dear george yang,

i love your fries. i love your mcchicken. i love your chicken nuggets. i love your sundaes.

i do not love your united nations branch though if only for the fact that your service there, pardon the language, sucks big time.

last week my friends and i had a huge mcdonald's craving. we arrived there at 10:15 a.m. and so while we really wanted to avail of the regular meals, we ordered instead your breakfast meals since your crew informed us that regular meals won't be ready until 10:30. at 10:40, we went back to the counter to order a cheeseburger meal for take-out but we were rudely informed that they haven't begun preparing regular meals yet. five minutes later, the situation was the same. it seemed to us that unless every single frigging mcmuffin has been sold, we'd be stuck with breakfast meals.

now, knowing fully well the concept of command responsibility, i figured that things might be remedied if i were to talk to the manager in charge. wrong. the manager was not only more rude, but was disinterested with my complaint. in fact every single manager in that store had no answer - nor cared to answer - why they were still in the process of serving breakfast meals when it was almost eleven in the morning.

george - you and i and your fries go way back. let's not allow some manager to get between us. please do something about your lackluster crew at your UN avenue branch.

and i promise, i might rethink my kfc addiction.

yours,

rosa.

p.s. don't you just love that pic? we took it at your petron north marilao branch..

there's nothing that friends, a road trip, and a side trip to mcdonald's can't fix.

and so, even if this picture was taken months ago, all i have to do is take one look at it and be reminded why: (1) i am happier now than i've ever been; (2) i am bound to be happier in the days to come; and (3) i wouldn't trade 2006 - as horrible as it may have been in some aspects - for anything in the world.

at the end of the day, when you're in a good place, surrounded by good people, with a bright outlook for the future, you can't help but flash everyone your most gorgeous smile.

going slow

admittedly, patience has never been my strong suit.

but going real slow with him, well, it's been a pleasure. funny how each text message seems like a huge deal, or how minutes before he's due to appear in front of my doorstep i can't stop thinking of how fun the conversation is going to be. and it's nothing short of amazing how each and every single moment spent with him - save for that very unfortunate wedding "date" - is a moment to be savored.

so what if the closest i've ever gotten to him is our elbows accidentally touching at the movies? i have been praying for this boy for the last 9 months of my life. i can wait a couple more to hold his hand.

it's ironic how not being with this person has taught me more than all of my other relationships combined. i used to be unable to understand what good there is to waiting. now i do. and if it's going to take another couple of months before anything more happens, i'll be fine.

it turns out that when you've found something real something true something truly amazing, you're willing to do every single thing, make all the sacrifices in the world, and wait till kingdom come for it to come to you.

if you've been reading this blog for a while, you'd know i make a big deal out of my birthday.

a huge deal.

so, considering that i'm turning 30 (gasp!) this march 2, i'm making huge plans this year for myself. nothing's final though but it's nice to have a LOT of options, right?

the best possible option came this morning in the form of a text message from my favorite cousin ian who asked if i would like to join them in hong kong from february 28 to march 3 for only US$350. that roughly amounts to PhP16,800. plus pocket money and other expenses (and very minimal shopping), i figured i'd need at least PhP25,000.

now i know i have PhP25k but would i be willing to spend that much for a couple of days of bliss? and if i spent that much money on four days of vacation, how long would it take before i am able to save that much again?

all of a sudden i thought of the money that came my way during the christmas season, the bonuses and what not and i asked myself where all of it went and i realized that had i not shopped like crazy at kamiseta and maldita when it went on sale a couple of weeks ago, and had i not bought all those random things while at the mall, and had i not indulged in too much coffee and dinners out and what-nots during the christmas season, i might actually have PhP25k to spare. but, since i did, i am clearly not going to be spending my 30th birthday in hongkong.

now, with that thought bugging me the entire day, you'd think i'd make a 180 degree change with regards to my spending habit.

let's just say i tried.

cause after work today, i had coffee and dinner with friends from lingkod (there i go spending too much money on food which just makes me really fat and, as a result, really sad). then g and i went around the mall and i ended up spying this gorgeous denim jacket on sale (only PhP999!) at rustan's. it looked absolutely gorgeous, absolutely fabulous, absolutely perfect on me. i imagined myself bringing it with me next time i watch a movie with the boy or next time we go out and me slipping on gorgeous denim jacket to ward off the cold and him just thinking "what did i do to deserve to be with this amazing person?"

for today, though, self-restraint won and jacket remained at rustan's.

tomorrow, however, is a different matter altogether.

tonight he picked me up.

and we watched a movie.

and we had dinner afterwards.

amazing? yes.

wonderful? yes.

huge gigantic smile that probably won't leave my face for a week? most definitely.

things to be happy about (in no particular order)

1. hotel breakfast buffets and eat-all-you-can bacon
2. heno de pravia soap
3. anything mint-flavored
4. the feeling one gets after an hour of boxing (sadly something i haven't felt in a while)
5. unexpected text messages from the boy
6. a things-t0-do list with everything crossed out
7. reading my planner at the end of the year and realizing so much has happened to my year.
8. post-it note pads
9. finishing a case and knowing it was one of the best you've ever written
10. kfc
11. learning the beauty of having female friends
12. fresh sheets
13. the way my hair looks after gilbert has worked his magic
14. new shoes
15. a closet full of clothes i actually want to wear
16. weekends at qc with my "other" family
17. 7;30 p.m. at the office, with everyone gone for the day, and hitting "the zone" where words just seem to spill from your fingertips.
18. new friends
19. bath and body works cotton blossoms
20. books waiting to be read

last christmas, my brother's girlfriend of two months gave me a beautiful bag. there was a huge part of me that didn't want to accept it at first especially since it was quite a "huge" gift to get from someone who i did not only just recently met but someone i wasn't even friends with. but, in the end, it was a gift and i accepted it graciously and used it as much as i could. as i said, it was a beautiful bag.

with the sole exception of the zipper (it fails to "slide" nicely. every time i open it i'm in for a struggle), i never had any problems with the bag. that is, until today. first the strap snapped. fine, i fixed the button the connects the strap to the bag and it was as good as new. less than five minutes later, one of the rivets holding the bag strap hook snaps. this was a bit more complicated that just buttoning it back on but, well, i was able to "fix" it. by the end of the night, both rivets holding the right side has snapped open and unless i was very careful, the strap would fly off my shoulder and the bag would drop on the floor without any warning.

funny how this had to happen exactly ONE day after the girl sent me a text message informing me that my brother had broken up with her. i don't know if she jinxed the bag or something but inexplicably, the bag IS falling apart and there is no way that i will use it any time soon without making mr. quickie check each and every rivet holding the bag together.

oh well.

incidentally, if i had a car - like i generally do - this wouldn't really be much of a problem. today, though, is coding day for me which means no car. add to that the fact that my cousin invited me for coffee at shangri-la mall and that i scheduled dinner with my old ua&p friends means that for the first time in years, i found myself commuting home from shaw boulevard. reminds me of the time i was rosa, the busrider. apparently, though, things have changed. whereas commuting home at midnight (yes, midnight!) used to be something that we'd do on a weekly basis, it turns out that it's as dangerous as hell nowadays(i used to believe there's a force that protects girls like me who are deathly scared of riding cabs and takes edsa buses at midnight!). so i ended up being fully awake on the trip (yes, i almost always sleep on the bus) and my hands were busy holding the offending rivets of my bag (lest it burst open in the middle of wherever) and every minute i was scared crazy that i wouldn't be able to send that fateful "i'm home, thanks!" message to vanessa.

well, clearly i made it home, "falling-apart-bag" notwithstanding.

obviously, there is a force that protects crazy girls like me.

i'm blogging just so that i'll have an online reminder that tonight happened to be one of the most wonderful nights in recent (rosa) history.

okay, so i've said basically the same thing in the past but, really, when the guy you've been praying for takes you out to dinner, won't you think it's the most wonderful night too?

*sigh*

the entire evening was too special and the boy, truly special that i want to spare the internet world of all my gushing and probably spare him too the shock of finding my intense like for him plastered all over online. countless times in the past i never hesitated in sharing everything (well, almost everything) on this blog. but then i realized that i do believe in what i told g - when something is truly special, you'd want nothing more than to keep the details all to yourself.

so there. no details for the meantime. just me giddily sharing that i'll probably love paella until the day i die.

the absence of posts in this blog means only one thing:

he asked for my home number and, considering my only access to the net is dependent on a sucky dial-up connection, i've been making sure that i keep my phone free just in case he calls.

goodness. it's like high school all over again.

but since a watched phone never rings, i've got to report that he hasn't called at all *insert feet-stomping, head shaking here* although he has sent a couple of SMS, including one that told me he was reminded of the fireworks.

sigh.

who knew that waiting for your one true love (as if i can tell!!!!) to make a move (if he ever will) can be hell?

how to have the worst first weekend of 2007

first, start off with having absolutely nothing planned, save for a party that you've lost all enthusiasm for. spend the entire saturday in bed, catching up on much-needed sleep and basically to forget the fact that you might finally get those donuts from your biggest crush.

by 6:00 in the evening, lose all hope that the donuts will ever materialize. force one's self to get ready for aforementioned party so as not to make weekend a loss. then, upon receiving text message from donut person telling you he forgot all about donuts and it's too late, maybe tomorrow na lang, hit forehead in drama queen fashion and repeat to self "stop wanting this boy, stop wanting this boy, stop wanting this boy" until you finally convince yourself that no amount of chanting will change the fact that you are absolutely enamoured with this and might remain so disposed for the next couple of months still.

change plans for evening once you get a text message telling you that some friends are planning on watching the pyro olympics, would you care to join them? regret agreeing once all of you are stuck in traffic at coastal road.

regret it so much more after you end up hitting a cab and having a shouting match with cab driver. on principle, refuse to pay cab driver and demand that you will let your insurance deal with everything. spend the entire night driving to police station, getting everything fixed, and then attempting to go back to mall of asia to return to your friends. accept the fact that the only fireworks you witnessed that night was the shouting match between you and the cab driver.

how to have what might possibly be the best weekend of 2007

after hitting said cab, your friends end up calling donut guy who, after forgetting to bring you donuts, headed to mall of asia to watch pyro olympics with your common friends. be genuinely surprised that donut guy was voted unanimously by everyone to accompany you to police station as you are not equipped to have a non-shouting conversation with cab driver. allow donut guy to take care of everything, including paying for the photocopying of your license and car registration. also, allow donut guy to cheer you back into "happy mood" all the way back to mall of asia.

on sunday, go to mass and schedule a one-on-one with someone who will set your priorities straight, part of which includes her telling you to please stop thinking about donut guy. accede to her wishes knowing that it'll be best for your sanity.

when you get home, heat pizza and decide to finish the last of your newly-purchased books. be genuinely surprised when donut guy texts you asking your whereabouts and proposing that you two finally go get the donuts. spend the next couple of hours driving from las pinas to the fort, chatting as you have three donuts each, and driving back home. smile even bigger if donut boy gives you presents - well, not really presents but corporate give-aways which you secretly love getting.

-oOo-

so, i love spike and the fact that the right rear bumper has paint now chipping off hurts me a lot. but after all that came out of said cab-bumping experience, i've accepted the fact that while damage to bumper is a cloud that definitely dampened my weekend, said cloud was obliterated by the silver lining that went with it.

yesterday, i made plans to go out with a friend - just a trip to the grocery really - until i remembered that i bought a couple of new books. i made up an excuse and cancelled and spent the entire evening reading. slept late, and woke up this morning and continued reading until it was really late and i absolutely had to go to work already. needless to say, i was very, very late.

it was then that i realized that in spite of the unhealthy shoe obsession, the growing desire to learn more about make-up, the recent trips to the parlor and spa to beautify myself, and the closet full of clothes that are halfway fashionable to the untrained eye, i still am, underneath it all, a nerd who'd rather spend her evening reading.

100 75 things i wouldn't mind the world knowing about me*

1. i have a tendency to name my worldly possessions.
2. as you all probably know, my car's name is spike.
3. spike cause of all of buffy's boys, i love spike the most.
4. no, i am not a buffy fan.
5. which makes it hard to explain why i named my ipod mini "buffy".
6. if i remember correctly, i named it buffy so that it would go with spike.
7. and my laptop's name is ben.
8. no, there's no reason why it's named ben.
9. except probably for the fact that we nicknamed one of my brother's exes "ben".
10. ben, well, that's a private joke shared with my mom and brother.
11. i can eat kfc every single day of my life, morning, noon, and night.
12. i'm allergic to chicken. really allergic.
13. do i still eat kfc? yes. that's why they made medicine.
14. and no, i don't care if one tablet of that medicine costs as much as a kfc meal. i'd still rather eat kfc and risk an allergic reaction than give up kfc altogether.
15. i always order one piece original recipe, breast part, with rice.
16. and gravy. lots and lots of gravy.
17. come to think of it, i like chicken anything.
18. except max's chicken.
19. and chicken goes with gravy, not ketchup.
20. which probably explains why i don't like max's.
21. i love buffets.
22. i attack them in this order: (a) a little bit of everything that looks good, (b) dessert, (c) salad, if there's bacon bits, (d) soup, and (e) everything else i might regret not having once the feeling of fullness has passed away.
23. and breakfast buffets? i love them too.
24. i am of the opinion that a breakfast buffet without bacon shouldn't be called a breakfast buffet at all.
25. i love mint.
26. especially mint with chocolate.
27. most especially mint with dark chocolate.
28. i love mint and chocolate so much that i tried out nail tropics' minty chocolate (or was it chocolate minty?) foot spa. clearly i don't mind where the mint goes.
29. despite my love for anything mint, i'm one of those people who don't carry mints with her.
30. i love the color pink.
31. and i love it with apple green.
32. but i've thought about this real hard and have decided that no, my wedding colors aren't going to be pink and green.
33. it's going to be pink and orange.
34. yes, i know they're dunkin donuts colors.
35. no, i don't mind that my wedding's going to look like it's been sponsored by dunkin.
36. and no again, i do not have anyone i'm going to marry yet.
37. i do know who i hope it's going to be.
38. i've accepted the fact that it's never going to be the pilot.
39. or any of my exes for that matter.
40. i thought i was going to get married at 25.
41. clearly that did not even remotely happen.
42. my cousin got married in 2006. my other cousin has declared that 2007 is going to be her year. she has likewise ordered me to get married in 2008.
43. i am hoping the boy gets the hint by then.
44. at the rate the boy and i am going, i am not holding my breath. i might die from the lack of oxygen.
45. i don't smoke.
46. i don't drink. well, i don't regularly go out drinking.
47. in fact, the first and last time i got drunk was when i turned 29.
48. in lieu of smoking and drinking, i shop.
49. my favorite mall is sm.
50. really.
51. i don't like mall of asia though.
52. i don't mind spending a lot of money on shoes.
53. i once spent my 13th month pay on a pair of shoes.
54. i've worn that pair of shoes a grand total of two times.
55. i usually leave my unwanted pair of shoes outside my house. they disappear within an hour.
56. i pray that they end up being worn by someone who loves them as much as i do.
57. i love shoes more than i love bags.
58. that doesn't stop me from acquiring quite a number of bags though.
59. i cannot fit all my bags in my closet.
60. for that matter, neither can all my shoes fit in my shoe closet.
61. neither of those things will prevent me from acquiring more though.
62. i've been told it's an addiction.
63. i've accepted that yes, i am addicted.
64. until they come up with shoe-a-holics anonymous and bag-a-holics anonymous, i guess i am going to have to live with my addiction.
65. my addiction may be fueled by the fact that a dear friend got me two wishing bracelets: one was "i wish i had more shoes" and the other one "i wish i had more purses".
66. this may be morbid but i've instructed my friends to make sure that when they put me in a casket, i have to have shoes on my feet.
67. yes, i know it's bad luck.
68. no, i don't care.
69. i can type without looking at the keyboard.
70. that means i type fast. really fast.
71. i still talk faster than i type though.
72. and i think know i talk a lot.
73. talking a lot gets me in trouble.
74. so much trouble that i was the only one in the pilot class whose conduct was A+.
75. i think it was A-

*hey, at least i had lofty goals! maybe soon i can add more. or maybe YOU can add more.

it is when the skies are its darkest that you see the stars

2006 wasn't the best year. i flunked the bar and had to take it again, i gained weight only part of which i've lost so far, and my house, well, my house has grown messier with each passing day. with the sole exception of finally buying a shoe cabinet, i don't think i was able to do anything in my list of new year's resolution for the year.

i was watching a rerun of one tree hill when i heard the line i typed above. and, when i thought about it, i realized that while 2006 may have been far from being my ideal year, 2006 brought me things i would never have imagined happening to me in the years past. for one, i've joined lingkod, gained a whole lot of friends, and learned the value of being good friends with women. and because of that, i was able to establish a deeper friendship with keith - who just happens to be millions of miles away but is every much the little sister i see her to be - and i was able to rekindle ties with my cousin who i stopped talking to when she turned 18 - or twelve years ago. my family is slowly coming together once more. and me, well, i'm learning to be more and more comfortable in being me.

same time last year, i though 2006 would be so different from the way it actually turned out. but looking back, i guess i wouldn't have it any other way. ok fine, i would have wanted to pass the bar and become a lawyer in the process, but really, even at that moment i realized that i had lessons to learn, and hopefully, i learned them all.

welcome, 2007. i may not have started off on the right foot (i took the wrong exit at the expressway and ended up being calamba-bound instead of alabang-bound and had to take the next exit to go back the proper direction) and i sorta do not plan to do anything that productive on the first day of the year (well, unless you count lounging in bed the entire day productive), but as i've always said in the years past, bring it on!

*i know the picture has nothing to do with the post save for the fact that i took it new year's eve. that's me and my only female cousin on the dad's side - not the same cousin i was talking about earlier. greetings from us to you!