ladies' nights

there's something about ladies' nights that really gets me going.. maybe it's the idea of staying up late, maybe it's the offensive amount of alcohol i know i will consume that night, maybe it's all the new names i'll be able to put to old faces. but mostly, MOSTLY, it's the ladies.

my ladies. (and a lone ranger) alessa, jc, me, denise, patty, candice, and patty d. at citrus for erica's birthday party.

the party in a box hadn't had a night out for ages , so this was a refreshing change. but i think we overdid it as it went WAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY too long.. as in i took alessa home at 630am. pero ENJOY kasi wasak kami lahat (kami lahat = Team Cuadrado). bwahahahaha. ale do you even remember going into the house with all the fraternity boys? ohhhh man. it wouldn't have happened if we didn't have one too many gin tonics and margaritas.

kim, candice, monique, me, candice a., and claire giving the oakwood mutiny a brand new face.

this night we all had a bad case of gate-crasher anxiety. hindi kami lahat makapag-pajamas because of a few fish that had stayed out too long. but all in good time.. the little fishies left and i stayed out on the couch to welcome the morning sunshine. btw kim, you and titus made the best cocktails!

truthfully, it is not the drinks, nor the location, nor the new faces that make the night. for me it is DEFINITELY the company. there is no better feeling than being with your girls, who in a heartbeat can turn your worst nightmare into a new beginning. there is just a positive energy that moves around the room when we are together, a growing power that builds up inside you when you find yourself with them. i always feel reinforced, rejuvenated, reinvigorated after spending some time with these amazing individuals.

you girls keep me alive! hope you know that. sending some love to you all.

it's the little things that count

the date with wacky got me thinking about that 'horizon' we kept talking about that night. we were slugging it out between being really tutok to your objective, making everything timpla in the way you know will get you to your objective someday, or just keeping the 'horizon' in the foreground and letting each day seize you, allowing yourself to embrace every moment.

i would say i am more of the latter. i think he was more of the former. this is not to say we sorely disagreed at some points. more like he believed in this and i believed in that. but what i remember distinctly was the profound sense of respect between us. a silent acceptance of each other's differences. amazing. i will never forget that.

i have this little devotional book beside my bed and it was the one i read yesterday that compelled me to write this entry.

"Live your life each day as you would climb up a mountain.
An occasional glance toward the summit keeps the goal in mind,
but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point.
Climb slowly, steadily, enjoying each passing moment;
and the view from the summit will serve as a fitting climax for the journey."`

-- Harol V. Melchert

of course reaching one's goal in life is great. but what's even greater is knowing, embracing, and accepting, what lay between you and your 'horizon.'

sarsa queen

i sometimes wonder why i put so much frickin' gravy on my fried chicken, too much toyomansi on my siomai, and just wayyyyyy too much chili sauce on my lumpiang shanghai. i can't help but think all the extra poundage on my sides come from each dumpling dipping episode.. but why? why does all my food have to be smothered with a condiment?

i just can't seem to eat without the 'essentials.' and mind you, i will really WAIT for the sawsawan to be made before i start taking a bite. kasi what's the point of doing something, (especially EATING) when you won't do it the right way? as the saying goes, better not do it at all.

every one of my friends can ATTEST to the fact that i am an avid EATER. in one plate, alessa is the rice, patty is the glass of water, and i am the non-negotiable, never absent ULAM. i am the ulam that is looking for its sawsawan.

i think the sawsawan is in a way a metaphor for my life: a soul searcher, a novice teacher, a day dreamer, a best friend, a crazy coworker, i am all of these rolled into that one hakaw or that one lumpia, just trying to find the right sawsawan, the right timpla, the right flavor for my special taste. and as i try each one, i might like some or may be disgruntled at others. but at least i tried them all, never regretting each special flavor, each individual experience.

it's official

first of all i need to send a big THANK YOU to one of my besties ALESSA for giving this blog a whole new makeover! it's so much more refreshing to look at and browse through. so thanks dude! the whole parisian theme is definitely me!

let's start with the bad news first: blogs have now been OFFICIALLY banned from being accessed in school which means i will not be able to update this thing while at work. and alam mo naman our PC at home has no internet which means --> ZERO new entries in like, two weeks. sorry guys. at least i was given permission to access my own blog while at work, which means i can LOOK through this blog and read your (plural) comments but not look at any other person's blog. total bummer. well ganun talaga.

anyway. just took my oath taking as a professional teacher yesterday at cuneta astrodome. so another thing is OFFICIAL: i am now a PROFESSIONAL! it was going well until we decided to leave before the ceremonies ended. GRABE. the guards at the gate wouldn't let the people out unless tapos na daw. paano e nakalabas na yung mga kasama ko sa gate tapos kami nalang ni cria naipit sa harap ng gate with like ten people pushing our bodies through that little opening. for a moment there i could smell a stampede coming. uh oh. as in major uh oh. imagine being crushed on the day of your oath taking? ugh. not a pretty sight. thank god for claire's mom who was super feisty and got us out of that nasty confrontation. at least i'm alive!

went to mall of asia for lunch (tita's treat) then drove home for an hour and forty minutes to new manila from mall of asia. i have promised myself never to drive there again unless i want to kill myself. masyado malayo!

nighttime i went to caelum's birthday at giselle's house. nice and intimate party with cristalle, jing, gis, gin, and baby vits. yummy food and cupcakes too! i loved the bubble gang by the way. (they were these bubble guys who would make you step into a little kiddie pool and put you inside a jumongous bubble. fun! good times.)




well that's what i've been busy with lately. i also went to IRRI on a field trip with the kids a week ago but don't have any pictures. just imagine me in a daddy hat and a super maluwag tshirt and shorts with mud all over my body. actually buti nalang walang pics.

oath taking pics to follow! take it easy soldier!