Grocery Shop Carting

Till recently, I decided to regularly join my mom & sister on the household bi-monthly grocery shopping day.

I got behind the cart and saw this:


I really really had to keep myself from regressing. Flashback to shopping days with my mom as a kid.... when I got too old (and big) to be riding around in the shopping cart, I would eagerly push the cart around instead. Though eventually, mom had to keep me from this as well because I had discovered the naughty pleasure of ramming the cart into my mom's heels and royally pissing her off. Hehehe.

Now a day I limit myself to chasing after my sisters when we shop in places like S&R, where the carts are big, and the aisles are not only empty but wide as well. I don't actually ram into their heels anymore as I know it can be pretty damn painful, but it's always fun to see my sisters scamper down the aisle yelling "AAAATEEEE!!!"

I'm pretty behaved when we're in tighter grocery stores. But regardless, my mom and sister keep one eye on me when I'm pushing the cart around for them JUST IN CASE I lapse into a 2nd childhood.

Grocery day tomorrow. Nyeheehehe.

Hissy Fit

When I'm craving a certain food and I decide to go and get some, I REALLY DECIDE TO GO AND GET SOME. I will climb a freaking mountain if I have to. So it REALLY gets my goat when I go there and it's not available. If the restaurant for some weird reason is closed, or even worse, when you sit at the restaurant and then they tell you it's unavailable just for today.. because they've run out of something as common as I dunno, eggs or something.

But if there's one thing that can INSTANTLY turn me into foot-stomping, door-slamming, an ironically "i-would-scream-and-pull-my-hair-if-I-wasn't-an-adult" brat, is when I look forward to something at home, dream about it the whole day or whole night imagining it for dinner or breakfast, and I open the ref to find THAT IT'S GONE. I interrogate every member of the house hold until I find the culprit. Not that it can bring back the meal, but it sure gives me someone to blame!

@#$!$^@#^!%$Q%$%#~Q#$%!%$%%&

Good morning :|

Happy 1 year cigarette-free Anniversary to me!

Today I celebrate 1 year of being a non-smoker.

Prior to quitting for good, I went through several months of wishy-washy-ness. I wasn't smoking for a few months, then partied and relaxed in Bali for a week where I smoked a whole tobacco field, followed by a 1-month tour as a Soprano 1 (from singing Alto) so I stopped smoking again to aid my crying vocal chords. When I returned, I had coffee with a fellow smoker. I remember inhaling then thinking to myself.. I don't need this. I put it out, and that was that. One year ago.

My relationship with cigarettes has been love-hate. Cigarette smoking always evoked good times I've had with friends over the years; dancing the night away with cocktail in one hand and a Marlboro Light in the other, riding in a car full of girlfriends with the windows down and music up as we sang and laughed and flicked our cigarette ash out the window, intimate conversations over a cup of coffee or a rambunctious evening of side splitting laughter over dinner. As with any vice though, you know it's bad for you but you do it anyway. You know people who have suffered and died from lung cancer and the heartache it brings to the sufferer as well as to the family and friends left behind. You do it anyway. On a more superficial level, you know of the ugly smell it leaves on the on your fingers and the way it litters your bag with yellow tobacco leaves. But yes, you stubbornly puff away regardless. It was a favorite poison, it helped me deal with my stress, it gave me something to do when I was out but feeling anti-social. It was also cheaper than drinking.

But the decision to stop smoking was the first of many life style choices I made towards taking control of my life, a life that I realized was out of control and being pushed around by the circumstances I allowed myself to be in.

I won't lie, there are times where I'm tempted to smoke, even take a quick puff. This is usually when I'm stressed out, looking for a reason to put something off, after a full meal, at the beach, or out with friends. But I quickly talk myself out of it. It's not worth it. When you remove the drama, distract yourself and do your damn hardest to take your mind off of it, it becomes much easier than we make it to be. Goodness knows how long I'll be fighting the cravings, but glad to know it does get easier with time.

It has been great validation so far, that I CAN do something when I put my mind to it, that I am capable of that much inner strength and discipline. 1 year down, got the rest of my life to go. No plans of going back to that nasty habit that's for sure.

Now if I could only get this far with weight loss.. LOL.

Bangkal Tripping

I have been itching to explore someplace new for a while now. The most economical alternative for me was somewhere in the city. An even cheaper option was some place I didn't need to spend any money. Bangkal came to mind, an area in Makati known for it's collection of thrift stores full of flea market finds. I wasn't interested in buying, as so much as so much as exploring and indulging in a favorite hobby, taking pictures.

Thankfully after proposing the idea, my friends and I were quick to set a date or else God knows till when this would have been pushed back till.

Being 1 of 3 naturally lost folk, I'm glad we found our way! We LRT1-ed to LIBERTAD then caugh a jeep headed towards EVANGELISTA. Evangelista is a long street so get down along Apolinario or Hizon.

We opted to start with some food in our tummies so we made our way to Lacuña cor Rodgriguez for comfort home cooked food at the colorfully kitschy Fat Michael's.

The rest of the day was spent meandering from store to store finding some truly lovely finds.

And some a little creepy :|

Nonetheless, despite a gray day spent with wet feet, it was a lot of fun! Will look for a sunny day sometime in the future to make another trip back out.

what the: CAPS

I don't know the name for this "fad", but I don't like it.

The picture I took obviously doesn't do it justice but the point I think is made. What the heck is up with the caps that just graze the top of the crown? That sit on the head? Some with a slight tilt. Usually seen on people who sport the baggy pants and garish gold "bling".

Every time I see it, I wanna run up to the person and give him/her a good hard PAT on top of his head. Hitting 2 birds with one stone: 1) to push the hat down firmly onto his/her head and 2) a well deserved smack for sporting such audacity ;)

As always, different strokes for different folks. Just not my stroke. Lol.

Bedtime

There was a time in my life that I was so caught up in work that I'd come home and just fall asleep. Sometimes with the TV on, usually without getting the chance to wash up. I'd wake up a zombie the next day and drag myself to work. Felt kinda like groundhog day as this would just repeat itself over and over and over again...

You need to get that I love unwinding before bedtime, so for me to have completely let all of that go over my head for an extended period of time.. you knew there was something amiss. Lol. Let's just say I'm glad that time of life is over and done with :)

Turn on your AC + a yellow bed side light.
Place HOT tea next to your bed (so by the time you get into bed its at the right temp).
Take a long hot shower & do all your night time clean up rituals.
Climb into fresh clean jammies.
Jump under cover of newly made bed with clean crisp sheets.
Clean my phone of the day's messages + review what needs to be done the next day.
Write in journal &/or record past week in planner (with a list of the day's blessings of course!)
Read a few pages out of a book.
Turn off the light.
Snuggle down into pillows.
Say prayer.
Drift off to sleep......

Now there are a few variations here and there but this is pretty much the routine! Best way to end the day. Promise :)

Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice

Nice people are just.. well.. nice! I'm not talking about the "sugary-sweet-bordering-on-plastic" nice, or the "overbearingly-annoying-i-wanna-hide-from-you" nice, but the people who are just "genuinely-sincere-gosh-darn" nice!

I was making calls the other day updating clients, and it was delightful speaking to people who were pleasant and accommodating. No crabby old secretaries for me please!

There is also a custodian in our office who helps start my work morning off on the right foot. He's at work bright and early, happily mopping the floor or emptying out waste baskets and he never fails to wish every single person he meets a good morning. Seriously, outside of Snow White & Amy Adams, who else do you know whistles a happy a tune while sweeping the floor? Or while doing ANYTHING for that matter?

In a world where there are so many sullen and irritable people to deal with on a regular basis, it is great to unexpectedly engage with people who are not only helpful but who exude a sense of peace and happiness. It really makes a difference and can fortunately, be quite catching.

what the: INDOOR SUNGLASSES

This has been a long time "eh?!" of mine: seeing people wear sunglasses indoors.

I get that maybe some people do it for:

1) Fashion Statement (though.. for me it makes a whole different kind of statement)
2) Not feeling themselves (sore eyes or possibly drugged up :|)
3) Hide from people (though.. doesn't it attract more attention when you wear it indoors? well, I at least you will definitely have my attention)
Either way, doesn't make too much sense to me. But different strokes for different folks I suppose.

Early Christmas Start

Filipinos are known to start the Christmas season early. Once the "-ber" months roll around (SeptemBER, OctoBER.. you get the drift), it is not uncommon to hear Christmas jingles piped into mall sound systems, or holiday decor suddenly for sale under major flyovers.

But for me, nothing rallies up the old Christmas spirit better than singing Christmas carols with my choir, especially the Filipino ones. There's just something about my native carols that make me feel happy and warm inside; they seem to really capture what Christmas in the Philippines is really like.

I still remember my first year as a trainee in my choir learning Tagalog Christmas carols. So much fun because some of the melodies were kinda-sorta familiar... but i had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT I WAS SINGING ABOUT. Memorizing anything in Filipino for me was like memorizing a string of disjointed sounds; ma-ba-da-da-da-nga.. etc. LOL. Not that that I'm an expert now, but trust me, I am far far better now at it than I was before. Mangled Filipino or not though (ya ya... mangled most of the time!), Christmas with my choir, my family, my friends? No other better feeling in the world. Dig through my treasure trove of memories and you'll find many a happy Christmas related ones!

We started singing carols for an upcoming December concert at rehearsals last week. Boy was it nice! Rather timely too as the general mood in the Philippines has been down due to the recent destruction brought on by Ondoy, and I feel it maybe down for some times as we climb our way back out and up. Regardless though, while Christmas this year may not be as festive (though, I could be mistaken, Filipinos can surprise you like that), I do feel it will be more meaningful. If there's one thing Ondoy has taught us, it is to see beyond the material and really appreciate the things that really do matter in life; family, friends and the love that binds us all together.