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Sunday, January 18th, 2004
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the lake near our house was frozen, so that ice skating is permitted. my sister bought two pairs of used ice skating shoes at the harvest festival last year in anticipation of an ice skating session this winter. she wanted to try skating today, but i was too scared so we only brought one pair for her. i was to be her assistant. neither of us has ever tried ice skating in our lives, but my sister used to rollerblade inside our small duplex unit in pasig way back when we were young. yes, she was a daredevil at a young age.
there were a few kids skating then. we chose to go at around 5:30ish so that it was already a bit dark and no one could see our faces that well, haha. i walked right beside my sister as she carefully skated on her own, trying to keep her balance every step of the way. she was secretly cursing at the kids who could skate so effortlessly.
you could see the frozen bubbles underneath the ice. it was so cool. i was scared to death, however, even of the mere thought of trying the skating shoes on. i have this fear of slipping and falling flat on my back and/or seriously banging my skull. heck, i'm even wobbly on a frickin' bike! haha.
anyway, when my sister got too tired "ice-walking" on her skates, i decided to give it a try, despite my inner voice screaming objections inside my head. i put on the skating shoes, and had my sister drag me to the side of the lake. it was embarrassing, i was holding on to her the whole time! and i kept saying "ohmygodohmygod" and laughing like crazy. it felt like walking on the tips of your high-heeled shoes on a newly polished floor! well, at least i didn't fall. haha.
yeah, gotta get me a personal tutor for that in the future...hehe.
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Thursday, January 8th, 2004
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two cans of diet coke in a day does not grant thee a diet-worthy body. but then again, i'm NOT dieting! hehe. and this, despite the fact that tomorrow night, my mom and i are supposed to attend this filipino new year's party--the party which was postponed last december due to a blizzard. i guess there's no more escaping this one...hehe.
i feel like bridget jones in the obligatory turkey curry buffet. hahaha.
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at this asian grocery in kenvil, there was a huge chinese calendar with F4 on it, hanging on the wall. F4 follows me to jersey. hehe. at the other end of the store, there were shelves of chinese and korean dramas on vcd, HK audio CDs and some chinese magazines. their drama selection looked alien to me, though, unlike the familiar faces on the ones at mei-ah shop in binondo.
finally opened the beastie boys video anthology DVD which my friend ivy gave me, and watched some of the vids. rekindled my crush on adrock. (badly need a boyfriend already, hahaha) the DVD has commentaries by the band itself and the directors for each video. it also came with a cute poster.
my mom and i watched "joy luck club" on DVD tonight. real tearjerker for my mom. i think the movie can be summed up in one word: "hope." june says symbolically, that when her aunts play mahjong, they find their joy from hoping that they'll win. i found my joy in watching russell wong in one of the scenes...especially in that watermelon-licking scene....oooh! haha.
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Sunday, December 21st, 2003
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the trilogy which spanned three years now draws to a conclusion in its three-hour installment, "return of the king." my sis and i watched this at 4pm, leaving at first when we saw the line at the ticket booth. then we decided to return to the parking lot and did catch the movie, and we got nice seats too. damn, should've worn my legolas two towers shirt! i relieved myself just before the movie started but in a few minutes, my bladder was full again. and we didn't even bring drinks with us! so i had to hold it for the rest of the movie. i didn't want to miss a thing!
highlights of the film: (*SPOILERS!*)
-the love triangle between frodo, sam and gollum.
-HOT faramir. literally. his crazed dad wanted to burn him alive. i still do think he's cute, though.
-aragorn not only gets to be king, he becomes a dad. future dad, at least. oh and for the first time, he washes his hair for his crown. i bet legolas shared some hair care tips with him. hehe.
-eowyn gets dumped by aragorn, moves on and hooks up with merry, and gets to show some serious girl power with the head nazgul.
-legolas' acrobatic fighting skills against the giant elephants. i swear, some of the people inside the theater actually applauded after this scene!
-green ghostly warriors teaming up with aragorn.
-the ring's long-awaited destruction! and sauron's!
-horrendous battle scenes!
it feels a little weird knowing there won't be a part four anymore... can't decide which among the three is the best. they were all really great.
tacky toy of the day: we saw these cheap plastic swords at the dollar store called "sword of the kings", which look exactly like frodo's sword, sting. it actually makes a metallic clanking sound when you touch it. hehe.
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Sunday, December 14th, 2003
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| Time: | 10:19 pm. |
| Mood: |  full. |
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Saturday, December 6th, 2003
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big blizzard today, burying everything in about 10 inches of snow! of course, that means some serious shovelling duty for me on our driveway, which i did today. perhaps the first ever rigorous exercise i did since i came here! hahaha. i also had to sprinkle special snow salt on the spots i've shovelled to prevent snow from piling up too quickly...melting them on contact.
so that means the party tonight had to be cancelled---woohoo! ehehe. maybe i had something to do with this snow after all? hehe. they say it's probably the snowiest day of december in record history--and it's not even officially winter yet!
my sis and i went to the lake today and waded through knee-deep snow. the frozen lake was of yellow green color.
the icy lake
just to give you an idea of how thick the snow was. that's a 6-inch ruler, and the snow is higher than that.
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Wednesday, December 3rd, 2003
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am putting my cousins' old story books in boxes so we can donate them to church, as they're having a book drive for needy kids. i wonder if these books would ever find their way in the various book sale shops in the philippines, where second-hand books are sold. i was a frequent visitor at such shops.
here's a poem from "the golden book of 365 stories: a story for every day of the year." this page was where my hand landed when i flipped it open. felt that it was really for me...
BROKEN MOON (may 23)
last night i saw the strangest sight:
the moon, all big and round and white,
was floating in the wet, black lake;
then suddenly, i saw him break
into a thousand shining scraps,
when somebody--
a frog, perhaps--
jumped in the water for a swim.
poor moon, that seemed the end of him!
but soon the lake was still, and then
the moon was back, all round again,
and big and bright and shiny, too--
put back together, good as new!
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Tuesday, December 2nd, 2003
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first day of december and it snowed! woohoo! it snowed three times actually. the first one was a wet kind of snow which melted upon contact on the ground. the last one was the heavier, real kind which made everything turn white. in two of those snow falls, i was caught outside setting up the christmas lights on the lawn. now we can light it up at night. still thinking of adding a few more colored lights to the capiz lanterns in the middle of the lawn.
there's this radio station which plays nothing but christmas songs...old and new alike. i like this cute song which goes "santa baby, hurry down the chimney tonight." the girl sings it like santa's his boyfriend. come to think of it, santa's the ultimate sugar daddy. haha. the santa claus at our mall who poses with kids looks like the real st. nick, shiny white fluffy hair and all.
okay, i just have to post the song lyrics.
Santa baby, just slip a sable under the tree
For me
Been an awful good girl
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Santa baby, a '54 convertible too
Light blue
I'll wait up for you, dear
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Think of all the fun I've missed
Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed
Next year I could be just as good
If you'll check off my Christmas list
Santa baby, I want a yacht and really that's not a lot
Been an angel all year
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Santa honey, one little thing I really need
The deed
To platinum mine
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Santa cutie, and fill my stocking with a duplex
And checks
Sign your "x" on the line
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Come and trim my Christmas tree
With some decorations brought at Tif-fa-ny
I really do believe in you
Let's see if you believe in me
Santa Baby, forgot to mention one little thing
A ring
I don't mean on the phone
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Hurry down the chimney tonight
Hurry...tonight
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Saturday, November 29th, 2003
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was very foggy outside today that it reminded me of the eerie environment in that video game "silent hill." my father tells me that the trick to driving safely on a very foggy road is to keep your eye on the yellow line in the middle of the road and the white line on the side, making sure that you're driving in between those two lines. rainy day today as well.
the holiday shopping season has officially started because most malls and stores opened as early as 5:30am(!) today, enticing shoppers with their post-thanksgiving day sales. this also means shopping hours are extended to 11pm.
saw this funny teaser of an old sitcom called "odd couple", in which a guy lectures "don't ASSUME! (writes this word on a blackboard) because if you assume, you'll make an ASS of U and ME!"
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Tuesday, November 25th, 2003
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| Subject: | takeshi al dente |
| Time: | 12:23 pm. |
| Mood: | calm. |
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i love you takeshi kaneshiro, but i just had to keep a straight face the whole time i watched "the returner" last night. hehe.
i think my father summed it up by saying "eh japanese version pala yan ng E.T. eh."
i think it's a combination of star wars, back to the future, E.T., terminator, and the matrix (dodge this!). very graphic death scenes, especially the bodies exploding in half. the reason why the movie reached almost two hours was because the real "daggra" (tibetan for "enemy", as we're told in the movie), namely this guy with an anime hairdo mizoguchi--just wouldn't DIE! he did, eventually.
takeshi looks really good in a long black leather coat. i was thinking, if they could cast an asian to play gambit in a future x-men sequel, he'd look great for the part. hehe.
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Monday, November 24th, 2003
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my father, sis and i went to wespoint military academy in westpoint, new york yesterday. took us about an hour's drive to get there.
0910H: left the house.
1020H: arrived at westpoint. we entered the visitor's center and purchased 3 tickets for the guided bus tour within the academy. each ticket costs $7.00. for security reasons,they require each guest to present an ID.
helps them keep track of the people entering westpoint just in case anything happens. i presented my passport.
1030H: went inside the westpoint museum nearby and viewed the nation's military history and various wars they fought.
1050H: fell in line for the tour bus. three uniformed military men checked each person's ID. one of them was a woman, actually.
1100H: the lady who wore her shades the whole time was our tour guide, and she briefed us about the "no still photography inside the academy" rule, also for security reasons.
as the bus went inside, she explained the history or significance of each building we passed by. we even stopped by the cemetery inside and she explained how they deciphered a tuscan writing in the epitaph of a pyramid-shaped mausoleum of some prominent guy (you can tell i'm only half-listening, haha) which basically meant "BEAT NAVY."
we also stopped by the area near a great view of the hudson river. miss tour guide explains that it was called "west point" because it's located in the western shore of the hudson river. it was known as the "key to america." it was famous for the time it was blocked with giant chain links to ward off the enemies.
despite her warnings, the chinese tourists who were with us kept taking pictures. well, we did too, but discreetly, that is, only while the group is walking to another area. hehe.
the tour guide also narrated some anecdotes about certain famous westpoint alumni, like that painter whistler who unfortunately didn't graduate from the academy due to a chemistry subject. she also mentioned how fidel ramos, a westpoint alumnus, went on to become philippine president.
1125H: guided tour was over. the bus dropped us off the visitor's center where i bought a westpoint fridge magnet and took some more pictures.
here are a few shots from our celfones:
the westpoint museum
view of the majestic hudson river
silhouette of a monument inside westpoint academy. dramatic shot, isn't it? hehe.
my sis and me (with scarf) at an army tank. the white writing on the side reads "thunderbolt".
after westpoint, my sis asked to drop by woodbury common outlet center to see if she can find any interesting buys. it was a sunday hence the place was packed with shoppers of all tongues and colors. we found out that their "sale items" were still too expensive compared to their counterpart shops in our local mall.
another downside: new york taxes clothing purchases, unlike in NJ. NY IS indeed EXPENSIVE.
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Saturday, November 22nd, 2003
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it was a beautiful, beautiful sunny day today.
went shopping today with my mom and sister. i got me some sale items from j. crew like this pair of khaki sneakers, a khaki skirt, and a dark brown belt. jc penney had this "sweet sale", they gave away free chocolates to everyone and the discount coupons came as its wrappers. i ate three of them while inside the mall.
we heard mass tonight and then had a family dinner for four at pizza hut. the meal came with your choice of two pizzas. we got super supreme and meatlover's. we helped ourselves at the salad bar first though. we took home most of the leftover pizza. and then it's french vanilla coffee fix afterwards.
tomorrow we're going to west point military academy for a tour. it's like our phil. military academy in baguio. it's going to be a first visit for me and my sister.
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Friday, November 21st, 2003
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1. WHAT IS THE LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN THE THEATERS? legally blonde 2
2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? harry potter and the order of the phoenix. still on chapter 2, hehe.
3. FAVORITE BOARD GAME? uh…snakes & ladders? i remember enjoying it a lot when I was young, hehe.
4. FAVORITE MAGAZINE? fhm philippines
5. FAVORITE SCENT? victoria’s secret body & pink
6. FAVORITE COMFORT FOODS? chocolates
7. FAVORITE SOUND? the birds in my home province. they have a unique calling sound unlike any other birds.
8. WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD? thinking you’ll die
9. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP? what did I dream of last night?
10. FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE? wendy’s (for the 99 cents menu & chicken BLT); burger king for the toys :P
11. FUTURE CHILD'S NAME? i’ll let you know when I get to have my own baby shower
12. WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN LIFE? happiness, friends and family
13. FINISH THE STATEMENT, "IF I HAD LOTS OF MONEY, I WOULD" travel around the world with my family
14. YOUR FAVORITE COLLECTIBLE: toys, fridge magnets, stickers, souvenirs
15. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? a pink beanie pig…hehe
16. STORMS - COOL OR SCARY? cool
17. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? never had one for myself yet
18. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? blue
19. FINISH THE STATEMENT, "IF I HAD THE TIME, I WOULD LOVE TO..." travel the world
20. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI? yes
21. IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR, WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE? red
22. HOW MANY DIFFERENT STATES HAVE YOU LIVED IN? one
23. HOW MANY DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS HAVE YOU LIVED IN? philippines: pilar, pasig city, quezon city
24. FAVORITE PLACES TO RELAX? bedroom; lake
25. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? ice hockey when the NJ devils are playing for the Stanley cup; synchronized swimming.
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| Subject: | how soon is now? |
| Time: | 1:58 am. |
| Mood: |  awake. | | Music: | how soon is now-TATU. |
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and TATU sings...
"You shut your mouth
How dare you say
I go about things the wrong way
I am human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does"
yup, thank you, dunkin donuts hazelnut light and sweet coffee.
been drinking dunkin donuts' french vanilla coffee for the third straight night...my sister's been craving for it and so i'm dragged into drinking it as well. she'll drive to dunkin just for a small cup of light and sweet french vanilla. oh, tonight i had hazelnut. i'm not exactly a big coffee-drinker, especially when it's plain dark coffee, but i'll try flavored coffee from time to time. my head gets dizzy from too much caffeine.
my sister mentioned how people here always like their coffee with donuts and wondered why. she said it's probably like our own "kape at pandesal" combo. the inseparable breakfast pair.
gorged down a serving of wendy's chicken BLT (bacon lettuce and tomato) salad while watching "johnny english" on dvd. they have a HUGE serving of it. with huge chunks of chicken, grated cheese, lots of lettuce and whole cherry tomatoes. it's so huge you can't eat it all by yourself in one sitting, but when you're distracted like i am (watching a movie), you'll see that it's not that impossible. but i still had some of it left in the fridge. hehe.
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Monday, October 20th, 2003
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and thanks to sathethert, whose generosity made it possible for me to create a livejournal.
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conniechiwa's journal
enthralled.
busy.
hungry.
tired.