i now know what it feels like to be extremely happy, excited, incredulous and outraged all at the same time. it is very queer.
marlon is flying home on friday.
i can't believe he bought the goddamn ticket.
so now i am officially the extremely spoiled girlfriend of a very broke boyfriend.
Wednesday, September 29
Monday, September 27
No. 1: I am a compulsive list-maker
oi jeline! another one for you to lift!
THIRTEEN RANDOM THINGS YOU LIKE:
Shoes (especially those that don’t give me blisters)
My phone (Sony Ericsson Z200)
Hip hop songs that remind me of high school
My tour pics
Reading about Europe
Black Pilot V5 signpens
Desktop wallpaper
Cats
My eyebrows
Good hair days
Sunday afternoons
When my boyfriend gets mushy
Looking through old family pictures
TWELVE GREAT MOVIES
La Reine Margot
The Princess Bride
Kill Bill 2
Terminator 2
Lord of the Rings (I’ll count the trilogy as one movie)
Meet Joe Black
Amelie
Chicago
Labyrinth
The Last Unicorn
Moulin Rouge
William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet
ELEVEN GOOD BANDS/ARTISTS
Ateneo Chamber Singers! Yay!
Rajaton
Evanescence
Alicia Keys
M2M (the only bubblegum pop that I’m willing to concede is good)
Annie Lennox
En Vogue
Wolfgang
Cecilia Bartoli
Natalie Dessay
The Corrs
TEN THINGS ABOUT YOU
I am a compulsive list-maker
I cut food into geometric shapes before eating it
I am allergic to cats (boo hoo)
I graduated with honors
I have flung ;)
I am a major grump and don’t like being talked to in the mornings
I was once dying to attend Makiling High School for the Arts
I passed two courses in UP—first AV Comm, then I got past the waiting list for Architecture
I go insane without quiet time for myself every day
I once wanted to be a yaya, a baker and a fashion designer (go figure)
NINE FRIENDS NUNG KABATAAN
Nashy
Chiara
Wimpy (boy next door)
Alex and Stephanie from Dasma
Coco from Dasma
The Palm Village kids—Honey, Kimie, KC, Selu, Janice, JJ and many others
The Pinkies! Our prissy Rep clique circa 1990—Nashy, Chiara, Rissa, Annie, Janine, Faye, Jenny, the two Annas, Andrea and others
Helena the German (?) girl from OB Montessori
Angelo and Carlo—my and Nashy’s "boyfriends" in preschool hehe
EIGHT FAVORITE FOODS/DRINKS
Godiva truffles
Black pepper crab from Jumbo in Singapore
Tom yum gai
Yellow Cab pizza (or pizza from Bintan)
Mani
Bailey’s
Rebisco Choco Crunchies
Pasta (anything with capers)
SEVEN THINGS YOU WEAR DAILY (aside from my clothes)
Lipgloss
Undies
Shoes with at least 1.5-inch heels
Wacoal t-shirt bra
Moisturizer
Body spray
Deo
SIX THINGS THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY
Singing
Being with Marlon
Chocolate
Really good music
Slothy weekends
Doing well
FIVE SHOWS YOU WATCH
CSI
Alias
Extra Challenge if I’m home early enough
Will & Grace
Sex and the City
FOUR THINGS THAT IRRITATE YOU
Lousy/slow/rude service
What-what-whats
Fat days
The call center people in our building, who crowd the elevator at rush hour only to go up one frickin' floor. GRRRRRR
THREE CELEBRITIES YOU ADMIRE
Catherine Zeta Jones
Salma Hayek
Alicia Keys
TWO PEOPLE ON FRIENDSTER WHOM YOU INVITED FIRST:
Yeesh. I don’t think I invited anybody at all.
ONE GREATEST FEAR IN LIFE
See previous posts for this one.
Saturday, September 25
Saturday sloth
this is what i did today.
1. woke up at 10am.
2. thought it was way too early for a saturday with no overtime to do, so went back to bed.
3. woke up at 12 and decided it was way too hot to get out of bed, so stayed in bed reading.
4. went to sleep again until 130pm.
5. woke up and went downstairs to get breakfast. brought up prito, rice and a lagoon of ketchup and ate in bed.
6. talked to marlon until 3pm or so (still in bed). the most argh-inducing thing he said was, towards the end of our conversation, "what if i fly there tonight?" which was of course, greeted by pensive silence as we both really, truly, SERIOUSLY considered the idea. after all, the chocolate nights weekend buffet at the manila peninsula only runs until tonight.
7. went online with my sister's uberslow laptop and pathetic infocom prepaid connection (the office connection has gotten me sooooo spoiled).
sarap, grabe. i realized i haven't fallen into this slothy pattern since singapore... waking up with an oversleep headache and eating lunch in bed. marlon, meanwhile, has adapted said pattern ever since i flew home. i have officially turned my workaholic boyfriend into a weekend sloth. at least it should be good for his heart, you know, rest and all. if only he wouldn't eat so much corned beef while he's being slothy.
tut tut. one thing at a time.
in a while i guess i'll play bejeweled, which took me ages to download. maybe do a bit more reading--i uncovered yet another dan brown book (digital fortress) in my sister's room. she of the hype buy (i can remember when she was desperately salivating for a palm pilot) now has all four of dan brown books. then maybe i'll go see what DVDs are downstairs. oooh-- big fish and eternal sunshine of the spotless mind. funfunfun. i hope inertia doesn't take over once again.
this is what i will do tomorrow.
1. whip up rough draft of speech for alvin carranza (my latest raket, care of gene. fyi, mister carranza owns carranz outdoor, THE biggest billboard/outdoor advertising firm in the country. he owns that mother of all billboards in guadalupe, as well as most of the prime sites around metro manila).
2. email draft to myself and gene.
3. treat self to long overdue foot spa and manicure. mmmm.
4. movie? 13 going on 30?
5. probably talk to marlon, although the poor dear should work a bit too.
6. mourn the end of a deliciously lazy weekend. and pick out an outfit to wear to work monday morning.
1. woke up at 10am.
2. thought it was way too early for a saturday with no overtime to do, so went back to bed.
3. woke up at 12 and decided it was way too hot to get out of bed, so stayed in bed reading.
4. went to sleep again until 130pm.
5. woke up and went downstairs to get breakfast. brought up prito, rice and a lagoon of ketchup and ate in bed.
6. talked to marlon until 3pm or so (still in bed). the most argh-inducing thing he said was, towards the end of our conversation, "what if i fly there tonight?" which was of course, greeted by pensive silence as we both really, truly, SERIOUSLY considered the idea. after all, the chocolate nights weekend buffet at the manila peninsula only runs until tonight.
7. went online with my sister's uberslow laptop and pathetic infocom prepaid connection (the office connection has gotten me sooooo spoiled).
sarap, grabe. i realized i haven't fallen into this slothy pattern since singapore... waking up with an oversleep headache and eating lunch in bed. marlon, meanwhile, has adapted said pattern ever since i flew home. i have officially turned my workaholic boyfriend into a weekend sloth. at least it should be good for his heart, you know, rest and all. if only he wouldn't eat so much corned beef while he's being slothy.
tut tut. one thing at a time.
in a while i guess i'll play bejeweled, which took me ages to download. maybe do a bit more reading--i uncovered yet another dan brown book (digital fortress) in my sister's room. she of the hype buy (i can remember when she was desperately salivating for a palm pilot) now has all four of dan brown books. then maybe i'll go see what DVDs are downstairs. oooh-- big fish and eternal sunshine of the spotless mind. funfunfun. i hope inertia doesn't take over once again.
this is what i will do tomorrow.
1. whip up rough draft of speech for alvin carranza (my latest raket, care of gene. fyi, mister carranza owns carranz outdoor, THE biggest billboard/outdoor advertising firm in the country. he owns that mother of all billboards in guadalupe, as well as most of the prime sites around metro manila).
2. email draft to myself and gene.
3. treat self to long overdue foot spa and manicure. mmmm.
4. movie? 13 going on 30?
5. probably talk to marlon, although the poor dear should work a bit too.
6. mourn the end of a deliciously lazy weekend. and pick out an outfit to wear to work monday morning.
Wednesday, September 22
This has got to be the positively tackiest crossover album on earth.
i'm not kidding. this gives masters of chant, or whatever those gregorian chant sellouts are called, a run for their money. oh, and since i'm in a snitty mood, i flagged grammatical errors in red.
Accidental opera singer
SOUNDS FAMILIAR By Baby A. Gil
The Philippine Star 09/22/2004
How do you turn contemporary pop hits into classical arias? The first thing to do is translate the lyrics into Italian so that the songs will sound like they are excerpts from an old opera. Then get a bona fide classical singer to perform the songs. Again, the style should be akin to an aria from a real opera. To complete the package, accompaniment must be provided by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra which is more associated with classical music than pop songs.
What you will get as a result is an interesting mix that will baffle opera lovers who do not listen to hit songs on radio. "From where on earth did these songs come from?" they will ask. "We have never heard them before?" they will also say. Of course, the end product will also amaze pop listeners who will doubtless recognize the melodies but will also ask, "Why do they sound like arias from the operas?"
Pop songs translated into Italian and dubbed with the new name Modern Arias make up the bulk of the debut album of West Indian tenor Tony Henry. These are Eroe, La Forza Dentro Me, Per Chi, La Nostra Favola, Lei, Ognuno Sofre, Da Solo No, La Parola Piu Difficule, Adesso, Fai Quel Che Vuoi, Cerca L’eroe Dentro Te, Ieri A Lei, La Prima Volta and for the last cut, a title many will instantly recognize, O Sole Mio.
Are you confused by those other titles? No need to be because those are only some of your favorites dressed up with a new Italian wardrobe. Hero, Something Inside So Strong, Without You, Delilah, She, Everybody Hurts, All By Myself, Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word, I Want to Know What Love Is, Whatever You Want, Search for the Hero, Yesterday and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.
Henry’s powerful singing is cut out for opera. Aside from roles in Miss Saigon and Starlight Express when he was starting out, he has also sung the part of Captain Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Truth to tell, he makes other young tenors around sound like 90-pound weaklings. To top it all {off}, he impresses all the more when you find out that he was a boy from the wrong side of the tracks who made it big through hard work, sheer talent and a remarkable series of coincidences that found him with the right people at the right time.
Henry was born to a poor family in St. Albans. He grew up watching his mother struggle with several jobs to support her five children. Tony plunged into work right after school and he was {a} laborer, barman, security guard and later a stuntman. It was at this point when he realized what he really wanted to do with his life and it was get into show business. A chance audition landed him a place at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts. Again it was only at this point that he found out he is a born singer {eh?}. Then came another realization. He got the part of Joe in Carmen Jones and this put him in contact with opera singers {this is not a realization}.
Why, he was ideally suited {redundant} for opera! To fund his voice lessons, Tony took to literally singing for his supper with other opera kids at Sarastro, a famous Italian restaurant near the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. And once again something else fell into place. Record producers Bradley and Stewart James heard Tony singing and were instantly overwhelmed by his incredible voice. They were even more astounded when they saw where it was coming from, a young black dude in a baseball cap, sunglasses and lots of medallions like some New York rapper. He was taken straight to the recording studio and some months later came Modern Arias.
There are plenty of albums of pop songs by classically trained singers in the market these days, many of them by stars more popular than Tony. His Modern Arias however is the only one where pop songs got {are} translated into Italian. That accounts for some difference. The main reason to get a copy is his fantastic voice. If that fails to get you, then I am sure the second will {???}. Believe it or not, it is actually fun to listen to the new lyrics and utterly serious orchestration by the Royal Philharmonic. Nilsson and Tom Jones at the opera! Wow!
Accidental opera singer
SOUNDS FAMILIAR By Baby A. Gil
The Philippine Star 09/22/2004
How do you turn contemporary pop hits into classical arias? The first thing to do is translate the lyrics into Italian so that the songs will sound like they are excerpts from an old opera. Then get a bona fide classical singer to perform the songs. Again, the style should be akin to an aria from a real opera. To complete the package, accompaniment must be provided by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra which is more associated with classical music than pop songs.
What you will get as a result is an interesting mix that will baffle opera lovers who do not listen to hit songs on radio. "From where on earth did these songs come from?" they will ask. "We have never heard them before?" they will also say. Of course, the end product will also amaze pop listeners who will doubtless recognize the melodies but will also ask, "Why do they sound like arias from the operas?"
Pop songs translated into Italian and dubbed with the new name Modern Arias make up the bulk of the debut album of West Indian tenor Tony Henry. These are Eroe, La Forza Dentro Me, Per Chi, La Nostra Favola, Lei, Ognuno Sofre, Da Solo No, La Parola Piu Difficule, Adesso, Fai Quel Che Vuoi, Cerca L’eroe Dentro Te, Ieri A Lei, La Prima Volta and for the last cut, a title many will instantly recognize, O Sole Mio.
Are you confused by those other titles? No need to be because those are only some of your favorites dressed up with a new Italian wardrobe. Hero, Something Inside So Strong, Without You, Delilah, She, Everybody Hurts, All By Myself, Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word, I Want to Know What Love Is, Whatever You Want, Search for the Hero, Yesterday and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.
Henry’s powerful singing is cut out for opera. Aside from roles in Miss Saigon and Starlight Express when he was starting out, he has also sung the part of Captain Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Truth to tell, he makes other young tenors around sound like 90-pound weaklings. To top it all {off}, he impresses all the more when you find out that he was a boy from the wrong side of the tracks who made it big through hard work, sheer talent and a remarkable series of coincidences that found him with the right people at the right time.
Henry was born to a poor family in St. Albans. He grew up watching his mother struggle with several jobs to support her five children. Tony plunged into work right after school and he was {a} laborer, barman, security guard and later a stuntman. It was at this point when he realized what he really wanted to do with his life and it was get into show business. A chance audition landed him a place at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts. Again it was only at this point that he found out he is a born singer {eh?}. Then came another realization. He got the part of Joe in Carmen Jones and this put him in contact with opera singers {this is not a realization}.
Why, he was ideally suited {redundant} for opera! To fund his voice lessons, Tony took to literally singing for his supper with other opera kids at Sarastro, a famous Italian restaurant near the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. And once again something else fell into place. Record producers Bradley and Stewart James heard Tony singing and were instantly overwhelmed by his incredible voice. They were even more astounded when they saw where it was coming from, a young black dude in a baseball cap, sunglasses and lots of medallions like some New York rapper. He was taken straight to the recording studio and some months later came Modern Arias.
There are plenty of albums of pop songs by classically trained singers in the market these days, many of them by stars more popular than Tony. His Modern Arias however is the only one where pop songs got {are} translated into Italian. That accounts for some difference. The main reason to get a copy is his fantastic voice. If that fails to get you, then I am sure the second will {???}. Believe it or not, it is actually fun to listen to the new lyrics and utterly serious orchestration by the Royal Philharmonic. Nilsson and Tom Jones at the opera! Wow!
Foot in mouth disease
From: Len Sangalang-Tayco
To: Darius Musni ; dpaul@globalsources.com ; Rose Raguindin ; cmontales@globalsources.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Subject: CP paste-up
Dear Darius, Deepa and Rose, Thanks for the great effort in putting out the CP 0411 issue. However, let's hope for a more streamlined and less stressful production period as the team adopts the TS workflow. For the Outlook issue, let's try to spread the lasers instead of cramming on the last day, so we don't have to stay extra late just to put the magazine issue to bed.
Best, Len
From: Deepa Paul
To: Len Sangalang-Tayco
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2004
Subject: Re: CP paste-up
haay... ever late... buti nalang medyo may pampalubag-loob tayo from surajit about the PC cases MIR...
From: Deepa Paul
To: Len Sangalang-Tayco
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2004
Subject: Re: CP paste-up
I'm sorry len, you received an email that was intended for Rose.
Thanks for your patience with us, and I do look forward to the improvement of our output by adopting your team's workflow.
Again, apologies for the missent message.
From: Deepa Paul
To: Rose Raguindin
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Subject: Fw: CP paste-up
eto yung missent..
"haay... ever late... buti nalang medyo may pampalubag-loob tayo from surajit about the PC cases MIR..."
its not sooo bad right? parang down morale lang or something...
please say yes....
To: Darius Musni ; dpaul@globalsources.com ; Rose Raguindin ; cmontales@globalsources.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Subject: CP paste-up
Dear Darius, Deepa and Rose, Thanks for the great effort in putting out the CP 0411 issue. However, let's hope for a more streamlined and less stressful production period as the team adopts the TS workflow. For the Outlook issue, let's try to spread the lasers instead of cramming on the last day, so we don't have to stay extra late just to put the magazine issue to bed.
Best, Len
From: Deepa Paul
To: Len Sangalang-Tayco
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2004
Subject: Re: CP paste-up
haay... ever late... buti nalang medyo may pampalubag-loob tayo from surajit about the PC cases MIR...
From: Deepa Paul
To: Len Sangalang-Tayco
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2004
Subject: Re: CP paste-up
I'm sorry len, you received an email that was intended for Rose.
Thanks for your patience with us, and I do look forward to the improvement of our output by adopting your team's workflow.
Again, apologies for the missent message.
From: Deepa Paul
To: Rose Raguindin
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Subject: Fw: CP paste-up
eto yung missent..
"haay... ever late... buti nalang medyo may pampalubag-loob tayo from surajit about the PC cases MIR..."
its not sooo bad right? parang down morale lang or something...
please say yes....
Tuesday, September 21
Lull at work
[spell your name backwards] apeed
[the story behind your email address] deepa.sings@gmail.com -- i sing. period. deepsydoodle@yahoo.com -- that's what my mom calls me when she's in a nutty mood. it's from the jughead comic strip dipsy doodles, where he's an artist.
[where do you live?] mandaluyong
DESCRIBE YOUR...
[wallet] red plaid burberry wallet. i had to give up my beloved disco wallet because cards had started falling out of the card slots, it was so old.
[favourite shirt] anything black from my closet. oh and my deep pink t-shirt.
[piercing] two holes in each ear, although i don't put earrings in the second set of holes anymore
[hair] dark, wavy and temperamental with bangs on the side
[makeup] blush and mentholated pink lipgloss from watson's in bangkok.
[something you're looking forward to in the upcoming months] the ACS concert, marlon coming home for my birthday, breakfast at nielsen's
[something that you are deathly afraid of?] being widowed
[do you believe in love] yes
[do you believe in forgiveness] yes
[3 places you wouldn't mind relocating to] spain, germany and the south of france. singapore would also be tolerable, for obvious reasons.
[favorite foods?] dark chocolate, pasta, pizza
[is there something you wish you could understand better] myself
[my father thinks i am] n/a. my father has been dead for a long time.
[my mother thinks i am] hmmm. tabachuy, i guess
[my siblings think i am] recently, scatterbrained. i think.
[best qualities] independent, fairly smart
[worst qualities] short-tempered, insecure
[you get embarrassed when] my mom asks me to sing (she's stopped trying because i never do)
[what makes you happy] singing (yes, despite the above) and being with marlon.
[upsets you] atrocious service, not getting to save money, terrible sub-edited reports
LAST...
[last song you listened to] tell me what you want by mase... aww, high school memories (hip hop nights at mars, hard rock cafe and euphoria... HAHA)
[person you've called] my sister
[person who called you] marlon
[TV show you've watched] erg. when was the last time i watched TV?
[thing you were thinking about] when was the last time i watched TV?
DO...
[u think about suicide] no, thank goodness.
[others find you attractive] i know at least one person who does!
[you drink] occasionally. gawd i miss the huge drinks at fridays.
[you like roller coasters] not at all.
[you write in cursive or print] cursive when i'm rushing, print when i'm being OC.
[you carry a donor card] nope
[you have a crush on somebody] yes
[lied to someone] yes
[ever been in a fist fight] nope
[ever been arrested] nope
WHAT..
[shampoo do you use] cavalier horse shampoo! thanks robin! haha
[what do you notice first in a guy/girl] outfit. then maybe hair and eyes.
[makes you laugh the most] my silly boyfriend, the sight of chris ong dancing
[last time you did something] okay, this is a dumb question.
[last time you were totally carefree] when i visited marlon in singapore. i was such a socialite/housewife/patabaing baboy.
[whats your favourite colour] pink and black
[what are you planning to do tomorrow] go home early from work.
[what book did you last read] angels and demons, deception point (dan brown rampage)
[did you like it] entertaining enough. he's like early sidney sheldon. malalaos din yan.
[the story behind your email address] deepa.sings@gmail.com -- i sing. period. deepsydoodle@yahoo.com -- that's what my mom calls me when she's in a nutty mood. it's from the jughead comic strip dipsy doodles, where he's an artist.
[where do you live?] mandaluyong
DESCRIBE YOUR...
[wallet] red plaid burberry wallet. i had to give up my beloved disco wallet because cards had started falling out of the card slots, it was so old.
[favourite shirt] anything black from my closet. oh and my deep pink t-shirt.
[piercing] two holes in each ear, although i don't put earrings in the second set of holes anymore
[hair] dark, wavy and temperamental with bangs on the side
[makeup] blush and mentholated pink lipgloss from watson's in bangkok.
[something you're looking forward to in the upcoming months] the ACS concert, marlon coming home for my birthday, breakfast at nielsen's
[something that you are deathly afraid of?] being widowed
[do you believe in love] yes
[do you believe in forgiveness] yes
[3 places you wouldn't mind relocating to] spain, germany and the south of france. singapore would also be tolerable, for obvious reasons.
[favorite foods?] dark chocolate, pasta, pizza
[is there something you wish you could understand better] myself
[my father thinks i am] n/a. my father has been dead for a long time.
[my mother thinks i am] hmmm. tabachuy, i guess
[my siblings think i am] recently, scatterbrained. i think.
[best qualities] independent, fairly smart
[worst qualities] short-tempered, insecure
[you get embarrassed when] my mom asks me to sing (she's stopped trying because i never do)
[what makes you happy] singing (yes, despite the above) and being with marlon.
[upsets you] atrocious service, not getting to save money, terrible sub-edited reports
LAST...
[last song you listened to] tell me what you want by mase... aww, high school memories (hip hop nights at mars, hard rock cafe and euphoria... HAHA)
[person you've called] my sister
[person who called you] marlon
[TV show you've watched] erg. when was the last time i watched TV?
[thing you were thinking about] when was the last time i watched TV?
DO...
[u think about suicide] no, thank goodness.
[others find you attractive] i know at least one person who does!
[you drink] occasionally. gawd i miss the huge drinks at fridays.
[you like roller coasters] not at all.
[you write in cursive or print] cursive when i'm rushing, print when i'm being OC.
[you carry a donor card] nope
[you have a crush on somebody] yes
[lied to someone] yes
[ever been in a fist fight] nope
[ever been arrested] nope
WHAT..
[shampoo do you use] cavalier horse shampoo! thanks robin! haha
[what do you notice first in a guy/girl] outfit. then maybe hair and eyes.
[makes you laugh the most] my silly boyfriend, the sight of chris ong dancing
[last time you did something] okay, this is a dumb question.
[last time you were totally carefree] when i visited marlon in singapore. i was such a socialite/housewife/patabaing baboy.
[whats your favourite colour] pink and black
[what are you planning to do tomorrow] go home early from work.
[what book did you last read] angels and demons, deception point (dan brown rampage)
[did you like it] entertaining enough. he's like early sidney sheldon. malalaos din yan.
Monday, September 20
Sandwich bar, day 1
yes, i am a sandwich maker.
today i am setting up my own private sandwich bar in the office pantry. i am waiting for everyone to finish lunch and clear out so that i can make my debut sandwich in peace. i think the office people think i have weird eating habits-- especially when they chanced upon me in the pantry during my pre-bangkok no-rice phase. is the sight of mounds of arroz ala cobana-style giniling without rice really such an odd thing? anyhoo, i want to avoid further dubious stares, so i'm delaying lunch a bit.
i happened upon two things that gave me this brilliant idea. one was a copy of good housekeeping with yummy sandwich recipes. the other was one of my mom's cookbooks, called superfast food, which contains yummy but quick-to-prepare healthy food (it's also the most unused cookbook in the house). i thought of going on a sandwich semi-diet, para healthy and filling kuno. i also thought it might be a good way to scrimp on lunch. may, one of the girls from elec, sells sandwiches for Php 20 apiece, so i figured my cost would be even less.
which...er, hasn't really worked out. for one thing, i think i went way overboard doing the groceries for my sandwich bar.
- whole wheat loaf, 10 slices
- washington apple, 2 (i gave one to nanay)
- mayo, 1 sachet
- santi's peppered pastrami, 100g
- romaine lettuce, 1 head (very bad idea to freeze this. i now have lots of soggy greens)
- dijon mustard, 12oz
- butter, 100g
- cream cheese spread
- cheddar cheese slices, 6
- plain old lettuce, 1 head (this is safe and still crunchy, having escaped my freezing frenzy)
- kani (crabstick)
- smoked salmon, 100g
now, if you'll excuse me, peppered pastrami calls.
Saturday, September 18
I miss my boyfriend.
note to reader: i haven't seen marlon for over two months now, so you're required to put up with the mush.
Thank You (Dido)
My tea's gone cold, I'm wondering why I got out of bed at all
The morning rain clouds up my window and I can't see at all
And even if I could it'd all be grey, but your picture on my wall
It reminds me that it's not so bad, it's not so bad
I drank too much last night, got bills to pay, my head just feels in pain
I missed the bus and there'll be hell today, I'm late for work again
And even if I'm there, they'll all imply that I might not last the day
And then you call me and it's not so bad, it's not so bad and
I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life
Oh just to be with you is having the best day of my life
Push the door, I'm home at last and I'm soaking through and through
Then you handed me a towel and all I see is you
And even if my house falls down now, I wouldn't have a clue
Because you're near me and
I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life
Oh just to be with you is having the best day of my life.
i have this song on one of my WMP playlists. every time i hear it i think of marlon and how much i look forward to hearing his voice on the phone. every time i hear it, i think of how much this is me--down to the late to work bit and the morning rain (with the exception of the drinking and nearly getting fired, of course). and every time i hear it, think of how crappy a regular day in my ordinary drab workaday world is (thanks joseph pieper for that brilliant phrase) and i think of how big a difference marlon makes in it.
just hearing this song is enough to make me cry at my desk, in full view of ederick the nutty gay programmer and the girls from production. i've managed to stave the tears off twice, but it gets harder every time.
Thank You (Dido)
My tea's gone cold, I'm wondering why I got out of bed at all
The morning rain clouds up my window and I can't see at all
And even if I could it'd all be grey, but your picture on my wall
It reminds me that it's not so bad, it's not so bad
I drank too much last night, got bills to pay, my head just feels in pain
I missed the bus and there'll be hell today, I'm late for work again
And even if I'm there, they'll all imply that I might not last the day
And then you call me and it's not so bad, it's not so bad and
I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life
Oh just to be with you is having the best day of my life
Push the door, I'm home at last and I'm soaking through and through
Then you handed me a towel and all I see is you
And even if my house falls down now, I wouldn't have a clue
Because you're near me and
I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life
Oh just to be with you is having the best day of my life.
i have this song on one of my WMP playlists. every time i hear it i think of marlon and how much i look forward to hearing his voice on the phone. every time i hear it, i think of how much this is me--down to the late to work bit and the morning rain (with the exception of the drinking and nearly getting fired, of course). and every time i hear it, think of how crappy a regular day in my ordinary drab workaday world is (thanks joseph pieper for that brilliant phrase) and i think of how big a difference marlon makes in it.
just hearing this song is enough to make me cry at my desk, in full view of ederick the nutty gay programmer and the girls from production. i've managed to stave the tears off twice, but it gets harder every time.
Thursday, September 16
Tick tock
i have officially been late to the office four times this half-month, which means that i am about to receive a nasty memo from HR on my tardiness.
getting to the office on time lately has been a series of battles. the first skirmish is internal: to get up at the first alarm or not? i often lose on the first try, and hit the trusty snooze button on my phone at least twice before poking a toe out from under the comforter to turn off the electric fan. (isn't it horrible to have to get out of bed in snuggle temperature?)
the next battle is waged in front of the closet. i take significantly longer to decide on an outfit on fat days (of which there are more when you're, well, fat). the moment i plop down indian-style to better peruse the contents of my closet, it's time to raise the white flag.
deciding what to wear often takes over what could be a nasty hunt for makeup and accessories. often, i am forced to totter out the door with unconcealed baby eyebags (baby daw?!), curly bangs, hair pulled into a hasty ponytail (unbrushed, of course) and no earrings. thus i proceed to my next battle already looking like a casualty.
which is of course, the battle with public transportation providers: the dearth of jeeps, waiting time for jeeps to fill up, missing my stop, more waiting time for tricycles to roar to a stop at the tulay terminal, hanging on for dear life as said tricycles perform stunts worthy of air force training, and finally, the ten-minute or so walk-sprint to the office (in heels, no less).
all to arrive at work, panting, breakfast-less and sweaty at 8:41 a.m.
yep, late.
--
my office has cooked up a new way to get people to come to the office on time: an "early birds" award. the name was met with token boyish sniggers from our perennial college boys darius and ren (sa susunod naman daw, ibang bird na ang criteria. ano buzzzzzz).
anyway, acy went around distributing chocolate-covered mallows to the lucky cluckers this afternoon, which was nice. i am inspired! if there's anything that can get me to wake up early, it's chocolate.
now, if they would only start giving away shoes...
or even cover samples... elec had digital cameras on their cover last month. hmmm.
----- Original Message -----
From: Acy Ramos
To: EBU
Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2004 2:03 PM
Subject: Early Birds Tally
Dear all,
Since tardiness has been rampant lately, we have thought of a "fun" way to help most of us get rid of this nasty habit and encourage a number of us to keep up the good work.
Starting this month, we will be relaunching an "early birds" tally every half of the month.
In order to qualify as an "early bird," one must have no smudge of tardiness in his/her attendance for the past 2 weeks
And here are the "early birds" for the first half of September:
1. Bal
2. Darius
3. Ren
4. May
5. Emper
6. Jennilyn
7. Louise
8. Chie
9. Rose
CONGRATULATIONS! A wonderful prize awaits you....
For the next round of this "contest," we will also be recognizing those whose watches seem to be following another time zone. Since this is the soft launching, we will spare you for this one time. :) (If any of you can suggest "penalties" for the late comers, let us know.)
Thanks
Acy and Charlie
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rose Raguindin
To: Deepa Paul
Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2004 2:03 PM
Subject: RE: Early Birds Tally
Parang ayoko magpa-recognize. Para tuloy kaming outcasts. Magpapa-late na ako bukas.
Rose
Wednesday, September 15
Pictures from Hello Kitty's wedding
before the mass. as you can see, gideon gave the radiant bride (ika nga ni twila paris)a run for her money with his equally radiant foundation. tor is wearing a vintage gown, which is quite funky. pia is wearing extreme cleavage (much to gideon's delight).
the world's best choir sings for free. (or for food.) i'm in the wine-red ball skirt, which was bought on a mad shopping rampage. and i mean mad. you should have heard me bitching to marlon that nothing fit me after an entire day's hunting in ayala center. thankfully, sari-sari came to the rescue with cheap but quite nice formal wear and reasonable sizing (L really means large, not lipo needed.)
i looooove bihis bisita weddings. ayie had a really gorgeous gown, which was made by leonard co, ma'am malou's favorite evening wear designer. he did the glee club's fab one-shoulder LBDs, which everyone really loved. i remember ayie asking if she could buy it from the glee club after she sang with us in last year's philamlife concert. come to think of it, mine is still hanging in the closet. mwahaha.
mr. and mrs. ryan remonte exiting the church. this was shortly before an unsuspecting relative released the pair of doves that the newlywed couples are supposed to set free. oh, and said relative did not just release the doves, but flung them into the air with such verve that they slammed into the concrete awning of santuario de san jose. lovely.
my goodness. our honorary kiddie ayie is a married woman.
thanks to cathy and papa vic (the next to be wed! eek! what to wear? what to wear?) for the photos.
Tuesday, September 14
Remember me, my neglected blog?
yes my pretty, i'm still alive. i figured i had better get back to posting to while away my boredom. we're working on our PC cases MIR now and are waiting for lasers (a.k.a. hard copies) to come from our assigned layout artist, who is even more antukin than i am.
people who know me will gasp at the implication of that statement. yes, i am officially handing over my antukin crown to He-Who-Must-Be-Woken, who has been caught snoozing on the job, hand on mouse in a can't-you-see-i'm-really-hard-at-work pose, at least thrice in the past two days. yes, snoozing, as my team's collective eyebags balloon exponentially. snoozing, as surajit (our gigantic jolly nut of an editor-in-chief) chortles, "so deepa, still working on that MIR? do you think you'll finish it within the year?"
one of the best ideas i heard all day came from darius, who suggested that editorial should be able to administer push-button electric shock to said artist from the convenience of our own desks, just so that we don't have to keep traipsing over to production to wake him up and marshal him back to work.
but enough about that. i'm beginning to feel sleepy just thinking about said artist. time for coffee.
---
Mo' money
on a lighter note, it's payday today! since paychecks usually come in a full two days before official payday, i went crawling to the atm yesterday in breathless (broke) anticipation. however, i was sorely disappointed to find the last few pesos of my bank account piteously mewling for company.
all that is in the past now, as today i am the proud bearer of the biggest pay slip in my two-month career at global sources. i have that hideous notebook PC MIR to thank for this windfall. overtime pay plus meal and food allowances more than doubled due to all the hours we had to log in for that piece of... of...market intelligence.
yesterday, though, i also found out how much our freelance subbers (the people who grapple with the godawful raw text, which is what i am on really bad days) make from editing. grabe! subbing is one of the most gruesome parts of the job, but i wonder how i can start subbing for our other magazines?
subbing around 8 or 9 articles gives a freelancer more than my gross pay. sigh.
hello, pink blog! meet deepa. she ekes out a living as a corporate worm.
people who know me will gasp at the implication of that statement. yes, i am officially handing over my antukin crown to He-Who-Must-Be-Woken, who has been caught snoozing on the job, hand on mouse in a can't-you-see-i'm-really-hard-at-work pose, at least thrice in the past two days. yes, snoozing, as my team's collective eyebags balloon exponentially. snoozing, as surajit (our gigantic jolly nut of an editor-in-chief) chortles, "so deepa, still working on that MIR? do you think you'll finish it within the year?"
one of the best ideas i heard all day came from darius, who suggested that editorial should be able to administer push-button electric shock to said artist from the convenience of our own desks, just so that we don't have to keep traipsing over to production to wake him up and marshal him back to work.
but enough about that. i'm beginning to feel sleepy just thinking about said artist. time for coffee.
---
Mo' money
on a lighter note, it's payday today! since paychecks usually come in a full two days before official payday, i went crawling to the atm yesterday in breathless (broke) anticipation. however, i was sorely disappointed to find the last few pesos of my bank account piteously mewling for company.
all that is in the past now, as today i am the proud bearer of the biggest pay slip in my two-month career at global sources. i have that hideous notebook PC MIR to thank for this windfall. overtime pay plus meal and food allowances more than doubled due to all the hours we had to log in for that piece of... of...market intelligence.
yesterday, though, i also found out how much our freelance subbers (the people who grapple with the godawful raw text, which is what i am on really bad days) make from editing. grabe! subbing is one of the most gruesome parts of the job, but i wonder how i can start subbing for our other magazines?
subbing around 8 or 9 articles gives a freelancer more than my gross pay. sigh.
hello, pink blog! meet deepa. she ekes out a living as a corporate worm.
Thursday, September 2
Hooray for Filipino musicians!
this from sir jojo. today's inquirer has a wonderful op-ed column from heavy hitter conrado de quiros. now to think up feedback for him.
There's The Rub : Essentials
Sept 02, 2004
By Conrado de Quiros
Editor's Note: Published on page A10 of the September 2, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
JONATHAN Velasco, a Filipino conductor, has a good point. A perennial judge in international choral competitions, he has seen Filipino choral groups do immensely well abroad. Many of them have won prizes in prestigious competitions in Asia and Europe.
What he cannot understand, he says, is why government officials keep proposing to give huge cash rewards to Filipino athletes who will do the country proud. Such as they did only recently during the Olympics, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself promising a million bucks to the Filipino athlete who will bring the country its first gold. When, Velasco said, Filipino musicians have been doing exactly that for a long time. They've been winning big in the Olympics of music. Music remains the country's forte, the one thing Filipinos naturally excel at and the one thing Filipinos have been reaping plaudits for the world over. Why not give them the money instead?
I did not remark when Velasco said at a press conference to announce Manila Philharmonic's offerings in the coming months that the reason government officials probably make that offer is that they know their money is safe. The probability a Filipino athlete will bring home the gold in these days of diminished expectations is practically nil. By contrast, Filipino musicians are more than likely to separate fools from their money, or officials from their pork.
But levity aside, I don't know that we shouldn't take Velasco's complaint seriously. That is particularly so in the light of one thing, which is that in these days not just of diminished expectations but horrendous ones (economists have been warning of an economic collapse unless we curb the budget deficit--music is likely to be one of the first casualties). It is not just that musicians are not bound to be rewarded as they should, it is that they are bound to be punished as they shouldn't. The normal instinct in times of economic trouble is to cut out what is not essential. And for some reason, in this country, music--and the arts generally--are first to qualify as non-essential.
I remember saying this, too, to Francisco Feliciano a few months ago when he held a press conference to drum up interest in his project, which is the national youth summer music camp. Last April and May, they held their sixth. The summer camp recruits musical prodigies and trains them intensively in various musical instruments. Feliciano had several kids play before us (trombone, trumpet, violin, cello), and it was easy to see why Filipinos routinely wow audiences wherever they go. This was shortly before the elections, and Feliciano was complaining about the dumbing of Filipino musicality, as seen-or heard-in the tasteless campaign jingles, which were rip-offs from popular noontime dance ditties. That was the disease, he said, the kids playing classical (local and foreign) music was the cure.
Like Rodel Colmenar, founder and music director of Manila Philharmonic, and indeed like the other people involved with serious musical effort in this country, Feliciano was banking on the private sector to support his effort. But he wasn't loath to get government help where he could get it, given that his initiative was likely to fall on many deaf ears, literally, in this age of MTV. It's not easy getting the public, the youth in particular, to appreciate San Pedro and Mozart, Buencamino and Bach, in the days of Incubus and Maroon 5, Matchbox 20 and Blink 182. So it wouldn't hurt to get government to lend a hand.
I said that might not be so easy. In these lean years in particular, government wasn't likely to look kindly upon the arts. An Arroyo government above all which even then looked headed for a second term: Culture, or plain civilization, was not its strongest suit. With Arroyo's wanton electoral spending moreover, it didn't look likely the economy would improve. It looked likely runaway inflation and currency devaluation would soon hit the nation.
At the time, an impending economic collapse was only being whispered in corners. It is now being shouted openly. So, are we likely to see musicians encouraged by public-sector support for their Olympian achievements or will they be the first to be sacrificed by the current calls for austerity?
I myself, from a completely pragmatic viewpoint, can't understand why music--and the arts--should be the first to go in dire economic times. At the very least, as Velasco and Feliciano point out, music is the country's comparative advantage, the one thing that is giving the country not just a flood of medals but a flood of dollars. The country's biggest export is not fruits, it is people, musicians at the head of them. Other countries, not least Southeast Asian ones, give substantial subsidies to their arts, why shouldn't we? You do not allow your competitive edge to dull, you hone it. Certainly, you do not kill the goose that lays golden eggs.
Quite apart from that, music--and the arts--promote a lifestyle that is acquisitive only in spirit, not in body. People who are literate and appreciate aesthetics are not naturally given to keeping mistresses, buying cars and shopping till they drop, though some of them have been known to make love till they do. We want to encourage people to live simpler lifestyles, or more austere ones, we should encourage learning, reading and listening. They cost very little, certainly far less than cell phones and Pajeros. If Mike Arroyo and company were to improve their minds, they would immediately improve the budget--by wanting less of it. If only from this perspective, dire times should make the arts the priority, not the sacrificial lamb.
The things of the body we can do much without. The things of the soul, ah, there we can never really have enough.
There's The Rub : Essentials
Sept 02, 2004
By Conrado de Quiros
Editor's Note: Published on page A10 of the September 2, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
JONATHAN Velasco, a Filipino conductor, has a good point. A perennial judge in international choral competitions, he has seen Filipino choral groups do immensely well abroad. Many of them have won prizes in prestigious competitions in Asia and Europe.
What he cannot understand, he says, is why government officials keep proposing to give huge cash rewards to Filipino athletes who will do the country proud. Such as they did only recently during the Olympics, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself promising a million bucks to the Filipino athlete who will bring the country its first gold. When, Velasco said, Filipino musicians have been doing exactly that for a long time. They've been winning big in the Olympics of music. Music remains the country's forte, the one thing Filipinos naturally excel at and the one thing Filipinos have been reaping plaudits for the world over. Why not give them the money instead?
I did not remark when Velasco said at a press conference to announce Manila Philharmonic's offerings in the coming months that the reason government officials probably make that offer is that they know their money is safe. The probability a Filipino athlete will bring home the gold in these days of diminished expectations is practically nil. By contrast, Filipino musicians are more than likely to separate fools from their money, or officials from their pork.
But levity aside, I don't know that we shouldn't take Velasco's complaint seriously. That is particularly so in the light of one thing, which is that in these days not just of diminished expectations but horrendous ones (economists have been warning of an economic collapse unless we curb the budget deficit--music is likely to be one of the first casualties). It is not just that musicians are not bound to be rewarded as they should, it is that they are bound to be punished as they shouldn't. The normal instinct in times of economic trouble is to cut out what is not essential. And for some reason, in this country, music--and the arts generally--are first to qualify as non-essential.
I remember saying this, too, to Francisco Feliciano a few months ago when he held a press conference to drum up interest in his project, which is the national youth summer music camp. Last April and May, they held their sixth. The summer camp recruits musical prodigies and trains them intensively in various musical instruments. Feliciano had several kids play before us (trombone, trumpet, violin, cello), and it was easy to see why Filipinos routinely wow audiences wherever they go. This was shortly before the elections, and Feliciano was complaining about the dumbing of Filipino musicality, as seen-or heard-in the tasteless campaign jingles, which were rip-offs from popular noontime dance ditties. That was the disease, he said, the kids playing classical (local and foreign) music was the cure.
Like Rodel Colmenar, founder and music director of Manila Philharmonic, and indeed like the other people involved with serious musical effort in this country, Feliciano was banking on the private sector to support his effort. But he wasn't loath to get government help where he could get it, given that his initiative was likely to fall on many deaf ears, literally, in this age of MTV. It's not easy getting the public, the youth in particular, to appreciate San Pedro and Mozart, Buencamino and Bach, in the days of Incubus and Maroon 5, Matchbox 20 and Blink 182. So it wouldn't hurt to get government to lend a hand.
I said that might not be so easy. In these lean years in particular, government wasn't likely to look kindly upon the arts. An Arroyo government above all which even then looked headed for a second term: Culture, or plain civilization, was not its strongest suit. With Arroyo's wanton electoral spending moreover, it didn't look likely the economy would improve. It looked likely runaway inflation and currency devaluation would soon hit the nation.
At the time, an impending economic collapse was only being whispered in corners. It is now being shouted openly. So, are we likely to see musicians encouraged by public-sector support for their Olympian achievements or will they be the first to be sacrificed by the current calls for austerity?
I myself, from a completely pragmatic viewpoint, can't understand why music--and the arts--should be the first to go in dire economic times. At the very least, as Velasco and Feliciano point out, music is the country's comparative advantage, the one thing that is giving the country not just a flood of medals but a flood of dollars. The country's biggest export is not fruits, it is people, musicians at the head of them. Other countries, not least Southeast Asian ones, give substantial subsidies to their arts, why shouldn't we? You do not allow your competitive edge to dull, you hone it. Certainly, you do not kill the goose that lays golden eggs.
Quite apart from that, music--and the arts--promote a lifestyle that is acquisitive only in spirit, not in body. People who are literate and appreciate aesthetics are not naturally given to keeping mistresses, buying cars and shopping till they drop, though some of them have been known to make love till they do. We want to encourage people to live simpler lifestyles, or more austere ones, we should encourage learning, reading and listening. They cost very little, certainly far less than cell phones and Pajeros. If Mike Arroyo and company were to improve their minds, they would immediately improve the budget--by wanting less of it. If only from this perspective, dire times should make the arts the priority, not the sacrificial lamb.
The things of the body we can do much without. The things of the soul, ah, there we can never really have enough.
Wednesday, September 1
Brownies. Yummmm.
Brownie -- You're like a brownie: you melt on people and people stick to you because you're kind and affectionate. You're a good listener, whether you know it or not, and people look up to you no matter how they act. Everybody has a place for you in their heart.
JUNK FOOD QUIZ! What junk food best decribes you?
brought to you by Quizilla.
hmm, a bit too generically sweet and squishy for my taste, but i should have known i'd be something chocolate. and anyway, why does this picture show only half a brownie?
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