Paul and I went to Cavite last Sunday to visit my sick grandma. For a change, siya naman ang nagtatanong sa'kin kung nasan na kami, hehe! kasi palagi nalang ako nangungulit sa kanya pag umaalis kami, "anong lugar na ba 'to?" or "malayo pa ba?"

My grandma was almost in tears upon seeing us. Ma-drama talaga yung lola ko, at mas mahal nya pa si Paul kaysa sa'kin!

I'm also happy that he enjoyed the ride. gusto nya nga raw bumalik so tomorrow we're going back there but this time we're gonna be with my mom, ken, michee and mon.

Today I'm gonna finally get that hair treatment! wala nang makakapigil sa'kin, hmp!

**Despite seeing each other everyday, I still miss him. The times that we spend together seem so short, especially now that he's moved to Mandaluyong (sa "labas" ha). He couldn't stay late here anymore since malayo na yung inuuwian nya. plus lately he's feeling so low and i feel like i'm not doing anything to cheer him up. I just wish he could be happier. he doesn't deserve all of these..all the pains that he's feeling right now..the dilemmas..but i assure him that everything will be alright. we will get through these together.

My brother loved the cd that edwin (ayan, nabanggit ko nanaman pangalan mo ha, in case you're reading this..hehe) burned for me. Thank you seatmate!

Working is really very different from studying. I'm starting to realize that the office is very far from the classroom. Well, sometimes I can't help but think of my bosses as my professors, espacially when Ma'am Lizzie corrects my work. I still feel like I'm a student who has a lot of learning to do. I've done a couple or more "kapalpakans" in the office but I guess at this point, since technically I'm still new, it's forgivable.

I'm having a little difficulty in getting along with my officemates..I mean, the age gap is really a hindrance. I'm not that young anymore but sometimes, I get a bit shocked with their topics..

don't get me wrong, I'm mature enough to understand their topics (which are mostly for adults) and I'm open with it. I'm just not used to talking about those things because in college we never talked about those..things. (hey, it isn't all about sex, okay?)

I'll get used to it eventually. I just need a little adjustment. Plus, my officemates, especially the "younger ones" (o sige na, kasali ka dito edwin, hehe) are okay naman. they're actually cool.

I love the office. I love my work. the only thing that I don't love is my boss' ringtone. Choopeta pare! Everytime her phone rings, I imagine her dancing! but tolerable naman..sige lang.

In Europe, care givers and nurses are so in demand because of the rapid increase in their graying population. Here in the Philippines, care-giving papables are getting in demand because of the rapid increase in our gaying population. Dumadami na ang mga kalahi ni *Zsa Zsa Saturna! from closets, to bis, to ladlad gays, name it! meron tayo nyan..

Yesterday while I was on my way to the office I encountered one of the most irritating passengers. I was seated at the middle of the fx and he was at the back. he knew the guy beside me so he was like, "Oy Alex!" The guy beside me managed to say "oy" without any hint of excitement and never looked back at him for the rest of the trip.

I immediately figured that the guy at the back was alanganin. Celine Dion's "it's all coming back" played on the car stereo and he sang along at the top of his lungs, not minding that the rest of the passengers were not really in the mood for such annoying act.

it didn't stop there. his concert continued as "bakit ngayon ka lang" by freestyle and pops played. he was over confidently belting pops' part!

and then "can you feel the love tonight" was next. (oh no, now that will sound like a gay song na everytime I hear it because (1) Elton John's the most sosy gay I know and (2) it will remind me of the gay guy on the fx..hay..

on the other hand, the guy beside me, Alex, seems to be gay as well..his 3210's casing is white and the way he seated..most guys would be naka-bukaka, right? but that Alex was so careful to keep his legs together, eh hindi naman masikip sa fx! tsktsk..

I love gays..well, some gays. The funny ones like those sing-along masters. there are others who are just so antipatika. Those types I hate..

change topic

I've been getting along pretty well with my officemates but there is just this one that I find a little irritating.

First he had to make a comment that I'm chubby. No harm done there because I've been told that a couple of times already and I've learned to accept that  fact. I didn't mind that because he meant it as a joke.

But his next hirit kind of offended me. he said something about me being so small but eating too much. (ang liit liit na tao, lakas kumain). It pissed me but still I kept cool and ignored it.

-so what if I ate the entire slice of cake? it was given to me anyway! I'm not madamot, I offered to share it naman ah?!

He just had to make another comment the following day. my other officemate was offering to him the crackers that we shared and that annoying officemate has done it again by saying "wag na, baka kulang pa sa kanya 'yan".

why don't he shut the  up?

I am not pikon but there is nothing wrong with being sensitive with others' feelings, di ba? He should think before he speaks. not all the time is joke time.

Whew. i just had to let that out. From this day forth, i will do my best to ignore his unnecesary (and offensive) comments and just take them as jokes. gusto ko rin naman s'yang maging friend. Masasanay din siguro ako sa mga biro nya.

change topic ulit

Paul and I will be visiting his dad today. I'm really excited since this will be my first time to meet him. Also, I'm excited about the shopping part, hehe..this would be sort of our 32nd month anniversary celebration.

better late than never!

• I saw Ms. Monica Feria (MIRROR EIC) in person yesterday. She seemed so nice because she was wearing a big smile. I imagined most EICs, whether for dailies of mags, to be so high-end that they don't have time to be friendly with ordinary people like me, but ms. Feria was nothing like that.
• The other day naman, Evangeline Pascual was in the office. She actually visited my boss. She was sooo pretty and tall. She looked so young, wearing jeans and a cute top. I was really star struck.

We went to visit Paul's dad yesterday. Marikina was so much different from Taguig and any other Metro cities that I've visited. The streets are really clean and so organized. I realized Bayani Fernando's point in cleaning up the sidewalks. No traffic! The people are also very disciplined. Almost every street had pedestrian lanes. The only thing that I didn't appreciate was the color pink that's literally all over town. there were pink fences, of course, but there were also pink multicabs, pink sheds and pink urinals, plus Bayani Fernando's name everywhere. Nonetheless, it proved to be an effective "color scheme" for the people of Marikina.

After meeting his dad, Paul and I went to Sta. Lucia and Robinson's. He shopped for a couple of shirts and a pair of pants. He'll be needing a lot of clothes since he doesn't have a uniform.

**His classes will start on monday . He assured me that he would still be picking me up after my work but I'm still gonna miss him. Plus, i'm not sure what to expect from his new school. It's a totally different environment. When I went there the first time, everyone seemed aloof and conio. My feeling is like that of a mom who's sending her son to school for the first time. What if he couldn't adjust easily? hay..I'll just hope for the best.

Anyway, I bought a coin purse, cheek tint and a notebook (for work) for myself. I wanted to buy another cosmo mag but Paul prohibited me from buying anymore cosmo mags. "i-promose mo na last na yan ha?", he said the last time that I bought one. Parang bad influence daw kasi yung mga articles dun. I can buy any other magazines but not cosmo. hindi na 'ko nag-protesta, baka umasa na rin lang ako sa libreng MIRROR Magazine, the Healthy Lifestyle Magazine (plugging, hehe) na binibigay ni ma'am Lizzie, hehe! Iya Villania will be on the July ish cover.

hay, may pasok nanaman bukas! sana this week would be a good one

Yesterday i finally got the chance to meet with ja, kel, anj and candice. i missed them so much!  we just had coffee at figaro in Greenbelt 3 and did some catching up. well, nothing really new about them except that kel is working already (and has a new bunch of family problems) and jaja and candice still don't have their visas for Germany (they will be attending the World Youth Day in Cologne, kaka-inggit!).

si kel na walang pinagbago, candice na naging wavy, jaja na pumayat at anj na short na ang hair.

i really wish we could do that regularly..

then i bought Eleven Minutes from Power Books. I've been wanting to read that novel since grace told me about it. anj has read it too and it's a good book naman daw.

at the office, may nagpakain nanaman! argh, sinisira nila ang diet ko! there was pancit malabon but i chose to eat the pancit canton that ma'am lizzie offered me. pancit malabon lang ng mommy ko ang masarap para sa'kin, hehe!

then, since it was his first sweldo, francis ordered yellow cab pizza. one slice was enough because i was really full na!

Plugging: I'm not 100% sure about this but I think Angel Locsin will be on the August issue cover of MIRROR, the Healthy Lifestyle Magazine. I proofread the write up on her..

Paul has classes today but he promised to go straight here after so I planned a little surprise..i hope he likes it!

ROTOR. while i was doing my usual work of browsing through almost all the dailies in town (to check for releases) I came across this contest on PDI, which gives away books as prizes. That day, they were giving away a book by Abercio V. Rotor, published by the UST Publishing House. I was like, wow prof ko 'yan! ok, so nobody would notice the name of the author written in 8-point font, but still it made me feel proud that once in my life I've "encountered" someone like him. His painting can also be seen on the bottles of those Ilocos wines (i forgot what it's called). We saw some in Vigan. Astig talaga si Rotor! Great minds really come from up North..(Rotor, Hornedo, Vales the goddess..).

AN OFFICEMATE I CAN'T NAME. still while i do my "morning work", I'm ALWAYS greeted by the smell of one of my officemates, which is like Ralph but with a hint of caffeine because "it" (haha, keep on guessing seatmate, but it's not you, promise. You are the Burberry Man! hehe) always has a cup of coffee whenever "it" approaches my table to borrow newspapers..it doesn't annoy me naman but it made Ralph seem less appealing to me..

THE GIGANTIC . while i was riding a jeepney to the FX terminal, I saw  on the other jeepney. I thought, whew! buti na lang 'di ko sya nakasakay. Then, when I was already at the terminal, there were two vacant seats. one on the passenger seat and the other at the back. I chose the one at the back and guess what..i was seated across--surprise surprise--! Iwas praying hard that "it" wouldn't talk to me much and interview me throughout the trip but, i guess God must have been teasing me then because "it" never stopped talking to me. It made me tell my whole "employment story" for all the passengers to hear! Argh, most of them are my "constant ka-sakay" pa naman! hmp! Oh well, I was really very lucky that day because we got off on the same stop and walked together and chat some more. Hay..buti na lang i woke up on the right side of the bed that day and i was determined not to let anything--or anyone-- ruin my day.

I spent the whole afternoon yesterday looking for the "perfect" pair of shoes. When I say perfect, i mean comfortable fit, right size, soft leather, heels that are neither too high nor too low, and of course, stylish. (I go for comfort over style, though).

As usual, I wasn't successful. The shoes were either too big or the leather was too hard. The one that I saw from Confetti seemed to be the perfect size (size 4, can you believe?) but when I tried it on, it was too small naman pala . Gusto ko pa naman yung style.

Anyway, since I was getting frustrated already, I just carried on with the shopping . I ended up buying a pair of shades, two sets of earrings, and three boxes of tissue instead. I saw this cute knitted top from Shang but since I only had budget for the shoes and during that time I was still planning to go back to the shoes department, hoping that this time I would find the "perfect" pair, which I did not, I decided not to buy the top.

After tiring ourselves some more (Me, my mom, michee and mon), we ate at Mc Donald's and headed home. I did not fulfill my "mission" that day (which is buying a pair of shoes) but I'm happy with what I bought..

**It was already late (around 10 p.m.) but Paul still dropped by our house. I was excited to see him and tell him about how my day went but something bad happened to him so he wasn't really in the mood. He looked too sad and angry and so troubled. Will there be no end to his problems? I really hope this day would be better for both of us, especially for him.

He was telling me (on the phone) that he would like to "de-stress" himself. Go somewhere, be pampered and just relax. Too bad we don't have time (and enough fund) to "take a break". Hay, but i promise we would do that talaga!

I still haven't decided on whether I would continue my "search" for the perfect shoes today or just stay home and watch dvds. I'm feeling tired and I'm not sure if it's safe to go outside since today the president will deliver her State of the Nation Address and there are a lot of "threats" out there...

THE PLOT

THE CHARACTERS

I felt proud every time I read my “novel in progress”. It didn’t have a title yet because I wasn’t sure what the ending of the story would be. I never found out because I never finished it. I didn’t even get past chapter six.

I used to think that I wasn’t able to finish the novel because I lost interest. Maybe I ran out of ideas or because I became busy with school. Now I realized the real reason. I have finally moved on. I have gained enough courage to let go of the past and start moving forward. Today it’s nothing but a memory. A funny memory that would give me an I-was-so-stupid-then feeling.

Yesterday Paul and I went out with my officemates: Francis, Kats, Minda, Mael, Van, Riza and Sandra. We ate at Yellow Cab at the People Support building. it was fun and I'm getting more and more at ease with them. What a wcky gang! I'm starting to feel at home..

My pc in the office is now personalized. sort of. I managed to change my wallpaper and the color setting of the desktop. I'm starting to feel very comfortable with the work environment now. Before medyo hindi pa 'ko at ease. The only place in the office where I felt at home was in the comfort room! hehe. i go there almost every 15 minutes dati. Now I feel much better and comfortable with everything and everyone. scratch everyone. may mga iba na di ko pa talaga feel..hehe!

Ma'am Emmie's husband just passed away. I can imagine how shocking it was because it was unexpected. That morning she woke up with everything normal and without any hint that it would be the last time she would see her husband alive. just minutes after the bell rang in the office, she received a text message saying that her husband had a heart attack and was rushed to a hospital near the office. she was too late. her husband was already gone..

I'm going shopping today! woohoo! all by myself because Paul has classes. We'll just meet up later. I'm excited. I really need to buy shoes!

My original plan yesterday was just to buy a pair of shoes, maybe some other stuff (because it's sale in Glorietta), meet with Paul, head straight home and watch dvds. I even assured my mom that I would be home by 2. But here's what happened:

9:45 a.m. - I left the house to go to Glorietta (and Landmark, and SM).

10:15 a.m. - I arrived at Glorietta, withdrew some cash and went on with my mission: to look for the perfect pair of shoes. I searched the area first, then decided to go to Landmark (because they have lotsa shoes there). I found this unique pair of closed shoes. I wanted to buy it but as usual, it was too big for me. The nice sales lady offered to put two pieces of corks but still it was too loose. I searched some more stalls. I found some in small sizes but I didn't like the style.

11:10 a.m. - I received a text message from Anj, asking if I wanted to go watch Dilim (a digital film) at Megamall with Candice, Ramil, Jeff and Tam. I got excited and said yes. I missed them so I really wanted to see them.

11:20 a.m. - I decided to go to SM. Again, everything that I tried on were too big for me.

12:00 p.m. - I received a text message from Paul saying that he was on his way! I panicked and hurried back to Landmark (because he asked for us to meet there). It was then that I spotted this pair of brown heeled shoes, which was available in size 4 1/2. I was desperate so I bought it even if it was in the exact same style as Michee's school shoes. It came with a free pair of sandals, which by the way were also too big for me (I was planning to sell this but my mom and my sister liked the style).

12:30 p.m. - We ate lunch, then strolled some more. We went back to SM because we were going to take the MRT. We strolled again around SM. While he was looking for shirts, I bought born lippy from the Body Shop. I didn't want him to know dahil baka mapagalitan ako, hehe! Then we went to the electronics section and frustrated ourselves by looking at MP3s, digicams, and laptops that we could afford only if we starve ouselves for a few months.

3:00 p.m. - We were on the MRT and on our way to Megamall.

3:20 p.m. - We reached Shangri La and dropped by National Bookstore to look for Discovery Channel vcds. Since we were running out of time (We had to be in front of Cinema 12 by 3:30), I did not buy any because I couldn't decide on which episodes to buy. Talk about being so fickle minded! haha!

3:30 p.m. - We reached Megamall. Of course they were not yet there and we had to wait for a bout 10 minutes. To our disappointment, the screening of Dilim was cancelled! It was R18 so they had to show it in UP because SM malls do not allow the showing of R18 films anymore. So, we just went to Power Books. Paul and I went to Penshoppe first where I bought this pretty jacket. Tam and Jeff weren't there yet. When they finally arrived, we just ate and talked. It feels good to see them again but it made me miss college more, sort of.

8:30 p.m. - Paul and I reached home. Fortunately, my mom wasn't there yet! She went on a "reunion" AGAIN with her high school classmates at Market Market. She arrived 5 minutes later.

Whew! So that's a total of five malls, 2 footwears, a lip balm, a nice jacket and a full stomach, plus an empty wallet! darn it, I think I over spent again. Promise talaga, last na ito!