Post-Christmas Fun

I promised myself I won't be stuck at home during my days off. My mother is mad at me for doing so but I really need a break. I didn't even get to spend Christmas Eve with my family. At least I went to church with them before I dragged my butt to work. A couple of days ago, I tagged my sis along and we were up and running. Last December 26, Ian had a belated birthday treat and we watched The Bloomfields perform in Eastwood.



with drummer boy Rocky, my fave Bloomie



The Bloomfields on stage


More pictures here.


Last December 27, The Philippine Tolkien Society had its annual Christmas party at Reitch's place. It's been a while since I met with the hobbitsesss and it was fun! Ian took great pics and you can view them all here. Here are samples:



wacky group shot



serious group shot

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Reasons why I'm happy today:

• I won't have to work tonight and tomorrow night because I'm on leave.




• New Worlds: Transformed started yesterday and is ongoing in Powerplant Mall, Rockwell until July 15.




• "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" movie will be shown in local cinemas starting tomorrow and we already have IMAX tickets.




• I have family and friends who love me and make me feel special.

Last but not the least...

• It's my birthday!!!

May you gather your blessings too and be grateful. Hope you all have a happy day! :)

Late Greetings

Belated Happy Father's Day, Papa!





Belated Happy 29th Birthday, Garfield!

Wonderful Weekend

scribbled on 27 May 2007 | 11:25 PM


Pirate Con | Big Sky Mind
I just had a long and fun weekend. I was on leave last Friday to join some of my friends from NWA for the Pirates Con. "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" was funny. The effects and costumes were great as expected. I think it was just a tad too long. There were scenes that, I think, aren't really necessary. I guess watching Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom made it worthwhile. Hehe! Watching the movie with friends from NWA (including Black Pearl Philippines) made it extra special. There were probably 3 rows reserved for us and some were even in costume. That was cool!


I missed a couple of Pirate events before that so I told myself I had to be there. After the movies, we went to Big Sky Mind to listen to some groovy, old-school music, chat with more friends from the geeky circle and drink rum! Well, not really for me because I have been awake for almost 30 hours and I had to settle for strong iced coffee instead. Still, my sister and I had fun. (Pardon my squinting during photo ops, Gabe. I was temporarily blinded by those flashes. Haha!) The movie and the gathering were courtesy of Karen Kunawicz. Thank you very much and belated Happy Birthday! :)


We waited for The Luscious Malfoys to play live and danced to their music. Thanks for being such a sport and singing some of our requests. It was a natural high. We got home at half past 3 in the morning and my mother was ready to disown us. Yo ho! Yo ho!





[Pictures here.]
[Nick's photos here.]
[Gabe's photos here.]


The Philippine Tolkien Society Moot
That didn't stop us from going to the moot last Saturday. TPTS had one more moot before Laurice flies back to the States. My sis and I had to drop by and see some Tolkien friends before we had to run some errands. It was nice chatting over coffee again and seeing familiar faces that I haven't seen for a long time. We had to skip dinner though because my sis and I had some errands to do.





[Pictures here.]


Dinner with College Friends
Today, I met up with Laurice and Joy at Gateway Mall-- the same place where we first met up about 3 weeks ago when Laurice arrived from the States. We're having our dinner together. Too bad Joan couldn't make it was she is confined in a hospital in Batangas. We made it a point to call her instead. Hopefully, we can get together again next year. We ate at Ten Tita's and food was delicious but parting is such sweet sorrow. Laurice left early to pack up her stuff.


Joy and I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to drop by Timezone to let out some pent-up feelings. We just had to sing. They have these videoke booths where we can sing our hearts out. We chose sentimental songs usually about heartaches and such, but our final song was "I Will Survive" and it is still playing in my head now. I wish Laurice could've joined us. I still had fun.


Laurice is leaving for the States (NOTE: probably boarding right this moment as I type this). It has been 5 years since we last saw each other but the friendship remained strong. We may not be complete again but we are looking forward to the next time. For the past 3 weeks, I found myself seeing my college barkada every chance I get. I was on leave from work for several days thinking that this occasion calls for that. Besides, it's not everyday that we see each other as often as we like. I was almost always not at home on weekends and my mother probably disowned me already, but it was all worth it.


Back to the Rat Race
I will be back to my old routine: work and home, home and work. I'm actually feeling lonelier now and starting to have those "emo moments" I've been dreading when I'm alone (like a while ago when I was riding a cab home and the background music stirred up some memories). As much as I would always want to surround myself with people, I can't help but long for alone time. I guess it's ok to cry once in a while.


The past 3 weeks had been great. Thanks to my sister and my friends. Like the song in my head goes: As long as I know how to love, I know I'll be alive... It's time to face life once again.

Hobbits on the Loose

The past weekend was one of the busiest and most enjoyable weekends I've had. Yes, there were low moments, we can't avoid that, but being busy made me momentarily forget about those.


I was on leave from work Friday, so I had enough sleep to last the whole day Saturday. I finally met one of my best college buds, Laurice, after 5 long years! She came from the States last Friday and we had lunch with another ka-barkada, Joy. My sis went with us. Laurice bought me "Children of Hurin" and I nearly fainted with happiness when I finally had the book in my hands. Yes, I love Tolkien.



Children of Hurin


After lunch, we stayed for a while to attend the Hobbiworx Tagcom convention in the Araneta Expo Center. My sis and I had our Hogwarts robes so we gave out some flyers for the reservation of HP Book 7. It was interesting and is a haven for anime fans, but the place was very hot. We were sweating in our robes, so we stayed near the air conditioner. Haha!



fandom crossover
me wearing my Hogwarts robe (Ravenclaw), a borrowed purple lightsaber with a Transformers poster as background


We had to leave early to buy for food and drinks for our TPTS Hobbit Party, a party to celebrate the visit of Laurice, who is actually one of our founding members, and the birthday of Data, also one of our members. We had mushrooms and potatoes and more. Hobbits dig parties! Haha! We watched "LOTR: Return of the King" extended edition and played charades. We went home about 2 in the morning because my batteries were running low but I had much fun being with friends. Photos from the TPTS website here.



with Joy and Laurice



group pic from Ian's cam


Pictures from my sister's camphone here. Sorry for the not-so-good photo quality. The lights were dim so the photos aren't too good.


Yesterday, I met up with Laurice and Joy again. This time, we had Joan with us. We roamed SM Mall of Asia. Laurice isn't used to crowded place nows. We were supposed to watch a movie but we wanted to be home early. We had dinner instead and talked. It was just like old times. Each of us changed somehow, but we still clicked and that's what matters.


On a not-so-happy note, I am learning to be officially single. I haven't had time to get all emo on it yet but I want to believe we parted in good terms so there is a good chance we can still be friends. I am so glad I have great friends. The distraction is more than welcome. I am enjoying my time right now. I think what I need is a weekend on the beach with 3 other single friends. I can't wait for next weekend!

Resurface

I'm calmer now. The past few days I felt like I've been gasping for air. Since that crappy experience from work happened, I have slightly gotten that devil-may-care attitude. I mean, I was so tempted to be absent from work but I decided to go to work instead. I lacked sleep and I was late. I think it was a tough decision and I've lost a part of my bonus for March but I'm still happy...



diploma display



Congratulations sis!


I'm happy because my sister finally graduated. I didn't see her go up the stage but I was there. I think I know how she feels right now. I mean, she'd be a bum til the board exams (haha!) and I know how it feels to be pressured and go through a career I'm not even sure of. Oh well. Just take it a step at a time.




whole family with my bro's gf


Now that issue at work is over and I'm looking forward to the next few weeks. Hopefully, I won't get the chicken pox spreading in the office because I think I deserve to have a break. I wanna go swimming coz it's really hot in the city nowadays. After that resurfacing I think it's about time to take the plunge again. This time, I just wanna plunge in cool ocean water.


Click this for more of my sister's graduation and post-grad celebration pictures.

Papa's Birthday

We weren't complete but we made sure Papa enjoyed his birthday. We didn't have enough money but it was fun. He still wished he had cake though. Haha! But no sugar for him... and no, he's not camera shy. Haha! More pictures here.




Happy 65th Birthday, Papa! We love you!


P.S.

Thanks very much cousins Peter and Gina for making one of my father's birthday wishes come true! He's going to Bacolod on Tuesday to follow my mother. Hooray! :)