Goin’ Bananas

Mom made this for me. I really need potassium-rich foods like bananas. Two years ago, I was rushed to the ICU due to hypokalemia. It’s really scary when you cannot move any part of your body; not even sit or scratch your birdie.

The doctors found out it was due to Ling Zhi because it has steroids, and steroids make our potassium count low.

Since I’m into Ling Zhi again, I need lots of potassium, as much as I can get.

It’s a good thing I really love bananas, regardless of size or shape.

Where is Mystica?

When I first saw this cover on the net, I thought Mystica is making a comeback and is making it big by posing for FHM. And then I was marveling at how good the PhotoShop artist was for making her look so young. Then the name on the right caught my eye.

I don’t know her but really, I thought she was Mystica.
 

photos via mindrelaxingideas.blogspot.com and Mystica’s myspace page

I Don’t Care… E-e-e-e-eyr

No we don’t collect Sandara Park merchandise. LOL! Many years ago, this plate was a freebie when you buy a bag of FRES candies. Needless to say, Sandara endorsed the product when she was still here.

I found this plate on the stack of my mother’s old Tupperwares while looking for a small container for Princess’s a/d.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but watching Sandara Park on YouTube singing and dancing – not to mention I first read about 2NE1 on PerezHilton.com – gives me goosebumps. No, not that kind of goosebumps. More of like the kind I get when I see a video of Charice performing in the US. It’s as if Sandara is our own. I’m proud of her and I’m so happy of where she is now.

There’s really something very Filipino in her.

I promise to watch their concert if ever they hold one here.

I Dreamed a Dream

I dreamt about dad last night. He was standing by the foot of the bed, smiling, looking at my dog sleeping beside me. He was a shadow, all black. But just as how dreams work, I just knew he was smiling.

And then I was awakened by the barking of my two other dogs sleeping at the kitchen. The clock’s hands said 4 in the morning. I got frightened. Dad died at the age of 50 in 1992.

I searched my still half-conscious mind for important dates in my dad’s life. Well, I don’t really dream about him on his birthdays or death anniversaries, but as a child I grew up with my mom connecting every single dream about a dead person to that person’s birthday or death anniversary. If it doesn’t fall on those occasions, important dates on the lives of the departed’s family are also considered. And even if the dreams and the dates don’t always coincide, the belief still remains.

So it wasn’t my dad’s birthday, nor his death anniversary. It wasn’t even his wedding anniversary with mom, nor any of his children’s birthdays. Lying awake, I wondered what the reason of his starring role in my dream could be.

Perhaps he just wanted to tell me he also likes my shih-tzu cuz he was smiling at it in my dream. The shih-tzu has been one of my sources of joy for over a year now; it actually takes away my day’s stress and somehow also makes me get organized – what if I have to arrange my schedules so I could be home for her meals or take a day off to bring her to the vet for the monthly grooming or the scheduled shots.

Perhaps dad is also amused that the dog is so smart and so jealous that she growls whenever I pet my other two big dogs.

Or perhaps dad just wanted to make sure that I don’t forget about him, and wanted to tell me that he’s just around, or behind me, like a shadow.

I love you dad. It may seem like it is, but believe me, you are not forgotten.

A Not-So-Pleasant Taxi Experience

Going to Bonifacio Global City from the south is no easy thing, especially when you have to commute at noontime, enduring 32 – 33 degrees of hot weather.

On the way to Global City, I had to do some errands in SM Bicutan. I thought dropping by the mall would be great because it’s easier to hire a cab in malls. I also texted my friends who went with me to the Level Up! event to just meet me at  the mall’s taxi bay.

Little did I know that I would have a little problem hiring a cab that day.

 
I thought this sign is big and clear enough, not to mention written in Tagalog, to be understood by anyone who knows how to read.

But then again, no.

 
Because this guard doesn’t know how to follow instructions written in big letters in front of him.

We waited in line for about 45 minutes to get a cab. When our turn finally came, the cab driver refused to convey by shaking his head when he learned of our destination (Market Market). In normal situations, the guard would make the taxi leave upon refusal to convey. But this guard instead let the one next in line to ride the said cab upon knowing that the driver didn’t wanna go to our destination.

This guard
 
prolly didn’t understand the meaning of the 3rd reminder written in big letters on that board in front of him.

 

A big difference, though, when we took a cab at the Market Market taxi bay to go home. The line was so organized and taxi drivers wouldn’t demand to know your destination before they open the door. The guards also give out leaflets where you can write your complaints about your taxi experience.

No wonder Market Market is always so busy with shoppers and mall goers. Judging by our taxi experience, I’m kinda sure Market Market is more concerned  with their customers than the other malls around.

I don’t know about other SM malls but I think SM Bicutan mall admin can learn a thing or two with how Market Market takes care of their mall goers.

Purple Up!

I was at the Bonifacio Global City Open Field this afternoon with some friends. It was actually the Level Up! event that made me go, and not the Yahoo! Purple Hunt Finale. I’m really not a fan of contests.

The Open Field was so big the five tents in color purple occupied not even 1/4 of the area LOL!

This is the Level Up! booth called Purple Up.
 

The Purple Lounge where there were laptops for free use.

It was so hot in the “open field” that only the participants of The Purple Hunt Finale were at the stage area.


Then Taguig Mayor Freddie Tinga with his daughter arrived.


The daughter flagged off the start of the race.
  

It (the Honda Jazz) was eventually won by Calvin Galgana from Caloocan.


It was really scorching hot especially when we decided to line-up for the freebies at the Level Up! booth.
 

By the time we got the freebies, a Calvin Galgana was announced the winner.

We wanted to watch the Level Up! events which was just about to start after we received the freebies. But it was really so hot, Ryan was feeling chest pains I was afraid he’d suffer heat stroke. We went to Market Market instead.

How Could a Jap Be This Cute?

Yesterday, Doc Erich told me about Japanese Chins. Today I searched for pics.



How my heart melted when I saw this pic.

I want!

Hate

I really don’t like that new vet. I don’t like the way she stares, and the way she manages to give you a light smirk? Arrghh it’s irritating. Perhaps she thinks that her smirks get unnoticed.

It’s just too bad I had to go to Animal House in Bicutan on the day of her duty (for the second time). I was already referred to Dr. Rose by Dr. Quinto but she’s only in Bicutan on Wednesdays and weekends. And I really had to buy dog stuff yesterday that I had no choice.



On my way there, I was hoping she’d be inside the clinic when I arrived, but luck wasn’t with me cuz she was there in the store/reception, sleeping. She was hunched on the table sleeping on her arms. She “woke up” when she noticed the secretary was talking to me. Oh well, she was back to sleeping even before I left. LOL!

I miss Dr. Quinto, really. She’s so accommodating and gentle.

What Do You Do?

When I was younger and still in school, I used to see myself working in a top corporation on a nine to five shift, going home to my mom every night in a house that I built where we’d have sumptuous dinner over happy talks.

But that was before I realized  what my potentials are, and how I would not be able to work under pressure and under a set of rules.

I was in college when my female cousin encouraged me to try fiction writing. She saw my potentials as I used to write in the high school paper and I love reading a lot.  I tried it and got my first fiction published without any hassles. I stayed at writing for a while but I didn’t have a contract so I had all my time, which means I could write just whenever I felt like it. And handling your own time has its cons.

Perhaps I would have persevered more if I did it for a living. But I didn’t even do it for a living. I did it just for fun so I really didn’t have to force myself to write.  I regret it now, though. I was so young then, that had I persevered, I could have been popular by now. There had been plans to go back to writing but it never happened. The drive is lost.

Now, as I write this post, I realize that my writing inspirations had really been my professors, and the stories that they made me read. I remember how amazed I was when my language teacher Mr. Villanueva made us go to the Palanca library to read a Palanca-awarded story – Sa Dulo ng Bahaghari. I ended up reading not only that story. And the analogies left me in awe.

It was a great change, a great shift, for someone who grew up reading The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mystery stories and later on the Sweet Valley series and Mills and Boon romances.

I was inspired.

I got tired of writing, though, after a few years of draining my brain. It’s also something I could not tell my friends that I do. Tagalog romances were so “not in” for my pack. So as I was writing romances, I made it a point to have a short story or two published in some reputable magazines. And the magazines, I showed to my friends.

A few years after, I went into business. Pirated VHS and VCDs. It was fun at first, but I eventually hated it. Stock updates were so often and I had to get myself updated even on the type of movies that I hated. It was a short-lived one.

Then Counter Strike became a fad. I got addicted. And I put up a gaming shop so I could play for free, all day, and all night if I wanted to. With it came the addiction to other games as well, and I found myself engrossed in the business.

I still keep the shop up to now. Computer gaming has been continually  in-demand. Thanks to online games. The business is already seven years old this year, and it’s still going strong despite the competitions.

I also do other small jobs on the side just to keep myself diverted. Because honestly, I don’t wanna get tired of this one. It’s almost as if I’m only playing, but earning money as well. It gives me lots of time for myself and my mom, not to mention I meet lots of people – mostly kids – that I become friends with.

It’s fun. And being among the young crowd delays my aging. LOL!

Shout!

It's really good to just shout your lungs out whenever you're frustrated, or mad. It takes away the stress of the situation, making you feel better afterwards. Lock yourself in a room (I used the bathroom tonight), close your eyes, and shout into nothingness. Be careful not to shout facing a mirror - you might be tempted to hit your reflection. And don't form words while shouting - curses will definitely come out of it. And you shouldn't, shouldn't shout at the person you're mad at. You'll be really sorry afterwards. I miss Tears for Fears...

The World is Round

17-year-old Zac Sunderland has just completed his 13-month solo sail, making him the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the globe. He completed the feat on Thursday morning by guiding his 36-foot vessel into Marina del Rey, to the presence of hundreds of admirers (perhaps mostly young girls). He started the navigation June 14, 2008.
 

Meanwhile, the Philippines will also do an expedition – aboard a boat believed to be similar to the one used by the Spaniards who first set foot on our islands:


the Balangay.

The navigation is aptly called the Balangay Expedition. The Mt. Everest team headed by Leo Oracion will set forth 2010 at the Southeast Asia region, on 2011 it goes to Mirconesia and Madagascar, and on 2012 it will navigate across the Pacific and Atlantic and around the world and returns to the Philippines on 2013.

God bless the team.

Of Weight Gain and Harry Potter

So, okay, it's already a month after and I still haven't reached my desired 5 kg. more. From 55 kilos, I am now just 57. Sad. But at least I gained a couple of pounds more. I really wanna be 60 kg. And maintain it that way. I don't know but I find myself so stringy. I am perhaps the opposite of the anorexics who find themselves still too fat despite being too thin. I'm still on Ling Zhi and I take it every other day. The Chinese drug really gives me appetite (for food). I watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with JP last night. Not to be mistaken for a boyfriend cuz we really are just movie buddies. We, in fact, don't talk much in between movie trips. But if there's a new movie coming out that is of our interest, we just know we have to see it together. But I missed some parts of the movie, the one around the scene where Ron and Lavender first kissed. I had to go out of the cinema to buy a PSU for my other desktop. We were so excited to see Harry Potter that I completely forgot to buy the PSU before going inside the theater. It was a last show so the shop would be closed by the time we get out. It was fun overall, though. The movie house was sooo quiet when Dumbledore died. It was really emotional. And JP couldn't stop talking about the movie on our way home.

I Don't Wanna Wait in Vain...

So you see when you really, really like something, waiting for it is such an agonizing experience. But some people have zero tolerance of waiting.

I called JP at four this afternoon. He’s still at work but is preparing to go home. I told him I couldn’t hold it til Monday. And he wanted to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on its first day, too. So we agreed to watch the 7:30 screening. LOL!

We were young once again, excited to see a movie we’ve long waited for.



We started going to the movies together in 1998. Cesar Montano’s Jose Rizal. Not because we wanted to see it, but because his mom gave us tickets to that movie. There were like 6 of us, our old barkada. And it’s actually the group’s first time to go out together.

Since then, we would go to the movies with his brother, Jindo, everytime there’s good sci-fi out. The girls wouldn’t wanna join us cuz they didn’t like the movies we love watching. Then after some time, Jindo wouldn’t wanna go the movies anymore. His interest drifted to guitars so he’d rather strum than sit inside the theater to watch.

Well, we go to the movies with other friends, too. But movies of our interests - like Harry Potter – should be watched together. No questions asked.



It was a fine Harry Potter night. If you’d not count the fact that it’s raining so hard going to and from the theater, it was overall a good trip. I also got to pay my credit card bill, had Princess’s card updated (at last), and was able to buy the much needed 600w (generic, though) power supply for one my units that burned out this afternoon.

Anyway, bawal pala magpicture ng posters sa SM. I didn’t know cuz I always get away with it. Kaya lang my flash gave me away kanina. Sayang. Sabi na nga ba camera phones are better. LOL!

Photos via wikipedia.org and thoughtsfromthejockstrap.com

See No Evil

I’m all excited to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Watching it was the first thing that came to my mind upon waking up this morning. I have agreed to see it on Monday with JP (who is my movie buddy for almost a decade now) but I also want to see it with my nephews. (So okay I want to see it twice.)

I texted Leni this  morning: Can I see Harry Potter with your kids on Saturday?
She texted back almost immediately: Ayaw ko yun e. Sorry.

How could I forget. Her family hasn’t watched or read a single Harry Potter. Why? Their church forbids.

It’s such a pity that some people (or churches) regard this story as wicked, evil, even satanic. It’s all about wizardry, yea, but all they have to do is read the plot to know that the story focuses on good things and despises the bad.

But I respect their opinions. Everyone’s entitled to live by their ideals.

I’m just glad I am free as a bird to do watch all things I want to do watch.

Vet Visit

I brought Princess to the vet last Monday to have her teeth checked and to talk to the vet as well about the dreaded sedation. Since it’s a new vet (Dr. Djoanne Quinto already resigned from Animal House and is now based in Batangas), I brought with me Princess’s vet card (but I guess it’s useless cuz it’s not updated LOL!; the clinic actually has the updated record).

I gave the card to the secretary and I saw her hand it to the vet. The secretary also gave the vet their own record of Princess so she could update our card. We were brought inside the clinic and I proceeded to discuss stuff. She told me they also don’t sedate dogs as much as possible, and in Princess’s case, she agreed not to  have her sedated. I really felt relieved. I guess they only sedate dogs they cannot handle.



I also had Princess’s nails and “behind” hairs trimmed. I discussed her current state of (bad) appetite, etc. etc. Funny thing was, when I asked her to look at Princess’s record to check the next scheduled vaccination, the new vet told me we had 2 overdue vaccines (CV and CF), plus deworming. I almost agreed to have those shots that day but then I remembered I cannot give my dog a bath for a week after the shots. So I bailed cuz it’s her bath sched the day after that. I just told the vet to have the vaccines done next week, together with the dental prophylaxis.

(I would later thank my vanity for saving money, and perhaps Princess’s health.)

We’re on our way home when CV and CF passed through my mind. I was kinda sure Dr. Quinto already gave it last month. And overdue shots? How could we possibly have overdue vaccines when we’re at the vet almost every month! It’s not recorded, though, on our vet card cuz I wasn’t able to bring it last month. And it's still not recorded cuz the new vet didn't update our card!

Upon arriving home, I took out my big Tupperware box where I put my receipts. I searched for last month’s vet receipt and voila! those shots and the deworming were there! I immediately called the secretary to have the new vet informed.

Had I agreed to have those vaccines administered last Monday, oh lo! I would have spent precious money to something I already paid for last month. And isn’t it bad for dogs to have annual vaccines given twice on the same year for two consecutive months?

Buti na lang I preferred baths over those vaccines. LOL!

But look at these cute toy dog stuff they have over at Animal House (SM Bicutan):


Carrier: Php900


Bed: Php1500

I really wanted to buy this cute bed but the color turned me off. It’s dry clean material daw. Buying this bed on this color will make me have trips to the dry cleaner every other day. I’m kinda sure Princess would love to chew her biscuits on this one.

Kerry Degman is a Dog Lover!

Kerry Degman loves dogs - and he poses in this pic with one. He says his first pet was Mia, a chocolate Lab.

Cute pose. Gonna do that with Princess one time. LOL!

Viva!

Coca-Cola started selling the easy-crush water bottles in Japan for its I Lohas mineral water brand. It does not only use minimal plastic, but it can also be crushed into a smaller unit before disposing it, minimizing the volume of plastic garbage.



I was drinking Viva! mineral water this morning when I noticed that the bottle was made of very thin plastic (it actually crunched a little in my hand). Having read about I Lohas a month or two ago via CScout Japan, the first word that came to my mind was "immitation." Not that it's bad. If the makers of Viva! got inspired by the (almost) environment-friendliness of I Lohas, it's actually immitation for a good cause.



Then I looked at Viva!'s label. It surprised me. It's also a product of Coca-Cola.

I wonder why they didn't make a campaign about Viva!'s easy-crunch bottle here in the country, just like they did in Japan.

Or is I Lohas' bottle even thinner than Viva!'s?

I Hope It's Not Too Late

I was looking inside Princess's mouth last night, I noticed the plaque on her molars. It got me alarmed so I asked Google. It says tartar build-up can never be removed by brushing alone. I have to get her to the vet for dental cleaning. But she has to be sedated. Hello!

Sedations has it's negative after effects even on humans. Ayaw ko!

Then I remember Dr. Djoanne Quinto telling me Animal House in Jupiter St. is open 24 hours. I called. And yeah dogs are sedated when being dentally cleaned.

It would cost me daw less than 5k including the blood tests pre-sedation. Okay lang sana. Kaya lang the general anesthesia is worrying me.

I'm kinda blaming myself tuloy. It's not that I neglected Princess's teeth. It's more like I wasn't aware toy dog teeth should be taken cared of well. I was used to owning big dogs lang. And I never had any problems with their teeth.

Now I'm kinda wondering why Animal House didn't tell me about Princess's teeth - dental care and all. Come to think of it, nobody told me about shih tzu-teeth-care. Eh I bring Princess to the vet at least monthly.

I had an orgal hygiene kit picked up at Animal House SM Bicutan a while ago. I'm praying I get rid of the plaque with brushing. Google tells me otherwise, but I just wanna give it a try. I will buy other dental stuff on Sunday. Ayaw ko lang talaga ipa-sedate si Princess.

The Golden Casket

I'm still full from dinner. But perhaps I would already be starving by the time MJ's memorial is finished. It has just begun.



Contrary to what's been reported earlier, Michael Jackson's youngest kid is there. I guess they really have to do that - be secretive - just like keeping the fact that Michael's casket would be in the Staples Center for the memorial service.

I showed my niece the supposed ghosst in MJ's bedroom during the CNN Neverland tour. She got mad at me. She's now scared to go back to her room.

Isa Pa… Isa Pa…

Lately, I’ve been very matakaw. And I crave for food not in the kitchen. Like this evening, while nanay and I were watching TV Patrol World, I craved for Jollibee’s Chicken Joy. Nanay already cooked dinner but when I told her I wanna have Chicken Joy delivered, she allowed me.



We ended up eating Jollibee for dinner.



Even Princess.

Abutin ang Mundo!

I can't wait for Globe Wimax to be available in our area. I'm so sick and tired of PLDT being my only internet option (unless I go prepaid, which I don't like).

My internet connection always gets disconnected every morning between 9:30 to 10:00. I don't know why. Calling 171 proves to be futile.

Miraculously, my internet connection wasn't disconnected this morning, nor the whole day through up to now. I hope it continues to behave until I get myself a Globe.

Long Live the King!

This vid gave me goosebumps...



Madonna paid tribute to the King.

Afraid of the Rides

I loved carnival rides as a kid, especially roller coasters. But as I grew older, I became afraid of putting myself in danger by indulging in the short-lived thrill of those rides.

When I was young, we only had the Fiesta Carnival in Cubao. Then Big Bang sa Alabang was put up during Christmas seasons. If I'm not wrong, the original Big Bang location is where Honda Cars Alabang is now located. With the success of Big Bang, several other Christmas carnivals sprouted - Payanig sa Pasig, Boom na Boom, Star City, Enchanted Kingdom. Some even made it a regular theme park, and not just a Christmas thing.

I think Payanig sa Pasig had the first incident of a ride tragedy, and several others from other carnivals followed. Nakakatakot.

My last ride was like 6 years ago in Star City. And it was just on a ferris wheel. I was with my nephews and they kinda forced me to join them. I kept praying all throughout the ride and couldn't wait for it to finish, while they literally jumped from one seat to the other to make the cart sway.

Enchanted Kingdom had a mishap a few years back while students in a field trip were there. No one died but it caused trauma to the kids.

We can easily blame Enchanted Kingdom, and go on to saying how careless they were. But accidents really happen.

Even in a world-class theme park.

Walt Disney World had a tragic incident Sunday morning. And it's not even a ride malfunction. A monorail driver died when two trains collided while visitors were leaving the the theme park. Read it here.

A screenie of the collision:


Watch the video taken by a Disney World guest here.

Ran Online D3D9 Application Error

Due to a friend's request, I downloaded Ran Online again last night. I was surprised to find the full client chopped into 9 parts, with two extra files named the "latest patch" and the "current patch" (huh? I first thought the two are just the same files but no, they're two different ones). From what I can remember, the full client used to be just one file. Now, you have to bear with the clutter of 9 zip files (plus 2 exes - namely current and latest) in the directory wherever you download your stuff, in my case, the desktop (lol).

So I installed it this morning hoping to play with my friend who has just been introduced to the game and is currently super enjoying it. But then this D3D9 Application error (pictured above) pops up. Description says: "Generic application error. Enable debug output for detailed information."

I got so confused cuz according to Google, D3D9 is video related. And confused I was cuz I was using a 1 Gig video card. What could possibly go wrong?! Is my 1 Gig video card suddenly behind Ran Online's platform?

The Ran Online forum shows threads regarding D3D9 Application errors but I was so disappointed to find no real answer to the problem. Replies also come from Ran Online players who, just like the thread starter (and me) do not know what could have possibly caused the problem. So the threads are full of guesses and hunches and maybes. Some of the threads even have no reply at all, to think that those threads are in the forum's "technical" section. I wonder where all their techies have gone.

After hours of tinkering with my video card's control panel, trying out different resolution settings, reinstalling the game, downloading a new d3d9.dll, scanning my registry, etc... I decided to reinstall the game without running the "latest patch" and the "current patch." I decided to just patch it through their autopatcher... and lo and behold! Darn it! It worked!

It was a long wait, give or take 45 minutes, but I did it because I can't think of anything else to do to make it work. Like if autopatching still didn't work, I would've given up on it.

But then, spending all day trying to make Ran Online work was irritating. So irritating it conjured up old irritations with the game - disconnections, heavy lag, frequent emergency maintenance, lost premium items, wasted premium items due to emergency maintenance, bullying in-game, bad customer support, etc, etc...

By lunch time, I was already decided I wouldn't play anymore. I just tried to make the game work on my PC for personal satisfaction. I really don't like giving up on anything.

So to those who are having the D3D9 Application errors, just don't download the two manual patches and just let the client auto patch itself.

Latest patch... current patch... redundancy = error!

Reflection

Lolit Solis says that Katrina Halili shouldn't request for Dra. Belo's removal of license because after all, same doctor was the one who "did" Katrina's nose. And of course there's no way you can forget who did your nose because you always see that part of your face everytime you see your reflection in the mirror.

Now, whenever I look at a pic of Katrina, her nose becomes the focus of my attention.

But then it's a good thing that Katrina seems to be moving on, if not totally, at least one step at a time.

Miss