Day 224 - Thanks, Fate!

For those of you who don't know what this is, a Customer Voice Receipt is something that entitles you to a free tall beverage of your choice on your next Starbucks visit. All you have to do is fill out a comment form on the internet. The catch is that these things attach themselves randomly to Starbucks receipts. As in, you can order 5 Venti Caramel Macchiatos and not get a Customer Voice Receipt, but then when you order 1 Tall Iced Tea, you can get one. It's like a raffle.

I'm not lucky with raffles much so I never expect to get one of these whenever I go to Starbucks. So I was totally happy when I got this today. And it was such a work of Fate, too. I wasn't even planning on going to Starbucks, and just decided to do so at the last minute because I got to my office a few minutes earlier than usual and thought that buying a cookie at Starbucks was a good way to pass the time. That's right. A cookie. Specifically, one piece of the Dark Chocolate Macadamia. I spent only P55 and I get a free Tall beverage in return. Thanks to Fate! :D

Day 223 - That Mainstream Show

I think this show became famous when I was in college, yes? I think that's the reason I never really got into it. I mean, I knew it was funny because I'd seen some random episodes and people talked about it all the time, but college was a time that I didn't have too much time for TV so I didn't want to get into another show. I only watched the shows that I really couldn't give up, which were Buffy the Vampire Slayer, FRIENDS, and Star Trek: Voyager.

Also, this was considered "cool" (i.e. mainstream) so I instantly wanted to avoid it. God forbid that I actually like what everybody else does, during the exact same time that they like it. ;)

This DVD btw is owned by my brother's girlfriend M.

Day 222 - I Heart LiaCom!

Today I went to a mini-high school reunion brought about by my former classmate posting a caricature of our Senior Year class in Facebook. I talk about this more here.

Anyway, here's the 7 of us who came. I should note that they're not people I'm close with, not even when we were in high school, but I had fun with them anyway. I don't know why but somehow I think that if I went to a reunion of my classmates in college, (save for the few ones who became my close friends) I wouldn't have had as much fun. Not to mention that the venue would probably be far away from my house, which will make me at least 50% less interested in going.

We are in Oyster Boy in Westgate, Alabang in this picture. I love Alabang, though I'm a little worried. We were the only ones in the restaurant, and it was Saturday night. Is Westgate about to close?

Day 221 - Newspaper Nails

Look! Letters on my nails!

I attempted to do this about 2 weeks ago but failed miserably, because the instructions I found then were incomplete. Anyway, after further research I found better instructions (you're supposed to coat your nails light polish before you soak them in alcohol!) and after I was asked not to come in to the office today, I found the time to try it again.

And viola! My newspaper nail experiment is successful. Sort of. I mean, the letters still aren't that clear and even with that highly edited picture it still looks a bit messy but forgive me, I'm not a girly girl and have always found it hard to paint my nails. I actually don't know why I still attempt to do it when I know that I suck at it. -_- Maybe because I feel so artistic when I do things that involve cutting up newspaper. Hehe. :P

Day 220 - The Last One

ERASERHEADS AND SUGARFREE - I think it's strange that Ebe Dancel (Sugarfree vocalist) wears an Eraserheads t-shirt just after I established in my mind that they (Sugarfree) were the band that replaced the Eraserheads.*sigh* Great things will always come and go I guess. Of course, during the gig people kept joking about a reunion concert. Well, the Eraserheads had one, so I guess maybe Sugarfree can have one, too. :)

Awww... Why do bands break-up anyway? I mean, I know why, but... Why?? T_T

I took this photo just after the Sugarfree set finished at 19 East (bar/restaurant in Sucat, Paranaque). E and I went to the stage to take photos with the band, and successfully cornered bassist Jal, but drummer Kaka magically disappeared, and we just could not get Ebe to pose with us because too many people were asking for his picture and his autograph, such as in this picture. But E and I stayed late (waiting for my brother to pick me up) and found the band members again outside, with less people around them. So we still got to take pictures with them. Yay!

Anyway, this post is titled The Last One (Yeah, I got the idea from FRIENDS. So what?) because the gig at 19 East is the last of the Sugarfree Farewell Bar Tour. Although the actual last gig will be on March 1, but it's in Eastwood in Quezon City, so yeah... I'm not going. I don't even know where Eastwood actually is. -_- But I'm happy that two of their last 5 bar gigs are in the South. :)

Day 219 - Defective But Delicious

So, I want to feel bad that my aunt's pan is old and broken and that she has to spend for a new one now and that her business suffered a slight loss because some cakes didn't quite look like how they're supposed to (due to the old and broken pan) and therefore aren't fit to be sold to customers, but I just can't be sad about it. Because look! We have free cake! :D

I'm more than happy to eat my aunt's cake rejects because they're usually only rejects based on appearance and not taste. And really, who cares how it looks? It's delicious and it's free! :D

Day 218 - Fruit Phenomenon

Twin bananas!

I don't know how it happened, but there it is. Should we have gone to the circus with this one? Or is it actually a common occurence?

Day 217 - Food Court

Last day of 3-day-training for my new job and nothing too significant happened except that we discovered the food court in the building that we work in. And here I thought we were going to live on McDonald's and 7-11. Lucky I was wrong. :)

Day 216 - Sunday Night Lights

Second day of training for my new job in Makati. On a Sunday. And at 9PM. (IKR?!) Hence, CBD's streets are semi-deserted and you have time to take in the scenery.

I only used my cellphone camera for this one so the lights are just bright spots. Can you tell which spot is the moon?

Day 215 - Welcome Dinner

Started training for a new job today. Apparently, it's tradition for the company to treat its new employees on their first day. Lucky for us, there was Shakey's nearby. :D

I love Shakey's chicken. And their mojo potatoes. And garlic bread. And pasta. Actually, I love Shakey's food that isn't pizza. Is that ironic? I still think the best pizza in the Philippines is Pizza Hut. I mean, Yellow Cab is good and all, but it's too expensive and, they don't have cheesy crusts! Which I think is the best thing that has happened to pizza ever.

Day 214 - 214

If I'd been more diligent in taking pictures for this 365 Project, maybe February 14 (2/14) would've been Day 214. But February 14 was only Day 210, so I'm making up for it by posting a picture of something else 214-related.

This is the original cassette tape of RiverMaya's very first album where the song 214 first came out. I've managed to break all my cassette tape players so I can't play this anymore, but I do have a CD with the song so as I write this, I'm actually listening to 214.

So right now I feel like I'm in 1994 again. Sugarfree's break up is bringing about all this nostalgia for old school OPM.

Day 213 - Sugarfree Shirt!

E said to meet today because he had a surprise gift for me. It's an autographed Sugarfree t-shirt!

And look, it says 1999-2011, which is how long the band has been together, and how long I've been their fan, too. Awww, this really makes me nostalgic and sad. But hey! Autographed shirt! :D

Day 212 - From Now On...

... I will watch TV in my parents' room. Hehe!

I was watching the BBC Documentary Planet Earth on this TV earlier and then when I went back into my room and watched TMZ on my TV, the screen was suddenly just soooo small. Great.

Day 211 - New Electronics Day

I went to ATC today and bought a new webcam. I was happy to have a new webcam. And then my parents came home with this. Perspective 'eh? You're not successful if you can buy your own webcam. You're successful if you can buy your own TV! But since they're my parents, I'm still happy. :)

Day 210 - Happy Valentine's Day!

Because it's Valentine's Day, I used red paper to cover the pulburon that Ate E, Ate M and I made. I didn't have anywhere to go so this was a fun activity for me to do at home. :) This is just one of the containers that we put the pulburon in, but we actually made enough to fit 4 containers. Can't wait to eat them. Yum!

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone! :D

Day 209 - Valentine Flowers

On my way home from the Sugarfree gig (why yes, it was already morning of the next day when I went home), I passed by the Alabang Public Market and saw these. I love how places transform to cater to whatever event is coming up. During Christmas time, a lot of stores that sell toys or Christmas lights materialize in markets. Now that it's just one day before Valentine's Day, these flower shops which usually just sell daisies and other boring flowers that look like they're for funerals, have these cheery rose bouquets. So romantic / exploitative of people's sentimentality!

Day 208 - The Last Few

One of my favoritest OPM bands (they were my replacement for the Eraserheads!), Sugarfree, is breaking up (sort of, the lead vocalist is leaving). Hence, we're all adjusting our schedules to catch their last few gigs. Lucky one of them is in Parañaque, which is near where I live, and even luckier, I actually have friends who want to see their last few performances as well.

So, K, M and I along with K's brother and his girlfriend went to Pap's Place in Better Living Subdivision today to watch Sugarfree. I nearly cried when they sang Burnout. Not only is it one of my favorite songs, it's also totally emotional.

Sorry for the poor quality of the picture. I took this using my cellphone because I didn't bring my camera. But another camera flashed at just the right time and shed light on the band, which is why they're visible here. My other pictures came out too dark.

I will miss them so much.

Day 207 - Tempura Betrayal

Oh Tempura Restaurant, why did you betray me? Don't you know that I'm your only friend? Everyone else I've talked to has said that they like Teriyaki Boy better than you. Tsk tsk tsk.

I asked for Yakitoridon, which is 3 sticks of chicken teriyaki barbecue with rice and the waitress gave me this. It didn't look like Yakitoridon so I asked her if it was. She said YES, so I just assumed that they'd changed how Yakitoridon looks. So I started eating it. And then, halfway through my second stick, some waitresses told me that they'd given me the wrong order. This was actually Chicken Bacon Barbecue (or something like that). What was I supposed to do?

I didn't want to make a fuss (since I might be late for the movie I was going to see in 15 minutes) so I just said that that I'll change my order to this (and it's about P60 more expensive). I guess they were grateful, but not enough because when I asked if I at least got a free ice cream scoop they wouldn't give me any. Pffft. Fine. Whatever.

Day 206 - Bread and Butter

Literally, my bread and butter. This is what I eat when there's nothing else to eat around the house. I know it's supposed to be breakfast food but I sometimes I eat it as my lunch, dinner, or midnight snack.

Day 205 - I'm a Winner!

Cebu Pacific is somewhat famous for their in-flight games where they give away stuff like these to the winners. They used to have really difficult games before like basketball (I'm not kidding), but now they've settled for easier ones like "Show Me" (which is like Bring Me, except you just show them the item). In our flight back to Manila from Virac, the game was "Cebu Pacific Trivia". And I won by answering the question: To where was the first domestic flight of Cebu Pacific Airlines?

I didn't read anything beforehand. I just used common sense. The answer is Cebu. DUH. (Actually, I originally thought the answer was Manila since aren't they technically headquartered in Cebu? But, anyway...) So now I have this Cebu Pacific pouch. I like it because it's black and orange. :D

Day 204 - My Parents Are Weird 2

The second entry of the My Parents Are Weird Series! The first one is here.

I didn't mean for this to become a series, but they're just really funny sometimes. My mom's lying on the grass and to take a picture of her, my dad had to sit on the grass as well. Don't they look funny?

You can see the rest of the pictures from our Virac trip in my Multiply.

Day 203 - Clouds on the Mountain

Rain has always given me mixed emotions. On the one hand, it ruins your time at the beach, but on the other, it gives you scenery like this. So I can't say that our second day in Virac was totally ruined, even though we didn't get to swim in the beach and got scared about landslides while we were driving on the side of a mountain because, look! Isn't it so pretty?

Day 202 - Storm Central Outlet

Today I went to Virac, Catanduanes with my parents. Upon arriving at Twin Rock Beach Resort and settling in our room, I found out that the electrical outlets are on the ceiling. We asked the reason to the people who worked there but they didn't know either so I can only assume that it's because Virac is usually affected by typhoons and that it's better to have electrical outlets in high places.

BTW, just to plug in my ipod speakers, I had to tiptoe on a coffee table, which was scary. We later on decided to borrow an extension cord from the front office.

Day 201 - Valentine Love

No boyfriend/girlfriend to give a Valentine's Day card to? Fear not! National Bookstore is equipped with Valentine's Day greeting cards for friends and family as well. Because some people insist that this day is not just about romantic love but love in general, greeting card companies have met their need and made cards for everyone. I'm not sure if the book store aptly labelled those cards, though. I mean, it says "Valentine Friend" and "Valentine Relative" for the cards for friends and family, but for cards for significant others, it says "Valentine Love". But, I thought "valentine love" referred to love in general and not just love between significant others?

Day 200 - Desk Closed

This won't mean anything to anybody else, but it means a lot to me to finally be able to close my desk. Because, it has spent several years looking like this.

Today, I finished cleaning it so I was able to close it. That's right. I wasn't able to clean it in just one day. I even had to sleep in my someone else's room last night before because I hadn't finished fixing the stuff I temporarily placed on my bed. Lucky my brother's in another country. I should finish fixing my whole room before he comes back.

P.S. Today is my sister's birthday. Happy Birthday Ate!

Day 199 - And More Mess

Remember my messy desk?

Well, today I decided to partially fix it. Partial, meaning, it's just the tip of the iceberg of the mess in my room. As my sister said, "Parang sumuka ng kalat 'yung mga gamit." Doesn't that have a kind of poetry to it?

Anyway, this is a picture of the stuff that I temporarily placed on the bed while cleaning my desk.