If I am not singing, I am humming.
If I am not humming, I have a song in my head.
If I don't have a song in my head, well,
I might as well be dead. -- Maudester
1. Live outside Pinas 2. Marry a great guy
3. Have kids someday
4. Be career-successful 5. See Coldplay
6. See Radiohead
7. See Depeche Mode
8. See Dave Matthews
9. Go to Europe
10. Spend time with Jen Garner
11. Own a business
12. Bungee jump
13. Be healthy and fit
14. See an F1 Grand Prixe
15. See a Wimbledon match
16. Watch a Laker game
17. Watch a Broadway show
18. Meet sports legends such as Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen, David Coulthard, Schumi,
Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Jabbar, Dorothy Hamill and several others
19. Join The Amazing Race
20. See the Great Wonders of the World
21. Hug a penguin,panda or polar bear
22. Skydive
23. Own a house
24. Finish a graduate degree
25. Be cancerless
26. Have twins
27. Have all my fam in the US
28. Have that Harem world tour
29. Learn French
30. Be a millionaire by 35
31. Work for Google (preferrably with Leg and Jown)
4:30 pm, September 25, Hoen gets an email from Immigration Services. His EAD card is now in production! Woohoo!
1:30 am, September 27, Hoen tells me that the USCIS emailed him about MY EAD this time. It's also in production!
We might be getting them by next week. Add 3 weeks on top of that to get my SSN and voila! I'll be back on the workforce! That just gets me all giddy with excitement!
I've been on quite a blog break lately. Simply because a lot of things have happened and I just don't have the strength to have to blog each one of them. But every time I tire at the thought of blogging, I remind myself of the reason why I blogged in the first place. MY MEMORY SUCKS so I have to have some sort of journal to go back to in case I want to remember what happened to me on this date last year or where I was in so and so month. So here's my attempt:
1) Chuck Liddell lost in the Octagon once again. Keith Jardine, the self-proclaimed complete MMA fighter, defeats Liddell at his own game. It was all stand-up and yet, Jardine threw a lot of body shots.Chuck, on the other hand, much to Juliette Lewis' disappointed, just stood there, waiting for his infamous power punch. You would think that after losing to Rampage Jackson that he would have the hunger for victory in his eyes. Nosiree. He truly sucked. And Jardine, as much as I hate him, deserved that win. Oh and the good-looking Forrest Griffin won over Rua! Very good surprise!
2) I am slowly loving Accounting! Who woulda thunk huh?
3) I beat my record last year at the Omaha Cup Run! Woohoo! I covered the entire 6.2 miles in about 1 hour and 24 last year. This time, I did 1 hour and 22. Haha! Not a lot of time but considering I brisk-walked more than I jogged (not permitted to run just yet by my Gyne prior to my Oct. 2 annual check-up), I didn't do so bad. Ate Joyce, John, AJ and Jaja did the 2-mile walk. Hoen covered the entire 6 miles in 59 minutes. 3 minutes longer than last year but still under an hour. He also started way in the back because we ran late.
4) Speaking of running, Joen got Ligament Fasciitis from 6 straight days of non-stop running and playing basketball. And when he did the Cup Run, he wasn't able to stretch. So he now has to have a bandage around the arch of his right foot. The thing about fasciitis is that it's all about giving it time. So right now he's back to swimming for his cardio. Hoen can cover 40 straight laps on the pool beautifully! I guess it pays to be a certified swimming instructor.
5) For now, our barkada is divided. The Bisayas/Ilocanos with the rest of the Tagalogs. There is definitely some animosity between some of the peeps but we want none of that. I told Hoen that we should just give it time and things will be ok again. It's just funny seeing adults behave like children.
6) Joen's company, First Data Corp, has officially become private after being bought out. People are getting laid off, the organization is changing and we can't wait to have our EAD card already. It's not a pleasant feeling having to be on our toes all the time. We pray for this every single day.
7) We are now done with the Biometrics. It's funny how a 5-minute thing can take such a long time to process. Hoen checks the Visa Bulletin from time to time. He saw how the embassy was able to cover 3 months worth of applications in just 1 month. If they go on with that pace, we just might have our green card by December. Hehe. WISH KO LANG!
8) Heroes premiered last night! Hayden sure is the moneymaker of that show. Lots of close-ups that girl had. I was happy to see that Milo (Peter Petrelli) is still alive and that Greg Grunberg is now back in the Police Force. I had wanted to see Ali Larter but apparently, she gets to appear in next week's episode yet. But that's ok. This is PREMIERE WEEK! Bionic Woman, Chuck, Ugly Betty, DH, Ghost Whisperer and Brothers and Sisters! We've also started watching "The War", a 1-week documentary series.
9) Loved the season enders of Burn Notice and Monk. I'm guessing Burn Notice will be bigger and better next season because of the buzz they are getting. Gabrielle Anwar sure is getting better with her judo chops and the dialogue has been more glib. Monk's ending was a real tear-jerker. After chasing this female cabdriver without knowing why, he finally realizes what their connection was/is. When his wife, Trudy, passed away, her cornea was donated to a patient who needed a corneal transplant. That girl was the cabdriver. Monk holds her face and cries, "These are Trudy's eyes. Trudy's eyes..." and they both hold each other and tears just flow. Awwww.
10.) Done with my Voltes V marathon! All 40 episodes! I can't believe I still remember the episodes. "BROOOTHERRRR!!!" Hahaha.
I'm sure I missed quite a few things but these are it for now.
Hoping against hope against hope. Why does life have to be so unfair for her? Hasn't she had enough? Can't she, for once, just take a break from all this? Don't you think she deserves it? Don't you think she needs it? What else does she have to do? How much more pain does she have to go through? WHEN IS ENOUGH, ENOUGH??
Once in a while, a powerful female love song comes along. These songs have been sung by the likes of Aretha Franklin, Annie Lennox, Etta James, Tori Amos, Carley Simon, Carole King and others . I consider this one by Alicia Keys, "No One", as one of them. I have listened to this for over a week and I still can't get over it. It makes me think of the man of my dreams. How lucky am I to have married him?
No wonder a lot of Pinoys don't like hanging out with fellow Pinoys. Tonight, we may have lost the game to the Blue Team (and they may have been a cocky, disrespectful lot) but we lost something greater. We lost a lot of our trust and dignity. And now, the group is divided. Bisayas and Tagalogs. GIKAPOY KO.
I have no energy to talk about everything now. All I know is that I am very disappointed. Here we were, building friendships and relationships... and we get screwed.
I don't like chismis and I don't like having to pick a side. I don't like hearing stories that make me over-careful with my words or actions. But most of all, I don't like traitors. After months of work and money, we lost it all. Like all the fun and camaraderie and teamwork didn't count in the end.
Last week was my ump-teenth time at Chicago but this time I was on a mission. Since my Big 3-0 sky-diving and carnival ride-ing pretty much went down the Hudson Riverway, I knew I was there to SHOP SHOP SHOP. So after arriving on Thursday night, we headed straight to Claim Jumper where this dude totally bought my "It's my birthday ,really! You can check my license!"bit (If he did, I would've been so screwed). I got myself a hearty meal and some birthday ice cream cake. SHWEET.
The next day, since John had work and the kids had school, we went to this Prime Outlet Store and pretty much drained ourselves going around. Carrying 6-7 bags isn't much especially when it's all new goodies. Hehe. This was a huge store so a lot of walking had to be done. Since, for some reason, we weren't satisfied, we decided to go to another Outlet Store, in Gurnee Mills. I've been here before and I remember how overwhelmed I was then because I had only been in the US for a month. We had lunch at Rainforest Cafe where you're practically surrounded by animated jungle animals (life size too) and REAL colorful fish. Oh the guppies! They have this whole monsoon simulation too where lights flash and thunders roar and the whole place kind of shakes. Hehe, me likey! So once again, we shopped and then headed home after. Saturday night was John's Oma's (German grandmother) 40 days so we went to his house to see Frenchy, the widower. Now this guy had been married to Oma for 35 years and he is still not over her death. He would cry every 10 or so minutes, at first leaving the table rather awkward and silent. But we got used to it after. We got to chatting with several of John's family members and when we had to call it a night, we realized how Frenchy was left all by himself. I mean, after having a lot of people over for dinner, he was quite simply, all alone just like that. Poor poor guy. I pray he gets better soon.
The next day, Saturday, we were on another mission. We wanted to check out Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History but since it was very veryy farrr, we decided to park out at the station, get a train, get dropped off at the Union Station then bus out to the Museum. When we made it to the Union Station, we didn't see any bus but we heard there was a Free Trolley headed there anyways. It might be a bit of a reroute considering the stops the tourist trolley was going to make, but heck. It was my first time on a Chicago trolley so off we went! WE WERE ON THE ROAD FOR 45 minutes. Trafeek!!! Whenever I get in the middle of this Big cuty bustle, I appreciate Omaha more. Life is so much better in Omaha-- no traffic and you don't have to stay in your car stuck in the street just to get to oh, some place. So anyway, we make it there but because of the eaten time, we grabbed us some HotDog, went straight to the Musuem and oooh'd and aaah'd. I love museums, I can spend the entire day there. We saw the Underground adventure, Ancient Egypt, some cool animals and the Dinosaur/Relic Earth section. These were ONLY AN INCH to the entire yard the museum had to offer! DARNED THE TRAFFIC! Because we had a 7 pm reservation at the Medieval Times, we went out to get us a trolley by 4:30. NOTHING CAME. The train left the Union Station at 5:35 so we really had to hurry. At 5:10 there was still no trolley so we cabbed out. Holyllujah! We made it to the station in 10 minutes! So we hopped, skipped and leaped and 3 minutes later, the train arrived. Phew! JUST IN TIME! So we rode it, reached the Lake Cook station and drove to the Medieval Times. (By the way, this pink hoodie I'm wearing was a last minute buy. Weather(ornot).com said that it was going to be sunny in Chicago. Riiiiight. It was drizzling a bit and got chilly towards sunset and of course, I wasn't armed nor was I equipped for Fall. So pardon the uncoordinated color, hehe)
This place called Medieval Times showcases an actual (but choreographed) medieval fencing, lancing and jousting event WHILE YOU EAT. It was the first time for Joen and myself and we were really blown away by the place. After paying, we were given "crowns" to wear over our heads with colors representing the TEAM we would be cheering. We belonged to the Red and Yellow Team. The place was sooo cool!!! Upon entering, the foyer has this sort of Knights' Court where the King's "Chancellor" announces the rules of the game and some thrilling tid-bits about the arena. This court had some merchandise for sale, some photo op booths and other souvenirs. As usual, we made it just in time. As all team audiences were asked to usher ourselves from the court to the actual DINING area, it was breathtaking. You enter and right away you see this Arena with sand as its flooring, just like in the Medieval Times. The arena was surrounded with bleachers, only apart from chairs, we had long tables where our dinner was to be served on. We saw our dinnerware... they were all metal! Metal plates, metal mugs and NO SPOON AND FORK, just the old times. The place was dim and a set menu was presented via a table napkin. Audiences belonging to the Green, Blue, Black/White, Red, Yellow and other teams were also seated. It was so cool!
They had a story behind the match. The King's brother was assassinated by one of the Knights, and although they duel over who's going to go after the murderer, the "assassin" turns out to be one of the Knights. They had some intermission horse dances, lancing and jousting exercises, Old English dialogue, the works! Everything was choreographed but what really amazed me were the horses. They were so very well trained and they were just the most graceful and well commanded horses I have ever seen. As for dinner, we got served with this HUGE portion of roasted chicken, some ribs, potatoes, soup and bread. Yes, we ate with our hands just like the Old Times. So as we shouted and cheered and clapped, our hands were full from all the grease. Haha! Lingaw gyud kaayo! The kids couldn't stop screaming and cheering! OUR TEAM WON. The Red/Yellow Knight was tasked to hunt and in the end, kill the traitor Knight who had assassinated the King's brother. Yey!!! We had pics taken with the Princess and we got a souvenir from the Castle. We also got to visit this mini-museum of the torture devices used in the Medieval Times. Very cool!
We were supposed to go out clubbing that night but we were pooped, tired, spent so we decided to do some booze that night (Ate Joyce had John buy some Mai-Tai which has, you guessed it, PINEAPPLE) so the rest of the adults drank while I pretty much just had to stick with water. Hehe. The next day, it was GRUB time once again! We went to PappaDeaux for BRUNCH. Oh, the food. The food!! We went full force knowing that we weren't eating until much later so we ate like it was going out of style. Jaja then hands me this Hollister bag bearing gifts, "Happy Birthday, Tita Maude". Hehe. I got me a blouse, a Burberry perfume (and I was about to run out of Burbs!), a necklace, and oh, I forget what else. I appreciated it much and the card that went with it even made it sweeter. We then headed to Ikea although it was a last minute stop. Good thing since the last time I had ever been to Ikea was when I was in HK. I ended up buying some cute organizers. We had ice cream and snacks at the bar.For some reason, Hoen wanted to do more shopping. WHO WAS I TO COMPLAIN?! Te Joyce too, being the clothes whore that she is, chimed right in and we were soon headed out to this other outlet store. We shopped shopped shopped once again but it was a pretty tricky situation. AJ wanted to sleep and Jaja wanted to look for an outlet for her Nintendo DS. So Hoen babysat AJ as he slept in one of the benches while I went with Jaja. Then Hoen did the shopping while I babysat the two. Hehe kaluoy intawn. When everybody had their sugar treat, they were up and awake again. Hoen wanted to beat this Nintendo DS tennis game so that pretty much tickled the kids so much, they were laughing so hard at him. Hahahaha.
I wanted to buy me a leather jacket so I went inside Wilson Leather. Because, as expected, they didn't have a lot of XS jackets left, I had to call Hoen to help me out and see what looks good on me. He brought the kids with him. THen Ate Joyce and John followed. That's when the riot started. We AJ tried on this red jacket, then Jaja tried on this one jacket, then Hoen did then Ate Joyce did and we were pretty much hogging this one small mirror out of all the mirrors in the store. We had our own runway and we took pictures and we were just so noisy that the sales person kept looking at us. I bet we annoyed him, hehe. It was a lot of fun over... nothing. So I got a jacket, Hoen got one (so not part of the plan) and so did Ate Joyce. We were happy campers! We then drove down to this sort of ghost town (seriously ,it was eerie), and had buffet at BUFFET, the eat-all-you-must at th Grand Victoria Casino. There was some crab-eating contest and I think Ate Joyce won that one. Hehe. Since we had the kids, we couldn't go inside the Casino boat. And the kids had school tomorrow so we had to go home right away.
We left Chicago the next morning, Monday, at 6:55 am. We landed Omaha at around 8:20 am on time. All in all Chicago was a lot of fun. I'm glad I celebrated my beerday with family. We should go back there and check out the other museums next time. I want to see the Planetarium and more of the Field Museum. =)) I am not thirty years old. I now belong to another box, separate from the harem but same one as Hoen's. I can't believe I actually am here but I am loving it. Next year is going to be exciting, I just know it!
