my DL got robbed

After having dinner with Kuks last night at Gerry's Grill Trinoma, I was seating at the front seat side of the FX waiting for 6 more passengers when I decided to check my phone. There's an SMS from my cousin, Carlo, informing me that my DL was robbed. My heart started to beat fast and I didn't know what to do. With the near empty battery of my phone, I tried to reply to his SMS. I thought it was a joke, but Carlo immediately replied and told me what happened. I was really shocked to hear the bad news :'(

It was almost 12MN when I reached their house. I didn't try to check on my DL... I was too scared to go there. I kept picturing an empty shop... with all my computer units gone. Pao was already asleep so I wasn't able to get all the details. All I had is the confirmation that the hold-up incident really happened. IT WAS TRUE! I went home in disbelief. I was very tired but I wasn't able to sleep. I didn't tell anyone yet, except Jackee. We talked on the phone as soon as I got home. She too was shocked, I forwarded Carlo's SMS while I was inside the FX so she waited for me to arrive. We were together early that afternoon in SMNE raiding the Dept Store checking out the prices of our recent "best buys". She went home ahead because I had to meet Rellie. We didn't know the day will end up like this.

Today, I was able to talk with Pao. He told me what happened. He was seated at the server doing the close-out. One of Pao's friend, Aaron is behind him. My other cousin, Jop is at Computer#10. An unidentified man entered the shop, proceeded to the server and pointed a knife at Pao's neck, demanding for money. Another man entered, and went to Jop's side. He took his celphone. Things happened so fast, the next thing he knew is that they were asked to stand up and go inside the CR. The robbers closed the CR door before fleeing. So they didn't know which way they went.

I went to our Barangay Office to file a blotter. I narrated all the details. I still can't believe it happened. I am scared to that it might happen again. But I'm also thankful that all they took is the sales for the day, nobody is harmed, and my computer units are safe.

... looking at the brighter side.

washed away

"Pants, Socks, Dirty Drawers

I'm Headed To The Laundromat
And Let's Not Forget The Food Stains, Dirt Spots, Headsets,
Chips, Pop, Pay Phones, Clean House
I'm Headed To The Laundromat"

~*~ NIVEA feat. R. Kelly ~*~

Our household help left early this month (for good) leaving a mountain pile of laundry in my room =( And the washing machine doesn't work either. I looked for a laundry shop in Nova Bayan and found none. Super malas. Or hindi ko lang alam kung saan maghahanap. So I have no choice but to do the laundry myself. Imagine 3 weeks worth of clothes... super dami. My only consolation is that there's only 1 pair of Denim pants, the rest are my pok-pok shorts and skirts na. Ooppps... there's one bath towel din pala. Pero no problem with my tops, maliliit lang kasi... pang-Grade 1 lang ang size, haha! I brought all my dirty clothes at Jackee's place. Syempre hindi ako masyadong ready, as in I don't have soaps and all. I can't bother Jackee coz she's in her tutorial class. I can't find her supplies of detergents. So I went to the nearest Sari-Sari Store to buy the things I need. "Pabili nga po ng Ariel", I told Manong Tindero. "Anong klase?", he replied. Ang nasabi ko lang eh, "Kahit ano po. Tsaka pabili din ng Downy". Again, he replied, "Anong klase?". Hmmn... gusto ko ng sabihin na "SIRIT!!!" Hahaha, this only shows na commercialism really made life complicated. I don't know which variant to use, all I know is that... gusto ko mag-Ariel at Downy. Period. Enough of this shameless plugs at wala naman bayad ;-P

So I spent the day washing my clothes while ignoring the neighbors na nakiki-UZI. I was so conscious. I swear, it's really annoying that they have to stare or pause just to check me out. Maybe they we're wondering who I was. Maybe they were thnking, "May bagong Labandera si Teacher". Bwahaha!!! Eh nde naman ako naka-Klang Klang kasi di ba short hair ako. Gets mo? Yung labandera look, naka-pusod yung hair tapos may Chok-Chok clip or whatever it's called ;-P Or those who know me are so puzzled to see me washing clothes. Bakit kaya? Hindi ba bagay!?! Hahaha!!! Or halatang hindi marunong. Bwahaha!!!

While waiting for the washing machine to give the warning sound na it's done spinning the clothes, I was thinking, "When was the last time I did my laundry?" Hmmmn... super tagal na I think. Yung ganito kadami ha. I think the last time I literally washed clothes was during my early GABC days when I was sent to train in Cebu. I stayed sa staffhouse with no washing machine. So I did my laundry that time, pero yung mga undies lang and socks, the rest I bring it to the Laundry Shop. T-A-M-A-D-! Pero yung super dami talaga was nung College days pa, when my Mom went to Pangasinan for months. Walang choice kundi maglaba di'ba!?! I remember Owen used to help me pa nga, hahaha! Kasi nakakaawa daw ako tignan pag mag-pipiga ng clothes, parang mababali na daw ung mga braso ko. Okay, enough of the Owen thoughts. Ehem ;-P

I haven't rinsed my clothes yet but I have to stop since La Greta showed up. Yey! I dropped the chore to entertain her Highness. It's Chismaks Time!!! Ohhhhhh soooooooo super saya =) Full of animated kwento and award winning punchlines. Jackee, Jette and I spent the afternoon laughing our hearts out with all the kwento while pigging out on chips and iced tea. Super great way to de-stress. I HEART JETTE!!! She's so funny and full of kwento talaga. Napawi ang pagod ko sa paglalaba =)

It was already dark when I started rinsing my labada. At ramdam ko na talaga ang pagod. The neighbors are already commenting, "Uy ginabi ka na, ah". Kaya pati si Jackee excited na rin when it's time na for the Downy banlaw, hehe. She helped me na nga to hang my clothes eh. Complaining na super bagal ko daw talaga kumilos. Sorry hindi ako expert eh ;-P Ifelt fulfilled when we finally hung the last piece of clothing. Sa wakas!!!

Chikahan pa rin kami ni Jackee while resting. Then my phone rang... si Tito Alex. He was asking where I was kasi he needs help daw with Chaska's Algebra assignment. Huh!?! As in Algebra, well goodluck sa'kin! Hahaha! I was planning pa naman to sleepover at Jackee's place kasi I was so tired and tamad na to go home. But then I had to rush home to check the email that Tito Alex sent me. At ayun nga... no joke... ALGEBRA nga *wink* Super goodluck talaga kasi it's almost 11PM na rin. Buti na lang... kahit na-nosebleed ako ng slight... nasagot ko naman =)

y^2 - 22y + 85 = 0

Ayan ang sample at kung ano-ano pang mga pinapa-problema na values ng X at Y. I even asked Kuks kung tama yung solution ko. Alam mo naman... yung mga iba d'yan... mas NERD =) Imagine us discussing over the phone, mahirap yun ha! Hay... Factoring a Trinomial after how many years... hmmn... buti may natira pang stock knowledge ;-P I used to tell my Teachers in Quesci, "Hindi ko naman magagamit yang mga X at Y na yan pag nag-PokPok ako eh". Bitch =) Nagtaka rin ako sa sarili ko, why I ended up in Engineering. Hmmn... siguro nga mas maiksi kasi ang pila ;-P

Scrap a Birthday - Challenge

I was blog hopping for some DigiScrap Freebies when I chanced upon "Scrap a Birthday - Challenge" at CatScrap.

The rules are:
1. There has to be a cake or a candle in the picture/on the page
2. You have to use at least one of the birthday doodles made by Ida.

I registered the layout I made for Rellie's birthday which I posted a few days ago. I'm sure Kuks will kill me if he finds out about this *wink*

Go visit the site and check out the the other awesome layouts in the CatScrap gallery. You can find my layout here and some comments which made my heart grow big and red =)

playing favorites

I can't sleep so I blog hopped and ended up reading previous entries from Chico Garcia's Blog. I swear, I've been reading a lot of "artistas and celebrities" blogs and they are very interesting (those that I was able to discover and read, I mean) I am just shy to include them all in my Blog Roll. Pero siguro the right time will come. He is also into photography, so I'm enjoying all his photos as well. Niwey, this entry catched my attention and I want to share it with you guys. I hope okay lang kay Chico ;p Are you a listener of RX's Top Ten? I used to listen to their program everyday, pero ngayon wala na akong time... at radyo, hahaha! :)

This is a touchy subject for many people. Given that Filipino families are generally big, it’s a fact that for every parent’s favorite, there are 3 or 4 or more kids who are not. And it’s also a fact that all kids crave for their parents’ approval, which more often than not, ends up in frustration. Nothing against the favorites, it’s just that we outnumber them. Hmph!

April 11, 2008 → The Top Ten Signs That You Are NOT Your Parents’ Favorite

1. Shiver - When my father got back from working abroad, he bought my sister a very expensive guitar. I asked for a Pictionary, but they refused because it’s “expensive”. I settled for a Visionary which costs less than 500 pesos. My mom was glowering at me like anything a few days later that I offered to pay for the toy just to settle it. Guess what? She accepted.
2. Archangel Miguel - My mom would lend my stuff to my kuya without my consent. But if I were to do the same to my kuya’s stuff, I’d get reprimanded.
3. No name - During my high school graduation, my dad chose to bring my sister’s clothes for her UP med sorority initiation instead of attending my graduation. I decided not to attend my graduation.
4. Jose de Vengenge - I grew up w/o a dad. On my HS graduation, it was my brother who went w/ me because my mom had “work”. After the ceremony, kuya decided to treat me to a mall, pampaalis ng lungkot baga. And there we saw mom w/ her officemates, laughing & having a drinking session on a hot afternoon. Lalapitan sana ni kuya pero sabi ko wag na. When kuya confronted her at home, she said it was a lunch meeting.
5. No name - When my brother graduated, they bought him a new car. When I graduated, I got a pat on the back, as they told me, “Good job, now you can earn and buy whatever you want…”
6. No name - The people in our village know that my parents only have 3 kids - we’re actually 4.
7. stalecookie - If the electric bill, water bill or any utility bill goes up, it’s automatically your fault, no questions asked.
8. BM - Pag umuwi ang parents ko from an event, kakainin ko yung take home nilang food. Tapos, sasawayin nila ko and say, “Wag mong ubusin yan! Di pa kumakain ung iba!” Eh tatlo lang naman kami sa house. Wala naman akong kapatid.
9. Acer/Pugong Tagalog - When you’re the panganay but you’re the one who gets the hand-me-downs.
10. Jack - When my brother passed the chemical engineering licensure exams, my mom said, “Ang galing!” When I passed the interior design licensure exams, she said, “Naku, naka-tsamba ka!”
11. Pia - My father once said to me, “Ikaw ang pinakamahina ang kokote sa inyong magkakapatid. Hindi ko alam kung paano kita ipagmamalaki.” I never talked to him since…
12. Tonks - When my brother almost got separated, my parents tried to patch things up between them. When me & my hubby had a terrible fight, they told us to just get separated, as simple as that.
13. Almond811 - At breakfast, there was one fried egg left and I forked it over to my plate. Mid-air, my mom says, “Uy, that’s for your brother.” But we both haven’t had breakfast.
14. Ciela - We are 3 sisters & a youngest, ONLY brother. One day, my mom served fried eggs for the 3 girls, and fried chicken for the only boy. She said wag na kami magtampo kasi pareho lang naman daw yun. Yung lang sa amin, niluto na, di pa nagha-hatch.
15. tummy illfigure - If after 20 years, you realize that the birthday party you celebratd when you were young, was actually the bday of your older brother. This is after I reviewed the photos showing the same guests wearing the same clothes.
16. SupladaMD - When I was still in Med school, I asked if I could borrow the family car because I couldn’t carry all the books I had to bring to an overnight study group. They told me, “Naku di mo pwede gamitin yung kotse, kasi susunduin ng kapatid mo ang girlfriend nya.”
17. Tony - Family tradition: When someone graduates, our parents would ask, “car or cash?” I’m the only AMA grad in a family of UP grads. When I graduated, I was the only one who wasn’t offered any.
18. Ms. Fickle - When you cooked a special meal for the whole family, tapos sasabihin ng parents mo, “Wow! Sarap naman niyan! Anong meron?” — forgetting it was your birthday.
    
19. Tani - When you saw a years-old letter from your mom w/ part of that letter stating “MAS MAHAL KA NAMEN NG PAPA MO KESA SA ATE MO…”
20. Mr. Perk - They call your other siblings w/ sweet nicknames and terms of endearment, while all you get is “Ssst, halika nga dito!”
21. Chacho - Every Christmas when I was a kid, I would always get cash as a Christmas present, whereas my brother would get the most hi-tech toy and my sister would get the biggest Barbie house and accessories. They always gave me cash because they never bothered to know what I liked, kaya ako na lang daw ang bumili ng gusto ko.
22. Powerful Alice - Hindi ka paborito ng parents mo kapag nanghingi ka ng 500 pesos tapos ang sagot nila sa iyo ay: “Ha? 400? Ang laki naman ng 300! Saan mo naman gagastusin ang 200? Akala mo ba madaling kitain ang 100? Singkwenta nga lang, hirap na ko! Sampu pa kaya? O, etong lima!”

I find the entries touching and funny at the same time. Pero meron akong alam na story na swak sa Top Ten na 'to. I don't know kung ano ang mas winner... so choose :)

Hindi ka paborito ng parents mo kapag narinig mo na sinabi na, "Eh bakit kasi dito pa kumukuha ng kanin"

or

Hindi ka paborito ng parents mo kapag nakita nila na binubuhat mo ang mga naka-box mong personal na gamit palabas ng bahay at hindi ka man lang tinanong kung saan ka pupunta.

Hahaha!!! Ayos ba!?! =)

kuks na kuks na birthday

I was so busy with my DL it ate up most of my time yesterday. So I wasn't really able to prepare anything special for Rellie's bday. Booooo to me... I know... I know. Im such a bad GF :'( I was planning this cheesy surprise, but it's all in the mind, nde nag-materialize, hehehe =) Next year, perhaps...

Anyway, he's busy in the office too so I texted him lang. I have no concrete plans talaga and I was beginning to feel low because of that. Boooo to me, one more time 'coz I deserve it! I know he plans to spend his after office hours with me, so I sent him an SMS, "Uwi ka na lang ng maaga, let's have dinner together". He replied, "San sa Fidel? Cge cge". He sounded excited =) Or so I thought *wink*

So I hurriedly went to Nova Mall. I thought of buying matching plates, serving platter and all, candle holder, etc. Para extra special naman ang dinner namin kahit sa bahay lang. But I got disappointed lang, kasi walang mga ganun pala dun. Mga cheapetics na plasticwares lang na naka-sale. Papatulan ko na sana... kaso nde talaga match ung mga designs or colors so hopeless :( I thought of going to SM Fairview, I'm sure sa Dept Store mas may variety ang choices... but it's getting late. NO TIME. Ayan kasi... nde nagplano. Hmp talaga!!!

So I went home, with a cake in hand. At muntik pang wala rin akong cake. I went there na kasi before I went looking for plates, sabi ko i-reserve kasi I dont want to go around naman na may bitbit. There were only two cakes left, so I thought, gabi na rin naman... wala na sigurong bibili kaya I didn't pay yet. When I got back, there was only one cake left, I mean the rest are mga rolls na lang. PANIC mode!!! Super binayaran ko agad! Whew!!! ;P

I fixed the table as soon as I arrived home. No, walang mga fancy table arrangements with matching table napkins pa or candles ek-ek effect. Poor table setting talaga, hehe =) Ang jologs ko... I know!!!

I texted Kuks... aba.. eto ang reply, "D2 sa pila ng FX. May nabili akong Kickers, ang mahal nito! Tignan mo mamaya, hahaha". Nag-shopping pa pala ang Birthday Boy. It will take him one more to hour to reach Nova. In short, our dinner was already cold when he arrived.

So we ate... konting kwento. He looks tired and sleepy. He was telling me about the celebration he had sa office from his officemates. Kumain din daw sila. At ang dami din daw cake for him, I think there were three. Pinamigay na nya nga kila Joy and Muy yung iba kasi hindi nila naubos. That's my cue. He had too much cake na for the day. So when I took out my little surprise...

CREDITS:
QUICKPAGE by Gunhild Storeide
BIRTHDAY DOODLES by Ida

... parang gusto n'yang sabihin na, "Cake na naman!!! Hehehe! =)

He didn't say that, ofcourse. Or else, the cake will end up right smack at his face =) But he told me this, "Hmmn... wala na bang mas sosyal pa d'yan!?!", referring to my Goldilocks cake. Kuks... yan na yata ang pinaka-sosyal dito sa Novaliches eh *wink*

Ayan... that's how we spent his birthday. No fancy stuffs... JUST US... in eachother's arm. Yikkee!!! =) Kaya lang he was too sungit to pose for pictures. Hay naku!

Wait... did I mention na I bought our dinner too? ;-p Where else!?! ... sa sosyal na sosyal na Janet's. Hehe, akala nyo nagluto ako!?! =)

Happy Birthday Rellie!!!