start anew

decided to rearrange stuff in my house for the new year...  result?  the previous setup was better...  :"O

now i'm too tired to put things back the way they used to be...  : }

if it's not broken don't fix it...

honor

clan christmas party...  children playing with the videoke...

<song 1>

<song 2>

<song 3>

...

<song n>

suddenly, 'lupang hinirang'!

huh?!

family members automatically stood up, my mom and my aunts complete with hand on the chest...

after the song, my aunt walked over to my nephews on the videoke and gave them an impromptu briefing on the solemnity of the national anthem...  you don't play it just like that...

anyway, all these years it has never occurred to me that the national anthem is in videoke songlists...  ' turns out it is and yeah, little boys looking for a song they know could come across it and press the corresponding code...  i don't know whether schools teach them that just because it is sung daily during the flag ceremony does not mean it's okay to sing it anywhere else as if it's just some ordinary song...  it is a cut above the rest and should be accorded proper respect...

light and shadow

on the phone with my aunt...  i was thanking her for the pillow gift she sent me.  it has the word 'dream' on it and it's in my favorite color blue.  i love it!  <3

she said she was choosing between two.  she decided on this one because the other's message was somewhat negative while this one was positive.  aawww!  my type exactly...  :")

some people are like rain on your parade.
others, like sunshine on a cloudy day.
let the sun shine in...  : )

mine

friend standing on queue.  i'm seated not too far away.

he has my phone.  he knows my screen lock.

then i saw him tapping and scrolling.

i dash to his side and go, 'hey!  what are you doing?!'

he gives me this puzzled look and i suddenly realize he was scrolling on his own phone.

me:  'hehe...  sorry...  i thought you were fiddling with my phone...'

:"}

imagine

guy:  'i have an officemate who knows you...'

me:  '<toot>?'

guy:  'yes...  i told her you were my girlfriend before...'

me:  'whaaattt?!  did she believe you?!'

guy:  'of course!'

me:  'and what did she say???'

guy:  'she said we're a good match...'

me:  'hahaha...  insane!'

to set the record straight, the guy was never my boyfriend.  he courted me, yes.  but we were never sweethearts.

i never said 'i love you' back.
we never held hands.
we never embraced.
we never kissed.
it must be a really sad day for romance if sweethearts were like that.

the greatest

seated at this table with these two guys who were trying to one-up each other...

guy 1:  'what can i give you, cynthia?  hmmm...  house and lot...  you want a house and lot?'

i chuckle and flash a thumbs up...

guy 1 turns to guy 2 and asks:  'you, what can you give her?'

guy 2:  'love!  love is all i can give her...  is that okay with you, cynthia?'

i smile and flash two thumbs up...

love.  is.  all.  that.  matters.

♩ ♪  faithful and forever
keeping us together
love is all we need  ♫ ♬

<3 <3

suit up

friend has weekend overnight overtime work...  from our place, he tells me he's going home first before he proceeds to the site...

me:  'why do you still have to go home?  why don't you go straight to the site from here?'

friend:  'i'm going to change clothes...'

me:  'why do you still have to change?'

friend:  'look at me, i'm wearing slippers and a shirt now...  i'm going to change into slippers and a sando, hahaha...'

me:  'hahaha... business attire!'

; )

pampered

my phone rings...

caller:  'you want chocolate?'

me:  'of course!  what sort of question is that?'

caller:  'you want to buy?'

me:  'hahaha...  how come you're selling to me now?'

caller:  'i'm not selling...  i'm just here...'

me:  'where?'

caller:  '<place>...'

me:  'why do they have chocolates there?'

caller:  'they have a sale...  in case you're in the area you might want to drop by...'

me:  'oh...  haha...  okay...'

for years now whenever he calls to ask whether i like something it means he's going to give me, as in, for free.  for a while there i thought i'm suddenly not worth it anymore...  ;"p

love and marriage

friend:  'how many years have your parents been married?'

me:  'hmmm...  my age plus one...'

friend:  'oh!  your mom was not pregnant when she got married...'

me:  'haha...  no...'

friend:  'mine was...  so whatever my age is, that's how long they've been married.'

fun fact...  ; )

overjoyed

last friday, i ordered 9 items online.

this morning, i received a text message telling me to anticipate delivery of my package today.

i got excited...  i was sooo happy...  : D
(yup, i am shallow like that...  ;") )

this afternoon, the courier arrived.  guess what, he was delivering only one of the nine.  the rest will be sent later.

hahaha...  throughout the day i had joy proportional to nine.  turns out i'll get just one.

oh, well, happiness extended and multiplied.  keep smiling...  : )

do something

while on queue to pay at shopwise araneta this evening, i saw candy wrappers on the floor near a shelf beside the cashier...  i took a couple of pics then looked around for security...  i saw one and waved for him to come over...  he did and i pointed to him the candy wrappers on the floor...

he immediately picked them up!

eh?!

do not touch the evidence!!!  preserve the crime scene!!!  (okay, okay, it's just candy...)

he went out of sight very quickly then when he passed in front of me again i asked, 'did you throw the wrappers?  i called you because someone might be eating without paying...'

he said something i didn't really get (we were on opposite sides of the cashier's counter) then walked away...

last time i had a brush with shoplifting was when this girl in front of me suddenly shoved this row of batteries into her bag then so casually walked past the cashier.  this was at the supermarket at SM megamall years ago.  so many of us saw her yet none of us stopped her!  i did point her out to the cashier but apparently that wasn't enough.

ugh!

for evil to triumph, all good men have to do is nothing.

fear factor

friend:  'how's <toot>?'

me:  'huh?!  i dunno...'

friend:  'you didn't even show him to me!'

me:  'i didn't see him!'

friend:  'hasn't he arrived?'

me:  'i dunno...  but i did have missed calls from <hotel> last month...  the number is in my contacts list from last year yet so i know it was <hotel>...  i just dunno whether it was really the hotel calling me or him...'

friend:  'it might have been him!'

me:  'maybe...  maybe not...  last time we talked i told him if he rings me one more time i'm going to report him to his wife...  that scared the daylights out of him he finally stopped...'

had i known that line would be effective i would have used it long ago...  anyway, better late than later...  ; )

pen pineapple apple pen

sister eating hawaiian pizza...  then she stood up and got apple juice...

me:  'you should get a pen, too...'

sister:  'i have a pen...'

me:  'i have a apple...  uh!  apple pen...'

;")

positively negative

i make a call...

girl:  'hello...'

me:  'hello...  is this <online store>?'

girl:  'no.'

me:  'no?'

girl:  'yes.'

me:  'yes?  yes, it is <online store> or yes, it is not <online store>?'

girl:  'yes, it is not <online store>.'

me:  'aw, sorry...  thanks...'

i dunno if it's supposed to be clear but this sort of yes-no's always confuse me...  :"}

same feather

me:  'is he gay?'

friend:  'O M G!'

me:  'he is?'

friend:  'no!  he's married...'

me:  'you can be gay and still be married...'

friend:  'he's not gay...  he's a maniac!'

me:  'oh...  just like you...'

; p

in another life

talking reincarnation...

friend:  'what if in the next life you're a man?'

me:  'no...  i'll still be a woman in my next life...'

friend:  'you can't choose what you'll be when you get reincarnated...  and oftentimes people don't even know that they've been reincarnated...'

me:  'i'll know...  and i'm sure i'll still be female...'

friend:  'okay...  but what if in the next life <toot> is a deer and you're a cow?'

me:  'what the...?!  no!  we'll both be humans in the next life and we're going to end up together...'

<3 <3

improve

i have a beautiful mom....  yes, i mean physically...

a former officemate used to repeatedly tell me my mother is prettier than me  ->  which could mean a lot of things depending on how you see me, ahahaha...

anyway, every now and then she likes to get a perm...  uhm, it doesn't suit her...  : }

years back when my nephew was  still young, she came home with wavy hair.

the little boy intently looked at her then went, 'you're not pretty, grandma.'

kids.  don't.  lie.

my sisters tell her she does not look good with curly hair.  i tell her.  we all tell her.

that doesn't dissuade her.

her reason?

for a change.

ugh!

you don't go for change for the sake of change.
you change for the better
otherwise just remain the same.

naughty and nice

supposed to order these items as a friend's gift for his officemates...

me:  'how many?'

friend tries to count:  'so-and-so and so-and-so and so-and-so...  so-and-so, so-and-so, so-and-so...  of course, you, too...'

me:  'i'll be ordering, too, so don't buy me anymore...'

friend:  'what prize do i give you?'
->  for specially good behavior, ehem, ehem...  : D

me:  'leche flan!'

friend:  'how many do you want?'

me:  'just one!  wait...  up to you...  depends on how many you want to give me...'

don't lower the bar...  ;"p

long and short

crossing the street yesterday, an SUV drove in front of me...  i noticed the driver's belly...

i thought to myself, 'this guy's belly is so big...'

then i looked at the face...  ei, i know the guy!  :O

he recognized me, too, and we waved at each other...

i posted a status update in facebook without of course naming the person...

then it just occurred to me, i was wearing a long, loose dress...  he was driving slowly...  he must have seen me from afar and thought to himself:  'this woman looks dowdy...'

wahaha!  quits!

and some sort of redemption for me, if i may add...  one time we saw each other at a gasoline station...  uhm, my shirt was longer than my shorts that time...  :"}

i was supposed to be out just very quickly so i didn't change my house clothes anymore...  i wasn't expecting to run into anyone i know nor did i think i would have to get off the car at the gasoline station...  but then the attendant said my oil needed a refill and my usual was not available so he made me choose a substitute from their shelf (as if i know anything about oils, wahehe...)

anyway, at least now the guy knows i have a balanced wardrobe...  ; )

cheap

i'm not a coffee drinker...  for some reason i usually get this feeling of discomfort whenever i drink a cup...

i got a barista badge in pre-swarm foursquare though...  i earned it because of my starbucks check-ins where i was actually going to the place for cakes and not for coffee...  : }

anyway, last week my sister-in-law gave me a starbucks coupon for a complimentary tall beverage.  i was offering it to my sister but she declined.

the coupon expires today and i didn't want it to go to waste.  i therefore took a jeepney to the mall (P7 fare), claimed the beverage, roamed around a bit, then went home, again by jeepney.  ta-daan!  in effect i shelled out only P14 for the normally P150 caramel macchiato!  : D

the freebie junkie that i am was so happy i didn't feel any discomfort at all, hahaha...  ; )

anyway, tomorrow i'm back to hot choco <3

assess

at an intersection...

me to mom:  'last time it was just 4 seconds before the light turns red and yet these pedestrians crossed while the light was still green...'

mom:  'were they run over?'

me:  'no...  but then they were risking it...  imagine, 4 seconds and you won't have that risk anymore and still they went ahead...  i would have waited...'

in risk management, you have options:
1.  eliminate
2.  reduce
3.  transfer
or
4.  accept
risk...

4 seconds?  i think the choice would be a no-brainer...

either these people's risk appetites are so high or they're not making use of their brains...  : }

duty

i was at the bank of the philippine islands branch at ali mall this morning.  so there i was waiting for my queue number to be flashed onscreen and in front of me was one of the two guards assisting a customer in one of the BEA machines.  (the other guard was standing at the entrance.)

the BEA machines are  positioned against the right wall of the room.  if you are using the machine, you'll be facing the wall.

i wasn't able to keep track of how much time exactly the guard spent assisting the customers.  at least three minutes maybe?  whatever, it seemed too long to me.

i used to head security, IT security.  the security guards were not under me but they were our concern, too, as they formed part of the overall security complement.  i couldn't help thinking, this is a security guard, he's supposed to secure the place.  how can he do that if he is facing the wall with his back to practically everything and everyone?  he is supposed to be on watch.  how can you watch what you cannot see?

being helpful and multi-tasking is good but we all have our functions.  when we take on other tasks, we should ensure that it won't be at the expense of our primary assignment.  otherwise there'll be gaps.  and at times gaps can be dangerous.