bitchy ata?

there's this agent from prudential who called me up last friday and told me that i won a personal accident plan. all i have to do is sign some docs and it's good to go. although i know that this is just one of those you-don't-have-to-pay-anything-NOT! schemes, i said that i'll go on monday (yesterday). besides, i had a tiny glimpse of hope that this is different since i'm a plan holder.

so yesterday, i forgot that we were also scheduled for an APE at 3pm. agent called up again, confirming my scheduled appointment. so i told him i can't come because i have this APE thing. so he starts harassing me... "pano po yun mam? nakaschedule kayo? pag di kayo pumunta, kami ang malalagot sa head department... si sir jay, kakausapin kayo.." and the voice was really irritating! he was trying to scare me! who the hell is sir jay? and i told him calmly but i was a bit irritated na rin... "e anong gagawin ko?!!?" and he started to oblige me to go there to have the plan transferred to an immediate relative.

and i was pissed off... i told him, first of all, i didn't ask you guys to give me this plan so don't oblige me to do stuff that i don't feel like doing. i haven't confirmed and signed anything so don't harass me like hell. and... second, it's not my problem! ok?!?

and he was like... ay ok po mam. thank you.

madadaan ka naman pala sa maayos na usapan eh.

fiestah

what's with the title? duh.

3rd week of january = fiesta. the day started with the 9am mass. bishop jesse mercado was here so the lectors had to dress up in filipiniana costumes. i think my barong-style top was a bit big for me. it is dencia's and it still looked big on me. how thin am i?

it was a 2-hour mass. there were dozens of sto. nino statues in front of the altar, all waiting to be blessed. i have a confession to make. i'm not too crazy about religious statues. sometimes they scare me... especially the super old ones. maybe i've seen too much images of dancing sto. ninos on tv when i was young. and i was really scared of it... i still am. i mean, i don't need dancing statues to make me believe in God. the sight of it just scares me. maybe because i know that there is a human behind it all... and it just looks, uhh... scary. gives me goosebumps.

the entire aldaba clan was invited for lunch to introduce them to tito danny. it was a good lunch, with too much food, the usual magic sing galore, my uncle's persistent requests for me to sing (i rarely give in), a few ballroom dancing for the oldies, the evening procession, and that's about it.

oh i forgot to mention the post drinking chaos... right now, i could hear a couple of drunk men fighting, or almost fighting outside. this is the 2nd fight session for the night. it never fails. give them bottles of beer, and there's a series of war afterwards. and i don't really get it. and the barangay tanods will have to work overtime to stop the sabong. argh.

but yeah, all of these trips make up the fiesta... take one away and it's not fiesta.

the sweetest thing...

read on the rear window of a car somewhere in sucat...

"I LOVE MY WIFE"

awwww...

on the brighter side of life now

our request has been granted! we're on 4pm to 1am shift now. i'm at the office now and i feel great!

guess what? it's now 551 pm and i just saw the sun set among the tall buildings. it's not the most spectacular sunset. the best i've seen, i guess, are puerto galera sunset and manila bay sunset. but this can pass as one of the best. it's the first i've seen in ages.

and when i look behind me, my shadow was there. i was alone and i was savoring every moment of it... the setting sun, my shadow behind me, the sun tranforming from bright blue and white to gray and orange. aaaah. i love it!

and i'm beginning to sound freaky. not freaking out, just enjoying the days more than the nights now. i love my life!

abot-tanaw na ang liwanag

i don't have a problem. it's not one of those moments when there's a crisis that's coming to and end hehe...

what i really mean to say here is... we asked our boss if we could work on an earlier shift - 4pm to 1am. sure going home will literally be thrilling, but it's worth the risk. i've been on night shift for more than a year now. it has become evident on the dark circles under my eyes and the raging moods i've had and the general feeling of being unwell. i just noticed i've become more irritable and grudging lately. it probably doesn't show yet but maybe in the long run, i'll be feeling something wrong with my health.

i know i've been the most diligent advocate of the "it's not what happens, it's how you take it" motto, but darn it... i give up. this is an exception. syet. i hate night shifts! and i can't help but feel pessimistic about it now.

try it. stay awake at nights and sleep on days and you'll know how i feel. argh. bad.

we're crossing our fingers that the request will be approved. otherwise, i'm doomed. but what can i do?!? syet.

makulit

may mga tao talagang makulit no? duuuuuh.

[04:39] manongkulit: hehehe
[04:39] manongkulit: musta na?!??
[04:39] manongkulit: wat tym is ur shift nyway ba??
[04:39] cathscamacho: 9pm to 6am forever
[04:39] cathscamacho: ano ba ang kulit mo kanina
[04:40] cathscamacho: a regular person... will somehow think that if one doesn't respond to messages, she probably doesn't have access to her phone...
[04:41] cathscamacho: probably away from phone... probably sleeping
[04:41] cathscamacho: and will probably get back to you... once she wakes up
[04:48] manongkulit: hehehe, bakit ka naiinis?!?? hehehe
[04:49] manongkulit: *giGgLe!*
[04:50] cathscamacho: e ang kulit mo eh
[04:50] cathscamacho: diba alam mong night shift ako!?
[04:51] cathscamacho: edi siguro tulog ako nun!
[04:51] cathscamacho: may mga taong nagigising kahit sa little beeps no!
[04:51] cathscamacho: at isa ako dun
[04:55] manongkulit: hehehe
[04:55] manongkulit: 'di ko mapigiLan yung tawa ko ah =D...
[04:56] manongkulit: cge, 'di na mauuLit ...
[04:56] manongkulit: peace tayo ah, caths ;D...
[04:56] cathscamacho: 2nd time na to no
[04:56] cathscamacho: hmp
[04:57] manongkulit: o cge nga, keLan yung 1st?!??
[04:57] cathscamacho: nung holidays
[04:58] cathscamacho: kaw p galit na d sinasagot ang call duh
[04:58] manongkulit: ows?!?? yung nasa singa ka?? hehehe
[04:58] cathscamacho: oo kaya
[04:58] manongkulit: hehehe
[04:59] manongkulit: oo nga naman... duH!
[04:59] manongkulit: hehe
[04:59] manongkulit: o cge, 'di na taLaga mauuLit...
[05:00] manongkulit: napangiti mo ko dun sa mga hirit mo ah...
[05:00] cathscamacho: ewan
[05:01] manongkulit: hanggang ngayon gaLit ka pa din dun sa nasa singa ka?!??
[05:01] manongkulit: cge na nga tatahimik na nga ko ...
[05:01] cathscamacho: naalala ko lang
[05:02] cathscamacho: kse makulit din nman ako.. pero medyo marunong nman ako mag translate ng signs no!
[05:05] manongkulit: I was never any gud w/ the signs ...

thirteenth of january...

is not a very good time to put up updates on the happenings of my life for the past few weeks. rather late, i'd say but better late than never.

i guess the highlight of the year 2006 was the singapore vacation i had with my family. yes, my brother is an ofw in singapore haha. it's the first time kuya is away for the christmas and new year holidays... so if he can't be with us then we'll be with him!

it was wawin's first out-of-the-country trip, so this made it more exciting for all of us... besides the fact that we'll be together, of course.

we were there from the 23rd of dec 'til the 2nd of jan. every moment was a blast. kuya's housemates all went home to pinas so we had all the freedom that our hearts desired inside the house - errrr dirty house?

we went to the usual spots. we were amazed by the efficient systems that are in place in that small country - from transportation to laws to cleanliness to big vegetables to meeting some people from the past to lqs to everything. we were hoping to stay (make that come back), if only i could find a job there - but i'm guessing it's not (yet?) written in God's planner.

but those are merely trivial details of the trip and i'd rather not elaborate on superficial stuff. i guess, more than all the glitz and radiance of the travel, i'd rather make a detailed account of how kuya has been at his best.

he took charge of everything. he cooked dinner for us for the first night - something he would never do had he been stuck in pinas. and yeah, even if it's just fried instant chicken tempura and maggi noodles, it is by far the best meal i've had in singapore.

having stayed there for only 3 months, kuya's a tourist himself. but he did his best to be the best guide there is (next to camille hehe. camille's still the best tour guide!). he didn't visit certain spots with his friends 'cause he said he wanted to experience the first time with his loved ones. awww.

i say he's at his best because he personified the word "kuya". he's characterized it perfectly it's almost close to representing the word "father". he's so responsible now. i bet papa will be so proud of him if only he could witness all this.

the only negative feedback i have now is... his nasty yosi habit. break it or you'll be damned. you're damned, we're damned. as simple as that.

overall, i give this experience a five-star rating. call it the first time we're complete as a family on an out-of-the-country trip. call it special because we felt reunited after three months. call it memorable because we opt to make it memorable. call it perfect. this is one of the moments that will always give a dreamy look on my face. and it's not oa. :)