Pregnancy test

"I'm pregnant..."


That's my friend's message when I opened my YM today.

I wasn't really surprised, she has a boyfriend and they're living together outside the country.

I didn't know what to type at first, I'm not just good at this. So after a few moments of letting her see an "Ely is typing a message" at her YM window, I hit enter and there's my response:

"Pano na outing natin niyan?!?"

I tried not to make her feel worried with her situation.

She's not married. She's away from home and she just resigned from her job. She and her bf have no plans to get married yet, she doesn't want to. A decision which I completely support. Problems between the two of them make her feel unsure about marriage. With that, I thought it is not right for them to get married just because she's preggy.


Well, I guess we should prepare for our gang's newest member, coming soon!

Madadagdagan mga inaanak ko.

Split System Air Conditioners

During my architectural apprenticeship days, we had this one project where I was assigned to do a mechanical layout. I dread doing that. I spent long hours studying the sizes of air-conditioning systems that will be installed and plot the areas where they would be located. I can remember browsing a lot of brochures with all those air-conditioning specs. One of them is Split System Air Conditioners which I find to be one of the most interesting air-conditioners out in the market. They’re more affordable and splitting the hot side from the cold side of the air conditioner, and are flexible for zoning, heating, or cooling individual rooms.

Baguio: The country connection

After spending a day with my family at home, had a drop-off at Baguio last week. I just needed to get a copy of my authenticated birth certificate. My friend was amused for I cannot stand the heat while being in a mile-long queue just to get that paper here in Manila. I thought at least the line in Baguio is shorter and uh, love the weather! I wouldn’t mind spending extra for the comfort.

Enough with the cool weather and the vanishing pine trees. Let me talk about:


Marlboro country.

No one seem to notice, but Baguio (and most of the Cordillera region) for me is too country. They love country music, and well, where in the Philippines could you see people dancing the Achy Breaky Heart?

There's a radio station which exclusively plays country music, and they have their own local country singers:

And shops with cowboy shoes on display:

Bullfighting...

And the ultimate Cordillera cowboy look:


I'm not really into country music although I thought Shania Twain is amazing and I was a fan of Carrie Underwood during her Idol days, and Baguio made me appreciate their music more.

Well, speaking of country, we were at the Cowboy Barn somewhere in Cavite last week, just got surprised to see a bar of this kind outside Baguio.




Wala lang ma-post.
Cheers!

Away for a week and didn't want to come back.

The best place on earth for me now:

Anywhere else except work.

I’m back to my daily routine today. I woke up, with my brain screaming, asking me to go back to sleep. Just sleep!


Groggy, I was literally dragging my ass to work.

I wish I could take a three-day off from work every week.
I wish I could go to work without really working.
I wish I won’t need to work at all.

(Sigh!)


Before a new post, I thought I should do this one first. I saw Alternati taking a picture of it and posted it in his blog...that was about over a year ago. I was with my friends the other night and saw this again, it may seem a copycat but I'm showing it here too:

The irony: I had a misunderstanding with one of my friends I was with that night, we haven't talked since then. That San Miguel beer friendship claim isn't true.

Parental Guidance

I’ve always wanted to be a father. It’s a wish still yet to come true. I’ve started mulling over this since I was in high school. I had these silly thoughts running in my mind like how I would have brought the topic with my ex(s). But I wasn’t prepared to hear them screaming “We’re not married, we’re in school, you don’t have a job, you can’t even bring me to an expensive place, and you want a baby?!?” (slap!)

I also thought; what if I’d just go ahead, say get drunk, pretending it was unplanned but actually was, and just deal with it later. Sounds alright, but I realized how selfish that could be. I have sisters and I want some good karma on them brought about by my, ehem, good actions. Aside from being suplado, I never really wanted to do things to girls that I don’t want my beloved sisters to experience.

And I got scared thinking about diapers. I don’t mind carrying babies in diapers, but changing diapers? I’m not ready. I remember looking after my still crawling niece a few years back, I almost perfectly handled the bottle feeding, swaying, making funny faces and sounds, but when it was time to change that thing, I ran next door and begged a grandma neighbor to do it.

I see young parents doing groceries and often debating which diaper to buy. One would often insist that they get the least expensive. Uh, I ain’t gonna let my baby suffer from using cheap diapers, I’d probably get the most expensive one. That’s another problem. Add to the expenses: milk, clothes, and other baby stuff I don’t even know. I want to raise a baby in full luxury and I am definitely not financially ready.

But I get envious seeing young, happy (happy?) fathers, especially young, unmarried fathers. I always wonder how they were able to get through it all, their parents, their kid’s mother’s parents and all. If it happened to me, my conservative mother would have cried a river and my strict father would have shot me, and not to mention the possibility of getting married, which would have absolutely been a big no. Not without a million in my bank account, not without a house, not without a car, not without a stable job.

Happy father’s day to my dad, and to all fathers out there!
Cheers!

Update: 10 posts too late

Channel surfing, watching the news, movies, dreaming...trying to keep myself busy doing the things I love. My being a loner always makes me happier doing things by myself. Boring? Well, being with a lot of people doesn't always make me feel better.

After my previous post, I could hardly type a word to start creating a new one. I swear, the backspace on my keyboard is already overused.

Anyway I now take comfort with the fact that a lot of people here do care. The advices, although given virtually are very heart warming.

Thanks to everyone.

I was halfway done with a post when I saw an update about the missing Ces Drilon and crew at the Philippine Star the other day. I went through the comment section and I was surprised to see unsympathetic remarks for Ces Drilon, mostly because she’s from the Kapamilya network. How silly. If say, Jessica Soho is also missing in Sulu, I wouldn’t go online and posts nasty comments about her because I am a Kapamilya. Being abducted by some terrorists is a no joke. I was particularly shocked by this one:

If you don't have a magnifying glass handy and too lazy to double click, here's an enlarged screen shot:

Too blurry? It says:

"Yabang mo kase Ces! Dapat lang sa iyo yan. Gusto mo kaseng maka scoop para maunahan mo ang siete. Ngayon ikaw ang headline.

Gahasain nyo yan!!!!!"

djangopool99 (Jun 11 2008 11:21:41)


I admit I also curse a lot but this is something that I'd never wish to happen to anyone.
Whoever djangopool99 is, I hope she/he doesn't have a mother, a sister, a female relative or friend.

I checked the website 3 hours later and the comment is still there. Looks like the Philippine Star moderators are not reading their disclaimer and feedback policy.

What quitting means to me

I remember someone saying “a quitter is the ugliest person on earth”. How many times did I try to quit before? Countless. Does that make me ugly enough?

I tried to quit school. I tried to quit my first job, the second, the third… just tried. At least there’s a difference between trying and doing.



I’ll forget about quitting.
For now, I’m on the verge of giving up.

My officemate saw me typing this and had just reacted: “Duh? What’s the difference?”


I’m doomed. Maybe I need some counseling.

Presidentiable Obama!

So, Obama is now officially the first ever Black-American to run for US presidency. If I were a US citizen, I'd still pick Clinton. Anyway, I'm happy to see the (ex?)-presidentiable congratulating her opponent.

err, presidentiable?!?

I've searched google and found out that almost all pages with the word "presidentiable" are from the Philippines. Who coined this word? I saw it on all major local newspapers before. I asked Merriam-Webster and to my disappointment she can't give me an answer, not even Wikipedia.


Na-nosebleed sila pareho.

Dress Code: Bawal ang naka-sando sa Walter Mart

May bagong tayo na mall sa tabi ng Munoz market. Walter Mart North Edsa. Maliit lang na mall. Yung tipong magiging tiyanggehan in the future. Walking distance mula sa place ko kaya halos araw-araw simula nag-open sila ay andun ako. Hindi para mag-shopping pero para magpalamig lang.

Dahil nga malapit lang sa bahay na tinitirhan ko, kadalasan nakapambahay lang ako pag pumupunta dun. Friday, naka-jeans, tsinelas at sando lang ako. Pagpasok, nagulat ako nang sitahin ako ng guard. Sabi bawal na daw naka-sando sa loob simula bukas, sabay turo sa sign sa may entrance door!

Bawal naka-sando sa mall? Sa Walter Mart? Talo pa ang SM at Glorietta?!? WTF!!!

Hindi ata nila naisip na pang-masa ang lugar na pinagtayuan nila ng mall. Ano ang mga ini-expect nilang customer? Mga naka-business attire?


The next day, balik ulit ako. And I've noticed one thing, pag sa likod (residential area) pala dumaan ang mga nakasando, hindi sila pinapapasok, pero pag sa harap (along EDSA) ok lang. At yung sign ng dress code na yan, sa likod na entrance lang din meron. Ano yun?


UPDATE: About 3 weeks after I've posted this, hindi na bawal ang naka-sando sa Walter Mart, Munoz.

Cheers!