Listen to the Beat

Tube updates
Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Heroes: Well... "Save the Cheerleader, save the World" should've been "Save the RIGHT cheerleader, save the world." Sylar, with all his powers and supposed wisdom, ended up butchering the wrong cheerleader. DUH! Last episode took the viewers back 6 months before all these inexplainable events took place. We learned that Sylar (not his real name, by the way) was just a watch repairman, the cheerleader's dad got contacted by the professor, the flying Petrelli brother did his first Superman-ing in the middle of a car chase which lead to his wife's paraplegia, Niki Sander's alter-ego turns out to be her dead twin sister, and Hiro Nakamura who went back in time to save another superhuman's life realizes that even with his power to teleport, he could not save her from her tumor. THIS is one show I do not want to miss an episode of!

Studio 60: Amanda Peet's pregnancy is written on the show as she collapses out of stress and begs not to be given a flu shot. She is pregnant, she says, and Bradley Whitford's face just sags.

CSI: The case of the miniature model maker is still not solved. Who IS making those really freaky models of 2 crime scenes?

Gilmore Girls: Lorelai and Christopher's marriage is celebrated at the Gilmore manor in Hartford but Lorelai wants Christopher to still yet get in the groove of her small town, Stars Hollow. She arranges a man-date with Jackson and ends up letting Chris change from his city clothes to more down-to-earth small town clothes. You could practically hear crickets singing as he and Jackson TRY to make conversation in-between beer drinks while watching some basketball game in a bar. There is a Knitathon campaign to raise money for the bridge but after Christopher donates the amount needed for the campaign, the knitters call it quits seeing no point to go on knitting for hours when the funds have been raised and paid for by good ole Mr. Hayden. Lorelai tells him that the fun was in the knitting and not so much the money but Chris, in his big city ways, thinks he was doing the town a favor. All is well that which is ended with a kiss. Meanwhile, Rory moves back in with Paris and Doyle after Logan is settled in New York after his Paris stint is done. Instead of go with him to yet another posh company party, Rory goes to this 2002 themed party where her new friends are. Marty, who has been pretending not to know Rory, is running the bar. They both have this awkward tension between them. Ngye. Are the writers thinking of having Rory and Marty together now that Milo Ventimiglia is busy with Heroes??? Poor Luke. April's moving to New Mexico but after holding Liz's new-born baby in his hands, he decides to fight for joint custody over April if need be.

Veronica Mars: Just minutes after realizing who the rapist is, she gets beaten up, she runs up the stairs for her life, gets comforted by yet another coed, he gives her some tea which had some daterape drug in it and she sits in the closet, hiding. The thing is, Ms. Mars, lauded by her wisdom and quick-thinking did not call 911. She called... HER DAD. Chedeng! Bright!

DAYBREAK and NUMB3RS: Didn't see last week's episode! Ngerrr!

UGLY BETTY, 3LBS. and BROTHERS and SISTERS: I can't remember, for some reason!

Shichinin no Samurai remake
Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Just found this today...

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=14922

WHY??? Why can't they just let a classic movie be and leave it alone??? I mean, didn't Magnificent Seven satisfy them?? Ngerrr.

And just when I was wallowing in my distress over this knowledge, I found this forum thread which went:

Samurai #1: Jet Li
Samurai #2: Chow Yun Fat
Samurai #3: Lucy Lui
Samurai #4: Jackie Chan
Samurai #5: George Takai
Samurai #6: William Hung
Samurai #7: Tom Cruise
The Old Man: Lawrence Fishbourne
Steve McQueen: James Franco
Peasant: Billy Crystal
"Beat" Takeshi: John Woo

HAHAHA!! Tom Cruise as the Last Samurai! THAT is too funny! Hoen likes Samurai #6 better, William Hung! Bwahahaha!

Good ole Charlotte
Sunday, November 26, 2006

If I cried over this book at seven years old, what are the chances of me crying over the movie? Humans dying, I can take. Animals, nopers can do-pers. So I guess this will be a sure tearjerker for me.

By the way, well-played on the movie book cover. Well-played, indeed.

Giving Thanks

Last Thursday marked my second Thanksgiving experience. We spent it at Tita Belen's in Missouri last year with Hoen's side of the family, This year, we got invited to Emily's place. Emily is Hoen's former officemated when he was outsourced at USG. She's hlaf Filipino but has lived here all her life. She has 4 adoring daughters and a son. Abigail, the youngest, is such a charmer and entertainer. At 3 years old, she can carry adult conversations despite the lisp. She is soooo soooo cute. So Thursday 3 pm, we ate at Lesley and Jeff's house, Emily's good friends. We had the usual roasted turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie along with other desserts and stuffings. That and fun and good conversation made us stay in for hours until we had to leave to do some walking downtown (pampahilis). The weather was perfect and families, friends and couples were walking along the cobblestoned streets hot choco and candybag in hand, People were queueing up for a ride on the horse-drawn carriage (which I haven't tried, by the way). Hoen and I just walked, hand in hand, enjoying the one million (really) lights. I loved it. I always love Omaha's dowtown. It's our own little Europe in the mid-1800s sans Jack the Ripper.

The next day, Black Friday, Hoen made IMPOSSIBLE plans to wake up early to make it to the stores to buy whatever gadget he fancies but we slept too late to even dream about beating 2,000 people to the entrance. Hoen went to work (there were only 4 people in his team there) while I waited for him at Barnes after which, we got lumpia shanghai, puto and sapin-sapin at Pinoy Grill. The kids played around with us as usual and once again, Brendan tried on my shoes. Haha! Taro, another of their officemates, a Japanese, was in-charge of the oven. He was there with Toni, his girlfriend. A pizza bar was going and I must say ours was the most harmless looking compared to the sky-high layers of cheese the others had. Conversation was non-stop and we were talking up a storm when Emily had to drive 2 of the kids home. She suggested I go with her so I can see the houses in the neighborhood and Hoen and I can get ideas as to what kind of house we would want to get next year, God willing. So she, Toni and I circled the area and true enough, I loved it and the houses had different builders so they had different designs and colors, unlike those under a strict covenant and under one user only. Emily kept encouraging us to live at Papillion so we can live nearer, hehe. Hoen always told me that the ideal place for us to have a house at is at West Omaha. Emily's husband, John, is a former cop and he wasn't too thrilled about us wanting to live there. But our options are open and we'll look at anything.

The rest of the weekend was spent working out, chillaxin', window shopping, and for Hoen's part, wondering what stuff to buy to go with MacJen (our mundane name fo our Macbook) and cozying up with the cold weather. I love long weekends like this!

It's the little things that count
Saturday, November 25, 2006

I was in the kitchen doing my business when Hoen comes up to me, hugs me from behind, turns me around, kisses my forehead then tells me, "I love you, Payfee. I'm very happy with you." Then he gives me a tight hug again while resting his head on my shoulder. We stood like this for a full minute I guess.

It's the little things like this that not only make my day but it makes the whole 17 months we've been married all so worth it. I gush as I type.

Happy 17th Monthiversary, Payfee! I thank God everyday for keeping our marriage strong and our passion and lust/love/desire alive.

Converts R Us!
Wednesday, November 22, 2006

After weeks of careful research, skepticism, reference reading and review browsing, we finally fell for the spell. The Mac spell that is. We had just bought our first Mac pc- the alluring and deliciously sleek MacBook. We got the white 13" one with 80 G hard drive, 1G of Memory and most importantly, the latest 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. Yummy!

We had planned to buy it today, Wednesday, since it was to be the last day for the Financing plan. We agreed to MAYBE purchase the MacBook today but for some reason, Hoen came up to me on Monday and told me, "After Gilmore Girls, let's go to NFM." So off we went last night, met up with the same salesperson, Jason, and got the MacBook ,not the MacBook Pro, after going back and forth with the idea. 15" - 17" just doesn't work for me so Hoen decided to get this one for NOW and later, he will get one for himself to replace our desktop right now (He is going to turn our desktop to a Linux pc). We also got the AppleCare and their wireless Mighty Mouse. We both wanted to get the best bag for the job. According to Jay of Comp USA, there's a difference between a bag you can carry the laptop with and a bag you can PROTECT the laptop with. We couldn't find one yesterday. No worries, we were both too excited to go home and set everything up! We toyed with the thing way past our bedtime and this morning, I started transferring files and actually doing my work on the thing. It was pretty hard to get used to the commands at first but I'll get there and Hoen will do. Today, after work, we both went to the iStore at Village Pointe and got us a rather pricey but very durable bag. Bahala na. The thing cost a fortune anyway and it needs all the protection it can get, might as well go all the way, right? We also dropped by Best Buy to get us an access point. As I type right now, Hoen had just set up our wireless network here in our 2-man, 2-pc apartment. Haha! I'm so happy I married geek!

Here are some pics we took last night. New toy! New toy! We are happy! Mac-autot gyud mi's kalipay! Mac-agasto gyud mi ni ug samot! Mac-aubo gyud ni among bills but Mac-atabanag man sad gud ang MacBook! Converts R Us!

A month to go!!!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Exactly a month from now, we would've just landed in Philippine soil! YEY!! Can't wait!

Say, "Cheese!"
Monday, November 20, 2006

I had never eaten at any Cheesecake Factory. Hoen has had his share of Factoryums from Chicago and Missouri. TCF opened here in Omaha over a month ago but everytime we'd get there, the line would be soooo long and the waiting time was usually from 45 - 60 minutes.

So yesterday, in celebration of the previous night's victories (we ALWAYS come up with excuses to celebrate, hehe), we decided to have lunch at THE factory. The wait was about 15 minutes but it was all worth it. I had the lunch order of the chicken piccata while Hoen went the American way-- Kobe burger with sidings. Of course, you could never exit the place without ordering a slice of their cheesecake so we had the tiramisu cheesecake which was just so, so good. But just when we thought nothing could be better, our Japanese waiter, Khoi, made a mistake on the bill register. He placed $14.95 instead of the $10.95 beside MY order. We thought he was just going to correct it but like many things Western-customer-servicey, he deducted the ENTIRE AMOUNT. Meaning, my order was for free! YIPPEEE!! Thank God for blessings like these.

This certainly won't be our last. I am so going back for more. =)

Double...No, Quadruple... Oh, Sixtuple Threat!
Sunday, November 19, 2006

Last night will be marked as one of the most unforgettable, nerve-shaking, happy and eventful nights of my life. You see, it was the night where two very important fights were to take place- the Pacquiao vs. Morales boxing rematch and the Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre UFC rematch. Hoen and I were both nervous because we've been looking forward to these fights AND they just might happen at the same time! Unsaon nalang.

So off we drove to Amerisports Bar at Iowa's Ameristar Casino and camped there as early as 7 pm. We ordered dinner and watched the prelilminaries while I texted with several people in Pinas. One of the Prelim fights was that of a Pinoy-Hawaiian, a certain Viloria who got ripped of the title, by the way! That was SO not deserving of a draw provided he knocked the guy down twice. I don't care if Hoen says otherwise (hehe), I just wanted him to win! The preliminaries of the UFC match went on and yet, another Pinoy was set to fight. A certain Brandon Vera. He had alibata tattooed on his back and he had a pole of the Philippine flag behind him. The best part? He won!! YEY!! Hoen and I felt so patriotic last night that we didn't care. I was shrieking, he was shouting and cheering. Bahala sila! Anyway, the bar had dozens of tv sets so both fighting events were shown and the place was packed with whites, mexicans, and of course, pinoys! So the match between Pacman and Morales was about to start and already, some Mexicans behind us were boo-ing Pacquiao everytime the camera focused on him. I shouted, "Oh, shut up!" but of course, they couldn't hear me. Hoen was muttering under this breath, "Booboo mo diha, kita niya mo!" True enough, Pacman won! WOOHOO!! I was standing on my seat, shouting, shrieking while Hoen was clapping and we were just celebrating on our own. We could hear some pinoys make noise somewhere behind us. When I looked back, those balls-y Mexicans left the place SO FAST I could only see their backs headed for the door. BOOOO NINYONG mga buanga mo! Cheer for your manok, ayaw hilabti among manok kay kamo ray ma-uwaw!! PFFFT!!!

By the time the UFC match was about to start, I was swimming with adrenaline. My heart was raising and I knew I couldn't handle another bout of excitement. So while Georges and Matt were doing their warm-ups, I was praying and texting BY and TO myself. I was so scared to see the fight! (Brief History: Matt Hughes, an Iowan, held the Welterweight title for a looooong time, becoming almost unbeatable. He really is not that good a fighter, he just knows how to win. Georges St. Pierre is this handsome, cute, funny, polite Canadian who has been wanting to take the title for the longest time. He is a more well-rounded fighter, be it boxing, grappling, kicking. He is my crush and my manok. Hehe) Anyway, round 1 started and even in my texting seclusion, I knew Georges was dominating. His kicks were high and Matt couldn't catch him fast enough to take him down to the ground, which is his forte. The end of round 1, GSP was already pounding on the supposedly unbeatable and revered Matt Hughes when the bell rang. DAMN! Saved by the bell! We see the GSP supporters in front of us get up and cheer, then all of a sudden, their tables move and their glassware's all over the place. People were fighting up front! Security got to them so late that by the time they arrived, a few guys were on to it. People stretched their necks to watch it. Nobody was watching the TVs anymore! Hehe.

Anyway, round 2 came and GSP continued to dominate the strong Matt. Just when we thought everything was ok, another fight breaks up front between 2 black people this time. The fight on tv was still going on but people were more curious about the REAL fight that was going on. Finally, the bar turned off one TV at a time but I was able to catch the best part of the fight! In one swift response, GSP kicks at Matt's face AND neck when Matt was attempting to get to GSP's legs to take him to the ground. BOOM! He got hit, lands on the floor and GSP jumps on him right away and just goes at it, punching his face... BANG! BANG! BANG! Matt was defenseless and finally, the referee stops the fight. YEY!!! GSP WON!!! HALLELUJAH! -- Then the last tv goes off. People start protesting. "Turn the damn tv on!!", "Put it back on or we get our money back!" but I guess the establishment wanted the REAL fights to cool off before causing a stir by showing the results. We waited a while before exiting the place. We went there for 2 fights and instead, we got 4 and witnessed 2 others. Haha. Very eventful!

We went home sooo happy but not seeing the end part of the victory sucked. Youtube had one this morning and THAT made me day. November 18, 2006.. I will forever remember you. WOOHOO!! (GSP is my other Kimi... his smile is so cute and because he's French Canadian, his english is so funny!)

Baby Talk Deciphered
Thursday, November 16, 2006

I saw this episode on Oprah last week and her guest was this woman who could interpret baby language. She grew up knowing she had photographic memory with sound so that even in school, she didn't have to take notes because she remembered everything the teacher said. She had a baby and she then deciphered each sound her baby was making. She narrowed it down to five distinct sounds for babies from 0 to 3 months. Before going to Oprah, she had a control group of 1,000 babies and the results were amazing. Even in a room of 10 crying and wailing babies, she was able to decipher each sound and made the entire room quiet with nothing but amazement from the mothers.

Anyway, here are the 5 distinct sounds and their corresponding meanings:

1) NEH = Hungy
NEEEEH = I'm reall hungry!
2) OWH = I'm sleepy
3) HEH = Discomfort
4) EAIR = Lower Gas
5) EH = Burp Me!

I kept a file on these sounds to use them when we have kids. Hehe. Hope it works!

Election was shot in Omaha!

"Election" was on today and I just had to watch it for the twelfth time. It happens to be my favorite Reese Witherspoon movie because she was truly annoying and her face, as frozen in disformation several times in the movie, was just... disturbing. This movie also earned her her first Golden Globe nomination. She plays the overachiever Tracy Flick who wants to win the Student Council election come hell or high water.

Anyway, as I was watching while working on the pc, nothing in the movie screamed "Omaha" but there was a part where Matthew Broderick's character goes, "I just went to Westroads..." That made me turn around and I IMDB'd the movie. Nothing on the plot outline mentioned Omaha so I just dismissed it. Then, towards the end of the movie, Matt goes, "That was it. It was time to leave Omaha..." my eyes popped! So it WAS Omaha!! I then started recognizing the backdrop which was no less than the Woodmen building which used to be Omaha's tallest. I got so excited that I told Hoen to rent it right away because he hadn't seen it yet. Election is a cult classic and I read that it affected some schools on how they handle elections from thereon out. I can't wait to watch it again and this time, under a microscope.

911
Wednesday, November 15, 2006

So it all started when I woke up at 10:45 in the morning. I remember trying to recall my 2 am chat with Buttwipe earlier and if we covered any important details for the wedding. Anyway, I swished some Crest, brushed my teeth, took a pee and poopoo'd at the same time. That was when I felt some pain in my lower abdomen. I then looked at the tissue I wiped my fla-fla with and I saw some blood. I was happy because I had been expecting it and th

e more days I back-up this month the better because that would mean that by December 19, the day we leave for Pinas, I would be red tide-free. Before I could leap YEY, the pain started getting worse that I right away thought of heating up the warm compress bag. I was preparing my microwave oatmeal which is my everyday breakfast. That was when I first realized that I could not stand in my own two feet and I started crawling on the floor looking for the phone in Hoen's bedside table. I crawled to the bathroom to ready some Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen but I was worried since I hadn't eaten anything yet. I went back to the microwave to get the already heated compress, replaced it with the oatmeal then I went to the bathroom again to take my second poopoo. That's when it hurt sooo much I could only close my eyes. I have this OC about washing my PP after taking a dump but all I could think of then was calling Hoen.

I went back to the kitchen supposedly to get my oatmeal and start eating but then the apartment spun, I was having cold sweats, I was nauseated and I actually wanted to throw up. I speed-dialed Hoen who p

robably knew something was very wrong because he said he was going to come home right away. At this point, I was already on the couch, curled up, crying, closing my eyes and just praying that the panic attack 5 years ago doesn't happen again. My ring and pinky fingers started going numb and that's when I realized I was hyperventilating. I was calling out to God asking him to help me. I had the medicine beside me but its seal had to be broken (I got the UNOPENED one amongst the 3 we have, nger) and I had no strength. I took a dump for the third time then the fourth time. After that, I could not go anywhere within 5 feet. I called Hoen again and just wanted to listen to his voice while I tried to steady my breathing. After a few minutes of crying and just holding on to the warm compress on my pus-on, I told Hoen to call 911 because I just couldn't take it anymore. I needed help and fast. He persuaded me to eat a banana in case my potassium was low so I struggled to the dining table got the entire thing. He had to hang up to call them up so I transferred to the floor carpet where it was warmer. I remember arguing with myself, "Dust on skin. I can't have dust on my skin. There's dirt there, stay on the couch" but I just surrendered to it. I had enough strength to spread our living room blanket on the floor along with the throw pillows and just stayed there. I remember rocking back and forth and praying, "Lord, help me... Lord, help me..." while steadying my breathing by counting. Since their bananas are relatively bigger and thicker than ours, I had the hardest time breaking one off from the bunch so I literally had to snap it off by jolting it with my wrist a couple of times. I took a few bites which was hard because my fingers could not hold on to it that well. I could then hear Hoen's steps on the hallway and I couldn't even turn around to look at him. I was just happy he was there.

I don't know how much time went by when I heard the Paramedics arrive. I could only hear my sobs. I don't remember much about it except that they decided to get me into the ambulance (they cancelled "air" which might have been a chopper transport). Hoen put on my Old Navy hoodie, my pajames and my sheepskin sli

ppers since it was a bit chilly outside. I remember asking the medic to carry me because I was still nauseated. The next thing I knew, I was inside the ambulance and I instantly got reminded of all those emergency scenes we see in the movies. The inside of a 911 transport is CRAMPY. They had 2 gurneys and mine was small. They strapped me into it but it was no use because I was turning and kicking because of the pain. I must've passed out because I woke up inside the ER and I was asked to transfer to a bed. I could hear the paramedic relay my entire history to the doctor and he did pretty well trying not to miss any detail. I was then rolled into a room where tests were done: my favorite blood drawing, urine (it was my first time to have a catheter inserted into my urethra and BOY was it uncomfortable!) and of course, they felt me up in the non-malicious sort of way. I had to answer questions with the nurse and the doctor after which, the nurse injected me with a painkiller above my butt. I wanted to see the needle get into my skin because this really is my favorite part and I was disappointed at how short the needle was. Hoh well. Since they had a television, Hoen was only too delighted to watch some Football while I was trying to catch some Zs because of the painkiller. A half hour passed and I was taken to the ultra sound room where they took one for my abdomen-- they wanted to make sure my kindeys, spleen, pancreas, stomach and intestines were fine. I remember asking, "Why not my lower abdomen? That's where it hurt" but the radiologist said, "They only stated abdominal so they must have a reason." I remember the doctor saying that because I took a dump 4 times, they wanted to make sure nothing was wrong with my digestive region. I was rolled back to ER room no. 4 only to be brought back to the Ultra sound room again. This time, they did an ultra sound on my pelvic area but the radiologist decided to do a transvaginal one because of my history with polyps. She wanted to check for any abnormal growths, tumor, chances of endometriosis, regrowth of polyps, etc. I was rolled back to the ER room and by this time, I was seriously hungry. I asked Hoen to ask the nurse if I could eat or drink something but they didn't want to give me anything until all my test results have been turned in. I had been drinking water so there was nothing they could do about that. Anyway, the nurse came in half and hour later and gave me this really dry turkey meat, some white bread, miracle whip, honey crackers, some fruit salad WITH PINEAPPLES and apple juice. It was NOT appetizing but I didn't care. I was too lightheaded and too hungry to care. I actually ate almost all of it.

The doctor came in to tell me he would recheck all the results after which, the nurse came in with some papers. All my tests came out normal and I asked the nurse to interpret some of the words. I remember thinking, I am going to email these to Jown and ask her about the rest. Anyway, the more important ones like glucose, potassium, white blood cells, red blood cells, protein, etc were all within the normal range. Even my heart rate although I had low blood pressure at first. I was given a go to go home but was told to contact my OB GYN for consultation right away. Their theory? Since it happened right when I woke up, with my body still unfed and without nutrients to start off the day, it couldn't cope with the pain. Or, I had a spasm which went away. The cause is still unknown so I will have to wait for my OB GYN, Dr. Bishop's verdict. I didn't bleed right away. I bled the night of D'Day. Hoen brought some chinese, got me some Fish Fillet and fries from McDo and took the afternoon off. I spent the entire day lying down or sitting.

Even today, I am experiencing some cramps but not as bad as yesterday. My flow is slower than usual so maybe that was it. Bottomline, I shouldn't think that I'm over my episodes. If I am not careful, they will still come back to ruin my days so I better be more vigilant with myself.

The end of THE END
Monday, November 13, 2006

The end of THE END wasn't really the end because the end of THE END wasn't the end of the end which everyone was waiting for. Yes, I am done reading all 13 books of The Series of Unfortunate Events and boy, am I wanting for more!

A few chapters into THE END, Snicket tells the reader that the end of THE END doesn't really give the e

nd and so I kind of knew that many questions will still be unanswered. For one, was Lemony the Father of the Baudelaire children? Was Dewey Denouement the father of Kit Snicket's baby? What really happened between Count Olaf and Kit? Where is Mr. Poe and more importantly, what is his first name? Did the guests survive the Hotel Denouement fire? Are the Baudelaire parents REALLY dead? Whatever happened to Olaf's henchmen like the hook-handed man and the other theater people? Are the Quagmires really safe? And Friday's parents-- were they villains or volunteers?

What I loved about it was how Snicket set Book the 13th's setting in a remote island which depicted The Garden of Eden. The tree was well, the Tree of Good and Evil, the Medusoid Mycelium (the fatal fungus that infected Sunny) is the origi

nal sin which can easily spread throughout mankind, the Apple is the magical fruit and the books near the tree serves as the roots of the Tree of Knowledge. Furthermore, when the snake from Book 2, the Incredibly Deadly Viper named Ink slithered toward Violet to give her the apple, that was brilliant writing by Snicket! Truly incredible, a phrase which here means, "WOW". There is an epilogue book of sorts and its title is "The Beatrice Letters" and it is closely linked to Book the 13th. I am soooo getting my hands on it. Also, there appears to be another book coming out and it's called "Horseradish: Bitter Truths you Can't Avoid" still by Lemony Snicket (RN Daniel Handler). For more on Lemony Snicket, go to www.lemonysnicket.com. For more info on Snicket's work, just Wiki him. Oh and here's the link to a Snicket video film noir effect. Ha! http://lemonysnicket.com/vilevideos/

As I've told Hoen many times before, THIS is the bedtime story series I will be reading to our kids when tucking them to bed. His response I believe was, "You want them to cry in their sleep?" And to that I said, "No. I want them to THINK in their sleep. And of course, to feel blessed." Hehe.

Dreaming HOUSE

As some people have known, Hoen and I want to get a house next year if finances are manageable. Omaha is relatively cheap on real estate compared to the coastal states for obvious reasons. A house costing $200K here already has 3-4 rooms, 2 storeys, a basement and your own backyard. In New Jersey, $200K is a shack.

For months now, we have been looking around, admiring areas where raising families is most suitable and where the views are amazing. Last Saturday, we were at Dan's place to watch some Football at his basement. His friends brought their kids with them and I saw the lot of really nice and pricey toys like toy washing machines, the latest lego work table, bicycles, puzzle sheets, etc. I couldn't help but imagine our lives being like that one day. In our case, our basement will MOST LIKELY have a TV with a treadmill and some workout stuff all over the place. Of course, the place can be a playroom for our kid(s).

Now, everytime we see a really nice area with these really nice houses and well manicured lawns and their 2-car garages, I end up wishing everything will be ok with us here, including the issuance of our Green Card as soon as possible. Not that our buying of a house depends on the GC, but the more secure we are the better our chances of getting what we want will be. I have never been this way-- imagining our lives with kids and that basketball ring along the driveway but I guess this is so in our horizon now. If I had my way, I wouldn't want for us to live in an area with a very strict covenant where all the houses end up looking the same. I don't know how hard or easy it is to have your way here. We will have to explore on that.

Here's are pics of a row of houses right across a driving range and golf course. This made me sigh. Suya kaayo ko. =)

Mac-apalit ba kaha mi???

Hokay. So here's the deal. Two pc-dependent people marry each other. One's an applications architect and the other one's an online marketer / advertiser / spammer. There's only one pc- a desktop at that. Trouble in pc-dise? You bet! The solution? GET A LAPTOP.

But which one?

Our choices were pretty simple at first. We just get an ordinary running laptop that lasts a whi

le and works reliably. Pretty soon, the Mac was within our brands of choice because of its durability and simplicity. The more we researched, the more we realize just how much has changed in the Apple book in such a short span of time. Dual boot, fully packed OS, etc. But Hoen's concerns were that he wants to be able to download programming tools like MYSQL, Eclipse, Tomcat, Apache, etc. and he wasn't sure if all these were now supported. So more research was done, I was emailing with Beaver back and forth and I asked the Geeka Rasta Masta, Rexy. I'm guessing more chats with Stan with help too. Seems it's all praises for the Mac and the price ain't that bad. Not the iBook but the MacBook which I later learned is now Buttwipe's LT. We plan to get the LT as soon as the wedding is done because we both really NEED it. I can always do my work somewhere wi

th WiFi and Hoen can always test the codes he gets from books he reads right there and then. What's more, we can both stop harassing our poor desktop pc with our bombardment of applications, tabs, tools, codes, etc.

So Mac-apalit ba gyud kaha mi ani? Abangan!

B(o)RAT!!!
Sunday, November 12, 2006

This movie was hilarious!!! Probably in my Top 5 raciest EVER!! I've only known Sacha Cohen as Ali G but THIS character swept me off my feet! (Never saw a single episode of his HBO show). Cohen plays Borat, a Kazakhstani journalist" who is sent to the US to learn whatever he can there and apply it to his locality, Kuscek (which means "vagina" in Arabic, by the way). So with his producer friend, Azamat, and a production crew, he travels to the US and just perfects his mockumentary every chance he gets. Along the way, his love for Pamela Anderson gets in the way of his mission and he decides to chase her from New York all the way to LA. The places he went to, the experiences he had, the people he met and the language he uses just makes for one RIOT of a movie! I swear, you get constantly surprised in almost every scene or frame! It's so funny albeit being racy and "offensive" that you can only hear yourself laugh.

***SPOILER ALERT*****
The raciest part was when Borat gets mad at Azamat and they have this naked "wrestling" feat inside their hotel room. I tell you.. masturbation, dangling penises, punching faces while on missionary position, hitting while spooning, cussing each other with Azamat's penis and uncensored balls on Borat's face and sweaty love handles as they run into a hotel conference with nary a piece of clothing. Furthermore, holding on to a plastic bag filled with his feces, flagrantly displaying of his "assets", bringing a Black hooker inside one of the homes along Secession Drive, taking a dump outside the Trump Towers, Sacha Cohen makes Jim Carrey look like a 700 Club host. These are BUT enough reasons for you to just purchase an early ticket!

What's funnier is that the entire time he was "degrading" and "insulting" Jews, he was actually speaking a lot of Yiddish, Hebrew, even Polish and a bit of Russian which makes him even more adored. This movie is so smartly written and really tests audience's intelligence, patience and appreciation for smart-ass toilet humor, no pun intended. So go see Borat! It will be unlike anything you've seen before! "Verry niiice!" (thumbs up). Hehe.

Oops... she did it at last!!!
Thursday, November 09, 2006

I think I got the news within the minute it was published. Thanks to the refreshing powers of MSN, the headline gave me a sigh of relief.

Brit divorced Kevin 2 days ago. YEY!!! It only took her, what, 2 years I know but still, so so so glad she finally did it!

Scrounge Potato

Ok, so Lorelai goes to Paris with Christopher next week and he proposes to her... (Grey's Anatomy update deleted for fear of the amputee's raised brow)... Lost is skipping the season and will be premiering back on February which gives us a lot more time to stay at the gym instead of rushing back home to catch it... On Numb3rs, the Epps brothers are gaining weight with Charlie doing a dumb job at being a boyfriend and Don's moving on from Robin with an office colleague ... All of the heroes in Hero are now living even mooore complicated lives but the "Save the cheerleader, save the world" line keeps haunting Milo (Hiro is still my favorite Hero) ... On Studio 60, Sarah Paulson gets persecuted for being a Christian comedian while the rest of the crew is in Nevada over some really silly charges being pressed to one of the crew people (telling you, this show is HILARIOUS!) ... Medium is showing on Wednesdays now... On Ugly Betty, details about Betty's family are slowly unveiled just as Vanessa Williams' wrinkles are... On Brothers and Sisters, I don't even know where to begin with this really TOO functional family (Ally McBeal situations without the Ally McBeal reaction) ... On Ghost Whisperer, Melinda still gets haunted by ghosts, of course, but a dead girl is after her husband. Yikes!

Apart from the NBA season, UFC, K1 Pride, Boxing and ANY football game on TV, these are the reasons for our Cheetos indulging, peanuts digging, chocolate munching, ice cream licking and water binging hours. Hehe.

My hubby is a freak!

This is what happens. Hoen and I would be watching a show at, say, History Channel or Animal Planet and let's just say the topic is about... ballistics. The narrator goes on and on and on about how ballistics has changed over the years da da da... then Hoen says something like, "That's what they used during Desert Storm" then 5 seconds after the narrator says "DESSERT STORM." I am not talking about the three times that this has happened. I am talking about the FREQUENCY of my hubby's ability to know what people are saying or are going to talk about or on what's going to happen later on during the movie. May it be a movie, or a radio show, or a documentary, Hoen has the odd ability to pre-empt. This is happened so often that my usual amazed reaction has now become a simple eye stare and we both know what just happened. After pointing this out for MONTHS, Hoen finally told me last night that he knew about this "ability" when he was still in Cebu and that he knew EXACTLY what people were going to say.

I married a freak!

Oh and now that I'm on the topic, I just want to point out that Hoen has a rather... weird.. vein (or artery) on his left hand. You see those prominent vein (or artery) you have at the back of your hand? Hoen's MOVES and SWITCHES PLACES as you please. So it's a straight vein, right? I push it to the right, it skews to the right. I move it to the left, it moves all the way to left. And stays there! It is so disturbing! I remember discovering this in church because I usually massage his hands and arms during the homily to while HIS time (hehe) and I got around to playing with his FREAKY side. I was so freaked out I was trying not to shriek in church. Hoen was so amused because apparently, he had no idea he had this freak-ish trait too. So the both of us were smiling silly, trying not to laugh and at the same time, just finding ourselves wanting to move his vein from left to right. Haha!

He really IS a freak!

Meme from who else, the Amputee

Where were you 1 hour ago?
- In the bathroom with my hubby. We were uh... doing our uh... business
Who will be your next kiss?
- Until we get a mouthwashed pet soon, I'm thinking it's Hoen. And I want it to stay that way
Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?
- only those stripes on Hoen's boxers
When is the last time you went to the mall?
- Just earlier today. I went to Barnes then at Target and both are in the same mall.
Are you wearing socks right now?
- Not right now. In 2 days, I will be when it gets cold again.
When was the last time you went to the province?
- hmmm...scanning... scanning...googling...going on eBay... aha! December 2004! San Remegio where stranger things have happened!
Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days?
- Nopers. Our moviewatching schedule is every fortnight. This weekend we're watching Borat. Hehe.
What was the last thing you had to drink?
- Right after my aphrodisiac elixir, my usual cup of hot milk before I retire for bed. Still having it right now.
What are you wearing right now?
- white shirt, boxer shorts, sheepskin slippers
What was your last purchase?
- Floor lamp with a reading lamphead from Target
Last food you ate?
- My own baked Honeyed Porkloin, sweet corn, the usual salad and Lindt chocolate.
Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
- I was going to hook up with Johnny Depp when Hoen called me to meet up at Target. Bummer.
Have you bought any clothing items in the last week?
- Ahehe... hehehe...
Do you have a pet?
- Maika, our black lab in Cebu. I wonder if she remembers me.
What's the last sporting event you watched?
- A Hockey game which was way insane, it wasn't lame, I'm watching it ageyn!
What is your favorite class?
- Recess ironically brought people together. I mean food, cramming, gossiping, copying notes.. THAT was the life!
If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?
- Didn't I mention Johnny Depp?
What is the last thing you purchased online?
- Favor boxes for our wedding
How old are your parents?
- A little over their baby boomer years. 62 is Momma, 64 is Dodda
What's your favorite soup?
- I am sooo loving these questions! A tug-of-war between Hot and Sour soup and Miso soup which Leg is ick-ified over.
Do you miss anyone?
- anyone? no. anyseventeen. you bet.
Last play you saw?
- Monty Python's Holy Grail on Broadway 4 months ago. DA BESS!!
What are your plans for the night?
- Well, we just love consummating our marriage so I guess our plans have been "best laid". Bwahahaha!!
Who is the last person you messaged on myspace?
- Xiomara.
Ever gone to camp?
- Camp? No. Camping? Yes.
Were you an honor roll student in school?
- Never made it past the 4th grading. I ranked in the class but always 7th, 8th
in the entire batch. Wek wek wekkk
What do you know about the future?
- I don't. But going home, getting married, Holiday gatherings are real sooners.
Are you wearing cologne?
- Not right now. Aveeno lotion is too pungent to be paired with cologne.
What should you be doing now?
- Judging from the snoring somewhere in the living room, I'm supposed to be in bed.
What perfume or cologne do you use?
- Burberry classic (my 7th year of usage?), Escada, Banana Republic, GAP
Do you have a tan line?
- Not anymore!! WAAAA!!!
How old do you want to be when you have kids?
- while I'm 30. Which gives me a year or two to work out my eggs
Do you collect anything?
- Aside from pirate cusses, music, books, earrings, recipes, bookstore mugs, and of course, MONEYYYY
Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
- Just my ears. I am a ink virgin
Have you ever drank your soda from a straw?
- THAT would be criminal. Hell, no! What kind of normal earthling discovered that absurd practice!
How do you like your soda?
- No ice, no sugar, no calories, no aspartame
Do you like hot sauce?
- If liking means simply serving it to my husband then yes, i like hot sauce
Who do you like?
- I am really liking myself right now. Hehe. Damn this elixir's pretty stubborn!
What is your mood?
- sleepy-get-this-over-and-bandwidth-should-I-wait-up-for-Buttwipe? mood
Are you someone's best friend?
- I've been told yes, and by several people at that. =)
What's the last TV show you watched?
- The usual late night viewing... Frasier reruns, Friends reruns, Will and Grace reruns, SATC reruns, Mythbusters on Discov Channel

Tagging.... crap. Leg and I are the only memers I know. Maybe Jown if she has the time, Doogie if she's in a better mood na, Buttwipe if SHE has time, Hoen if he even cares! Haha!

The heat is on!
Tuesday, November 07, 2006

I have been into one thing I never thought I would ever be into my life. BAKING. See, last month, when Hoen had his bloodwork done, his cholesterol decreased 29 points (yey!) from 235 to 206 but honestly, that number's still high. 235 was borderline already so our mission now is to get it below 200.As I have mentioned before, Hoen and I have become health buff wannabes ever since I arrived. Since we were planning on having a family, we had to be at our healthiest. Medical costs are also enough to give you a nightmare (next year, insurance premiums increase) so the healthier we are, the less expenses we have. This is really true. Which leads me back to baking.

Even though I've been cooking with either olive or canola oil for maybe a year now, having zero cholesterol doesn't necessarily mean less fat. With cooking or frying, the longer the food stays on the pan, the more it absorbs all the fat even if it's cholesterol-free. No amount of paper towel tapping will do. With baking, I only need to spritz and spray some oil and I am done. So far, I have baked fish recipes, chicken and tonight, pork. The feeling at the end of every meal is so different. My tummy feels so light especially when we've been having brown rice for over a year now. Hoen and I do not have the same SSB symdrome unlike before.I can imagine myself baking all the way. Really, I can. Hoen loves it too and we surely enjoyed our first bake together. It was my imperial chicken. The recipe book I bought helped too and that's what propelled to get on the baking aisle and gear up for a whole lotta heat. Hehe.

Baking, baking, there ain't no faking!

Hackneyed Hockey?

I saw my first Hockey game 2 weeks ago. One of Hoen's officemates has been playing Samaritan with his tickets to his officemates and just leaves them on the table for whoev

er wants to take them 2 Fridays ago, Hoen took two tickets. The game was between UNO (University of Nebraska in Omaha) and ______. UNO won but that's not what made me happy. I was happy because it was my first Hockey game. I was happy because the game was so fast and so physical, I was waiting for a nosebleed to happen. I was happy because during the halftime break, kids no more than 5 years old were on the rink playing Hockey with their cut sticks and oversized shirts and helmets. They looked so cute trying to goal the puck when half the time they were slipping, sliding with their faces landing on the ice. Believe me, not one kid cried. They were obviously having fun!

When Hoen and I have a son, I would want him to try Hockey. And, bato-lata and tubig-tubig, of course. Hehe.This Friday, we're watching another hockey game c/o First Date and not anymore Mr. Samaritan. It will be between two semi-pro teams this time so it should be bloodier. Wishing for a nosebleed still!

Rant Pant!

Ok. Blogdrive has been irritating the tapeworms out of me for quite some time now. First, I get ads asking me to upgrade almost every day. Two, their photo uploading takes so much time AND you can't have a lot of pictures uploaded because it's quota'd. Hoen's also asked us to switch to Opera because the new Firefox requires a lot of memory and if you have more than 5 tabs open, you get "memory loss". I usually just open the site and all my credentials are embedded. Now with Opera, I had to remember what my blogdrive password was and I can't seem to remember it and when I asked them to resend it, they only sent me a link to CHANGE my password which is NOT what I emailed about. So I have to open Firefox JUST to get to my Blogdrive which is too much effort. And the worst part is when drafts get lost. Aaargh. I have made really long drafts only for them to disappear! So here I am, switching to blogspot. My wedding blog is here anyway so less hassle.

Welcome to my facelifted, deported blog!

Tube updates Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Shichinin no Samurai remake Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Good ole Charlotte Sunday, November 26, 2006

Giving Thanks

It's the little things that count Saturday, November 25, 2006

Converts R Us! Wednesday, November 22, 2006

A month to go!!! Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Say, "Cheese!" Monday, November 20, 2006

Double...No, Quadruple... Oh, Sixtuple Threat! Sunday, November 19, 2006

Baby Talk Deciphered Thursday, November 16, 2006