Just when I thought I’d survive 2011 unscathed, December knocked me out with an unexpected turn of events. Certainly made things interesting (good/bad, I do not know).

C’mon 2012, what do you have in store for me?

i made this, with my older sister in mind. freezing her buns off in Canada, she likes pretty things… pretty being “pretty practical”, “pretty comfortable” and “pretty awesome”. so if your sister is anything like mine, this might be just for her too.

1. Red Knitted Scarf (asos)
2. Wellingtons (hunter boots)
3. iPad (apple)
4. The Look Book by Erika Stalder (uo)
5. Friendship Bracelet (asos)
6. Amazing Grace Body Spritz (philosophy)
7. Minnetonka Kitty Suede Moccasins (madewell)

wouldn’t you want to be my sister? not that i can afford any of these but at least i’ve got good ideas! haha

With Christmas coming up, I thought I’d help myself by making gift guides for family, friends,people I work with, etc. If this ends up helping anybody else then that’s cool too :)

So this first one is for my mom who’s lazy most of the time but when inspiration hits her, can make awesome jewelry, can cook up a storm, can be fashionable.. and who’s generally a family woman(when she’s not in church, that is hehe)

a jewelry making kit, a quirky chopping board, a snow-scented spritz, and a family photobooth.

So my i told my dad we’ll take a picture. Multiple shots in a row so he can make 4 different faces.

See my dad’s 4 faces.

And of course my mom wanted her own picture as well.

On our way home from having lunch in tagaytay.

Instead of posting my Christmas wishlist I’ll start a series of gift ideas for family members, significant others, best friends, etc. Why? Because I just feel like it. Maybe I’ll be hit by an inspiration on what to give my family and friends.

Who am I kidding? After the series, I’ll still post my wishlist.

It has recently occurred to me that I’m 26 years old (and in a couple of months I’m 27). To family, however, or family friends, that realization occurred years ago when I was just 24.

Favorite question for oldies to ask? “When are you getting married?”

For the past 2 years I’ve been to a few weddings already. Classmates from college, highschool, kids I’ve grown up with. And within the next few months I have 3 more friends getting married. By choice, all of them, thank goodness.

But I’d be a fool not to say that that doesn’t freak me out. I’m hella FREAKED OUT with a capital F-R-E-A-K!

While I’m planning on surviving zombie apocalypse, being giddy over Jenna Hamilton’s crush on Matty in Awkward, and thinspirationing on Maggie Q (who I’m happy to report isn’t always photographed pretty)… I have friends picking out mottiffs, worrying about their prenup pictures and the price of having a good designer to do their gowns!

kamusta naman ang dahon at sili sa pengpeng?

And that’s just the wedding! What about sharing a house with (technically) a stranger. Having to make sure he puts the lid down. Always having to think for 2. Being responsible not just for yourself but for your significant other. Taking care of each other and making things work. MAKING THINGS WORK! I can’t even fry a fish without it being burnt in one side and under-cooked in the other.

But I’m going to be a hypocrite if I said that I didn’t think of my own wedding every now and then. Every girl imagines her wedding. That pretty white dress, the gorgeous buffet – yeah my priorities are pretty screwed.

So yeah, my friends’ weddings have me imagining my perfect outdoor wedding. And it since it’s all happening in my head, I throw in this guy to join in on the happily-ever-after fun.

nothing like ben barnes to make you want to say your ‘i dos’ faster than a speeding bullet

But it’s a different story when they start churning out one of these…

Tuesday nights are always Ponti Nights (Ponti being the bar at the 2nd floor of our building). I try to make it a point to at finish by 8pm on Tuesdays (since I end much later the rest of the week anyway) lest I go crazy from work-related stress. I think I’m nearing my burn out point.

So anyway, Tuesdays. Ponti Nights. My friends from work and I would buy our set of beers (3 for P100 if you’re a VIP which we’ve become thanks to being at Ponti every Tuesday since January and nearly everyday 2010) and a pizza or a platter of wings (if we have more than P100 in our pockets), and gossip for the next 2 hours.

More often than not, we would sing our hearts out to 90s pop music that the dj would be playing. If we’re lucky, it would be Rocke-oke night so we get to sing our hearts out to 90s pop music in front of a group of equally-drunk people with a band to back us up.

But then, sometimes, we have the bad nights.

Bad nights can be defined as nights when we go down too late like say, 10pm and a gaggle of giggly yuppies fresh from college or law school students come in. You can tell by their outfits, usually. And for this post, let me focus on the giggly girls fresh from college.

They’re giggly. And there’s a gaggle of them. With their designer bags and a glass of cocktail in their hand they fleet from table to table air kissing friends. They seem to know everybody or have a friend in every table. They probably went to college, party, drink, together or whatever the case may be, the whole bar is a clique (minus us, the oldies).

One thing I noticed about them is that… NOT ONE OF THEM IS FAT! I’ll be damned if any of them is over 120lbs, heights ranging from 5’2 to 5’9″ most probably high heels included.

So they can wear skin-tight jeans, tank and or cropped tops, unforgiving polyester dresses and you will not see an iota of bulge,fat,stretch marks, cellulite or even a misplaced pimple. WHAT DID THESE KIDS DO? Was there something in the milk they were drinking that we didn’t have that made them this… (nearly) perfect?

I find myself envying them and how they carry themselves. They can walk without a problem (and some people can even dance and run) in 5 inch heels (which are very pretty, mind you). No matter how short their skirts are, they still manage not to flash anybody! And let’s not even talk about make-up coz for the life of me I can’t even put on lipstick without getting some on my teeth.

basically they all look something like this minus the coat and the knee high boots

And yeah, they’re all so pretty.

I know that they don’t represent the norm of the society. They’re just like 10% of their age group.

But they’re all so different from the girls I’m used to. (The hipster kids)

but 10 lbs heavier hehehe.

But at least the universe is fair. When I run into these kids in the restroom, I hear them puking in the stall next to mine and I laugh on the inside. I see them stumbling and barely able to walk in their 5 inch heels while severely drunk and I thank the gods I have enough sense in me to wear shoes I can walk in. So yeah they may have looked good when they walked in, but with their runny make up and the zombie walk – I look much better than they do (at least in my head I do).

And let’s not even talk about the “talking”. High-pitched conyo speak has the same effect on me as nails scratching on boards. Grating.

But I have friends who are these kids and I still love them to bits. And I love how they let me make fun of them :)

But I will never ever understanding how they can bring themselves to snort alcohol.

Thanks to the boob tube I’ve been recently obsessed with the prospect of living through Zombie Apocalypse.

Last night, watching the first episode of Walking Dead, there was this particular scene that made my skin crawl. The survivors, while gathering provisions in a highway full of abandoned cars (a graveyard, if you will have it) suddenly chances upon a throng of migrating zombies. A THRONG! MIGRATING! ZOMBIES! so they had to hide under cars while waiting for the last of the zombies to pass through.

Imagine yourself already stressed and wary from having to run away from a supposed safe place because the zombies were coming. You’re tired, low on supplies and rushing to go about your business before dark happens. And then you turn around for a second and you see hundreds and thousands (ok maybe just hundreds) of zombies coming towards you. And you don’t know what to do and where you can go. If you make a noise they will know you’re there. They can smell you. THERE’S ABSOLUTELY NOTHING YOU CAN DO!! How do you hope to fight a huge group of rotting, flesh eaters? They’re fast. They don’t tire. They don’t feel pain (So fighting against them while they try to overpower you is no use, really) and a single bite or scratch can turn you into one of them. And one thing that can make it worse is if you see a familiar face amongst them (your dad, your best friend, your boyfriend – how are you supposed to shoot that? if it’s your boss or your ex, ok then shoot away!).

Imagine that wherever you go, you will be in this situation at any time, any day. And what if these zombies were the “28 Days Later” kind? They don’t just groan towards you, they run! And they’re mad! One day you will run out of gasoline for your vehicle, bullets for your gun, and your blade will go blunt. You will run out of hope, you will run out of strength and reason to fight.

There will be nothing else you can do but just run towards them and die. If you can’t beat them, join them, right?

Actually this post has no point. I’m just scared shitless of zombies. I’m on my feet (well truth is, I’m on my ass) all day thinking of things I have to do to prepare should Zombie Apocalypse hit us soon (2012 – end of the world… as we know it! perfect time for those zombies to show up, eh?)!

So I made a list of things that I think will help me survive Zombie Apocalypse (thanks to TV shows,books (may be about Armageddon, Rapture, whatever) my crazy friends, and a lot of paranoia):

1. Put metal railings on the windows – so even if they smash the glass windows into pieces, they still can’t get into the house.
2. Fortify the gates – make it higher, stronger, and remove all means of climbing over it.
3. Buy a hardcore 4×4 Land Rover – complete with 10 extra tires, GPS, solar powered phones
4. Buy a gasoline station franchise – so I never run out of gasoline (at least for the first few years of the apocalypse). I have to place this branch in a remote location, just have one pump, and make it look abandoned and empty so nobody uses it aside from me and my family (and friends if they’re alive)
5. Raid an artillery/Befriend a black market gun dealer – and load up on bullets, all sorts of guns, bazookas, grenades, flame throwers, anything that can help me kill those brain chompers!
6. Learn Wushu – so at least I can fight with swords, knives, scarves, curtains, whatever when I run out of fire power. I should befriend Jackie Chan, maybe he can help me fight with frying pans!
7. Buy a franchise of SM Hypermart or Pure Gold – and keep it closed. So all provisions are just mine, for my family (and friends, if they’re alive). I’ll put these branches in strategic locations in case I’m forced to be on the road.
8. Buy a bike – because sooner or later I’ll run out of gas but I need to be in a move so a bike it is. A solar powered car will do but what will I do if along with the Zombie Apocalypse, the sun burns out?
9. Do Cardio – yeah I watched Zombieland.
10. Cover our house, my car with pieces of rotting flesh – so at least they’ll think it’s just one of them and move away.
11. Never travel with old people – coz I will not be able to bring myself to leave them even if it means dying myself. (same thing with dogs – hello I am Legend)
12. Befriend a doctor and a soldier – coz at least one can fight and the other can treat the wounded.

This weekend, I spent approximately 7k. 3 days, 2.3k per day.

• Friday – Ponti + Taxi = 700
• Saturday – Grocery + Gas = 2000
• Sunday – Divisoria = 4000

Whataweekend. Payday just hit me and I’m already broke. Somebody keep me away from my wallet. :(

A bit iffy about my new Project Manager. I mean I’m happy we’re no longer outsourcing to Yellowasp (I know they’re really good but they’re a pain to work with). So far I’ve had 4 Project Managers for CCP and yeah, maybe we are a pain to work with too; but 2 out of those 4 I really didn’t have a problem with (the 4th one didn’t work with us extensively so I really can’t say much about working with him). Why? Because of the following reasons:

1. They gave feedback when feedback was needed - especially during emergencies. especially when feedback was needed immediately. especially when I have abso-fucking-lutely no idea what was going on.
2. They explained things pretty well - I’m amazing (and humble too) so most of the time I know what’s going on (nothing like a little Google to help you in times of ignorance). But sometimes Google = information overload. Plus there are jargons to look up so what was originally a one item research usually becomes a 10 item research. So I appreciate a little 101 when there are issues that are not for the kids who did Basic Math in college. Oh and please, don’t use highly-technical words. It doesn’t make anybody sound smarter, nor like you know what you’re talking about. Using big words won’t impress me and make me stop asking questions or pestering anybody.  If you can’t explain it, then it means you don’t understand it well enough yourself. 
3. They didn’t promise anything - In my book, PMs should never ever ever promise anything. Especially since last time I checked, we are still in a world where “anything can happen”. Deadlines can be pushed, Requirements change, Earths quake and a sneeze from the other end of the world can so much as cause a hurricane on the opposite end. So don’t promise me anything. Don’t promise me that the site will be fast and there will no longer be any downtimes. Don’t promise me that you know what you’re doing. Because sooner or later those promises will come and bite you in the ass. And in this team, honesty is always the best policy.
4. They consulted - They didn’t decide to do things on their own. They didn’t change specs just because they thought it would be better. They asked. Because in the first place, it’s not their place to do so without consulting with the business owner first. At the end of the day, it’s my project, it’s my business – I make the decisions (or in some cases I consult with other people who should be making the decisions). Granted that in some cases, your way can be better or it makes more sense – OK. But at least have the decency to consult with me. Coz in the project food chain, business owners trump project managers in the decision making.
5. They were trustworthy - Sometimes it’s all about the hips. There’s a certain aura that is needed for Project Managers. It’s this aura that makes people trust you and trust what you’re saying. When I ask for something, I want to feel that I’m sure I will get what I asked for (on time and correctly). If you don’t think you can deliver it on time, then say so. If you have questions, then ask them. Because when you don’t do any of those and you come back to me late, and with the wrong requirement – then I will never ever trust you again. And when I don’t trust you, I don’t want to work with you.
6. They recognized that I am the business owner - Bypass me and I will wring your neck. I don’t care if you consulted with the CEO (of the other company, to be exact). He doesn’t make the decisions for this project, I do (and by I, I mean after I’ve consulted with our big boss, the marketing head, and the rest of the team involved with the project). So yeah, even if you’ve consuted with him, it doesn’t change the fact that I no longer need to know what’s going on. In fact, I need to know what’s going more than he does. And you need me to know what’s going on, because at the end of the day, I have a say in your evaluation.

So basically my new PM isn’t any of the above. But I’m gonna give him the benefit of the doubt. It’s only been less than a month. If he doesn’t change after we’ve talked, then I will strangle him.

I recently made my list of things to do before I’m 30. I’ll be 30 in 3 years and several months so the pressure is on! I realized that most of the things on my list are travel related.

Some things on my list.

1. Sleeper train across South East Asia
2. Backpack across Europe
3. A month in a different country – or at least a month travelling.
4. Bagel in New York
5. Batanes
6. Japan
7. Volunteer (Immersion style)

A: we were on a school bus and i wanted to get a tour bua experience so i was harnessed to a seat and the driver would drive like this (insert hand motions) and it would stretch my hymen.

Me, M and Tom: your what?

A: (deadpan) my hymen

Us: your fucking hymen???!!!!

A: my hymen

Us: wtf

A: oh my diaphragm

Us: fufufufu