Reflections You Need Not Concern Yourself With (But I’m Sharing With You Anyway)

I hope that halaya doesn’t take offense that I’m more of a flan person.It’s nothing personal really. Unless you consider preferences personal. Oh wait, they are.

Image source: http://flavoursofiloilo.blogspot.com

You know those times when you feel like everything is unreal and that you are being taped, and you can almost hear the canned audience laughter? No? I’m pretty sure my life is a hilarious sitcom. Too bad I don’t star in it. If my life is a series then I’m Ted Mosby’s red telephone booth.

Image source: http://how-i-met-your-mother.wikia.com

There are weekends when you’re too broke to go out or too tired to dress up or just generally not in the mood to be with people. That’s when you’re confronted by the lifelong question, why are you alone? So then you try to fix your closet and rearrange your room in the hopes to lose the ill thoughts. Then as you lie in your bed tired from the unexpected clean-up, there it creeps again: you are alone while everybody else, couples that is, are dry humping on the dance floor, cuddling or snuggling in bed. But do not give in to despair for in today’s world there are ways to make you feel less alone. All you have to do is go online, order a cheeseburger meal from McDonald’s and a caramel sundae. Because at this day and age, no one is ever truly alone as long as there’s McDonald’s delivery. Don’t forget to tip the delivery guy. He knows where you live.

If you know me in real life or you’ve been reading this blog for some time, you pretty much have an idea now that my middle name is Awkward. Seriously. It’s like if awkwardness is an Olympic sport, I’d be decorated with medals now. And one of the best places to be awkward is on elevators, especially when there’s another person trapped with you for a couple of seconds. Sometimes I know that I’m just oozing with awkwardness that it either flatters or freaks the other person. I tolerate and forgive those who freak out. Very understandable given my unsure way of standing and/or leaning on the wall and my nervous finger hovering at the emergency button while furtively stealing glances at the other passenger. But to those who are feeling flattered, perhaps thinking I am about to ask for their number, well, don’t flatter yourself too much. I am naturally awkward irrespective of places and people. Nope, nothing special about you. By the way, can anyone tell me what happened to elevator music?

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Friends?

Dear blog,

I miss you so much.
I know I haven’t written here for a while, and I’m so sorry.
I will soon, I promise.

Forgive me?
Jobet

PS. You’re the greatest thing to happen to me since ice cream-topped pizza.

Image source: sidschwab.blogspot.com

Totally Beaching

Boracay Sand

Let’s clarify this once and for all, you don’t swim in the beach. You go to the beach and swim in the sea. According to Merriam-Webster, a beach is a shore of a body of water covered by sand, gravel, or larger rock fragments. But seriously, if you do swim in the sand or on gravel, then who am I or Merriam-Webster for that matter, to contradict that.

It’s summer again and the sweltering heat is driving hordes of people to the beach. What I wouldn’t give right now for a dip in the pristine blue sea even if it’s under the cancer-inducing glare of the sun. It’s this time of the year that I would love, love, love, love be in Maripipi right now, the island paradise where I grew up in.

 

 

 

 

Maripipi Island Photo source: greenxplanet.blogspot.com

When I was a kid, my mother would forbid us to swim if unaccompanied by adults. She was terrified of the thought of us drowning. Also, she does not want me to spend so much time in the sea because I was pretty dark skinned when I was little. If you’re not a cute kid, the least you can do is at least not be too dark, lest you be teased mercilessly or worse, be pitied. Anyway, it was really hard to follow my Mom’s orders because we live just a few steps away from the sea. So during summer, as soon as school is out, my childhood friends and I would be frolicking in the sea. That was how I learned to swim. If you’re an islander, no one teaches you how to swim. You just do. It’s part of your instinct. Now I don’t swim gracefully as a mermaid or a member of a synchronized swim team but I am a pretty decent swimmer.

 

 

Photo source: myspace.com

 

When I was in high school, the allure of the sea has faded just as I became more conscious of my complexion. I would only swim if I’m attending a beach party or in certain occasions like San Juan (Saint John’s Feast Day), Easter Sunday, et cetera. Then in college, I came here to the city and grew farther away from the sea. I would come home on semestral breaks and christmas vacation but was no longer interested in spending time in the sea. Although, nothing beats the sound of the waves at night to lull you to sleep.

 

 

 

Puerto Galera

Boracay

 

beach buddies

 

Now that I’m already a member of the labor force, meaning I only get a limited amount of time for vacation, I realize how much I miss the sea. Truly, you don’t appreciate what you have until it’s gone. I miss how carefree you can be among the waves. I miss rubbing the salt crystals that have formed in the skin when the sun has dried the sea water. I miss waiting for the tide to rise because no one likes swimming in low tide, at least not back home. I miss home.

 

 

Pictures Of The Drama Queen

I’m sorry

Photo source: likenooneslistening.buzznet.com

 

I was not really tired. In fact, I haven’t been doing much recently. You could say

Photo source: 0ketchup-freak0.deviantart.com

 

Except that I still have tons of drafts in need of serious editing. It’s just that I’m

Photo source: benziboxstudios.com

 

Probably caught up in a

Photo source: sundayboyfriend.blogspot.com

 

Kind of

Photo source: lacot.org

 

It’s not exactly

Photo source: barbaraleung.com

 

I will myself to think of

Photo source: 20px.com

 

Hmm. So

Photo source: bajiroo.com

 

I promise

Photo source: littlemomentsofbliss.blogspot.com

 

 

 

PS. For Edzen. Baks, hang on. That, too, shall pass. xoxo

Random Friday List

1. Internet connection at home is back, hence, order has been restored.

2. The boyfriend and I are having a kickass Friday, except I don’t have a boyfriend and I’m stuck at the office.

Photo courtesy of juanrepublic.tumblr.com

3. Kris Aquino is a famewhore, has a victim complex and thinks she’s all that. Wait, did I just describe myself? Seriously, her problems are not a national issue. Let’s get back to the most pressing ones and get them addressed. Hello, Sabah, Kristel Tejada, national elections?

4. I’ve noticed an increase of homeless people on my daily route from work to the train station. Most of them are kids, which just makes it all the more depressing.

5. Chinua Achebe died today. I have yet to read Things Fall Apart but I have loved No Longer At Ease, mainly because the protagonist is an anti-hero. He never got a Nobel Prize but he’s one of the greatest people who ever walked on earth, I think.

Photo courtesy of tumblr.themostinterestingmanintheworld.create

6. I’ve always looked down on office relationships but I wouldn’t mind a love story such as Chinua’s and his wife’s, which started when they were colleagues.

7. There’s this guy I have a huge crush on and I told him that we’re not friends because, as a rule, I don’t do friends. Y’know what I mean? It’s been, what, seven years, and we’re still friends with no benefits whatsoever. Yes, this is how miserable my life is.

Photo courtesy of troll.me

8. People think that I have high standards for a guy. I don’t know how they came up with that. My glasses? My baggy pants? The only thing I require from a man is for him to genuinely like me. I wish this was a joke.

9. No matter what you say, the songs from the 90s and early 2000s are the ones I’ll never get tired listening to.

Photo courtesy of pizzaliciousblog.blogspot.com

10. No one comes between me and pizza. And I mean, no one. But if you’re a hot bald guy, I’ll let you take a bite.

Key Takeaways of Coffee-flavored Early Morning Conversations

1. We tend to romanticize turning 30 (or 40 or 50 and so on). It is not bad. It is, in fact, inspiring and gives you the chance to know more about yourself and what you want in life.

Photo courtesy of someecards.com

2. We get overwhelmed with so-called friends. It is okay to cut ties with people we don’t really care about. Instead, value our true friends and spend time with them.

3. One of life’s biggest tragedies is losing the sense of irony.

4. It is the truth that there are no awkward silences between friends, only comfortable ones.

Photo courtesy of tumblr.com/tagged/comfortablesilence

5. If you choose to see it as being stuck in a routine, then you get stuck, but you can also see it as a new story every day and savor the now.

6. That friend who’s truly special because you haven’t seen him in years but when you meet again, you talk and laugh like you’ve been doing so every day in the last four years.

7. Coffee shops late at night and into the wee hours of the morning transform into a library that caters mostly to med and law students who can afford gallons of lattes.

Photo courtesy of readbreatherelax.com

8. Some people are more creative and full of beautiful ideas when they are in pain.

9. At times, it sucks being single but it rocks having fab friends. Also, a wise man (Yayo) once said, sleep is the new sex.

10. Lists don’t have to be ten items. Otherwise, grocery lists would look pitiful.

Photo courtesy of marriedtothesea.com

Things To Be Grateful For

Films

Photo courtesy of dawn.com

Sand and the Sea

Photo courtesy of brichnculture.com

Trees

Photo courtesy of hiren.info

Music

Photo courtesy of fanpop.com

Love

Photo courtesy of masterpiece-beth.com

Cake

Photo courtesy of en.wikipedia.org

Shower

Photo courtesy of grohe.com

Sunrise

Photo courtesy of photography.about.com

Books

Photo courtesy of sexysocialmedia.com

Fresh Sheets

Photo courtesy of http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com

Brain B.C.

Darn, I won’t be able to finish this test. Why am I still on the first page? What do I write on the name line? There’s something wrong with my pencil. Can I get a new one? That evil woman is giving me the eye. What in hell is that sound? Does it mean the test is over? I barely answered five items.

Oh, good, it’s the alarm. Why is it dark outside? Am I late? I have to get up now or there’ll be hell to pay. I have to check my messages. What the hell are these people talking about? I’ll just read them again when I get back home. Why does my towel have frayed edges? I bought these like four months ago. Maybe I shouldn’t use this more often. And I have to remember the deo. Did I remember to put my watch back on the bag?

I’ll leave the sheets as is, the bears are sleeping anyway. Why is it dark here on the stairs? I could just easily trip and break my spine. Someday these stairs are gonna kill me because no one bothers to put on lights. Stir fry veggies. Oh yes, I asked for that this morning. Not liking the smell of that one. Need coffee now. No, couch first.

16% battery? Tablet, you’ve been busy while I was asleep? Hmm. I can stay on this couch until my grandchildren’s grandchildren unearth me with the tablet and put me in a museum. I’ll be the archaeological discovery of their time.

These people act like nothing happened when Hugo Chavez is dead. We’re running out of revolutionaries. When I get out of this couch and have coffee, I’ll be a reformist. I have to eat now or I’d really be late. When Fidel Castro dies, I’l wear black for a week and swear off McDonalds for a year. Then maybe move to Cuba.

Mmm, these are good. Hot! Hot! Now my tongue is totally awake. I want coffee after this meal. I have to put the kettle on now. Should I have a second helping? Those kids outside surely make a riot. No respect for Hugo Chavez at all.

Damn that kettle is gonna give me a heart attack. Where’s my mug? Did someone use my mug? Bastards. I love this coffee, I should marry this. Ooohh, the world is alright now. The world is gonna mourn for you, Hugo Chavez. This mug feels so right in my hands. Oh, this is my favorite.

Oh I have half an hour to kill.

B.C. – Before Caffeine

Green Tea Break

 

The blogger is currently taking a break. Meanwhile, you can browse through old posts. You may also comment on them. She would appreciate your feedback. Plus, it does wonders to her self-esteem.

Also, on this post, you may comment on how you take a breather. Be it a 5 minute break, a 5-day beach vacation or a half-a-year hiatus. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Trainrides will be back once she’s done with her cup.

 

Little Reminders

1. Do not underestimate peanuts, especially when you’re starving.

2. The level of your boredom is directly proportional to the number of times you open the fridge, regardless of its contents.

3. The stupid shows you watch on TV will be intolerable when you’re sad but you would watch them anyway.

4. Perfect the arguments in your head before the actual confrontation. If the other party does not go according to your script, hit them on the head or kiss them passionately, whichever is more convenient and applicable.

5. Do not give up arguments by saying whatever or variations of the word thereof. It is lame and makes your stand wrong.

6. Tell the stars your secrets, they’ll never betray you.

7. Have fun with your friends as much as you can. You never know for how long they can tolerate you.

8. The world we live in, as they say, is just a reflection of you. You choose how to see and live it.

9. Tears are good and make you feel better, so does chocolates and alcohol and shopping.

10. Love is a choice just like what you’re having for lunch or what you’re gonna wear on Friday night. The only difference is love will hold you tight on the coldest of nights when the stars are lethargic and hiding beneath the clouds.