gilbert's Friends

8:10AM - Twittering Stitch

• 23:38 Having Pen Pals at The Lobby with Garch, Glenn, Grace, Alex, Jay,and Sabs. #

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7:42AM - Wakey wakey

We have a tita and two cousins over to help with the household chores since our help went on vacation for a couple of days.

To wake up every single morning at 7am to the sound of screaming kids after sleeping late due to holiday-related reasons is one of the worst possible ways to greet the day.

Sorry ma & pa, kids are DEFINITELY not part of my near future.

4:10AM - Pasko!

everybody says that Christmas in Manila is better compared to everywhere else in the world. i do agree with that statement since the Philippines boasts of a lot of traditions at this time of the year, plus the warm cool weather during december. but more than those, it's the food that's loooove. there's no better place to eat during the holidays but Manila. it's definitely jubesity at it's finest..

but for this christmas, we're not in Manila. we're in suburb soCal!







Manila is love, but Manila Christmas don't mean anything if you're not with family and the people you love. Christmas is all about being together, no matter how difficult it could be - even if it means leaving manila for the holidays.





















and plus, there's dr. pepper here. :)



i don't mind leaving manila and spending it in california. most of the family is here, like 90% of the family. even if we're far from home, we spend it manila style! :)

6:28AM - Starting Christmas with a Run

I just got home from a 45-minute jog around the village. FINALLY, tumakbo din ako. Well, it was more of a jog-walk in 1/4 of the village. Ang hirap pala! It's different running on pavement compared to running on the treadmill. Parang it's heavier. I now have a new level of respect for the cute 6:30AM village runners. But I feel good. After stretching, I started running at 5AM and it was still chilly. One block later, napagod na ako. Pero sabi ko sa sarili ko,

"Bakla, wag kang himatayin dito. Nakakahiya!"

I concentrated on my running and I felt better. Then I realized something.

"Gaga, ba't ka ba tumatakbo? Pwede ka din namang maglakad."

I decided to run and walk at 5-minute intervals. I conserved energy, and at the same time I didn't feel so stressed out. Anyway, my excuse is that I'm just starting... again. And thanks to the fact that I was the only one running on the road, hindi naman ako masyadong na-conscious, although I'm perfectly aware that I run like drunk rabbit (rabbits don't run di ba. They hop! SO imagine that).

Now I feel good and very much awake. Haha.

I don't know when I can do this again. Running, I mean. A running partner would be nice (hint, hint!).

This is a refreshing way to start my Christmas day. :)

3:23AM - clash of the titans

when i was a kid, i watched clash of the titans probably a gazillion times. it was one of my favorite films at that time, which helped me a bit in learning stuff about zeus, medusa and everybody else.

cum 2010, a remake of the film will be out. i can't wait! trailer was debuted in avatar. sam worthington also stars in the movie



i love it. my only comment is the soundtrack. they could've chosen something more ethereal and magical, not rockish.

12:09AM - Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone! May you have a blessed one!













looking forward to a more blessed 2010!

2:44AM - have we met?

i originally planned on visiting the guggenheim, MOMA and MET. but thanks to drunkenness, i missed everything else except MET.



i first went during a saturday, it was really full and packed, so i opted to just walk around the city and visit again on some other weekday.

so i tried to visit all the wings possible, started with egyptian,





(i remember this area being featured in some movie.. i just forgot which one)

then the roman,







(with more reliefs, reminded me of the angkorian bas reliefs)



and then there's the medieval, armors and armaments,

modern art,



and everything else. it just feels amazing moving from one ancient civilization to another, you'll feel the level of sophistication and culture of each. so moving from one ancient culture to another, which one did i like the most?

the oceania. i mean, i'm not biased because i'm from that area, but the atmosphere in the wing felt so aboriginal yet rich.



it wasn't sophisticated in a western culture way, but it was sophisticated.





there were a few filipino pieces, there's a piece that's part of the gold collection at the ayala museum.



it took me about 2 hours to go around the museum, but i suggest that you spend time longer. i wasn't able to linger at the exhibitions.

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anyway, since it was a tuesday, there were a lot of school kids around the met.



and if there was one learning i got from the steps,

no jenny humphrey hangs out at the top of the steps.

1:56AM - fixation

one thing i learned from this east coast winter vacation is my love for winter trees. i probably took a gazillion photos different twigs because i find it magical and dramatic. they look dead, and peaceful.

i especially loved taking photos of them in central park.



(oh btw, i really don't get how people can jog around central park in winter where it's somewhere 10-20 degrees. how can you burn calories when they're frozen?)



i especially like taking photos of them against the sky. it's like a painting.



i mean, look, isn't it pretty:



and when you move a bit, it totally changes its look.



it's probably prettier in spring, since it'll be full of leaves, but i appreciate it's beauty in winter!







those are just a few. i also have DC and chicago versions! ahaha.

6:19AM - back from the east!

it has been almost two weeks since i last logged in. i didn't bring my laptop to the east coast, so now, i've been surfing the net the whole day! it's already 2 in the afternoon and i'm still stuck here at home, uploading photos.

so where have i been for the past week? been busy switching time zones! from manila, spent one night in LA, then flew straight to New York, then D.C., then Chicago. I was lucky enough to miss the snow storm in New York by a couple of days. And i was able to experience Chicago in not so cold winter style!

So here are the photos in a glance! stories and everything else to follow later!

NEW YORK



















WASHINGTON DC













CHICAGO

11:04PM - Hermit D' Crab

After my morning work last Saturday, I went to the Cuenca Bazaar to check out what was still being sold there. After the big bazaar 2 weekends ago, I guess everyone's resources have been pretty much used up. Konti na lang ang tao. But there were still some fancy stuff that made me actually buy them. First there was this Sun in a Jar thing which I first saw in Shangri La mall the other weekend but it was being sold for about 1,500 pesos. Masyadong mahal for a borloloy furniture. But the cute chinese guy (hihihihihi) was selling it only for 750 pesos. 2 jars for 1,000 bucks!



Then I saw this lamp in the shape of a keyboard button. "ESC" was the only one available that can also be found on a Mac keyboard so that's the one that I bought. If you can get this thing for less than 400 pesos, don't let me know. Iiyak lang ako!



And my craziest purchase for the day was a pair of Hermit crabs. Yes, the same hermit crabs that you can catch on the beach for free! They look so cute (the painted shells, at least), I just wanted to buy one. I bought a container, 2 Hermit crabs, 2 bigger shells (in case they grow a little a decide to move to larger shells), sea salt, powdered pet food (I can also feed them small pieces of vegetables) and a small water spray (their habitat should always be moist). I placed them beside my bathroom window where they can have enough sunlight during the day, and be left undisturbed at night. They eat and drink at night. Kanina I was just watching them. I plan to take a video when I get the chance. That would be interesting.



My Mom gave me an area rug for my room. It was for the space between my bed and my TV. But it looked too plain so I had my sofa moved to the foot of my bed. It looks better and I can now comfortably watch my DVDs right in front of the screen. This is strange. I THINK there are 2 White Cats that have been visiting our house.



The other one has a pair of mismatched-colored eyes.



Weird.

12:37PM - Zoiks!

Something I read a while back:

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My job is fucking unbelievable. I'll try to sum it up by first telling you about the folks I work with:

First, there is this supermodel wanna-be chick. Yeah, okay, she is pretty hot, but damn is she completely useless. The girl is constantly fixing her hair or putting on makeup. She is extremely self-centered and has never once considered the needs or wants of anyone but herself. She is as dumb as a box of rocks, and I still find it surprising that she has enough brain power to continue to breathe.

The next chick is completely the opposite. She might even be one of the smartest people on the planet. Her career oppertunities are endless, and yet she is here with us. She is a zero on a scale of 1 to 10. I'm not sure she even showers, much less shaves her "womanly" parts. I think she might be a lesbian, because every time we drive by the hardware store, she moans like a cat in heat.

But the jewel of the crowd has got to be the fucking stoner. And this guy is more than just your average pothead. In fact, he is baked before he comes to work, during work, and I'm sure after work. He probably hasn't been sober anytime in the last ten years, and he's only 22. He dresses like a beatnik throwback from the 1960's, and to make things worse, he brings his big fucking dog to work. Every fucking day I have to look at this huge Great Dane walk around half-stoned from the second-hand smoke. Hell, sometimes I even think it's trying to talk with its constant bellowing. Also, both of them are constantly hungry, requiring multiple stops to McDonalds and Burger King, every single fucking day.

Anyway, I drive these fucktards around in my van and we solve mysteries and shit.