note to self: stop checking ebay, pep, shopcrazy, yahoo, msn, and friend's blogs when trying to make drug cards.
_ _ _

i browsed through almost ten retail shops in five hours. mind you, this was not fun. 1400 sq ft for $5500 - in a really crappy area too. bunch of sunogs just bumming out. NO WAY will we make profit with rent like that. bastard gentrification (did i spell it right?).

you know what else i really hate? FINE PRINT. I have to pay $107 for taking out my CD 5 freaking days late. citibank is a full of sh*t.

p.s.
i'd like to thank my friend, ms. capri, for getting me through the hardest times in life.

Six Weird Things About Me

1. I don't like clubs/bars/pubs/discos
- I probably never will too.
2. I love, LOVE horribly gory movies. I’ve only gotten that way in the past year or two probably. I love when limbs get hacked off and people eat other people and blood and skin fall off people (HOSTEL & SAW ROCKS!). I don’t really know why. I guess because I get all entranced by it. Maybe that seems a little gross or messed up to some people, but I find it incredibly visually pleasing to my eyes.
3. I want all cats dead and go to hell.I hate cats passionately. I had a dream waaaaay back about cats ruling the world. The jist of it is that the a group of ghetto cats killed my entire family. Totally gruesome and scary.
4. I am the packiest pack-rat you will ever know.- I am thousands of miles away from my hometown, and when I migrated to US I brought EVERY LITTLE THING WITH ME. To this day, I still have receipts of my college tuition fee billing, a P250 weighing scale I bought in SM Appliance World, even prescription for an extraction I had five years ago. I do not like throw things away, even if they hold no signifcant memory. Maybe one day they would.I also don't like throwing away magazines and newspapers. I like scrapbooking and little odds and ends become usueful when I am fortunate to find the time to do it.
5. If you see my hair in a high ponytail, you will be freaked out that I have unevenly microshort cut hair on the nape of my neck.- Winter makes my hair soooo dry. I sort of like winter season because my hair gets a much need volume. On the dark side, my hair gets very dry to the point where anti-tangle sprays don't even work. I get very frustrated so even if there are tons of hair involved, i just cut it
6. I hate extremely dark entrees like pusit and dinuguan.
7. I usually don't answer the phone. It's partly conditioning from my executive assistant job where nothing good ever came from answering the phone, and partly from having known psychopaths & people with stalker tendencies. Lately it's due to laziness. Also, I don't always hear my cell phone because it's stuck in one of my bags or I've forgotten to take it off from silento. Keep calling, text me, or email me instead, and I'll eventually get back to you. It won't be the quickest reply, but it has better chances than you leaving voice messages.
8. I refuse to read, watch, or listen to the Iraq/terrorism/Al Qaeda news, because I have no desire to know what is going on in that side of the world. I realize that this makes me ignorant of my safety esp being in NY (anthrax mail will kill me instantly), but ignorance is bliss.
9. I have a very strange obsession with the number NINE, that's why I jaust had to go up to 9.

John Q, the Bed, and the Physician

So i'm watching John Q, movie which revolves around the insurance technicalities that i think too many people experience in life, and i couldn't help but think that in a few months, when Dave changes his career plan, we wouldn't have coverage anymore. I'm big on using our current benefits, and I think it wouldn't hurt to purchase coverage ourselves. But then again I could go home to pinas and have my checkups there which would lower my costs immensely, but what about in case of an emergency, right?

I want to marry John Q.

I decided to throw out my white bed which i bought in June for $300, mattress included. It wasn't bad since I did get to use it for a good six months, and i will continue using the mattress with my new bed frame, which i love, kaso the foot board is too big for my teeny room.

I bought a cute hamper for my nephew, Kiel.

I was telling Dave that I will bet my life that 80% of the people who live in the tri-state area, well, let's exclude Connecticut and the Hamptons, has some sort of Ikea stuff in their house. Myself, i think there are a few select pieces in Ikea na, puwede like mats and other trinkets (please wag pillows, they have the worst), but furniture wise, i wouldn''t invest on it IF I HAD MONEY (which i don't), for the following reason:

• Most of their "wood" furniture is fake wood on top of particle board, but for some reason you just ignore that when you realize that in a short amount of time (and usually for a relatively good price), you can completely furnish your house or apartment. The other wooden furniture utilize the cheapest, lightest materials.
• If you plan to move, don't count on bringing most of your Ikea stuff, they are meant to stay in one sanctuary FOREVER and if you disobey this, you will regret the time and effort spent on dismantling it and you will definitely find cracked and loose holes somewhere.
• Remember IKEA = DISPOSABLE
  

Ikea, I hate you. But I'll be back in your labyrinth (YES, ET I"M USING THE WORD) within 2 weeks to pick up another hamper, find more great deals, and eat your 50 cent hot dogs.. Damn you.

I went to a physician too, yesterday just because. She said I am physically fine, and i asked if there was an annual checkup i should do, like an EKG if you have a heart disease in your family or if you smoke, mammogram, blood tests, Pap test to check for stds or cervical cancer, booster shots against tetanus, even my cholesterol! I will undergo two of the above, rest she said is not necessary. It's my first time with this doctor, and this may be my last year with her too, because i thought her receptionist (who had hot pink hair and was on the phone 46% of the time) was a wacko and her office was too dingy.

Sidenote: Thank you hairy for putting together the bed, the chair, and the mirror. I love you.

Testing

The Wild Rose Random Brutal Love Dreamer (RBLDf) shmolorful, but unpicked. You are The Wild Rose. Prone to bouts of cynicism, sarcasm, and thorns, you excite a certain kind of man. Hoping to gather you up, he flirts and winks and asks you out, ultimately professing his love. Then you make him bleed. Why? Because you're the rare, independent, self-sufficient kind of woman who does want love, but not from a weakling. You don't seem to take yourself too seriously, and that's refreshing. You aren't uptight; you don't over-plan. Romance-wise, sex isn't a top priority--a true relationship would be preferable. For your age, you haven't had a lot of bonafide love experience, though, and this kind of gets to core of the issue. You're very selective. Your exact opposite: The Dirty Little Secret Deliberate Gentle Sex Master The problem is them, not you, right? You have lofty standards that few measure up to. You're out there all right, but not to be picked up by just anyone. "You're never truly single as long as you have yourself." ALWAYS AVOID: The Bachelor CONSIDER: The Vapor Trail. Link: The 32-Type Dating Test by OkCupid - Free Online Dating.

When relationships end

Maybe you saw it coming.
Maybe you didn't.

When romantic relationships end, we find our friends showering us with tons of advices.
He's not meant for you.
This if for the best.
All sorts.

But what if it's a friendship that's ending?

This is even more complicated. How do you work it out? Go to a friendship shrink? Have an open-forum (pretty much like in elementary)?
And hard part is, it isn't really clear that an ending has actually occured.

It's a lousy situation to be in. Especially if only one of you is noticing this.

* * *

And then, the worst possible news for this month came. My great amazing loving friend Cha might move to Australia a month before i go for a vacation in Ph. I'm really happy for her and rye. This has been a plan since we were in college, talking about where we were going to settle eventually. In retrospect, these types of converstaions formed our friendship which has become one of the things I prize the most.

For whatever the reason, though, I'm certain many of us share the reality that our friends and families are far away. Not all of us, of course. But many. And all of us, regardless, face that same pull between the open road and the reunion, between getting far away and being with people who we know well, and who know us well.

The friends who I've stayed with are the sorts of relationships where a year or more can go by and when you see them again, it's like old times. The sort of people who do not expect me to write or call on a regular basis, and, mostly, the sort who don't do that themselves either. I don't have a host of close friends - just six or seven people in Manila. That's what works for me, most of the time, and I know myself well enough to know I'm not going to change.

And even though I've got acquaintances and friendships here, I sometimes get lonely. And the temptation is to blame that loneliness on the distance, deep down thinking that had my friends been here, things would've been so different.

Clover & Shiloh Unite

• Corn Gluten Meal
  AAFCO - Corn Gluten Meal is the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm.
  Solid Gold premium dog food states that it is: "Added to pet food to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats (think toxic waste). This holds the waste in. Kidneys and liver work overtime. Dogs may chew their lower backs. Feet may swell, so the dogs lick their feet. Corn is thought to be the #3 common cause of food allergies in dogs.

I just had to put that in as a personal note to myself (and other dog-food-obessed-on-their-pet's-health readers). This is like the worst ingredient in kibbles you could feed your pup. Yeah, it's carbohydrates, but it's difficult for dogs to digest.

Clover went to the vet today in Northern, since she's been coughing for a week now. The vet had this device wherein he checks the ear for wax and ear mites and Et and i got to see it on the tv. Coolness. In the end, we found it it wasn't very cool since that activity alone cost $20 (and it lasted for 2 minutes). Overall, ET paid for $170 and she never even understood what Clover's disease was (Vet had heavy spanish accent).

Tina's been using ear drops on Clover called Tresaderm. 15ml for $25... After a short research, i found one on the web for $13! I hate that animal clinic.

What a scam.

* * *

I want a bull mastiff as a second pet. Once we get a pet-friendly coop, that is.

* * *

Clover and Shiloh made peace today, thanks to our middleman and personal dog whisperer David Roman. This will be the start of their lasting friendship!

Four Things

I've been tagged, so without further ado…

Four jobs I've had in my life
1. Operations (now, obviously)
2. Host (where I met my sexy Chewbacca)
3. Executive Assistant (stressful! I gained 20++ lbs)
4. Flight Attendant (Just domestic)

Four movies I can watch over and over
1. Meet Joe Black
2. All Regine Velasquez romantic movies (despite the corny patweetums, i just buy it!)
3. Heaven on Earth (can't explanation)
4. Zoolander ("Have you ever wondered if there was more to life, other than being really, really, ridiculously good looking? ")

Four places I have lived
Pagasa, QC
Project 6, QC
Filinvest, QC
NY

Four TV shows I love to watch
Desperate Housewives
Project Runway (Jeffrey you cheater!)
The O.C.
One Tree Hill (Lucas have my baby)

Four places I have been on vacation
Cape May, NJ
Connecticut
Vegas
Various beaches!

Four websites I visit daily (i can actually add 70 more..)
People.com
Egotastic.com
Google
Ebay

Four of my favorite foods
Fried Galungong w bagoong
Takoyaki
East Sushi Roll
Nilagang Baka

Four places I would rather be right now
In Disneyland w unlimited spending money
Pinas (to see my beloveds)
Fiji
David's arms (EEK, ANG KORRRNY)

Four bloggers I am tagging
Jean
Angel
Connie
Goldine