watch and turn

watched 'insidious' last night...  dunno whether it really wasn't that scary or i simply wasn't that scared because i kept on looking elsewhere during the supposedly scary parts...

my companion who has seen the movie was able to give me advance notice (per my request) and every time a scene with disturbing visuals is about to come up he'd tell me, 'you close your eyes now...'

; )

same time, what year

on the phone...

friend:  'let's set it friday, october 5...'

me:  'ok...'

<blah-blah-blah>, <blah-blah-blah>

bye

soon after, i receive a text message:  'friday's october 4'

i call:  'so, what?  friday or october 5?'

<blah-blah-blah>

me:  'you sure with that now?'

friend:  'yes...  i'm facing the calendar now...'

me:  'what year?'

; )

rise and shine

friend:  'i'll accompany you tomorrow...'

me:  'oh, it's ok...  i can manage...'

friend:  'i'll accompany you...'

me:  'don't bother...  so you won't have to wake up...'

friend:  'i really am going to wake up tomorrow...'

haha...  of course...  ; )

surprise

someone kinda peeved that she's being sent out of town on short notice to present a report...  as in, informed today, leaving early tomorrow morning...

well, at least you have the night, girl...  and you have a reference document for your report...

me, years back when i was still a newbie programmer, one of the bosses shows up at our office and tells me to accompany her...

me:  'what do i need to bring?'

boss:  'nothing...  just tag along...'

ok...

so we go to this room...  'twas full of people...  we sit down...  listen, listen...

then she goes in front to speak...

oh...  so she's a speaker...

and then, ta-daaannn!!!  did i almost fall off my seat when at this certain point in her talk she suddenly called me telling the audience i'm going to talk about this certain topic.  whaaaatttt???!!!  impromptu!  :O

one of the unforgettable moments in my work life...

and, uhm, modesty aside, i'm happy to say i acquitted myself quite well...  hah!!!  ; p

one sweet day

there's this someone whose number i've deleted from my phone book.  it took a while before i was able to finally do that.  at first, all i could make myself do was rename him in my contacts list.  but yup, eventually, i mustered enough grit to finally go and delete his number.  not that i call him, ok.  i've actually been telling him to stop calling me.  he'd comply and then he'll be back again.  it's been like that for almost two years now...  : }

well, this afternoon my phone rang.  number not in my address book (i get a lot of that) but for some reason when i saw the last digit, i somehow felt it was this someone who, uhm, used to be very special...

then when i said hello, the caller greeted me a certain way...

right away i blurted out a name...

he didn't really say yes but instead just mumbled something so i had to ask whether it really was him...

yup, 'twas him alright...

suddenly, i was soooo happy...  :")
(well, i was actually rather happy today but his call just made my day all the more happier...)

i can take his number out of my phone...  but i can't erase his memories out of my life (don't really want to use 'heart' there)...

dup

purchased a voucher from one of the group-buying sites...  two sets of cheeseburger, fries and milkshake, 55% off...

me:  'i really liked their milkshake...  if they still have a voucher, i'll buy again...'

friend:  'i still have one...  i printed two...'

me:  'huh?!'

friend:  'ooops...  yeah...  it's just a duplicate...  they have the same code...  we'll have to buy again...'

of course!  \m/

inconsistent

me:  'which rank is higher, 1st lieutenant or 2nd lieutenant?'

military dad in a you-don't-know-that?!-tone:  'of course, 1st lieutenant!'

ooops...  hehe...  sorry...  :"}

a two-star general is higher than a one-star, right?  but yeah, in ships, the first mate is higher than the second mate...

High Price

brother's printer wouldn't print so he bought a cartridge of yellow toner...

i tell him he has to buy three more:  black, magenta and blue...

he says last time he bought only yellow and it worked...

i tell him last time, he still had other toners so it worked...  well, this time, all are used up so he has to buy all four...

brother, pointing to the yellow cartridge:  'but this one costs P2,600.00...'

me:  'uh-huh...'

brother:  'i need to buy three more?!'

me:  'yes...'

you should have seen the look on his face...

; )

say yes

discovered a new place today...  sweet ecstacy at cubao expo...  i love milkshakes and i've had countless and i'd say theirs is really good!!!  : D
-  i had nutella oreo...  ok, ok...  how can you go wrong with that?  ; )

first time i heard the name i was hesitant to go...  i told my friend it sounds like an, uhm, 'adult' club...  she was insisting we give it a try...  it's a voucher anyway...  groupon / beeconomic, 55% off...  P351.00 for **two sets** of cheeseburger, fries and shake (your choice)...

i googled a bit...  the images looked wholesome enough so ok, say yes...

well, my P175.50 share was definitely worth it...  at regular price, their milkshakes would cost P140 to P160...  we paid just a bit higher and we already had cheeseburger and fries with the shake...  the burger was good, too...  the fries, ok...

voucher or no voucher, i'd definitely be back...  : )

boo

last saturday, i received SMS from my telco asking me to rate my customer service experience...  i ignored it because i'd rather not give a low rating...

now i receive another SMS again asking me to rate their customer service...  once again i am ignoring it...

if next saturday they send me another survey i just might not be able to restrain myself anymore and actually tell them i was not at all satisfied...

: }

outside your jurisdiction

i have an über-protective, uhm, kinda 'meddlesome' dad, at least, to my mom and us his offspring.  we're waaayyyy  into the age of majority yet he still watches over us as if we're some helpless, vulnerable baby.  of course, he has the best of intentions and we're really thankful but sometimes it's not so easy to appreciate the over-concern, hehe.  (we love you, vats...  peace!!!  <3 <3 <3 )

well, today my aunt came over.  she and my mom were going out and i handed them a package with the warning, 'it's kinda heavy...'

right away, my dad's antenna went tinnggg!!!  he goes, 'why are you going to bring it when it's heavy?  just leave it...'

my mom and my aunt both say it's ok.

my dad was insisting they leave it.

my mom and my aunt kept saying they could manage.

my dad was getting angry already:  'you're going out and you'll be carrying around a heavy package?!  leave it!'

me:  'vats, that's not ours...  that's auntie's...  she's taking it home...'

oh...  ;")

glutton

dad eating cake...

sister offers him macaroni salad...

he declines saying it might not go well with what he's eating.

me:  'oh?  i think it's ok...  at parties they have both cake and salad, right?'

dad:  'yes...  but you'll have to choose...'

ooops...  you're supposed to choose?!  i've been having both...  : }

if you could see me now

replied joyfully to a text message this morning...

texter said he could imagine me, 'running, jumping, clapping while saying that.'

me:  '<blah-blah-blah>'

'twas the guy's turn to reply with a giddy message.

uhm...  i wanted to say, i could imagine him 'running, jumping, his big, round belly shaking while saying that.'

; p

raise the bar

me:  'what cake do you want?'

niece:  'any, tita...  thanks...'

me:  'hmmm...  but is there any particular cake that you like?'

niece:  'i liked the one that you gave mama...'

me:  'oh...  that's too plain...  the only reason i bought it was because my first choice wasn't available...'

niece:  'but it was good, tita...'

me:  'yeah...  but it doesn't look good...'

mom:  'just get it...  it's what she likes...  what's important is that it tastes good...'

me:  'yup...  but if you can have something that does not just taste good but also looks good then better...'

deadend

calling my telco's customer service hotline.

"for instructions in english, press 1.
kung gusto ninyo ng taglish, press 2."

i press 1.

"you have entered an invalid entry."

i try again.

again, "you have entered an invalid entry."

i tried and tried until i reached the maximum allowable attempts.  aw!

again, again...  this time i press 2.

same result.

: }

it's me

me:  'have you redeemed your item?'

sister:  'do i need to present anything?'

me:  'your voucher...'

sister:  'i don't have a voucher...'

me:  'didn't i give you?'

sister:  'no...'

ooops...  my fault...  : }

stuck

sister-in-law:  'is he courting you?'

me:  'oh...  no...'

sister-in-law:  'ah...  you're just friends...'

me:  'yup...  we're in the friend zone...'

a sticky place...  ; p

exercise

went upstairs to copy some pics...
realized that i forgot the camera and memory card downstairs...
went down...
saw that one of the vases was off-center...  fixed...
went upstairs after...
realized that i again forgot the cam and mem card downstairs...
went down again and proceeded straight to the cam...
copying pics now...
whew!

water nymph

mom sees me:  'you're going out?'

me:  'yes...  didn't i tell you i was going to <place>?'

mom:  'that was quite a while back...'

me:  'i haven't left yet...'

mom:  'i thought you've come back...'

me:  'i still had to shower...'

mom:  'that long?!'

uhm...  you should know me by now, mom...  : }

men and women

brother and sister-in-law attending a wedding...  an hour before the ceremony, i see my brother...

me:  'where's <sister-in-law>?'

brother:  'at the salon [for hair and makeup]...'

my brother?  he's still in his dowdy shorts and big shirt feeding the birds...

; )

gone in two weeks

wanted to get a good mango cake for someone very dear late last month... three starbucks branches, not a single one had a whole mango yogurt cheesecake...  thought of putting together remaining slices from two of their branches...  hmmm...  discarded the idea...  got another cake instead...

to avoid a repeat, tried to reserve one in advance this time.  guess what, they've discontinued the cake!

uuuuhhhh!!!

validation

buying something online...  error message saying card issuer has declined my card...  hmmm...  it has enough balance!

i tried another card, a linked card, i.e., they share the same credit limit and have the same balance.  the transaction pushed through!

only difference was the first time i spelled out my first name, i.e. 'Maria,' when on the card it just says 'Ma.'  on the successful transaction i just typed 'Ma.'

sale

' saw one of the items i bought at 50% discount back to its regular price...  i was soooo happy!!!  i made a good buy, baby!  yea!!!  : D

what's funny?

my phone rings...

me:  'hello...'

caller:  'hehehe...'

me:  'why are you laughing?'

caller:  'is it bad to laugh?'

me:  'no...  but then you haven't said anything yet and you're already laughing...'

caller chuckles...

wahehe...  ; )

pronunciation

cousin saying all the while she thought you pronounced 'lipid' as 'lee-pid' and then she was with a doctor and the latter pronounced it as 'lye-pid' (the first syllable sounding like 'eye').  she said her companion being a doctor, she should know the right pronunciation.

me:  'hmmm...  i think i heard it being pronounced as lye-pid before...  not really sure, that's so long ago...  but since it's english, the 'i' could really be 'eye'...'

cousin-in-law:  'just like nikon (pronouncing it nye-kon)...'

me:  'is it nye-kon or nee-kon?  it's japanese so i suppose the 'i' there is 'ee'...'

cousin:  'but remember in hong kong, <camera seller> calls it nye-kon...'

me:  'is he japanese?'

cousin:  'no...  chinese...'

me:  'hmmm...  i had japanese classes for a year...  the 'i' is 'ee' not really 'eye'...'

a while later, the topic changed to powershots and ixus...  my cousin-in-law pronounced it 'eye-zoos'...  hmmm...  all these years i've been pronouncing it 'ick-sus'...  : }

now i checked (webster and digitalrev) :

i'm wrong on lipid.  it's supposed to be lee-pid not lye-pid.

but i got nikon and ixus right.  yup, they're nee-kon and ick-sus.

: )

zeros sum

depositing money at the bank...  i was putting the bills on the counter and noticed the surprised look on the teller's face...  i wondered why considering that the amount is not small but i don't think it was that large either...

when i've put everything on the counter, the teller went, 'that's what you're going to deposit, ma'am?'

me:  'yes...'

teller:  'it says here only <10 times lower the amount>, ma'am...'

me:  'oh...  i missed out a zero!  it's supposed to be <correct amount>...'

teller:  'ah, so this is supposed to be <correct amount>, ma'am...'

me:  'yes...  sorry...'

the zero matters...  \m/

too big

saw a guy at the mall talking to someone on one of those not-quite-small-enough-for-your-hand tablets with phone capability.  as in, the tablet was close to his ear.  looked kinda weird to me.  it's like having your face against a wall...  : }

yes, no

i've been declining this friend's invitation for yearS...  today he asked again, just like yesterday and the other day...

me:  'you already know my reply...'

friend:  'yes?  finally you said yes!'

me:  'haha...  yes, you already know my reply.'

and that reply is 'no.'

the wrong one

i've been going to this bookstore a long time and only now did i notice the text on their floor tiles.

me:  'miss, what book is this on your tiles?'

customer service assistant:  'The Prince, ma'am...  Machiavelli...'

ok...  i check the floor...

hmmm...  why is it so loooong?

i read a bit...  aw!  seems too serious...  i don't remember this part of the book...

and then i see in a chapter title, The Art of War...  huh?!  that's Sun Tzu!

suddenly it dawned on me, oh, yup, she did say The Prince and Machiavelli.  i had in mind The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

: }

thrifty

on the phone...

friend:  'when are we going out again?'

me:  'why are we going to go out, we don't have vouchers...  i don't wanna go out unless there's a [discount] voucher...'

; )

jumping to conclusions

chose an item at the supermarket...  checking out other stuff after...  saleslady told me to just call her when i'm already at the cashier and she'd just bring the item...

so i was ready to pay and i asked the guard to please tell the saleslady i'm already at the counter...

guard calls out, 'mahal...  mahal...'
[mahal = love / dear]

the saleslady comes near...

me to guard:  'you're a lover boy, huh!'

store staff behind me:  'her name's really 'mahal'...'

ooops...  sorry...  :"}

just for fam

at a restaurant...  i was supposed to greet my uncle with a kiss when two of my cousins passed between us so we kissed each other first...  after our beso beso, i was poised to resume planting a kiss on my uncle's cheek but i had to backtrack suprised that now in his place already stood a waiter...  wahaha...  pass...  i don't kiss strangers...  ; )

so dear

hahaha...  dad's story about his mom:

she was born in the 1890s and passed away in her late 80s.  now there was a store in front of her house in the province and my grandmother, using as reference point the prices from sooo long ago, found the merchandise too expensive.  what my dad did was to talk to the storekeeper telling them to sell to my grandmother items at whatever pre-inflation price she wants and he'll just pay the difference.  everybody happy...  ; )