Here We Go.

Because this year I will get older again, and like everyone who's done something for the first time, I am making a list of stuff I want to do before my birthday. (Okay, the real "first time" part here is really this list. So don't go looking for lighting a cigarette here. Although, I haven't really done that. But that deserves another entry.) My birthday's in a little over two months. Let's see how far I'll go. I'll be crossing out stuff here to see my progress.


In no particular order.

1. Eat a maki/sushi platter by myself. I'm hungry and this is the first thing that came in my mind. Because sushi is love.
2. Lose at least 8lbs by my birthday. I am challenging myself.
3. Shoot at least 10 pictures everyday. And fill up my Tumblr.
4. Clean up the office/my own stockroom and keep it clean for at least a month. The longest it can go is 3 days.
5. Collect one set of Happy Meal toys. To the Fastfood god, please make McDonald's release kyoot and funny toys in the next 60 days.
6. Have a Facebook status with twenty likes. And it shouldn't be something about me being a loser. Haha!
7. Make at least THREE different cupcake flavors and repeating each flavor thrice. I am known not to repeat what I cook. Ever.
8. Remind the government that I still exist. And by that I mean renewing my passport, NBI clearance (and getting the renewal card), and finally getting a driver's license. Because some people do not honor my permit. Idiots.
9. Go on a roadtrip with my friends. Seriously. Ever since majority got jobs, we don't go out that much. We have to make time for stuff. I trust my friends to help me with this.
10. Eat Froyo and get all the toppings. Or at least half of what's being offered.
11. Save up enough money to buy a gold A ticket to the Maroon 5 concert. Somebody help me do this!
12. Buy shoes. Yes, shoebsession is back in my system. And I'm not just talking about one pair. I have 5 pairs in mind that I want to buy.
13. Have more than 25,000 tweets. I'm just on my 9,000-something. It took me a year to publish 8,000 tweets.
14. Eat something exotic. Something that will top jellyfish. Which isn't really that exotic. And no, intestines do not count.
15. Cook a meal for the family. I once said I'll try cooking Orange Chicken. It's been three months and I haven't even gone to looking for a recipe. I've bought oranges several times though.
16. Keep up with the apple detox diet, along with the weekend badminton-walking date with Monique and whoever we can drag. Yes, 2011 is healthy living year. Just so I can buy myself time to be in denial that I am getting old and isn't excused from being sick.
17. Have at least 8 blog entries every month. Reading my Multiply a few nights ago made me miss writing. And I think I know why I don't write a lot anymore. It's just too sad to tell. Which is why I want to write again.
18. Buy an LBD. Yes, I have been looking for a little black dress since I can't remember. If you're generous enough to give me one as a gift, please do so days before my birthday. I might just wear it. *wink*
19. Get a really, really expensive haircut. This I gotta do no more than two weeks before my birthday. And I'm talking about European hairstyling-runway look-head turning-chuvaness. Yes, I would splurge on my hair.
20. Go to the museum. Or watch a play. Anything cultural. I think I'm done with being a mall rat. For now.
21. Have my picture taken or portrait painted. Because people tell me I'm beautiful. I want a reminder.
22. Watch at least two movies every month. Now I need a movie buddy. Any volunteers? By the way, I'm not paying for you. =P
23. Read.
24. Send somebody a card, randomly. Wala lang. I just like sending mail. And receiving it. So if my recipient gets my card, please send me one too. =D
25. Eat a whole espresso mousse cheesecake. Or something less fattening. Haha!
26. Meet a celebrity crush and have them greet me. I have a list of celebrity crushes, so it's not impossible to do this. If you happen to know Ryan Agoncillo, Franco Mabanta, DJ Tonytoni, Jiro Manio, Phil Younghusband, Atom Araullo, Robi Domingo, James Reid, Billy Crawford, and the list goes on.
27. Write a poem. This I haven't done in years. Sad.
28. Get a massage. Period.
29. Call up an old friend and just chat. 'Nuff said.
30. Regain my old music library. And I am still open to suggestions for new songs. Help me build the playlist of a lifetime. =)
31. Get my name on Memento/Porch's hall of fame. Or at least just down one Boy Bastos without making a mess. Haha!

I can't think of anything more. So with my determination and a some help from people who love me, I think I'll be able to cross out more than half of this list. =)

Hello 2010! :-)

So I started the year drowning in booze, is that really such a bad thing? :-P


Anyway, the new year came in with quite a commotion. There's this fire thing just outside the walls of our subdivision, which basically put a halt to the new year shebang everyone was doing on our street (our house is on the main road of the subdivision) for about ten or fifteen minutes. Thirty minutes later, everyone moved on and we the drinks started pouring in. (I'll be posting pictures somewhere. Just not now, I'm still waiting for my friends to upload those. Haha!)


So this year was different. It started out with a different "bang". So I'm guessing there will be a looooot of other "bangs" for people here in our subdivision for the rest of the year. And for those who want something to do for this year, I found this article on Yahoo, which I thought would be nice to share. Even if I think it's full of free advertisement anyway. (And I think this will be nice to add to my "everyday something new" list.) The ones in bold are the ones I'll definitely try to do this year. So much for new year's resolutions. :-P

50 things to do in 2010

Philstar.com - Friday, January 1

Now that we have rung out the old and rang in the new, let’s get right down to the business of living. Here are 50 tips on what to do in 2010:

1. Try to get eight hours of sleep every night.

2. The seven 2009 Metro Filmfest entries are still showing. Catch any or all of them.

3. Try to drink at least eight glasses of water every day.

4. Fix that leaking ceiling in your room.

5. Blend five “greens” — green apple, green pepper, celery, cucumber and ampalaya — and take a glassful with your breakfast.

6. Arrange your closet and give your still wearable clothes to the typhoon victims.

7. Exercise at least 15 minutes every day. Don’t be a couch potato. Jog in place while watching TV.

8. Read those novels piled up untouched on your headboard.

9. Bring your family to lunch in Little Asia (Tomas Morato Avenue, Quezon City; and Greenhills Promenade, San Juan City).

10. Visit Bohol and say “Hello!” to the tarsier.

11. Check out the new set of eyewear at any of the Sarabia Optical Clinics where Vivian Sarabia will welcome you with a big smile.

12. Meditate with the Pink Sisters at the St. Joseph Adoration Chapel (Hemady St., Quezon City).

13. Vote wisely in the May elections.

14. Watch the sunset in Manila Bay from the Roxas Blvd. seawall.

15. Don’t be a litterbug.

16. Drive carefully; don’t drive if you drink, don’t drink if you drive.

17. Get a foot-and-back massage at MTO (Timog Avenue, Quezon City; or Malate, Manila).

18. Pay your bills on time.

19. Continue your good habit of reading The STAR, the all-around paper.

20. Be kind to your neighbors. Invite them to the salu-salo at your home.

21. Don’t be hassled by crank phone calls.

22. Don’t worry about growing old. What for? Everybody grows older every year anyway.

23. When going on an out-of-town trip, lock doors and windows and unplug appliances.

24. Pray before going to sleep and pray upon waking up.

25. Put your celfon on “silent” mode at bedtime or turn it off altogether. Put it far from you, if possible out of your room, because the radiation it emits is bad daw for your health.

26. Spend a weekend with your family at the Imperial Palace Suites (Timog-Morato Rotunda, Quezon City, telephones 927-8001 and 411-0116).

27. Subscribe to Vanity Fair and get your fill of really nice, comprehensive stories.

28. Continue your good habit of watching Startalk Saturday afternoons (2:30 to 4:30 p.m.) on GMA.

29. Stop worrying, look at the bright side of life and greet every new day with a smile.

30. Check out the new line of clothes at any of the Bench outlets.

31. Tip from Mike Enriquez: If you are diabetic, do some mild exercise at night so your fasting blood sugar will be normal (between 70 and 120).

32. Need to consult a diabetes specialist? Call Dr. Wilson Lim at 0917-8809172.

33. Give street children food, not money.

34. Be kind to animals. Take a stray cat home.

35. Want an inexpensive but mouth-watering (burp!) meal? Try the maki or machang at Manosa (along Valencia St., Quezon City, telephone 721-3381).

36. Have a haircut, manicure, pedicure, ear-cleaning, etc. at any of the Gruppo Barbero outlets (one of them on Timog Avenue, Quezon City).

37. Unload. Donate old books to a public library.

38. If you happen to be in Bohol or nearby Cebu on Feb. 12, watch the pre-Valentine concert of sweethearts Ogie Alcasid and Regine Velasquez (photo) at the Verdant Pavilion of Panglao Island Nature Resort & Spa in Bingag, Dauis, Bohol. Showtime is 8 to 10:30 p.m. Priced at P2,000 (VIP), P1,500 (VIP) and P800 (General Admission), tickets are available at the BQ Mall Management Office (call 038-412-3964) or at Sales & Marketing Department of MetroCentre Hotel & Convention Center (call 038-411-2599).

40. Make peace with your enemies. Holding grudges is unhealthy.

41. Listen to mellow songs. It’s relaxing.

42. Practise deep breathing. It’s relaxing.

43. Think positive. It’s relaxing.

44. Take a bowl of steaming-hot beef mami at Lingnam (T. Alonzo St., Binondo, Manila).

45. Attend Fr. Joey Faller’s healing Masses at Kamay ni Hesus, Lucban, Quezon (or check out his schedule published in Funfare every first week of the month).

46. Attend Fr. Fernando Suarez’s healing Masses (watch for the schedule in this corner).

47. Eat only when you’re hungry; don’t overeat.

48. Avoid “nega” people. According to the Desiderata, they are “vexations to the spirit.”

49. Keep smiling.

50. Read Funfare every morning and Conversations with Ricky Lo every Sunday.

(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at entphilstar@yahoo.com) - FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)

And that's it. Maybe I'll be doing something different this year. I hope I do big things. Or maybe small things in a great way. There's 365 days to fill, I think it's good to start with a positive outlook that I'll be better this year. ;-)

Bowing Out Gracefully.

This is probably one of my most long overdue posts which I think is perfect enough to be written as the year comes to an end. (Maybe you can also blame me for not knowing where I left my laptop the other night. I'm actually typing all of this in someone else's laptop. Which, btw, I absolutely hate.) There's really nothing special about this post. It's basically a summary of all the things I've learned, and still trying to learn, for this year.


And now I don't know where to start. A lot has happened this year. Really. Maybe I'll start with the small stuff, eh?


Err... I can't think of anything small. I think everything has been a major thing in my life this year. Maybe because it was all a new chapter. You see, it's really a huge step for me to leave school and start working. Feels grown-uppy, but deep inside, I can't seem to grow up yet. Anyway, I'll just make a list of whatever it is I've learned.

• Anyone superior (professors, managers, officers, crappy government employees) is just plain unfair.
• "When in doubt, ask questions"
• You are more blessed than unfortunate, if you just look at things in a much bigger picture.
• Life, in general, is unfair.
• HR people are kind. Period.
• No matter how much you want something, if it just wasn't meant to be, IT'S NEVER GONNA HAPPEN.
• The perfect time to relax is when you don't have time for it.
• There are really guys who fake a future just to get what they want in the present.
• An army of girlfriends is sooo much better than dealing with one boyfriend who can't treat you with respect.
• Some people just won't grow up, even in the workplace.
• Ohana.
• Nothing can ever be kept in the dark.
• Some people would do just about anything just to get their 15 minutes of fame.
• Facebook, Multiply, and all the other social networks out there help in keeping communication and relationships alive, but there's more to that.
• When about to get drunk, keep all things valuable in a safe place, and be sure to get drunk only with people you trust, and by that, friends who will take you home safely.
• Play with kids to help you relax.
• There are a lot of good single guys out there so stay away from the taken ones. (And taken guys, please stay away from single girls who are trying hard to snag a single guy. So stop pretending you're single.)
• When shopping on a budget, always use the 28-day rule.
• Impulse buying is allowed in bazaars. (And bazaars only. And for a certain amount too.)
• Caffeine is good, but not always.
• Try new stuff everyday. Specially food. There's a lot of surprises in food.
• Alcohol is always good with friends.
• When alone and need comforting and no one is around, watch TV series. Sometimes the best pick-me-up lines are said there.
• Wear clothes to please yourself and not other girls. Trust me, you might just start a trend. ;-)
• Always remind yourself these words: You are beautiful, inside and out.
• Growing up is such a hard thing to do.
• Strangers give out very nice blessings. Seriously.
• Cats are very cuddly pets. And they make nice alarm clocks too.
• The world is really really small.
• Never stop learning, because there are more things to learn beyond this list.

...there. What has been, in general, for my life in 2009. ;-)

What have you learned so far? :-)