Curbside Stories

I am a sound sleeper.  I sleep early and wake up late on a weekend and wake up 1 hour before my work time on weekdays.  I went to the mall a few days ago and since then I've been insomniac.  I know what caused it--this Samsung S5620 also known as Monte.  It has a touch screen mobile phone with 3.6 Mbps HSDPA, 3 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi (woohoo!), 2.1 Bluetooth, secondary video call camera and office document reader.  If I can't have Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 , this buddy would be my next best option.  What I love about its many features is the Wi-Fi... meaning you can abuse coffee shop or restaurant internet connections using this cellphone.  Oh, the office document viewer is not bad also... I need it to keep track of my freelance works.  This buddy sells between 9,000 to 10,000 in the Philippines--way cheaper compared to the Xperia X10.  I went back to the mall yesterday to cure my insomnia but they do not have a stock.  I still have to...

I love this photo!  It reminds me of my almost forgotten talent... playing the piano.  When my Mom was still in Saudi Arabia, she gave me a mini piano, it was a Casio, a super mini version of a keyboard.  I would play music without even looking at the notes (I don't even know what notes are), I was about 7 years old, I just play whatever music I hear.  My first self-taught piece was Happy Birthday and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star followed and almost all the nursery rhymes that a kid knows.  My grandma saw that I have this thing about music so when I was in high school she enrolled me for a piano lesson.  I joined two piano recitals then and my pieces were Ballade Pour Adeline by Olivier Toussaint and Paul de Senneville, Vera's Theme , Somewhere in Time by John Barry and Roger Williams and Valentine by Jim Brickman.  I would practice every afternoon after school and my great grandfather would sit on the sofa to watch me practice and he would som...

This is what I have been doing... doing still, even though I do not have an internet connection yet.  Nobody and nothing can stop me from writing about anything.  A sample of what I mean is this blog that I initially had in MS Word.  **** READ ON ****   It is night once again, the perfect time for me to be sentimental, hilarious, bitchy—lunatic in shorter term.  I just can’t let a random thought slip through my mind even if I do not have an internet connection.  Read on, cry or laugh with me as I narrate my life based on my music play list. While playing Spider Solitaire, Windows Media Player is playing Luther Vandross’s Dance With My Father—which is a major tearjerker for me.  I know you knew the song and any son or daughter who’s been abandoned or have lost a father will feel sentimental, too.  I stopped playing the solitaire, I just got bored and annoyed that after 5 deals, I did not win.  I am really not good with playing cards.  ...

My friend posted on her Facebook account that she still has a copy of our Noli Me Tangere play when we were in college.  We got an A for that, as a matter of fact.  I asked her to give me a copy of it... actually, most of our classmates asked that she duplicate it.  The play was stored in a mini-dv so she will have to copy it to a cd and look for shops with dvd duplication services.  I played the role of Lieutenant Guevarra who is a male in the original story that we made into a female... we had to do it, because we don't have enough male members to play the part.  I could not wait to have its copy in my hands.

I believe the greenest, cost efficient and most accessible way to generate electricity is through solar energy.  I could not comprehend why only a few are using the power of the sun... it is free to begin with and solar kits can be easily installed in homes, cars, boats and just about anything that requires electricity.  I just again thought of it when we had no electricity for two days.  I wish we had solar panels as back up in cases of brownout that will probably happen frequently now that the rainy season is here.  I hope the government and households will consider this.

I plan to do a lot of things, including going back to school and learning new skills.  My friend suggests that I start with what I love to do and already have an idea to begin with so that learning would be easier for me.  After a few seconds of contemplating about it, I said I have enroll to a beauty school .  I like to experiment with makeup and  I am an artistic person, although I do not know how to paint, I think mixing colors on a blank face is the closest thing to painting. Aside from satisfying my creative side, I can also use my new skill to earn extra. I can not wait to sign up.

This blog entry of The Demigoddess made my day.  It made me miss my girlfriends more, especially my BFF who knows (almost) my deepest and darkest secrets.  I couldn't believe that these girls were so comfortable talking about their sex life... or maybe they're just too drunk to stop blabbing about it.  Either way, it was so funny and it made me blush a bit.  And thanks, Bacardi, for letting the girls spill the beans. I wonder when can I have this kind of drinking session with my girls.  To my BFF , I hope you read this.  Let us schedule one when you get back, okay?!

I was not able to watch President Noy's SONA yesterday  and if you were not able to watch too, you can read the SONA's English translation in this blog.  Of course I will not let the day pass by without commenting about the current buzz.  So, please bear with me as I address the state of our nation according to me that most government officials don't see or have seen it but did not do anything about it. I do not frequent Manila but each time I would go there, I notice new buildings being built and new attractions to see and more people in their tattered clothes knock on car windows for alms.  I live in the province and beggars are not a common sight in streets when I was younger.  Looking back to the years when there were few subdivisions and fewer commercial establishments, children still roam the streets, not begging but walking with their friends to go to their favorite hangout to play.  Now, I don't need to go to Manila to see beggars.  It has b...

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My grandmother on my father's side has diabetes and she's been on a strict diet ever since its diagnosis many years ago.  Diabetes is a disease of the pancreas that involves the hormone insulin .  This hormone is essential in regulating energy and metabolism of our body and if it is over produced or under produced, chances are, you have a diabetes.  Because diabetes is a metabolic disorder, doctors advise patients to monitor their blood glucose levels at regular intervals.  Poor or late management of the disease may lead to blindness, organ failure and even worse, death.  Diabetes is a preventable disease even if you have history in the family.  Doctors suggest these five steps to prevent diabetes : 1. Be more active - excercise regularly to prevent glucose from stocking up in your body and it boosts your sensitivity to insulin. 2. Eat fiber-rich foods - good digestion is also the key to eliminating excesses in your body.  Aside from preventing diab...

After more than a week of fretting about my internet connection and having no extra income as an effect, I am almost close to accepting that returning back to web full time will take me at least three weeks because I have a new sideline--which, of course will make me busy (even busier).  My online bosses were so considerate of me that they would just patiently wait until my virtual world becomes normal again.  I can hug them so tight! I will not anymore ask why oh why to the heavens above because despite the what I call unfortunate events after the typhoon, I am blessed with more than I am expecting.  It is pouring actually.  I couldn't be any happier and it just proved one thing--good things happen to good people. *Wink*

I had a meeting yesterday with my department and it was a fruitful and meaningful one.  Our IT Department consists of a programmer, two technicians and me as their manager.  After discussing and resolving department issues I facilitated a short team building activity to lighten up things a bit.  I asked them to write three things that no one knows about them.  I took their papers and asked them to guess whose "secret" was it.  It was a fun activity, it allowed us to get to know each other better and to understand the root cause of each other's behavior.  After the secret revealing activity, I asked them to say what they do not like about one another.  Nothing really big or too personal things were revealed and I am glad that my staffs are getting along pretty well.  Naturally, I asked them what they do not like about me.  I was nervous asking that to them but I have to face what they will say about me and do the best that I can to change my n...

Isn't he cute?  He is John Morris, the voice behind Andy Davis of Toy Story.  I hadn't imagine Andy to be good looking in person.  He lent his voice to Andy since the first Toy Story in 1995 when he was just 10 years old.  Now that Andy is in college and John is 25, I wonder if there'll be another Toy Story.  Read his journey and growing up with Toy Story right here .

Lance and I watched Toy Story 3 and he loved it.  He actually got sad when the kids at the daycare center were mutilating the toys.  I hope he will not do it anymore with his own toys.  Toy Story 3 is about Andy's transition from being a kid to a grown up.  Of course his toys (Woody, Jesse, Buzz, Bullseye, Rex, and others) were deeply concerned of Andy's transition because that means no more playtime and worse they'll be thrown away in the dumpster.  Woody tries to comfort them and tell the other toys that Andy will never throw them away because he loves them.  When Andy was sorting the things that he will keep, he accidentally left all other toys in the trashbag while Woody was placed inside a box that he will bring to college.  Andy's mom thought the things inside the bag were trash so she left them outside their house for the garbage truck to pick up.  What happened after that is a long journey of the toys and the discovery of how importan...

I am back to reading books.  It is the only good thing that happened after the typhoon. I got these books for less than 100 pesos from book shops in a mall.  The last time I read a book was October of last year and it was Ken Follet's The Hammer of Eden.  Well, this is another story.  I bought this last year after reading Paulo Coelho's Brida.  I read this but did not finish, maybe I wasn't inspired.  Yes, weird as it may seem but I really need to be inspired (not preoccupied with anything) before I read a book.  I am close to finishing Ken Follet's Paper Money and I promise to finish this before I move on to Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club.  I am keeping my fingers crossed.

My Mom bought me a Magic Jack about two weeks ago but I could not use it because I do not have a spare telephone unit.  I bought a unit a few days ago before the typhoon and thought I can use it now that I have a the unit, but no... I do not have an internet connection to install the software.   I have heard of this product a few months ago from a friend because she uses this to call her parents in the US.  Magic Jack allows you to call for free to any US telephone number just by using your computer.  To read more about this product, click on this link .

I saw my cousin holding something on her ear and I got curious.  Well, she's holding a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 in all its glory while listening to Justin Beiber's song.  I grabbed it from her and immediately checked out  its features .  I thought it was hers and she had it as a gift from her dad who works as an engineer in Saudi Arabia... it is not.  It is my aunt's new purchase after years of holding on to a  Nokia cellphone that our grandmother gave her.  I looked into the price and it is a whopping thirty two thousand pesos (Php32,000).  I know she can afford it because of her equally whopping salary (denied disclosure).  This guy has a 8 megapixel camera, 4-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, Wi-Fi, and 1 GHz processor that allows you to surf, tweet, update your Facebook status, chat, email and whathaveyou!  I love this!

Typhoon Basyang (Conson) came relatively unknown to me.  I know that there's a typhoon but I didn't expect it to be as strong as Typhoon Pepeng.  It was Tuesday night, around 11, and my son was already sleeping  like a rock when heavy rain poured which was then followed by strong gusts of wind.  After a few minutes that seemed like an hour, there was complete darkness.  I said to myself, 'this is going to be a long night'.  I did not sleep for fear of waking up without a roof--or a house.  My answer to every gust of the wind was a prayer that the night will pass with little or no damage. There was no electricity for more than 24 hours--my reason for not being active in the web.  There were news that it will take 4 days for the electric company to restore damaged power lines.  The news reminded me of a strong typhoon when I was in high school, we had no electricity for 3 days.  My grandmother would iron our clothes using an old iron wher...

Paul's prediction was right.  Spain won the World Cup--their first ever FIFA title!  Spain's heroes are: Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Joan Capdevila, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso (Cesc Fabregas, 87), Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Pedro Rodriguez (Jesus Navas, 60), David Villa (Fernando Torres, 106). Who do you think is Spain's most valuable player?

The world is buzzing about the prediction of Paul the psychic octopus of Germany.  On July 9, Paul predicted that Spain will win over Netherlands on their soccer game tomorrow (July 11). How does Paul do it?  Two clear boxes labeled with the county's flag contains a mussel inside and is placed in Paul's aquarium.  Whichever mussel will Paul eat will be the prediction.  Out of the 13 predictions of Paul involving Germany's games, only two were incorrect.  Let us wait and see if Paul's prediction on the victory of Spain over Netherlands will come true.  If ever his prediction will fail, we can all just forgive him... after all he's just an octopus.

I was reading the morning newspaper when I saw this advertisement.  You can have a Honda Civic 1.8 VMT for free when you buy a condominium at Sentosia.  The units can be found along Macapagal Avenue in Parañaque.  It isn't actually hard to find, if you are heading towards Cavite from SM Mall of Asia, it is the only community with beautiful condos of mustard and brown color that you can see on the right side. In case you are looking for a place to permanently live, Sentosia has 2 condo designs that you can choose from.  To learn more about how you can have your dream house and dream car, click here .

Thursday was like TGIF to me because of my scheduled day off, I planned to go to the mall with Lance and buy him some clothes--he's gone a lot bigger and heavier.  We went to bed early last night and woke up at 10 in the morning and then I received a phone call from an office mate asking me to report to work the soonest possible time.  I asked her what's the matter and she said as per the bosses.  Well, ok. After 30 minutes I was in the office and my office mate threw the bomb... a seminar will happen in three hours!  WTF!  Whoever thought of conducting a seminar in such a really really (to the nth power) short notice is a complete a**hole (to the nth power)! My evening didn't went well, too.  There was a leak in one of the pipes in my bathroom and it flooded the entire house--except the bedroom.  I spend two hours sweeping and moving appliances and furniture around the house and while I was busy getting rid of all the water, I heard a noise inside t...

Sephora offers five free product samples from your favorite brands like Lancome, YSL, Clinique, Bulgari and others by simply buying any $50-worth of their products online. Your goodies will be packed in a special Sephora bag--perfect to stuff in your traveling bag. This promo runs today until July 13 or until supplies last.  Hurry now ladies, click here , I know you want this.

HAHAHAHA!  Sorry, I couldn't help but laugh upon seeing this all in one farming tool that a Japanese invented.  Looking at the picture, this humongous tool isn't helping the farmer at all because it looks really heavy compared to the normal farming tool that you use separately. This is something that isn't too crazy.  If you don't have a butter knife to use, this stick type butter will sure save your day.  I think this is perfect if you will have a picnic or if you will pack lunch for school or office... I just hope it doesn't melt easily and you won't mistake it for a lip balm. This is child labor.  It is inappropriate to let your child crawl on dirty floors AND use your child as a mop.  Introducing, the most ingenious invention of the century--the noodle eater's hair guide.  A bitch butts in:  Why don't you just tie your hair back, tie it in a bun or better yet shave your hair off so the next time you eat your noodles, your hair will not g...

I hate thongs!  No, I did not put this sign somewhere to declare my feelings against the fabric-deprived underwear.  Thongs worn by women may be forgivable because of some wardrobe and fashion concerns. There is an option.  If you are conscious about those ugly panty lines, why don't you wear seamless panties instead? Thongs worn on your feet is a yes, other than that and anywhere else, it is a no (especially if it is proudly peeking out of your pants and worn as a swimwear).  Imagine a man with a body of  a pro-wrestler wearing a despicable thong!  Eeeewww!  You can view more silly signs at Sign Spotting .  Really funny site.

Although this entry generally points out that being a domesticated bummer has a potential of earning while at home, jobless males and non-mothers or housewives will also benefit by reading further.   I am a mother and a career woman who takes care of the bills and how to pay those without having to seek help from anyone.  My being involved in online freelance jobs started six months ago when I was thinking of giving up my 8 to 5 job.  I know that the economic recession has made job hunting a harder task to do so I have to think of something that will help me earn money while waiting to get hired full-time.  I am not a techie but I love browsing the web for interesting topics and latest news.   My planning to resign and my being an internet junkie led me to the discovery of online freelancing.  In this time of economic downfall, moms can also help generate income by being at home.  I know that most households are struggling to make ends mee...

Hi guys!  Let me start my Monday with a meme... you can copy it if you want and share it with your friends.  Happy reading and sharing! 1. What time did you wake up? 6 O'CLOCK BUT I WENT TO BED AGAIN... OFFICIALLY, I WOKE UP AT 7 2. The first thing that you did when you woke up: KISSED MY SON GOOD MORNING EVEN IF HE'S STILL ASLEEP 3. Did you eat breakfast? NOPE.  I SELDOM EAT BREAKFAST DURING WEEKDAYS. 4. What did you do after your morning ritual? HURRIEDLY WENT TO THE OFFICE... I WAS CLOSE TO BEING LATE. 5. Coffee or hot choco? EITHER. 6. Your favorite breakfast OMELETTE AND FRIED RICE... I AM A RICE PERSON. 7. The first word you said today QUIET.  MY SON WAS CRYING AND TELLING ME THAT HE WANTS TO TURN ON THE AIRCON. 8. The first thing that you did outside of your house HAILED A JEEPNEY. 9. Your plan for today after a long day in the office GO HOME IMMEDIATELY AND PREPARE DINNER FOR MY SON 10. The first person that you greeted outside of...

Here I am again lamenting about defying the aging process.  No, it is not about me.  I just happen to have found a cosmetic surgery clinic in Washington DC that does not only perform surgeries but also does non-invasive dermatological procedures that are budget friendly.  Vita Surgical Group operates as a team of specialized doctors to ensure that all procedures are done according to standards with the most innovative and state of the art machines and facilities.  If you want to know more about their services, go to their website and see how you can be beautiful without spending so much. In case you are a doctor and wants to be trained, Vita Surgical Group also offers training about the field.  Click on this link to get to know more about their trainings.