Take a bow

While cleaning the living room this morning, I was aghast to find that the tulips Marlon gave me just the other night had... er, taken their final bow.

Dying swan ang drama. Bow.

As in salampak! This puts the "over!" in overnight. This has never happened to me, not even in Singapore.

Ganun ba kainit kahapon? It's been fiercely sunny the last couple of days, which doesn't necessarily mean it's been warm. By some weird winter logic, sunny cloudless days actually have lower temperatures of -2 to 3℃ while cloudy gray days are warmer at about 6 to 9℃. And yes, my tropical friends, 9℃ is warm. Masaya na ako doon.

Time to hie off to the bloemenshop for some new tulips...

Afraid

While canvassing for sofa beds on the Ikea site, I saw this.

Afraidy Krueger! Mothers of Europe, beware! Having gone criminally psychotic after being booed at his last coffeehouse gig, Euro hipster bogeyman is out for revenge! He will make off with your children in the night!

And your little dog, too!

1 A wonderfoul collection of rings.
2 Romantic dresses wich reminds me of a French movies.
3 An unicorn.I've always loved this mythical animal.
4 Uber hippies,love them!
5 Angelina Jolie being super sexy.She's amazing and she's one of my favourite actress!She's so talented.
6 Janelle Monae:a musical revelation.

And you?What is inspiring you now?Let me know with a comment.





xoxo

LadyNoir

Backlog

The longer it's been from our Bohol trip, the harder I find it to blog about Bohol although I was over the moon about it a full week after we had returned. I also find that posting photos of the trip on Facebook before blogging takes the fun out of the latter.

I also wanted to blog about the two really great books I read on the trip. 

But. Bleh. Blogging is such a mood-driven thing for me. 

Maybe tomorrow.

A fitting farewell

Jessica Zafra is all about the irony, so it was indeed ironic that she posted a photo of my office on her blog on the very weekend that it ceases to be my office.

It's a perfectly timed goodbye to the old place, from one of my favorite writers and bloggers no less. 

Also this weekend, I inquired about a pair of earrings displayed on Rajo Laurel's blog and he was kind enough to send me a personal reply. It seems to be Pinoy celebrity blogger week around here!

Therapy

• Marlon and his gift guessing game (for Christmas, this time). He all but gave it away to make sure he got something that he would not regret giving me. I'm excited!
• Downtime chats with office colleagues (with topics such as the best time to shop at Cash Converters for really cheap designer coffee machines).
• Shopping for gifts (and nicking an item for myself here and there).
• Irish cream hot chocolate and Jackson Five Christmas carols while wrapping gifts in bright snowman-printed red paper, and gold paper with holiday greetings stamped in flowery script.
• Gray, rainy weather that seems perfect for Christmas.
• The prospect of home in a few days.
• Facebook - no Farmville or Mafia wars for me, but just looking up friends to see what they're up to. Looking at babies and weddings is fun.
• Very friendly talents who have been fun to work with during wardrobe fittings.
• Forever 21 opening up a four-story emporium five minutes from the office! I have yet to go shopping for myself, but I've sussed out the goods with some wardrobe shopping for a shoot.
• Twinkling lights reflecting off red and gold ornaments off the tree.
• New prospects.
• Marlon's Christmas bonus!
• Sleeping late on a Saturday morning after a long work week.
• Morning hugs from my husband.
• Rogue's warm bulk curled up in between my feet at night, and her paws on my stomach in the morning
• Crispy adobo flakes for brunch. Mmmm.
• Realizing that work, despite its enormity, is not everything -- and that I'm really still very lucky.
• Realizing that despite the number of people I've heard complaining about how stressful the holidays are -- I'm not one of them, and the holidays are still fun!

The curious case of the eyeless koi

the new intern found this floating about aimlessly (and sightlessly, i might add) in our office pond one afternoon.


creepy! it's completely eyeless.

while it totally gives me the shudders, it with all the other normal fish also tugs at my heartstrings. while all the other koi are racing all over the pond in some weird koi frenzy, this one just stays in one corner of the pond because it has no idea where to go. *sniffle*


there are several theories as to the sudden emergence of this fish.

the intern thinks its eyes have been lost in a fight with the other fish (it's missing a strip of scales as well). i think it's actually been that way since birth (i've seen sightless kittens before) and we just never noticed. in the most outlandishly complicated guess, james, my boss, thinks that a cruel pet owner snuck into our backyard and dumped their sick/malformed goldfish (yes, he refuses to believe that this is a koi) into our pond. now that's creativity for you -- after all, james is our creative director.

JAZA, istatue?

dr. kishore mahbubani, dean of the lee kwan yew school of public policy.

in fairness ha.

if you have 11 minutes to spare or are interested in development or public policy, watch the corporate video for the school. i was astounded by how compelling it was, a rarity in the world of corporate videos for the academe. too bad its mother university's video has all the production value of negosiyete. ateneo's sesquicentennial video is so much better.

by the way, the illustrious LKY is my neighbor. his house is on the same street as my office. bawal mag-picture sa harap ng bahay niya so no visual aids for the blog, sorry.

BOHICA

brainstorming for my latest (and potentially huge) pitch today brings me to the land of military slang and jargon. here are some of the noteworthy nuggets (actually used by militarymen!) i found on my exploration.

catastrophic success - a particularly vivid paradox under the "iraq-specific" category, for obvious reasons. defined as "military victory coming much sooner than the plan anticipates, which throws off the overall strategic plan."

BAMF - bad ass mother f*cker

CYA - cover your ass

FILTAB - f*ck it, let's take a break

FUBAR - f*cked up beyond all recognition/repair (so much profanity in the military! i wonder why? :P)

HMFIC - head mother f*cker in charge

motarded - a u.s. marines term for being motivated to the point of being retarded. i guess nobody likes an eager beaver.

snot locker - the nose

SWAG - scientific wild ass guess

and my personal favorite: BOHICA - bend over, here it comes again

drei, that one's for you! ;)

A bit of tweaking

if you haven't noticed, i got a bit bored with blogging. so, perhaps some change is in order. 

a new template may be the first step to getting back in the groove. let me just get it all sorted out.

Update

isn't it funny how i'm quietest -- blogwise -- when i'm happiest?

just a quick update to relay the following bits of information:

i love what i'm doing at work. i love getting to know the people i work with, and finding much to like (and admire) about them. i love the mindboost i'm getting on a daily basis, and doing so many things for the first time -- crafting a pitch, brainstorming by myself (vs with a partner, like i used to do at gma), taking ownership of a project, going home early (before 7!), even having red wine at the office during the one time i had to stay past eight. love love love it.

my mom and sister came down from KL on friday night, and we had a fantastic touristy weekend -- little india, the night safari, orchard road, jumbo. i think marlon was a little shell-shocked with how much we shop/window shop. i have really missed spending quality girly time with my family! now my sister is back in KL and my mom's staying till next monday. i love having her here -- although she DID try to get me and marlon into bed at 9:30 p.m., saying, in a very mommy-ish way, "matulog na kayo, may pasok pa kayo bukas." hahaha.

i'm flying home to manila with my mom next monday to give a track (a.k.a. career) talk to jonathan's comm 100 class, and i'm totally excited to tell people what i do for a living! oh and to get my cheap fix of manila salon services! yay!

happiness all around :-)

Burning the midnight oil

magpo-propose ako ng bagong segment for cinemax.

it shall be called... chizMAX!

puro kabaklaan!

i probably should not be brainstorming past midnight. 

Geddurnit!

now that my prospective employers have been alerted to the existence of my blog, this means i'm really, really going to have to keep my interview outfit top-secret! lol.

i wonder why i'm not dying of embarrassment yet. maybe there's nothing to be embarrassed about? after all, i survived the andrew wolff situation, which is like the pinnacle of embarrassment, right? who would have known that beefcake could be so integral to character-building?

i'm preparing a seoul roundup, by the way, since i realized that it's been officially a week since i got back and at the rate i'm back-blogging, i will be writing about seoul for the next six weeks. the scanner is on the fritz so i can't scan the paper goodies i got from artbox and mmmg, so pictures will have to do.

That's the spirit

i love it.


i spotted this sign in a thrift shop on evangelista street, bangkal, makati.

i wonder. if the shop owner believed in the secret, would it have read: "mayaman kami, mayaman kami" instead? haha.

Transliteration

omigod i can now blog in hindi characters! not that i actually know how to read indic script, but it's still pretty cool.

now i can also see what my dad's name (amitabha) looks like in this script. i've thought of getting this as a tattoo, but never knew what it would look like.

अमिताभा

tadaah!

okay fine matutulog na ako.

Contemplating Christian

it's friday evening and i've been zonked out the whole day. having a zonked-out, sick husband at home the whole day gives me an excuse to do this.

i had two interviews scheduled this week and i'm tamad to blog about them. they were both really interesting, to say the least, and i just don't have the mental stamina at the moment.

all i am capable of doing now is contemplating a christian bale-a-thon.

the thought was born a few days ago when marlon and i were discussing our celebrity crushes. (brief digression: i actually have a married friend who is shocked that i "allow" marlon to have crushes on other people, and that he and i are so open about each other's celebrity crushes. heller. we're married but not dead.) i named all of his correctly: anne hathaway, natalie portman, keira knightley and scarlett johanssen. he asked me to name mine, for the record: jamie oliver, dingdong dantes, brad pitt only in meet joe black, jude law only in enemy at the gates, and (what a motley crew!) christian bale.

then i realized i have seen a sh*itload, if not all, of christian bale's movies. yes, even newsies. inulit-ulit ko pa yan. so i decided to look up his filmography and check out which ones (at least within a 10-year cutoff, oa na yung mga prince of jutland era) i haven't seen. i realized that with the exception of american psycho and i'm not there (which is coming to town next week as part of the singapore international film fest), watching all the movies on this list will be a major test of the limits of my love for christian bale.

• american psycho -- the ever-elusive holy grail of christian bale dvds. where does one find a copy of this in asia??? i am almost tempted to buy this off amazon!
• i'm not there -- heath ledger (RIP) as bob dylan is a major, major plus. must see next week!
  
• 3:10 to yuma -- a western? errrr...
  
• rescue dawn
• the new world
• harsh times
  
• equilibrium -- though this looked like a cheaply produced movie from the trailers, muntik ko nang patulan when it first came out.
• laurel canyon -- sounds cheesy. sounds like a girly movie.
  
• shaft -- okay, at least i can get marlon to watch this with me.
• all the little animals -- ano kaya ito?
• velvet goldmine
  

in fairness what an extensive filmography ha. he played jesus christ in a tv movie. interesting.

oh my god wait! he's going to play john connor in terminator 4? *squeals* that's going to be soooo hot. casting coup ito! if there's anyone who can revive the terminator franchise after that last red-leather-jacketed monstrosity and claire danes killed it, it's definitely christian bale.

hmmm. i wonder if the local dvd rental has any of these movies. and i wonder when we'll finally have the spare cash for a dvd player!

Commercial muna

i'm back in manila taking a ten-day break from my couchwife life (as if it was so stressful!). actually, it's a more like an errand break -- i have a marriage license and college diploma to pick up, both of which i need to make the shift from tourist to resident in singapore.

apart from those two must-do's, the other major must on my list is spending time with my mom. we got off to a roaring start when i arrived sunday -- trying on her latest ukay finds (unused zara and h&m goddess dresses!), looking at wedding photos together, getting a "status report" on the home front, and talking about plans for the future.

speaking of future plans, this showbiz-starved kapuso loyalist also plans to drag her with me to see richard gutierrez and marian rivera's my best friend's girlfriend (bfgf) tomorrow.

the rest of my to-do list for this trip is wonderfully mindless.

• buy funky paper and envelopes for my portfolio
  
• buy new levi's
  
• buy a blowdryer, doormat, bath mats, everyday cutlery and a bathroom organizer at landmark
  
• buy bloom lipgloss and prestige liquid liner at beauty bar
• buy true match foundation
• buy mascara from the face shop
• buy photo paper (teka, puro buy na yata ito)
• stop by lime to check out dresses (ayan, kunyari hindi daw buy)
• visit gene and tatat at lfia
• visit gma friends
• visit acs at rehearsals
• close citibank account
• pay off bpi mastercard
  
• give out thank-you cards
• pick up last paycheck from gma
• print wedding pics in bulk for mom
• have miniature paintings from udaipur framed
• re-do clearance at ateneo
• discuss house plans with mom
• buy birthday gift for marlon (and figure out how to smuggle it past him)

oh, and i'm seeing endo on friday with jeline! that i thought of watching bfgf before this critically acclaimed indie movie speaks volumes about my innate and deep-seated kabakyaan.

(i remember attending the creatives' briefing for gma's marimar launch last year and shocking everyone with my intimate knowledge of the original series on rpn-9. i giddily referenced minor characters and subplots that left even the program manager just blinking at me. "bakit mo alam 'yan? akala namin sosyal ka!" one of the corp comm girls said accusingly. for the record, it was my sister who faithfully recorded each after-school episode of marimar on our vhs. juskolord vhs!!!)

anyway. should i still attempt to swing by swap meet on kamuning? hmmm.

Distract me

Name:
Deepa

Age:
26

Religion:
Roman Catholic

What are you passionate about:
Life

Favorite movie this year:
I really liked Stardust, although I'm saving the favorite spot for The Golden Compass

Most played songs on iPod:
Not on the bandwagon, sorry

Hero:
Nathan Petrelli!

Best quality about me:
I can kick ass.

The worst:
When I'm in a real snit, I avoid doing things and avoid people.

Do you have direction?
More than I used to.

Last semi-sensible purchase:
Wow. I really had to stop and think about this one. It seems I make very few sensible purchases. Okay, a prepaid MRT card.

If you could buy one thing right now it would be:
The four-poster wrought-iron bed Marlon and I saw in Rustan's

Beach or mountains:
Beach

Sport:
Boxing

Movie that makes me cry:
Dancer in the Dark

Apart from what you're doing now, what would be your dream job:
Promo writer or travel show host for Discovery

Temptation you have successfully avoided thus far:
Drugs and cigs. Nobody ever offered me any. Boo.

Temptation you have succumbed to recently:
To put off boxing.

The one thing you can never be:
Waifish.

The one thing you strive to be:
Loving.

The one thing you struggle with the most:
Myself.

The most beautiful woman you've ever seen:
Iza Calzado. Grabe.

The best thing your mom taught you:
If you really love him, panindigan mo.

The best thing your dad taught you:
Not himself, but via my mom and his side of the family: What you do for love makes a difference in people's lives forever.

The thing you surprisingly enjoy doing:
Sucking on ketchup sachets from McDo.

Last time you kissed someone:
Marlon, goodbye in the wee hours of the morning on Monday.

What turns you on:
Massive men

What turns you off:
Men without a passion

Most pointless thing a girl can buy:
An ill-fitting bra.

Best thing a girl can buy:
A fabulous pair of shoes that perks up any outfit. (Best to wear on "fat" days.)

Favorite sound:
Marlon saying "hi" in his cute and cuddly tone when I pick up the phone. (You're welcome to gag.)

Worst sound:
Joyce Jimenez's voice.

Favorite swear word:
Shet. The colegiala version.

When no one's looking I like to:
Rub my eyes.

What would the movie of your life be called:
Hmmm. I have no idea.

What is the most ironic thing about yourself:
I constantly think I can't do things, yet I am Superwoman.

What do you like most about yourself:
I have a passion for life, the world, and humanity

What do you hate most about yourself:
I'm lazy

Issue most important to you:
Now, gearing up for an adventure. In general, bringing people ways to express themselves in the world.

What is the bravest thing you've done:
Did something I believed in and NOT be liked

What is the one brave thing you've still yet to do:
Stop believing that I need approval

What's food for your soul?
Physical affection, discovery, travel, music, art and design, communion with God

If you were to enter heaven, what would you like to hear at the pearly gates:
"It's about freaking time!"

Mommy in KL

my mom's visiting my sister in kl for two weeks. i chatted with my sister on gmail this evening.

me: como estas tu visita?
me: ay mas tama pala ito: como estas la visita tuya? (okay that's my quota of spanish practice for the week) or better yet, como estas mommy?
Sheila: muy bien. ella esta muy happy
Sheila: whats happy anyway?
me: FELIZ! (talagang showing off the free spanish lessons)
Sheila: she hasnt left the house in 2 days
me: hahaha
Sheila: pag iniiwan ko sya dito nanonood lang sya ng tv at naglilista ng mga kulang ko. at natutulog
me: hahaha
Sheila: the life of a bum! last night she cooked sinigang for me and my pinoy barkada. tonight we had dinner with my ofcmates
me: wow! nanay na nanay!
Sheila: now she's taking pics of my apartment. hahahah
me: hahaha. i'm sure papa-develop niya yan sa akin when she gets home

Home sick, still

it's day two of being red and spotty. the spots have now spread all over my body, although my mom and i are definitely sure it's not measles. (my mom double-checked with my pedia, who said that i completed my measles vaccination in 1982.) i think i actually look worse than i feel, and i'm really starving for a good book now.

i don't know why i'm thinking about my birthday, which is a month away. i guess it's because i'm bored. here's my birthday wish list. (talagang walang effort na mag-segue.)

• calligraphy pen with purple or turquoise ink (to address invitations with)
  
• lomo or holga
• rajaton's new album, maa, out october 10th
• something from kate's new store at greenbelt 5, opening this october
• anything by orhan pamuk. i'm not quite sure i really got my name is red, but i'm willing to give him another try
• anything on my sidebar wish list, hee hee -- the books about house decorating would especially bowl me over
  

bored bored bored. i don't think i've been this whiny about being bored since i was eleven.