ramada boston

the first good thing to happen on this trip: free internet. brian, the guy at the front desk, had a good laugh because he's not used to guests being excited about the internet connection. they're usually happy about the complimentary breakfast.

what are the events that led to this moment? let's see...

1. slept through most of a 14-hour flight (from hong kong to neward) that didn't have a good selection of movies and tv shows. i was looking forward to watching the 3 episodes of house but the channel carrying it wasn't available. one bonus: the window seat next to me wasn't taken so i had more space :)
2. endured my seatmate's extremely foul breath. i tried to ignore it, but it was impossible. every time he yawned, the horrible smell traveled to my nose. unbelievable.
   
3. waited 6 hours for the connecting flight to boston. spent some of it watching episodes of my boys on my laptop. the rest of the time i was asleep.
4. arriving in boston and discovering that the agent who was supposed to pick us up wasn't there. when i called the shipping line, i was told that she'd retired. what's up with that? so i had to call the ramada and request for a shuttle.
5. when we got to the ramada, there was one room lacking. poor guy had to bunk with the other two. and there were no instructions about pick-up time the next day so i had to find that out, too.

like i said, the free internet connection is the first good thing to happen today.

tomorrow morning at 8 we're going to be picked up and brought to the dock. still don't have the butterflies in my stomach. maybe tomorrow?

weekend roundup

1. ateneo beat ust by five points. i hope i get to watch at least one of the games between ateneo and la salle.
2. new macbooks? hope the rumors are true.
3. packing for 10-12 months is such a hassle. especially since there'll be limited storage space in my cabin.
4. watched "sense and sensibility" (again) while packing yesterday. i really love that movie. i think i'll watch it again tomorrow.
5. was introduced to the computer game mystery case files: ravenhearst. it's a bad game. it's so addictive that the only reason i stopped playing is that the laptop i was playing on ran out of battery.
   

it's official

my visa's already been delivered. i fly out of manila on september 26. because of this development, i'll be boarding another cruise ship: the ms veendam

exciting!

delaying the inevitable

sa mga nagno-novena na hindi ako matuloy, it worked.

i went to upl this morning to pick my documents and receive dispatch instructions and was told that my visa hadn't been delivered yet (i had a feeling this would happen as my visa interview was quite close to the original departure date).

so, now i'm on standby. i could leave the next day or next week, but definitely not tomorrow.

dlsu wins pivotal game 3 by 1

free throws win shots. many basketball teams have used the technique of fouling their competitor's worst free throw shooter to edge closer and ultimately win the game.

this adage was proven yet again in today's 3rd - and pivotal - matchup between la salle and ateneo. if pocholo villanueva missed both of his free throws in the last 10 seconds (it wasn't an impossible scenario, given how much he sucks at the free throw line), the game would've gone into overtime and ateneo would've have five extra minutes to give coach franz pumaren his first 3rd straight loss.

the way ateneo has been playing lately, it would've been very possible for them to take the win and face off against ue in the finals. they probably wouldn't win because ue is just too damn strong a team. grabe.

everyone needs friends

i just came back from a lovely dinner with some great friends (sayang lang at di nakarating ang isa) so it's quite a coincidence that i came across this picture online:

having a friend could mean the difference between life and death. read the article that accompanies the photo.

a little bit of news

1. apple has just launched an new batch of upgraded ipods
2. one of the new ipod models is the ipod touch, which is basically an iphone without the phone
3. luciano pavarotti has succumbed to pancreatic cancer
4. in a personal interview with vanity fair, nicole kidman revealed that she was briefly engaged after her divorce from tom cruise and her marriage to keith urban
5. shaq files for divorce after five years and four children
6. kobe kicks off asian tour in manila
7. oh, and soon from apple: the itunes wi-fi music store and custom ringtones for your iphone.

that's it. time for a spanish siesta.

the two sides of me

i'm a girlie-girl. i enjoy getting all dressed up, shopping for shoes, putting on makeup (the natural look, of course) and going to the parlor. i love watching chick flicks and corny tv shows, and going to the theater. i cry. a lot. especially when it's "that time of the month." oh, and i hate bugs. especially cockroaches.

it's the girlie-girl in me that chose "sex and the city" as one of my favorite tv shows.

but i'm also sort of a tomboy. i'll catch every game of my favorite basketball team and cheer like a maniac until i'm hoarse. i'll debate on who's a better player: kobe bryant or michael jordan (for the record, jordan wins hands down). when driving, i'll gun my engine to catch up and cut off a driver that cut me off. and i have no problem hanging out with my guy friends, even if i'm the only girl in the group.

it's the tomboy in me that fell in love with "my boys."

"my boys" is like "sex and the city." but instead of four single women, you have four single men (bobby, brendan, kenny and mike), one girl (pj) and her married brother (andy). they live in chicago, not new york. they prefer beer to cosmopolitans. and while the women of satc live for scoring an invite to the next hot spot in the city, pj and her boys are totally content visiting their regular haunt, crowley's, or hanging at her place for poker night.

pj's a writer, too. but instead of a sex columnist, she's a sports writer for the chicago sun times. and while carrie uses her friends' as well as her own experiences to shed light on the intricacies of relationships, pj uses baseball analogies to explain the dynamics of friendships and the role of each "member of the team."

the reason i enjoy this show so much is that, as much as i can be all refined and poised and lady-like, i can just as easily be one of the guys. so i can totally relate to pj and her relationship with her male friends.

plus, the dialogue is so refreshing. you might not agree with me, but it's so much fun hearing guys talk when they're just being guys and not trying to impress a girl. (ok, it's fun to hear them try to impress a girl, too, but for an entirely different reason.)

look, all trying to say is this: watch this show if you get the chance. it's fun. it's funny. and it has jim gaffigan.

math of life

received this from a friend. it's hilarious. enjoy!

ROMANCE MATHEMATICS
Smart man + smart woman = romance
Smart man + dumb woman = affair
Dumb man + smart woman = marriage
Dumb man + dumb woman = pregnancy

OFFICE ARITHMETIC
Smart boss + smart employee = profit
Smart boss + dumb employee = production
Dumb boss + smart employee = promotion
Dumb boss + dumb employee = overtime

SHOPPING MATH
A man will pay $20 for a $10 item he needs.
A woman will pay $10 for a $20 item that she doesn't need.

GENERAL EQUATIONS & STATISTICS
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

HAPPINESS
To be happy with a man, you must understand him a lot and love him a little.
To be happy with a woman, you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all.

LONGEVITY
Married men live longer than single men do, but married men are a lot more willing to die.

PROPENSITY TO CHANGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, and she does.

DISCUSSION TECHNIQUE
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

HOW TO STOP PEOPLE FROM BUGGING YOU ABOUT GETTING MARRIED
Old aunts used to come up to me at weddings, poking me in the ribs and
cackling, telling me, "You're next." They stopped after I started doing the same thing to them at funerals.

SHARE THIS WITH A SMART WOMAN WHO NEEDS A LAUGH AND THE SMART GUYS WHO YOU KNOW CAN HANDLE IT.