unrouen

After four years and ten months, I think I'm finally ready to retire my livejournal.
Nothing dramatic, really. I won't be deleting it, seeing that a habit of almost 5 years is very hard to kill, so I'll still be checking time and again. The people that I've grown up with in LJ has moved on to greener, erm, more populated interfaces *coughfacebookcough*. But I'm thankful. I've been wondering when I could break the habit of lamely condensing the more salient points of life into just blogging noise.

So Ciao. Arrivederci. I'm opening another chapter. Naturally, this one had to close.
:)&hearts

This is a cover of Bari Improv, a Kaki King original which appeared on the soundtrack of August Rush (2007). I think I may have stumbled on my favorite soundtrack since Across the Universe (2007) and since I discovered The Magnetic Fields (circa 2006). &hearts

Now, once more with feelings:


&hearts

following plans to go to sagada one rainy weekend of may, and the heartbreaking cancellation that followed (because of cosme), i'm not sure if the last weekend of summer will be accomodating to a few kind souls who want to see sunny skies 13 hours away from the city.

but tenacity isn't without its virtues. and packing, i think i've gotten the hang of it.
now i just need to tell boss.

sagada, you will be my last summer hurrah. i have stopped expecting, but im hoping you're as beautiful as i saw you in my dreams.

This is my version of the year-ender meme. This is traditionally done on dec 31st for all. For me however, I'll soon be celebrating the end of my 1st year post-college. This meme celebrates the cycle of May 2007 - June 2008. It was a crazy year. Insane year. Long year. But it was the best year.

1. What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?
Graduate? Work. Earn money. Save. Refuse love. Wait. :P

2. Did you keep your faith goals, and will you make more for next year?
Oh yes. Some, I didn't push for. Some simply weren't meant. But some, some worked out beautifully.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Why is this a relevant question?

4. Did anyone close to you die?
I thank God there wasn't.

5. What countries did you visit?
None. I'm working on it.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
Travel. Rest. Reading time. Less commute time. A place closer to where I (will) work, wherever that is.

7. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I don't really mark dates. I remember whole chunks of memories. November 2007, February and May 2008 had all been awesome. Roadtrips and roads going home had been pleasant.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Graduate with honors? Saving my first 6 figures...and second. Being happy though, consistenly. That tops that.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not being able to save more. Not deciding sooner.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Every three months, if I remember. But I'm healthy now. :)

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My parents bought Klaus, my macbook so that doesn't count. I bought my books though. And my clothes.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Oh my gosh, so many. My Ate Mutya, for being everything excellent. Adrian, for being Adrian. My mom. My team, my boss. My kids. For everyday and every smile.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
So many too. Mga tanga.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Oh oh oh. *sheepish* Clothes :P Books. Cab rides. Dinners and lunches and movie dates. But they were all worth it.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Everyday. Work, as crazy as that sounds. Tomorrow. My hair growing. Giving out outstanding work.

16. What song will always remind you of the past year?
Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier. In many many ways.
ii. thinner or fatter? Thinner. (maybe?)
iii. richer or poorer? Richer.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Travel. Traipsed around.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Remaining undecided.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Hopefully not in this country.

21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
J. As crazy as that sounds.

22. Did you fall in love this past year?
Um.

23. How many one-night stands?
Er. None.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
So many. Doctor Who, of course. Gossip girl too. Coffee Prince, though. That made me fall in love. :P

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I don't think of it that way.

26. What was the best book you read?
Best? I read, but none can have the dubious distinction of being the best. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, because that's the last one I finished.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
The Magnetic Fields!

28. What did you want and get?
Graduating with honors. The CMMA bid. Ateneo law. 6 figures. Peace of mind?

29. What did you want and not get?
Not yet. A gig outside the country.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Across the Universe.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 21. I took my family to dinner, my friends to dinner. Boss treated the team.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Hm. More money? :P

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept the past year?
DRESSES! Big shades. Short shorts. Long hair. Black baby dolls.

34. What kept you sane?
Weekends.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Shia. Always. :P

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Ineffective urban planning. I mean, clearly.

37. Who did you miss?
L. Very much. And Adrian soon.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Oh gosh so many. Mostly at work. My bosses. My kids.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:
Waiting.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Jai Guru Deva Om. 'nuff said. :P

These days all I've been doing is read. And read and read. And work in between. And dream of unlikely hikes and pray for clear skies. But read, mostly.

I've finished Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (finally!)...cried over The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini; finished Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins (so self-indulgent, Mr. Perkins); and just finished Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture.

I'm getting scared...I running out of books at home.

...
These days too, remove misplaced typhoons in the middle of summer, and my thoughts have been drifting far towards the north. Up north. Steep and undulating north. Throw in a measure of watching Into the Wild (2007). Ay sus. :)

Hay. I'm tired as hell Barack Obama. :P Work has been eating at me lately.
eating eating

thank god for retreats.

things i'm looking forward to:
-this weekend's retreat (for single professionals *wink* :P) in tagaytay
-next weekend's sagada/la union thing
-Pahiyas on the 15th

i command the universe to make them materialize.

yun lang. :) *lovelove*

---
And Jason Castro? is my man. :P

yesterday felt like giving birth. without anesthesia.
then a herd of elephants went about stomping me.

this happens once a month when i quote-unquote get assaulted by the weaknesses of the female gender.
i have much more respect for the female body now. *self-hugging*

---
anyway, life has been pretty nutty pretty silly, but all in all just pretty.
days stack on top of each other like pancakes with strawberries and maple syrup.

there are more things to be done everyday and i swear it doesn't get any less.
(we're restructuring a weirdass english curriculum and making it kickass
and i'm playing mamita to a newbie at the same time)
truly. it ain't easy.

but all is well that ends well because last night i rested peacefully,

and the weekend is just idly lilting by.
hay, lovely lovely. :)
---

anyway, i want to draw a little tribute to my little samsung, and the mementos it clandestinely store over the days. faithful, this little bugger.


my ate mutya.

( blow the fish bucket )

I had disliked going on family trips and such. It stresses me more than it should. The idea (ahh, the idea) of spending three days for myself at home is again just an idea. Add the fact that I'm missing 2 days of work does not give me rest, dad.

Next time, don't pull me out of the water unceremoniously, world. I still like the current.
---

"Have your second kiss soon, okay?" (Sta. Ana, 2008)
Wag muna. Hehe.

I hate extremely dislike being sick.

It's physically exhausting to be physically exhausted.

And no, it doesn't stop there. My mood calendar had to choose this week to hit the graphical point of "reflective" and missed "happily apathetic" by 2 points and a half.

Anyway. I sat down in front of Klaus, took a break from the harrowing duty of editing (as in scripts) hohohoho and played the Across the Universe OST. And mood calendar or not, it was back to "blithe" and "blasé" which is whooo yay again. :))

Some things, other than the Across the Universe OST that makes things a little more weee-worthy.

1. Pushing Daisies Season 1 :)) Not a strong fan of sleuth-cum-Lazarusian stories but the color-editing is nifty as hell. Oh, hell. Or, you know, whatever it is in between. :)
2. Drawing, or coloring, or whatever it is that I'm doing for the walls of the office. It turned out prettier than I planned, which is strange, because all I did was plan.
3. The Beatles. All over again. And again. And again. Across the Universe. Considering I've been waiting for this movie since May 2007, I'd say it did their glorious composers justice.
4. Adrian turning 22. Friends turning a year older. Old friends. New friends. Let's just be friends. And friends in high places. :)) (labo nun! :)))
5. Growing up. There. Pakshet. :)) And banks. As in, banko, eheh.

Anyway. Hoooo. Back to Klaus.

....................
ETA: Wuhfuz. My little brother is taller than me now.

Little by little, I'm getting more and more convinced that it's time to move on and move out now. So my little brother and little sister can have room to grow. *big sigh*

This week's happy entry will come in the form of a quote.

"Usually what you wish for doesn't fall in your lap; it falls somewhere nearby, and you have to recognize it, stand up, and put in the time and work it takes to get to it. This isn't because the universe is cruel. It's because the universe is smart."
:: Neil Strauss

&hearts

I have a three-day weekend. I wish I had known earlier. I could have booked a flight. Would be nice to fly tho, even if just for Laoag or Palawan for the weekend. Not that I'm in the mood for escape (not at all, curiously.) I'm getting sleepy just thinking of Manila. Would be nice to sprawl in the beach again.

(ayyyy this is what I get for opening the year with sand in between my toes)

Sharing:
Granted that we Love in varying degrees, there are only 2 things that I sincerely love these days:

1. Myself :)) and
2. Coffee Prince &hearts

Long Weekend. Heeee. *cuddles pillow* I have to clean my room and submit requirements. Meet with Ate Mutya. Marathon Pushing Daisies, eat Cupcakes, and Overnight. But first, clean my room.

&hearts :)

I don't know how to start my stories. I can start on friday when I lost my phone in the squished madness of MRT during rushtime. (Please don't text the old number anymore. This is my new number:)

+63905.421.9400

My stories could run until that part where Saturday found me hopping on a cab going to the office early morning (when it was my off) just because I miss them. There was work, and I wanted to help out. And I miss them. And it was the last day so everyone sort of felt light. I love Saturdays in the office. It's quiet, it's laidback, it's calm. So we went to Rockwell to eat. Then I went to the hospital. Curbick went with me. It was rainy. It was calm. And I was happy.

It can continue to Sunday when I went with Adi, getting our feet a well-deserved pampering. Footspa + Pedicure is &hearts. You should have seen our feet, they were happy too.




Then it rained, and we found ourselves marathoning Pride and Prejudice (1940), (2005) and Bollywood versions for Ex Libris' ACLE on Thursday at a quaint house in Hardin ng Bougainvillea. It was raining still. It was peaceful.

We drove to Greenhills to get our cellphones pampering too. Haggling is fun. I found that I have a talent for it. I bought a new Samsung, who I will call Samyung (because it sounds korean) and 1gig Memory card to store all those music. We ate ice cream.

All is well in the world. (Alarilla, 2008)

My stories can include Go Eun Chan, The Magnetic Fields, my January Playlist (of which I am very very proud of), Coffee Prince again, talking to my friends in GMA (they will interview me for a show, I think) and looking at the life that I did not choose. It will end with smiling, though, because it was weird, being happy. I haven't gotten used to it.

Lastly, because this is just the most adorable thing there ever was:



&hearts So yes. All is well.

...all ability to rationalize midpoints and highlights in my life, which is strange, because this only happens when I am...happy. I refuse to believe it though. I command myself not to be happy. Because when you have spent half of your days perched precariously between being happy and sad, you tend to lose all definition and surrender to the universally accepted answer to the question "How are you?", which is, "I'm ok."

If I am...more than ok, that is (and I'm not saying that I am), I owe it to a few people. And to coffee, most definitely.

Text message, 1.12.2008||5:16PM

Me: Ate, I feel restless. Like, bouncy.
Mutya: Nasobrahan ka lang sa kape.

( ... )

You can answer those Happy New Year text messages: (as compiled by Kiel, Kevin, Kyle and Macri)

5.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year ka diyan, diba may utang ka pa?

4.
Happy New Year!
Tnx.

3.
Happy New Year!
Likewise. (May effort pa yun!)

2. Happy New Year!
Hu u?

at ang pinakamalupit...

1. Happy New Year!
K.

&hearts