The Name Curse

I'm doing this because I was tagged by Jewel. Instructions: Share the different names that different people call you.

My full name is a standard example of a kid born in the 80s, with two American-inspired given names and a Kastila surname. As a child, I got to be a little cooler than the kids with short names. However, it's a pain to learn it all quickly in writing... and as I got older, people made different, sometimes appalling, versions of my name. So let's begin the list.

Anna
Common, generic and easy to pronounce (thank god, I don't get called like Jewel's "jeh-wel"). And it's one of the coolest names in the world. Why? Because it's a palindrome. Shallow, I know. Some variations:

     Anna O - Used by D'can buddies to distinguish me from the other numerous Annas.
    Sister Anna - Exclusively Raymond's idea. It strangely originated from this frat-soro handshake thing we had.

Anne
This has been the official nickname so far. Only family and very close friends get to call me such. Besides, you'll hate me if let you use that name when texting me, etc. since I'm being obsessive-compulsive about it: it has to be spelled with a double N and an E. Only my brother can do without the E.

Ann-ann
I guess only your mom can call you a name that sounds like a fungus and get away with it. Nuff said.

Therese
I remembered the only ones who could pronounce this correctly, apart from the familair crowd, were Ms Divina and Ms Guiao from D'can. In college, Chris (I mean, Sir Chris) called me my full given name in the most sosyal way I've ever heard. Some variations:

     Trez! - Courtesy of my dad. And it's always with the exclamation mark.
     Teres - That comes from the people who don't know the actual pronunciation of my name. And recently, I discovered even British people tend to say it that way.
     Theresa (teresa or tereeza) - I don't really blame you if you forget about the little E in the end but I'm slightly bothered by this. Well, my mother purposely gave me my name because she thought "Theresa" would be too common.

Ofilas
Most of my brother's old classmates called by my surname. It's fine because it's no hassle and you can apply it to both of us siblings. It sounds impersonal but we love our surname so we don't mind. Just please pronounce it properly and NOT Ofelas, Ofilia, Ofelia, Ofilias or anything else that I haven't and wouldn't want to hear.

Lai
Only three people in the world call me this nickname and because those three people in the world know the full history behind it. LOL

Valedictorian
I heard this first from Nanay, a family friend in the US, and recently it has become a popular slight insult (and that's from those who DON'T even know me, surprisingly). I guess labels really won't go away that easily.

So I'd prefer you call me the way you've always called me. If you're my friend, I guess I'll forgive you butchering my name anyway. :)

What's on your list, Annie-chan, Verna, Ate Kel, Mame? The curse is passed. *sigh*

Thanks ten times over.

Kelly tagged me.

The rules are to post ten things that have made you happy recently as an exercise in gratitude. I should say that I had trouble coming up with ten things, when I thought it should be easy. Well...

1. A phone call I made to Pinas on Valentine's day.

2. A black dress on sale that actually fits me.

3. Success in strategic packing of a box I've been obssessed with recently.

4. An episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. (It was funny when he said something about American Idol 7 being the "gayest" season ever. Haha.)

5. A chance to formally graduate.

6. Finishing five chapters of a new original fic.

7. A new desktop PC with an acceptably speedy internet connection.

8. A weekend getaway to the ends of the world. (More like, snowy northern US.)

9. Two solar keychains I bought in WI. (Sorry guys walang pasalubong... lintik sa mahal yung dalawang pirasong keychain na yun. $3 each!)

10. Strangers I met in the most unusual circumstances: A med school survivor waiting to be an M.D., a guy from NY, and a feisty Pinoy who doesn't a have a single Tagalog word in the internal vocabulary; who gives me headaches.  

I tag ANYONE who reads this, except those who've done it already.

Where's my Genie?

If I had a genie, I would probably be wishing for love, peace and happiness. Lol. I wonder how he'd get around that. If everyone would wish for such long-term things, we should all probably be dead the next day. Haha. So let's go past the pretentious crap and see what crazy stuff I want this year.

I was tagged by Jewel.

JOB. This actually just comes from that deeply rooted desire for money. Cold hard cash, or something better like in the form of a string of digits on my monthly bank statement. It would be really cool to just win the lottery but getting a paycheck from a kickass profession would be so much cooler. Besides, my brain wouldn't stand being a bum for too long.

A PIECE OF FANCY PAPER.  Also known as a diploma.  No biggie, it's just that little reward for all the blood, sweat, and tears (uh, literally speaking).

A CARD. Or two cards, for that matter. One that claims itself to be a license (whoa, it seems I'm considering it) and another one that could be an ID for grad school (whoa, I didn't realize I was considering this either). 

A FLASH DRIVE. I want a new one with more space but it doesn't hurt to wish for this 8GB SanDisk Cruzer Contour Drive. My brother already has a 4GB Cruzer Micro, which he never forgot to dangle in front of my face. Oh, that bragger. So why 8GB? Pictures. Music. Video. Backup. Added coolness. And so that I could be that bad little sister who likes to outdo her brother.


A PLANE TICKET. Maybe I just want to live somewhere else for a while. I don't know. I don't care if it's a round trip ticket to the ends of the world for a week, I'm still biting it. My brother took that one in the picture... hehe. I just realized he was as obsessed as me in trying to take pictures of everything... e.g. doing endless macro shots of stuff like dewdrops, bugs, dessert and even dust in the keyboard.


I have no one to pass this on to, so I'm going to tag YOU. But, should I think of anyone in particular, this entry will be edited promptly. 

Tell me what your desktop looks like and I'll tell you who you are. Lol.

So that's my desktop. All gloomy and dark and messed up. I can't even bother to erase the downloads that were initially stored in the desktop. There's even that fake Harry Potter 7 e-book that I actually finished reading a few days before the real book's release. And i only have two games installed right now, Monopoly and Lemonade Tycoon 2. It's a sad desktop really, nothing much to wonder about.


My Desktop Free View Instructions:
A. Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop. It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun.
B. Post the picture in your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop just below it if you want. You can explain why you preferred such look or why is it full of Icons, things like that.
C. Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktop as well.

press Print Screen then paste on Paint

I tag...
Anyone who wants to be tagged. (Tamad na ko mag-isip eh.Haven't slept a wink in 33 hours.)

8 facts daw

I was tagged by Verna.

In the 8 facts about you, you share 8 things that your readers don’t know about you.

Then at the end you tag 8 other bloggers to keep the fun going.

– Each blogger must post these rules first.
– Each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
– Bloggers that are tagged need to write on their own blog about their 8 things and post these rules.
– At the end of your blog, you need to choose 8 people to get tagged and list their names.
– Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1. I like love stories. I'm not fond of uber-mushy stuff, pero mahilig akong magbasa at manood ng stories with romantic angles. Basta ba maganda or unique. Pero mas gusto ko yung di masyadong touchy-feely na characters. Haha. Unexpected ba?

2. I can sit in front of the computer for 15 hours and my eyes never hurt. (Adik!)

3. I hate surprises. Really.

4. Pag di tayo close, unless it's for an official or legal thingy, I'd say my birthday is the date one day after my real birthday. Basta.

5. My college graduation picture was the first time I smiled for a formal pictorial. (Yup, ganun ako kalala noon.)

6. When I'm bored or depressed, I do karaoke in front of the PC. Pero Japanese. Haha.

7. I can't dance. Kung kaklase kita nung high school, malamang alam mo na to. Lalo na kung naging partner pa kita sa social dance sa PE. Hehe.

8. My life after the next two months is a complete blur. I have no idea what could happen. No plans, no expectations, no anything. (Some of you are surprised, ne?)

I tag - tahnee, viktr, kenet, kel, kay, candice, rich, alia (waah, wala na kong ma-tag! so i tagged myself on the other blog. haha.)