Shoot... I am distracted... I have this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that something is not quite right... Gawd, I hope I'm wrong...

Yipee! My site's already added in Flip Blogs!...

HORAY!
Congratulations to kuya and his teammates. They won the basketball game yesterday vs. UST. It was a pretty close fight, but they played a very good game to win it once more! No losses so far. Next week is the championship! Good luck!

Hehe... Still at home. Woke up late because I had a very long dinner with Daisy and her friend at Azzurro's (did I spell this right?) in G4 last night. Good place to dine. Very cozy, nice background music, wide variety of Italian and Spanish dishes priced decently (relative to the ambiance and all). We sampled the ostrich salipicao and it was, uhmm, ok, I guess. Hahaha. I'm still sticking to my regular chicken and fish dishes.

LAFFLINE
We had our last session for one of our classes yesterday. My classmates and I decided to head out to Timog, Quezon City and check out what's new in Laffline (it's a sing-a-long bar hosted by mostly gay comedians/singers who also do numbers in between). This place is always packed on weekends (thus, hard to get parking space even if they have valet service). The folks who are brave enough to come up on stage are usually the target of jokes and what-have-you which usually brings the house down in laughter. I used to frequent this place a lot last year. Had a crush on one of the hosts who really took my breath away when he sang "Kahit Isang Saglit". I went as far as checking his schedule, and I alternated between going to this bar and to their sister bar called Punchline. Anyway, he didn't host tonight though those who did also gave us some good laughs throughout our stay.

If you haven't gone there yet, I would say it's worth a visit. The entrance is PHP75 (ok), and San Mig Light is ~PHP80, while the "pulutans" range from PHP130-PHP150 (pricey). But it's really fun and a good way to forget all your worries. And if you think you can handle being in the limelight, you might want to try singing on stage as well. On my end, I'd rather stick to my regular videoke bars. Those gay hosts can really bite you if they feel up to it. :P

P.S. 13 exclamation points in my previous blog. Talk about overkill! Hehe... Am just really feeling happy, I guess...

YEY!!! Finally got this comments section to work! Wasn't able to install reblogger so I used YACCS! Kuya! Cool ha... Hehehe... Special thanks to dearest Sieggy, who helped me figure this out! Muah!

I sound like such a non-techie. After my prior proclamation, I bet no one believes I truly am a geek. Oh well. That's probably all for the best. I can't seem to carry this techie hat for long periods of time.. I am so unlike Johnnie over in Oregon who spends his weekends validating 1's and 0's. Dem. Ey, you have a long weekend over there. Get out and go biking or something! Happy President's Day!!! :P

Btw, this is really scary. The car of an officemate was stolen last night, just beside her residence! It's a Honda Civic VTEC '98 model. Gawd, what has the world come to?

PERKY
I'm unusually perky today. Maybe because a lot of things are really making sense to me... even if it's always "raining in my head".. :P

I found this link to a another purple "freak" like me! Check her out. I totally agree with her list of McBealisms... Specially "Sometimes... when you hold out for everything, you walk away with nothing..." After all, nobody wants to be the weakest link in this world, right? :D

Sometimes our day is filled with problems about the stock market, how to keep up with competition, and the pressure from our bosses to deliver. But at the end of the day, the "simple" things in life are what really matters. And that's what we end up thinking about a lot. Reflecting on a lot. Sieggy and I were having another conversation like this over a couple of smokes. And he tells me that I might actually be pushing people away from me because of my tendency to overanalyze the good things that come my way. Now I'm beginning to think he might be right. Thank goodness you're still here for me, Sieg. Bless you! :)

The things you do/say in your lifetime, no matter how seemingly small or trivial, will always have a an effect, sometimes profound, on the people around you, even if you don't realize it.

TGIF!!!
Jump! jump! jump! Was not only able to complete my three other deliverables, I was able to pull in my already overdue meeting to today instead of next week, and I calendared all my meetings as well!! So happy. Now I'm ready to leave, with 14 mins more to spare... :)

Been listening to this CD I borrowed from Dais, easily becoming my best friend in MBA because we spend so much time together (and we talk or text all day!), and discovered this nice slow rock song. (btw, the songs are actually movie files and MADZ, they're all anime! cool!). It's called Epiphany by Staind from their album Break the Cycle. This song totally expresses what I've been feeling these days...

Your words to me just a whisper
Your face is so unclear
I try to pay attention
Your words just disappear.

Oh-ho
'Cause it's always raining in my head
Forget all the things I should have said.

So I speak to you in riddles
'Cause my words get in my way.
I smoke the whole thing to my head
And feel it wash away.
'Cause I can't take anymore of this
I wanna come apart,
Or dig myself a little hole
Inside your precious heart.

Oh-ho
'Cause it's always raining in my head
Forget all the things I should have said.

I am nothing more than
a little boy inside
That cries out for attention,
Yet I always try to hide.
'Cause I talk to you like children,
Though I don't know how I feel
But I know I'll do the right thing
If the right thing is revealed.

'Cause it's always raining in my head
Forget all the things I should have said.

btw: Was in the restroom earlier and this office friend (who I barely see or talk to, btw) really said something nice. She said she could never forget me because I was there for her during her first trip to the U.S. That was almost three years ago and she remembers the "good deed" I did for her. And I never even thought that I did anything special. Wow... Made me smile.

Another reason why I'm so happy today is because my officemate/stalker's phone was recalled! Not on my account, of course. I mean, his stalking only bordered on the annoying pa-cute "It's cold outside, pls. bring your jacket" or "Get some sleep, you've been looking tired lately...".. And that annoys me because this guy is not even my friend. And for goodness sake, he's f*ng married. Hay. Call me mean. But what's up with that?

HAPPY WEEKEND, EVERYONE!!! Muah! Muah!

TOXIC
Working through lunch as usual. But this day is ultra toxic. Plus it's a Friday. Don't wanna be stuck here after 4.. Dem. Lunch was a PHP14 coffee from the vendo (Well, someone left his coffee inside while looking for a lid at the other end of the hallway, and of course, I was too inattentive to notice that. My coffee just spilled over his cup, so I had to get another one...) and Mallows choco one of the engineers gave me. My hunger must really be showing... :) Gosh, these guys are really surprising me.. Wasn't exactly on friendly terms with the engineer who gave me a rose yesterday. I had an email lash-out "encounter" with him a few months back because he highlighted one of my engineers for missing out some pertinent details in executing his task. And of course, I stood by my engineer and so, the unspoken friction. Until yesterday. Totally unexpected. But no, it's nothing romantic. He's married :P

Just remembered something... I was forming these thoughts on my way to the office this morning, but they somehow got lost in the hustle and bustle of my day... I have 5 more tasks to complete tonight and I'm only about done with the 1st one. And yah, blogging 3x in one day doesn't help either.

Anyway, one of the other things I realized last night was that people leave you for a lot of reasons. In some cases, it's because they love you. My ex used to say I was too good for him, that I'd make a perfect partner. He missed saying, though, that I would be --- for him. He was a dreamer. A drifter. But, no matter what other people have said about him, I know deep in my heart that he truly cared for me. Those moments we were together. And I choose to believe that he left because he knew he'd end up hurting me more if he stayed in my life.

btw, my "kuya" is now a blogger! Yey! Like your style, bro.. Very you --- no BS's but real and grounded.. :-)

OF LOST YOUTHS, FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS, FRIENDSHIPS…
Watched Riding in Cars with Boys last night. Actually, I intended to blog about this earlier, but ended up writing about the subplot to last night’s event :)

The movie starred Drew Barrymore who played Beverly Donofrio, a writer who wrote a book with the same title. In this movie, Drew ages from 15 to 36 years old. Her portrayal is very refreshing, and she really makes you feel with the character as she travels the journey of a young, single mom.

Beverly got pregnant at age 15, amidst protests to her father that “nothing happened”. She insisted she never goes second base with someone she just met. Nothing below the waist, hers, she points out. :D At some point in our youth, we can all relate to that. Rebellion and recklessness, I mean. And sometimes, the consequences really redirect the course of your life. I’m just glad that I’ve gone past that stage with flying colors. I mean, I don’t have youth to lose now nor family relationships to strain. I wasn’t the best child, but for the most part, I have not done anything that my parents would not approve of (not that they know of, at least ;-)).

The 1st half of the movie was really funny. I was laughing hard in my seat. But in the latter part, it took a 180-degree turn from the moment Bev’s heroin addict husband, Ray, left her and her child so that they can live a good life. Much later, Ray told his grown up son that the best thing he has ever done for him was leaving them and get wasted. If he had stayed, he would have screwed up his family’s lives. The last good thing he was able to do for them was sign a contract that prevented him from filing a lawsuit or something so Bev’s book will be published. His son asked whether his current wife might get mad, and he answered that women always like to forgive. They like to take care of screwed up men… Hahahahaha…

What is also noteworthy about the movie was the family support that Bev got from her sister, mom, and specially her dad, in his own brand of showing it. I started to miss my mom and dad while watching the movie. In the end, when Bev’s son left him to be with the love of his life, she called someone. And I had guessed right. It was her dad who picked her up. Much like how our parents would usually pick up after the “mess” we make in our lives. I am so blessed because my parents are like that. They’re probably not the perfect parents, but they are mine and they're the best!

Bev’s friendship with her childhood best friend also helped her through her difficulties. They mostly had the same struggles, and their friendship lasted through time and space. Much like my friendships with my long time best friends.

Ain’t I lucky, ha? :-)

BTW:
Received a rose from an officemate today. Just a sweet, simple gesture but it made my day! :-)

HAPPY V-DAY!
"I've learned that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help."

I value my bestest friends like I value my family. When someone is good to me, and accepts me for who I am, eccentricities and all, I will forever be grateful. Not a lot of people have the ability and patience to handle a girl like me. That's why, I do my best to be a friend whenever I'm needed.

But, we just can't please everyone. Sometimes, you will have to choose. Between friends. Between your friend and yourself. I have been way too engrossed on helping out my friends, and even if it didn't pass unnoticed, things have consumed me. Yeah, sometimes I get into that trap. When I care about someone, I give my all, and lose myself in the process. And so today, when everyone is out in couples, or groups, I plan to be alone. I miss the silence. I miss the simplicity of enjoying the pleasures of watching TV, and heck, even sleeping. If I don't take a break from being everyone's friend, then I'm afraid that time will come when I really won't have anything left to give, no matter how much I want to. And I might end up losing everyone I care for.

Ok, that didn't come out too happy. But I am. And I wish everyone out there all the love and hapiness that you wish for! Muah! :-)

LOOP
“Everyday there's a change, you bring out the best in me
My inner soul is what you know, that is how you speak to me
You seem to understand, you know just who I am ...
Don't need the sun to shine to make me smile
Don't care if it's dark outside 'cause I've got you
And though the rain may fall, no I won't care at all
'Cause baby I know that I got you..”

I have this bad habit of playing songs in loop. Since yesterday, Gabrielle’s Don't Need The Sun To Shine (To Make Me Smile) have been on repeat in my car changer. I feel like I want to sing the song to someone :-) Now, I’m listening to At the Beginning non-stop in my CD-ROM drive since I arrived at the office. My cubemates must think I’m out of my mind since I’ve been humming to the song repeatedly (sirang-plaka) :P

Speaking of Gabrielle, I bought her newest CD Dreams Can Come True – Greatest Hits. I totally dig the album. It’s a wonderful collection of songs about friendship, hope, love and dreams… My biggest faves are Sunshine, the song above, Out of Reach, Dreams and If You Ever… Ok, so that’s almost the whole album, but what can I say, her songs are the best! :)

Watched From Hell last night. Ok. Let me say it again, I hate gore. But I watched because my good friends wanted to go see a movie after my class. I probably spent half the movie with closed eyes, curling next to my friend, Leslie… The shots weren’t tasteless, but still, I have always hated the sight of blood, no matter how artistic they show it. It was about Jack the Ripper, a psychic/opium (?) addict Inspector who fell in love with an “unfortunate” but could not spend his life with her due to fear of losing her to the conspirators (Royal family, police, masons, and just about every influential person in London), Royal gossip, Mason rituals, and other stuff. I must admit, I barely understood the movie ‘coz it really doesn’t help if you “watch” it with your eyes closed 50% of the time. I guess if you can bear gore for about 2 hours, then go ahead and watch.

Btw, I’m already enrolled for my third term! Wow, I actually got this far. I mean, I always get dragged away to work on projects out of the country, thus, the reason why I didn’t quite get to my MBA during the timeline I originally planned it. But, no regrets! I have met so many wonderful people in school that sometimes I just wanna study full-time. Hah. I wish...:)

MOVIE MARATHON
Yey! Markie and Fudz, I finally watched LOTR last night. Managed to find someone who has not seen the movie as well, though, I did have to bribe him to watch with me (kuya, joke!!). Buti na lang, Galleria was still showing it :P Whew!

Of course, the movie was worth every minute spent inside the cold theatre. Yeah, Legolas is definitely a winner! I will so unashamedly admit that I join the rest of womankind who are kilig with Orlando Bloom… Hay, would certainly welcome an elegant elf like him in my life… Hehehehehe…

Seriously, I think this is one of the best movies I have watched lately. It’s a combination of the story, the fireworks, the cast --- everything was almost perfect. :) Anyway, now I can finally unwrap the book I bought and start reading… :P

Also watched Vanilla Sky yesterday. First of all, Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz make a very lovely couple. Guess what my wallpaper is right now? :)

I liked the movie. For one, I’ve had experiences with a stalker or two already in my life. Second, the movie makes you think hard about dealing with people – every small action has a consequence. And sometimes, the consequence is as great as losing a chance in experiencing true love (so is it really ephemeral?).. Shudder… I certainly don’t want to miss on that. Despite my bad relationships, I remain hopeful that I will someday get a chance to discover and feel the precious nature of true love. Or maybe I’m just saying that because V-day is just around the corner.. Hehehe..

And these are a few of my favorite lines ---

“Without the bitter, the sweet ain’t as sweet.” – Oh yeah, sad experiences makes you appreciate the good things that come your way much, much more.
“You keep the relationship casual until that absolute breaking point…” – said by David Aames when asked why he did not immediately want to sleep with Sophia. He had a term for it which I didn’t quite catch. Sometimes, I fall in love so fast, only to lose love just as quickly. I’m definitely taking small steps in all my relationships now.
“Every passing minute is a chance to turn it around.” – Amen to that!

p.s.
Another article on the blog phenomenon...

KUNG HEI FAT CHOI!
The first day of the Chinese new year is on Feb 12. But as early as now, Chinatown (Binondo) is already bustling with activities to celebrate the year of the black horse.

Hugs and kisses to you, Ann, to my brother-in-law - Tom, and to my dear nephew- TJ (how are you, 'langga? Tita misses you so much!!!)and little AJ!!! Muah! I miss you all. I love you very much.. Hope Taiwan is not so cold this time of the year na. :)

My wishes as well to my Ate Channie, kuya Seng and my other lovely pamangkins, Huse (Chin-chin) and Che-che!

Some of my friends ask if our family's part Chinese. We're not, but my brothers-in-law and my cutie pamangkins are! :-)

GMA’s TO DO LIST
One of the things that really struck me from her list is that they are generally really simple targets. Most of them are as measurable as “Create one million new jobs in agriculture.” Or as vague as “Solve the garbage problem.” I mean, what is it about the latter, anyway? There has been countless episodes where people were actually buried in their own pile of trash. Gosh! Yet, there is still no clear sign of progress on this. But of course, I do not blame it all on the government. It goes back to the Pinoy discipline. Don’t you just get pissed off when while driving along the SSHi-way a plastic bag suddenly splats in your windshield after the driver in front of you threw it out of his window? Or how about those folks who smoke near a cigarette disposal bin, only to drop the butts on the floor after they’re done? Dem. And what is so hard about sorting and recycling? Hello!!!

FLIPBLOGS
Sieggy told me about this webring called Flip Blogs, which is a collection of Filipino weblogs. Been trying to insert the ring code to my page for like 30 minutes now and it's still not coming out ok. The link works though. Somehow :P

I'm really thankful that not only do I have a team of very smart engineers, they really are special, wonderful people. After our orphanage visit last December, they cooked up another unique teambuilding activity. They suggested that we sign up for our company volunteer program. And so we did! This morning, we cleaned up the campus, repainted the gutter, pedestrian lanes and road arrows.. It was so hot, but of course, I had put sunblock all over my face and body before venturing out under the sun. Beauty first before charity... Hahahaha...

Ey, I'm not that maarte ha... I just don't like to make babad under the sun. Not only does it make your skin age fast, but dark skin just doesn't suit me... :) But, Petite has seen me back in high school and she can attest how much I didn't care back then. All I cared about was my love for football and dedmang umitim ako but I played everyday, every chance I got! And oh, who can forget the summer from hell when all the barkada joined the Citizen Army Training Officership Program? I can only wince in pain as I recall those days... Hindi lang kami nasunog sa araw, we had bruises all over our body, and we would go home covered in dirt and grass stains... Imagine snake-crawling in earth covered with very hot pebbles and stones! Dem.

I "stole" this link to a Time Magazine article about blogging from kantogirl. Thanks! :P

GAWD, IT’S WEDNESDAY!
Cigarettes smoked last Monday – 50. Ave. no of hours of sleep the last couple of nights – 4.

I was out again the other night. It’s Thet’s birthday today. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Muah!) I have not seen my 1st term MBA friends in a while. We only have class together every Monday. I miss them so much, so I couldn’t miss the gmik despite my resolve to cut down on puyat...

We had dinner at Dencio’s at the Fort. Nice ambiance. Open air. Very relaxing. There’s supposed to be a mini-golf course somewhere but we forgot to check it out. Anyway, places like this are known for their good food. But I’d like to recommend their chicharon-style sisig (I like it dry and crunchy) and sinigang na belly ng bangus. I personally don’t eat the belly thingy, but it wasn’t malansa, and it was delicious.

We talked about our long-standing plan to put up a business in Makati over a couple of beers. While it is not exactly the right time to venture into business, we figured we can either wait forever for the right time to come, or take the plunge and take it from there. None of us has that much too lose. Only one of us is married but separated. We’re not going to give up our day jobs. And we have families to go back to, just in case. Anyway, we have formulated our game plan and I hope we can get started before I leave for my next project.

These salary planning sessions are taking longer than expected… Shoot… Why the heck did I give away all my Advil tabs.. Note to self: buy a new bottle.

It’s already mid-week and I still have lots of schoolwork to do. I wonder why I find myself blogging instead? :P

Sieggy told me I’m one of those intimidating type of girls. Well, I must be intimidating the wrong people because the jerk-types seem to keep coming my direction. :P Ey, Sieg, here’s the link to kantogirl.

HOROSCOPE
Sometimes these things just hit the nail right on the head...


>> Your Weekly Horoscope for Feb 04 to Feb 10.

Dear Trixy,
The week starts off with a measure of intensity as the Moon squares the Sun. Regarding an issue in your life, you don't know whether to hold back your real feelings and bite your tongue whilst squirming within, or whether to detach and allow things to fall into place as they do. This conflict could end up wasting a lot of energy, so perhaps it is best to allow things to work themselves out, whilst you take a back seat. Mercury has moved into the sign of Capricorn again, which indicates that you are thinking along practical lines now, and perhaps reviewing the reason why certain issues may not have been as successful as expected. Over the course of the week there are quite a few aspects involving Pluto which all bring depth to different aspects of your life, creating the feeling of walking into the unknown. You may wish to change and reform areas that have become stagnant or are showing very little sign of real growth. Yet as far as relationships are concerned you need to get a distance from loved ones, and prefer to be in your own space. This will regenerate the natural feelings you have for one another.

Best wishes for this week, from the astrologers of Astrocenter.com.


Ey, Gary, thanks for visiting my blog. :-)

CHAIN-SMOKING THE DAY AWAY
I've been chain-smoking since 630AM. Already consumed one pack of Capri's. Dem, it's one of those days that you wish you can just reset. Oh yeah, I can smoke all the sticks I want since I'm telecommuting today and I can do whatever the hell I want in the comfort of my tiny apt. The wonders of technology.

Emong, another great buddy here in the office is a proud new dad to EJ (Elijah Matthew)! Congratulations to you and Melai...

We watched the game bet La Salle and Ateneo yesterday during the opening of the inter-MBA tournament. AIM and UST are also in the tournament. We beat the green-bloods to a pulp.. :) Congrats, bestfriend, contrary to what you think, you played a fairly good game. And I can say that even if I'm not an expert.

Last night didn't end too well. Had a petty fight with a friend. Dem, Madz is right. I need time be alone. Rest from pagbabarkada and gmik. School and work are stressful enough as it is. I don't want my relationships with friends to be another source of stress :(

A MILLION THOUGHTS IN ONE BLOG
Though I have been regularly posting, I have really not put into words the things I really wanted to post about… Blame it on last week from hell. It was performance evaluation time, and I’ve been up to my neck with lonnggggggggggg meetings discussing (no, fighting) with fellow managers about the merits and demerits of our employees’ performance last year. Damn, not only was the whole exercise very time-consuming, it was emotionally taxing as well. Glad we’re done with the worst ordeal. Next week, we’ll do the salary planning. Shoot.

Skeptic
Bestfriend gave me a long monologue about my general skepticism about the goodness of men. He was so damn right I could not even put my defenses up. I was totally speechless. What he said that hit me most was something about me trying to drag down some good things in order to make sense out of it, to bring it down to the standards of what is real for me. I have always believed that anyone who is too good to be true is unreal. There has to be a catch somewhere. I dunno, I guess if you’ve been burned more than once, your power to discern what is real or not diminishes over time, and the only way to keep surviving in this harsh, harsh world, is to become a skeptic. But of course, the downside is, you not only go about living a paranoid life, there is not much left to be happy about. You may even end up driving away people with honest intentions. For him pa nga daw, it’s better to pretend that what you are experiencing is reality, because even if it all turns out to be a lie, then at least you were happy for a while…

American Adobo
Oh well, this is a really late blog about the movie. Hah, I’ve almost forgotten how it was like… Hehe. One thing though I remember about the night I watched the movie, I dropped and left my sunglasses in the cinema. I was almost in the parking lot na when I remembered and I ran back upstairs to check. And guess what, the cleaning person found it and endorsed it to the mall’s security folks. And when I went to claim it, I learned that the mall personnel are really encouraged to do this type of deed and there were lots of found items in the office, including a very expensive two-way radio (and P100 bucks)! Way to go, Powerplant people!

So, back to the movie. I have a few good things to say about it. It was nicely directed, the shots were great, and the movie was funny. However, the movie could have been shot anywhere, and the characters could have been any race or culture. Except for the rare discussions/scenes about Marcos, Edsa 2, American Adobo didn’t turn out to be as Filipino as I thought it would be. The movie was generally about relationships. Multi-cultural, homosexual, abusive, failed relationships or the absence of one. Sieggy (who already has a blog, btw) and I both agree that we had more interesting, very “Pinoy-in-the-US” stories when we were in Chandler, AZ. All in all, though, I still give my thumbs up! It’s still showing, so do go and check it out.

A-day
I can never listen to “Iris” (one of my fave songs by Goo-goo Dolls, theme from City of Angels) in the same way ever again.

We came up with our gimik after watching an I-witness program last week. A couple of girls and I had our first trip to a male strip club last Friday :P We were really nervous about the whole thing, and a couple of times along the way, we almost chickened out. First of all, we had no idea where we were going. We stopped to ask a sidewalk vendor but the words never came out. We were circling around Timog and still couldn’t find the place, so we finally stopped at a gas station to ask for directions. The attendant didn’t know either so he shouted to his other co-workers to ask. That must have been the most embarrassing moment of my life. Shoot. When we finally got there, we just parked in front, still discussing whether to go in or not until one of the folks outside approached us and asked where we were going. We almost didn’t want to tell him the truth, but we gathered our guts and asked him where to park and where to go. Holding each other’s hands, we entered the place. Thankfully, there were lots of girls there, too, roughly 40% and the rest were gays. We were immediately infatuated with the man on the stage, who was dancing to “Iris” . He didn’t strip all the way and we were relieved. We just weren’t prepared for that. There was a fast dance number, and a ramp modeling stint. But after that, the next set of dancers started wearing sarong-type thingies and we knew that was it. We had to go to the restroom to compose ourselves. I’m not a prude, but what I saw was way too much for my sensibilities. Our Iris guy, whose name is Denmark, also did it, to the same damn song, and we were disappointed. We wanted to leave some things to imagination, but he bared all. :(

All in all, the experience wasn’t so bad. We went home unharmed. Or maybe, emotionally we were. During our very early morning snack at Zuppa in Pearl Drive, we came into the conclusion that it is indeed a very sad world. The expressionless look of those boys will haunt us for some time. Maybe forever.

Food
I know I blogged about this a while back, and I just wanted to reiterate it. If you want to try some decent meals, at decent prices, go check out those food places at Peal Drive. Zuppa serves a lot of rice dishes, and my fave are Thai Bagoong rice and Pesto rice, 65 bucks per hearty serving. :)

Area Café at Powerplant also serve some decently-priced yummy meals. They have an Italian menu, but you can also ask for the Oriental menu from O Cafe nearby. Their small plates are more than enough, and they serve salads and soups, too.

For cheesecake lovers like me, check out Cheesecake, etc. There’s one located in G4. The servings are just enough to share with a friend. My personal fave is the white chocolate pistachio cheesecake. Yum-yum :P

Playing Cupid
I played Cupid for two of my friends. Elisa is a friend from high school and the guy is an MBA classmate. They’ve already met, and from their stories (separately told), it sounds promising. :)

On the other hand, I have stopped dating (at least, nowadays). I just don’t want to go out for the sake of. I guess, no matter how good-looking or intelligent a person is, without the so-called spark, there’s just no point in the whole exercise. I’m very happy hanging out with my newfound friends. Besides, my heart is not yet completely healed and I’m not raring to go out and meet BF #x just yet. :)

EB's, etc
Mark organized an EB in Press Cafe for bloggers based in Manila and Petite called if I wanted to go. I didn't, mostly because I was still puyat from the all-night g, and also because I felt a little unworthy. I said I had been brain dead for so long, and most of the things that comes out from my head (to my keyboard) are all about work, school, gimik and relationships. V. juvenile. I can no longer squeeze in all the geeky things I used to do, or even the very normal things like catch up on my reading. Lined up are "Yesterday, I Cried" and LOTR "The Hobbit" (I know, Mark, I'll watch the movie. Really.) But of course, they all turned out to be non-cliquish "geeks", and I hope there'll be a second EB so I can finally meet these folks I read about online :)

FN also had a meeting-cum-EB at Hot Cafe. I was more than fashionably late. Ed who came from Novaliches even beat me to it. Sorry. No excuses. I met the bf of a Girltalker who was into war games. Sounds very interesting. But it's quite expensive to get started. I'm thinking about it, though. Beats all stress-relievers I know so far. :)

Lighthouse Family (another fave music group) was in Dish last night. And I missed the show :( Elisa said the place was packed and they did only like five songs.

Will and Grace
More than once, I tease bestfriend that he must be gay. I guess it’s mostly because I’ve never met a guy who's not only nice but who can read and understand a girl pretty well. There are times when he even voices out thoughts that I have a hard time expressing. Scary. But I did tell him that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate his friendship. I do. So much.

Anyway, we were watching TV the other night, and I pointed out to him that “Will and Grace” was one of my favorite sitcoms. And he was right on the money when he answered that reason why I was always teasing him he was gay was because I wanted him to be like Will. And yes, I was secretly wishing he were gay. I want a guy friend who’d stick with me no matter how many relationships he’ll have, who’ll be there for me and help me with the guy chores (hehe) and who’ll be my back-up companion, in case Mr. Right never comes along. Gay men are always nice, more thoughtful, can think like women most of the time and act like real men when needed. I guess I just don’t believe in long-term friendships with “real” men, the type that goes beyond time and space. The kind I have with my best friends Petite, Risa and Arlene. We don’t talk or see each other often, but we can most often finish each other’s sentences and we can easily understand each other even without trying. Besides, real men eventually get married.