you get what you ask for

my cousin and i are both big fans of this countdown sale in this online mall.  the price of certain items drops by 1% per hour.

last saturday, she told me she fell asleep while waiting for the price of this item to drop a little more and when she woke up, the item was gone!  as in, none of the usual 'Sold Out' label, the item simply disappeared and could not be searched anymore.

she said she was so downhearted she called customer service asking what happened.

she was told they received an e-mail from the supplier saying there was a small crack in the item so they're pulling it out.

my cousin told them to tell the supplier she's willing to buy the item even with the crack.

me:  'aw!  don't say that!  'the secret'!  (rhonda byrne)

me, there's this item that i like but i'm not buying it because it's just good for one...  i don't wanna send a message to the universe that i wanna be alone...  i buy items good for sharing so the universe will know i like company...

the items that i buy for <remote province> are the best brands...  i don't bring trash there...  i don't want to send a message to the universe that they deserve less...  they deserve the best...'

that was morning...

afternoon, i received a message from my cousin...  she says two of the items she ordered have arrived  ->  one was really, really good; the other, cracked!

ahahaha...  'the secret'!  she announced morning that she was willing to purchase an item even if it's cracked.  well, the universe heard and sent her a cracked item just a few hours later...  ; p


this morning i was walking and i suddenly craved ice cream...  i had bills more than enough to pay for the ice cream but coins five pesos short of the price...  now i almost always find coins on the street when i pass that way...  i verbalized, 'i hope there's five...' (so i could pay with just coins leaving my bills intact)

guess what, just a few steps forward and i saw five centavos!  nyahaha!!!  i asked for five and i got five...  it should have been five pesos though instead of five centavos...  i wasn't very clear so there was some confusion in the delivery of the order...  ; p

next time be specific...  ; )

pwned

i knock at my sister-in-law's house...

me:  'would you like to swap knives before i give them away?'

sister-in-law:  'my knives are okay...'

me:  'my knives are good...  they're tramontina...  what's yours?'

sister-in-law:  'there...'

ooops...  they're tramontina, too  ->  and better than mine...  :"}

invisible

on the phone with someone i haven't talked to in quite a while...

guy:  'i haven't really been going to facebook anymore...  do you still do facebook?'

me:  'yeah...  nightly...  but the only things you'll see, if ever, are my public posts...  i've put you on my restricted list plus i've removed myself from your newsfeed (once upon a time i had access to his account)...'

\m/

happy minus

i learned just today that you cannot use a combination of load balance from your happyplus card and cash to pay for purchases.  (ok, maybe it's in the FAQs but, uhm, i didn't read...  :"} )

my happyplus purse and points balance was short by P10 for what i was buying so i gave the cashier my card plus P15 cash.  (error on my part, should have been just P10.  i'm a math genius, wahehe...)

she told me minimum load is P100.

i said i was using my load and just adding the difference.

that was when she told me about the oil and water nature of load and cash:  load and points you can combine but cash and load, no.

so P10 and i have to load P100?!

aw, happyplus...  why???  : }

unchanged

transferred some liquid from a PET bottle to a glass container...

me:  'the contents of this (glass) used to be in that (PET bottle)...  i just transferred...'

<toot>:  'what is that?'

me:  'i dunno...  vinegar?  i'm not sure...'

<toot>:  'you put a label on it...  i might mistake it for something else...'

me:  'i'm not sure what it is...'

<toot>:  'how would i know what it is if there's no label?'

me:  'how did you know what it was before when it also didn't have a label?  i just transferred from plastic to glass...  it's still in the same spot...'

maybe i should label it 'from plastic'?  ; )

cooking demo

i chanced upon a cooking demo at the department store...  i registered, sat down and watched...  goody good good!!!  i won in the raffle!!!  a set of potholders and an oven mitt...  there were so many of us who won and it was the least of the prizes but i was soooo happy, hahaha...  #shallow #SimpleJoys...  (grand prize, btw, was a pan)

and then they served us what the featured chef, mitchie sison, prepared...  cream dory fish tacos...  so yummy!  : D

my surprising takeaways from the demo:

1.  salt is to add flavor to the food, not to make it salty.

2.  when chopping, slicing, dicing, your knife should be the one to do the work with your hand just as a guide.  (for your knife to be able to do the work, it should be sharp and good.)

3. you can make tempura batter without an egg!  the chef just used beer...  yes, beer instead of egg!

uhm...  ok...  maybe these are surprising just to me...  i am no cook, admittedly...  :"}

anyway, just sharing in case there are others like me out there who do not know these things...  :")

to each his own

dad:  'are you still going to use the tumeric?'

sister echoes the question:  'dad's asking whether you're still going to use the tumeric...'

me:  'there's an R...'

sister:  'tumeRic...'

me:  'two R's...  T, U, R, M, E, R, I, C...  tuRmeric...'

sister:  'not tumeric?'

me:  'i know it as turmeric...'

sister:  'ok...  tuRmeRic...'

now since two of them knew it as tumeric, i checked the dictionary...  well, well, well...:

1.  a spelling variant does not have the first R so tumeric is actually fine

2.  in pronouncing turmeric, normally you pronounce both R's but an alternative pronunciation has a silent first R

oh...  so all of us were right after all...  \m/

i take back my correction...  :"}

believe in yourself

it's been quite a while since i picked up a hitchhiker.  this afternoon, it was a fifth grader.  he said he was going to the badminton court.

me:  'is it for school?'

boy:  'no...  i'm a player...'

me:  'oh, player!  so you're good?'

he nodded  ->  very confidently!  \m/

attaboy!  : )

micro and macro

i was seated beside a priest this morning...  he was saying he always prays for this rebel group currently in the news and these certain war-torn countries...

i blurted out, 'aw!  i suddenly felt so parochial...  i always pray for all the househelp our family has had since i was a child...  as in, i mention their names one by one in my prayers...'  : }

the priest said when he was a child, that was also how he prayed.  he enumerates the names of his brothers and sisters and prays for each one of them.  but as he got older, he started praying for virtues and more general things.

uh-oh...  so i have a child's prayer?  :"}

i was just thinking, these people could be so engrossed tackling the challenges of daily living they might not take time to pray anymore...  i therefore take it upon myself to be the one to pray for them...

and my thoughts are not purely micro...  i'm thinking along the lines of the invisible hand...  taking care of the individual, especially the forlorn and disadvantaged, will make the world itself a little better somehow...

choice

replacing my mom's salad mixing spoon...

me:  'what do you want, nylon or stainless steel?'

mom:  'stainless...'

me:  'what do you want:  england, U.S. or brazil?'

mom:  'why do you have to...?  get what looks best!'

me:  'the <country> looks best but it's the cheapest...'

sister:  'buy the middle...'

mom:  'get what will match the ones we have...'

haha...  had it been me i'll simply get the best...  \m/

look forward

friend and i rescheduling something because she tells me now her points will expire march 25...

me:  'you check if it moves again...'

friend:  'it did not...'

me:  'i mean, you check nightly in case it moves again...'

friend:  'no, it did not...'

me:  'you told me before it will expire april, right?  now you're telling me it will expire in march...'

friend:  'i told you it will expire march 30...'

me:  'ok...  so you were sure before that it will expire march 30...  now you're telling me it's march 25...  so check regularly in case the expiration date moves again so we could adjust...  you know when you lose points sometimes the expiration date moves, too...'

friend:  'i've lost 4 points...  it did not move...'

me:  'you haven't hit the threshold...  when you do it will move...'

friend:  'it did not...'

me:  'gaaaahhhh!!!  i'm not talking about the past!  i'm talking prospectively!  it could move!  that's the process!'

friend:  'ah...  okay, okay...'

sometimes you have to jolt people to get them past the past...  : }

make it clear

dad:  'would you like a sticker to <place>?'

me:  'no...  thanks...'

dad:  'i have a form here...  you can fill it out...'

me:  'i go there only every quarter...'

dad:  'at least you can pass through the restricted gates...'

me:  'those gates are farther from where i'm coming...'

dad:  'well, it's good to have a sticker...'

me:  'it's ok...  i don't want one...'

uhm...  i don't like stickers  ->  on my windshield or anywhere else...  i've chipped my nails so many times trying to remove them from stuff...  i like things clear, plain and transparent...  oh!  i'd say that not just in relation to stickers...  \m/

all together

little girl had seven (!) purely decorative clips on her head...

i'd imagine something like this transpired...

mom:  'which one do you like, baby?'

girl:  'this one...  and that one, too...  and that...  and that...  and that...  that...  that...'

mom:  'oh, ok...  let's put all of them on your hair...'

why choose when you can have them all?  ; )

fyi

phone call from a friend...

friend:  'ui, we don't have internet...  and i can't text...'

me:  'but you can call?'

friend:  'yes...'

me:  'you don't have internet...  you can't text but you can call...  why are you reporting it to me?'

friend:  'because you're the...'

<pause>

me:  'i'm the what?  i'm not your telco...  i can't really fix that...'

friend chuckles:  'i'm just informing you...'

oh, ok...  i sympathize...  ; )

limited guarantee

supposed to recover pics from a friend's memory card...

me:  'bring it to <my sister>...  don't worry, if it gets lost or something, i'm going to give you a replacement...'

friend:  '32 gig?'

me:  'gah!  just 8!'
(hers is 4GB)

friend:  'oi, that's class 10!'

me:  'mine's class 10, too...  sandisk!  i ordered it from the US...'

friend:  'oh, yours is better...'

me:  'ei, don't lose the card just to get a replacement, ok...  my guarantee covers only the time it's with me and my sister...  if it's with you and you lose it, i won't replace it...'

; p

ask a simple question

me:  'do you like <restaurant>?'

friend:  'your sister likes it...'

me:  'how 'bout you, do you like it or not?'

friend:  'it's ok...'

me:  'what do you mean ok?  do you like it, yes or no?'

friend:  'it's just ok...'

me:  'so 'no'?'

friend:  'could be yes, could be no...'

me:  'aaarrrggghhh!  what sort of answer is that?!  just yes or no!  do you like it, yes or no?!'

friend:  'yes...'

\m/

too few, too many

me:  'give me 40 pics...  no, 42 including the front and back covers...'

friend:  'it didn't reach 42...'

me:  'include other pics...'

friend:  'i don't have that many...'

me:  '42 is many?'

friend:  'to me it is...'

me:  'four, two!'

friend:  'what four, two?'

me:  'four, two...  forty-two...'

friend:  'yes, 42...  i don't have 42...'

me:  'what the...?!  you're just like <ex>...  he went to europe and came home with five pictures...  five!!!  me, i just walked over to my cousin's place and i took 120 pics...'

friend:  'not everyone is like you...  people are different...  if we're all the same the world won't be fun...'

hehe...  i agree...

1, 2, 3...  smile...  ;")

making up

i went to my uncle's place and gave him something...

me:  'my birthday gift for you...'

uncle:  'too early!'

(his birthday is in june yet)

me:  'my christmas gift was three months late, right?  so my birthday gift is three months early...'

; )

speck and log

i received a text message from a friend reminding me she has P20 (!) change with me...

eh?!

i call her reminding her about the P150 she has to pay me...

owned!  ; p

clothes test

i complimented my sister on her top...  and then a while later she was telling me i can have it...

me:  'huh?!  i just said it's nice but that doesn't mean i want to have it...'

sister:  'it doesn't really fit me...  it's tight...'

me:  'what size is it?'

sister:  'medium...'

me:  'medium?!  i won't even fit in medium, what more you...'

sister:  'you're large?'

me:  'L, XL...'

sister:  'you're smaller than me, it would fit you...'

me:  'i'm usually XL...  medium would be too small...  why'd you buy medium?'

sister:  'it was on sale...'

me:  'nyeh!  that's not a reason for buying!  a good criterion would be, if your crush sees you in it, is it okay?  if yes, then go ahead, you'll be fine...'

;")

good to me

i've been craving jollibee spaghetti these past few days and, being good to myself (oh, yes!), i've been giving in to those cravings.

guess what, today i go to my parents' place after having spaghetti (and jolly hotdog and vanilla twirl) at jollibee and there on the dining table is again spaghetti this time cooked by my sister-in-law.  moreover, there was my fave meiji macadamia courtesy of my sister.

ei, law of attraction!!!  : )

i'm sooo happy...  i'm sooo thankful...  yea!  : D

quirky

there's this supermarket i go to where if you purchase a certain amount, you get free parking for either three hours or five hours.  so whenever i'm in the area, that's where i park and then i buy stuff you use everyday just to spend the minimum amount needed to get free parking.

now i've been telling my sister i have too many toilet papers in the house.  and then when we parked in the supermarket, she saw me again putting toilet paper in my basket.

sister:  'i thought you have too many toilet papers already...'

me:  'yeah...  but you use this everyday anyway, so it's what i buy...'

sister:  'everyday, yes...  but you can't use that many!'

hmmm...  right...

so i returned a couple of packs and got coke instead...

sister:  'why'd you buy coke?  you don't drink coke...'

me:  'i read somewhere it's good for the toilet...  i'll pour it in my bowl...'

sister:  'what a toilet you have...  it drinks coke...'

;")

half-empty, half-full

i went to my uncle's place and handed him something...

me:  'my christmas gift for you, hehe...'

uncle:  'christmas?!  it's too early!'

me:  'early?!  that's actually late...'

:"}

mall

dad sees me in the garage...

dad:  'where are you going?'

me:  'i'm picking up <sister>...'

dad:  'where are you going?'

me:  'we're going to <place>...'

dad:  'why are you going there, you're not invited?!!!'

(my mom is at <place> having a get-together with her friends...)

me:  'oh!  we're not crashing them...  we'll be eating someplace else...'

uhm...  there are so many restaurants in that place...  ; )

gold, silver and bronze

my sister ordered chicken at this pizza place...  we both didn't like it...  : }

well, they're known for pizza, not chicken...

last month we were at a restaurant which was among this lifestyle magazine's best last year.  it was my third time there and i've been happy with my meals.  my companions, however, were like, 'it was nothing special,' 'it was nothing special...'

uhm, the dishes you ordered are not their specialties, y'know...  me, when i go to a place, i try to order their specialty...  you don't go to a seafood restaurant expecting to be bowled over by their beef...  \m/

just for fun

phone rings...

caller:  'malacañang?'

me:  'oh, sorry...'

then i put down the phone...

phone rings again...  ' turns out 'twas a friend of my mom's...  she thought it was my mom who answered and was trying to kid her...

she told my mom she changed her voice when she called the second time as i might put down the phone right away the moment i hear her voice...

aw!  wahaha...  sorry...  my sense of humor failed to function that time...  :"}

actually, had it been a guy's voice i would have stayed on the phone longer...  i have a cousin who calls and either introduces himself as or looks for some very important person.  i play along.  you hear our conversation you'd think the movers and shakers of the land have decided to exchange the most inane of pleasantries...

legends in our own mind...  ;")

getting it right

attended the last evening mass.  there were several empty seats, at least in the front pews.  (i like sitting in front, less distractions.)

okay.
Introductory Rites.
Liturgy of the Word.
Liturgy of the Eucharist.
the Communion Rite.

we got up, queued and took Holy Communion.

i went back to my place, knelt, said my post-communion prayers then sat.  hmmm...  something felt different.  i was trying to pinpoint what thinking spiritual stuff and all when ta-daan, i realized it was because there now was a lot of space in front of me.  the couple in matching red shirts earlier right in front of me now sat a pew away!

uh-oh...  did i go back to the wrong seat?  i looked behind me.  the guys i passed the offertory basket to were still right behind me.  i checked the candy on the pew in front.  it's still there.  that means it was the couple who did move.

i'm in the right place, all right...  : )