I have finally realized that weekends should really be spent with loved ones and friends and of course, blogging. So when I woke up today and subconsciously opened Illustrator + Photoshop + Bridge + Dreamweaver + Cinema 4D after reading my mails and RSS feeds and checking for skype voice messages, I decided to hit the Ctrl + X key on each of the design software (Ctrl + Alt + Del or unplugging the main power socket could have done it all but I wanted it to be ceremonial, ha ha). Sure I need to work, but man, I need time for myself too.

So I fired up Utorrent (I am currently downloading 9 gigs worth of crap, mostly albums), turned off the display and left my work area. First I went out to play with RM and Justine who were busy reenacting a hospital scene where the mom is about to give birth but they said they can't do it without the dad.

I was amazed with how cleverly they got to come up with a story like that, they are only 2 and 6, respectively.

"Well I could be the dad," I offered, wanting to save them from agony.

"No you can't, I am the mama and you're too big to be the papa." Justine refused. RM was sitting on a pink plastic chair, watching intently as if she wants to volunteer to become the dad.

"Oh well. So are you the baby?" I asked RM.

"No, she's supposed to be the teddy bear for the new baby," Justine answered.

I left the girls talking about switching into a new game, which is to reenact a hit and run accident on which Justine would play the role of a shiny Toyota Vios (Justine pronounces Vs beautifully) and RM would be the road.

So I went back inside our house and found my mom rubbing her temples.

"So how's the paint job doin?" I asked. My mom volunteered to paint our windows last week on one condition, she'd get to choose the paint colour. And I don't usually trust her taste.

"The fumes givin me headaches, I can't bear it anymore, I think I'll just look to pay someone finish it instead. Interested?" she smiled at me as if the offer she just gave me was a basket full of bling or true love.

"Nah, alam mo namang allergic ako sa pawis." I ran as fast as I can ala Fiona Apple 'cuz I knew she was about to give me a lecture on Sweat Glands and Skin Diseases Hardwork, Life in the 70s, and of course, Jesus.

Although I have a crazy family (you haven't even heard of my dad yet, humanda kayo) spending time with them is a breath of fresh air and in some cases, with hints of potpourri. So from now on, no work on weekends. Keri? Keri!

PS
see, this post doesn't even come with a graphic like all the other posts. kumusta naman?

I will soon be moving to a new domain name. Soon.

Someone asked me, "Iko, why are you still single?"

I answered, "Ayoko ng gusot." (translation: I love well-ironed clothes)

Well when I'm ready to get into trouble again, I'll let you all know (and in case you wanna get into trouble with me, lemme know - lame)

I tried to view this blog with Microsoft's Internet Explorer on a different PC (I dont have it installed here anymore) and I discovered that the banner/header graphic is overlapping with the first post. So if you are using IE right now, I'm sure you won't be able to read this, it's covered.

So the best solution I guess is to view it using Mozilla Firefox (DOWNLOAD HERE) or Apple's Safari 3 Beta (DOWNLOAD HERE) or the Opera Browser (DOWNLOAD HERE)

And since this is not a tech blog, that's all I can say. Haha.

And because I heart you all my dear readers, I'm sharing my favorite song. It's a song from a band called Bright Eyes. Here:

Arc of Time (Right click, Save As or just click on it and see what happens)

My iTunes software tells me that it has been played a million times oledi and until now I never get tired of listening to it. Maybe because of the nice lyrics. Or something. Guys, download this song, y'all will lavsit.

*Anyway I don't wanna get in trouble with this, I'm just sharing the download link and i did not host the file myself. It's just a single track anyway, the album (album art above) is a really nice album too, so if you love the song and you want to keep it in your heart forever, buy it and own it.

**Happy 4th of July to all of my Amarekan readers. Cheers!

I miss you Y. I know you can’t afford the expensive call rates in Kyoto right now and you’re too busy buying yourself Japanese things and it’s alright, I’m busy blogging too, you know (huh?).

I remember that day when party-girl, soul-sister Y and I went to a demolition site somewhere in the outskirts of Baguio. It was a rainy, gloomy day but because it was an era of brave campus journalists who would skip their classes just to get to where the news is happening, we were there faster than, er, a fastfood chain (Y and I skipped one of our writing classes where we didn’t have seatmates or friends anyway, they were all fugly geeks).

Y, who was small and quick and lesbian, got out of the cab first and ran towards the group of people watching the demolition scene.

“Lesbyanang ‘to, iniwan talaga ako, magpayong ka,” I said, because it was raining and I was wearing an expensive dry-clean-only velvet jacket (campus journalists can be fashionable too, you know). I joined Y after paying the taxi guy.

They were an Ibaloi community, believed in ancestral domains and measured their properties in plain as-far-as-the-eye-can-see statements, no papers and no legal stuff whatsoever. One of the old people, who claimed he was one of the elders (hahaha lolo obvious naman eh), told us that the government is asking them to leave the something-hectare piece of land where their houses were already built, because it is “public property” or something. And the government people wanted them to leave right away, on that day. Kaloka.

I took pictures while Y interviewed more people including the military men-with-big-guns.

One of them gave us a What-The-Feck-Are-You-Doing-Here look and another one just stared at me, or at my jacket maybe.

“Sir, pa-interview,” Y approached Mr. WhatYaLookinAt,Tomboy?

“Ay wag ako, dun, dun kayo,” Mr. WhatYaLookinAt,NiceJacketThough shooed us, pointed at, a lesbian engineer.

To speed things up, Y interviewed lesbian-engineer, we heard gun shots, nobody died, I took more pictures, asked Y to take pictures of me against the demolished houses, yadah yadah,

This post is not all about the demolition anyway (please visit Bulatlat.com or any advocacy sites if you want to read shit like that). It should be about Y and how I miss her sooo much.

So because there were no cabs or jeepneys or magic broomsticks that time, we had no other choice than to walk. Hungry and exhausted I asked Y if we could stop and sit somewhere. So we found this mini grocer and we decided to buy cola and biscuits and I even wondered if we could papak sardines because the cans, all light green with fish figures in the labels, looked inviting. Y wondered if we could ask the manang to cook the dried fish in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, hanging on chicken wire and have it with gin-tubig (Y is allergic to gin-pomelo, she gets all red and giggly).

What I like about being with Y is that we never ran out of what-ifs. We loved to use the phrase “Pano kaya…” that anyone who’d hear us would think we’re lunatic Jessa Zaragoza fans.

"Pano kaya kung bilhin natin lahat ng laman ng store na to noh?" I said.

"Eh pano kaya kung umuuwi na tayo kasi may class pa tayo ng 5." - Y

While passing by the posh houses of South Drive during one of our regular walks, Y would say, “Pano kaya kung sunugin natin lahat ng mga tang**ang bahay na yan?”

“Well be sure the owners are inside cuz I’m sure right now they’re all in Aspen on a ski trip. Pano kaya kung mag-file tayo ng LOA bukas, hindi ako nakapag-drop eh.”

Y automatically answered, “Ok.”

I miss Y soo much. Pano kaya kung hindi na lang siya umalis?