tales of punch drunk love, pgh, and vaginal infection

mood: nostalgic music: run by kitchie nadal

my nostalgia continues....

i finally gotten hold of a punch drunk love vcd. if you guys are fond of adam sandler starrer, you should not miss it. in this film, youll love sandler who is barry egan, a passive-aggressive novelty shop owner. this one is different from his moronic comedies, like mr leeds, big daddy, and waterboy. what i really appreciated, though, is that punch drunk love has a liberating effect despite its unpredictability. you wouldn't have an idea of what comes after a scene. it basically mirrors what life is all about: being
dead caught unaware of things that unfold before your eyes everyday. last monday, was a case in point. after my interview with a up-pgh er director, i decided to kill time at nearby robinson's place. while I was trudging this antiquated bend near a sorority tambayan, a silver honda civic hit my left elbow. i couldn't explain how it happened when I was very careful not to step beyond the sidewalk. scared that the driver, an old stern-looking lady, would go berserk or shout at me, i found myself in tears and blurting apologies. it was really pathetic considering that I wasnt really seriously hurt. but due to the initial shock and sheer stupidity, one had to unload something, something natural like looking pained and kawawa. the moral of the story, however, i realized later cooped up in the lady's office (she turned up to be the dean of medicine),is that i should stop thinking and imagining too much when walking. and that goes to all of you guys who are guilty of this habit. it makes you oblivious to your
surroundings and become tarantada! hehe. another disgraceful thing i did the next day. this time it was really crazy because i invented a thread of lies just to miss a day's work. i texted my boss that my ob-gyne, dr. r. elia of st.luke's, who was really tim's mom's doctor, advised me to have a full day rest. my reason was because of a mildly serious vaginal infection that requires medication and sleep. luckily, esteen supplied an antibiotic name for me, contrimaxazole. i had to text myboss that, too, to make my story more credible. i think i got off
the hook because my boss replied, "ow, u poor girl. dont wory, trust n HIM. Get wel soon."


- cheekycha diaries, 23 oct 2003

lorenz kleinkopf, the sweetest opa

"Ihre Kleidung schaut gut auf Ihnen an (you look beautiful in that dress)," says opa*, while i help him carry the chair he wants to sit on in the patio.

my older sister jasmin postpones arranging teacups, nudges me and whispers in vernacular, "among the germans, it is considered an insult if you only smile back at their comments. you have to speak your mind."

"oh, was he saying something i should reply to?" i ask absentmindedly.

"yes. apparently leopard print looks good on you. say, thank you to him," she admonishes, "in german."

"danke schon, opa," i accede, not because, i have to but the compliment sounded sincere coming from an 80-year old.

*opa is jasmin's father-in-law who passed away last night in the arms of his wife francesca. he'll turn 85 in march. he is the sweetest man i've ever known.

the graveyard shift

a poem for my fellow web hosting tech support agents. i hope the general psyche will soon change...

The Graveyard Shift
by Cindy Sacramento

You lie in bed
tired from the love
you expressed
and the job you slaved
to survive.
The blanket covers
your thin feet
that step on the pathway
of self-destruction,
of forced contentment,
and lure of money.
You're eyes are dreary
from sleepless days
because the clouds
cannot shadow nature's light
and stop the clock
at midnight.
You curl to move your
restless body
into a dark side of the room
while you try
to close your eyes
and imagine the life that
you will forever
dream about.
You time your shift
to assure yourself of
a reward of your
breaking bones and body
as you scurry through the halls
of your second home.
And yet your happiness
can be seen at the
smiling faces of your children
when you buy their new clothes,
see them run around
your unattended house,
touch their full tummies
with your rough hands,
hear their healthy sighs
with your ringing ears,
and see your depraved soul
in their innocent eyes.
But another day returns
to haunt you of your yesterday.
Your home slowly becoming a stranger
as your family disappears
during the day and
creep back into the night
once you're gone
again...
and again...
and again....

prejudiced people, why don't you stop?

prejudiced people
stare across canyons
foolishly praising themselves.
why don't they stop
tie ropes in strong knots and
decend the rocky abyss? -harry roman

i have had enough of people who are being biased or judgemental beforehand. they draw personal attacks on others who do not deserve them. is kindness totally passe?

more so, maligning people behind their backs is plain cowardice. those who do this are not man or woman enough to face and express what ticked them off in the first place.

it pains me to know that I am doing nothing about it. i continually remain a meek listener of suffocating attacks.

voice of a rockstar

the phantom, gerard butler.

christine's comfort zone

handsome and ideal couple patrick wilson (count de chagny) and emmy rossum (as opera star christine).

no more talk of darkness...

so goes the first line of "all i ask of you" written by andrew lloyd webber and charles hart. it accurately sums up raoul's comfort words for christine in the film adaptation of webber's the phantom of the opera.

metaphorically, raoul meant for christine to forget the phantom who represents abomination, eternal pain, fear, risk, and unconventional romantic love. he failed to understand, however, that christine unknowingly becomes a champion of the underdog in the story. she falls for a possessive musical genius who has a pure but marred heart. now, she is torn between the angelic count who offers comfort, security and wealth; and the phantom beast who has passionate, raw emotions and shows the road-less-travelled.

in a real world, who would you rather choose? it's difficult to say. but unlike the objectives of raoul, i would also belt out "no more talk of darkness..." "all i ask of you" and choose who will share the same intensity for life that i have. i saw the the film version of this classic last saturday. it is entrancing but i could not wait to scour for its original book by gaston leroux.

words and phrases to delete from my vocabulary

i'm getting redundant. call center has turned me into a fembot stocked with few words in her vocabulary. how else do you say, "i apologize" by not saying, "i'm sorry"? i honestly don't know, but, i will figure it out.

in the meantime, i've made myself a compromise. next week, i'll start deleting overused words and phrases from my (ironically) spiels. i vow never to use the following:

accidentally
again
by the way
experience
incovenience (let's see)
okay
temporary
uh huh

cogs in our machine

this has been my lousiest week at work.

i cannot stress it enough. it is the lousiest by far. a four-day "mini" holiday over the weekend fully recharged my batteries only to deplete them in having a terrible work week. imagine a sous chef whose kitchen staff and tools conked out. frustrated, he found a blunt knife and thought of stabbing himself, er, his head chef (more likely) to death. that's how i felt.

i sound like a whiny three-year old brat who has no other forms of expressing herself.

so far, so good

balazoobas weekend getaway in anilao, batangas.

1. today, i turned 24.
2. tomorrow, i'll start south beach diet.
3. soon, i'll be traipsing manhattan.
4. chloe will also turn into ava. soon.