21 January 2011

In 1978 my parents exchanged their vows. Twenty nine years after, my dad died, but of course my mom continued to celebrate their wedding anniversary. This year, mom suggested we eat at sister's former employer's restaurant, but us siblings knew prices of their foods were way too expensive, so I suggested we just eat lunch where mom and dad had their wedding reception - Little Quiapo Restaurant.

It wasn't the exact restaurant as they relocated some 13 years ago, but mom felt a little nostalgic about it, especially after seeing the staff who took our orders. It may not be the same, but mom was still very nostalgic about it.






We just had simple foods - Camaron Rebosado, Sinampalukang Manok, and Pancit Palabok. We also had a glass of halo halo each, except for brother who had their chocolate cobler for desserts. It was like eating at the comforts of our home, though I find their prices a bit too expensive.




Mom also had a doctor's appointment that day, so after lunch, we just took the jeep going to NKTI, which was a few meters away. Nothing serious, actually, her eye doctor just wanted to do a routine check up on her eyes as she had eye surgery nearly a year ago. The doctor's assistant told us that the check up was scheduled at 1PM, but when we got there they told us she was scheduled at 2PM because her doctor's not yet around. The waiting time was terrible (at least for me) - I don't really like hospitals, and the videos shown on the television weren't a good help at all.

After the check up, we went to SM Fairview to buy groceries, then mom and bro went to ACE Hardware to get some termite solution. With so many bags to carry, I suggested we take a taxi, but since taxis can only accommodate four passengers, I decided to just take the jeep so I can also prepare dinner.

It rained hard the minute I got inside the jeep, and it was the reason why they only got home an hour or so after. It was a good decision for me to take the jeep, as they were hungry the minute they got home.

*** Jenn ***

Continuation of last week's Q&A:


Chicharon
34. Have you been out of your home country?
- Nope, not yet. I still don't have a passport.

35. Weaknesses?
- Chicharon (pork rind cracklings). I just can't say no to that food

37. First Job?
- Production Assistant for a TV Network.

38. Ever done a prank call?
- I think I have, but I can't recall what was it about.

39. Do you think everyone out there has a soul mate?
- No, I don't think so.... I believe so.

40. What were you doing before you did stealing?
- You mean the Sunday Stealing meme? I was uploading pictures in my Flickr.

41. Have you ever had a surgery?
- Nope.

42. What do you get complimented about most?
- My hands.

43. Have you ever had braces?
- Sadly no. When I was younger, my parents wanted me to have braces, but it was way too expensive.

44. What do you want for your birthday?
- An all expense paid trip to Boracay.

45. How many kids do you want and what do you want their names to be? (Or if you have kids, tell us about them)
- I want to have three kids, but their names will be based upon my name and my future husband's name, and since I am single at the moment, there are no names yet. However, I really love my aunt Julie's name, so I might name my daughter Obdulia or Julia.



46. Were you named after anyone?
- Not after anyone, but after the song - "Jennifer" by Bobby Sherman. My parents' first names both started with JE, so they wanted all their kids to have names starting with JE, too. When they named brother "Jerry," they decided to follow a double letter to JE, and while my mom was pregnant with me, she said she liked this song, and since the name Jennifer fit into their preference, they named me Jennifer.

47. What is the biggest turn off of the sex(es) you're attracted to?
- That would have to be lack of respect.

48. What is one thing you liked about high school?
- The clubs and the extra curricular activities.

49. What kind of shampoo do you use?
- Currently, I am using Pantene hair fall control shampoo (and conditioner).

50. Do you like your handwriting?
-Yes and no. Yes because I believe I have beautiful handwriting, and no because my handwriting would vary depending on what pen and paper I am using. I don't have a definite handwriting.

51. What is your favorite lunch meat?
- Chicken!

52. Any bad habits?
- None that I can think of.

53. Are you a jealous person?
- Before. I am happy to say I have grown up and realized jealousy is such a lame way to break up a relationship.

54. If you were another person, would you be friends with you?
- Definitely!

55. Do you agree with friends with benefits?
- Every relationship has its benefits whether we agree to it or not. Initially, we make friends with people because we know we can get something from them - friendship in general sense, companionship, sharing of common knowledge, and a way of bringing ourselves up. Like what a quote said, "Surround yourself with people who are going to lift you up." I agree to that, but in retrospect, we should also be someone who can lift other people so they will surround us, too. Relationship works in a give and take manner. The mere fact that we got something is already considered a benefit. Now... using friends to your advantage, that's a different story.

56. Do looks matter?
- Of course it does! Anyone who said it doesn't is lying.

57. How do you release anger?
- I release anger by squeezing a pillow.

58. Would you rather gain 58 pounds or lose 58 pounds?
- Lose. I am already over 200 pounds, I don't need 58 pounds more.

59. What's your main goal in life?
- To inspire people in the littlest way I can.

60. What was your favorite toy as a child?
- There was this board game featuring Disney characters, I can't remember what's it called (I am not sure if it was Funtastic or Fantastic), but I really cried in the toy store when daddy didn't want to buy it at first. Hahaha, tears can really melt parents' hearts, I guess.

61. How many numbers are in your cell phone?
- More than a hundred.

62. Were you a fan of Barney as a little kid?
- No I wasn't, and I still am not a fan of Barney 'til now.

63. Do you use sarcasm?
- At times.

64. Mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese?
- Mac and cheese.

65. What do you look for in a lover?
- God fearing, has a respect for people, someone whom I can talk to about anything and everything, someone who is very faithful, and someone who shares similar interests as I do.

66. What are your nicknames?
- Jenn, Jayne, Nene, and Jen-Jen.

67. Favorite super power?
- The ability to teleport. How cool is that - no need for a visa!


Part three next Sunday.

*** Jenn ***

I welcomed 2011 with so much optimism, but I guess the year wasn't yet ready to welcome me. I didn't have that much problems, but I admit I was still affected with how a person, whom I considered a friend suddenly just spread a nasty rumor and naming me as its source. Actually, I was already ready to forget about it, until I learned she did it to me twice.

Could it be my own karma, or was she just really like that? Well, I remember last year, I was so pissed at her that I expressed how I felt about her and her choice of actions, but I also told that no matter how pissed I am with her, she is still my friend. As humans, we are allowed to feel upset at our friends, right? If I am being "punished" for feeling disappointed about her, then I guess I am guilty. However, I also have come to a minor conclusion that she really just have a bad attitude towards certain things. I learned how plastic she could be - dragging and burning my name in one day, then talking to me and telling me I am one of her most important friends on the other. If I am one of her most important friends, then why do that?

You suppose I should just put up my wall and not make friends anymore? For a person who's so trying hard to be positive, receiving a blow like this makes me feel I am back to square one.

Is she still my friend? I guess not anymore. I would still be civil with her, after all, I didn't confront her and she doesn't know I am upset with her, but I will be distant. I don't want to give her any reason to use my name again.

People around me told me things like this one is a good revelation of who your real friends are. I so agree with that. I am thankful that one of her victims (who is also a friend of mine) didn't believe the rumors, and that she protected me by saying I couldn't do such a thing (spreading rumors). I know it's quite juvenile - we are now in our 30s, but I guess some people just don't grow up.

I am closing this chapter now, I don't want it to be the tone of my 2011. I may have lost a friend, but I am still young, and I'd still have lots of friends, who are as real as real can be.


With that, here are my final resolutions for 2011:

• Have a close communication with God - that means having my own prayer time, read the bible, pray the rosary, attend the Sunday Mass.
  
• Allow myself time to wallow on certain things, but I have to realize sooner that life goes on, and it won't stop just because I got hurt.
• Be a little vain. Hmmm... that actually means, give my physical self a little attention.
• Learn new things.
• Read books.
• Show my mom how much I love her and how important she is to me. It doesn't matter if it's through actions or words... just show.
• Take more risks.
• Conquer my own demons. This will be difficult, but I have to.
• Trust my instincts and have faith in my own talents.
• Learn how to make a stand.
• Inspire people.
• Strive in making myself a better individual.

January is just the start of 2011. As they say, if you don't like what you're seeing, look at it at a different perspective. It may not be a good start, but I still have 11 months to make 2011 the best year ever.

Aja!

*** Jenn ***

ps - the necklace and the ring are my mom's, I just borrowed them to use here.

Not mine, sadly. :)

I was checking my Facebook page when one of my friends put up a link for a birthday giveaway, and as I clicked on the picture I saw this:


What instantly made me want to join were the bottles of nail polish. Ever since I decided to make my fingernails longer, I have come to like nail polish in a whole different level. Before, I just buy nail polish to beautify my toe nails, now I can also do the same to my fingernails.

I really want to try my luck on this birthday giveaway. I want to win the goodies. I want to dress my nails in different colors.

I know I will. :)

If you want to join the giveaway, just click here:
http://xoxo-parisky.blogspot.com/2011/01/happy-b-day-giveaway.html

Good luck to me!

*** Jenn ***

It's been awfully long since I last posted for Nostalgia, sorry about that... I just got really busy with the holidays and all, but I am now back. Yey! Okay, my last entry was about my first year in college, so I will just continue with the journey.


It was second year when the class welcomed two new classmates - Ronald and Hope. They both just blended well in the class, and although Hope is not a classmate in every subject, her presence and her guidance (she's actually older than us) was well appreciated.

One of the subjects we had that time was Audio-Video Techniques, and part of the curriculum was for us to come up with a radio drama, which we will present live. Live means, our professor and classmates would sit in the AVR, and just listen to the whole skit - there was a curtain in between, so they could feel the actual radio drama part of it. We presented a story called, "Las Pinturas del Sangre," a suspense type of story Ivy wrote. Each group were also asked to provide a recorded copy of the skit, and I remember we stayed in one of our group mate's house so we can record. Imagine a whole lot of sounds and terrifying moans at 2AM, and we were all using microphones! Hahahaha! Well, it was a great performance, at a little awarding ceremony, we won several awards including "Best Radio Drama," "Best Story," and "Best Actress."

Some memories from the first semester:

• At a time when buses were still not as abundant as it is now, travel using the jeepney. There was a jeep terminal at the parking lot of Automatic Centre (now the lot is occupied by Telus), and one late afternoon, I arrived at the terminal seeing a lot of people. It's normal that sometimes, people have to line up to get their ride, but it was already 8PM and were still stuck in the area. I was able to see my brother and asked him to cut in line (told people he just went to find a public phone), and by 10PM, we saw one of our neighbors (yes we let her cut, too). We already knew there was a problem; we tried to leave the area to find other ways to get home, but all roads were just empty. It was about 4AM when we arrived home - turned out, there was this heavy rainfall that caused floods in different areas. I had an exam the next day, good thing the government declared it a non-working holiday because there were so many people stranded.
• Our barkada Frelyn started working at a fast food chain, and after several clues, she admitted she was pregnant, the father being her current boyfriend, a co-worker. At age 18, it was difficult, but we were her friends and we stuck by her.
  

In second semester, our barkada was divided entirely. Before, close friends were Ivy, Frelyn, and I; Lhyne, Thess, and Bheng... now, I have been spending more time with Lhyne, and Ivy and Bheng were always together. As a group we tried to tried to understand Frelyn's mood swings, but at times we weren't able to understand her.

Anyway, most subjects were a bit too demanding, and one of the subjects that really ate our time was the Communication Campaigns, which made us work about it the entire Christmas vacation. Our professor said she really chose this subject to be in the second sem, so the students can devote their time entirely to the project. Our campaign that time was about Drug Awareness, and we chose two baranggays in Sampaloc, Manila - near Ivy's house. Being the leader, we would meet there everyday - we would start as early as 7am (we would even eat breakfast there), and end at about 9pm. It really made Ivy's family upset - well, it was like we were living there, too, but of course we had to do what we had to do. It was a very difficult project, but we were all relieved when we submitted the final requirement.

More memories:

• When you're with friends day in day out, trying to finish a whole lot of projects, it was just normal for some of us to have hidden disappointments. Lhyne and I were disliking Ivy's way of leadership, that one time, we decided to be late for the meeting because we went to watch "Titanic." Hahaha.
• As if Comm Campaigns wasn't enough, we also had Developmental Communication subject, and we had to visit the squatters area near the university to do a little campaign. It was through that when I realized some people just don't care about things - they know help will be given to them, so why bother? Part of our campaign was cleanliness and hygiene, and they didn't even help us... they saw us coming with brooms and other materials - and they just let us clean their surroundings. Sigh.
• February, I just got home after a few days of not being home, and my sister told me Frelyn was outside... she needed a place to go to because she ran into some problems with her boyfriend. Our house was way too far from her place - and she could easily come to either Ivy or Thess (all of them live in Sampaloc), but she chose to come to me, and I was really touched by that. My parents were actually sorry about her current state, so we tried our best to make her feel at home.
• In Personality and Development class, we were asked to do a little game - putting a piece of paper on our backs and we would roam around to write down a positive and negative trait about each other... the most common negative thing about me was that I am always with friends and don't mingle as much to others. Actually, I felt bad about the whole exercise because when I wrote in Lhyne's paper, I wrote in "mayabang" as her negative attitude. She later sent me a short note asking if she was really mayabang. I answered with, "who's not anyway?" By the end of the semester, we staged a little program as part of our final exam, and our group made a little intermission to honor Ivy as her birthday was celebrated a few days before. We changed a few lyrics of one particular song, it was a revelation that something was wrong in our barkada, but in a way it was also a closure.

However, cracks were too much, I guess, and it clearly divided the group, even if we knew we were still united.

*** Jenn ***

14 January 2011

We were about to go to the market to buy ingredients for dinner. I told my sister and cousin I'd use the toilet first, and when I got in, I stepped into something. Seeing it was a cockroach's egg, I didn't mind it, but soon after these little critters came out.

I know it was such a gross picture, but me seeing these made me instantly grab my camera to take a picture of it. Well, it was my first time to see such, and I don't know if I ever get to see one again, might as well freeze the memory, right?

These little critters didn't look a lot like the adult cockroach, and at first I was doubting if they are in fact little cockroaches, but it was certainly a cockroach's egg, I guess they all start looking like this. Pretty amazing, huh?

Gross at it may seem, I like it; and I am happy I got to see something like this.

*** Jenn ***

09 January 2011

It was supposed to be daddy's 64th birthday... but even if he's no longer around, we still celebrate the day, and this year, we went to eat lunch together at Hap Chan, one of the newest restaurants in SM City Fairview.


It was just a simple simple lunch, but we all liked it. In fact, we were all so full that we decided to stay for a while to talk and talk. If daddy's still alive, I am sure he would like the foods we had, but for sure he won't allow the food trips we do from time to time.

Daddy will always be in our hearts. He is greatly missed, but we were thankful that we're still strong and united.

*** Jenn ***