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for the year 2008.
It’s been a long time since I attended any blogger’s thing — the last time I attended one was during the Philippine Blog Awards 2007. After that I really meant to attend other events, but my schedule just got so jampacked with work and other stuff that I disappeared from the “social blogging scene”, if there was any.
Well yesterday I decided to break my streak of non-attendance and headed over to the first ever WordCamp in the Philippines (and in Southeast Asia), held at College of Saint Benilde, in Taft. I was kind of excited to go there the day before but then I realized that since I have disappeared from online meet-ups, I don’t really have anyone to go with at WordCamp. Oh, I know people are going, but I wasn’t sure if I could tag along with them, you know?
But anyway, I also realized that this is one day where I could meet new people, so off I go to Taft — late, of course haha — with Aslan in tow. :D
(More…)
So yesterday, my brother borrowed my laptop while he was at home and it was a normal thing for me whenever I’m out and he’s at home, a rare thing since he’s been staying at the condo more than he’s staying at home. That night, I got home and while my brother was fixing his stuff to bring back to th condo, I started to set up my laptop to do some work. Then I found out something.
The plastic cap of my MagSafe Adapter is missing.
Now everyone more or less knows how much of an OC person I am with regards to my gadgets — especially with my gadgets. In my opinion, the only person who has the right to drop/lose/break/do something really bad with my gadgets is me. Especially with the stuff I have now, which I have/am paying for.
So when I realized that that little thing was missing, I went on full search mode. It had to be near where my brother used the computer somewhere, where else could it be? But I didn’t find it, and since my brother was in a hurry, he wasn’t much help. I looked twice at the area, even around my brother’s room — but I couldn’t find it.
At that point I was getting really pissed off and was grumbling, Nakikigamit na nga lang ng laptop, di pa aayusin. Kapag ako naman gumagamit ng camera niya inaayos ko lagi. I was so pissed off, I wanted to text him, “You lost it, you replace it!”
Some friends told me I can tell him that, since it was my stuff he lost, but I couldn’t bear to be a brat/bitch to him. I don’t know, maybe it’s because I’m the youngest and I’m not used to fighting back, or maybe I’m just really a softy. Or maybe I just don’t want major conflict, especially since I’ll be sleeping over at the condo on Friday.
Anyway, I ended up texting him what happened and what I really feel: The cap is lost, and I don’t think I’ll find it anymore. I’m just annoyed because I really try to take care of this thing, and I just really wish you paid attention to it earlier. That’s all.
A little while later, he texts back: Sorry…I’ll find a way to replace it. Sorry talaga.
That reply just about teared me up.
And it made me feel tons better. After that I realized, it’s okay that the cap is lost — it’s not that my laptop won’t work without it.
I realized last night how important my relationship with my family is last night, especially with my brother. Maybe it’s because we only have each other as siblings, and although we’re not best-friend like siblings, we’re pretty close and I know I can count on him. I mean, how many times has he stayed up late and drove to places just to fetch me or drop me off? And how many times did he take care of me when I was sick, or went home early from a gimmick with his friends because I was alone at home? It’s at this time that I can’t understand how some people can stand not talking to a brother or sister (or any family member, for that matter) for years — I can’t even bear the thought of me intentionally avoiding my brother for a day. Is any argument ever worth those years of silent treatments?
Anyway, so today I went to work and I was all better. When I got to work I saw that my mom called me so I called her back. Her first words to me were: I found it.
And so the little plastic MagSafe Adapter is back (that photo up there was just taken earlier) and all is okay with Aslan. :) But if ever this one gets lost again next time…I won’t have the same extreme reaction. :) It’ll be okay. After all, there’s always AppleCare. ;)
I’ll be all cliche and say this: wake me up when September ends? Please? Seriously. This month’s bound to be busier than the previous one, and everytime I look at my calendar, it feels like it’s begging to be filled. Yet I don’t want to! Talk about conflict. Here’s a tentative line up for my month:
- Bowling game/s
- WordCamp Philippines on September 6
- A friend’s despedida party on the night of September 6
- Our boss from the US is visiting from September 8-17
- Cebu trip on September 12-14
- Manila International Book Fair on September 12-16 (will be there on the 15th)
- New work coming in that I have to learn because I’m part of the team that will handle it
- Small weekly activities in the club — I’m not necessarily a part of all activities, but I’m involved as majority of the announcements are made by yours truly. I won’t need air tools for this, just Photoshop and creativity…now if only the second thing I need is so eay to keep going. O_O
- Company Tree Planting
- Sportsfest closing
- Update of process documents for the team
That, and possibly more things to do since it’s quarter end, and it’s always the busiest during the end of the quarter. GAAAAH. The only thing I’m really looking forward to this month is the Cebu trip with Happy, which I’m really, really glad would push through. It was kind of hard trying to file a leave though, since that’s also the week that we would have a visitor. But I need to take this trip. Plus I need to make this trip a positive one, not one that will make me wish I am not back at work after. :P
I still have some deliverables to send by tomorrow, and I’m not in the mood to make them right now. I just want to sleep. Plus this thing I’m doing seems to be getting uglier and uglier, and I am at a loss on what to do with this. Seriously, whoever said I was creative? Is that even true?
Kidding, kidding. I’m being too down on myself again, this is stress that’s talking. Must focus and find ways to destress! Like get enough sleep, yes?
This month can’t be as busy as February or as bad as June…yes? And there are a lot of things to look forward to this month too, like (some items repeated from the previous list):
- WordCamp Philippines
- Cebu trip with Happy :D
- Manila International Book Fair
- My brother’s birthday
- New work coming in because it would give me something new to learn
- Tree planting activity at work
- Taking lots and lots of photos thanks to Ashley
- The fact that it’s already a -ber month, which means, Christmas is just around 100+ days away!
Yes, this will be a good month. Don’t mind my previous ramblings, that’s just me stressed and worried. But by God’s grace, this will be a good month. :)
Wishing everyone a good September ahead!
A little over a month after I posted this, and after spending so much time looking at the store’s window at work longingly and looking at the prices of this online for the best promo I can find, I did some computations and projection of expenses and I finally gave in and bought this pretty, pretty thing:
Tadaaaa! Meet Ashley, the pink Canon Ixus 80IS that I will pay for with my blogging money. :D Note the future tense in that sentence, that is because I used Lizzie, the HSBC credit card, to pay for this first and I will pay for it in 0% interest plan for the next 12 months (or less, if I suddenly feel like paying for all of it all of a sudden). I know I could get it cheaper for cash, but for one thing I don’t feel like shelling out that much cash in one sitting, and I used my HSBC Mabuhay Miles card, so there’s miles in exchange for my use. Sayang ang miles! So, what I will use to pay for the bill for this one is my blogging money.
This is the first time I spent for myself like this. Sure, I paid for Aslan the MacBook, but this is the first time this bill is under my name, so it’s thrilling and stunning in a way. Thrilling that I actually “paid” for this with my own money and stunning because I’ve never swiped my card so much in one purchase (and don’t ask how much else I spent after that :P).
I’ve been using this camera a lot for the past week and suffice to say, I LOVE IT. I miss being able to take photos anytime I want, capturing moments and sharing the photos to my friends at the end of the day. I love playing with its effects and seeing how the photos would come out. I love how small and handy it is that I don’t have to worry about it as much as I would worry about Chimon, my brother’s 40D. Most of all, I love that it’s PINK. :D Pretty, pretty thing.
I named it Ashley, from the protagonist of Kristin Billerbeck’s Ashley Stockingdale novels. It’s the first girl gadget I have — all others are considered male. :D
Now you see why I seem to be blogging a lot lately, because I’ll be paying for this one. :P I hope my busy schedule next month could still give me time to blog, even if it’s just about book reviews, random stuff and a/c compressors. I must find time, yes?
Anyway, speaking of time, I’ve got to start working on the stuff I need to pass on Monday. Expect more photos to be uploaded in my Multiply and posted here, much thanks to Ashley. :D
Rating: 
Last year, Annabel was “the girl who has everything”—at least that’s the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf’s Department Store.This year, she’s the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong. Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owen’s help,maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.
I picked this book on a random book splurge. I think I wasn’t in a good mood then, so I browsed around National Bookstore and waited a bit before deciding to buy it. It seemed very interesting among all the YA books I saw in the bookstore, plus I remember seeing some of my friends recommending her books…and so I bought it. The last time I bought a YA book (I think it was Private by Kate Brian), I was really disappointed, so I hoped this one won’t disappoint.
And it didn’t.
Just Listen is about Annabel, a seemingly perfect girl on the outside who needs no treatments for acne, but a lot devastated on the inside. The novel talks about her family, her friendships and her growing relationship with Owen, the music lover who always says what’s on his mind. Annabel, on the other hand, prefers to keep things inside her, especially if she thinks it would disrupt the “peace” that other people have. It’s not about keeping a reputation, but just looking out for them in a way that she could and at a cost.
The novel is very realistic, and it deals a lot about eating disorders, complicated friends and being true to yourself. I loved how I can still relate to it even if I’m way above the YA age (or not :P), how I managed to see myself in Annabel as I read the novel. While reading Just Listen, you’ll find yourself rooting for Annabel (and Owen) and hoping that things become okay with her. The flashbacks were seamless, almost like you were really looking into Annabel’s mind as she recalls them all.
This is the kind of fiction I love. It kind of reminds me of those YA/Chicklit books written by Christian authors that I buy, but this one is more mainstream and doesn’t talk of God. However, the lessons that the story has is very valuable, and this is something teens should really read.
Two things I wish that would happen (spoiler alert): I wish to know how Clarke lost her allergies and I kind of wish there’s some kind of resolution for Annabel and Sophie, other than them not talking anymore. Or at least, some kind of encounter. But then I guess that part is left open to interpretation and possible spin offs. :)
If only there were more Dessen books available in Manila! I found one in BookSale, which I will hunt down soon, and then I’ll look for some during the Book Fair. :D If all else fails, I’ll ask my dad to get me her books. I’m definitely a fan. :D
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