How many blogs have you created in your entire cyber life?

How many of these are you keeping?

http://pinktonic.multiply.com
http://iveejohnson.blogspot.com
http://iveejohnson.blog.com
http://50firstblogs.wordpress.com
http://ivee.i.ph

These are the ones that are still working but are not updated (except for Multiply, which is the new Friendster). I have created more accounts in various hosts but I've deleted them right after my first post.

I tried leaving Tabulas so many times, but I keep coming back...

My dad flew back to KSA today. His flight was at 12 noon but we were all up by 6 a.m. to get ready. Not that we were all taking him to the airport. Actually he took the cab to get there like what he always did, which, I figured, was probably a way to avoid all the drama that usually comes with saying goodbye. Heck, we've done it about a hundred times already and nobody ever cries. At least not in front of the others.

Anyway, so after the quick goodbyes and a few reminders, I was back in dreamland. I slept for another two hours and woke up half wondering whether what happened earlier was just a dream or for real. After realizing it was the latter, I got up and started my day officially.

I didn't have anything planned for the day except continue reading my second Kinsella book, The Undomestic Goddess, which I am sooo loving! (I've given up on Guterson. Maybe someday I'll re-read Snow Falling on Cedars, but for now I'm going to stick to light reading and lots of chick lit). I am now on chapter eight and it's getting exciting. I hope it does until the end.

Aside from the blissful time that I had reading, I also had the chance to watch Karen, Jack, Will and Grace again this afternoon, thanks to my portable DVD player. Oh I missed that bunch! I'm so glad I bought that dibidi of their final season. I can barely recall the last time I was able to catch them on Studio 23 or on Star World (or wherever it's shown on cable TV). It's really one of my favorite shows ever and every episode never fails to make me teary-eyed with laughter!

Oh I almost forgot, it's Audrey Hepburn's birthday today! Thanks to Anibee for reminding me. (I really have to start taking those memory enhancers. How could I forget when she has the same birthday as my late grandpa?!) She would have turned 79. I was actually thinking of watching Paris When it Sizzles but even then I didn't remember that it was her birthday. Tsk, and then of course I opted to get a dose of laughter courtesy of TV's oddest couple.

*yawn*

I'm sleepy but I don't want to doze off just yet. Same reason I have every night: I don't want this day to end.

I better get back to reading The Undomestic Goddess (I would've just used the acronym, but it wouldn't look and sound as glam. TUG.)

Good night and have a happy work week ahead! (Doesn't that sound quite ironic?)

Cringe, scowl, roll eyeballs clockwise
Wince, fidget, check text messages
Gag, roll eyeballs counterclockwise
Grimace, make awful barfing noises
Look at watch, wonder if it’s broken
Glance longingly at the exit
Check text messages yet again
Repeat for 30 minutes
Then flee.

Why does she even bother watching local mababaw films? So she could give her face some exercise (or as she calls it, facercise).

Did not plan to watch this one. I think Aga is too old for Anne, just as he was too old for Angelica Panganiban in A Love Story, which I was able to see.

Kel: Alam nyo ba kung sino ang susunod na magiging leading lady ni Aga Muhlach?

Everyone: Sino?

Kel: Si Sharlyne.

Everyone: Gonzales?

Kel: San Pedro! (yung batang gumanap na Princess Sarah na hindi bagay, mas okay sana kung si Becky nalang siya).

Text message that I received from a friend on my way home yesterday:

Virginia Mae Johnson...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I would have been extremely happy that my friend remembered if my birthday was actually YESTERDAY.

my reply:

Huh?

And my friend's palusot was:

Lam ko bday mo dis month pero limot ko na exact date hehe.

And so I told my friend:

My birthday's on ..but thanks for REMEMBERING!

Yeah. Thanks for remembering to forget...

I just discovered that I am a tea person. Green tea, lemon iced tea, apple iced tea (actually these are just flavors of C2, so I think I'm also a C2 person!), and milk tea. I love 'em all!

However, two days into this discovery and I also realize that my tummy is not too keen on taking any of these tea varieties. Hmpft. This means I can't enjoy Chowking's Nai Cha without getting my tummy upset. Boo.

On the other had, if tea makes my tummy bitchy, coffee gives me palpitations, so I am not much of a coffee person either. Sure I go to Starbucks, but the closest to caffeine that I order there is the white chocolate something or the caramel-mocha thingy. Heck, I can't even remember what it's called. Basta whatever sounds like it doesn't have coffee in it and preferably with caramel.

Thank God for chocolate! This drink I have no trouble at all gulping down. And of course Hershey's has Cookies 'N' Creme milk drink, which I am still crazy about! (good thing my siblings hate it. Safe pag nag-uwi ako sa bahay dahil 'di nila titirahin, haha!)

Hay. Now I'm craving for that Hershey's drink. Got to buy some tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, weekend nanaman, yahoo!

Have a great one y'all!

My template (again) obviously.

Special thanks to Cheska for helping me out. Actually, I asked her to edit this template, but being the fickle mind that I am, of course I had to look for another template to tinker with. I am happy with the result for now. Don't get used to it just yet!  

Anyhoo, I have the house to myself again. My brother's in school, mom and sis went to the mall to buy "something important." I wanted to come but I am a little broke right now so hitting the mall would just be torture. I'm enjoying my time alone, though. No one here to bother me as I finish reading The Undomestic Goddess.

Mr. Donut's chicken sandwich and hot chocolate
with the book that I'm currently hooked on

 That was taken yesterday at Mr. Donut Dela Rosa while I waited for Paul. It's a fun combo.

Oh no, I'm getting sleepy and I'm running out of things to yap about.

Happy weekend guys!

...to hit the mall wearing a bakya, even if it's Happy Feet.

I made that mistake today and until now I am racking my brains to figure out why my sister bought that bloody pair of wooden slip-ons. The only reason I could think of is that it was on sale (50% off, I think) when she bought it but, that still doesn't make any sense because wearing that effin' pair of bakya is just plain torture! I will never, EVER wear those again.

Other than getting my feet beleaguered, my day was fine. I spent most of it with mom, which was just great since it's Mother's Day! We attended this lunch buffet blowout at Tramway in QC in celebration of her aunt's birthday. It was fun seeing our relatives again after go-knows-how-long. And the food was grrreat!

Then we went straight to Megamall to attend mass at the Mega Trade Hall. As expected, the priest's homily has something to do with the occasion. What I didn't expect was his little "tribute" for the moms present. He asked them all to stand up and he started with his little speech. It was nice and touching, but my mom and I are not really the, uh, mushy mother-daughter pair, so we were feeling kind of awkward. Then I got alarmed with the way the priests' speech was going because it was getting more and more retreat-like, so I thought oh don't let us do anything -- but before I even finished the thought, the priest was already asking us daughters and sons to kiss our moms and tell them we love them. And so I did. I felt even more awkward for a few seconds, then I felt normal again. And so did she. Oh for heaven's sake, it's Mother's Day, Ivee! It's okay to be a little sweet to your mom!

Well, what can I do? We are not a very affectionate family. BUT we love each other. We all know we do. We just have a different way of showing it.

Speaking of Mother's Day, I managed to remember not to greet my boss. She hates this hallmark holiday the most. She thinks it should be abolished! I remember texting her a happy mother's day last year and this was the reply that I got:

“sori to sagot ko s rcv kong greets_Pnapa abolish ko madrs day lahat ng kapalpakan pinas t mundo may kasalanan mga gagang ina. Ano gnawa nanay n posporo petchay joe d vnecia george bush gloria mac? Ano gnawa s kanila nagng ganyan cla? Napakasama na ng mga tao t may kasalanan dun mga nanay. Kaya burahin na mother’s day.”

Of course I don't totally agree with her in the sense that I don't think Mother's Day should be abolished, simply because I know for a fact that there are more good mothers, like her (and I would like to emphasize that because she really is one and a good grand mother as well), than the type that she is talking about. And for all we know, the fathers of these people she mentioned could be the ones responsible for what they have become.

Oh my feet are still killing me! I'm hitting the sack now. Have a happy work week ahead! (Why does that sound even more ironic and impossible to me?)

After fixing Sadz's layout, I got more "inspired" to tinker with mine, so expect some minor and/or major changes to it every now and then.

*I'm not saying I made Sandz's layout. I just helped her install it, okay? (OMG, I forgot to put credits to the original designer! tsk, have to fix that really soon.)

Sooo cute!

I found this on Yahoo!

Note: Pause my "iPod Nano" before playing the video. Enjoy!

I'm sticking to this template for at least a month, I promise! Para 'di na kayo nahihilo sa pagiba-iba ko (ng kulay).

Forgive the narcissism in this one. It's my blog, anyway. Will try to put a banner with less vanity in the future. But for now, magsawa na muna kayo sa mukha ko!

I chose this one because it has a touch of pink and it's "brighter" compared to the other version.

***

Moving on, I am alone in the house again. Mom and sis went shopping, this time in Divisoria, and my brother is out there somewhere (I'm guessing his girlfriend's house). I'm playing the Undomestic Goddess today. I had to prepare my lunch, which I was able to do successfully (aha! I know now how to fry tocino perfectly! Oh yes, I did not burn it baby!) clean the house, fold the laundry and wash the dishes. I'm done with everything except the laundry. Not everything is completely dry.

On top of these, I also have three articles to write for the newsletter. Argh! I'm waaay behind my schedule! I was supposed to finish all three yesterday but instead I had Will & Grace final season marathon plus Paris When it Sizzles, but I don't regret it. Clarise was right, seeing Will & Grace end is so sad, I think I actually cried in that episode where Will broke up with Vince because of his commitment to Grace and Grace was thinking of flying to Rome to see Leo. Sob. Good thing the final episode was not as dragging. It was quite a cliche though that Will's son would marry Grace's daughter, but I guess that's the best way to end it. And Paris When it Sizzles was not bad either. Sobrang payat lang ni Audrey dun, but I love her character as well as her leading man. 

***

Archuleta is going down! haha! Sorry to his fans, but I think David Cook will be the next American Idol talaga! His version of Mariah Carey's Always be my Baby is already a big hit and he hasn't won the contest yet.

Ok enough yapping. Better unplug the Internet connection so I could concentrate better. Good luck to me on that.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

When I got home this evening there was a little surprise waiting for me...

The card reads: "Happy birthday dear Ivee!" (heart) Clarise

Thank you so much Clarise!

Earlier today I posted a really mad blog, which was quite nasty it had to be a friends-only post. I'm calm now because...

WOOOHOOO!
Thank you America for choosing
the RIGHT David!

CONGRATULATIONS COOK!

 (Oh, who knows, he might stumble upon this blog someday!)

And I still don't know whether to say shit or yey. Haha! Wow. 24. Twenty-four! That's almost 25! Almost a quarter of a lifetime (if 100 years is still considered a lifetime). The pressure is setting in. Now people start asking me the "hindi ka pa ba mag-aasawa?" question right after the "how old are you?" query. My answer? Negative. As in "naku hindi pa po!"

Anyway, so it's my birthday today and once again I was reminded of the many blessings that God continues to shower on me. I woke up to text messages from friends and relatives who remembered and before I knew it, tears were starting to roll down my cheeks. I've no idea why I cried. I'm not really a tear jerky. I guess I was just overwhelmed by the greetings and well-wishes. Then again, maybe I cried because I knew that even if it's my birthday I couldn't go on leave and I might even have to go on overtime today. Good thing that didn't happen!

As the day progressed, a lot of surprises started to unfold...

Geoff gave me this soft-bound copy of Sophie Kinsella's Remember Me? and just like how I reacted when I saw the package from Clarise, I almost jumped for joy after he handed my the Fullybooked plastic with this goody inside. OA na kung OA, but I'm really into Sophie Kinsella these days and I don't think this will be a temporary thing, haha!

So right after Confessions of a Shopaholic, this will keep me busy and help me forget all about my worries.

In the middle of doing my "additional chores" for the day, I got a call from the guard asking me to proceed to the lobby because there was a delivery for me. So I went down and received a Red Ribbon Mocha Roll (not in picture) and Dulce de Leche from--who else--my Pauldo! Then about ten minutes after that I got another call from the guard asking me to go down again to receive a "surprise" delivery. It was the bunch of lovely flowers, once again from Paul. What he had written on the card almost brought me to tears (of joy) again. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world for having him in my life.

Another surprise was the Goldilocks cake from my boss. It also came with a note, which was very touching. I have the best boss in the world!

Finally, Jaja, my friend who just recently flew to KSA, sent me the link to her birthday present for me and this was what I found:

Click here to see Jaja's wonderful blog where this was originally posted.

I treated my officemates to rolls of cake and then my sister brought home food from Gilligan's for our family dinner. Burp!

All in all my 24th birthday celebration has been fun! And now I am getting sleepy, so I better hit the sack early (yeah, this is a little early for me).

Thank you so much again to those who remembered!

Happy weekend everyone!

Or, to be more precise, who took away Holly's sunny days?

Waaaah! Tag-ulan na bago pa ko nakabili ng 120 films ulit. And we all know that Holgas and gloomy days don't exactly work together.

Hay. I just hope it's sunnier in that part of the globe where I intend to use it next...

And speaking of lomography, I still haven't gone to Bonifacio High Street to see the Lomowall Exhibit. Paul and I were supposed to go today after office, but my sister asked us to go with her to the Power Mac Center in G3. She was planning to buy an iPod Video Classic (80G), but unfortunately, they were out of stock. So ngayon, yamot mode ang kapatid ko, haha! We also tried Anson's and SM Appliance Center, pero wala talaga. Tsk, it's not your day sister dear. Better luck next time!

Moving on, I still haven't stopped watching episodes of Will & Grace. I'm so addicted to that show! I MUST buy dibidis of previous seasons.

And when I'm not busy watching Will & Grace, you will see me flipping the pages of Confessions of a Shopaholic, which I am sooo enjoying! I was like, is this book about ME?! Did Sophie Kinsella know what I was going through when she wrote this? Haha! Just kidding. I'm not that shopaholic naman. At least I know when to stop swiping my card. 

Hmmm..this local version of My Girl seems interesting. I think I'm going to watch it.

Or maybe I'll go back to reading Shopaholic.

Or watch another episode of Will and Grace!

Good night y'all!

 Headache - Check!

 Toothache - Check!

 Endless ringing of office phones - Check!

 Some creep attempting to make a conversation - Check!

There you have it. A perfectly ruined day.

I'm excited yet I am too worried to enjoy the feeling. I wish I could just let go of all the things that are currently bugging me and just be happy about what's to happen.

My sister finally got herself an iPod Classic yesterday. I could tell the moment she reached our doorstep because of the wide grin plastered on her face. She settled for the silver one saying that it looks more iPod-ish than the black one. Yeah, right.

Inggit. But I can't afford to buy one now as in hindi talaga!  huhu. Sana uso pa yun pag can afford ko na. HAY!

O sya, later. Wala pang 6 p.m.

I'm supposed to be at the UST Library this morning to research on the old Manila Grand Opera House, but thanks to Multiply, (yes, the social networking site), I already have all the information I'll need. I wasn't so sure they'd let me do research at the UST library anyway since I still don't have my Alumni Card, so I tried online research first using UST library's online catalog (in my days, which wasn't that long ago, we called it OPAC. Now it's called LOReNZo, not so sure what it stands for). Unfortunately (or fortunately) no matches turned up when I searched using the keywords "Manila Grand Opera House," which meant that it would just be a waste of time, money and energy had I gone there today.

Not losing hope, I tried Yahoo! and voila! There it was, the entire history of the Manila Grand Opera House, just a click away! Whew. A Multiply user posted this article from INQ7 on his blog and that's where I got it. (It's funny though I couldn't find that link anymore today.)

***

I'm not envious anymore of my sister's new gadget. I figured I already have one too many music players. There's the Sony Walkman MP3 that my dad gave me; Bubbles, my PDA and of course, my mobile phone. More than enough to keep me sane these days.

***

OMG I'm Rebecca Bloomwood. That's bad. Baaad! No, I can't be! The more I read Confessions of a Shopaholic, the more I become aware of my current financial state, which is quite near broke. I just hope this book has something in it that would actually inspire me to be more frugal.

(I promise there is a valid reason for this. I am actually saving up for something...that would eventually make me more broke. Don't even try to figure it out.)

Bonkers. I love that word. I read it from J. Zafra a lot.

Anyway, someone in the office commented that I look slimmer now. Not really thin, but slimmer than I used to be. Hah! And I haven't even actually tried to lose my flabs yet, honest! Now that's something to inspire me to finally be focused on going back to the "weight" I used to be. Get it?! Haha! Ang corny. Seriously my body seems to have a mind of its own lately. For the past couple of months I was this glutton who eats anything edible within reach. Then all of a sudden my mouth refuses to take in anything in excess and I'm back to moderate, normal eating. My cravings are gone and I actually feel full after every meal. I guess I'll have to blame it on the hormones again and hope that my matakaw state doesn't come back for good.

Speaking of eating, last night Paul and I had a wonderful dinner at Amici and coffee night with the gang. Again I was surprised to see myself just eating the right amount of pasta and chicken and skipping dessert (cream puff).

We were supposed to watch 21 but we arrived 30 minutes late for the 7 pm showing and the last full show was not an option since most of us had stuff to do early the next day, so we just went straight to our coffee night. We forgot it was payday Friday and the Starbucks in Walter Mart would be full. So instead of hanging there we proceeded to the Starbucks branch in Salcedo (near Accenture) and, as we expected, it was near empty. I'm telling you this is the best Starbucks outlet in all of Makati. It's quiet and, like I said, it's always almost empty that getting the couch wouldn't be much of a challenge.

So we stayed there until around 11:30 just chatting about everything--and I mean EVERYTHING. Work-related anecdotes, our next getaway, current events, showbiz happenings and even politics and world events. Of course we talked about Jaja who's now somewhere out there in the desert. Just kidding Ja! I KNOW you are reading this. We miss you so much! And don't worry, we always have a moment of silence for imagining how you look like in an abaya. And naturally we burst into laughter afterwards. Haha!

Seriously we all miss her talaga kaya dinadaan nalang namin sa joke. You take good care of yourself there Ja. And don't worry about your crazy friends. We shall remain bonkers, thanks to Ramil's and Bonj's jokes.

Oh by the way we missed Candice too! Lalo na ako dahil matagal na kaming hindi nagkikita. At least Anj had breakfast with her that morning. By this time she might already be in Ilocos Norte for another adventure. Hope to see you soon!

My weekend has just started. Better make the most out of it.

Cheska tagged me (oh your username is really that hard to remember! lol!)

You share 8 things that your readers don't know about you. Then at the end you tag 8 other bloggers to keep the fun going.

* each blogger must post these rules first.
* each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
* bloggers that are tagged need to write on their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
* at the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
* don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

HERE'S MY 8 Random Stuff.Ü

1. I am a fan of KC Concepcion and I'm seriously considering buying her CD as soon as my frugality vow expires (yes it has an expiration. It ends in July. Hopefully).

2. I love ALL Mariah Carey songs, old and new.

3. I was once a member of a children's choir. I know. I can't believe it either!

4. I know how to twirl a baton. My bestfriend, who used to be a majorette, taught me how to.

5. I still enjoy watching Eat Bulaga every Saturday. I love Jose and Wally! lol!

6. I can fold my left pinky without bending my left ring finger (try it!). I have a contortionist left hand!

7. I pierced my own ear back in high school and got busted by my mom for it. Haha! That was during my bad girl phase.

8. I have a hard time answering surveys like this (or whatever you call them). For some reason, I find it difficult to enumerate random facts about myself.

I tag:

•deelicious
•clarise
•kulapek
•lessa
•princesscha
•deeflores
•superinfection
•hotchiqqa