iPod Update

We’re having a company BBQ today at work which means we’re only working half the day! YAY!

I slept at 2am this morning since I was ripping CDs, downloading music and transferring them over to my iPod. I had originally intended to go to bed early but I kept telling myself, “Just one more CD… just one more song…” and on and on and on it went until it was already too late. I’m the type of person that likes to finish what they start so it’s difficult for me to put something down once I start it. I keep telling myself I can always do it another time but for some reason I feel the need to get everything done right then and there. It works to my advantage most of the time so I am guessing this is a good trait.

And then there’s the odd circumstance where it is a disadvantage. But if the positives are more than the negatives, then I’m definitely keeping the habit.

So now, I have over 800 songs on my iPod and three music videos. Purchasing videos on iTunes is quite expensive… at least I think so.

I bought my new iPod a cute case that when I carry it with me, it looks like I’m carrying a wallet. I guess it’s a little weird because now it looks like I am listening to my wallet. But it’s still cute so I’m keeping it.

One more thing: JR bought a set of iPod earphones that came with an FM tuner but it doesn’t work with his iPod so he gave them to me in exchange for my regular earphones. Sweet.

Shop Crazy

I’m so tired. I only got 4 hours pf sleep last night and I swear the train ride this morning seemed shorter than usual and didn’t really allow me to nap. I’m glad I only have to stay at work until 3pm today since I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon.

I was hoping to get a few things done tonight and maybe take a stroll downtown if I have enough energy. It’s quite nice and sunny outside and it’s ideal for a walk along Queen Street West. I would love to take a walk along Bloor Street West and look at the little shops there but I don’t have time to do that today.

I am dying to go shopping but I am also trying to save so it’s really an internal battle. Last night Steve and I went shopping with Fey and it was quite the shopping marathon. It’s funny that out of the three of us, I was the one who ended up not getting anything when I’m the avid shopper. I was quite proud of the fact I didn’t spend but I must admit that it’s also partly because I didn’t find anything I liked in particular. I tried a few things on but none of them looked good on me or worth spending money on. It was an accomplishment nonetheless.

I need some skirts, dresses, shorts and another pair of jeans.

iPod

I lost my iPod the other day. I think I may have put it down in the dressing room in one of the stores I went to but I can’t be sure. I only went to three different places and I must’ve put it down somewhere and just forgot about it. By the time I realized I didn’t have it with me, an hour had gone by and when I retraced my steps, it led me nowhere. I knew I wouldn’t find it anyways because it’s very unlikely that someone would find an iPod and return it. But still, I was hopeful.

So there you go, my iPod is gone and although I’ve had it for over a year, it was still worth a bit of money when I bought it and now all that money I spent has gone down the toilet. Although I am sure I have a copy of most of the songs I’ve collected, I am still sad about the fact that there are some songs I had ripped off someone else’s CDs and now I don’t have them anymore. I would have to either re-download or purchase it off iTunes.

Anyhoo, I was already pondering on the amunt of money I would need to save so I can buy a new iPod. But last night, Steve gave me a video iPod! YAY! It was so sweet of him. I was really touched. I had started putting songs in it but as of today I only have 200 plus songs and I will have to look for other songs.

I may have lost my iPod but I have a very thoughtful Steve.

What's in a Name?

I came across this article on yahoo and I can’t help but feel sorry for the kid. Can you imagine what it would be like to fill out a form? Imagine applying for a credit card!

You know those boxes they have on forms where you need to enter each letter of your name in a box? Ah…yeah… go figure how she’ll manage.

Or imagine what it must be like during the first day of school when the teacher calls out each student’s name? Five whole minutes would’ve gone by and she’d still be reciting the kid’s name.

How about legal documents like a birth certificate or a passport? Sheesh!

Poor kid, good luck memorizing your name!

Babbling

Today looks like another day full of QA. Not that I’m complaining... I’d pick QA over training ANY TIME.

This being said, I don’t think I will be pursuing training as a career. It just isn’t something I enjoy doing. People have told me to pursue it because I do it well and there’s good money in it. But if every time I have training I feel depressed, doesn’t that tell you I hate it? I mean, what’s the point in doing something you don’t want to do even if it pays well, right?

Anyhow, we celebrated JR’s b-day on Sunday and we were both talking about how old we were getting and how fast time flies and how it certainly seemed only yesterday we were still kids. He said something like, “I imagined me at this age differently…” I laughed because I imagined me at my age differently too. I think everyone does. We all have an image of ourselves several years from now and sometimes we tend to over do it to a point that we get awfully disappointed when we reach that age and we are far from what we had envisioned ourselves to be. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is healthy to have a goal… to want to be something by a certain point in your life. I think it motivates us to make something of ourselves and not just let our lives fly by. But at the same time, I think we should also consider the fact that life is unpredictable and doesn’t always go as planned but it doesn’t mean we’re any less than what we originally thought we were going to be. Yes, it is different but not necessarily bad. Certain hiccups in life actually help us become better people in a lot of ways which may not necessarily be so obvious. There are lessons we’ve learned and lessons we have yet to learn and although our lives are not as grand as we envisioned it would be, it makes us see life in a different perspective.

I’m babbling aren’t I?

Rides

I was looking at the list of top ten rollercoasters on MSN this morning and looking at some of them brought back the nausea I felt during our last trip to Wonderland. Steve and I rode the Vortex and it would have been fun if I didn’t bang my head a million times agains the seat. The head banging was what made me dizzy at the end of the ride.

I love going to amusement parks and going on rides although I avoid rides that spin too much because I tend to get sick. I’ve always loved amusement parks since I was little and I remember my parents taking us to Big Bang in Alabang in December. Although it seems to me that rides don’t really make you dizzy when you’re little and for some reason, as you grow older, you get more nauseus going on them.

I’ve always wondered… why doesn’t Wonderland have a Ferris Wheel?

Time

Listening to “You Get What You Give” by the New Radicals… brings back so many fond memories.

The other night, mum showed me pictures of my nephews in the Phils and I was so shocked to see how big they had grown. I could almost swear they were babies and toddlers when we left and now they’re huge! All of a sudden I could feel the amount of time that has passed since I left the country and I felt a sudden longing to come home. As if coming home would turn back time.

I am forever amazed by the passing of time. We don't notice it so much until we stop to look at what has changed since then.

Nap Time

I finally figured out why I’m so sleepy today. It because I drank orange juice instead of coffee this morning! This is, of course, my presumption. I could be wrong.

I struggled to keep my eyes open the entire morning and it reminded me of those funny cartoons where they put toothpicks to hold their eyelids up. For a second there, it almost seemed like a solution. I tried drinking plenty of water (I don’t know why I thought that would help), chewed gum, listened to lively music, talked to people, walked around the office and tried to post… but all to no avail. I couldn’t concentrate on anything I was trying to do because because I was too busy trying to stay awake. I miserably stared at my PC and complained to Steve… like complaining would help keep me up.

To make things worse, I had to train a client today and I was not in the mood for it. At all. It’s so difficult to train someone when all you feel like doing is falling asleep right then and there. I managed to survive but it was a bit painful. Thankfully, it wasn’t a full day of training or else I would’ve cried.

Wah. I really need a nap… to fall into sweet slumber right now would be amazing.

Lesser Evil

Darn it, you know that exfoliating cream I had successfully avoided buying? It freakin’ works! It actually works!

You know what that means?

That means I should have bought it! Dammit! Arrrgghh.

Anyhow, work has stepped up and it’s been a little busy for me. I’ve been handling work-related stress a bit better and just trying to take things in stride. My so-called work-related stress isn’t so much about the job… the cause is the people I work with (not all of them) and the lack of direction. I just found out that I am moving once again to another desk (this would be my 2nd move from my original desk) and I have to say I am not too happy about it. I had to choose the lesser evil. It was either sitting beside a co-worker I don’t like or sitting at a desk which exposes everything I am doing on my computer. Tough… do I choose the annoying co-worker who would eventually annoy me to death? Or do I choose to move to a desk facing the hallway?

For my own sanity, I chose the hallway.

Think, people

I came across this article on MSN and it surprises me that people don’t think about this kind of thing happening. Every time I see pictures of lottery winners on the front cover of a newspaper or on TV, I can’t help but shake my head in disapproval and go, “What the heck were these people thinking?!”

Don’t you realize that telling the world you have $20 million dollars makes you a really good target for people with bad intentions?

In the Philippines (if I remember correctly), they don’t publish winners’ identities simply because of how dangerous it is. We are well aware of just how many bad and desperate people are out there. We can’t even display our cellphones in public too much for fear of attracting a stalker/hold-upper/thief. I remember going to Glorietta one summer with my family to buy school supplies. We had lunch and then my mom realized her purse had been stolen… together with at least 5000php in it and all her credit cards and bank cards. It was so bad. I also remember commuting to UST one early morning with 5 people in the jeep and the guy near the exit was holding a knife and asking the girl beside me to give him her watch. Her watch! It wasn’t even anything special… it was plain and old.

So when you are out there smiling towards a camera, waiving a check in hand and a headline that says, “Winner of $20 million…” Is it not just plain D-U-M-B? Is it really all that surprising when someone tries something against you?

Be more wary people.

Darn makeup

Phone banking can be such a pain sometimes. It allows you to make transactions like paying bills and moving money around but when you want to find out what happened to your money or if you want the last 10 transactions since your last statement, it gives you such a hard time. It's a freakin' conspiracy I tell you. It doesn't want you to monitor your money at all!

I decided to pass by The Bay on my way home because I needed to buy makeup. I forgot that Tuesdays isn't such a good time to pass by because that's when they have makeup artists that give free makeovers and stuff. It's really good if you're looking at buying a lot of makeup or if you want to try different things. But when your goal is to come and just buy the one thing you need, it's really not an ideal situation because you get tempted to buy so many things you do NOT need. It turns out to be really expensive and before you know it, you're walking out of the store broke.

I have a spending problem. I really do.

Tanned

I love the summer. It’s warm, I can wear anything I want, go places and do stuff outdoors… it’s just plain awesome.

I spent most of my weekend under the sun and I got pretty tanned. Miss-smarty-pants here didn’t put any sunblock on so not only am I bright red on my cheeks, shoulders and neck, but I am also in pain. My legs are a bit sore from swimming and because I am burnt, it stings when my clothes rub against my skin. I used to be the most fair in my family and now I’m the darkest. JR keeps teasing me about it and dad keeps rubbing it in some more.

Mum: “Don’t worry, it will go away in the winter and you’re skin will return to its natural color.”

Me: “But summer is just beginning which means I’m going to get burnt some more! Ang itim ko na!”

Mum: “Bakit, you’re Filipino naman ah… You are supposed to be a bit dark”

Me: “Eh kaso I’m not dark naman by nature noh! I was born fair so getting tanned doesn’t mean I’m returning to my natural color. Not even close”

Mum: “Sabi na kasi you should’ve worn sunblock. Ang kulit kasi eh.”

I felt better later when Steve and I went out for dinner and he said he likes my new color. He said I have a “glow”. I smiled…

Great Weekend.

• Pay Day
• Breakfast at Perkins
• Paramount Wonderland
• Swimming
• A nice tan (or so everyone says… it stings though)
• A squeeky clean bath tub (without me cleaning it)
• Finding a super nice, dark pair of jeans that fit me perfectly
• Being able to buy a cute top 5 mins before the store closed
• Lining up to buy an expensive piece of clothing and then just when I’m about to pay, being told it was on sale for half the price!
• Getting Love Generation for a ringtune (and it sounds awesome)
• Spending time with the family and going to Little Italy for lunch
  
  And of course, lots and lots of time with Stevie!!

One Word: WOW

Saw this today and it honestly brought tears to my eyes...(Watch the judges reactions). In Simon Cowell's own words, "Absolutely Fantastic".



While the first one ALMOST brought me to tears, this next one ACTUALLY DID! She's so adorable!



This are some more that I thought were really good...









Last one to make you laugh!

So You Think You Can Dance?

Here are a few video clips from the show where the dancing and the choreography just blew me away!

Enjoy!

Sara and Jesus (Cabaret Hoover by The Triplets of Belleville)


Kameron and Lacey (Dancing by Elisa)


Cedric and Faina (Get it Shawty by Lloyd)


Hok and Jamie (Tambourine by Eve)

Lola

I got into the elevator last night to make my way up to our floor in the building and the scent that greeted me upon entering reminded me of my grandmother’s house in QC. It smelled exactly the same and it’s almost as if my grandmother was in the elevator with me. I got a little freaked out coz you know what they say about that right?

Anyhoo, I felt a little sad because I haven’t seen her since we left for Canada almost 3 years ago and I truly miss her and her b-day parties. She’s such a sweet old lady with a great capacity for listening. We used to see her almost every other weekend and when she knew we were coming to visit, she would prepare dishes that she knew we loved. She would prepare a dish for my dad (he’s the most picky out of all of us I think) and she would also prepare dishes for my 2 brothers (that would most likely consist of chicken). Mum and I would eat whatever was there. If we came late and she’s already eaten, she would still sit with us in the dining table and just watch us eat and listen to our stories. Looking at her, it was obvious she enjoyed our visits and loved it when we shared our stories with her regardless of how mundane our topics were. After lunch if we felt sleepy she would tell us to go lie down in her bedroom and she would turn on the aircondition so we were comfortable. Mind you she doesn’t use it herself because she says it’s a waste of electricity and it that it was pretty expensive to use and yet she would gladly let it run the entire afternoon when we were there.

Wanna know a secret? She can finish a whole half-gallon of her favorite ice cream all by herself! I’ve never seen her do it in one sitting but apparently others have. I look at her and I can’t help but think, “Where does all that ice cream go?”

The one thing about grandmothers is that they know how to cook, clean and sew. When we were younger, I remember her making pillow cases and pajamas for us. She could sew curtains and dresses and make all sorts of stuff. Sadly, it’s a skill that has not been passed over to me. Consider it lucky if I hem a pair of pants right. Sewing for me consists of taking my clothes to someone who knows how.

I remember JR and me going to Bacolod with her during the summer. She would bring a pack of gum or candy with her to ease our discomfort with air pressure. To ensure we had a safe flight, she would ask us to pray with her while the plane was taking off. She never let us out of her sight even for bit. She would patiently sit in the garden while we play with our cousins and she would peel Santol and give it to us.

Dad told me one time that he gets in trouble every time my brothers and I get sick. My grandmother would call and reprimand my dad for not taking better care of us and that he should do this and that. He would assure her of course that he was doing the best he could but she would call every few hours to check how we were doing.

I don’t know if she knows I remember all of it. She probably thinks we were too young to remember… but I remember. In fact, I remember all of the little things she does for us that never fail to tell me how much she loves us even if she doesn’t say it.

I hope you know that I love you lola.

Perhaps It Was Her?

A Chinese co-worker asked me the other day whether I have a great grandfather somewhere in my family who is pure Chinese. I said I wasn’t sure but I was told I have a Chinese surname and a pure Chinese relative on both sides of the family. He said I should find out because according to Chinese tradition, having a pure Chinese grandfather (or a male Chinese ancestor – great grandpa or great, great grandpa, etc.) would make me Chinese even though we got mixed along the way. I found this very interesting so I decided I would Google it and see what information I could find.

The very first link that came up led me to a forum with single post from a person with the exact same name as one of my great aunts who had passed away a few years ago. Unfortunately there’s no further information available aside from her name so I can’t tell for sure if it is in fact her or if it’s just a coincidence that someone else happens to have the exact same name.

It made me miss her all of a sudden.

Still the same?

I was browsing my Friendster account this morning and happened to check out my best friend from childhood’s profile. Every time I look at pictures of him, I am often amazed at how much he’s grown and matured over the years. I can still remember him as a boy…very playful and a bit talkative. I remember all the bike rides, afternoons spent outside playing games, going to the playground and all those nights in December when we would go caroling.

I haven’t spoken to him in years… I can’t even remember the last time I spoke to him nor the reasons for why we drifted apart considering we lived right next to each other. I guess living next door to someone doesn’t mean you can’t stop talking. I can only presume it must be due to our age gap…I’m two years younger and maybe somewhere along the way he grew up way faster than I did.

Sometimes I wonder how much he’s changed in the years since I last spoke to him… did he change at all? What type of music does he like now? When I think about these things, I am surprised at how much I still don’t know about him. Sure, we were best friends but that was a long time ago when our conversations were composed merely of what games we were going to play, who among the kids in our neighborhood were cool and some TV programs.

Looking at his Friendster page, I can’t help but smile when I see a movie or TV show he has listed as a favorite and it’s a favorite of mine too. Maybe we’ve both grown up and maybe we’ve both changed in so many different ways but maybe, just maybe, we’re still alike in some things.

It's the job

1 more hour then it’s 5pm! Yey! Freedom!

I am testing a third system now and it’s the best one by far in a sense that it’s got way cooler features than the other two. I am eager to get this one up and running smoothly because I think it will be an awesome update to the existing system. Not only would it remedy a lot of the existing issues, it would also make it a lot more efficient and less time consuming to use.

Okay, I know I’m speaking programmer again. So I’m gonna stop myself before I start getting real technical and bore you to death.

My work calendar for next week is filling up faster than I can say “shoot me”. It’s not all that bad… it will keep me occupied and will make the days go by faster but at the same time, it’s guaranteed to be exhausting.

Another thing to look forward to is the fact that Mr. Pres will be flying out and will most likely be gone for several weeks. The sad thing is, he’ll be replaced with people who I don’t like either. There’s just no winning this situation. Hmpf.

I really have to look into playing the Lottery soon…

Friends

I feel fortunate to have such great friends who despite being so far away still think of me and still say hi once in awhile. I feel loved and cared for and for someone like me who is miles away and lives in a totally different timezone, it truly means a lot. Even the little things are truly appreciated. I love the fact that I know I can always talk to them when I need them and they are always there to listen and offer comfort.

I love my friends and I hope that others are as fortunate as I am.

Tester needs a break

I’ve been doing QA all day and it’s making me awfully sleepy. I’ve done 2 systems so far and I need a break. As much as I love testing, it’s also very tiring after awhile. I need to keep myself as alert as possible so I don’t miss anything and so that I document each and every tiny detail. I am contemplating going outside in the sun for a bit to get some fresh air but since Mr. Pres is in the office today, I am having second thoughts.

How I wish I could nap right now.

Independence Day!

Happy Philippine Independence Day!

I remember when we celebrated our 100th year of independence. My family and I went to Roxas Blvd to watch the festivities. It was such a big event and there were so many people. I remember how expensive a bottle of water cost and at the end of the day, all the drinks were sold out and you couldn’t buy water nor pop anywhere.

They had the parade which was both interesting and beautiful. It was the most lavish parade I’ve seen in the Philippines. I haven’t really seen any other major parade except for the usual Santacruzan although I wanted to see the Mask parade in Bacolod City which takes place during lent. Come to think of it, I don’t think Santacruzan is considered a parade… it’s more of a procession really.We had taken some pictures but I can’t remember where we kept them.

I also remember the fireworks that night. We were staning along the coast and they were lighting fireworks off a barge. It was the longest fireworks display I’ve seen and it apparently cost the government billions of dollars. If only I had a video camera back then…

I remember we were so hungry after the whole event and we had such a hard time looking for a place to eat. Every place we went to, the lines were so long that they stretched all the way out the door. We were starving so my parents decided to just eat anywhere where we can find food. After much walking, we found a Joe Kwan and decided to eat there. Of course the food wasn’t that great but when you’re hungry you become less picky. It actually tends to taste better than it really is. LOL. The funny thing is, after we ate, we noticed a bunch of restaurants lined down the road. If we had walked a bit further, we would’ve been able to choose between Pizza Hut, Wendy’s, etc.

It was about 1am when we finally finished eating and our next dilemma was how we were going to get home. We didn’t bring a car with us at the time because we knew parking would’ve been impossible. At 1am, the LRT is closed and there are barely any buses. We had to take a bus to Makati City and then take another bus to Alabang and then take a jeep to Las Piñas from there. We literally went all over the place just to get home. It was past 2am by the time we arrived home and I remember being so tired that we literally fell on our beds.

Eventhough it was very exhausting, we had so much fun and we really enjoyed the celebration. I was glad we went because I felt it was worth it. Plus, how often does one’s county celebrate a hundred years of independence right?

Bits and Pieces

I was updating my Multiply site this morning and I realized it doesn’t actually transfer all of my posts in Blogger. I have no idea why.

Anyhow, I rented some DVDs last night and one of them was Russel Peters’. I’m telling you, that guy is so funny. If you haven’t seen him, go to YouTube and search for his videos. I especially love it when he imitates accents. He’s so good at it.

Another DVD I rented is The Celestine Prophecy. I’ve seen the book several times before at Indigo and Chapters and have always wanted to read it. I never really read the book but I was curious when I saw the DVD. The movie wasn’t too impressive but maybe the book’s better. I know I like the Harry Potter books better than the movies.

I’m so sleepy. I got 7 hours of sleep last night but I really feel like I need more. Doesn’t your bed feel so much softer when you’re tired? I had such a difficult time getting out of bed this morning. After taking a bath and getting ready for work, I leaned my head against a pillow and closed my eyes for 5 minutes. I wish I could just stay in bed until noon.

I was reading the Metro on the subway and there was a brief article about a one-year old baby who fell from an apartment window on the 14th floor. A bunch of clotheslines had broken the baby’s fall and the baby actually landed on the grass unharmed and just crawled after landing. How amazing is that?! It truly shows that God is watching and nothing happens without God’s permission. Don’t ask me how a one-year old baby could fall out of a window because I have no idea.

Names

You know that silly thing most women do? Ya know, when we think of names we’ll give our kids someday…?

I’ve done it and I’m pretty sure you’ve done it at some point too.

It’s funny because I’ll hear or read a name that I will like and then at some later point I will meet a girl or a guy that has that name and he/she turns out to be a real….a real… am I allowed to say a**? Okay, let’s just say that person turns out to be someone I really don’t like. You know what happens? It ruins that name forever for me. For instance, I think I will never name my boy Michael because I know so many Michaels who are pretty notorious and arrogant (no offense to the Michaels out there who are genuinely nice).

Sometimes I’ll meet someone and I’ll say to myself, “that person has such a cute name…” and then I get to know them a little better and get disappointed. And then I end up saying, “too bad, that name’s out the door!”.

I am afraid my kid will turn out the same way (although it is more of a superstition rather than a fact). Bottomline is, I don’t want to give my kid a name that reminds me of a person I dislike.

Cherry, cherry black

The other night while having dinner with the family:

Me: Ma, these cherries are so good!

Mum: Hay naku! Do you know how long it took me to pick the good ones?!

Me: Mmm… yummy! The darker ones, the ones that are almost black in color are so much sweeter than the red ones…

Dad: That’s how you tell the ripe ones… di mashado masarap yung red…

Me: Mmmm... talaga ha... we also had them at work the other day.. Steve got them... I finished the entire pack all by myself...hehe


So there we were, sitting and eating a bowl of cherries… after awhile:


Me: Ma, your teeth are turning black… and so are your lips! Katuwa!

Mum: Onga eh… nevermind, it will go away when I brush my teeth after…


after a brief pause...


Me: Shites! You mean my teeth and gums were black when I was eating them at work?! I kept smiling at people pa naman whenever they passed me… shiyet…

Workaholics

On MSN:

Paolo says: hey

Karen says: hey

Paolo says: Are u also waiting for Friday?

Karen says: definitely

Karen says: Fridays are the only reason I go to work on Mondays really

Karen says: LOL

Paolo says: I know.


Where art thou Friday?

Another Late Night

Last night I had decided that I was going to go to bed earlier than usual. I’ve been having a lot of late nights and it’s getting to a point where I can almost hear my body begging for more rest. I did a bit of shopping (hey, it was on sale okay! Don’t be too hard on me…) and was home a little after 7pm. I had dinner and then watched “Signs” on TV with JR. I was right on schedule (I planned to be in bed by 10pm) but as I was about to go to bed, I decided to go on YouTube just to see if there are any videos of Russel Peters (for those of you who are not familiar with him, he’s a comedian who does stand-up comedy). That was a mistake.

I got hooked. DAMN YOU RUSSEL!! I ended up going to bed at midnight instead of 10pm. Yargh!

The Early Bird

I am proud to say I started working even before 9am today. Aren’t I the eager one?

I arrived at the office around 8:40am like I normally do. I grabbed a cup of coffee and half a bagel with cream cheese and told Steve to go on MSN. Usually, both Steve and I grab our coffees and our bagels and sit down and eat together until 9am and then we begin our work day. But since Mr. Pres is in town and was in the office so freakin’ early today, we couldn’t afford to have our morning chat and were forced to go back to our individual desks and eat by ourselves. I checked my e-mails, forgot about my food for a bit and started replying. Since I’m already at my desk, I figured I might as well get started early.

It actually feels good knowing I’ve accomplished more than half the tasks I have for the day. I am hoping (cross my fingers) that I will have an easy afternoon. After all, I did bust my ass in the morning.

What?!

A career in IT is not one of the 12 Indestructible careers??

What am I going to do now??

12 Indestructible Careers on MSN

Not Fair

It’s so beautiful outside that it’s such a shame we have to be at work today. It’s such a crime to have beautiful weekdays and rainy weekends. It just isn’t fair.

If I could, today I would:

Get a bit more sleep
Go to a breakfast place and order bacon and eggs with toast and a glass of OJ.
Go to the beach, or park or Wonderland or all three

I would have been able to do something fun outdoors! Instead, I am sitting in front of my PC at work, doing QA and answering e-mails in between.

At least I get to write posts.

Interesting...

I need to get myself one of these jobs:

Eight Super-sized Salaries

Wow. They make the job sound so easy don't they?

Slower than a Turtle

Today couldn’t have gone by any slower. It was another one of those really slow work days and although I had stuff to do, I also had a lot of free time on my hands. I decided to take advantage of said free time to re-do my layout, create some posts and label all of my posts. I had long been thinking of labeling them but have been procrastinating since I already had so many posts and labeling all of them would be time consuming. It wasn’t as hard as I had expected it to be since there’s a function that allows me to select multiple entries and label them at the same time. It was actually very user friendly and so easy to use.

All throughout the day I kept looking at my watch and expecting to see an hour closer to 5pm but to my surprise and bewilderment, it seemed to crawl. Mind you it wasn’t just my imagination because a co-worker also said the exact same thing, “Is it just me or is the time going by really, really slow?”

I dunno but it certainly felt like late afternoon already when in reality it was barely 2pm. Normally time goes so much faster when I’m busy but once I swear it felt like I had been working for an hour and when I checked the time, only 15mins had gone by!! It was very weird.

I think it’s time’s way of mocking me.

Kitchen Duty

We have kitchen duty at work. Our small company provides us with lunch and so we come to work everyday without having to spend lunch money. It is pretty convenient and the food is always good. The one downside to it is that we all take turns doing kitchen duty. Normally, we’re grouped together into smaller teams and each team gets a week of kitchen duty every month. It rotates so we often find ourselves in different weeks of the month and in different teams. It’s not the idea of kitchen duty that bugs me. It is the fact that some people are plain lazy. I don’t understand why some people leave their dirty dishes and utensils on the sink when the dish washer is right beside it. How hard could it possibly be to put your dirty dishes away?

Another thing that bothers me is the fact that not all team members do their part. We all don’t like it but we still gotta do it… We get free lunch everyday and not just any food but really good food and our kitchen is always full of snacks and fruits. The least we can do is to help keep the place clean.

Just because it isn’t your week to do kitchen duty doesn’t mean you have to be a slob.

"Happy Friday"

“Happy Friday!”

Steve’s first words today when I saw him.

I couldn’t help but smile. I love Fridays. It means…

No work the following day
I get to sleep in
I can stay up late
I get to do whatever I want
No pesky co-workers
The weekend’s just beginning
I’ve survived another week of torture

I feel like doing a little dance. LOL.

Laptop Reformatted

After much bugging and procrastinating, dad finally decided to back my files up and re-format my dear laptop. I, apparently, had over 1GB of files in total and could not fit in his USB memory stick. I don't know where he put my data into and I could only suspect he moved everything into an external hard drive since I saw it hooked to my laptop the other night. Last night was the first time I had actually used my laptop again since he wiped it clean. I was surprised to find that he had installed Windows VISTA as my OS instead of Windows XP. It took me a few seconds to grasp what I was seeing. No wonder everything looked a little off.

Personally, I don’t like re-formatting my machine. I know it is good to re-format once in awhile but it’s always such a hassle to have to put everything back in again. I have to look for my CD installers again, re-install all my programs and put all my documents back in. I always worry that in the process, I might lose something – an important file, my purchased music, photos or projects I’ve spent a lot of time on. Not to mention all the links I’ve saved in My Favorites. Ugh.

I know VISTA is still relatively new and like any other, it still has some problems. I am a bit hesitant to use it but dad seems to really want it so I’m letting him do whatever he wants. Anyway, if it doesn’t work out, I can always re-format again and put XP back on.

The Hidden Good

There are so many hidden talents and so much good in the most unlikely people. What’s sad about it is that we are far too busy minding ourselves and taking notice of the flashy things that surround us that we fail to see the light in others.

It is true that we should be wary. There are a lot of bad people out there who have malicuous intentions. But we forget that there are also a lot of good people out there who have such kind hearts.

Sometimes I encounter people who seem to have extinguished the good in them and then there are times when I encounter people who I am sure would go straight to heaven if they died. I am thankful to encounter such good people that help restore my faith in humanity.

Work

I’m totally glad I am done with my training session for the day and that I have the rest of the day to myself to do other things… except now I am left thinking of things to keep me occupied till 5pm. Tsk tsk. Steve was just saying how we both complain when we’re swamped and we complain when there’s absolutely nothing to do. LOL. Why can’t the world be perfect?

It looks like there are impending changes within this small company of ours and both D and I will have to move to yet another section of the building. I’ve moved a total of 3 times and moving again means a fourth time for me. I love my spot right now and would hate to move but then again, it isn’t up to me and I pretty much have to suck it in. Bummer. I can only hope for a quiet, decent spot somewhere.

I hate this company. Unfortunately, looking for another job is also a lot of work. I’m being lazy, I know.

Out of the Loop

I’m so out of the loop when it comes to Philippine news and gossip. Not that I followed it before anyway but lately I realize when someone mentions a name, a show, some new dance move or a new expression, I feel my eyebrows crease and my whole facial expression turns into one, big, puzzled look. I realize I have no idea what they’re talking about.

And so lately, Google has been my friend, providing me with enough info or at least giving me an idea of what it is. Of course Google can only do so much and it doesn’t really help when you are trying to find out what a certain Filipino expression/slang really means. In fact, Google is only useful for tracking news and a few pictures here and there.

You don’t notice the changes that happen around you, the different little things that evolve and take place and then you move half-way around the world and every little thing is magnified.

Do you realize I have no idea what Big Brother is?!

Embarrassing as it is, I have to admit I am getting pretty slow on some of the goings-on.

Unplanned experiences

Last night I was able to watch another episode of So You Think You Can Dance. I was really touched by some of the people who auditioned because they had physical disabilities and yet they try and some of them actually dance so well. It just shows that anyone can do anything if they set they heart into it.

I was just thinking of how funny life is sometimes. During last night’s episode, they featured a guy (we’ll call him John because I can’t remember his name) who played as the quarterback for the school football team. John’s dad was saying how proud he was of his son because he was the perfect son – had a good personality, played sports really well, was popular in school, dated a cheerleader… and then John got into an accident and was forced to take ballet lessons as a form of therapy to help improve his leg work. During therapy, he developed an interest for dancing and decided to quit the football team to focus on dancing. It really is amazing how one life experience helps a person see things in a different light. It took for an accident to happen for him to even consider dancing. When I saw him audition, I was impressed at how well he moved considering he just started dancing. Perhaps God has other plans for him. It’s truly amazing how something unplanned happens and yet everything falls into place.

YM Integrated with Yahoo Mail

I’m grateful for the warm temperatures even though we’ve been getting rain for the past couple of days. I would very much rather that it rain as long as it’s warm, than to have snow snow with the cold. It’s much easier to bring an umbrella instead of needing to wear several layers of clothing.

Today I was very pleased to find out that Yahoo has integrated their messenger into e-mail. What this means for me is that I get to chat with my Yahoo contacts just by signing into my e-mail even though I don’t have Yahoo messenger installed on my PC. This is beneficial to me since I only have MSN messenger at work and is limited to my MSN contacts. I know I can always just add my Yahoo contacts into my MSN contact list since it allows for cross chatting anyway but since I already have so many YM contacts, it’s tedious to have to re-add them all over again. I’m lazy I know.