gone on a blue sky holiday

going on a hiatus from blogging for now. i'll be around just to check my emails:

gailATcogmotion.com
gail.limcumpaoATyahoo.com
gailmoniqueATgmail.com

hiatus will start



NOW.

words and pictures make me happy

i didn't want to sleep last night. around past midnight i was at the living room with my hands cupped around my red UNICEF mug. when i was a little girl my parents would get those UNICEF mugs every year. it was like a tradition before Christmas since the proceeds went the children's fund. my very first mug was this red mug with three hearts in front. it's still alive now and i'm still using it. i can't believe i've had it since i was four. so last night i sipped hot chocolate from it. and because boredom began to set in after watching a korean movie on cable, i decided to do these...

baby Chucks

tiniest chucks i've ever seen!
Originally uploaded by shutterbug-gail.

i've been a flip-flop girl since i found comfort in them months ago. i never thought i'd fall into the evil advertising of the Havaianas bandwagon. but i did and i love my ice blue Havaianas Joy. but lately i've rekindled my love for my trusty old classic blue Chuck Taylor. it's for kids, mind you. when i was looking for my size at the shop, they referred me to the kids section because my feet are too small to fit the regular sized ones. imagine what a big laugh it was to sit on the fitting benches with little boys beside me fitting their Chucks for kids! HAHA! but i got them cheaper, which is why i got two pairs. yay for small feet!

my friends in school joke that i have Osh Kosh shoes. HAHAHA!

and then there's this! Baby Chucks! it comes in a tiny box and when i opened it... ta-dah!!! i want to chew it because it's so cute that way. my mother bought it for her friend's baby. *GIGIL*


speaking of Chucks, i want two more: white and red.

sweet dreams for the restless little girl

the only way to keep me working in tip-top shape is by recharging. translation: sleep for 3 hours or more in the afternoon. i know it's crazy because it usually gives me a mean headache after sleeping that long but it's delicious, i tell you.

Nice said rest is elusive. i said it is SO too. even if my body is at rest snuggled beneath my favorite newly laundered blanket, my mind still runs like a mean Central Processing Unit of a computer. only, it goes to places that i'd rather stay away from. i'm usually in a restless mode if i begin to think of things that may make me sad or if i'm busy and stressed. if that happens, i'd begin to wish for a stop button that comes with our heads so that we can click on it anytime we wish to shut down our minds and fall into a dreamless sleep. but apparently, we all know the mind never sleeps even if our bodies are at rest. that's why there's dreaming.

what i hate most about sleeping is when it's shallow. when you wake up you feel like you did not shut your eyes at all and your body still yearns for more sleep. like you want to hibernate and forget about responsibilities of the day that are waiting for you as soon as you get off the bed.

i like sleeping and i am the type of person who grabs every opportunity to sleep and rest well whenever i get the chance to do so.

again, i wish it weren't that hard to sleep a dreamless sleep-- free from thoughts that probably float in a blackhole somewhere in the brain. i think all the thinking we do during the day is more than enough already.

until i'm over this and i can finally rest, sweet dreams for restless me.

good night

i'm staring blankly on the screen thinking of what i can write about.
i have a gazillion thoughts inside my head but i don't feel like spilling the beans.
my eyelids are getting heavier by the minute...
must sleep...
my bed is calling me.

good night.

you know Radiohead's Fake Plastic Trees? read between the lines and you'll figure out what i'm trying to talk about. hint: we live in a world that is not so real. that is the stark reality of life. it's either we blend in with those made of plastic or we choose to be one of those who are made of the "real thing". it just sucks that we have to deal with people like those, though. but the good thing is that plastic is brittle. what am i talking about? go figure.

one thing i learned today: it is much easier being an optimist than a pessimist.

oh...

much thanks to alej for helping me out with statistics on MS Excel. i know nothing about excel whatsoever especially the ranking function but i had someone to rescue me from crying in front of the laptop-- a lame thing to do when you're helpless. but God hears my prayers and for that i am thankful. i loff you! krizia's going to teach me the other function tomorrow.

must go to bed. another long day tomorrorw. i promise i'm going to put a smile one my face.

difference between rich and poor countries

i got this email from Iesel who sent it to our yahoo group. i wish i knew who wrote it to give proper credit but i googled and didn't find the author.

read on...


To reflect and... Act:

The difference between the poor countries and the rich ones is not the age of the country:

This can be shown by countries like India & Egypt, that are more than 2000 years old, but are poor. On the other hand, Canada, Australia & New Zealand, that 150 years ago were inexpressive, today are developed countries, and are rich. The difference between poor & rich countries does not reside in the available natural resources. Japan has a limited territory, 80% mountainous, inadequate for agriculture & cattle raising, but it is the second world economy. The country is like an immense floating factory, importing raw material from the whole world and exporting manufactured products. Another example is Switzerland, which does not plant cocoa but has the best chocolate of the world. In its little territory they raise animals and plant the soil during 4 months per year. Not enough, they produce dairy products of the best quality. It is a small country that transmits an image of security, order & labor, which made it the world's strongest, safest place. Executives from rich countries who communicate with their counterparts in poor countries show that there is no significant intellectual difference. Race or skin color are also not important: immigrants labeled lazy in their countries of origin are the productive power in rich European countries.

What is the difference then?

The difference is the attitude of the people, framed along the years by the education & the culture. On analyzing the behavior of the people in rich & developed countries, we find that the great majority follow the following principles in their lives:

1. Ethics, as a basic principle.
2. Integrity.
3. Responsibility.
4. Respect to the laws & rules.
5. Respect to the rights of other citizens.
6. Work loving.
7. Strive for saving & investment.
8. Will of super action.
9. Punctuality.

In poor countries, only a minority follow these basic principles in their daily life. We are not poor because we lack natural resources or because nature was cruel to us. We are poor because we lack the correct attitude. We lack the will to comply with and teach these functional principles of rich & developed societies. If you do not forward this message nothing will happen to you. Your pet will not die, you will not be fired, you will not have bad luck for seven years, and also you will not get sick, but those may happen because of your laziness, your love for intrigue and politics, your indifference to saving for the future, your stubborn attitude.

* end of email *

there is truth to this. example of not following rules and regulations? driving. driving in Manila is like driving in the "jungle" of the world of driving. i don't know how to drive yet nor am i looking forward to the day because knowing my heart condition, it will probably give me a heart attack (although this summer i'm going to take classes just for the sake of being independent). the other day my sister drove my mother and i to the hospital for our tests and check-up. jeepney drivers were honking their horns out, impatient with each other because of the traffic jam a car caused that clogged the road. and at some point between home and st. luke's hospital, this jeepney stopped in the middle of Quezon Avenue-- RIGHT SMACK IN THE MIDDLE OF IT to let a passenger go down. what kind of road/driving etiquette is that? and then they have the right to get angry when cars at their back honk their horns out!

my aunt who came from the U.S. for a vacation last month shook her head in disbelief of how drivers in manila drive. she was also amazed by how cars can overtake each other and squeeze in between jeepneys, trucks, and ordinary cars yet get through them all unscratched. i guess if you want a training ground for driving, you can start by training in Manila because if you live a day after driving-- safe and unscratched, you deserve a gold medal and you can drive almost anywhere in the world! heck, you even deserve an international driving license! i am amazed by this too but i, myself, who have lived in the city for 5 years now since i came home still cannot believe how crazy it is out there in the streets. good luck naman, di ba?

plus, lets not talk about how narrow main roads are. ibang topic na 'yan.

okay back to thesis. *groans* i'm transcribing my recorded interviews. nakakatamad!!! grrr.

music and oblivion

everyday i wake up with a cloud on my head.

i hear Daniel Powter crooning "you need a blue sky holiday..." in the background, a line from Bad Day. oh yes, a blue sky holiday is what i need. and i bob my head up and down, oblivious to people staring at me-- highly amused and embarrassed for poor me at the same time. i dismiss their glares and blank stares but i've learned not to care a long time ago. i have this moment to savor-- just me and my music player with blaring music from the earphones on full volume. and i smile again. it's not a bad day at all. this is a good day, just me and my own world drowned by music and oblivion.

* * *

Wonderful World - Joey Ramone
i know, it's another favorite song. but nothing beats the original versions of Wonderful World, Moon River, and Somewhere Over the Rainbow (although Mishka Adams's version of this song is ♥ too). these songs take me on a high. they make all things fall into place.


I see trees of green,red roses too
I see ’em bloom for me and for you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
I see skies of blue, clouds of white
Bright blessed days, dark sacred nights
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

feel good/feel sad

i've been listening to this song over and over:

Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World medley
(from the 50 First Dates soundtrack) it makes me feel good and feel sad. i can't decide which of the two.

and speaking of Crash and it's racism issue content... i bring you...Yellow Fever! found it on someone's blog. go amuse yourselves. :)

this is quarter life crisis speaking

i used to be an optimist. i still am now, but not as optimistic as i was before. i am now in the borderline between being a cynic and an optimist. i think i can safely say that being a cynic is much more draining than being an optimist. i'm sure everyone would attest to that.

a friend asked what religion (aside from the one i'm practicing now) would be the closest one i'd pick if given i choice. i said i liked the philosophy of Zen Buddhism and Taoism. the way of life. let things be. don't contradict the way of life... the way things flow naturally. i know it's a lame excuse for lazy people or people who do not have anything better to do than just wait for life to work itself out. i just like the way "come what may" comes into the picture (in moderation).


i like these two paragraphs from The Secret of Life by Elizabeth Wurtzel. i think i may be very much like her-- a cynic and an optimist. an optimistic cynic, i guess. i'm like her minus the drug addiction and clinical depression, of course.

i feel like sharing these paragraphs from the book:

i went to the doctor, i went to the mountains
i looked to the children, i drank from the fountain
there's more than one answer to these questions pointing at me in a crooked line
the less i seek my source for some definitive
the closer i am to fine.
-"closer to fine", emily saliers

i am not the happiest person. in fact, in the battle between joy and misery, i'd say that the latter often seems to prevail. i don't like this, and everyday i refuse, for the eighty millionth time, to put up with another minute of it. but the world does what it does, and i often find it disagreeable. after all these years, i'm kind of resigned to that.

but i do have one thing on my side: i have enormous faith. and hope. i am not speaking of the kind you find in church or in the afterlife or in heaven or in the King James Bible or in the Hare Krishnas that we all encounter changing flights in the airports of the world. i am speaking of a simple faith that says that one way or another, no matter how many times i stumble and stub my big toes, somehow life is going to work itself out.

well said. really well said!

so yeah. enough about the drama. i've been very lazy to update lately. mainly because i'm a busy bee and i think i've lost the interest to blog. or maybe this is just a phase and the interest will come back again.

i wish there were some push button to stop me from thinking too much. i overanalyze things and i think too much that it makes my head hurt a lot. i wish we were like robots who can push the off button for the night and then doze off and let our brains stop thinking too. the brain never sleeps and it's so stressful when you sleep a shallow slumber and wake up as restless as you were when you went to bed.

oh, did you watch Crash? it won the Oscars. i loved the movie because i strongly believe that racism should be fought and that heartless narrow-minded racists should burn in hell for thinking the way they do. issues were tackled in the movie and it sort of got me thinking about prejudices and those of my own. sometimes i judge a person first by action, appearance, nationality, etc. but when i try to get to know the person more... i always end up being wrong. yes, i hate that side of me. i think having prejudices comes in a package deal with overanalyzing a lot. yes, it's a flaw. yes, i am willing to change wholeheartedly. anyway, about the movie, a lot of people think Brokeback Mountain deserved the Best Picture more. i don't know about that because i haven't seen it but i loved Crash and i liked the cinematography although the movie is highly not recommended if you're already stressed because it has heavy content. meaning, prepare to be stressed or prepare to re-analyze the movie all over again after you've watched it.

it's still early, i've got tons of things to do but i'm already sleepy. the bed is calling me because i have an excruciating headache again. nothing new.

i hope i do something productive this weekend.

part 1 of the ilocos trip

Ilocos trip was fun :) it was super tiring but equally fun. it was my second time there but the places we went to were different except for the Marcos ancestral home and mausoleum and the Heritage Village at Vigan.

it was a long ass bus ride but i slept through it most of the time HAHA! and my blockmates and i were the noisiest inside the bus. i hope we didn't annoy people. my tummy hurt from laughing so hard. we also watched movies (thanks to pao and chezka for the dvds).

pictures c/o bea bear :) she burnt us a cd. these are not even 1/4 of the pics. HAHA! laging may photo op kasi during the trip. sorry naman! HAHAHA!

at Malacanang of the North :)


at Batac outside Marcos's mausoleum and ancestral home.



at the Abel Iloco weaving house.


pao, me, and bei


at ma'am vicky's home in bangar, la union


in the bus!

elaborate more on what we saw during the trip. thesis muna. hay...

a-10-tion

hello peepol!!! i'm doing a sort-of survey. i would really appreciate it if you answer this for me:

being a blogger, what features in a blog are you looking for aside from the ones that are available to us now?

if you're confused, examples are: video blogging, phone blogging, free gallery hosting, etc.

c'mon! help me out! :)

bawal magkasakit!

i was sick for two days. the Java conference in makati was postponed!!! my workmates and i met up at starbucks at 7650 only to find out that the conference at makati shang was cancelled! argh! but we all laughed about it. i was supposed to go to school instead but i stayed because they still had to brief me with the first project. we killed time at starbucks until glorietta finally opened. my workmates are fun and nice people. they even treated me at Friday's as a "welcome lunch". HAHA! i officially start today. it's just part time for now while i have school so i only work an hour a day. cool huh? and then i can add more hours as i go along when i can take a heavier working time. and hopefully go onto full time when i finally have school out of the way.

i got really burnt out yesterday because after the meeting and a crash course in Macromedia Dreamweaver by Arbie at coffee bean at the Promenade, i met up with my family at greenhills. i badly wanted to crawl under the sheets but noooo because we still went to Razon's at greenhills to have merienda. and you know what? i didn't know that the owner of Razon's is my parents' good friend! my father worked with her in Kobe, Japan ages ago and she's also my sister's godmother. so while we were eating she sent our table ensaymadas for free! hehe. i thought i could finally go home but nooo. it was off to powerplant mall and then venetto at libis after. it was such a long day and i felt really sick the whole time. by the time we finally went home, i fell asleep.

today. the whole day i felt groggy and weak. i couldn't eat breakfast so i couldn't take medication either. that sucked because i had to stick to water, water, and lots of water. i was down in the dumps earlier. even during class i was in the corner trying hard not to fall asleep and get through the three hour class.

i'm now well rested and my bones no longer hurt. my throat no longer hurts and my wisdom tooth cooperated by taking away the pain. i hope i won't get sick again because it's such a hassle especially when you need all the energy.

my cousin and his parents are leaving on friday. i'm going to miss them so much. going to Ilocos on friday night too after it was cancelled last week. thinking about the long trip and upcoming sleepless nights tires me already but i'm sure it's going to be fun.