Baka Gaijin, Part 1

I’ve neglected this blog for such a long time and it feels good to be writing again, however mundane this entry would turn out to be!

I promised myself I would blog about my Japan trip because I really, really enjoyed it and there's so much I learned when I was there. I wasn’t able to blog about my China trip, which was unfortunate, because while it’s not as fun and adventurous and educational, it’s still important to me because it was my first trip abroad.

Anyway, I don’t know how to go about blogging my Japan trip. There are some stuffs I want to talk about immediately *cough*Arashi*cough but I think that could wait a little longer, when the need to fangirl has subsided a bit. :D

Shoot, so where was I? Right, I’m trying to make a very structured post but if I continue planning I won’t be able to write anything at this rate. And - what the hell - I found a good starting point at telling my story: I went just a few minutes ago to the washroom and it occurred to me to write about the toilet system in Japan . Yep, this is a very inspired post, I tell you.

What I noticed was that all the restrooms in Japan (at least the ones I’ve visited) had bidet toilets. Heck, even my tiny, tiny hotel room (why do I keep referring to it as hotel anyway? It’s an inn!) had a bidet toilet. It had settings for uh, posterior cleaning and uhrm, feminine cleaning. One can also adjust the water temperature and pressure. The toilet at the office, on the other hand, had an air dryer! There’s also numerous other buttons the function of which I haven’t had the courage to find out. Then there’s also this apparatus which at first I thought was some kind of deodorizer. When you press the button, it makes a flushing sound, but I couldn’t detect any smell or any other use from it. I asked one of my male officemate if they had a similar gadget in their washroom but he just gave me a blank look. So I checked the net, and guess what? According to Wikipedia, "many Japanese women are embarrassed at the thought of being heard by others during urination". So this apparatus, or Otohime (thanks Wikipedia!), was meant to mask the sound of "wiwi". :D

The toilet at the hotel lobby was quite high tech as well. I meant to take a vid, but forgot about it so you would have to do with my description: when you enter, the light automatically opens. When you get near the bowl, the cover automatically lifts for you. The bidet buttons attached to the seat are more complicated than the one installed in my room. The thrash can, soap dispenser, sink faucet have motion sensors as well.

And speaking of hotels, the hotel, I mean, the inn that we stayed in was so small, even our Japanese colleagues were making fun of it! One of the joke was, the TV in the inn was so high tech, you don’t even need a remote control to operate it. You just extend out your arms and voila! you can press the buttons already! Of course, that’s a bit of exaggeration on their part, but you get the idea. Here’s a picture of the room for your better appreciation:


There’s a bed in the corner (which is the single biggest thing in the room); on opposite side is a long table that functions as a dresser, TV table, laptop table and dining table. There’s a chair you can sit in for grooming, for watching TV (if you prefer watching near the TV) (the TV, by the way, is flat screen HD-quality and I want to steal it), for eating (if you don’t like to eat on the bed), and for laptop use since the telephone and internet cable are also on the dresser table. The safety vault, water heater, thrash can and mini-ref are under the table. There’s no closet in the room, only a wooden clothesline pole where you can hang your clothes (but not everything at once; probably 3-5 sets of clothes piled on top of one another). A note says there’s enough room under the bed to put one’s luggage. I assumed that’s a nice way of saying that I can use my luggage as closet for the other clothes I can’t put up. Then, while everything else has its instruction translated in English, someone thought it’s a nice idea NOT to put English instructions for a very important appliance in the room: the heater/airconditioner. I did trial and error on the buttons to get my desired room temperature, but after 2 nights of alternately breaking into sweats or shivering from the cold, I just turned the unit off, let the room temperature stay at the same level and curl up inside the comforter.

But despite these complaints, I liked the inn that we stayed in. Unlike in China , some of the attendants can speak or at least understand English so it was easier to communicate with them. They’re also very friendly and helpful, and that’s saying a lot because it’s the type of inn where you don’t expect to get pampered. They don’t have security guards (a phenomenon very common in Japan that impressed me so much), they don’t have valet, room or laundry services, they don’t have bellboys. The guests are expected to carry their luggage, do their own laundry, flag down a taxi on their own. But the staff try their best to help you get directions, or explain how to use the laundry or the printer in the lobby. When one of my officemate had a mild complaint about the heater in his room, the staff apologized profusely and offered to transfer him to another room. So even if the inn is a like a dorm-type dwelling, everyone still makes sure that the guests are comfortable and secure.

There! Done with first Japan trip-related entry! (BTW, baka gaijin means "stupid foreigner".)

This Is My Way of Saying I'm Back (Part whatever)

I’m writing this on my second to the last night here in a tiny hotel room in Yokohama, my home for two weeks. I’ve come to view its smallness as a source of comfort; every night I would come home to this place tired and sleepy, but knowing it’s been a very satisfactory day, be it at work or at exploring different places in Tokyo and Yokohama. Yet each time I wake up in the morning, I feel excited for the day’s events and panic that each new day means I’m one day closer to my departure date. It’s such a classic case of so little time, so much to do.

While I miss my family and friends dearly, I really enjoyed being in Japan and I’m so, so sad to be leaving. And it’s not just about the places I visited and the places I have yet and so badly wanted to visit. It’s not about the generally helpful and friendly locals I’ve met who made this non-Nihonggo speaking foreigner feel she’s not such a nuisance for asking one question too many. It’s not just about the wonderful contrasts of technology and culture that made Japan such a unique place.

The thing is, I like who I am when I was here. This is such a clichéd thing to say, but it’s true: some things are yours for the taking, but only if you have the courage to grab it. I never knew I have enough guts in me, but I took the chance. Because I love to see so many places in Tokyo, I didn’t let the language barrier nor the intimidating transportation system nor the distance nor the effort to stop me. Yes it’s scary, but it’s quite liberating as well. I did the things I never thought I could and the payoff was great – not just making it to my chosen destinations, but the getting there.

And yes, it might sound mababaw, thinking that being able to go from one place to another without getting lost was such an accomlishment. But I'm not the type to take this kind of chances. And to have this kind of feeling, feeling like you're capable of just about anything, I don't feel that way often. And I like that I get to feel that.

After a long time, I finally have something concrete that I really, really want: I want to go back to this country, on my own terms. I don’t know how long that will take me, but I know one day I will make it come true. If not, well, it’s the journey, not the destination, remember?

~ less serious, more irreverent, more detailed story of my Japan adventure coming soon! I hope. ;) ~

It's My Day!

I'm paraphrasing again something I heard from other people, this time from Rob Thomas:

I don't grow old, I grow older. I know certain things about myself that isn't going to change, and it's kind of comforting.

Here's to more years of not growing old, but years of growing older and wiser. :)

Sleep For An Insomniac

Note to self
For the next three nights, I will try NOT to:

• Surf the net beyond 9pm
• Watch TV in my room
• Play video games before going to bed
• Read anything before going to bed

I need more sleeping time, precious sleeping time. And it’s totally my fault that I’m not getting enough!

Ever since I took that long vacation leave last November, I can’t seem to shut down at night. And while that allowed me to catch up on a lot of stuffs (like video games and TV shows), lack of sleep made waking up in the morning hard (and staying awake during the day harder). Combine with the cold weather we are experiencing, getting out of bed has become my daily struggle (my pillow, let me to hug it for few minutes more).

Obviously, I can’t do anything about the weather, so it’s my night activities that I need to change, at least for the next few days. If I can reintroduce my body to my old sleeping habits, then I can switch back and forth between staying up late at certain days and sleeping like I normally do on most days without a hitch.

I'm Going To Bed, Good Morning

Dear Me,

It's 2:10 am 1:59 am says blogger when I saved this entryand you're still in front of the computer watching Arashi and not showing any sign of sleepiness???

Tell me, is this your way of correcting your messed up body clock? Because, to be honest about it? TOTALLY NOT WORKING.

Go to sleep. NOW.

Love,
Jela

Must We Talk About This?!

Maybe I’m not such a boring person after all. I learned that my being picky over foods was a topic of conversation among my officemates when I was on leave.

Now, I feel I should defend myself here, since it seemed that I give the impression (not only to my officemates but to my friends as well) that I’m too maarte with food. The straight answer is that I’m not maarte. There are just… some foodstuffs that I do not and will not eat. Is that such a bad thing?

I think my 'choosy-ness' is a bit glaring because some of the stuffs I don’t eat are those that are enjoyed by everyone else. The most obvious example is apple. Yep, I’m not a big fan of apples. You can’t use the cliché “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” to me. But I have a colorful history with the “apples-to-oranges” analogy but that’s another story. I’m also averse to some “foreign” fruits like oranges, cherries, grapes and strawberries. Again, I ask: is that such a bad thing? If you think that I don’t eat fruits, then I have to let you know that I LOVE mangos. I can live with not eating any other fruits except mango. Minsan nag-uulam din ako ng mangga. I also like singkamas, santol, pineapple, watermelon, melon, lanzones, banana.

I also don’t like ensaymada. Just yesterday a client sent us ensaymada and they’re convincing me to try it and I was “DO NOT WANT!”. I don’t like how moist it looks and the texture I can feel when I bite into it and auugh.

I don’t like sinigang na isda because I can taste the lansa. My father, who hails from Quezon, likes sinaing na isda and I really couldn’t stand the smell of it! I do eat fish; I like galunggong (especially when it’s paired with monggo yum!) and dilis and dalagang bukid, but I like my fishes fried. And I think I’m going to have a problem if AND when I go to Japan because I don’t eat sushi!

What else? I don’t like baked mussels or clams, although there are rare times I do eat if it’s baked well. I don’t like raisins. I don’t like the sampalok from Thailand . I eat isaw but not atay. Don’t get me started on adobong atay. I don’t eat tuna. I can’t eat sardines straight from the can; it has to be ‘ginisa”. There are probably other foods I don’t eat but these are the first ones that come to my mind.

BUT… I don’t think the list above justifies the perception of me being maarte over food! I’m sure each of us has their own lists of foods-I’m-so-not-touching and the list will include stuffs more bizarre than the items I don’t eat. And, yep, my stuffs-I-love-shoving-down-my-mouth list definitely TRUMPS my do-not-want-ever list. So, who still thinks I’m maarte?

Now – my being a slow eater? Is a different matter and I have no defense for that.

Not Enough!

I can’t believe my vacation is finally over! I’m not thrilled to be back at the office after living like a rock star for almost two weeks – you know, the sex, drugs and rock n roll kind of lifestyle. Except for the sex. And the drugs. And a bit of the rock n roll. It’s more like sleep, daydream and jpop.

As promised, my vacation was a slackfest – except it wasn’t the big slackfest I was hoping for. I slept a lot, even if I don’t want to. Did you know that watching TV in the afternoon was no longer as fun as it used to be? Even if there were TV shows and movies to watch, I just can’t shake off my sleepiness! It’s like all those times I refused to sleep in the afternoon as a kid has finally caught up with me!

Our PC went bonkers on me so my plan of downloading and watching Arashi shows was unceremoniously scrapped from my agenda. Perfect timing! Obviously, I was not able to blog as well. So, when I was not sleeping, I watched TV or read or played DS lite games.

Some of the things I did:

• Watched the first season of Life (and what a short first season it was!)
• Watched seasons 1, 2 and portion of 3 of Criminal Minds (developed a big crush on the nerdy Dr. Spencer Reid and the hot Special Agent Derek Morgan and wanted to work with a mentor like Jason Gideon. Will probably blog about this later on)
• Re-read Battle Royale
• Read Jasper Fforde’s The Fourth Bear
• Half-way through with Kate Mosse’ Sepulchre
• Peeked at a few scenes in Meteor Garden season 1 (what?)
• Re-watching season 3 of So You Think You Can Dance (I got seasons 3 and 4 from Quiapo yay! The cable is airing re-runs boo!)

I watched lots of shows on cable (NBA, Jeopardy, Survivor re-runs on Maxx, Step It Up and Dance (poor man’s SYTYCD), Room 401 and Wildboyz on MTV, Throwdown with Bobby Flay) and on local channels (Kahit Isang Saglit, Pilipinas Game KNB?, Pinoy Fear Factor, PBA, premiere of Fringe on CS9). If couch potato is an acceptable job, I would have a respectable career.

Whoever said that it’s a good idea to play Dementium: The Ward in the dead of the night should be locked in a room full of zombies. It’s not just I suck at first-person shooter games, the setting of the game was a bit scary, too. I think I’ll stick with Super Mario Bros., thank you very much.

My vacation was a bit uneventful, save for yesterday morning when I got locked in in our bathroom. No, I did not do anything stupid, it’s the lock itself, I tell you. It took my brother about 10 minutes before they could open the door – and yep, they did try kicking at the door like what they do in the movies. Epic fail.

Darn. Did I just blog about how boring my vacation was? And yet, it’s still not enough.

This is My Way of Saying I’m Back

Sometimes, you get those life-altering lessons at work that you don’t get in real life. Like this lesson I learned from an email:

Hi,

We have a disbalance of Php1.00. Please check.

(names, amounts and exact wording of email were omitted/substituted to protect the ignorant innocent)


How stupid of me NOT to realize that the English translation of the word “disbalanse” is disbalance! Isn’t that the perfectly logical translation? And here I am making my whole corporate existence complicated by using difference or discrepancy when referring to uh… disbalance. Now I know – and you now know, too!


***


And in other news – why, hello blog! I miss you so much!

Anyway, I had to take a break from the web to study for my certification exam. Well, not exactly. I did study, but that’s not the only thing I did during my long hiatus. In fact, I pretty much did a lot of things EXCEPT study well.

Which resulted to me pestering my friends with text messages whining how I’m not getting any studying done because of they-know-what-and-who and how I’m going to flunk my exam.

But – yey! I passed the exam! Despite the pressures and my self-doubts, I still got good results. And that’s thanks to my friends’ prayers and constant encouragement.

Now that the exam is over, and as I start to make some changes in my life, I hope to still make this blog my witness to my various addictions and misadventures. Sana regular na din ang update ko!


***


What made me happy today: hearing Arashi’s “Wish” being played in Tokyo Tokyo! That was the first time I heard an Arashi song from a source other than my iPod and it made me so giddy! I’m so mababaw.

It's My Day!

Thank you for the flowers and balloons. Thank you for the dinner. Thank you for the text messages and greetings.

But more importantly, thank you for the past year. Thank you for letting me test the limits of my insanity keeping me grounded and for making me laugh despite the stress and disappointments.

Thank you for giving me a lot of reasons to be thankful for. There's no better gift in this world than to have families and friends like you.


Edit: Oo nga pala - BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT - Champion ang Ginebra!!!

JELA 101

I present 101 random, useless things about me (because I’m vain and narcissistic and self-absorbed!):

1. I am the middle child and the only girl among five siblings. but I was never the pampered princess; on the contrary, as my mom always say, ako palagi ang balagong.
2. I used to think I might be adopted. Seriously.
3. I used to wish my fairy godmother would turn up one day and turn me into a boy. Seriously.
4. I grew up, and still lived, in Tondo. I used to get am a bit defensive about this. But you can’t blame me because there are still morons out there who ask: "may mga nag-papanaan pa ba dun?" Duh. Not everyone who lives in tondo is "siga", whatever you might think of me.
5. When I was young, my brothers used to tease me and call me "Tandang Sora" or "Choleng". I forgot why. All I remember is that I would get royally pissed off whenever they call me that. Grr.
6. I was a bit of a war freak when I was a kid, but only with my boy friends (who naturally, wouldn’t want to make patol to me or risk incurring the wrath of my older brothers!)...
7. But when a girl friend pulled my hair, I never found the courage to fight back. I just stood there bawling my eyes out while she locked me in a room in their house. Kawawang Jela.
8. I also cried when two classmates of mine followed me from school to our home. I told my mom (sumbungera!) and the next day, she went to our school and my adviser scolded the boys. They never spoke to me again until I left the school.
9. I had my first crush when I was in kindergarten (without knowing then that it was called a ‘crush’). I was attracted to him because when he cried, he didn’t sobbed noisily like some, but covered his eyes with his arms and cried silently. I told myself: "love ko siya". Hay, the innocence of young love. In my teens, I wondered whether he was gay or not. Now, he’s happily married with a kid(s?).
10. I had my first official crush in grade 3 (meaning, I already knew what the word ‘crush’ means!). It was so pathetic how I told myself I wouldn’t get married if he was not the one I’m marrying. Unfortunately, he was also my first unrequited love. huhuhu… (Incidentally, I met him again recently. He still has his cute dimple and I still got that "kilig" feeling when he said ‘ingat ka’. yihi!)
11. I can trace my ability to speak fast back in grade 3 when my adviser made me recite this stupid poem at a parents-teachers meeting. It was okay when I was reciting it in front of the class, but when I was ushered in front of the meeting room, I feel so embarrassed that I recited at top speed. Needless to say, my teacher was shell shocked and I was never asked to recite poems during school activities again.
12. I skipped grade 4 and got accelerated to grade 5. Unfortunately, I had to transfer schools. One of the saddest moments of my childhood was saying goodbye to my old classmates (and to my first crush).
13. I was the topnotcher on our high school entrance exam. But I slacked off in my studies so I didn’t maintain my scholarship. I didn’t graduate with honors either.
14. When I was in fourth year high school, I forgot to bring my gala uniform for the first Mass of the school year. To make matters worse, I was the only one in the whole high school who was not wearing a gala uniform, and to top that, I was wearing my PE uniform! And to make matters even worst, our school principal took notice. So after the mass, I was called to the principal’s office and the principal asked me to bring my gala uniform the following day for safekeeping and to ensure that I have a gala uniform to wear for the succeeding Masses! Well, I was not planning on wearing a gala uniform for the whole school year without washing it, so I brought my old gala uniform to our principal and wore my other gala uniform during Masses. As long as I’m in the proper uniform, our principal didn’t notice that I never went to her office again to get the spare gala. (For the uninitiated, the gala uniform is a required uniform for girls in most Catholic schools. These are worn when there’s a scheduled Mass and on some special events. Ours is an all-white, long-sleeved dress with white belt and frilly ribbons on the cuffs and on the neck. It was not pretty. Unfairly, the boys don’t have gala uniform. Boo.)
15. I never liked wearing gowns. I once threw a tantrum when I was a flower girl and refused to walk down the aisle because I didn’t like the dress I was wearing.
16. I once stood in as a finalist of a "Little Miss Philippines" sort of beauty contest for the niece of the doctor at our daycare center. I never realized that I was only a spare until I tried to take home the trophy and the doctor refused to give it to me. I forgot what she gave me but it was a poor consolation prize after the agony of being put in a gown and make-up and standing in front of everyone while reciting: "My name is Maarteng Jela. I’m 5 years old. I live in Tondo, Manila. When I grow up, I want to be a nurse so that blah blah blah…"
17. I am myopic. I had been in denial for so long that I don’t have a 20-20 vision until my fear of failing the CPA Board Exams forced me to wear eye glasses in review school. I started to wear contact lens about a year after that. Now, I alternately use eye glasses and contact lens because wearing contacts is tiring.
18. I lost my first cell phone (a gift from my oldest brother) on the second day of the CPA Board Exams. I was crying while taking the test for Management Accounting. My parents bought me a new phone as an advance gift. It put a helluva lot of pressure for me to pass the board!
19. Well, I did pass the board on my first take and almost made it to the Top 20. But I still don’t have my license! I was not issued one at the time I passed the board because I was not yet of legal age (I was 20 that time). But when I turned 21 and until now, I still haven’t got the, erm, drive to get my license. But I assure you, I am a Board Passer – just not a practitioner hahaha…
20. I learned how to ride the bike at the age of 10.
21. One of my earliest childhood memory was hearing the news of Ninoy Aquino’s assassination. I was 2 years old that time and it was my birthday.
22. I had my ears pierced when I was 4 or 5 years old. I had another piercing on my left ear when I was in high school. I did it myself using a sterilized needle and lots of ice.
23. I want to have a tattoo.
24. I FINALLY got the chance to donate blood last April 2008.
25. My low blood pressure is probably one of the reasons why I had fainting spells before. I fainted in our home, at a neighbor’s house, in a grocery, during CAT training. Now I am able to prevent collapsing because I can now recognize the signs of an impending fainting spell.
26. I also had nosebleeds when I was young. It happened one time in our classroom and my teacher pulled my head so far back and put her hand on my forehead. I thought she was doing a pray over but she just put water on my head.
27. I love chocolates but I can’t eat a bar in one seating.
28. I find it immensely romantic when a guy kisses me on the forehead.
29. I find it immensely romantic when a guy and I hold hands in secret.
30. There was this three consecutive summers that I dreamt about werewolves. In my dreams, stray dogs turned into werewolves when they get wet and they spend their energies hunting me down. The dreams were so scary, and it was so weird to have those dreams only during summer.
31. I only started eating proper pizza (meaning, pizza with pepperoni, pepper, etc.) when I was in high school. Before, the only pizza I would eat were the ones you can buy from street vendors with only cheese, ham and catsup for toppings.
32. I have a hand sanitizer in my bag and a separate hand sanitizer, alcohol and hand soap in the office. I’m OC that way.
33. This is the longest period that I had worn my hair long. I prefer to wear my hair long, longer than I used to back when I was still studying. I realized there are certain perks when you have long hair, like…
34. I wear my hair in a pony tail when I’m running late or when I’m too lazy to style it.
35. I have a mild case of claustrophobia. When riding elevators, it’s either I’m stuck in the back with my head bowed down or I’m at the front looking anywhere but the reflection of the crowded lift on the door.
36. I wanted to be a nurse, then a doctor, then a writer, then an engineer and finally, a doctor. I wanted to take up Biology in college but my parents dissuaded me.
37. I took up Commerce because most of my friends enrolled there. I initially chose Information Systems Management for my major but realized that I enjoy my Accounting subjects so I majored in Accountancy instead.
38. My fascination with Law started after reading a Perry Mason novel (I had also persuaded at least two of my friends to read those novels). A lot of people encouraged me to go to Law school but I was too coward to do it. Well, last year I finally found the courage to apply to a Law school.
39. On my panel interview for UP Law School, I was asked "why should we not accept you?" and I answered, "because I do not want this as much as the other applicants". I figured, no one in their right minds would accept me after that stupid answer. About three weeks later, I received a letter informing me of my enrollment schedule. I did not enroll. Well, what I said true, I did not want it that much.
40. I never took any other college entrance exams other than UST’s because I was too proud to ask money for examination fee from my parents.
41. On my first year in college, out of exasperation over UST’s performance in the UAAP seniors basketball, I’ve taken into wearing a jacket in the color of the team that had beaten UST. (Actually, it was only 3 jackets that my brothers happened to own: Green (La Salle), Blue (Ateneo) and Green and Yellow (FEU)) (I think UST lost also to other teams but I don’t have jackets in their colors!). Most of my classmates detested me for it.
42. I walked out of my first job along with two of my officemates. We didn’t report for work one day without advising our boss and then tendered our resignation the following day. We’ve had enough of our boss’ (and some officemates’) arrogant and asshole-y attitudes. It was one of the most liberating decisions I’ve ever made. Less than a year later, a manager from that company called me and offered to hire me as Management Trainee, with guarantee that I’ll be an Accounting Supervisor after the training period. I declined the offer telling her I won’t work again for that jerk (of course I never said the "jerk" word!).
43. I had my first godchild when I was in first year high school.
44. I am left-handed. When I was still studying, I sort of felt discriminated at because of it. The normal school chair is designed for right-handed people and I had to do a lot of squirming in my seat to find that comfortable writing position. This is probably the reason why I squirm a lot in my seat even when I’m not writing. (Not to mention that I get lots of smudges in my left hand since I’m dragging it towards right and therefore touches the areas that I’ve just written on.)
45. Unless I put tons of effort into it, my penmanship sucks.
46. I’m lousy when it comes to taking down notes. I hate writing business letters and minutes of the meeting.
47. I’m better at research. I love going to the library. Before the UST library had a (sort of) computerized book search, I enjoyed searching for books the old way (using card catalog). Now I do research through google and wikipedia.
48. I am forgetful. I remember information that have no use to anybody.
49. I used to draw a lot when I was young. I even tried selling some of my drawings to my neighbors. Now I can no longer draw decently. There’s not much difference from my drawing of a horse and that of a dog.
50. I can’t draw a perfect straight line even if you put a gun on my head.
51. I vandalized school chairs.
52. I once threw a towel from the fifth floor to the high school grounds because its owner (my classmate) annoyed me.
53. I like playing in the rain but I haven't done this for the longest time.
54. I had a ridiculous bet in college with my friends that this guy I had a huge crush on didn’t have a crush on me! Well, I lost that bet. Ain’t life grand?
55. I had my first kiss because I lose a bet with my (then)BF. I seem to lose bets when the consequences are favorable to me hahaha!
56. I am awful at telling jokes. I make people laugh without really meaning to.
57. I won’t go to a dirty public restrooms even if my bladder’s about to burst.
58. I used to get jealous of my eldest brother’s girlfriends. Of course, I never told him that.
59. I read in advance my English and Literature school books.
60. I almost had the glossaries of my Grade 5 and 6 Science books memorized. It wasn’t required, of course, but I just like reading those books because Science was my favorite subject then.
61. I usually go by the name of ‘Ana’ when ordering requires that I leave my name. I still don’t quite understand how some had trouble with ‘Jela’. I get a lot of Shella, Sheila, Gina, and even names that aren’t even remotely same-sounding with my name!
62. I like foot massage better than body massage.
63. I was told I have so many facial expressions and that I roll my eyes far too much.
64. I used to be a slasher (although I never intended to kill myself, I just want to inflict pain) For a short time, I was also bulimic. But don’t worry, that part of my life is definitely, thankfully over.
65. You can almost always tell if I like a person or not.
66. I once got lost on my way to home from school (and how lame was that? I had been taking that route for 8 years!). I was under one of my spaced out spell, and when I alighted from the jeep, instead of turning left, I took a right and walk for about two blocks before realizing I was in strange land.
67. I don’t have a single mole on my face.
68. I have lots of freckles. Some disappear after summer, but some I had for as long as I can remember. I even have a freckle on my right knee.
69. I used to be a loose-shirt-and-jeans gal. I didn’t even wear baby tees until fourth year high school.
70. My tolerance for alcoholic drinks is abysmally low. I plan to change that this year. hahaha. (Hey, what’s wrong with wanting to drink just one bottle of San Mig Light without puking? It isn’t too much to ask, right?)
71. I should have at least two pillows within my reach before I can fall asleep. I sleep with the lights on.
72. I develop allergies due to prolonged exposure to the sun.
73. When in doubt, I walk.
74. I usually like songs either when it’s no longer a hit or before it is released as a single (if at all). I’m not really that updated when it comes to current radio or MTV hits.
75. I used to listen to NU 107 or LA 105 when I study. I find the music they play less distracting than the music I hear on pop stations.
76. I can’t seem to cry when the situation calls for it. I cry at the most inopportune time.
77. Contrary to what most people might think about me, I want to, and I think I can, live a simple life in the province.
78. I don’t curse a lot – except when watching basketball. Even a kanto boy would be ashamed to be on the same room with me.
79. I am not a demonstrative person. I get uncomfortable when someone hugs me and I don’t recall saying "I love you" out loud or that often to anyone.
80. I used to want to have my own child but not a husband.
81. Kate Hudson is the only woman I find myself remotely attracted to. Apparently, my intense desire to become a guy doesn’t carry with it any desire for the female species.
82. There was this person I disliked at first sight. I still dislike her after 13 years.
83. There was this guy who told his friends that I was his girlfriend. I wanted to annihilate him.
84. My youngest brother wouldn’t believe that the cutest guy in the neighborhood courted me before (and that I had the guts to turn him down). Bro, that’s what you call animal magnetism!
85. I once wrote the names of all my crushes in an index card and one of my aunt saw it. I burned the list and promised myself never to write down the names of my crushes again.
86. I pride myself for coming up with the most complicated code names for my crushes: Oscar the Grouch, Tito Paeng, Shaider (well, this one not much), RC Cola, Rayban, Doctor Y, Hedrian. Try guessing who these are!
87. I was once a "searchee" in a dating show during our town fiesta. I purposely did not give the "right" answers so I won’t get selected. Unfortunately, the "searcher" picked me. I refused to be kissed even on the cheek. Duh. You can’t buy my kiss for 50 bucks and a single stem of rose!
88. A distant relative tried to court me. I told my mom and she talked to the guy herself (I told you, sumbungera talaga ako!). Another relative tried to set me up with his son (who, technically, is my nephew). I got fever the following day. Nausog daw ako nung pinsan ‘kong nangrereto.
89. "I’m practicing your name so I can say it to your face…" (Sway, Bic Runga) – this line perfectly applies to me! For a time, I couldn’t say my (then)BF’s name to his face. I always call him "uy!" to get his attention.
90. It had been my dearest ambition to join the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe.
91. It had been my dearest ambition to do the "I’ve Had The Time of My Life" dance sequence in "Dirty Dancing".
92. It had been my dearest ambition to marry any guy surnamed "Hizon".
93. I used to idolize Aiko Melendez.
94. I often blurt our non-sequiturs.
95. I want to find out what my Patronus would be and what I would see if I stand in front of the Mirror of Erised.
96. I was once a member of our high school choir. Honest! I don’t know whatever happened to my singing voice (or whether my stint in the choir was just a fluke!).
97. I discovered my, ehem, (miniscule) talent for writing accidentally. When I was in grade 6, I applied for our school organ only because most of my classmates did. Initially, I was rejected because my handwriting was sloppy (I had lots of erasures and strikeouts on the essay I submitted). But they were short of one writer so the adviser grudgingly accepted me. I was supposed to write for the Editorial section but the adviser told me I can’t write editorials to save my life so I was shipped to the Features and Literary section. I was the school representative to the District Poetry Writing contest by default. It was the first time I wrote a poem in my life and I was expected to compete immediately? Lucky for me, I won the contest and got more confident of my writing abilities…
98. …until I tried to apply for our high school newsletter and read the published works of my classmates and schoolmates. It was a shock, to say the least, to realized that they were already writing poems about love and friendship and life when I was still stuck writing about rain and trees and schools (my winning piece on the Poetry Writing contest, by the way, was about rain and had lines such as " see the children jumping with glee, with raindrops they feel happy…" shameful.). I was still writing in rhyming quatrains while most of them had discovered free verse. My ego was severely deflated that I never applied for our school organ anymore.
99. I wrote my first love poem in third year high school. Since then, I started writing again, but only for my personal enjoyment (and sometimes, for the readers of my blogs as well! Yuck! Enjoy nga ba?! Hahaha.)
100. I like seating with my feet tucked under – even if I will have that painful and uncomfortable ‘pins and needles’ sensation afterwards.
101. Some of my daydreams consist of creating a video in my head of the song I am listening to at the moment (complete with plot, setting, camera angles, the works).
102. (Extra!) I’m all of these and more! But despite what you see here, I’m a very private person. There are still certain things about me that I choose to tell only to my closest friends, and there are also things about me that I choose to just keep to myself.