Sofia Daniella

I spent the better part of my afternoon watching over my godchild Iya. She's turning five years old this March, and she's growing up to be a very precocious little girl. She's at that age where her favorite word is "Why?" and I see much of myself in her. She showed off her writing and spelling skills by writing down her full name, Sofia Daniella. She spit out spicy spaghetti, proving that children will only eat sweet spaghetti, and preferred to munch on chicharon instead. She danced around our living room, smelling the flowers, peering at our lamp, messing up all the pillows on the couch.

I finally got to wind her down by sitting down with her and watching "The Little Mermaid" on Disney channel, and it was fun. It was a little tiring to go up and down our stairs with her though (our house isn't very child-friendly, with so many breakables and a slightly steep flight of stairs).

I love hanging out with children because when my brother and sister were born, I was just a child myself. Now, we're all grown up and our ages have caught up with each other. Hanging out with my nieces and nephews always makes me feel like a kid again, and yesterday afternoon I enjoyed making noises and nonsense babble with Iya, and seeing her laugh as I did so. It was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. ☺

sunrise, sunset

This is the sight I've been waking up to for the past three days. Admittedly, it's a beautiful sight, but I'm not used to seeing it everyday. I've always been the type of person who grabs every chance to sleep until noon. On a normal day, I get up when the sun is already high up in the sky.

I suppose there are benefits to literally seeing the dawn of a new day, to greeting a day filled with possibilities. But I've always been drawn to sunsets, to the realization that as the sun disappears below the horizon, another day has come to an end and it is time to rest.

Sunrise, sunset. Both beautiful sights. I guess which one you prefer kinda says something about you. Me, I'm just glad that it's already a Friday and the weekend is in sight!

Starstruck!

I actually passed by him in the hallway and didn't realize it was him. Throughout his press conference, I was hardly inside--instead, I manned the registration booth and took care of giving press kits to the media. And in the moments that I found myself inside the venue, I didn't whip out my camera and document this day that we were fortunate enough to have him in our presence. I'm not really a super-fan, like many other women are.

But when you get the chance to have your picture taken with Mr. Piolo Pascual, you don't say no. No girl in her right mind passes up that opportunity. Not when he puts his arm around your waist and you get to wrap your arm around his waist too, as if you're good friends. You just don't say no to that. ☺

Me. Need. Sleep.

It is Day Two of being sleep-deprived, functioning on roughly three hours of sleep. Already, I feel like I'm floating the entire day, wishing to catch a few winks.

I don't how I ever managed to go an entire day without sleep. I remember back in high school and college, I used to be able to pull all-nighters, eating yakisoba and washing it down with coffee. I subsisted on M&Ms and coffee while working on my thesis. But I still found the energy to make it to class and function like a normal human being.

Now, if I don't get enough sleep, I get cranky and walk around like a zombie, daydreaming about my bed. Aahh my bed... zzz...

Good vibes on a Tuesday night

The team attended a movie premiere for the first time in ages. Thanks to Wave 89.1, we watched Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel and it was such a great way to end tonight.

Even if we were seated at the very front row, it was so much fun to laugh with the kids in the audience. Now I've got a new movie to watch for on DVD so that I can get a dose of good vibes anytime!

Money Matters

It's the first day back at work, and already I'm plagued by money matters. Credit card payment, insurance payment, saving for trips, gym memberships-- it was disheartening to realize that I didn't have enough money to do it all.

When it came down to a choice between paying for a gym membership and setting aside money for a last beach trip with a friend before she goes off to live in another country, I chose the friend. Never mind if I may not have a beach-ready body in two weeks, what matters is I get to spend some time with good friends before life begins to change for all of us.

Still, I couldn't help but think today of all the things I could be doing if money was not an issue. Travelling wherever and whenever I wanted. Buying anything I wanted and needed at the snap of a finger. Joining that gym. Writing off someone's debts because I don't need the money anyway. Whoever invented money may have inadvertently invented discontent.

Anyway, I'm trying not to think about it too much, even as I begin to tighten my belt for these next few months. Hopefully that belt gets tight enough to give me those abs I need to wear a two-piece bikini with confidence. Haha, as if.

Back to reality

By next Sunday, the Christmas decor will probably be taken down and the church's chandeliers will be bare once again. It's a sure sign that we've all gone back to reality. It's a sad thought, really, to realize that the festivities are over, that we are returning to the mundane routines of life.

It will be a struggle to return to work, definitely. But hopefully it will be enough to remember the lights, remember the holidays, and look forward to the next opportunity to catch up with old friends, spend time with family, and take a much-needed vacation. One can always hope.

About a Boy

It was Melbert's birthday today, and I intended to post his picture as today's Project 365 entry. But it's funny how today ended up not quite being all about him. Instead, it became all about his youngest brother, nine-year-old Martin.

If Mel had his way, we would've eaten dinner in Dampa, the one in Ortigas. We would've had tempura and all sorts of freshly-cooked seafood. But as Mel's mom protested that Martin might not like the food there, we ended up eating in Savory Chicken in SM Hypermart-- incidentally Martin's favorite restaurant.

Then, after dinner, Martin wanted to play in the arcade with older brother Patrick, so Mel and I accompanied the two boys and shot some arcade hoops as well. Even when we got back to Mel's place, Martin still ruled-- we played cards, then he told jokes where explanations substituted for punchlines. He gave me a massage, which was pretty good, considering he has tiny hands. Then he made me watch a YouTube video, and it seemed like he was never gonna let me go home. I was telling Melbert that it's probably because, in a house with three older brothers, it was probably Martin's first time to have someone who laughed at all of his jokes and indulged him instead of picking on him. :p

It was 1:00AM by the time I made my way home, and even if Martin seemed to hijack Melbert's birthday, it was still a very fun night. It's been a long time since I hung out with someone more than three times younger than me (yes, I did the math and it depressed me a little), and it kinda made me miss hanging out with Trina, my ten-year-old niece who is just as precocious as Martin. Being with children reminds me not to take life too seriously, to just let my hair down a bit and laugh at the smallest things.

So Melbert may have turned one year older today, but thanks to Martin, we felt much younger, even for just a few hours. ☺

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An update on 101 Things in 1,001 Days: Since we ate in Savory Chicken in SM Hypermart and I'd never eaten there, I think that counts as my new restaurant for January! The chicken was really good-- actually, everything we had was really good! Mel says their only branch used to be all the way in Manila, so I'm glad that they're now more accessible in SM Hypermart.

And I dated this post January 2 just so that I'd have one entry per day. Hahaha! ☺

The best way to start the new decade

From left to right: Dan, Mama, Papa, myself, and Bloss

It's been a little tradition of ours to check into a hotel on New Year's Eve then go shopping the next day. I don't really know how it started, especially since it hasn't been five years since our first overnight stay. Maybe it's a way of escaping the asthma-inducing fireworks, reminiscent of New Years past when we'd scurry around with handkerchiefs pressed tightly against our noses. In any case, it's been a tradition that we look forward to, now that family time all together has become quite a rare occurrence.

This year, we checked into the Makati Shangri-La. Billeted in two rooms at the 21st floor, we greeted the new year together in my parents' room, with front row seats to the hotel's fireworks show. It was the first time I'd ever seen fireworks that close, and it was a beautiful sight. After a good night's sleep under the covers on a nice, cushy bed, we had a buffet breakfast in the hotel's grand ballroom, with a mini orchestra as our background music.

But more than the fireworks, the good breakfast, and the luxury of the hotel, I will remember the first day of 2010 as a day where everyone was in a good mood, having a good time. Even if we had some misadventures during the day --finding out that SM and Rustans were both closed, then resto-hopping before we could get a decent lunch-- we didn't let it get to us and we had a really good time. Good vibrations, indeed, were abound, and it was a great way to start the new year.

It is but fitting that my first entry for Project 365 is a photo of my family. Cheers to the new year! ☺♥

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An update on 101 Things in 1,001 Days: I crossed one book off my reading list as I finished "Old School Ties" by Kate Harrison, and I ate the carrots and cucumbers that came with my parmesan crusted fish fillet in Italianni's. I think that counts for eating vegetables, even if it is just a tiny step. Hooray! ☺