Alas, my home in the web is moving... it's now at http://thepurplehaze.wordpress.com

(sniff, sniff, sniff...)

But i'm still keeping this journal - duh, it's my first love! :D

Time for a little trivia, thanks to wikipedia.org!

Here are some of the notable figures around the world who share the same birthday with me (that’ll be today, har har):

1. Ninoy Aquino - a great Filipino statesman who challenged the Martial Rule’s usurpation of power

2. Manolo Blahnik - a legendary shoe designer in all of the fashion world

3. Chaim Weizmann - 1st Israeli President

4. Bruce Lee - a phenomenal martial artist who discovered “the way of the intercepting fist”

5. Caroline Kennedy - American Journalist

6. Jimi Hendrix - rock and roll god of guitars

7. Halary Hahn - exceptional violin player

There were a lot more people listed, but I didn’t have any clue who they were. And of course, if there were births, there would have to be deaths as well.

1. Horace - Roman poet and satirist

2. Queen Constance of Sicily

3. John Eliot - writer

4. Alexander Dumas - my favorite writer!

Be life long or short, my 2006 planner says, its completeness depends on what it was lived for. Happy 21st birthday to me!

My movie pass got turned down. MY ALL POWERFUL MOVIE PASS GOT TURNED DOWN! This sentence had more implications than a pseudo-bank account in Switzerland under the name of M.A. How can my own employers turn down a movie pass that THEY themselves issued? If it weren’t for J-fel, who was with me the whole day for a pre-birthday celebration, I could have murdered the person responsible for this shinnanigan. But being the peace-loving person that I am (beware you group of b*tches who called my car “kalampagin”, I am never going to be at peace with any one of you - that includes you man-whore) I decided to just cool it all off with the A.G. of Co. and pay for 2 tickets to see Casino Royale.

Before the actual show, J-fel gave me a really nice present: Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea from Powerbooks. Aside from that and a heavy Classic Chicken Caesar Sandwich we shared for lunch at Big Chill, he gave me fantastic bronze and beige wedges I can wear with anything! Sigh…

Going back to Casino Royale, I say it wasn’t at all bad that Daniel Craig was chosen to play the part of the Brit double-O. He even added a lot of “oomph” to the usual James Bond persona we have in mind. For the first time (not really for the older generation, since this 007 is a remake), James Bond is as vulnerable and human as any hunk could get. How he becomes a permanent 007 agent gets unfolded in this awesome movie. You have got to see it for yourself!

In other news: Here are a few words of gratitude in line with Thanksgiving (kahit wala namang thanksgiving dito sa Pinas, mabuti na rin yung marunong magpasalamat, di ba):

To J-Fel, for the book, sandwich, shoes and the great company yesterday (like always); to my loving family for all the, errr, love; to my awesome friends for sticking up for me despite my inadequacies; to my officemates who remind me that I am not alone in this sucky corporate world of doom; to random Filipinos I see whenever I take public transport, even if a few annoy me sometimes, you are all still my source of inspiration; to my law professors, demi-gods in classrooms, without your strict policies and fierce tongues my heart shall continue to be a soft, lump of muscle that beats for no reason; to my real God, I love you always, and I am nothing without you. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!

That felt really good...

Purple is NOT my favorite color; orange is. I cannot remember the first time I heard someone call me by my "first-ever" nickname (yes, some people called me purple haze way way back). It did not really stick with me, probably because it doesn't sound at all like moi. Honestly, I'm more neon green than purple. How I brought myself to use it again, this time in the blogging world, has little to do with the band, something to do with our sorority color, and a lot to do with my imagination.

To get my point across better, I searched for images in the internet that allude to The Purple Haze. It's fun - usually Purple Haze stood for bar drinks and alcoholic concoctions (tee hee)! And that has absolutely NOTHING to do with my cocktail preferences, mind you ;p


True to my bookwormish nature, TPH is also a book. This one is on radio culture and music circa 1960s.


Looks yummy, huh? I don't think it's edible though, even if it IS a bubble bar from lush called... Purple Haze.


This cutesy little candle is also called PH. I'm not sure if that's wax or gel used as a wick. Still, it's interesting to look at.


Now this is what I was talking about - the Purple Haze Martini. It looks real svelte and soothing! The drink will warm you up even if you just stare at it for a whole minute. This is how drinks should be - oozing with the X-factor!


Finally, the picture that rocked me was this. I'm not sure what people were burning here to cause such smoke, but it looked really nice (especially with the woodsy effect). Kind of coincidental to my header. Hihi.

Oh, the things I do with my office time!

A huge, brimming-with-love HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout-out goes to my best bud MARIAN GILO! She just turned 21 today :)

Oh boy, only 5 days left until I "ascend" too. Roe was right, birthday celebrations are nothing more than a nuisance, unless you turned 18 or 40. Hehehe. This would be from the perspective of people who don't have the money to throw a party (but I bet Roe does).

Mar and I were planning to "celebrate" and deal with the fact that she's 21 and I'm turning 21 shortly thereafter at Yvette's beach hideaway in Batangas. I'm still thinking about whether I should go (they plan to leave on Friday at 4 pm). I have class at that time that I can't miss. So, if ever I don't go, my escape would just be to drive around the city and ponder on what a whirlwind life I've been into and will still be in for looooooong, looooong years to come. That sounds equally good :D The beach can probably wait.

CHEERS again to MARMAR!

Like almost everyone in the country and the rest of the world where Filipinos are lurking about, I stayed up late to catch the most awaited boxing matches of the season! Of course, who would not be aware of the PACQUIAO vs. MORALES fight??! Normal life went to a screeching halt (according to news, crime rate that moment was at a low ZERO) as people glued on to their TV screens, or big screens for some, to see how a Filipino made a mark in the world. Adrenaline was high and the crowd was pumped up. That was, until the 2 pre-matches started.

The rush was reduced to a low after seeing the first match, VILORIA VS. NINO. Although our boxer Viloria knocked out the Mexican a couple of times, the judges ruled out the final decision: DRAW. Of course this was in favor of the defending champ Nino, who gets to keep the title. It was pretty obvious, even to someone who knows nothing about the sport (like me) that Viloria did not throw enough punches to convince the crowd that HE wanted to win! In short, he did not give 100% to his fight, and people SAW that. Which was why despite the KOs, it was still a draw. I had to even give it to Nino, who stuck it out for the whole 12 rounds. Viloria did not deserve to win by the way he performed that night.

If that match didn't induce one to sleep, the next pre-event fight definitely did the job. I'm not even aware who the 2 fighters were. What I know is that because of their huge muscle masses, the fight was pretty slow. Okay, it was REALLY, REALLY SLOW! lol :P

The funny thing was, by the time it was PACQUIAO and MORALES' turn to battle, I was deep in sleep. Thanks to the "action-packed" pre-matches that ended after ten years! Geez! But I am aware of the fact that PACMAN downed MORALES on the 3rd round (much to the chagrin of those who paid P600 to see the fight at Greenbelt, etc.) Hehehe!

Either way, a big CONGRATULATIONS and MABUHAY goes out to the People's Champ (I hope it won't evolve into People's Chump, as Conrado de Quiros put it), MANNY PACQUIAO! :D

(I wouldn't be all so surprised if this comes out from the BSP soon...)

Judging from the vast day-gaps between this and my previous entry, one may guess that my semestral break has ended and another one has officially kicked in. I would have to say goodbye (temporarily, at least) to the following:

1. Swimming Everyday
2. Blogging on a regular basis
3. Driving aimlessly
4. www.i-am-bored.com
5. Spontaneous mall trips

Speaking of driving, I experienced my very first bribery case (this wasn't filed or anything). I know, it's not really something to be proud of, but it was only then that I realized how big-time corruption can erupt from small, crooked deeds (like bribing traffic enforcers). It always takes two to tango, there's always two sides of a coin, and all that crap, would apply. Hehe. Anyway...

Cheers to my 2nd semester! I hope I make it with better grades and more learnings than last sem :D

Student Driver
by R. Wayne Edwards March 2002
(off the url http://www.familypoet.com/poem.cmdl?poemid=754)

My nerves are all shot,
My hair’s turning white.
My hands are a mess,
No nails left to bite.

My whole life just passed
In front of my eyes.
My throat is raspy
From terrified cries.

I'm going to die,
No way to survive.
I just started teaching
My teen how to drive!

~This might be how my friend Billy would feel after our "uphill" driving session tomorrow. hihihihihi...~

Thank heavens! You would not believe what unfolded yesterday! My heart is still palpitating as I'm typing this! :D

I got a final grade of 96 in one of the most challenging 1st year classes under Atty. Crisostomo Uribe - Persons and Family Relations Law... I still cannot believe it's actually MY grade! And I heard from my other classmates that he rarely gives out precious 90-something grades (oh boy). I'm soooooo happy and scared all at the same effin time :p And now that Obligations and Contracts has started (under Atty. Uribe again) you could bet my happy a## that I'll work even harder than I did last semester.

Funny that yesterday, my blocmates and I would come across with the seemingly nasty source of our motivation to nail that subject (Obli-Con) to the ground. It's that weird and offensive gay classmate who is supposed to be taking up purely 3rd year classes! Would you believe he had the nerve to say in front of our professor and the whole class that the Philippine Law School is the school of last resort??!! Oh my goodness, I felt like strangling someone at that point in time. Wait til that bi-yatch gets hammered by Atty. Uribe's questions... I would LOVE to see the pitiful look in his face! Hmph, an ironic thing there is that my best friend MARIAN GILO and that jerk used to go to the same high school in Iloilo... grrrrr. Oh well, like Marge and I put it, let's just WAIT AND SEE.

In the meantime, this one's for you, LAST RESORT BOY!

LOL! (followed by a sigh of relief)

Marian and I accomplished heck of a lot last Wednesday! After she picked me up from home, we went straight to SSS in Buendia - for her to apply as a new member, and for me to claim my SSS ID. Unfortunately, SSS told me I couldn't get my ID since I have made zero contributions yet (boo hoo hoo) although they already issued me a number around 3 months ago. Lesson number one for the day: in order to save up on time (and money), check out the agency's website first. This I did before going to LTO - our next agenda after doing our thing at the SSS office. Well, things were a lot more productive in the LTO office in Pililia Rd, Makati. Both of us got our student licenses just before lunchtime. This is in comparison to my first license experience 4 years ago, which took forever!

After dealing with the government agencies necessary for our survival, we decided to take a break at Glorietta. We had lunch at Wendy's (my first fast food fix in two weeks) and further discussed about the Philippine government and all the politics, plus our hopes and dreams for the Filipino people (haaaay). Taking a cue from the withered lettuce on Mar's salad, off for a movie we went at nearby Greenbelt.

We saw:


To make the long story short, we had a blast that day (after the movie, coffee and popcorn). And no ending is more perfect than a trip to a remote mall to search for fabulous ukay finds, albeit unintentionally. Bwahahahaha! I absolutely love my best friend! Hahahaha :D