just bitching

is it just me or is the stress brought about by the holidays getting into my nerves that i am beginning to get easily irritated by the people around me?

i know i shouldn't be this way. i know i am getting a bit kinda too grumpy these days, but i can't help it. let's just put it this way. maybe i am not so much into the prepations for the parties, and nagging me with something wouldn't get you anywhere except into my nerves. but of course it doesn't help that there are those who thinks that being "makulit" is ok. well, i guess it is ok. it stops being cute however when it's too much. when you're evidently not into a "kulitan" mode and they still keep it going.

the only thing i'm thankful for is that i am able to keep my mouth shut and just think about happy thoughts because the last thing i want is to have a stupid fight over little things. so i'm apologizing for my bad mood these days. i'm sure i'll be back on my old less bitchy self.

letter to santa

dear santa,

how was your year? i hope you didn't worked too hard. you're not getting any younger you know. i don't want you getting sick or worse retiring that outdated red suit because of too much stress. i want you to still be around when i have my own kids because i don't want them to grow up without ever having to believe in you. i want them to feel the magic of christmas.

anyway, remember THIS LETTER ? the one i bugged you with last year? yeah, i know you won't forget that. quite a wishlist huh? i am writing this now to let you know that i am very thankful for some of the wishes that came true on that list. i just knew that you wouldn't let me down. even if i was just semi-nice that year.

ok just to refresh your mind.....

that philippine vacation that i was planning did push through, thank you very much! that was my first homecoming and even if it was just for 3 weeks, i definitely had the time of my life.

the car that i'd been planning to buy.... i was able to park in our apartment building's parking lot in september. although it didn't had a built in navigation system i bought a portable one to help me manage the puzzling highways and interstates without feeling like a lost puppy.

now the carribean cruise never happened because we never had the time to plan it well and no efforts were made to really go ahead and do it. i guess i never really wanted that one.

as of today, even if i have a little sniffle and a lot of times my nose is pretty much clogged up, i am still thankful to you for keeping me and my family healthy and safe. i hope you stay healthy yourself as we don't want no sick santa climbing down the chimneys.

the itunes music card, the playstation and the xbox, i didn't get but thats ok because i wouldn't have time to play with them and use them anyway. that was a good decision you made to give it away to some other kid who would have spent hours developing blisters with their thumbs playing it.

santa, did i tell you that i went ahead and got myself a membership at the gym this year? oh yes! you would've been so proud of me. i was joining step classes, low impact classes, kickboxing classes. i was doing my routines with the machines without being intimidated. but then one other wish you forgot to grant me was to give me the discipline to go the gym regularly. it's been 2 weeks now and counting since i've been to the gym and i'm blaming it on the snow storm and the cold weather...he he he

the pair of crosstrainers and the victoria's secret pajamas and tank tops were too easy for you. thanks a lot. next time i'm gonna think of something more difficult.

so those were my wishes last year santa. i kinda underestimated you for a while there. i thought you wouldn't be able to grant me most of my wishes. but you went over and beyond what i expected from you. thanks! thanks! and more thanks! this year to make it up for not being the nicest girl in town, i'm not giving you a long list of things i want. i only have one wish this year and i'm not going to write it down on this letter because even withot saying it out loud, i know you know it in your heart.

merry christmas santa!

remaining a child at heart,
nerie

only thing to do is jump over the moon

i just spent thanksgiving inside a movie theater watching RENT with the girls...and i just have to say that i adore this movie! i loved it even better than goblet of fire and being a harry potter fan, that says a lot.

the play that is still currently on broadway and the movie has it's own merits. i loved the play for being raw and for the part where the audience gets to "moooo" with maureen, but the film gives us a lot more depth as it incorporates scenes which we knew happened in the play but was somehow implied.

things i liked in the movie:

• the tango maureen scene- they made this a bit different for the movie adding some serious tango scenes where roger, joanne and maureen were in formal get up (idina menzel is so hot!)
• the "would you light my candle" scene- it was somehow more fluid seeing it on the screen than on stage.
• the "i'll cover you" scene- i swear kinilig ako dito even if it was a homosexual love affair they were having.
• the la vie boheme scene- of course who wouldn't like this.
  

"there's only us

there's only this

forget regrets

or life is yours to miss

no other road, no other way

no day but today..."

spooky!

so halloween is over and done with. what comes next is thanksgiving. but before that let me just tell you about the halloween party that we had. i told you the last time that i would be working that night, but the gods of halloween (if there ever is one) had been good to me because instead of going to the hospital to work, i was put on call. so four hours of the time i spent at the party, i was quite anxious that my cellphone would ring and that would be the end of all the fun.

with the witches and the fairies

the party was quite a success actually. most of the people who came were in costume especially the kids. i got to give out candies to the kids who were trick or treating. at one point i even wanted to go out in the neighborhood to go trick or treating with the kids but it was too cold outside so i chickened out.

these are some of the kids who came all dressed up for the party.

with pocahontas, cleopatra and some other characters

so until the next holiday... i am hoping we would be able to get together again on thanksgiving. good luck na lang sa turkey namin!!! :p

pre halloween post

i am writing this as i am watching everybody loves raymond so i may sound incoherent at times or i may just be saying this because i am about to write an entry that is devoid of any main subject. but really, i am laughing my ass off to everybody loves raymond as i type.

i don't know if it's something about my hair or the mary kay product that i've been putting on my face might actually be working or people i meet these days have just been extra generous with their compliments. a couple of weeks ago, i went down to our apartment building's office (which is just on the ground floor of our building) in my ratty sweatshirt and jog pants. on my way to the office i met this guy (also on his way to the office) who i know is the brother of the building manager. we exchanged hellos and how are yous and upon learning that the office is closed i proceeded to go back to our apartment in the 5th floor. to my surprise he went with me inside the elevator.

weird guy: hi, how are you? (that was the second time he asked me that question in a span of two minutes)
me: like i said, i'm good... and you?
weird guy: i'm fine, thank you.
me: what floor?
weird guy: ah no... i'm just going to sort of walk you upstairs. my name is (insert name here) by the way and you are?
me: nerie
weird guy: nice to meet you nerie...
me: did you just got off from work? (noting that he is still on his hospital clothes.)
weird guy: yes, it was a very busy night. did you also worked last night?
me: yes i did, and you are right it was very busy.
weird guy: (making small talk about things i really don't remember)
me: (thinking: my god! when is this elevator ride gonna end? why do i have to live on the fifth floor?)
DING! (fifth floor finally!)
me: hey it was nice to meet you.
weird guy: you too! and with all due respect, i think you're beautiful.
me: err...thank you! (and i almost ran the whole length of the hallway to our door.)

the other night at the hospital i was taking care of three fresh post op patients and wanting very much to go home and sleep in my bed. i was trying to check the settings of the PCA pump (a machine that automatically delivers the narcotics to the blood circulation on the demand of the patient) while my patient is making small talk with me at 3 in the morning. she was saying that i was too young to be working this hard and that i am (ahem!) beautiful. i told her that i'm already 28 and that she had to get some sleep because she has a long day ahead of her. despite the fact that she was under the influence of morphine and that some of the anesthetics they drugged her with during the surgery haven't actually worn off, i was still flattered. hayaan nyo na ako. it's not too often that i post narcissistic stuff here so just deal with me for a moment here, ok?

anyway, i just received a note yesterday from the building's office telling me that the whole parking space at the back of the building should be vacated from tuesday morning until thursday. i just woke up from the couch when i read the note and i was like "wtf was that all about?" they're not even giving us an alternative parking space for three freaking days. i have to find a parking space to squat for three days and then suffer the long walk from god-knows-where-i-would-park-the-car back to the apartment in bitter cold weather. good luck na lang sa akin!

speaking of halloween (he he he, wala lang talaga akong maisip na pang-segue), it is just around the corner. i am going to go to a halloween cum birthday party on monday. the prospect of trying out costumes for the party is so appealing but i'm thinking of just going as a nurse wearing my scrubs because i have to go to work from 7pm to 11 pm that night and then just head straight to the party after work. bummer no? pero ok lang, sayang din ang four hours of extra money he he he.

i will try to post an entry about the party next time i blog and i'll even have some pictures just so i can remember my first ever halloween party.

something borrowed

i swiped this from the blog of an old school mate back in high school, Bebs. can't believe he turned out to be a really talented biatch. i'm borrowing this because it perfectly sums up what i feel right now. i hope he doesn't mind.


oo. ngayon.

As of this moment, a baby is born and a suicide attempt has just commenced. Somebody's singing my favorite song and a gay couple is having sex. A heart is broken and someone's saying goodbye for good. A plane is flying and a passenger is crying because he's away from home. A traitor is being slapped and a loan is being paid.

Currently, I'm thinking why for the nth time, my thesis script was rejected by my adviser. Maybe I forgot a film has to have a heart. Or perhaps I just analyze too much.

At this instant, a corned beef is being cooked. A house is burning while an ugly guy is jacking off. Someone's buying a polka dot panty and a child is raped. Someone's negotiating with a hooker, a rich wife is paying her husband's ransom, a 30-year old bum urinates on a wall and a fanatic cries over a rerun of Ally McBeal.

At this time, while scratching my itchy flaky scalp, I wonder how in the world did I get involved with a wrong man again last night.

At present, an innocent kid is stabbed, a gold earring is pawned, a love letter is written, a cellphone is snatched, a call is rejected and two strangers talk on their webcams.

At this point, I'm trying to make sense of everything.

Now, someone's buying a new car, one's trying to get an ex-lover's trust back, a picture is taken, someone's planning to destroy the world, an applicant's on a nerve-wracking job interview, another blockbuster is being planned, a restless guy is in the subway train late for work, a loud fart explodes, someone's laughing over an old joke, a curly hair is blown, an umbrella-less creature is soaking in the rain and two strangers are in one place without knowing they'll end up together in the future.

While all of these are happening, my perfect someone, who I haven't met yet, is thinking of me, wondering if I exist.

usapang wedding and some other rants about relationships

i was listening to the radio one night (which i seldom do because most of the radio stations here suck anyway) and out of the blue they played the song all i want is you by U2. now i've been a fan of that song ever since i saw the movie reality bites.

hay naku! noon pa lang U2 rocks na talaga. and i really, really love that song. in fact i want it played on my wedding. yes! on my wedding....and i want bono to be my groom. he he he...patawa! may asawa na kaya si bono and mind you he's loyal to his wife. how's that for a rockstar? so on the premise of not committing adultery, ninong na lang siya sa kasal and he can sing this song on my wedding.

ok enough about U2. since i'm talking about weddings, let me just rant about women who "lives in" with their boyfriend and can't understand why they (boyfriends) don't want to marry them. it's simple enough to explain. a lot of people have said this time and again. "why buy the cow when the milk is free?" think about it will you?

now on to women who find it hard to end a really crappy relationship. eto lang ang masasabi ko: "what is wrong with your brains girl?" if a relationship is crappy to begin with do not expect it to bloom into something beautiful in the long run. thinking that it's not going to get any worse is stupid. something mildly crappy doesn't just stay mildly crappy or so i've read on one of the advice columns in a local newspaper. the writer even went on to say: "alone is hard.... wishing you were alone is harder." now let's all think about this and try to stop creating an angel out of the devil we know. people who'd rather be in a bad relationship than have no relationship at all are stupid. excuse me for calling people names but that's just what i feel.

love makes you happy yet it makes you blind to all the things that would make all that happiness fade when the time comes. it makes you crazy to the point of not realizing the wrong decisions you've made. it makes you stubborn to the point of being close minded. i just hope that we could all find the love that people talk about in fairy tales. the happy ever after kind of love. the selfless kind. the kind of love that knows how to wait, how to sacrifice, how to give. the love that does not think about what it could get but of what it could offer. real love doesn't give ultimatums, it doesn't make you choose, it always thinks about what could make you happy and it doesn't have to alienate you to the other people in your life.

let us all think about this real hard as i'm not the kind of person who regularly gives unsolicited advise. i've always thought that there is no nicest feeling in the world than to be in love but always bearing in mind that it has to be with the right person.

toronto trip

WARNING: a really, really long post coming up, filled with lots and lots of pictures enough to satisfy my up coming vacationless autumn and winter so help me god!

air canada
Originally uploaded by nerie.

four days were again spent away from home as we went on our toronto trip. last thursday, me, iris, jade and gina together with jozel on the wheel were on our way to newark liberty airport aboard gina's car (god bless her soul for being kind enough to pick us up from our apartment!). excited as ever, we went in to check in and get our bording passes only to find out that our united airlines flight was cancelled. it was almost a bummer but not quite, because we got a later air canada flight instead.

the flight to toronto was uneventful. we arrived as scheduled and jade was separated from our group because she had to stay at her grandfather's house. gina, iris and me on the other hand, got ourselves a room over at holiday inn in downtown toronto.

morning outside hotel
Originally uploaded by nerie.

our first night was spent walking around getting shutter happy with our cameras as we tried to burn the calories we got from eating a heavy vietnamese dinner. we kept walking and walking until we got to what seems to be the most happening place in toronto. a lot of people were out partying that thursday night but we weren't really in the mood, so we just kept walking until we found ourselves back in our hotel.

day 2 was the day we were going to niagara. we booked ourselves for a day tour to niagara falls. we were the first ones to be picked up by our tour bus. a lot of other tourists from nearby hotels who also booked for the tour were picked up one after another. our group were a mixed lot. there were old couples from england, a single guy from new zealand, two young chinese girls, a young couple from i don't know where, an old petite woman and a lot more others i never really got to interact with.

niagara falls
Originally uploaded by nerie.

upon reaching niagara and getting a glimpse of the falls, i only had one adjective in mind. BREATHTAKING! ang ganda niya, promise! it was nature at it's best but marred by commercialization. i don't know, but i primarily went there for the nature trip but never really got what i wanted. maybe it's just me, but all those big hotel buildings, commercial establishments and restaurants kinda ruined the character of the falls.

maid of the mist ride
Originally uploaded by nerie.

but despite my qualms
about it, i honestly enjoyed the falls, especially the ride aboard the maid of the mist. it was one thing to see the falls from afar but its a different one all together to see it and feel it's power a few feet away. they provided us with raincoats to protect us from getting wet from the mist. at first i kept holding on to the hood of the coat to keep myself from getting wet but then later on i took off the coat and enjoyed the mist of the niagara falls.

we started day 3 by riding the wrong tour bus, but instead of getting off of it, we just enjoyed the ride and took pictures as we pleased.

casa loma
Originally uploaded by nerie.

yes, we are crazy! day 3 was also spent taking an elevator ride to the top of the CN Tower, the worlds tallest free standing building and if that wasn't enough, we went further by taking another exterior high speed elevator ride to it's top most part... the SkyPod. we also went to an ancient castle called Casa Loma, where a lot of hollywood movies had been filmed.

our fourth and last day we didn't do much. we just went to the toronto city hall where some sort of a parade was being held and we just took a lot of pictures because obviously kina-career na talaga ni iris ang pagiging kodaker.

city hall
Originally uploaded by nerie.

on our way to the airport, lahat kami mabibigat ang mga paa. our vacation was finally over. after four days, we are going back to the usual grind. this could be my last out of state trip this year, as i have to keep tabs on my finances. the fall and the winter months are coming anyway, so i'd have more time doing things that i've taken for granted because of my busy summer schedule. like reading the books that i've bought, cleaning my room, trying to make sense of the stuff in my filing cabinet, finally making that appointment for my 401K and of course updating my blog.

an update... finally!

first things first, let me tell you why i haven't come up with an update these past few weeks. the reason is this fact: "nakakasira ng buhay blogger ang trabaho at lakwatsa." totoo yan pramis! the only reason why i could blog right now is because i was cancelled from work tonight (yay!).

although i am still on call, i don't care because i still have those precious 8 hours that i could spend tending to the important things that i've left undone. like tidying up my room which slowly looks like an amazon jungle by the day; altering the length of the scrubs that i ordered weeks and weeks ago (i'd have to say my mananahi skills are really improving!); sort through all the mail that have piled up, and of course give the two people that cared to read my blog a lengthy update they deserve. let's just hope i don't end up being called in by the hospital before i'm done with all those things.

(saved post as draft because i had to get the damn phone.)

to continue.... because life has a way of kicking you in the shins whenever it feels like it, i was called in to work at 10:30 pm after bragging about how i have all the time in the world to do stuff. how crazy is that? i am now typing this at the nurses station five and a half hours after i was done admitting a patient. one call from the other nurse who i was scheduled to be working with and there goes my scrub suit sewing and mail sorting plans flying out of the window.

joyce, me and iris chillin' out at the original Cheers bar

anyways, i never got to blog about my trip to boston with two of my friends. yes, my half hearted plan of going to boston did push through. we spent a long weekend there doing touristy things, like going on a whale watch, getting bored in museums, shopping for souvenirs and visiting harvard. it was fun to say the least. i got to experience my first ever whale sighting. ang galing! i would've been contented with just seeing their water blows and their tails, but no, the whales have prepared something better than that. they were game enough to show us some back flips which is termed "breaching" in whale speak. according to the whale watch guide, that was the first time those whales ever did it this season. are we just lucky or what? i was able to capture a few seconds worth of video of that event but since i'm no geek, i wouldn't know how to put it on this blog, so just believe me when i say i've seen it. end of story.

o ayan! buntot ng isang humpback whale courtesy of iris' cam

on our third and last day in boston, i decided to skip another trip to a museum and head back to harvard campus alone. my mission: to return the hoodie jacket i bought in exchange of a smaller size. despite my utter lack of sense of direction i made it to the store just fine and since i still have a couple of hours to spare, i spent it browsing through books inside the harvard coop bookstore. they were on sale! so imagine my ecstasy as i was clutching one book after the other as i made my way to the check outs.

on my way back to the hotel aboard the red T line, i realized that i enjoy being alone a lot. i like the feeling of being in a new place and trying to blend with the locals. i savor every moment where i could be independent and just be myself. maybe that's the reason why i get excited at the prospect of travelling. i like trying out new things. give me a day off and i'd be itching to get out of the house, even if it's just to run some errands.

so the boston trip is over. i'm giving myself three weeks rest (if you could call working at the hospital as rest) and i'm off again to yet another trip. this time ibang bansa naman. o di ba sosyal! akala mo kung saang lupalop, sa canada lang pala. whatever! considered pa ring ibang bansa yun. if it pushes through, i'll be spending a long weekend there with gina, iris and jade. i just hope we would have a lot of fun.

hogwarts is mourning

i was at a dilemma last saturday, july 16. i was supposed to stay at home get some sleep and await the coming of the delivery man. but no, my friends have other things planned. they were to pick me up at 8 o'clock in the morning, get to morristown to wake up gina, drive to philly to pick dennis up, get lost along the way, drive to lancaster to meet old friends from DMC and all the while i am without sleep and wanting so much to get my hands on the Harry Potter book.



but since Harry can wait, i went with melinda, bajeck and gina to yet another one of our road trips that happens not so often. once again nag-feeling bum na naman kaming lahat the whole weekend. andaming nagyari, andaming kwentong siguradong mauulit-ulit pag nagkita-kita na ulit kami. ayan kami sa picture, feeling nasa chocolate factory ni willy wonka which is actually Hershey's Chocolate World in lancaster, sayang walang mga oompa loompa.


anyway, this is my Half Blood Prince post so enough of my lakwatsas. the next day after coming home from my road trip with the girls, i drove myself to the post office to get my copy of HBP. since i wasn't around when they were supposed to deliver it, i had to pick it up myself. when i handed the lady at the post office my pick up stub she automatically knew that it was a Harry Potter book.

post office lady: ooh another potter fan... you're late!
me: i know, i had a problem with my broomstick.
(na amuse yung babae)
pol: you should get yourself one of those firebolts.
me: i really should, but i don't have enough galleons.
pol: well, i hope you enjoy reading your book.
me: i will. thank you! you have a nice day!

so on with the book. it had the saddest ending among the series. i can't believe rowling would do such a thing. pages after i've read the part where the avada kedavra curse was used, i was still hoping to find something that would tell me that some reversal of sorts could be done. i was in denial. i was wishing that dumbledore would do a gandalf. but he didn't.



oh and the half blood prince! who would've thought it would be snape? that scheming, greasy haired professor. but a a lot of theories have been going around that snape did as dumbledore wishes. but still! anyway, maybe it's just me but i find chapter twenty six (THE CAVE)kinda LOTRish. you know, the part where the company was trying to get to the mines of moria and Gandalf was trying to find the door from a blank wall...the similarity is uncanny.

i actually read the book at work, in between anwering the call bells of the patients, giving their medicine and taking their vitals and i tell you, it's not a good thing to do. i am going to re-read it without interruptions this time and once again marvel at how these series of books is making a lot of waves to people of different ages. i wonder how many times would i read it before book 7 is released? man, it's gonna be the longest 2 years of my life.

the magic awaits

random loneliness

it's 3 o'clock in the morning and i am typing this at the nurses station while my patients are sleeping off their surgical pains and aches. in four hours, i would be going home to our apartment which i share with two other nurses and try to get some sleep. i've been on for three nights in a row and i am looking forward to the 3 days off that i would be getting starting today. i'll probably just take a catnap and then spend the rest of the morning contemplating on what to do the rest of the day.

it's getting quite pathetic the way my life here has become. true, i can buy whatever i want, i can go to places i want to go to, eat whatever my taste buds fancies, but it's not without the thought at the back of my mind if this is really what i'm cracked up to do and if this is really where i wanna spend most of my adult life.

i would've wanted to write how great my life here has been going, how my lovelife is getting so fucking awesome, how i wouldn't trade all of these for anything in the world. but i can't because then, it would be a half lie.

of course i could be the drama queen (that i sometimes am) and cry my eyes out every night. but what would that come to? it wouldn't bridge the miles from here to the philippines, it wouldn't erase the fact that i am alone here albeit with friends but still alone (if you know what i mean). the only thing it would come up to are puffy eyebags and loads of tissues piling up on my bedside table so enough of that.

good thing i have something to look forward to in the coming weeks. i have the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince book coming my way on the 16th. that would definitely take my mind off things and of course theres the coming weekend with my DMC friends which promises to be a blast. so there, it's not gonna be that bad afterall.

something wonderful

it's amazing how one small thing can change my whole disposition amidst sore throat, fever and cough. all the while i thought ibuprofen caplets were the only ones that would get me through the day pain free, but there was definitely something better than that. something wonderful happened in a matter of time. i hope i'm not just getting ahead of things and believe that God really answers most of my prayers. i'm keeping my fingers crossed anyways.

now let me digress.....because jerry reminded me of this song while going through his blog , i went through old david benoit cds and since then track 3 of his "this side up" album has been repeatedly playing on my radio. a major last song syndrome i tell you. i've been humming it at work, while doing the grocery and even yesterday while playing bowling and billiards.

Land of the Loving

Deep in your eyes is a promise
Love can be ours if we want it
Starting tonight ev'ry dream I ever knew
Here in your arms I'm believing
Fin'lly my life has a meaning of its own
Here in the land of loving I am home

I was alone in the city
Searchin' for someone to find me
cold empty nights and a million strangers' eyes
Here in your arms I'm beginning
To leave behind all the loneliness I knew
Here in the land of loving there is you.

In this simple room magic is made
Though the world seems unchanged
Leave the lights on I'm a bit afraid
This might be just a sweet dream.

Deep in the night love is growing
Though I had no way of knowing
That when I found you I found ev'rything I need
Here in your love I'll be staying
Fin'lly my life won't be living all alone
Here in the land of the loving I am home.

fyi, i still know how to blog

a lot has been happening and i couldn't find time to blog about things. the passing away of cardinal sin and then there's the gma-susan roces thing going on in the philippines, ang pagkalat ng "hello garci" ringtones sa lahat ng texters sa pilipinas, my short albeit fun trip to connecticut with two of my friends and my ongoing love affair with the sport tennis.

of course i'll be blogging about some of those things when i could find the time and when i could finally find the cure for procrastination. right now i have to be at work in 10 minutes, so i'll just leave this link for those bloggers who care about becoming a part of statistics.

dreams of a sharapova wannabe

a scary dream makes your heart beat faster. why doesn't the part of your brain that controls your heartbeat realize that another part of your brain is making the whole thing up? don't they communicate?
george carlin

i just had a dream. i dreamt that i lost my key to our mailbox and i couldn't get any of my mails which happens to be all bills of credit cards, cellphone, utilities etc. it was a scary dream because i couldn't do anything but look at our mailbox almost bursting to its seams full of months and months worth of bills that are unpaid and i'm just staring at it helpless. yes, helpless and submitted to the fact that i am doomed to have a bad credit score for the rest of my life because of a missing key. good thing it was just a dream.

anyways, my body is one big mass of "pamaol". for people reading this who don't know anything about the visayan dialect, the word means muscle aches, i forgot what it's called in tagalog but its the kind of body pains you get after a strenuous physical activity which your body is not used to be doing. in short kulang ako sa exercise and attempting to play tennis 2 hours a day for 2 days in a row is a surefire way to reach for the nearest ibuprofen canister. motrin is my friend right now. those little orange caplets make me mobile, lets me do the laundry and allows me to carry the groceries despite the aches and pains.

the one good thing about it is that i'm improving. i actually look like i'm playing tennis now and not some wierd kind of sport that nobody has invented yet. tunog tennis na yung paghataw ng racket ko sa bola. i could probably add some grunts and huffs and puffs here and there and it would sound like a game in the us open. sound nga lang. don't ask about the score because hannie and i don't keep score when we play. we just play for the heck of it. mapasok ko lang yung serve, ma-save ko lang yung bola, maka-ace lang ako kahit isa, happy na ako. it's not like i'm aiming for the wimbledon or whatever, i just want to have something to be busy about this summer and probably be fit in the process. wish ko lang! he he he.

no day but today

it was another one of those trips that wasn't given much thought and wasn't really planned for weeks. i guess it's much better that way. just jumping on an idea the minute it came. not thinking of small details and just letting things happen if they happen.

because we didn't have anything to do on a sunday and because we got tired of talking till the wee hours of the morning (saturday night into dawn of sunday) over red horse beer and pizza we dragged our sleepy butts into the city that never sleeps. once again our navigation skills and subway knowledge was put into a test. the six of us hopped on a 10 o'clock train to penn station unmindful of the little sleep we had last night and the threat of a rain shower.

the day started out sunny, much to our delight. we decided to watch a matinee show of Rent at the nederlander theater which is on the 41st street, a few calories worth of walking distance from the heart of times square. because we have enough patience to fall in line on the tkts booths, we got ourselves 50% off the ticket price. the catch: we had to divide into two groups. two were going to stay on the left side of the theater while the other four had to see the show on the right side. but you know what? we didn't give a damn because it's still is the same show you're seeing no matter where you're seated and it's 50% less the normal ticket price so who are we to complain? we had a very quick lunch and immediately headed off to nederlander theater.

the show was great. it was fun and sad at the same time. i got to hear my favorite song from the play (seasons of love) live, in which frenchie davis of american idol infamy had a solo part. the only crappy thing was the fact that the nederlander theater was small and cramped. the seats were too small that i couldn't imagine how a really healthy american could fit into it. another thing that was worth mentioning was my great desire to swat the heads of the couple that was sitting in front of me. it was bad enough that i almost got a stiff neck because both of them were tall, but they were all over each other kissing and necking at 2:30 in the afternoon, in the middle of a fully packed theater, in front of a vertically challenged pinay who couldn't concentrate on what was happening on the stage. i mean can't you guys get a room?

anyways, we still had a lot of time in our hands after the show. so what else would six girls on a no work day, amidst a sea of commercial shops do but give their credit cards some work out. i was good though, because i only got a blouse from gap. i was thinking of maybe slipping inside loews or amc cinema to check out the revenge of the siths and see for myself what's with all the brouhaha on this george lucas film but the girls have other things in mind. and so i just contented myself with taking a picture of the famous naked cowboy on times square as he was being filmed by two young filmmakers. he graciously played one of his original songs as people watch and wonder how crazy can one be to wear nothing but his whitie tities on fifty degrees of weather.

before going home, we had dinner complete with a bottle of merlot because we figured we need to celebrate a lot of things. like desiree's freedom from what we deem as a really scary relationship, the arrival of again another "sweldo week", knowing that we have friends even if we seldom see each other, our family that supports us however which way they can and for days off that are always too short and too few but we're still thankful for because in our very busy lives seasons come and go and it's difficult not to notice. one minute its winter, then it's spring, then summer comes along, autumn follows and before we know it, winter is back. indeed as the song goes:

525,600 minutes
how do you measure a year?
in daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.
in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
in 525,600 minutes - how do you
measure a year in the life?

in truths that she learned, or in times that he cried.
in bridges he burned, or the way that she died.

spring has sprung

i love spring! i love the trees. i love the flowers. i love waking up in the morning or going to sleep in the morning (depending on my schedule) hearing the chirping of the birds outside. i love how the sunshine envelopes me with warmth while the cool wind still makes me comfortable. i love it when i boot my laptop and my desktop weather would indicate that outside temperature is from 60's to the 70's. i love how i'm able to wear flipflops and sandals and capris and short skirts and tank tops without worrying about frostbite. i love seeing all those winter jackets and scarves and gloves and thermals and snow boots all stashed away hoping (for the impossible) that i wouldn't be needing them anymore in the future. i love the fact that it's seven o'clock in the evening and there is still sunlight as i'm trudging my way towards the hospital. i love how i am able to once again do my walks going to the bank or the post office. love it! love it! love it!

a very late survey

i've been meaning to post this entry a month ago, but between all the preparations for the vacation (that was over even before i got used to the fact that i was on one) and my work which i gladly left for a while and halfheartedly coming back to, i obvously didn't have the time. so to whoever i got this survey from (i honestly forgot!) thanks a lot.

Survey

i am: excited and totally lacking in sleep.
i miss: my childhood summers in batangas.
i want: a new set of luggage.
i have: no patience for people who wouldn't finish their sentences during a conversation.
i fear: old age.
i hear: moonpools and caterpillars.
i care: a lot about homebaked blueberry muffins.
i smile: whenever i remember an argument my sister and i had about star wars.
i wonder: if i'm going have an out of state mini break this summer.
i love: the way my hair is long enough to be in a pony tail.
i think: three weeks of vacation is never gonna be enough.
i always: thought that love would complete me. was i ever wrong.
i am not: the cross stitching, recipe collecting, chinaware and bakeware obsessing, good housekeeping reading type of a woman.
i sing: a lot of madonna songs on videoke parties. he he he...
i wish: i could have the best of both worlds of my life here in america and my life in the philippines.
i keep: asking myself when are you gonna fall in love.... real hard?
i can: be a real bitch when provoked and when the situation calls for it.
i can't: find where my stethoscope is. i know it's just somewhere within the mess in my room. i just need to clean up to be able to find it.
i write: things uninteresting enough to make me sleepy.
i won: $100,000,000 on the lottery.... ok i didn't! libre namang mangarap di ba?
i lost: to a science quiz bee in grade six because i didn't know that spiders have eight legs.
i smell: just delivered chinese food in the kitchen.
i need: to stop procrastinating.

chicken wings!

last night, clarisse, her husband dennis and i went to hooters not for the cleavages which were all around the place but for their famous chicken. i wasn't in the mood to go out that time because i still haven't caught up with my normal sleep (as if i have a normal sleeping pattern to begin with!), but since we badly needed to stock our fridge and kitchen cabinets with something that isn't canned and/or instant and because a free ride isn't something i would refuse, i went along with them.

we did our groceries first and it was like we were in a race because it was almost 8 pm and the food store employees were literally shooing us out of the store by turning most of the lights out. a couple of stops more, one at an electronic shop where dennis bought a blue tooth watchamacallit thingy and at another grocery store and we were off to hooters.

we feasted on their sample platter and an order of what they call their nearly world famous chicken wings. now it's official. their chicken has taken a spot on my list of favorites. while we were nibbling on the chicken bones, the miami heat was doing a massacre on the new jersey nets on their very own homecourt. despite the double overtime, it was clear on the giant screen tv in front of us that miami is gonna win the playoffs. theres no use in denying that.

it was a bummer they had to lose... the chicken was so great that night!

it was good to be home

and so the three weeks of sheer escapism came and went. i've been really bad with blogger lately. i know it's a sin if you've got thousands of things to blog about but you don't find the time to sit down and put all those fun and memorable times into written words. but nobody can blame me. it's been more than a year since i left the philippines and to have only three weeks to spare to be home again, that is pure torture.

anyways, i'm blogging now. so enough of the explanations. here's where i tell you how my three week vacation is not enough. it was not enough for me to fully enjoy everything that i've missed in the philippines. i was always in a hurry to accomplish my to do list. it felt like i would always run out of time. every day for the whole three weeks, there would always be old friends to meet, relatives to see, "padalas" to distribute, new eating places to try out, beaches to go to, hot weather to deal with (although i'm not sure if i missed that), foods that i truly missed to feast on, malls to wander in, pinoy dvds and other pasalubongs to hunt for and finally siblings, nephews and cousins to once again bond with. it was satisfyingly exhausting and i'm willing to go through it all again if given the chance.

however as with any other things, this too must come to an end, and it ended with me hastily packing my luggage at 3 in the morning right after my cousins, aunt and uncles went home after a videoke gathering at the house. it ended with me leaving behind my mom, sister and my nephew at the Davao City International Airport. it ended with my tatay and kuya sending me off to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. it ended with me fighting back tears while Joyce and I were wheeling our luggages inside the pre-departure area. it ended with a promise to myself that no matter how great these united states is luring me to their green pastures, i shall always come back to where i am truly home, heat wave and all.

not a day shift nurse

i had a sucky day at work yesterday. remind me not to sign myself up for a day shift next time.

because i hate same day surgeries.

because i don't wanna deal with people that i don't deal with on night shift.

because i am not a morning person.

but because i only have 10 more days to go before i leave for davao, i am in a much better mood.

thanks to ayeza and jerry for somehow satisfying my craving for all things "DAVAO" on their blogs. true it made me miss the place all the more, but the thought that i'd be there in ten days is enough to get me through the remaining 4 days that i'm working. oooh, i just can't wait!

conversations

on the phone while watching a simple life...

did i ever gave you roses before?

never.

really? how come?

i don't know. maybe you're not the roses type of person.

you're right. i'd rather have us stay at home and talk about mundane things over beer and pizza.

oooh! beer and pizza... and mundane topics! i like that...

i know you do...

ok, here's a question for you: would you have sex with paris hilton---

in a heartbeat!

oh yeah? but i'm not finished yet ----if she had the worst case of chlamydia??

ever heard of antibiotics? he he he...

eeew! sometimes i feel like i don't know you anymore.

come on, you know me as much as i know the musicality of your snoring! (wide evil grin)

look who's talking? have you heard yourself snore?

no.

well couldn't you be any luckier?

being twenty something

because i only have 2 more full years left to have the right to claim that i am a twenty something person, let me share with you this article which had been in my inbox for a long time. i don't know where this article originally came from or who wrote it. but whoever he/she is, i'm sure a lot of twenty something people who got to read it are nodding in agreement with him/her. reading it was kinda like putting words into my mouth.

Being Twenty Something

They call it the "Quarter-life Crisis." It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are a lot of things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.

You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you do not realize is that they are realizing that too and are not really cold or catty or mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.

You look at your job. It is not even close to what you thought you would be doing or maybe you are looking for one and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and are scared. You miss the comforts of college, of groups, of socializing with the same people on a constant basis. But then you realize that maybe they weren't so great after all.

You are beginning to understand yourself and what you want and do not want. Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging a bit more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and add things to your list of what is acceptable and what is not. You are insecure and then secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you or you lay in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough to get to know better. You love someone but maybe you can love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you are not a bad person. One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap and getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic.

You go through the same emotions and questions over and over and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans and money and the future and making a life for yourself and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender!

What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.

is bora better than prozac?

this is not right. it's now close to a month since my last post. am i really that busy? well in a way yeah. if you call packing ang unpacking and then packing again two big suitcases (and being all so oc about it) busy, then i am. if you see being all hyped up about the vacation that's looming my way and the possibility of a boracay weekend that had me spend a lot of time researching about hotels and resorts that would fit my budget and later on led me to calling my sister a lot of times just to get updates on reservations and flight schedules, as being busy, then i definitely am.

there you go, i'm gonna have to admit it. i am excited as ever! in fact, i'm more excited in coming home than my upcoming birthday. not that i've been excited with my past birthdays anyway because who'd be excited to age another year? so who cares if there's going to be a party or not? all i care about right now are my plans for my well deserved vacation. no more 12 hour shifts, no more cold cruel weather (well at least for three weeks), it's going to be heaven on earth for me, i tell you.

now here's where i tell you how abrupt this post is gonna end. i'm a busy woman you know, so you have to deal with abrupt ends sometimes.

of goats with fleece and funny menus

can somebody please slow down the time? i am running around like a mad woman here (or maybe not, but i just feel like i am) in between trying to get ready for my coming trip to pinas, meeting up my old friends from way way back and juggling two jobs. i mean, it's really a surprise that i was able to squeeze in a live nba game and a weekend over at my friend in connecticut in the chaotic two weeks that passed. do i deserve a medal or what?

so anyway, i was able to watch a live nba game, big deal. i've already forgotten about the plan to watch it and was prepared to do two weeks worth of laundry that night when i accidentally bumped into ruel and randy at the elevator. i was hesitant to go with them at first knowing that it's gonna be a boys night out but when i learned that michelle, ate tess and tigran's wife were coming, ako pa ang nagpumilit na sumama...he he he. so we went and i was finally able to drool over jason kidd in person to the utter envy of my little sis.

inebriate
Originally uploaded by nerie.

now about my weekend in connecticut. it was an "i couldn't go-but i'm dying to-so i would-but i really shouldn't-but i'd miss the fun if i don't-that's why i went-and i'm sooo glad i did" kind of a story. i had prior commitments for that weekend. saturday, i was supposed to meet ate gigi, the person who booked our plane tickets for pinas. she was going to deliver the tickets to us personally and at the same time she wanted to meet joyce and me. sunday, i agreed to go with mia to that accountant who was going to do our taxes. thursday night, bajeck calls, telling me to scrap all my plans for the weekend. i did and before i knew it, i was on the backseat of melinda's car with an almost bursting bladder enduring the nyc traffic on our way to connecticut. screw the plane tickets and W2 forms! i am going to be with my old friends and i'm going to have fun...

the trip was definitely worth it. we had a lot of fun celebrating erwille's birthday, catching up with each others lives, reminiscing the old days in davao medical center, gossiping about the people we used to work with (yeah, we are evil!) and realizing that the five of us are still single, he he he. we were supposed to go home sunday afternoon, but due to insistent public demand (the public being gina), we stayed for another night, which gave us an opportunity to get drunk on the night before valentines day. monday morning, we hit the road again. relying on melinda's 7 month old driving skills and a map quest print out, we celebrated valentines day struggling not to get lost and arrive home safely in time for a 12 hour shift back at the hospital.

man, i wish we could do this more often.

note: the title is an inside joke from remarks that were made under the influence of martinis and vodkas. for more details, ask bajeck.

quickies

no time for long posts today, as i'm on a long work stretch this week. so it'll be just quickies for now.

• it's superbowl weekend, but who's caring? certainly not me.

• i have something to look forward to 2 weeks from now, because i just might go back to philly to meet some old friends. i hope the plans would push through. i hope i could find a good ang believable enough reason to call out from work that weekend. i hope we'll have fun. tons of it!

• it's tax season already. so what?

• i've moved to the smaller room last week. i'm having fun rearranging stuff even if it means i'm losing sleep because of it.

• my friend is bugging me to fly with him to europe this may. i'm not sure if i wanna go, but even if i am, my finances would give me a jolt and wake me up to say that it's impossible, especially after the pinas trip and hopefully the new car.

• a lot of friends are celebrating their birthdays this february! happy birthday to mai-mai, dennis and jazz... and also to my mother! birthday cards are on their way, because that's the only thing i could afford...he he he (hey at least i remembered!)

• desperate housewives has been racking a lot of awards this year and i haven't seen a single episode of it. pathetic huh?

• plans have been made about watching the live nets and lakers game this week. i know it's mostly going to be a night out of the 373 east main "guys" he he he, but i'm hoping one of the wifey's could go para naman hindi ako ma out of place sa kanila.

• lastly....what do you get by passing someone else's work as one of your own? what kind of sick satisfaction makes you "right click happy" and cut and paste your way out and claim that those ideas came from your not so brilliant mind? i thought about this after i got an e-mail from this sassy lawyer, who is the latest victim of online plagiarism. read how she's kicking plagiarists' butts on her blog. unfortunately, the screenshots are not working and i think they removed the forum where the stolen recipes and pics were posted. but anyway, to the guys on kuro.ph who were responsible for this act .... shame on you!

puslan man

i was surfing the net last night and probably out of missing davao city too much i chanced upon this website, found THIS article and was magically transported back to davao city all of a sudden. although the article talked about the new bar/cafe conspiracy in quezon city, it mentioned of the only alternative art pub (that time) in davao city puslan man.

i remember spending one valentines night enjoying the performance of joey ayala in puslan man. man was he good! i was expecting him to do mostly ethnic and environmentally inspired songs which he is famous for, but he surprised us by singing acoustic love songs of james taylor and kenny rankin among others. i was with a couple of other nurses who had the same fate as me to be working on a 3-11 shift on valentines day (i know it sucks, but someone's gotta do the job!). there with me was jeslette, dichi, fonso, harold and saul. i didn't know how we ended up in puslan man, but i was glad we did, because that was the first and last time i was there. later on, i just heard that it had to close and it was a loss to people who loves art and music and basically a place thats different from the rest (because honestly, where could you find a pub that lists "nagtikangkang na baki" on their menu?) how cool is that?

the night went by, i realized it was almost 2 am and there were still a decent number of people left inside. joey ayala probably had the same realization in the middle of singing kenny rankin's "if i keep my heart out of sight", that after finishing the song he jokingly said "oy, hindi bawal ang umuwi ha!" we decided to call it a night after a few more minutes. while walking the whole stretch of ilustre and bolton streets in search of a taxi, i realized that the night may have involved a lot of red horse because saul(you should see this guy when he's wasted) kept crashing into sign boards of xerox copiers along the way.

anyway, those are the kind of things my davao memories are made of and i'm missing every minute of it.

take five

five things you may not know about my time in school:

• i never fully understood math in gradeschool.
• i auditioned twice just to get in our school choir. the first time, i never got in so i went back in line and auditioned again until the teacher considered me for the soprano 2 group... he he he that's how frustrated a singer i am.
• in high school, i came to school on a regular school day bringing only a ballpen, my money and a tiny tupperware containing my lunch which i placed in the pocket of my uniform.
• i passed a lot of final exams in college because i am very well schooled in the procrastinator's school of cramming.
• although i was a candidate to graduate with honors in college, i never applied for it, dahil tinamad akong mag submit ng mga requirements. what difference does it make anyway? it's the same kind of diploma we're getting...

five things you may not know about the job/s i have (or had):

• the very first thing i bought with my very first pay check was a nice blue swatch watch.
• i was able to see the inside of a morgue because of my job.
• my very first attempt at CPR was quite a success. the patient was a post ex-lap due to a stab wound. although he got his heartbeat back, he was attached to the ventilator for days until his whole system finally gave up.
• i have seen and felt up a real live penis because of my job.... he he he. it belonged to a 64 year old CVA patient which i had the privelege of inserting a urinary catheter to.
• if not for my job i wouldn't be here in the land of uncle sam.

five things you may not know about my online life:

• unlike other people who have a whole lot of email addresses, i only have two. one is my hotmail account and the other one my yahoo account which i use for messaging.
• my younger sister was the one who taught me how to surf the internet.
• the web browsers that i use are mozilla firefox because its the best and msn because of the msn premium that verizon throws in with their service.
• i only had one online purchase from ebay, and it's for a christmas gift i gave to a friend.
• i spend a lot more time on line than watching tv.

five things you may not know about where i live:

• i live on the fifth floor of an apartment building which is actually the sixth if you count the lobby as the first floor.
• prior to moving to where i live right now, i was coming home to a 2 bedroom house which is a block away from my present address.
• all my life i only had 3 addresses including the one i am currently at now.
• i live right beside the hospital where i work. that's not a good thing if you're fond of using the traffic as an excuse for tardiness.
• on a good weather, my apartment is a mere 20 minutes by foot from the downtown area, the post office, the bank, the public library etc. i've learned that from the many walks we did during the summer months.

five things you may not know about my home life:

• i'm currently sharing an apartment with two girls, joyce and cathy. but cathy would be moving out by the end of january so that would leave only two of us sharing a two bedroom unit.
• i cook only when i'm in the mood. for me, the invention of the microwave is the best thing that has ever happened in history.
• when i was in the philippines, i used to crash in my sister's room whenever i don't feel like being alone in my room.
• i just might move into the smaller bedroom when cathy leaves.
• i do my laundry every two weeks or when my schedule permits it or when i run out of scrubs to wear to work.

five things you may not know that i desperately want:

• for winter to be over.
• more time to read.
• a new car.
• a longer vacation.
• a good nights sleep

five things you may not know about what i do in a typical day:

• sleep the whole morning until noontime, because i don't get to that at night.
• obsess about my upcoming vacation.
• go out or go to the mall if i have time or if it's not too cold or if i'm not sleeping.
• surf the net for hours.
• do my laundry, cook if i'm in the mood, do some chores (which reminds me that i need to do the very prestigious task of cleaning the bathroom he he he... so i'm gonna end my post here.)
  

crazy love stuff

i watched a dvd the other night after coming home from an extra 4 hour shift from the hospital. it was titled "it had to be you" and it stars michael vartan of alias fame and natasha henstridge. i was ready to dismiss it as another run of the mill trying hard to be romantic movie, until it hit me right smack dab into the core of my mushiness. it was a movie about finding "the one"-we had the right love at the wrong time-what crazy love feels like?-bakit ngayon ka lang? stuff all rolled into one. those kind of crap... good crap.

i liked this line from the movie:

"all my life i've been waiting for this thing called crazy love. i'm just willing to accept the fact that if i can't feel crazy then at least i want to feel happy."

just to mimic how people talk these days, let me say that this is so sadness. people wanting to settle for something less complicated because they're afraid to take the plunge. people settling for something they think they could be happy with because it's familiar, because it's there, because it's what they've been used to. i myself am guilty of this and i want it to end now. i'm going to risk being hurt again. i might be jaded from past relationships but it's not gonna make me wimp out on future ones anymore. naks!

i am a strong woman.
i can conquer the greatest fears.
i can handle the toughest moments.
i can ignore any pain.
that's why i want someone to make me feel weak
....the way you do.

a lot of digressions

i survived the holidays!

the christmas parties are over and the ball has already dropped. it's time to move on to other things such as going back to our diets, doing more overtimes to make up for the overspending we did last christmas, and just basically returning to our daily routine.

first things first. thank you everyone for the gifts! i loved each one of them. but it looked like the pajama tops and bottoms are the runaway winner because i got 3 pairs of them courtesy of joyce, zoey and dennis.

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

anyway, one thing that i haven't gotten around to doing lately is read. i miss reading something other than the patient's charts. i have a couple of books that i bought recently and i just couldn't find time to sit and enjoy them. i keep on bringing a david sedaris book to my work but we've been quite toxic lately that i couldn't even skim a page. i need to read a book, a newspaper, magazine, anything not related to my work. sawang-sawa na ako sa Lippincott manual, at sa mga drug handbook nabobobo na ako sa current events. humihina na ang vocabulary ko.

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

let me digress a bit. last night i couldn't bring myself to sleep. it must be the 3 cups of coffee that i downed earlier that evening. i did everything i could just to make myself sleepy. i surfed the net, i re-organized my mp3's and i tried re-reading the first few chapters of the catcher in the rye. when all that did'nt helped, i popped in the dvd of the first season of sex and the city. it was almost 7 am when i finished all of the first season and i still don't feel like going to la la land. what is wrong with me these days? it seems that my own bed had suddenly lost it's appeal for me.

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

just to digress some more... the other day i went out with a married man. but before everybody says huwaaaat??? it was just kuya eric, he he he. one of those who helps us get around because we don't have our own transpo. i was going to go downtown for some errands when he saw me by the apartment's lobby waiting for a cab to bring me to the bank. swerte naman he's also on an errand run, kaya i ended up going with him. on our way to the parking lot, we met another pinoy whose also a resident of the same apartment.

kuya ___(honestly i don't know his name): o saan kayo?
kuya eric: magde-date kami... wag kang maingay kay misis ha!
(---tawanan---)
me: o nag-paalam ka ba kay ate tess na lalabas tayo?
kuya eric: ipinagpaalam mo ba ako? dapat ikaw ang mag-paalam sa kanya...

hay naku! ang kulit talaga ni kuya eric. wala lang. i'm just thankful that there are people i've met here that are always willing to help. before i came here, i have been warned to be wary of pinoys in america as they could give you the best version of talangka mentality they could muster. you know, people wanting to pull other people down. im happy to say that i have yet to meet one of them and i hope against hope that there's none in this place where i live. everybody here seems to be genuinely concerned of other peoples welfare. i just hope it remains to be that way.