i keep coming back to manila

how cool is this?



your photo frame just turned high-tech! in this age of digital photography, they decided to invent a photo frame that displays all your favorite digital pictures slide-show style! think of it as a screen-saver on your photo frame....it's almost like having your laptop morph into a photo frame!

i discovered this item from linens n' things' flyer. its original price is supposedly $199.00, but they're selling it for half that price right now. it only needs your memory card attached at the back and then you can have it running your favorite photos on its own! it's a perfect center piece for special occasions too....like reunions, weddings and milestone birthdays.

check out the more specific details of this product:

Showcase all of your digital photos in bright, vivid colors. Set up a slide show and play directly from a memory card. The frame is light, portable and easy to use. A great companion for your digital camera and is an excellent way to show off your pictures to friends and family. Just pop in the memory card from your digital camera and your ready to show off all of your precious memories.

Features

* Bright 5.6" Active Color Screen
* Auto Start Slide show function
* Supports Photos up to 12M pixels
* Includes AC Adapter and Quick Start Guide
* No Computer Required, plays directly from memory cards
* Brilliant Color Display with adjustable contrast and brightness
* Automatic Slide show, Full-Screen Browse, and Thumbnail Browse Display modes
* Compatible with major memory cards (CF/SD/MD/MMC and MemoryStick)
* Model: NV-560

perfect for digital photography enthusiasts! (such as myself :P)

The Power of Pink takes to the streets with your favorite running shoes.

The Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization is
celebrating Mother's Day with fund-raising walkathons
around the nation for a worthy cause. One of the
locations for this event is the Grant Park in Chicago,
where my dear cousin Robyn Besana will be
participating. Her race club is called "Walking for
Fun Club" which her mom formed in tribute to her
sister who died from breast cancer.

I have contributed to Robyn's team by donating online
through this link:
http://main.y-me.org/site/TR?px=1541575&pg=personal&fr_id=1120

My support is not only because she's a relative, but
because I know someone dear who is a breast cancer
survivor.

Please support my cousin Robyn's team by donating any
amount via the link above. Any amount will be greatly
appreciated. The website accepts major credit cards
and your generous donation will be tax deductible (A
printable receipt will be provided at the end).

Thank you in advance for your support! :)

of course, just like most of them, he's MARRIED.

i found that out tonight. somehow, i'm not surprised. but i am a little broken-hearted. hehe.

i think i need chocolate.

 

i bring chocolates to fill the candy bowl at work because i know this person likes chocolates, under the context of being generally generous to everyone who might want to satisfy a sugar craving.

if the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach, then mine is a weapon of mass diabetes. hehe.

i have a feeling he won't be eating those easter egg chocolates, though, because he's jewish.

oy vey...

one of the questions that i disdain being asked is, "do you have a boyfriend?"

what i hate even more is when the querent follows it up with "i know someone i'd like you to meet..." or "i have a single brother...he's really mabait!"

i know these people are trying to be philanthropists in the field of cupidology, but i think they should just mind their own business. i was confronted with this situation again tonight and i responded to the question by laughing out loud and stating, "i'm not interested."

then this family friend uttered a speculative comment, "you prefer whites, don't you?" when he thought i wasn't interested in being set up with a filipino prospect.

he doesn't understand that i'm not interested with the concept of being set up with random guys, or more specifically being selected as a guinea pig for an experiment of pairing up people who went to the same university.

bottom line: just mind your own business. "help" someone else, okay?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

today was a beautiful, sunny day. it was so nice outside that people were in t-shirts and in shorts and walking their dogs at the lake nearby. it felt like summer!

this gorgeous weather (which is unusual in the month of march) inspired me to actually clean up my ancient, borrowed car. i believe the last time it experienced a thorough vacuuming was more than a year ago. i was able to throw out other ancient stuff from the nooks and crannies inside the car, like receipts dating back to 2003. my efforts were rewarded with finding my long-lost personalized parker pen given by a good friend and sorority sister...there it was, stuck at the side of the front passenger seat. the car was also treated to a bath, personally given by me.

i bet if that car could talk, it would yell at me..."it's about time!"

P.S. my arm sling has been removed last week, but my shoulder still hurts.

it's another season of american idol and another filipino has made it to the final 24....jose "sway" penala from california.



being patriotic the way i was when i hooted and hollered for manny pacquiao not too long ago, i eagerly voted for the pinoy contestant via text messaging. i had voted three times for him, to be exact.

my girly, girly heart twirled and did cartwheels for this other guy, though...ace young. wavy, brown hair...dreamy eyes that make you melt, enchanting smile....as simon cowell put it, he's got the "X" factor. he's a pretty boy. pretty enough to be the fifth backstreet boy.



he sang george michael's "father figure" oh so coolly. and that look on his face as he ended his song? makes you want to call him "daddy." hehehe.

pardon my hormones. i have a weakness for pretty boys. problem is, they end up being "prettier" than me....if you know what i mean. :P

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i can write and type with my right hand now...but my shoulder still hurts. no huge arm movements for me still.    

it's midnight...do you know where your two daughters are?

at the third shoprite location hunting for the elusive limited edition hershey's kisses with cherry cordial creme.

the previous two shoprite branches my sister and i went to were disposing of their clearance valentine candies just like the last one, and the said chocolates were nowhere in sight.

"they just don't exist anymore," i told my frustrated sister. i have never seen nor tried that flavor of hershey's kisses. but seeing how determined my sister was in finding that dark pink-colored chocolate, i was convinced it must taste really good. after this third attempt, we finally gave up.

"you should have tried one, it tastes like heaven! everybody at work loved it!",  she gushed.

they were able to sample this hershey treat when someone at work handed them out randomly to everyone.



how desperate is my sister? she wants to go to hershey park in pennsylvania just to be able to buy those chocolates. i suggested maybe target may have it, or costco. a friend of hers found those chocolates for sale in ebay.

i'm happy that my chocolate obsession is not as problematic, because cadbury's chocolate mini eggs are on the store shelves again this time of the year. five dollars for a huge bag, though. hehe. talk about splurging on sugar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i survived a week at work wearing my arm sling without endangering my shoulder. i only have one more week of having to bear with this contraption, then i'm supposed to undergo therapy.

my computer crashed recently, so all of my precious digicam photos are gone. i have been putting off the task of transferring them to archive CDs--and now it's too late. stupid virus.    

friends, i had a freak accident early this morning when i woke up to feed our cat.

i fell down the stairs and dislocated my right shoulder. i'm right-handed, by the way.

"ouch" is a mild word for that.

i was rushed to the ER at the shriek of dawn...well, not rushed but carefully driven because the slightest road bump is absolutely painful to my disfigured arm. thank god i have a nurse for a mom who used a scarf as an improvized sling.

the doctor pulled my arm back into place. not a fun experience. now i'm wearing an arm sling which i will probably wear for 4 weeks. i'm forced to use my left hand now, which is quite a challenge. writing with it makes me feel like a toddler just beginning to learn how to write.

so kids, don't try this at home. always be careful when using the stairs, especially when it's wooden and you only have socks on.

i'm being hit on by the produce guy at our local shoprite.

and wait, let me clarify things here--he's not just some produce guy...he's the produce section supervisor. or something to that effect.

i am not imagining things. i hardly get this sort of attention from the male species. when i do, which is rare, something's weird about the guy. usually.

he popped out of nowhere while my grandparents and i were debating over the bananas to ask me if we were filipinos. at that point, i still considered it random stranger chitchat. but then my grandparents somehow insinuated that i was SINGLE, and then in a span of five minutes, he informs me about his name (pedro), his ethnic origin (ecuador), his summer hobby (painting) and his work schedule ("i work here until 3:30 PM"). and it wasn't just a handshake my hand dealt with, but his other hand on top of mine in the still-interlocked handshake. i was polite throughout the whole encounter, though, and made a mental note not to shop there again before 3:30 PM.

two months later, or specifically about two days ago, i accompanied my grandparents to some grocery-shopping at the same store. i was fully aware that since it was before 3:30 PM at the time, there was a great possibility i'd bump into el ecuadorian vegetable man. and just as i had feared, he sprouted out of nowhere like a garden of shiitake mushrooms to greet me and my grandparents. he also pointed out that the last time he "saw" me was about two months ago. what sharp memory. i secretly commend myself for avoiding him for that long, though. a friend commented that he's got stalker potential.

but i guess some vegetable necessities would inevitably call for daytime trips to shoprite. as long as he keeps his bananas in his pajamas...hehe.

twas the night before my birthday, and all through my nose, all the mucus was stirring, dripping like a hose!!!

thank god it's labor day weekend!

we're driving to chicago tomorrow at midnight, so technically that's saturday morning. the 12-hour trip should take us there by saturday around noon. i'm sure it's going to be a field day for gastronomical delights (read: gluttonous opportunities) the whole time that we're there--eating, drinking and generally being merry with relatives.

i should be packing my weekender bag right now.

meanwhile, i got this elegant-looking legolas tapestry throw which was conveniently on sale at hot topic (seven bucks! gotta love the clearance aisle). ah, the intimacy we will share in bed when the autumn breeze creeps in...hehe.

have a great labor day weekend, everyone...i shall return from the windy city on tuesday. :)

made some spaghetti at midnight. i put mushrooms on it, and lots of cheese.

had a bowlful at 2AM.

somewhere in texas, i cheered someone up via USPS...a sincere "thank you" was all i needed.

now i have to go to bed.

i hate cars who don't yield to pedestrians....especially if the pedestrian is me.

the other day i was trying to cross our main street's pedestrian lane. i was stuck in the middle for a short while because three cars whizzed by me without affording me a chance to fully walk across the other side of the road. because i was already in the middle, that means i have the right of way. but then again, i only have my limbs....they have four wheels running at 40 miles per hour.

"fantastic four" didn't turn out to be as fantastic as i had expected. it seemed to me like one long tv commercial instead of a full-length movie. and the script left much to be desired. of course, they had to end it conveniently as to beg for a sequel. is it just me or does the human torch look like a younger clone of tom cruise?

on to my next review (which i'm more excited about)...the movie based on the DC/Vertigo comicbook "hellblazer"--"constantine." [SPOILER ALERT!]



keanu reeves plays john constantine: a chain-smoking, reluctant exorcist with a devil-may-care (pun intended) attitude about his soul's final destination (although he's working on earning his ticket to heaven by "deporting" demons to their fiery territory). he is your unfriendly, renegade ambassador for other-wordly affairs, with a crucifix-shaped shotgun to blast the "half-breeds" back to hell for abusing their earthly visas. his is a gift which burdens him more as a curse. he is the supernatural sheriff in a suit and tie. mr. anderson's other night job.

highlights of the film include constantine's first exorcism task involving a girl possessed by a tagalog-speaking demon, as well as his time-stopping method of "crossing over" to hell. speaking of "crossing over", bush's (the rock band, not the president) gavin rossdale stars as satan's elegantly dressed peddler of evil desires, balthazar.


"keanuuuuu...papaaa! papatayin kitaaa!"

the scene where constantine blows up a room full of half-breed demons reminded me a lot of the video game "silent hill", which elicited a silent "woohooo!" from within me. hehe.


"dude, aren't you the guy from matrix?"
"hey, aren't you the lead singer for bush?"

the comicbook reveals that constantine actually hails from liverpool, and is a guy with blonde hair. at least they got the chain-smoking part right.

rachel weisz plays the devout catholic detective angela dodson who ends up as the unwitting, damned bride of satan. the death of her twin sister leads her to cross paths with constantine.

nightmarish special effects and cool demon-vanquishing gadgets apart from your usual holy water and crucifix. "dragon's breath" blow torch? hell yeah! a lot of people may think keanu's not the best actor in the world, but "constantine" rocks enough for me to want to own it on DVD.

the friendliest, nicest barista i've ever met works at the coffee beanery at our mall. you won't miss him, he's the skinny guy who speaks with this accent that makes you wonder if he's irish or australian. maybe it's because i consider it a sort of novelty to my ears to hear an accent like that other than the usual american variety or the occasional spanish chatter.

i decided to get my frap fix from him today because the starbucks stall had a line. yesterday was starbucks' green tea frappuccino day, today it was going to be coffee beanery. and it was going to be that thing that is on the poster so i don't have to stand in front of the counter taking too much of my time deciding which drink i wanted.

when he saw me approaching his counter, he straightened up and readily smiled at me with a cheery "hi, how are ye?"

me: "hi! i'm hungry and thirsty so i will have a (stares at the poster, even though i've had this drink before) black and white..."
barista: "frappalatte?"
me: "...frappalatte...the tall size please."
barista: "okay...(starts to prepare my drink) i have one more bagel here, would ye like to have one since ye say yer hungry?"
me: "oh no thanks, i'm going to have something else."

after a few more pleasantries and insistent queries about whether i wanted whipped cream on my frap, i finally asked him, "what is your accent?"

barista: "it's lebanese", he says proudly. "people think i'm irish but i'm pure lebanese."
me: (purely shocked)"ohhh, i thought you were australian, or irish. i know someone who's half-lebanese but she doesn't speak like you at all."
barista: "well maybe because she's half-lebanese that's why she doesn't sound like me."
me: "well, thanks for telling me." and i smile at him.
barista: "have a nice day."

and i hastily stuffed my change in my pocket, forgetting to put a dollar on his tip mug as i had originally intended.

folks, say it with me now...

"the sleet in crete falls neatly on the street."

hehe. saw this odd sentence while my attention wandered off to this cartoon about imaginary monsters at the mall.

useless entry, i know. but i didn't want to bore you with long, protracted narratives.

ha! i was starting to think these buzznet journals were only for certain special buzznet people with clout or were somehow closely knit with the powers-that-be at buzznet, because i couldn't find a link in my page that would allow me to post a journal entry!

now i see that it's become available to the masses....at last. not that i don't have a blog yet. just that i've been curious with the whole buzznet journal thing.