Vanity

You Are 64% Vain

You're a little vain, but you also work hard for your good looks.Just remember, everyone knows you are a total hottie. You don't have to remind them.

How Vain Are You?

Mirisi

I got stuck on the road in the middle of a temperamental storm, wet and confused on how to reach the condo which is barely a kilometer far and I have finally ridden a pedicab to save myself from skin disease brought by the infamous flood in Buendia/Washington street. All because Georgia and I wanted to watch the new Star Cinema movie, A Love Story. It was all over the news that strong rain will loom over Metro Manila until Saturday but still we went out to catch the 10:55 last full show, but it was because the rain stopped by that time. You know naman, Pag-Asa can be hopelessly wrong with their forecasts.

But no, when we left Glorietta the predicted rain was in full force, buti na lang I brought my umbrella kaya naunahan namin sa taxi yung mga sosy na walang dalang payong at ayaw mabasa. But the driver just dropped us at Petron Station because the road along our condo is unpassable because of the flood.

Para kaming basang sisiw dun amidst the rain, strong winds, thunder, figuring out how to get home. Nakakatakot pa yung dalugdog coz I remembered this news I watched in TV Patrol a long time ago, where two friends got struck by a lightning because the tip of the umbrella they were carrying was metal. The friend carrying the umbrella died and yung isa naman tumalsik lang and lived to tell the story. Since I was the one carrying the umbrella, ako yung pwede matamaan ng kidlat... and si Georgia naman tatalsik sa hanggang bewang na baha at matetepok din sya due to elephantisis or Leptospirosis. Sus wala pa tawon mi liwat!

Buti na lang may dumaan na pedicab and our problem was solved. But my heart went out for this manong who make a living out of transporting people stranded in the flood. Nung dumating na kami sa pinakamalalim na part, bumaba na sya sa pedicab at nagtulak. Half of his frail body was submerged in the filthy water of Makati from sewage and canals. Basura everywhere, for sure may mga ipis and daga pang nag sscuba diving dun. He was so thin, so I imagined him to be the usual padre de familia I see in documentaries, who bears long hours of dirty jobs to feed 7 mouths waiting for him at home. It was one humbling experience, thank God my Dad is not one of those and at this time, comfortably sleeping on his bed.

A Love Story is one movie worth crossing that flood waters for. Yun bang kahit binagyo na kami eh we didn't feel na nalugi kami. Beautiful. Ang galing ni Maricel.

Papa Josh

When I saw in the news that Josh Hartnett arrived in Davao, I got excited with regret that I didn't go home for a vacation. As in nakakaloka! Among all the hollywood actors, si Josh Hartnett talaga ang crush ko since 40 days and 40 nights. I think kaming mga Chiztiks like him a lot even before. My kuya works as a writer/press for PIA Davao, so I thought they will have the usual press conference there and he will get to meet him. Kung andun lang ako, sasama talaga ako sa kanya kahit na ako na bibili ng bagong cellphone niya. But then I saw in the news that the bigtime networks couldn't even have a decent interview with him (that they even had to make abang for him outside the airport toilet!), so I assumed baka walang press conference ang magaganap because of the OA security.

But when I received a text from my brother saying "kainuman namin si josh hartnett ngayon", naloka talaga ako lalo! waaahhhh! I almost died from inggit!

Then I learned, it wasn't a press conference, he just knew some people from the production team and he wanted to meet the director coz kuya is also into filmmaking and scriptwriting kaya mas interesado sya sa director. Kung ako pa yun, makikiusap ako sa kilala ko na ibugaw ako kay Josh.. bwehehe.

When he went to Mt. Diwalwal, it was their Wrap Up Party that is why he was not only able to meet the director (ano nga pangalan nun) but also the hollywood hunk and the japanese superstar Takura Kimuya. So nakiinterview na rin sya dun for his article. Josh was really down to earth daw, unlike Takura na maarte. Well siguro nanibago ang hapon sa surroundings and maybe he thought "kangitngit ba diri!"(translation: "it's so dark here!" if you don't get my joke, it's because people around him are brown colored mao ngitngit).

Since it was too late to fly in, I just asked him to get an autograph from Josh for me. But he gave me more than just an autograph, may dedication pa! =) Nagkkwentuhan kasi daw sila while he asked that, the actor even told him he has also been to Japan and he thought it's too cold there. Thus, the content of the dedication. It was written in a torn page from his notebook, in a typical american handwriting (mukhang left handed sya noh?) nonetheless I still treasure it coz hiningi yun ni kuya for me.

Awhile ago, kuya asked me who Takura Kimuya is, coz he learned from the producers that it was so hard for them to fly him from Japan coz nagkagulo sa Narita Airport. Bakit daw ganun? and bakit ganun ka arte? It just now that he knew how popular the actor is, sayang nakihingi rin sana ako ng autograph kasi crush yun ni Georgia, tsk tsk.

Haay, the perks of his job. Gusto ko na mag career change.

my bro at work

perks of the job... PRICELESS!

Little Miracles

Due to the countless demands for our field(thank God!) job interviews has become part of my profession's culture. I like job interviews, although scary, especially when it's the part where you get to meet the top guns because it's usually not technical and you are free to ask whatever about their company. But I hate virtual interviews aka via phone or web cam, I don't know why but it scares me a lot. Phone interviews make me tongue tied, that is why I think I don't have a future in call center.

Yesterday, the Japanese manager sent me a mail about my scheduled interview for today (the previous one I wrote about has been moved). And it would be via Skype (uggh!). I was hoping I'd have the interview when I get to Japan so it will be more personal. So I panicked, and asked my hubby last night to practice again with me coz my tongue needs to be twisted enough for nihongo. Then my hubby's collegue in the land of the rising sun tipped that there will be very technical questions. And so I panicked all the more... imagine a TECHNICAL interview via WEB in NIHONGO! How can all the things I hate come in one dreadful morning. What a luck huh?

I panicked (again) and became restless, I wasn't worried about how much I know, but how I'm going to express it in a language I just started to REALLY learn.

And then I realized that there is something bigger that all of those things I was so worried about. I was so ashamed to admit that it never crossed my mind before I started panicking and feeling angry to my hubby (wala lang gusto ko lang magalit sa kanya) when it has always been there all the time. So I got my pink rosary and said my prayers, for the interview, for my family and my friend's father's health as well. Coz you know when you start to say it, your problem feels so small and you tend to remember others to create one collective petition that can come close to its greatness.

So the day of the interview came, and it turned out it was going to be a panel interview by 4 japanese engineers and managers who don't understand english. My japanese manager was so nervous and my hubby too (natatae daw sya sa nerbyos). It should be enough to turn my knees into jelly and back out, but thankfully, it went good. Not very well, of course as expected my nihongo grammar went circus, but they understood me and I was able to answer their questions.. including the technical ones! (OOP, TCP/IP, DBMS, Postgres, CUnit, ...). Good thing, I wasn't asked about stuff that I don't know.

Everything went well today.

I've never written about my faith practices but I guess it is but right to share something that has become a big part of me. Praying the Rosary have been a savior to me ever since. During my father's kidney operation, a painful breakup from a long term relationship, discerning if Dan was the one, a day and another, hours before my wedding and even in simplest times like riding a taxi alone at night or even before a big date.

As we go through our ever afters aka adulthood/parenthood, we meet obstacles in different shapes and sizes but we should always remember that there is something greater that these and it's just right there with you all the time.

Strictly Girltalk

This afternoon Georgia, Rose and I went to SM women lingerie department because the expensive Wacoal brand is on sale. We dug in to their array of colors and styles in 50% off the tag, good deal indeed. But what makes it interesting is, the saleslady gave us a tip on how to properly wear a bra. You should bend over, push your excess fats on both sides to fit everything inside the bra cups, before joining the hooks. You'll know if it fits well when there are no longer visible extra fats near or under your underarms.

If Georgia didn't convince me to fit the bras I was about to buy, I wouldn't know my right size. Because I insisted I was B80 but when I fit it the way the saleslady told us... it was bad. So the saleslady suggested another size, it was my first time to fit a size D75 coz I thought pang amerikana lang yung ganung size. But it was the most perfect fit! I loved it... nawala yung extra fat sa tabi and ndi ako parang naiipit. Relax na sya kung baga at may added cleavage pa.

All these years I was wearing the wrong size, maybe I got these fibrocystic cysts from wearing a support that is too small for me, lagi pa naman akong may underwire, so lagi silang naiipit ng mga wires and I know coz nag iiwan sya ng bakat. Plus I thought I was just too fat that is why I have those extra fats on the sides. tsk tsk.

So ladies be sure you are wearing your perfect size. Do the bend over thingie. Coz this is not just for vanity, for the cleavage or anything, but more importantly for your health.

Baby Shower

It's Aliya Garielle's shower party today at her parent's condo roofdeck at Valero Street. She will soon be another new addition to the Alama girls. Puro girls na yung pamangkin ko, wala pang lalaki... hmm.. baka ako yung unang magbibigay ng lalaking apo. (sana kung ndi ba-og.. hehe).

Her mother prepared games for her guests, sayang ndi ako nakasali sa mga couple games like the Gerber feeding contest (gusto ko pa naman makatikim ng Gerber!), coz my husband is in a far, far away land.

An hour before the party, I crammed to buy a gift at Landmark. Gaby is registered at Podium in Rockwell but it's too inconvenient for me since dapat may sasakyan or mag taxi to go there, kaya I didn't have any idea what to give. Last night I asked Venice and Claire for suggestions, and you can guess who gave the best idea... syempre si Venice hehehe. Next year pwede na kita tanungin Claire, kelangan mo pa ng practice. =P Since I wanted a gift that is not a problem if it has a duplicate, Venice suggested lots of diapers (I didn't know new born babies already use diapers) and Wipes (Coby daw yung brand). But when I went to the baby section in Landmark.. I was overwhelmed with all the cute baby stuff that I wanted to buy them all. Buti na lang I was able to control myself to just get the diapers and the wipes. But when I passed by the feeding bottle section, I was swayed by the Avante sales girl to buy a bottle that is anti-collic (anti kabag) and has very soft nipple. It was very expensive but it's the best in the market (according to my cousin) so I bought it. Isa pa, with its price, I don't think my cousin's guests will buy it even if it's in their registry... kasi ka-presyo na niya yung isang bathing tub. Syempre when you are a guest, you'd rather get the bigger and cuter gift. And I was right, ako lang talaga nagbigay ng feeding bottle. So to some who is clueless on what to give on baby showers, I think that Avante feeding bottle is a good idea.

As a parent, you really want to give the best to your baby, especially if he/she is a first born. So I realized, aside from emotional, it really requires financial readiness on having a baby. Those baby stuff don't come cheap and that small human being needs a LOT of things, I just discovered today na meron na palang baby support for carrying(para siguro ndi ma slide ang bata sa arms mo) and the bathing support (para ndi malunod sa tub siguro). After the party, I talked to my cousin about breast pumps because yun na lang ang major stuff na kulang sila. Nagulat ako how expensive a good one is (P5,000-P20,000). And meron na palang automatic which is recommended para ndi mangalay sa kaka pump. I offered to help with the half of the cost, so tomorrow we will be on haunting mode for a good but reasonable priced breast pumps. Isa pa, sabi ng cousin ko na she can pass it on to me when I have a baby na (God willing). So okay na rin na mag share kami. hehehe.

I'm so excited for baby Gaby, I think it's a good thing na rin that my visa got delayed for a week coz I wanna be here when she comes out.

with one of my niece Bea

our tambayan, Cafe Isla in Serendra (miss na nila si Dan)

Speaking Of Nihongo

Tonight my hubby told me that the japanese manager is coming tomorrow and I am going to have a job interview with a japanese client. As in tomorrow na agad! Shieks. We are hoping that I will pass so that I will have a work already when I get there, hindi na ako tatambay na parang donya.

This is so sudden, and I am not ready for a japanese job interview. It's so much harder than saying what you did over the weekend, or what will you do this weekend hehehe. So my hubby and I practiced. He pretended that he was the japanese interviewer, I asked him to speak in the most japanesey that he can because I am having a hard time deciphering the tth, and the ssh... in between those brain twisting words. Bungol na nga ako by nature, samot ko mabungol sa mga hapon.

During our practice, my tongue twisted like a gymnast vying for gold because it's so hard to explain your previous projects and technical terms in nihongo. Plus magdagdag pa daw ako ng mga bola-bola. Heller lisod na gani magsulti ug tinuod.. dugangan pa jud nako ug butbot. Ingon baya sa akong mama "never tell a lie!"... pero wala man sya niingon ug "never tell a lie in japanese" so oks ra siguro if I say na 1 year na ako nag C#, na yung isang project ko was in C# when it was actually in Java. Dili na siguro ko gabaan ani.

During our practice I learned a funny nihongo phrase,

Dan: "nihon no tabemono, donna suki desu ka?" (what kind of japanese food do you like?)

Me: "yakiniku ga totemo suki desu!" (I like Yakiniku very much!)

Dan: "aa, ... firipin no kuchi ni aimasu ka?"

English literal translation (aa, do you meet filipino mouth?)

Me: "unsa? bastos yan no?"

Actually what he meant was "Nihon no tabemono ha firipin no kuchi ni aimasu ka?" or in english "Do japanese foods blend well with filipino's taste?" something like that... hindi na rin ako marunong mag english.

Basta yun, you get my drift how hard this is for me. Ang hirap na nga mag explain ng project in english.. mag nnihongo pa ako. Learning is fun, but doing a serious interview like this is not.

Hay totally different from my previous impromptu interview, nung time na yun hanggang watashi ha lang nasabi ko then I just flashed my most beautiful smile. But now, may practice pa.. pag hindi ako natanggap dito ewan ko na lang. Pag puro ako wakarimasen bukas... sasayaw na lang ako.

Ganbatte to me.

Nihongo ni Tsuite

As I have said earlier, I am now studying nihongo while waiting for my Visa so I could follow my makabugtog bra na husband (murag makabaliguten ni Claire). It's almost a month now and as each day passed I realized how unready I was when I first left for the land of the last Samurai.

When I left, it had already been 3 years since my last nihongo lesson with kato sensei in NEC Cebu, and level 4 pa yun and idagdag mo pa na I always attended class in spirit, meaning absinot kaayo ko. So when I first arrived in Japan to work as an OFW, kahit simple introduction (jikkou shokai) ay hindi ako marunong, I would just impromptu imitate my collegues during introductions. Talagang zenzen wakarimasen deshita talaga ako. Added to that it was difficult to catch up on my collegues who are JLPT level 3 passers and I just came from an american company while they came from japanese kaisha(NEC, Fujitsu). So it was really a miracle that I survived that less than a year stint. It was like going to a battle with only a sword, shield and a perfect 6 pack abs (ala 300).

Now my vocabulary has increased and know when to use some Grammar patterns. I am still not that good but now I can compose some sentences by myself. It helps that I am studying with people of the same level as mine, so no more pressure to catch up with them, and I have the luxury of time to understand each grammar pattern taught to us everyday. Iba kasi talaga pag nag wwork ka while studying kaysa yung your whole time is devoted to studying. Plus I have my husband with whom I can practice with conversation. He speaks like a native already so I can practice listening and speaking with him. He also serves as my inspiration, because he talks in his sleep in Japanese! and baka may babae na syang binabanggit.. kaya dapat ko syang maintindihan.. bwehehe.

I used to hate Japanese Language, maybe it's because of the pressure that went with it before, because now I am learning to love it, because now I am really learning. It's different when you know another language, it's a different fulfillment although I am still far from the skills of my husband, or Juliet or Maila. Also I figured that if I do good at this, it can be my second career when I get tired of programming.. pwede na akong maging Geisha.. bwehehehe.

By the way, I discovered the power of Ginko Biloba. It is said to make your brain sharper. I don't know if I am inherently intelligent or Ginko Biloba is really effective. But I noticed it is easy to memorize the vocabularies. And you know how tongue and brain twister each word in japanese is. It is also said to make a person fertile. So if in less than a month I get pregnant in japan.. then I can say I really owe it to Ginko Biloba.

Now I have all the help I can get in learning this language so my only hurdle on this learning is my laziness... hay if only I can change. Sana naa pud tambal para sa tapol.

Sabi ko Na

My college friend who is currently working as a teacher in New York left me a message in my friendster. And this is some part of what she said:

"how are you? Congratulations and I am so happy for you. Namiss tuloy kita and yung mga bonding bonding time natin nung college. nway, kaano-ano ba ni mam katie delima ang hubby mong c dan?"

O diba, sinasabi ko na, I now share the question that is frequently asked to my husband, a part and parcel to being married to Mr. Delima. hehehe.

Nope, he is not in any way related to our late dean Mrs. Delima. But how I wish kamag-anak ko si Mam Delima, para mapakiusapan ko sya noon na bigyan ng disciplinary action ang mga crushes ko na hindi pumapansin sa akin. bwehehehe.