Summer? Haha. Anyway… It took almost a couple of months to plan – from big venues to the littlest ones – and it finally happened by force. Some of those who agreed backed out but we really wanted to do it so we downsized the plan and ended up having the coolest night of summer. What a way to end the season – best friends, new mind-sets, same old humor.
Stories and pictures after the jump…
It’s a stormy Saturday night. Jeyelle and I just cancelled on Eric’s party to be safe and stay home and savor the sweet weekend. It’s so gloomy, though. The strong whistling of the wind freaks me out. Now I’m just here eating and preparing to watch a marathon of Gossip Girl, Season 2 of Dante’s Cove and cute movies I still don’t know what. The week at work’s filled with transition and I’m slowly losing interest overall. There were days when I couldn’t get myself to gain momentum to work very productively like before. But I’m hanging on. That’s the right thing to do. I hope this is just a phase.
Anyway… Good thing there are other things I can focus on. And while browsing around I saw this fierce photo of Marc Jacobs in Interview Magazine this June. I am seriously considering getting a tattoo soon. I like the red stars on his shoulder and I want those on but I’d place mine at my back. Spongebob looks cute too but it’s not for me. Haha!
There are other things I’m frustrated about and I’m doing my best to apply The Secret on those to counter the negativity. But I’ll give tonight to myself. The room’s clean and cold - I’ll just curl up on my bed later and watch movies on my iPod. It really was a good choice to not go out especially with this weird weather.
We all have them, right? Those things that we just can’t resist and are always part of our budget. Something we consider on top of whatever that really should be on top and is worth compromising anything else for when in fact, we can do without them even for one pay cutoff. But whatever, we still get them and nothing else can put those lingering smile on our faces than owning these sweet things. Worth it? Hell yeah!
Me. I have several guilty pleasures and I have written an entire page of excuses to justify their worth of the top spot. First and foremost, I love clothes. Shirts, particularly. And we know that for guys, beautiful shirts don’t go lower that 600Php. You’re lucky to find beautiful ones still untouched during sales and it’s the sweetest feeling to buy something you so like at 50% off. And also a perfect excuse to spend the supposed other half on another item. I also like pants but I’ve always had problems with my legs being too long and skinny and my waist being small. Doesn’t agree with the standard so finding the one that fits well on me is almost mission impossible.
The next thing that makes a huge cut on my paycheck are my fitness expenses. Now this one does not make me feel guilty at all. It’s more like the best reward I can give myself for going to work everyday. Since I was a kid I’ve always been skinny and aside from fitting into the clothes that I really wanted, self-esteem was also a major problem. You know what I mean. And now I’m making a change and growing amidst people’s nice comments about how I look better is just happiness! It’s the the least I can get from beating myself up so hard. So if you’ll analyze it (without prejudice, thank you very much), looking good is my top priority. If Imelda Marcos as a kid never had shoes and grew up to own thousands of pairs, I will, one day, own a walk-in closet full of fabulous clothes and be all O.C. with my body size. Hahaha! That’s how it goes, honey. 
I have other guilty pleasures but those two are the ones I really cannot scrap off my budget. No matter what. They’re gifts to myself that I know I deserve. And then my **ehem-ehem** responsible self steps up and gives way to my responsibilities at home. Now that’s how you do it! Hehe. That pushes down the guilt. Aside from my excuses, this can justify my overspending on vanity. And this is where your self-worth kicks in. None of what you do will matter if you don’t play a significant role in your family when you know for a fact that you should and you can. This gives deeper meaning to your daily challenges. And now we can rename this entry and take off the word “Guilty”.
So back to the extra extra, I splurge much on food which is part of my effort to gain weight. Crepes, ice creams, cakes, pasta, bread… Anything that can give me extra pounds. I’m blessed daw (in my case, it’s more of a curse) to not pack in loads of pounds easily even when I overeat – that may be because I have a big frame – that’s why it takes me four to five full meals a day to feel I fed myself well. And then next is my social life - going out with friends. If it’s an all-night-party, it really doesn’t come up often nowadays because it makes me lose weight and doesn’t make me as happy anymore. But early-evening coffee/dinner or even if it takes all night as long as there’s food and no booze, I’m totally fine with it. I think quiet moments give much more quality than intoxicating yourself all night and feeling dehydrated next morning. Paminsan-minsan lang masaya but it stops there.
Sabi nila, you really can’t say you can start earning extra once you get a pay raise because your demands will inadvertently increase in line with your current earnings. True? I guess. It’s like you’re comfort zone is expanding to make room for your guilty pleasures, or in worse other cases, for more. My say? As long as you’re happy and you don’t forget your responsibilities and what REALLY is important, go spend. Enjoy. You worked hard for it. Di ba? 
Early last night I was in Timog with my officemates friends. We don’t always go out and drink and it was timely for Wendell’s birthday (he, by the way, has sadly left the company a month ago but it’s nice that we developed a close bond weeks before his last day and still has kept in touch since) so we set the date for a fun night. Zyra and Natasha were also there so it was extra special – it was our first moment together outside the company’s concern.
Suze, my camera, fucked up most of the pictures because we all know she’s not good at taking shots in the dark (I hate it but she has to be replaced soon). Those that survived are either hideous or nonsense. I also kept getting bashed for losing weight and it really got into me. Well, I ain’t all-buffed-up yet and I guess the loose shirt that I wore didn’t really complement my body that’s why I appeared thinner. Pero kainis. Those comments really ruined my mood. Nothing personal or major though. I just can’t believe how hard I’d been working out and all the while I’d been losing weight pala. Babaw ko noh. But really, I know it was just the shirt. Haha!
Those guys are among those in the office that I love being with. Zyra and Natasha was so cool to join us and to finally see Natasha smoke in front of me was just whoa! Big deal, right? Haha! It’s because I always felt she’s a smoker and I’d been asking her to join me since her first day but she did not wanna be seen in the act when in the office that’s why last night I was like SABI KO NA EH! And Zyra was her usual cool self eating more than any of us consumed that night. She was funny and easy to get along with. I like those two. In Wendell’s case, it was almost too late when we found out we had something in common. He only had a month in the office when we started hanging out with him. But it was well worth it and that short time served as the tie that still binds him with us.
And this is Jack. He’s my office playmate. Hahaha! No. He’s really cool and funny and doesn’t get offended whatever joke I throw on him. Lakas din sya uminom pano araw-araw nasa inuman. Setting Jeyelle aside, he’s the next person I am closest to among them because we fool around everyday in the office. He has a lot of stories to share – mostly kalokohan. Wahaha! That’s the side of Jack that I always see but he seem emo and has serious beliefs in regards to essential things when not in auto-joke mode.
I had to leave by 1230AM for Kaye’s party in Antipolo and I felt relieved to know that they stayed until around 4AM. You see, last time we had a night-out I felt guilty for leaving early because they also went separate ways after just an hour. But I promise next time, I will dedicate my entire night to them.
That’s RJ and I riding at the back of a tryk driver in Antipolo on our way back home this morning. I love taking that seat because I can stretch my legs and I wanna feel the cold wind. It was Kaye’s graduation party last night but like most of our recent get-together events, it was more like a catching-up experience since we don’t normally see each other anymore. And that picture shows that after all these years, even with those months apart, we’re still the same kids who met and became friends back in high school.
Only France, Lhen, RJ and I were able to attend since the other peeps had their own businesses to do. I had a prior commitment (that I’ll write about later) with my officemates so it was already 2AM when I arrived in Antipolo. It was a common scene: booze and loads of food. Quite tiring, actually. But when everybody had enough, it came down to the better and more essential moment of the night: us, coffee, slow jam and sweet talk by the garden. It was amazing how peaceful it was – if only it could last longer… But it seemed only minutes after we settled when we saw the sky lighten up so eventually we had to go back to Manila’s reality. Kaye’s place is really perfect for a sweet escape from the city’s bangs and booms, unless you are again served with beer.
Very very busy guy. Very ambitious. Developing workaholic. In a committed relationship. At continuous work towards achieving goals. Firm believer of positivity and determination. That works all the time! Trying to mix it all up without losing sanity, sparkle and fun.
