finding a diversion

When one works two jobs, it might seem impossible to get bored... but it happens. And today is one of those days. Good thing that there's a film that's being shot right here at SWL. It stars Billy Bob Thornton (the ex-husband of Angelina Jolie). My friends had to educate me on this one... I simply had no clue as to who he is. But, that's normal for me... don't really follow the entertainment industry. Took these photos, from where I sit at the circulation desk...


And that, my dear friends, took care of more than an hour of my time although they only shot about less than 10 minutes of film.

Note: I just had additional input from my co-worker. This movie is called "Manure", comedy about manure salesmen in 1960s heartland America.

***photo taken using my sony ericsson z750a fone...

Where in the Philippines...

Been tagged. I think I've done this before, but since I got nothing better to do right now, why not do it again... ;p

With so many islands, so many great places to see, it's no wonder I was only able to visit a handful. Now that I'm here, chances of being able to see other places of interest in the Philippines is becoming nill. Maybe someday...

My Lakbayan grade is C+!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

welcoming summer

As spring loses it's yearly battle with the coming of the summer season, we headed off to the beach for an afternoon of fun, food, sun and sand (well, maybe not necessarily in that order). The sun, for all it's warmth lost it's battle to the cold front... and I meant it really got cold and it's not even 5pm. I gave up my sunbathing efforts as the cold wind kept me shivering instead of baking. Took some comfort in taking a few photos and having some snacks.

sob.... :( am not able to wait for sunset, too cold.

Kyla, not hungry anymore after finishing off some chix teriyaki stick and beef teriyaki

Axel's better smile... he's too tired though from battling the waves.

A storybook style house. I drove by it so the kids can see. Looks like one of those houses from LOTR.

breakwater

bikepath at venice beach
sailing
Axel and Kyla
waves are coming!!!!
hmmm... wonder what the fuss was all about?

Happy Birthday Ralline!!!

The Sistahuds celebrated Ralline's 32nd birthday at FlapJacks. Again, I have to content myself with pictures of the said celebration as they are, alas, thousands of miles away. How I wish I was there to celebrate with them.

Physical presence made impossible, all I can do is write about it... to rouse myself from a self imposed mind slumber and celebrate with them the only way I can.

Ralline, Rae to some, is quite literally a "big" person. Not so much in size(well, maybe a little ;p), but with the goodness of her heart. Friendship with her came as a pleasant surprise way back when we were still in college. I obviously am batches ahead of her, what with all my LOA's which I think happened with more purpose than just starting a family... meeting her and the rest of the Sistahuds are certainly one of the most welcomed perks of my otherwise ordinary life.

With everything that she has accomplished early in life, Ralline stayed pretty simple. Very easy to get along with, ready to listen, lend a helping hand, even take me and my kids for a much needed vacation :) Sometimes, she tends to be too good and people take advantage of that fact. She always gives too much of herself, not just to her family but to all of her friends.

Almost 20 years... that's how long I've known her. And every year is an added blessing to my life. Thank you for being you, for being my friend and a part of my family's life. Knowing you has made me realize that there are indeed silver linings and you're one of the best.

a little catching up

Time flies when you're having fun... or not. It's been awhile since I posted anything, been longer since I've actually sat down and wrote anything that has some semblance of sense in it. I guess sometimes that cannot be helped.

I have been somewhat busy, and just plain lazy the rest of the time. To recap some of what I've been doing...

- Got accepted at San Jose State University for the MLIS program. It's finally a "go" since I've been granted a loan to cover almost all of my expenses. Am a little anxious about going back to school after so many years of "inactivity". I think my mind is in that perpetual state of laziness so I need a really good jolt to get it going again. A shame that all that hard work when I was still in the Phil go to waste... but no sense in crying over spilled milk.

- Started going to Curves... need exercise to strengthen my core muscle to alleviate my low back pain. No, I did not sign up for a regular membership, still am not sure if it's going to work out for me. They gave me advise on eating healthy, but so far the only thing that accomplished was to mess up my digestion. Had to see my doctor last Friday because something's not right. Was told that although it is good to eat a low fat, low calorie diet, I should not go to the extremes and just change my diet drastically. Though I have some amount of fat stored up, I am not overweight and am exactly at the middle of the normal range, plus my weight has not really changed in the past year. No raw vegetables... which sounds quite odd if I am aiming for a low fat/calorie diet since most of my vegetables come from salads. Oh well, I've always said that diet is not for me...

- I've started reading again and finished 3 novels in one week. I should keep this up, might need to practice speed reading since I've been told that the MLIS program requires a lot of reading... hopefully I don't fall asleep trying to read those articles ;p

- Am trying to do more home-cooking. But I think this is not a very good idea. My son has gained some weight and he's told me that it's because he tends to eat more when I cook. Isn't that flattering? I cook and they eat. I am trying to find recipes that are at least a bit healthier than Filipino food (no offense, but we do tend to eat rich)... good luck to that.

- Have to start on my project again... I've put it aside for too long and it's now June. Hopefully, with everything else going on, I can have that done in time for Christmas... yeah, yeah, I know I have half the year.

- Finished painting the kitchen, well, sort of. There's a tiny patch that's out of my reach that needs to be painted, other than that, we now have a periwinkle shade for the walls and a really cool green for the cabinets. The floors have also been redone.

That seems to be all, though there were tiny details omitted. In all, everything's great with some drawbacks... which is what life is all about.