mantra: ganda-ever-so-much I AM!

i have always been a wannabe-writer. but since (then president) fidel ramos wanted me (and other iskolars ng bayan) to study economics, i did. i figured i could still be a writer (in my own time/ in my own way) and an economics professor if i so think and want it that way. 'organized' as i am (no violent reactions please), i alloted to spend some of my free time online -- sharing my thoughts (even tutoring for free) to my students and friends. i even junked my old diary and shifted to this page... and sometimes i do what teeners call "surfing". oh my, that surely beats library time!!!

one fine day, i spotted a page with a picture of someone who looked familiar. was he the manager of my bank (well, not actually MY bank, but i have an account there!)? oh yes, he is the 'orman manasala'! he was all candid in his shots and ever darlingly-frank in his words. he was all he is even when i see him in my miga anji's office.

so i 'favourited' the page and since then have been craving (pardon my word) for not just his personal thoughts but of the happenings of my ever-beloved-adopted-hometown gensan (he's the usual fairy behind the fests).

fast forward: i got to know him better and somehow up-close (as with http://www.gandaeversomuch.com/)  when his ever-active kuya avel made me an official member of the soccsksargen bloggers, even as i am miles away from gensan (hopefully temporarily). the two sure is the duo that completes the circle of gensan living (huh, that line has a spark of genius!). thanks heavens for them!

super fast forward: i intended (for days now) to make a tribute entry for the blogpage that has been amusing and informing me for so long (it's the blogoversary!!!) but so oh oh, here goes the dreaded 'block' again (excuses, excuses)... so what i did was visit the page once more...and...woot! contests to the max! prizes-ever-fabulous-to-be-given-away. what a way to celebrate! ganda-ever-orman-style! beat that!

will i join? do i know how to? oh well, tech-idiots sure do know how to find ways. now, if only this tech idiot can find a way to at least make the page orman/lyle-readable before this week's contest ends . oh well, whatever happens, as inspired by ganda-ever so much --- ganda-ever-so-much-i am! (how's that for my new mantra?)

CONGRATULATIONS GANDAEVERSOMUCH!!!

pixs you see in this entry is my weird-almost-futile-attempt to promote myself to a tech-slowlearner from a tech-idot. (doh) failed!

100 philippine pesos (US$2.2+) for today

* breakfast on impulse : baconsilog -40 php

      (bacon, fried rice and sunny side up - egg)

* lunch : oatmeal, soda crackers - 15 php

* dinner : instant pancit canton & siomai -20 php

* prepaid load - 20 php (80 short messages

       to the same network, 20 minutes airtime,

       20 sms to other networks)

* savings : 5 php (for a movie soon, i'd need 160)

       but i may be tempted to buy chocnut :)

whew! that's 100 pesos well-spent!

this is why i changed status from'married' to 'engaged'

i have been staring at this page for an hour now.
still nothing good came out...
i'm not sure if i'm having a block or
i always am just lost for words whenever i intend
to write something about the hubby.

it started from thinking about father's day
and the fact that he deserved a tribute- but i'm lost for words.
for now i couldn't say, or write anything, aside from
he is the most normal person i have ever met.
nyay! that wouldn't be a good tribute.

i'm saving this page
so i can edit when i'm more ready
or more willing to share to the world
or if i'd have the power
to convert more than a million words to
one short blog entry. yes, he is that much!
and much much more...

but here's a peek:
once last month i asked him if he wanted to
renew our marriage contract
should it expire on the 10th year
(that would be 2011)-
he said he will if i wanted to.
that was irritatingly sweet.
as if he is back to courting
me like years ago...
so now, i'm engaged to him, again.

pyesta at piYESta KTV - my stop in Sox Summer Safari

after the hustle and bustle of the election fever (that chapter of my life when i decided to serve the country for a week sundown til midnight to recount votes as a guilt-gift because i was not able to vote),  i decided to take a short break from school. but it wasn't a break at all...even before i went to the airport, i had a list of invits, nyay! oh well, life is short so i did my best to squeeze in time for those invits, in-between house-chores, bonding with my boys, preps for my paper when i get back to school and some lazy time watching (envying) wowa swim in a pro-pool (i feel like wonderwoman!).

one of those invits is the GRAND EYEBALL of mindanao bloggers at piYESta KTV (end of may 2010). the eyeball was just one stop of the Sox Summer Safari organized by gensan's pride-the manansala duo. 1. that was the first time that i attended an 'eye-ball' and met bloggers / plurkers of davao and cagayan de oro. 2. that was the first time that i visited pyesta ktv (gensan certainly changes so fast) 3. that was the first time i ate lechon (courtesy of then mayor now congressman engr. jun acharon)  without 'pyoooking' (jejeje).

that night was fun-filled - chatters, laughters plus slurps and munch munch of more than 30 people (age ranging 14 to 54?) in a cozy room (thanks donna dear, the syringe shots made me look like a yahoo messenger smiley!). that one night is one i surely won't forget. thanks to kuya avel (http://www.gensantos.com/) for always including me as part of the sox bloggers family and orman (http://www.gandaeversomuch.com/) too.

for pixs and summary of the entire tour (say, for moments of wanting to feel envious coz i didn't have the chance to join), i just visit the pages of sox bloggers, and here's one of them---
www.etcetera3x.blogspot.com/2010/mfat-mindanao-food-food-appreciation-tour.html

now i'm back to my usual to-the-neck writing schedule for school... i keep the memories of my short break in my mind for moments i need them- for whatever reason/purpose it may serve. whew!

22 bullets - a father's day movie

it took me only 22seconds (trust me, i was holding a timer then coz i'm decorating my laptop with sticker-tatoos) to say yes after being invited by dear friend- irene sy to at least see one movie in the french film festival at shangrila plaza. little did i know that those 22 seconds would be equivalent to 22 bullets.

yes, the film's english title was '22 bullets' but literally it should have been 'the immortal'. that got me more excited to see the movie. will it be about love and immortality or would it be about guns and gang wars??? hmmmm...

the plot : a retired mobster (charly mattei, played by jean reno) goes on a revenge-spree after being left for dead (almost) with 22 bullets in his body by his former childhood friends. luckily, one of the killers intentionally (as theorized by the police) didn't hit the right spot, leaving him only semi-paralyzed in the left and strong enough to think and act like his old bad-boy self. the director- richard berry knew how to keep the audience to the edge of their seats as if watching a suspense thriller but at the same time, wishing a kleenex was near to wipe a tear or two when feelings for innocent loved-ones and betrayed friendships are shown.

the camera rolls were excellent (no need for 3D). for one, you can see the age lines in the grandma's face as she kissed charly's litlle boy in the beginning of the film. the script (i trusted the subtitles) was almost poetic yet very human in most ways. the movie tackled sensitive issues in several sectors of the society yet it always lead me back to remembering friendships and promises made in its name.

but what i liked most is the part where charly did his best to go through layers of what seemed-like-a-barbed-wire to go save his son from being killed, it was the longest 'few minutes' of my day. as it goes, no matter how bad you were, or how changed you intend to be, when your son's life is on the line, you can't help but be a father, even if it means being 'bad' for that moment.

halfway in the film, i came to understand the title choice...as it is, charly survived the '22 bullets', so he was named 'the immortal' (L'immortel) by the press. the crime drama scored 2 and a half over 3 frozen yogurt servings-- meaning? i liked it!

woes as the school opens

june came quite fast. yesterday t'was just march. hmmm. in the last two months i rushed rushed rushed so i'd have at least a mile early from my target (paper for school), but whew! thing's aren't that easy. the only consolation i have is that i'm still alive and still am strong to move forward and try to finish what i have started. reminds me of my wail a year ago (money money!!! money- it can buy happiness sometimes).

i tried having a 2-week off so i can sort things out in the house, to basically prepare my boyman wowa for his 'grade 3 schooling' and all. i have to be sure that he had his flu vaccine, that he is continuously having his swimming lessons, that his papa and him are doing okay at home with their usual 'without-me routines'.

everything seems fine, i am having an 'almost-okay-vacay' when the nanny suddenly announced her intention to continue her college education. that only means she has to leave us. oh, that's okay with me, coz i have been encouraging her to pursue that, reminding her that time is of the essence so she has to save enough but woh! i never thought she'd decide to pursue it in her father's place (education is way cheaper there, haaay).

so with about a week before i go back to finishing my paper miles away from home (about 2-hour plane ride), i am now trying to put things together to prepare my boyman and his papa and everything that i can, this time with some extra changes---'coz they won't have someone (yet) to assist them. i am shaken. i am worried. but. . . i am hopeful. everything will be alright.