blogger who just released her 2nd cookbook. Of course, anything referred by Rosie must be impeccable so off I go to the links provided. The Pioneer Woman is a website on making fantastic food. Like the Sweetapolita site, Ree's recipes are filled with step-by-step how-to pictures that make you wanna be a cook! Unlike Sweetapolita, she's not focused on one part of the meal menu... she tackles them all!!!

Appetizer... check.
Soup and salad... check.
Pasta... check!
Entre... check!!
And dessert... CHECK!

She even has a recipe for iced coffee concentrate!

What I love (yes, LOVE) about her site is how she's done her index of recipes. While others would be listing their recipes down alphabetically or categorically... she used pictures. Like what you see? Click and find out how to make it! Easy as pie! (Where the heck did that saying come from? Whoever made that up apparently never made pie before.)

But what I love best is how easy I can read her personality in the way she writes her entries. It's as if she's talking to a dear old friend on the phone and telling her, without capping the insanity, about these new amazing food things she's tried recently. I find her so casual yet so smart at the same time.

And it got me thinking... This is how I exactly want to be online. I want my entries to be short (WOW. Talaga lang ah!) and sweet and smart (Dear Lord, am I asking for too much?) and funny and witty... I want my entries to be a complete reflection of... me. That when I die and my friends miss me terribly, all they need to do is backtrack my blog entries and laugh out loud as they read through my strangeness.

Then again, reviewing this particular entry now... I think I already do read like me in real life. This already is the me I want to be online. Hmmm...

I guess I better get to work on that Visual Index.

Cheers to L-O-V-E!

This post will be about celebrating the icky love stuff. So pardon the stickiness of everything.

Found out that one of my oldest, dearest friends in the world is now engaged to the love of her life! It was an Easter proposal, so apt to the new life they'll be starting together soon, and I am absolutely thrilled and giddy with happiness for her.

J and H met when H, this wittle white boy from Germany, decided to take his med school internship (or something) here in the Philippines. He wanted to be exposed in the dangerous diseases and uber strange cases found only in 3rd world government hospitals... like the ipis in the ears... GROSS! (Apparently, ipis-in-ears don't happen to citizens of 1st world countries. They only pretend to have cases like these in hospital dramas like House.) Anyway... J also happened to be taking her internship (or whatever) in the very same government hospital H was assigned to.

H, being Alemanyan and all, wasn't really that great in expressing himself linguistically when he was here. His English was... erm, to put it kindly... bad... And of course his Tagalog was zilch! Yet, despite the language barrier, when he met J... I guess it was like love crossed the bridges speech couldn't. He was hooked, line and sinker to this beautiful, amazing braniac who rocked the drab white lab coat as if it were a gown on the red carpet. (Loyalty... CHECK!)

At first, I didn't get it. Really. I mean, here were two people, from near total opposite sides of the world with practically nothing in common other than their chosen field of profession, saying they're madly in love with each other. I didn't understand at first, that when it comes to loving someone... when you know you truly love someone and truly want to be with them... no amount of nosebleeding matters. And X to the nothing in common part. These two are travel bugs! They've scoured nearly all the beach spots of the Philippines, and ransacked every other castle in Germany and the nearby countries.

I'm extremely happy for these two, and excited to see what happens next in the love story of their lives. Although this entry is my official vote for the wedding to happen here in the Philippines (SA PILIPINAS ANG KASAAAAAAAAAL!) really, wherever it'll be, I'll be there. :)

Congratulations J and H, and here's to the start of something awesome! :)

Animal Cruelty

There are few things that get me emotionally... blindingly... angry.

And cruelty to animals is one of them. Blame it on parents who brought me up to love the other species of the planet. Blame it on the instability of the hormonal female. Blame it on too much Animal Planet. But I seriously do not consider human those who, in their God-given freewill, choose to be hurtful, violent, viscous and brutal to those weaker than they are.

Over the turn of the year, news broke of street children who stuffed lit firecrackers in a dog's mouth and rubberbanded it shut. What do you think happened? WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU THINK HAPPENED? Of course the lit firecrackers blew up in the dog's face, wracking it to pieces. The dog survived the ordeal, but its now snout-less, blind and completely debilitated.


A few months later, a bust was made on this dog-fighting gambling operation somewhere down south. As thankful as I am for the capture of the criminals and the release of the rescued Pitbulls, nearly a hundred dogs still had to be put down due to disease and other disabilities. Nearly a hundred. Lives. Snuffed out because of greed, heartlessness and this idiotic mentality that as homo sapien sapien, we can do whatever the hell we want.

This morning, while stuck in traffic, the Crosswind in front of our car had a small, tightly bound plastic bag hanging from its bumper. The bag ripped and out came the back limbs of a kitten. THE KITTEN WAS IN A PLASTIC BAG HANGING FROM THE BACK OF A VAN.  Mama and I were stunned. We were both dumbfounded by the inhumanity in front of us. Then the little legs kicked.

I swear to you the next moments flew by like nothing else. I told Mama, "Bababa ako." (I'm going down) and ran out of our car. Didn't even bother knocking on the Crosswind's window to stop it from moving. All I knew was I had to get the bag off the car and the kitten out of it. Don't even remember crossing the rest of the street to get to the shaded roadside. I was just suddenly there, cooing to the kitten as it fought for its life, cooing it's going to be okay.


I got it out of the bag. It was mewing constantly , but was able to take a few tentative steps away from me. I don't blame the mistrust.


I had to leave it on there, traffic was already moving and Mama was honking for me to get back. Only realized how badly I was shaking when I got back in the car. Then the tears came. And just kept coming.


Human are gifted with the ability to love. To care. To be compassionate. Human beings know innately what pain is, what will hurt the self and what will hurt others. Human beings know, that when you hold a firecracker, you will likely get hurt. That's the risk some choose to take. Human beings know that when confined in a small space for a long period of time, sleeping and eating among your own waste, you will get sick. That's why we keep clean. Human beings know, that when you put a plastic bag over your head, you will suffocate and die. That's why we don't.


But to subject something else that's alive... that breathes just like you... that bleeds just like you... that does not like pain as much as you don't... to be cruel... is inhuman.



The things who did that to the dog don't deserve to be called children. They're monsters.


To jail the captured dog fighting operators criminals would not be enough. They should be locked in to sleep, eat and live in their own waste for a near hundred years.



Whoever put that tiny kitten in that plastic bag while it was still alive is a demon. Don't you dare disgrace the Lord by saying THAT is in His image and likeness.



Few things... very few things... get me completely, unreasonably, uncontrollably angry. And animal cruelty is one of them. Pray I don't catch you being hurtful to so much as a mouse.

I just realized...

We've all got a 5 day holiday in our hands!

...

Now what?

My turn to say no.

It's this strange disease some people just seem to have. We look at pictures, read old messages, listen to songs that just remind us of a painful past; put ourselves in stupid, idiotic situations that turn into unimaginable messes; give every bit of our heart and soul to those who think nothing of the matter, and watch helplessly as they're trampled and torn to pieces every single f-ing time.

I think I can now honestly say, I've had enough. A great friend told me on my birthday, sometimes the Universe throws the total curve ball, not to say "This is all I've got for you", rather to show you just how much you've grown and can take the challenge of it.

I wrote this post on the weekend of my birthday. I didn't have the guts to publish it because I know doing so would finally close that part of my life that was wretched open by the curve ball. I guess I was trying to fool myself into thinking that was all I deserved, because its what I only had the time and energy for.

But certain turns of events... certain pictures, certain songs... certain happiness, and sadness, in other people's lives... can radically, overnight really, shift outlooks in life.

-----------------------------------------------------------

So, to you who will never read this.

You may think that not much thinking can be done in a few days but apparently changing decades can lead to entire afternoons of deep thought. And mine have led to one: Goodbye.

You told me once that its best to nip things in the bud. I thought it was your easy way out. No. I'm sure it was. And you were right. Because nipping this in the bud is more convenient, the smarter move to make and frankly just the right thing... for me.

Convenient because it lessens the hassles of heartbreak. You know how I feel about you and you play me like a fiddle. Each moment spent together just makes things more complicated and it has to stop. Because whatever fucked up math I make, I know this roller coaster ride will end with me in tears. And it will be, what, another 3 or 4 months before I gather back all my pieces. So I might as well end things now, and start picking up the few chunks that have fallen away. The easier to glue me back together with.

The smarter move to make because we both know we're no good for each other so this is the better option. I've already fought for you once. Actually... I've already started the fight again. With my friends. In my mind. And I'm tired. We both know I'm not the one with the brains in this operation so the less I think, the better off I will be. Besides that... I don't know why else this the smart move to make.

Oh wait. I do. Because its the right thing for me.

I deserve more. I deserve someone who will love me. And I mean really love me. Someone who will make the effort to see me. Who will respect me.Who will want to meet my family. Want to get along with my friends. And spend time with my dogs because he knows they make me happy. Who will introduce me to his family and his friends. He will listen the way I listen. Won't make fun of me when I get dumb, because let's be honest, I am most of the time. But despite the stupidity, he will take me seriously when I start getting serious.

I deserve someone who wants to be with me as much as I want to be with you.

Blame it on that song of Mr. A-Z. It's been in my head all weekend...

When you're needing your space

To do some navigating

I'll be here patiently waiting

No more. I give up on the dream that could be us because I know, in my gut, it's never happening. You don't need me the way I need you. I'm nothing more than a nuisance in your life and it'll be only a matter of time before you dispose of me. So before you get there... I dispose of you. I give up because the deep thought has brought me the realization that if I stick around, I'll only destroy whatever semblance of self and strength and pride I have left in me by trying to fight and prove I deserve you to love me back. You'll never love me back.

It's not your fault. I came to you. And I'm sorry for restarting this whole shit.

I'm crazy. But I know this is the right thing to do. My turn to say no. And really... goodbye.

-----------------------------------------------------------

I'm glad I chose to do this now. I think I'm stronger, older... more tired but slightly more wise to know, really, I don't think I'll be crying.

I think I'm finally over it. :)

Kronos' Wrath

Time to reel in the basics and get back to what this li'l blog o' mine is all about: insights from the movies!

Last night, I was one of the lucky few to witness Kronos' wrath unleashed on mankind ahead of time (i.e. I got to watch Wrath of the Titans on its premiere night, made possible by Magic 89.9 and a few other sponsors), and I must say, 'twas very entertaining.

Wrath is the long promised 2nd story to the 21st century remake of Clash of the Titans, and although a bit weak in its Greek mythology, the action and story more than made up for the lack. I say its weak in Greek because in my humble mortal's opinion, the producers could have delved a bit more on the monsters. Don't get me wrong. The mayhem they caused was really explosively entertaining but I couldn't stop myself from wondering stuff like, "Where'd that Chimera come from?", "What's the story behind the Minotaur?", "What the heck's a Makhai?", and "Kronos, who?!"

Okay okay, so maybe not all of those. I'm not too much of a ditz to not know who Cronus, father of the godly triumvirate, is. A bigger story on the Minotaur, since he was the Medusa of this sqweakquel, would've been appreciated though. At least Medusa's backstory of being envied by Athena so she was turned into a monster that turns men into stone was brought up, albeit quickly, in the plot of Clash. Or was that in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief...

But I digress.

Action need no major explanation. As aptly used in the title, there is much wrath in this movie. Poor Chimera had a spear stuck through one of its heads. Minotaur had its horns broken off. God of War Aries made a rag doll out of our demigod hero in their how-is-this-even-possible fight scene. There were a couple of missed moments on my part due to the inability to process blood and gore (i.e. I turned away from the screen. I'm squeamish like that.).

But the story... now there's something wholly unexpected. Afterall, when you think of Wrath, family and forgiveness aren't the two Fs that automatically come to mind. But seriously, injecting filial and brotherly love into Greek mythology is somewhat new to me. Normal for Perseus to be drawing strength from his son Helius, but for Zeus to be weak and needing the help of his son Perseus, when he is betrayed by his other son Aries, whose betrayal stems from his envy of his half mortal brother who he thinks their father loves more than him, and for Hades, god of death and the underworld, to turn a new leaf over to help his brother Zeus because they've forgiven each other for their mistakes... wow! Who thought up those plot lines?

Did I reveal too much of the story? Point is, for me Wrath wasn't all about the messy, fussy destruction of the world. It was also an undoing-and-coming-back-together of a family. Plus the lengthy cameo of Bubo the owl while Hephaestus was doing his semi-neurotic monologue was cute.

I reco you watch this for sheer entertainment. However, ff you're looking for a lesson in Greek mythology, read Percy Jackson instead. :)

Needing a breather

...

I wish I didn't but I do.

...

(Near) Empty Airport

Departure Area of NAIA Terminal 2

I've only flown alone once before. For a vacay/work trip to Boracay back in... (egads, how long ago has that been) 2006? Or 7.

I was this newbie in the FMCG industry, handling an up-and-coming brand that was making waves on the sunny shores of Bora and I was going by myself to check-up on sales, look up possible distribution partners and take a breather from the suffocating city life. I was nervous, edgy, kinda clingy to my stuff because I was so sure someone was out to get me. (Of course, there wasn't. Paranoid much?)

So it's been a while since I last traveled alone.

And comparing that trip to this one now... I'd say I'm calmer... more of a donya... (I checked in my tiny blue bag. Hello! If you saw it, you would've gone "Eh ang tamad mo pala eh!")... and more tolerant of strangers.

The near empty departure area of NAIA Terminal 2 is peppered with a few oddballs here and there. As I type, there are two hippie Japanese-y dudes (Okay... not Japanese-y... really Japanese) discussing stuff on their laptop in Nihonggo. There's a thin, oldish white dude with a bald spot checking out the ladies that cross his peripheral vision (I'm not going anywhere near that)... and there are a few fellow Pinoys happily waiting for boarding time to get here. I guess they're looking forward to getting on the plane and getting to Cebu.

And there's me. Ho-hum. Besides all those up top, I feel... tired. I wish I could be excited about all these trips I've been doing but in all honesty, I just want it to stop. Just a nice, short pause in the traveling would be oh-so wonderfully grand. With this third straight working weekend... I think I've forgotten what Saturday feels like.

But... such is life.

Then again, at least I'm not paranoid anymore.

*who's there?*

Untitled

The alarm can ring. The birds can peep. My bed is warm. My pillow's deep.

Today's the day I'm going to sleep!

-Dr. Seuss

Someday.

Not Being There

So there is a downside to a job that takes over you life after all. I realize it now.

I lose time for my friends.

Friends who need me to just be the listening ear or the shoulder to cry on. Friends who just want to hang out and laugh out loud for no reason whatsoever. Friends who turn to up unexpectedly to gain a bit of happy comfort...

I used to be able to do all that for my friends; used to be the girl everyone could talk to, could count on for a good, idiotic laugh, for just plain no-brainer fun...

Now, I'm not.

I couldn't even give a few minutes of my time to Lisa last Friday. Just a few minutes of catching up and checking on how things are going...

I'm such a lousy friend. :(

Mishap

Last week, the worst of all worsts happened. My OCD finally got the better of me and caused me to... *ack!* ... spill water all over my laptop.

I was cleaning my desk because it was getting too gross for its own good, and mistakenly placed my red tumbler beside my laptop to make space for the other stuff I was clearing away. As I was further disorganizing my disorganized mess, my clumsy elbow connected with the the tumbler and water came a-spilling out to my keyboard.

First emotion: Shock. I was literally stunned, frozen in place. I had no idea what to do. But panic set in when my screen blanked out. Then fear. I broke my laptop. All my files. All my data. All a few days before two major program launches. I was shaking in my shoes! (Yes, not boots. I don't own a pair kasi.)

Yet, despite the fear, panic and shock of the moment, I was able to function. Adrenaline kicked in and I was unplugging anything and everything that could be unplugged. One of my roommates finally took notice of my stress and helped me out be researching what do on such occassions on google. He said I should remove the battery and leave it computer off for at least five days.

FIVE DAYS?1?!? Color must have drained out of me completely because suddenly it was Judd on the adrenaline rush. He turned my laptop over to remove the lock on the battery pack and started tilting the laptop to its side so whatever water was left in it could be drained out.

I could not imagine life without a computer. Life at least for the next few days at least. No. Actually, I refused to imagine it. There were too many things to do, and an idiotic mishap like this could not, should not cause any delays.

So off I was to harass our floor's admin officers. I needed a service unit, and I needed it ASAP! I don't know if it was because I'm good friends with our admin and IT people, or if I just really looked like a complete mess that afternoon, but they couldn't have given me a service unit faster. I had the unit 6 PM, and before that I was continuously working thru my BB.

So all in all, only a few manic minutes were spent mourning over the loss of my laptop. The rest of the afternoon was spent over work overdrive.

I guess what it taught me is, really, how I value what I do. If it were anyone else, they would've run crying to their big boss and asked to go home that day because there wouldn't be anything left to do. But in my case, my boss didn't even know about the problem until it was solved! There was no stall in the work flow. Emails were still answered, files were still sent, everything still operated like clockwork. Overall, I'm kind of proud of how I handled the entire mishap.

It's been more than five days and I now have my laptop, dried and not fried, back with me. Those who are curious would be happy to know that all files and emails are intact and in perfect working order. :)

And note to self: Keep tumblers empty when within a 12-inch radius of any electronic gadget.

Baguio 2012 in pictures

Start of Day 1. Waking up to the cool crisp air of Baguio refreshes the most weary of souls. Plus, you gotta love the view from our hotel window.

First order of business, visit the TV5 float. Construction is well underway when we got there.

Nice that even CSD's TV5 tcard design was incorporated into the float. :)

Next, we visit the the blimp set-up at the Athletic Bowl. Giant branding is always impressive.

Then we had the afternoon to ourselves. So what do a bunch of artsy-fartsy media folks do as an afternoon off? ... Drive out to this little paradiso nook, of course! Bencab's Museum was a gem to visit.

Benguet Houses by Bencab.

Reunion by Bencab.

Bencab's backyard.

Here's an interesting tidbit: Bencab purchased this land in order to preserve the greenery in and around it. Stewardship at its finest.

Of course, flora-obsessed me couldn't help but notice the gorgeous flowers of Baguio.

This little pond here houses talapia. Not sure if they're being farmed for food in Cafe Sabel though...

Bencab's all about sustainable development. Wonder what these are?

And who is his landscaper? His gardens are beautiful!

And work starts anew the next day. We're off! Panagbenga Flower Parade to start in a few.

And our float's a hit with the crowd! Yey!

Galeng what these designers can do with a bunch of flowers.

STORMTROOPERS AT THE PARADE! They were with one of the "hall of famer" floats.

The Starwars fan in me just had to have a picture with one of them.

SM Baguio's float in honor of the year of the dragon. At one point, smoke was literally coming out of it's nostrils!

Lookie who I caught checking out our float: GMA News! Hahaha!

And let's the parade begin! Walking with the float was an amazing experience, but equally tiring as well.

But apparently not tiring enough for a jumpshot at the end of it. This was after the parade, after lunch at CJH.

Baguio was good to us, and we can only hope to be equally good back through amazing programming and signal service. Panagbenga 2012 rocked! Araw ng Dabaw, you're next!

6:30...

when are you getting here...? :|

Time ... too ... slow.

Series on Firsts: WHITNEY HOUSTON

The Greatest Love Of All.

7th Grade.

It was some project for some subject... Reading, I think. Under Ms. De Luna (+).

We were to write and bring to life a fictional story, and being a trio who could not, for the life of us, act... we thought why not make it a "radio drama?"

So me and my groupmates wrote our script, about a girl who gets into an accident that paralyzes her waist down and changes her entire outlook in life. I think we pegged her as the popular sports star, who suddenly, at the loss of her leg use, lost her identity at the same time. But her friends and family help her discover another love a talent... for playing the piano and singing.

The new talents of our lead girl was chosen because 1) Becca Villegas was an amazing pianist, and 2) I could sing. We recorded our little project in Becca's house somewhere near West Ave. She had a piece of "The Greatest Love Of All" by Whitney Houston in the little baul 'neath her piano seat, and we thought, why not? It's a fairly easy song, (Huwahhht?!?!) and we don't have time to scout around for other pieces. It would eat up too much of our precious weekend...

Of course I was familiar with the song already... who isn't. It's Whitney, for cryin' out loud. Everyone had her album then. Along with the Album of Madonna that had La Isla Bonita and Like A Virgin. They were quintessential 80s/90s stuff!

But I never really listened to it until that recording session. By listened... I mean really took in and understood the lyrics. It teaches hope. How, inasmuch as we do what we do in our here and now, what will matter more is what we pass on to our children, because when we're gone, they will move what we've founded further. It's why we have to teach them well, yet let them lead the way. It's how you, as who you are now, serve as a role model for the next generation. How you must decide to be your own person, to not walk in anyone's shadow. And how failure and success are relative, so long as you do what you believe in.

Beautiful, really.

With the loss of yet another voice from our childhood (they're dropping like flies!), I am reminded of the song that taught me the basics of hope and love. I was 11 then, but I believe its message still rings true now. Maybe as we mourn the demise of another great artist, we also remember the best of her qualities and how she served as a role model to so many others.

Thank you for the music, Ms. Whitney Houston.

P.S.
We got an O-star for the project. ;-)

Series on firsts: SUNSET

The first time I watched... and I mean really watched... a sunset was back in '06. I was on a work trip in Boracay. Yeah, yeah, I've heard the "damn you lucky girl" statement one too many times so spare the thought. It's so not the point now.

It was, I think, the end of day 3 of my four-day trip. My "guide" and I were walking along white beach from Anggol to Station 2; We had just peddled our wares to the beachfront shops the entire day. We were both tired and spent 'cause as it turns out, working near seawater wasn't as fun as its cracked up to be. Apparently when you're trying to sell a sunblock by day and a personal lubricant by night, there was no such thing as end-of-the-workday.

So there we were, sluggishly walking back to our cheap-o hotel when suddenly I realized I was walking alone. My guide had stopped, stepped aside, and was starring calmly out to sea. I was about to ask him what's up when I saw it.

The sun, in his almighty red-orange glory, was being swallowed up, slowly but surely by the crisp blue water. Not a cloud in sight. The heavenly body's rays were bright yet dying just enough to not blind anyone who looks too intently. And the saltwater, absolutely still, was just reflecting back the magnificence of the moment. It was beautiful sight to behold. We weren't the only ones who took notice.

To see haring araw, move as if inch by tiny inch, into non- existence, was amazing. The end of the day suddenly meant more. In a matter of ten minutes or so, the work day had turned into my last night in my first ever trip to Boracay. My last night before I flew back to Manila, leaving the working paradiso to return to the hellhole called the city. Suddenly, something had to be done to make remaining hours of my stay magical and meaningful.

That's what sunsets do, I guess... They remind of the beauty behind the ending. Sure, everyone's accepted the fact that everything has an end but not everyone sees the beauty in it. Sunsets, beautiful as they are, mean only the start of the evening... which eventually leads to the start of a brand new day. That takes it beyond beauty. It turns the sunset into a lesson.

I was lucky to have had my very first real sunset in the near pristine beach of Boracay. One of the best spent 10 minutes of my life, thus far.

Getting to know twoot

I'm not a big life updater (except here) but I do like to know what's happening with other people...

#classicchismosa, I know.

But seriously, now I think it'll actually be easier for me to stay in the loop of things with twitter. I'm exploring my recently created twitter account, and have thus far added 40 pax or so to the people/entities I'm following.

Wonder what kind of *tambling* I'll do if Chris G., Seth G. or Brandon S. follow me back? #ayikie!

@tippiedadoo

UPDATE: Chris Guillebeau followed me on twitter!!!! ODK!!! I swear to you, I am the happiest girl on Earth!