This Used To Be My Playground
Back in the only place I consider my hometown, although it's my maternal family turf (the paternal branch is a little complicated, claiming Laguna, Cebu, and Zamboanga del Sur among others). It's a special place that I've shared over the years with my nearest and dearest; the hinterlands of the Northern Luzon region that not too many have dared to venture into. Home of horses, communist rebels, Gabriela Silang, and imported police forces: Abra,
Abracadabra, I wanna reach out and grab ya...
However, the playground of my youth is much changed since I spent all those summers and vacations here. For one, my beloved Lolo is no longer physically around (although he's much more accessible now that he's finally home free). For two (nyeh!), my playground (which was still using rotary dial telephones a few years ago) now has DSL. Ain't that awesome? Or maybe not. Yargh.
Daytoy iti biag!
To Sleep, Perchance To Sleep Some More...
Nothing quite like a sleep marathon, Olympic style. Especially when it's cold and rainy outside and you can catch 400,000 winks unmolested by the world's distractions. Yum.
Last night (this morning?!), Neil was talking about the sleep medications you can get at your friendly neighborhood drugstore. I said I had no problem getting to sleep (I'd just come from "30 minutes" of catching up on it, oblivious to the messaging and alarm sounds of my cell phone, right in mid-stride of our little G9 get together) - my "problem" was finding the time for it. Wish I were more like AG who can sleep anywhere at anytime (in fact he was taking his own "30 minutes" off right at that moment on the G9 sofa). While I'm a little more of a stickler for comfort, I've dozed off comfortably in some strange places - basketball courts, sun decks, and car seats to name a few, but no pedestrian overpasses yet, thank goodness.
It's just been a really crazy but extremely enjoyable week with not too much time to sleep properly. But it's all been good...power naps and brief bouts jampacked with REMs have sustained me thus far. Looking forward to the next few days in the province just catching up on my sleep - if they're anything like today, I'll be a very happy puppy. Zzzzzzz you soon!
All Things Good
Tadah...a little brain break while I'm waiting for my e-mail to stop giving me so much grief (I've been getting delayed e-mails sent as late as Sunday morning!)
A survey of all things good :)
Your ("MY") idea of a GOOD:TIME:
Doing something I love with someone I love - including those times by myself with only God for company. Traveling, reading a good book, having a good conversation, etcetera.
MOVIE:
How much time do you have to spare?! A good movie is a film you can talk about for hours on end (if you ever talk about how
bad a film is, it won't take more than 15 minutes!), a film you're still talking about, years later. A film that makes you
think, not just feel. Most anything that's non-Hollywood! Foreign art films, independent Pinoy cinema, the very few rrrreaally good Filipino films (Bayaning Third World, Live Show, Boatman, and the like). Sigh. Life is too short to waste on bad movies.
DAY:
I know that I've had a good day when, at the end of it, I know that I've done what God wanted me to do. Or when I fall asleep with thanks in my heart and a smile on my lips - OA!
MEAL:
Oooh wow. Any meal shared with family, friends, loved ones - is good. Any meal eaten when extremely hungry is very very good. Any meal that "hits the spot" at the right time.
MUSIC:
I know it when I hear it.
Your ("MY") last GOOD:WORKOUT:
2002. When I still regularly went to a gym! Mission work is a workout in itself - both for body and soul!
CONVERSATION:
Just this last Saturday night into Sunday, a very long conversation indeed. Good time.
MOVIE:
A Very Long Engagement on DVD
SLEEP:
Last night, this morning, this afternoon...sleep marathon!
LAUGH:
Sunday - lots of things laughed about. Gas stations that look like airports, the price of bonnets, the 8th wonder of the world...
SHOPPING TRIP:
Oooh at Circle C, two brand new designer blouses for less than P200 total.
CD you bought:
Non-pirated? Yargh, I think I bought it last century when I could actually still afford CDs. Anointed, for a friend (actually bought it on sale in the US in 2003).
SMILE:
Just a few minutes ago, talking with Tere on the phone
DAY:
Today - for this is the day that the Lord has made!
PARTY:
Lex's birthday party on October 7. Ets' very belated birthday party on October 15 (oh yeah, and the LoJ anniversary before that).
DATE:
I kissed dating goodbye...mwehehe
DREAM:
I'm not telling. :-)
Day 15
Of being on the South Beach Diet. Day 13, technically, because on Saturdays (the busiest day at the Center) the danger of suffering from hypoglycemia is all too real, so that's my "day off." Last Saturday was a very long day off because it began at sundown on Friday - Ate Helen's birthday feast in Looban for her son Jason was just way too good to pass up. And then continued on - you just cannot have "one" Red Horse when in conversation with Kuya AG (or Ate Honey, for that matter). Then a quick breakfast, lunch time, half a sandwich at a meeting, late dinner...and then an impromptu sidetrip of more conversation and a few more beers and
balut on the side, until sunrise of Sunday. And then back on the diet once more.
This diet appears to be working pretty well, given my eating preferences. Three years ago, Atkins worked wonders but the cravings during the first week got so way out of hand that I was given to bouts of binge-ing, eating tons of
chicharon (allowed in unlimited amounts on the diet, but definitely not very good for you!) and smoking my lungs out. But SB is a lot more reasonable, and a lot more healthy. I'm a big meat eater and don't have a sweet tooth so it's really the starches - rice, bread, potatoes - that I miss; SBD replaces them with vegetables, so I'm eating more salads and
gulay in place of my normal habit of substituting my greens with my starches. Plus I'm more easily full and I don't crave too much even on my days off. Except maybe alcohol - now a rare treat instead of an every day nightcap, which is very good. The results: not bad, not bad at all. A few more months on this program and Neil will have to find something else to make lait about (I'm pretty sure he won't have too big of a problem there!).
Just Not That Into You
After all's been said and done, and despite the fact that I very quickly fell out of faithfully following the series' progress, my favorite Sex and the City character is
Miranda. The lawyer, the best friend, the multi-tasking single mom, the relationship doofus (they all are, but she's probably the worst one of the lot). I used to think that I could relate more to Charlotte, but who the heck was I kidding? Carrie and I shared the same occupation (except that I don't think I ever wrote a column about sex or had my face splashed all over the side of a bus) but have wildly divergent tastes in clothes and men, so I never did quite empathize with her. And Samantha - let's not even talk about Samantha.
But Miranda. My heart went out to her, especially after a recent DVD marathon of Season Six - the one where Carrie goes out with Baryshnikov, Charlotte marries her hirsute Jewish lawyer (who suspiciously looks a lot like Robbie Guevara! Sorry dude, but he does), and Samantha starts to date a very much younger waiter/actor while giving him an image makeover. And Miranda, the commitment-phobe who refuses to let her relationship guard down, starts seeing Blair Underwood while still carrying a torch for good old Steve. I think "The One" episode did it for me - Brady turned one, and Miranda and Steve finally and suddenly came to realization who "The One" was in each other's lives, which of course made me all When-Harry-Met-Sally-ending weepy...
Anyway, Miranda's most famous scene is probably the one where she comes to the lightning-bolt liberating realization that "he's just not that into you." That scene was so memorable that it spurred a best-selling book by a male SATC consultant who abruptly put an end to his women friends' chronic habit of speculation and assumption by putting them straight and telling them, "he's just not that into you." So get over it already.
And of course, I read Greg Behrendt's book (in one sitting) and had a dozen lightbulb moments while at it, mainly because it begins with a premise that I recognize as my own "doctrine of the assumption," embraced after many years of lessons learned: when in doubt, always assume the worst. I.e., that he's just not
that into you. It makes life so much simpler, although the "propensity for density" can sometimes end up biting you in the a$$. I think that many, many women I know who, like me in a former life, analyze and deconstruct and speculate about everything a guy says or does (or doesn't say or do) could benefit from this book - just now I remember a friend of mine, who, after having been told in no uncertain terms to stay the heck away by another (guy) friend of mine and object of her affections, took it as a positive sign...because "he talked to me! So deep down, he really, really cares!" Psycho.
He's just not that into you if he's not asking you out. Because if he likes you, trust me, he will ask you out. Greg tells us to ditch all those excuses - that he doesn't want to "ruin" the friendship, that he's intimidated by you (pffft), that he forgot to remember to ask you out, that he wants to take it slow...
“Please, if you can trust one thing I say in this book, let it be this: When it comes to men, deal with us as we are, not how you’d like us to be.” I know it’s an infuriating concept—that men like to chase and you have to let us chase you. I know. It’s insulting. It’s frustrating. It’s unfortunately the truth. My belief is that if you have to be the aggressor, if you have to pursue, if you have to do the asking out, nine times out of ten, he’s just not that into you.And thus:
- An excuse is a polite rejection. Men are not afraid of “ruining the friendship.”
- Don’t get tricked into asking him out. If he likes you, he’ll do the asking.
- If you can find him, then he can find you. If he wants to find you, he will.
- Just because you like to lead doesn’t mean he wants to dance. Some traditions are born of nature and last through time for a reason.
- “Hey, let’s meet at so-and-so’s party/any bar/friend’s house” is not a date. Even if you live in New York.
- Men don’t forget how much they like you. So put down the phone.
- You are good enough to be asked out.He's just not that into you if he's not calling you.- If he’s not calling you, it’s because you are not on his mind.
- If he creates expectations for you, and then doesn’t follow through on little things, he will do the same for big things. Be aware of this and realize that he’s okay with disappointing you.
- Don’t be with someone who doesn’t do what they say they’re going to do.
- If he’s choosing not to make a simple effort that would put you at ease and bring harmony to a recurring fight, then he doesn’t respect your feelings and needs.
- “Busy” is another word for “a$$hole.” “A$$hole” is another word for the guy you’re dating.
- You deserve a f*bleep*g phone call.He’s just not that into you if he’s not dating you. “Hanging out” is not dating.- Guys tell you how they feel even if you refuse to listen or believe them. “I don’t want to be in a serious relationship” truly means “I don’t want to be in a serious relationship with you” or “I’m not sure that you’re the one.” (Sorry.)
- Better than nothing is not good enough for you!
- If you don’t know where the relationship is going, it’s okay to pull over and ask.
- Murky? Not good.
- There’s a guy out there who will want to tell everyone that he’s your boyfriend. Quit goofing around and go find him.And so on and so forth. Many of the other "signs" are a little too SATC-liberated for practical application, but Greg's made his point. I think I should ask for another male's point of view on the topic - gentlemen, what say you?
Oh Diva?
It's Friday night, I'm dead tired, and all I want to do is go to bed...but I don't want to wash my face. It's all made-up you see, and very prettily too - something I'm not too used to anymore. This lovely, lovely girl called Marge Enrique did my face, and my hair...which for a change is down and strrrraight (and very long, need to get around to doing something about that...). So I neither want to wash my face or shampoo my hair, because Marge did such an outstanding job of beautifying me. For a magazine shoot. Oh wait, hey, yeah you read that right. I'm not kidding. All styled and glammed up and dressed to the Tan Gan-Rajo Laurel nines (and nowhere to go except to the market for tomorrow's feeding at the Center). Yaaahoo... No, I'm not daydreaming - I have witnesses (ask Gari, although I don't know how credible he'd turn out to be, heh heh). Or check out a certain ahem, international magazine of French origin in December (check out November as well *smile*). I can hardly believe it myself...but I sure had so much
FUN this afternoon prepping and posing in a P40,000 suade chair and chitchatting with the stylists and Sara Black, the photographer. One thing's for sure, I'm going to be a make-up artist when I grow up. That pretty much complements my dream of cutting/styling hair. And Marge is going to do my wedding (whenever that may be, but hey, I got her number). Oh, and I'm going to take her advice and make the most of my natural wave/curl (can't wait to try out her tricks). Hah. Hee hee! The Primadonna (as opposed to Johanna's Brattina) is ruined for life! Vanity, yes that's me :-)
Brand New Day, Not-So-Brand New Diet
Today, I start a new diet. Partly because of a precocious little four-year old who, despite her age and height, frequently dishes out some startling and uncannily sage observations: "Ate Honey,
tumataba ka na. Bawas-bawasan mo ang pagkain mo, ha?" And thus, thanks to Montalban's Rica Mae (a.k. by her less glamorous nickname, "Ikang"), I will attempt to take her advice and show her some results in a few months' time. Probably a little more difficult to follow through was last Thursday's stumper: "Ate Honey,
may syota ka ba?" Cute kid.
But the diet is mainly for an upcoming wedding of a couple of very good friends:
Jerry and
Len are finally tying the knot after many years, and I intend to finally wear something really nice that will not cause me to lose face or be subjected to the potential verbal torture of Neil, the Master of Side Comments himself and my co-emcee at the reception. I should know what he's capable of - I learned everything I know about the art of
panlalait from him!! Not to mention the fact that we've been known to be evil conspirators in the practice of such a dark art (in my past life, at least, heh heh). Anyway, I'm trying out Len's designer Bong Lazo (one of Jerry's valued clients, who also happens to be a
kabagyan from Abra) to make real my dream dress (a prototype of which I saw on my cousin Leanne's friend Kitchie at another wedding not too long ago). But this extra weight + that dress just ain't quite right. So, in the name of vanity and to avoid the ire of Maestro Libakero, I'm going to do a modified version of the diet I went on three years ago, just before Paris, (dropped almost 20 pounds, most of which I thankfully managed to keep off!), but minus the cigarettes. I wonder how I'll fare this time, without the nicotine fix. But anyway, it's the South Beach Diet plan (three years ago I used Eades' Protein Power, which was a little more strict, and caused my hair unspeakable damage, boohoo!). I don't anticipate too much of a problem because I don't have a sweet tooth and I'm really into meat and proteins, but I have to cut out all alcohol for 14 days. Man, that's going to be tough...I suppose I can pretend I'm on antibiotics or something. The things we do in the name of beauty...vanity, thy name is Honey!
