Awaiting the New Year

Meeting with the big boss is set for tomorrow. My report is finished and ready for scrutiny and deliberation. I've also yet to pack for Vegas since we drive out tomorrow night. Woohoo, New Year in Vegas! It'll be my first time there and there'll be a lot of us, so it should be one rocking celebration.

Meanwhile, I should catch some zzz's, so I'm cutting blog time tonight to just a quickie. I'll definitely be documenting the trip, so I promise to post some pics when I get back. Do keep Bebs in prayer though, as the poor boy is running a serious fever. I mean, hey, you don't want to be sick in Vegas.

Have a wonderful New Year's everyone! Don't forget your resolutions :)

View from the top

On Christmas Eve Raf, Bebs and I drove to the city on a quest to do something different. We ended up on the top floor of Virgin Records, at Citizen Cupcake to be exact, and enjoyed an afternoon of good conversation, our hot beverages, and an amazing view of downtown SF. Definitely a great afternoon of just chilling.

Here are a few pictures:

Treats fit for Christmas.

You can NOT believe the amazing buys I just had tonight. UNBELIEVABLE.
Bought myself (among other things) an adorable white puff vest jacket for DIRT CHEAP (And I mean so cheap that I'd rather not divulge monetary figures for fear of you actually falling off your seat HARD). That, preceded by breakfast with the Macs, a fun-filled afternoon with the Micianos, and an incredible Japanese dinner to cap off the day. And it's only the 23rd!

Friends, bargain shopping and good food. Now this is how Christmas should be :)

We loosen the belts even more tomorrow. hehehe. Bring it on baby!

Have a blessed Christmas everyone!

A memorable Christmas din-din

Last Sunday was the gang's Christmas dinner at oh so delish Kingfish. I had the most amazing Ribeye steak while Bebs had a knockout Jambalaya. YUM. Prior to dinner, we had prepared an envelope with all our names in it for Kris Kringle, but since some of us had already bought gifts for everyone, we decided to forego manito-manita and use the names for other gimmicks:

1) Round 1: We passed the envelope around, had everyone pick a name, and then had each person mimic the person he/she picked. Major laugh trip! We were reeling in laughter from each other's impersonations. I got Joey, so that was pretty easy (mind you, I have spent months in a tiny 4x4 office with Joe, so I could pretty much mimic the guy. heheh).

2) Round 2: Man, this was a tear-jerker. After dinner, we passed the names again, this time to honor, or show appreciation, to whomever we would pick. Everyone was quite content with the names they had gotten in Round1, but I was particularly adamant about a new rotation (since I knew I would most probably turn on the waterworks). You see, Joe and I have been through a lot as friends and workmates. We've disliked each other, worked on weekends together, taken long drives, trekked different states, fought and cried... yet in the end have remained friends. And just recently, Joe said goodbye to a fulltime stint at work for a more independent role.

So there I was, actually having succeeded in getting the group to pick a new batch, when for some reason they all decide to just stick to the old names. To make matters worse, some of them who spoke before I did got emotional and said nice touching things... And the big lump in my throat told me I was definitely in deep trouble.

So my turn came. And true enough I bawled like a baby. Hahah. Told Joey how I was going to miss him. And in so many words said, that despite our fights and misunderstandings, I had grown to appreciate him as a true friend. And poor Joe had to compose himself lest he broke down like I did. But he overcame (after 2 minutes of pure effort and silence), and in turn honored Bebs, who also cried shamelessly. heheh.

Sigh. That was a good night. I love my friends and I'm grateful that despite the absence of my family, I have them to celebrate Christmas with. I hope no one will ever have to be lonely this special season.


Bebs and me awaiting the Ribeye. ;)


The whole gang at the amazing Kingfish Restaurant.


Aww, best friends forever (Hey, is that a yamukah on JJ? heheh).


After a sumptious dinner. Merry Christmas!

Front page, baby.

Hey hey hey, the second issue of Filipino Insider is out on the stands and that's my photo on the cover. Yeba!

Kelly is it!

Donald Trump hired another "apprentice" on Thursday, offering West Point graduate and software executive Kelly Perdew a six-figure salary job in the culmination of the fall season reality show "The Apprentice."

NBC only had one show on its line-up last night, and it was the live finale of The Apprentice. I was practically glued to the boobtube from 8-11pm, and only The Donald could have pulled off hogging a full three hour primetime slot. I love that guy :)

Poor Jenn, she was clearly not a favorite among the audience. Admittedly, I initially had my money on her. She's one intelligent, tough lady with a rather impressive resume, not to mention a gorgeous San Franciscan! Unfortunately, the past three episodes have shown her performance wanting. And in the end, Kelly was a perfect fit for the position.

Anyway, Apprentice 3 starts January 20th. Woohoo!

In the meantime, I can now devote my Thursdays to the O.C.--yes, one of my guilty pleasures. hehe. Too bad I missed last night's episode :(

Hecka hectic!

Man, it's going to be one busy week. The big boss himself is arriving this week and wants to discuss my 2005 marketing plans--a report I have yet to finish. Churchwise, I've got the music video due this Sunday, not to mention the annual Christmas program.

To top it all off, my wisdom tooth is giving me HELL. Half my face is slowly swelling from the pain, and you can't imagine how excrutiating it is to open my mouth. It's going to take a miracle to belt those tunes come Sunday (but hey, I'll take the miracle ;)

Otherwise, everything's just peachy. I honestly hope I don't miss Christmas, though. Wouldn't want it to pass me by like another holiday.

Nope, not an option.

Who the heck issat?

No, none of them are my relatives. But I did take the picture... and it's on the front page of this week's Philippine News! Yeba! I have yet to get a copy of the paper, but I was told they used the photo for the cover of both print and online versions.

This is really exciting. I also have other pics coming out in another magazine this month. Definitely a good addition to my portfolio :)

Hey hey, let's do the dance of joy!

Poll patrol, please vote!

Heya folks,

I need interaction here. I've been contemplating changing my template. I was browsing through some random blogs and I saw one with the same design. Now, I'm one for uniqueness (or maybe I'm just worked up over nothing), but I haven't been liking my template since.

Anyway, here comes the question:

Let me know your thoughts. Or not. Whatever makes you happy :)

Quickie at work (pardon the pun ;)

Wow, this has got to be a first: I'm blogging while at a client's office, waiting for him to come out of a meeting next door. Talk about multi-tasking! ...Or boredom :p

I've actually been trying to post the past few days, I just seem to keep getting error messages from Blogger. Well, that and a thousand other things in my sched that have prevented me from doing so. But hang in there, I'll write something more decent before the day's over.

Definitely at a more appropriate time ;)

Interesting news though: A celebrity sighting! On my way to said client's office this morning in downtown SF, Joey and I walk by Sir Francis Drake Hotel, and who should be at the lobby but D. B. Sweeney! Yeah, well, in response to your blank faces, none of the guys I told remembered him either. But he was once the cute rugged skater opposite Moira Kelly in Cutting Edge.



He was definitely still rugged, but the appeal was gone. Unlike the picture below, he wasn't dressed well and his eye bags were all you could really focus on.



Why oh why can't I just bump into Brad Pitt? Sigh, I better get back to work...

Ah, men.

"Men are like fine wine. They all start out like grapes, and it's our job to stomp on them and keep them in the dark until they mature into something you'd like to have dinner with."

I have no idea who thought this one up, but she must be looking for them guys in the wrong places. Hwehwehwe. ;P Not that I'm gloating or anything.

Wednesdays with Andy.

I enjoy Wednesday mornings. Bebs and I wake up slightly earlier than usual on this particular day, because at around 7:30, a group of our friends gather at our pad for breakfast and, well, some spiritual rumination. Most often we start out like the walking dead until Bebs brews the coffee and I bust out the toasted waffles. By then we become the busiest, liveliest apartment in San Mateo.

That's not the greatest part, though. The party begins when we sit down for one of Andy Stanley's talks. (This guy is one of the best preachers I have come across. I first heard him speak at a leadership conference two months ago in Atlanta, and we have been listening to his sermons since). Anyway, two waffles, four sausages (or five, if you're quick) and a caffeine-filled system forty minutes later (and maybe some held back tears), we dissect the teaching and discuss how each of our lives can be changed with the wisdom we've just heard. Then the greatest send-off: we lift each other in prayer.

I think more than the good food and the great sermons, I'm glad the Wednesday cell enables us as friends to build each other up in the faith. Since we've begun meeting, I can say I have come to understand them more and appreciate each of them in a much deeper, more intimate sense. And it's encouraging to know that comfort, discovery, and unearthing Truth is a journey you don't have to go through alone. We're all seekers, and I'm glad I am running alongside them.

...I hope this means they won't be laughing at my zits when they see me.

Have a great weekend ahead, folks! Be safe, make someone smile, and do check out Andy's sermons if you're in the mood for introspection. The guy is amazing, and quite funny too.

Riddled with... acne.

Thanks to stress and late nights, I have now hit a personal record of 5 glowing zits on my poor face. They're not exactly acneus maximus or anything like those horrid things you see on ProActiv's before shots. But they're quite pink and dotting the most visible part of my body, so there won't obviously be any pictures posted for this entry. :S

The good news is, I have found a trusted friend and ally in the concealer. Thank God for make-up. I now fall under the category of women who need them to look presentable. sigh.

Mad house presents.

Hello folks,

I'm way too tired to post anything profound (or other), so I'm sharing some of our pics from today's recording. Trust me, it's not as easy as it looks. I'll check in tomorrow when I'm not braindead. Till then, check out Zach Braff's blog (for those of you in the dark, he's the insanely funny guy from Scrubs, not to mention Genius creator of Garden State).

Sweet dreams :)

Comments shmomments.

I just installed Haloscan without backing up my previous comments, which means the latter has now been erased. I'm sure there's a way around retrieving it back, I just need a lot of time--something I specifically don't have at the moment.

Maybe I'll just wait for Raf to come over and he can figure it out for me. Now there's a new definition to the word user friendly.

Hwehwehwe.