off to sagada

i am going to sagada again (after 3 years?) with friends from the office and a visitor from costa rica. I still have a picture of my last trip posted in my cubicle and I just realized I looked really skinny back then (that was when I was even at 150+ lbs). I got my annual pe exam saying that I am obese class 1 now. super duh! never did I imagine that I will be labeled obese since I was pretty skinny back in high school and even college. a lot of people say I actually look better today - I don't look sickly daw. I guess in a way I think I do look better except that I now have a freakin' belly. I'm not asking for a wash-board abs (would be good & sexy though if I did have a 6-pack) - I just want those love handles to disappear.

anyway … reminiscing about sagada 3 years ago, I can't believe we didn't even have digital cameras back then. the camera that I used then was supposed to be the latest already - it still uses film but its APS. now I have two 2 digital cameras and I only use one of them - the 5MP with a whopping 1GB of memory. it's enough to snap up to 600+ pictures at 5MP - o say mo? hahaha this time around, only mel & myself are the veterans in the group. the others have not been to sagada yet. there are a lot of memories forged during our sagada trip 3 years ago and I am sure new ones are going to be made this time around.

I kinda miss the old gang a bit - I mean the new office barkada is still COOL - its just I guess that a lot of people who I've met and have been friends with have moved on. Abet (God bless his soul!) has left us for a much, much better place! He's the one I kinda envy the most cause he's with our Savior now. Abet, miss ka namin!!! Ting, our resident di-makabasag-pinggan maria clara IE, has moved back to cagayan de oro where she pursued a teaching career. Joyce resigned, got married and had a baby last time I heard. Tait was an intern back then but I heard he is working in a manufacturing firm now. Still in intel after three years are arlene, mel, menchie and myself. we're still the same but different somehow.

I am excited to go back - minus the long & tiring trip - just to see if anything has changed and excited still just to get out of the city. I bet its gonna be quite cold in sagada so close to december now. its going to be really an adventure all over again.

Getting to know your friends

Welcome to the new edition of getting to know your friends. Okay here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be lame and spoil the fun! Just copy (not forward) this entire e-mail and paste into a new e-mail that you can send. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person that sent it to you. Some of you may get this several times. That means you have lots of friends.

1. What is your full name? Jay Fernando Santos
2. What color pants are you wearing? Blue
3. What are you listening to right now? Better than I by Joy Williams
4. What was the last thing you ate? Mongolian from the canteen - it wasn't good believe me!
5. Do you wish on stars? definitely!
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Its either RED or BLUE!
7. How is the weather right now? Gettin' colder everyday
8. Last person you spoke to on the phone? my MBA classmate
9. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yeah
10.What is your favorite drink? Lately been hooked drinkin' ONE Lemon Green Tea!
11. Favorite sport? Volleyball
12. What is your hair color? Black
13. Do you wear contacts? I still have 20/20 vision
14. Siblings? 1 older sister, 1 younger brother
15. Favorite month? December
16. Favorite food? Lately, been hooked at pad thai
17. What was the last movie you saw? Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire
18. Favorite day of the year? CHRISTmas
19. What do you do to vent anger? Talk & talk … pag frustrated na, shop!
20. What was your favorite toy as a child? yung transformers na robots ...
21. Summer or winter? Summer.  Its pretty fun to hang out at the beach (under the shade hahaha)
22. Hugs or kisses? Why hug, when you can kiss too?
23. Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla
24. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Ok lang, would be fun if they did though
25. Who is most likely to respond? Dunno really, yung mga nag-p-PO likely
26. Who is least likely to respond? Yung mga kunwari e busy sa work ..
27. When was the last time you cried? I rarely cry nowadays ...
28. What is under your bed? Nothing
29. What did you do last night? Watched episode 11 of Prison Break … awesome pero bitin!
30. What are you afraid of? Losing my family
31. Favorite car? I love SUV's.
32. Favorite flower? Yung mga kulay blue … they're pretty awesome!
33. Number of keys on your key ring? Dunno e … a lot?
34. How many years at your current job? 8 year & counting ...
35. Favorite day of the week? Friday
36. What did you do on your last birthday? Spent it at home with my family
37. How many states have you lived in? 1
38. How many cities have you lived in? 1
39. Why are you answering this quiz? I finished my work & just watching the clock tick to 4pm now!

looking beyond what the eyes can see ...

I haven't told anyone yet but in my last 1:1 with my boss (carl), he told me that I may
be assigned in the US (arizona) for about 6 months.  if you remember in my first blog, I
actually was talking about finding a relo-job in the US by next year.  sure, there is
an opportunity in AO but lately I was contemplating on the pro's & con's on staying
in my current organization.  I guess talking about my interests to a boss (joan) who
really listens (& plans to do something about it) and supports my career development
was worth it after all.  I wasn't quite sure how to bring this up during our last 1:1 since
I've just recently moved to joan's organization.  I guess my plan of really fast-tracking
my projects and contributing 'something' to her organization in 1-2 months really paid
off.  we are now talking about a 6-month opportunity which isn't really bad.  I am very
happy that joan is very supportive of what my plans are - that is a true manager.

while carl and I talked about the timing for the trip, I had to delay it somewhat to around
w16 (april) since I am planning to enroll next term.  School starts jan 4 and ends apr 11.
that schedule fits perfectly since I don't want to postpone taking up my WCE (written
comprehensive exam) when I get back since I would have definitely forgotten any of the
core subjects I took the past 3 terms.  a 6-month trip will mean I will be back in manila
only around end of october or early november.  ok, one drawback --- those period are
the freakin' summer months in the US so that sucks!

so here I am all excited, already checking out how long to apply for a L1 VISA including
all of the relocation preparations.  nothing has been finalized yet but I already told my
boss that all of the prep work will probably take 2-months so I will know by January if
this will happen or not.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for now.

I am trying to sell about 251 worth of stock options for $26.5.  if I manage to sell this,
I'm bound to get about P95K.  If I get that, I am probably going to buy an iMAC
this christmas or wait next year when the Mac processor are all intel already. or I can
decide to just keep the money and 'invest' it somewhere.  I will cross the bridge when
I get there.  right now, I am just hoping to sell it.  I told you, christmas talaga is the
most wonderful time of the year.  teehee!

taking care of your skin ....

let's do this cosmo style ... so what's in my vanity kit these days?

origins a perfect world anti-oxidant moisturizer with white tea - its a very nice moisturizer that leaves skin feeling velvety smooth. its a bit pricey around the range of murad but i think its one of the excellent moisturizers i have used. some other moisturizers i've tried that works - murad essential-c day moisture, l'oreal white perfect deep whitening moisturizing cream, aveeno clear complexion daily moisturizer, and clinique's dramatically different moisturizing lotion. believe me, moisturizing really works - it does prevent wrinkles and keeps you looking young.

murad essential-c toner - the citrusy smell of this is really invigorating and keeps the skin clean after cleansing. i also use l'oreal skin refiner (pore minimizing astringent). another great product that works really well is clinique's clarifying lotion 2.

clean & clear persa-gel 10 - use this to quickly dry up pimples. i actually use this on my nose area everyday as a preventive since i remember the rudolph the red-nose reindeer pimple days.

l'oreal uv perfect ultimate protection fluid spf-50 - i think sunscreen is the most forgotten skin regimen of all. but having read too many magazines saying the importance of sunscreen to protect against the harmful effects of the sun. i never go out without a sunscreen. also great is clinique's super city block and vmv's sunscreen.

murad essential-c cleanser - cleanse, cleanse and cleanse morning & night before bedtime. i also like noxzema's cream cleanser because i love its menthol cool feel. well, likas papaya is also a good cleanser cause it really whitens but it can leave skin feeling tight and dry.

st ives apricot scrub - scrub at least once a week to minimize blackheads and slough off dry skin.

the body shop's vitamin-e eye cream - i think when you hit 25 or so, you better start putting on eye creams. i'm only starting eye cream now (at 31) after reading in many magazines how important a separate moisturizer is for the eyes. i read that one other great product is dermalogica's intensive eye repair.

kiehl's lip balm #1 - this is the best lip balm i have tried so far. it really conditions the lip and reduces chapping.

the body shop's olive oil dry mist - pamper your body after showering or taking a bath with this and then pat dry. the lite olive smell is awesome and it leaves you skin feeling soft and smooth. follow on with the body shop's olive body butter. this is guaranteed to leave your skin soft and smooth with none of that greasy feel. another body lotion that is worship worthy is aveeno's moisturizing lotion - i swear this is one of the best lotions i have tried.

visine eye drops - you need to take care of your eyes too.

oil-blotting paper - there's really no particular brand here. i think this is just a real necessity. you don't want to look like you just came from the grease pit right? so blot those oil right out of your t-zone. those oil-blotting paper which have some powder with it actually works better.

there's a lot here right? they can really be expensive especially if you buy all of them one shot. i think taking care of your skin is a worthy investment. the products (which sometimes look small, 15ml, 30ml, 50ml) lasts a long time so you actually have time to save for your next stock. so go ahead ... find the products that work for you ... pamper yourself cause its time to start taking care of yourself.

Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire

the latest installment in the jk rowling's potter books is arguably one of the best in the series. harry potter & the goblet of fire is one of the books that i enjoyed most after reading all of the six published books. it shows that there are actually other hogwarts-like academies out there in the wizarding world.

the latest movie is indeed darker and is totally different from the previous 3 installments. i think it started getting serious and more appealing to older audiences in the prisoner of azkhaban. here, with a new director in tow, you can see the film is very different in approach. harry & the gang are growing up really fast - you can see in this film how harry, hermione and ron have grown so much from the first potter film. harry & ron have bulked up (they're no longer children really) and hermione is getting more & more beautiful with each film. the goblet of fire also shows a new cast in victor, cedric and fleur as the three other tri-wizard champions. victor & cedric are dashing & very handsome men while fleur is equally attractive. it is a good thing that the scriptwriter managed to squeeze in around 600-pages of the book into a 2 1/2 hour movie or else it would have been really disappointing to watch this film. i personally enjoyed the film except that i found that the story was too focused on harry. its all harry - i would have enjoyed seeing how the other tri-wizard champions managed their tasks. there were also very few scenes for hermione and ron in this film, much unlike the previous films. i guess trying to fit too many persona in this film would not have really worked so much. i think its just a bit sad because rowling introduces too many characters sometimes who suddenly disappears or is mentioned too little in succeeding books. and what's up with harry's hairdo here? he was very handsome in the prisoner of azkhaban and now his hair looks like a mop in this film.

there are 3 more books left in the potter series - the last book has not been published yet. i wonder if daniel radcliffe can still pull-off his harry potter character five years from now if he reprises his role as harry in the last book. i think he'd be too old & grown-up to play harry by then. ahhh five years .... its worth the wait.

always you - sophie zelmani

If it wasn't the ocean
Wasn't the breezes
Wasn't the white sand
There might be no need

If I could sleep through the cool nights
If I could breathe and eat right
If I had worked all summer
Maybe I wouldn't feel so hollow

Oh you, it's always you
It's always you

If red roses weren't so lovely
If wine didn't taste so good
If stars weren't so romantic
Then I could do what I should

Oh you, it's always you
It's always you
Oh you, it's always you
It's always you

If your love I could command it
Get your head to understand it
I'd go twice around the world
Even though I may not find it

Oh you, it's always you
It's always you
Oh you, it's always you
It's always you

Oh you, it's always you
It's always you
Oh you, it's always you
It's always you

CHRISTmas is around the corner ...

this year i promised myself i'd start my christmas shopping earlier than usual. surprisingly, i managed to come up with my christmas list already since last week but i haven't managed really to go out and really start buying stuff. its not really a money thing, not that i'm rich, but because of course i was planning to buy stuff pieces at a time. i told myself - this year is gonna be different! i plan to turn in my christmas gifts early (now i'm really crossing my fingers).

there's really something about christmas that i love so much - ok, so the food kinda helps - A lot! but its more of that feeling of light-headedness seeing peopel oh-so-happy trooping down the malls. i guess during christmas, a lot just forget about all of their personal problems, all of the things that weigh them down and just think of what would make their loved ones happy. i like giving gifts - its kind of a subtle way of saying "listen, i remember you on this special time of the year, and i care for you." its not really how pricey the gift is but it really is the thought that you were remembered that really means a lot.

last christmas i think was the first time i didn't buy myself anything expensive. no expensive gadgetry, shoes, clothes --- nada! i guess during that time i wasn't really drooling over acquiring some new stuff. i remember i even saved my christmas bonus, my eb and my ecbp. yep, i started saving this year and i do have 'some' (some lang talaga) money in my savings account. i'm 31yo this year and i'll be out of the damn calendar next year so i need to start saving big time.

so what's next? i've lined up all of the bazaar schedules and i plan to visit the malls weekends to check out for potential gifts. so many friends to give gifts for and i'm not so good at shopping for other people. you'd be amazed though how many items i can pick out in 15mins.

remembering a dear friend

It broke our hearts to lose you,
But you didn't go alone,
A part of us went with you,
The day God took you home.

A million times we missed you,
A million times we cried,
If love could have saved you,
You never would have died.

To the grave we travel,
The flowers are placed with care,
No one knows the heart ache,
As we turn to leave you there.

If tears could build a stairway and
Heartaches could make a lane,
We would walk a path to heaven and
Bring you back again.

Author Unknown

i got this from rose may's friendster blog and I thought
I should post this here since reading this made me
remember a very good friend who left us a couple of
years ago.  he was a very lucky man who found true
love and who is remembered by a lot of people until
today.

Imelda - Diary of a Retarded Old Woman

i've had this dvd for quite some time now and i started watching it last night but was too sleepy i stopped after 55 minutes. i watched the remainder of the film tonight just for the sake of finishing the film. i saw in some reviews that after watching this film, you'd either love her or hate her.

i was texting non-stop while i was watching the film because as a filipino, who have lived through the marcos regime to today when the country is still in deep financial crisis, i wanted to slap Imelda. Is she insulting the intelligence of the filipino? i read in amazon.com reviews raving about how imelda is so beautiful, that she is misunderstood - essays portraying her as if she was an angel sent her to mesmerize the whole world. Duh! Wake up, if you are not a filipino, and you don't live in the Philippines and you have experienced what we've experienced, then shut the hell up!

this film, while excellently crafted (though i love fahrenheit 9/11 better), just reinforces most people's perception that this lady is crazy ... they should have called this film Imelda : Diary of a Retarded Old Woman. Why? Listen to this : "It isn't expensive to be beautiful, it takes only a little effort to be presentable, but it takes a lot of effort. and E for effort. But unfortunately, people think of beauty as luxury, as frivolity, No! beauty is a discipline, it's art, it's harmony." If this was true, tell me about the 400 expensive shoes & multitude of jewelries? What the hell is that? And then her niece was saying she doesn't understand what the fuss was about with a woman having 400 pairs of shoes and she closes with a tagline that somewhat sounded like "you'd be surprised how many pairs i have." Wake up! Do you think the middle class people in the Philippines have 400 pairs? It was so funny when they were interviewing Imee who was running for congresswoman back then what she wore when campaigning and she was saying t-shirt & jeans cause it didn't seem to make sense to get all dressed up moving from one baranggay to another. I bet she got a good spanking from Imelda after that interview! Imelda who said she dresses well and she has rooms with walls lined-up with french leather to show people that if she can be rich & successful, so can they be! We all better start calling our fairy godmothers if this is the case!

One also wrote about Imelda putting the Philippines in the map (whether positively or negatively) and raving on how her life was the embodiment of true rags to riches story. ok so the latter is true no doubt about it but man, applaud her for putting the Philippines in the map - something must have addled the brain of that writer. Here are some more remarks made in the movie, read it to believe (some have been reworded) :

"Its Marcos & I who are the victims in the Ninoy Aquino assasination."

- so does this mean ninoy is the suspect?

"I'm not afraid of death. I know that the Lord will embrace me and will welcome me into heaven. I am sure of that (with conviction 'to!)"

- at this time, i was laughing so hard i had tears in my eye

"I don't know what human rights violation they are talking about. I don't see any human rights violation"

- i bet she had temporary blindness that lasted for a number of years

i suggest you guys watch this film. I'm pretty sure that as with most balanced people, you would be irritated at the blatant lies and very pretentious remarks Imelda is saying during the interviews. I'm sure right after you'd wish you can go inside the film, give Imelda a good beating and pray to God she gets her just deserves soon!

(Note: To all those who are Marcos loyalists who read this, these are my personal sentiments. I really don't care what you think!)

come what may

when i heard about the movie moulin rouge way back, it didn't really interest me too much to watch it at the movie house. i saw moulin rouge back then on vcd (yes, there was a time vcd's were the "in" thing) and i was surprised because i thoroughly enjoyed it. in fact, saying i enjoyed it is an understatement - i loved it!

the love story, while tragic, was heartwarming. christian & satine's love for each other was so real that you can really feel it. nicole kidman & ewan mcgregor were perfect actors for the movie (i wanted nicole kidman to win an oscar for this movie so badly). the songs from the movie were awesome. nicole & ewan singing a few of the songs were pretty decent. i think the theme song from this movie "come what may" is one of the best love songs i have heard - the lyrics were great. there are a few other songs i liked, elephant love medley & ewan mcgregor singing "your song" with alejandro safina was fantastic.

moulin rouge is indeed a cinematic experience. it is a film i think i will always enjoy watching ten years from now. if you haven't seen it yet, you should watch it because i think it is one of the best musical films i have seen.

kitchen confidential ....

kitchen confidential

bradley cooper, jamie king, bonnie somerville, nicholas brendon

john francis daley, owain yeoman

so i've known about this show a few months back but never really took interest in it until today when i downloaded so far 3 of its episodes.
i didn't think this was interesting until i watched the first episode and voila, i'm kinda hooked. what makes it really interesting (aside from a very good looking cast) is that its funny, witty and it showcases a lot of yummy food.

(tv guide) kitchen confidential is about celebrity chef jack bourdain (alias' cooper) is cooking up a comeback. having crashed and burned as
an overindulgent young star, jack is given 48 hours to assemble a crew to jump-start a fancy new york eatery. this at least is what the pilot is all about. jack's shortfuse arrogance and his staff's kitchen antics could be a recipe for disaster. kitchen confidential is slick, sophisticated and worth making a reservation for.

so far, i enjoyed watching the first 2 episodes. i'm still waiting for episode 3 to finish downloading. i honestly cannot think of ever going back to dial-up - dsl has really changed my whole internet experience. now if only i can have that imac computer next year, that will be the icing to the cake.
i've been lusting after a mac computer for some time now - i am going to have one, maybe not now but soon!

patienty waiting for the next episode ...

wow, this extended holiday really had me doing nothing the whole time except painstakingly wait for my downloads to complete. i think i've pretty much caught up already with the latest episodes of the US tv series that i have been watching that i've started downloading some of them which i didn't originally plan on watching. yep, i am that bored! i think its time i give a rundown of what these series are all about that got me hooked.

 

prison break

dominic purcell, wentworth miller

 

it talks about brotherly love. to break his brother out of jail to avoid execution for an assasination he says he didn't commit, michael scofield lands himself in the same maximum security prison by robbing a bank. the twist here is that michael is a structural engineer, wearing the prison blueprints on his body disguised as tattoos. His plan is ingenious, though admittedly nutty, but even if this elaborate scheme works, the political conspiracy that put his brother away awaits them on the outside. (tv guide)

 

this is one of the most interesting series i have seen so far - the plot is very rich and the conspiracy here is unbelievable. while a lot of people love 24, i think the timeline for this is more realistic.

 

 

supernatural

jensen ackles, jared padalecki

 

two haunted brothers - the swaggering dean (ackles) and the brooding sam (padalecki) travel america's backroads in a '67 chevy impala, seeking out and vanquising the most malevolent spooks from local urban legends. they have an ultimate goal : tracking down the evil force that destroyed their mother when they were kids and that may have caused the recent disappearance of their demon-fighting dad. (tv guide)

 

supernatural has its interesting moments - it can sometimes be very spooky and sometimes a bit boring. however, its still a show that i like watching.

 

 

invasion

eddie cibrian, tyler labine, kari matchett, william fichtner, lisa sheridan

 

hurricane eve descends on a tropical eden near the florida everglades, threatening a family already torn apart by divorce. during the storm, strange lights fall into the swamps, where the spooky discoveries lurk. a conspiracy freak (labine) thinks the hurricane is a cover for extraterrestrial activity.

 

the pilot for invasion was very interesting and exciting. it gives you a lot of cliffhangers that initially gets you hooked. however, the recent episodes have been a lot of that - cliffhangers. the pace of the story is a bit slow that makes you wonder, will they every tell you something?

 

ok, so these are just 3 of the series that i watch. there's still more but i'd have to tell you about them the next blog ... check them out, they're a great watch.