Dunkin Donuts, Hot Loops, Krispy Kreme, Mister Donut—they're all the same to me

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you. But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft. You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily. You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

What Donut Are You?

A speech

I know there are still a couple of days left `til the New Year, but I wanted to type my list up while I still have it in my head.

There are a couple of people who made my 2006 one of the best years in my life. And there's no better time than now to thank them. (:

My family, for being the people I come home to everyday. You never fail to be my instant happy pill and time spent with you is always time well spent. No matter how many times I get bratty, I will always love you guys. ♥

My high school friends, especially Niña and Lani, who I've been going out with more than anybody else this year. Laika, too, because even if we don't see each other that often, she always knows exactly what I'm going through. Even if my explanation is barely a sentence.

The driving queens, for my first ever surprise birthday party. It couldn't have come at a better time, too. Totally unexpected and totally appreciated. (: You three are my favorite memory from college. I'm so happy that we kept in touch. I can't wait for Friday. :D

The Candy team, for being the best support group ever. I love "my peeps." They're the most awesome group of people I've worked with and I feel so blessed to be part of this team.

The handful of people I've kept in touch with from Wazzup. The ex-PAs Janezcha and Apols, my partners-in-crime, Mel and Lenni, Sheiden who didn't flake out on dinner the last time, and Chatmate Earl and his great music recos!

My friends in the office. It's so refreshing to be in a place where people are actually nice enough to be called such—friends. (:

And that one person who I was contemplating whether or not to include in this list. I figured, I might as well include him, since for the most part, he was a major reason for my happiness this past year. Unfortunately, I doubt it'll get carried over to the next, but even for that, I'm grateful. (: Every experience teaches you something new. And we should be thankful for lessons learned.

When I said that 2006 was going to be my year, it was part-wish and part-declaration. I have to say, in some ways, it was my year. I guess when you put your mind to it, things really can happen, things can really go your way. (: So 2007 is going to be even better than this year! I just know it. (:

Happy Christmas and an even happier New Year

Merry Christmas, kiddies! Have a hearty Noche Buena with your loved ones tonight! Don't forget the reason for the season. (:

I'm really genuinely happy this year. I have the people who I know love me unconditionally. They love me for me and accept me for exactly who I am—flaws included. The people who have remained my true friends are still with me since the day I met them. These are the friends I know I will always have no matter what happens. These are my real always friends. No questions asked.

I'm happy. It's a choice that I've made. (:

*kilig*

Now how do I describe them? They're like my first kiss, an unforgettable happy thought or that moment when I'd witness a rainbow after a rainy day. In short, pure bliss :D

—Chebee on my chocolate turtle pie

If there's anything I can be proud of, it's my baking. Especially these pies! I'm telling you, everyone who has tasted it has said that it's good. Haha, so it must be true! I'm so kilig like you cannot imagine! Hahaha! Thanks, Chebee! :D

cross post from my LiveJournal

Copy and paste the first sentence from your first entry of each month this past year.

January. It's great hanging out with friends from Assumption.
February. It was my first day on the new job today.
March. I don't think I'd have it any other way. (:
April. It's late and I’m feeling so tired.
May. first trip together and it couldn't have started out any worse than it did.
June. So last night, my mom picked us up (Nior was in Gold's Gym with our cousin Marco, interviewing him for their org video) and they brought me to Old Spaghetti House.
July. I just realized that the last concert I performed in was two years ago -- Chosen Ground One.
August. I am now what you call regular, and I'm not complaining. d:
September. Oh my God! I love Patty and our jolog movie dates!
October. Last Sunday, Naf's mom prepared dinner for us—yummy puttanesca, shrimp cooked in her own special style, and stuffed bread sticks.
November. How have you been?
December. kung ayaw mo na sa akin
di na kita hahabulin

...because they're all just hiccups!

My boss gave me my birthday present today. It's the cutest book in the world! I still can't believe Emma Thomson wrote and illustrated it. Now, I want to get the rest of the books!

If you fall, pick yourself up and dust yourself down. If you're quick no one will notice! If you learn from your mistakes... then they aren't really mistakes! They're just trial runs to get it right next time!

—Felicity Wishes: Little Book of Hiccups

* * *

I made two batches of chocolate turtle pie early this morning so I'm really sleepy right now. Four more hours. I still have to go to work tomorrow though since it's our Christmas lunch in Interactive. No worries. I'll finish all my work today so I can go home early tomorrow. :P Then, it's a four-day holiday. Happy Christmas! :D

What I wish for at the end of nine nights

—from PostSecret

Christmas in the office

Last night was our office Christmas party and I had so much fun. The hosts (both from Advertising) were hilarious!!! Although I think they were bordering on mean at some point. :P

More than anything else, I had soooo much fun dressing up for the party! We left the office early just to prep. :P Haha, but I must say, we looked pretty awesome that night. We totally looked like cartoons!!!

Jem and the Holograms

The Misfits

Don't you just love our costumes and makeup? Woohoo! Jennie, our beauty editor, did a fantastic job!

And here's a collage that Mimi made of our pictures with our assigned character. It's so cute:


We really went all out, and we're bummed that Ines didn't win best dressed—I voted for her even if two of my good friends were also nominated(hi, Candice and M!). But whatever, we totally had a blast!



I'm also part of the Interactive team, so I joined this year's Kris Kringle. So far I've gotten three lavender-scented tea lights (something that supposedly describes me) and a Nightmare Before Christmas cellphone charm (something that doesn't describe me). I wonder if my mommy/daddy will get me an Only You DVD/VCD.

Sorry for the picture-heavy post. Haha! It would've been so much more boring if I didn't have visual aids. :P

Go for Gold!

So my officemates and I decided to enroll in the gym. I now have a temporary ID and I can use the gym any time I want. Haha! How hilarious is that!? I am so not a gym person. My idea of exercise used to be training for the Club. I'm definitely going to check out my friend's class since she teaches at the gym I enrolled in. Let's see if I actually follow through—since I'm paying for it and all. Haha! And it's only a 3-month thing so maybe if I'm not cut out for gym-ing, I'll stop. :P

In other not-so-related news, I will attempt to look like this girl tomorrow night. It's our office Christmas party and the theme is "Back to the 80s." Haha! It's so baduy—I loooove it. But I only saw this picture now after I bought white leggings. The other picture looked like she was in white leggings thus the purchase. Darn. But anyway, if I manage to pull off pink stockings and pink pumps and that ridiculous skirt, I'll post pictures. :P

Wouldn't it be be awesome though if I really did look like that? I can't wait to dress up and put on makeup and look really gross. Hahaha! I also can't wait to watch the presentations from the different departments. I'm told that the presentations are a hoot and a half. :P Last year, I dressed up with the Village Girls for the Studio 23 Prom Night. This year, I'm dressing up with "my peeps," the best team in the world! :D

Oh, and I'm bummed that I haven't won anything in the raffle for minor prizes. The dude beside me won an MP3 player! I overheard someone say that he won lots of spam and corned beef. Hahaha! I never win anything. Or maybe I'll win the major prizes. :P

The office AC is on superduper cool and I can't feel my fingers. Ack! Brr, it's cold in hrr. :P

When I grow up, I want to be Veronica Mars!

I downloaded all 9 episodes from Season 3. And because the torrent for the first episode wasn't working, I just watched the first episode on YouTube so I could finally watch the rest. Haha! I actually have three more episodes to go, but I'm saving them for tomorrow. :P Or maybe I'll watch another one before I go to bed.

House Season 3 episodes are sitting in our hard drive and I can't watch them because my Season 2 DVDs only go up to episode 15. Haha! Loser! My brother still needs to borrow the rest of the DVDs from his friend.

Yes, my weekends now revolve around TV series. :P And it kills me that episode 11 of Grey's Anatomy won't be shown until January! Torture! Yes, this is already bordering on obsession. Tsk, tsk. Stay away, it might be contagious. Don't say I didn't warn you. (:

Are You Free?

I'm the type of person who gets attached to people very easily. I don't think that it's a bad thing—most of the time. If anything, I get to keep more friends this way. I'm always itching to get together with people—from high school, from college, from my previous work—but it gets tiring to keep asking people if they want to meet up.

That's why whenever friends ask me to go out, I'm thrilled. It never fails to make me feel special. To me, it always means, "Hi, I want to see you because I miss you."

Hello, friend. I miss you, let's go out.

Story telling

I'm usually good at keeping secrets. Especially if there's no harm in not telling. But if there's any reason that I feel like I should tell a person—even if someone specifically tells me not to— I will tell that person.

Sometimes, when you just want to keep yourself out of people's business, you find yourself right smack in the middle of a mess that doesn't even really involve you.

So if you have stories to tell, find someone else to tell them to. I'm done keeping everyone else's secrets. I have enough to worry about—you know, problems of my own.

Hulog ng Langit

Ikaw pala aking hinahanap
Ang bahaghari ko sa likod ng ulap
Ikaw ang hulog ng langit sa puso kong napunit
Dahil sa dramang paulit ulit
Kanina ka pa nariyan?

—Ikaw Pala, Sugarfree

Aww, this album is still on repeat even if I only have half an earphone (haha, kawawa talaga.) to listen with.

I wish I could write again. Like really write. The last poem I wrote was for my grandmother when my lolo died, or was it when I last got my heart broken? Whichever came last. I was talking to a good friend of mine and told her that I write best when I'm depressed. Isn't that strange? I guess all sad things always sound beautiful to me.

My Not-Quite-Grown-Up-Yet Christmas List

1. Chucks because I've never owned a pair. And not just any kind, I want a pair from here!
2. A digicam—which my mom promised to buy for me before they leave for the States. I love you, Kuya Mong and mommy! ♥
3. An out of town trip (one with the DQs soon! I hope it pushes through.)
4. Lots of lip gloss.*
5. A pretty paper journal (even if I haven't finished the one I got for my birthday two years ago!)
6. A nice eyelash curler (because the one I'm using now is one of those cheap ones that doesn't really work at one go. Haha! Kawawa.)* plus nice black mascara.
7. A flash drive because I can't access my officemates' Macs. These are super pretty. Too bad they're so expensive.
8. A nicer computer at home. I think this one needs to retire soon.
9. Black flip flops like the blue ones Nior gave me last Christmas. Thanks, Mix for the black Old Navys (plus the tan, purple, and magenta ones, too!)
10. Cake, cake, cake. For days when I'm PMS-ing.
11. A room makeover.
12. A guilt-free shopping spree. I've bought myself stuff with my own money. And stuff not from Divisoria! Hahaha!
13. A Pro account.
14. Earphones. Hahaha! Yehey! Finally got myself nice earphones that work. :P
15. Peace of mind. (Naks!) And, sige na nga, world peace. (:

* Muchas gracias, mommy Chamie!

How close is too close?

At the end of the day when it comes down to it, all we really want is to be close to somebody. So this thing where we all keep our distance and pretend not to care about each other? It's usually a load of bull. So we pick and choose who we want to remain close to. And once we've chosen those people we tend to stay close by—no matter how much we hurt them—the people that are still with you at the end of the day, those are the ones worth keeping. And sure, sometimes close can be too close, but sometimes that invasion of personal space, it can be exactly what you need.

—Don't Stand So Close to Me, Grey's Anatomy 3x10

I was sitting in Church tonight like any other Saturday night. Spaced out as usual just as the priest was beginning his Homily. And then, in spurts I heard the words "ready" and "heart." Of course, the priest was talking about Christmas (it is after all the start of Advent). But for some reason my mind was drifting someplace else, which I know shouldn't be the case. What can you do, right?

Last night, Ñapie and Pete dropped by to pick up something from my house and we talked for a bit outside my house. I was telling Niña how I grew more and more disgusted (at myself? at him? I don't know.) with everything's that happened now that it's done. I'd be lying if I said I didn't think for even just one second that it could possibly turn out the way that it had. It had always been weird to everyone else, but I looked past that. Stupid? Risky? I'm not sure. It makes me do a double take and ask myself, "Is my heart really ready for this kind of beating?" I think it is but sometimes I'm not sure if I feel that it is. And so, here I am picking up the pieces yet again and I really have no one to blame but myself. I let it happen, I let myself be treated this way. It doesn't make it right. It doesn't lessen the hurt. But at least I don't spend my nights crying into my pillow.

Not to say that I've sworn off the opposite sex (haha) or that I refuse to get close to any of them. But maybe this time around, I pray, that when someone comes around, I'll feel that I'm ready. And I can only hope to God that this time, that person will be ready for me, too.

This emo post, my friends, was brought to you by Sugarfree, Snow Patrol, and Justin Timberlake. :P

Best Male

My mommy was listening to the radio last night and burst into my brothers' room with news that our kuya won. Guitarist of the Year. *applause* I remember during our radio tour for the Candy Fair, me and the Candy girls voted in NU107. Heh. Good job, girls! Apparently, Kuya Mong also won "Best Male." Nyahaha, what is that category, anyway?

Can you tell who's the real star? :P

Big congratulations to my big brother. Can you tell I have the makings of a stage sister? I think I already am. Who wouldn't be? By the way, while I'm on the topic of my brother, grab a copy of the December 2006 issue of Candy because Kuya Mong gives you a strategic plan to battle your and your boy's awkward moments. :D

The Art of Seduction

The best kind

Everyone thinks I'm the nicest, sweetest person in the world. But seriously? I don't think I am. If anything, I'm just like anybody else—I have hissy fits, I can be rude, and I think about evil things happening to people I don't like or I'm not very fond of. I guess I'm just better than most people when it comes to self-control—most of the time, anyway.

It's the last month of the year. It's supposed to be my year. And for the past how many months, it really was. Up until my birthday. I guess it still is my year, just not as perfect as I thought it would be. But who wants perfect? Perfect is boring. At least my life is getting some sort of action, and a little drama. :P

Let's review the year that was. At the beginning of 2006, I was so frustrated with my job and I felt like I was just staying so I could say that I stayed for at least a year. When I think about it, six months into that job, I knew it was going nowhere. I endured getting blamed for mistakes that I didn't even commit, and doing other people's jobs. I hated it and I was so glad that I made the decision to leave. Sure, I learned a lot of things, but I couldn't see myself years down the line photocopying scripts and drafting contracts. I can't even believe I lasted that long there.

So when I finally left, I found a job that I love and was lucky enough to be part of the best team in the world! I love the people I work with—enough to call them friends. Even if there's a lot to be done at work, I don't mind, because I enjoy doing it. I find that there's still so much I can learn and that I have the potential to be better.

Then there's that risk that I took earlier this year. I don't regret making the choices I've made—how ever stupid they might seem to me now. I don't want to go through life asking myself "What if?" At least I tried and it's better than not knowing at all. I just wish it wasn't this hard. You know? You give so much of yourself only to be left in the end. It's sad and sometimes, you can't help but think, "What did I do wrong this time?" But life goes on, and I'm not about to sit around sulking and pitying myself. I'm so much better than that.

My biggest achievement to date is the fact that I'm actually able to help out my mom with finances. It's not a big amount, but I give her something regularly and I love the way their (my mom's and my dad's) faces light up during that time of the month. Maybe that's how I looked like when they used to give me my allowance for school. It's just such an accomplishment in itself and I can't help but be so proud. Hopefully, in the next year, I'll earn more and I'll be able to give them more.

I wanted to travel this year, but maybe that's got to wait until next year. My entire family got granted US Visas last month and hopefully, I'll be able to use it in the near future. I can't wait to visit all my friends who've flown out of the country and my relatives who I haven't seen in a while.

You know what? My life's been really good. And if I've encountered some bumps these past few weeks, it's absolutely alright. I'm still alive, right? A little broken, but that can't stop me from making the most out of the last few days of the year. This is my year. I'm going to make it happy.