Relearned a valuable lesson today. When driving, don’t mind your cellphone. On my way home from the mall earlier, I heard the familiar beep of my phone, which was stored in my bag. I rummaged through my bag, with my left hand on the wheel, eyes darting from the road to my bag. Unfortunately, I must’ve focused on the bag too much.

By the time I refocused my eyes on the road, I was thisclose to causing an accident. I had veered inches away from a tricycle on the other lane. I was shaken, but incredibly grateful that my guardian angels protected me, and the other people, from being caught in an accident.

So do take care when you’re driving. One wrong move, one distracted moment can lead to an accident that no one wants to be in.

PLS VOTE

Did you know that the Philippines’ coconut geotextile ( a.k.a. coconet) for soil erosion control has been chosen as one of the 12 finalists in Newsweek and BBC’s (British Broadcasting Corporation) World’s World Challenge?

The World Challenge is basically a competition/search designed at identifying groups or individuals all over the world whose projects have contributed great impact at grass roots level.

A documentary about Philippine Coconut geotextile or coconet industry will be shown on the BBC World cable channel on September 24 around 8:30 GMT and will also be featured in the August 29 special issue of Newsweek.

“The World Challenge” already offers a tremendous exposure and publicity to our flourishing Philippine coconut geotextile industry and to our Philippine coconut fiber exporters. But it would be great liberation for our country, which has been getting very bad publicity nowadays, to win this prestigious competition.

To vote, please open www.theworldchallenge.co.uk and click the picture of Philippine coconet.

Please help us campaign for more voters by forwarding this message to your co-worker, friends and relatives.

Thanks.

Voting is open until October 16, 2005, one vote per person. The winning entry will win a $20,000 grant from Shell to benefit the project, so it will be a big boost to our Filipino finalist if they win the competition. Please feel free to post it in your blog as well. I already voted!

Scene: Last week, with my friend Kaye, her sister-in-law Jax, mom-in-law, my inaanak, Josh and me, watching this teeny-tiny train going round and round a rail track (or whatever you call it).

Jax: Anong battery kaya gamit niyan?
Kaye: Baka may power galing sa rails. O kaya yung battery nung Game & Watch.
Me: Imagine, ngayon, kids don’t even know what Game & Watch is?

Bah. That made me feel old! Heh.

Before there was GameBoy, there was Game & Watch. And yes, it used the small round batteries. Heh. We had a Game & Watch that had this stranded person going between two islands while trying to catch a parachute. It was fun.

Did you have a Game & Watch too?

Much as I hate to admit it, I’ve been feeling a bit snappish lately. Right now, I can just picture Elaine murmuring, “Snappish!” if she were behind me. It’s like, I just don’t want to be disturbed from whatever it is I’m doing, and I don’t want to hear anything bad at all.

Is it the heat, or the *ahem* girl thing? Whatever it is, I hope I snap out of it soon, pardon the pun.

I’m so pleased! For dinner, I cooked sweet and sour fish all on my own! My mom had set aside bangus to be fried for dinner, but I’m not really too fond of fried bangus (too dry). I asked her if she could make it into sweet and sour fish, and she told me I could do it instead.

I remembered that when I was cleaning my room (see, things do go around in circles), I had stashed a recipe of sweet and sour something in a brown folder. So I went to get it and off I went to the kitchen to make my own version! And it turned out pretty darn tasty too. How about that!

And last week’s kitchen experiment, spaghetti, which I made with sardines instead of ground beef, was a hit with the family as well. At least I’m not hopeless in the kitchen! All I need are the right ingredients, the recipe, and voila, I can handle it. Am still not too good with the slicing and dicing yet though.

Meanwhile, my mom told me that Santa won’t bring me presents anymore when I get married. Boo to that! I told her that Santa will still find me..and that maybe the gifts will come in the form of a balikbayan box? Heh. We got to talking about it because my mom realized that it’s the middle of August, and September’s just right around the corner. And that I’ll be spending my first Christmas away from home. Oh boy.

I feel so incredibly lucky. Just when I was pondering all the changes that’s about to happen, apparently, my fiance has been too. He’s being incredibly supportive and I know that even though homesickness and loneliness is strike, he will be there to help me get through it and adjust and all that. He knows it won’t be easy, since he’s also done his share of moving to another country and staying there for a long period of time without his family, so he knows what I’ll be going through.

He told me that when I feel lonely, I should not hide it, so he can help me. It really helps ease some of the nervousness away. I just love him so much.

Meanwhile, I watched the live telecast of Rock Star: INXS earlier this morning. I don’t know if anyone else but me and my sister watch it, but the performances were just amazing! And it was just perfect that they ended the show with Mig’s performance, because it was really by far the best performance in the show.

And that’s saying a lot because the rest of the performances were great, even with Marty singing Britney’s “Hit Me Baby One More Time.” Not exactly a song for an intense rocker like Marty, but he pulled it off brilliantly. And Jordis was spot on with her version of Knocking on Heaven’s Door. Awesome show.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta go clean my room.

Sometimes I feel like such an ignoramus, especially when I go read blogs and encounter terms and names and concepts and books and oh my gosh a lot of things that I have no knowledge of. I’m like, where did all those come from and why don’t I know them?

My world is so small.

Finally decided to change my layout. Am just annoyed because I lost my blogger tag configuration when I rashly decided to take down the website for a bit.

I guess it’s just right for me to change my design now, what with all the other changes that are about to happen in my life. In around a month or so, I will be in a new room, new house, new country. I will have a new family to be with, while I leave my family behind. I will see so many new things and have a lot of new experiences. I will be like that ant up there, taking things one step at a time.

I wonder if the ant is getting nervous as well.

p.s. to Dindin: See the ant pic? Long live macro! haha!

It’s dark, it’s gloomy, it’s rainy, and I’m having a fabulous day! My mom stayed home from work to celebrate my birthday with me, so we had a nice lunch at Mocha Blends inside our village. And now, we’re waiting for my dad and my sister to come home so we can go out for dinner. Its shaping up to be a lovely day so far..the last birthday I’ll be spending here in the foreseeable future for a long time, so I’m just really savoring being able to spend it with my family.

Like my future sister-in-law texted me, I’ll be spending my future birthdays with them already so I’d better make this one memorable! And really, even without any big celebrations, no extravagant shebangs, I am just making the most of the day.

Cheers!

Had such a H-O-T (sizzling, baby!) dream today that involved Julian McMahon, Topher Grace (weirdly enuf), a chemistry experiment, and a movie theatre when I took a nap today. It felt so deliciously real. Heh. Can I go back to sleep and resume the dream again, puh-leaze?

* * *

Meanwhile, I went to the gym this afternoon, and when I went to the PT station to look for my PT, I saw Joey Marquez walking towards me. He was just quietly doing his own thing, working on the abs machine and all. He seems shorter in person than on TV, but what do I know.

Anyway, strange things really seem to be happening today, because when I went to Coffee Bean to get a Caramel Ice Blended (omg my new favorite — non fat of course, but the sugar should be enough to add on the calories, yech!), I swear this Indian guy was checking me out, especially when I was walking out of the store.

Weirdness. *sigh* Wish it was Julian McMahon instead.