Wondergirls.

Gasp! Great news for Kpop fans out there! Wondergirls will be opening for Jonas Brothers this summer in the U.S! From LA, to NY, all the way to Vancouver, they're all gonna have a piece of these gorgeous (ok that's debatable, but I think one of them is really cute) ladies!

Inner-freak.

The rising cases of people inflicted with H1N1 virus prompted me to seek medical attention for my 3 day old flu, and I was given a flu shot today along with vitamin prescription. With the rain steadily pouring since Saturday evening, I couldn't get out of the house, so there's a good chance that I got it from Rose, our new household help who arrived last Monday with a bit of fever. I hate getting sick, so I admit that I'm a freak with regards to cleanliness.. I'm a certifed germophobic, and I take cleanliness seriously around the house. If you're gonna see me clean my room, you're in for a freak show. I never use broom cause it carries those grimy stuff in incalculable proportions, and I don't want any of that near my room or our house. I scolded Rose quite a few times before when she tried to clean my room. I can't really blame her, brooms and that thing you use to gather dirt are staple in every Filipino household (and we do have that at home), but for some reason, those two send tingles to my spine, and weird as it may sound, I refuse to even touch it. I'd rather go down and scrub the floor with a mixture of soap and bleach, and then rinse it multiple times with water. And to check if it's really clean, I wet tissues with alcohol and wipe the floor with it. I'm even fond of using Lysol spray that supposedly kills 99% of bacteria. And if I can afford it, I'm going to buy that UV sterilizer (like the ones you see at restaurants in Korea), and God knows I'm going to put everything in there.


I understand that this is is some sort of a freakish behavior which I'm not really proud of, in fact, I had been chastised for it. But I can't really help it cause one, I'm an O.C. ( and it's in my nature to keep everything ridiculously clean, tidy, and organized ^^), and two, I have considerably weaker immune system than others (if someone has flu, I'm the first person to get it), so it's imperative that I take the necessary precautions. I believe everyone has their own freak side, compulsion, or weird behavior, and most often than not, we prefer if it stay hidden. My parents are two very organized people who are fond of using antibacterial cleaning agents, filing cabinets (meant for offices not homes), alphabetically arranged books, and labelling things with expiration dates, so it's but natural to produce an offspring who share the same compulsion.


Chris is somewhat similar to me in that department, although I'd say he's much worse. He hates using public restrooms (unless it's absolutely, 'matter-of-life-and-death' necessary), jimjilbang, and bath houses. He cringes at touching doorknobs and faucets so he uses paper towels to insulate his hand. I heard it's a lot worse when he was younger, but going to military helped desensitize him, so he's not as much of a freak like he was back then. But I know that he still hates handshakes, and I'm pretty sure he prefers to bow a couple of times to greet people than get his hand in contact with others. He just doesn't have a choice for his job calls for endless handshakes from suppliers on a daily basis. I know he's quite embarrassed with it, and as much as possible, he wants to show some semblance of being normal. He thinks it suggested a weakness a male shouldn't have. But in my case, I don't see any problem with it (only because I'm a freak myself). He's masculine as any situation calls for, and masculine as needed to be, and for me that's enough. Being 'too-sensitive' doesn't make him half a man in my weird, freakish, O.C. standard.

Soundtrack of my Life..

I did a similar post about this a year ago. Since I had a lot of fun thinking about the scenes, and the music that goes with it (appropriate or not), I thought why not do it again. It's amazing how our preference in music changes in a year. So here goes...

If you're going to make a movie about your life, what's going to be in your soundtrack?


Opening Credits: *Angels on the Moon ~ Thriving Ivory


Waking Up Scene: *Wake up ~ Hilary Duff


Car Driving Scene: *Only One ~ Yellowcard


High School Flashback Scene: *Summer Fades To Fall ~ Faber Drive


Nostalgic Scene: *My Happy Ending ~ Avril Lavigne


Bitter, Angry Scene: *All The Same ~ Sick Puppies


Break-up Scene: *One Moment More ~ Mindy Smith


Regret Scene: *Ghost In Your Mind ~ Black Lab


Nightclub/Bar Scene: *Blue Coast ~ Lalann, *Say Hello ~ Deep Dish


Fight/Action Scene: *Rebirthing ~ Skillet


Lawn Mowing Scene: *Sidewalks ~ Story of the Year


Sad, breakdown scene: *Leave The Memories Alone ~ Fuel


Death Scene: *Until The End ~ Breaking Benjamin


Funeral Scene: *Adia ~ Sarah McLachlan


Mellow Scene: *Colorblind ~ Counting Crows


Dreaming About Someone Scene: *Dream In Color ~ Black Lab


Making love Scene: *Lie In The Sound ~ Trespassers William


Contemplation Scene: *Here Without You ~ Three Doors Down


Chase Scene: *Tell Me ~ Dropping Daylight


Happy Love Scene: * *Along The Wall ~ Leigh Nash


Happy Friend Scene: *Other Side Of The World ~ KT Tunstall


Closing Credits: *Break My Fall ~ Breaking Benjamin



I almost got a carpal tunnel from copying and pasting the links, so please do check it (and that is if you have a lot of time to kill).

A Melting Pot.

Singapore is the second country I visited. I went there with my sister to watch Machi's concert (a Taiwanese hip-hop group) back in 2005. We didn't plan to go there, but after my sister got a call from her friend that Machi is going to have a concert there, and in the middle of shrieks, giggles, and incoherent exchange of ideas, we arrived in a spur-of-the-moment decision to travel and watch the concert. So after securing our tickets at Tiger Airways, we travelled to Clark and flew to Singapore. My sister's friend was gracious enough to let us sleep and shower in her place for three days, and that significantly helped us stick to our measly budget (the call came in three days before the concert and we didn't have time to save up), even letting us have some extra cash to buy a simple souvenir; a cap from an F4 endorsed clothing brand for my sister, and a CD bearing the group's signature for me.

Because of our tight 3-day schedule (which includes stalking and waiting outside hotels for a glimpse of Machi), we didn't see much of Singapore. But there are a few places we were able to visit like the famous Orchard Road, Botanic Gardens, Clark Quay (which is right beside Singapore River), and Sentosa Island. Except for Sentosa, all of the places we visited are all easily accessible by MRT, and if I remember correctly, we had to take a bus from one of the stations to get there.

With my short visit, I have come to admire the Singaporean's discipline and their drive to be better. It's a melting-pot of different cultures, ethnicities, traditions, and beliefs, but they all managed to thrive in peace and live in harmony. I also admire their former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's zeal for strict laws and order (isn't this the country that banned chewing gum?), and for making Singapore a First World country, ranking 7th (or 5th?) richest country (GDP per capita) in the world. It's a far-cry from being that under-developed, former British colony, and sometime-part of Malaysia we once read in history books. If only our leaders would share half of the zeal LKY had for Singapore, we're probably in a much a better place than now.. but then, that's probably wishing too much.

This may not be entirely related to what I've written above, but I'd like to share an article written by Lee Wei Ling, daughter of Lee Kuan Yew. I thought it's timely and appropriate for the times.

Going Vegan.

Life seems to be anything but jumping lately.. In fact, I'm so bored there hasn't been a day that I didn't wish to be whisked away to some place more exciting. But my blog badly needs an update, so I thought I should write some of the stuff that's keeping me busy (Ok, I know that there are so many important issues that are far more worthy to put my two cents in, however, I want to keep this blog as personal as possible)..

Weeks back, I enrolled in a vegetarian cooking class. Before you start rolling your eyes on me (esp. those who know how much I love eating meat), let me say that I'm not a convert, and I still enjoy a big, fat, juicy steak without feeling any guilt whatsoever... So what the hell am I doing in a place that shuns those? Well, my mom was recently diagnosed to have type 2 diabetes, and part of managing her illness is becoming vegan. At age 57, she barely tips the scale at 93 lbs. But even with her reed thin figure, she has to go on a strict low-fat, low-sodium, low-cholesterol, and sugar-free diet, which basically means she can't eat anything besides vegetables and some fruits. Because of this inhumane, almost torture-like diet, her weight plummeted to 89 lbs. She has become dangerously thin that sometimes, I wanna force-feed her some cheeseburger and milk loaded with butterfat. So I asked her to enrol in a cooking class, so she could start whipping up things more edible than chopped raw veggies and stir-fried tofu to eat. Turns out she wasn't too psyched to go to class with her age, and so she asked me to fill in for her. I love to cook, and I love learning new things, so I thought it couldn't be that bad, besides I'm also trying to lose weight, and this might be the perfect chance to start eating healthy. The first day of the 4-week long class was a blast. I got to meet new people and stuff.. But as the lecture progressed to the theoretical part, it turned into a snoozefest. There's something about the teacher's raspy, almost humming voice that makes me yearn for a pillow more than anything. She probably recognizes me as the girl who keeps on yawning. I can't help it, as soon as I see her face, I start to yawn uncontrollably. Sometimes, it gets to a point where I get tempted to record her voice to help me sleep at night. Her class reminds me of "Ibong Adarna", and how the son of the King struggled to stay awake so he wouldn't turn into a stone figure. Instead of cutting my palm and pouring calamansi all over it, I take down notes so I wouldn't fall asleep by accident, it also keeps me from chatting with my seatmate who is really nice by the way. Her name is Nasha, a dietician, and a semi-vegan by choice (she still consumes eggs and dairy products, mostly from pastries and coffee)

Going to this vegan cooking class made me realize two things; one, I can't stand the smell/taste of Hoisin sauce (I'm more than surprised to know that there is a vegetarian counterpart for almost anything!), and two, soy milk gives me a bad case of stomach ache, which is weird cause I've never experienced getting a stomach ache from drinking milk, be it skim, whole, or half-and-half. But of course, it also resulted to good things which I'm really thankful for. I'm not sure if I should give it the entire credit for losing two inches off my waist (cause I've been religiously working out as well), but it surely helped a lot. More importantly, it brought me to meet and be friends with two wonderful, and very interesting people. One is Nasha (which I've mentioned quite a few times earlier), and the other is Renan. He's an advocate of PETA, and it's really interesting to hear his opinion as to why we shouldn't eat animals. He sounds like an over-zealous religious extremist whenever he does that, but I don't mind cause he's a genuinely nice guy (or operatively, a proud gay). Even he speaks of feminist theories and philosophies, he never bashed me when I gave negative comments on Katrina's well-orchestrated tears, and things that would normally trigger violent reactions from people who support her.

I owe it to these two people.. They take a couple of hours out of my incredibly boring week. And if not for their contagious sense of humor, wits, and interesting beliefs, I would've surely quit after the third class.

Wednesdays aren't all that bad.

It was a lousy day, till I saw this..

Now, I don't mind the seemingly interminable hours I've waited at COMELEC, or the fact that Jollibee turned into a screaming beehive during lunch, and the perpetually noisy street jammed with pedestrians and bumper-to-bumper, slower-than-a-baby's- crawl traffic, cause Wednesdays aren't so bad afterall!

Anniversaries.

When I met Chris for the first time, I didn't have the slightest clue that we would end up like this. I could still vividly remember how he looked at that time. From the airport, he went straight to the travel agency where we met. He was jet-lagged, had very little sleep, and was running on little more than adrenaline. And despite his ruffled clothes and messy hair, he still managed to look awfully cute! Our initial conversation had turned into a dinner invitation. I'm not the type who readily accepts dinner invitation from an absolute stranger, but for some profound reason, I found myself saying yes. As desperate as it sounds, I begged and bribed my unwilling friend to go with me, and thanks to her guile and wits, our awkward conversation about Chinese pop (which he didn't have the slightest idea), Confucious, and Manchuria (yup.. you read it right!) quickly led to a more interesting one. When the rain started pouring, and he offered me his jacket, my friend was utterly convinced that he sort of likes me. I don't know, but we seemed strangely unconnected that it made it hard for me to figure him out. He also took a couple of pictures of me and my friend that night, which made the air even more awkward than it already was (later on he told me that since I refused to give him my number, we might not meet again, and he didn't want to forget my face). When my friend momentarily went out, he took his chance to tell me in a very subtle way, and without sounding embarrassed or apologetic, that he likes me. If there was any doubt before about his true intentions for inviting me over to dinner, it was gone at that instant. It's really strange and super awkward to hear that (first meeting and all), and I didn't know how to respond so I just kept quiet and pretended I didn't hear anything (I didn't know he took my silence as a confirmation that I like him back!). Other than the rain, everything was perfect and unforgettable that night.

From then on, everything seemed to pass in a blur. He ended up staying in the same condominium where I live. He rented a unit there, so we basically see each other every single day. Some days he'd pick me up from work, other days he'd just ask me out on dinner. One weekend, we went to have lunch at Cibo (which is just 3 minutes away from where we live). And while crossing the street on the way home, he held my hand. I was surprised how comfortably and effortlessly he put his hand on mine, so I had to ask why. He said "because you're my girlfriend", and for obvious reason that I like him just as much, I didn't bother to disagree with him. I'll never forget how soft, and how white his hand looked against my skin. That day, I sort of made a mental note that a year after, it'll be our anniversary.

His stay in the Philippines went by so fast, and in a matter of one month, we managed to squeeze trips to Boracay, Baguio, Pangasinan, and Pagsanjan, which meant a lot of missed days at work. When I took him to the airport, I must have cried buckets of tears.. There was every chance he wouldn't come back like what he promised, so when he said goodbye, I took it differently. A week after he came back to Korea, he made a plan to visit the Philippines again before the school starts. 3 weeks later, we met again... He stayed true to his words and visited me 5 times that year. When our first anniversary came, we celebrated it in Korea!

We're celebrating our 4th anniversary next month, and I'm flying back to Korea a day before that. Chris is so bad with dates that I'm not sure whether he'll remember it on his own. He seems to remember the date we first met, but not the day he first held my hand and we officially became a couple.. ^^

Of arguments, movie, and a letter.

Chris and I had a not-so-pleasant conversation while chatting last night. Like with all our other arguments, it started with an extremely petty thing, blown out of proportion. You see, it's the time of the month where I let my bitchier side take-over, and I become the most deviant person imaginable. Too bad, he was at the unfortunate end of my childish, bitchy wrath..

We both knew from Day 1 that our personalities are the extreme opposite of each other, and yet we decided to defy the odds and stick to each other like a pair of star-crossed lovers. Well, I'm a non-conformist by nature. I feel diffiuclt to conform to a certain ideology, especially if I think there's something wrong with it, or if it's against my moral beliefs. But for the sake of making this interracial and sometimes-long-distance relationship work, I force myself to adjust and conform to all those rules he annoyingly mapped out for me. I do appreciate the things that he does cause I know it's all for the better. But sometimes his concern becomes way too much, and I would really like it if he'll give me some space to think on my own, and space to make mistakes and learn from them. I hate being told what to do, and what I cannot do.. and Chris has been doing this a lot lately. Last night, in the middle of his usual speech, I snapped. If my cheeks had been any hotter, I swear it would've burst into flames... and that's how upset I was at that time. I know I may have overreacted, and again I'm blaming the ever-so-convenient PMS for all the unnecessary rage. I just wanted to show him how sick I was from constantly hearing his piece, and all those rules and schedules I have to, but almost never follow. I cannot put it into words exactly, but if you happen to see the movie "One More Chance", you'll understand me more. Chris is somewhat similar to John Lloyd there (though not to that extent of being "pakialamero"), but in any case it's annoying, and I'm bound to snap like Bea one day..

Since my PMS is still in full throttle, I choose to continue acting like this bratty drama-queen and refuse his calls, even after he apologized thru mail right after the argument.. I'm pasting a copy of his mail (he's sooo gonna kill me if he knew I posted it here.. ^^) which is really simple but also incredibly sweet. The context may sound weird to some people, but he's Korean, and it's very much evident in his writing..

***

today, we didn't have nice conversation and i'm sorry for my mistake. but let you know I miss you a lot.

your Oppa.

A Taste of Real Manila.

I met some friends last Sunday for a very late lunch in Malate area. Everyone was in for some good-old Filipino cuisine, and we didn't have to think twice in choosing Aristocrat. Their combo of Kare-kare and Crispy pata was superbly delicious, especially on an empty stomach like ours. As soon as our orders arrived, everyone grew quiet. That's probably the biggest proof of how good the food tasted.. you could barely talk.

Baywalk is right infront of the restaurant.. and since I haven't seen Manila Bay upclose for so many years, I pleaded them to go there with me. They probably couldn't understand why I got all excited and took pictures after pictures of something that seems so ordinary. Lucky for them, they didn't have to miss Manila like I do. More than the restaurants, posh nightclubs, or the colossal shopping malls, I missed seeing the real Manila, like how the ordinary people leisurely spend their Sunday afternoon enjoying the view and briny (but borderline stinky) air of Manila Bay.

Challenging Korea.

While making my usual late night rounds at youtube, I came across a video ~ an excerpt from an old episode of the now defunct TV show "Extra Challenge" that features Cesar Montano in Korea. I actually watched the whole episode (with Carmina-Zoren, Sunshine-Cesar) a few years back, but this was my favorite part.



There are 3 things I find interesting about this video;

* I was never a fan of Cesar so I didn't know he could look this ehem.. 'cute' in a bahag costume.

* It's probably staged but it looks like he knows his way around the kitchen.

* The way Mrs. Kim talks in tagalog is really funny.. Especially the part where she asked "walang tulog?"... her intonation is so pinoy! I also find it interesting that she's married to a Filipino. It's usually the other way around so her case is quite rare..

Happy watching!

Keeping up.

It's been a week since my last post, so I decided to write some updates about my stay here.. A lot has been happening lately, but somehow I didn't have the creative inspiration to write about them all.

I met my friends last weekend. We were supposed to meet at 8 pm in front of Rembrandt in Quezon City. I arrived around 8:10, but nobody was there yet (I forgot that there's this thing called 'Filipino time').. When everyone arrived, we all went to a Japanese resto called "Jozu". The place is a typical resto which you don't actually pay for the food, but for the dining experience. Let this post serve as a warning to those who are planning to pay the restaurant a visit. The hefty price tag doesn't justify their food, and I would've chosen Yoshinoya in a heartbeat.

Since "Gilligan's Island" is just a couple of meters away, it became our next destination. "Jozu" left us still hungry so we ordered more than the usual "pulutan". Beer was overflowing, and they drank as if beer would no longer be available the next day. I said 'they' cause I stopped with my 3rd bottle. For the longest time, I haven't tasted any form of alcohol, and with an empty stomach, I was a little 'buzzed' after the 3rd one. I ordered bottomless iced tea instead of drinking more beer, which turned out to be quite a hassle especially when two of your newly-single friends are venting about their cute-but-good-for-nothing bf's, and you have to make frequent trips to the restroom. The deafening music was great, but it left us with a bad case of sore throat from shouting just to hear each other. We left the place just before the clock hits 3. They didn't want to end the party just yet (heard some of them say "it's still too early"..), so we went to "Music 21" (a family KTV place) in Timog after that. Everyone was obliged to sing a song or two. When it was my turn to sing, they cajoled me into singing a Korean song. For a second, I thought about singing "So Hot" by Wondergirls which I know they'll like, but the part where I have to rap made me flip the pages quickly. I chose a song by Se7en called "Come back to me" instead. I thought it's a safe song and I know the lyrics by heart.

The song sparked interest in them, and they started throwing questions at me about everything Korean (though mostly, it's about Korean men ^^). The effect of 'Hallyu' is very much evident in them. Most of them showed interest in visiting Korea, learning the Korean language, and meeting Korean men. Collectively, I don't think Korea is that 'great' like what they portray in Koreanovelas. But I admit there are things that I really admire about them... sadly, those are the stuff that'll bore them so I just concentrated on answering their queries about Korean men in general.

It was past sunrise when we went our separate ways. My mom was already out jogging when I came back home. My friends were still surprisingly energetic after a long night, and there I was (I'm gonna use my old phrase again), 'limp like a cookie thrown into a cup of tea'. Just before I slept, they texted about having a night-out again next week, but thinking about crowded places, and suffocating air filled with cigarette smoke, greasy food, and beer, coupled with a hundred different perfume smell makes me wanna fake an illness come Saturday. Somehow, I lack the energy to do those stuff again. I feel so damn old as I can't keep up with my friends. I better listen to my mom and start taking multivitamins or I'd turn into a loner doing stuff that's anything but fun.

Hooked.

I did some digging and found these songs which I'm currently hooked on listening. I think they're pretty great.. Most of the artists are my favorites from way back.. But some I'm just beginning to appreciate. If you have a lot of time to kill, bored or whatever, do check the links. And of course, it'll be great if you let me know what you think!


Black Lab - Dreaming in Color

Aidan Hawken - Fly Straight

Fuel - Leave the Memories Alone

Black Lab - Ghost in Your Mind

Skillet - Rebirthing

Goo Goo Dolls - Slide

Breaking Benjamin - Until the End

Saving Abel - 18 Days

Metal-mouth.

I'm in major pain after a visit to my dentist yesterday. My mouth feels like it was hit by a baseball bat, and I wasn't able to sleep last night without the aid of painkillers. Even if I don't want to, I'm forced to go on a liquid diet for the time being. Like I said before, I belong to those who aren't lucky to have a perfect set of teeth, and needed the help of an orthodontist. This is in fact my second gig with braces (and hopefully the last one) as the first one wasn't so successful.

So I had my braces adjusted, and the archwire changed to the thickest dimension. It's the last level of treatment, and I'll be free from wearing braces soon. Hopefully, after all this pain, mouth sores, and blisters, I'll have that perfect set of teeth I've always dreamed of. It's essential that I wear retainers for a year, and it's something I dread wearing as I know how uncomfortable it is to wear one. But if there's any consolation, I'm just going to wear it at night or some part of the day... Life with braces is not that easy. It requires a lot of patience, discipline and painful visits to the dentist. Soon it'll all be over, and I can't wait till my teeth are finally set free.

The Skies of Puerto Galera.

These photos were taken during a trip to Puerto Galera with my family.. It was raining, and there wasn't much we could do other than to stay dry. The rain stopped momentarily so I went out and took photos. It was just before sunset, and the sky looked dark and gray. I enjoy gazing at the sky on weather like this.. It's a time when I don't have to cringe my eyes to appreciate it's beauty.





Right after twilight, the sky exploded in a deep blue color tinged with a bit of orange. The clouds formed interesting shapes that would leave anyone breathless..




I love taking pictures of the sky more than any other subject. It's nice to be able to capture even half of it's beauty in frame. My favorite time of day is dawn and sunset where the sky is illuminated in a kaleidoscope of beautiful colors.



The sky is something so enchanting that it could lull a hundred different emotions just by looking at it. Seeing the skies of Puerto Galera made braving the stormy weather all worthwhile.

Low Fares To Korea.

I read from a friend's blog that Cebu Pacific is offering super low fares from Manila to Korea. At first I couldn't believe the price that was posted, so I checked the website and found out it was true. I'm planning to go back to Korea sometime in May or June, so as soon as I saw this, I booked a two-way ticket and paid 7,082 pesos. This is much, much cheaper than PAL's special ticket price I found at Rakso that cost $400 plus taxes (roughly around $500 in total). Unfortunately, I found a loophole in their promo that sounded too-good-to-be-true. They wrote down the travel period is from June 1 to September 30. But that's not exactly true. After I spoke with three customer service representatives, I found out that if you travel from June 29 onwards, the promo does not apply anymore. It's best that you book your flight before this date or they're going to charge you twice the price (which isn't so bad considering how much PAL, Korean Air and Asiana is offering).

I visited their website today, and found out they're offering even lower fares than the previous promo. They're slashing 200 peso off from the previous promo price provided that you won't bring any checked-in baggage.

It's a good thing they're offering yet another promo. It's great news for those who weren't able to avail of the previous one at the given period. Just keep in mind that this price is applicable to those who prefer to travel light. Should you choose to bring a checked-in baggage, you will be subjected to pay the applicable fees.

Of Melancholic Train Ride.

Yesterday, I met my sister for some girl bonding time. I'm frequently abroad so we rarely have the chance to hangout. She wanted to show me her new place at Torre Lorenzo, just beside DLSU in Taft. Since it's Saturday, there was major traffic in every road, so I opted to take the train instead. In Korea, taking the train is something I do on a daily basis. But here in the Philippines, I rarely get the opportunity to try it, so I brought my camera along. But when I took the camera out and started clicking, people began to stare at me in disbelief. Taking pictures of the train is something so unusual perhaps that they couldn't help but stare.









The train station is just a stone-throw away from our house, so getting there is never a problem. But since I'm not in any way familiar with the purple and yellow line (I only know the MRT blue line), I had a hard time 'transferring' from Recto station to Dorotheo Jose. I can't seem to find the pathway sis was talking about. But after a couple of phonecalls and missed turns, I was able to find the bridge that connects the two stations. The cold airconditioner inside the train brought relief to my sun burnt skin. As I sat comfortably in the cool chair, sipping the green buko-pandan smoothie I purposely got for her, and despite the obnoxious stares people are throwing at me, I fell into a whirlwind of daydreaming about my Korean life that was temporarily put on hold. I miss Chris, and I miss everything about his country. I miss the pushy ajummas on the subway, and their stiff handbags that always hurt my elbows. I miss how I instinctively breathe through my mouth everytime I sat close to an ajussi that reeks of stale soju and cigarettes. I miss the never-ending giggles of middle-school kids, standing by the door, gossiping about every famous, make-up wearing, lip-synching boyband there is.. I even miss the noisy and overly enthusiastic vendors selling all kinds of things from umbrella, to gloves, even kitchen shears. Somehow, that train ride going to my sister's house felt oddly quiet and empty. When I finally arrived at my stop, I was limp like a cookie thrown into a cup of tea. It's probably the heat, humidity, or the headache-causing text message tones I incessantly heard from the train, I was tired and not in good spirits. And if not for her contagious cheerfulness, the afternoon would've dragged...

Lightning struck twice.

*This is an update from my previous post about my hottie Turkish neighbor.


This is even weirder.. They say lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place, but that's the thing that happened to me today. Nope, I didn't get literally struck by lightning, or I wouldn't be here writing this post. What I'm talking about is the unfortunate "pajama" incident that happened three days ago. For those who haven't read my previous post (though I'm not really sure if there are indeed others who read the stuff I write here..^^), I'm going to give a recap of what happened. I was still sleeping that morning when my Mom, in the middle of rage, woke me up only to tell that our annoying neighbor upstairs got all our clothes wet again with their leaky airconditioner. This thing has been going on for weeks, and it has gotten so much worse lately. My mom who is normally pleasant and calm, becomes difficult and quick-tempered under annoying circumstances.. so instead of letting her deal with the neighbor upstairs, I took charge. Our neighbor who also likes playing loud music all day long turns out to be really hot, looking every inch like Christiano Ronaldo. I tried to sound determined and authoritative more than I use to while talking with him, and I think I was able to prove my point effectively. All the time I was talking, I didn't have the slightest clue that I was still wearing my pajamas.. and I couldn't help but think that was probably the reason why he couldn't stop grinning the whole time.

That incident was a nightmare beyond anything imaginable, and it left me with this strange awkward feeling everytime I get inside the elevator.. As much as possible, I try to stay indoors, avoiding every chance to meet him in the building. Three days have passed, and I totally forgot all about it. The leak stopped, and he probably got himself a headphone.

My mom went to the doctor early today, and with nobody to wake me up for breakfast or lunch, I slept till noon. I was on the phone talking to Chris when a sudden loud knock on the door stopped me mid-sentence. Only scant minutes have passed since I got out from bed, and I was still on my pajamas. I thought about changing to something more decent, but the knock on the door seemed urgent. When I opened the door, it was the Turkish guy. I was so embarrassed when I recognized who it was and what I was wearing to become at least half-way genial. He said he lost his cellphone somewhere, and that he needed to use our phone to call (he doesn't have landline phone yet). When he called his cellphone, it wasn't ringing anymore, and it sucks that I had to be the one to break the news that it's already stolen and probably half way to being sold to someone else. He doesn't know anybody in the building, so despite our not-so-good encounter the other day, he took his chances and came at our door. He was talking about some other things but I couldn't understand most of it because of his strong accent. He apologized again for the leak and the noise, and for not being able to respond to the letter the management sent him.. He said he understood only half of it.. Just before he left, he asked what time do I usually hit the gym.. I was caught off-guard and I didn't know whether I should lie, so I just told him the truth.

Minutes have passed, and the smell of his cologne still lingers in our living room. My mom even noticed it when she came back home from the doctor. I don't know his purpose for asking me that question, and it got me all confused. I know he works out at a different time cause I've never seen him in the gym before. But whatever his purpose is, I don't mind working out with a guy who is not only nice but incredibly hot too!

The Neighbor.

This is weird... I'm not usually the type who quarrels with neighbors so today's a first for me. It all started this morning when the airconditioner of the unit upstairs was leaking badly. The leak was causing us some major inconvenience as it hits directly to the place where we hang our clothes dry. The rain pours non-stop and it's really difficult to dry our clothes in this kind of weather, so you could imagine how frustrating it is everytime the tenant upstairs switches their ancient airconditioner on and gets our clothes wet. My mom brought up this issue to the management weeks ago, however they failed to cooperate with the tenant (for some reason, he's always out whenever they pay them a visit), and the best course of action they did was sending a letter, and so the leak just kept getting worse.

After summoning all my courage, and gathering my thoughts as to how I'm going to prove my point effectively, I stormed my way up to the unit upstairs. I was merely a couple of meters away when I started hearing the loud noise coming from the unit I intended to pay a visit. I stepped back for a minute, trying to recognize the familar music I'm hearing. So it's the song "Me and You" by Cassie, a song that's being rampantly played over and over again.. A song that I like very much, but sickens me to the gut now as I get to hear it repeatedly every single day. When I'm sleeping they're playing it, when I'm having lunch, or taking a shower I hear it. I have nothing against people who like listening to their favorite song on repeat mode, in fact I'm also guilty of that. But I guess these people haven't heard of the word 'headphones' before, and insist on playing using their elaborate speakers. So I've got another reason to complain about.. And so I knocked, refusing to push that little doorbell as I mean business. It must be the loud music, nobody opened the door. I pressed the bell twice, still nobody opened. I already consoled myself that nobody's in there, or they've gone deaf listening to loud music all day long. I was already a few meters away when someone opened the door, and a guy called "Hello?" in a weird accent.

When I turned, I saw a tall, twenty-something (I'm guessing he's around that age judging by the kind of music he listens to), middle eastern-looking guy smiling and looking very similar to Christiano Ronaldo. I know that Ronaldo is a very popular celebrity known to many, but for the sake of those who are not into soccer, I'm going to post a picture below..



I've got a super annoying but super hot neighbor that looks every bit like the hottest man on earth! He kept on smiling at me, and I wondered silently if his jaw ever gets tired. Curiosity struck me, and I just had to ask where he's from. I found out he's from Turkey, and hopefully not related to Ylmaz Bektas (why on earth do I always associate Turkey with Ylmaz?!). I don't know much about Turkey (except for the Osman and Seljuk Turk history I studied back in highschool), so I skipped the standard niceties and got down to enumerating my complaints. It's hard to look at his face as I talk. I stuttered a bit and my sentences sounded incongruent. In the middle of all that, I wondered if he tweezes his perfectly shaped brows the way Ronaldo does..

He sounded sincere when he apologized for the leak and the noise, and promised to do something about it. His initial congeniality had quickly turned into an interesting conversation. I found out that he's a student, and both of us go to the same gym. He lives in Istanbul, and upon hearing that, I fought the urge to ask him whether he knows Ylmaz by any chance (I should stay away from watching too much TV). I politely refused when he offered me something to drink, and said goodbye. I was already inside the elevator when I noticed I was still wearing my pink, hello kitty pajamas! Talk about self-humiliation to the highest degree.. ""

Wake-up call.

Two years ago, I received this pink tank top as a birthday gift from my grandmother. Since I'm not the type who wears tank tops, I kept it buried under my closet. Years have passed and I totally forgot all about it. While I was cleaning my room today, I found it hidden among the pile of clothes I'm planning to throw away. Those are the clothes I'm not comfortable wearing anymore (after I gained the extra pounds). I wasn't at ease when I saw how small the tank top is (my previous size), and how I'm not gonna be able to wear it anymore. Ok, I'm not really gonna wear it, I just wanna know that it still fits.. but the sad part is, it doesn't.

Eversince I adapted my mothers new found love for exercise, I've been tracing hard the tiny little progress I've made, but found none.. I sweated bullets each time I was at the oval, running till I couldn't breathe anymore. Every bit of my body is strained and sore from sheer physical exhaustion when I'm running like crazy. But even with all these effort, I only lost 1 lb. I don't really consider losing a pound much of a progress, cause it's as simple as skipping lunch for some. I don't even want to mention that I'm 3 shades darker now, even if I consumed one whole bottle of Nivea Sun Spray. This is really depressing. I'm beginning to think I'm gonna be trapped in this stupid body forever.

While I was growing up, I never had any problems with my weight. I only started to get conscious about it when I was 23 years old. I was 124 lbs and at my heaviest. I was living in my own apartment, just beside McDonald's, and my daily diet of big mac's, coke, and french fries (I swear it's the only thing I eat every single day for four months) took a toll on my weight.. I felt I was too fat and got really depressed. So I went to the gym for the first time, lifted weights, took up boxing, and did a lot of cardio. To speed up my weight loss, I was taking only 500 calories a day. Everyone was shocked when I lost 30 lbs in a month. I was down to 96 lbs... At 5'5, 96 lbs seems to be way too thin (though not in Korean standards) so my parents were really worried.. But I found out the hard way that it wasn't healthy.. I got hospitalized a lot that year due to malnutrition, electrolyte imbalance, dehydration, and worse my heart wasn't functioning properly. After I learned the dangers of losing too much weight in a short amount of time.. I took care of my health and was able to maintain my ideal weight of 110 lbs. However, when I was 24, I discovered I'm suffering from an endocrine dysfunction that was messing up with my hormones, and that the battle of the bulge started to become infinitely critical. I think I have to lose 30 lbs now to reach my ideal weight. If only I could resurrect my old determination back, I could have a brand new me in a month's time (without endangering myself that is).

Let this old tank top be my wake-up call and get me motivated. I need to work harder to be able to lose weight. I'm thinking about throwing the scale cause it only makes me lose focus and feel depressed. I can't bear to have any kind of distraction right now.. I recognize that there is a problem and I'm doing something about it. Too much complacency and optimism is always a bad thing...

No-shoe Policy.

There are many reasons why shoes are removed before entering a temple. Temples are a sacred place, and removing shoes is a sign of respect. It also shows that a person is humble. Leaving shoes outside is symbolic of leaving wordly stuff so that the person can concentrate on spiritual things. Because shoes can be dirty, taking them off is a sign of purification inside the temple. This is also true for Muslims when they visit a mosque. For some of these reasons, many Asian cultures consider it polite to take off shoes inside the home too.

In our house, we don't wear our shoes inside. As kids, we were taught by our parents that the outside and inside of the house are two different worlds separated by a door. But I know for a fact that not all household here in the Philippines practice this.. Whenever I visit a house for the first time, I politely ask whether I should remove my shoes or not. Most of the time, they would say it's ok not to remove it. But since I'm not used to wearing shoes inside, I get really uncomfortable so as much as possible, I only stay in one place. When it's my friend's turn to visit our house, they willingly oblige to the no-shoe policy. The line-up of shoes just outside our door (like in the picture above) reminds them to take off their shoes before entering. But sometimes, there are quite a few insensitive ones who are oblivious to the pile of shoes outside our door. What I do is offer them my puffy indoor slippers, and if that won't work, I just wait till they leave and scrub the floor with Lysol and Bleach.

I just can't imagine how others could bear wearing their shoes inside. I don't need to emphasize how dirty shoes can be. They could come from hospitals, public restrooms, or alleys covered in mud, spit, vomit, and all the germs, bacteria, and viruses imaginable. We clearly don't want that inside our house. Besides, being barefoot is the most comfortable way to walk around the house!