Ho. Ho. Ho.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

90 days to go...

before Christmas.

Have you decided on what to give me this year?

I'll make my Christmas wishlist

Soon.

In Her Shoes

The movie, In Her Shoes was shown in 2005 but I wasn't able to watch it then. It is based on a novel of the same title written by Jennifer Weiner. I was able to watch it though a couple of months ago on HBO and in an instant, I loved it. The fact that Cameron Diaz is in it is already a given. She's one of my favorite actresses.

There are 2 poems that were read by Maggie (played by Cameron Diaz): One Art by Elizabeth Bishop, and I Carry Your Heart With Me by E. E. Cummings.

In the movie, Maggie is dyslexic and the scenes where she was reading and reciting the poems were so moving. I had to Google the poems and share with you.

This is the poem that she read to the blind professor:

One Art

~ Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;

so many things seem filled with the intent

to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster

of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.

The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:

places, and names, and where it was you meant

to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or

next-to-last, of three loved houses went.

The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,

some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.

I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.

—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture

I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident

the art of losing’s not too hard to master

though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

This is the poem she read at the wedding:

I Carry Your Heart With Me

~ E.E. Cummings

I carry your heart with me

(I carry it in my heart)

I am never without it

(anywhere I go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by

only me is your doing, my darling)

I fear no fate

(for you are my fate, my sweet)

I want no world

(for beautiful you are my world, my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart)

I'm a very bad influence

Got this while bloghopping.

If you go over 45, you’re a bad influence. If you go under 10, chances are you live under a rock and have no life… even more harsh. Total the number of things in each list you’ve done. No need to say which ones. If people really want to know they will message you.

1. smoked

2. consumed alcohol

3. slept in the same bed with someone of the opposite sex

4. slept in the same bed with someone of the same sex

5. kissed someone of the same sex

6. had sex

7. had someone in your room other than family

8. watched porn

9. bought porn

10. done drugs

TOTAL: 6

1. taken painkillers

2. taken someone else’s prescription medicine

3. lied to your parents

4. lied to a friend

5. snuck out of the house

6. done something illegal

7. cut yourself

8. hurt someone

9. wished someone to die

10. seen someone die

TOTAL: 7

1. missed curfew

2. stayed out all night

3. eaten a carton of ice cream by yourself

4. been to a therapist

5. been to rehab

6. dyed your hair

7. received a ticket

8. been in an accident

9. been to a club

10. been to a bar

TOTAL: 4

1. been to a wild party

2. seen the Mardi Gras

3. drank more than four beers in a night

4. had a spring break in Florida

5. sniffed anything

6. wore black nail polish

7. wore arm bands

8. wore t-shirts with band names

9. listened to rap

10. owned a 50 Cent CD

TOTAL: 6

1. dressed Gothic

2. dressed prep

3. dressed punk

4. dressed grunge

5. stole something

6. been too drunk to remember anything

7. blacked out

8. fainted

9. had a hicky

10. didn't wear undies in public

TOTAL: 4

1. snuck into someone else’s room

2. had a crush on your friend

3. been to a concert

4. dry-humped someone

5. been called a cunt

6. called someone a cunt

7. installed speakers in your car

8. broken a mirror

9. showered at someone of the opposite sex’s house

10. brushed your teeth with someone else’s toothbrush

TOTAL: 5

1. consider/considered Ludacris your favorite rapper

2. seen an R-rated movie in theater

3. cruised the mall

4. skipped school

5. had surgery

6. had an injury

7. gone to court

8. walked out of a restaurant without paying/tipping

9. caught something on fire

10. lied about your age

TOTAL: 5

1. owned/rented an apartment

2. broke the law in the police’s presence

3. made out with someone who had a gf/bf

4. got in trouble with the police

5. talked to a stranger

6. hugged a stranger

7. kissed a stranger

8. rode in the car with a stranger

9. been harassed

10. been verbally harassed

TOTAL: 4

1. met face-to-face with someone you met online

2. stayed online for 5 hours straight

3. talked on the phone for more than 4 hours straight

4. watched TV for 5 hours straight

5. been to a fair

6. been called a bad influence

7. drink and drive

8. prank-called someone

9. laid on a couch with someone of the opposite sex

10. cheated on a test

TOTAL: 7

Grand Total: 48

-If You Have Less Then 10.. write [Im A Goody Good]

-If You Have More Than 10.. write [im still a goody good]

-If You Have more Than 20 ..write [im average]

-If You Have More Than 30.. write [im a bad kid]

-If You have more than 40.. write [im a very bad infuence]

-If You Have 50…. write ..[i’m the worst possible person ever]

Elliott Yummy, ooops!

Guess who's coming to town? The third-place finalist on the fifth season of American Idol - Elliot Yamin.

Show times and venues:

TriNoMa, Activity Center

September 21, 2007 at 7:00pm

Glorietta, Activity Center

September 22, 2007 at 7:00pm

Market! Market!, Activity Center

September 23, 2007 at 6:00pm

Ayala Center Cebu, On Stage, Cinema 1

September 26, 2007 at 7:00pm

Alabang Town Center, Activity Center

September 28, 2007 at 6:30pm

Untitled

What an interesting day today has been...

Down with the Flu

For a while there I thought it's a record breaking year for me, healthwise. Normally, I get sick twice or thrice a year but since last year I never got sick -- until today. I am down with the flu and I hate it.

I hate it because:

• My eating appetite is affected. So many food, so little appetite...
• It's deppressing knowing you eat less, yet weight is still a problem.
• I got sick on a weekend which means I had to stay home hence, all my weekend plans are cancelled.
• Smoking is not an option.

My Precioussssssss Sandwich

Back in college, there used to be a branch of Dunkin' Donuts situated right across the Dapitan gate of UST and that was when I discovered my favorite sandwich in the whole world: the BUNWICH. Seriously. And that was my fondest memory of it.

A few months ago, I had a craving for Bunwich but found out that they are not sold in most stores anymore. I chanced upon almost every store I saw but never did I find my precious Bunwich. Just imagine the look on my face when DD pointed a Dunkin' Donuts stall at the Cebu Airport last month and said that there are Bunwiches! Unfortunately we were rushing already and never had the time to buy. And then two weeks ago, after dinner in Greenhills, we passed by a Dunkin' Donuts store and decided to have my coffee there. What did I see??? --BUNWICH in all its delicious glory! I almost didn't even believe it with my two eyes. I had to ask the crew if they really sell those. And yes, they do. Wow! However, since we were already full and could not even dare to bite, we decided to go back the next day.

We weren't able to go back the following day but went the day after. We went to the main branch and had our hopes up that they do sell bunwich. Why didn't I think of that before? Anyways, we went inside and not only do they have bunwich but also croissant! Nevertheless, I ordered my long lost fave - Spanish Sausage and coffee. Happiness!

I like Spanish Sausage best among the other variants (tuna salad, egg and cheese, corned beef salad, ham and cheese, bacon coleslaw and tomato).

What's your favorite Bunwich?

TGIF!

This week seemed like forever with all the work that had to be done, deadlines to meet, errands to run, relatives to please, etcetera, etcetera. But knowing that it's Friday is comforting somehow.

Our company has a grand draw thingy to be held tonight but I'm not interested to watch. I'd rather catch up on the rest of the episodes of the TV series I am watching. Upon DD's recommendation, I started downloading The Hills and can't wait to watch it. I guess if you loved Laguna Beach, you'll love this, too!

Yoshinoya

One of my favorite fastfood restaurants has got to be Yoshinoya. I love almost everything they have but nothing beats their beef rice bowl or gyudon. The beef is tender and very flavorful and I love how the onions turn out sweet. I usually put a small amount of the red ginger strips to be less cloying. Otherwise, it is just fine as well. My normal order whenever I go to Yoshinoya is beef rice bowl, miso soup, shu mai and green iced tea. We ate at the Greenhills branch last Saturday and had the time of our lives. We had my usual order plus chicken udon and tempura/gyudon combo.The picture does not do justice to how delicious this gyudon is. I ordered just the regular size but it's so filling I didn't get to finish my chicken udon.This is the chicken udon. I didn't really like this so much but I can say that the chicken is very tasty. I love Yoshinoya's shu mai (siomai). There are 2 kinds: mushroom and crab. This is the mushroom shu mai.Tempura/gyudon combo. This is half-full because Joy started eating already and then I told him to stop because I have to take a picture of it. So there.

We went home happy. We can't believe we paid less than P400 for everything, including our iced teas. They also offer unlimited rice for P15. I haven't tried the chicken bowl yet. Is it any good? There are more food added on their menu. I want to try all of them. My friends and i are going to the SM Megamall branch tomorrow. I can't wait!

DVD Marathon

Being a true blue couch potato, most part of the idle times I'm at home is spent watching DVDs. In fact, I have a bunch of unopened DVDs of the old and the latest TV series from all the CSI versions to the so-called Koreanovelas. I guess it all started with the upsurge to fame of the F4 via Meteor Garden. I bought both seasons of Meteor Garden and grew a strong penchant for the show and one member of the group, Jerry Yan a.k.a. Dao Mingzu. Currently I am watching two TV series: That 70s Show and Gilmore Girls.

Believe it or not, since the defunct That 70s Show aired in 1998, I only started watching it on DVD about a week ago because Joy bought all the seasons available. It took me a very long while to see it because first, '70s era does not interest me at all. I love the '80s. Second, I used to think that this show is just all nonsense crap. BUT, I was wrong. The minute I played it on, I was laughing endlessly. There was no dull moment in every episode. It's just sad it ended already on its 8th season. I love Eric and Donna! Kitty, Eric's mom is hilarious! I'm still on the first few episodes of season 1 and I want to take it slow...

So, I'm watching it alternately with Gilmore Girls. I'm on season 4. I love Rory but I love Lorelai more! She's a cool and pretty mom. Watching Gilmore Girls is not complete without coffee and pizza on the side. There's this one time I watched it past bedtime, I had to pause the player and go down to the kitchen in the middle of the night to make myself a cup of hot coffee. You see, I love coffee too and watching them drink it over and over again is a torture to me. Did you know I almost set up our coffee maker inside my bedroom? Hahaha. Didn't push thru though. There are the series that I watch religiously and download over the net. I watch them with my Maxian and I miss watching them and can't wait for the new season:

Grey's Anatomy - Season 4's pilot episode will be aired on September 27. Can't wait!

Prison Break - Season 3 will air on September 18. The ridiculous rumor that Wentworth Miller is gay just made a lot of fans curious to watch the next season. Good job!

Heroes - Season 2 will air on September 24.

Smallville - Season 7 will air on September 27.

I have yet to watch House, MD. I have the copy of season 1 but I can't find it anymore.

Jen's Birthday Celebration

Last August 28, I received a text message from my cousin inviting us to dinner at Dampa in Macapagal Avenue for her birthday celebration. Inang joined us, too but we didn't know she had a hidden agenda.

This conversation took place when I fetched her from their house in Boni before going to Dampa:

me: Halika na. Gutom na ko.

Inang: Sandali, kunin ko lang jacket ko. Baka malamigan ako sa casino.

me: Ha???

This picture on the right shows Inang smiling and posing for the camera but before this was taken, we asked her to pose with us, she declined and said she's not interested! Charing!

Our friends from Bulacan came over and it was fun! We were just a small group but the food was overflowing. We waited for over 30 minutes for the food to be cooked. We were all so hungry I forgot to take pictures of all the food we ate. I love the buttered shrimps and the tempura. After dinner, Inang asked that she be brought to the casino immediately. Jen and her husband Odie accompanied her while the rest of us went to Figaro first to have coffee.

Shortly after, we were inside the casino playing the slot machine. I lost P200 but had fun.

At past 1am, we decided to leave already because our friends would still be going back to Bulacan. On our way home, my cuz called them up via speakerphone:

Cuz: Ingat kayo.

Them: Okay.

Us: Punta tayo Mimosa next time.

Inang butted in...

Inang: Sige, sagot ko ang gas basta kasama ako.

Them: (laughing) Sige! Parehong Pajero?

Inang: Pambihira! Isa lang!

Us: HAHAHA

Inang is the coolest granny! If you know Ariel and Maverick of the "The Misadventures of Ariel and Maverick" fame, you should be familiar with Mommy Elvie. Mommy Elvie and Inang are so much alike in many ways!