metal. inner rock chick.

Your Love Element Is Metal

In love, you inspire and respect your partner.For you, love is all about fusing together for one incredible life experience. You attract others with wit and a bit of flash.Your flirting style is defined by making others want and value you. Greatness and optimism are the cornerstones of your love life.You may let go too easily, but you never get weighed down by your past. You connect best with: Earth Avoid: Fire You and another Metal element: will control and smother each other

What Element Is Your Love?

You Are Ashlee Simpson!

Stylish, unique, talentedYou're your own woman!"It seems like I can finally rest my head on something realI like the way that feels"

Who's" Your Inner Rock Chick?

of past lives, angels and keeping the faith.

Your past life diagnosis:
I don't know how you feel about it, but you were male in your last earthly incarnation.You were born somewhere in the territory of modern Borneo around the year 1175. Your profession was that of a handicraftsman or mechanic.

Your brief psychological profile in your past life:
Seeker of truth and wisdom. You could have seen your future lives. Others perceived you as an idealist illuminating path to future.

The lesson that your last past life brought to your present incarnation:
Your lesson is to develop a kind attitude towards people, and to acquire the gift of understanding and compassion.

do you believe in reincarnation?
though the belief in such concept takes root from other religion and occupies no space in the faith that i practice, the idea fascinates me nonetheless.

dug up on this one a few minutes ago. and then it made me smile.

just like what happened yesterday when i had an angel reading...and then met up with a good friend i haven't really seen for almost four years. it was wonderful.

i remembered how he read to me some of the lives i have lived.
that in one of my past lives, i was travelling with a group of gypsies.
in another one, i have led a life parallel to that of Joan of Arc.
and then i forgot the other lives i have led.
interesting. very interesting.

past lives. karma. angels. reading.

how much of this can a person take in a day?

depends i guess. on how one's faith is capable of supporting her. and i'm not even talking about the principles, dogmas and theologies read, studied, discussed, digested within the four walls of my dear alma mater.

no. faith, for me spans beyond that. i'm talking about one's belief put into action.
that amorphous blanket of abstraction that we either allow/disallow to guide us - our actions, our thoughts. our belief, our morals.

faith has held me together, just when i thought my spirit's beyond tattered. it has kept me afloat, when i felt i have swaum towards that dreaded deep-end of the pool..minus the floaters, the gutters. just me, keeping the faith that i'd be swimming past those fears. faith fed me with enough comfort to know that at those times when i'm left all by my lonesome, i'm not really alone..that an angel remains by my side, rocking me to sleep and cradling all my tears. somehow relieving me of the pain that life has refused to deny me off.

faith constantly reminds me to believe in myself. hold my ground.
to remain steadfast to principles that fleeting impressions at times are capable of blotting off.

one friday at the promenade.

it was perhaps a day spent with a friend that would easily go to my list of 'the unforgettables'.

16th of june, 2006.

day of deviancy and one couldn't care less...
lunch of japanese food (and i'm just too happy with my tempura and chicken don that the presence of raw fish dipped in pasty wasabe do no tintimidate me)...
a stroll in shoppesville, eyes wandering freely over goods that seem to scream with "buy me! buy me!" in every glance...and of course, that first visit to Promenade's FULLY BOOKED.

a reading of Neruda's "Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines" never felt so blissful.
skimming through hundreds of engaging titles in that haven of binded covers was simply heavenly...and of course, the perfect cap to an almost ethereal afternoon


i would've wanted to hug Nemo, but then again, i might just embarass the dude.
so i supposed a buss on the cheek would suffice...
i was just too happy to have the book...

and the bookmark that came with it...
and the price tag that remained taped on its back cover. hahahahaha

it has become some sort of my bible in the week that has just passed..
i haven't finished the book..i refused to finish it in one sitting.

have i told you how much i love the book?
i love it soooo much that i bring it with me everywhere i go...

when i'm feeling low, i just have to touch its cover and somehow
a sense of calmness stills me.

shopping.

shopping is definitely any girl/woman's best therapy whenever the blues are starting to wiggle its ugly head.

shopping - whether just window shopping or really dashing out to grab those loot you've been window shopping for some time now - is pretty much like that ointment you dab to an ugly zit called depression.

get my drift?

me and my very, very good friend Faye

went on a shopping spree last Saturday, 24th of June.
hah! Greenhills was no match for our extremely shiny mood that day.
despite the cloudy skies and wild afternoon outpour.

it was an afternoon of reconciliation with my feminine side.
finally, allowing myself to give to that delirious feeling of, yes, shopping.

nope. we didn't go home with an armful of loot. just enough bags to make us sigh and then giggle and laugh silly on how purchasing a pair of shoes, nifty blouse, cool shirts and trinkets could wash off the feeling of sadness that would ripple our thoughts once in a while.

walking around Shoppesville, haggling a bit and poking fun at the 'bimbos' we've accidentally sat next to over at Country Waffles (where we had a beautiful lunch of calamari, tuna salad and fried chicken washed off with freshly-squeezed lemonade! yummy!) surely dissipated the depression vapors i was sniffing at, in the early part of the day.

we promised ourselves, we shall return to this mecca of goodies.
can't hardly wait for august. can't wait for Faye's birthday.

i think birthdays and the blues will always be a perfect excuse to go ahead and shop.
hahahaha

i think, i should really include shopping in my list of favorite sports.
and haggling as another special skill. >wink!<

cramped buses.

there are three things that i hate the most:

liars.
traffic jams.
cramped buses.

i strongly feel that lying is the lowest that anyone could get, next to perhaps..hmmm..the thought slips me as off the moment. but i'd get back to that in future blogs.

a more than decade old friendship slipped before my very eyes because of one, big, fat lie.
my heart dove towards blisterville a few eons ago because of a lie.
and catching someone whipping a fantabulous, spectacular well - lie, is something i dread.

maybe because i'm such a bad liar and i envy people who could bravely stitch a fabricated truth without flinching. whether it's a good or a bad thing (well, i guess being honest in a world spitting with cheaters, schemers, liars and downright pitiful jerks, telling a lie should come naturally), lying and lies remains to be on top of my HATE list. yes, i know. HATE is a strong word. and I'm using it.

why am i writing about the three things that i hate the most at the early part of the day?
well, i guess eating a bar of Van Houten chocolate failed to tick off my endorphines so here i am shooting off my mouth, ranting about my fair share of tales-slash-unpalabtable adventures on my way to work.

2. traffic jams.
have i ever written how much i hate Makati by the day?
its intoxicatingly irritating one-way streets and traffic jams that prevents you from accomplishing your task no matter how early you have mapped it out?

i hate traffic jams. i hate Makati traffic. i hate the traffic lights which seems to take that perpetual red hue.

i hate traffic jams. period.

3. i hate cramped buses.

okay. here's what totally ticked me off today - CRAMPED BUS.

left the house exactly 15 minutes before it spelled 7am. was able to board the bus 10 minutes after. passengers streamed at every stop. i figured, i shouldn't really even try opening my reading bible - Tuesdays with Morrie, lest i end up hating reading it inside a bus overflowing with warm bodies.

okay. why i hate cramped buses. it's not because i had to stand all throughout my journey towards the office.

it's because some inconsiderate conductor would continuously yell at people to get in and squeeze themselves, only to let more people in.

with this scenario, naturally, people would be pushed skin-to-skin right?
and more often than not, one would be offensive with the reactions of such stimuli.

so there i was, plopped on the aisle seat, my butt warming half of the seat reserved for two people. almost crushed to the lady in blue beside me - and with the fantastic number of people onboard, i face my share of harrassment for the day.

the man standing right beside me was pushed towards my side.
so, his crotch was uncomfortably rubbing my shoulders.
my GOD!!! talk about being offended in the most unexplainable terms.

'di ako nag-iinarte. halleur!!!!

if i happen to be a pervert, i would've enjoyed the moment.

having someone's crotch rubbing my arms and then my armpits is not exactly my idea of being greeted a "good morning"!

p*t@%gina!!!!

i have ridden almost all forms of transportation all my life.
but i have never felt offended until this morning.

so, my short list of hate-things-slash-moments-slash-incidents have just been updated.

riding cramped buses simply had to be, the most hated thing at slot number three!

For Nemo

“Nemo”

Seven minutes past his deadline.
Shackled to his desk.
His eyes skim
through the pool of words
floating before him.
the curser blinks in steady rhythm
as it awaits his command.

Clock ticks.
Seconds hang like lead over his head.
as a thousand things to-do cram him.

The body slaves in the daily grind,
and yet the mind hovers,
shuttles and flits
in spaces
in between the to and fro.

I picture him seized with the paradox of things ---
courted sleep and snapped from its bliss
assembled things only to disassemble it
did the walk, made the talk
and retraced his steps from where he has started.
still, it was not enough to woo his Muse.
Tried to be friends with his nerves, wrack his brain for the right words.
still, the screen immaculately stares back.

Forty-two minutes past his deadline.
He remains shackled to his desk.
Oblivious to the crunching of keypads,
bland conversations,
bleeping mobiles
and incessant ringing of phones.

His eyes skim
through the pool of words
floating before him.
Fingers in pace with the throbbing of the blinking line.

Clock ticks.
Seconds, minutes crawl past him.
And then he is numbed.
2:42 p.m. 06/15/06

surreal.

The EVEREST Experience.

ROMEO 'ROMI' GARDUCE, second from right, huddles close with his Sherpas on this Everest summit photo taken on the 19th of May 2006. this very same photo made it to the front page of The Philippine Daily Inquirer. Cool noh?

nope. i didn't had that chance to scale the world's highest peak.
that 29,035-foot piece of rock surely has enchanted not a few, including me. this despite the fact that i nurture this (almost incurable) fear of heights.

the Everest experience goes beyond summiting the mountain revered by Tibetans with the name "Chomolungma" which means 'mother goddess of the universe'.

the Everest experience gave me a chance to work with some of the most aggressive, professional and yet down to earth people - the top execs, managers and staff of the GMA News and Public Affairs department.



here i am sharing a moment with Josh, Ms. Rikki and of course - Romi Garduce.


on this photo, Ms. Marie shares the 'kodak' moment with us.

of course, i share the limelight with my poging bossing - Boss Rams, the coolest dude to hang around with come crunch time.

ngarag moment na, pero sige pa rin ang pa-picture.

and finally, matapos ang trabaho i had the chance to get my picture taken with
THE MAN, GARDUCH! hah!


'di naman ako madaling ma-startstruck na tao.
but Romi's humility was simply overwhelming. straight from the airport wherein he was given a very warm welcome, walang arteng nagpaunlak sa isang presscon. tapos, isinalang ulit sa isang press briefing pagdating sa GMA. tapos, isinalang sa 24 Oras.
a thanksgiving mass was held, afterwhich dinner. pero siyempre, 'di naman nakapag-dinner kaagad ang ating bida. sandamakmak na picture-taking at interviews muna ang pinaunlakan niya. a little before 10 p.m., when the last mediaman was able to secure his exclusive, dun pa lang siya nakakain.

sobrang kapagod gawin ang EVEREST PROJECT na 'to...
but it was well worth.
and if i'd be asked to join the team once more, i'd still say YES!
without batting an eyelash.

jastinne_andrei

how do kids do it?

kiss away stress borne from 10 hours of work or more.
pluck smiles from your lips even if you feel tired.
ham it up for the cameras and click away moments that almost eat up the memory of your mobile phone.

how they do it? i don't know...reason escapes me and all the cares in the world just simply melts away when i'm with my best gal pal right over here...yep. my fave 'kikay' buddy is a three-year-old tyke who talks with a very strong Tagalog accent and has the energy of an Energizer bunny two-folds.


Jaja is the first pamangkin in our brood. the first apo.

and so everybody's attention and affection is on hers and hers alone....missing the kid. badly. her infectious smiles and bubbly giggles are the most effective stress-busters i've ever had.

coming home from work, back aching with a grumbling tummy to boot, i'm most likely to hit the sack...but with her around - patiently waiting for all of her ninangs to come home and share a tickle or two while watching the teleseryes and asianovelas - three hours off the regular eight-hour sleep hardly matters.

i feel like 'barbie' whenever she would play with my hair. tirelessly combing it. tying and untying it. though at times her seemingly harmless tugs become a little bit hurtful.

still, i miss the way her small, stubby hands and the way it smoothens my hair, caress my arms and poke my palms in an effort to massage my stress away.

kids. how do they do it?
create magic with their laugh. stir tenderness with their smile.
stoke comfort in their small, big hugs.
give unselfish love with their chubby open hands.