What's in a name?

I have wondered why my parents nicknamed me "Peachy". Until now, family and close relatives call me by that name. Oh, I do have other nicknames given by some people in my lifetime-- Tata, Ta, Kar, Ren, Kris, KK, Double K, Kars, etc. (Tata came from my being 100% Ilongga). I did not like "Peachy" and did not want my friends to know that because it was ruined (for me) by a then teen actress in a used-to-be-popular TV program. (Remember "TGIS" during the early 90s?)


So, what's the point of this entry? I thought my parents were crazy for giving me a nickname not remotely related to my name. This quiz is not that meaningful, but it sure is weird. I went to the page and placed my real/full name and my gender, then this was the result.

Your Pimp Name Is...

Peachy Luv

What's Your Pimp Name?

Weird huh? Does that mean I am really meant to be named "Peachy"?

I want my "Anansi Boys"!

It's out! Fully Booked is selling oh-so-fresh copies of Neil Gaiman's latest novel. First 1000 copies would include a handwritten note from the man himself especially for the Filipino fans. I think I shouldn't advertise this coz I might not make it to the first 1000 buyers... but argh!!! Will anyone spare me a thousand pesos for this?! Waaaah!!!



Hector's 0077 (not my copy)


Can't read what's written on it? Go buy the book then. Hahaha! =)


Just kidding. Click this to see the bigger picture. Of course, this is not my note. I just got this from Nocturne. So, I want my own... my preciousss...


I posted about this topic a few days ago too. Read it then to refresh the memory.

Venting Time: Keep Out

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned...
I believe the struggle for financial freedom is unfair...
I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side...
I believe we place our happiness in other people's hands...
~random lines from "Affirmation" by Savage Garden


WARNING: RANTS AHEAD


I am a very patient person. But this day stressed me out so badly I think it drained the very last drop of my patience. I was a bit disappointed with the meeting last night, but due to the lack of better alternatives, I'm staying. It's tough getting out when feeling trapped.


I will be signing the new contract. There will be a new meeting by next week for more info about the *hopefully* better benefits. I just hope I can last as long as I need to.


Aside from that, I probably got the worse of them calls during my entire shift! That, plus the fact that I couldn't get any support from the people "up there" (yeah, those with higher positions than mine). I couldn't wait to get home. I was irritated and frustrated. Trust me, that's not a nice combination. I wanted to leave the floor and scream, but typical me, I bottled it up inside. So, I got this chest pain. I hope it's not angina though. Worse, I don't seem to have anyone to talk to, who can really listen to me and empathize at the same time. So, here I am blogging away... *sigh*

CANCER: (from Astrology.com)
It's extremely frustrating when you feel like major decisions are in other people's hands, but what you may not realize is that this actually works in your favor right now. If those offers involve unfamiliar terms or tempting extras, you're better off having steadier heads working for you in strange territory. Go ahead and discuss your needs with your representatives frankly, have some faith and wait to see what they come back with.

Oh yeah, right! Blame it on the stars!

tonight's the night

Tonight, I'll be in the office an hour and a half earlier for THE meeting that was supposed to happen last week. It will determine whether I'll be looking forward to my future in the company or not.


This month has not been a good month for me. My QA average barely passed (as of now about 93%). No, I'm not bragging. Our QA passing score is 90%, so really, I barely passed. With that grade, there's a good chance that it will be lowered because of a couple more booboos I made the past week. So, goodbye QA bonus! Huhu! =(


Sometimes, it's just the people I consider friends in my office who make the stay worthwhile (and the pay, of course).



giving the fingers during post-shift

Oh, I hope tonight goes well...

longing for NZ

Just watched "New Zealand: Movie Paradise" in the Discovery Channel. Now, I wanted to buy a house and live there more than ever! It's a really beautiful place. Sometimes I think what if I was born a few islands away and became a Kiwi instead. Haha! Now, I'd just be content of dreaming of getting there.



The Shire*


*bought this pic during the 3rd Sci-Fi Fantasy Convention, from Karen Kunawicz who went to the New Zealand through the Middle Earth tour; took this pic using my Nokie 6610i coz I'm too lazy to scan it. Haha! =)

more GoF posters

Goblet of Fire cast


Oh yes, again. Fans can never get enough of them. So, let me share my sister's album link: Ava's Photobucket Album... then click on Goblet of Fire / GoF posters and drool on! =)



Cedric and Cho


Oh, and I think I'm changing my mind about Robert Pattinson. I think he'll do justice to the role of Cedric Diggory. Just look at that poster! Too bad there's another character there *ahem* Cho *ahem* Chang *ahem* who's sorta ruining the pose. Teehee!



Viktor and Hermione


But then, I still am a Krum fan. Stanislav's too goodlooking to be Viktor Krum, but I can't complain. Watta bod! And the trio, don't they just grow up too fast? *sigh*

back to school!

I wish! But I promise myself if circumstances and finances allow, I'd go back to school and study... someday... one of these days... hopefully soon... whenever.


But right now, I'd be content with online courses. I enrolled in BNU (Barnes and Noble University) a few years back to take The Lord of the Rings course. I finished the first one but did not finish the second course due to time constraints. Now, a member of Nocturne announced a month-long course about "Anansi Boys", Neil Gaiman's newest book. Enrolling there would give me the chance to chat with him during the course proper.


I can't wait! The only requirement in that course is this:





Gotta have one! =)

Sleepy? Don't drive.

Aside from not giving me back my change, if there's one other thing I don't like when taking a cab ride it's sleepy drivers.


I'm glad the cab ride to work is only about 10 minutes or else I wouldn't be typing this now. The cab driver would suddenly swerve from one side to another or step on the brakes even when there were no other vehicles around. I looked at the rearview mirror and his eyes were closed! Forgodsakes! If he wanted to commit suicide, I didn't want to be included in his plans. I would have gladly stepped out of the car.


So, aside from NOT drinking and driving please don't drive when feeling sleepy. If alone, look for a safe place to park, lock the doors and snooze for a while before continuing to drive. Don't put your life and other people's lives at risk.

shame on me

Have u ever experienced being so embarrassed that you want the ground to swallow you up? I have had some of those instances in my life and earlier today was no exception. I had this test call from the States. I knew it was recorded and I sure hope it was not graded. But damn, it was nerve-wracking since the call type is not a common one! I panicked and everything went blank. I knew I made a lot of mistakes in that call-- heck, everything I did was a mistake! I am so ashamed. I actually don't care if that would pull my QA grade down for this month, but I am just sad that it will pull down the whole team's grade.


Now, everytime I think about it, I forget where I am and my mind goes blank and my face and neck goes red with shame. After my shift, I had my coaching for my 2 calls (6th month re-certification) yesterday and I passed both calls. Even that good news did not lighten my spirit. I have learned my lesson. I just hope I won't go through that kind of embarrassment again. Sheesh.


Apologies to all my team mates and to my sup. =(


P.S. Turned out the transition meeting won't push through tonight (that's why I'm online now!) It will be next week and the transition date was pushed (again?) from Oct. 6 to Oct. 22. *sigh*






JD Fortune



I just watched Rockstar INXS. See? JD won. I knew it! He's got the looks. Some say he's got an attitude, but I guess many rockstars do. Marty is the runner-up and will be joining the band in their world tour. My brother is right. Mig is great! Too bad he only got third place. He didn't forget to thank his fans from Australia and from the Philippines. Yeah, he was born in the Philippines. Cool huh?

serious side of things...

I never thought I'd be taking my call certification today before my shift ended. I was expecting to take it later tonight or tomorrow morning. Yaiks! I was so unprepared I don't know what the outcome was. Oh well, I'll know that tomorrow. Also, tomorrow night, I would get to ask my questions to the big boss himself and (hopefully) sign a new (and improved!) contract. I just hope all goes well 'coz if it does, I'll still see myself working in the company for a longer time than I would have expected. I'm a bit excited, but also nervous of what is about to come.


By Thursday, I'll know more than I do now. I hope all these new information would make me smile. *cross fingers*





A friend of mine is currently studying in Thailand. She sent me an SMS today and I miss her. She'll be back before December though and said it's cold there right now. Looking forward to partying with her come Christmas time. She said it's fun but weird since she's been singing and dancing there-- doing stuff she normally wouldn't do (she's a bit of a shy type like me. Hehe!). I told her that what I like being in a new place and being with strangers. I get to be who I wanna be and do the things I normally wouldn't do without anyone judging me or my actions. I mean, if I were to start a new life, I'd prefer to begin in a place where nobody knows who I am.


This "judgment topic" is a bit touchy since I recently experienced being judged by someone I least expected. I was hurt, but I should know I am beautiful no matter what they say... words can't bring me down*.


*"Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera

team bonding

We had our team bonding yesterday. We had brunch in North Park (great food and fun stories!) and watched a movie (The Brothers Grimm. I love the way they merged all those fairy tales in one fictitious but interesting story) in a mall near our office. It was fun and I hope we could do it again. Before we went to the mall, we posed for a few team pics. Here's one from my Nokie 6610i:



Team Ana


I know the pic sucks. I can't even see my face in it! My poor camphone! I promise I'd share more funny team pics as soon as my officemates send me a copy from their way, way cooler and better cameraphones! =)


By the way, you may wanna check out the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire trailer here: Mugglenet, Veritaserum, HPAna and The Leaky Cauldron.

69 and more

I got a 69! Dirty number? Nah. I like that number coz it's a natural ambigram too. That's my typing NWPM speed. YAY! So, with that out of my way, I got to worry about the monitored calls next week. But, I have to enjoy the weekend first and I can't wait! =)


Watched Rockstar INXS earlier and Suzie was voted out. So much for girl power huh? At least my bet and my bro's bet are still there.


Oh and by the way, there are new Goblet of Fire pics here. Here's a sneak preview:



lucky Hermione!



And lastly, who said real men can't be angels in disguise?



Champoy of Hale
taken from MTV Ink


I found it funny at first, but as I look at it more closely, I kinda love seeing him like that. :p

rock mood

I never really watched this program before. It was a first for me when I chanced upon my bro watching it while I'm eating my dinner/breakfast. It's one of those reality shows that are big on TV nowadays. It was interesting and I love the songs the remaining four contestants performed. My brother is rooting for Mig. I love his "Kiss From A Rose" version and yeah, he's got a great bod! Then there's Marty, whose performance I was not able to see because Sky Cable went offline for about 30 minutes (Argh!). My personal favorite is JD, the softie who's trying hard to be a bad boy. He's got a blog in the site too and I like his song compositions there. While Suzie's performance will made me proud to be female. She rocked, literally. She sang this song and I am adopting it as my song of the day:


Twenty-five years and my life is still
I'm trying to get up that great big hill of hope
For a destination
~*4 Non Blondes, "What's Up?"*~

type!

Finished the written certification exam. Thanks to some tips I got from my officemates, I aced it. This Wednesday would be my typing certification exam. Next week will be the call handling evaluation. I'm gonna take this one exam at a time. This week, I have to type at least 60 NWPM (net words per minute) with a 90% accuracy.


If you wanna check how fast you can go, just try here or create an account on this site.

latest GoF pics

Got this from my Potterholic sister. Just wanted to share it with you.



Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire


Click here for more GoF posters and pics. =)

almost hibernating

I can't say I wasted my entire Saturday. After shift, I watched a movie and got home at about 3PM. After cleaning up, I stayed in our room and stayed there for 15 hours straight! I occasionally woke up to talk with my sis, but most of the time, I was asleep. Now, I am well-rested and woke up at 7AM this morning. Since I only have Sunday left, I don't want to sleep it off. =)


Oh and I just realized I could not watch this week's C.S.I. reruns today because of the Manny Pacquiao fight. *sigh* Oh well, I still hope he wins, then he'll get richer. I hope he gives me 1% of his winner's prize. LOL!

Happy 30 months, Lisse!

tug of war

Since I lack a close friend at work right now, I notice I either spend most of my time alone or mingle with other people. Being alone is the least of my worries since I am used to that and I like being alone sometimes.


I notice that people really are grouped together-- whether they hang out most of the time or they have similar interests. I mean if a person is introduced in a group, the tendency is for this person to hang out with another one whom he/she could relate to most, or be included in a group of people who spend most time together. That or the person ends up alone and makes everyone else just an acquaintance. I just learned that the team where I belong also has these subgroups, as I call it. So if I'm not alone, I usually either hang out with the entire team or hang out in one subgroup or another. Now, the difficult part is that I seem to be stuck in a middle of a misunderstanding-bordering-to-animosity issue between the two subgroups. One group will tell me one thing and the other will tell me another. Each has its own reasons and I really don't want to weigh them. I felt as if I had to take sides, but honestly I don't want to. I don't like to work in a place where people don't get along or act like hypocrites with each other.


It feels like I'm in the middle of a tug of war and it is really hard not to fall on one side.

Happy 27th Anniversary!

Happy 27th Anniversary Mama and Papa!



I have a lot of things to be grateful for. I just want to thank you for making life worth the while, for all the support, the unconditional love and most of all, thank you for keeping our family together. Love you both! :)

come and go

I have been working in this company for 6 months now, excluding training period. I have experienced a lot of sad moments mainly because of the tendency of people, especially friends, to come and go. It is difficult to go through the process of getting to know people and making friends with them. Although I have lots of acquaintances, I still find it hard to find someone who can gauge my moods and whom I can relate to.


Some of my close friends are now working in another company. All of my batchmates are in the swing shift (1:30PM-11PM) and I'm the only one left in the night shift. I prefer to stay though coz I need the money. For about 4 months in the GY (graveyard) shift, I met new people.


One of them is this girl who has been my constant companion on my way home after every shift. We have shared a lot of stories along the way. Even though we recently met, we have been close to the point that we even share our own future plans with each other. Last night, I was shocked to learn that she resigned (effective immediately). She did not meet the account's certification requirement after several attempts despite her good attendance record and excellent quality scores. She chose a graceful exit by resigning rather than getting terminated.


A few days ago, she told me she is ready to quit the job now since her sister has already passed the med board exams. I know she has better plans for herself (maybe start her own business from the money she was able to save).


I'm sad for myself but I'm also happy for her. She won't be stuck in a callcenter anymore. This may be a blessing in disguise. Alelie, I'm missing you already.


And I know what lies ahead for us,
In any road I’ll let you come my way...
~"Underneath the Waves" by Hale


P.S. I will undergo my own certification this month so wish me luck!






Happy Birthday, Mama Mary!

debatable

I can remember several debate topics I've encountered in school-- pre-marital sex, euthanasia, death penalty, abortion, using the Filipino language in conducting classes, etc. As time passes, I realize that my moods, age and experiences may shift my views from pro to anti or vice versa.


Lately, I thought of another good topic to debate on:


To get or not to get a credit card.


I can think of a lot of reasons why I don't need a credit card and I can think of a lot of reasons why I do too! So think about it. As a young professional, a 25-year old unmarried female, working as an employee for at least 3 years, would you get a credit card or not? =)


Click here to vote on the poll.

sexist and sex

Contrary to what the title states, this post is "PG-13" wholesome, so no worries. =)


I was on my way home when I (together with some strangers in the jeepney) witnessed an "accident" in an intersection. This green Hyundai accelerated on an orange (and about to become red) light, while this blue Honda is about to turn left. The driver of the Honda did not expect the Hyundai to accelerate, so it's front bumped the left quarter rear of the Hyundai, damaging the door.


In my viewpoint, it was the green Hyundai driver's fault since if he estimated, it would have been obvious that he won't have time to cross the intersection before the green light goes on the other side. The driver of the blue Honda slowly parked her car on the side so as not to create traffic while this green Hyundai driver went down of the driver's seat and pointed at the other driver with matching I-can-be-f*cking-mean-to-you-because-what-you-did facial expression. (Isn't it rude to point at someone?)


Well, after the jeepney where I was in crossed the intersection, we found out that the blue Honda driver is a girl. Then a couple of men in front of me snickered, "Kaya naman pala, babae pala ang driver!" (in English: "Oh that's why, the driver's a girl!") How sexist was that remark? Ok, I am no member of Gabriela or any feminist organization but I was soooo mad at that time that I wanted to shout at them and say, "Eh ano ngayon kung babae? Pag lalaki ok lang?!" Grrr! I was so mad, but since I'm not into making public scenes, I kept my mouth shut and increased the volume of my radio headphones.


Let me change the topic and let's go from sexist to sex-- animal sex, that is. After walking about two blocks on my way home, I saw this brown dog (the size of an adult Collie) "humping" on a smaller (way, way smaller) brown dog (I think it was a Chihuahua). Just use your imagination and see how funny it would look like when the male dog attempts to mate with her and is have so much difficulty placing his front paws on the female dog's waist. I mean, how can he let it in? Hahahaha! Poor doggie!

our very own HBP

A couple of days ago, we got our very own "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" courtesy of my cousin-in-law.



our first HP hard-bound



Of course, who could be prouder but my sister? :)



Potterfan herself

*all the small things*

Small things make life more bearable. Here are a couple of them:




Jollibee's mango-caramel sundae





Spongebob slippers


I know there are more of these out there, so I gotta watch out! So if I have nothing to do and I happen to have my cameraphone on my hand, which is actually most of the time, I'd be taking some snapshots, and I'd be posting them here if they are clear enough. Hopefully, I'd be able to afford a better cameraphone so it would look nicer (less fuzzy). Then I could post here anything that would make me feel better. Yes, I mean ANYTHING.


Pics above both taken using Nokia 6610i.

new MD's!

My officemate's sister and a co-member of TPTS passed the Physician's Licensure Exam today. They were batchmates and took the boards recently. My officemate, who is also my friend, is so proud of her sister. I would be too! They now have a doctor in the family. Both of the new doctors came from my alma mater (UPM). I can still remember how difficult it was then for me. That was about 3 years ago. The studying and cramming and memorizing were tough! The worst part of it was waiting for the results. Now, they can breathe a sigh of relief. I just wish them the best of luck in all their endeavors.





Congratulations Leah Adrid, MD and Jim Tripon, MD! =)