Christmas Party 2008.

We just had our Christmas Party. Yeah, on the 29th of December. I know, it’s late. But it’s still a party. Whatever you call it, a Christmas or a New Year Party. It was fun, as always, because it’s a family Christmas Party. There are like 6 families who went, all are family friends or barkada, cousins, whatever. At last, we’re all complete now. Last year, my brothers, cousin and uncle(and my dad, too) weren’t here because they were at Davao and had some gig for almost one month so they didn’t spend Christmas with us. We knew it was going to be a lonely one because there were only 3 of us– me, my mom and my tita. Because of that, we thought of organizing a Christmas party for everyone who was left over here at Manila. That was way back when things weren’t too complicated yet.. and chaotic. Thank God that everything is almost going nice now.

So, last year, the whole band and my dad weren’t here, and of course, we miss them because the group isn’t complete without them. So for us to have some fun and not have a blue Christmas, we had our Christmas party. It was uber fun that we did it again. Tonight. Just tonight. It had the same people from last year. Our family friend, Kuya Ces and Ate Gem with their kids(there are 4 of them, I think. Two with the almost the same age as mine and two little kids. The little kids were uber cute! Very Chinese! Hehehe). My cousin’s family, Kuya Sonny and Ate Lhyn with their only child for now, Ska, who is 7 years old. My cousin’s neighbor who also became a family friend, Kuya Otoy and Ate Sheila with their kids(who are sooo kulit!). My uncle Arthur and Auntie Sherriz who doesn’t have a child yet because they just got married last year, I think? Yeah, right! My brother Kuya Ian and his wife, Ate Liza who just got married last September and of course, us, our family. Our family was all wearing red. My Kuya Raymond is wearing white though because his girlfriend, Ate Therese, is also wearing white. Some wore yellow, green, and brown. The red team was winning though. Hehe.

Last year’s Christmas Party at Philam Homes. Same people, only bigger because my brother’s and the others are now here.

Last year, we spent the Christmas Party at our house at Philam but since we already left there, we spent it at our house in Commonwealth. I was shocked because there were lights(just a spotlight) and sound system! LOL. We even said, “Hindi kaya mabulabog mga kapit-bahay natin neto? Hahaha!” The staff and crew of Sound Chaser¹ were also there, btw.

It was really fun because we were complete and all of us participated in the parlor games. Yeah, we had that! Haha. There were like almost 6 or 5 games. Our all-time favorite game, Pinoy Henyo! There was also yung game na palalamugin yung talong(for all singles! Too bad I didn’t win, I was 2nd though. Haha). Then an imbento game called “Isubo mo, Darling“. LOL! It was for couples. They were both blindfolded and they’re gonna make subo(haha, anong english ng subo? lol) the banana to each other. It was SOO FUNNY!!! ) Then, the stop dance game for kids and their fathers. And the last game was the relay game! It was really fun because most people got to participate. Damn, we lost! BOO-HOO!!! We were ahead of the other team first! But because of me, YEAH RIGHT!! LOL. I was to blow the flour in the paper plate and under it, there’s a word that we’re gonna say then after, grab a flag inside the basin full of water which says WINNER. YUN YON! Dun ako natagalan! Langya. The paper was really sticky! I had a hard time taking the plastic off too! So there, we lost. BOO-HOO! But it was fun. I think it was my first time blowing the flour. I was coughing and the flour was all over me! My face, my hands, my shirt and my pants! Damnit. LOL. But it was really fun.

After the games, we had our exchange gifts. I got a bag! Yay! Lol, I got like 3 or 4 bags as a gift this Christmas. It’s okay, at least, I have bags man!! I can’t get enough of it. Especially school bags. Lol. I hoped that my mom, dad or my Kuya Carlos(2nd bro) picked my name but they didn’t. Well, why? Because their gifts are the mugs from Starbucks! I wanted one! I picked my uncle’s name, Uncle Arthur, so he got a Starbucks mug, too. Lol. Dapat kasi 300php up and we can’t think of anything else to give. Because we didn’t know who we will exchange gifts to until the time for our exchange gifts so we had to buy a unisex gift.

They’re still downstairs. The adults are playing cards and drinking, hmm, wine or Matador? Lol. I don’t know. Usually I join them, but they didn’t invite me over so I didn’t go. The kids are still here, too. They’re playing, I guess. Their voices, both the adults and kids, can be heard from over here and I’m at the 3rd floor. That’s how noisy they are. I can’t find anything to do so I ate again, read the book my Kuya Carlos gave me as a gift(For One More Day by Mitch Albom), and now I’m typing this blog post. I don’t know what made me type this long post to think that I am lazy to blog these days. So I think it has been a long time since I made a real update.

Anyway, these kind of events and parties make me want to have a DSLR so much. I want to be the one capturing the moments. I also want our video cam be fixed because I, too, want to be the one recording the moments that can never happen again the same way. I’m having fun doing it. But anyway, it will happen. I know, it will.

And oh yeah, sometimes I think my family doesn’t really know me well. I mean, they may see the me I am showing them, but they don’t see the me when I am with my friends. Well, we all act differently when we’re with family and with friends. But still, it’s the same us. Isn’t it? I just think I can’t really show to my family what I am showing to my friends because it’s inappropriate. Anyway, they still think of me as the shy and quiet person. Well yeah, I am shy but I have changed a lot in terms of self-esteem and confidence but they don’t see it. I am quiet, but I am also really really talkative. So I have to exert more effort now for them to see how much I have changed, for the better? I don’t know. I just don’t know. I guess they have just so much expectation of me that I can’t meet their standards. I know they have high expectations of me, I really know it. I can tell. Sometimes it’s making me feel frustrated and feel that I am not enough, that what I am doing isn’t enough. I know I shouldn’t feel that way and I shouldn’t think that way because they’re family and they accept me for whatever and whoever I am. But yeah, what can I do? It’s how I feel, and sometimes think. It makes me want to be alone at times because I don’t want to hear my brothers talking to me, my mom and my dad talking and talking about stuffs that I should do and whoever I am not. You know? Agh. This post just turned into a rant. This is supposed to be about the Christmas Party, supposed to be a happy post.

And this has turned to be a really long one. Thanks for reading, anyway. I’m going to return to reading For One More Day. And I hope, I will finish whatever I need to finish this vacation. I have much to do yet I am not doing it and I haven’t finished doing it. I have the tendency to start off a thing and not finish it because I get lazy. Just like what I am doing for my year-ender for this blog. I want to finish it but I am lazy to. Grr.

Anyway, bye.

¹ Sound Chaser is a lights and sound system rental, sales and installations for concerts, events, and the like owned by my family.

Parteeyyy month.

November is my party month. 3 out of 4 Saturdays this month(including this coming Saturday – the 24th), I’ve been out. YAY! Birthdays, birthdays, birthdays… and more birthdays. Most of the people I know have their birthdays during November, actually October-November. But this month, my Saturdays were really hectic(yuck, peling sikat? haha joke lang).

The first Saturday of this month, I told my parents and brothers that my blockmate will have her debut(it’s an informal one) and it’ll be a costume party(Halloween e, hehe). It was in Makati, near Greenbelt which was very far from where I live. GAH, North to South. The next week, I told them that my high school classmate was going to celebrate his birthday. It was a false alarm though. I really thought it was that Saturday which was the 10th, only to find out that it’s not until the week after that. Haha. I didn’t know his birthday was on the 17th(bad, haha). So I was stuck at home, in front of the PC. The problem was, it’s my high school senior ka-barkada 18th birthday party that same night my high school classmate’s birthday. GAH. So just like last year, I attended two birthday parties on the same night. And now, my high school super friend is celebrating her birthday on the 24th although her birthday is on the 23rd.

Last Sunday, my mom and dad told me, “Walang party ngayong Saturday ah.” I was like, “Hala.” HAHA. Grabe. I had the feeling that they don’t believe me anymore. Haha. But WTH man, the birthday parties were actually true! Like, I’m gonna lie to them? I have never ever done that in my life just to get out on weekends. I swear! I’m a good girl. LOL. I can’t blame them though. If I put myself on their shoes, it’s really doubtful that every week my excuse was “Birthday nung kaklase ko dati e, si Ano..” But what can I say? They can’t blame me either. It’s not my fault that most of the people I know were born on the month of November. To think that most of them are my high school super friends, of course, I would not want to miss their birthday celebrations for anything else! Why? Because I so miss them! I miss hanging out with them and we have a lot of catching up to do. I’ve been dying to see them since the reunion last July and some, since graduation.

So for Saturday, I asked them last night if I can go so I can inform my former classmate if I can go or not. Fortunately, they agreed. Yey! Man, this was the only month where I went out every weekend. I swear. Since school started, every weekend, I’ve been at home being a bum. Sleeping or whatever. Lol. And this Saturday is the last party I’ll go to.. hmm, I take it back. LOL. December is coming up which means another high school get together. I hope! Haha.

–extra–
Anyway, last November 17 was really a fun fun night! When two of my high school senior barkada saw me, they were both screaming and jumping! HAHAHA. Imagine us doing that outside Starbucks, Convergy’s. Haha. Aww, it was a happy sight. My favorite line that night was, “So, kamusta ka naman, *name*?” Haha. The time we spent together wasn’t enough because we arrived at my ka-barkada’s house at almost 9pm because we were waiting for them at Convergy’s. We didn’t know the way to her house and I actually forgot na rin. Layo kasi, madaming pasikot-sikot. Tipong, madaming villages sa isang village(Filinvest II). Haha. Gah. So, we didn’t have the time to really talk about things. But it was really great seeing them again. After that, we went to Eastwood to go to another party. There were only 5 of us from my friend’s debut who went. We got there at around 11pm. It was so late! People were waiting for us and our former classmate didn’t know where to celebrate his birthday in Ewood. Haha, great. It was his(or her, haha) first time. It was a Saturday, obviously, everything’s full. But it was okay, we went to Ipanema. Sosyal, lumelevel-up na sila, buma-bar na ngayon. Haha. It was super fun! But it was scary at the same time. HAHA. Shocks. I’m not used to seeing people grinding and stuff anymore. I was like, “Eww, wth.” Haha. But this really freaked me out! I was dancing with my friends who all have their partners, and I don’t have one(haha), then this guy made his way between my friends and danced in front of me. DAMNIT! =)) I didn’t know what to do! Grabe. I hid at the back of my classmate thinking that he will get the signal that I don’t want to dance with people I don’t know(lol). But he followed me and kept on dancing. WTF. =)) Fortunately, my former girl classmate saved my life. LOL. She made his way between the guy and me and she danced with the guy. WHEW. Then she asked, “Ok ka lang, Cha?” Hahaha. WTFWTF. Then there’s this other guy who kept looking(wthhhhh!!) and is slowly getting nearer and nearer. Tipong humahanap ng tiempo. When I saw that, I told my guy friend, “Uy, Kevin! Palit tayo ng pwesto.. dito ka, dyan ako! Please please!” ) Then, the guy went away and went back to his friends. HAHA. BS. I’m really thankful I was with my friends. They’re really super! Haha. Sabi nga naming mga girls, “Buti na lang andyan yung mga machong bantay natin.” Haha. Buti na lang talaga! Di na talaga ako sanay. =)) But overall, it was a really fun night! I went home at around 2am. Yay. I’m looking forward to hang out with them again.

–pictures–

photos by Kevin Mata. (Kamusta yon, nagppicture-an kami habang nagsasayaw? Haha.)

Week-long vacation, Cost-cutting & Birthdays.

Hey everyone. How’s your vacation bloggers? It’s pretty long especially for those who are having their sembreaks. It’s nice to recharge our energies after a stressful day, week, month, term, semester or whatsoever. My vacation was pretty nice although I just stayed at home. At least I don’t have any homeworks, quizzes and projects to worry about now. ^_^ I’m just relaxing. Hehe. Midterms is already finished just last Wednesday. Filipino was our last midterm and it was okay. I was late though. Lol. Damn you 7am classes! Anyway, our online enlistment starts on Monday. I’m gonna get a good schedule! NO MORE 7AM CLASSES FOR ME! Nu-uh! There’s no way, kokey! Haha. I hope I can be classmates with some of my blockmates in 3rd term. In at least one to two subjects! Or if I’m lucky, all subjects. Haha. It’s possible, isn’t it?

Anyway, aside from worrying about the online enlistment, ’cause we all don’t know how to yet, our 2nd half for 2nd term starts on Monday! It means another set of projects, quizzes and all those school works! It’s time to change my way of doing things. I should start doing it right away and not wait 2 or 3 days before the deadline to come knocking at my door. Why? ‘Cause it sucks. It’s stressful. It means sleepless nights and pressure. I hate it. I don’t want myself to get used to it. I don’t want my work to pile up! Kelangan ko na magsipag ulit. I should follow my schedules. What in the world are organizers for? It’s useless if I don’t follow it. I wonder what’s in Starbucks for Christmas? LOL. We worked hard for our Starbucks planners last year, mind you. Yes, we worked hard for it. Working hard means getting ourselves broke at the end of the year just to get that freakin’ planner! But it’s fine, we wanted it anyway. And I get to bond with my friends a lot during those days. I miss those times! Plus you have your favorite Starbucks drink with you. Ahhhh, love! Haha. But now, I don’t go to Starbucks often. Cost-cutting ako eh. But even if I cut my starbucks indulgences, I’m still broke. Damnit. Christmas is fast approaching and I don’t have money to buy gifts! Nagagastos ko yung ipon ko. Di pa rin ako nakakapag-start mag-ipon. Gastos ko kasi. I HATE IT. Hindi pwede ito. Pano na ang gusto kong tablet? at and DSLR? Hmpp. Idagdag mo pa sa gastos ang online shopping sa multiply. WAHH. ARGH. Okay, stop. This needs action. Kelangan ko na talaga mag-ipon. -_- Kaya ko ‘to.

It’s unusual of me to blog at this time. It’s 1:47am on my computer clock. I got home at around 12 something AM from Makati. It was my blockmate’s debut at Toyz Cafe. It was an informal one. And since it’s Halloween, it’s a costume party. I wore a white bubble dress with butterfly wings and wand. LOL. I’m a fairy! Hahaha. It was fun. Tumugtog ang Day One Movement. Si Sib Sibulo yung vocalist nila. Grabe, ang lapit ko sa stage. Literally! Tipong nasa harap ko na yung band. Ako lang yung andun malapit sa kanila. Walang gustong maki-share sa inuupuan ko. Sofa kasi yun. Hahaha, nakakahiyang tumingin sa banda. Atsaka magkaka-stiff neck ako kung pinanood ko sila buong set nila. Di ko kasi maharap sa stage yung sofa, mabigat e. I also got a gift certificate worth P1,000 from Rudy Project. Sponsor kasi nila. So lahat nung naka-costume, may gift certificate. Sponsor rin pala niya yung Coors Light. Libre ang beer namin! Hahaha. Yung invitation, may stub pa para sa vodka. Parang ticket lang e noh. Haha. Pure vodka pala yung nainom ko kanina. Di ko alam yun talaga. Akala ko nahaluan na siya ng lime para di malakas ang tama. Pero wala namang epekto sakin. Haha. At ayoko talaga ng lasa ng beer. Di ako beer person. Atsaka occasionally lang naman ako umiinom. Mabait ako e. Wahehehe.

My next birthday stop will be on November… 17. Which means.. I can’t go to my org’s Photo-Video Workshop which will be held on Nov.17-18. It’s an out-of-town trip to Bataan. I sossss wanna go! But heck, I promised Nikita(my high school ka-barkada) that I’ll go. And I miss my high school friends. It’s one way of bonding with them again. Debut pala yun. Pero simple lang, sa bahay lang niya. Marami talagang may birthday tuwing November. At least sa mga kakilala ko, marami ang November. One year na pala nakalipas. Last year dalawang birthday party in-attend-an namin sa same na araw. After nung birthday party ni Nikita nun sa bahay nila, pumunta naman kami sa birthday party ng isa pa naming barkada sa Timog. High school pa ko nun. Ang saya. Pero ngayon, shet, college na. Ang bilis pa ng araw. 17 na ko next year! Legal na ang iba sa ‘min nun. Ako 2 years pa. Tumatanda na talaga kami. Kaya live life to the fullest. Time flies by so fast. Ay bago pa pala ako mag-17, magpaPasko at New Year muna. Masyado akong excited e. Haha.

Mahaba na ‘to. Masyado akong madaldal. Haha. Thanks for taking the time to read though. Take care bloggers!