random thoughts and a whole lot of meme quizzes

dang...

2009-04-25T00:43:02Z

Dang...

I'm getting old, rather, I'm another year older...

*scatters glitter and confetti then hides back in bed*

after 2 years and 4 months...

2008-05-09T14:10:20Z

After two years and four months of roaming around, doing odd jobs for my mom and the like:

I FINALLY HAVE A JOB!

I know it's really dumb, stupid, etc. to not work for more than two years, but I felt that I had no choice then. Anyways, I started training just this Monday and things are looking up!

A friend of mine suggested that I apply at her office. I went there at around 2:30 pm, had 2 or 3 interviews, a few exams, then at around 8 pm, I got the job! It's with a financing company, and I haven't a shred of financing experience or knowledge. Strangely enough, I still got the job. Let's see what happens...

rmbq @ 2008-02-17T00:10:00

2008-02-16T16:56:48Z

I'm usually cool about illnesses. Colds? Bring them on. Hypertension? Runs in the family. Trigeminal Neuralgia? Hurts like the dickens and I sometimes wish I could just lop off my head. But when your dermatologist tells me that the rash on the right side of my torso is

herpes,

I freaked out.

I first noticed it a few days ago when I felt a rash along the right side of my torso. I usually have rashes and hives thanks to a host of allergies, so I didn't pay attention to it. My brother advised me to go to our dermatologist to have it checked after I noticed that it hasn't subsided yet after a few days and the area was hot to the touch. So I trotted off and received the shock of my life, as of yesterday anyway.

Herpes, back home, is usually associated with sexual promiscuity and all its attendant STDs, VDs, you name them. If you have it, you're one nasty girl/guy, never mind all the medical explanations about the virus. I remember my grandfather's outrage when the doctor told him that the rashes on his forehead were herpes rashes. He'd been confined to the hospital bed for a few days because of his blood pressure fluctuations. After the doctor broke the news, he suddenly sat up and demanded to go home and get away from the "lying doctor who's telling me that I'm sexually promiscuous." (well it was in Tagalog, and it was a bit earthier than this translation). I think my surprise and outrage mirrored my grandfather's when the derma told me the bad news. I guess it's a normal reaction, because he waited for me to stop hyperventilating and gave a succinct explanation of what the illness really is, and a nice brochure on herpes zoster.

Here's a short and sweet explanation...

From http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/shingles.html

Shingles is a disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus - the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you have chickenpox, the virus stays in your body. It may not cause problems for many years. As you get older, the virus may reappear as shingles. Unlike chickenpox, you can't catch shingles from someone who has it.

Early signs of shingles include burning or shooting pain and tingling or itching, usually on one side of the body or face. The pain can be mild to severe. Blisters then form and last from one to 14 days. If shingles appears on your face, it may affect your vision or hearing. The pain of shingles may last for weeks, months or even years after the blisters have healed.

There is no cure for shingles. Early treatment with medicines that fight the virus may help. These medicines may also help prevent lingering pain. A vaccine may prevent shingles or lessen its effects. The vaccine is for people 60 or over who have had chickenpox but who have not had shingles.

So, now I have to wait for another week or so before it'd disappear, and leave minimal scarring (one could hope). In the meantime, I have to tolerate or ignore my family's good-natured ribbing regarding my rashes and that I should "always remember to insist that the guy wear a condom."

Good ol' herpes zoster, aka shingles. Caused by stress, fatigue, etc., and of course, a history of chickenpox. Sigh.

rmbq @ 2007-12-24T23:28:00

2007-12-24T15:31:14Z

Someday, I will write a proper entry, and actually update my page. Tom Morello is still of the hotness, but I haven't changed anything in over a year. Sigh...

It's going to be Christmas in about 30 minutes over here, so I'm going to greet everyone out there with our traditional Christmas greeting:

Maligayang Pasko sa iyo at sa iyong pamilya! (Merry Christmas to you and your family!)

We didn't put up any decoration (we haven't done so the past few years), seems kinda pointless as we're hardly ever at home.

rmbq @ 2007-09-02T06:38:00

2007-09-01T22:34:55Z

Hm, it's been a preeetty long time since I've posted anything. I haven't even checked my email for almost a month now. Sheesh...
I've been running to and fro to different tailors, seamstresses, wholesalers, etc. for my mom's shop. Now, we're just seeing what'll happen in the next few months. Sigh...

Some stuff (because I have a sudden urge to do so).

2007-04-24T21:44:37Z

This is so sad. My cellphone hasn't been functioning the past few days and I couldn't access my friends' numbers to inform them about the damn thing. Happy birthday to me!!! It's my birthday today, and I think hardly anyone back home remembers the damned occasion. Now, I'm just reminding myself so I could forget about it immediately afterward. I'm 32 this year *groans*. I'm going to church after this. My mom's going to kill me if I don't.

pretty much true...

2007-04-07T15:10:04Z

got this from purplefeen

You scored as Postmodernist. Postmodernism is the belief in complete open interpretation. You see the universe as a collection of information with varying ways of putting it together. There is no absolute truth for you; even the most hardened facts are open to interpretation. Meaning relies on context and even the language you use to describe things should be subject to analysis.

</td>

Postmodernist

69%

Romanticist

69%

Existentialist

63%

Cultural Creative

63%

Modernist

56%

Materialist

44%

Idealist

38%

Fundamentalist

38%

What is Your World View?
created with QuizFarm.com

Aside from that, I hope the Holy Week (Semanta Santa, as we call it here) was pretty quiet for everyone. (We had the usual crucifixion reenactments in the provinces, but that's pretty standard fare here.)

Chris cornell to leave Audioslave

2007-02-16T23:42:47Z

Dang, damn, dang...

http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1552582/20070215/audioslave.jhtml?rsspartner=rssMozilla

I was going to do the lj cut thing, but I can't remember how, so be warned of a rant.

Chris Cornell is a great performer, but he sure has problems staying with a band. Don't get me wrong, I love his solo album Euphoria Morning and am waiting for his new solo album, but I enjoy his Audioslave songs even more. (I guess that's obvious as my icon is a picture of Tom Morello.) Argh.

Cornell said the split was amicable and that, as far as he's concerned, Audioslave is finished, "Unless they want to go find another singer and go make other Audioslave records — then maybe they can have two bands, with a different singer for Rage and a different singer for Audioslave, and they could go on tour and open for each other.

If that isn't a comment from a bad split, then I don't know what is.

rmbq @ 2007-01-11T09:58:00

2007-01-11T02:20:28Z

At looong last, I get to update! And to rant!

My mom's shop's been fairly busy, so I was, uh, fairly, ok, passably busy.

I'm still hooked on Sims2, and since I got some of the expansion packs, woo-hoo!

I haven't seen that many films recently. I got to see Casino Royale. Daniel Craig is hot, so my friend and I squeed our way into the movie.

Then I got to watch Eragon.

more next time.

rmbq @ 2006-10-20T09:01:00

2006-10-19T13:04:09Z

got this from velvetwhip:

Your Taste in Music:

80's Alternative: High Influence
80's Pop: High Influence
Adult Alternative: Medium Influence
Classic Rock: Medium Influence
80's R&B: Low Influence

How's Your Taste in Music?

rmbq @ 2006-10-19T12:54:00

2006-10-19T12:57:52Z

I got this Plus account here at LJ. I do hope I have the time and the energy to change some stuff here, like change the layout or something.

Sigh...

rmbq @ 2006-10-13T00:53:00

2006-10-13T00:55:41Z

My college bud and his wife just had a baby! Congratulations mama pazette and papa weng!

Gay Rights

2006-10-05T12:33:02Z

Gay Rights

"Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?" - Ernest Gaines

We would like to know who really believes in gay rights on LiveJournal. There is no bribe of a miracle or anything like that. If you truly believe in gay rights, then repost this and title the post as "Gay Rights". If you don't believe in gay rights, then just ignore this. Thanks.

rmbq @ 2006-10-01T20:42:00

2006-10-01T12:44:50Z

OH. MY. GOD. ELECTRICITY IS BACK ON AFTER 4 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, beloved electric fan, a/c pc, tv, refrigerator, internet, water, etc., welcome back!!

Dang, it's really hard attempting to live in the dark (pun intended) ages.

rmbq @ 2006-09-22T16:44:00

2006-09-22T23:53:52Z

Okay, I haven't posted anything for almost 2 months, I guess.

I have to go home tonight. As in GO HOME, go home. Back to the motherland. It's kinda abrupt and everyone was totally surprised. (My request for an extension of my stay here was denied, so I have to leave asap.)

I feel so frustrated and want to lash out at everthing, but that's how it goes.

Che sera, sera.

Thanks to my LJ friends for being so supportive, even though I rarely get to go online.

The upside of things? I'd get to go online more when I get home, as my big bro has DSL back home, and I can surf more. I'm not going to look for work as soon as I get home. Rest for bit, look at things with fresh eyes and a different perspective. Dang, my grammar's getting worse.

I won't be able to reply after I finish posting this as we have to leave for the airport in about an hour or so, and I still have to finish my last-minute packing. (My BTVS Season 5 box set is not going with my check-in luggage. It's going with me in my carry-on!) Amazon.com rules!

Goodbye, adios, adieu, paalam, zai zien, okay, that's the extent of my foreign language knowledge...

rmbq @ 2006-08-07T11:06:00

2006-08-06T18:05:26Z

Sigh... lazy Sunday afternoon, roomy's gone and lent me her laptop.

Hopefully I'll be getting my own laptop next week. I ordered one at Best Buy. It's a Toshiba, heck, I can't remember the model number. It was on sale until yesterday, and yesterday was when my cousin and I went there to purchase it. It used to be 849.99 and it was 699.99 on sale. It was within my price range so I was all set on getting it. I asked two guys there if they still had it in stock, they both said no. My cousin was about to join the cashier queue to pay for his DVDs when the manager greeted us. I greeted him back when I realized that we were both speaking in our native tongue. I then poured my woes onto him, and he checked the other branches if there was still an extra one. When he couldn't find any, he said that when the new shipment comes in, I could still get the laptop on sale, as I'd ordered it when it was still on sale. I quickly signed up, and to make the long story short, I'll be getting it next week! Wheee!!!

rmbq @ 2006-08-07T10:48:00

2006-08-06T17:55:49Z

rmbq @ 2006-07-16T11:03:00

2006-07-16T18:09:30Z

I am currently using my cousin's PC, so this would have to be quick.

I just have to write about a weird sighting a few days ago. My cousin and I were sitting by a bus stop at around 10:30 pm a few nights ago when I saw something coming out of the gutter. (I can't remember what you call that hole by the side of the street where water passes through. I know we call it imburnal back home, but for the life of my I can't remember the English word for it). It suddenly dove back in the hole and all I saw was a bushy tail with black rings around it. I pointed it out to my cousin, but he didn't see it. We waited for it to come out again, and lo and behold a mother raccoon and a baby raccoon. It was the first time I'd ever seen a raccoon, so I was ooh-ing and aah-ing at it, especially the smaller raccoon. They ran back into the hole and a few minutes later, 5 smaller raccoons came out with the mother raccoon behind them. They were staring at us, maybe wondering what we were going to do. A security guard then passed by. Instead of shooing them off, he also stopped and watched the family walking about. 2 elderly women crossing the street also stopped and watched.

I know it's such a minor thing, maybe raccoons are actually breeding like rabbits here, but I'd never seen one before, hence the fascination. They were such fun to watch, especially with the mask thing going on around their eyes. I wanted to stay longer and watch but my cousin wanted to head home then. oh well..

rmbq @ 2006-07-03T10:03:00

2006-07-03T10:04:35Z

I am so bad...

We don't have work on Tues on account of the holiday, but we do have work on Monday. However, I am so not going to work tomorrow. It's not every day my mom visits us here, so I'm going to make the most out of her stay here. So there!

rmbq @ 2006-07-03T09:48:00

2006-07-03T09:57:56Z

Squee!!

My mom arived this evening!!! Her flight was delayed by more than two hours because of engine trouble (the plane was already taxiing (is that even a word?) when they heard some weird sounds coming out of the plane. The plane had to stop and they had to stay put for more than two hours until the problem was fixed. My sister, her hubby, and I had to cool our heels at LAX for about three hours until she finally came out of that tunnel-thingie. So we did the time-honored thing and got hammered at two bars bars in the airport while we waited.

Who cares? My mom is here!! I last saw her in March when she flew home. this time she'll be here for around 9 days and then she flies back home.

She's currently asleep in my sister's bed right now. Dang, I really missed her.

On a lighter note, go see The Lake House. Keanu Reeves isn't the greatest actor around, but he's the only one who could push me to watch a drama (a romantic one at that). Reviews are bad, the plot has more holes than a crocheted top, but it's still worth the watch. Sniffles abounded, and that included ones coming from me...

rmbq @ 2006-06-12T11:06:00

2006-06-11T18:18:49Z

Dang, the past week's been heck.

My boss decided to add more tasks to my already bogged-down work schedule. There's not only a backlog now, there's even a front log. I need to photocopy over a hundred documents and we have no copy paper (I think that's what it's called, I just call it the really-cheap looking bond paper). Add to that I have to send them out to the DAs by Monday, what do they want me to do? recycle old paper? I reminded them that I needed the paper as well as the toners for the photocopier and printers. And they said yes. It's been two weeks, and my work is just piling up as I can't send out anything. sigh...

She then added that I also have to do the DOR thing-y, as one of us quit last week. I wonder why?

on a lighter note, I am planning to go to Houston next month. Hopefully, It'd push through...

On a much lighter note, back home, they're celebrating our Independence Day (June 12), the day our Katipuneros (what the revolutionaries called themselves) in 1898 (?) liberated themselves from 333 years of Spanish rule. Not knowing that Spain had sold our country to another conqueror, the good ol' USA as part of some treaty. Oh well, It was still a good thing, just imagine ending an over three hundred years of foreign rule. It must have been exhilirating then.

at loooong last

2006-05-15T01:39:39Z

I finally got to visit my sister. I love her, but right now I love her laptop and cable connection more!

First thing first. It's mother's day, and I haven't had the chance to greet my own mom! I haven't been able to call her as I still need to buy a phone card (my cell doesn't support overseas calls). Anyways, happy mom's day to everyone, especially those with daughters who forget to call them!

I got to go shopping! I know some people consider Old Navy as boring or something like that, but I really liked their t-shirts with that soft cottony material. It's so thin that it's comfortable.

I never expected the summer heat here to be so, well, hot. It's a dry heat so it doesn't leave you sweaty and stinky, unlike back home (don't you just love the tropic climate? Rainy and sunny seasons all through out, and the temperature? Days: really hot and humid. Nights: really hot and humid.), but it's still uncomfortable as it seems to burn your skin through and through. Still, I'm thankful the nights are cooler at least.

So, I got 3 tops and a pair of brown flipflops at Old Navy, 2 camisole tops at a plus size store, 4 hairbands (I'm not sure if that's how they're called here), a wallet for my sis, and a red top in a plus size store in the Victoria Garden mall. Now, I won't be eating dinner for the next 2 weeks to make up for my splurge.

Anyways, today's been a good day, all in all.

btw: I finally got to read Da Vinci's Code, as a friend of mine lent me her copy (I just don't want to get my own copy, sorry).

The following is a mini-rant of the book so beware.

Is it a good book? it's ok. Nothing earth-shattering, or even iconoclastic. Dan Brown just put into fiction a lot of theories and beliefs that have been around for a long time. And he seems to be especially fond of the deus ex machina plot device.

Does it change my belief (btw, I'm a Catholic)? No.

Should the Vatican be disturbed by the movie and/or book? Nope. Holy Blood, Holy Grail (the book mentioned in the Da Vinci Code) is even more detailed and disturbing. I can't understand why it generated so little publicity when the Code came out.

Sigh... Now I'm off to read that BTVS-Da Vinci Code crossover. At least now I know what the author is writing about. One of my guiltier pleasures: reading crossover fanfics, though not a lot are very good.

rmbq @ 2006-04-30T16:24:00

2006-04-30T23:34:04Z

It'd be at least another 2 weeks before I'd get another chance at going online...
sigh...

The band at the bar wasn't that good. The gap in between songs were too long. Sometimes we'd just end up standing there on the dance floor waiting for the next song. That's not a good sign.
For a Saturday night, it wasn't that full, kinda disappointing. velvetwhip, I didn't get to *wink* (it's kind of a sad droop of an eyelid instead). I had fun dancing with my co-workers instead, though I'm not that familiar with Latin music.

On a lighter note, I got to go shopping! I now have three new blouses, 2 pairs of earrings, a new bag, and a partridge in a pear tree. My feet are now killing me.

We'll be heading back to L.A. in a few minutes. Sigh... more work...

rmbq @ 2006-04-29T15:43:00

2006-04-29T22:53:59Z

I finally moved to L.A, just a few blocks from my work. It's a lot cheaper, travel-wise than when I lived in Rancho Cucamonga (an hour and a half by train), bu I have to spend more for my daily stuff. It's still a rush that I'm living alone, though my mom calls every other day to check on me.

Explored The Grove with my cousin. I just love the pavement there, as well as the tram. I couldn't go shopping though, as I've already exceeded my budget for the month. How I wish I didn't need to eat so I don't have to spend for food. Is it possible to go without food?

I met with my friends last week to celebrate my birthday. Oh god, I'm now 31! (and an even worse my god, is I'm still single!!) We went to Hollywood Highlands (?) to see the Chinese Theatre as well as the Walk of the Stars(?). All very tourist-y, as it was only the 2nd time I'd seen it. (the first was in 2002, a loong time ago). I was disappointed a bit. I was expecting something a little grander, in a way. It was still fun especially seeing some guys in Darth Vader and Storm Trooper costumes.

I'm still really homesick. Not as bad as last March, though.

My sister went back home for a quick visit, and I requested that she take a picture of our mom, brother, and my cat. She did that, but she accidentally deleted the kitty pictures last Tuesday when she took pictures for my birthday. Oh well...

I'll add a bit more when my sis is not looking over my shoulder as I'm typing. heee

rmbq @ 2006-04-29T14:57:00

2006-04-29T21:58:23Z

oh my!!

I think it's been a month at least since I last went online!