Weekend breather

All  my bags are packed, I'm ready to go... 

I need this weekend trip. 

I'm so glad I'm doing it. 

If there is such a thing as comfort food, this is comfort gallivanting. 

5 hours to flight. Game on!

Pagod + Fulfilled = Rockin' TGIF

I launched my baby already.

Have not eaten lunch to prepare for ze preso and the trip for the Mobile Asia Congress next week.

For that, I shall bawi tonight!

Go Decanter!!!

Work hard, play harder!

(in)Toxic(ated)

This whole week is astoundingly BUSY.

Tuesday felt like Thursday already. There were A LOT of meetings, design sessions and design templates to finish.

Stressful? Not really. From the toxicity of October-December, things have mellowed down a little bit. Workload is still heavy, but my team has adjusted to it. I adjusted to it.

I'm just lucky - and glad - that my teammates can be on top of things without my constant breathing down their necks.

It's been a very productive week.

I'm mighty proud.

Super TGIF!

Kyle files: Coming home soon

I’m on car coding today but when it got lifted at 10am, I drove to the vet to visit Kyle. They just bathed him early this morning so he was so cute, kissy and cuddly. ‘Quite a stark contrast from being bantut-dungis when I visited him last night.

He’s recovering well. Super thank God that he is not incontinent and when he recovers fully, he can be a normal, happy, kulit kitty again.

Kyle is scheduled to come home this weekend so I need to buy a pet pen at Tiendesitas tomorrow and some bed covers for him. He needs to be confined in a limited area for a while. I’m just afraid that he will jump all over the apartment again and damage the already recovering stitches.

Friends, thanks for the well-wishes and for checking up on him. We still need your prayers.

Zen living

A friend of mine a.k.a. Vince gave me the Zen Habits blog site.

May I just say that aylavet!!!

Simplifying and living a frugal life are both so in these days.

Thanks, Beans.

I’m really loving the articles.

Simplifying and saving

Yes – I am simplifying.

Notice that I have not gone out very often. If I call friends, I normally invite them to share room service with me so it’s still a quiet and cozy dinner.

Are my super clubbing days over?

Honestly, I’m not sure. Lately, though, R. needs to drag me to Martinis for a drink or two and it’s just 16 floors away from us. I just really want to stay in.

I’m happy staying in at the club floor or just at home – reading books, surfing while watching over Kyle. Napping. And napping some more.

While being a Recessionista is the name of the game, it’s both saving money and being at peace for me.

Simple living is peaceful. Happy.

Kyle really made a lot of difference when I got him.

Need I say more that R.’s being rock-solid lately has done a major dent?

Purging and spring cleaning

Oh yeeez. The inevitable.

I will try to purge my closet once again.

3 things:

One, I need to let go of stuff that I don’t use to make room for new ones. Charo gave me a brilliant idea. If I want to buy new things, I need to let go of the old ones to lessen the guilt a wee little bit. Hahaha.

Two, I want to sell some of my things so I can earn a few grand for Kyle’s maintenance. Yes – 2 Louis Vuitton bags are leaving my closet.

Three, I want to give the rest away to people who really need it. I’ve wanted to do this part. I’m sincere about it so I need to kick myself to organize and pack my stuff this weekend so I can drive to Caritas Manila and deliver the boxes.

Oh yeeez. Purging of friends included in my to-do list.

It’s a necessary evil. There are true friends, positional friends, fair-weather friends and frienemies. I’m ditching the last two.

Who shouldn’t, right?

I don’t have a lot of time in my hands. Who does, anyway? Better take care of the chosen few who will stick with you. ‘no, Arlene?

There is virtue in knowing who your real friends are.

And…finally

I’m wishing for another quiet, relaxed, happy weekend.

My balikbayan Tita Len is here so I’m just looking forward to spending the Saturday with her, mom and Tita Rose.

I wish the same for you, friendships.

Happy weekend!

Smorgasbord of thoughts – this week’s recap

1. Madonna and Louis Vuitton

This cannot get any better. My goddess Madonna for the Louis Vuitton Spring-Summer 2009 campaign --- totally rocking my world right now!

As Marc claimed over last week’s dinner, I only want to go to Paris to visit the Louis Vuitton
store in Champs-Elysees… para magtirik ng kandila at sumamba sa tapat ng tindahan! Hahaha! Wow. Madonna. Louis Vuitton.

Still can’t believe it.

2. Recessionista mode

This second item on the blog is the complete antithesis of the first one. At this point where the economy is down and the temperament of the stock market is completely unpredictable, it’s not very wise to spend so much money on luxury.

Yes, I have been on save mode since Christmas. I didn’t buy myself any high-ticket item because I prefer to stay as liquid as possible. In fact, I sold all the extra bottles of perfume I have just stocked in my closet. They’re unopened and unused – some were gifts and some I bought for myself. I still have Guerlain and Hugo Boss perfumes that I have been trying to use up. What better way to get more moolah than sell the extras, right?

I will be doing my first spring cleaning for the year – so I’m letting go of barely used clothes and even some of my books. More moolah for travel and surf lessons!

3. Saving

I like saving money. Everyone should make a habit of it. I come from a middle class family so I know when and how to splurge. I also know when and how to scrimp when needed.

There was a time when I felt that I deserved to buy a lot of things to reward myself. Sometimes, when you are deprived of material things at some point in your life, you have a tendency to do this. I did. I’m just glad I got over it soon.

Just like everybody else, I got burned by credit card mess, too but repeating the same mistake is utterly stupid.

I also learned that a lot of people can make all kinds of excuses not to save money – family responsibilities, paying off debts, etc.

But sometimes, all it takes is a little penny-pinching here and there. Either you make all the excuses in the world available or just admit that there’s something wrong with your financial management. I’m probably just lucky. Nauntog ako kaagad and I had good financial advisers.

Thanks to R. Malay ko sa stock market, mutual funds and other investments dati ano. Although I had some inkling about investments, I really didn’t know much about the timings and which investments to choose. I’m just glad he taught me. Salamat sa free advice for me and the friendships.

4. Dish when you can only accept dishing

I was reminded about this just a few days ago. Sometimes, people just dish but when it’s their turn to listen to dishing, they can’t take it.

Minsan, it’s important to listen to people – especially friends who really care for us. They’re only after our well-being.

We all have our blindspots and what better way to open our eyes but to listen to what our real friends think about us.

Ang kaso – more often than not, we don’t want to listen. Or we make a lot of excuses for ourselves. Worse, we get pissed off at friends who just want us to do better.

Minsan, hirit tayo ng hirit. Ayaw naman mahiritan.

Simple lang – kung matigas ulo, bahala ka.

And if you can’t take the dishing the next time it’s your turn to listen – then just shut the hell up!

5. Waiting…waiting…waiting…

May hinihintay pa rin ako. Something BIG. In most days, I have learned to be patient. In some, I’m just really so itching to get what I want.

Pero ganon talaga, eh. Although patience is not my innate virtue, I am learning. Thank God, I’m seeing signs of fruition.

Lagpak kasi ako sa marshmallow test, eh. I can’t take suspense.

Salamat ulit kay R. at kay Ariel --- they are appeasing me. Thanks to their patience – they are relentless in always reminding me to just wait it out because my turn will come. And thanks to their good examples.

Kung hindi --- lukring na lukring na ko kakahintay dito.

But all is good. I’ve got all that I need for now.

Nay. Good is an understatement.

Things have been great and I have nothing but gratefulness in my heart.

Happy weekend, friends!

Off-balance

Friday. And I so welcome the weekend.

I feel so tired and it's my turn to be a bit under the weather.

Much as I want to dilly-dally, I still have a conference call from 6:00-7:30pm. On a Friday. When everyone else is preparing to go home, attend dinner or cocktail parties, here I am, waiting for the clock to strike 6 and start the con call where my entire team needs to do some mental gymnastics to understand new designs.

I am so not in my element.

For one, hormones. Blame it on the female hormones.

Second, Boyfriend still doesn't seem to get why I take offense when we discuss working or studying abroad and that my only choice is Hong Kong.

Uhhhhh... do I still need to spell that one out?

True - I love the place, the fashion and the seasons. But why would I insist to stay in a country with citizens who dislike speaking in English to customers (who by the way are foreigners who infuse money in this shopping capital/financial district) and who'd eventually like to have a so-called 100% Chinese work force in the not so distant future (for some locally-owned companies, this has been blatantly brandished in their missions and visions)?

Singapore is a lot friendlier these days in terms of welcoming students and expats to study and work there - but I never even considered this option.

Do I even have to explain why?

Sometimes, I'm not sure if he gets it at all.

Or don't I?

I badly need cocktails tonight.

And a very good doze of Zzzzzzzzs.

Of gay men and the kitchen

Gay, gay, happy and gay

It’s no secret. I love gay men. And they love me. I’m a constant fag’s hag, so to speak – the Grace of every Will (not that I had a gay ex-boyfriend, though). And I really like being one.

I watched the Drag Ons show at the Teatrino Promenade in Greenhills. The drag queens were amazing! They’re so pretty and flawless – more so compared to us, girls! The show had great costumes and dance choreography. The intermission numbers and fillers were all ballet.

Ang gaganda talaga nila. After the show, the drag queens mingled with the audience. I had this favorite – Claudia – who was really a stunner. When she went to our table, I couldn’t help myself. I told her: “I soooooo love you!.” Hahaha. What a fan-freak.

It’s a different albeit interesting experience – watching a drag show. And this one isn’t cheap and tacky.

For fag hags like me, you can catch Drag Ons every Friday at Teatrino Promenade, Greenhills. Show starts at 9pm.

Adobo, anyone?

For 2 days now, I’ve been going to the bookstore trying to find a good, user-friendly Filipino cookbook.

And by user-friendly, I meant with visual and graphics of how the dish looks like and easy-to-follow step-by-step guide.

I’ve been obsessing about learning how to cook Filipino dishes since last summer.

Imagine the irony: I can cook chicken scallopini, beef casserole, pasta parmigiana and paella valenciana. Yet I don’t know how to cook menudo or chicken tinola.

I know! I’m a disgrace to my grandmother!

Call me conservative – traditional, even. But for me, no matter how cosmopolitan a woman is, she should at least know how to cook basic things.

Who’d want to live with someone who doesn’t even know how to fry an egg? I’d have to be honest, I still can’t do a perfect sunny side-up until now. That’s why I have to do something about it!

(While writing this part, I remember my Nanay telling me when I was younger that I only know how to boil water and cook rice, with a rice cooker at that!)

A kick-ass girl, I remember Nanay saying, has to have at least these 3 in her metaphorical kitchen:

1. a signature recipe
2. her own signature sandwich; and
3. knowledge of 1 basic dish for breakfast, lunch and dinner

For a Filipina, add to that a family recipe of adobo.

Sounds sensible.

I’m so envious of people who know how to cook Pinoy food. And do it well.

But not for long. =)

Friday and long weekend

It’s been a tough 2 weeks.

Long hours at work.

Projects with sliding timelines.

A fight with Mom.

Hurt unintentionally inflicted to a friend who just really cares so much about me.

Unresolved issues with boyfriend.

Everything seems to be going wrong.

Me = not a very positive person right now.

Try as I might to lift my spirits up, I can’t help but feel sullen.

I’m just way too drained, too tired.

He’s coming home tonight.

Last night, we had a fight about our trip – which all the more dampened my already morose state of being.

I just want things to be okay.

And feel a bit better.

I just want to go home – close my eyes and wake up to a beach day tomorrow.

Oh well.

TGIF.