Belle De Jour!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Goodbye Starbucks, hello Belle De Jour!!!!!!!
This is the cover.










The planner still has tons of articles about women and for women. Those fantastic coupons are still there. Coupons for Bayo, Celene, BYSI, Lay Bare, Clawdaddy's, The Coffee Bean, The Red Crab, Tomato, etc.







You have a section to plot birthdays! I absolutely love this section because I'm not good with dates. This a fabulous way for me to remember those birthdays!






And this is how a typical week would look like. Sorry the picture won't show each detail. You have a section for your day's reminders. You have a part for the urgent tasks and not so important tasks, this teaches you to prioritize! A section for your personal treats (this might be my favorite corner) and errands to run. Unlike last year, there were a lot of spaces wasted to margins but this year's layout maximized the entire page.

She's Come Undone

I accompanied my mom and dad to their weekly grocery shopping when I stumbled upon an isle of pre-owned books. One particular book caught my attention. She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb. The title is familiar but not the author. I saw the seal or Oprah’s Book Club on the cover. Hmmmnn that’s probably it why it rings a bell. I might have heard the title on one of her shows. Oh well it cost me 95 pesos. If this book is that good then it would have been a steal!
I am now at chapter 8 and I am so loving the book. Dolores Price tells her life story starting at age 4. Her parents divorced because of another woman, her mother temporarily went crazy, she is staying with her very religious grandmother, she was raped by their next door neighbor, she is unpopular at school and there are these 2 girls who bully her non stop. All these at the age 13, what more can a person bear!?

I always thought that you yourself can make or break you. I’ve tried imagining being in the shoes of the person involved before I judge. I thought those were enough but I thought wrong. Imagining yourself in another person’s point of view is not enough. You’d have to be there to really know. Events from a person’s past, which is not in yours, can influence their better judgment today. No matter how intelligent a person is, emotion is a powerful cloak that blinds us and makes us see things thru an insane haze.

This book is really making me understand people more. That I can never categorize people. I can’t put them in little boxes and label them. Judging a person can never be good. No matter how deeply I’ve imagined myself in their shoes, no matter how much I think I know them, no matter how I’ve been in the same situation before, all these does not give me the right to judge. Honestly, it is too difficult not to pass judgment simply because we deal with different people everyday. We judge before we act, weather it is for the good or bad.

All these and I am just at chapter 8!? Hahaha! I can’t wait to go home to my warm bed, a tube of Pringles, and my book.

Oh no it's Monday!!!!

I absolutely adore Garfield. We have lots in common. We both love lasagna, both are sarcastic, both like to sleep a lot, and we both hate Mondays. Yes, I hate Mondays. It’s the day that stops all the weekend fun. The day that signals work is upon us. It is the day that starts the week of mind-numbing task and duties. This is my what-I-can-do-on-a-Monday- I-can-do-on-a-Tuesday day. I procrastinate on Mondays; this is how I start my week right. Ohhh Monday, I hate you. And I will not wonder why you hate me too.

Back in grade school, I had an entire month of Monday sickness. Yes! I was sick during all 4 Mondays! My mom checked on me and sure enough I had a fever. I don’t know how I did it. I don’t know if it was mind over matter. If it was, my mind was way better then than now because try as I might I can’t get myself to be sick on Mondays anymore.

Oh Monday, You may have won the battle but not the war. I’ll adopt a stray kitten. Name it Monday. Then I’ll kick the kitten all day. Hahaha Just kidding. I adore kittens.

Church-less

It will nearly be a year since I’ve gone to church. Somehow I can’t bring myself to go to church. I do believe in God, don’t get me wrong. I believe that God lives within each of us. I try to practice the Golden Rule. It sums up the Holy Bible for me. I believe in the goodness of others. Will I burn in hell if I do not go to church?

One evening, as I was on my way to the office and walking the distance from the MRT Station, I pondered on the reason. I tried to think back to the day that I last heard mass. What was it that made me not want to go back. Was it the priest? Was it his sermon? Was it the church?

Guess what, it was the church. Our church was remodeled. From wooden tables, wooded fixtures and backdrops, wooden crucifixes, and simple designs, they changed it to marbles and golden plated designs. The big crucifix in the middle of the platform now has golden edges. The 2 partitions at both sides to the platform are now made or marble. Marble arches with golden designs. It now shouts of wealth and insincerity.

Where did they get the money to remodel the church? The old theme was doing just fine! In fact I loved the old theme. The church was not falling into pieces, what was the use of renovating? Did they use our donations for remodeling? Regardless if the money came from our donations they could have just given the money to the poor or to charity.

My local Church spoke of sharing, of simplicity, of giving to the poor, but what do they have? Gold trimmings and marbles. I don’t know why I felt bad. I still feel bad everytime I think about it. Like catching your teacher cheating. How dare they not practice what they literally preach.

Maybe I can organize some sort of event. People can get to see marbles and gold trimmings being shoved up their (you know who they are) a$$e$. I’d give 100% of the ticket sales to the needy. Maybe that is what those marbles and gold trimmings are really for.

No Regrets

You will never know that someone changed unless you were the one who stayed the same.

You will never know that someone has moved on unless you were the one left behind.

We all change. We mostly do not notice it. We mostly think that we are the same as we were before. Those who notices it are the ones we are close to. It’s so sad that they are the ones who will feel the pain of our changes though.

Sometimes you need to be in a tough situation to know who your friends really are. To know the real person that you are currently with. To know how strong you can be. To appreciate life after the storm.

Sometimes you need to make a mistake to be able to see how great you can be. To reassert yourself. To feel alive. To feel free.

Sometimes it takes a bad person to make you see the goodness in others. To make you appreciate your friends. To make you love your special someone more. To make you love yourself more.

Stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been reading lots of forums and I am wondering about their passion for using difficult words and real long sentences. Before I reach the end of the sentence, I am out of breath and have lost the point entirely. Oh my gosh! Have my brain deteriorated and suddenly became stupid? My teachers told me to keep sentences simple and to the point. Keep It Simple, Stupid was an ever famous acronym from Kate. Simple and less words to a sentence makes your idea sharper. That was what I thought before I began reading forums where nowhere-but-in-the-dictionary-will-you-find-such-words dripping out of their mouths like saliva to a crazy dog. I don’t read as often as when I was in college, but when I do get a chance I get the meaning fast enough. Have I been in front of Excel/Access too much!? Have I played RF way too much?

My Third Death

My third death happened in my dad’s van. We were parked along the highway then suddenly a commotion broke on the street. My dad went out to take a look and to probably help out. I told him to be careful. I heard a gunshot followed by glass breaking. I was still wearing my seatbelt so I had difficulty time looking at the back window, to look for my dad. I was shocked to see the van’s back window shattered and there were splatters of blood on the back seats. I was worried for my dad’s safety. I was going to unbuckle my seatbelt when I noticed that my head has nodded off as if I was sleeping and was relying on the seatbelt to keep my upright. There was blood on my shirt. It was my spirit sitting straight while seeing my dead body slumped. I was shot in the head.

My Second Death

I don’t know what killed me, I just found myself on a hospital bed. I had my eyes closed but I know that I’m in the hospital. I can feel the needle stuck in my arm and the oxygen thingie I have in my nose. I heard my mom crying and pleading for my life. I heard the doctor saying that he was sorry and that he did all that he can. I can’t move. I can’t open my eyes, to tell them I’m fine. I was not fine, I was dying. I felt my entire body getting cold as I slowly sank deeper into myself. The coldness was not like how you feel in an air-conditioned room, more like having a raging fever. You feel so cold that no blanket can make you warm.

As I was getting colder I heard my mom crying harder. I did not see my life flash before my eyes. I was feeling all my dreams and plans shatter. I was listing the things that I was supposed to do but no longer can. I was begging for God for 5 more minutes with my parents. To say goodbye. To say that I love them. To ask for forgiveness. It was so cold that I can’t feel my body anymore. I know then that I was no longer dying, I just died. Yet I can still hear my mom. I think the spirit lingers a bit after dying. I was sinking deeper and deeper then suddenly I was nothing.

I found myself in a corridor looking down a staircase. I heard my parent’s voices so I slowly went down the stairs. I entered our dinning room and found my mom and dad talking sadly. I’ve never seen my parents look so old and sad. I went beside my mom and tried touching her shoulder. I tried telling them that I’m fine. I’m ok. That I’m still with them and that we can pretend that nothing happened. That I never left them and that I will not leave them. I was crying then. They can’t hear me. They can’t see or feel me.

My First Death

I then appeared all of a sudden in our house in Valenzuela as a ghost. I was in the kitchen and they are cooking lots of food. It looked like they were having a party and yet the atmosphere was so sad. I was just a spirit so nobody minded me. As I went through the house I found my family getting in the car about to drive somewhere. I wanted to come with them but I can’t seem to leave the house. It’s like I’m bound to the house! They were rounding the corner already and they can’t hear me screaming for them. I was crying so hard then. I felt so alone. I woke up in tears.

Survey!!!!

Place an x on those you've already done!

(x) snuck out of the house
(x) gotten lost in your city
(x) seen a shooting star
(x) been to any other countries besides the united states
( ) had a serious surgery
(x) gone out in public in your pajamas
( ) kissed a stranger
(x) hugged a stranger
( ) been in a fist fight
( ) been arrested
( ) done drugs
(x) had alcohol
( ) laughed and had milk/coke come out of your nose
(x) pushed all the buttons on an elevator
( ) swore at your parents
(x) been in love
(x) been close to love
(x) been to a casino
( ) been skydiving
( ) broken a bone
(x) been high -- in love, with happiness, with hopes...
( ) skinny-dipped
(x) skipped school
( ) flashed someone
( ) saw a therapist
(x) played spin the bottle
( ) gotten stitches
( ) drank a whole gallon of milk in one hour - I can't
(x) bitten someone
(x ) been to Niagara Falls
(x) gotten the chicken pox
(x) kissed a member of the opposite sex
(x) kissed a member of the same sex
( ) crashed into a friend's car – I do not know how to drive
( ) been to Japan – I want to though!
(x) ridden in a taxi
(x) been dumped - ouch!
(x) shoplifted
( ) been fired
(x) had a crush on someone of the same sex - back in highschool... hahaha!
(x) had feelings for someone who didn't have them back – oh boy!
( ) stolen something from your job
(x) gone on a blind date
(x) lied to a friend
( ) had a crush on a teacher
( ) celebrated mardi-gras in new orleans
( ) been to Europe
(x) slept with a co-worker
( ) been married
( ) gotten divorced
( ) had children
( ) seen someone die
( ) had a close friend die
( ) been to Africa
( ) driven over 400 miles in one day
(x) been to Canada
( ) been to Mexico
(x) been on a plane
( ) seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x ) thrown up in a bar - with blackout pang kasama
( ) purposely set a part of myself on fire
(x) eaten Sushi
( ) been snowboarding
(x) met someone in person from the internet
( ) lost a child
(x) gone to college
(x) graduated college
( ) done hard drugs
( ) tried killing yourself
(x) fired a gun
(x) purposely hurt yourself – emotionally
(x) taken painkillers
(x) love someone or miss someone right now

The Virgo Woman

She will be similar to Leo man in appearance. A slim woman who walks with confidence and pride. She has an egg shape facial structure, high and round forehead. She likes to look straight as if she is searching. She is not a pretentious type and will always say what she thinks.

You will see Virgo woman walks fast. She will try her best to be perfect, to look perfect and to feel perfect even though there is no such perfection. She is very delicate of what and how she dress. She is bright and easily despairs with obstacles. She likes smart guy who will be compatible with her, so if you are a rich dumb guy, you can forget about her right now.

She is not a very possessive or jealous person for she expects respect from her love one. She does not like a part time lover, or a temporary mate. If she finds her dream man, she will not go away. If she does not like you, she will always keep a certain distant. Act proper and appropriate is her discipline.

She does not like and can not stand bad languages, cursing words or phrase. She likes a gentleman who opens the doors for her. She wants to feel protected and when a man taking care of her, she will feel like a complete woman.

She memorizes everything about other people and about herself very well. She can really keep secret; you can trust her on this. She likes a refreshing and a mild scent. She is very delicate in maintaining her beauty, so you could see she is seriously picking soap which match and most suit her skin. Do not comment her on this very picky habits, it is her happiness in working full times as a self beautifier.

She is not an innocent angle for sometimes she can be as tough as steel. Even she easily despair, she is not the type to cry over it. She is a shy type, so making speech in front of the room can make her nervous even she walks and talks confidently.

She only searches for true love, not just any love. Her love is an ideal one. She likes to think no one is neater than and as effective as her, which can irritate you sometimes for there is no such thing. She likes sweet talk, but she can slip and say something unpredictable and unbearable to you too. When she stops getting mad, she will totally forget what she just said and be an angle again. If you have a date with her, you'd better be there on time.

Flowers and sweet word can calm her down. If you want to say sorry, make it brief and straight forward. Do not drag your apologetic words into a long making it up events; it could lead you to another world war. She likes her man to dress nice and clean. She is good in details especially with money. Do not make she thinks that she is a clown or funny.

In the beginning of knowing her, please try not to glance at other pretty woman so much. Early period of dating her, try not to hold her so much in public, it would not be a proper thing to do. She loves books, stage play and music and likes to criticize about them too.

Criticism woman is her icon including big and small things in life starting from your hair, your dress, and the way you talk. If you are in love with her, be as almost perfect as your can.

Such Sweet Accident

Creative Zen Vision W 30 GB

The perfect mistake.

The ultimate blunder.

The sweetest accident.

The best Karma.

2008 SB vs BDJ

Goodbye 2008 Starbucks planner…. Hello Belle De Jour 2008! I came to my senses, thanks to Yayen’s influence (no she did not smash me over the head with a hammer), and realized that the Starbucks planner is a bit too expensive for a planner, fine make that too expensive.

I went crazy last year, drank too much coffee until I got acid pains, and got myself that SB planner which, sad to say, I did not use to its fullest capacity. I am 21 stickers away from doom don’t let me go into the light!!!!

Oh someone tell me to shush already!!! Wahahaha WTB!?

Ok let us take a logical approach. Why should I get the Starbucks planner.
1. It has a ring binder, easy to store pictures and envelopes. All I need is a single-hole puncher (which I already have).
2. The leather cover is soft.
3. It has a free pencil. (errrr... ok..)
4. Splattered all over the pages are nice doodles and my most loved coffee drinks!
5. The layout is nice, the days did not have the time line that makes me not want to list things at random. I get this crazy feeling I need to follow the time.. say 10am heck I am not doing my DB by 10am! This was what I didn’t like about the Belle De Jour 2007, the time lines.
6. Alex will shut up about the SB Planner. I have no clue why he wants me to get the Starbucks Planner when he doesn’t even use a planner!!

Why should I get the Belle De Jour 2008:
1. The layout is really girly. The cover, the color scheme, the prints are all girly. It may not be coffee but I like girly stuff.
2. Coupons! It has coupons, lots of them. Coupons for sandals, boutiques, coffee shops etc.
3. This planner is not with the herd. Admit it, the 2007 Starbucks Planner is EVERYWHERE this year and I am betting the 2008 Planner will be in every nook and cranny of Manila next year.
4. The Starbucks 2008 leather cover is too soft for my comfort. It may work for others, some might ever prefer it, but it does not work for me.
5. A Belle De Jour Planner costs only 550 Pesos, compared to Starbucks' (Say its 125 per coffee and I need 24 stickers) 3000 Pesos!? WTB!!
6. Belle De Jour has all these articles about women empowerment, beauty tidbits, recipes, etc.

Hmmmmnn which to pick. The Starbucks planner is really nice and the coffee is great but for an extimated 3000 Pesos? If I drink 1 cup at a time, 1 cup a day I bet I'll reach the 24th sticker eventually. Maybe the reason why I want the 2008 Planner is because I had the 2007 planner, collection bug?

I'll post soon which planner I'll pick.

Marie Likes to...

I got this from Yayen's blog.

Go to Google and type in quotation marks your name and then "likes to" (ex. "Tom likes to"). Type in the first ten things that come up and repost in your own blog.

1. Marie likes to think of people in the year 3000 studying their past history and saying, "Well, look at the difference

2. Marie likes to socialize and will use any excuse to celebrate with friends.

3. Marie likes to talk a lot alone. (gosh baliw)

4. Marie likes to walk as much as possible and on trips to the park with (Ged? uuyyyy!!!)

5. Marie likes to get straight to work, preferring conferences that are direct (ewww work related)

6. Marie likes to say, "Let's put ICHF on the map in new ways." (anong ICHF un?)

7. Marie likes to to play basketball, write poetry, and read. (oo no.. Center ako)

8. Marie likes to go around the town and meet people. (friendly.. nice!!)

9. Marie likes to spend time with friends and family.

10. Marie likes to set up an initial appointment to chat, identify your needs and goals. (Work related nanaman!?)

These "Marie likes to"s are boring.. Where did the "Marie likes tequila" posts go?

To Gym or Not to Gym

Hmmmm Mag-gy-gym ba ako ulet? Nag member ako with Fitness First dati at hindi ko nasulit. Akala ko kasi mas ok pag malapit sa office. Para after ng shift mag g-gym ako pag uwi sure na sarap ng tulog ko.

It worked for a month... or two pero after that gusto ko na lang umuwi at matulog or ma PL ng chicha. So nag try ako before the shift mag-gym, goodluck naman mid-shift pa lang antok na ako.

Minsan pag nasa bahay ako gusto ko mag gym, hindi ko naman magawa kasi magco-commute pa ako at feel ko papasok ako ng office kasi malapit nga sa office. Hindi ko alam paano puntahan ung GMA branch.

Gusto ko mag gym kasi parang lagi akong pagod, exercise na rin. Miss ko na rin ung masarap na hot shower after ng workout. Maghahanap ako ng gym malapit sa house. Lets see if it will work better this way.

2008 Starbucks Planner.. kelan ka mapapasa akin??

May 3 stickers na ako (2 lang sa pic pero kanina bumili ako ng White Chocolate Mocha... sarap!!).. so 21 pa. Say I buy a cup of coffee everyday from 11/12 till12/7, by then pwede ko na ma-claim ang aking Starbucks 2008 Planner. Shucks!!! Ang tagal. Penge stickers! Pramis susulitin ko sya ng mga notes, drawings, to do list, etc. Pramis... :((

Remember, remember the 10th of November.

Today is the day I’ll swear off Starbuck’s Hot Choco. It gave me a tummy ache to remember. It might be the milk in the drink, whatever. Sniff!!!

According to the American Dietetic Association, Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest significant amounts of lactose, the major sugar found in milk. People who do not have enough lactase to digest the amount of lactose they consume may feel very uncomfortable when they digest milk products. Common symptoms, which range from mild to severe, include nausea, cramps, bloating, gas, and diarrhea.

Since I can't depend on drinking milk for my daily calcium need, I can turn to sardines (with edible bones, 3 oz. 270 mg Calcium content) or yummy Yogurt (plain, low-fat, 1 cup 415 mg Calcium Content).

Distraction

The funniest game show I’ve seen so far, hosted by Jimmy Carr. The game would start with 4 contestants and the process of elimination is so creatively, outrageously hilarious! I’ve seen a couple of episodes and so far listed are the type of tasks given to their brave contestants. - Buzz for an answer by smashing an egg to your forehead (note: sometimes the eggs are hardboiled.. ouch! Or rotten eeeww!)

- Answer while clipping laundry pins to every part of our face, person
who gets the most pins gets an extra point (he/she they better!).

- Try for your dear life to answer questions while a wrestler flips you
over, body slams you or throws you to the ground. Not easy I tell you.

- You buzz for an answer by peeing in a portable toilet. No pee no
point LOL!

- Put clothes on a number of nudists, the fastest contestant who can
dress all nudists wins. Yes, nudists. Before you jump for joy, they are not your playboy bunnies ok? They are the average men and women you pass by each day only without clothes on. And if you are a man you get to clothe a man!! Whoopiiieeee!

- If you answer a question right, you’d either get electrocuted (just
enough to make men yell an eerie “whoeaaaahhhhaaa”), or you need to store an animal’s testicle in your mouth, there are more I just can’t remember them.

- Answer a question by getting the card with the right answer written on it using your teeth. The card is taped to a nudist’s body part (buttocks area included).

- You are placed in a phone booth and with every correct answer you need to invite a nudist inside the phone booth. Whoever can cramp with all 5 nudists in the phone booth wins!


Final round, the finalist may:

- Win a car. You will be asked a list of questions, for every wrong answer a part of your car gets trashed (side mirror, windshield, doors etc). You have seen the hell a sledge hammer can do to a new car’s windshield right? Did I mention that the eliminated contestants will wield the sledge hammer/paint/spray paint? Oh sweet revenge!

- Win 4 cool gadgets (laptop, camcorder, digicam etc) and a wild card (a box of cereal or a plate of raw chicken, etc). For every wrong answer from the list of questions given, you’d have to blow up an item from your 5 prizes. The prizes are attached to trigger that you yourself will press.
Seeing the cereal box explode never looked this good!

10 Things I ...

The 10 things I have in my bag now:
1. Wallet
2. Cellphone
3. Creative Zen Vision W
4. Fresh Vanilla Body Splash
5. Coin Purse
6. Pack of tissue
7. Kikay kit – more like a survival kit if you look in it.
8. Creative charger
9. Pen
10. Hair brush

Ang taray daw

Nag MRT ako papasok kasi kailangan ko dumaan sa Watson, need ko na rin mag papayat ng konti so killing 2 birds with one MRT commute ito. Anyway malapit na ako sa escalator nang mapansin ko may lalaki (or bading?) na tinuturo and escalator papuntang Ortigas and may sinasabi. Medyo malayo sya sa akin, ilang feet din un. Far enough that I was not able to hear what he was saying. Feeling ko may kausap sya na nasa likuran ko, well di ko talaga sya inintindi kasi marami akong iniisip nun like last MRT ticket ko na un at need ko na bumili ng bago at ang cute ng Old Christine episode so anong pakialam ko sa kausap nya sa likuran ko di ba? Nung madaanan ko sya narinig ko “Ay ang suplada”. At pag sakay ko sa escalator dinaanan nya ako at may padabog dabog as he passed me by (at hindi madaling magdabog sa escalator in fairness kasi metal ang steps nun.. pero wag ka .. nakapag dabog ang lola ko! Kudos!!!).

So putting two things together I ended up concluding that he was talking to me and probably asking which direction the train was heading at ako si suplada. Hahahahaahaha ok lang sya!?! If may kakausapin ka na di mo kilala, make sure na gawin ang mga sumusunod para di magmukhang tangga:

• Make sure that you are close enough for that person to actually hear you. Duh.
  

• Make sure that you have that person’s attention and let them know that it is them that you are talking to and not someone behind their back. You are not the center of everything you know. Double duh.
  

• Minsan maliit ang attention span ni Marie... hindi lahat kasya. Triple duh!

New Home? I hope so..

I've been looking for the perfect blog site for the longest time. A blog site that's marie-friendly. I do not know much about html and customizing my blog layout is not that easy for me. I think I already have 4 blogs.. hmmmmnn not good right?

I've seen a lot of blogs lately that use Blogspot, hopefully this is my last and permanent blog address.

Note: Anyone who can help me customize my new blogging home will be my hero for a month.... ok for 2 months.