Men think with their dicks.

So I had another one of my “astute” observations yesterday about this statement, “Men think with their dicks” and it got me thinking.

I’ve never, not once, in all my years of being the proverbial “slut” and getting major… *ahem* MAJOR hurt by past boyfriends, boylets, doshu (remember THAT word, kid sisters? =) and all the other euphemisms we used to refer to guys we dated/hooked up with… did I ever think that the fact that “some” men thought with their dicks… was a bad thing.

Of course I think some men think with their dicks.

No doubt about it.

But there’s really no point in blaming men for that.

Especially if you’re a woman who is sexually active (ok, or not-so-active just no longer a virgin =).

(I’m gonna try to be linear here; it’s much harder to type than to talk.)

See the thing is… when some women get hurt or whatever, they think they can just go off and say something like “Oh, because men think with their dicks… they have no balls, yadayadayada” And frankly, I don’t find that to be a very sound argument. Now I’m no misogynist --- I love my fellow females right down to the vaginal core. But ladies, if you wanna be taken seriously (especially the ones who scream “feminism” and what not), don’t go blaming the man just ‘cause he’s a little bit horny. I mean seriously. You can’t come off like you’re all high and mighty, ready to judge and condemn a man for thinking with his downstairs then AT THE SAME TIME imply that you were this deceived, unknowing victim.

C’mon. Even I’ve never stooped so low. And if you honestly put yourself in the highest regard, even if some of your decisions aren’t exactly something Mother Teresa would do, you would know not to at least, dumb yourself down and just blame someone else for your own shortcoming or lack of foresight.

Nah mean?

Anyhow…

My anthropology teacher back in college once said that if there’s one thought that has spanned across cultures, time, and countries it’s that MEN USE LOVE TO GET SEX, WOMEN USE SEX TO GET LOVE.

Now that actually stuck with me over the years and if you really think about it, it makes us no better than the other.

Like, if women are able to say “men think with their dicks” and make it out as an insult, men could just as easily argue that “women think with their hearts.” ---- neither anatomical part coming close to what we REALLY use to think.

(Uh, the mind, people… lest you’ve lost it. =)

So… yeah.

The point is… (my thoughts are seriously garbled right now so just try to follow)

Ladies…

If you like this guy enough to have sex with him… for whatever reason (ie. you want to show him you’re sincere and that you love him, you want to rekindle the cold embers of your dying relationship, or you’re just plain horny… or Hell, bored, even)… and you don’t get the result that you want (ie. he doesn’t love you back, he’s leaving you anyway, he “came” first, he stopped midway to play ball with the boys), don’t go blaming his overzealous, unthinking DICK.

Dicks don’t think. They’re just there looking all awkward and shit, waiting for some girl with her heart on her sleeve to feed it… like a duck in the park or a fish. (Hahahaha, I dunno where I got that metaphor, it was just funny imagining it =). Now unless you’re fucking raped and this is completely against your will, you have no right to play a double-agent for the schools of feminism and conservatism.

So if you truly believe that “men think with their dicks” and don’t like it…

Then stop spreading those legs expecting that the next dick will be fucking intelligent and it’ll feed you knowledge and shit.

A man who thinks you’re intelligent (this meaning, you have an overall grasp of your true self, faults and assets and all) would give you his dick AND heart.

Right guys?

….

Right…?

*cue crickets*

(I bet it’s their dick thinking right now whilst reading this.)

TARA 5

I wonder what kind of team we'd make...

*hmmmm.....*

I'd probably be cussing all throughout the show, furrealz. Be one of those annoying girlfriends/partners who whines and talks smack and stuff. =)

Pao would be the cool, calm, and collected one, mos def.



I'd probably tell the cameraman to get that cam out of my f*cking face. Hahaha!





Much love to Caltex for being such wonderful hosts (and giving us crazy drunkards more alkie after the event. =)

Watch out for Gadgets as we feature Lani and Jess, The Amazing Race Asia's "Partygirls" in the following issue.





Til next season. =P

watashi-wa anata-o aishtemasu

As promised by my boss...

I finally get to go on a business trip to... JAPAN!!! (Oct. 18-21 @ Yokohama)

All expenses paid, of course.

......

It's for Fuji Xerox.

Now...

I need a crash course on PRINTERS. *shrugs*

Mommy's Song

What makes me happy (and ultimately, less angst-ridden, interesting and interested when it comes to writing) these days...



"Here we go."

My awesome daughter made me a song. No one's ever written me a song before (or in this case, just busted out a Psyche-original). Poems, yes. Not a song.

She makes me feel so accomplished... and no amount of financial or superstar success can ever compare to achieving that kind of feeling... that kind of fulfillment.

(Ok this is such an inappropriate thing to say at this point but it kinda makes me wanna say to all the guys and girls who've put me down over the years *cue flashback of ugly faces spewing forth hateful smack*... "My daughter made me a song, bitch. Let's see you try to raise your kid to be as awesome as that, let alone, to appreciate you like that... see if karma doesn't come back and bite you in the ass.)

......

Hmmm... maybe just a little angst-ridden still. =)

......

And me and Pao's favorite show these days:

Girls just wanna have fun.

                          Because every girl should know how to put make up on. =)

TRAFFIC PLAYLIST

Helluh traffic on my way to work today. I looked about ready to hyperventilate when this shirtless, shady character came up beside my car after several conspicuously suspicious looks my way as I was waiting to make my left to EDSA from Nia Road... he told me about some sort of demolition going on but I said I needed to get to Quezon Ave. and he said to just go straight, follow the cars and don't turn right. Ever.

A lot of people lost their homes today.

Traffic's nothing compared to that.

And I have to be nicer to people. If it weren't for that shirtless guy... I'd have been "parked" on EDSA.

........
........

So I guess today, here's to counting your blessings. One of which, the one year anniversary of the email that started it all.

From: michelle kay callanta <michelle_kay_callanta@yahoo.com.ph>
To: switchtrik@yahoo.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 5:37:46 PM
Subject: MICHELLE'S 90S PLAYLIST

Settled

I miss these girls...


and this guy...

and not surprisingly (though not completely), this kind of reckless abandon...


.....

All a part of growing up, I guess.

ON BECOMING...

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/whole-life/features/22864-what-to-know-when-youre-25ish

......

Yesterday, I had one of those vertigo-ish, life-altering, eye-opening, like waking up from a bad dream type moments while I was at my desk... an hour shy of leaving the office and pulling my strained eyes away from my laptop... I suddenly (and I mean, SUD-DEN-LY)... forgot how old I was.

I kid you not.

Which of course was immediately followed by a panic-stricken debate in my head between whether or not I was actually 26 or 27 though I seriously, and I mean seriously forgot I had just turned 27... and I caught myself questioning it like being a year older was just absolutely absurd.

Y'all ever have one of those? Because I honestly don't feel like I'm 27 AT. ALL. At least, I don't feel like being 27 actually begins to describe my awareness of my youth. (Even the words seem so... wrong... as if it were such a dishonest adjective)

So I guess, when Pao asked me if I felt old, I answered, "No. Not at all. I feel grown-up."

And as the article suggests (thanks Dianna, by the way, for sharing this lovely insight), this is a season of "becoming."

So to those in their mid-twenties... let's all "become" who we really want to be... and enjoy doing it.

And yes... I admit it, happily and contentedly. I am "becoming" a grown-up.

......

And...

Yes people... (especially the ones who've been living an "extended adolescence," if you will)

I have a day-job.

I am not just a "party-girl."

SWEET DISPOSITION

sweet disposition
never too soon
oh reckless abandon
like no one's
watching you

a moment, a love
a dream, a laugh
a kiss, a cry
our rights, our wrongs
a moment, a love
a dream, a laugh
a moment, a love
a dream, a laugh

just stay there
cause i'll be comin over
and while our bloods still young
it's so young
it runs
and we won't stop til it's over
won't stop to surrender

songs of desperation
I played them for you
a moment, a love
a dream, a laugh
a kiss, a cry
our rights, our wrongs
a moment, a love
a dream, a laugh
a moment, a love
a dream, a laugh

just stay there
cause i'll be comin over
and while our bloods still young
it's so young
it runs
and we won't stop til it's over
won't stop to surrender

a moment, a love
a dream, a laugh
a kiss, a cry
our rights, our wrongs (won't stop til it's over)
a moment, a love
a dream, a laugh
a kiss, a cry
our rights, our wrongs(won't stop til it's over)
a moment, a love
a dream, a laugh
a kiss, a cry
our rights, our wrongs (won't stop til it's over)
a moment, a love
a dream, a laugh
a moment, a love
a moment, a love (won't stop to surrender)

Money matters and shopping advice from Mrs. Scrooge.

So I was at the salon last Friday for another installment of Gadgets’ “beautylab” to have my first-ever take on highlights and lowlights and a haircut to evenly distribute the massive volume of my curly hair… all of this sounding rather funny when I say it because I’m really not all that conscious of what would make me beautiful or if “texturizing” my hair can actually do that.

Indigo Salon nevertheless, did a fabulous job (my hair is now a streaky purple/blonde and lots of layers) -  much thanks to Tita Paz for allowing me to review her salon and to Paolo for hooking me up with such a contact; I say a free trip to a high-end salon isn’t something to be passed up… as well as for all the other times he’s hooked me up just to help me with my articles. =)

But that’s not what I wanted to talk about.

Actually, it’s this article I read in that Oprah magazine while I was having strips of my hair wrapped in foil and I was fighting an inevitable redbull crash.

It was something about increasing your “joy dividends” (I typed some of the more memorable quotes in my phone so I wouldn’t forget the point I wanted to make with this)

So it begins with this little factoid about how the average American will make about 700,000dollars in their lifetime. And so the thought-provoking question here is: What will you do with your 700,000?

Then the article went on about people’s differences in values and stuff, yada yada yada… and there were just a few lines I wanted to remember the next time I made my next purchase:

“Spend life’s earnings that will create the most satisfying experiences” and “maximize the joy dividend in all money decisions.”

Then there was this story about how the author had this friend who was once dirt-poor but then somehow accumulated a sh*tload of wealth (my words, not the author’s)… and she assumes that this background is what helped develop her friend’s shopping habit of buying only the things that she loved as well as needed… which is a far-cry from those who only buy things that they love… or think they love, only because they can either easily afford it, or (for the more not-so-painfully-obvious reason) they think having these items will make them cool or “in” or trendy. (Maybe people think they can buy love by buying things people will love about them… *hums at sudden epiphany of aforementioned idea*)

This year, my biggest purchases were a stove, a sofa, and a tv. My fiancé bought me a camera (after my sister lost mine at the club because she insisted on putting it in her stocking *???!!!*) and a very grown-up refrigerator. Now these things may seem ridiculously left field-ish from the usual shoes, bags, clothes, jewelry, god knows what else… but just to make my point about the whole joy dividend argument… I love to watch tv. I love living rooms. I love the satisfaction of getting everybody you love in just one common area and making them feel at home. I love being able to go home and just plop on my couch after work and watch Law and Order reruns on cable. I love to cook. I love to do the groceries. I love being able to put fresh basil on EVERYTHING and feel grown-up and awesome doing it. I think cooking and grocery shopping is extremely therapeutic. And I love cooking for people I love and seeing their faces light up at what I’ve prepared.  (Of course, the camera is for capturing all of these wonderful moments and then some… only now, mine has got a beauty shot function that just makes everything more beautiful than it already is. =)

Apparently, it’s called PSYCHIC INCOME: Intangible benefits above and beyond the utilitarian value derived from a purchase.

So yeah.

I dunno if I wrapped that point up as nicely as I would’ve liked but as I’ve gotten from a lot of people, I really do talk like I write and vice versa.

Ergo (forgive me for the long-ass intro but anyone who knows me by now understands my love for the melodramatic and lengthy linear introductions)… I have this year’s Christmas wishlist (all of which I already know I probably will end up getting for myself as the year progresses but hey, ain’t no harm in hinting. =)

 

N82 Battery… or new N82 phone. (Actually, I wrote this list before I wrote everything else but earlier today, I got a text message from Nokia telling me they were gonna give me a slightly-used N82 to have after reading one of my articles about my phone dying on me. So MERRY frikkin’ CHRISTMAS! =)

UPLB centennial license plate

22-inch flatscreen tv

Makeup caboodle

Full-sized bedsheet with comforter set (Preferrably, green)

Helluh gift certificates at Blue Water Day Spa for a CELLULITE MELTER MASSAGE (or someone to just “rub it down and make it smooth like lotion” … everyday. *ahem*)

HID-effect headlights for my car

Car speakers

Pretty red hooker heels

Curtains

Vacuum tumbler marinade machine (as seen on the Home Shopping Network)

A black sofa “throw” rug/blanket, whatever you call that home accent

Vintage distressed levi’s or type-ones

Celeteque anti-wrinkle moisturizer (this is helluh effective)

A pair of thin-framed glasses (with my grade, of course)

(Ok seriously, someone who can pay for one month’s worth of groceries =)

….

Damn, what else?

Throw pillows

TV speakers

Baking pans

Steak knives

2 Tickets to… Korea (Hi daddy… *giggles*)

And…

An engagement ring HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Pre-empt that mother*cker! *winks*

 

……

 

Happy Christmas shopping y’all. Word of advice from that article I read… Spend top dollar for things you love AND need, bottom dollar for things you need but don’t necessarily love, and the rest on things you love but don’t need though only occasionally. Make sure it’s one of those real love type loves, and not just a passing fancy. =P

Random semi-wisdom of the day

Just some random thoughts before I head out to Parokya's album launch. (Didn't know they had an album coming out. =)

1.) Ok yesterday was a sad day. But nothing that a little rhum+lime couldn't suppress... whilst watching "Poetic Justice" with the only other person who could ever enjoy it as much as me, my fiance.

Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don't believe I'm wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

There are some millionaires
With money they can't use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They've got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Now if you listen closely
I'll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
'Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

2.) Saw the movie Lovely Bones the other day... and it got me thinking about death and death anniversaries and how it's an oxymoron to celebrate someone's death... it just makes people sad, really and how the movie made me realize (sorry if this kinda spoils it) that maybe Mark (or anyone else who's left us) doesn't give a shit about us celebrating their death with mass and stuff. I mean, they're in heaven, chillin'.

3.) And how come all of the guys who seemingly have "gotten away" back in the day grow up to be all... I dunno... fat. and ugly? (Right, Mika??? HAHAHAHA!) Now look, he's serving you your hotel room key after he never called you back. =P

4.) I think everyone should marry the one person they know they will enjoy kissing for the rest of their lives.Like... that should be the gauge. I mean... I know that they say you should find someone you can converse with as you grow old... to find your bestfriend because as y'all get older, you'll become more like friends rather than lovers. But I figured (after making out with my better half) that I wouldn't want him to JUST be my friend. I mean, anyone can be your friend. But if we get too old and decrepit to have sex... I think he and I could at least make out every once in a while... then just go back to rocking in our chairs and talking about how freaky we were back in the day. =P

5.) Ain't nothin' wrong with tough love. Look at my daughter. I wore her down. Now she wears me down by showing me the kind of sweetness I never really gave her. And I'm sorry I don't know any nursery rhymes. But now she can sing "Lean On Me".... and that, I think, is a better message than any other kiddie song.

1

.......

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?

And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.

And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.

And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

WE MISS YOU, MARK.

It's been one year to the day since I last saw him.

Ugh... I just remembered and there's still this sickening thudding ache in my heart.

Well... how can I forget.








Our last time together, two days before his untimely and unjust demise... Sunday bowling. *smiles*

We miss you, Mark. SNL, Fiamma, the entire club scene... all of it just isn't as fun and as relevant without you.

On my way to Ithaca...

As you set out to Ithaca
hope the voyage is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery,
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - don't be afraid of them:
you'll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon - you won't encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope the voyage is a long one.
May there be many a summer morning when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you come into harbours seen for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind -
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.

Keep Ithaca always on your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaca to make you rich.

Ithaca gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca won't have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithacas mean.

-Constantine P. Cavafy

.......

Am now onto The Zahir... and on another dose of Paulo Coelho after devouring Veronika Decides To Die. My sister, Paula, bequeathed (ok more like made me hold it for her while she lived abroad) unto me her plastic storage box full of books... from The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde) to A Light In The Attic (Shel Silverstein) to GG Marquez, Ayn Rand, and that Tuesdays with Morrie guy... what's his name... *googles*... Mitch Albom (which I already read back in college though I think I have to read it again like I have to do with The Little Prince because I think it's only now that it could have some actual relevance... now that I'm older... and perhaps, wiser. =)

Pao made me stop reading the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (which I began reading about a year ago) because he thought it was a bad influence on me, hahahahahaha!!!

I guess sometimes those self-help books tend to make you feel more self-important instead. =P

..........

So it's onto The Zahir... In Arabic "zahir" means "visible", "present", "incapable of going unnoticed". It can refer to an object or a person, and that object or person gradually takes over our every thought, until we are unable to think of anything else. This could be considered a state of holiness or a state of madness.

As for Ithaca... it's still always on my mind. The destination.

But for now... as a detour (or perhaps, as another more scenic route towards Ithaca)... it's off to Bali, Indonesia with Mr. Paolo Toledo... already booked for Halloween. =)

Not Quite Paradise

One of my favorite soundtracks and animated movies of all time. =P







Have a happy weekend, y'all... even if it's not quite paradise. .......

To the man that leads resistance
To the great unknown
No directory assistance
Now your on your own
But if your looking for a new world
Just open up your eyes

Chorus:
Because it's not quite paradise
But it sure feels like home
Not quite paradise
We can learn to grow
It'll be alright
No it's not quite
Paradise

Tomorrow's an illusion
Yesterday's a dream
Today is a solution
But you gotta let her breath
If your looking for the answer
It's right before your eyes

Although it's not quite paradise
It sure looks like home
Not quite paradise
We are not alone
It'll be alright
No it's not quite
Paradise

Somewhere from the edge of time
When the flow is that and run so ryhme
I'll call you up and say we made it ok

Somewhere in the back of your mind
When will see your demons come to life
And the world just fades away
You know it's ok

But it's not quite paradise
But it sure feels like home
Not quite paradise
We can make this place our own

On hitting the gym... or the bed.

I just got a gift certificate from Gold's Gym for 6 months/24 visits of Jukari --- the latest workout for women (worth 12k).

And... I got a pair of Reeboks specially made for it.

Apparently... Reebok is working with Cirque du Soleil on this workout.

This is supposed to be for my next "beautylab" (where I review --- as in, literally "test" --- the latest products/services that promote beauty and wellness)

.....
........
..........

I am still very hung over right now to appreciate them.

CHECK, PLEASE?

I finally have my own checkbook.

.....

How f*cking gangstah is THAT?!?!

I just came from the bank and the teller suggested this three-in-one account of sorts that includes a passbook, checkbook, and atm. So I was like, "Yeah sure, whatever. I just need a checkbook so I can pay my rent."

Yes kids, checks to pay my own rent. No more using daddy's checks. (But hey, I paid him back... I just needed to make those post-dated checks out to the landlord.)

I feel like a f*cking adult, it's awesome. All mature now and what not... writing checks, paying bills, buying appliances and sofas and shit.

Hell. to the motherfrikkin'. yeah.

(Ok actually Pao and I are totally splitting the bills... or more like the "responsibilities" of running our own household. Shoot, I am an underpaid writer who just happens to save well. Been saving all my life. For someone who failed economics, too. Besides, I still believe in the whole patriarchal, the man provides archetype... though I suppose it's more egalitarian than patriarchal. Like I'd really allow myself to be "under." =)

But that's not what I wanted to write about.

So yeah. I went to the bank, signed some documents. I apparently had to update my account info - address and phone number and stuff. That's when I realized that there were still some remnants of my past relationship... like the phone number (which I think they carried over from my old account). I didn't recognize the number at first... because then i was thinking, "I don't have a landline." til I realized, "Oh god no, that's my ex's number. Change it."

Then the teller started asking questions... which of course, I didn't mind answering. It's nice making friends with your neighborhood bank teller. Never know when you're gonna need that loan. *winks*

"So where's your ex?"
"Naglaho na sya."
"Ganon?"
"Yeah. But I have a boyfriend now. I'm getting married next year."

And then more talk about wedding plans and what not...

Now I'm not gonna get into the details of the entire conversation but it just kinda struck me as interesting how someone can assume things about your future and yourself from the size of your bank account.

Personally, I'm glad I was able to save. The teller said I can afford my own wedding with all that I've saved (and the obvious habit that I rarely withdraw). I guess it was just nice to hear... to have that independence reaffirmed. I feel pretty damn proud of myself.

Then she asked me what province my boyfriend was from... and honestly. I don't know. Like seriously. (Waffle? You don't really have one, right? I said Japan... but even that, I'm not sure.)

Then the teller implied I wasn't ready to be married since I didn't know my own boyfriend's province. Of course, I took it well... and in jest. It even got me to thinking about that book I read (was it Little Prince?) about how people don't ask the more important questions when it comes to relationships. Like... what's your favorite color? Or... which do you like better: the breast or the butt (ok, the last question didn't come from that book but yeah).

I started zoning out on just what it is you NEED to know about a person to consider a relationship serious.

His province.

What does that even mean anyway? When people ask what province you're from. I mean, I answer I'm from Pangasinan... but it's not like I've ever lived there. Hell, I could say Jersey was my province and that would be more accurate. Is it because I'm Ilocana or something? What does it even mean to be "Ilocana"? Yeah sure, I know Ilocanos in general are deemed to be frugal and stuff... but is that what defines a person?

So does that mean I don't know a thing about the man I'm supposed to marry just 'cause I don't know his province? What if he doesn't have a province? Does that put him in some sort of social limbo?

*shrugs*

People can be so weird sometimes. That's why I became a sociologist.

Now I knew what I wanted to "retort" ... but I figured it wouldn't be all that appropriate to just start wildly explaining the reasons why I should marry Paolo. The reasons just began to flood my head, I didn't know where to start so I just stammered some awkward, "Uhm, when do I get my passbook?"

....

But see...

Pao... likes chicken breast. Just like me.
And action jackson movies.
And my cooking.
And oldschool hiphop and rnb.
And going out... as well as staying home.
And my writing.
And Psyche.
And agrees with my money-saving schemes that consist of jars and empty cans of baby wipes.
And massages me without argument.
And makes me laugh.
And gives me money. (HAHAHAHAHA!)
And writes me letters and notes... on paper. with a pen.
And enjoys comforter and cookware shopping.
And pre-registers at wedding expos.
And is like a brother to my sisters.

And a shitload of other things that may seem trivial at facevalue but the same little things that, I think, will make or break a relationship.

.......

But just in case I'm wrong...

"Waffle? Where's your province?"

.......

And today's song on loop is:

TIME TO PLAY!!!

If y'all aren't doing ANYTHING tomorrow... or at least, don't mind going to work late on Wednesday or at all... I suggest we all go to PLAY TUESDAYS tomorrow night at Attica. Seriously. I mean, I'm gonna be there. My girl, Danee's celebrating her bday (not that y'all could really care about that but I get wild during friend's birthdays =). And of course, my waffle is taking over the first set while my two other fave dj's Mars Miranda and Euric (both of the Republiq/Encore fame) will take over afterwards.

Whereas I am looking forward to a night of oldschool Mariah, Janet, (and if Mars is drunk enough, some Debbie Gibson and Cathy Dennis =)... plus your recommended daily allowance of oldschool hiphop and Rnb, which is what Play Tuesdays is all about.

Yes, it is my blog and I am a shameless plugger.

But hey, if it's a chance to be with people I like or would like to get to know, why frikkin' not?


.....

Oh right, Attica Bar is at A.Venue along Makati Avenue... parallel to Burgos. =P

GIFT IDEAS FOR RECESSIONISTS.

Ok. I will not f*cking deny it.

I am a certified RE-gifter. Seriously. It's not even funny. I am exactly the type who accumulates gifts and goodies for the entire year (and maintains them in their pristine, untouched conditions) just so I can give em away for...

Christmas.

It's coming up y'all.

And so I decided to rewrite my Christmas gift-giving master list for the 80th time today (had to make sure I was still within budget)... wrote it in my HP planner (an obvious freebie from HP but a lovely company planner nonetheless)... and I began to write the things I had already bought and the things I still needed to buy for other people along with their corresponding estimated prices... add it all up and hope that I've saved just enough money so that if ever no one gets me anything from my wishlist for Christmas... at least, I'd have enough money left over TO GET THE THINGS I WANT MY GODDAMN SELF. =)

Pao and I thought of getting a digital photo frame for my dad this Christmas... after my crazy beautiful mother decided to "store" all of our family photos where no one could see them. (It seems only pictures of her, my older sister and her husband, and my daughter remain, hahaha!) I guess the rest of us haven't been good this year. =P

So as I was writing my list, I ask my girl Danee how much a digital photo frame is at CD-R King.

AND I WAS JUST ASKING WHEN SHE GOES...

"Oh here you can have mine, it's just here in my drawer. I got it from Globe. I've never used it."

It was frikkin' hilarious... like "Danee. Who the hell keeps digital photo frames in their drawers?"

I thought it was awesome. That was when I decided to tell her, "Hey you know that tea I gave you for your birthday? (as it is her birthday today and she got the gift yesterday) That tea was given to me by the Zen Asia peeps after I reviewed their spa. HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"And that HBO knapsack I gave Ben (our art director) the other day for his birthday? I totally didn't know there were still goodies inside it like a t-shirt, flashlight, and adaptor! I just gave him the shirt. I didn't even check if the bag had anything in it. And I got that bag a few months ago."

Because furrealz, if you go to my house, you'll see how I was able to save so much stuff... moleskine notebooks, travel knapsacks, perfumes, watches, makeup... even Christmas boxes and ribbons... All of which will be given away to those who need em. But on a special occasion, of course. =)

This prompted us to google on "regifting etiquette."

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/Advice/12RulesForRegiftingWithoutFear.aspx

But I honestly don't mind getting a re-gifted bath soap set, I'm totally all for that. =P

And I just remembered... I might regift a barbie learning laptop my daughter got from one of my daddy's political clients for her birthday. HAHAHAHAHA!!! And she'll totally love me for it! LMFAO!!!!

I'm so tacky, it's gross, I know. =P

(But at least... I'll have enough money to spend... ON MYSELF!! Ha!)

So I'd like to encourage everyone to give "re-gifting" a chance this holiday season. I mean, it's like recycling... and we all gotta start "going green" and saving resources, that type shit.

Re-gifts are the way to go. =P

(And if anyone has a pair of size 28 *ahem* vintage distressed levi's... and wants to re-gift them to me... PLEASE. DO. I will totally love you forever. =)