:: Tears of the Moon ::

If my life could be a song, it'd be Plumb's Real, which starts off with "Look at me, twenty-three, beautiful sight to see tonight." Which is, incidentally, my age last year. But the lyrics still apply. Do I get life half the time? I don't. I'm just struggling to get by. In the meantime, I write, I read, I observe. This journal is what it feels like.
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[::..All-Time Favorite Lyrics..::]
JULY FOR KINGS lyrics
[::..A Guesstimate of What I Look Like..::]
(Haha. I wish)
:: <Yahoo! Avatars
[::..Where to find me..::]
:: Googling.[>]
:: On AIM[>]
:: Listening to John Mayer's music.[>]
:: Tooling around with iRina, my iPod.[>]
:: Drinking coffee.[>]
:: Chatting with the FFellowship[>]
:: Duking it out at Realm of Thought at PEx[>]
:: Reading OB news at Full Bloom [>]
:: Studying Tolkien's work at TORn[>]
[::..Blog tripping..::]
:: Lammy[>]
:: Punzie[>]
:: Kimble[>]
:: Jen[>]
:: Ei[>]
:: Malourds[>]
:: Jershey[>]
:: Pao[>]
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[::..The News!..::]
:: The Philippine Daily Inquirer[>]
:: The Philippine Star[>]
:: Reuters[>]
:: Time[>]
:: CNN[>]
:: Discovery Magazine[>]
:: Newsweek[>]
:: FoxNews[>]
[::..The Weirdness of Me..::]
:: Catholic Exchange[>]
:: Catholic Answers[>]
:: The Hubble Telescope[>]
:: In Medias Res[>]
:: Dreams[>]
:: Political Rants[>]
:: The Boardello[>]
:: Aspire to the Stars[>]
:: The Aspire Forum[>]
[::..Archive below (yes, since 2002)..::]

:: Sunday, October 26, 2003 ::

So I got to finish the Hogwarts robe thing. I ran out of cloth for a possible hood, but I think overall it went well. I just finished hanging it out over my closet to let the cloth sag a little before I do the final hemming. I'm glad that the material was on sale, and that the cloth when laid out was longer than I expected at the width, which meant that I didn't have to worry about the thing being too short. Now, once I get the hang of that, I'm just going to look for the right material for the cloak. I'm thinking of going to some embroidery specialty store to have Hogwarts house seals made in bulk for my Potterhead friends for Christmas. But for the meantime, I think I'd be printing color copies of the Ravenclaw seal if I needed to go Potter this Halloween (my mom prolly threw my Greek costume from college out for my relatives in the province. Bah. I *so* wanted to wear that)

I'm looking for black flannel for lining the inside so it'd be warm if and when I use it. And so that it'd have some weight to it, so that I'd be able to use the blasted thing more often than just once a year for Halloween.

Speaking of which, Chi and I went to Balanghai after what seems to be an eternity of not going. There were some girls there who still remembered us. I'm SO glad that Boots lives in Balanghai again, because she's one of the coolest girls there. I miss our cooking nights (I know how to make Japanese Maki because of her). Pia was there, so that was fun. Ces and Elaine still remembered us ("Back from the dead!" To which I replied, "Well, it is Halloween, so I think it's in season." Hehe).

Ms T was there for the Reco, so I got to chat with her and we updated each other while I was waiting to get in line for confession. We got to talking about the kind of philo class she's teaching now (something I wish *I* had when I was still in school. Oh well), and the problems that go with it. Interesting, interesting. It was fun to talk to her again. Funny thing is, I *love* Ms T for a prof. And Fr Perez. And Chi absolutely *hates* them as teachers. ;)

Just found out that the Marlins won. Too bad Din, Rez. I was thinking the Yankees'd win too.

Now I think most of the reason for the headache's because I need one of my teeth pulled. Yep. Thank God, Hallelujah, I don't have to worry about my eyes failing on me. *skips* But, yeah, I'm still heading to an eye doctor one of these days, but tomorrow I'd be at the dentist. The stupid thing hurts with the slightest movement *rolleyes*

Mom and I bought some more cloth for the throw pillows, because the cloth was on sale. We got some green, maroon and gold, all plain, because we already have printed Christmas throw pillowcases. The plain ones will add contrast while holding on to the Christmas theme. Plus, they'll look okay as stand-alones for everyday. Next cloth shopping foray would probably be for curtains for the living room. I made about un-zippered pillowcases while Mom did one. It's a nice feeling of accomplishment. Plus, I know how to work the sewing machine, which is great.

I ran out of black thread. I actually [i]ran out[/i] of black thread. I'm going to have to buy another spool. And some green and red. And maybe another white. Good thing Mom and I got a sewing box to dump all the stuff in.

Once I get the sewing thing finished, I'm going to buy a soldering iron for the Galadriel crown. Looks easy enough to do. It's going to be a Kit-and-Dad thing, when I get that soldering iron, because I'm just totally clueless when it comes to that. And I'm sure Dad'll love to show me what to do; just like how Mom taught me to use the sewing machine. I'm glad that I have some bonding thing with both parents separately, you know?

Have I said that Sheryl Crow's I Shall Believe rocks? It just simply rocks. It's desperate, it's passionate. It's very Max and Liz, and Sydney and Vaughn. It's a sloow slooow version of Barenaked Ladies' Lovers in a Dangerous Time.

Heyy, new phone! Whee! A color phone with a built-in radio and polyphonic ringtones!

Went to mass this morning and gave Fay her birthday present, which was a heart-shaped pendant where she can put a picture of her daughter in. Feels nice. Was waylaid by the girls on the way out of the chapel. Actually, they sat in with the choir during mass and, being between five and seven, they were fidgety, slightly talkative and interested in all manner of things I had on me (my bracelet, my ring, my earrings..). But they were adorable. It's funny, because when they were toddlers and babies, I wasn't too cuddly with them, you know? The others wanted to carry them, to sit with them.. but now that those girls have grown, I think they see me the way I saw Tita Tess when I was five: a cool aunt-type. Some of them call me Ate (term for 'big sister'), and some of them call me Tita (generally the term we use for older-than-us women who aren't your blood relatives/aunts) because their moms are my age.

But they're nice. I think they see me as this big sister figure or something. I dunno. Anyway, I'll see them again next Sunday, and I think I agreed to bring candy in exchange for a good joke. Too bad we don't have a costume thing going on here in the village though. That'd be interesting, I think. Chi went as a gypsy during the Balanghai thing, and it was pretty easy. Haha. I can go as Hermione. ;)

And damn it's starting to get cold here. I live near the mountains, but I only sleep at night during the weekends, so I rarely get a chance to feel the cold temp. Last night I woke up and had to use my towel over my blanket because I was shivering. I just loove the Christmas season. Bring in the cold!

:: D said @ 11:20 AM [+] ::
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:: Tuesday, October 21, 2003 ::
Okay. The thing about the eyes.

It hurts.

Damn freck, it hurts. Feels like I want to grab my eyeball and rip it out of it's socket. And since the eyes are connected to your nose and your ear and your mouth, can you imagine my whole right side feeling like someone's pressing a ten-kilo bag against my face? I feel like someone's pressing against the bridge of my nose, like the moment when you have a really bad cold and it's about to clear your sinuses? You feel pain before you can breathe clearly. And my teeth.. I don't even want to tell you how I feel when my teeth hurt because of this stupid thing.

One good thing about this, though. I got a lot more things to pray for. ;) Right, May? :)

Dammit, I *soo* didn't want to be diagnosed to need glasses!

*breathes deeply*

Maybe.. maybe it's just eyestrain. Or stress. Or I'm just panicking. Or migraine.. or maybe I need to have a tooth pulled. I swear to God I'd prefer those than (argh!) wear glasses. :(

Thing is, a lot of things I do, and a whole lot of things that has to do with me has something to do with reading. It's my favorite hobby, I live and breathe to read. I read before I go to bed, I read in the bath while waiting for my conditioner to do it's thing and my face pack to harden (overshare?). I read in my spare time, I print out fanfic so I can read and reread them over and over again. I always have a book handy in my bag in the event that I have spare time and I'm not doing anything.

Now the thought of having a piece of glass over my eyes to do the thing I live for is just.. crippling. I get scared just thinking about it. I am terrified of the notion of seeing words blur in front of my eyes, when I know I used to have 20-20. And worse, I hate the thought of being dependent on a gadget to be able to do what I love do.

I think our med card at work covers EENT, and Kat has given me instructions on what to do. She's already told me to go as soon as I can, but I honestly can't right now. Maybe sometime next week-? I think I can handle the pain till then. Anyway, it's the month of the Rosary, we'll have a lot to offer up. Ha ha.

:: D said @ 5:36 PM [+] ::
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:: Saturday, October 04, 2003 ::
Annoyance

Seems like speaking my mind's an annoyance. If I rain on your feel-good parade, I'm sorry for that. If you only want niceties, then what the hell, don't leave space for feedback. Especially if you're going to limit it to 'nice' feedback in public, and the negatives only through private comments.

Bad Movie
Watched How To Deal with Chi yesterday in Megamall. We were supposed to watch the AKA.Fellas in Cinema 4, but we changed our minds at the last minute and watched a movie instead. We should've watched Underworld instead. Gah.

What a waste of celluloid. The editor should be shot, and the director should be hanged.

I saw the freaking boom mics no less than twenty-two times!! How annoying is that??!

Each time I saw a furry boom mic I had to restrain from exclaiming "Oh no, that's another one!"

The situations in the story just gave the word cliche a whole new meaning: Girl mad at the world for her parents divorcing.

Girl catches her best friend having sex.

Best friend's boyfriend dies.

Girl hooks up with best friend's boyfriend's best friend (confused?)

Best friend gets pregnant.

Girl and now-boyfriend gets caught in a car accident after coming home from a party she was forbidden to go. Oh, and

Girl caught in the middle of a serious making-out session with now-boyfriend (hence the reason for being grounded)

Now-boyfriend-but-not-officially never visits her in the hospital.

Girl's dad becomes radio jock and experiences second youth. Marries the mistress he was involved with while married to girl's mother.

Girl's grandmother's a marijuana addict.

Girl's sister is married to an uptight guy in an uptight family.

Girl's makeout session with the now-boyfriend almost goes too far (the same thing she accused her best friend of-- the one who got pregnant?)

How crazy can this family get? And this, all in one movie!


They paraphrased the Ten Things poem too. The one that goes, "I hate your.." etc? That's the one.

The guy, while cute, can't act. He should be a model instead. And, oddly enough, there were moments there when Mandy snickered that she looked like Shane West snickering. The guy's cuute, in a grunge, Diesel-sort of way. And he's a Star Wars fan, which is a plus. Otherwise, he can't act.

Well, hello, with that kind of material to work with, who can blame them? Bad writing, awful editing, and a director who's afraid to use medium shots. Sometimes her close-ups are too awkward, sometimes it cuts the actors' faces off at the chin, or the top of their head. Sheesh.

Bad writing. Nothing much to work on when it comes to character development. Time is marked with visuals suggesting change of seasons. The guy pops in (literally) after the other guy's burial, wielding a leaf blower and putting it on Mandy's character's back (cue 'sexual tension'. Too obvious). There was an MTV-like moment where they used Liz Phair's Why to show that she and the guy were hanging out, the three of them going out (Mandy, Trent, and the dead guy's girlfriend). The 'sex scene' had John Mayer's Something's Missing playing in the background. Too many time jumps between one scene to another.

Oh, there was this scene where Mandy's grandmother was walking around supported by a walker and (get this) she carried it. LMAO. The little old lady was supposed to have a foot injury and the actress who played her lifted the walker and glided it over to where Mandy was standing. I guess she wanted to 'walk faster', and she hoped it wouldn't show. But it did. I don't think other people watched it, but being the nitpickers that we are, my sister and I snickered about it the whole time it was shown.

Boom mics!

Well, I like Mandy Moore. Yeah, I do, so I was willing to sit through it even if the movie sucked. Trent Ford's eye candy: deep voice, but that's not enough to sustain me. But Allison Janney's a gem to watch. She's the only saving grace in there. The film didn't do her justice. I hope Allison gets better film roles in the future. She's a good actress. Helluva good actress.

So, Saturday went by with a bad movie, me up for 26 hours (as is the usual for me on the fifth shift), hungry and in full-hormone mode. I got to buy shoes though, which is a plus. And I got to spend more time with my sister, whom I miss, even if we live in the same house.

Oh! And bought Neil Gaiman's Coraline (nice, nice. As only Gaiman can be. Powerbooks P245) and this Ancient Rome mysteries children's book series. It's great, and I love Ancient Rome, which is why I'm perfectly comfortable buying the book (www.ancientmysteries.com). All in all, it was worthwhile, considering.

:: D said @ 4:43 PM [+] ::
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:: Wednesday, October 01, 2003 ::
Halloween and whatnot

Alright. For those who know me, I'm really into crafts, right? I sew miniature bears, I fold origami flowers and boxes.. make popup cards, and so on and so forth.

So it stands to reason that I intend to make, or buy, or pay for, something like this in the near future:



Hot damn, I WANT THE GALADRIEL CLOAK!!! And I want the Nazgul robe! I want them both! I'm thinking that if I made them myself, I'd be paying an insane amount of money to buy the cloth, make them from scratch, and they'd end up as something I won't be satisfied with anyway.

I have three reasons why I want (not one, but) both of them:

1) Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
3) Star Wars, episode 3

For the first and the third, it'd be my last time to wear/do something outrageous for their premieres. I went to the midnight premiere for Star Wars: AOTC and I was soo jealous when I saw some guys actually wearing Jedi robes. Never mind that they wielded plastic lightsabers. But I wanted to have a Jedi robe too! I'm a Star Wars fan!

And I want to have a Galadriel-like cape/coat thing. Hot damn, look at the thing! It's beeyoootiful! And I've gone online to other websites to get a feel as to how they're made, INCLUDING that awesome head cloak thing. Damn. Damn, damn! it's a beautiful cloak.

I want the Nazgul robe, as a double for Harry Potter. Again, I went to the premiere and I was pissed I wasn't wearing Hogwarts robes (there were kids who did. And even high school ones, which meant they had them made instead of bought at the toy stores because the toy store versions only fit six-to-ten year olds). I was wearing the Ravenclaw shirt I made, so I was smug in thinking I was a Hogwarts alumni. But I digress.

They're thinking of having a costume party thing for Halloween too, at work. So I'm thinking that this'd be a good time to start going to that tailor that dad knows. It's more likely going to be cheaper than if I made it myself, and more foolproof. And it's about four weekends till Halloween, so if I do this early, it'd be ready by the 30th.

I could probably also go around looking for a patch-maker to make Hogwarts seals, to sew on clothes. They'd make good Christmas presents, no? I found out my supervisor, Kat (Yeah, I know. Her name and mine sounds like a candy bar), was also a Potterhead, so were immediately bonded over Dan Radcliffe two days ago. Hurray for Potterheads.

Here's the trick. I've been trying to think of a way to justify having not one, but two costumes made, for my obsessions. Never mind that my family thinks that since I'm already working I could very well spend my own money any way I please. But I'm guilt-ridden that way, so I have to think it up on my own.

I'm going to have the Galadriel cape made with a lining, so it could double as a blanket for work. It gets pretty cold in the graveyard shift, and people use their flannel blankets at work all the time, so the thing would still be useful! (Yay!) It's going to be some gray thing, not white (although white would've been awesome. It'd be impractical).

Second, the Nazgul robe thing. If it were long enough, Bry could also use it! If he wanted to! For whatever reason, I don't know. But I'm sure he'd be able to find a reason.. a play, a costume thing. It'd be cool to have a Hogwarts-like robe OR a Nazgul costume handy to impress the classmates! A couple of Halloweens ago in school he put makeup on himself to resemble Darth Maul. I'm sure my bro would appreciate the Nazgul robe. And worse come to worst, it could triple as a Jedi robe.

Okay, I'm done justifying it. Now all I have to do is to print out the picture, the patterns, and go talk to the lady regarding what I want.

:: D said @ 8:35 PM [+] ::
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Giddy!

Lunch.

Damn. He changed seats. Not in the usual seating place I'm used to, but somewhere further. *pouts*

Lunch. He's wearing this black shirt. Went to the pantry to eat, and I saw him sit with a few people one table over. Was reading Coraline and I bonded with a girl named Ali (as in, Mohammad), who's also into Gaiman (Yay! I'm surrounded by Gaiman fans!).

I know he tried to flag my attention. But I was into full-on reading mode. And yes, he DID forget my name, stupid idiot. He said something like.. Damn. I'll just have to remember the wording on that one. Haha. Di ko pinansin kasi nga 'nagbabasa ako'.

Passed by their table where Paolo (uptight. Sayang, cute pa man din. Di ko pa rin sya matancha), and his friend Kitin (yep. Her name. Cool girl. We told each other it'd be weird if people called out our names one after the other) wanted to have a look at the Fork bracelet again. So I took it off and she checked it out.

(I mean, what's so humongously wow about wearing out-of-the-ordinary jewelry? I've been asked where I bought the Fork... if it's the same one in Anonymous.. it's not. I know that for a fact because Summer made it for me. But hell, if it gives me new friends and it's a conversation starter, I'll take what I can)

I passed by Sam and he wanted to see the book. And he asked if he could borrow a book. I said, yeah. "But this one's not mine. It's from a friend in GMAC."

You know what's cute? He said, "Pahiram, 'be?" Dude. As in, Bisaya.

Sam borrowed Ali's ID to get out the front entrance because he had to buy something. He went out. I sat for a while, while Ali and Acie finished their lunch. We got up, and they wanted to go down to smoke. Ali ran out to the vtec area to get her ID back, but ended up borrowing someone else's because Sam was nowhere to be found. Ali rushed out, got on the elevator, and I walked back into the locker hallway just in time to see Sam poking his head out holding Ali's ID. I leaned into my opened locker door with a smug look.

"Ano? Ayan. Lagot ka. Bumaba na sya, nag yosi. But she was looking for you."
"Yeah, I know" He started walking toward me. And I'm starting to feel calmer now that I see him on a 'regular' basis.

"Are you supposed to be on lunch, or are you supposed to be logging in by now?" I ask him when he stopped by my locker and leaned on the wall in front of me.
"Yeah, patapos na. You?"
"Twenty more minutes."

"Hey, pahiram ng book."
"Sige." Pause. "Ano muna pangalan ko?" I'm having that smirky look on my face again. God, does he look sheepish.

"Ah. Sabi ko naman sayo na mahina ako sa pangalan, diba?" God, does he look sheepish.

"Uh-huh. Pero hihiram ka ng book ko, right?" God, does he look sheepish.

"Hey, that's your manual? They actually gave you that thing? Swerte nyo!" He sees the inside of my locker (clean, thank Bloom, unlike my closet at home. My manuals are neatly aligned inside) and he pulls out a 2 1/2" binder.
"Yeah, kapal no?"
He nods, and starts flipping through.
"Bakit, hindi ba kayo binigyan ng ganyan sa Vtec?"
He shrugs. "Hindi. Nag-photocopy lang sila ng ewan eh. Pero hindi ganito."
"Okay."

God, he still looks sheepish. "Okay, walang pangalan mo rito."
"Okay" Me with a pause and another smirky grin. "So, kaya mo kinuha yan, kasi titignan mo kung nandyan pangalan ko sa binder?" Eyebrows raised. "Grabe!"
"Uh.." He ventures a guess. "Tina?"

Tina??! Who the hell is Tina?

"Tina?" Me with the smirk. Not so smirky now. Sigh. Fine. The grin is stupidly irresistible.

"Kit. It's Kit."
"Okay. Kit."
"Right."
"Pahiram ng libro."
"This one?" I point at Coraline.
"Kahit ano."
"What do you read? I have Anne Rice, Tom Clancy, Stephen King, Grisham.."

He shrugged. "Makakapal yun, diba?" Fingers indicating how thick. I nod)
"Yep."
"Meron kang mga di naman masyadong heavy, or something?" What? Archie comics? Sure, but you know what I mean.
"Yeah. We'll see. I'll bring you something next time."
"Next time-?"
"I'm not going home yet, aren't I? Di pa tapos yung shift, diba?"

Honestly, hindi ako nagtataray. Nakangiti ako nito. I think he gets it, coz he smiles back. "Right."

"Hey, cool bracelet."
I look at the Fork. "Thanks."
"Is that.. a real fork?"
"Yeah. Yeah it is." I take it off.
"Di ka ba natutusok?"
"Hindi naman. Sanay na." He wears it.

"O, mas mataba ka pa sakin," he jokes, while putting it on. I have to say, it looks gooood on his wrist. Where's a tissue when I need one?
"Mataba! Ina-adjust po kasi yan. Kelangan kong luwagan para matanggal. Nice, huh?"
"Pero ang liit."
"Dessert fork yan. Bigay sakin ng friend ko."
"Pano?"
"Ginawa nya."
"From where?"
"Meron kasi syang ganyan, na ginawa nya for himself. Tapos sabi ko, ang ganda. Sabi nya kain tayo Figaro minsan. Kumuha kami ng chocolate cake, tapos mamaya wala na yung forks. End of story."

He laughs. "So, pag emergencies, meron ka kagad pwedeng gamitin." He takes it off, and mimes poking the (bent) fork into food. I swear, every time I have a lengthy conversation with this guy, I get glimpses that he's probably more goofy than I thought.
"Yeah. And kung merong sira ulo, pwede ko kagad i-swipe yung tines nung fork." Kit. Stop babbling. Stop shooting off violent tendencies.

He hands it back to me. I put it back on.

"Oy. Baka overbreak ka na."
He shrugs. "Yeah. Maybe."
"Alrighty then." I shrug. Yeah, I want to keep him around talking, but hello, I don't want him to go on overbreak because of me!
"Peram ng book, ha."
"Yeah. Next time."
"Next time-?"
"Di pa tapos ang araw, right? I have to get home later, then come back tomorrow."
"Off mo ba today?" Hold on, is he getting slow on me? Or is he trying to be deliberately dense so he could find out what my off days are? Or maybe I had too much leftover spaghetti from Bryan's birthday dinner that the tomatoes are getting into my head?
"Not today. But I'll bring you a book for when we meet each other next time."
"Okay."
"See ya."
"See ya."

:: D said @ 8:14 PM [+] ::
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