Dedication

When you’re about to read a book, do you read who it’s dedicated to?

I always do. I always wonder who the author is dedicating the book to or who he/she is thanking. The ones that I love to read are those dedicated to the author’s parents, spouse, and children. I find those the most touching. I think it’s really thoughtful and sweet when an author writes even the simplest of poems to express the amount of love and gratitude they have for their loved ones.

Today, I opened a book and this is what the author put:

For my husband, Ian
My heart, my love, my home

For someone to have so much love and respect for one’s spouse is truly magical and special.

Tid Bits of the Day

It’s Monday morning and I’m sitting at my desk at work trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do. For some reason I feel lost today. I know I have a call at 11 am to try and resolve an issue a client is having. But other than that, I have no clue if I’m supposed to be doing QA or trying to do some research for my boss. I asked my manager if she needed me to do something for her but she said she doesn’t have anything that she specifically needs me to do so I am free to use my time with whatever projects I have on the go. This is one of the things I like about my job... I have the flexibility to use my time however I want as long as I am able to submit my deliverables.

I think I’m going to do QA today since it really is my primary responsibility right now.

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We had a bright, warm, sunny weekend which is rare for this time of the year. I spent my Saturday morning doing some chores around the house while Steve worked on an assignment for his CGA course. Then, we took my mother-in-law out for lunch at the Danforth. It would have been nice to be able to walk around for a little bit after lunch but we were rushing because we had dinner plans with a friend for 5.30 pm. So we practically had to scoot out of there right after eating.

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I’ve been meaning to clean our bathroom for several days now and I feel bad that I still haven’t done it. I hate having to procrastinate on chores. But I’ve been busy doing other things and by the time I actually have time left to do the bathroom, I’m always so tired. So I tell myself I’ll do it the following day and the same thing happens and I just keep prolonging it. It also doesn’t help that cleaning the bathroom is my least favourite chore to do. But I have to admit I always feel better after I’ve scrubbed it clean all around.

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I finally got my hair coloured and cut again! My gray hairs were beginning to be a distraction. Every time someone talks to me, it’s as if they are trying to figure out why I have so many gray hairs when I’m only 26 years old. They eventually say something like, “Wow, I didn’t realize you had so many gray hairs!” or “How come you have so many gray hairs? You’re so young!” which then prompts me to explain that it’s hereditary and that I’ve had it since I was fourteen. It really isn’t as bad as you think it is... most of my gray hairs are hidden but I still prefer to get my hair coloured every now and then. It’s also a good excuse to get it trimmed since I’m already at the salon. The only problem is, it gets a bit pricey especially since I have long hair.

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I want to go to Ikea.. we were there last week but we went an hour before closing so I didn’t really have enough time to look around and there were a few things I wanted to get. I enjoy shopping at furniture stores and I especially love cute and unique items that are affordable. It’s just finding the time to actually go around and having the money to be able to buy things... is the issue. Ahh money, where are you?

What's up.

We are back on Standard Time which makes it a 13-hour difference between Canada and the Philippines. I don’t know why but I always keep the time difference between Canada and the Philippines whenever we switch time zones. The Philippines seems to be my point of reference... always.

We were lucky last week because it was relatively warm. By saying relatively warm, I mean to say that the temperature stayed somewhere between 5 degrees and 10 degrees. I heard it will be cold again this week which means we’ll have to bundle up... which reminds me, I have to look for my gloves. I can’t remember where I put them (I think it’s somewhere in my dresser). I don’t particularly like wearing gloves unless I really need them but I like to keep them in my purse anyway just in case it gets cold enough for me to want to wear them.

Steve and I had a somewhat busy weekend. On Friday night, we went to Mississauga to check out the Homesense store located at the Heartland Centre. A co-worker gave as a Homesense gift card as a wedding gift and we haven’t used it since so we thought we’d go and see what they have. We’ve heard good things about it from some of our friends but when we checked it out, we weren’t too impressed. It felt like shopping at Winners. Piles and piles of random things that were neither nice nor unique. Maybe we just happened to go to a bad Homesense location. Sabi kasi nila, every location is different. There’s good ones and there’s bad ones. Maybe we went to a bad one. But we also checked out the Homesense store along the Queensway and we didn’t like that one either. Two bad stores in a row?? Parang unlikely.

Anyhow, we had dinner at an Indian restaurant with Steve’s cousin on Saturday night and the food was d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s! Just remembering how good everything was is making me salivate. I don’t have a high tolerance for spicy food but I really like Indian food. Yummy yummy! My favourites include samosas and butter chicken. I also like the chicken biriyani and nan bread. The restaurant we went to is relatively new and I wish they had better signage in front so that more people will see it and more people will eat there and they won’t close. I hate it when we find a good place to eat and then they close after a few months because there’s not enough business.

I am back to my “let’s-furnish-the-apartment” mode. We already have the big items we needed to get and now we just need to paint and decorate the place a little bit to make it cozy. We’ve been concentrating on other priorities so we put it on hold for awhile but now I’m eager to get back to it. I always enjoy shopping for our place (come to think of it, I enjoy any type of shopping really). We’re trying to keep our spending within our budget (it’s super hard!) so we have to be careful with what we spend our money on. So far, I have been really bad with saving. Kawawa naman si Steve, lagi nalang siya ang nagbu-budget.

I received an email from a friend last week about the difference in symptoms between the cold and the H1N1 (swine) flu. I think I may have had the H1N1 and just didn’t know about it. My symptoms were very similar to what was in the email. But I’ve heard so many different things about it that I don’t really know for sure. I should have gone to the doctor and had myself checked when I was sick. Now I won’t know what I had. There’s such a huge demand for the flu shot and I’ve heard that a lot of the health centres have to put a limit on how many they can accept since there’s just an overwhelming demand for it. I’m a little wary about getting it since the swine flu vaccine is so new.

Edward's Perspective

I’ve been reading the Midnight Sun draft from Stephenie Meyer’s website again these past few days. Even though I’ve read it a few times before and even though I know the story inside and out, I still get hooked on it once I start reading the first few lines. I still feel disappointed that the draft stops at 264 pages and that Stephenie has decided to put it on hold indefinitely. I understand why she would be upset about the draft being leaked on the internet but I wouldn’t have even known about the leakage if she had not posted anything about it on her website together with the draft. So a draft was leaked... she did mention that there were several versions of the draft... but because there was no confirmation of which version is true and accurate and since it isn’t finished, she could have continued writing it and fans like me would still be waiting for the real thing to be published so we could eagerly get our hands on a copy and read it. Sometimes I even wonder why she bothered showing some people the draft to her book which led to the leak.

I loved reading the book from Isabella Swan's perspective but I would equally enjoy reading the entire story again from Edward's perspective. To learn the reasons behind his gestures and facial expressions. To gain more insight on his character. It would be nice too to look at Bella from his angle when you're not as privy to her thoughts.

I realize I’m being selfish about the whole thing. I’m just really disappointed that there is a huge possibility she might never finish writing it and hence, I will never get to read it. It just feels so unfair to be denied that privilege.

Nakakainis talaga!

I saw...

... this on Post Secret today:

-----Email Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 8:50 PM
Frank-
I am typing this to you at the library because I cannot afford a postcard and stamp. My family and I are living in a self-storage unit illegally. It's getting so cold at night. I want them to know I'm sorry, it's my fault, but I can't say it.

I couldn't help but feel sad knowing that there are people out there who don't even have the most basic necessities. It's so easy to take for granted the things we have and we often forget that there are others who don't even have food to eat, water to drink or have a house to sleep in.

Flu

I’m just at the tail-end of the flu and I was finally able to go to work today. It’s literally been a week and thank goodness it was the Thanksgiving weekend so we had the Monday off for the holiday. At least that didn’t count towards my sick days. The past few days had been filled with on-and-off fevers, headaches, soreness, coughing, a few tears and lots of Advil. I’ve consumed more Advil in the last week than I have altogether within the 5 years I’ve been in the country. It’s totally ridiculous.

I can’t remember the last time I had the cough. I always get the cold but very rarely do I actually get the cough. It’s been so long that I can’t even remember what it felt like until recently. I think having the cold is much better than having the cough. My throat and abs hurt from coughing too much. Even when I’m sleeping I wake up because I’m coughing. My poor Steve had to sleep through all that coughing. It’s funny though because every time I cough, he would wake up, look at me and then fall back to sleep. Half the time, he doesn’t even remember waking up.

Although it was nice having a valid excuse not to go to work, it got a bit boring staying at home all the time. I just want to feel normal again. Healthy and no coughing.

Paint

I saw The Proposal last night and I loved it! I heard it was good but I missed it at the theatres so I only saw it last night on DVD. I have a huge crush on Ryan Reynolds now.. dang he’s hot! Steve’s pretending he’s jealous which I find quite adorable.

We are thinking of painting our apartment starting with the living room. The problem is, we can’t seem to find the right paint color. About a month ago, we picked up a couple of paint samples so we can try them on a wall in our living room. We realized that neither of them looked good with our furniture so we decided to go paint-shopping a second time. This time, instead of just buying paint samples, we decided to just go ahead and buy 2 gallons of paint. BIG MISTAKE!! We painted a section of the wall with it and it was UGLY!! It doesn’t even look like the paint sample on the picture! We were sooo disappointed. So we’ve decided to put our “paint project” on-hold until we are ready to go paint-shopping again. I find it a bit challenging choosing paint because it looks different on the paint swatch and it’s different when you put it on the wall. Plus, lighting affects it a lot so you just don’t know how it’s going to turn out. I don’t know how other people do it! It seems so much easier for them than it is for me! I am amazed at how some people can just pick a color, go home, paint the walls and voila! It’s perfect.

I was toying around with the idea of hiring someone to paint our place but after checking out the paint services on the Home Depot website, I’m having second thoughts about even inquiring. It says on their website that you basically book an appointment for a consultant to come over, do an assessment of your place and then they give you suggestions on what needs to be done and then I’m assuming provide you with a quote after. The whole thing just sounds expensive so maybe that idea’s out the window. I was just hoping we could pick out the paint color and let the professionals do the job. But I was hoping the professionals would do it for an affordable rate.

I’d love to have some fresh paint on our walls to make the room cosier... it’s just a matter of actually getting the work done. It just sounds so tedious!

On repeat.

Something always brings me back to you
It never takes too long
No matter what I say or do
I still feel you here ‘til the moment I’m gone

You hold me without touch
You keep me without chains
I never wanted anything so much
Than to drown in your love and not feel your reign

Set me free, leave me be
I don’t wanna fall another moment into your gravity
Here I am and I stand so tall
I’m just the way I’m supposed to be
But you’re on to me and all over me

You loved me 'cause I'm fragile
When I thought that I was strong
But you touch me for a little while
And all my fragile strength is gone

Set me free, leave me be
I don’t wanna fall another moment into your gravity
Here I am and I stand so tall
I’m just the way I’m supposed to be
But you’re on to me and all over me

I live here on my knees
As I try to make you see
That you’re everything I think I need
Here on the ground

But you’re neither friend nor foe
Though I can’t seem to let you go
The one thing that I still know
Is that you’re keeping me down
You’re keeping me down

You’re on to me, on to me and all over
Something always brings me back to you
It never takes too long.

Gravity
- Sara Bareilles

I recently came across a new TV series called Vampire Diaries. I have only seen two episodes so far and I haven't really decided on whether I like it or not but I am intrigued. Paul Wesley who plays Stefan Salvatore is absolutely heart-melting.

Anyhoo, whenever there's a scene between Stefan and Elena, this beautiful song is playing in the background. It's the same song that was playing on So You Think You Can Dance for the "Addiction" routine that was choreographed by Mia Michaels (I think?). I downloaded it on to my iPod and I just can't stop listening to it. Sara sings it so beautifully.