I'm Going to Play. Don't Talk to Me Ever Again.

Just when I thought I'm already done with video games, I find myself attacked by this:

Yes, I have fallen back into that sinkhole.

Waiting

I can't keep a job for more than 3 years and I do not know if that is a good or bad thing. Hopping from one job to another in a small amount of time does not leave a good impression to most employers here. But my career has plateaued. If I am no longer growing and not getting any closer to my career goals, then it's love, peace, and chicken grease.

I told Jan I am quitting my job that has become tedious and repetitive. I probably might be jobless for a year, too. And he's okay with it. But that doesn't mean I will be entering the noble but cumbersome world of housewifery. I detest household chores and I can never be good at cooking. And no, I won't be practicing the art of idleness as I would have always wanted (this quarantine has definitely gotten me lazy being lazy). I am going to be a hands on mom to two adorable boys and a blue-eyed furball who has not succeeded in killing me yet. I will also master a new programming language in between.

How My Weekends Go During Quarantine

Welcome to my new normal.

7:00 am. As much as I want to sleep in during weekend, my body refuses to wake up at the alarm that is set at 8. I automatically open Facebook and aimlessly scroll through the posts. As it inevitably explodes with posts from political analyst wannabes, I am starting to think that the outdoors I avoided like plague isn't all that bad. I suddenly miss driving though the traffic and mentally cursing idiots on the road, crowded malls, and long queues in public comfort rooms.

Where Have All My Biscuits Gone?

It's been what? day 14? 15? of community quarantine and at this point, even those who are so used to staying at home or maybe even the introverts who have been trained for this their entire life already feel uneasy. I thought the quarantine would be no different for me, but honestly, it is.

First, my all-expense paid trip to Vietnam was cancelled. Second, I just had a haircut and I will never get the chance to show off my Dora the Explorer fringe in public. So before this gets long enough for me to cut again, I'll share this now while I still don't look like Spock.

Of COVID-19, Social Distancing, and Getting Hospitalized

We are taking the COVID-19 outbreak seriously and as good citizens, we are practicing social distancing. I think of all the rules implemented in our city, this is the one that I took in well without a single bit of complaint. I've been working from home since 2016, social distancing is nothing new to me.

So with almost everyone opting to stay indoors, what did people get? Our neighbors got a lot of time and have been singing their hearts out as early as 7 o'clock in the morning every single day; some planted flowers that's probably going to die in a few weeks, but at least they tried; some discovered unexplored areas of their homes and did chores they have never done before; others learned pretty useless things like juggling, solving the Rubik's cube, or memorizing the Periodic Table of Elements; while I got hives!

Something Fishy

I never really liked fishes as pet. They are high maintenance, boring, and incapable of human interaction (duh). Not to mention, I can barely keep one alive for more than three days. But here I am, mindlessly watching our fishes swim for hours.

These were actually my uncle's gift for Rhett. But I was the one who got too excited to decorate the aquarium. After coming home from Gen San with our new fishes and live aquatic plants in tow, we immediately bought a 14-gallon fish tank, accessories, and dechlorinator. And voila! A new stress reliever.

We got swordtails, angelfish, and guppies. That's about everything I know for now. But I'm browsing the internet for care sheets because I don't want to see one go belly up too soon.

Whitening

I couldn’t think of a better title but after posting my skincare routine, I was asked to try a line of whitening products in exchange for a promotion or a review. I politely declined. For the record, I have nothing against whitening products and people who want to whiten their skin. Do whatever makes you happy.

As for me, I've already seen myself in my ghostly form. All thanks to my mom's phone that seem to shoot photos with a hundred layers of filters on by default.

But nah.

I still prefer my brown skin color over white for 2 reasons:

Makakapunta Ako sa Europa Dahil Dito

I am getting addicted to boots.

I find this funny, ridiculous, and stupid because I am living in a hot, humid, tropical country where boots are an abomination. And I got 3 pairs!

But before you raise an eyebrow on me for having 3 freakin' pairs that is more useless than a white crayon, let me tell you how it started.

I bought my first pair because I needed one for a Farm-themed party.

I got these ankle boots on sale for P899 (from P1,899). To save this from becoming a single-wear item like how most boots tend to be, I used this in my travels to Taiwan and Japan. It is not as comfy as any of my sneakers (duh), but it does not hurt my feet and that is important. It does well in long walks. The only thing that makes me want to take it off is the annoying tapping sound it makes everytime I walk.

When You Got Bangs Like Dora

I just wish I have the makeup artist skills so I can transform my face into something better and more tolerable to look at every time I get fed up with my face that's as bland as the miso soup I made so I can leave my hair alone. Because, well, haircuts cannot be undone.

You know how I get perpetually bored with my looks that I would cut my hair on my own from time to time.

So, I'm On the News

The last time my name was printed on a local newspaper was in high school (about 16 years ago) when my football team won against a college team and the two scorers' names were mentioned. That was a huge deal back then.

Right now, where the generation is more fragile than a snowflake, the least you would want is attention from people you do not know. This blog has gone viral once. With at least 27,000 shares, the post has gotten at least a hundred thousand hits per day. And even with it being a considerably good read, I've received grave threats more than once.

I'm So Packing Excited

We still have a little more than three weeks before our next out-of-the-country trip and I've already packed. Excited? Yes! And that is an understatement. In fact, I am too excited that I almost forgot I'm in the middle of wedding preparations that I left everything on pause since we got our visas approved. Hashtag that, priorities. Duh.

Packing semi-winter clothes for a first day of spring trip.

Just so you know, I used to pack a day or two before the trip. I took pride of my light packing skills. I can fit everything I need for a 4-day trip in a small backpack. But now? I have to ask Jan to get us a check-in baggage because all my clothes won't fit in a medium-sized luggage.

Yes, I have unfortunately gone to the dark side.

I Fits Again

Jan and I went shopping for down jackets at Uniqlo yesterday. We were quite pleased that they got almost everything on sale.

He scored an ultralight down jacket for only P1,990. Not bad, I must say. And he was quick to shop. Unlike me, I was torn between colors that it took me quite some time to choose. Picture this, if we were in the battlefield, Jan already got his target acquired with a sniper and his finger on the trigger. I, on the other hand, will be killed before I even got to choose what weapon to use (mind you, by standards, I shop faster than 90% of girls).

Monday Blues, Friday Night Blog

I took a day off from work last Monday so I could dedicate my day for the visa and wedding preparations. What I planned was to get my PSA birth certificate (BC) in the morning and meet with our coordinator and photographer in the afternoon.

Three of my friends told me it only took them two to three hours to get their certificates at PSA. So I took the shot of getting the BC myself since it's also the cheapest way. I only had three things on my to-do list, I figured I can still do some shopping for crafting materials since I have the entire day for myself.

What a Weekend!

I got hives and the itch is really killing me. But I'd take the hives any day than spend 15 minutes in Facebook where my blood pressure can shoot up to an alarming level from all those political posts on my feed today.

But before the hypertension turns into brain cancer because I can't seem to get myself off Facebook, I'll share with you the weekend that has really been crazy.

I was invited to a La Germania roadshow last Saturday and in the middle of our activity, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake shook our city. The event had to be discontinued and we were all asked to evacuate the mall.

Hair We Go Again

Hello everyone! I haven’t updated in two weeks, which is not very like me. I've attempted to write sensible and relevant entries twice and on both times, I didn't get to hit the Publish button. None of it was good enough. I try to balance my entries between relevant and nonsensical write ups. But I'm on a writing slump.

So maybe today, I'll just talk about my short hair because blogging about things that do not help the society in any way sure as hell beats scrolling down Facebook aimlessly for hours (I'll leave Facebook one day and move to Reddit, I promise).

I was born with a naturally straight, super fine, no volume hair. And for three years, I've been cutting my own hair because it didn't matter if I looked shaggy or not. Sometimes, I wish I had that grunge hair or I can pull off that messy bun. But my hair simply just untangles and tames itself before I could even say "comb".

I never really had a bad hair day until I saw this:

Smart Casual on a Budget

This entry was supposed to be for the color run I was too excited about, but that didn't happen. And that's not even the worst part yet. There was a bit of lashing from disappointed and frustrated participants and we, the bloggers who promoted the event, were somehow caught in the crossfire. I would have loved to talk shit about it since my pre-event post has convinced a fair few people to join. But as a courtesy, I'm keeping my mouth shut until the organizer issues a public official statement - to which as of this writing is still zero, zilch, zip, nada!

This is why I preferred keeping this blog clean from sponsors and ads. Somehow I took the bait and now I feel a little pressured to consistently update this blog with POSITIVE content. I definitely miss those times when I had tons of shit to say without feeling a single ounce of guilt or worry. But right now, that's not going to happen.

Of Birthdays and Attention Whoring

It's my birthday and I plan on not doing anything today. Blogging is not even on today's agenda but I feel a dire need to share this because I have never looked this good.

This app is crazy.

But of course, you know what's really underneath the filter.

Back then, I thought duck faces were the worst thing that could ever happen on the internet, until the dog filters got out of hand. If I ever I saw you on the internet with a cat or puppy ears, you were automatically sorted into Class B Attention Whore category (Class A is for those who show boobies captioned with deep, irrelevant quotes).

I Fits

"Miss, may bigger size kayo nito?"

"Ilang taon po ang susuot, maam?"

"10."

I lied.

It's Corny but Hell Yeah

One thing I hate about driving is getting through traffic. So I rely on music to stretch my patience and keep my cool. Right now, if there's one thing I get excited about driving, it's going to be this:
 

90s boy bands on my playlist FTW!

I'm afraid the regulars that have been on my playlist since forever  - you know, Queen, Keane, Air Supply, Mr. Big, Better Than Ezra, Blind Melon, Gin Blossoms, Tonic, even Jack Johnson, and all other bands that are "cool" ('cause I'm pa-cool like that) - will have to take the backseat until I get over this recurring jologs phase. And I say that with no shame. But until then, Jan will have to survive the torment of being ear-raped every time my jams come on. Haha!

I Love Math

My 3rd year high school Math teacher forced me to join our school's Math Olympics for two reasons:

1. I detest Math and/because I'm bad at it.
2. And he knows it.

Right after the competition, when I went up the stage, the faculty head who pinned the gold medal on me uttered, "Congratulations, future Engineer!"