Sentences that I like:

1. You can do this.
2. Don't go.
3. Touch.
4. Good morning!
5. I'm sorry.
6. I am proud of you.
7. Happy, happy birthday!
8. I made you breakfast.
9. Come with me.
10. Nothing lasts forever.

---

Now playing:

The pity party.

It always happens like this: I say too much, I feel to much, I think too much. And when I try to ease myself of the burden of too much, my world crashes down. What have I done wrong? I do not know -- except for the fact that I played as myself, and that no one liked the character of me, so there's nothing else to do but kill it, make it drink some pills or have a truck run over it.

There are so many things that the world is telling me right now. But above it all, the loudest screams "You're too big for love!" So here I am, retreating to my corner that is small, acting small, and feeling very, very small.

"Myth" is also a four-letter word.

It always, always, always starts with an infinity, make it a double if you like. You think it's never going to end, you think you're never going to die, you think everything's all set, and now everything makes sense; you think that he's the one. But eventually, the infinity opens up into a question mark. Plans begin to unravel, promises can be unkept and feelings waver. What you were so sure of before, now you cannot even deem to pencil into your calendar. And reality smacks you in the face. What has been an unsure but hopeful question mark simply fades into a period, a blunt dot, an end. It affirms a fact that you live and breathe on but stubbornly refuse to realize: nothing is certain, and with a blink of an eye, some things -- most things, can go from a hundred to nothing. What has been so stable before, now lay crumpled at your feet.

Now you understand: What is love, but a series of signs and symbols and punctuations? It is a story, a myth, fed to little children for a good night's sleep, fed to adults to create a semblance of meaning in their lives. Always, it all trickles down to a single, painful dot -- you're lucky if you end with a comma. But have you ever read a story that ends with a comma?

---

Now playing: Andrew Belle - Open Your Eyes

Hexing my tresses

My hair was a virgin. I have never rebonded nor colored it before, and for as long as I can remember, it has always been this color - jet black. But last Saturday, due to, err, PMS hormones, I decided to have it colored at Bench Fix Bicutan. I figured I'd do it alone so that if ever something goes horribly wrong, no one would see it and I could simply tie my hair up in a ponytail until the color grows out. For some people, this task is something that's ordinary -- like changing clothes or brushing their teeth everyday. But for me, this is something big.

Its color was called golden brown. I was skeptical at first because 1) I'm dark-skinned and 2) the color looked like it could only work for fair-skinned people and a Jeje makeover is not on my list of to-do's. The chemicals were a bit stingy on the scalp but it's tolerable. As soon as they washed and blow-dried my hair, I began thinking "Oh God, what have I done?" It was only appeased when come Monday afternoon, my usually aloof manager surprised me with a comment: "I like what you've done with your hair." A sigh of relief. I looked alright; the world isn't going to end (lulz).

And now, for the before and after and more after pictures:

Le virgin hairzzz

After (see ze halo effect)

More after (bangs are lighter than the rest of the hair meh)

---

Now playing: Birdy - Comforting Sounds

Something sweet, something filling:

Time flies so fast when you're in the company of someone you love. Like... onion rings and tortilla soup. (lol, what a cheese breaker)

Who Cooks: Garlic and Sausage Penne

My sister has been staying with me since the weekend. Usually, when I'm on my own, I don't cook this much and my usual meals would consist of scrambled eggs and two pieces of toasted bread or oatmeal. But since her temporary stay here in Manila, I have been obliged to cook because one: she's cranky when hungry and two: I want to be a pretty darn good older sister. Plus, her reactions when she gets a taste of the meals that I cook are priceless (e.g. "Wow, ate, ang sarap" and "I'm so happy"). Now, wouldn't you want to cook for a kid like that?

Last night, I decided to scourge the remaining contents of our refrigerator and I was lucky to have enough to make a garlic and sausage penne. I'm no cook nor food blogger so bear with my, uh, lack of proper measurements, etcetera.

Ingredients:
250 grams of left over penne pasta
6 cups of water
1/2 tablespoon of salt
3 pieces of jumbo sausage, cut in thin diagonal pieces (I used the cheese ones)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium-sized tomato, julienned
chili flakes (the ones that come with Yellow Cab pizzas are great)
dried basil leaves
cooking oil (I used sesame oil for the pasta and regular cooking oil for the toppings)

Prepare the pasta:

1. Fill a stockpot with water and add 1/2 tablespoon of salt.
2. Bring the water to boil.
3. Pour in the pasta.
4. Cook for about 8-10 minutes and stir occasionally.
5. Drain the pasta into a colander.
6. Transfer the pasta back into the stockpot and mix in some sesame oil so it won't stick.

For the toppings:

1. Pre-heat a non-stick pan with ample amount of cooking oil.
2. Brown the garlic.
3. Transfer the garlic into a bowl and start browning the sausage pieces.
4. Add in the tomatoes and stir for about a minute, then add the browned garlic.
5. Remove the pan from the heat, and replace with the stockpot.
6. Transfer the contents of the pan into the stockpot and mix well.
7. Add in the chili flakes and the dried basil leaves.
8. Add salt to taste.

Serving is good for 5 people with an average-sized appetite :p

---

Now playing: The Game of Thrones season 1 episode 2

In which I tell you about my hatred for improper food packaging:

Well, the title says it all.

A while ago, I bought braised beef from Chowking. And you know what braised beef looks like, right? It's beef that's tender and has carrots in it and it has sauce. Yes, sauce. And when you have a thing, a meal like that, naturally, you put it in a bowl to prevent the sauce from spilling. But alas, Chowking has other ideas about packing food with sauces. They packed it like it's dry, like it's chicken and rice, like it doesn't have sauce in it that might spill. I mean... WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE? Do not they know that people first eat with their eyes and then with their mouths? I am not expecting topnotch plating here. All I really want is to have my food properly packaged. But braised beef in a flat styro? Have they lost their common sense? All they have to do is to put the meal in one of those styro bowls similar to where they package noodles, but they can't do that. Why? Are they too busy thinking about ridiculous products like that mantao, trying so hard to be a burger and/or a sandwich? The worst part of it all is that the braised beef tasted like rubber with really very salty sauce. Nothing is redeemable. This is not the Chowking that I liked when I was younger. This is not it. Because now, it's just another dirty fast food that's too lazy to think about customer satisfaction.

2012 Christmas Wishlist

I know, I know -- it's too early for these kind of things. But what can you do? 1) I love making lists of the things that I want, 2) I'm always look forward the future and 3) Christmas is my happy pill.

So without further ado... (drum roll please)

1. iPod Touch in white. Can someone just throw me this one because this has been in my list for three consecutive years now.
2. A hot bod. Yes, Santa, please give me a hot bod, one that doesn't bloat and sag and crave for fatty foods on PMS days. JUST KIDDING. What I really need, Santa, is the drive to exercise like a mad athlete, a faster metabolism and a better digestive system. Yes, Santa, I will accept mesotherapy gift cards, thank you.
3. Dresses, skirts, shorts and blouses. Note that I did not say shirt because, well, I'm kind of a grown-up now and we don't usually wear shirts in the office, hence, the "blouses". I'm a medium on tops and a large on bottoms.
4. Jovan White Musk. I have been scouring stores for this perfume but it is just so hard to find. My sister says that it's a "rare" brand of perfume. 
5. Leather satchel bag in tan or navy or purple. I can practically smell the fishy smell of it! That's how much I want it!
6. A singing Christmas card. A hand-written letter. Breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon. Christmas day at a pediatric ward or a home for the aged. An opportunity to donate blood. Number 6 is reserved for weird non-material things.
7. Bon Iver or Pearl Jam (Ten album, please) or Birdy or The XX or Florence + The Machine original CD.
8. A bookshelf. Currently, my books are housed inside a transparent storage box, under a study table in the house where I live. And they can't breathe. And I pity them, because books are supposed to breathe. I'm still not sure about its dimensions but I think I'd want something like this.
9. C2 green tea litro! This has been on my list for three consecutive years, like the first item, and everyone says they want to be the one to give me these and no one has failed hurrah! Buying these in the supermarket is just such a pain in the ass because they weigh like a ton (yeah, maybe not a ton, but it's heavy!) and I just drink them up in less than a day. *i creys*
10. Ahhh. For the past three years that I have been making this list, this slot has always been reserved for... ehem... true love. But seeing that well, while making this list, I have someone who's kind of wonderful (yeah yeah sometimes we fight like two wrestler cats but he assuages me on my PMS days and he called me free-spirited *u*), I will reserve this slot for something else. I do not know what it is yet (maybe true love again, nothing lasts forever yaknow lol), but we'll figure it out as the year progresses.

---

Now playing: Coldplay - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

I said I'm sorry momma, I didn't mean to buy all these things.

I have been staring at the screen for the past five minutes, trying to think of a witty way to start this blog. BUT I JUST CAN'T SEEM TO GET AROUND IT.

So here goes something quick: School supplies and books are my addiction. Even if I don't need them, I buy them. Even if I only have enough money for food, I'd gladly go hungry just so I can buy a pen, a notebook, a book -- just anything that screams school. The upside of this obsession slash compulsion is that on special occasions, you could easily wrap me a tattered notebook or a cute pen or a book and I'd be happy as a puppy. The downside is that on dates, you can never ever bring me to a bookstore, especially when I'm particularly vulnerable (like when I'm about to have my period or when I feel like a whale). Plus, if you're a relative or a housemate, you'd probably be angry at me on a quarterly basis because of a pile of unused stuff in our bedroom.

One day, some day, I foresee myself as this little old deaf lady who you can't converse with because she couldn't fit her hearing aide in her tote which is full of -books and pens. Oh well.

---

Now playing: John Mayer - Dreaming With A Broken Heart