The Commute.

I think I’m coming down with a cold and I can’t say I’m thrilled about it. My brother, Miguel, had the flu last week and had actually missed a few days of school and I’m guessing I might have gotten it from him although very unlikely since I haven’t been around him a lot. Because I have training today and tomorrow, I brought Strepsils with me to work to ease my sore throat. Let me tell you, training with a sore throat and a cold is big pain in the bum. As much as I’d like to have an excuse to not come to work, being sick is quite uncomfortable.

On the subway this morning, there was this woman who sat beside me and her purse was half on her lap and half on mine. Don’t you find it annoying when that happens to you? I know I do. I tried giving her “the look”, tried adjusting my leg, squirmed a little… hoping that she would notice that her purse is on me. But nothing worked. I contemplated on just telling her but she looked like one of those people that could potentially cause a scene and I didn’t want to get into it so early in the morning. So I just put on my iPod, leaned on the side to nap and tried my best to distract myself from the annoying purse on my lap.

Speaking of commuting annoyances, I also hate it when a person doesn’t sit properly. You know those situations where the person sitting beside you:

• Is sitting diagonally and you’ve got this really tiny space to fit yourself into
• Is half sitting on you… this is the worst! Dude, your left butt cheek is on my lap and it’s impeding my blood flow.
  
• Has his/her feet up on the seat and you’re trying your best to avoid his/her shoe marks getting on your clothes
  
• Has his/her bag on the seat and all I could think of is how selfish and inconsiderate this person is when someone else clearly needs the seat
  
• Is tapping his/her fingers/feet on my chair
  

Really, really annoying especially when I’m running on a short fuse and I’m trying really hard not to blow up. I also get annoyed with people who play music stored in the cellphones but they don’t have a headset so they put the music on speaker instead. Gee, thanks man, I really wanted to hear your loud music. In fact, give me more please.

And since when did being a gentleman while commuting become outdated? It’s so rare to see gentlemen on transit and I sometimes I think my brothers are the only ones that are still mindful of it. Courtesy is sadly lacking.

Don't feel like working today but I don't have a choice

It was so quiet in the office yesterday with it being a US holiday. It just proves that 99% of all phone calls and emails we receive come from the US. It was boring but nice at the same time. One of my managers and I were just playing games on MSN almost all afternoon!

The weather was so nice yesterday too. It was 25 degrees and it’s the type of weather where all you want to do is stay outside. If it weren’t a Monday, it would have been a perfect day to do things outside. All I could think of was how perfect it would be if we could go biking or swimming or just sit in a patio. Steve remarked on our way home that it didn’t feel like late afternoon and that it felt like it was still early. It’s so nice that the days are longer now and the sun doesn’t begin to set until past 8 pm. Believe me when I say it does wonders to a person’s mood.

The weather is back to crap today and I can’t believe how windy and cold it was this morning when I stepped out of the house. I was considering wearing a light jacket outside but changed my mind right before I left the house. Buti nalang I did.

Work is back to normal today and we’re back to the constant flow of emails, the constant stress we get from our CEO (just having him around is depressing) and the hustle and bustle of co-workers walking, talking, and working. In short, it’s been busy.

I have a training session this afternoon and I am hoping it will turn out ok. You never know with these people. Sometimes I get really fast-learners and other times I get those who are just almost impossible to teach. It is when I get the latter that I think about quitting.

I am addicted to the Jigsaw game on MSN. It’s all I want to do at work today (if only I could do nothing but play).

So You Think You Can Dance

I’m so glad one of my favorite shows is back!

I missed the 2-hour premier episode which aired last Thursday because I was busy watching the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy. I had missed almost the entire season so I felt I needed to see the final episode at the very least.

Thankfully, I was able to watch the season premier of So You Think You Can Dance over the weekend and I can’t wait until they narrow it down to the final 20 dancers. It’s when they start doing the choreography that really makes the show interesting.

I wonder if the contestants from the former seasons who didn’t win have dancing careers now. I definitely saw a lot of talent and I really hope they succeed in their individual dance careers.

I wish I could dance just as well as them… but alas, some people just have the talent and some of us are left wishing we were just as good.

I miss Mexico!

It’s only my second week back from our trip to Mexico and I’m still trying to get over it. I had so much fun and I can’t help but reminisce about the whole thing and I can’t stop looking at the pictures we took. Yan ang hirap sa nagbabakasyon, pag nagenjoy ka mashado, ayaw mo nang bumalik. Hmpf.

I miss…

• Waking up after 7 to 8 hours of sleep, going for a buffet breakfast, changing into my swimsuit and jumping in our swim-up pool
  
  
• Going to the beach and playing in the waves or just lying down under the sun
  
  
• Getting half-hour massages on the beach for only $20
  
  
• Ordering as much Miami Vice as I want and not having to pay for it… actually I miss eating and drinking as much as I want and not having to pay for it
  
  
• The really hot, humid weather
  
  
• The scent of the ocean
  
  
• Our beautiful hotel room and everything in it...

Ok, fine, I miss just about everything. We really should've stayed for 2 weeks instead of a week.

Ha!

What Karen Means

You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life. You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip. People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

Ola!

Hey folks!

No, I didn’t stop blogging for good… I went on vacation in Mexico and just got back on Friday which is why I haven’t been posting.

Steve and I, along with a few of our friends, decided to go on vacation together and we had actually booked our trip last March, made the necessary preparations and reserved our airline seats ahead of time. We left for Cancun last Friday, May 9th and returned May 16th. We were in our lovely resort for an entire week!

It was soooo worth the money we paid. We were actually regretting that we didn’t book it for 2 weeks instead of a week. It was so nice and relaxing and not to mention loads of fun. We had a great time.

We paid about $1600 CAD each for an all-inclusive trip. It included our airfare, hotel, food, booze…everything. We even had our very own swim-out pool from our room balcony and a Jacuzzi in our bathroom. For a little over a month prior to the trip, we were so excited that we were practically bouncing off the walls. We had also pre-arranged our seats on the plane so that we’d be sitting beside each other.

The place was so beautiful and we couldn’t believe how big our resort was. Denny even said that it’s the biggest resort he’s been to (which says a lot since he goes on vacation almost 2x a year and he’s been to a lot of places!). We had massages by the beach, went to the spa, had ala carte dinners, and we even paid for a tour to the Mayan Ruins where we biked through the Mayan ruins, climbed the highest pyramid, went rappelling, zip-lining, cave swimming, canoeing, and trekking through the forest. It was hot, humid, dusty and very exhausting but sooooo much fun.

We are all quite tanned and peeling but we would do it all over again as much as we can. Here are some snapshots of the trip… enjoy!

Bits & Pieces

Nakakatamad talaga magtrabaho this week.

I’m off on vacation beginning this Friday and all of next week and I’m itching for it already. I bet once Friday gets here, I’ll have mixed feelings about it. Of course I’ll be glad it’s already here but I know I’ll also be a bit sad knowing that it will go by quickly. I wish I didn’t have to work… that I were wealthy enough to not have to work.

Nakakainggit talaga ang mga mayayaman.

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I got a pedicure yesterday. I haven’t had one for over a year and it looks so nice that I can’t help but look at it every now and then.

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The cool (when I say cool I mean to say cold), cloudy weather is making me depressed. Where did all the sunshine go? It’s supposed to be 21 degrees today but I’m not feeling it!

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When I was taking a shower this morning, I noticed that my tummy seemed flatter than usual and it made me happy. I suddenly started thinking of what I did different yesterday or in the last few days because maybe if I continue doing it, I’ll get my fabulous flat tummy back.

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Dad gave me a copy of the pictures he took during the weekend but I haven’t had the chance to work on them. I have to re-size them to make them smaller so that it is easier to upload in an online album. My cousins and I all agreed that this would be the best way for all of us to share the pictures we all took during their stay in town.

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I’m supposed to be doing QA again today but I’m just not in the mood for it. All I want to do is go home and sleep since I only got 5 hours of sleep last night and I feel really tired.

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I started packing my bags for the trip but I couldn’t remember the weight allowance for the plane. I’m concerned that my luggage would exceed the weight allowance. I tend to over pack for trips because I am the type that thinks “What if I need this or what if we go there or what if this happens…” when I pack so I end up bringing things that I think I might need just in case something happens… plus, I like having options. If I’m staying at a place for 2 days, I will bring 3 or 4 days worth of clothes so I can choose which ones I would like to wear for the day. I typically dress based on the mood I’m in, where we are going or who I am going with. Steve, on the other hand, will bring only enough for the length of stay and doesn’t mind wearing the same clothes over and over again if needed. I figured the stuff that can’t fit in my bag can probably go in his.

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I am glad that the office is quiet today but I am dreading my training sessions tomorrow. I don’t expect them to be easy so I’m a little anxious. Why is it that the day before I get off work always seems to be difficult?

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I found a pair of big sunglasses at the Bay that surprisingly fits me well. Because I have such a small face, a nose that’s barely there and high cheek bones, I rarely find glasses that will fit me and look good on me at the same time. The irony, just when I’ve already spent $120 on a pair of Ralph Lauren sunglasses, I find a $20 beautiful sunglasses at the Bay. Retail is once again poking fun at me.

Birthday Bash

My cousins drove to Toronto from Virginia on Thursday to spend the weekend in town to celebrate my grandma’s 90th birthday. The entire Gloria family has been planning the birthday bash for months and the time to party finally came. I was really excited to see my cousins since I haven’t seen them for such a long time. Sabi nga ni JR, the last time we saw some of them was during our grandpa’s funeral… I was only 12 years old at the time. It’s been 12 years since then.

I was also happy to see my nephews and nieces… the last time I saw my cousin, my niece hadn’t even been born yet. I can’t believe how fast time flies… this cute, little girl is now 3 years old! The kids are just so adorable. My brothers and I kept saying how nice it is to have kids in the house again since our youngest brother, Miguel, is not so young anymore. Sometimes when my brothers and I talk, we tell our parents how it nice it would be if we had a baby sister. Of course mama says she’s done with having kids and that she’s too old to have anymore. But having our cute, little niece with us for the past few days just strengthened our desire for a little sister. We are all so very fond of her that we kept taking turns holding her and playing with her. It’s funny hearing Chris and Cjem talk because they have the American accent na.

While they were in town, we went to the Eaton Centre to go shopping. I’m always by myself when I go shopping so it was really nice to have my cousins with me for a change. It turns out I’m not the only shopaholic in the family. It seems that Leslie and I have the similar shopping habits. We had a nice lunch at the Pickle Barrel and later that night we had Chinese for dinner. One of things I really enjoyed during their stay was our late night talks. I think we were talking until 5 am on Friday.

A few family members worked together to make a PowerPoint presentation showing my grandma’s 90 years. It was basically a collection of pictures of her, family and friends. Leslie, Ate Kit, mama and I worked on the program and in preparing the games we were going to play during the party. We did scrap the “Kembot” by the way. I told you there was no way we were doing that.

I have to say though that the party went really well. I was nervous about being the emcee and talking in front of people I didn’t know but I’m just glad I didn’t trip on anything or say something totally weird. I was also worried that people might not participate in the games and activities we prepared but thankfully, the guests were nice enough to join in the fun. My grandma was so surprised with the PowerPoint presentation and she kept asking how and who made it. She enjoyed it so much that when guests arrived during the presentation, she was hesitant to get up because she didn’t want to miss anything. Some friends and family in the Philippines also recorded a video with their birthday greetings and wishes for my grandma which I thought were really thoughtful.

I am really glad we did this for my lola. She can be a bit makulit at times but she’s also a really wonderful person and we love her very much. I just wish we had more family reunions like this. I always have a blast when my cousins are with me.

To you lola, Happy 90th Birthday!

Sayaw.

I can’t wait for the weekend. My relatives from the U.S. are going to be in town to celebrate my lola’s 90th birthday. I can’t believe she’s already 90 years old. I wonder if I’ll live to be that old. It’s scary to think of it… what if I’m old and alone and bedridden? Yikes.

Tita: “Karen, pinanood mo ba yung DVD na dala ko?”

Me (inaantok pa): “Opo… pinanood ko po kagabi…”

Tita: “Alin yung pinanood mo? Yung sabi ko? Yung Kembot?”

Me: “Opo…”

Tita: “O sige… gusto ko lang panoorin mo kasi nga sa Sabado, yun ang naisip kong sasayawin ng mga youngsters… kasi yung DJ ng lola mo ang patutugtugin eh yung mga songs na luma.. yung tipong di pa kayo pinanganak noon… eh at least yung kembot para sa mga bata…”

Me: “Eh sino po ba yung mga youngsters? Kami ba yun?”

Tita: “Oo… yung generation niyo… para naman may maisayaw kayo diba? Kasi di niyo naman ata sasayawin yung mga lumang tugtog…”

Me: “Ngeh, tita naman… di naman kembot ang music ng generation namin eh… we dance to hip hop and R&B… yung mga ganun… ”

Tita: “Alam ko nga… pero kasi nga at least yung video ipe-play lang tapos makakasunod yung mga kabataan…”

Me: “So ipe-play lang yung video tapos bahala na yung mga bisita magsayaw kung gusto nila?”

Tita: “Oo.. pero siyempre kailangan mauna kayong magpipinsan… dapat siyempre pagaralan nyo yung steps para kayo ang magpapasimuno tapos kung sino gusto magjoin, eh di sasali na lang sila…”

Me: “Ngeh, nakakahiya naman… eh di ganun din, sasayawin ko din.. ayoko ata…”

Tita: “Eh sige na.. minsan lang naman magcecelebrate ng 90th ang lola mo.. at di naman tayo parating nagsasalo-salo… kausapin mo yung mga pinsan mo para pagaralan nyo yung video para maisayaw nyo sa Sabado…”

Me (sighing under my breath): “O sige po, ipapapanood ko sa kanila and I’ll ask kung ok lang ba sa kanila na sayawin yun… pero unlikely na papayag sila… kung ayaw, kayo nalang po kumausap…”

Tita: “eh bakit naman di papayag eh minsan lang naman…”

Me: “eh kasi nga po maypagka-corny at medyo nakakahiya nga po eh…”

Tita: “ah basta ikaw na bahala kumausap ha…”

Me: “opo…”


I can’t wait to tell Leslie… she’ll freak out!!

Ai De Ling Yu

I am sitting at my desk at work, listening to an F4 song.

Oo, F4… as in the gwapings of Meteor Garden.

I have my iPod hooked to a pair of speakers but I’m playing it really low so that it doesn’t disturb anyone else. And partly because it’s kinda embarrassing to be caught listening to music in a language I don’t understand. I don’t think a lot of people will be able to comprehend how I can like a song even though I can’t understand any of it. To be honest, I don’t even know if I like the song because of how it sounds or if I like it because it reminds me of F4 or the fact that they performed it. I think it’s a little bit of everything. One thing’s for sure, it’s not due to the message of the song. Heck, I don’t know what they’re saying!

Satin-satin lang ‘to ha? I actually own a few F4 concert DVDs. Baduy na kung baduy pero I really liked them… I still like them… I’m just not as obsessed with them like I used to be back when Meteor Garden was still the biggest thing on TV. In fact, I still have Dao Ming Si’s picture in one of my wallets and rolled up poster of him in a corner of my bedroom. The picture in my wallet is actually a mini calendar with his picture on the other side… you know, the one that Bench gave for free if you bought a shirt. No, I don’t look at his picture before I go to bed… I don’t look at his picture at all… I never did. I don’t even know why I kept him in my wallet. Siguro para cool. Hahahaha! At yung poster, bigay lang sakin ni mama.

I remember Studio 23 playing F4 music videos and I even knew some of the words! Kala mo naman naiintindihan ko… I can’t help but wonder, kung may Taiwanese kayang makarinig saking kumanta ng F4 song, would I make sense?

When I think about it, my F4 obsession could have been blackmail material. Nakakahiya… Until now, my brothers still make fun of me. Di ako tinablahan ng mass appeal ng Boyzone, Take That, Backstreet Boys… ay, konti lang sa Backstreet Boys.. pero pagdating sa F4, patok na patok sakin. Ang weird talaga ng buhay… o baka naman weird lang ako.

A basta, gusto ko sila.

Driving me nuts.

• Being asked the same question over and over again by the same person. Dude, asking me 20x won’t make me give you a different answer!
  
  
• A tech asking me what to do and when I give him directions, he doesn’t do it. Next time, don’t ask if you’re just going to ignore my directions.
  
  
• Saying yes you understand when you really don’t. It doesn’t help either one of us when you lie to me. I won’t mind teaching you again if you tell me you don’t get it. I mind when you tell me you know and then ask me again later.
  
  
• When someone asks a simple question, give a simple answer. There is no need to use such extravagant words and phrases that people find difficult to understand. Giving confusing answers to an already confused monkey is just plain bananas in my opinion.
  
  
• Learn to be polite. Sometimes a little politeness can go a long way especially when you’re giving the client a piece of bad news. It’s not always what you say… it’s how you say it.
  
  
• When someone calls in for support and asks you for help, it’s just wrong to tell them to read the manual. ‘Nuff said.
  
  
• I don’t have the answers to everything and I’m not afraid to admit it. Just because I know how to use something doesn’t mean I know how it was made. Asking me how it was made, the intentions of why it was made that way and then giving me suggestions on how to make it better… yeah… I’m the wrong person to tell them to. Nope, can’t help you with that mister.
  
  
• Just because it doesn’t work the way you want it to, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not working. Ask first and complain later.
  
  
• If you’re not part of the solution, then don’t be part of the problem. Unless you have something important to contribute to the solution, keep your thoughts to yourself. Don’t cause us undue stress.
  
  
• I don’t like being given BS. You know it’s BS, I know it’s BS… let’s not waste our time here.

Presenting... Girlicious!

Yes… believe it or not, I actually watched this show.

At first, I had no intentions of watching it because I thought it would be really corny and that it was going to be so much like the Search for the Next Pussycat Doll except worse. I mean, just look at the name of the group! Girlicious?! It’s not even a word! But Steve’s sister always watches it and since I spend so much time at their house, I ended up watching it too. The thing is, if I watch a show too often, I end up getting hooked and before I know it, I’m re-arranging my evenings just so I can follow each episode.

I have to say though that women who don’t know each other, when put in a house together, always spells trouble. Look at America’s Next Top Model, The Bachelor, The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll, Big Brother, and Girlicious just to name a few. Steve can’t help but laugh in the event of a cat fight. I can’t help but laugh either! These women fight at the most mundane and childish things. I always say it’s easier to maintain friendships with men than with women. At least men don’t take everything personally and they have a knack for letting things go in one ear and out the other.

Steve, his sister and I were always making bets on who was going to get eliminated and who were going to make it to the group. Steve wins the bet most of the time since he notices little things on the commercials showing previews of the following episode. He’ll say something like, “Carrie gets eliminated next week!” and I go, “How do you know?” and to which he’ll reply with, “Oh, because they showed the preview for next week and what gave it away was that they were showing the girls practicing and only Carrie was missing…” Surely enough, the girl he says gets eliminated, does get eliminated.

I had a hunch that Nicole and Tiffany would make it to the group. I just wasn’t sure who the third person would be. I really didn’t want Natalie to win because her ego was over the roof already.. I could only imagine what a diva she would turn into if she won. Chrystina was ok but she doesn’t handle pressure very well so I had my doubts about her. Charlye had the talent and she performs really well but she just couldn’t get along with all the other girls. Right before the finale, Steve said that 4 girls would win…again he knew because he said the preview gave it away. He suspected Charlye would get eliminated and he was right! In a way I was surprised that 4 made it to the group instead of 3 but then again I also wasn’t so surprised. Looks like Chrystina and Natalie would remain BFFs after all! LOL

I’m quite pleased with how it turned out. I really wanted Nicole and Tiffany to win regardless of whom else made it to the group. Chrystina did an awesome performance for Heart’s What About Love… Steve and I thought she actually sounded better than the original.

For those of you who watched Girlicious and missed the finale, you can find it on YouTube. Here’s a link to their first video/song Like Me.

Things I did last weekend

• Went to dinner with Steve and friends on Friday night at this small Mexican restaurant in Mississauga. Not bad but Steve still makes better tacos.
  
  
• Woke up early on Saturday morning to go to Steve’s assembly in Georgetown. Nice, long drive but the weather was perfect and I got to wear my new dress.
  
  
• Went to mass on Sunday morning, had lunch at home, took a short nap and then met Steve around 5pm. We got his car washed and vacuumed, bought sushi and a pita for dinner and we took a nap again after eating (we were both so busy during the weekend and both so tired so we ended up napping a lot).
  
  
• I had the day off work on Monday for a doctor’s appointment. Thankfully, the TTC strike didn’t go through. I thought my appointment was for 11:30 am and I thought I was there on time but apparently it was for 11 am and I was half an hour late. Goodness! There’s always something going wrong with this particular appointment. I don’t even know anymore if I’m to blame or the receptionist. If there is an upside to it, the doctor was really nice and apparently, there’s nothing seriously wrong with me. After my appointment, I passed by the Eaton Centre to grab lunch and I bought myself 3 pairs of flip flops and a pair of shorts all for only $40+ (cheap!!).
  
  I also got my hair cut and colored to cover up all my gray hairs (yes, I have plenty… something I inherited from my dad amongst other traits). I have to say though that I still don’t know whether I love the cut or hate it. I think I just have to get used to it and let it grow out a little. Getting my hair cut is one thing I fret about. I don’t always have a style in mind and I pretty much let the stylist do his thing which of course could possibly lead to a hair disaster. And let me tell you I have had some really bad hair cuts in the past…which is why I’m always antsy about these things.

To say the least, I thought it was a good weekend.

Nice.

What a boring Friday. Not that I haven’t been busy… I just really feel like the day is ccrraaawwwliiinggg. As in turtle, snail and starfish slow. It’s probably crawling because I keep glancing at my computer clock every 10 minutes. I’m just really anxious to get out of the office and out into that awesome weather we have outside. Folks, we have a high of 24 degrees today! It’s perfect patio weather. Really, really, really wonderful. Parang Disney movie… the part where the princess sings and all the animals chime in.

Since it’s warm outside, we’ve decided to keep our office doors and windows open so we can let some air in. My office unfortunately doesn’t have any windows and is not well-ventilated so every time I close my door, it fees like I’m in a sauna. I only have a glass window beside my door and a sun-roof and both don’t open. Great during the winter, bad during the summer. But I love that fact that I have a room of my own and I can just close my door when I want a bit of privacy. If I feel chilly, all I have to do is close my door and voila… it warms up again.

I hope this good weather stays… it makes such a difference.

I Want One Too.

Kneeler Chair

Saw this on Violet's post and I want one too! I think I'd love it for work!

Strike... I'm out.

I have a doctor’s appointment on Monday, which if you recall from previous posts, I have been waiting for several months now. I am quite eager to get it done and over with. The reason as to why I had to wait for so long was because something kept coming up…

• Originally scheduled for January but our CEO needed to send me to Calgary for 4 days sooo…
  
• I rescheduled it for March since it was the next earliest available date. When I called to confirm the appointment, it turns out the date the receptionist had offered me before was Good Friday and not only that, she actually FORGOT to put my name anywhere on the stupid calendar… sooo…
  
• The next available date is this coming Monday and I’m all ready for it. I even booked the day of several weeks in advance. But last night while I was brushing my teeth, mama told me that…

There is an impending transit strike on Monday… WTF?!

I almost swallowed toothpaste. I couldn’t believe it… after having to cancel and re-schedule and all that waiting, the TTC is going on strike?!! How am I supposed to go to the doctor if there are no buses, no subway trains, and no street cars? I can’t take a cab going there because everyone will be taking cabs and all the cab companies will be busy.

I thought of booking a cab on Sunday so that it will be reserved for me for Monday morning. Just as I was beginning to feel good about this idea, it suddenly occurred to me that it was only solving one aspect of my problem… which is just getting there. I forgot about the coming back part. So that idea’s out of the window.

So here I am… still worried about the friggin appointment and the stupid strike. I can’t re-schedule because it means having to wait another few months or so and I really would rather not. Is it just really not meant to be?? Why does something always come up?!

I really hope the TTC can strike up a deal and the strike doesn’t go through. I need this appointment.

Sarap.

I’m currently at work and I can smell food being cooked… weird but it smells like sisig. I know it’s very unlikely and almost impossible but that’s what it smells like. I just had waffles for breakfast but the smell of sisig is so enticing right now that it is making me feel hungry. I haven’t had sisig for the longest time and I remember my college days having lunch at Almer’s or Wok With Me. I heard they’re both out-of-business already which I found quite puzzling as they were always so crowded whenever we went there. I always thought they’d be around for a really long time. They had the best sisig I have ever tasted. Haaay… I really miss it.

There is a Filipino Restaurant here called Jesse Jr. where we sometimes go to. They have good food, fairly affordable and they have that Filipino vibe. I took Steve with me there once and whenever he tells someone else about it, he always mentions how weird it is that the place had that cafeteria style setting with chairs designed to face a big plasma TV showing Filipino variety shows. He said every person eating there was facing the TV. I told him it is most likely because they miss the Philippines and you just have to admit that a big plasma showing Willy lip synching and dancing is just so hard to ignore (Hahahahaha!). He said the variety shows we have in the Phillipines are somewhat similar to Greek shows. I am not sure what that means but I am guessing that he probably means a lot of dancing and some really corny stuff. Wehehehe.

I tried the sisig at Jesse Jr. and although it is okay, it’s not better than that of Almer’s or Wok With Me. Mahirap kapag nakatikim ka na ng talagang masarap..everything you try after just seems mediocre. I love Jesse Jr. still though because they have really good food and I can even buy Filipino snacks and desserts like leche flan and sansrival. Our local Filipino food heaven.

I want.

It is times like these that I wish I had a lot of money.

With the season shifting towards warmer weather, I find myself in want of some new summer clothing. Do I necessarily need it? No. But do I want it? Yes.

It’s so hard to resist the urge to buy with the abundant display of all things new in stores. Every time I see something I like in a store, it’s like my brain automatically begins to list down every single reason as to why I should buy it… as if it is trying to justify why I should spend the money. And at some point I will catch myself going through the notions of picking it up and/or going to the dressing room and trying it. I keep having to remind myself of the many reasons why I am saving and I muster up every courage to walk out of the store without anything.

The other day, I found an issue of Elle magazine on top of our dining table. I wondered how it got there as I am the only member of the family that actually purchases fashion magazines. It turns out that it was given to my mom for free during a product promotion of some sort. After hearing where it came from, JR commented that he thought I was the one who bought it and he thought it was weird since I haven’t been buying magazines for a while now. I told him I don’t buy them anymore because…

• they’re a waste of money
• I always see something I like in them and I end up wanting to go shopping

So I decided to just stop purchasing them. I think the magazine industry has successfully lured me into buying them and the products they endorse.

You probably wonder why I even bother going to the mall to begin with. I don’t know either. I just like walking around the place, window shopping and just looking at things. In a way, it lets me unwind in a somewhat safe, public place. I’ve always liked walking around the mall. It must be some inherent trait I got from my dad (yes surprisingly not from my mom).He loves going to the mall too. The upside of spending a lot of time in malls? You end up knowing where to go when you need something and you know where to get it cheap. When I need a dress or a pair of jeans or shoes, I will look at all my options. I will literally go through every store to find something I really like and that doesn’t cost a fortune. I hate the thought of buying something only to find out later I could have bought something much better and cheaper if only I had bothered to look at a few more stores.

Bottom line is, it really is hard to save especially when you want so many things. But I have to say, it really feels good to know I have money saved in the bank.

In Denial.

From: John Doe [mailto: johndoe@xxxmailxxx.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 3:01 PM
To: xxxx_support@xxx.com
Subject: What’s up folks?

Server Application Unavailable

The web application you are attempting to access on this web server is currently unavailable. Please hit the "Refresh" button in your web browser to retry your request.

Administrator Note: An error message detailing the cause of this specific request failure can be found in the application event log of the web server. Please review this log entry to discover what caused this error to occur.

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

From: XXX Tech
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 3:01 PM
To: johndoe@xxxmailxxx.com
Subject: RE: What’s up folks?

Hi John,

It appears that the site is up and running. I'm not sure exactly what caused this disruption but we apologize for any inconveninece this may have caused.

Best Regards,

XXX Tech

*****************************

I received the above email from Tech Support as I happen to be included in this group. I just had to laugh when I read the tech's reply. You see, there really was a problem which tech knew and they had to reboot the server to solve the issue. But the way tech put it, it seems as if everything was indeed fine and that it must have been a glitch of some sort.

Denial... we can only use this for so long.

The Yellow Line.

Current Weather Forecast

Week Weather Forecast

14-Day Weather Forecast

This is how Toronto weather/temperatures typically look like during the spring. Somedays it's warm and then somedays it's cold. It's that time of the year where it's easy to get confused about what to wear. It's always cold in the mornings and evenings and warm in the afternoon. I always have to ask myself, "Do I wear boots and a coat today or can I wear wedges and a light jacket?". The trick I think is to wear layers so that you're warm when it's cold and then you can always take some layers off when it gets a bit warmer in the afternoon.

Often times, Steve and I will see people wearing a t-shirt, shorts or a skirt outside even when it's freezing. Can I just say, "CRAZY!!"? I can barely keep myself warm even with layers of clothing and a thick winter jacket and yet here's this person wearing almost nothing outside. I used to ask myself, "Is it me? am I absolutely abnormal to feel so cold?" Pero when I look around, every one else is scurrying in their winter jackets so I think I'm pretty normal. Sorry pal, it's you... not me.

I can't wait for the sun to come out!

This is what's up...

It’s so dark and cloudy outside and it’s making me feel a bit gloomy and all the more sleepy. It said in the forecast that we are going to have some showers today and that the temperature is supposed to warm up to 18 degrees. If it does go up to that high, it would be the warmest we’ve had since the winter and it would definitely be a welcomed break from all the cold.

I have been doing QA all of yesterday afternoon and again all of today. QA over training? Yes please and can I get fries with that? Although QA can get a little boring over time, it still is a breeze compared to training. My eyes are so tired afterwards though. Kahapon by the end of the day I kept blinking and my eyes were so red and watery. Pwede na ako sa commercial ng Eye Mo. Hopefully people don’t think I’m on drugs or anything just because of how my eyes look.

I have a pair of black boots that Steve bought me last year. I don’t wear it during the winter because it’s made of pleather and it’s not thick enough to wear during temperatures below 0 degrees so I only wear it during the spring or fall seasons. Today I took it out and after some dusting, decided to wear it to work. While I was putting it on, I couldn’t help but notice that it felt snugger than I remember. It must be from all that exercise I am not getting. LOL. Tsk tsk another reason for me to exercise. I’m getting a bit rounder in every part of my body. Not good.

Here are a few things I will have to work on to hopefully help me get fit:

1. Avoid sweets (Awww giliw kong cheese cake… mamimiss kita!)
2. Avoid unhealthy food (there goes everything I eat… goodbye delicious pasta in white sauce, goodbye fried foods, goodbye junk food…hello fruits and vegetables…hello hunger…haayyyy)
3. Get more exercise (Repeat after me: “No pain, no gain… no pain, no gain… no pain, no gain…”… oh help me!)

But I really need to exercise and be more conscious of what I eat. Mahirap na talaga ang tumatanda… lola nako sooner or later. Hehehehe!

Hello Spring!

I just re-read my previous post and twice I needed to edit the post because I saw some spelling mistakes. I must be really tired. Simpleng entry lang ang dami pang mali. Naduduling na ata ako dude. Dami kasi trabaho and parati akong nakababad sa computer.

Remember this post and I mentioned that I had adjusted my chair at work so that I was forced to sit upright? I found out my chair adjusts itself! The following day I noticed it was back to its normal height so I thought to myself, “Weird… I thought I adjusted this yesterday…” and it turns out the knob that adjusts it is broken so I think it slowly goes up when I’m not sitting on it. Tapos the other day naman I noticed that every time I sit, it would adjust itself all the way down. Sobra namang baba na for me. Any lower and I would need to sit on a can of powdered milk on top of my chair just so I can reach my keyboard properly. Anyway, I just have to be conscious of it and I’ll just have to keep on re-adjusting it every now and then.

The weekend as usual passed by so quickly. I got so depressed last Saturday night because I was thinking “Bukas it’s already Sunday and then Monday na naman.. shet…” It’s so unfair that the weekends go by so quickly and weekdays always seem to crawl. Buti nalang I didn’t have a training session scheduled today or else I would’ve been extra depressed about going to work. Because the weather was so nice over the weekend, Steve and I did a bunch of things: took a walk around his neighborhood and ended up discovering a hidden path to James Gardens, went to the Danforth for Lunch, had Korean BBQ for dinner, went bowling and then yesterday we spent the night indoors just watching a movie. With the relatively mild weather, we just had to do something outdoors. Bihira ang magandang panahon so when it comes around, you just have to make the most of it.

I can’t tell you how good it feels to be able to wear a lighter jacket outside. Finally winter’s on its way out.

This Time.

Tonight the sky above
Reminds me of you, love
Walking through wintertime
Where the stars all shine
The angel on the stairs
Will tell you I was there
Under the front porch light
On a mystery night

I've been sitting watching life pass from the sidelines
Been waiting for a dream to seep in through my blinds
I wondered what might happen if I left this all behind
Would the wind be at my back ? Could I get you off my mind
This time

The neon lights in bars
And headlights from the cars
Have started a symphony
Inside of me
The things I left behind
Have melted in my mind
And now there's a purity
Inside of me

I've been sitting watching life pass from the sidelines
Been waiting for a dream to seep in through my blinds
I wondered what might happen if I left this all behind
Would the wind be at my back ? Could I get you off my mind
This time

I've been sitting watching life pass from the sidelines
Been waiting for a dream to seep in through my blinds
I wondered what might happen if I left this all behind
Would the wind be at my back ? Could I get you off my mind
This time

This Time
- Jonathan Rhys Meyers
From the soundtrack of August Rush

Steve and I rented August Rush last night and although the movie is completely unrealistic and really cheesy, I still enjoyed it. Ako pa, I'm a certified chick flick fan. Although I am not too familiar with Jonathan Rhys Meyers, I loved him and Kerri Russell in the movie. I've always liked Kerri Russell though.. she was great in Felicity and I think she's really beautiful. Maybe not as stunning as other actresses but she's beautiful in her own way and she looks great everytime she attends an awards show. I can't believe she's a mom now and I have to say she looks amazing for a mom.

Ulan.

When I was still in the Philippines, I used to complain whenever it rained. The only time I loved it was when I was still little and we would go outside and play in the rain or when classes were suspended because of a storm. Ang hirap kasi pumasok kapag umuulan. Imagine, I would commute all the way to UST from Las Piñas in my all-white uniform in the middle of a storm, balancing my umbrella in one hand and holding my books/hand-outs in another and at the same time making sure my skirt doesn’t go up with the wind. Being dressed in all-white is no easy task when there’s water coming from all directions. Why you ask?

A. It’s hard to keep an all-white uniform still all-white by the time I get to school. Yung tipong walang kahit na anong dumi ha… and,
B. White clothes become almost transparent when wet so I cannot afford to get drenched unless I want to become a porn star overnight.

Pahirapan din umakyat and bumaba sa sasakyan. I remember those times when I was already in school and they would announce that classes are being cancelled and that we were being asked to go home instead because the storm is getting worse and there’s flooding. UST pa naman, being the Flood Central that it is, retains water like an over-soaked sponge. I remember that one time classes were cancelled and a bunch of us decided to play billiards in that pool place in Dapitan instead of going straight home. We came from the Science building and by the time we reached Dapitan, it was already a river. I’ve never seen water rise so fast in my life. We were all wondering where all that water came from in that 5-10 minute walk from the Science building to Dapitan. We were forced to go home right then and there.

Another memory is that of me, Mikey and Bene walking from UST all the way to Lawton (napaisip pako kung paano nga ulit spelling ng Lawton…hahaha). Both España and Dapitan were already flooded and there were barely any jeeps and the ones that did pass were already full so we had no choice but to walk. Diring-diri pako sa baha. Who knows what could be lurking in those brown, murky waters? I always imagine a dead rat or feces or something nasty like vomit and not to mention the invisible germs. Kadiri talaga. I remember Mikey and I laughing the entire walk because it was such a pathetic situation to be stuck in. I was praying we’d make it to Lawton without getting mugged or slipping and falling into the water. Nightmare! There were also people asking for change for the make-shift bridge made out of pieces of wood so we could cross from one block to another. Talaga nga naman ang mga pinoy, always making the most out of every situation... or shall I say taking advantage of every situation…? Kung may chance na pagkakitaan ng pera, you can bet pinoys will think of it. To make a long story short (hehe too late..long na eh) we made it to Lawton safe. We just had to endure the cold FX ride home. Basa kasi kami so nilamig kami sa aircon. I remember immediately taking a bath as soon as I got home…ni-lufa ko talaga ang katawan ko especially ang aking legs para lang I can have some piece of mind. Arte ko talaga…

I remember JR’s experience in UST as well. Classes were cancelled in the middle of the day and they were also asked to go home. JR and a friend of his had also decided to walk to Lawton because there were no jeeps. The flood in España was already waste-deep so the only vehicles that could pass were big buses or trucks. While he and his friend were walking, a bus or two passed and while it was passing, it made waves on the flood water. With the waves, the water rose to almost as high as JR’s chest. Him and his friend quickly climbed the UST gate because they didn’t want the high flood water getting them in the chest or worse… in the face! Hahahaha! They couldn’t help but laugh and curse at the same time. Thankfully di ko na-experience yung ganun kalala na baha… I think I would’ve freaked out big time. Matindi ata ang phobia ko sa mga bagay na nasa baha.

I also never experienced being stuck in UST overnight. Apparently, the school provides you with food if you’re stuck inside the building. I heard one time they even had Jollibee delivered for the students and school employees. Naisip ko lang, if they were stuck because of the flood, how did the Jollibee delivery boys deliver the food?? Don’t tell me they had a heavy-duty delivery truck of some sort or did they wade through the flood? Unless of course they miraculously parted the water like Moses. For those of you who know the answer to this question, kindly enlighten me as this has been on my mind ever since college and it’s been 4 years since I graduated so it’s technically been a mystery for me for over 4 years. OA ko noh? Hahahaha

Pero since I moved to Canada, I’ve found a new foe. The snow. Or Worse… the snow storm. Too much snow can make rain seem like my best friend. I think I will take the rain anytime over the snow. Provided of course that it doesn’t rain too hard. If it does, patas lang sila ni snow.

Labsyu Cheesecake!

I’m such a sucker for CHEESECAKE.

My favorite is one with strawberries on top. SARAP to the max!

I had just finished gobbling down the last few slices of my leftover cheesecake from the other day and I loved every slice. Yes, every teenee, tiny, little piece of it. I am going to be satisfied for the next few minutes while I digest. Ehehehehe

Is that a tummy ache I’m beginning to get from all that cheesecake? STILL, labs ko pa din ang cheesecake ko. Me and my cheesecake together forever... Hahahaha

Steve (passing my office and catching me reading a blog): Take it easy with the blogging. Blogging ALL day!

Me: But honey, I HAVE to blog about my love for cheesecake! It’s important!

Steve: You mean OBSESSION… forget love!

Napagusapan namin ni Steve that we should both start going to the gym and eating healthy. Of course, it’s easy in theory but hard in practice. Going to the gym after work or going home to sleep? Uhh… going home to sleep please! ERK! Wrong answer Karina!

Kasi naman, nakakatamad naman kasi mag-gym eh…

Anyway, after having my cheesecake I headed towards the kitchen and I passed by Steve’s office on the way…

Me: Stevie I ate my cheesecake already… it was SOOO GOOODDD!!

Steve: Honey, what did we say about that??

Me (smiling sheepishly): Ehehehe that I’m not supposed to eat anymore sweets because it’s bad for me?

Steve: Yes honey…

I figured when I grow old there will be so many things that I won’t be able to do anymore and so many foods I won’t be allowed to eat so my philosophy is to enjoy it while I still can…Habang bata-bata pako. At least someday when I’m no longer allowed to eat sweets, I can reminisce about the times I had so much of it.

Hey, at least sweets are the only form of unhealthy addiction I have. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke and I don’t do drugs.

Countersue!

Chris walked into the office this morning and the first words out his mouth were “I’m being sued by the guy I got into an accident with for $400,000!!” I couldn’t believe it… that’s a lotta money! Maaannnn, if I got sued for $400,000… I’d kill myself. I gots no money to payyyyyy!! I can’t even afford a one-bedroom condo… panu pa kaya ang $400k… tsk tsk… mahirap talaga ang maging mahirap.

Chris: “Yeah I couldn’t believe it… I had to read it again and count the zeroes...”

Officemate 1: “They shouldn’t be bothering you Chris. Insurance should take care of it.. that’s what you pay your insurance company for… you should counter sue…”

Me: “Yeah Chris, you should counter sue…”

Steve hears me and laughs. I laugh too… I just said counter sue but I really have no idea what I’m talking about. I just like saying it… “counter sue”… parang episode ng Judge Judy. Hehehehehe…

Anyway, apparently he was driving home from work during one of those really bad snow storms and the guy in front of him slipped and spun in circles and he ended up hitting the spinning guy because he couldn’t stop. Damages for both cars were taken care of by the insurance company but now he’s being sued for injury or some crap. I just want to tell the spinning guy “It’s not his fault noh! You were the one spinning wildly out of control AND he already paid for the damages for BOTH cars and insurance already took care of all of it AND it’s been 2 years!!”

Pero like I said, I don’t fully understand the intricate details and rules of insurance company policies and claims and all that. So I don’t really know if the other guy has enough basis for suing.

As they say here in Canada, anyone can sue for anything. Sabi na nga ba dapat naging lawyer nalang ako siguro yumaman nako sa dami ng mga taong mahilig magfile ng suit.

Uwian na!

I made it! I’m still alive!

Oo na, exaggerating na naman ako. I was able to survive my training sessions today. Whew! Di naman sa mahirap… medyo challenging lang kasi pagod ako and wala sa mood magturo. Plus, dahil wala si Steve sa office (di pumasok kasi nga may sakit… kuno...shhhh.. fake na may sakit lang para makapag-sick day at di mabawasan ang vacation days nya) iba ang nagprepare ng lunch sa office at natagalan so by the time food was ready, I had to start training na kaya di na din ako nakakain until almost 3pm. Nakakadagdag din yun sa aking frustration. Aba, mahirap yata magtrabaho pag pagod at gutom. The mind cannot function with an empty tummy. Period.

Ang sarap talaga ng feeling magmalapit na mag-5pm sa office. Uwian na! Yehey!

Work-capades

We finally finished uploading those 10,000+ resumes in the client database. I can’t tell you enough how elated I was while uploading the last 6 resumes left on my list of 2400+. Of course the boss dropped a bombshell afterwards by telling me I had to go through each of the failed resumes on my list, try to modify them and re-upload. Shoot me. I was holding 4 pages of failed resumes in my hand and as she was telling me what to do, I instinctively took a glance at those 4 pages and I couldn’t help but be dismayed. Thankfully, most of the resumes on my list were corrupted files and I couldn’t do anything with them so at the end of the day, I just handed the list back to her so she could make a report and send it to the client. I ended up only staying for an extra half an hour at work which was good.

Today I have 2 training sessions – one in the morning and one in the afternoon which I am not too thrilled about. I hate training.

Steve called-in sick today which means I won’t be able to go to his office for a “pick-me-up” when I feel stressed or bored or annoyed or tired. It seems like it’s going to be a really long day. I miss him already.

I’ve been slouching at my desk a lot so this morning I adjusted my chair so that I am forced to sit straight to comfortably use my keyboard. I find it a bit uncomfortable at the moment because I’m so used to slouching but I’m sure with time, I will eventually adjust. It will be good for my back and hopefully prevent my tummy from bulging. Haha!

Great weather today. A bit chilly but sunny. Had to wear thick winter jacket outside but at least there’s no wind so it’s tolerable. I love looking up at the sun roof in my office. I don’t think it’s called a sun roof but I forgot what it’s called so I’m calling it as such. Sunshine is peeking through it and I can’t tell you how happy it makes me feel. It’s a glimpse of warmer weather ahead.

It’s lunch time and I’m starving. I hope we get lunch before my next training session begins.

Nakakainis.

Naiinis na naman ako.

Kasi naman eh… sino ba naman ang di maiirita sa taong tanong ng tanong na pareho naman parati ang tinatanong at pareho din naman parati ang sagot at kahit ilang beses mo ulitin, di pa rin natututo. Parang ang sarap deadmahin minsan. Kaya naman namumuti ang buhok ko lalo eh.

Alam ko minsan nagmumukha nakong suplada sa ibang ka-opisina ko. Pero di ko maiwasan di mainis lalo na kung sinusubukan ang pasensya ko. Di lang sa paulit-ulit ang tanong ha… yung pang tipong nagdidilly dally… yung ang sarap sabihan ng, “ano ba, get to the point nga…” hay buhay…

Minsan talaga di ko maintindihan ang ibang tao.

Work / Shorts / Deacon Joe

Still running resumes through our parsing tool today. I’m almost half-way through my pile. I apparently have approximately 2400+ resumes in my pile. I am drawing tiny little butterflies and trees and flowers in a piece of paper while making sure the resumes are going in properly and that I am noting down the ones that don’t go through.

Very boring but I’m not complaining too much because I’d really rather be doing this than training all day. This is a nice little break. I can even catch up with my posts while parsing. I just wish the emails and phone calls from clients would stop too.

For anyone who’s ever bought a pair of shorts, don’t you find them to be expensive? They cost almost just as much as a pair of jeans and a pair of shorts is probably less then half the amount of cloth they use for those pair of jeans. It’s an absolute rip-off! You’re almost better off cutting a pair of old jeans and making shorts out of them. I was so surprised at how much they cost! If I knew how to sew, I think I would try to make my own pair. Sheesh.

Deacon Joe attended mass yesterday. He’s a brother who was with our parish for the entire year last year and he’s a deacon now who is about to be ordained into the priesthood in a month or so. I’m going to say it and I know it sounds so wrong but he’s such a good-looking guy with a really great personality. I like his talks because he’s so funny and just so down-to-earth and I can really relate to what he’s saying. He’s so involved with the community and I often see him after mass talking to kids and the elderly. I have a tiny, teeny crush on him which my mom is very aware of and she constantly teases me when he’s present at mass. She keeps saying, “at least you lost him to God…” Hahahahaha. I have a tiny crush on him mom, that doesn’t mean I’m head over heels in-love with him. I can just appreciate the guy that’s all.

Anyhow, back to work I must go.

Snow... Lots of it.

I keep posting about the snow storms we've been getting this winter season and I thought I should post the pictures I took during some of them.

Facebook Updated.

9 degrees today! Woohoo!

It’s cloudy and it’s raining all day but at least it’s warm-ER. Yesterday was the first time this season that I was able to wear a light jacket outside and it was great!

I have been updating my Facebook recently and found a few relatives’ pages. I had gone to my aunt’s Facebook page and found links to other family members. I was surprised to find out I have family in Winnipeg, Manitoba. So weird! I’ve never met them before (I think) and when I added them, I wasn’t really sure they were indeed family. I figured since they were in my aunt’s friends list and they had the same last name as me, we must be related in some way. Turns out they’re my second cousins who I didn’t even know existed. My dad… tsk tsk… he should really tell me more… oh I don’t know… maybe like let’s say family members in other places!

Anyway, it’s really interesting to meet all these new people even if it’s just online. Ahh Facebook… helping families discover each other… hahaha. Seriously, I would love to meet all my second and third cousins. It’s been so long since we’ve had a really big family reunion and I think it’s about time we had one. I mean, relatives not knowing or meeting each other since birth tells you something. Apparently, there are talks about a big family reunion sometime in the next few years in the Philippines but if it ever pushes through it will certainly be one expensive trip home.

My lola (grandma) on my mom’s side is turning 90 yrs old and we’re also having a big birthday bash for her which I’m really excited about. I’m finally going to see my cousins and nieces and nephews! Yay!

I have been doing my best to update all of my online pages – Blogger, Multiply, Friendster, Facebook, etc… I’ve dropped the ball on my Wordpress, Myspace and Eskwela and Ringo. There’s just way too many pages to maintain regularly!

Miss you guys.

Sushi = Yum.

There is a sushi place along Bloor Street West called Momiji Sushi and it's REALLY GOOD. I accidentally discovered them when one day I was in the mood for fish and chips and the fish and chips place was closed and it was a choice between Swiss Chalet and Sushi. I wasn't particularly in the mood for Swiss Chalet so I decided to go for sushi. In the past, whenever Steve and I would go to Swiss Chalet for take out, we would pass the sushi place on our way to the parking lot and we'd often remark on how many people were going in and out of the restaurant.

Anyhow, it doesn't look much on the outside but it's really quite nice inside. We haven't really sat down and eaten in the restaurant since we often just take food out and eat at home but one day we will sit and eat inside. It's got a great ambiance.. very clean and warm and the service is great. Steve often comments on how their food looks like a work of art. It really looks like they spend a lot of time in preparing their food.

I always order rolls and tempura and they're the best among all the sushi places I've been to in Canada so far. A bit pricey I have to say but it's worth the money. I was looking for a link to the place but couldn't find one. I wanted to post it here so you guys could check it out. Too bad I couldn't find their website... I don't even know if they have one. But yeah, sushi lovers out there, be sure to check them out if your ever in town.

Earth Hour

Last night at promptly 8:00 pm EST, we turned off all our lights at home in participation with Earth Hour.

We had all our lights off until 9:00 pm and ate dinner by candle light. It was reminiscent of those "brown out" days during Ramos' time in the Philippines. JR commented that whenever he turned the tap on, he was conscious of how much water he was using because in his mind, no light meant no electricity which in turn meant no water. In the Philippines, we had a water pump at the back of the house which ran with electricity and when there was no electricity, it meant no water for us so we were very careful of how much water was running in the house.

Nelly Furtado, being named as the Canadian ambassador for Earth Hour, performed for free at Nathan Phillips Square last night and I had forgotten all about it. My parents and I were already downtown and had I remembered she was performing, I would have passed by to get a glimpse. I wouldn't have stayed for the entire show though because it was cold outside and I'm not a big fan of being outside when it's below 0 degrees.

My dad and I were watching the Earth Hour coverage on TV and we were kinda disappointed that some of the buildings downtown still had their lights on. I would have loved to see the entire city pitch black for the first time. But they mentioned on TV that some of those establishments/buildings were built during the 50s and some lights don't have separate switches and that turning the main switch off would've turned everything off and some people needed light for business so they couldn't completely turn everything off. Whatever. I would've still preferred it if everyone joined in. What's 1 hour without light?

Anyway, I think everyone should be more conscious of how we are affecting our environment. It's sad that people are only doing something about it now when they should have been taking steps a long time ago. Better late than never I guess?

Not Fun.

We have this client who sent us more than 10,000 resumes which we then have to parse into their database. Normally, this is something that is done through a service we offer called Data Conversion but since the client is cheap and doesn’t want to pay for it, we offered to parse the resumes for them for a smaller fee.

One of our developers could have written a code that could do the resume parsing on its own but it would take our developer an estimated 3 days to write it and unfortunately it’s 3 days we can’t afford since we have a lot of deadlines for other clients and we need to have all resumes fully uploaded by next week in preparation for their training session.

So we are forced to parse them in ourselves in batches using our resume parsing tool but just to be on the safe side, we are parsing them 15 at a time per person and there’s about 4-5 of us doing it at the same time. Since some resumes aren’t in the proper format and some of them are corrupted, we have to keep track of the resumes that don’t parse in so that we can inform the client of it.

I had training from 9:30 this morning until 3 pm and now I’m just spending the remainder of my workday going through the resume list. The amount of resumes is no joke. It’s taking a long time to go through the list and having to watch it while it runs just so I can note down anything that fails is kinda boring. It’s an easy task in a sense that I pretty much just have to sit and watch it go and note down anything that fails but it’s making me drowsy.

I’ve had to do so many different things for this job including tasks that aren’t really part of my job description or tasks that aren’t my responsibility. It’s freakin’ ridiculous but I seem to get into these situations where I find myself just agreeing to do it even if I don’t necessarily want to. I don’t mind doing favors and going out of my way to help especially if it’s going to benefit everyone but sometimes the favors are just really annoying. It’s also my fault because I have a hard time saying no and being firm about it.

I’m barely making progress on my list of resumes. This is going to be fun.

A Break Please?

While training a client this morning…

Me: Okay, so that’s everything in the Job Match drop down menu…now before I proceed to the next topic would anyone like to take a short, 15-min break here?

Client A: Uhm… no, I think I’m fine.

Client B: Same here, I think we’re fine.

Me: So I guess we’ll just push forward then and maybe just break at noon for lunch?

Client A: Yes, I think we’ll just break at lunch since we’re good for now.

Me (thinking): Crap, I was kinda hoping you’d need a 15-min break... now I have to talk till noon and my throat’s already killing me! Sh*t!

Stupid Virus.

Crap! I think I have an MSN virus. A friend had sent me a link on msn and stupid me clicked on it because I thought she was sharing pictures of her new baby boy. Yun pala it was a darn virus. Steve has it on his machine too and he has stopped using his messenger at work but I need mine! I use it to communicate with my boss in LA and it’s primarily how I keep in touch with my friends in the Philippines and other places.

I asked the Tech Manager if he knows how to remove it and he said no. Apparently it’s one of those things that are difficult to detect and clean. So now I am running my McAfee to scan my machine and I’m hoping it will be able to find and delete it. If it doesn’t, I might be forced to re-format my machine… and I just got this machine too! All my freakin’ files are here. Kainis talaga.

I hate having to re-format and re-install programs and files pa naman. Nakakainis!

Discussions.

The other day while we were all sitting in Steve’s office having coffee, we were discussing the story in the news about a guy who got caught on camera taking out a hand gun and shooting several people. It wasn’t as if it happened late at night… I think it might have actually taken place early in the evening. It truly is sad to hear people getting shot, stabbed, mugged and abused in the news on such a regular basis. It almost feels as if our headlines revolve on people getting hurt or killed. It’s all we hear nowadays. It really is depressing that the world we live in has become such an unsafe place and that people have started to become desensitized to crime. Since when is taking the life of another human being an acceptable and automatic solution to a disagreement between individuals? Ganun na lang ba? If you do something I don’t like, do I just take a gun a shoot you and get it over with? Where did the morals of our society go?

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At work one morning, while sipping our coffees and eating our bagels, we started talking about people begging for money on the streets. How there’s always a guy begging for money so he can go home or go to a certain place, a guy begging for money for food and another begging for money for medicine or milk or diapers for a baby. I’m sure most of you if not all, have given money at some point. I know I have. The sad thing is, I’m not always so sure they are spending/using the money for the right reasons. The guy who claims he needs money to buy a bus ticket home is still there… in that same spot in the mall entrance, still begging for money to go home several years after I’ve given him some money. I don’t know what to think… was he lying about needing the money to go home and I was just an idiot who fell for it? Did something else happen and he ended up using the money for that? In all these years that have gone by, does he still not have enough money to buy that bus ticket home?

A co-worker was telling me that he once gave some change to a guy who cleaned his windshield on the highway and the guy ended up throwing the change back at him. I guess he wanted more… but for someone who is needy, you’d think he’d at least be appreciative. I’ve also heard about a woman carrying her baby and asking for money outside the grocery store saying she needed to buy milk or diapers for her baby. But when she was given the diapers/milk, she asked if she could have the receipt as well. What for? One can’t help but think that she will prolly go into the store, return the items and get the money back. If she needed the said items for the baby, why then does she need to return them for the money?

I like giving alms but it’s discouraging when you encounter people who take advantage of you. Tinutulungan na nga, nangaabuso pa. Nakakainis diba? I’m not saying all of them are just out to get you. I think that there are those who really are needy and will put the money you give them to good use. I feel bad because those that abuse the goodness of others ruin it for those who are genuinely in need. Now people are more wary and hesitant in helping. People are less inclined to be compassionate because every one is worried they will be taken advantage of in one way or another.

At the same time I also can’t help but think that maybe those that take advantage and who lie feel compelled to do so because maybe even when they ask nicely, people are just so uncompassionate and maybe they feel the need to come up with ways to get people to give.

I just wish people would strive to be better persons.

A Bad Case of Wiki.

You know you’ve either done something really great or something really awful when you find an entire page about you on Wikipedia.

Our CEO happens to be mentioned in a page about a person he was involved with in the past. And he is not mentioned in a “he-did-something-really-great” kind of way. He’s painted as more of a “he-did-something-really-bad-and-got-away-with-it”. I couldn’t help but chuckle when I read the article. The article sounds biased but the things they mentioned are quite true (at least based on what I have heard from those who know him better) although I don’t know how much of it is accurate. He didn’t murder anyone (in case you were wondering)…

Sometimes I look at him and I wonder if he regrets any of it. I wonder because he got a lot of money out of it… but at the same time, his reputation is tarnished. Everyone knows what he’s done and some companies outside of North America hesitate to do business with him because they are aware of his past. I would mention his name here but so many people Google him and I don’t want my blog coming up in the results page. Yikes.

I wonder if he would do it still if he ever had the chance to go back to the past.

All Things Chocolate-y.

I feel like I am drowning in chocolate. With Easter weekend coming, there have been chocolate eggs and all things chocolate-y everywhere. I like chocolate (who doesn’t?) but I like it in small doses. I can’t stand having too much in one sitting or else I’ll feel sick after. For example, I will have a piece of a chocolate bar but I cannot finish the whole thing. I can’t even finish half of it. It’s just way too sweet for me.

Today I had 3 pieces of those Cadbury mini eggs and a chocolate chip cookie. I didn’t feel too good after. I think it’s too much in one day. My teeth are beginning to hurt but it could also be imaginary pain. Maybe I am feeling a bit of tooth ache because I am well aware of how much sweets I had today and also aware of the fact that it is not good for me.

Anyhow, I still have 2 pieces of Hershey chocolates on my desk in bright blue and pink foils and I glance at it every 5 minutes or so, contemplating on whether I should eat them or not. I am dissuading myself by concentrating on work and eating gum. But those bright colorful foils are so eye-catching. Dang.

Heroes on DVD.

JR found a website containing all episodes of Heroes in HD quality which he then downloaded and burned into a DVD. I was able to follow some episodes on TV but had missed most of them so it was good that he was able to find them online. That way we can just watch them whenever we want without having to rent them. A big plus was that it was in HD.

We had already seen episodes 1-3 so we started with episode 4 last night. That darn show is just way too addictive. We ended up watching 3 episodes last night and it screwed up my plans of going to bed early. We finally decided to turn it off at around 12:30 am.

I know how the season ends because I was able to see the last episode. I just need to see the episodes in between because I missed a lot of crucial information like who is Nightmare Man and why Kensei ended up being so mean and how Peter came back to New York and why Suresh ended up working for The Company when he’s supposed to be in alliance with Matt. Despite the fact that I know how the season began and how it ended, it all is still very entertaining to watch.

The last episode we saw last night ended with Peter and Caitlyn being transported into the future and Hiro being betrayed by Kensei. I can’t wait to see the next episode!

Manila Ocean Park.

I just found out that there is now a Manila Ocean Park in the Philippines! Whoa! I didn’t even know they were building one. When did all this happen? It seems as if I have been living under a rock all this time. It never fails to amaze me how so much can happen in the 3-4 years since I left the country… I am blown away.

It seems to have just opened recently and I found a bit of info and some pictures of it here.

It looks pretty cool and I would love to go one day. The prices on the site above said the admission fee is 400php for adults and 350php for kids. It seems expensive in my opinion but the prices of commodities have risen since I left the Philippines and maybe 400php is not that much money anymore. Plus, I don’t really know what you get with it and how big the place is and maybe 400php is reasonable for what you get. Nonetheless, it all seems very interesting and worth seeing. It would certainly be a good place for a school field trip although again, I do not know if 400php is all that affordable. I am definitely adding this to my list of places to visit one day.

In the website, it also mentioned that…

…The Oceanarium Journey is divided into six sections and each section carries a Filipino name: "Agos", "Bahura", "Buhay na Karagatan", "Pating", "Ang Kailaliman", and "Laot"…

Just out of curiosity, what does “Bahura” mean? I have never heard of that word before. Yes, believe it or not, there are a lot of Filipino words I am not familiar with although I was born and raised in the Philippines.

I have always wanted to visit an Ocean Park of some sort. I have yet to experience walking in a water/aquarium tunnel with marine life swimming all around me. It is what attracts me the most. Marine life is just so interesting and beautiful. Have you seen those Planet Earth documentaries featuring marine life? They are, without question, among the most intriguing and beautiful creatures on our planet. I love watching those documentaries. Who knew that in Indonesia, they have land snakes that go to the sea to feed on fishes? Not only that, but they actually work with other fishes to trap those little ones in one place where both species can feed. They look so pretty and scary at the same time. I cannot imagine myself being in the water at the same time as those snakes. There were hundreds of them! And they are quite poisonous too. I always ask myself how they’re caught on film…

I really hope to be able to visit the Manila Ocean Park one day with the entire family. It would be an awesome experience I think.