Lunch break with nothing to do

Lunch time. Since I have no new movies to watch, I am getting tired of watching korean telenovelas and I am just not sleepy so blog na naman.

I wished I’ve taken the day off. I no longer have the zest (or did I ever had this zest here?) to work, I am delaying my tasks, I don’t do overtime and hell! the deadline is 2 days away and I am nowhere near finished. Maybe because, I never felt the loyalty to this company, I’ve felt this way since moving here, my friends have since moved on to other companies and my batchmates are all in Cebu.

Manila is a haven for I.T. people like me. It gives you a lot of choices and you can even be picky with what you choose especially for Java and .NET programmers. Heck, you can even demand and negotiate your salary. Why stay in company where your growth is stagnant? Take risks and move away from your comfort zone. Life is afterall taking risks di ba?

So tara na! byahe tayo hehehe

Rain and Shine

Hay! Pagod ako.

Last friday, Yiek’s sister and mom went here in Manila for a seminar. We treated them dinner @ ebun and accompanied them to their hotel (Renaissance).

Since it was still early in the evening, I txted ria and we went to Seattles (out fave coffee shop) to talk and talk and talk. Mas gusto ko sana sa Max Brenner dahil mas masarap yung choco drinks nila pero nways ok na din sa seattles dahil ang daming gwapo! Ewan ko lang kung totoong lalake, sabi ni Mau bakla daw dahil nakatingin sa kanya. Hay Mau! lahat na lang ba ng lalaki nakatingin sayo? Di kami papayag dahil maganda naman kami ah! hehehe

Nag txt ang sister ni Yiek, sabi nya gusto ba daw namin matulog sa hotel dahil may extra room daw. Sabi naman oo naman, bihira lang kami makatikim ng H&C shower at aircon. So pumunta kami don mga 12AM na. Hindi lang ako nakatulog masyado dahil naka-panty lang ako… hindi ako sanay at nag ring yung phone namin ng 7A.m. at nag ring nang ring.. iba’t ibang tao ang tumatawag. ano ba to? istorbo sa tulog.

Sinamahan ko ang sister at mama ni daria para bumili ng medical stuff. Medyo concious ako dahil yung damit ko pa kahapon ang sinusuot ko. Bahala sila, basta mabango ako dahil naligo at nag perfume ako. Yung mga kano nga di nagpapalit, so mag ala kano muna ako ngayon.

Pumumta kami sa Bambang, divisoria ng mga gamit pang-medical. Dami pala. Dami pa lang mala-divisoria dito sa manila. Gilmore-divisoria ng mga computer stuff, paco-divisoria ng furniture stuff, ongpin-divisoria ng jewelries, marikina – pang-sapatos naman at ewan ko saan pa dito sa manila.

Pumunta kami sa divi mall bitbit ang karami-raming bili namin sa Bambang. Mala-princesa nga ako dahil ayaw akong pabit-bitin ng gamit. Fragile ba ako? Baka daw mapagod ako. di cge.

Ayon, wala kami masyadong nabili dahil panget at wala masyadong choices sa divi. mall. Di sana nagtutuban na lang kami =(. Na-ulanan kami, na slide mama ni yiek, at ang tagal namin nakasakay ng taxi. Hay! nako pagud na pagud na ako dahil nga wala akong tulog at ayun ulan at init yung pasyal namin.

Rest day ko ngayon, sarap ngang mag-absent bukas. Hmm..tingan natin.

Just letting you know that ….

It’s official and the days are counting…

I cannot concentrate.

I have a deadline but

I have not done a single thing yet this afternoon.

I am excited.

I am nervous.

Wish me luck!

Manong taxi

Nasa ortigas ako kanina, absent ang asawa ko so nag txt ako kang Mau na samahan nya ko mag lunch…

nag lunch kami tapos…pinasakay nya ko ng taxi.

taxi driver: kala ko yung kasama mo yung sasakay
ako: hindi po ako yung sasakay (isip:obvious ba ako ang nandito)
td: boyfriend mo ba yun
ako: hindi po, kaibigan
td: …. basta nag tease siya sa kin na di ko raw kaibigan

ako: ay..bakla yon manong
td: bakla? sayang ang gwapo pa naman niya isip ko nga ang swerte naman ng babaeng ito gwapo yung bf nya (grrr! bakit? maganda naman ako no! grrr!!)

dahil ang dal2 nya umabot kami sa usapang kris aquino na bulag daw yung lalaki dahil ang tanda na daw ni kris at hindi na daw “fresh”.

at umabot kami sa usapang ethel bobba at ruffa mae quinto. bakit daw nagpapagulpi ng boyfriend. Mga put* daw yung bf nila dahil bakit daw magse-selos, wala daw trust ek-ek. Di sana yung panget na lang yung pinili nila.

eh? kung maganda yung pipiliin so natural marami talagang magkakagusto, wala daw patutunguhan ang selos2 na iyan. Pumili na lang daw ng panget para walang rason magselos, pero kawawa naman daw yung anak mo panget rin hehehe (oo nga naman).

At pinakita pa nya yung picture ng anak nya, panget daw katulod niya ngeks. Sabi ko, “di bale manong, mas gusto ng mga foreigners na ganon ang beauty, exotic”

at naputol ang aming chismis dahil umabot na ako sa destination ko.

Not yet….please

My ‘lil brother is growing up. Time flies so fast.

Last week mama emailed me this:

Mama: Nananghid ra ba si Alkes nga pwede na ba siya manguyab? (Alkes was asking permission to court someone)
Mama to Alkes: 1st year hishschool pa gani ka. Si Manang Claire gani nimo college naman nanguyab (You are still in first year highschool, Claire had a boyfriend when she was in college…)
Alkes: Nya kay babae man siya. (But she’s a girl!)

Nako po. Alkes is still 13 years old and up until now, I still him see as that pesky-in-a-cute-way child.

Alkes is our youngest, the only boy in the family aside from Papa and the apple of everyone’s eyes. His antics are one of a kind, a very very hyperactive child.

His teething period was hell for all of us. He would bite everyone in the family, I dare not come near him for fear of having bites marks all over my arm.

My homework sometimes goes *poof* because he would tear it to pieces or he would practice his writing skills on my notebook.

He once consumed all the film in my camera, picturing every nook and cranny of our house.

I fear bringing my classmates at home because
1.) He would not let them go and would always follow them around. Its either he sits on their lap or would hug their legs.
2.) He would “hikap and kumot(touch and squeeze)” their breasts or
3.) would “kumot” their butts
4) He would place a mirror on his shoes so he can see the panties of my classmates. (Told you he was naughty child.)

Horror! So I rarely invite my classmates over.

He would always ask me to draw a girl in a “birthing” position, with legs spread all over. Influenced by all the nursing books that he can find scattered at home.

We kept all our barbie dolls for fear that he will become gay. He loves playing with them though I don’t know why he always want them in nude. Manyak ata tong brother ko. ehhehee

He had his 1st crush when he was in nursery.

Every valentines, he always have something to give to his crush. My Tia even helped him picked roses from our garden.

My papa once helped him locate the address of his crush, they were going around Mabolo for 1 hour.

He is not naman that naughty and can be very sweet.

Just 3 weeks ago, he told me that he missed me and was saving up his allowance for my birthday gift. Aww. Sabi ko sayo na lang yan.

He is a budding journalist, entreprenuer and scientist.

He loves making poems and stories. He even made a newsletter and am proud to say is better in formulating words than any of us in the family.

Being the youngest he would easily say yes to our request but sometimes with a price. 1 calamansi juice=5 pesos or 1 request=1 game with him.

Hay! Now he told me that he spent his allowance on chocolates for his gf. I don’t want him yet to grow up… not too soon please.

~~ An excerpt from his testimonial in friendster (Testimonial is for his gf)

I may not be strong
I may not be handsome
I may be someone whos always wrong
You put me down
You give me a frown
Even though it doesn’t seem fair
But still, I really care
So when its time
To give up this puny life of mine
I’d give it up for you…
It may not be much,
But for me its too much
Cause we can only live once.
But when it comes to you
Theres no one thing I’ll never do
Even give up my life for you…

I deleted the old one…
So this is like replacements for all
the mornings and nights I didnt say gud
nyt…

Gud morning and good nyt ->maraming beses nyang inulit ito.

Someone Special (Base)

Why do I feel this way?
Every minute of the day…
Feeling extremely sad
I need something I never had
Something mere
I know, someone dear!
And someone whom I could hold
Someone worth more than gold

That… I will search for
That… I will search for

Someone Special

Im looking for this special girl
When I find her Ill give her a pearl
Someone whom I could hold
A person who could unfold
The best of me
Youll just see

Once I find her

Someone Special 2

I have a weird reason
That this certain person
Is that someone
And the only one
Whom I could hold
And who could unfold
The best of me
I assure thee…
I assure thee..

112434956574050332

Claire: U’ll be faced with 2 opposing choices today. Chase after 1 opportunity & the other door will close. –From my Smart horoscope last Aug. 15.

How right this horoscope was. I am a skeptical believer of these kind of things, being a programmer, I know that these kind of stuff are randomly generated.

But usually, it hits the bulls-eye.

I am currently faced with making a major decision, one is taking a risk and the other one is keeping my ground safe.

I’ve asked some people about some advice, whew! opposing advices. I’ve learned that…
1. My friends here in Manila (ex-NEC people) + 1 in Japan are more prone to taking the risks. They all adviced me to take the BIG risk. Go after what I really want, while…
2. My friends from Cebu (still with NEC) adviced against it because it is not safe. In the end I was the convincing them of the benefits that I will obtain. They have the same concern: why should I risk it, when the future is so uncertain. Why not stay here, you have all these benefits, you are safe here. I felt like I am one crazy idiot for even thinking about it.

My husband is supportive of whatever I want and have not heard anything negative about my decision other than advising me to work harder and prove my worth. I’ve never been a i-am-safer-here-so-i’ll-stay-i-dont-care-if-i-am-miserable person. I’ve always been a risk taker, a go-getter. I don’t settle because it is the only thing that I can have but because I believe that there are better things somewhere out there.

I need this. I need to feel my worth. I need to feel this so I can boost up my ego. Yes! I am very afraid but isn’t life more exciting this way?

Saving

We are currently burdened with bills so we need all the xtra cash we can get our hands on.

13 ways to save:

1.) Minimize a la carte coffees – I spend 100 bucks for just one of these and no week will go by without a cup.Geez. Resolution: Don’t order, just take a sip of your seatmate’s coffee. hehehe.

2.) Wake up early, so I can cook breakfast. Which means no more temptation to buy breakfast mcdo and the husband will get fatter also as an added bonus. Hope it won’t all go to his tummy as it is by the way getting bigger. Also, I’ve read in magazines, that it is a must to take breakfast and should be the heaviest meal for the day since it helps boost up metabolism. It might just help flatten my tummy.

3.) Wake up early so I don’t have to take “The Fort” bus (free kasi pag sa company car ako sasakay), gawd! it costs me Php50/week. I can even have a cup of a la carte coffee instead of this eheh, no more a la carte coffees pala.

4.) Convince husband not to take a taxi every damn morning and evening. Hay! This is the hardest part, no matter how I try saving up, the husband always looks for ways to waste money which brings me to …

5.) Wake husband up early so we can go to the office together, meaning I’d be there to monitor if he rides the taxi or not.

6.) Bug him to come home early, so he won’t be tempted to play billiards. Bombard him with miss calls.

7.) Cook dinner, minimize eating out. Also, cook dinner for 3 so I will have baon the next day, pesky husband won’t eat left overs and not newly cooked foods so its up to me again to save.

8.) Lessen mall trips, gawd! just one night and we spend 1k or more.

9.) Resist the urge to buy uncessary things while doing the groceries. No more pringles. No more chocolates.

10.) Don’t let the vegetables rot, cook the things you bought.

11.) Learn to say NO.

12.) Lessen movie trips. Wait for dvd release.

11.) Sale != Buying. R.E.S.I.S.T.

12.) DO NOT use credit card in paying unless absolutely necessary. It gives you a false sense of security.

13.) Stress/Sleepiness != Coffee. OK! This by the way is the HARDEST for a coffee-addict like me.

WILLPOWER is all I ever need.

For my sweet kabit

An ex-officemate and friend gave me a MNG bag from Spain. I loove its mint green color and pink interiors. Thank you so much ‘len. I exactly have the right pair of pants/capri for it, now I need to buy formal flippers (now I’ve got an excuse).

Lenny and I were batchmates in Lear together with Lany. We were called Ritchie’s angels because ritchie and the three of us girls were cramp in one cubicle. We then became close after that.

I’d call her my kabit I don’t know why, i can’t remember. Ngano kaha? We’d net send each other, gossiping and talking just about anything. So, if time permits I would immediately say yes to an opportunity to spend time with the other ritchie’s angels along with the original validation girls and some of the dev. guys. B.I. ni sila, especially william (peace ‘iam =)), it was in there that I had so many silly (drunken state) moments.

Lenny just ended a 7 year or 8 year (?) relationship last year (or 2003 ba?) and I was a bit worried when she announced that she will be marrying a colleague (counter-part from spain) too soon. She put my worries aside, when she sends picture of her outdoor adventures and her europe travels, saying just how happy she is with G. Best wishes soon to me mrs. g. Good luck on your new life, new love, new country of residence and wowowie your soon to be new residence (suya ko sa inyong jacuzzi). I’m glad you’ve finally found the hapiness you so deserved.

Hot Head

Peste! Gi-atay! Gi-cholera!

I hate making this blasted document. Who ever invented this, come here because I’d really like to kill you.

Blah! Making test plans is not my forte (anymore or was i ever good at it?). I resigned from my previous job because I felt like puking everytime I look at WinWord.

Per class, including private methods. Mahirap i per method ang GUI no!!! Grrr! Ayoko na!

I’m not even paid while doing this document. I’m doing this at home because I have no energy to go to the office.

Proud sinigang cook

I had apprehensions of cooking not-so-known dishes because Yiek is a very picky eater. I would really like to experiment but there has been a lot of instance when I threw the food. Yiek refuses to eat it and I cannot very well eat it all.

I would have loved to experiment cooking shrimps but seafoods is a no-no to Yiek. Vegetables? This has to be paired up with meat. You can just imagine how tormented I would be in planning what to cook.

Ever since I got here in Manila, I’ve wanted to cook sinigang. Yiek loves sinigang too but would only slurp the soup. Just recently I asked him, if it was ok for him to eat the meat also. He said yes, if it was tasteful and tender enough. After hearing that, it was my go signal to try cooking sinigang.

I didn’t have radish and sitaw so I just used the vegetables stored in my fridge. I was only planning to follow the sinigang mix’s instruction but I thought it was such a boring recipe. So I mixed and matched it with the Nilagang Baboy recipe. Sabi kasi ng mama ko same lang siya or di kaya tinola yun? Ay basta same2x lang.

As back-up I cooked tender juicy hotdogs just in case my husband won’t eat the meat.

Succesful yung expriment ko. My husband liked it and even ate the meat. Masarap daw kasi nag seep (tuhop) yung sinigang mix. Para daw totoo na sinigang, eh hindi pala totoo to? +1 na naman sa list ko. Now, I’m even more inspired to do other expriments. Chicken curry and adobong baboy at kangkong is next on my list.

Claire’s sinigang -cooking for two(as if!)

1 Pork Belly
4-5 Peppercorns
1 onion
2 pcs. garlic
2 siling haba
a few stalks of kangkong (remove the hard stems and cut it by 2 inches)
2 pcs. of tomato (i cut it quarterly)
1 sinigang mix (maggie yung ginamit ko)
–you can add in any vegetable you want –

*Siling haba was not suppose to be included but since meron ako, nilagay ko na. Yiek said-it was the first time that he tasted “maanhang” sinigang but he liked it, dahil unique yung taste. We are both fanatics of “hot” foods so ok lang.

Cut pork belly into desired sizes. Basta bahala na kayo kung pano nyo i-cut. Boil the belly in 1 liter water for 1 hour or until meat is tender. Put in onion, garlic and peppercorn.

When meat is tender, put in sinigang mix and vegetables. Simmer for 10-15 minutes and viola! Meron ka nang sinigang.

Just a warning, I’m not really an expert in cooking. Basta may ulam kami at nagustuhan ng mister oks na.

I also have this favorite dessert, we used to make this at my lola’s home. Let me call it “Avocado Delight”.

Avocado Delight

5-6 pieces of ripe avocado
1 small can of condensed milk

Scrape the avocado meat. Mash it. Put in condense milk and mix it so that milk is evenly distributed and consistency is creamy.

Freeze or place in ref. This is best served ver very cold. Yum!

*The next time I’ll make this, I’ll try putting a drop or two of vanilla extracts. Tingnan natin kung ano yung result.

Nagutom tuloy ako, makabili nga ng avocado.