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Random thoughts

Monday, January 31, 2005

Sweet Tooth

Okay, I'm supposed to have given up eating all kinds of refined sugar, and I'm supposed to be avoiding foods with high fructose corn syrup or evaporated cane juice, so why do I have a bunch of chocolate bars at home, and why did I just buy an XXL bag of M&Ms? So much for self-discipline.

There are all these diets going around right now, but I do find that that part about giving up sugar really did wonders for me. I really did lose weight! I know, I know, some people will probably say that I don't need to, but it makes me feel pretty darn good. I don't want to be stick thin; I just want to get rid of that feeling of being too meaty somehow. Sometimes when I haven't worked out for awhile and/or I've been eating poorly, I feel uncomfortable in my clothes, as if there's just a tad less space to move around in them, and my body doesn't like it. I can't describe it any better than that.

So what to do with my sweet tooth? I still have so much hopia (Filipino dessert) at home, and the warm days are coming, which means I'll be craving ice cream everyday again. Will the temptations never cease?!?!?!

Saturday, January 29, 2005

Two seconds of fame

I'm famous! DirecTV has been showing Julia Fordham's new DVD for free on channel 124. Marc and I were actually at the concert where they did the filming, so when I heard about the DVD coming out, I noted that I would catch it when they show it.

Well, they've been showing it every weekend since the start of January, and tomorrow is the last day. I sat through the whole thing with Michael today, and sure enough, there I was, clapping away! Lucky Marc though, that light-colored shirt and his height actually made him stand out. Should've switched seats with him and made funny faces at the camera, damn!

So wow, this is what it feels like to be on TV. Michael asked me, "Is this the first time you saw yourself on TV?"

Me (from my place right smack in front of the TV, my eyes glued to the screen): "Isn't it obvious?"

I'm now on a desperate mission to tape this show - our VCR isn't working, and we don't have the DirecTV DVR, so I'm in a panic. This is probably my one and only chance at fame, so I need a copy!

Friday, January 28, 2005

Joyful, joyful

I can't seem to get that song from Sister Act out of my head. I've been in a happy mood althroughout the day, despite the weather. Actually, the weather might have helped a little. Light rain like this always takes me back to college days when we'd sit around in Berchman's and sing, or when we'd take walks in the rain, or when we'd hole up in the classroom with a piano in Gonzaga Hall. Or when they'd call off classes, and an hour later, I'd be slurring over my fifth vodka-7. Haha!

It's been a pretty relaxed day, not too much to do at work. Afterwards, I climbed at the gym, and when I finished working out the boulder problem I started, I did a little shopping, and now here I am, chilling out at home. Blockbuster doesn't have much to offer right now; I was actually tempted to rent Napoleon Dynamite again, but it would just be a waste, because I know I'm going to buy the DVD anyway.

I'm gearing up for a party night tomorrow, so I think I'll turn in early today. Need to put in make-up time with my bed since I'll be missing it tomorrow.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Survey time again

Found this on the web, and here goes:

Name: Anne Catherine Custodio
Age: 27
DOB: September 19, 1977
Hair Color: Right now? It's 1/4 black and 3/4 reddish. I need to get to the salon quick!
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Height: 5'1 and 3/4"
BF/GF?: Nope
Crush?: Tons!
Favorite Color?: Purple, red, green and yellow.
Favorite Food?: Varies, but right now it's seafood
Favorite Song?: Sweet Surrender, by Sarah Mclachlan
Fav. TV show: Dammit, just one?! Okay, Scrubs. But only because Friends is over.
Fav. Movie: A Knight's Tale, among others.
Fave Radio Station: 98.7 or 89.9
Fave. TV station: NBC

^When was the last time you...^

Cried?: Two nights ago
Laughed?: Two minutes ago, maybe
Hugged someone?: Half an hour ago.
Kissed someone?: Half an hour ago.
Danced with someone?: Two Saturdays ago, in Hermosa.
Laughed at someone?: At someone? Can't remember.
Gone to the movies?: Last Saturday night
Sang?: This morning, in the car.
Wrote?: Ten minutes ago, in my online diary.
Sneezed?: Yesterday
Coughed?: Can't remember

.Friends.

Best: Tintin and Marc
Funniest: Pau
Most Outgoing: Hedwige
Most likely to be famous:Allan
Shyest: Angela

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Practice Makes Perfect!

Alright, I have to bore everyone again with my climbing reports. But there's reason to celebrate! I did a V1 last night! Yahoo! I guess I'm really seeing the benefits of going to the climbing gym regularly. Even the progression during one session clearly indicates that practice does make perfect.

Kudos too to my friend Michael for being able to run around the whole country club today without stopping. He's been at it since he came to stay with us, and in just a few days, he's gone from no physical activity to actually being able to run the 2+ miles nonstop. *applause*

==========================================

I was at the drugstore today, supposedly just to grab some vegetable oil, but I just happened to pass the card aisle, and I was sidetracked by the Shoebox Greetings shelf. Now I used to collect funny greeting cards, even when I really didn't have anyone to give them to, so naturally I ended up with several when I left the store. So yup, some of you just might get a little something in the mail sometime. :) The embarassing part of the night was when I was reading the cards, and I kept giggling to myself. I suppose it's pretty understandable, but I felt a little retarded standing there, trying to muffle my laughter, while other people browsed so quietly around me. Where's their sense of humor?

Actually, I've been feeling a little off in the humor department lately. I feel like I'm completely different from anyone else. First off, I liked Napoleon Dynamite, and my friends say they didn't like it. Second of all, I was watching Zoolander last night and laughing like a hyena, while Michael sat beside me and simply smiled at the jokes. What the %&^%$&%$?! Doesn't eugoogooly merit even a chuckle? C'mon, man, give me something! :P

==========================================

Now that I find myself without an iPod, I am actually craving an mp3 player again, for when I work out. I'm actually thinking of getting the new iPod shuffle, with the sport arm band and sport case. It seems to be a neat little gadget that I can bring along with me without the hassle of being bulky. Perfect for those long runs or sessions on the treadmill/elliptical trainer. Or even for bouldering, when I want to tune out other people calling out advice to me (I've gotten used to it though, and I actually appreciate the help now). :P

==========================================

Well, it's getting late, and Michael is all camped out in the sofabed. I better end this. Tomorrow is a new day!

Friday, January 21, 2005

Thank God It's Friday!

What a long week. I think being away on vacation makes your mind and body atrophy, and both take their sweet time to get back on track. Man, the pain of getting up the Monday after coming back from Mammoth! I suppose I was spoiled since I would wake up there, see the clock saying it's 7:00am and I'd think, "Oh, it's still early. Back to bed." So when my alarm went off on 5:45am Monday, my body was screaming bloody hell.

Switching gyms is paying off though, because traffic is so much better to and from my workout. Plus, the option to swing by the climbing gym in the morning feels pretty good.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to whatever next adventure I'll be having. Sadly, I probably won't be able to make it to the YMA ski trip to Mammoth, but I just might go on a trip with a friend to Bishop to climb and hang out at the hot springs. Definitely enticing, so I'm hoping the plans come through. :)

I'm actually playing host to a friend from Manila, and spending time with him has made me realize how much I've changed in the three years I've been here. The difference in attitude, outlook and hobbies are glaringly obvious, but when I think back, I know I used to be like that. So either I've lost my identity, or I've finally found myself. But how I am now and what I'm doing actually makes me feel pretty good, so whatever the case may be, there's no turning back.

Saturday, January 15, 2005

Me!

I was just reading my cousin's wife's blog, and was amused by the little tidbits of info she included about herself. It has inspired me to make my own list.

About me:
1. During my early school years, I would ride the bus to school and everyone called me "Cute".
2. I love peanut M&M's, and my checkbook has the M&M design.
3. I got into the computer science course at the university, but ended up shifting to a less technical course because I got scared of the advanced math and computer graphics subjects we were going to take.
4. After shifting to that less technical course, I realized I enjoyed studying psychology so much.
5. I love Christmas.
6. One of my favorite pastimes is picking out gifts for people.
7. I have a huge binder of cross-stitch patterns at home that I have yet to do.
8. I'm usually incredibly shy around new people, but when I click with someone, everything just progresses so much faster.
9. I'm a very tactile person.
10. Sometimes I care too much what other people think of me.
11. The rare times I was crazy enough to cut my hair short, I've always regretted it.
12. One of my favorite pastimes is playing the piano.
13. When I get depressed, I do one of two things: shop or write.
14. I cried so hard watching Finding Neverland that the collar of my shirt got soaked.
15. I am a very sentimental person. I keep movie ticket stubs, lift tickets, brochures of national parks I've camped at, letters, even little post-it notes left for me.
16. I was born in Manila, and I have two brothers, Ernest and Richard.
17. I don't like watching scary movies, I always end up not being able to sleep the night that I watch it.
18. I only use four fingers from each hand to type.
19. I love the following color combinations: navy and orange, purple and green, purple and yellow, purple and red.
20. In high school, I was in a play where I acted the part of a little girl who has a destructive tendency when it comes to handling her toys.
21. In college, I was in two consecutive Valentine's plays, sponsored by the Ateneo Musician's Pool. I starred opposite one of my closest friends, who I almost got together with.
22. When I'm meeting someone new for the first time, I make jokes to ease the tension that I feel.
23. I get restless when I don't travel within a year.
24. I love to sing.... when I'm by myself.
25. When I was a kid, I used to play these one-man skits all by myself. I had two brothers who had better things to do than sit around imagining things with their sister.
26. But... my brother Richard and I used to conduct these "experiments" by taking the residue or remaining liquid from bottles that were to be thrown away, and we would wait expectantly for our "formula" to explode.
27. The most hurtful thing anyone has ever said to me is "No." Simple word, but the question was what mattered.
28. There were times when I was younger that I wouldn't be able to sleep because I would be afraid of getting "possessed" by the devil.
29. I think I may have had like two pimples the whole of my college life. But then afterwards, everything else came out.
30. There are three stuffed toys in my bed right now - a bear, a seal and a dog.
31. I used to play the flute.
32. I used to play the drums.
33. I can never be in customer service because when I encounter an unreasonable customer, I get very flippant and sarcastic.
34. People love the flan that I make, but I don't like eating it myself, after finding out what the ingredients are.
35. Once, in grade school, I brought home a little kitty from school, and my mom freaked out but she let me keep her. I put butter on her nose so she would forget the smell of the school and not go back there. She was with us for a few months before my mom decided to kick her out because she ate the fish on top of the stove.
36. I don't like wearing belts.
37. I haven't worn a watch in two years.
38. I forget things easily sometimes.
39. I'm really bad with names.
40. I like tinkering with computers sometimes, but I don't like video games.
41. One semester in college, everytime a class was cancelled, I would be found at the bars with my friends. Even in the middle of the day.
42. I like my kung pao chicken with lots of peanuts.
43. I had a henna tattoo put around my belly button once. Consequently, I had to walk around with my shirt folded halfway so the tattoo would dry properly and not soil my clothes.
44. The three things that I've tried here in the states and want to keep doing are: climbing, bodysurfing (aka playing in the waves) and skiing.
45. When I spend time with my little cousin April, I always wish I had a sister.
46. I like being admired, but I don't like being put in the spotlight.
47. When I was young, I could do splits even without ballet training. My mother got scared when she saw I could do that, and made me stop. So now I've lost the flexibility to do one.
48. My friend Jen teases me that my handwriting is in font size 14.
49. I actually looked into going to fashion merchandising school about a year after I moved to the states.
50. I won a fight once with my brother Richard by clawing at his arms and actually drawing blood. Yikes!
51. My most favorite city that I've never been to is New York City.
52. I'm mildly allergic to dogs. And I'm insanely allergic to something else, but I don't even know what it is. I was working out once in the LA Fitness in Canoga Park, when I just started sneezing and my eyes got red and swollen.
53. I can do weird things with the toes on my right foot.
54. I get cold easily.
55. And so, even though I love ice cream, I never have it in the winter time.
56. Most of my friends are guys. When I meet new people, it's usually the guys I get along with first. So when I meet a girl that I click with, I know it's long-term.
57. I love to dance.
58. My favorite moon is the sliver.
59. Occasionally, I have nightmares, and wake up sobbing uncontrollably. But half the time, I don't remember what the nightmare was. I usually try to call someone when this happens to me, even when it's the dead of night.
60. When I really like a movie, I can watch it dozens of times and not get tired of it.
61. If I could sing well, I would have probably tried to be involved with Repertoire Philippines, the stage acting group in Manila.
62. I love apple juice.
63. When I want to let it out and cry, I listen to Sarah Mclachlan or Jim Brickman's Love of My Life.
64. I still keep a journal. It sits by my bed so that when I have dreams or nightmares or when I wake up and can't get back to sleep, I can sit up and write my thoughts down.
65. I've been told more than once that I have a nice smile. :)
66. The movie that made me cry the most was Awakenings. I think the fact that it was a true story made it even more tragic for me.
67. I love sandals and flip-flops.
68. I love to cook, even though during the first 23 years of my life, I barely stepped into the kitchen.
69. I've never broken a bone in my body.
70. Chocolate, especially the dark kind, is my weakness.
71. I was in the college fencing team for two years, but lost interest when the coach tried to make warm-ups fun and let us play basketball and soccer. Then I realized I was enjoying warm-ups more than the actual sport I was playing. Maybe it was because I was able to steal the ball from my coach after hustling him.
72. I make a mean opponent in Word Finds.
73. My brothers used to make me cry just by playing three notes on the piano.
74. I love writing long letters or emails to people.
75. I try to strive for honesty in myself so I look for the same in other people.
76. I'm a lotion addict. Can't last a day without putting it on.
77. I chose to study Italian as my foreign language elective in college because everyone else was taking Japanese or Chinese, and I wanted to be different. Also, I was mesmerized by the scenes in Only You that were shot in Positano, that I figured I'd learn the language in preparation for when I visit this beautiful place.
78. I used to be able to drink fourteen shots of tequila without getting drunk.
79. I love taking pictures.
80. I also have an obsession with swimsuits. I always say I have enough but end up buying a new one every year. Darn Victoria's Secret catalog!
81. I am addicted to the following stores: Victoria's Secret, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Costco, Hear Music, and Barnes and Noble. Rarely do I go into these stores without coming out with something.
82. I don't like wearing a lot of jewelry everyday. Only on special occasions do I pile it on, but even then, I still don't use that much.
83. I love to work out. It serves as a sort of release for me. If I miss a workout, I feel yucky and bloated.
84. When I'm feeling melancholy or restless, I get in the car and drive. Doesn't matter where.
85. I can't live without email. Sometimes I wake up, and the first thing I do is check my email with my cellphone.
86. I've decided just recently that I do want to have kids. For now. This may still change though. Hmm.
87. I'm a sucker for people with British accents.
89. I am very critical of myself.
90. My full name is Anne Catherine Solis Custodio. My nickname is Cathy.
91. I used to be a social smoker. Now I can't stand the stuff.
92. I love seafood.
93. I am prone to getting ingrown toenails on both of my big toes.
94. People have told me that I write well.
95. The #1 trait I am drawn to in people is a good sense of humor.
96. I don't much care for gum.
97. I almost appeared in a condom TV commercial. The only reason why I didn't make it was because there was a schedule conflict. Otherwise, millions of viewers in Manila would have seen me exalt the qualities of a Trojan.
98. I have so many magazine subscriptions that I don't have time to read all of them before the new ones arrive.
99. I sometimes unconsciously spell out words with my finger when I'm lost in thought.
100. I love getting massages.

Friday, January 14, 2005

Mammoth Revisited


It's Friday, the last night my cousin Dave and his wife Christine will be here. It is nice to know that I'm going to have my bed back after sleeping on a rock-hard mattress for the past few days (what good is a king-sized bed if it's that uncomfortable? gosh!), but it's sad to see them go. I really enjoyed spending time with them.

Anyway, this past week has been one of the best ones ever. It was awesome... incredible! Despite the weather conditions at the start of the trip, we were all in high spirits and everyone got along superbly. Again, many thanks to Napoleon Dynamite for the main source of entertainment.

The first two days in Mammoth, the weather was bad and it was torturous to sit there on the lift while the wind whipped snow against our faces. But being hardcore beginners (ironic?), we still got our groove on and snowboarded the open trails.

Then we were blessed with two glorious days of sunshine and good weather. Marc taught me how to ski, which added to allure of those last two days (I've decided if I ever had a calling to a snowsport, it was to skiing and not snowboarding, as I fell more in the first two days rather than in the last two when I was only getting on skis for the first time).

After a sumptious Mexican dinner surrounded by an adopted Asian baby and people talking about threesomes behind us, we wearily headed home, ready to jump into bed (or in my case, the sofa) to sleep off the aches and pains. Whew!

Thanks to Marc for the company and the ski lessons and the driving. Thanks to my cousins for coming all the way here. Utah, next year! :)

More Mammoth pictures

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

Goodbye, 2004!

This is a little late in coming, but I thought I'd still write a little love letter to the year 2004.


Dear 2004,

It's time to say goodbye, but I thought I'd let you know how much you meant to me. It was with you that I first tried snowboarding, and I loved it. It was with you that I spent so much time at the beach, catching waves and freezing to death in the water. With you, I was finally able to go on a sunset horse ride, with my own horse and no one else on it. I tried climbing and fell in love with it. I learned how to knit and now cannot seem to stop. I went camping and hiking in three different places, the most special of which was Sequoia, with its sheer beauty and indescribable splendor.

You also brought me one of my most treasured possessions by far: my beloved piano, which I cannot stay away from.

Alas, our affair has to end. You knew it was going to be short-lived, you knew we had to part ways in the end. But rest assured that I cherish the experiences together in my heart, and I will always look back fondly on these memories. I have to move on now with 2005 (don't get jealous, I'm only staying with him for a year too, just like I did with you).

Thanks for all the memories!

Love,
Cathy