:: Tears of the Moon ::

Hmm

Eman leaving for Europe in the next coming weeks. Anna's organizing a despedida for him this coming Saturday. Of course Im not going. As if I were invited *shrugs* Im just sorry I wont be able to say goodbye face to face. Too much baggage, I think. And even so, I feel like it's not the time. But hell, when *is* the right time?

I dont know when the right time is, just that I feel like it's not now.

In any case, he looks and sounds happy now. From what Ive gotten from secondhand sources. And he has Anna, which is good. And I say that sincerely. She may be the kind of girl he's looking for. And I hope that she fits that need in him for whatever his mother lacked when he was young.

It ended badly, I know. Awfully. Compounded with the stuff that came later.. I see how it became that we were the closest friends and now we're not at all talking to each other. Like the other never existed. I mean, sure, when I talk about my college friends and reminisce during dinner, I talk about him, but him in a collective sense (May and Eman and Bri and Stephen, etc etc). I dont know.

I told May to tell him that I wished him well. I wish Id be able to say that in person, but it wont happen. And we'd just have to make do. He'd be away for 3 months.. which means that he'd miss out on Christmas, New Year and Valentine's. Malungkot yun, hehe. But he gets to see and live in Europe. All expense paid. Hanep. Id trade what I have to get that chance myself.

Too many people on that Saturday thing. And May said something about Eman I find disturbing. She said that whenever she talks about me he gets this blank, polite look on his face. WHY does he act that way? I mean, even from a third person perspective, that's hella strange. I mean, dude, if you're over her, you should be over her. And you have a girlfriend now, dammit! Give her a little respect, diba? I mean, you owe her that: No ghosts of previous relationships. It doesnt seem like he's over it.

:: D said @ 8:08 AM [+] ::
...

Now I know why I feel weird with my blog's layout. I posted last night, and it's not there.

:: D said @ 6:57 AM [+] ::
...

Doo de doo, nothing to do

Am at work. 9pm. Im supposed to be here 1am. Why am I here a full four hours before Im supposed to be here? Because the car's in the shop, which means, Dad can't take me to work. Then, I dont have anyone at work to commute with. There are two people from Batch2 who live in my area, but I know their call time is at 5am, so that's a negative. AND I dont want to commute at 11pm or at 12am, no matter how easy the traffic's going to be. So, I left the house at my regular time (6pm). Besides, I needed to go to the bank, so I went to Ortigas first. Got to Shang and bought Judith McNaught's Perfect. Ive been wanting to buy a copy for the loongest time, since for the longest time, all her books have not been available. So I got a copy. Yay. And they have nice cover art this time around.

Visitors

Hey Del! Yeah. Stargazer is not just my ship ;) I'm really an amateur-amateur-amateur astronomer. Well, I try to be as knowledgeable about it as our scant astronomical info allows. *rolleyes* Been interested in the stars ever since I was a child. I dont know where I got it. Sometimes I feel like the freak in the family. Hehe. Besides, when I went to FF, I was really attracted to the ship name Stargazer. And then I found out what it was, and well, the rest is history ;)

Speaking of the stars. The last major Leonid shower occured a couple of days ago. To a very disappointing night sky. It was very very cloudy. As if the cosmos really made an effort to obscure the view. Plus, I had work. Had it been a clear night and I had work, Id be wailing right now. Bleh. After this, there's never going to be a big-ass Leonid meteor shower for the next 29 years. Which means, my children are going to enjoy it. Which means, Id be ooold by then.

But, no matter. I watched the meteor shower last year (which was one of the biggest Leonid shows in years). It was faaantastic. I wonder why people didnt make a holiday out of it and come out of their houses to watch the thing. I slept that afternoon, made some lanterns to commemorate the occassion, and pulled out my starmap. Oh yeah. (Poor battered star map. Been with me through rain, wind and storm) The starmap's been taped on all corners so it wont fray. I really ought to buy another one, if I get to see one :(

Took a tally. Went out at 1am and brought out the banig. Stared up at the sky from the terrace. Approximately 200 meteors came streaking across the sky. I tried to bring my brother up on the terrace with me. He wanted to see, but he was too sleepy. And after five minutes, he was back asleep on the mat. Bleh. Hehe. I couldnt bring the rest of the family up, but that's okay. Im the only one who's as interested anyway.

It felt amazing, seeing all those meteors come down. In a way, its more spectacular than seeing fireworks. At least this one isnt contrived or shaped. And there's a feeling of being awestruck at this. I dont understand why scientists can look at these things at an everyday basis and at the end do not believe in a higher being I mean, LOOK at that! How can you believe that something so beautiful can be made out of random occurences in the universe?

But I digress. It was a beautiful sight, and a beautifully clear and crisp night. And being November, the stars streaked across Orion and Taurus (at least the slice of sky that I was watching from the terrace). I watched the whole night, and saw the world slowly revolve. Saw the sky darken and lighten. Sometimes, lying on the ground, I could imagine that I could hear the world creaking round. And then I imagine that, had it not been for gravity, we'd be falling off the face of the earth. Really. Think about it. We're stuck to the ground by centrifugal force. Look at the globe, and had it not been for gravity, we'd have fallen off into the cosmos.

Half of me is amazed at the beauty of the night sky. The other half tempers it with sadness. Who else looks up to the sky the way I do? And who else will really understand how awe-inspiring it is? Who, really?

:: D said @ 5:43 AM [+] ::
...

http://www.geocities.com/sammienblue/lotrinfo/orlisbirthday.html
The project details. Hit on the link for more information.

:: D said @ 7:06 AM [+] ::
...

Still at work. And Ive discovered this AMAZING thing called LaunchCast from Yahoo. It lets you pick and choose which bands and singers you like, and then it customizes your 'station' for you. Which means, the music you'll hear streaming in your radio is the kind of music you want.

*sigh* Where else can you hear BNL's Million Dollar Song on radio? On MY station. Oh yeah. Im drooling. Im in heaven. BNL, John Mayer, Alanis Morissette, GGD, Matchbox20, Third Eye Blind, Blink 182.. Jewel, Sheryl Crow.. Oh yeah. Im happy for the rest of the shift.

I cant believe its 10.40pm, and Im here at work. There are three of us. JR got sick, and called to cancel his training sked for the night. So, its just Sir Frank, Dec and me until 1am later. Ive sent in the reports a long time ago. And there arent any Hot Fax stuff to type in. I just hope Andrew doesnt pop in on JR's AIM and start asking questions.. Eek.

Din's such a lucky duck. Superb Rupert and Emma LA premiere pics on the Filipino House.

:: D said @ 6:38 AM [+] ::
...

Been trying to write this fic.. started about three times already. Ugh. Inspiration, no matter how hard I whack it, does not come. I have the whole imagery in my head. Its just not coming. Bleh. This is my fourth try.

Im looking at that Planetarium. Still drooling.

Hot damn, that's a beautiful piece of equipment. I want it.

:: D said @ 6:15 AM [+] ::
...

Why I should'nt be looking for Astronomy stuff online
God. Damn.

Look at what I frickin found at Discovery.com.


Transform your room into a 360-degree space planetarium. Watch as hundreds of stars and constellations are projected onto your ceiling and walls. Listen as you are taken on an exciting audio tour of the night sky. Control the hand-held interactive Meteor Maker to make the flashing streaks of light. Take a guided tour of the universe with the included Discovery Channel "Space" video. It's just like being in a real planetarium! 9" high. Ages 6+. Discovery Kids Exclusive. $29.95

I want this. I want this so bad, I want to look for someone who has a credit card so I can pay em back later. Drool. Drool. Die.

Vali!

Vali called me up at work yesterday. It was great catching up with her. So many things to talk about. How her little brother was celebrationg his second birthday (Aaaww. Cuuute. Cookie Monster stuff!). How her writing was doing. How she got the news for Troy. What we were doing at that moment. Work. As usual, she had such an adorable voice. So.. Australian Hehe. I know how idiotic that sounds, but yeah. 36 minutes.

On the way home

Left the office at 6.30am, and got on a bus all the way to Sta Lucia. Long ride. I always want to take the open bus. Since it was still early in the morning anyway, the pollution and traffic was minimal. If I had to commute at 9am onwards, Id be taking the train. I like the feeling of wind whipping through my hair (newly cut), and the long ride home. Its soothing. In a profound way, it makes me feel like the city's just waking up. And it makes me wonder about the lives of the countless people I pass by on the way home. Why are they up so early? Why are they rushing? Where are they heading? Home, or work?

Vali, part 2

Vali called me up again at 4pm. Woke me up, but that's okay. She was all but jumping out of the phone when I answered.

Apparently, Cheryl sent her the hardcover of LOTR from Amazon. It was why she was so secretive and mysterious all this time. Oh wow! How generous! How really really sweet of her. We really ought to talk about how to do, or give something back to Cheryl. Val was so excited. Hehe. I can imagine her bookshelf looking like an LOTR display case.

:: D said @ 4:27 AM [+] ::
...

Watched HP with the FF gang. May, Jem, Abby, Audrey, Jershey and I. We wouldve liked to have more, but Teena's down with the measles, and Gill had her mom with her. Fatima couldnt go because of a last minute family thing.. Bleh. What use is Apparition when you cant use them in broad Muggle daylight? Bleh.

Had a great time. I like having friends I can talk about FF with. Incidentally, most of them are Orli fans too, so we all ended up drooling over Orli's new set of pictures too ("That tattoo! Paris! Oh my Bloom!") in Sbarro's over lunch. As usual, it took hours and hours for us to wind down and finish, but it was good. Jersh was her usual funny self. Audrey was.. thinner. And thank the Valar she didnt start with her doth-protesting self (although I have the suspicion that May heard it anyway, hehe). I gave Jem the ring I had made for her (finally! After MONTHS!). I notice Jem and May and I were wearing our One Ring. If May was wearing her wire ring too, Jem and May and I wouldve also been wearing our name rings :rolleyes:

Meg didnt come. I wonder why. Ill call her one of these days. Im so horribly un-updated on that girl.

May's classmates with MFEO for the WHOLE sem. Good for her. I have a feeling that she'd be a girlfriend ahead of me. One of these days.. lol. May in a domestic situation. I never thought Id see the day, haha. She'd be first, mark my words. *g*

Had Dec fix the DVD player. I should be getting it early next week. Cant wait, coz Chi bought a couple of DVDs from Quiapo. A Walk to Remember, Full Metal Jacket, Amelie.. and something I dont remember.. all pirateds, but hell. Ill go back one of these days to do a DVD raid myself. I need to make a list. Chi told me there was an XFiles episode listing there too, so I gotta be prepared. Yay.

Got to talk to Lammy for about 20 minutes on the day she had to leave for New York. It was great to hear her voice again. I really gotta save up for that SE DVD. I want those bookends!

:: D said @ 2:44 PM [+] ::
...

Had a nice time. Got to talk to May on her landline. Girl finally got herself a regular phone. Spent an hour with her, updating on a whole load of stuff. Good stuff.

:: D said @ 6:49 AM [+] ::
...

Bad start today. Involved me and dad having a yelling thing during dinner. What pisses me off is that I rarely get 'got-out-of-the-wrong-side-of-bed' days, and it seems like they have a hair trigger on that. When Chi has her everyday tantrum silent-treatment things and they tiptoe around her. Why the hell is that?

And what hurts me is that Dad actually thinks that since I dont 'complain' or whatever, he thinks that I'm just saving it all up, so I can blow up on him or whatever. I mean, so I can enumerate this long list of transgressions. He thinks that of me

I got to work an hour late yesterday because I didnt have money to commute. I gave the cash in my wallet (all of them) to my dad, who needed money for gas. Which really really isnt a problem. I want to help out. But now he brings it up and makes it seem like I was being smug about the fact that I had money and he didnt! What. The. Hell? Did he honestly think that Im that evil? Where the HELL does he get all these thoughts in his head? Its so convoluted that I was just really in shock, and then in pain.

He drove me to work, and we were both silent on the way. I was crying. Not the loud, sniffly kind. But the frustrated kind, where tears just roll down your cheeks, and youre silent. I couldnt help it. I cant believe he'd blow up at me that way. I know I was in a pisser mood when I woke up. But what he did doesnt warrant that kind of reaction. I dont deserve it.

Called mom up and apologized for ruining dinner. She told me that dad maybe was just too tired or whatever. Its okay. I mean, Im really really sorry that dinner was a wreck, and that Bry had to come home in the middle of me yelling at dad that he was being unfair. Im glad that we had a flat tire about a km away from the office. I just rode a jeep the rest of the way. Bleh. Im going to commute to work starting tomorrow to avoid all this bullshit.

All for two hundred goddamn pesos. PLUS he rants at me for not being appreciative. Well. Fuck.

Got to work at 8 sharp. JR told me that I looked like I didnt have enough sleep (he was about to start saying that he only got four hours) . I told him, no. I had a fight with my dad. He was surprised, and he told me that I seemed like a well-behaved kid. Yeah. I mean, yes, I am. I so rarely have skirmishes at home. Blah. Then he told me to think of it as their way of maybe trying to express that they missed me. Sure. And I say that in a non-sarcastic way.

:: D said @ 5:38 AM [+] ::
...

Notes on the movie

Acting

All in all, so much better than the first one

The acting was better. The kids are all grown up. Stellar performances for the three leads.

Dan has more material to work with. Darker stuff, more emotional stuff. He really comes off as the hero here. A young and brave one, and really really smart. Goosebumps when he spoke Parseltongue. I thought for a moment there maybe they were cheating and he was talking LOTR elvish instead. Hehe.

Rupert is a fantastic comedian. He's a natural! He has some great lines in there too. "Spiders? Why did he say 'follow the spiders?' Why didnt he say 'Follow the butterflies'??" When he drank the Polyjuice Potion: "Erkh. Yuck. Essence of Crabbe". When they were with Aragog and he was trying so hard to restrain from freaking out. His voice was breaking "Harry.. Harry.. Can we panic now?"

When he was throwing up the slugs. It was both disgusting and interesting to watch. Disgusting because yuck, you were watching a person throwing up *slugs*. And interesting, because I wonder how he pulled it off! I mean, all the special effects aside, it all boils down to the actor doing the scene. And Rupert was superb.

Emma. She's soo pretty now! And she doesnt come off as an annoying know it all. Instead, she's more confident with her character. Her take on Hermione is that Herm is a girl who's naturally smart. There are some moments there where Hermione became a bit emotional.. Emma's glassy-eyed Hermione was done very well.

Im going to miss Richard Harris. His Dumbledore was the parent authority figure that Harry never had. In the first book, Dumbledore was a whole lot quirkier, and Harris didnt quite pull that off (Imagine him saying "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"). But the second book needed a serious Dumbledore, and Harris was really good at that.

I had misgivings about Kenneth Branagh's casting as Lockhart. I mean, after the wild rumor that Hugh Grant was taking it, anyone else seemed second best. But after watching the movie, I must say that he performs Lockhart's smug jerk attitude really REALLY well. Had Grant been the Lockhart, I think his presence may have overwhelmed the movie, you know? He's be Hugh Grant first, then Lockhart second.

Tom Felton as Malfoy. Wow. Cool villain. Not a hair out of place, and the sneering is incredibly done well. MAkes you want to hate him and like him at the same time. And surprisingly, he has a few comedic parts in there too. With Goyle: "What's with the glasses?" "Reading" "Read? I didnt know you could read"

The casting for Mrs Weasley was superb. Although I wouldve wanted a lot more yelling from her when the twins and Ron arrived at the Burrow. Mr Weasley I think was the stutterer from Shakespeare in Love.

Wood.. Oh crikey. Oliver Wood! More Wood! More Wood lines!

Funny, all the boys seem to have grown much more handsome in this movie, it was distracting. Lol.

Ginny was also noteworthy. In the first movie, she was really like this little girl. Now she has this ladylike manner about her. I mean, wow. For an eleven year old with a crush on Harry Potter.. I liked her dialogue with Harry in the end, at the Chamber of Secrets.

And of course, Tom Riddle. His performance is worth mentioning. The only major sore point I guess is that he'd never be reprising his role as Tom Riddle ever again. But he was FANTASTIC. He was superb. He was creepy. He was hot.

:: D said @ 7:17 AM [+] ::
...

Waiting

We lined up, and we're the first 50 people in line. By three something, the line extended to about 70 people. And there were about two people in Hogwarts robes (blah), with the Ravenclaw seal on them. There were three little kids who wore wizarding robes.. kinda like Hogwarts preschool. Cuuuute. The 'eldest' one was wearing the Gryffindor uniform, complete with wizard hat and Harry glasses!

Saw Monica, Chi's dj friend from Magic. She was wearing a Harry shirt. To which, I showed off my Ravenclaw shirt. Lol. We both rolled our eyes at the high school girls wearing Hogwarts robes, muttering to ourselves 'students'. Lol. We're *alumni*, which would explain why we were wearing regular clothes. Hehe. Saw a couple of Magic djs. Two of Chi's batchmates came over too, and we talked Potter. Monica, Chi, and the two girls proclaim allegiance to Slytherin. :D I noticed a couple of people doing a double take when they see me wearing my shirt. I wrote 'Ravenclaw' on it, in HP font. Chi told me that some people asked her where she bought her 'Slytherin' one (one of a kind, dear folks).

There were attempts at buying our tickets. There were about three people who asked us if we had spares, and that they'd buy them from us. No way, Jose. Not for the world. Although there was this one man who asked us, and said he'd pay P500 for a ticket. He had with him a teenager in a wheelchair.. the kid was disabled. I think he had a palsy or something. :( I'd help if I could, but as it was, all our tickets were spoken for. And I wouldnt trade mine in for money.

Chi stained her shirt at work, so when she texted me, she was still in Makati, washing the shirt out in the washroom. Good thing she bought with her, her *other* Slytherin shirt (the one I made for her, for last year's Sorcerer's Stone) as extra. JR was still at home.

Saw Meg, who was about 15 people behind us in the line. She was holding the line with Demet, another Klite chatter. Saw Butch floating around, waiting for his daughter.

The line moved at around 4 or so. Chi came, last minute. JR was still on his way. Bry and I rushed in to grab seats, while Chi stayed behind to buy food. We sat in the middle, about five seats to the front. To get the full frontal assault of the movie. Monica and the people from Magic were in the row in front of us.

The movie started about 4.30 or something. Texted JR the coordinates of our seats, coz inside the theater, there was no signal for my phone. Thank goodness he got in, about 20 seconds into the movie. A bit late, but he didnt miss anything substantial.

Topak talaga tong si Butch. Hihiritan pa talaga ako ke JR. As if. Hindi kami talo. Hehe.

The movie was fantastic. Incredible. LOADS better than the first one. All the actors were superb and did SO much better than the first attempt. Im going to miss Richard Harris. And I actually liked Kenneth Branagh as Lockhart.

Post game

Walked out of the movie, dazed. There was some clapping the moment the credits rolled. And I can swear I heard people mutter "Im going to watch it again", on the regular screening schedules. I wanted to watch again!

A whole bunch of the Klite chatters came up, because there was a scheduled bowling thing, I think that day. Turned out that only a few of us got tickets to the premiere, and the rest of the chatters never got the chance to squeeze in. Met up with them near the escalators because Chi had to go with Sapper to get her customized CD. Met up with most of the people I sort of know at chat, but never got to really know anymore. I had work, and I was too busy.

The EB thing gives me the willies. I mean, Id be glad to meet up with Butch, with Weng, Meg or Kurds. All of whom Ive met on Klite (except Meg, whom I met on FF). The reason for me going is really because theyve become friends. The 'new' batch gives me the weird feeling that its a venue to look for potential romantic liaisons. Eek. Hindi ako ganun. Im not like that. And Im not comfortable with that crowd, most of whom Ive only exchanged really casual hellos with. Not anything substantial like an actual conversation.

Lol, and Chi told me something funny about it. She's actually a bit relieved that Ive never met the other Klite chatterfolk. Coz she said I have the tendency to be blunt about things. I mean, Vamps has three boyfriends. And had I not been briefed about it, my eyebrows wouldve shot straight to my hairline and Id've asked "How did THAT happen? Really now?" lol. Imagine my sister's mortification. There's this girl there, Az, who's articulate. I mean, she sums up the KK gatherings and posts them on the mailing list. She writes well, and when I first met her.. she gave off this weird vibe. I dunno. When Chi asked me what I thought, I said "..Ahh.. She lines her eyes well"

Man, I can feel it now. I am 85% horribly blunt. I mean, for me, I say stuff like that, and its okay with me. But I think people would think I come off too strong.

I wonder if I look like the person they imagined me to be, though.

:: D said @ 6:55 AM [+] ::
...

Okay. Trying to collate my thoughts for a second attempt..

HP Premiere

Got off from work at 6am. Rushed home, because I had to sleep before going to the mall. JR and I were so excited as we said goodbye to each other at work ("I cant wait!" "Me either!"). He was going to log off at around 9am, so I went home ahead.

Got home, and the rest of the siblings were still asleep. Had to drag Chi off my bed, because she had to go to work, to finish last minute stuff. Besides, she was on *my* bed. Bry was still sleeping. Shampooed my hair. I waited for it to dry, and then slept at 9am.

Bry woke me up at around 11am, telling me that it was almost time for lunch. We ate, and Bry showered. I wore my "Ravenclaw" shirt, the one I made for the occassion (yes, I am a geek), and we left the house at 1 something.

Turns out that the HP Quidditch Trivia Game (COS related) demo was between 1-3pm. We were rushing to catch it. Its a cool gameboard. And its intensive HP trivia. There are 4 people to a team, so we're thinking of the three of us, Chi, Bry and me, and then one other person to spare. We registered Chi in, because she was still at work. Bry and I played.

At 2pm, I went up the theater area to check if there was a line. No line. Went back at 2.30pm. Second round of the trivia game ended 2.45pm, and Bry and I went up to line up already.

:: D said @ 6:26 AM [+] ::
...

Blogger fucked up and lost my first post on the HP premiere. Screw you blogger. This is the second time for two days :(

Harry Potter Premiere!

After work, I rushed home as soon as I logged out at 6.15am. Got home 7.45, took a shower and shampooed my hair. Waited for it to dry out. So I slept at 9am

Blah. Since the other post got Gollumed, I am in no mood to type it all again. Fuck. Ill try to regain the pace next time. Maybe. Hopefully.

:: D said @ 6:41 PM [+] ::
...

My post got lost. Bleh. No energy to type it all again

:: D said @ 6:08 AM [+] ::
...

What I dont like about going to work early, is that I am annoyed as hell with EC wannabe.

:: D said @ 6:45 AM [+] ::
...

Sent the reports in, which means between now and midnight, Id be sitting around, looking for something to do. Good thing there are people in here already, so Im not alone. I cant wait to get started on the other responsibilities that I have. JR hasnt briefed me in on them yet, because things have been waay hectic over here with new campaigns.

Speaking of new campaigns, Im going to be transferred to another account. I dont know which one though, coz there are two. And theyre going to get five people. Im already one of the five, and JR's waiting for the others to submit their Letters of Intent. The two accounts are only for those who are lead agents, so those who get in for those accounts *would be* lead agents. Aside from being transferred and trained for something new, the other four would be promoted. Im glad Im out of that pressure cooker.

Creepy EC wannabe aqui. Looks like an orcu. ;) I dont know if they have screen capture over here, so I need to be careful, hehehe.

Preparing for the HP premiere. Im so blasted excited! Im thinking of making me and Chi a personalized shirt to commemorate the occasion. Im maybe going to get Bry a blank cap and put either "Quidditch Captain" on it or "Gryffindor Team" or "Go Gryffindor" on it or something. Im going to put "Ravenclaw" on my shirt and "Slytherin" on Chi's. So, Id need to buy slick paints, shirts and maybe a cap if my money allows.

:: D said @ 5:59 AM [+] ::
...

New sked at work. 8pm-5am. Most of it happens during my first hour, when I have to send emails to the US bosses. I have to have sent the reports in by 9pm, Philippines time. So the moment I hit work, I boot up the computer and open JR's AOL account to send the reports in. After 9, I have nothing to do. So Im idle between 9pm to midnight. Not that I truly mind. We have DSL at work. Hehe. So Im online for the rest of the time. Then, the others come in at 11.45 to 12am, and we make calls starting midnight.

I get off at 5am, which is 4 hours ahead of everyone else, including JR. Sometimes I end up logging in on AIM and he's still there. Hehe, we gossip about work stuff over AIM. Made a sale yesterday, thank goodness. Even if the pressure is less on me to make a sale, Im personally glad that I still have the touch.

The AT&T guys monitored our calls yesterday, and noted that they liked mine, Wesley's and Levee's pitch. Im glad.

Got to know a bit more about the admin stuff. For the first half of the shift, JR wasnt there, so I had to watch over the floor while he wasnt there. Not such a biggie. I had to call the break time, however. It was all good.

Won two more tickets to the Harry Potter premiere. That means, Chi, Bry and I get to go. And the extra goes to JR, to whom I promised to hand over the tickets to. We're going to have so much fun. Im going to buy myself a shirt and decorate it with the Harry theme. Oh yeah.

:: D said @ 6:28 AM [+] ::
...

Posted this somewhere else, but Im just too happy. Whoo!

I won a whole load of points!

TOP TEN PLOT TWISTS TOLKIEN REJECTED WHILE WRITING "THE TWO TOWERS" 7

#10 : The Palantir that Grima throws breaks and shatters
#9: Aragorn falls for Eowyn
#8: The Ents step on the hobbits
#7: Frodo and Sam are lovers (pero di ba...totoo na yun???)
#6: Arwen was supposed to be in the Battle at Helm's Deep killing off more
orcs than Gimli and Legolas combined.
#5: Saruman and Gandalf are brothers (parang telenovela)
#4: Grima is Saruman's son ("Grima, I AM your father." "Noooo!") (the plot thickens!)
#3: Killing Gollum off once and for all (annoying git)
#2: The hobbits have indigestion for eating too much lembas
and...the #1 Rejected Plot Twist!


#1: Gandalf is DEAD


(moderators: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!)


Congratulations to Kitt and May Anne! Our scores for this list: 9 entries from Kitt (#1-5, #7-10), 1 from May Anne. That makes 45000 points for Kitt, 5000 for May Anne:)


THE TOP TEN DESSERTS IN A MORDOR THEMED RESTAURANT!

#10 - Dwarf jerky from Dwarrowdelf
#9 - Barbecued Elf ears
#8 - Crispy Shelob legs
#7 - Misty Mountains Ice Crush
#6 - Unshaven hobbit feet (eew!)
#5 - Raw Man Flesh
#4 - Gollum's Sugar-coated Preciousssssssssss Crinkles
#3 - Ungoliant Dark Choco Tarts
#2 - Gothmog's Krispy Kreme Donuts
and...the number 1 dessert for our restaurant right here in TP!


#1 Saruman's the Pass of Caradhras Ice Cream Cake


Congratulations to our winners! Kitt (#5-10) and May Anne (1-4). That's 30,000 for Kitt, 20,000 for MayAnne!


THE TOP TEN GANDALF PICK UP LINES!

#10 - May Anne: In the Mines of Moria "Your flies, you fools!" Gandalf falls.
#9 - Kitt: (saying to a hobbit) "Size doesnt matter "
#8 - Jambee: "You've been a naughty girl. i need to discipline you with my 'wizard's staff.'"
#7 - Jambee: "Is that mithril underwear you're wearing? because i see myself in it."
#6 - May Anne: To Bilbo Baggins: "...I am not trying to rub you, I am trying to help you..."
#5 - Jambee: "I see a ring of power in your pants that i'd like to insert my finger in."
#4 - Jambee: "They say a man's horse takes after his rider. have you seen the size of Shadowfax's 'tonker?'"
#3 - Olive: "Would you like to see what I can do with *my big, pointy* hat?"
#2 - Kitt: "I like em small, hard, and hairy"
#1 - Jambee: "I can do more than just BLOW smoke-rings with this mouth"


Congratulations to our winners! That's 5,000 for Olive; 10,000 for Kitt; 10,000 for May Anne; and 25,000 for Jambee.


Whoo! One step closer to the TTT premiere!

:: D said @ 2:07 PM [+] ::
...

SUBIC!!

Went to Subic with coworkers yesterday. Spent the night there. For a hastily organized outing, it went pretty well. Damage was about P600 per person, for 13 people. That included the transpo, food, entrance fee, cottage and grill fee, etc. All in all, pretty much covered. JR and I split the cost for the room we'd all be sleeping in. I think its all part of the subconscious thing that because now I have rank, Im sort of expected to be responsible for a bit more. Or at least sort of expected to shoulder a bit more of whatever. I dont know how to explain it, but it is. I mean, if I *hadnt* split cost with JR on anything, they'd be surprised, you know? Coz I cant think and scrimp like an agent anymore. Its okay, really. I guess its part of the add-ons of being promoted. You by default, get paid a bit more than the rest.

Responsibilities and perspective

And speaking of being paid a bit more.. I realize that of the 13 of us, JR and I are among the youngest in the group. He's 21, and I just turned 22. But we have agents who have children. Like Kat, who has a 3-year old daughter. Or Khey, who's been married for 14 years and has 4 children, her eldest being 13 years old. Then we have Summer, who sort of sustains himself and his (bum) boyfriend. Marj pays for her family's household utility bills (and because of that, her stupid family makes goddamn long distance calls because SHE pays for it). Darwin has an active dating life, so what he earns, he pays for dates and motels, etc (Gag me now please). Wesley's saving up for his wedding (maybe next year). And then there's me: first jobber, no urgent expenses and needs. It just hits me how much I should be responsible for myself, because the other guys have to budget their salary (what I used to be getting) among real life family expenses.

Its not as if I dont deserve being promoted.. well, I havent seen any one of them who might have gotten the promotion ahead of me, so I was it. The second in line would be Summer. I dont know which one in the second batch would get promoted first. Bryan's pretty high on the spirit of volunteerism, but I dont know if his group would respect whatever he decides on. Because he's the Darwin in their group.

And then there's also of course my responsibility to my family. Im not an extravagant person by nature. I dont have unnecessary expenses and wants. Im not into branded stuff, or expensive hobbies. I dont drink or smoke, so I dont have daily expenses on me. If I have money, well maybe my only expense would be for books. I often forget to buy myself new clothes and shoes because of books. And dad's business is a bit on the danger side. Plus I dont know what Chi's work wants her to do. So right now, Im the only actively regularly earning person in the house. Its a personal pressure, mind you. My family doesnt at all make me feel like I have to be carrying weight at home, but being the eldest, I put it on myself, you know? After this one trip to Subic, Im really going to turn down most of the other gimmick stuff we're going to push through with.

Lol, Mom went to my room before I got to sleep, and she kidded with me that I shouldnt let my brother and sister nag me to buy them stuff. Well, come to think of it, those little twits are pretty Ate-Kit-spoiled. Hehe, I may not have a boyfriend to spend cutie gifts on, or utility bills to pay. But I have a brother and sister who knows they can twist me around their little finger. Hehe. But its really pretty easy to do that. I dont know. Its just natural. I look at Theresa and what she's earning, and she still has to think of what to give Ronald every month. Imagine that.

What a start

Got to the meeting point at 2.45am, and at that time, there were only three of us, with Sol bawling her eyes out, and Bob looking awkward (as guys do, when girls are crying). Turns out that Sol's boyfriend picked a fight with her when he (bf) found out that Sol was going out for an 'outing' in Subic (to which, they couldve said "Management Team Building Activity" to their significant others, their parents, and other nosy people.). He dropped Sol off at the Hanston building, where Bob was waiting. I think the bf tried to provoke Bob into a fight or whatever. What a bastard boyfriend. That's why Sol was crying.

Why do people keep on with abusive relationships? Why do people keep on hanging on to bastard girlfriends and boyfriends when its obvious that theyre jerks? I saw Sol crying her eyes out, and I remember Summer's jerk boyfriend, and Marj's even bigger jerk boyfriend. And Darwin's eternal search in the gay dating scene. Then Levee with her gf's constant breaking up and tantrums.. Bleh. I dont know. Maybe its just the naive, never-been-in-a-relationship situation in me that just rebels at the thought of being tugged around like a lapdog. I doubt Ill be that kind of person in a relationship. Maybe that's why no one's really tried to ask me out? hehe.

We left the Hanston building at around 3.30am, and then headed to Pampanga. It was great that Khey got to hire a jeep for us in such a short notice. We had a stopover at this place called Double Happiness, a 24-hour bus stop cum restaurant place. It was affordable, and they had good food.

We arrived at the resort by 7am? 8? I wasnt exactly sure. But we got there early. JR, Bryan, Levee and I went to the town to withdraw money and make last minute groceries for drinks and charcoal. Darwin tagged along because he was going to meet his best friend who lived in Pampanga.

Another Darwin gripe

The thing with Darwin is that I have both professional and personal issues with him. Hell, everyone at Batch 1 has issues with him on both levels. Its a company outing, right? So, its expected that youre with people from your office. And here comes Darwin, meeting his goddamn best friend so that the best friend would be able to tag along with us. OF COURSE he'd have to entertain his goddamn best friend. It ended up that he was with the idiot guy the whole day and afternoon. Which was okay, since I dont suppose anyone really wanted to be with Darwin. But the principle of it is that he doesnt even have the delicadeza.. That night, we had a 'How was your first day, what was your impression with the people' session with everyone, and Darwin made an excuse that he had to go to the rest room. And he never returned. When we were all done, we found him at a dark cottage with some guy. A NEW guy! The nerve of the bloody bastard! What, he tagged along with us to Subic to meet up with guys? So what were we, his cover to date? Fucking bastard.

The people who played cards slept the latest, and they slept at around 3am. Darwin got locked out of the room (meaning, he disengaged with his fucking date waaay later than that), and he texted me that he just slept at the lobby because he didnt want to be disturbing people. (No one would open the door for him anyway. Bleh)

-end gripe. For now-

First impressions

The group talked about people's impressions of each other when we first met. Im relieved that people didnt think I was a snob when they first met me. JP said that it was like talking to a walking book (which is good). Bryan said that after they (as a group) met me, they all thought that Id be the Team Leader that the company was going to promote (suck up, hehe. I think that was during the time that JR pulled me into the training room to roleplay a script with him). JR and Summer thought at the beginning that I was such a reserved prude (still am), but later on they found out that Im an okay person. I mean, I can joke around with them.

Personally speaking, I feel uncomfortable with this one girl at work. It turns out that we even have the same name: Kathleen. She's okay. I mean, she joins in on the jokes and the helping. But during off times, I catch her looking at me as if she was assessing me. I dont like the feeling that Im being observed in that way, as if she's trying to decide if Im a fake or not. Pfft. Mom and Dad told me to brush it off, the girl after all needs a job. She needs to support her 3 year old daughter. Okay, Ill chalk it up to that.

JR has a weird vibe coming off Sol that he cant describe. He told me that he feels something weird about her.. like she cant be trusted or whatever. We both agreed to chalk it up to a 'feeling'. Besides, theyve only been inside for a month, so we cant really tell. Hehe. JR and me having an admin powwow.

Ghosts and elementals

Had another creepy experience. The three of us, Summer, JR and I were telling JP (2nd batch guy) about the creepy things that happened to us when we were training at Hanston. Remember the wispy thing I saw across JR's face before? That involved the three of us. Then, all of a sudden, I heard a noise like 'Err?' JP told us that we all looked to the other side, at the same time. But there was no way for us to make a joke out of it, because Summer was on the bench, JR was sitting on the table facing Summer, and I was standing across the table. We all turned to look at one side, to our left. I heard something longer, "Err.. er.. er-er?" something like that, while Sum and JR only heard the first 'Err?' And JP never heard anything. He just saw us all stop, and look at one point outside the cottage. I dont know which is scarier, us having heard the thing, or JP's situation of sensing nothing and yet seeing us all experience it.

:: D said @ 2:32 PM [+] ::
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