Tuesday, December 28, 2004

overcompensating

July 16
A release date has been set for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book in J.K. Rowling's series about the young wizard's scholarly years at Hogwarts. Rowling has finally finished the book and the manuscript is already with her editors/publishers. The book will be released on the 16th anniversary of the killer quake that hit us, by the way. This is so exciting!

Go Oprah!
Caught Oprah's favorite things episode for the year, the episode that always makes me and zeester#1 drool. This year she gave away flat TVs, washer-dryer systems, MP3 players and Sony Vaios. Kewl. What was more cool was the audience was composed of teachers who thought that they were going there for an episode on the educational system. Tears were streaming down their eyes when they found out they were there for the "hottest ticket on television". Who wouldn't be overjoyed... especially them on a teacher's meager salary. What was fun to watch was their sheer jubilation at receiving $500 gift cheques from the OfficeMax supply store. Haha!

Oprah again
Wonderful Finding Neverland promo episode with Sexiest Man Alive Johnny Depp. Looking all 21 Jumpstreet again with clean hair and a clean face. Is this man actually 40ish? Sigh. Am teeny-bopper all over again.

Gyeon-Woo
The lead actor of My Sassy Girl reminds me so much of G! Methinks I will take to calling him Sassy Boy. Sassy Boy just dropped by the office today and brought me a bottle of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon as well as a CD that apparently has a program. Hmmm. Interesting. When I mentioned the resemblance to Sassy Boy, he groans and says, "Oo nga daw." Haha!

Asian Chicken vs. Asian Tsunami
The whole world is watching the disaster coverage of the tsunamis that have so far killed 23,000 people in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, coastal Africa and other areas. Ominous as the consecutive disasters may seem, harbingers of the apocalypse even, life still goes on. Which is why Kart and I had lunch at KFC and I had the Asian Chicken salad. Is good, especially with Sour Cream Funshots.

Last Song Syndrome : Seven Years - Sugar Hiccup

have yourself a merry little...

Christmas. It was the season for gift-giving, carols, reunions, weddings, cold mornings snuggled up in bed. There was time for some meditation, but not enough. There was time to be appalled at the way some people viewed Christmas, lugging their kids along to make pamasko, and the street urchins not satisfied with 1-peso coins. Indeed. Christmas in Manila.

A belated Merry Christmas to one and all. Here's to a blessed, prosperous New Year, too. Heaven knows we Pinoys deserve one. You hear that, Tita Glo?

Finally the year-end work is starting to clear up, and the gifts have all been wrapped and given. I've also (quite speedily and skillfully, I might say) done my accounting for the period. I'm the type of person who accumulates all the expenses and receipts and then sits down later on. There have been times that I've been shocked out of my skull because I've spent too much. Fortunately this Christmas wasn't such a time.

Things I was able to do over the Christmas holiday weekend:
  • buy the DVD player the parentals have been hinting about wanting for the longest time. Now we have to find room for it in their bedroom, for which jam-packed is an understatement, as the mother-unit is the ultimate pack-rat.
  • feel good about myself because the mixed-CD of some of my favorite songs I gave as a Christmas gift to my closest officemates was well-received. Songs included Someone to Watch Over Me by Sting, I Only Want To Be With You by Vonda Shepard, White Flag by Dido and Worry About You by Ivy.
  • go to Power Plant on Christmas Eve just in time to spot Jericho Rosales (yummy but looking a little thin) and the entire Cojuangco clan (Peping, Tingting, Maimai, Mikee, and some husbands).
  • go back to Power Plant twice, once because Rustan's package counter didn't give us back one of the packages we left, and the other time because the DVD of The Apprentice had the bonus materials instead of the season finale.
  • plan to meet up with a lot of people and not having anything push through because...
  • got sick over the Christmas weekend. The rhinitis is already a constant factor, but I got a baaaad case of the runs and abdominal spasms as well. Overeating was not a factor; although zeester#1 also had stomach trouble, so it must have been something we ate at Christmas lunch. As a result, was able to watch Cartoon Network Megatoon Movies 4 hours running... from Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, to Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero, to Barbie's Rapunzel (was quite cute, actually... or maybe those were the painkillers talking). When it got to Barbie's The Nutcracker I had had enough, though, and ran out screaming.
  • see the look on Cam's face when I got her the Barbie love Surfer SpongeBob set. And then marvel at kids' interpretation of meaning of the season when the next morning she calls and mentions that if I were to get her a gift for New Year's, she would really really want a surfer Ken. Hmmm. When we were young... oh well... never mind. I must admit the parentals did a good job of bringing us up.
  • watch the season finale of The Apprentice. He deserved to win. Especially when his opponent in the final face-off was aherrm.
  • finally get to watch My Sassy Girl. It was totally engrossing, hilarious, entertaining. Koreans must be doing something right, what with this movie and the hit series Lovers in Paris (at least I now know who Carlo, Martin and Vivian are). Wanna die?
  • after watching My Sassy Girl, get plastered watching the saccharine, tongue-in-cheek, but ultimately blah A Carol Christmas, starring the person who makes it ultimately blah, Tori Spelling. Gary Coleman and William Shatner and the ghosts of Past and Present make for good watching, though Coleman's dialogue was a little too tongue-in-cheek about him being a has-been. In the battle of the ultimately blah Christmas Carol variations, I think I'll take Vanessa Williams' A Diva's Christmas Carol over this one any day.
  • achieve about 2% of targeted room clean-up plan. Not helped by the fact that the Christmas gifts for the province are still stacked there.
  • go last minute shopping with the mother-unit for her gifts for her department. Lines aren't that long, there was even a sale at SM. And then last night, gift-wrapping 40-odd gifts.

    Phew! It was a good weekend though, tiring gift-wrapping and stomach pain notwithstanding. Not bad for a member of of the Samahan ng mga Malalamig ang Pasko.

    Last Song Syndrome : All I Want - Toad the Wet Sprocket
  • Thursday, December 09, 2004

    a needle, a card, a bottle and my element

    I've taken up crocheting again. Spurred on by a spread in Real Living about adding crocheted accents to gifts. Since I'm following last year's purple color scheme, I tried a light lavender crochet thread; but it seems a tad bland. I might switch to yellow thread but then that might make it look like a Lakers souvenir. Feh. I like my dark purple wrapping paper!

    I received my first Christmas card in the mail yesterday. It was from Ex-Immediate Boss, who's now Down Under. Of course, technically, it's "from" her daughters, My and Ice. I love receiving Christmas cards! Just reminds me I have to start sending mine out, though. The ones to the Stateside family, especially, since snail mail takes so slow.

    I've tried the C2 green tea drink made by John Gokongwei's Universal Robina Corporation which is currently being marketed aggressively. It's too freaking sweet. It takes like sugar water with a dash of green tea and lemon. Although more expensive by about 30%, there's less sugar, and I think a more 'authentic' green tea taste. I should try the unsweetened version though, my officemate said they have one.

    Sixteen days 'til Christmas and there are no gifts for the immediate family yet!!!

    My element:




    Your Element Is Air



    You dislike conflict, and you've been able to rise above the angst of the world.
    And when things don't go your way, you know they'll blow over quickly.

    Easygoing, you tend to find joy from the simple things in life.
    You roll with the punches, and as a result, your life is light and cheerful.

    You find it easy to adapt to most situations, and you're an open person.
    With you, what you see is what you get... and people love that!



    Last Song Syndrome : What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong