Maya Banana: January 2012

Check: Journal!

11:00:00 PM

Better late than never they say! My January list is one item lighter.

Ignore the ugly fingers on the photos.

I like notebooks, journals, planners, pads, diaries, etc. I don't collect them but I make sure that I have one somewhere near (in my bag, in my room, on my desk at work). When I was younger, I used them as diaries: where I pour all my angst and emotions, ask stupid questions, create impossible scenarios, draw random stuff, plan my life, curse at people to death, paste pictures, etc.

During college, it became my scheduler, notepad, a to-do list, a log book of really nice stuff that people sent me through text or something I heard or read, a collage of magazine and newspaper clippings, a doodle pad, and a place for really random things.

Now, it became one of those things that keep me sane. My journal keeps me in line: I write down what I've eaten, how much I've spent, stuff I have to buy and pay for, my daily and monthly goal, new words I've learned or have to learn, funny or really mundane stuff people said, things I have to look up in Google or what I should post here, awkward stuff I did during my classes, questions I wasn't able to answer or rules I couldn't explain well, how much I weigh, what time I arrived in the office, the list really goes on.

I really wanted to use just one particular kind of notebook (so that they'd look neat when you store them away) but I always end up liking one notebook after another. I always consider the price and the quality of the paper. For the past two years, I've been keeping a steno pad instead of the usual notebooks we know. I still have one now (for taking down notes during meetings and training) but I decided to get a 'real' journal so that it wouldn't be easy for me to just dump it anywhere when it's completely filled-out (I have no idea where I kept my old journals or notebooks).

For 2012, I promised myself that I'd be better at documenting and storing stuff. And I'm starting with my journal. Have a look at my very first Starbucks planner! Yey! Finally! I've been wanting to have one ever since but I didn't want to spend that much money just for a journal but hey, I'm writing my history here so why not splurge a little bit? It's cute, eco-friendly, the pages are really smooth and nice to write on, and it comes in a really neat pouch. I wish it was a bit bigger though. I like that the pages are bare so I can buy cute stickers and design each page the way I want. Coolness!

My pen writes really smoothly over the pages so I've got the pen issue covered. Now, about those stickers ...

P.S. Thanks Jenny!

others

Xin nian kuai le!

6:19:00 PM

life

I've lost count

11:00:00 PM

My very first post this year was about a list of my goals for the month of January. In about a week's time, it's going to be over so I had to check how I'm doing so far:

Get a new hairdo (but no short hair!).

Lose 5 pounds (more is encouraged).

Buy a big journal and calendar.

No coffee, soda, and tea month.

Always have a tub of ice cream every week in the fridge (no coffee flavored ice cream!)

Go to the salon at least twice (body scrub and facial once).

Perfect attendance.

Have a total of 31 blog entries.

1. X - My hair's still a mess. I managed to have it trimmed a little bit though and went for a worthless hair spa during the second week of the month.

2. ? - I think I've lost some weight but I failed to document it because the weighing scale we have at home doesn't work anymore and I was too lazy to find another one.

3. ? - Bought a pad. January's almost over and I haven't decided yet on what planner or journal to get. For the calendar, no time to buy one.

4. ! - I'm 21 days clean!

5. X - It felt like a really good idea at the time I wrote this one down.

6. ? - Had my nails and hair done two weeks ago. It still escapes me why I didn't take a photo and bragged about my pretty nails. Will complete this one on Wednesday (payday!).

7. X - I'm still depressed over this one. I was doing pretty well, until today. I was late for 13 minutes. Why? Traffic along ATC was really terrible today but I was late because I couldn't get off the net playing Cityville.

8. X - Work was pretty packed during the second week of the month; we had training in the afternoon then classes in the evening. Why didn't I write at home then? Cityville time my friend.

For the eight goals I've set, I failed in 4 items already. I still have about a week to do item 1 and I have a pretty good feeling that I'll finish the other ones I haven't failed at yet.

Like what I said, it's been a very busy two weeks for me.

We started training again. Two different training; the first one didn't work out but the second one turned out really great.

Julian's right eye was bit by some insect and it got swollen pretty bad after two days. We were about to go to the hospital, have it checked last Friday, but the swelling was gone.

Last Sunday, we bought a laptop (took us 5 hours or so before we finally agreed on what to get).

We just finished watching Hawaii 5.0 (2 seasons) and we're currently watching Justified (2 seasons). Oh and The Walking Dead! Everybody's watching it. Everybody should watch it!

We'll probably apply for a Smart connection this Sunday because Globe did not work at home (even if they've put the antenna 20 meters high).

If ever you'll visit our house, please ignore the rotting smell. A big dumb cat died somewhere near the garage and we're not sure yet how many dead rats are in the sewers (I really think they're somewhere inside the bathroom walls, how they got there is something I could never explain). We placed poison somewhere in the kitchen and its first victim was a goddamn cat (the one that died near the garage?). We're not sure if they're all dead but they've been MIA for some time now. Disgusting? Totally. So don't visit us for the mean time.

Semo's really stinky but his Dad (Julian) thinks otherwise and he won't let us wash the freakin' whale!

Semo: Julian's baby

food

Pizza Night!

8:23:00 PM

***one of them late posts!***

Not even close to a real "team building" activity but it turned out to be a good night. We almost cancelled the whole thing so it's good that it pushed through.

Dinner with colleagues at Veneto Napoli Pizzaria in BF

The food was alright. The tomato based pastas were a bit too sour (I think they all are in any Italian restaurants) but the garlic and sausage (oil based) one was very yummy! Tina and I tried the lasagna. One plate is good for two or three (it depends really depends on your appetite). It was a bit too sour (but tolerable) and I think there was a weird kind of cheese sitting on top of it (it tasted like kesong puti). I forgot which flavors we tried for the pizza, but both were okay. Their garlic bread was very disappointing. They were nothing like what's served in Sbarro or Fazoli's (or the ones we make at home!). We had chicken wings for appetizers. They were supposed to be buffalo wings but we were served with cute chicken wings. I forgot the flavors, too, but I remember we called them 'afritada' (the color of the sauce was a bit orange) and 'adobo' (burnt color of the sauce). Don't try the 'adobo', the taste was just so weird.

The place looked like it has been there for quite a while. There's this old feel to it and not in a good way. I wish they'd upgrade the place a little bit. I didn't see how the comfort rooms looked like. It's a pretty small space so it's great for a quiet dinner with your family or friends.

What made our night thought would be the Hulk! Yep, he was there! We saw him the moment we arrived at the restaurant. We were all excited when we saw him so when he went outside, we followed him and asked for our pictures to be taken with him. We thought he was a mascot or something, turns out he's a customer, too! He was so drunk he almost fell when he was getting something out of his car's trunk.

Anyway, after forcing the last plate inside our tummy's and a few more laughs, we called it a night. Tiny and I dropped by Ruins while the rest went home. I had fun and I guess everybody did, too. I hope we'll have another night out again.