FIGHT ON!!

Senioritis

2008-01-23T19:48:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a while since I posted on my blog! What has happened in my life lately? Hmmm... Not much. The only major thing is that I'm about to graduate! Wohooo!!! 4 months to go and I'm officially a college graduate.

I'm also glad that I already have a job waiting for me once I graduate. I don't have to worry looking for one this semester, I can just relax. The job is actually pretty good! It is with a top Fortune 500 company and they have really amazing benefits not to mention their generous compensation. Even though the position requires 100% travel, I like it. That's the reason I chose this kind of career, I don't want to be boxed inside a cubicle in an office.

I am also liking my class schedule this semester. I'm only taking 4 classes with a total of 10 units. I only need 2 classes to complete my requirements but I'm taking a couple of classes for a particular certification. Since most of my classes doesn't start 'til late in the afternoon, I can sleep late and wake up late. How sweet is that!!

After graduation, I got a few months off then time to start paying off those pesky student loans! Hahaha!!!

desperate

2007-10-12T23:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, since Tops asked for an updated, I'm gonna write one. Hey, why did you erase your blog anyway?

I did not actually expect the issue about the Desperate Housewives dialogue to be a big deal! I was actually watching the season premiere of the show a few weeks ago when I heard Susan mention the word Philippines. I heard the entire dialogue and I understand the context but I didn't actually think it was derogatory at all. The first thing I thought was that, "That was neat! She mentioned the Philippines!" The next thing I know, I got an email from the groups of an org in UP with a link to an online petition regarding the dialogue Susan made. Then I looked online about the issue and it was a big deal in back there! A couple days after, it was on the local news here in LA since there is a big Filipino community in the area and the segment was titled Desperate Filipinos which I think was more annoying than the issue itself.

I just don't understand why people would take that particular line from this show seriuosly. I mean, c'mon! It's a comedy show and it was said by Susan who is the most neurotic character in Wisteria Lane. There are other shows out there that make derogatory comments/jokes about different countries as well as other races but people don't make a big deal about them because they are comedy shows (Will and Grace, Scrubs, etc). When can Filipino people learn to lighten up?!

I cannot believe that the Senate and the Congress would waste their time in demanding an apology from the creator of the show and trying to ban Desperate Housewives. Don't they have anything else to do, oh I don't know, maybe tackle some serious issues in the Philippines such as poverty and corruption?! And not waste their resources over some silly show?!

I also understand why Filipino people in the healthcare profession might pissed about this since Susan implied that the medical training in the Philippines is sub par but I think that American people are smarter than to believe what they hear on a comedy show. If Filipino people in healthcare are scared that US hospitals would not hire them because of that particular dialogue, then they are better off because that hospital is stupid enough to believe that line. Let's also not forget about some of the controversies in the medical field in the Philippines such as the nurse's board exam cheating.

Name that tune game

2007-08-19T23:58:00.001-07:00

I know I haven't posted in a while. I was just being lazy since it's summer. My summer vacation went well I guess. Spent a month in Honolulu to visit my family. Also went to Maui for a few days for sightseeing. When I got back to LA, I still got a month to go before school starts so I went to Las Vegas to visit some relatives. And I won $30 on the slot machines! But I lost it the next couple of days, also on the slot machines. Well, you win some, lose some.

Before I left for Vegas, I spent the night at Zyra's because she was gonna drop me off at the airport (don't wanna drive). I was supposed to leave Sunday afternoon (Aug 5) but it turns out, the freakin' airline was fully booked!! Their earliest flight was Monday morning so I had no choice but to take it and stay at Zy's place for one more night.

The night before my supposed flight, Zyra and I watched The Bourne Ultimatum. On the way to the theater, we decided to play name that tune. I plugged my iPod to her car's stereo and while she was driving, she has to guess the song that I'm playing. Then, something funny happened!! I was playing the intro to the song My Sharona and you know what Zyra guessed? Mickey!! I was laughing so hard because she has a point, they do sound alike but I never have thought about it! So I started singing Mickey to the tune of My Sharona and it sounded hilarious! You guys should try it!!!

I included the songs below so you guys can hear it for yourselves! Galing mo Zy! Hahahaha!!!

couple of things

2007-06-17T19:54:00.000-07:00

There are two things I am raving about. First is the movie Knocked Up and the other is the show Man vs Wild.

I saw Knocked Up with Zy and Meg at Third Street Promenade. I've been hearing a lot of good stuff about this movie so I was excited to see it. This movie was from the writer and director of the 40 Year Old Virgin. Since I liked that movie, there was a good chance that I will also like this movie. And I did! It was freakin' hilarious! I liked the Debbie character (Katherine Heigl's sister in the movie) because she's always insulting her husband.

Favorite line from the movie was when they were searching for the best Ob-Gyn. They were having a check-up and the woman doctor said, "Ooooops. Thats not your va***a, that's your a**hole." She said it calmy and with a smile! It was so funny!

Man vs Wild is an awesome show on the Discovery Channel. I just started to watch this show because of its endless commercial for the new season. They had a marathon the past couple of days and I was able to watch a few episodes. This show is great because it teaches people how to survive in different situations such as being stranded in the French Alps, the Moab Desert in Utah, the Sierra Nevada, in the Alaskan Mountains, in a Pacific Island, Florida Everglades and others. Bear Grylls, the host, have eaten a lot of disgusting stuff but I guess you cannot be picky if you're trying to survive. He has eaten a live snake and a live frog, maggots from a dead deer, raw and live fish as well as raw meat from a dead zebra! He even drank the liquid that he squeezed from elephant dung! How amazing is that! He's my hero! If I was in one of those situations, I'd die immediately! I would not last a couple of days!

By the way, we saw Hilary Swank at Third Street! She was with a guy, probably her bf. We were inside a store when I saw her walk past carrying a few shopping bags. We were gonna follow her but we lost her on the crosswalk. We only got to follow her probably a good minute.

Number Twenty-three

2007-06-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's already my birthday. How time flies! I feel that I'm still a teenager. Or maybe I just want to escape the responsibilities and problems of adulthood although that's inevitable especially here in America.

Since it is my birthday, it made me take a closer at what's been new in my life since last year. Well... nothing at all! How pathetic is that?! I've known the same people, did the same things. Didn't meet anyone new that's memorable and nothing happened that's out of the ordinary.

What's my wish for my birthday? Hmmm... I don't know, maybe to be happy with my life. I sorta feel empty inside. I always try to distract myself so I don't feel depressed. Sometimes it works, most of the time it doesn't. It's a wonder I still have my sanity.

I don't know but it's just hard for me to make new friends. It's not that I hate people, it just that I don't like some of them and I'm scared. I would like to have more friends but I guess it's fine being a loner. It has been working the past four years that I've been living here.

My friend from work told me that I should put myself more out there, make new friends. But I just can't do it. Maybe this is what I really am. Sometimes I wonder if I'll be alone when I get old. I'm not scared to be alone actually, it's just that it's sad. I'm used to doing things by myself. I've gone to the movies by myself, no one drops me off and picks me up from the airport, I've dined out by myself, hell... I even went to the zoo and a couple of museums by myself. I don't mind doing stuff alone but it would have been waaayyy... better if I could share it with people.

On a lighter note, I saw this movie, the number 23 with Jim Carey a few months back. Since I'm 23 years old, I wonder what other numbers in my life are 23? It's really hard to come up with 23! Bday? No. Phone? No. Student number? No. SS numuber? No. The only thing I can think of is my house number, 3720-> 3*7+2=23! I really thought hard for that one!

Hey, my birthday next year is friday the 13th! Cool!

after 7 years

2007-06-06T23:58:00.000-07:00

After seven years, nagkita na rin kami ni Meg nung Monday. Taga-Northern Califonia kasi sya at kalilipat lang nya dito sa SoCal dahil sa trabaho at mag-ga-graduate studies sya sa UCLA. Di pa sila nagkikita ni Zyra though kasi may trabaho sila pareho. Maybe this coming weekend.

Kapapanood lang namin ni Zyra ng Pirates III at ang masasabi ko lang ay, ang haba ng movie! Sobra! I was so bored and didn't pay much attention to some parts of the film. There was a lot of unnecessary scenes. I would have liked the movie more if it was shorter, like 2 hours instead of almost 3 hours!

Madalas na kaming nagkikita ni Zy ngayon, di tulad nung my school ako. Kasi lagi akong bored sa bahay so pumupunta ako kina Zy once a week para maglaro ng tennis. Nag-i-improve na kami ngayon ni Zy! Humahaba na ang rallies namin!

anong balita ngayon

2007-05-16T23:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, sinipag ako ngayon magsulat dito. Dahil bakasyon na at wala akong magawa, eto ako ngayon at nag-u-update ng blog. Ano nga bang mga nangyari mula sa last post ko? Wala naman, after spring balik ulit sa school. Usual stuff- assignements, projects at exams.

Nanood kami ni Zyra ng concert ng isang band nung April 12. Mag-u-update sana ako tungkol dun pero sinumpong na naman ako ng katamaran. I-po-post ko sana ngayon yung mga pics na kinuha ko nung concert gamit ang blackberry ko pero, nanakaw sya 10 days ago!!! Di ko pa sya na-do-download sa laptop ko at nandun pa naman lahat ng telephone numbers ng contacts ko! Ako pa naman ang taong hindi nagba-back-up ng mga bagay. At oo, uso rin dito ang nakawan ng cellphone pero hindi naman kasing lala sa Manila. Napilitan tuloy akong bumili ng bagong cellphone. Blackberry ulit ang kinuha ko pero white naman. Pag nawala ulit to, cheap na cellphone na lang kukunin ko dahil wala na akong pera!

Ngayon ay summer vacation na kaya maraming free time. Ano nga bang plano ko? Plano ko sanang pumasok sa isang internship kaso nga lang, walang tumaggap sa kin. Malas! Mag-su-summer class sana ako dahil wala naman akong nakuhang internship, na-cancel ang class na kukunin ko. Malas ulit! Ano nang gagawin ko? Uuwi na nga lang ako sa Hawaii at magpapaka-bum. Malas talaga! Dahil ba ito sa nakabasag ako ng salamin?

Flight ko sana pauwi sa Hawaii ay early June para dun ako mag-birthday pero nakabili na si Zyra ng concert tickets for Goo Goo Dolls and Lifehouse sa June 19. Sayang naman yung pera ni Zy kung hindi ako makakasama so pinostpone ko yung flight ko til June 20. Maganda sana kung early June kasi mura pa ang pamasahe, kapag late June ang flight mas mahal. Si Zy kasi eh!

Eto yung video na kinuha ni Zy nung concert:

ETA: Yung banda ay Augustana at yung kanta nila ay Boston.

Eleksyon nga pala dyan sa Pinas ah. Sana naman ay may mga kwenta ang mga nanalong pulitiko! Di ako bumuto kasi di naman ako registered eh! hahaha! Kayo na lang bumoto para sa kin.

spring is here

2007-03-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

I'm currently on my Spring Break which means I got a whole week of free time! I get wake up late and not worry about school work which is nice. I lost one hour of sleep though because Daylight Savings Time is early this year and for years to come. It used to be in April but some senator chaged it to March. I don't know why. I didn't go anywhere this year for Spring Break. Last year I went to Vegas but this year, I'm saving money so I just stayed here in LA. But I wanted to make the most out of it.

Last weekend, I went to see the movie 300 with Zyra at Third Street Promenade. That movie kicks ass! Definitely there in my favorite movies list. I don't care if the movie was not historically accurate! Who gives a crap if it isn't?! I don't. I watch movies to be enjoyed and entertained, not necessarily educated. If I wanted to be informed about what really happened in the Battle of Thermopylae, I would have watched the History Channel and be bored to death.

Yesterday, I went to the LA Zoo which was in Griffith Park. It was nice and I got a good workout at the same time since the zoo was located in the mountain. You have to hike up and down to see the animals. I got there at around 2 pm and most of the animals were having their afternoon nap! The lions were asleep as well as the bears, hippos, chimps and other big animals. I wanted to throw rocks at them so they would wake up. If it wasn't for the kids who were on their field trip, I would have done it. I don't have pics at the zoo though.

Today, I went to Natural History Museum which is located just in front of our school. I just walked to get there which saved me parking since it was $8! The ticket was free since I'm a USC student. There were lots of dinosaur bones inside. I liked the exhibits on different African and North American animals. I wanted to jump over the railings and touch the preserved animals! They also have displays of gems and minerals. They got lots of gold and diamonds in there! Maybe I'll try to rob them!

I also cried today. I tried to cook pasta today and I had to cut the onion. I cried because of the smell! I thought white onions don't have strong scents such as the red onions, I was wrong. They were the same. They said that if you have turn the faucet on, you won't cry when you cut onions because the the running water can help with the scent. Well, idid that and it didn't work. But my pasta was a success! Yummy!

Tomorrow, I might go to another museum. I'll probably go to Los Angeles County Museum of Art then I'll probably drive up to Mulholland Drive to check out LA views.

Winter Wonderland

2007-02-07T22:00:00.000-08:00

It's been while since I updated! My chatterbox was even erased due to inactivity. What's been going on? Not much, same old BS. I'm currently looking for an internship for the summer so I can have work experience related to my major. I'm not really looking for a particular kind of internship, anything will do as long as it will look good on my resume once I graduate.

Last week, I went snowboarding for the first time with 2 friends from work. We went to Mountain High Resort in San Gabriel Mountains. I had to ditch class and wake up at 4:30 am (to avoid traffic) so I could go with them but it was worth it! It was so much fun although it was scary at first. After falling for the first couple of runs, I was getting the hang of it. All I need to practice is my toeside movement.

Snowboarding is a strenuous sport. You have to climb inclines to reach the lift and you have also have a hard time breathing because of the altitude, on top of that you have to drag your board on one foot. If I only knew, I should have done some kind of exercise the day before we were going because the next day, my body was so sore. My arms were sore (since I kept on falling and had to get up lots of times), as well as my back and knees (you always have to bend your knees and your back straight for balance). Snowboarding was like doing squats, except that you're moving down a hill, fast!

New Year

2007-01-08T23:38:00.000-08:00

Welcome 2007! One more year and I'll be done with college! Woohooo!!! That is if everything goes according to plan (which I hope will be).

A lot has happened the past month. I watched the Video Game Awards live, finished another semester, went back to Hawaii for vacation and USC won the Rose Bowl among others.

Something interesting happened on my flight back to LA from Honolulu. It was cancelled. I was suppose to fly out Thurs, Jan 4 but Hawaiian Air said that the plane wasn't going anywhere. Something was broken and they couldn't fix it. We waited more than 3 hours in the gate because we just thought that our flight was just being delayed! They should have just told us earlier that it was being cancelled. They told the passengers that we would be put in a hotel with a $20 dinner voucher. Well, I rather go home than go to a hotel and I did, eventhough the hotel was Marriot. The next day, the day of my rescheduled flight, I overheard a girl talking that they were brought to the Marriot resort. I made the right choice of not going there for a couple of reasons: I've already been there because my uncle is a manager there and second, I got a compensation in the form of a $400 Hawaiian Air voucher which I can use on my next trip. Sweet!

All I did for my vacation in Hawaii was be the driver, run errands and watch Eat Bulaga because we have GMA Pinoy TV. GMA is still better than TFC. I am once again broke because of the Holiday season that passed.

When I was in Hawaii, I took pictures of the rainbow that I see when I drive.

It's Spring semester again!

we lost...

2006-12-05T23:22:00.000-08:00

Okay, we lost to UCLA last saturday, 13-9. We lost after seven straight winning streaks against them. It was painful to watch on tv. Our team kept on making mistakes. I mean, they had like 4 false-starts and we didn't have that much 1st downs because we were always penalized! They didn't look like the team that beat Notre Dame the previous week. Now we're out of the championship game and they're saying that there's a curse in the Rose Bowl 'cos we kept on losing there (championship last January and now). Well, let's see if there is a curse. We'll be playing Michigan for the Rose Bowl title and if we lose, maybe there is such a thing as a curse.

I know why we lost, because the pep rally for the game sucked! The Fray wasn't that good. They only have 2 good songs, Over My Head and How to Save a Life, that's it! The rest of their songs suck, big time! I was ready to leave the concert after their second song but it was too crowded so I stayed. My friend didn't like them either. He said they suck ass, which is true. They were too depressing and I don't even understand what the lead singer was singing about. He kept on eating the microphone so I couldn't hear the words to the songs. I like emo music but they are wayyyyyy emo. C'mon, get over it and stop moping and writing songs about it. Next time they're feeling emotional, they should step away from any instrument. Last year was much better with Jimmy Eat World!

In 7 days, I will be in Hawaii! At last, vacation time! It is long overdue, I'm all burned out. These past days, I was sleeping at 4 in the morning finishing up my papers, presentations, proposal and homeworks. Can't wait for my finals to be over.

Happy Turkey Day!

2006-11-22T20:21:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day and I have nothing to do. I'm feeling lazy so I won't be cooking. I guess I'll just be having takeout then. Meg invited me up in Davis to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with them but I can't because of my work. I wanted to go and see Meg but Thanksgiving weekend is one of our busiest days so it's not possible to get a couple of days off. Lame black friday sale!

Last Saturday at work, I saw Jennifer Garner's ex-husband, Scott Foley (Noel of Felicity fame). He bought a couple of tennis rackets and I was the cashier who helped him out. He's in a new series called The Unit and I asked if it was him from that show, he said yes. I wanted to ask him how Jennifer is doing and if he has seen Violet (Jen's baby). Just kidding! Hahaha! I'm not a Hollywood reperter!

I'm really excited for the Pep rally for the USC vs. UCLA football game. The Fray is performing at the concert and Will Ferrell is the special guest (he's an alumnus). And school will be over in a couple of weeks! Yay!

Beat the Bruins!

laundry day

2006-10-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

Today, I did my laundry after almost 3 weeks. I really have no time to do my laundry but I have no choice. I'm running out of clean clothes (specially underwear!!) to wear. So i separated my whites from my colors, put all the whites in the machine, and put some coins to start the cycle. Then I went back to doing all my homework which I am completely behind. After a few minutes, I went back to the machine to start with my colored clothes, then I remembered, I forgot to put detergent in my whites!! Sh*t!! I just wasted 5 of my quarters!! I didn't want to wash them again 'cos that's another $1.25 so I just selected a few of my whites that needs to be really washed (such as socks and underwears). Plus, even if the colors bleed from washing them with the colored ones, no one would notice. Good thing, they still look the same after washing!! Hahaha!!!

Last Friday, I got my new phone. I got a Blackberry Pearl which I am loving right now. It has a lot of features which I am still trying to figure out. What's nice about this phone is that it is smaller compared to the other Blackberrys. The camera's good too! Now I can go online just by using my phone. The only thing is that it's an additional $20/month for the internet feature but in my opinion is well worth it. I can now go on google, spy on people on myspace or check your blogs on my phone! Sweet!

I also went to a women's volleyball game the same day. It was USC vs. UCLA. My friend and I were late to the game beacause we didn't know that they moved the venue. Because of that we ended standing the whole game. Sadly, we lost to UCLA. Damn Bruins!!!!

7 more weeks

2006-10-15T23:40:00.000-07:00

It has been pretty quiet here in my blog. I've been busy with schoolwork lately and work. And being a procrastinator doesn't help very much. My homework have already piled up so I had to call-out from work twice already these past few days. But there's really a lot of school stuff to do. I got:
1 short paper (writing class)
1 article (writing class)
1 proposal (writing class)
3 formal presentations (2 for an engineering class and 1 for writing class)
1 project (eng'g class)

Then there's 3 more second midterms coming up. I have to say this writing class is a lot of work! Damn!

7 more weeks then it'll be my long awaited break! You guys back home are lucky since it's aleady sembreak!

OT, wow there's been an earthquake in Hawaii. Good thing no one in my family was hurt but it's still difficult to contact them since there still no electricity. I think our landline phone is working, the only problem is that the only phone they have is a cordless one so it is no use. How weird is that that my family doesn't have a regular phone that has the regular cord and stuff?! Now, they learned their lesson so my mom said they're gonna buy a regular phone first thing tomorrow. All their cellphones are low in battery so I only got to talk to them for a couple of minutes, which is good enough. I just needed to know that they were fine. Thank God they are.

On my way home from work last night, I tried to take some pictures while driving. I know it's not safe but I just wanted to get a picture of Downtown LA skyline at night, but I failed miserably. I really need someone who will drive while I take some pictures!

Long time no write

2006-09-24T23:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I last posted. What has happened:

- it has been a month since school started. I already had an exam in one of my classes. 1 down, 2 more to go so far.

- I just delivered my first oral presentation in my Advanced Writing class! And I was the first one to deliver it because it was done alphabetically, which sucked and was a relief at the same time. Since I was first, I am allowed to make blunders. I can set the bar low but it was nerve-wracking! My prof said it was just one of the few oral presentations that we're gonna make and they'll be longer. Great, more speeches!

3 more months before the Holiday break and the sem is over!

Cute!!!!

2006-08-26T22:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, I found this video online and I just can't stop watching it. Even though I've seen it like 50+++ times, I just can't help but laugh so hard. It's so cute and funny at the same time!

The mama panda just had a WTF moment! hahaha!!!! And the music... genius!!

It's only been the first week of school and I already got a few homeworks. It just keeps getting better and better!!

I'm addicted to golf right now... the cellphone game that is. Since I always arrive early in class, I have nothing to do but play with my cellphone and now I'm addicted to it! Must... concentrate...

first two days high

2006-08-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

I've attended all my classes for Fall '06 and all I can say is that, they're pretty much the same as the past semesters. Since I am taking most of my majors, my previous classmates are the same classmates that I have. People that I don't know except for a handful.

But my writing teacher this sem is kinda H-O-T!! I think she's in her mid-30's. She has straight blonde hair and green eyes. I'm just not to sure about the subject she's teaching because it involves the most dreaded public speaking. Here we go again....

I know USC is famous for having "celebrity" students. First day of school, I thought I saw someone who looks like the daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis. So I searched the net and found out that Rumer, their daughter, is indeed attending USC this Fall as a freshman. I wonder when I might see Demi in campus? Hmmmm... Ashton? not looking forward to seeing him... Then this afternoon, while waiting for my class, a tall guy walked out of a classroom. He looks familiar. After a few seconds, I recognized him as Paris' boyfriend/ Mary-Kate Olsen's-Ex, Stavros. I didn't know that he still go to USC because, oh I don't know.... because he's a freakin' spoiled rich kid who doesn't care about school.

I wish it's already Winter Break so the sem would be over....

Power tripping of LAPD

2006-08-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

I'm really pissed right now! I just got pulled over by LAPD after finishing some errands. I was just 1 block away from my place when this police car came out of nowhere and flshed the lights on me!

I went to the grocery to buy a few stuff (I wanted to cook Beef with Broccoli) and stopped at the post office (3 blocks away) to mail a package for my mom. Since I was only a few blocks away from home, I didn't wear my seatbelt. So when the policeman approached me, I thought he was going to give me a ticket for not wearing the seatbelt, but surprise, surprise!! He gave me a ticket for having tinted windows!!! Whoever made the law making tinted windows illegal is f*cking dumb! It's such a lame law! Now I have to remove my window tint, which I don't want to do since I like it that way and it's gonna cost me, and I have to freakin' appear in court.

Having tinted windows is soooo important especially here in California because of the heat! It also saved me and Zyra during the time we got into an accident. The broken window glass didn't hit us beacuse it was stuck in between the films of the tint.

Those cops were maybe trying to reach their quota and I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. There was even a car with tinted windows that drove past us while they were busy writing me a ticket! Damn it!!!

School's about to start this monday. I'm not to psyched about it.

beach, tennis and the sun

2006-08-06T19:10:00.000-07:00

My arms hurt right now. Not from playing tennis with Zyra last night but from watching a tennis game!! My arms got burned so bad! It's terrible. Lesson learned: Always bring a sunblock lotion when you are going to watch a tennis match during the day.

I had a long weekend and a lot had happened. The timeline:

Thursday: Zyra picked me up at my house for the first time! I was the one who always drive to her house but this time, it was her turn. She still scares the hell out of me when she drives! Like when we missed the turn to the ramp in to the freeway. She had to make u-turn but she hesitated because she thought there were cars coming from the opposite direction. If you drive in LA, never hesitate. If you are about to make a u-turn and you think you can make it, do it. If you think you can cross the intersection in a yellow light, step on your gas. But do not hesitate halfway.

We went to the mall to check stuff out. I ended up buying a pair of Oakley sunglasses and a pair of slacks from Banana Republic. Both impulse buy. I really didn't want to spend money since school is about to start but I didn't have enough self-control. The pants were on sale anyway! Hehe!! Afterwards, we went to Circuit City to buy a GPS navigation system. Her mom doesn't trust her with directions when she drives so she told Zy to buy a GPS. Then we went home.

Friday: We set up the GPS system in her car and we went to Venice Beach using it. On our way, we passed by a street named "Mindanao" and I took a picture of it since I wasn't the one driving (for a change). Strolling down Venice boardwalk with running shoes was quite inaaproprite so we each bought a pair of Havaianas. We ate at a cafe along the boardwalk and afterwards walked in the beach. It is so much easier to walk in the sand wearing flip-flops than with running shoes.

On the way back to the parking lot, we stopped to watch a performer at the boardwalk. It was a black guy doing some dance routine. He was a scary guy though! He was a former crack addict who just came out of jail a year ago, but atleast he's trying to change by doing this kind of job. What I didn't like about him was that he forced people to give him money. I was forced to give him money beacuse if you didn't give him atleast a dollar or walked out in the middle of his show, he would shout bad stuff at you. The only funny thing about his show was that he picked Zyra to be part of his routine!! The routine was about how Asians, Whites, Mexicans and Black girls dance. Zyra was the Asian girl and she had no choice but to dance in front of the people! It was embarrassing!!! Hahaha!!! The black girl that the guy picked was good, she really got down!!

On the way home, I took pics of the freeway since it isn't often that I am the passenger. When we got home, we ate dinner and went out again to watch My Super Ex-Girlfriend. It was an okay movie. It was predictable but entertaining.

Saturday: The big day. The main reason why I asked to have the weekend off from work. Zyra drove and we went to Carlsbad, CA (a few minutes from San Diego) to watch the Acura Classic Open Semifinals. I bought the tickets almost a month ago when I just got back from my trip and Zy was still in the Phils. The tickets cost quite a lot because it's a semifinal game and it included buffet lunches but I figured it would be a nice bday gift for Zy.

The game was held in La Costa Resort and Spa. On our way to the venue, Zy forgot to put gas in the car. So while she was driving, the warning light for low fuel lit up. Zy got all scared because she thought we would be stranded in the middle of the freeway. Good thing there is the GPS and we searched for the nearest gas station. We made it to the station with enough gas but Zy missed the turn, again. Good thing there was another one right next to it.

When we got to La Costa, we checked the place out. The game we were about to watch was between Maria Sharapova and Patty Schnyder. We looked around the place and saw Schnyder practicing in one of the courts. We went behind the other tennis courts and we saw Sharapova. She was having her picture taken with a kid but after that, when a man asked for her picture, she declined. She said she had to go. I was also about to ask the same thing and good thing I didn't. She only has time for her fans that are kids, not the grown-ups. So much for her autograph. I even bought a giant tennis ball for her to sign! Snob. Yeah, I know, she's tall and pretty but you also have to have the personality. I told Zy that we should paid a kid to go to her and get her signature. We just watched her practice on the court.

The game was good. I wanted Schnyder to win but Sharapova won. She also beat Clijsters in the finals which was today. Too bad. It was funny watching Sharapova play live because I can hear her grunts first hand. It makes me really want to laugh so hard because I visualize her having oragasms with those grunts. Hahaha!!! Especially after watching My Super Ex-Girlfriend. There was a scene in that movie where Uma Thurman was having sex with her boyfriend played by Luke Wilson. Because Uma was a superhero, she had super strength so when she thrusts on top of Luke, the bed moves with her and slams againsts the wall. I imagine Sharapovas grunts with this scene. So naughty!!!

I didn't go home empty handed though in terms of autograph. I got Schnyder's signature because she had an autograph session in the afternoon. The only thing that I hated the most with the tennis match was the hot sun!!

More pics and a couple of vids on my multiply account.

Ms. Universe

2006-07-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

Studying at USC really does have its perks! Hahaha!!! It is near the Shrine Auditorium! I just got back from the dress rehearsal for the Miss Universe Pageant and it was good. It was actually like the real pageant except that they have a made up list of finalists. The judges were also from the audience. It was so funny because some of the sit-ins for the judges were guys but the name of the judges were girls, same thing for the girl sit-ins. And the person that they crowned Ms. Universe in the end was a member of the production team.

-opening sequence

-swimsuit portion of the "finalists"

Ms. Philippines had a lot of fans in the crowd. There were lots of Pinoy waving the flag. I didn't cheer that much for her since there were people already doing it for me. Hehehe!!! The contestant who had the most support was Ms. Mexico. It is actually a no brainer since Mexicans are the majority here in LA. And I admit, Ms. Mexico is hot! I don't think Ms. USA has a chance of winning though. I can't even find her in the whole rehearsal.

-final walk of reigning Ms. Universe

-end of rehearsal with the hosts

I was waiting for someone to trip or a wardrobe malfunction but nothing happened. There was a lot of gay people in the audience. No wonder, this is their World Cup!

It's so hot here in LA right now!!! Summer! Aaarghh....

pics and construction

2006-07-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

Dahil ni-request ni Tops, eto na yung pics sa Punchline at sa Somethin' Fishy. Nag-open pa ako ng multiply account para mas madali. Hehehe!!! Sya ay matatagpuan sa http://srbd.multiply.com/

Medyo tapos na nga pala yung bathroom sa apartment ko kaya nakabalik na ako. Although hindi pa sya totally finished, pwede na syang gamitin. Eto yung pics nya during construction.

Kamusta na nga pala si Zy? Post pa kayo ng ibang pics!

Boring ang buhay ko sa ngayon. Puro work. Pero okay lang dahil kelangan ko ng pera! School will start in 6 1/2 weeks!!! Ang init nga pala dito pero hindi katulad sa Pinas. Dito naman may hangin na dumadaan. Sa Pinas kasi napapansin ko, hindi gumagalaw ang mga dahon! Kahit na sumisipol ako, wala! Iba talaga ang Pinas!! Kelan kaya ako makakabalik??

P.S. Di pa pala tapos yung Ms. Universe pageant. Kasi usually May sya ginaganap pero ngayong year na 'to, sa katapusan pa ng buwan. At dito pa sya gaganapin sa Los Angeles, sa tapat pa ng school namin- sa Shrine Auditorium. Bumili nga ako ng tickets para sa dress rehearsal eh! Hahaha!!! Marami kayang magaganda? Sana! para di sayang yung pera ko!

I'm Back

2006-07-04T01:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm back in here in LA after my one month vacation in the Philippines. And surprise, surprise!! They're remodeling the bathroom!!! Oh God! I was already looking forward to using the toilet when I got off the shuttle in front of my house. Too much food in the plane made my tummy upset. I was gonna ask my neighbor if I could use their bathroom but no one was answering the door. Luckily, my condition wasn't that bad so I just made myself busy. After couple of hours my neighbor arrived and I was able to use their bathroom.

The agent of my landlord told me that they didn't know when I was coming back so they just started remodeling a couple of weeks ago. They gave me 2 options:
a. They could give me a key to my neighbor's house so I could use their bathroom.
b. I could live in my landlord's house (approx. 2-3 blocks away) since the whole second floor would be all to myself. Complete with my own bedroom, bathroom and kitchen.
I chose the first option since they told me the bathroom will be done by Wednesday, so his agent gave me a copy of the key. He told me to call him if that doesn't work out and I could live in his house for a few days.

I was already sick with the common cold when I left the Philippines but that night it got worse. I had a fever and sore throat and I couldn't breathe. Since I am sick, I need to use the bathroom from time to time. I am now living in my landlord's house. It's a cool place since the whole second floor is mine and it is entirely separate from the first floor. They each have their own private entrances.

I am still sick but I don't have fever anymore. Just sore throat and a runny nose. I only had a day of rest since I have to get back to work on Sunday. The first thing I did last Saturday was get my car to a carwash!! It was already gray in color instead of gold! Poor car!!! Good thing it was still running after being unused for more than a month!

Happy Fourth of July!!!

Happy Birthday Lou and Belated Zy!!!

(Next post na lang yung tungkol sa trip! Hehehe!!)

I got Seoul but I'm not a soldier!

2006-05-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to myself to the beautiful Philippine islands! Beautiful nga ba? Yung ibang parts, oo. Isa lang ang masasabi ko, ang init!!!! Iba talaga ang init dito sa Pinas. Kakaiba! Hahahaha!!! Ang dalas ko na tuloy maligo.

- sa LAX

Ang haba ng aking biyahe. 32 hours sya kasi meron akong 2 stopovers tapos kasama sa stopvers na yun ay 12 hour na layover sa Seoul, South Korea. Buti hindi sa North! Hahaha!!! Korean Air kasi ang pinili kong flight para maiba naman at para makapunta ako ng Japan at South Korea.

Mababait ang mga flight attendants ng Korean Air. At mga bata pa sila at magaganda at laging mga naka-smile. Di tulad ng mga nasakyan kong ibang airlines. Dapat talaga may rule na kapag lampas na sila sa certain age ay dapat mag-retire na sila. Ehem, ehem, Hawaiian Air! Hahaha!!! Sa PAL okay lang pero dapat mas friendly sila and with a smile. Ang galing din ng mga flight attendants ng Korean Air kasi marunong sila ng Korean, Japanese at English.

- view from my window of Tokyo and Narita Airport

Muntik pa ako maligaw sa connecting flight ko sa Japan. Nakisunod na lang ako sa isang group na may connecting flight din to Seoul. Nag-travel pala ako bale ng halos isa't kalahating araw- 11 hours from LA to Japan, layover in Japan for 2 hours. 3 1/2 hours from Japan to South Korea, layover in Korea for 12 hours(!!!), 4 hours from Korea to Japan. Di tuloy ako gaanong nakatulog kahit na may 12 hours ako sa Seoul.

Pero nabusog naman ako sa buong flight. Nakakabusog yung mga food sa Korean Air. Kahit dun sa flight from Japan to South Korea na 3 hours lang eh meron talagang dinner! Kung sa ibang airlines yan ay drinks lang yun, minsan pa ay wala!

- sunset on the way to Seoul
- Incheon Int'l Airport (people were watching the soccer game of the Korean team)

Nakakatuwa sa Incheon Airport, dahil sa sobrang bored ko ay nilibot ko yung airport nila. And dami nilang duty free stores. Tapos sa restrooms nila ay di mo na kailangang maglagay ng toilet seat cover kasi automatic na'to magpapalit, basta i-press mo lang yung button. Tapos meron ding courtesy bell so kapag nauutot ka, i-press mo lang yun at gagawa sya ng noise para hindi marinig yung ginagawa mo. Pero di ba obvious na yun na may ginagawa ka kaya mo nga yun ginamit?

Lagi akong window seat pag sumasakay sa eroplano para kita ko yung views. Kahit na mahirap pumunta sa restroom kasi harang yung katabi ko okay lang. Dun nga sa 11 hour flight ko ilang beses kong hinakbangan yung katabi kong babae kasi tulog sya eh. buti di nya naramdaman nung nasipa ko sya! Hehehe!!!

- hanapin ang Iglesia ni Kristo
- SM ang unang sasalubong syo
- di ko alam kung anong lugar to, basta malapit sa NAIA

- see what I'm talking about?
Nung pababa na yung planes sa Japan at South Korea, ang makikita mo ay mga greens at clear yung sky. Sa Pinas naman habang bumababa yung plane ay dumidilim yung langit dahil sa kapal ng pollution tapos ang daming mga bahay. Nag-iisa talaga ang Pinas!

Adventures

2006-05-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

These past few days have been great!!! Last Sunday, I went to Hollywood to catch the show of UP Concert Chorus. Although the ticket costs $30(!!!) I still went to see it 'cos my blockamate Camille was there. When I was already there, I thought the ticket includes a free program, but no! It costs $2! Oh well, I didn't know that it would be this expensive just to see my friend.

After the show, we had a few minutes to catch up and talk. I wanted to show her around LA but she said they(her host family and the Concert Chorus) already had plans. She said they were going to Disneyland. At first I thought it was lame because I didn't really enjoy Disneyland when I went there and it said in the news that it would rain. She wanted me to come with them but I told her I'll think about it.

The next day(Monday), she called while I was sleeping to ask if I was going with them. I figured I won't be able to see her in a few years so what the heck! I told her that I would just meet them there and that I would bring a friend. So I called Zyra and asked if she wanted to come with me and she said yes! So I took a shower, ate breakfast and went to my school to buy a Disneyland ticket. Our school sells discounted tickets to USC students to theme parks and other entertainment locations but still, $64 was expensive for me.

I drove hurriedly to Zyra's place eventhough the freeways were slippery due to the rain so we could get to Disneyland right away. When I was on fast lane on I-105 West, the car in front of me swerved to the left so he could avoid the car in front of him that stopped suddenly. Since the road was wet, he swerved quite hard. When I saw this happen in front of my eyes and heard his tires screeched, I thought I won't be able to brake in time and that I would crash in to him. The first thing I said to my self when I saw these unfold, "Okay, here we go again! Another accident! My insurance will go up!" Good thing I was able to brake and there was no car in the carpool lane. If there was an approaching car on that lane, he might have hit it and he might have spun and hit me beacause I was so close to him, like 5 feet. He recovered right away when he swerved and was still able to stare at the driver that caused the would-have-been accident. When I told Zy what happened, she wondered why the first thing that came to my mind was about my insurance and not about me being hurt or losing limbs. My explanation is that I care more about money than myself! Hahaha!!! Joke! I don't know why. Maybe because I know that the collision won't cause me much injuries and would only damage my car.

Disneyland was fun! Maybe because I was with people my age. When I first went there, I was with my family so I didn't enjoy it that much but this time was different. Before meeting with Camille, Zy and I went to ride Splash Mountain. The group we were with in the log kept on splashing water with each other and we got wet because of them, not beacause of the ride!! We were able to ride quite a number of rides but we weren't able to go to the California Adventure park. We were at Disneyland until their closing time. Then, Camille and I said our farewells. How sad... Hahahaha!!!!

The next day(Tuesday), Zyra and I picked up Yosef near Beverly Center so we could watch The Da Vinci Code at 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. At first, he didn't want to see the movie because he already saw it but majority won so we ended up watching that movie. We were supposed to catch the 7:10pm showing but we were late beacuse of the rush hour traffic and we ate dinner first at CPK. (I wasn't able to bring my camera so there are no pictures with Yosef)

The movie ended at 11:30. When we got out of the theater, we decided to walk toward the beach to check it out but ended up not going because it was dark in that area and we got scared. We just decided to go home but Yo kept on insisting to see the Hollywood sign. I told him no because it was already midnight and I was already tired. Then we also got lost on the way to Yosef's place! Yosef didn't exactly know where he lives so we ended up driving on Silverlake and Sunset Blvd. It took us 1 hour on what is ideally a half hour drive. In the end, it was fun eventhough we got lost!

movie with Zy

2006-05-13T22:49:00.000-07:00

After few months, nadalaw ko rin si Zyra. Kasi ba naman eh, ayaw nya ako puntahan! Lagi na lang ako! So kahapon ko lang naibigay yung mga padala nyo sa kanya for Christmas at nun lang namin napaghatian yung Cloud 9 at Choc-nut na bigay nyo Rhea.

(may oras pa akong kumuha ng pic habang nagda-drive no?!)

Alam ko late na kami pero nanood din kami ng MI:3. Plano sana namin ay dun kami sa bargain time manonood para mura pero natagalan ako sa pagpunta kina Zy kasi traffic. On the way to theater, si Zy ang nag-drive. Napaka-cautious mag-drive ni Zyra (in other words, mabagal). Pero okay lang, ganyan talaga pag bago. Ang masasabi ko lang sa movie ay hindi ko gusto ang ending. Boring!!

Dapat mas marami pa dito yung pictures ni Zyra eh. Binura ba naman nya nung pinahiram ko sa kanya yung camera ko! Nakakaasar!!! Dapat may 5 pics sya na puro nakatakip yung mukha nya eh. Pinicturan ko sya ulit pero sabi nya di na raw sya magtatakip kaya yan, puro nakangiti yung kuha nya. Bumili nga pala ako ng bagong digicam kaya wala na akong pera. So wala na talaga kayong pasalubong! hahahaha!!!!

Countdown: _ _ days before my flight. hehehe!!!