india pictures slideshow

manila pictures slideshow

exercising

we have been going to the gym quite frequently...okay, we went twice. :) my knee got swollen, so that prevented me from continuing. but today, gracee and seti have convinced me to go to a belly dancing class! oh boy...we'll see how this goes....

tagaytay excursion

on sunday, did a day trip and went to tagaytay, about a 2 hour drive outside of manila. it was nice to be outside of the city. taal volcano is waaaaay in the distance, blocked by clouds.

miss "universe"

i don't know how they can have "universe" in the title...the contestants are really only from one planet. the whole universe is not represented. where's miss mars? miss jupiter? miss sun? just like in baseball, they have the "world" series. really, the teams are only from the US, and a couple from canada. so in reality, it should only be called the north american series. c'mon, let's call it what it is.

i was extremely disappointed this year. i got back from breakfast just in time to see the top 10 announced. sadly, my countries weren't represented...miss india and miss philippines didn't make it. (yeah yeah yeah, miss usa made it...whatever). then they had the evening gown competition...i was ready to be blown away. unfortunately my hopes crashed and burned. i was really turned off by the "fakeness" of it...too much posing, too much effort to look sultry and sexy, too much deliberation in their walk. i longed for someone to be natural, to be free, to be...REAL. it didn't help that the singer was awful, too. they needed andrea bocelli or josh groban. was nice to see an asian, miss japan, amongst all the latinas. and she made it to top 5! oh wow...down to top 2, and she's still there...

announcing the winner now...congratulations to miss puerto rico! oh yuck, she did the ugly cry. i saw oprah describe that on her show once. what was up with her dress??? she looked so uncomfortable in it...and i was uncomfortable watching her. her walk is the most robotic i've ever seen. oh well...i criticize that which i envy.

props goes out to miss philippines, lia andrea ramos, for winning miss photogenic! my people are beautiful! but have you seen aishwarya rai? hands down most beautiful woman of all time, all galaxies, all universes.

wishes and misses

happy birthday to alexandra! sometimes it seems alex and i are the only 2 single girls left in the world, but remember...things happen when you least expect it! here's shae, alex, & i celebrating her birthday last year:

congratulations to tracy! she and her husband shondee are expecting their first child anyday now. here's us hiking at makapu'u in december 2003:

miss you nayners! i miss our conversations in person, not just over messenger! there's so much we still need to catch up on. here's nayns and maks on a recent girl's night out:

i miss you lawrence!!! i miss working with you, eating lunch with you, and going to zippy's with you! life is so dull without your presence. keep those updates coming!

finally, miss you tee! i know i've posted this pic b4, but it's one of my faves so it deserves to be posted again. here's alex, tee, & me from merrie monarch 2001:

exciting weekend

what an exciting weekend i had!!! i got to catch up on my movies. saturday night, i had all intentions to go downstairs to the block party that happens every weekend and hang out and listen to the live band (by myself no less!). but alas, i took my usual afternoon nap and could not wake up!!! :( i could not keep my eyes open long enough even to go out to get dinner...even to order room service! now that's bad...so of course i finally woke up around 9pm and then couldn't go back to sleep. grrrrr....i ended up watching "the last samurai". i've never seen it before, and i enjoyed it so much! it was so moving...and so many asians! i think i'm getting my taste for asians back. ken watanabe was hot, especially since he had a shaved head (thanks to joy for that one), and he had that smoldering attitude going on. i even was digging tom cruise, and i don't normally care for long hair and facial hair.

then tonight, we couldn't go anywhere cuz it was raining, so we stayed in and watched "the breakup" with jen aniston and vince vaughn. i think they make a cute couple, but i hated the movie! well, more specifically, i hated the ENDING!!! if you can even call it that...it raised more questions than provided answers. blech, i hate that. we also watched "hitch" after that...now that is a movie i enjoy and can watch over and over! my favorite is when kevin james is showing will smith his dance moves. hilarious! ah, i needed a good laugh. :D

painful experience

okay, i'm done whining about my love life. no more complaining...i have so much to be thankful for. (*crosses fingers behind back*wink*)

the painful experience i'm referring to is what i went through today. i figured the best cure for a hangover (party last night + VIP badge + free booze = HANGOVER) would be to pamper myself. i walked over to the mall and decided to get a facial, manicure and pedicure. how nice and relaxing, right? WRONGOVIA!!! a mani/pedi i've done before, but i've never had a facial. she started out by massaging my face and i thought, "this is sooooo nice, i need to do this more often. no wonder so many people do this." just when i hit the peak of my relaxedness, the insanity began. first, she had hot air blown on my face for a good 15-30 min. i guess it was to open my pores and it kind of felt like i was in a sauna, but i started to freak out cuz i didn't feel like i was breathing air. i can't explain it...when i breathed, it didn't feel like i was taking in enough air, so i started breathing faster, almost to the point where i was hyperventilating. i turned my head, and i felt cool air coming in one nostril, so that calmed me down. but that probably meant the pores on that side of my face were still going to be closed. oh well. after i survived that, i really have no idea what she did next, but i can tell you what it felt like. it felt like she took a knitting needle and jammed it into one side of my face then dragged it slowly across my face to the other side. it was painful beyond belief. but of course, i had to pretend like i knew exactly what she was doing...i didn't want to let on that it was my first time! at the same time, the other lady was doing my manicure, so i tried to concentrate on that. i really liked it when she massaged my hands. that was nice. :) finally, when the lady stopped knitting my face, it was over. whew! no more facials for me. then it was time for my pedicure. i was so tired, i laid down and took a nap. it was the afternoon, and it was time for my nap anyway. 1 hour later i woke up and she was still filing my feet. sheesh! i must say, though, my feet are smoother than any other pedi i've ever had. the whole experience lasted about 3 1/2 hours. what an ordeal. i had to smile when i walked out...i saw many other girls (and some guys) getting a facial with probably the same look i had on my face...utter pain and discomfort. (sigh), what we put our poor bodies through...

i realized today that the only parts i enjoyed was the massages. i've never had a massage. maybe i better look into it...i sure am experiencing a lot of new things on this trip!!!

is she nuts?...more love woes

jasmine trias has a song out called "i'd rather". here's how the chorus goes:

I'd rather have bad times with you, than good times with someone else
I'd rather be beside you in a storm, than safe and warm by myself
I'd rather have hard times together, than to have it easy apart
I'd rather have the one who holds my heart

she's crazy!!! why would you choose to be unhappy? i've always said i'd rather be single and happy, than in a relationship and unhappy. of course the ideal would be happy and in a relationship, but in life you don't always get what you want. the key is wanting what you get. ah-ha! but i guess what she's saying is you can't choose who you fall in love with, and she wants to follow her heart. i hate that!!! my heart is broken...meaning that it's not working right. it chooses the wrong ones....

then again, i should listen to my own advice...i'm unhappy now because i'm choosing to be. i am (or rather, my heart is) CHOOSING men who are either not interested or not available. am i subconsciously sabotaging my own love life? am i afraid to take the risk of being in a relationship with the potential for getting hurt??? maybe...i've cried so many tears and i don't want to cry no more. i'm trying to protect myself from anymore hurt. but at the same time i guess i'm preventing me from being happy as well. oh what a dilemma...

the other day i was thinking about the phrase "It's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all." i think i only partially agree with that. it's a good experience to go through, but to repeat the cycle over and over (loved, lost, loved, lost, loved, lost, etc...), not so good. maybe i'll agree with a modified version: "It's better to have loved and lost once or twice than to never have loved at all." there, that i agree with. :)

international beauties

miss universe is coming up...gotta support my countries!!!

here's miss india, neha kapur:

and miss philippines, lia andrea ramos:

pirates of terrorism that fall in love with all the wrong men

yesterday (7/12) we went to see "pirates of the carribean 2". it was okay...i really liked johnny depp's character (even though i don't like him), and orlando bloom is so delicious i could eat him for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but other than that, i didn't care for the movie. mostly because i por-got what happened in the first movie so nothing made sense. oh well, it made me smile, that's the main thing...

what happened in my long-lost country the other day is apalling. i'm referring to the bombings in mumbai. (remember, i consider myself a long-lost indian). acts of terrorism cannot be condoned. :( my heart goes out to my long-lost people.

finally, i really hate that you can't help who you fall in love with. being the control freak that i am, i don't like that i can't control my heart. especially when the decisions it makes are all wrong. :( i just want him to want me, too...

birthday party

my co-worker is from the motherland and was in town, so today he invited me to a birthday party. it was particularly interesting because before i left hawai'i, we found out that i might be related to his wife, so he wanted me to meet my relatives. they couldn't believe i was a filipina...oh well, sorry. too much haole blood i guess. at least my indian people say i look hindi. hmmm...interesting party. it was outdoor at a pavillion, and with the weather how it is, it was very hot and humid. sheesh, i thought hawai'i was humid...not as humid as here. it could be also that it has been raining. :( either way, i'm glad i had my fan.

after i got back from the party, i took a nap and did my daily ritual---headed for the mall! had to get dinner (went to CPK) and had to re-load my phone. i think the u.s. is the only place that doesn't do pre-paid minutes. i'm getting pretty good at getting around by myself. sigh, i suppose this is what it will be like once i move to chicago (or "chicagee"). pretty lonely.

who moved my cheese?

this past saturday marked the 7th anniversary since i've been single. not something i really look forward to celebrating. i was feeling very down this past week...i miss being in love and being loved in return. someday i'll meet the man of my dreams...i just hope i don't need a walker to walk down the aisle! for now, i'll just have to dream about my superman. :)

i finally read "who moved my cheese?". i've heard a lot of interesting things about it and wanted to see what it was about. it's a very simple parable, but yet so appropriate, especially when our corporate culture has changed so much in the recent years. i found this quote at the beginning of the book and found it so enlightening, both personally and professionally:

"Life is no straight and easy corridor along

which we travel free and unhampered,

but a maze of passages,

through which we must seek our way,

lost and confused, now and again

checked in a blind alley.

But always, if we have faith,

a door will open for us,

not perhaps one that we ourselves

would ever have thoughtof,

but one that will ultimately

prove good for us."

-A.J. Cronin

beautiful indeed

here's another very beautiful indian actress, shilpa shirodkar:

ah, to have such beauty.

in the motherland

well, i made it to the motherland!!! i've been here for 1 week, and already have experienced so much. the best part is, i'm surrounded by people from india, so i have the best of both worlds!!! i can still use my hindi and hear other people speak it, and learn the mother tongue as well.

saw the new superman movie on thursday when it came out here...it was GREAT!!!!! i highly recommend it! i love my superman, and i'm not talking about the actor.... sigh, my hero. :)
the problems that i was having in india w/ my laptop were not fixed before i came here, so unfortunately, i'm not able to upload pics from my camera. :( at least my camera works. PHEW!!! i will have to find another way to share my pics...when there's a will, there's a way.

the cuisine here is unlike anything i've ever experienced. i thought i was familiar with it due to the presence of the culture back home, but there are so many things i didn't know...like the fact that filipinos do not waste ANY part of the animal, and i mean ANY part. take a chicken for example: they eat the normal parts like breast and thighs, but then there's the head, the eyes, the beak, even the feet which they deep fry and appropriately enough it's called adidas. eew. Then there's balut...if you don't know what that is, don't look to me for an explanation...my stomach and knees get weak just thinking about it. But they love it here. And then the part of all parts...chicken ass. Can you believe it??? double eew. I did eat bagoong, which is a fish paste. What part of the fish, I'm not sure. But strangely enough, it was served w/ green mango which was very sour. Hmmm, green mango and fish paste...sounds like a strange combination, but it was actually very tasty. we'll see how brave i get the longer i stay here, however no plans to eat balut whatsoever.