Day 110 - Names and Kittens

This is mine and my sister's name on the door of the room that was formerly ours, but is now just mine because my sister's moved to New Zealand. It was put up there, maybe more than 10 (or 20?) years ago, when we were still kids. Other than because it has sentimental value, I'm not removing it because it's too high for me to reach, and there's no other place to put it anyway. Why fix it if it ain't broken, right?

Day 109 - Chocolate Reward

My dad's accumulated miles from an airline were about to expire but since there wasn't enough to redeem a plane ticket to anywhere, we used the miles for chocolates instead. Therefore, Asia Miles now just might be my favorite miles because they give chocolates as rewards. :)

These are called "Origin Bars" because supposedly, the cacao used in making them aren't mixed with cacao from other regions, but purely from the place that the label says, i.e. Madagascar, Ecuador and Vanuatu. We've only tasted the one from Vanuatu and it's delicious. I have no idea what the number is for, though.

Day 108 - Wilkins Village

It seems that advertisers have decided that the highway is now too boring to place their ads on that they have infiltrated subdivisions as well. I saw this sign at the entrance of our village as I was walking home today. I blurred out our village name for obvious reasons.

They've also put up posters advertising Wilkins Distilled Water on our lamp posts. And not just on the main streets but on all the streets, including ours.

Well, congratulations Wilkins. Now I'm advertising you on my blog, too.

Day 107 - September Birthdays

Because September is a common month to celebrate a birthday here, I share my birthday with a number of relatives. So our celebrations are usually joint ones, where my aunts cook and we get together at my grandfather's house.

These are teriyaki chicken, spicy shrimp, mediterranean salad, paella, beef stew, and fish fillet. Yummy yummy yummy.

Day 106 - "Stray" Cat

Is it still considered a stray if it hangs out around your house all the time?

I saw this cat, a regular in the back of our house, lounging around the plants. I don't know exactly what it's looking at, but it was sitting so still that I was able to take a photo of it from my room's window.

There are several other "strays" who are at the back of our house sometimes, usually during lunch time, snacking on our leftovers, or sometimes our dog's. They've gotten along well with our dog, I think.

Day 105 - Sponsored

I couldn't find anything else interesting to take a photo of today so this'll have to do. Apparently, my dad helped in making this reunion yearbook of his former alma mater's sister school, so we have a family photo printed in one of its pages. I would've taken a picture of that page, except I couldn't get the cover to stop closing when I open it, unless I put something like a paperweight to hold it in place. And since that wouldn't look good on the photo, I guess this photo of the yearbook closed will have to do.

Day 104 - My Niece

CASSIE - the newest and cutest addition to our family :) (my aunt in the background)

My cousin, along with her husband, their 6-month old daughter Cassie, and my aunt, came home from Hong Kong this week so we all went to see them. As you can see, Cassie is incredibly cute. I love chubby babies. :)

The photo is blurred because she wouldn't stop moving around. You can't really ask a baby to sit still. Still, she's endlessly entertaining. I'm glad she's one of those babies who are happy all the time and not at all annoying. (At least not yet. I guess it'll be a different story when she becomes a toddler hehe.)

P.S. Today is also my cousin's (said baby's mom) birthday. Happy Birthday Ate P! :)

Day 103 - Nothing Says Loser Like...

... being alone in the cinema watching a romantic movie.

OK, I wasn't alone the entire time. Eventually more people went into the cinema, but only about 10 or so. It was Monday night after all, and I was watching Going the Distance on it's 2nd week, so I wasn't expecting it to be a full house. And I only watched it because my P100-off coupon was about to expire. Still, it felt a little weird when I was the only one there. I did at one point ask one of my friends to come with me, but she was busy, so...

Anyway, I still enjoyed the movie, even if I don't like Drew Barrymore. I know she's supposed to be one of America's sweethearts, but I really don't get why she's so "great". But I did get my money's worth when I saw this movie. Of course, I did only pay P60 for it.

Day 102 - Gifts!

sticky notes from Tickles, chocolate from Marks & Spencer, Little Miss Lucky slippers and some authentic manga from Japan

Last night, I met with my friends (mostly from high school, but one of them is a friend from college) and we celebrated my birthday at AVeneto in Glorietta 3. But because I got home at 1:00AM, only when I woke up this morning did I have a chance to really see the gifts they gave me. Not included in this picture are some glitter pens and a small cake (because I already put that in the refrigerator).

My birthday this year makes me think of how lucky I am, because despite my being anti-social, I've managed to make some awesome friends.

Day 101 - Survival 101: Don't believe everything you read.

At an intersection somewhere in Manila

Originally, this is a sign that says "BAWAL TUMAWID MAY NAMATAY NA DITO." (Do not cross. People have died here.) Now, because the first line's been changed by some vandals, it says "It's a joke that people have died here."

I've never heard it proven that people have died in this particular intersection because of jaywalking. And since this sign is placed on practically each major intersection in Manila, it's very likely that this is just a ruse. I guess some people just really don't like being lied to, especially in big bold letters.

Day 100 - Day 9,946 and 1/2

Alright, you got me. I deliberately skipped some days so that my 9,946th day on Earth would be the 100th day of this project. Because you know, Day 100. That's kind of a big thing. And so is turning 26 years old I guess. Time flies really fast. I can't believe it's been 100 days that I've been doing this, or that I've been here for almost 10,000 days.

For my birthday this year, since my siblings are out of the country and my dad is out of town, it was only my mom and me who went out for dinner. We ate at Cibo in ATC where I ordered my favorite pasta (it's actually my sister's favorite, but i'm a copycat), Penne Al Telefono, and one of my favorite drinks, mint iced tea. Really delicious. :)

P.S. I spent most of the day watching Castle episodes and if I do say so myself, it's not a bad way to celebrate your birthday, just sitting around at home watching murder mysteries. I really had a lot of fun.

Day 99 - Pen Name

On Christmas last year, my friend J gave us all personalized pens. I put this one on my computer table so it's the one I use the most at home. I had to sensor my last name. I know you can't Google text on pictures but you never know.

Day 98 - Today's Dinner c/o BPI

If Citibank's perks are movie tickets, BPI's perks include a family-sized pizza and 3 containers of spaghetti. I don't know what my mom keeps buying that she has enough points to redeem these perks, but at least we get to see a movie at least once a month and get free dinner, too. :)

Day 97 - My Own Worst Enemy

This is the time I woke up today. Too bad you can't see if it's AM or PM. But if I tell you, I wonder if you would believe me? I woke up at 6PM today. Yup, you read that right: I woke up at 6:00PM today.

I've completely destroyed my biological clock and am hoping to fix it this week. If only I can keep myself from dozing off in the middle of the day so that I wouldn't be so awake at night, and then manage to wake up before lunch time the next day.

In case it's not obvious, that's the clock in my bedroom. It's the first thing I look at whenever I wake up. I also frown at it occasionally.

Day 96 - Movie Weekend

Actually, I also watched Resident Evil: Afterlife yesterday c/o my fellow September birthday celebrant, L. But for some reason, I lost the tickets to that one, so I could only take a picture of these ones.

I saw this movie today with my parents at ATC. I wasn't really planning on seeing it, but was intrigued after so many posts on Facebook of the line, "It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!" In fairness, the kid who said that, Agnes, was really cute. And I enjoyed the movie, too, if only for its ridiculousness. It's still not Pixar-level, but the jokes were really funny and I think it was creative that one of the reasons Gru was "despicable" was because his vehicle was totally non-environment-friendly.

As for Resident Evil: Afterlife, I'm not a fan of the franchise, but I have to admit that this one was definitely entertaining. Nevermind that it barely had a story or that the characters were flat, hardly had any dialogue, and that they killed the Asian guy, you watch this movie for the special effects and badass action anyway, and those certainly did not disappoint.

Day 95 - Seafood and Pirates

My half-German cousin and her boyfriend had been craving for lobsters ever since they got here to the Philippines for vacation. But because it's too expensive in most restaurants, on their last night, we went to that place in Manila where you can order the lobsters raw from the market and then just have one of the surrounding restaurants cook it. It's the cheapest place you can get lobster from, in the city at least. It's also one of the places where you can buy pirated DVDs like these. I guess it makes sense that somewhere near the sea, there will be seafood, and pirates.

P.S. Apologies for the quality of the photo. I had to take this covertly with my cellphone.

Day 94 - "Our" Swimming Pool

My mom has always wanted a pool but because it's too expensive to maintain and our house doesn't actually have the space for it, we got the next best thing: membership to a place that has a pool, that's only about 15 minutes away (if there are no traffic jams along the way) from our actual house.

We went here this morning since my mom didn't have to go to work, in lieu of the holiday (Eid Al Fitr).

Day 93 - Airport

We left the house at 4:30AM today to take my brother to the airport for his flight to Philadelphia. He'll be in the U.S. for several days, including my birthday, so I'm hoping he remembers to get me a really nice present.

Day 92 - Messy Desk

Pakalatan tayo ng desk. Ano, laban ka? :P Pwede na yata akong mag-guest sa Hoarders sa sobrang kalat nito. I promise you there is a desk somewhere underneath this mess.

I guess I should be ashamed. And I am, to a certain point. But you know, I do know exactly where things are if you ask me to find them. Not that that's a valid excuse. I really should get around to fixing this. It's almost Christmas again.

Day 91 - Eternal Gardens

Today is my grandmother's death anniversary so I went to the cemetery with my parents, aunt, uncle, cousin, and 2 of my nephews. That particular tombstone is the one beside that of my grandparents'. We come here at least once a year, but not during the usual time (in the Philippines, it's November 1-2) to avoid crowds. It's a long way from our house but I actually sometimes like coming here. Does it sound morbid if I say that I like it when we have a picnic around my grandparents' grave?

P.S. Eternal Gardens, the title of this post, is the name of the cemetery.

Day 90 - Old Books

In search of Julia Quinn, I walked around Manila after my Japanese class. My school is located near a lot of universities so there were a lot of book stores in the area. Most of them sold second-hand books that are cheaper, and you can exchange them with your own old books. This goes for fiction and school reference books as well. What can I say? It's a student area.

I wasn't able to find Julia Quinn, though, and I ended up not buying anything. But there are about a million books there. I'm quite sure that one of these days I will end up buying something, or maybe exchanging the ones I have here at home that have become dusty over the years.

Day 89 - Not on the Menu

When my sister still lived here, she and her friends always used to eat at Cibo in ATC. So often that the waiters already knew them and could talk with them comfortably. Once, when they couldn't decide on what drink to order, the waiter recommended the Four Seasons fruit shake, which was basically a smoothie of four different fruits. Here's the catch: what four fruits they put in is subject to which fruit is available at the time you order it, so it could change at any time. Hence, it's not an item they put on the menu.

I like the unpredictability of little things like that, so I usually order this drink whenever I go to Cibo. This time, they mixed grape, watermelon, mango and strawberry. It was really yummy. :) But I've had a four seasons shake that had pineapple and pear before. That was yummy, too.

I like to think that this drink is a secret among Cibo and its loyal patrons, since it's not on the menu. And it reminds me of something that I probably read or heard somewhere -- that the best food/drinks in a restaurant are the ones that aren't on the menu. I think this may be some kind of proverb or double-meaning saying that says something about life, about how the best things in life are the ones that nobody tells you about, you know, the roads less traveled and things like that.

This particularly appeals to me, because I've long since believed that I'm not meant to have the life that people normally have. By that, I mean that people usually take this path: School-Work-Marriage-Kids. So far I've succeeded in only one of those things, school, but I don't really know if I want to succeed on the others. And I am including "work" in the others. By the way when I say "work", I mean, "work in a corporate environment". I don't know. I just don't think that that isn't the right path for me. Whatever. Why does a fruit shake suddenly make me think of these things?

Day 88 - Brunch

Gumising ako nang maaga para makasabay sa nanay ko sa pagpunta niya sa opisina para hindi na ako mag-commute papuntang Makati para mag-submit ng application form para sa JLPT, kaya hindi na'ko nakakain ng agahan sa bahay. Kaya dumaan ako sa Seattle's Best Coffee para kumain bago ako umuwi.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich with chips at White Chocolate Mocha ang inorder ko. May kamahalan pero masarap naman. Ang totoo, hindi ko naubos 'yung sandwich kaya umabot pa 'yung kalahati niyan sa bahay.

P.S. Bakit ako nagta-Tagalog? Kasi hindi ko alam paano i-English ang "sumabay ako sa nanay ko pagpasok niya sa opisina". 'Pag sinabi mo kasing "I went with my mom" parang sumama ako sa kanya, 'eh hindi naman.

Day 87 - Pasalubong ng Bayan

I went to ATC today to have my picture taken for an application form. What I'm applying for, I'll tell you about later (way later) so that I won't jinx it. The real story about this photo is that on the way back, I passed by a Dunkin' Donuts stall and figured what the hell. Very good strategy for Dunkin' Donuts to be located near an entrance/exit, since their thing is that they're the "pasalubong ng bayan" then yeah, they should be near the doors where people pass just before the point of no return of deciding on whether to get pasalubong or not.

The flavors you can see are Choco Candy Sprinkle and Chocolate Marble, but underneath there's also Bavarian Creme, Choco Butternut, Choco Honey Dipped, Strawberry-filled, Nutty Choco, and... Yeah, that's it. I wonder if you're hungry now?

P.S. I changed the layout of this blog because when I started, I think I said that I would change the layout by September and well, September is tomorrow.