OH YEAH.

As an anniversary gift (it's the anniversary of the day we met, which is the only anniversary we celebrate), John gave me a brand new phone! Well, actually, he got us matching phones (again)!

It retails at a whopping $350 dollars, but man, the features on this baby are awesome. It has a camera, MicroSD compatibility, speakerphone capabilities, a qwerty keyboard, Wi-Fi, real web browsing, Bluetooth connectivity, instant messaging, and a music player device. It's also quadband so I can take it with me wherever I go. It has windows on it too. And it's unbelievably light and THIN. This is probably the thinnest phone I have ever owned in my life. I like the material it's made from too -- sort of like rubber, so it's durable and very easy to grip. It does sort of look like a calculator, but I can live with that minor detail.

Thank you John! It's absolutely the best surprise present ever! Here in these parts it's called the T-mobile Dash, but you guys might know it as the HTC S620 or HTC Excalibur. I'm not sure if it's already been released in Asia.

Unicef and Smurfs

contrary...

Contrary to some people's expectations, I was never a good student. Ever. (Good grades does not a good student make.)

I was a bullshiter. I was never prepared for class. Sometimes I didn't even have a notebook. Or a pen. Or sometimes I just used one notebook for all my classes - just so I could look busy.

I have a short attention span most of the time, and I get bored very easily. (On the other hand, when I get really interested in something, I can concentrate on it for days.) I almost never study, except when I have to (and yes, in Ateneo and NYU, there were times when you REALLY, ABSOLUTELY, had to). I didn't even go to class if I could help it. I was a slacker. A big time slacker. I always had the maximum cuts. My projects were always, always just barely on time, if not late. Sometimes I think it's a wonder I passed at all.

Yes, I was always like this, even in high school.

No, I don't know how I made it to Ateneo. Or UP or La Salle. Or frickin' graduate school for that matter.

I did reform - very briefly - for graduate school, though. Just enough to get A's and B's. After all, I was the new, exotic girl. I had something to prove. Once it was proven, the reformation was all over.

My biggest sin in life? Sloth. Closely followed by gluttony.

I just want to set the record straight.

That's all.

why oh why

Remember when you were in grade school/high school/college, and getting sticky pics/studio pics were all the rage (heh, am I showing my age?)??? At the back we'd write dedications that usually went something like this:

Dear ____,

You are a really great, nice, thoughtful friend.

I hope you stay the same and never change.

KIT (Keep in Touch) 0998765432. F4ever!

Hugs and Kisses, Belinda


It's a bit of a weird sentiment, isn't it? Why would young girls want to wish stagnation on anybody??? Why is it that we were somehow made to feel that change was bad and something to be avoided? Strange indeed.

I remember that when I was about to leave for New York a couple of years ago, a bunch of acquaintances implored me to "remember where you come from and always stay as you are". WTF? Why would I move all the way to New York if I just wanted to stay as I am? Does that make any sense to you? It was one of the silliest bits of advice I had ever come across.

Of course, I know that at the root of it, really, is fear. We're afraid that if our friends change, they won't be our friends anymore. We're afraid that if our friends change, then the world will soon have to follow suit. We're afraid that if our people around us change, then maybe we'd have to change too - and we're too comfortable where we are. And we're afraid that change can make bits of the world move too fast and too far beyond our reach. And who wants to get left behind? Who wants to be left alone? We want everything to be as they are, because we don't know anything else, and the unknown makes us afraid.

And we try to put a good spin on our fears too. (Of course.) We try to justify it to ourselves. I mean, really, we just want to keep our friends on the straight and narrow, and change makes people want to go off exploring the side roads, doesn't it? So we tell others, under the guise of concern and friendship, that it would be best to try to never change. We can be quite ridiculous, can't we? Heh.

After all, isn't life just a string of changes? Isn't that one of the reasons were here? To change ourselves from little ignorant bundles of joy to wise old crones headed for the coffin?

I've changed so much that I've grown to like it - the changing, I mean. (Heh. Maybe that's why I have so few friends.) Sometimes, the changes take a lot of getting used to. Sometimes I've even railed against the world because change can bring so much pain. Sometimes the change is drastic and can leave a bit of a bitter aftertaste. But at the end of it all, I'm thankful for it. For better or worse, painful or not, change is a means to discover yet another part of Life. It's kinda like Life's little strip show -- change makes another piece of clothing fall. And I'd like to see as much as I can. Get my money's worth and all that.

So to everyone who cares, I have changed. Irrevocably. I see the world differently. I see myself differently. I am different. And a few years from now, I will probably be different again.

Change is good, my friends. It's wonderful. You should try it.

Queen of the desert, that's me

pooueh

I'm starting to get tired of the used books places here in Vegas. (Though WE ARE in Vegas, so what did I really expect???) It's all sci-fi, cookbooks, and the occasional historical epic. My brain needs something more... I don't know how long it'll last this literary drudgery.

I miss the New York Public Library, with its intimidating dark wood panels, surprisingly comfortable antique wingback chairs, and miles and miles of the good stuff. Man.

heroes

Heroes has been really good for the past two weeks, yeah? So many revelations - both large and small. So many developments. I like!

Favorite Heroes so far: Hiro, but definitely; Nathan Petrelli; Claire; The Haitian; and Claude, coz it's Doctor Who!

Heroes who aren't my Favorites but I know are somewhat essential: Peter Petrelli, Ted the Nuclear Man, Jessica/Nikki, Micah, Sylar

Heroes I would like to die (and soon): Matt (sorry, he just seems like dead weight to me), Isaac (he's cute, but I think the heroine has addled his brain), and that new girl shapeshifter/illusionist whatever.

Non-heroes I like: HRG! (aka Claire's dad or Mr. Bennet), Mohinder (yeah, I know, for a scientist he's kinda slow, but I really think the show needs him to explain and bring it all together), Ando, and Captain Zulu aka Hiro's dad.

Heroes questions I contemplate in the shower: How the hell does Sylar get other people's powers? Does he just study the brains to see how they work? Does he eat the brains? How many powers has he gotten exactly? And how come he doesn't freeze his victims anymore like the earlier episodes?

When is Peter Petrelli going to kick some ass? Technically, he's got ALL of Sylar's powers inside him, doesn't he? Even the ones that Sylar just picked up... so he can beat Sylar to a pulp in a heartbeat. But then again that would be too easy and we wouldn't have a show. So I guess we have to content ourselves with Peter as a bumbling power idiot for awhile.

Does Mrs Petrelli have any powers? How did she come in contact with The Haitian? And why does The Haitian follow her orders anyway? Actually, why does he follow anyone's orders??? he can just erase their brains, can't he?

What the hell does Captain Zulu do, exactly? Is he like the head honcho of the mutant bag and tag company??? If he is, why is he letting his power-happy son run around the United States? Shouldn't he have been concerned with getting Hiro to act normal or something, especially knowing the kind of company he keeps?

And finally, how are the Petrelli brothers related to Linderman? Is he really.... their father?

Ah. Stay tuned.

Yeah, I'm a geek. Deal with it. I have.

btw, welcome

To all my lovely new readers, welcome. I'm not sure that any of you will stay long enough to even want to try to make yourselves comfortable, but you're welcome to a spot on the couch, if you like.

Anyway. I guess introductions are in order. The funnily dressed person over there on your right is me. Yes, I really look like that. Yes, I really do dress like that. Yes, I am slightly unbalanced. And no, you can't do anything about it.

To get to know me better, here's a meme I picked up.


1. One book that changed your life.
This is going to be so baduy, but "By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept" by Coelho. I was still a teen-ager, ok? And I could really relate to all the follow-your-bliss talk. So anyway, that book made me think that maybe I could be a writer after all, and not just a hyphenate (drone-writer). And so I applied to graduate school. And so I moved to NYC. And so my life will never be the same again. I'm over-simplifying, of course, but you get the drift.

2. One book you have read more than once.
I have three books that I read over and over. Douglas Adams' "The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", Jeanette Winterson's "The Passion", and Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being". The first, because it's so great for laughs. The other two, I'm not entirely sure.

3. One book you would want on a desert island.
Heh. Absolute Sandman. That way, I can just live in my head.

4. One book that made you laugh.
Anything by Douglas Adams makes me laugh.

5. One book that made you cry.
Ohmygod, when I was in fourth grade, "The Dog of Flanders". Bwahahaha.

6. One book you wish had been written.
Something by me. Well, part of it's already written so maybe that doesn't count?

7. One book you wish had never been written.
Hey, I don't wish non-existence on anyone (or anything). Death, yes. Non-existence, no.

8. One book you are currently reading.
Lady Chatterley's Lover.

9. One book you have been meaning to read.
Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". Oh yeah, and the second volume of the most current edition of Norton's Anthology of Western Literature. Crap, forgot about that.

10. Tag five people for this meme.
I tag you and you and you and you!

blah blah blah

Why is crushable Ryan Eigenman (sp?) in my friendster? Why are not-so-crushable Gober, Wayland Chin, and some dude called Estofado there as well? And who are the four identical looking guys with different profiles who suddenly want me to add them up? Ladies and gentlemen, the mysteries of friendster never cease.

So. In case anyone cares, the Boracay dates have been changed. We're going to be there June 3-6 instead. Everyone's promised to come, so yay me.

I was going to rant and vent, but the words are all gone. Heh. Weird.

So I guess that's it for now.

Go catnabbit!

boracay on 6/4-6/8

It's been a while, hasn't it? And I used to go there every year...

Anyway. Friends, countrymen and lovers...

Boracay on 6/4-6/8. That's Monday to Thursday. Cebu Pacific has a promo, so check them out. I think the RT flight comes out to 3,300 pesos. Asian Spirit is at 6,400. Red Coconut is pretty reasonable right now. So are Sandcastles, Club Ten, and Cocomangas.

There's also Fat Jimmy's, Chez de Paris, and Bamboo Bungalows near D'Mall.

You can probably get a decent package (AC, TV) for 3.5 grand. Lots of cheaper rooms out there too, so no excuses.

File your vacation days, get everything done. See you there.