Jitters
You know when you're waiting for a call that you're looking forward to and at the same time dreading, or when you're about to step into a new office for your first day on the job? That's how I feel right now. I'm hot and cold all over, I'm unsure of what's going to happen by the end of the day, and I'm nervous because of that. I can't sit still and my mind is a blur.
Today, I am expecting to hear news that will tell me if my life will change by Monday. My fingers are crossed. At the same time, I am having the same feeling as someone who sees that he is driving straight into another car and he is powerless to stop it. It's that wince-moment, but mine is extended.
Thank God that it is the weekend, but then again, knowing that means acknowledging that Monday is looming large over me. I won't be able to relax until I get that call. Heaven help me!
What a Fox!
Alright, I followed
joediev's advice, and downloaded and installed the Mozilla browser. I have yet to check out the additional features that I installed as well (developer tools) but I'm loving this so far. I like that it was able to import my bookmarks from my now-defunct IE.
The only thing is that I can't customize my Yahoo! avatar anymore. So I'm stuck wearing a skirt and a jacket in a parking lot, and it's the middle of summer. What fun.
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Marc finished
Angels and Demons a week ago, and I've had it since, but I seem to be going through it so slowly. I'm starting to think that I shouldn't have started reading it right after reading The Da Vinci Code. The story is so strikingly similar (at least so far) that I'm getting bored with it. It seems to me that Dan Brown thought of a character and a plot, wrote two options for the story, and then published them both. But we'll see. I'm laboring over the book right now to see if I change my mind about it. If it gets too slow, I'm giving it up for now since there are already a couple of other people waiting to read it.
Reunion
Here is a picture of me and my college friends (+1 loving spouse). This is us just before going off to see the world of the OC (b%^ch). If you had seen us an hour before lunch, we probably would have looked thinner, but since this was taken after the wonderful lunch of chicken (with a secret special sauce I'm suspecting was laced with marijuana since it was so addicting) and mushrooms and mushroom turnovers and ice cream and brownies, we all probably gained a couple more pounds. And this was the day after the big dinner I had at home!
So we're not taking pictures for awhile. We have to go work out first before we pose for more. :P
Darn
Alright, I'm getting really frustrated with IE. Monday morning, I was online most of the time, and everything was working perfectly. When I logged back on Monday afternoon, some mysterious force apparently messed with my browser and I couldn't get on the Internet. I tested my Yahoo! messenger and it wasn't working either. But the other laptop on our wireless network was working fine. So I figured, right, I'll just get another network cable from Best Buy.
So the next morning I sat outside the store, waiting patiently for it to open. As soon as they unlocked the doors, I swooped in, grabbed a cable and was the first customer to make a purchase at the store that day. I went back home, replaced the old cable with the new one, and voila! It still wasn't working.
So to make a long story short (believe me, I tried to fix it in so many different ways), I've pretty much given up on IE. I'm using Netscape right now. I concede defeat (for now) -- I'll just wait until the next version of IE is available.
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I've stepped up a notch in reaching out and helping the community, so to speak. I hadn't been so involved with church before, but yesterday, I was initiated into the volunteer world. I've joined this group who handles a series of sessions called Theology on Tap, which targets younger people and talks about the lessons the church wants to teach, and how they are applicable in today's world. And it's been great so far (well, the ONE day I did it hahaha). Tonight, we have the actual session -- yesterday was just setting up the venue -- and I'm actually excited.
I think I'm beginning to understand why people actually do this. There's a certain feeling of fulfillment, and I predict that I am going to love it. So fingers crossed, I'm plowing on.
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The little baby pigeons/doves outside aren't so little and aren't babies anymore. I think that in a few days, they'll be able to have full use of their wings and leave us already. Sniff.
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I feel like such a domestic "goddess" (some people might beg to disagree - me, included! haha). I'm hosting a dinner for some friends here at home. I never thought I would enjoy preparing and cooking food, but I actually do, now that I've tried it. So on Saturday: tomato and pesto minipies, and oven fried potatoes to start... grilled tuna and new york steaks with mixed vegetables and fried cashews for the main course, and fresh chocolate chip cookies topped with vanilla ice cream. And maybe another kind of dessert.
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I'm hungry. Till tomorrow then.
Weekend Recap
I haven't gotten the pictures downloaded and resized yet so a narrative will have to do. Saturday, I headed down to Huntington Beach for a relaxed afternoon. Marc and I laid out for awhile then decided to try playing around in the water. Good decision. The water was warmer than usual, and we stayed in for almost an hour just duck-diving and trying to bodysurf. It certainly provided the much-needed refreshment from the heat.
We then headed back to Santa Monica to meet up with old friends, college classmates from back in the Philippines. One has married and now lives in Singapore, and one is still living in Manila. I hadn't seen them in awhile, so it was such fun to catch up with them.
As Marc and I were pulling out of the parking lot on our way home, I took out the digital camera and looked at the pictures we had taken. There was me and Aubrey, the girl I hadn't seen in three years. She and I were once the closest of friends back then. Marc said, "You missed them?" and that was it -- I had tears rolling down my face the whole ride home.
It's funny because as I go from day to day, I don't really think about all those people I left behind or lost touch with. But when someone comes to visit and you get to spend time with them, then you see what you've been missing, and all these memories come rushing back to haunt you. And it's almost unbearable. At least, it seemed that way to me. So Marc was left the task of trying to amuse me so my night wouldn't end so sadly.
The next day, we took another trip to the beach, this time to El Matador, which I absolutely loved. It was less crowded than its neighbor, Zuma Beach, but no less beautiful. We stayed there a little longer than we should have, jumping around in the waves and reading books. I had
The Da Vinci Code with me and read it the whole time on my stomach, and so now I have a horribly sunburnt back and a pale front. Big whoops.
Tangent: The Da Vinci Code is turning out to be a great, great book. Marc is reading
Angels and Demons right now and he says it's a wonderful read as well. My friend Reena claims that anything by Dan Brown is a sure entertainer. So I think I'll start collecting his novels.
iPod rules!!!!
Okay, late last year, my brother sent me money so I could get him an iPod (Not sure why he didn't just buy it back home, but maybe it's cheaper here. Anyway.). I wanted to give it a go, but knowing how anal he can be about his gadgets, I just kept it in its box (after checking the contents of course) and had it sent home without ever touching it again. I knew that if I had played around with it, I would have been on my way to the Apple store to get my own as soon as his iPod left my place.
Well, return to the present, and there is once again an iPod sitting on my desk. Except now, it's practically mine. Marc bought a PowerBook and was offered an iPod for way, way less than what they're normally sold for. So he took advantage of the deal. Of course, he already has his minidisc player which he takes with him when he runs. And of course, I have more music to load onto the iPod than he does. So what does he do? He lets me take charge of it.
So now I'm addicted. Last night, I slept at 11 pm because I was busy fixing the ID3 tags in my MP3s so that they would display the right information when played on the iPod. That is, I worked from 6 pm to 11 pm - set up the iPod, read the manual to figure out how to handle the software, transfer files, etc., etc., and then sampled some music on it. So here I am, with huge eyebags under my eyes, but happy as a camper with the player in my hand. I'm an addict.
Sweet Surrender
Okay, no pictures for last night's event, since they didn't allow cameras at the Pond. So I'll have to make do with words. And what can I say? It was Sarah Mclachlan at her best. I had read before that she was a good live performer, but last night was the first time that I actually saw her in concert. I know I'm going to sound like an absolute fanatic, but how is it possible that someone can be pretty, charming, funny, and extremely talented (guitar, piano, vocals, music and lyric composition)? Is she even human?!
And she had the most amazing set list last night. Not just the songs from her new album, but songs from her old albums (and a lot from Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, which I love) as well. And of course, my eyes got a little dewy when she sang Hold On. As expected.
Next time, I told Marc, we're going to be down there, in spitting distance from her. Amazing, amazing performer. Great set design, great visual effects too. I can't wait till she ends this tour, comes out with another album, and goes on tour again! Haha!
Update on the Baby Birds
It seems that it was only some time ago when the
pigeon/dove laid its eggs on the balcony. Now look how
they've grown. I've actually updated the page I posted
earlier, but here is a picture of how they look now. I
feel like a doting mother!
Splash Mountain!
Last Saturday, I took my cousin April, who was here for a visit from Chicago, to the happiest place on Earth. Okay, this is a nine-year-old girl, and I suppose I must be out of touch with what nine-year-olds like to do or are amused by. I kept trying to get her to see the shows at the park - Aladdin, Snow White, etc., etc. - but all she wanted to do was go on the rollercoaster rides, especially Splash Mountain, because it was a hot day, and it was a good excuse to get wet. Alright. It's not that I don't enjoy it, but somehow she looked much, much happier than me going down this big drop shown here. After every ride (yes, we went more than once!), we would go to the room where they showed the pictures of the people going on the drop (damn that camera), and there I'd be, wincing painfully at that odd feeling in my stomach. April, on the other hand, would be laughing, and looking as photogenic as ever. Thank God those photos aren't free!
Horsey Ride!
Yesterday evening, Marc and I went for a sunset horse ride. Now, I've always been a fan of horses -- ever since I can remember, I've always been fascinated with them. I remember urging my father to take me horseback riding, and trying to get the horse to go faster. I remember getting annoyed that I couldn't ride the horse by myself, because I was "too young" to be riding alone.
Growing up, I didn't really have that many chances to ride. There would be the occasional trip to Tagaytay or Baguio, but it would be a miracle if there was anyone else who was willing to ride with me. So I had to settle for looking at the horses as we passed by the stables along the way.
So you can just imagine how much of a dream it was to get on a horse (by myself, yahoo!) last night and be able to walk, trot and gallop on her (my horse, Fortuna). I had the best time, and even though my butt hurts like hell, I can't wait till I can do that again.
Yeah, I know, I know
I haven't been the most religious of bloggers, as Eric has pointed out. And yes, it's mainly because I've been caught up with a lot of things. So anyway, maybe I should recap what I've been doing all this time.
Memorial Day - went kayaking in Orange County with some friends. It was my very first kayaking experience, and I have to say, it certainly was fun enough to make me want to go again. But maybe instead of just on a little bay, the ocean is a better option. I've actually started looking into kayaking in the Channel Islands. Very interesting, as they have caves that can be explored. Plus one to my list of things to do before I die. Pretty pathetic, considering I know people who have actually climbed Kilimanjaro, been to the top of Fuji, etc., etc. Hey, I have to start somewhere.
Anyway, we went to La Jolla on the same weekend as well. It was packed. I tried to bodyboard a little bit, and was able to catch one wave, which wiped me out and almost made me lose my fins. Which is to say, almost made me lose the fins I borrowed. And as they were not mine, and the waves were big enough to steal them away from me, I decided to lay out instead.
Fourth of July... well, I'll let pictures speak for themselves. Here they are:
My PicsAlright, is this good enough, Eric? :) I promise I'll post more!
