Category: personal

Lovely title, even lovelier story.

“Until We Are Naked Again Beneath the Mute Witness of Stars” by Berrien C. Henderson

 

Which one? There were plenty. The old road map was slippery like those fireflies. He banked, then soared into the outer dark, one star being just as good as another. They flickered and winked for eons and parsecs and light years. They were all of them bedamned and complicit in their silence (and he supposed he had it coming) like so many absent friend and echoes of conversations fading down the avenues of the mind.

*

On my reading list: Tana French’s Faithful Place.

On my mind: Asset management. And the fact that I increased my deposits to the company coop, so beginning April it’s going to feel like I’m not earning anything. ACK! Yep, growing older by the day. Haha. But at least I’m doing so responsibly.

delivery from the book depository

Well, at least one of the books. :)

Hooray!

The book, in very good condition, came exactly 14 working days after it was dispatched. If you’re planning to order from The Book Depository, expect a rather long wait. The books you order will be shipping out of the UK. At least shipping is free.

Hopefully my two other books will arrive soon.

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Productive week for me, savings-wise. I’ve set up a time deposit account, and opened another ATM account in a different bank. Soon, I plan to start paying premiums for a pension/life insurance plan. (I still don’t know the rates – I’m thinking Sun Life.)

This is what happens when you get old, kid.

garage sale for japan

Jaykie heard about it from Jme. Here’s the event announcement on Facebook. There’s going to be another round next Saturday (March 26), turns out, so if you have anything you want to donate to the sale, or if you have the time and money to buy some items, read up. :)

On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Japan, and many have lost their homes and livelihood because of the tsunamis and fires that it caused. Right now, numerous earthquakes and aftershocks are still happening, and people from various parts of the world have extended their hands to help.

We’re a group of fans from the Philippines and we’re planning on having a garage sale. If you have a…nything that you are willing to donate (CDs, DVDs, magazines, clothes, notebooks, etc…), please click that you are attending to this event.We will arrange a date and a place where you can drop off or send your donations to, and we will inform you as soon as we have decided on it.

All of the donations will be sold during the garage sale (date and place are still being discussed), and all the proceeds will go to Japan (to be donated to International/ Japan Red Cross). Small things make big changes. Let’s start with what we can do.

We’re hoping for your kind participation.

ありがとうございます！ / Arigatou gozaimasu! / Thank you very much!

DONATIONS DROP OFF:

Luke Granada’s House – 6 Malinis St. UP Village
Jamie Lynn’s House – Veterans Village (can meet up at Trinoma or SM north just contact her 09279649624)
Meet-up at McDonald’s PRC (Adelle) – Makati (Note: After office hours – 6PM)
(more soon to be announced)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
[2011.03.14]
For those who are planning to sell their stuff. Kindly send me an email — adelleuy@gmail.com —- so that I can properly account all the items.

Also, if you have any urgent questions please send us an sms at
0922-820125-0 or 0927-964-9624

~Arigatou Gozaimasu — Adelle (^3^)

Also, Jme’s Sketching for Japan. Read more here.

By now I’m sure you’re all aware of the devastation in Japan, and if you’re looking for a way to lend a helping hand I’m Sketching for Japan.

I’ll be taking $5 sketch commissions over the next few days (or weeks, as long as it takes). $4 out of every $5 paid will go to fund relief efforts in the Pacific. Your sketch will be done and sent via email within 24 hours of payment. I also have something BIG planned as an added “Thank You” to everyone who participates in this fundraiser.

Send me a Note with your sketch details and I’ll message you back, pronto. Or e-mail me at james_macaspac@yahoo.com

If you’re not interested in a sketch, I would strongly urge you to give what you can on your own. Every little bit helps.

Thanks so much in advance, guys.

Hey, Jme! I want to join, but let me replenish my PayPal account first. (I think I only have 95 cents left, hehe.)

Anyway, Jaykie and I went to the sale at 6 Malinis St. UP Village yesterday.

I got these:

sweater (P250); bag (P30)

Jaykie got this:

"how to draw comic book heroes and villains" (P80)

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In other, mediocre news: I got a haircut at this salon near the Q. Ave MRT station, and while my hair was being cut a team from GMA came in and spoke with the owner. Apparently Kay Susan Tayo was going to shoot a segment there (something about tsismis and kwentong barbero). Susan Enriquez and Cesar Apolinario were sitting behind me as they waited for the crew to figure out blocking, watching my hair get blow-dried. How tantalizing. There was a camera trained on my hair at one point; I suppose they would use it as a filler shot?

book swap night, and other random happy things

The Book Depository site says my three books have all been dispatched. If all goes well, they should arrive within the week!

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Speaking of books, book swap with the girls (now also with Almi) at Starbucks 6750 Saturday night.

(Thanks to Andrea for the additional photos.)

Bought a cake and drink for poor Jaykie, who was sweet enough to drive me through hellish EDSA traffic.

Was it simply because it was a Saturday? It was awful! We left QC at around 6 and arrived at my place at 9 pm. We wanted to eat dinner in the Glorietta area, but the drive made us so hungry that we just decided to stop at the nearby KFC.

(I’ll tell you a secret: I had rice. I know! But I was so hungry!)

What went down:

  • I got these books, while I lent Atwood’s The Robber Bride, French’s The Likeness, Joe Hill’s 20th Century Ghosts, and Carljoe’s The Kobayashi Maru of Love. (Andrea’s copy of Jonathan Carroll’s Glass Soup not in picture.)

  • Fruit Ninja! Angry Birds! Nail polish!

  • That very intelligent game where somebody asks a question, gives a page number and line number, and you have to find the answer in the book you’re holding.
  • Example: “Who is your ideal partner? See Page __, line ___.” Me (checks book): “‘woman, right?'” (This actually happened.)

  • I think the people around us were looking at us funny. But this is a book club! I swear!
  • It’s not really a book club.
  • A little girl named Kylie wandered into our corner. Cute kid, probably powered by espresso. I think she liked Jaykie. Big bear! :D

  • The girl sat on Almi’s lap first, so I guess that means she’ll have a baby soon? Hihi.

  • The little girl’s companion (father? uncle? brother) introduced himself and said he does tarot readings in Robinson’s (Galleria I guess?). He also gave us his number.

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The Mothership gave us this commemorative watch (made by Swatch). The company workshop that preceded it wasn’t so bad either.

So shiny! I love it.

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Badminton Friday. On Saturday, I did four rounds around the oval, so that’s at least 8 kilometers. I took an Alaxan after! Ha! I should get used to the pain.

the weekend

Friday! Early lunch at Army Navy and Frutti Froyo c/o Jaykie and family. Burned calories in badminton (where I thought I would win against J, and then didn’t). Off to the mall to buy stuff for the boyfriend, puttanesca and pizza at Sbarro, then home. Got drunk on House (Season 5 and some of S6) and Pretty Little Liars. Slept. A lot.

*

Was finally able to watch Tangled with my mother and sister. I watched it in 2D, so I don’t know if it’s more exciting to watch in its intended format. I do agree with Roger Ebert’s contention though that colors appear dimmer in 3D. Not to mention that the 3D glasses are cumbersome and the illusion, albeit nifty, give me slight headaches. I’d like to avoid 3D now.

To be perfectly honest, I didn’t think much of Tangled when I first saw the trailer. Ack, another Disney re-imagining of a fairy tale highlighting love and cuteness – and it’s not even Pixar-made! I wasn’t excited about it. What else can you change about Rapunzel’s story to make it fresh and interesting?

I was so glad to be proven wrong. Thank you for the songs and the lanterns, Disney. If ever you felt the urge to translate this film onto the stage as a musical (and what a lovely musical it would make! Imagine the set pieces!), I’d see it in a heartbeat.

(And this should have won Best Song over Toy Story 3. Yes, I’m dissing Pixar for you, Disney. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME. I’m a horrible person.)

*

Commercial break: My story, “Voyage to Bathala”, will appear in the March 19 issue of the Philippines Free Press, available in bookstands by March 16. :) Do buy and read?

*

So I received payment for a story sale via PayPal instead of via a paper check, and I realized, instead of sending back the money and demanding the check, might as well use the funds to – what else? – buy books online. (The first PayPal payment I received was for a poem, and I used that to donate to Duotrope. It’s a very helpful site.)

I’m so 21st century. (I don’t buy things online. I don’t have a credit card. And I don’t even have an ebook reader. And I hate iTunes with all of my being. I’m still not so 21st century, it turns out.)

Books, old and new, are offered at reasonable prices at the The Book Depository, an online bookseller based in the UK, and they offer free shipping to the Philippines! (Exclamation points!!!) So I got Tana French’s Faithful Place, a book that’s already available here but only in (expensive) hardcover, and Lauren Beukes’s acclaimed novels Zoo City and Moxyland, books I can’t find here anywhere. All for around 26 dollars, or around a thousand pesos.

One story = three books. Not a bad trade. Hope the books get here safely, and soon.

*

I’ve been feeling rather sad these past few days for whatever reason, but the weekend was able to exorcise all the bad vibes. There’s no place like home.

the week

Monday to Wednesday, work, had yummy vegetarian siopao for the first time, planned to buy more siopao and weigh myself in the company clinic on Thursday.

Thursday, wasn’t able to go to work, so no siopao, and I still don’t know my weight! But it was the 16th month with Jaykie, the bright spot in my week after Valentine’s Day, so later that night we went out and had dinner at Friday’s in Morato. Photo!


I had fish (Tortilla Fish meal, with fries instead of savory rice)! Because I still couldn’t trust my wonky, gas-filled stomach.

(Addendum to Thursday: Jaykie’s mother brought us sandwiches and red iced tea from the local deli, which was awfully sweet of her. Later in the day, I was also able to buy tickets to the Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah musical! Can’t wait!)

Friday is badminton day! I insisted on two hours of badminton, but after an hour and a half I was ready to quit. But badminton’s fun! Jaykie said I’m improving. (My new score record: 16-21. Jaykie always wins of course.) Lunch at that Persian place in UP Diliman, where I had their yogurt shake.

Saturday I needed to get up early, not to jog, as per usual, but to attend a meeting. Sigh. But, you know, free lunch. I tried having half-rice for lunch, but I felt really full after. Shouldn’t have done that. Dinner at Brothers Burger with Jaykie, then white wine, for no reason at all.

I wonder what my weight is now.

sweet valentine

On Feb. 14 a little boy came over and handed me an apple tart from Rowena‘s.

The tart made me want to go back to Tagaytay already. Yum.

We were wary of the traffic, so we initially planned to go to QC, have food delivered from TGI Friday’s, and watch some shows while waiting for the food. But traffic was (surprisingly) light for Valentine’s Day, so we decided to dine at Mom and Tina’s. Jaykie’s treat!

Have you ever been? We’ve been to this restaurant several times. They have good food (soup, pasta, steak, sandwiches), and even better desserts. We go to the one on E. Rodriguez in Pasig, but there’s one now in Makati (G/F Unit 104, Tropical Palms Condominum, Dela Rosa St., Legaspi Village).

I had chicken and chips!

I always order their walnut tortes, but that night I tried their Baked Oreo Cheesecake. Our Awesome Planet swears by it.

Best. Oreo. Cheesecake. Ever.

Seriously. I’ll order this again next time.

And I only had the solo portion.

Before we headed out, the woman behind the counter (Jaykie wonders now if it was the Mom in Mom and Tina’s) stopped us and said we had a Valentine’s gift from them.

Yay free cupcake!

It was good. :)

P.S.

Let’s talk some more about food! Read Jaykie’s culinary adventures on V-Day.