Joni Ang

Riz is giving away some pretty stuff on her blog. But since I just read her blog post today, I missed joining her Win-a-Pair-of-Pearl-Earrings contest! I’m sad cos they look so pretty and I do love pearl earrings! They’re the kind of earrings I wear on a daily basis. Being away from the Internet world for two days has finally posed a disadvantage. =(

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*

Like most “90′s babies” (those born in the 80′s but don’t remember much of what happened during the said decade), I have pictures of me doing the “Laban” sign. I think I have 3, but this is the only one my mom could find. See I’ve always been pro-Cory! Lol.

June 1986: That’s me sitting on Papa’s lap, and those goofy ones up there are my brothers and cousins.

Obviously, at the age of 2, I didn’t know what that symbol stood for and what the grownups back then were fighting for. Not until I was old enough. I’ve always been interested to hear, watch, and read about our would-have-been-president Ninoy Aquino‘s life and political career. My impression of Ninoy is that he was a great man. Because of his untimely death, the Filipino people will never know what they’re missing. And now that his wife, President Cory Aquino, has passed away, I’ve learned to appreciate the Aquino couple’s love and sacrifice for our nation even more. They are undeniably the most admirable husband and wife in the history of the Philippines.

Today I was able to witness the funeral cortege of President Cory Aquino. Yes, I am one of the millions of people saddened by her death. I honestly don’t get why there are haters out there who only have negative things to say about how BIG the funeral of our “Ina ng Demokrasya” is. These people must have been living under a rock, totally oblivious and stone-hearted. President Cory may not be the best president this country has ever had achievement-wise, but she’s undoubtedly the most honest, selfless and sympathetic. She has the biggest heart of them all. And we can’t stress it enough, she gave us back our freedom.

This has been a sad last few days for Filipinos everywhere. Our symbol of hope may have gone ahead of us, but her legacy lives on. Like they say, “Sana hindi ka namin mabigo..”

Since the start of this year, I’ve developed the habit of watching movies or TV series every night to get myself to fall asleep. I think this habit started around the time I wrote this entry which is during a very low point in my life. Prior to that, I won’t be able to sleep knowing my laptop is still on. My mind would be screaming “Think of your electric bill!” or “MBP charger may get fried again, warranty had lapsed!” until I do something about it. Today I usually just let my FRIENDS DVD (which I’ve already seen countless times) play in the background while I’m asleep — I just turn it off in the morning time.

I’ve figured out the reason behind this: I want to hear sounds before falling asleep and while I’m asleep. Strangely I prefer the sound of people talking than music. If I do not do this “ritual” I catch myself thinking about many things that bother me and in the process, these thoughts prevent me from falling asleep easily. Unless I’m too tired to think, this is what I do every night to make sure I get a good night’s rest. Especially now that I’m all alone in a small apartment. You don’t want to hear creepy noises when you’re by yourself too, do you?

From 11:00pm onwards, after I’m done working on my freelance projects, I always watch a movie or two. I don’t know why that is but I’m really more into films and TV series than listening to music (I’m so outdated I’ve only heard of “Nine Inch Nails” when I learned about their upcoming concert here in Manila). The main reason I bought that external hard drive was so I can have something to store all my movie files in. And I know it’s not the noblest thing to do, but I download movies everyday so I have something to watch at night (you might say that I’m abusing my laptop, yes). I’m not even referring to movies that had just been released but old ones.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been brainstorming for movie titles to add to my collection. These are movies that I’ve seen years ago and would love to see again. Most of these are Rom-Com, cos I’m simply a sucker for that. Here are my recommendations in no particular order:

• Bedazzled
• Blast From The Past
• Fools Rush In
• The Whole Nine Yards
• The Whole Ten Yards
• The Terminal
• If Only
• Serendipity
• A Beautiful Mind
• There’s Something About Mary
• A Cinderella Story
• The Kid
• Anger Management
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
• Coyote Ugly

… among others! Aren’t sappy old movies the best? Currently enjoying the TV series “Chuck”, too. I’d love to know your recommendations. =)

In my list of 10 Simple Joys that I wrote last year, I mentioned that I was deciding on a nice anniversary gift for my parents. The anniversary gift that I was thinking of getting them then was to take them to either Singapore or Hong Kong. This was supposed to be for July 2008 because July was both their birth month and their wedding month. I was psyched about this plan since it would be Papa and Mama’s first time to fly out of the country and I knew it would really make them happy. I was leaning toward bringing them to Hong Kong because I knew my dad would love to be in a place closest to Mainland China at least so he could try authentic Chinese food (My dad has this weird fascination with anything Chinese although he’s only 25% of it, lol), while my mom would love to do some bargain shopping.

But for some reason, I discarded this plan. Maybe I was thinking about how much the trip would cost me especially during a time that I was saving for the rainy days. True enough, the “rainy days” began the day my dad was brought to the hospital last year. I could keep telling myself now that not pushing through with the trip was a good move because of all the unexpected expenses that came pouring in, but I can’t help feeling sad and regretful. I should have pushed through with the plan! It would have been a memorable experience not only for Papa, but for Mama and I. Never mind how much it would have cost, money can always be obtained.

But I just let the chance pass, didn’t I? I only have myself to blame.

During that trip to Hong Kong with Mae last month, I kept thinking about Papa and how much he would have enjoyed exploring the city. Everywhere we went, I’d imagine his joyful reaction to everything. I got sentimental the most when we dined at a real Chinese restaurant in Temple Street to try out real Chinese food. I’m positive my dad would have loved it!

Today is Papa’s 55th birthday. I miss him everyday. If I could go back to last year and make his 54th birthday more special, I would. But I know he wouldn’t be happy to know that I’ve been feeling this way since he left. There really is no use crying over spilled milk, but what happened has taught me to embrace opportunities as they come.

Chances are so hard to come by and the second one is impossible to find.

One of the things I seldom do now that I’m caught up in this “corporate world” is see my family. I get to spend time with relatives in Pampanga (where my mom is from) 1-2 times a month, while I see and talk with relatives in Bacolod (where my dad is from) 1-2 times a year. So imagine how happy I was that for two consecutive weekends, I got to bond with cousins on both sides of the family!

My cousin, Tata, who traveled all the way from Virginia, was here two weeks ago for the pamamanhikan they did in Pangasinan. He’s marrying his fiancee on 10/10/2010. His brother, Siote, flew in from Bacolod to spend time with Tata and their mom. In their very short stay in Manila, we took them to Bonifacio High Street, SM Mall of Asia, Tagaytay, and Wensha Spa. Funny trivia: My two brothers, Tata, and Siote were my only playmates back in the days. It’s not a mystery how I turned out this way!

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