Pure Comedy

I was in the Shaw Blvd. branch of Pure Gold today to grab a few groceries and toiletries for our long weekend trip to Subic. I didn't know they had these small baskets on wheels so I ended up getting the usual shopping cart even if I knew I only had to get a few things.

When it was time to pay, I noticed that the lines on the regular counters were ridiculously long and the carts were filled to the maximum! Some even had more than one cart. I'm guessing that a lot of these people have sari sari stores because most of the things in their cart were multiple packs of the same items.

Anyhoo...I walked over to their express lanes to see if I could be luckier. I had only about a dozen items in my cart anyway. The lanes were labeled Basket Lane. So, okay I fell in line in one of them and the cashier, upon seeing that I had a cart said, "Ay Ma'am, basket lane po ito hindi po pwede ang cart."

Here's the rest of this very amusing conversation...

ME : Pero tignan mo yung laman ng cart ko, mga 12 pieces lang lahat yan so dapat pwede diba? Kasi express lane ang ibig sabihin ng basket lane?

CASHIER : Hindi po, ibig po sabihin dapat basket ang bitbit ninyo. (at this point, I wanted to pounce on her for giving me such a stupid answer but I was in a good mood so she was lucky, I decided to be "playful")

ME : Ah okay sige.
(I looked around and found myself a basket, moved all my purchases from the cart to the basket and went back to the same cashier).

ME : Miss, naka-basket na. Okay na?

CASHIER : Opo Ma'am okay na po!

ME : Kasi naman di ko naintindihan yung ibig sabihin ng basket lane hehehe.

Basket case pwede pa! Duh...


ENJOY THE LONG WEEKEND!!!

Ang Pinoy Nga Naman!

Hmmm...please translate. Good luck!
(Written on the back of a license after the driver was caught. Dapat yata yung pulis ang hinuli.)

Fee and Ep Froblem?

Could it be something else? Baka mapagkamalan daw na erflane...

CUT AND FACE pala ha...

AND MY ULTIMATE FAVORITE

OO NGA NAMAN!

Been There, Done That

The Mercury Retrograde is over but it seems it spilled over for some, including a very good friend who, I've learned, has had to go through some rough patches in her personal life these past weeks.

I've been waiting for her to reach out to me. She's not aware that I know what's been happening. I'm not the type to offer unsolicited advice. So when she finally asked me if we could go out, just the two of us, I was both happy and sad.

Happy because I would finally be able to hear it straight from the horse's mouth and give her the shoulder that she needs to cry on (if she's still crying) and sad because I'd have to suck in all that bad info about what happened to her. I'm not particularly excited to find out just how much she's suffered in the recent weeks.

But I guess I should just forget about my own judgements at the moment and focus on being there for her, as a friend and someone who's been in almost the same situation.

Things have gone haywire for her and it's no joke that she has to experience all of this at a time when families are eagerly awaiting and preparing for the holidays.

If it's any consolation, I haven't seen or talked to her in a while. So I'm looking forward to bonding with her, despite the circumstances that are bringing us together.

Snooping Around As Usual

Sabine just loves to turn the house upside down by looking through everyone's stuff
My closet
My shoe cabinet
Our work desks
Anissa's drawers
Even the pantry in the kitchen!

Today, I caught her doing this

She was going through one of my jewelry boxes!
And she went for those bangles first
Hmmm...I wonder if she knows that those vintage Gucci bangles originally belonged to her Mama Gran, passed on to my Mom and now they're with me.
I'm sure Anissa will throw a fit if she finds out her little sister wants to overtake her.

I should put a caption on this photo:

Get them if you can, Ate!

A Rare Moment

Here it is...
the thing that made me smile ear to ear

Dinner alone with Neal
Very rare indeed
Have not had the chance to go on a "date" for the longest time and I don't remember the last time he actually said, "Hon, can I take you out to dinner...just you and I?"

But it was my 40th birthday, so I guess I deserved this pleasant surprise

He asked me to choose the place
I've been wanting to go back to MINATO since the first time I ate there 2 weeks ago
And so...my wish was his command!

All the appetizers I love!!!

He really enjoyed the food too!

Here they come!

That's Tenderloin Strips on the left and Marinated Beef Short Ribs on the right

Bibimbap again!

Special treatment from start to finish

All I had to do was sit and wait to be served

What a perfect way to end my birthday!

(do we look sleepy in this picture? that's because we were from all that food!)

The BEST Birthday Messages

My day came and went
But these will help me remember what a super great 40th birthday I had
My favorite birthday messages were from...

MY DAD

MY SIL, MARJ AND FAMILY



THE KIDS AND NEAL...



AND THE GRAND PRIZE GOES TO...
(this was definitely the highlight of my day and of course he just had to inject the kind of humor he is so known for!)



THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REMEMBERED!!!

Life Begins at 40!

I just turned 40 exactly 30 minutes ago according to my laptop clock.

A friend told me once...

This is the age when you start feeling sleepy all the time (check!), when you'd rather stay home and be a bum even when all the malls are on sale (check!), when you start referring to music you're not familiar with as noise (check! --- Anissa will agree to this)...etc, etc, etc.

So why...despite all these "warnings" do I feel so giddy about turning 40???

I can't really put a finger on it. But I do know that part of the reason is HOW I got to where I am. Looking back, I had my share of some pretty bad deals (doesn't everyone?). Mistakes were committed, friends came and went, some terrible choices were made. I'm looking at this checklist though and I see that it's lopsided. Why? Because I've got a whole lot more listed on the GOOD column.

I don't feel the need to be specific about everything I've gone through to get to where I'm at today. Suffice it to say...even the WORST of times yielded long-term positive results. Even the meanest, "baddest" people I've come across left very valuable lessons without even knowing it. Most importantly...

DESPITE ALL THE BUMPS ON THE ROAD
THE PEOPLE WHO MATTER MOST TO ME
ARE STILL AROUND TO HELP ME CELEBRATE
THIS ALL-IMPORTANT MILESTONE

I guess that's really why I don't feel bad at all about turning 40. Why does "40" sound so bad to some people anyway? As the old cliche goes - "Age is just a number". And it really is. I honestly don't think a person is "over the hill" once he/she turns 40.

In fact, life SHOULD get better because at this point, because of everything I've gone through, I've learned to choose my battles and worry less about the small things.

I've never been happier in my life.

Will I be saying the same things when I become a golden girl in another 10 years? I sure hope so.
Meantime...

I'm going to sit back and enjoy all the great things that are out there waiting for me.

YES I'M 40 and I'M LOVING IT!!!

Oh Nooooooooo!!!

Is it true that NBC is cancelling
Lipstick Jungle???

By David Bauder, AP Television Writer Thu Nov 13, 3:02 PM PST

Add Christian Slater and Brooke Shields to the list of actors with TV failures on their records.

NBC is pulling the plug on "My Own Worst Enemy" and "Lipstick Jungle", two if its more high-profile young series, according to two network executives who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the decision.

Read more about it here

HOW CAN THEY DO THIS????
WAAAAHHHH!!!

Why Sabine Shouldn't Be Alone With A Laptop

Did I mention that she now knows how to navigate her way through her Dad's iPhone?

Pakialamera kasi!

It's That Time Of The Year Again

This time though...it's only Sabine who doesn't have it.

Anissa's coughing.

I have a bad cold which turned worse last night just right before I went to sleep (and today my throat started to itch).

DH's cold is even worse than mine plus he had chills late in the evening.

Hayyyyy...I am totally hating this weather!

Happy Birthday, Baby Bro!

First of all...he's not a baby anymore. He's 38 yrs old today. Only 2 years younger, so when we were growing up we were like a cat and dog, constantly fighting over the littlest things. The one fight that stands out in my memory to this day is the one over my diary, which he secretly opened and read. But I caught him in the act and I was so angry, I dragged him by the hair outside of the room to the other end of the 2nd floor of our home. Poor guy had to deal with a sore scalp for days!

He was Mama's Boy, I was Daddy's Girl so there was really no competition. I guess it was the small age gap that made us so angry at each other most of the time. But when it was time to join forces, oh boy! We were the team to beat! All of our birthdays were celebrated jointly because we share the same birth month. In a lot of our childhood photos, we were even dressed alike. Whether he looked more like a girl, or I looked more like a boy, I don't know. But we were always mistaken for twins! In college, my friends called us the WONDER TWINS even!

I can go on an on about the kind of brother he's been to me. He's my favorite, of course hahahaha! Do I have a choice??? He's my only sibling! I can no longer live up to the kind of lifestyle he has. But I feel proud because people tell me how good he is at what he does.

But seriously this year on his birthday I am so so happy to see him happy and I know that things can only get better. I see it in his eyes and I feel it in my over-protective bones.

HAPPY 38th BIRTHDAY, BOMBITO!!!
You may be pushing 40 yourself but you'll always be my baby brother
(tell that to the girls who are constantly around you hahaha!)
LOVE YOU TO DEATH!!!

16 Days To Go!

I'm counting down the days 'til I turn 40!

Same time last year, I remember having a conversation with Jin about not wanting to celebrate my birthday. She asked me why and I said it's probably because I never really skipped a year without holding a big party for family and friends. If it wasn't a party, it was a night out, still with a big group. I guess I just got tired of all that fussing over my birthday. Not that a birthday isn't a big deal. It's a blessing and I haven't stopped thinking of birthdays that way, really. Jin, on the other hand, had not been celebrating hers so last year she decided to do otherwise.

It's really a matter of preference. This year for my 40th, my stand is the same. No big celebrations. All I want to do is celebrate with family and that's it. In my group, I'm the fourth to turn 40 this year. The other three all had quiet celebrations too. So I'm kinda glad that none of them will question my decision to stay quiet myself.

Earlier, I was chatting with Chiqui, another longtime friend and groupmate. She reminded me that my birthday's coming up and I said oh yes, I know I'm turning 40 very soon but I don't really feel like celebrating in a big way. She first kidded me about being in denial about my age and tha'ts probably why I don't feel like throwing a party haha! But later on, she said she understands. She's a bit younger but has been feeling the same way for a few years now everytime her birthday comes. She made me realize something...

We really are getting older. Priorities have changed. Years ago, it would have been friends first --- ALWAYS. I remember how, on several of my birthdays, I'd have dinner with my family first but I'd be rushing off to be with friends soon after that. My parents must have felt so bad that I wanted to be with other people more! Today, obviously the tables have been turned. I'd rather be with my family on my birthday.

She's absolutely right. We're at that age where family comes first. Our friends are mature enough to understand this and secure enough to know that friendships are based on more important things.

Another year older, another year wiser.