lazy sunday

ever since water descended on my part of the universe, and most likely cause i am somewhat haunted by martha stewart's ghost (not that she's dead, but you get the idea), i've begun to truly relish relaxing solo weekends at home. as i surf the net, i'm dancing on my seat, standing up every so often to check the automatic washing machine (one of the best purchases i've ever made) and see if it's time to either put in fabric softener or change the load. being at home on weekends is truly divine, save for the fact that i hardly have anything on my ref and cupboards. today, i am saved by this dulce de leche confection, something i took home from yesterday's lecture. i would've preferred a yumburger, but beggars can't be choosy.

i've already missed the 12 noon mass which happens to be my favorite time to fulfill my sunday obligations. i decided to tackle the laundry first (since i've started already) and just go out much later - to get my hair colored, to scavenge for food, and to hear mass (8pm is my other favorite time to hear mass). no one from the universe seems to be missing me right now (no one has texted, boo hoo!) but it's probably cause i haven't been texting either, or cause i haven't joined the korean bandwagon that all my friends are into right now.

how about you? how's your sunday turning out?

inseperable

five kilometers away from the house, i realized that i had left my phone at home. i was 16 kilometers away from ortigas, with 45 minutes to spare. i wasn't sure i could turn back, grab my phones, and make it to my lecture at 9am. so, it was decided for me: i was going to have to spend an entire day without a cellphone.

remember the time when people could actually live without phones? that summer between high school and college, my friends and i watched a movie almost every week. at the morning of each designated movie day, someone would call the others on their landlines, inform them of the meeting time, place, and the movie to be watched and we'd all be there, arriving within minutes of each other. i remember no one would dare be more than a few minutes late -- after all, if everyone left the meeting place before you arrived, you'd be stuck in greenbelt with no friends.

now, plans are hardly made, schedules hardly followed, and punctuality is virtually dead. at the very most, you'd tentatively set a meeting place and time, and end the planning with the all-too-familiar line "text-text". if you're running late, you send a text message. if you're thinking of cancelling plans, you send a text message. if you'd rather change the meeting place, you send a text message. nothing is final, nothing is definite.

as i sulked in my phone-less glory the entire day, it crossed my mind that me being without a phone would have been truly tragic if it happened last week -- how would i be able to meet up with che, who i was going to pass by for in shang, and ann, who would be waiting somewhere at the fort for me? i remember something like this happening in the past -- i was supposed to meet someone at mall of asia (yes, the biggest mall in asia!!!) and my phone had died. i challenged my inner resourcefulness and went to the administration office to have my friend paged. she wasn't all too happy hearing her name over the PA system, but as i explained when we finally met, would she have rather searched for me around MOA?

still, even with all the comforts being armed with a cellphone brings, i realized that to a certain extent, being phone-less wasn't, or wouldn't, be that insufferable. rather than rushing home after the lecture, i made a pit stop at sm sucat where i finally bought a replacement dvd player (which i should've done rather than buying that horribly expensive dvd lens cleaner which didn't exactly work :( boo!), a digital weighing scale (to, of course, aid me in my year-long quest to lose all that weight), an optical mouse (which i am okay using my laptop without a mouse, i knew i was going to spend an inordinate amount of time this weekend getting re-acquainted with PvZ, and we all know a mouse is necessary in the endeavor), and a mouse pad (shempre kailangan kumpleto, haha.) i also loaded by sun broadband prepaid wireless (which, for some reason, is working really well these days, good job!). i lingered and dawdled at the mall, checking out booksale, carefully weighing my dvd options, and avoiding all those places i promised not to visit for the meantime (translation: dessert places and clothing stores). by the time i was done, i had spent almost three hours at the mall, and while i wanted to go home already, it was because i wanted to try out the stuff i had gotten more than to check my phones.

of course, irony of ironies -- one phone had two text messages from meralco while the other phone had an info text from globe and a generic text message from the intercessory prayer team of lingkod alabang. clearly, no one missed me as much as i thought they would.

sick day

if you knew me when i was still in csa, then you'd know that i'm the girl with the perfect attendance. i hardly got sick ... and the few times i did, i didn't have a fever high enough to be sent home (you had to have a fever of at least 38 degrees c before the nurse allows you to leave school).

same thing with college. save for that time when i had to be brought by ambulance from kalayaan to the infirmary (any my mom had to pick me up in the middle of the night), i was hardly ever absent either. and in law school, chicken pox made me absent for a week (yup, i infected my entire block, haha!) and my operation, it was done over the sem break so i don't have to miss classes.

i am that hateful little ms. perfect attendance. i was that prick who was not only always present, i'm also that girl who couldn't understand when people are so sickly.

guess i didn't realize that one of these days, not being in my 20s would take its toll on my body. and i also didn't realize that once in a while, a sick day in bed is good for the soul.

so, i'm going to stop being little ms. perfect attendance and take a sick day. see: exhibit a ...

i have to flip from one side to the other every so often cause of my stuffed nose, something i've hated since forever. and while i know relief could be had in a couple of sprays of drixine, i googled the effects of going beyond the third day (you can't use it for more than three days at a time) and turns out, there's such a thing as nasal spray addiction. scary, right? then again, as i was reading all of those posts, it struck me that if you've ever had a really nasty clogged nose as much as i (and probably every single person who wrote down their testimony on that forum) had, the wonder that is nasal spray is just magic! (it sure does beat making a tent with your towel and being steamed like some crab for 10 to 15 minutes just so one - one!!! - nostril would free up! gah! i miss my nasal spray!!!)

in any case, my nose feels sooooo raw from all the wiping i've had to do since sunday everning. and my lips are crazy chapped cause i've been breathing from my mouth because of the clogged nose. my head is pounding like crazy.

sigh ... sick day. you gotta love the fact that you don't have to wake up early, you don't have to look presentable, and you don't have to rush off to work and be in QC (from las pinas!) by 8 am. but the headache, the chills, and the helplessness, i don't love those.

in any case, here's the view from my bed.

it's a little something i got from KL when my thursday friends and i went there. maybe it'll help me think of the good times (vacation!) maybe it'll help make the headache go away (all those pretty colors ...). or maybe it'll help if i just closed my eyes and rested more.

before i turn 34

i'm a sucker for birthdays.

all my friends know that. and because they've seen me prepare birthday stuff, even my officemates know that. they know it so well that they told me the other week that if i wanted something big for my birthday, i better send them the stuff to be printed, cut, and mounted ... just so that they'd be really prepared for the big day. otherwise, i might end up disappointed.



birthdays are such a big deal to me that my action group the other day complained, "you're such a planner that you don't leave room for surprises anymore!"



uhm ... sorry.



anyway, back to birthdays.



my 34th birthday will be next week. i never expected to be turning 34 and still single, unattached, and sleeping on the bed my mom got me when i was in 3rd grade, but i still am. no complaints there, though. plus, this isn't about that. it's about the fact that a week before my birthday, i took the reins into my own hands and threw myself a party.



see:

well, technically, we threw ourselves a party. we, being me and zech.

that guy in pink -- he's zech. or zeky. or ezechiel. i work with him and he just got a promotion. so one day he approached me with the idea of throwing a joint party.

being the selfish birthday person that i was, i immediately said no. then he told me, well, we can share in the expenses. and to make sure that the blow-out was going to happen, bong (another co-worker said), i'll bring puto.

it wasn't long before we also had ice cream and pan de sal. another person said he'll give money for cups and ice. and lo and behold, we were able to convince someone to bring the drinks.

i then told my boss about it who said she'd bribe us with her own contribution if we'd move the party to february 25 cause she'd be out of town on the 28th. and then she gave us the wonderful idea of hosting lunch instead since we had so much food for a merienda treat.

so i sprung for barbecue and zech brought the pancit. and our sponsors, fabulous people that they were brought fried chicken wings, rice, cupcakes, ice cream, cake, chopseuy, drinks, and balloons. it wasn't just a blow-out, it was a blow-out bonanza!

i may still have a week to go before i can stop claiming to be 33 (ugh) but i don't care. this is one of the best ways to kick off the celebrations.

p.s. right after the board meeting, i received a text message from my aunt. the much-awaited box has finally arrived (took forever!!!) and i can't wait to see what my mom's "surprise item" is. so i don't care if i'm too sick to even contemplate going on a lakwatsa. i'm bound for mahinhin in a while (and bound for home much much later... booo) to check out the balikbayan box!!!

G.V.O.

the red cups ... winning the lotto ... "rich" names ... controversial decisions ... being court attorney 4 ... all those codenames! ... the wrong "a" ... staying in touch even two jobs later ... getting over that major fight ... me wanting to be friends with all of your friends ... you introducing me to lingkod, cenacle, the jesuits, and to jewel ... all those afternoons you and rache refused to talk to me to force me to study ... the review books with the crazy notes ... being the one to deliver me the news that changed my life ... solsagamnida ... sucre ... solemn place ... love story in harvard ... mitsa ...

you are a wonderful daughter, and a loyal friend. you are a faithful sister and a shining example to other daughters of God. i've said it yesterday, and i'll say it again -- blessed is the man who you will choose to spend the rest of your life with.

saturday ♥

getting tire vulcanized is ♥

taking less than 45 minutes to get to ortigas from bf is ♥

sidelines pushing through is ♥

not-so-hot afternoon is ♥

cafe via mare is ♥

tuyo with eggs sunny side up over easy and fried rice is ♥

waiters not minding when we switched from the booth to the long table to the round table is ♥

non-stop laughter over dinner is ♥

50% off at starbucks drive-thru courtesy of ann is ♥

free oracare toothpaste as prizes is ♥

sisters appreciating the book review is ♥

getting home safely is ♥

how's your weekend? hope it's l♥vely too!

so shoe me!

in between the bathroom repairs, the numerous "mini-tragedies" that visited me towards the end of last year and the beginning of this year, my sudden desire to fix, clean, and renovate my home, product reviews, and food-related posts, i've forgotten the real me: a shallow shoe-loving lawyer.

so let me go back to my roots by posting my newest purchase -- one that is only a little more than an hour old:

lovely, lovely purple sneakers with fabric rosettes.

they're superga, which according to the paperbag they came in, are "people's shoes of italy".

so what if i was late this morning (after faithfully waking up early each and every day of february so i'd get perfect attendance) because of a flat tire, and so what if i'll have to wake up early tomorrow to do a lecture that i only found out about last thursday. so what if i still have to finish the minutes for two board meetings, hopefully by the end of the day, and so what if i don't have a retreat venue for this lenten season yet.

i have a new pair of shoes and i'm wearing them now. life if WONDERFUL.

well hello, yakimix

there's probably several things you know about me. why don't we try naming a few:

1. i don't like japanese food;

2. i like bacon; and

3. i have a major thing for buffets.

so, notwithstanding my declared hatred for japanese food, the fact that yakimix got two out of three is good enough in my book. (plus the fact that henry sy, my true love, is apparently part owner of it is enough to make me say, me? hate japanese food? no, i LOVE japanese food.)

thing is, since almost everyone i know know i dislike japanese food, no one has invited me to eat at yakimix with them. not my officemates, not my family, and not my friends (well, probably cause yakimix is too far north for us). so everyone and their cousin has eaten at yakimix ... except me.

that all changed yesterday.

my lovely, uber sexy, and definitely smart boss got a salary adjustment. since she knows of my undying loyalty to her (as she always reminds me, we UP girls must stick together), she texted me the other day, i'll make you libre. so we set a date and that was yesterday so we hied off to trinoma in search of good food. she suggested zong (okay lang) and cyma (okay lang) -- places i've already tried with my former boss. some chinese place was also suggested, along with a couple of other places. i was mentally trying to tell her "yakimix! yakimix!" but since (1) i'm too shy to imply that i want to be fed at a place that might be beyond her libre budget and (2) she knows i don't eat japanese food except to be polite (i.e. last tuesday's lunch with gwapo boss), i was resigned with the fact that she won't suggest yakimix.

then again, bottomless buffet (and probably my mental prodding prowess! naks.) is stronger than my half-hearted objections, she DID suggest yakimix and i (without hesitation) said, yes please, i've always wanted to go there.

okay fine, i didn't really always want to go there except that my new favorite blogger had written a rave review about it and i've learned to trust his judgment on food cause, after all, he does like bacon and sweet and sour and potatoes -- stuff that i myself go weak in the knee for.

so we were #32 on the waiting list. we didn't care. we were going to have yakimix that night even if it meant i won't be able to catch the last train back south. all that mattered was that i was going to be able to eat stuff (mushrooms, vegetables, whatever) wrapped in bacon. *sigh*

evil people tried to discourage us ("number 32 pa kayo? naku, bukas pa kayo, promise!" "we've been here since 6:00 and we're still waiting") but we weren't going to be swayed. after all, my boss' husband was still on his way. plus, all that waiting will allow our stomachs to be oh-so-prepared to eat, and eat, and eat.

after half an hour of waiting, i was staring at the people inside with my evil eye, saying stuff like, "tapos na kayo kumain, tama na ang pikturan," and "o, hija, curfew mo na, tama na ang date." we rejoiced every time a diner signaled for the bill and would every so often stand beside the receptionist to check if things were indeed moving along. together with the other prospective diners, we would shout "wala" whenever they'd call someone who had obviously left (yakimix has this policy wherein if you weren't there when they called you you'd miss out on your chance to get in). by 8pm (after only an hour of waiting, yay!) it was OUR turn to feast.

and feast we did.

so, while i'm supposedly still in the running to be my department's next biggest loser, i told my boss that the yakimix experience is still bound to be more precious than whatever weekly prize i would stand to win tomorrow.

and you know what? i was right.

on valentine's, friendship, and doing the world a little good

funny how while i'm surrounded by people who aren't into valentine's, here i am, slightly miserable over the fact that once more, i am without a valentine.

i actually resent the seemingly prophetic words of the former assistant dean of the school of education who told me, "well, rosa, since you dated quite a lot in your twenties, maybe the reason why you aren't dating now is cause you're actually meant to be single."

uhm, no, i wanted to tell her.

i mean, how can this cuteness that is me not multiply and populate manila with cute, witty offspring?

bawal magreklamo sa kakapalan ng face ko. blog ko to. so pwede kong lokohin ang self ko if i want. hahaha.

sige na, pumayag na, birthday ko na sa march 2.

anyway, i guess having been single for the past couple (okay fine, more than a couple ) of years has taught me that while i might be missing out on the romance (and flowers and free dinners and good morning and good night texts, plus a default plus one to all weddings) and the love that comes from being in a committed relationship, i am blessed with wonderful friends.

wonderful friends who are willing to do jump shots in the middle of the road, notwithstanding the threat that a snake might cross from one rice paddy to another at any time.

friends who gamely pose notwithstanding the bazillions of people looking at us.

i guess we just trust our cuteness that much.

.

friends who not only know fun, but know how to make life fun for other people too.

all of us set aside a portion of our valentine cash to make 40 kids (+ one nun!) extremely happy.

come to think about it, that day with the kids might have been more fun the dressing up, eating an overpriced set meal, and braving the valentine traffic.

and, then again, in case it isn't, i'm blessed to have a friend willing to at least take the role of OUR collective boyfriend, even for just a day.

see, he played the role sooooo well that he even forked over cash for flowers and balloons!

so that was how i rolled this valentine's day. (technically, pre-valentine's, but you wouldn't take it against me, right?)

how was YOUR v day?

let there be light!

living alone meant that i've been okay living with stuff that don't work. so, i was okay with the toilet that didn't flush (buhos system na lang, tipid pa sa water!), the half washing machine - half manual way of doing the laundry, and a dark dirty kitchen.

when water finally arrived in bf, and i got my pipes fixed, things substantially changed. the toilet i can flush as much as i want to (but won't, since water conservation is something you learn when you've lived in water-less bf). the washing machine is now fully automatic. but, even if my dirty kitchen sink is finally fully operational (the faucet broke, the drain wasn't working properly, and a whole lot of stuff), i continued living in darkness. i figured, i can always do the dishes in the morning (where natural light could stream through the windows and screen door).

thing is, when i invite people over, they're usually so generous with help knowing that i live without a helper. so they say, let me wash the dishes at least. and since i've still to save up enough money to replace the faucet and knobs in the main kitchen, the washing will have to be done in the dirty kitchen ... the dark dirty kitchen. i initially put in a desk lamp in there, for some illumination, but it was weird ... i mean a desk lamp right beside the rice cooker and the over toaster isn't exactly chic. not that chic is the look i'm going for, but you get my drift.

so when i got a chinese lantern in the shape of a hot air balloon as a souvenir from last weekend's trip to clark, i knew this was my chance to do something for my dark dirty kitchen.

1. assemble lantern. okay, fine, this step simply involved stretching the lantern out and putting the metal thing inside. but it's still a step.

2. disassemble old lamp which was headed for the garbage and/or a neighbor's home in the event it's bought in a garage sale. this was an old lamp that was given to me by a friend. it went with NOTHING in my home, and it wasn't exactly something people wanted either. when i was thinking of something to put inside the lantern, i realized this would be perfect. so i removed the lamp assembly and transfered it to the chinese lantern.

3. hang. if you're accident-prone like i am, this might be a bit complicated. but thankfully i finished the project with minimal mishaps. my neck and back hurt for a bit though.

4. plug. since the kitchen light switch is precisely the reason why there's no light in the kitchen, the way to light this baby up would be to plug it. since the cord of the lamp assembly won't be long enough to travel from the ceiling to the plug, i threaded an extension cord from the top of the kitchen cabinets to the outlet on the kitchen counter. to light up the kitchen, all i have to do is plug the end of the outlet to the socket and viola, the dirty kitchen finally has overhead light once more!

i'm especialy happy with this project not only cause the kitchen is lighted but (1) because i am able to actually use a souvenir item and (2) i was able to utilize something that was headed for the garbage can. souvenir items are usually pretty on the trip but end up being dumped somewhere when you get home. this way, i get to see the lovely hot air balloon on a daily basis AND light up my dirty kitchen to boot.

of course i know it's weird to have a hot air balloon lantern in the dirty kitchen, especially if it doesn't exactly go with the decor. and it's actually weird to be plugging overhead light. i know i still need to get an electrician to get a more permanent solution to my problem. but for the meantime, i'm happy with my pink hot air balloon ... ☺ ... and the fact that the kitchen is lighted.

p.s. will post pictures tomorrow.

from one kaladkarin to another, happy birthday theonoski

one of the biggest treasures i found volunteering in tuloy ... my staunchest defender when that crazy girl from bacolod started maligning me - on friendster, on email, through bazillions of text messages ... the guy who knows most of my secrets ... my favorite cleaning ex-pat ... the only person i know who owns a koprahan ... the first person i "taught" how to drive (even if all i did was to remind him to turn on the headlights on his car) ... pepper lunch "date" ... kapatid, kuya, and fellow mataray rolled in one ... "that's why we're friends" ... Pepito ... driver ni Daredevil ... mabuting anak, mabuting kapatid, tapat na kaibigan ...

my dearest friend theo --

you are a treasure and a blessing rolled into one. who knew that the white shoe wearing volunteer who had no braces the first week and braces the second week would turn out to be one of my closest, dearest friends in the universe? i didn't. but i guess things immediately changed the day you said yes to my invitation to join lingkod. or when you proposed to clean my house. or when i shared some of my deepest secrets with you in antakya (together with he who shall not be named! hahaha). i am touched by your assurances (okay lang na chubby, cute ka naman), your support (12,000 lang pala, halika, i-withdraw na natin, now na), your generosity (e-heads concert!), and your loyalty (mas-pretty ka kaysa sa kanya).

i wish words can convey how imporant you are in my life, and how much i value our friendship. and i wish that i can show you how secure i am in the thought that i've found a true brother in you. but, we've got an entire lifetime of being good friends ahead of us ... i've got all the time in the world to be the same friend you've been to me all these years.

i pray for your continued success (translation: richness) and that one day you'll find your princess (but after i find my prince, wahehehe. igalang ang nakakatanda!). i also pray that your issues (kung ano man sila) will be resolved. at kung hindi man ma-resolve, okay lang yan, mayaman ka naman. joke ☺

happy birthday, theo. you are loved.

done and bought

at first, my domestic diva-ness was limited to using power tools. and then theo came alone and i had to start cleaning. and then i read bazillions of blogs, from do-it-yourself blogs to home organizing blogs and i got hooked on fixing up my home. add maynilad water to the equation and, boom, there you go -- rosa 2.0: someone who cleans, spray paints, lines her drawers, and buys kitchen towels rather than shoes.

here's what got done over the weekend:

1. maid's room turned laundry room got cleaned and organized!
yep, it was on my list and it got DONE! i do wish i could get rid of the two giant boxes in there but one has my christmas tree and won't fit into any of the closets while the other one has all sorts of power tools that, yep, won't fit into any of the closets either. so they're both there. i'm thinking maybe i should get those giant plastic containers and stuff them there to, well, protect them from mickey, but those things are just too dang expensive (at least for my measly budget) so i guess mickey will have more fodder for a while. inside the laundry room i also have my gift wrapping stuff (i LOVE wrapping presents) and my lovely stepladder so it's all good ... for the meantime.

2. dirty kitchen got cleaned and organized too!
bazillions of beer bottles (i didn't realize my brother drank that much!) and random fluids for the car (oil, brake fluid, tire black, etc.) and what i think were brains inside ice cream containers (my brother took up PT more than a decade ago and they're still there, what the?) all got thrown out too. i had to wear gloves the entire time, while poking randomly to make sure mickey wasn't behind any of the containers, but i must say its clean and pretty now. after i threw away all the junk there, i was able to put all my various cleaning fluids, cleaning supplies, and plumbing extras (which include a bag of cement and another bag of white cement!) and still had lots of stuff left over!

3. kitchen organizing!
random little stuff, but let's just say that (1) i've repurposed the clear box that housed two dozen ferreros (2) i moved the plates and party stuff in one cabinet making them easy to access whenever i host dinner at my place and (3) i can cook now. happiness!!!

and, because of my boss' influence, i passed by not one, but two accessorize stores last saturday and bought more accessories. so yes, hindi lang ako domestic diva, marunong na rin ako *slight* mag-accessorize ng self. hahaha.

on a totally not "done" and "bought" streak -- my boss gave me black mary janes from debenhams. they're big on her and they fit me perfectly!

which reminds me, ehem, theonoski. when are we going shoe shopping for your favorite tuloy volunteer/lingkod sister/lawyer (kasi ako lang yung sa whole wide world hahahaha!)?

february

*inspired by Imperfect.

where's the hidden mickey?

in my bathroom apparently.

as i was brushing my teeth yesterday morning, something walked across my foot. it was to heavy to either be a cockroach or a lizard so it was with extreme dread that i turned my head over to the side because i knew what i would see.

a mouse.

and if there's one thing i hate more than frogs, its mice. and rats. ew. ew. ew.

needless to say, i screamed my head off, which wasn't really helpful there being no other living soul inside my house (except mickey, i suppose). the thing scampered inside the bathroom and i scampered to my bedroom where i cowered as i got dressed. i then locked the door to the room and left the bathroom door open. to my (deranged and zombified) mind, the mouse could go anywhere -- like the living room, or the dining room, or the kitchen, or the laundry room (the room formerly known as the maid's room) as long as it would leave the bathroom and stay out of my room.

my officemates said, hey, why don't you get a mouse trap, but i didn't want to go do that cause, well, that would mean i'd have to clean it up after it gets stuck to the mouse trap. and i'd have to see it. and while i'm as "cowboy" and as boyish as they come, mouse clean up isn't one thing i can do very well. my plan of action was to pray, wish for that stray cat to come back to my house, and for the mouse to meet an untimely death one of these days, preferably outside.

however, no matter how strongly i believed in the power of prayer, i knew i would have to take precautions upon entering the house. so, i grabbed my foil (that sword you use when you fence) which was stuck inside the umbrella stand near the front door, and poked the stuff that could be mickey's hiding place inside my bathroom -- the trash can, the basket with the cleaning supplies, behind the pail, and the basket with the toiletries. and when the coast was clear, i resolutely closed the door and prayed mickey was out playing somewhere i'd never set my eyes on.

(i think he's inside the laundry/maid's room now. i heard a bit of scampering in there when i got my laundry -- and yes, i screamed once more and shut the door even more resolutely than i did the bathroom door. he's probably feasting on the bazillions of law school readings i didn't have the heart to throw out previously which, one of these days, i'll get rid of in the interest of making the room less mickey friendly. one of these days, mickey, you too shall die!!!)

in the wake of mickey's invasion, i cleaned my bathroom like i had never cleaned it before, removing every bit of hidden space that mickey might fight enjoyable in the future. it was way past my bedtime when i finally stumbled out of the (sparkling) bathroom. but i don't care. there's no hidden mickey in my tiny sanctuaryand there's no way i'm going to allow him entry ever again.

laundry room, you are next. (of course, with foil in hand still. not like i could stab mickey with it -- or that i'd even want to -- but it helps to feel armed when it comes to these things. forget the fact that i may be a thousand times bigger than mickey. i've got fear on my side, and that's always the best way to lose a battle. even a battle with a mouse.)