rainy days and saturdays

Today was a hella good day. After a few weeks (about three weeks tops), I went to the mall again. I kind of missed malling, hah! And because it rained the whole day (to my delight!) we didn't want to go anywhere else but to a nearby mall. Alej and I had breakfast for dinner at Heaven N' Eggs. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day along with dessert, of course. We haven't eaten there in a year or so because the last time we went there (Eastwood branch), we got so disappointed because the potato wedges were stale (the potato skin was already chewey!) and I didn't like what I ordered. Clearly, it was forgettable because I don't even remember what I ordered there. So anyway, we wanted Japanese but the line was too long. I was wondering why everyone seemed to be at the mall tonight but I got my answer after a while-- all the stores were on sale!

I had three kinds of sausages, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, and two pieces of pancakes on the side. This was just ONE order, you see. But the serving was generous and because I love breakfast and I loved what I ordered, I can't believe I polished off the whole plate! The pancakes were in place of rice. I'm not a rice person but I am a pancake person so it was a great choice. Alej had the three kinds of bacon, potato wedges, and white rice.

I also finally had my fix of froyo!!! Imagine my delight when I saw a Red Mango at the mall! Gahhhh! We had to line up right away and naturally, we had to have fruits on our yogurt-- kiwi and mango. I wanted to have strawberries on it too but it wasn't available. I love the froyo because it's smoother and creamier than Californiaberry at Greenhills.




I also FINALLY bought a transparent umbrella because I've always wanted one but never got one for whatever reason. Now I don't have to feel lazy to lug around a huge ass umbrella or have a hard time folding one when I get out of the car in the rain. It's lightweight, you see and it's perfect for my size. Nevermind if it's not foldable, it's easy to carry and IT'S TRANSPARENT!

I got one exactly like this:



Except I'm going to look happier than the girl in the photo using my new transparent umbrella-ella-ella!

It was a great night!

CREDITS ON IMAGES: I just Image Googled them. To the owners, feel free to take credit and thank you so much!

Stick to the basics

At the hospital the other day, we had lunch at the cafeteria and I saw this again.



I remember the first time I saw it about six years ago or more, I think. I looked it up right away. I think sometimes we forget the BASICS in life. We overanalyze things and forget the things that we learned when we were kids. Sometimes life isn't too hard to navigate as long as we stick to the BASICS.

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
Robert Fulghum

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life--learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup--they all die. So do we.
And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned--the biggest word of all--LOOK.

oh hey, an update!

I told myself I'd write more so I WILL WRITE MORE. My Psychiatric Nursing instructor said that journaling (in this techy age, BLOGGING) helps relieve stress because of letting pent up emotions out. Writing has always been therapeutic for me and reading through old entries makes me feel good. For some odd reason I have somewhere to look when I feel unaccomplished with my life.

So lately I've been back to watching Grey's Anatomy and I'm instantly hooked AGAIN. I may have stopped watching for quite some time but going back to the show reminds me why I got addicted in the first place. It's even more interesting now because I get to hear familiar medical terms/conditions and well, I've always seen myself working in a hospital so it gets really interesting each time. Nevermind if Izzie is still annoying and too emotional, never mind that Meredith is still the broken girl who can't be fixed, never mind if I want to reach into the screen and give Dr. Shepherd a hug for being sweet, and never mind if they involve their personal lives with work too much...it's still Grey's Anatomy. It's still fun to watch.

I've also taken that brave step to see my doctors again. I'm always lazy to see doctors but last week I did that. I went to see my cardiologist for a routine check-up for my Mitral Valve Prolpase. Had a routine 2D-Echo done to monitor if there are any significant changes in my heart (there's Mild Regurgitation) and I had spontaneous bruising last week (a very BIG one) that was a cause of alarm. After a normal blood work I realized that it must be the migraine medication I was taking. I've been having frequent migraine headaches the past few months and have been taking Excedrin a whole lot, it finally caught up with me when the aspirin, acetaminophen, and caffeine started giving me bruises. I told this to my doctor when I went to him and showed him the results and he agreed. He promptly asked me to stop the medication right away and referred me to a neurologist to get a migraine evaluation done so he can prescribe me safe migraine medication.

About my heart, my cardiologist is out of town until June 1 so I haven't showed him the results yet although the reading of my 2d-Echo says "No significant changes since the last Echo" so that must be good. But I still want to ask him about the Inderal medication he asked me before if I wanted to take it. I've been having symtpoms that tires me out easily, fatigue, palpitations, and maybe the headaches too. My doc says that my heart beats powerfully too, must be the heart overworking itself out that's why I tire a lot and get sleepy too often. Anyway, I still have to talk to him when he gets back. If the medication is going to improve my symptoms then I want to have it.

I'm waiting for another episode of Grey's Anatomy to load. I think it's ready now.

A(h1n1) has arrived

TIP: Carry a spritz bottle with alcohol with you so you can disinfect anytime, anywhere!


As you all might have already heard, we have our first case of A(H1N1) flu in the Philippines. I wish I could say that I'd stay away from public places like a plague but life must go on, right? But with utmost precautions, of course!

I received this text message from a classmate. I'm reposting it here for safety guidelines that just might help:

1. Avoid crowded places.
2. Wash your hands carefully and often with soap water or rubbing alcohol.
3. Avoid close contact with sick people especially those who have fever or cough.
4. See your doctor if your temperature is above 38 degrees celcius or you have flu-like symptoms.

i need a haircut

...or not! Maybe just a trim. I'm allergic to salons because they go crazy with hair-- they snip away until you get so angry they cut your hair too short.

horizon

horizon, originally uploaded by shutterbug-gail.

another beach/landscape shot. this came from the final set I got processed last year. Man, it's been THAT LONG AGO!

kids at play

kids at play, originally uploaded by shutterbug-gail.

I like photographing landscape/cityscape more than taking portraits of people.

frolicking

frolicking, originally uploaded by shutterbug-gail.

I miss Lomography. I really do. I have about 20 rolls pending to be processed. I have to get myself to go to Digiprint one of these days. I can't remember what's in those rolls but I'm pretty sure my Hong Kong/Macau/China set is in there.

where it's bright and sunny all the time

IMG_8451, originally uploaded by shutterbug-gail.

I have a similar photo like this taken about six years ago, I think.

domesticating gail

It's so hot today. I stayed cooped up inside my room watching Season 3 episodes of Grey's Anatomy because after the second season I got left behind. So I need a lot of catching up but it's okay because I found a nifty site that streams Grey's Anatomy and the resolution isn't bad either. I tried to test myself to go on without airconditioning but gave up after about two hours because the extreme heat gave me a headache and my poor laptop doesn't have a cooling pad and I was afraid it would be too hot. Tried to nap to kill the headache but after an hour I awoke because I realized that I had to wash a few dishes.

Our helper left about two weeks ago and we only have one that comes in for half a day. She's part time but what she does in half a day is amazing-- she does the laundry, cleans the entire house, feeds Ala and my rabbit, and does gardening. Without a full time helper, I've learned to do things on my own like make my bed, clean my room, wash dishes, and tidy up little things that get scattered around the house. I'm actually learning how to become domesticated. I know it's too late because I'm almost 24 in August but it's never too late to grow up. I think Mama would be so proud if she sees me now. For the longest time she had been scolding me about cleaning my room and getting organized because I tend to be a scatterbrain. Now, I'm actually addicted to tidying up my space! I like washing dishes, I like cooking, I LIKE BEING INDEPENDENT.

I cooked rice for the first time today for dinner. It was just Ate and me and I think I cooked too much but the rice cooking turned out to be a success. While I was cleaning the kitchen, I thought about how cool it would be if I learned how to cook rice because it's a way of proving to myself that I can stand on myself without relying on help. So I COOKED RICE! Yehey! One small step for mankind, one GIANT leap for me!

Now I'm killing time before I get ready to watch Angels and Demons with the boyfriend.

What a good day!

i'm trying to look the part

This photo was taken before going home after an afternoon at the beach. This also cracks me up because I'm trying to hard to act the skimboarding chick part. LOL.

ray ban love

Don't you love it when classic becomes HOT again?
This is my sister and me on Photobooth, loving our Ray Bans. :)

hello derrrr

Hello, all! I'm back from the beach and I'm back on Blogspot! Probably with more pictures and less words or more of both, we'll see! :)