trade off



someone left the following sticky note in my MyMiniLife minihome:

nice job. keep up the good work.
like how u built the place. it looks awesome
but whyd u put like the cakes or pastries or whatever on the floor????????ahahalol=)
but everything elses is just fine.
It looks cool ahahahlol=)


ooops... ha-ha-ha.  actually, i wanted to put the foodstuff on top of the table.  but then, i couldn't.  i don't know whether it's a limitation of the application or i just don't know how.  i therefore just placed everything on the floor, ha-ha.

i could just have made do without them so the house won't look a mess.  but then these ones are not really the sort of stuff you forego to do right.  it's okay to have them.  i'm willing to settle for some mess therefore just to have around these things i like.

some things are worth it; some things are not.  at least to me, these are... : )

asking for the manager

we were analyzing some slow performance at the office and i went, 'why don't we try re-crimping the cables?  i just had mine crimped by _ _ _ _ _ .'

my technical lead goes, '_ _ _ _ _  who?'

i give him the surname.

he was surprised, 'you were able to make him crimp, ma'am?'

'yes, why?'

'he does not crimp.  he's the one who orders people to crimp...'

ooops... it didn't occur to me that i just asked the head of our technical support to crimp my cable  : }

i explain that he dropped by my office, crimping tools and testers in hand, so i requested for re-crimping.  he readily obliged.  hmmm... suddenly my cable seems special, ha-ha

my economics professor told the class before, you don't use a diamond bit to pry open a peanut.  true, that is overkill, not optimal.  you should utilize just the right amount and the right type of resources to accomplish a particular task.  there is such a thing as too much, there is such a thing as too little.  and while we're at it, yup, there is also such a thing as too late...

birthdays

my technical lead was in a meeting yesterday so i was the one who called our support group for assistance.  i asked for the manager, ha-ha.  i apologized for bothering him instead of the point person he had earlier identified explaining it was the guy's birthday that day.  he said it was perfectly ok.

we were on the phone several times during the day and the last time, was i surprised to notice an e-mail from his birthday staff.  i blurted out, "nagtatrabaho pa si _ _ _ _ ?!"  (e-mail timestamp was already beyond regular office hours.)

he says yes and i chide him saying the documentation i was asking for could have waited after the guy's birthday.

he tells me his staff continue working and don't take a leave on their birthdays.

i kid him, "yuck!  what kind of manager are you???  there's a personal component to the managerial aspect, you know..."

he breaks into a laugh saying he was actually suprised i know about his staff's birthdays.

i ask, "don't you???"

he says he's just been finding out through me and it's not something he thinks about throughout the day.

ooops, ha-ha-ha.

1.  actually, i learned about his staff's birthdays unintentionally.

the first one last week, i called for a meeting with their group and, on the day of the meeting, one of the attendees tells me it was the birthday of another one of the attendees.  when the manager arrived therefore, i told him he should have told me earlier it was his staff's birthday so i could have excused him from attending.  he said he didn't know : }

and then the one yesterday, i found out through friendster and MyMiniLife.  he invited me to be a friend and friendster sent a notification while his MyMiniLife profile showed his birthday to friends.

2.  his staff's birthdays are not really things i think about throughout the day, ha-ha

it's just that one was at my office on the day of his birthday and another sent me work mail on the day of his birthday and such times, at least, i remember that it is their day.

if you are my staff, unless something is really, really urgent, i'll actually unload you on your birthday.  i'd like it if you go on leave but in case you don't, i'll make an effort to make your work day lighter.  work is work, it never goes away.  your birthday comes just once a year.  i'd like it to be YOUR day... : )

counterpoint

aaarghhhh!!!  the next-door neighbor is having a videoke session and i could hear, once again, if i could change the world.  ugh!

i had a fairly good night last night.  i don't want to spoil the day by going sentimental on a song.

i hope they sing bikining itim.  nothing biographical but that song never fails to make me smile, ha-ha-ha

e-kiss

ha-ha-ha... someone just blew me a kiss in friendster... it came with the smile he sent.  and in reference to the MyMiniLife kiss which leaves a mark, at least this one, he says, is not obvious, ha-ha.

the smile made me smile while the kiss made me wince initially but smile some more eventually.  i am amused.

thank you, ok.  but just like my MyMiniLife caveat, i'd like to emphasize you're allowed to do so only in cyberspace.  real-life remains something else  ->  off-limits...  ; )

again and again

when something catches my fancy, i am like a broken record, singing praises over and over again, ha-ha.

one time, a teen-star was shown on tv coming out of the pool.

my youngest sister asks me, 'is she sexy?'

i go, 'she's ok.'

'do you find her sexy?'

'just ok.'

'you don't think she's sexy?'

at this point, my other sister butts in, 'she does not! otherwise she would have kept on repeating, 'so sexy... so sexy... so sexy...''

ooops... ha-ha-ha

wanting and having

my MyMiniLife gift car brought to mind a somewhat similar real-life occurrence.

my ex and i were at Holiday Inn when we saw a Pajero Jr. at the parking area. i went, 'how cute!' and we checked the vehicle all over.

it was my first time to see such a small pajero and i must have gone on to gush about it even when we were already in the car.

some days later, as my ex and i were driving along C5, his phone rings and he excitedly tells me, 'babe, the pajero you like is already available. let's go check it out.'

i was like, 'huh?!'

he was going to buy one for me, just like that!

i very firmly turned it down, saying if he buys it, i will never ever use it.

my ex was downhearted. i was actually tempted to change my stand but i stuck to it.

things are not always that simple. just because i like something, does not mean i have to have it. some things you just have to forego...

new car



wooowwww!!! i just got a car gift in MyMiniLife : D i am so happy!!! first time someone ever gifted me with a car, ha-ha

actually, i asked for it, ha-ha. someone has been asking me what gift i want in MyMiniLife. that was the time i sold my cakes, chocolates and sushi so i could buy a bigger lot so i said he could just gift me those. and then, i don't know how, i suddenly had a lot of money so i was able to buy back everything that i had sold and more. i told him no need to give me anything anymore.

then this morning, someone hit my car as i was driving to the office (my real-life car, not a MyMiniLife item : }). the part around my left rear tire got bent and had scratches but nothing really major.

then while at the traffic office i got a text asking whether i was in makati. i replied i actually am at the quezon city hall as i've just been involved in a minor collision.

later in the day, the texter tells me to just buy a new car. i said i can't afford one : } and then it occurred to me that i could get a new one, even just in MyMiniLife. i told the texter i'm going to sell my white MyMiniLife car to represent my real-life car and then he could just gift me with a replacement. he said he will, and he did. i am very, very pleased. thank you very much :)

well, guy, since you just put a car in my garage, i won't mind this time if you again leave a kiss mark in my minihome. that only goes for MyMiniLife though; different rules apply in real life, ha-ha

flying kiss

i'm into MyMiniLife right now.  it's a cruder version of Sims.  i received the app invitation a long time ago but only recently did i click.  i enjoyed shopping and initially couldn't figure out how to build a house.  i would not have cared a bit and moved on, except that i saw that my best friend (one of the 9 friends that appeared right away as soon as i joined (i don't know how we became friends, i haven't sent out invitations that time.)) already had a nice house.  i was thinking, i'm the IT person here, if she was able to build one then why couldn't i?  i was challenged and now i have a nice house and a nice room, ha-ha.  (check out http://www.myminilife.com/cynthia or if you're my friendster friend, you may view my minihomes below the testimonials in my profile.)

then when i last checked the site, was i surprised to find my house all shiny and glittery.  i liked it except that there appeared, too, a big lipstick mark in the dining area.  huh?!  ???

i clicked around and saw that someone had rang my bell, cleaned my house three times, left a kiss, then cleaned the house again six times.  hmmmm.  so the shine and the glitter are from the cleaning and the lipstick mark was from the kiss.  ok.

i just can't help wondering though why he would clean my house nine times.  it wasn't dirty, was it?  i'm thinking maybe he got nervous when the lipstick mark appeared when he left the kiss and tried to erase it by cleaning.  it wouldn't go, ha-ha-ha.  you've been caught, guy.  there's no denying what you did.  am i right or am i right?  ha-ha

special request to visitors.  when you go check out my site, you may ring the bell and clean the house, but please don't leave any kisses.  i don't want lipstick marks all over the place, ha-ha.  if you really want a kiss, you may try your luck in person.  if it's your lucky day, i just might give you a flying one, ha-ha.  mwah!

; )

not yet

i don't know what's on tv but i'm hearing right now 'how did you know?'... with my 11-year-old nephew singing along, ha-ha

that song first caught my attention over a year ago and i was hoping it was going to be my song for someone one day soon.  well, it's been quite a while and i haven't yet found an object for the song.  not yet the right time, maybe...

this made me laugh

i just texted a batchmate to confirm whether he has received the money from my best friend and me which i had earlier sent to him through an officemate.  he confirms receipt and that should have been it.

but what happened next was i received another text from his number which went:

      nnay 2 ni _ _ _ _ _ _
      pls qng pede
      tigilan nyo n ang ank q
      s pgttxt sknya

      dhil sa brkda n yan
      nppbyan nya n ang knyang

 

      PAGAARTISTA!

      bket
      fans kb nya

huh?!  ha-ha-ha

for a while there i was afraid the mom thought we were debtors and mistook our donation money for loan payment.  whew!  ha-ha-ha...

thank you, vats



i've been sleeping over at my parents' place a lot lately and whenever i do, i park along the alley as there is no more space in the garage for my car.  well, last night when i arrived, was i surprised to see from the dashboard a parking guide painted on the wall.  it's basically a big letter H where i have to align my car's width on the vertical lines and hood on the horizontal line.  above the horizontal line was painted 'Park' and below, 'Iñgat' ~ Take Care.  oh... sweet  : )    morning i saw my dad with a can and paintbrush, i didn't know he was doing something for me.  i am touched and i am thankful.

my dad is not the touchy-feely type of guy, not big on hugs, not at all into PDAs.  but he takes very, very good care of you.

i remember vividly up to now something that happened way back in my college years.  i was supposed to go to class already but my dad hasn't come back with the car.  i didn't want to be late, so i decided to take the jeep.  UP was three rides away from our place, two very, very short rides plus one that's not really that long (the katipunan part).  so i was on the second ride and upon alighting from the jeep, was i taken aback when i saw my dad exaggeratedly waving at me, ha-ha-ha.  it turns out he arrived shortly after i left and followed me to the terminal.  he could have just let me complete my commute.  but no, he followed me and took me to my destination.

i felt so loved and so well taken care of... i am lucky and i am really, really thankful...

accessibility

i've been using my cellphone a LOT lately and just this morning, the thought of getting a sun line crossed my mind.  my best friend has sun.  my officemates have sun.  i'll be saving a lot if i also get a sun.

and then over pizza tonight, i learn that my frequent texter of late also has sun.  yikes!  suddenly i had reservations about the idea.

after pizza, i receive a call from a very dear friend.  guess what, she called to inform me that she has just gotten a sun and is convincing me to do the same!  ooops...

i don't know but instead of clinching it, suddenly i'm discarding it.  i love you, guys, but i'm sticking to smart.  it's nice to be not that accessible some times...  ; )

exercise

at a party the other friday, i joined a line dance and, ugh!, not long into the music and i was already panting like crazy.  my aunts were there, older than me, and they were dancing so merrily.  me, i was dancing and breathing from the deepest recesses of my core.  yikes!  so unfit!  i suddenly remembered how a couple of exes (ouch!) have made remarks about how soft i was.  well, maybe it's because the only exercises i've had in my entire life were confined to the P.E. classes i had in school. 

i've been thinking i better take up some form of exercise soon.

my officemates are into badminton but then i don't really like something that would require me to use or bring some sort of equipment.

they say swimming is good, but then you would have to do it in a pool and the pools in the city normally have chlorine and that is something i don't like.  plus, i want something that would make me sweat.  i think in swimming you'll sweat, if at all, only if you do competition-level laps.  that would take the fun out of the activity.  not the option for me therefore.

a gym class i am discounting because i don't see myself lifting weights.  if i'm going to lift something it might as well be a baby or some stuff or furniture but not dumbbells.

there was a time i really wanted to enroll in karate.  i never got around to it.  (karate was one of my P.E. classes in college).  i'm thinking maybe now i could but then at this point i want something i could sustain till my olden days.  i can't imagine myself doing hai! and kicks when my hair is gray.

enroll in a fitness class i won't because i don't want to shell out the membership fees.  i choose my expenses, ha-ha-ha...

jogging is free but then i don't want my uhm and internal organs bouncing up and down so pass.

dancing is fun but then at this point i don't know yet whether the guy i'm going to spend the rest of my life with will be into it.  if he'll be, well and good, dancing it would be.  otherwise, another pass.  i don't see myself going out to dance with a hired DI.  i can't imagine paying someone to dance with me.  pardon my conceited self but i'm thinking guys should be the one to pay for the privilege.  i doubt anyone can afford it though -- i am priceless, ha-ha

a remaining option is walking.  i have an officemate who walks around the compound after office.  maybe i could join her.  and then once i've found my love, we two could do it together, hand in hand, till we're old and gray.  that would be sweet... : )

dimples of venus

i was on the phone with a friend soon after i posted some swimming pics months back when she tells me, 'may dimples ka pala sa puwet?'  ooops... she was referring to the dimples on the arch of my back which were visible from the swimsuit i was wearing.

i was surprised, 'baket? ikaw, wala?'

she says no and was i all the more surprised.  all this time i took for granted that, just like our eyes, nose, ears, everyone normally had them.

a supplier who overheard our conversation later sent me a link about those dimples.  they're called dimples of venus and, yup, not everyone has them.  hmmm, logical.  not everyone has facial dimples so why would everyone have back dimples.  i just felt like a bit of a moron not knowing that at my age  : }

anyway, i didn't really give it much thought.  and then at the wanders show last wednesday, there were showgirls aplenty, bare midriff, bare back.  i noticed that, yup, not all of them had dimples of venus.  what more, i found the backs with dimples nicer to look at, ehem.  ha-ha-ha

suddenly, i was appreciative of and thankful for my dimples.  i just can't help wondering though what other things (or people) i've been taking for granted all this time simply because i didn't know any better.  i hope not many, and whatever there may be, i pray that someone or something will make me realize soon so i could rectify my shortcomings...

happy ending

pinoy dream academy was again on tv.  it's their penultimate show, grand dreamer will be announced tomorrow.

i had reservations about watching.  this is the show that oh-so-unexpectedly unsettled me how many nights back and i do not want a repeat of that.  but then, i wanted to see cris and hear bugoy.  said desire won over so i decided to watch, ready, however, to bolt out at the slightest hint of a meltdown, ha-ha

early into the show and i got a bit of a scare already.  miguel's graduation speech struck a chord in my heart:

     dahil pag gusto mo talaga ang isang bagay
     hindi ka susuko
     gagawin mo ang lahat
     upang makamit ito

something crossed my mind and i couldn't help wondering whether it was i who gave up or the other party.  anyhow, this did not make me leave.

i went on to watch and i survived all the performances nicely, thank you very much.  i got a bit tense with 'hard habit to break' but then i felt it was not so much my song as a song for me (ha-ha-ha, presumptuous!)

finally, there was bugoy.  i like his voice.  i like that he has come a long way.  and what do you know, a line in his song actually made me break out into a laugh... tatlong oras na akong nagpapa-cute sa 'yo... ha-ha-ha... it reminded me of someone (you know who you are, ha-ha)

well, at least the show does not leave me with bad memories.  i have my happy ending and, once again, i am thankful : )

freebie

my nephew and i have just bought a belated birthday gift for him.  his birthday was in july yet and i was asking him then what gift he wanted.  he couldn't think of any.  well, actually, he had something in mind but it was too expensive for me.  i told him, if it costs that much, then he should get it from his dad, ha-ha-ha

yesterday, i received a text from him saying that he already knew what gift he wanted.  he gave me the price.  i still found it a bit much, but then he said it's going to be my birthday and christmas present for him already so i said ok.

a while earlier, we went to the department store to buy his present.  he chose a color quickly and then the salesguy asked him to choose two games.  we moved to the games shelf and there he did choose two.  when the salesguy took them out, i saw that there were price tags for more than P500 each.  huh?!

i chided the salesguy, 'yikes, you shouldn't have asked him to get games anymore...'

the guy replies, 'part of the package, ma'am, they're free...'

oh, ok... thanks... ha-ha-ha

fat not ; )

my weight gain blog drew clarificatory statements from the guys involved, ha-ha-ha

the first one said he meant my new weight becomes me, pointing out he said i looked good...

the second one said he was referring to ancient times when important people rode carriages carried by four men...

oh... ok...

nevertheless, no problem otherwise... : )

different focus

i was on the phone with my friend the other night when her husband offered us two free tickets to the wanders show.

not having any idea what it was, only knowing that the tickets we were getting for free were  quite expensive, we went.

whoa!  the opening number was just a feast for the eyes.  so colorful, so lively, so many things going on at the same time.  i noticed, however, that the showgirls were on the lean side.  i prefer them voluptuous, ha-ha

next came the contortionists.  yikes!  i've never really been able to bear looking at them.  they actually scare me  : }

there were also the jugglers.  i actually liked their act best.  their outfit was mainly white and they kept on juggling beige-colored hats.  a lot of movements, nothing dangerous, the colors were subdued.  i liked it.  i don't want too many colors and i feel uneasy when jugglers use bottles and canes and all sorts of stuff.  this one was just right for me.

and then there were the aerial dances and acrobatics.  the performers used cords and sturdy cloth or had harnesses.  ugh!  try as i may, i couldn't fully enjoy the segments.  i kept on fearing for the performers.  they might fall, hurt themselves, break a bone  : }

the musical numbers were really good.  i would have totally swooned at livin' la vida loca, except that the skimpily-clad dancers were again on the lean side, ha-ha-ha.  oh, well, i guess if you do all those moves so many times a week then you would really lose the rubens in you...

i enjoyed a dancing/balancing act by a couple, as much for the routine as for the female performer who had a really rounded, really hourglass shape.  wow  : )

during curtain call, the pair took a bow and i whispered to my friend, 'what a good bod!'

she asks, surprised, 'the guy?'

i go, 'huh?!  the girl!'

only then does she notice her.  she agrees with me and we both laugh (the guy was not exactly trim)...

hmmm... interesting how two people could focus on different aspects of the same thing in front of them...

weight gain

i attended an inter-agency meeting this afternoon.  upon entering the building i immediately hear someone call my name.  it was my high school batchmate!

he works in that building, true, but then, could you imagine, so many people in that building, only a handful of us were in the lobby, and my batchmate and i chance upon each other.  a minute later and we would not have seen each other at all.  the timing was just unbelievable.

before disappearing in the elevator, he asked what my meeting was.  a few minutes later, he popped up at the venue.  we talked a bit and then he left.  shortly thereafter, i receive a forwarded message from my best friend, also our batchmate.  it turns out our batchmate informed her that i was at their building saying further that "She looks gud n 2mba cya."  huh?!  ha-ha-ha.  he could have stopped at i look good!

last night a supplier texted me asking whether i was already home.  i said still at the office explaining that when i went down earlier, there were floodwaters in front of our building so i decided to go back and let the waters subside first otherwise my feet would get wet unless i ask the guard to carry me.  his reply sent me chuckling.  he said, '4 guards dapat.'  ha-ha-ha-ha

since a line dance last friday, i've actually been thinking of taking up some sort of exercise for health and fitness reasons.  ' looks like i really have to take up one also for weight reasons  ; )

flee

as soon as i arrived at their house, i went straight to my parents' room for the customary mano.  on their TV was again pinoy dream academy.  yiiiieeeeeee!!!  i fled right away.  i don't want any more songs that might again turn unexpectedly heart-tugging at this time... ; )

timely

i have just posted my previous blog when the phone rings.  i pick it up and on the other end was my friend who right away asks me, "do you have a cold?  are you ok?"  ha-ha-ha.  my voice wasn't quite the same because, as i told her, "nag-e-emote-emote lang..."

i tell her parts of an aegis song that never really meant anything to me before, suddenly came piercing my heart big-time.  ugh!

while we were talking, i hear on the background another aegis song, ulan.  it was her officemate on the videoke.  i request luha.  the officemate obliges.

we both listen to the song and i ask her to wait for the last lines, the ones that used to bring amusement to me and my loved one.  i explain to her the laughter's naughty context and we both end up laughing.

i can't help thinking how good God is... He didn't allow me to sleep with tears tonight... : )

the laughter is gone

interesting how the same song could draw contrasting emotions at different stages in one's life.

pinoy dream academy was on tv and i chanced upon little dreamer philip about to sing the aegis tune luha.  i stopped to listen.  that song used to bring laughter to me and my loved one.  we liked the last lines, ha-ha-ha.  well, that was in happier times.

at this point in my life, it was another part of the song that caught my attention... and unexpectedly brought me a different emotion.  i am not laughing this time...

happy thoughts

i slept last night with a teenie-weenie bit of pain in my heart.  ugh!  i hate it how songs could just oh so suddenly unearth memories you'd rather confine to the backburner : }

anyway, i'd like to start my day now by thinking happy thoughts.  let me to go back to a party i attended last friday then.

it was a cousin's birthday and she celebrated it at a dance place. there were DIs aplenty and one of them had the fleshiest of legs.. and the shortest of dresses.  ooh-la-la... was i so happy, ha-ha-ha

a lot of times something catches your eye but you can't really ogle.  well, that night i could look as much as i want.  the DI was on the dancefloor, that is an excuse  ; )

and then yesterday we were looking at the pictures.  so there were pics of my mom dancing and my nephew asked who her partner was.  i replied it's a DI and then asked him whether he knew what a DI was.  he said no.  i told him DI means dance instructor.  he goes, 'i thought dance influence...' huh?!  ha-ha-ha...

if...

i am in front of the computer when i hear a certain song downstairs.  i take a peek and see the Pinoy Dream Academy finalists singing 'if i could change the world.'  ouch!  someone from my past liked that song...

      if i could change the world
      i will be the sunlight in your universe
      you would think my love was really something good
      baby if i could change the world

aaaaaaaarrgh!!!  IF...

of health and dying

my officemates and i were walking along the hallway when one of them pointed to a butterfly outside the window.  i was trying to locate the butterfly, and what first caught my eye was a cat, and then a snake plant on which was perched, the butterfly.

what happened next made me shriek.  the cat caught the butterfly with its mouth!  yikes!  i couldn't bear the sight!

i mumbled to my officemates i didn't know cats ate butterflies.

they chorused, "sure they do!"

ugh!  suddenly i felt like an ignoramus not knowing at this age that butterflies were in a cat's food chain  : }

when we reached the lobby, the cat was outside, butterfly in mouth.  i had to look away.  and then there were shrieks.  i turned and saw the butterly escape from the cat's grip.  wow!  i was so happy!

i told my officemate, see, if it's not your time to die, you won't die.

i've always believed that death is predetermined.  you can be at the safest place but if it's your time to go, you will go.  if your time's not yet up, you can be at the clutches of death and yet escape alive.

i believe, moreover, that unlike death, health is not guaranteed.  to me this explains why, under the worst of circumstances, others, when in luck, manage to remain unscathed or, out of luck, come out a vegetable.

not exactly the most pleasant of topics... end of post...

thank your lucky stars

i received a call from a batchmate from japan this evening.  i chided her with, "hoooy!!!  ikaw nasa japan ka na pinapaghintay mo pa ako!!!"



she knew what i was talking about right away.  she went, "sabi ko na nga ba ako idadahilan ng mga ito..."



we both had a good laugh.



last night, my batchmates and i went to the wake of a classmate's dad.  earlier, they were trying to set a time and i couldn't commit to a definite one saying i didn't know whether i'll finish early or late.  i, however, assured them that, finished or not, i'll be leaving the office no later than 9PM.  they were willing to wait.



around 8PM, i received calls and texts asking whether i was already done.  negative.



nearing 9PM, i texted my friend i'd just be printing something and then will be on my way to the meeting place which was near my office.  so i arrived, and no one was there, so i ordered a hotdog.  ok, eat, munch, chew.  i finished the hotdog.  and i waited... and waited... and waited.



i wasn't comfortable sitting there, without anything or anyone (ugh!), so, even if i wasn't hungry, i went back to the counter and ordered a burger.  ok, eat, munch, chew.  i finished the burger.  and waited... and waited... and waited.



i was thinking of ordering fries, but didn't really feel like eating any more so i just people-watched.



more than an hour later, my batchmates arrived.  they explained to me that the batchmate from japan called so they were late.  oh... ok.



then this evening's call.  the batchmate from japan tells me, "dati na kaya silang late nang tumawag ako."  aha!  ha-ha-ha... maybe i knew that.  but then last night i didn't really have the energy anymore to think or to get mad or to blabber so i was just passive.  it was their lucky night  ; )