But it’s not too late — I still have a chance to win that Camera Charm earrings! Now this kind of earrings I don’t wear on a daily basis but it’s something I would on special occasions. To join, all I have to do is take a top-view photo of my desk, post it on my blog and leave a message on her blog. So here’s my entry:

What’s on my desk?

I obviously have a lot of (useless) stuff on my desk. And to be honest, I’ve already tidied up this desk a bit because it’s previous state is not something I’d like to share to everyone! Here are the items that are currently on my desk:

• The calendar my sister-in-law gave me.
• Pictures of Deej and my family. And I have that Instax photo of me and Riz.
• Four books on the shelf including my Bible.
• A Smile magazine (that I got from Cebu Pacific) and an In Flight magazine (from Seair). I’m collecting these travel mags, but I’m honestly not sure if I’m allowed to take these from the airplane cabins.
• My iTouch.
• The keys to the car and to the apartment.
• The lamp that I rarely use cos the kind of bulb it uses is not energy-saving.
• The free CD I received from Folded & Hung. I love F&H!
• And last but definitely not the least: my beloved laptop + mouse.

Thank God Riz didn’t ask to share what’s inside the desk drawer because that would be like showing you my very own version of Pandora’s Box! I keep everything that doesn’t go with anything in the apartment inside that drawer. You can just imagine how messy it is.

I hope I win those earrings! But if I don’t, I hope there’s a Part 2 contest for the Pearl Earrings! *hint hint*

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 370 | Filed under: Memes

Love is what made my brother and his then-girlfriend, Sharon, finally decide to exchange vows and spend the rest of their lives together. They got married in Batangas last June 22, 2008, which is the day after Typhoon Frank paid the Philippines a visit. He would’ve crashed the wedding if he knew how to get to the church! Thankfully, he didn’t wreck havoc in Batangas, but our friends in Bacolod had it pretty bad.

It was Signal no. 3 in Visayas the day they were supposed to fly to Manila. All flights were canceled at the last minute, even some guests who were coming from different parts of Luzon weren’t able to make it to the wedding. We were pretty pissed at what happened, but not as pissed as the bride who cried herself to sleep that night because she couldn’t believe the unfortunate incident had to happen that day, of all the 365 days of the year! What are the chances?

With a few minor adjustments, we all worked together to get everything going as planned. It’s a good thing my brother and his wife were very optimistic. We were worried about them for a minute there, but they themselves managed to make everything okay. It was indeed a fun wedding! See more photos here.

Our friends from Bacolod had their flight rescheduled to Monday so we got to be with them for a couple of days too! See photos here.

Looking at the newlyweds’ photo, I can’t help but feel happy for both of them. They’re just full of love and promise. If you know my brother like I do, you’d be surprised too at the sudden turn of events in his life. He used to be this irresponsible, not-knowing-what-to-do-with-his-life kinda guy, but look at him now! He has found the best girl and they really do belong together.

And Sharon is just the best. She’s fun, beautiful, kind, smart — there’s never a dull moment with her. I’m glad she’s part of our family now, and I can’t wait for her to get pregnant!!! I’m gonna be a cool, fun aunt — I just know it. Lol.

In summary: Love is… Jhem and Sharon together forever.

Tagging: Keng, Reah, Juice, Julie, and ApplesH

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2008. | Permalink | 12 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 447 | Filed under: Memes, News, Events, Occasions

The rules are simple: (1) Post a photo of you and your mom together (recent or old) and write the words “I heart my mom” across it (or type the text below the photo if you don’t feel like opening your image-editing software). (2) Tag your friends!

Note: I’m not after backlinks. I just thought doing this meme would be fun. No need to link back to me, guys!

Happy Mother’s Day to my mom! Er, well, she doesn’t know I keep this blog (nor does the rest of my family) so I’m gonna have to come up with a surprise on Sunday. Any gift suggestions? :)

My mom’s been a mom for 27 years, and she’s been doing a pretty good job at it. I couldn’t ask for a better mother!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there too!

And thank you to everyone who joined this meme!

Jeric, Dianne, Reah, Philos, ApplesH, Jane, Mitch, Kusann, Chien Yee, Arbet, Julie, Tina, Liz, Riz, Yoru, Elise, Romzkee, Juice, Keng, Cars, Michelle, Anna, Mae

*If you did this meme but your name/link wasn’t included above, please let me know. Thanks!

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2008. | Permalink | 34 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 224 | Filed under: Memes

My good friend, Tint, tagged me to list 10 things that recently made me happy. Then I’m supposed to tag 10 people and force (force??! No way! Lol) them to post this meme on their blogs. In random order, here’s mine:

1. Long weekends.
2. Listening to feel-good songs (like the one embedded here).
3. Those 2 hours sitting in church with loved ones.
4. E-mails and messages from old friends; and kind, encouraging e-mails from strangers.
5. Deciding on a nice anniversary gift for my parents.
6. A weekend with relatives on my mother’s side of the family.
7. Completed projects. Can’t forget that one.
8. Texting with my best friend, Ann.
9. Non-stop laughing moments with Deej.
10. Although we don’t really celebrate this kind of occasion, I’m (at least) happy that today is our 2nd year anniversary.

There. Writing this post was a good idea after all. Now that I’ve thought of the simple yet happy things that happened recently in my life, my spirit is somehow uplifted. Thank God for lunchbreaks. :)

I’m tagging (but not forcing!) Michelle, Yoru, Mae, Tina, Aurus, Riz, Sasha, Marianne, Romzkee, and Teacher Julie to respond to this meme.

OK, back to work. Have a nice day!

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2008. | Permalink | 9 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 315 | Filed under: Memes

This is probably the first time I’m gonna say that I liked the film version better than the book, and probably the only time I’m gonna admit that the long-haired Tristran looked better than the short-haired one (I usually like guys with short, clean-cut hair, lol). So if you hadn’t seen Stardust, go see it now! The special effects are prettier when viewed on the big screen. Don’t you think Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer are just perfect for their roles? Hehe. :)

Here’s my favorite quote from the movie:

You know when I said I knew little about love? That wasn’t true. I know a lot about love. I’ve seen it, centuries and centuries of it, and it was the only thing that made watching your world bearable. All those wars. Pain, lies, hate… It made me want to turn away and never look down again. But when I see the way that mankind loves… You could search to the furthest reaches of the universe and never find anything more beautiful. So yes, I know that love is unconditional. But I also know that it can be unpredictable, unexpected, uncontrollable, unbearable and strangely easy to mistake for loathing, and… What I’m trying to say, Tristan is… I think I love you. Is this love, Tristan? I never imagined I’d know it for myself. My heart… It feels like my chest can barely contain it. Like it’s trying to escape because it doesn’t belong to me any more. It belongs to you. And if you wanted it, I’d wish for nothing in exchange – no fits. No goods. No demonstrations of devotion. Nothing but knowing you loved me too. Just your heart, in exchange for mine.

I couldn’t help but smile after Yvaine said that line. I even think it’s kind of Biblical. Lol!

I’m happy that I was able to watch a good movie lately. I’m starting to get tired of the usual TV shows I watch. Prison Break is becoming dull. I watch it just out of habit now, and not because I’m intrigued. Killing off Sara Tancredi was a big mistake, too. Yeah, I understand that the Sarah in real life has already shifted priorities.. But still, I think it’s pretty lame how her death sprang up out of nowhere. And after all that Sara and Michael have been through?? How could you?! Lol.

Heroes is still exciting, but I can’t help but scoff every time they reveal a connection between this character and that character.. And that this character is the son of a friend of that character’s father… Know what I mean? Every time that happens, I can’t think of a more fitting background music than, “It’s a small world after all!” There’s really no surprise there as Heroes and Lost‘s creators are one and the same.

Lately, I haven’t really been enjoying Grey’s Anatomy mainly because of Izzie and George. I mean, if they like each other so much, they should have hooked up waaay before George married Callie, right? It’s a bit annoying that they’ve decided to embark on their secret love affair now when they’ve been best friends for so long. OK, maybe I’m just letting personal convictions get in the way. Sorry! On the other hand, I’m hoping McSteamy won’t be leaving Seattle Grace soon. :D

Please don’t hate me for saying this.. but I still enjoy watching Desperate Housewives. I really do. But hey, if you (still) find this TV series offensive, forget what I said. I’m not about to start an argument with anyone. And I’m not gonna talk about my thoughts on the recent racial controversy. That’s really not the point of this post. :)

House is definitely next on my list. Now if only I could find time to get the DVD…

***

Meme: Desktop Free View

I was tagged by Tina and Jaypee ages ago. The Desktop Free View instructions are:

A. Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop. It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun.

You can do a screen capture by:

[1] Going to your desktop and pressing the Print Scrn key (located on the right side of the F12 key).

[2] Open a graphics program (like Picture Manager, Paint, or Photoshop) and do a Paste (CTRL + V).

[3] If you wish, you can “edit” the image, before saving it.

B. Post the picture in your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop just below it if you want. You can explain why you preferred such look or why is it full of icons. Things like that.

C. Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktop as well.

D. Add your name to this list of Free Viewers with a link pointing directly to your Desktop Free View post to promote it to succeeding participants.

This is the desktop wallpaper on my laptop (click to enlarge) →

As you can see, it’s just one of the default wallpapers of Sony Vaio. Jaypee told me that “For someone who’s into design, I didn’t expect you to use default wallpapers.” What can I say? I love the simple yet classy look of my wallpaper. Halata bang adik ako sa Vaio? Hehe!

I’m trying my best not to clutter my desktop and my documents. I hope they stay neat that way, as I’m known to have a very messy habit of running things. :P

At work, this is my desktop view (click to enlarge) →

Yep, that’s Heroes. I just got that wallpaper from some website, I forgot where exactly. I’m running 1280×800 widescreen resolution on my laptop (which I think is perfect when working with Photoshop), and 1280×1024 on my PC at work, thus the slight difference. Off-topic survey question: Is anyone still using 800×600?

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2007. | Permalink | 28 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 1,021 | Filed under: Memes, Movies, TV Programs

Two facts about me:

1. I am currently avoiding every blog post (and news article) that talks about the book “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows.” Yes, I deliberately skipped reading your posts (You, you, and you there! You know who you are. :cute:) I’m just about to read Book 6 (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) and I don’t want to read any spoilers! lol. I usually don’t mind learning about the ending way before I get to it, but it’s different with Harry Potter. IT’S HARRY POTTER! I just can’t afford to spoil the thrill. I’m sure you know what I mean. :P
2. I have good sense of direction (or so I’d like to believe). Between me and my older brother, I know more about my way when I’m driving than he does when he’s driving. Our dad used to say that I’m a better driver than my older brothers not only because I get familiar with directions faster, but also because I’m the only one who hadn’t left a dent in his (very old albeit very useful) car. lol.

   It’s unlikely for me to get lost in a place where I’ve been to at least once before. I almost always remember the right direction. This was especially useful three years ago when I was just learning my way around Metro Manila. :D

   One more related thing is I don’t get scared when I’m stuck in an unfamiliar place. I love exploring new places! I don’t go all panicky and I don’t have a problem asking locals about directions — which others, strangely, find embarrassing.

The five things you didn’t know about me (unless you’ve already read my old post..):

1. I used to have a huge crush on Vince Hizon. I was a Sophomore in high school the time I went gaga over the PBA team, Ginebra, and, of course, Vince Hizon. I was such a fan that I made it a point to catch all of his games on TV, buy selected magazine issues that had him featured, and even tape his weekly appearances in Sports Unlimited and other TV guestings. What a dork. :left:
2. Whenever an emergency ambulance with a blaring siren passes by, I always say a short prayer. I don’t remember when this habit of mine began.. I was maybe 7 or 8. What I remember is, I was seated atop my dad’s car parked outside our house, facing the direction where the road was, and suddenly an ambulance passed by. The siren was so loud and the driving was so frantic that it caused me to feel agitated as well. I imagined the possible critical state the patient inside the ambulance was in at that moment, and I just suddenly blurted out a short prayer for him. Or her. Since then, it has been a habit. Strange as it is.
3. Unlike Tina, who wanted to become a housemaid, I, on the other hand, used to think that every girl/woman has to become a housemaid at one point in her life or another. I thought that it was a mandatory stage that every woman must pass to prepare her for her future role as a house wife. I was very close to this one helper we had when I was a kid (FYI, she was a very nice lady. LOL.), then one day, I was told that she had to leave us because she was getting married to some guy and that they were gonna start a family of their own. That’s how I came up with that idea. Later on, I discovered how stupid that was. Haha
4. Once I was on the phone talking to the whole Freestyle band. Well, it’s not like how it sounds really… I was a high school Senior that time. What happened was, right after my phone conversation with a classmate who was going to a Freestyle concert that night, I called up this radio station which was giving away a free ticket to the same concert. I didn’t think that I had a chance at winning at all, but when the deejay answered my call after a couple of rings, I was shocked to discover that I was live on air! He asked for my name and age and told me that I won a ticket (yay) — AND, i get to ask the members of Freestyle one question. Suddenly, Jinky and the other guys were saying hello to me and were asking what my question for them was. Eh? I had no idea that the band was actually there at the other end of the line! Since I didn’t have a question prepared, I panicked and spat out the first question that popped in my head: “Uhh, what’s the title of your album?” And then they all laughed (even that darn disc jockey) and jokingly said that if I were truly a fan of Freestyle, I should know the title of their album, which was really easy (it was a self-titled album, you dimwit!). I swear I wanted to die at that very second. But guess who made it to the concert without shelling out a single centavo. :cool:
5. I was the voice behind the catchy and annoying advertising jingle for a local bakeshop’s TV ad. I wish it was as sophisticated as it sounds but it’s really not. My bestfriend’s dad used to make these short TV commercials for local establishments back home, and, like you have probably guessed, he was hired by this one bakeshop to come up with a TV ad for them. The project was urgent, so when he was finally done with the visuals, he needed someone un-professional (no TF required) to sing the jingle he composed as background song. It was already very late, and he really needed to finish the project that same night, so guess who my bestfriend calls just before midnight for a spontaneous solo gig? lol.

I think most of my blogger friends have done this meme before… I can’t think of anyone to tag. :confused:

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2007. | Permalink | 5 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 1,051 | Filed under: Memes

The Rules:
1. Download the scanned front and back of this postcard and resize to fit your blog. (Riz, tamad na ko mag-upload, kaya link mo pa din yan, haha)
2. Enter your independence day message on the back and post both images on your blog.
3. Title of post should be “Only in the Philippines!”
4. Tag five fellow countrymen.

Re: the first photo — I don’t think they really did that back then. Kinda scary, isn’t it? :D

The post card (yes, it’s a totally genuine post card!) is a parody of an execution in the turn-of-the-century Philippines. Why a parody? Well, I highly doubt people would be smiling at something like this :P It’s quite disturbing that of all the things one can make out of a post card, they had to choose an execution scene. Ah well. I guess we Pinoys just like making jokes out of anything, even this! :D -Gail.

I’m tagging Aaron, Eugene, Jaypee, Shari, and Darwin. Have fun! :)

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2007. | Permalink | 8 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 205 | Filed under: Memes

I was tagged by Riz to come up with 6 weird things about myself. This is pretty easy given I always find myself weird. Haha. Here goes:

1. I flatten a burger with my palm before taking a bite. My best friend in Elementary school used to do this, and I kinda caught her habit. At first, I thought it was weird too, but when I tried it, I discovered it’s so much easier to eat a hamburger (cheeseburger and other sandwiches) when it’s flattened.:yummy:
2. I’m sort of scared of heights and I’m not as bold and adventurous as I wish I am.
   • I’m scared of going on a roller coaster and other equally daring rides (I tried the Space Shuttle at EK once, I never did it again :blank:).
   • I never had the desire to get any part of my body pierced (Fortunately, my parents were smart enough to have my ears pierced when I was just a baby!).
   • Just the thought of trying out bungee jumping or sky diving scares me.
3. I hate the taste of avocado. And guyabano — but not as much as I hate avocado. :up:
4. I get really annoyed when I encounter people with the following manners (I swear I can’t help it!):
   • When I’m talking with a person and he or she keeps text-ing. Non-stop!
   • When he or she has a habit of chewing his or her food with his or her mouth open. :shock:
5. Like Mae, I am not a big fan of MyBlogLog, Twitter and other social networks, because I also don’t want people to know what I’m up to or see the sites I’m visiting. I’m a little paranoid. Haha. I’m skeptical toward MyBlogLog which is why until now I haven’t signed up for an account (maybe I will, in the future :D). Twitter is okay though. I have an account but I don’t update it as often as other bloggers do. And I kind of agree with what Abe has to say about it.
6. Almost every payday, I treat myself to my favorite meal: Chicken and Spaghetti. Where? McDonald’s, Jollibee, KFC — I don’t care! :) It’s my way of rewarding myself for the hardwork I did the past two weeks. Haha. What a dork.

Tagging: Bheng, Sarah, Carlo, Raymond, Melissa

***

While coming up with weird things about me is easy, thinking of 3 signs I see today that makes me feel great to be Pinoy, on the other hand, is a little mind-boggling! Don’t get me wrong. I am proud to be Pinoy. It’s just a little difficult to say why exactly. This is a tag from Shari. :)

1. Filipinos are flexible. Send them to any place or community and they’ll be able to fit right in in no time.
2. Filipinos are skillful, talented and hardworking. I guess that explains the growing number of outsourced jobs today.
3. Filipinos are (relatively) hospitable and generous. When OFWs meet each other in another country they instantly form a bond even if they don’t know each other. And when calamity strikes the nation, Filipinos are concerned about one another’s welfare and are extending help to those who need it.

Tagging: Michelle, Shavei7, Jireh, Camz, Jaypee, Tiffany, Romzkee, Riz, Mels, Marian

Whew. :confused:

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2007. | Permalink | 13 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 581 | Filed under: Memes

“Count Your Blessings” as I know it, is best known as the hymn written in the 19th century. I like how this one verse goes:

Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly. And you will keep singing as the days go by.

So, here I am, seated in front of my computer, trying to count my blessings (but trying not to sing!). Well, actually, this is just a continuation. I’ve been counting my blessings since yesterday whilst I was walking the streets of Makati City. Why? No apparent reason. I just want to acknowledge the goodness of God in my life, despite the loneliness I’m feeling, and the way life seems to treat us unfairly sometimes. :)

My Top 5 Intangible Blessings:

1. My mom’s arrival in Manila very, very soon. Our being together again is a great Mothers’ Day gift. Well, for her. For me, it’s just a “gift”.
2. My dad’s slow but steady recovery from a serious lung ailment. My dad’s been smoking since the age of 14. He’s now 52 years old. You do the math.
3. My older brother’s regularization, and my other older brother’s promotion. I know these are hardly things to be included in such a personal list as this, but you see, my brothers are undergraduates. So, really, for them to actually progress professionally in two reputable companies (respectively) is an amazing accomplishment. I know it doesn’t show much, but I’m very happy for them.
4. A new job for me which promises to be exciting, and a bunch of potential rakets (that I’m praying will push through). Let’s see what happens there.
5. A newfound hobby which, on the other hand, promises to be rewarding. Let’s see what happens there too. Haha

From the looks of it, my top 5 blessings are mostly about my family (That’s just items 1-3. Items 4-5 are just consolations). We’ve come a long way from being in a very bad situation to being, at the very least, just okay. And I think that fact clearly proves God’s faithfulness. We’re one of the most imperfect, grumpy, often-disagreeing-with-one-another families, but we’ve managed to make it through. My mom is the perfect example of someone who’s gone through a lot of trials but still remains strong for all of us, and I think our “being just okay” is mostly due to her fervent, pray-without-ceasing kind of faith. She’s my super-mom. :)

Now I’m inviting some friends and online buddies to count and share their blessings: Ganns, Romzkee, Sarah, Bheng, Reah, Riz, Jireh, Aiai, Mae, Gean, and Michelle.

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.

Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.

Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.

Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.

Count your health instead of your wealth;
Love your neighbor as much as yourself.

Author Unknown

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2007. | Permalink | 16 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 569 | Filed under: Memes

1. I used to have a huge crush on Vince Hizon. I was a Sophomore in high school the time I went gaga over the PBA team, Ginebra, and, of course, Vince Hizon. I was such a fan that I made it a point to catch all of his games on TV, buy selected magazine issues that had him featured, and even tape his weekly appearances in Sports Unlimited and other TV guestings. What a dork huh? Guess who doesn’t give a tiny rat’s ass now.
2. Whenever an emergency ambulance with a blaring siren passes by, I always say a short prayer. I don’t remember when this habit of mine began.. I was maybe 7 or 8. What I remember is, I was seated atop my dad’s car parked outside our house, facing the direction where the road was, and suddenly an ambulance passed by. The siren was so loud and the driving was so frantic that it caused me to feel agitated as well. I imagined the possible critical state the patient inside the ambulance was in at that moment, and I just suddenly blurted out a short prayer for him. Or her. Since then, it has been a habit. Strange as it is.
3. Unlike Tina, who wanted to become a housemaid, I, on the other hand, used to think that every girl/woman has to become a housemaid at one point in her life or another. I thought that it was a mandatory stage that every woman must pass to prepare her for her future role as a house wife. I was very close to this one helper we had when I was a kid (FYI, she was a very nice lady. LOL.), then one day, I was told that she had to leave us because she was getting married to some guy and that they were gonna start a family of their own. That’s how I came up with that idea. Later on, I discovered how stupid that was. LOL.
4. Once I was on the phone talking to the whole Freestyle band. Well, it’s not like how it sounds really… I was a high school Senior that time. What happened was, right after my phone conversation with a classmate who was going to a Freestyle concert that night, I called up this radio station which was giving away a free ticket to the same concert. I didn’t think that I had a chance at winning at all, but when the deejay answered my call after a couple of rings, I was shocked to discover that I was live on air! He asked for my name and age and told me that I won a ticket (yay) — AND, i get to ask the members of Freestyle one question. Suddenly, Jinky and the other guys were saying hello to me and were asking what my question for them was. Eh? I had no idea that the band was actually there at the other end of the line! Since I didn’t have a question prepared, I panicked and spat out the first question that popped in my head: “Uhh, what’s the title of your album?” And then they all laughed (even that darn disc jockey) and jokingly said that if I were truly a fan of Freestyle, I should know the title of their album, which was really easy (it was a self-titled album, you dimwit!). I swear I wanted to die on that very second. But guess who made it to the concert without shelling out a single centavo.
5. *I was the voice behind the catchy and annoying advertising jingle for a local bakeshop’s TV ad. I wish it was as sophisticated as it sounds but it’s really not. My bestfriend’s dad used to make these short TV commercials for local establishments back home, and, like you have probably guessed, he was hired by this one bakeshop to come up with a TV ad for them. The project was urgent, so when he was finally done with the visuals, he needed someone un-professional (no TF) to sing the jingle he composed as background song. It was already very late, and he really needed to finish the project that same night, so guess who my bestfriend calls just before midnight for a spontaneous solo gig? LOL.

*FYI, this was a few year’s back, and there are NO available copies. LOL. Wait.. I did get my TF for that.. It was a Globe Prepaid Card 500. At least that, huh? Made me really happy, but whatever. Haha.

Now I’m tagging: Riz, Sarah, Bheng, Jeff, and Camz.

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2007. | Permalink | 12 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 772 | Filed under: Memes