Sacrifices

You know how the world is so messed up these days, that very rarely does anyone bring forth positivity or the faintest hint of appreciation for the all the hope around us?

Last night, I caught on a friend on Facebook and since I was already bothering people then, I said hi. He's genuinely the smartest person in the world that I know personally and I was happy to hear news about his summer teaching stint while on vacation from medical school.

I haven't seen my UP brother in at least two years, but any contact with him always proves memorable. (You know who this is by now.)

Especially because he said this to me last night:

Sometimes you have to sacrifice what you want for something greater.

This is why I think he will be one of the greatest minds in history.

誕生日おめでとう!

Tanjoubi omedetou, oneechan!

I stayed in Joey's place for about 23 hours overnight to celebrate her birthday... fine, I won't say how old, not here anyway. Hehe. We ate tons of "no-bake" baked mac, chicken, biko and chocolate cake (btw, reimburse it from me! Gomen~). On Valentine's Day, Verna stopped over to complete the Charmed Ones and take part in perhaps the first binge drinking session we've had since 3 or 4 years ago. Naie and Pops were there of course and we were itching to continue the Bleach marathon from last month. We had another visitor, Jay... dude, thanks for coming as well.

In summary,


Due to the incorrect number of candles, her age would remain a mystery for now. LOL

Soju was missing from the party since apparently one of us wasn't able to handle it the last time (ahem), but we still ended up bangag anyway from the lack of sleep. And as always, after all the crazy conversations during the wee hours, I had to finish the last drop of alcohol (why?!).

Hey, look at what I discovered after sunrise! Haha.

Anyhoo, I should say we have to get geared up for the next birthday celebrant (if you know what I mean). Hmm, I want a creative gift. Something more creative than what I gave onee-chan on her birthday (I wrote her a story).



*pictures will be posted in a semi-private album

Kampai!

Late friends-only post: Should have been in 2008.

As you all know, I'm not the type of person who comes to school or work half-sloshed. Well.

On the 27th, we had our traditional holiday celebration as eight-year friends: the usual, binge eating and anime marathons. I brought cookies, bacon and green salad and we bought packets of chips and cooked the traditional carbonara. Last year, the pasta was great but the sauce was burnt. This year, the sauce was perfect but the pasta got burned. Even the cat wouldn't eat the pasta, haha! By Angela meticulously picking out the burnt pieces and me salvaging the sauce just in time, the carbonara was the best we've made so far. So next year, we SHOULD get this right! (Or else, what the heck would we have? LOL)

People in my office said the carbonara was really good, by the way. Somehow, I know next Christmas we'll finally get this.

After a few hours, the seemingly innocent soju bottles came out from the fridge. They were purchased from a hidden oriental store I found during my escapades in Manila two years ago. I introduced the store to Joey back then and that's how this imported rice wine found its way to Laguna, haha.









The motivation for the following pictures should probably be clear by now:
Obviously, we were not really drunk. If we were, I don't think anyone will be sane enough to handle a camera. Right? LOL. After three bottles, we were thinking  how we should have bought ten instead! In the end, I had 6 shots of soju minutes before I left for work. (FYI: Soju is like Korean vodka, a little stronger than sake but less intoxicating than regular vodka.) I actually stopped myself as they continued for 4 or 5 shots more. I wasn't tipsy yet, but no matter how much Astring-o-sol I gargle, I know natural body scent won't lie. As I said, I'm not the type who shows up anywhere with a scent or much worse, a hangover.

Despite being so close to just dropping dead at this boring job, I still want to keep it. I still want my money. So after one last swig, I left to take care of Life as they finished the last few shots and continued with a Bleach marathon.

Manila-ed

For the first time since what felt like 20 years ago, I came home. And Home meant the deadly air pollution + P.Gil pirates + glorious Oble in the UPm garden + Rob + sosyal Midtown + wasted and tortured students + icky hospital sidewalk sludge + a lot more indescribable Manila things. How poetic though, of all times I could have visited, I came when Taft Ave. was semi-flooded and when UPm caught FIRE!

Anyways, I had lunch with Faye, Daal, Mame and Gran in the most upscale fast food we could afford (Kenny Rogers, harhar). The conversation was mostly about: first, our insistence to be refunded with the mistake of a KR staff, then underemployed-ness, get-together plans, my attempt at baking (Big Fail), Mikki's Palawan escapade and our theories of arson and how it could be done spectacularly, LOL.

Also, I got my pasalubong from Palawan:

MV Something (couldn't find a name for it). Thanks Mikki!

 

My S630 came back from the Windy City as well, totally beyond legal warranty-covered repair, but possibly worth saving by our native sidewalk gadget experts. But then my cousin was trying to be the best kind of cousin in the world so she got me this to make up for the cheapness of that thing:

That's the actual color as well (credits to The Tech Brief). Cuteness. Thanks to cuz and to the great friend who offered a great discount. My S630 will be as good as new when I have budget for it and will be available to whoever wants to buy. :) (After ranting about it here, I don't think anyone would.)

Now That's Familiar

Help me remember how it feels to hold a pipette and dispense 10 millilitres of acid into that tiny 50-ml beaker. I miss that smoke and the smell that makes you cough when it mixes with water. I'm so bored that I'd rather digest sixty samples of fecal matter inside the fume hood and risk burning myself than stare endlessly and pointlessly into that computer screen at work.

I was sitting there, rubbing my shoes against the carpet, wrinkling my forehead in frustration and typing away in this stupid computer that had been triggering my headaches. I've been in this place for just a short while but I'm starting to feel the ceiling going down on me and the glare of the LCD slowly eating me alive.

But then just when I thought I was about to drop dead inside that pit of dumb boredom, I heard something familiar. My last name.

One of the female bosses was talking to a subordinate, "I'm looking for Ofilas." There could only be two reasons for a boss to ask for me: either I did something great or I did something really wrong. I continued typing in my computer and pretended to be busy until the boss found me.

"Can I take a look at your ID?" she said in the usual boss-like tone. I showed her the tiny card and waited for a reaction. She smiled. "Look at my ID." she said again.

Again, something familiar hit me. My last name. Though her ID was the typical damaged, overused, virtually washed out card that all the bosses have, I was positive about what I read. Ofilas. Same exact spelling. "Maybe we have the same father!" she joked, as all heads turned toward us. Still recovering from the shock, I asked "Where are you from?" in a tone that almost sounded like I was actually asking if she was for real. She held that same gaze as I had and answered, "Ilocos, of course. Where else? All the Ofilases come from that place."

Of course I knew that. There's no any other region in this country that could claim that clan name. Then she babbled about how rare it is to find a namesake and if she did, she was sure to be related to that person. Well, I always knew another Ofilas existed in that office ever since one of the lower supervisors mentioned her to me. I was too lazy to make a search effort, and besides, the number of people working there made finding a specific person a daunting task. But apparently, she is a boss- which meant power- which meant access to certain lists and certain data, thus The Meeting.

Anyway, due to loads of boss work she had to do and the sick mediocre routine that I still have two hours to endure... we parted ways as she promised to have a longer talk with me next time.

Funny, because I commented on Jung's post about namesakes, saying that I will not be pursuing the search for that mysterious girl anymore. I said I'd leave it to the forces of nature. And behold the forces doing their job. Though actually, it was the magic of employee database that brought us together.

Maybe having a boss with my last name would make that place a little less boring.

Rare Occurrences

Shopping has always been more a luxury than a necessity in the world I grew up in. Unless we're running out of stuff to fill our bellies with or use in the shower, I don't get to shop for new things. I lived on presents, hand-me-downs and company freebies. Going around while actually spending cash as opposed to staring aimlessly at shelves is a rarity. Case in point: The mom, surprisingly, took us kids out for a little shopping as her post-birthday treat.

However, I don't think I'm shopping again anytime soon. First reason- cheap, regular clothes don't fit me. I wanted to buy what I called a "Lee Da Hae" blouse but apparently, Large still doesn't fit me... when in the US I fit in petites and small moderates! In the end, I got a smallest shirt in the plus-size section. Frustrating, no? Then there's a second reason- the salesman at the men's wear section would probably remember me as the girl who was picking out boxer shorts for herself. I helped my brother choose a pair of boxers and then just as the sales guy greeted us, my bro blurted out, "May smaller size, fit sa'yo! Turo mo, ikukuha kita and then ako na sa cashier para di nakakahiya."  When it couldn't get any worse, my mom held up a few of the items and asked how I'd like it (Mommy?!). Okay, I don't mind friends knowing I like wearing men's boxers at home, but I don't like having salespersons stifle giggles about it while I'm doing some serious shopping. So I told my mother I'll stick to grocery shopping for the mean time.

Another rare thing happened Sunday midnight until early Monday morning. Gerard, our beloved brother/Oble scholar/summa cum laude/future M.D. was online and available to talk, for once! Hehe. He's in Cebu right now after their cardio module and for a birthday with his family. It was his birthday last week and I totally forgot (what's more embarassing, I greeted Hernie and had a hunch that there was another August birthday but forgot it was Gerard's)!

Anyway... UP fam: sabi nya sobrang miss na daw na tayo and laging wrong timing yung mga dinners natin sa schedule nya. He hopes to be able to see us sometime when he's not busy (yikes, in med school, who knows when that will be diba?).

Who knows what other rare events are in store for me in the next few weeks? Like me going out, perhaps? :P

Oddities

I realized there are a lot of ways to prove how strange my household really is.

–A conversation, around 9PM–

Me: Naghuhugas ako ng dishes. Ikaw na lang mag-alis nyan.

Bro: Ano ka ba, di ako humahawak ng ganyan! Normally, I don’t touch frogs!

Me: What, you think I do?!

Bro: You have a naked frog swimming in formalin in your room! Biochem major ka diba? Kinakalikot nyo pa nga yan eh.

Me: FYI, that was years ago. (Binigay ko na kay Faye yung skinless frog.) Besides, my frogs were sedated. I don’t necessarily chase them around. Minsan lang.

Bro: Whatever, you do it. I’m not touching a frog. Nakakadiri yan eh.

The Mom: Anong klase ba naman yang kuya mo?!

 
–The Story–

During the recent rains, we discovered a frog living in our front yard. It was average-sized, wasn’t that much of an eyesore and it wasn’t destroying the plants so we didn’t mind.

One night, however, I was washing the dishes in the kitchen when my brother was suddenly yelling for me to come. Startled, I rushed to the living room thinking that something horrible had happened. I actually had a bunch of theories in my head: that maybe there was something unbelievable on TV, that he broke some stuff, or worse, that it was something electrical. It turned out that the harmless frog had entered the house as my brother came back from his yosi break outside. My brother was screaming and telling me to pick the frog up and throw it back outside ’because HE DIDN’T WANT TO TOUCH A FROG.

Let me explain this further. My 25-year old older brother is a straight, grown-up, normally adventurous male with long hair up to his shoulders, tan skin, broad shoulders and a stocky built to match… but he didn’t want to pick up a frog.

I told him I was busy washing dishes but he insisted I remove the frog before it goes any deeper under our furniture. I asked him why he can’t just do it himself; and he told me that he doesn’t normally touch frogs. (Like I do?) My mother overheard the argument and was irritated at first, but then started laughing as she took over the dishes I left in the kitchen. Anyway, in fear of the creature possibly having poisonous skin, I got an old pair of latex gloves before doing anything. To my brother’s happiness and amazement, I caught the frog easily in one grasp. He instructed me to throw it out the gate. I might have thrown it a little too far as I saw it fly towards the other side of our street. It was a just a few inches from my neighbor’s property, who almost woke up to find a smashed amphibian at their gate.

I really didn’t mind having to get rid of that frog, except that some kind of sticky, icky, yucky mucus got stuck in my gloves and my brother didn’t want to clean it either.

Oh well, LIFE IS ODD. Nowadays, baby sisters get to save their brothers from little harmless amphibians.

(Just don't tell my bro that I've been blogging about it. Hehe.)

Dimsum, Noodles and a Jacket

Then it was pizza and roses. Now it's Chinese food and a jacket.

Somehow I ended up choosing the most congested and inconvenient of all days in Quiapo, a Friday. People flocked to the church and the surrounding plaza for the weekly mass; adding to the already disordered Carriedo markerplace. But then my desperation due to recent incidents led me to endure standing for an hour in the plaza watching the priest from the projector screen. A drizzle followed after the mass which I thought was some kind of blessing (or so I hoped).

Anyway I was so hungry after that; but my onee-chan took me out for a lunch treat. Yay! Siomai and Noodles! And the best part was that it was free. JOKE. Hehe.

Then the next stop was the SM Clearance Outlet nearby, which was kind of frustrating 'cause I intend not to buy anything for a while due to budget constraints. But I learned that even a person as frugal, ehem... as kuripot as me, just won't be able to resist some things.

Guess what, I got this super cool jacket for 200 pesos!


Thank you, onee-chan!

Pizza and Pink Roses

=D.

I hated surprises. I still do. But I guess there's an exception... not if it involves Italian food and roses. Hehe.
I'm running out of things to say. Just...

Thank you all.

Thanks Kenet for asking them to come and for suggesting Sbarro kahit wala naman kaming choice (Joke! Ikaw lang naman kasi ang mahilig talaga sa Sbarro.); Kel and Hernie for bringing the flowers (tsk, guy na may dalang pink? Haha.) and coming back kahit gabi na, Mikki for coming even though you had an exam, Faye and Daal for being there, Kay for the chat the night before and for coming din, and Raymond for texting that he can't make it. (Tampo. xD Hehe.)

I loved the pink roses. <3 They matched my shirt... hehe.
 
When I get my actual schedule, let's have another one, okay?