Thursday, May 31, 2007

Choi Ji Woo

I saw this girl yesterday at the office. I don't know how people back in Manila know this girl as (referring to her character names in numerous Koreanovelas) but anyway, it's Choi Ji Woo. A famous Korean actress.

They were at the office shooting a scene, which I don't even know why they had to do at our office. Maybe it's an airport counter scene or something. They even had extras dress up with our uniform, altering the scarf with a fuschia one. (We--cabin crew--cannot appear in anything commercial, even if we're just like an extra or something.)

But OMG her skin--it's unbelievable. Speechless!

So to all those who told me to say hi to this girl before I first left Manila to undergo training in Seoul, I'm sorry to let you down, I was starstruck! No, honestly, she's too busy.

Finally...summer!

Just got back from sunbathing here in Saipan. Wee now I'm three shades darker (I think).

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

On Tin's Rain Perception

Tin wrote something on her blog about the sun being happy and the rain being sadness.

I, on the other hand, perceive rain differently. Rain (or a raining weather, not stormy) is romantic. I'm much of a homebody so when it rains, we all get stuck under one roof and you have no choice but stay in. So rain is a bonding moment. Rain equals hot beverages and warm talks. If you're with your boy/girlfriend, then it's more of cuddles and stuff. Nescafe moment. Exactly.

Sales talk

I bought my camera at Sky City in Gimpo (Seoul) for five hundred and fifty dollars. That's a hundred dollars more than the cheapest price I wanted. But I bought it. There's a "why".

The salesman was really nice. He hardly speaks English! Talk about the effort to get his points across. Even when it came to choosing which SD card, he showed me the difference between all the choices. I even asked him if he likes Nikon, he said he does but he actually owns a Canon. His shop happens to have mp3 players as well so I asked him for an iRiver E10 and he told me straight up not to buy it. (He saw the iRiver hanging around my neck and) He said I'd waste my money on the E10 coz the sound quality is just like an iPod. Yikes. I almost wasted a hundred and fifty!

In Singapore, there are really cheaper prices but prices were drastically lower so it made me skeptical. And one mobile phone shop in Singapore told us how some shops' prices could go so low. And then there was one salesman who was so rude that he won't even tell me the price if I'm "not serious in buying one." Rude Singaporean. Gusto ko siyang sampalin ng pera na dala ko. Nyahaha. Ang rude kasi.

Monday, May 28, 2007

D40


Oh yeah.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Gadget Freak

I'm off to Singapore today. I'm really excited despite a difficult and not to mention long and boring six-hour flight. Why? I'm on my last (probably) stop for my DSLR bargain hunt. I've been checking out prices at Manhattan, NY and here in Seoul. I'm not so much inclined into looking into Hidalgo Street in Quiapo though. I can't imagine myself commuting to Quiapo carrying so much money. And besides, I really don't know where it is. But, I've also asked [friends] about Quiapo prices.

If somebody in Singapore would give me a Nikon d40 or d50 (with 18-55mm lens) for USD450, you bet I'll be back in Seoul on Monday with a DSLR. If not though, I might go back to Yongsan (here in Seoul) and practice my haggling skills to get $485 down to $450...or... I could ask for a 2MB memory card for free.

I'm getting really excited. And now I'm chatting with Monica (who's still in Manila), my loveable dongki who's also into iRiver and DSLRs as I am. She's suggesting a place in Singapore called Sim Lim (not sure with the spelling though) and I'm asking her about Sun Tec City... Gee. I'm excited.

If all else fails and I don't get a bargain I'm comfy with at Yongsan, I'll go get an iRiver E10 :) Yey!

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Stagnant me

Why I haven't been updating my blog:

1. I'm trying to finish season 3 of Grey's Anatomy before anyone tells me how it ended.

2. Been flying in and out to some nearby places. *ahem Hanoi*

3. Sleeping. 'nuff said.

4. Trying to stay away from the laptop as much as I can. I walk around or get up every episode (of Grey's) and fill my water bottle. One time I drank 4 liters in 12 hours.

5. Laundry: trying to be more masipag about it.

6. Checking out prices anywhere I can, even here in Seoul, where I hardly go out. Simply put, I'm trying to catch some sun. I'm getting whiter everyday and I need to sunbathe badly.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Farewells, good songs and tears

Can't really remember when was the last time I went to hear mass hear in Seoul but anyway me and Bianca--straight from a New York flight--went today. I was so glad the better choir group was on this Sunday. Sadly though, it would be the choir moderator's last Sunday in Korea. He's going home next week. Goodbyes, good songs, and holding back tears all at the same time. Yeah, I've been there before.

I was a member of the school choir since third grade until high school. Ms Deanna Gabriana or Mama, as we call her, is our choir moderator: an old maid grade school music teacher who's every inch an OC, totally strict to her students but unbelievably loving to us, her anaks. She has cute dogs namely Beethoven, Mozart and Scherzo. Never did she tell her real age; she'd just say, "Eighteen," when asked about it. Mama knows we're very active (and competitive) students but she'd always get jealous if we prioritize CAT/COCC trainings, student council meetings, org projects and the likes over choir practice.

Of course every school year, a batch graduates and leaves the school including those of whom are her children. It's sad and it breaks her heart; she never got used to it although she did it for more than two decades, I think. 2002, my turn to leave highschool, it's really gloomy. We must've stayed all throughout the one-hour lunchbreak at the music room chatting and tinkering with her piano and stuff. I visited her once, during my first semester in college. She looked so proud seeing us in our college uniforms. She reminded us to do well with our studies and go easy on the boys.

Sem break following that semester, news broke out that Mama had a heart attack. We went to visit her at the hospital but she's mainly living on machines by then. It broke my heart to see the ever-elegant and neat Mama look so helpless with her hair messed up and her sheets falling over. Tubes were all over. I lasted five minutes inside the room and then I had to excuse myself and cried at the hallway. Eventually, the family had decided to pull the plug.

Lots of students came to her wake. Some, I don't even know. Some, batches way older than I am. And then for the last time, we had a choir practice for a mass for Mama. We sang while we cried while we choked while we tried to blink back tears endlessly while we said our goodbyes. And we did our best. It felt like singing for the last time.

The experience was kind of hard to accept. I was in denial for so long. Since then I never sang during masses. I didn't even hum. It must've taken me three years before I sang anything (during a mass) again. And until now, I have never heard any choir sing our most favorite song.
Mama, we miss you. It's been five years. May you rest in peace.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

I need---

...a hug.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Toothache

I almost went home today. Last night I was having a terrible toothache I almost called in for sick leave today. Knowing we don't have a dentist at the medical center, they'd surely send me home. Then I can vote and have dental check-up. But I didn't coz we only are given 10days of sick leave in a year and I already had seven; it's only been half a year so who knows if I get terminal or something during the other half? *sigh*

You know you're addicted to something/someone when the first thing you think about is it/him/her. I'm...addicted. To Grey's Anatomy. When I checked in last night, the first thing I set up was the DVD player. Usually I set up the laptop, connect it to the LAN cable, etc., etc. Haha. The series sure took my mind off eating. Now that's a new weight loss program!

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Eyes don't lie

It's odd that a lot of people are talking about deaths recently. More specifically, suicide. I myself had had suicidal tendencies before (that's like ages ago) but I guess I've learned that there's a lot to live for. Yeah sometimes you feel like there's nothing to live for, that your partner's cheating, your parents are this, your friends are that, your job sucks, financially you're bankrupt, so on and so forth... Then your mind gets blurry and clouded and you see nothing but the negatives. And then melodramatically you say to yourself there's nothing to live for, or like the song goes, what's the glory in living?

Moments like these, I know I could've simply jumped off a building, or ram a car into a ten-wheeler while driving, or something like that, but I didn't. And I never will. Because I think it's stupid, because we are not to create our fate. That's why it's even called fate.

+ + +

There's been a lot going on lately. Good, bad. New, old. Cool, uncool. Laughters, tears. It's more like a circus lately. Fears. Uncertainty. Dilemma. And tomorrow I'm leaving Manila again. For another 22 days. I can't even vote.

Do you know, I fall silent 24 hours before I leave Manila? It's like me in transition from Manila-mode to work mode. Weak smiles, long stares, warm hugs. Less talks.

Stop. Close my eyes. Take a deep breath. Flip my hair. Open my eyes. Smile. Gawd, I'm so good at this. *sigh* But I have really expressive eyes; and my eyes don't lie.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Legally. 21.


I'm 21, omg.

Location: Manila. I got a massage last Saturday which left bruises around shoulder area, renewed my driver's license yesterday, got a facial and a body scrub (something called Dead Sea Salt Scrub and Mud Pack?) that left me feeling baby-ish. Got one of the first gifts--Grey's Anatomy DVD! :) Wipee!

I'm sharing my birthday with a few people: Tito Mike, my dad's bandmate; Shelley, the Isabel Oli-lookalike and college classmate; Marlon, my good friend Jhen's cousin; Mica, my dongki and good friend in Asiana. To all these people, I wish you're having, or will have, a blast (especially to Mica who's flying San Francisco today)!

To all those who greeted me, thank you so much. From SMS to phone calls to e-cards to emails to blog comments to Friendster comments or messages to YM offline messages..ah, the wonders of technology.

And to all who asked me out for a birthday dinner or something, I'm sorry but I really have to decline. Family always comes first. A birthday just won't be the same if I don't celebrate it with them. Okay don't throw me a, "That's exactly why I'm asking you out: so this birthday won't be the same!"

Again, thanks everyone.

[Photo credits.]

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Eeeelection

Election's fast approaching (I can't vote anyway, sad to say) and everybody seems to be on that topic whenever they meet someone. Who does this, who says what, blahblahblah. I've felt the election craze ever since campaign period started coz we've had different candidates coming over and having their posters done. To all those who don't know, we own a small printing press here in Navotas. A family business. (And I take pride that we do great posters, far from standards of other people. *bow*)

Here in my hometown (yes, I'm back home) you'd see a lot of young candidates. People say, it's all about face value here. Hmm. And there's one who'd prolly win just because of the surname (ugh, talk about having people ask me if he's a relative or something *eyesroll*). Anyway, this year's exciting as you can't predict who would win (or lose).

Eeeenough. I don't really talk politics, y'know.

I had a dress altered last month and it's back now; I bought it on sale in Sydney for AU$5.00! Hehe. Might wear it on my birthday. Yeeee. I can't think of anywhere to have my birthday dinner at. I'm looking for a semi-formal place, definitely not in a mall, quiet, etc. If anybody knows L.A. Cafe at Roces Av (Morato? I'm not sure), I'm looking for a place quite like that.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

!!!

Sobrang homesick ko na.
Di ko na kaya.