how do you like them apples?

music : peaches by the presidents of the united states of america

today's snapshot




me and charly right before filling our baskets with them apples




i had a date to go apple picking with the fantastic four (moonshine,matt, kim and joey) plus the two super babies, jonah and hollie.


moonshine, matt and jonah





kim joey and hollie

seven years here in the states and every autumn i've wanted to go apple picking. but no. there's always something else to do, or i've nobody to go with. and so, bruce,amy, zen, click and i cruised through one hour of jersey highway driving to the town of harding where wightman's farm is located.






a beautiful day


i got there half an hour earlier than our appointment. i took the opportunity to sit and read a book by h.p. lovecraft that i picked up at border's yesterday. he's really good. scary as poe so far.

anyway, the fantastic four and the two babies came and we headed off to pick them apples. i think there were about 4 varieties ready for picking. so pick 'em we did.



kimmy, moi and charly



armed with poles and baskets, we picked off apples to our hearts' delight. moonshine and kimmy got two baskets each. they are both going to do a lot of baking and cooking. as for me, i ended up with 9 lbs. worth of freaking apples. something tells me i'm gonna get real sick of them this week. boy oh boy. hey, an apple a day, right? with me, i think i'll have to eat three. whoopie doo. my sweat and pee will probably smell of apples, just wait.

apples, apples everywhere


i passed up on the opportunity to go on the hayride. this boondock girl grew up with farmfolks. we may not have hayrides, we have one even better and environment friendly, it's called the carabao cart,




and my playmates and i used to ride it to go to the ricefields in the summer. i went to the farm's market and got me a bottle of local sweet red wine, a loaf of banana bread, a small tin of banana butter, a small tin of apple butter and a quart of apple cider vinegar.

the early to midmorning started out pretty chilly, but by noon, the sun was at its full fury. guess who got another shade of tan? i've had enough of the sun for today. i sauntered out of harding by 2:30. i headed back home and made it here by 4.

jersey drivers are an impatient lot. i passed by a tollbooth by the garden state parkway and fuckwit behind me was upset that i was fumbling for coins. i didn't pass by that blasted toolbooth on my way to the farm okay? so instead of dropping $.70 on the basket, i probably tossed about $1.50 worth of change, dammit.


so i'm back here in the apartment, and i am on katulong (maid) mode. and something tells me i'd better start eating one of my 48 thousand apples.

noo-ni-noo-ni-noo.

i am not your mami

music : bebot by Black Eyed Peas

generally, americans are a loving lot. most of them call you honey or some other sweet name if they don't know or they can't remember your name. it took me awhile to get used to such casual name substitutes.

i think culturally we have a bit of that too, but mostly it's used by older family members to the young ones. elders call little girls nene or ineng and hija, and toto or totoy or hijo for little boys. my dad used to call me little princess (yuck) and i would always scowl at this. i told him to call me his little princess only if that princess wears jeans.

growing up, i think we used nicknames or petnames to address each other lovingly. since my name is so prone to mispronunciations, it was shortened to a few varieties like jop, or jop-jop. fanny and edong call me jupi. aeus calls me froda from my LOTR addiction. most of my college brods and sisses call me mamajop. here i'm simply joffin.


when i lived in west new york, a predominantly hispanic neighborhood, i got a taste of "mami". i know it's supposed to be sweet and all, but i don't like it. orestes, the funny and genial laundromat owner in my neighborhood used to call me mami and i snapped back at him one day and said "no soy su mami, soy nadie mami" (i am not your mami, i am nobody's mami). he apologized profusely. after my brush with the 400 pound raving washerwoman, i was forever tagged as "la filipina".

there's this cocky 8th grader in school who likes to piss me off. he hides under the protection of his bilingual class when i tell him off and always says "no habla ingles." everytime he sees me he greets me "hola mi mamita!" and winks at me. cheeky bastard. of course i am tempted to tell him to go to hell, but i smile back and mutter it under my breath.

at work these days, our customers call all the girls mami. what joy. i'd rather they call me "hoy!" i don't really know what it is, but there is something phonetically unappealing with mami or papi. i just can't bring myself to say it to other people, much more get used to it.

don't get me wrong. i can be sweet too. i call olivia my cutie and i call charly my moonshine, richard g, i call my chocnut, edong my boy gulay (veggie boy). i have names or titles for most of my friends, but that's it. most of the time i stick to people's names and just smile when i forget them.

so it'll take a while for me not to involuntarily shudder everytime someone yells mami at my direction. i'll have to train my right eyebrow not to arch whenever i hear it. one of the stockguys got scared when he saw this joffin trademark. he apologized again and again. poor guy.

so no more eyebrow arching. i ball my fingers in a fist to prevent my middle finger from sticking out. we don't want to get fired now, do we?


call me a snob. call me cold. call me a bitch. but don't call me mami.

Dad

music : landslide by fleetwod mac

My dad celebrated his 53rd birthday three days ago. A pity that I can’t call him because I don’t even know where he is. The last time I spoke to him wasn’t a happy occasion, but then again I’ve never been cheerbear.


I don’t even have a picture of him to post in this blog. Pathetic, no? I have nothing. I have nothing tangible that he gave me. The heart necklace was snatched from me. The gold bracelet, I’ ve long ago pawned. The notebook he gave me, I broke. The collection of E.A. Poe stories he gave me is somewhere in the UPRHS library, part of my collection that I donated when I moved here. I even lost that one silver Parker ballpoint pen engraved with my name and christian name, I lost it then and it didn’t matter much, I hated my christian name. It sounded so wimpy to my already weird name.


But the intangible lot that my father gave me, it’s all here.

I have his eyes - the same medium brown color. I have his brows - the same angular pair that arch at any given stimulus - pleasant or otherwise.

I have his hair - the same fine dark brown mop of hair that has a mind of its own. It’s straight one day and curly the next.

I have his teeth- straight and strong. So strong they broke my dentist’s tool the last time I had one of my wisdom teeth pulled out. Thanks dad, Ninang said I still have one tooth in there somewhere. And so my visits to the Philippines always include a visit to her clinic, not just for cleaning, but also for some procedure.

I have his walk- the same bowlegged swagger that earned me a reputation in school as a tomboy.It wasn’t on purpose, it’s natural ,like my two feet are angry at each other. This is why it is very uncomfortable for me to wear heels. I am sakang. That’s that.

I have his temper - the same short fuse that just about explodes when I am trapped in the company of ignorant people. The same temper that gets to me when I drive with a bunch of idiots.


And like him, I mostly wear my heart on my sleeve, and this is what bites me back in the ass.


People always say that I am very much my mother’s daughter. Yes, I look very much like her, I sound very much like her, but the things above, she would even tell you, I got from my dad.


Father-daugher relationships are indeed very fragile. Mine is no different. Because I am so much like my mom, my dad and I always butt heads. Thinking about it now, I think it is also because I am in part like him that makes it even explosive when he and I spend time together.


When I was younger, my dad was most preoccupied in making a girl of me. He gave me a pair of Barbie dolls so I can have “normal” girl toys. I was more interested in playing with my brother’s remote control cars and Lego sets. He often lamented that his firstborn is a boy. He tried desperately to make me more feminine. I remember one trip we had to the mall, he outfitted me in pink. I looked like a freaking cotton candy stick. I like pink now. I dyed my hair pink once. I wear pink too, but mostly I wear it with black. ( I have pink shoes, dad. You’re gonna hate it. And I like it like that.)

He wanted me to take up sports in high school, something graceful like swimming, or tennis, or volleyball. Well I took up sports alright. I took Tae Kwon Do, Soccer and Basketball.

He wanted me to have in interest in music. Something soulful like jazz. He’s such a jazz enthusiast. I like music, something soulful too. It’s called rock. He wanted me to learn how to play an instrument so I can be “cultured.” Something divine like piano or the violin even. I played an instrument – my voice, and with it I became part of an alt/ rock band in college, and boy there’s a lot of culture involved in that too. I play the guitar now. It’s not jazz that I play, but I sure can make him cry. ( Maybe one day I’ll play him a Fleetwood Mac song.)

He wanted me to become a doctor. I wanted to become a lawyer so I can sue his ass. He shut me down and told me I can’t be a lawyer because I have too big a heart. Well, I didn’t become a doctor. I didn’t become a lawyer. I am teacher, and that must’ve hurt him too, because my mom’s one kick ass teacher.


Funny how I only spent seven years with him, yet I picked up a couple of things that I still believe in these days.

That a shower before bedtime is imperative. He always told me and made me shower before I got to bed, no matter how tired I am. He told me I have to smell clean and be clean before I sleep so in my dreams I smell clean and fresh too. He said if I go to bed stinky, my dreams would probably stink too. So yes, I take a shower before I go to bed. Even in the winter. Even when my teeth are chattering from the cold, I take a shower before bedtime. I take another shower when I wake up. Don’t ask me why. I just do. In the warm months, I take more then two showers. And always, I make sure I smell good. I do. Ask any of my friends. I do smell good. My dad ingrained that in my being.

I do not walk when I smoke. My dad said that girls who walk while they smoke look like streetwalkers. These days I wish I just learned not to smoke. I walk more, so that’s a good thing. But in college, I never walked and smoked at the same time. Ask me where the logic is. There is none.



My dad can figure me out like an open book. And I hate it when he’s right. He is the only person who can tell when I am upset. He knows because my lips are upturned unnaturally.


Despite our differences, my dad cares a lot about me. This is sore topic for my mom because my dad does not treat my brothers equally. If anything happens to me, my dad will find a way to get to me. A terrible thing happened 7 years ago when I came face to face with a gun. It was a nightmare. The night after the incident, my dad showed up at my grandparent’s house all panicked at what happened to me. I was more or less composed at that time. He wasn’t. He was so upset, he told me he’s going to get a gun for me so I can protect myself. He said he will hunt down the bastard who pointed a gun at me. As usual, I sighed a deep sigh and told him how stupid he sounded. Why the fuck would I want to carry a gun when a gun was just pointed at me? Logic please. I told him I know he’s trying to be sweet, but he’s more retarded than sweet. I walked out on him and let him deal with my mom.


When X messed up and I was left to deal with his shit, I wanted to talk to my dad and just cry. It’s really ironic considering he should be the last person I should talk to, but that little girl in me just wanted to tell her dad that she’s been hurt. My dad called me up so I can call him back. I don’t know who was sadder, him or me. He told me that even though I “hated” him most of my life, when I get hurt, he will always get more hurt. If I get hurt, he will always cry for me. And you know what, it felt good telling him what happened. At that moment, I wasn’t 31 years old, I felt like I was 5 with a big ass scrape on my knee crying my eyes out, and there was his 27 year old self, blowing the pain away.


That was several months ago. I am still here, still standing. Standing strong and hopeful that everything will work out just fine. I hope and pray that as my dad starts another year, he can find his way back to peace and yes, maybe finally happiness. I told him happiness is overrated.
But, we all deserve a little bit of happiness.


Happy Birthday, Dad.


From your feisty firstborn,

Joffin-Mari (Therese)

the A train

background music : mrs. robinson by the lemonheads

yesterday i hopped on the A train to take me to the GWB Bus Terminal. The terminal was 32 blocks from my work. It's not a really long ride, probably 4 stops, but four stops is more than enough when you get to ride with crazy people.

well lucky me, instant mami. i rode with a mother and son crazy tandem. the mom was elderly and bound on a wheelchair. her son, not that much younger than her is another crazy person. mom would yodel eee-iii-eee-iii -ooo every two minutes. and her equally crazy son would always tell her to "stop that" after which he would hum the same old mac donald tune.

i wish i'd brought my zen mp3 player so i can "ignore" these two fools. today i did, maybe i looked crazy to some people, me shaking my head lipsynching regina spektor and MIA.

today i met the wonderful world of wines at work. methinks i'm gonna use my 20% employee discount to score me a cool bottle of domestic Riesling aptly named kung fu girl.




hey-aaaaaah! wapang! kachang!

noo-ni-noo-ni-noo

pooped

music : one angry dwarf by ben fold's five


okay. i literally just got home 10 minutes ago. how pathetic is that? i've been up since 5am, went to j for power walk at 8:30. worked from 11-5. took a train, then bus to j's house. tutored j and olivia until 9pm.

thank goodness my exercise despot has decided to give me free time tomorrow. yey! i can run in the morning, do my food shopping before i hop on the bus to work.

today, n taught me how to make price labels and barcode stickers for wines that don't have barcodes.

i also witnessed my first irate customer showdown. good thing he wasn't angry with me. well, he kinda snarled at me and told me "well, finally, someone spoke english in this store!" he was not a happy tippler, that one.

work is okay, still optimistic. i learned a lot about wines today. tomorrow, i don't know what j will have me do. my co workers are fine. they just speak spanish most of the time, unmindful of the fact that i can understand what they're saying.

first day at work

background music : stand by R.E.M.


i made it through my first day. hip freakin' hooray. today is day 2. noo-ni-noo-ni-noo. yesterday i left my apartment at 7:45. i didn't make it home until about 8:15pm. man, i sure wish this is not my daily schedule. here were yesterday's highlights

1. j and really intent on making me her exercise biatch. we power walked down and up the cliffs in record time yesterday. we worked out from 8:30 am 'til 10 am. dang! why do i have to suffer?! i can lose weight on my own.

2. halmoni (j's housekeeper and cook) insists that i do not love her as much because i refuse to eat her special korean rice.


3. i love that i can wear jeans to work.

4. i love that i can wear my pumas to work.

5. need to remember to wear longish tops because i've been bending a lot to refill the bottom shelves.

6. brush up on my spanish. most of my coworkers in the floor are dominicans. nice bunch of peeps.


7. no matter where i go, some people can really peg me as asian. i took a leisurely stroll on the block of my new hood, minding my own business and a bunch fuckwits decide to be funny and said 5 of my hated words "me love you long time."
argh!!! and i thought i looked inconspicuous. i thought, hey you know, i'm the right shade of brown, right hair color, more or less the same build (okay maybe not). ah whatever. i decided to just let it go. i was too stunned to react. something tells me i better befriend the stock boys so i can have muscle in this neighborhood.


8. i wear a maroon apron while working.the only apron i like to wear is mine. it's black and it says kitchen bitch on it. oh well, it could be worse . i could be wearing a fugly hat. ewww.

9. my manager said i'm smart. (really? then why did i quit my job?!) only 6 hours into the job, she quizzed me all day long about where i can find the different liquor in the store. today, she said, we're going to learn about wine.

10. i get 20% off as an employee.

11. standing most of the 6 hours is not fun.

12. always bring a bottle of scented hand sanitizer. money is dirty.

13. i sure can write a lot of stories just meeting the crazy people who walk in and out of the store.



today, i'm going to try to do my laundry before i head off to exercise with j. so much for being an idiot. now i know i really love teaching. give me them snotty, potty mouthed and gramatically challenged children anytime. please.

i heart spider jerusalem

background music : galang by M.I.A.

i have a new crush. his name is spider jerusalem.





why am i always one of the last people to know about great things? i swear, i am on uber delayed reaction. everytime. i got into sandman 14 years after it came out. and now this, i am obssessed with spider jerusalem. come on, pangalan pa lang panalo na.

this guy is so bad ass, he reminds me of my other comic book crush Lobo. though i must say spider is way cuter, and he's smart too, being this foul mouthed chain smoking,gun-toting journalist. i'd have to get used to the bald head though. in terms of hair, Lobo wins.




so, i leafed through my book 0 of transmetropolitan, and i am so hooked. a spider jerusalem action figure? hell yeah.

hey batjay, thanks for the tip on this one. you never fail to give the best recommendations on graphic novels and music. you, me and jet should go to next year's comic con in san diego.

hint hint candy. can i stay over at your place next year. please?! i promise to be good.

sigh. i'll be humming the spiderman theme all day long at the liquor store today. noo-ni-noo-ni-noo.

my favorite tita

dear tita norma,

i just back home an hour and a half ago. i wolfed down your yummy ham and brie cheese sandwich. my you made a mighty hefty pabaon for me! the works! i even have a slice of pound cake in there. tsk tsk tsk. you spoil me too much.

i thoroughly enjoyed spending the weekend with you, lubs, ron and petulia. it was just like old times. only now we are not back in sierra madre in umali subdivision. we hung out in ron and lubs' house in nutcracker lane.

you know tita, spending time with you has really lit my heart. funny how things just fall into place. i have not seen you in two years, and two years seemed like such a long time. yet, you are still the same caring, lighthearted and generous aunt/mom that i've known. thank you for thinking of me with regards to a possible employment opportunity. thank you for bringing me to the sunday service in your church. thank you for sharing your wonderful family with me. you must be very proud of lubs. she has turned out to be such an amazing woman, with a heart as big as yours. i am very proud of her too, and i am not lucky, i am blessed with friends like her.


you shocked me three times with three words that escaped your mouth. ah, well, times change after all.

thanks so much for the pretty pearl jewelry that you gave me. i felt like it's early christmas with all your gifts. someday, soon i hope to visit you in los banos, maybe you, me and my mom can have a night out in town and we can laugh all we want.

i will call up my mom so you two can get together when you get back home. when you see her, please hug her tightly for me, and tell her i am going to be fine.

i am proud to say lubs and i take after our mothers. with all your love and support, we're both going to be more than just fine, we're fabulous!


your loving pseudo daughter,


jop

sundae sunday

this weekend was a weekend of ice cream overload. maggie moo's. rita's. costco frozen yogurt and another rita's sundae. damn, i've never eaten so much ice cream in my life!

i think i'll clean out my freezer when i get home. if i see another pint of ice cream i'll just about throw up.

just came back from janice and edrick's home for dinner. we had kare-kare and ampalaya (bitter melon) and you know, my enemy called rice. well, i do look forward to my exercise routine to burn off all the food i ate this mini holiday.

football was fun. there's something cute about watching those boys in tights beat the crap out of each other. harhar. my boys won over the red skins. hmm, maybe i can get to watch a live game back in jersey.

tomorrow, i head back to jersey and go back to reality. it sucks that i gave up tv three weeks ago. tomorrow is heroes' season premier. i won't get to see my crush mohinder suresh. sigh.

i got my fill of the full moon, the stars and crickets tonight. jersey girl's going to head back home to the lull of trains and lamplights. i'll be back here in bowie. hopefully sooner rather than later. lubs has been giving a mighty fine sales pitch. library of congress, fairfax county and a neighborhood comics shop? we'll see.

for now, it's back to jersey for me and bruce.

score!!!

background music : fiance by fossil
i hung out lubs and tita norma yesterday. got up, got dressed and had planned to go to dc for the greek festival, but was too lazy to go to the metro and go gallivanting around dc by myself. i had wanted to go to a comic store there, but i figured i can always run into midtown comics in nyc to get my nerd fix.

we picked up tita norma from ed's house. then we headed to one of their dollar stores in bowie. what joy!!! i found shoe boxes and other stuff. man, the dollar stores in jersey are so shitty, i'd feel bad to spend my money there. but the dollar store that we went to was very well stocked. i also got some milkduds and whoopers to sugar me up on the drive back tomorrow.

but wait, there's more. joffin the dork spotted a sign while walking around the bowie strip mall --- was that what she thought it was? alliance comics. a comics store?! eyeluvit!!!! score!!!!




the geekette was obviously excited at the find and i literally ran to the shop.
it's a decent shop, actually. i would have walked out with loads of shit, but i am on a budget, so i had to pick and choose. i almost bought books 5 and 6 of the walking dead, but i saw books 0 and 1 of transmetropolitan, and the maxx. screeeee!!!
i was also about get a wonderwoman action figure, until i saw an emily the strange t-shirt. but they7 didn't have my size. i walked out with 3 books, and two smurf toys. i'm going to complete the smurf cast and buy one everytime i visit here. tee-hee-hee. i love it here. bowie/md/dc is looking really really good to me.


afterwards, we went back home, popped bridgett jones on the dvd and laughed our asses off. we headed out again for a taste of one of maryland's goodies, this refreshing ice cream/ italian ice combo at rita's




happy happy joy joy.


late last night, ron lubs and i hung out with vince and nikki. ate pizza and ice cold san miguel beer,





and watched --- howard the duck. man that movie was soo bad, it was good. lubs slept through it all.

i'm heading to church with lubs' family. this afternoon i will watch my first football game with the bowie crew. nikki told me i'll have to wear a red skins jersey. traitor jersey girl. oh well, i look forward to the chicken wings....


we eat. we drink. for tomorrow, i'm driving back home. boo-hoo-hoo. brat.

short order

music : don't let me down by no doubt


man, i can't believe i slept past 8 am! i'm typing as quietly as i can, lest ron and lubs wake up, tee-hee. it's a beautiful saturday morning and i am here in lovely maryland again.

gimme a pat on the back. i made a four hour non-stop drive from jersey to bowie. bruce and i steadily breezed down I-95. even the baltimore tunnel didn't seem scary the third time around.

i'll post pictures later. last night was fun. hookah bar. mango and strawberry shisha tasted soo good. the music was awesome too. i let the three crazy bowie girls dance off all that booze in the dancefloor. i was too busy looking at people's shoes and keeping my eyes open. these bowie girls don't play! i thought they got me drunk on my birthday. last night i was so buzzed, i think i smiled the whole time.

and oh, maggy moo's espresso yourself ice cream, tastes so good after two watermelontinis, a blue Hawaiian and two shots of lemon drop with a side of red bull.


tonight we drink sake and imported san miguel beer -naks! because iba ang may pinagsamahan . . .

toodles. i'll run off the rice and ice cream i ate last night.

wrapping up

background music : dyslexic heart by paul westerberg

tomorrow's my last day in school. i feel a bit sucky about it. i took a few pictures of my colleagues on monday. bittersweet to smile at the camera. but i would want to remember them with pictures.



funny and sad how two and half weeks seem such a short time to bond with my kids, but bond with them i did. my 3rd period class wants to throw a party for me. my 6tn and 7th classes are hatching malevolent plots just to keep me in school. i took a few pics with my students. my 8th period class is very upset that i'm leaving. most of them thought i'd be moving back to my old classroom in the 6th grade hall, that somehow, i'll still be in the building. i now feel the gravity of my impulsiveness. the truth came out.

no, i'm not coming back, not this year anyway. i thought i was going to move, but i changed my mind, noo-ni-noo-ni-noo.

oh well, jop. lesson learned. there is a reason why the head is higher than the heart.

tomorrow, i'll exit the halls of the school as fast as i can. me and bruce will travel back the road to MD. i need a good dose of entertainment and good company to sustain me 'til goodness knows when.

i start being j's exercise biatch/tutor/employee/friend on tuesday.

whoopee-effing-doo.

bedmates

the past few days have been brutal to my body. i wake up in the morning and i am hurting all over. thanks soccer practice. thanks tae-bo.

i felt i have not met my quota of number of words read in a day the past few months. i haven't been reading in my usual pace. us usual, ze bed is cluttered with books, keeping me warm and entertaining me until i fall asleep. many a times i've woken to a sharp pain on my face, back wherever. damn those hardbound books!
but here are some new reads that i highly recommend. these, btw were passed on by my friends. ahh, lucky me. if not for them i'd probably have bad taste and be a dimwit. here goes folks....



Best New YA cool character : Skullduggery Pleasant



a skeleton detective in a sharp suit? winner!



Best New Graphic Series Novel next to my fave, Fables : The Walking Dead



Okay, this GN is not something i would normally pick out from Midtown Comics. this zombie infested psychological odyssey is definitely one of the most engaging reads i've had in a while. Rick Grimes is the epitome of the modern day hero who tries desperately to keep things together despite the gloomy and apocalyptic circumstances.
i can't wait to read the rest of this series. well worth it, you guys.


Best New Suited Hero : The Madman Oddity Odyssey



This is freaking hysterical -- a yoyo wielding oddball in a mask and suit certainly makes him a new crush of mine. Frank Einstein ( a clever wordplay, because he is a modern day frankenstein) is someone I'd like to hang out with on Halloween, or any given day. And this guy's got the moves too.


So while I wait for Bigby, Percy Jackson and Neil Gaiman to come up with new reads, I think I'll read up more on these guys.

Thanks Richard and D.

the supersoak incident

i've never really dealt with male adolescent hormones until recently. funny how three years of teaching high schoolers never prepared me for the crap i have to deal with my 8th graders.

you see, when i taught in rural high, my boys were pretty much respectful. the most excitement i got from my male students is them coming up with sassy remarks to shut me down when i go on my sarcastic tirade about anything. they tried. besides, there was another teacher they can throw their male horomones at. she's the hottie. i'd like to think i'm the cool one.

last week, one of my gregarious 8th graders who claims his meds wear off after lunch hence the inexplicable surge of energy and cause of my mid day headaches, had the audacity to ask me if i've been "supersoaked". some of his buddies were shocked at his remark. i know he was playing. he's a kid. but something told me i ought to check out on that song that he was referring to.

apparently, this english teacher does not know how to spell. i was desperately googling soldier boy (the alleged singer of this song) only to find out it's soulja boy (duh!).

true enough, this song is not butterflies and rainbows. it's about mary palmer and boy bastos in music.yes it's about the m word. alright. so how do i deal with this? i know my lil boy Z did not mean to allude to anything sexual by it. he was in it for the shock value. was i shocked? i guess. but i was more disappointed.

i spoke to Z this afternoon and i told him i saw the video on youtube. the look on his face was priceless. this was how our conversation sounded like :


me : so what's up with that supersoak? i told you i was going to find it. i'm really disappointed, you know?

Z : you found it?

me : yes

Z : i was just playin' Ms. A

me : stop playing Z, i'm your teacher, i'm not your peer. what does it take for you to respect me? how come i don't see you "play" with your other teachers? you don't act this way with mrs. p or ms. j. why me? is it, because i look young that's why you think it's okay?

Z : nah, i'm just playin with you because , you're alright ms. a. and i think you're my peer. you're my friend.

me : no i'm not, i'm 31 years old. besides, why would a 31 year hang out with a 12 year old? i could be your mother.

Z : na-ah you can't. my mom's 40.

me : i could be your sister. i am somebody's sister. how would you feel if somebody said something like that to your sister?

Z : Bam! i'd slam whoever that is so hard... but you're not my sister. i'm sorry, ms. A. you know i was just playing.

me : i know you were, but it still hurts my feelings that you can respect your other teachers and then treat me like one of your classmates.

Z : see, coz my other teachers, they be scarin' me. they like medea. you're not. you're okay.


argh. so my little pep talk ended there. Z felt really sorry for what he said. i find him sincere with his apologies. i keep forgetting that he's not 12, he's almost 14, but to me, all my students are kids. they run their mouths, but at the end of the day they're still kids. cheeky, but still kids.

i suppose i should be a bit glad that i am not compared to tyler perry's medea, but man sometimes i wish i can command that respect from some of them. this is why i don't like smiling at my students. i smile, and they think they can get away with playing.

sigh.

The Big Kahuna's Luau

prologue : yeah, this is jane. i kicked joffin's butt because she's been a wreck these couple of days, pms i tell you. but with this chick, p stands for pre-pro-and post. ladidadida.enough of that ****





so yesterday moonshine and matt held Jonah's first birthday party at the Fudali's lovely home. Adoring family and friends shared this joyous event with the Wellses. Here are some happy pics of the celebrant and the wonderful people who were there...


the proud parents and the cute big kahuna



moonshine's cousins alyssa and christine



joey and kim, matt's close friends since high school



this is kim again with her baby Hollie Jean and another friend Suzie



me and alyssa, goofin off because we both annoy moonshine with the lipgloss song, and come on, our lipgloss is really poppin' no?



here's me with Jonah when i managed to catch him as he was running around his party like the big kahuna that he is. by the way, this picture is also known as Lilo and Stitch (thanks, moonshine!)


the cake that undid a lot of diets


here's joey giving us awesome live music, (that's my epi btw, and dang epi never sounded that good when i play him, sigh)



and this is me and moonshine.


i had a great time at the party. it made my day happy indeed. thanks for all the food moonshine!


wicked party moments :

partygoer A to me : wow, nice tan, where'd you get it?
me : from my mom

partygoer x : oh look at you, you look like you came from some tropical island!
me : technically i did


hey moonshine, it's all good. you know i get a kick out of this. don't worry i'll be Jonah's personal hula girl anytime. glad to know my tan served its purpose adding authentic color to your luau. LOL.

Aloha wau ia 'oe
Lilo,
i mean,

jane

para sa nanay ko

mahal kong mommy,

alam kong kakausap lang natin kaninang umaga. pero ang mga huli mong salita ay lubos na nakaapekto sa akin. ilang beses mo na itong sinasabi, at tuwing sasabihin mo ito, hindi ko mapigilan ang umiyak.

nakatatawang isipin na kung kailan ako nagka-edad ay saka ka nag-aalala sa kapakanan ko. alam kong mahal na mahal mo ako, at bilang ina siempre hindi mo mapigilan ang mag-alala sa akin -- lalo na ngayong nag-iisa na ako.

marami na akong pabor na hiningi sa yo, at alam kong mahirap na naman itong hiling ko sa yo. pero sana maintindihan mo ako.

kailangan kong maging matatag ka para sa akin. kapag ikaw na ang nag-aalala sa akin, natatakot na tuloy ako. ikaw ang pinanggagalingan ko ng lakas, at kapag ikaw ay may pangamba, hindi ko mapigilang manghina rin at matakot.

nalulungkot ako dahil nag-aalala ka ngayong mag-isa na ako. pero mommy, kahit naman noong hindi ako mag-isa, ako naman ang nag-aalaga sa sarili ko. hindi ko kailangan ng kasama sa bahay para mapanatag ang loob ko. sanay na ako. oo, nakakalungkot talaga, pero ayaw ko nang isipin ito.

Sana mapanatag ang loob mo na pinagpala ako ng Diyos sa aking mga kaibigan dito. Hindi nila ako pinapabayaan. Mapa-trabaho man o mapa-personal na kaibigan, lahat sila'y taos-puso ang pag-aalaga sa akin. Andiyan si Karen na parang nanay ko na. Si Charly, Matt at Jonah na parang kapatid, bayaw at pamangkin ko. Inampon na rin ako ng pamilya ni Charly, at inimbita pa nila akong doon magdaos ng Thanksgiving. Mom, si Richard na nasa Texas ay para kong kapatid na halos araw-araw ay kinakausap ako para mangumusta. Makinig sa aking halakhak at umiyak kapag ako'y nalulungkot. Si Christina na para kong Ate na palaging andiyan, nakaalalay. Si Suzanne na para kong bunsong kapatid. Si Lulubelle, Ron, Nikki at Vince, 4 na oras man ang layo sa akin pero para ko nang pamilya. Si Candy na kahit 3 oras late ay nakikipag-usap sa akin. Si Jay at Jet na kabarkada ko sa Cali, lahat sila, mom. Pati sila Jennifer, Peter, Richard at Olivia ay handang tumulong sa akin, anumang oras na kailanganin ko. Lahat sila, Mom, lahat sila nag-alala sa akin.

Para sa yo Mom, aalagaan ko ang sarili ko. Tingnan mo, pumayat na nga ako. at para sa akin, at para sa yo, titigil na talaga akong manigarilyo. Pangako ko sa yo. Iinom na ako ng vitamins araw-araw. At palagi naman akong nagdadasal.

Eto, sing pula na naman ako ng kamatis sa kakaiyak. Alam kong iyakin ako, isang katangiang hindi ko namana sa yo. Sisihin mo na lang ang tatay ko, na siguro ay masyadong emosyonal.

Hindi ko alam kung kelan uli tayo magkikita. Sa ngayon, pagtiyagaan na lang natin ang boses ng isa't-isa. Miss na kita mom, at wala akong ibang gustong magpahid ng luha at uhog ko, kundi ikaw.



Nagmamahal,

ang iyong panganay

Kasal, Libing

awitin : Seven Years ni Natalie Merchant


Alam kong darating ako sa petsang ito. Hindi ko ito inaabangan. Panibagong bagyo na naman ito ng mga damdaming ayaw ko nang balikan, ngunit kailangang harapin.

Pitong taon, hindi ako nakaabot. At bukas, sa oras na dapat sana’y puno ng saya sa pag-alaala ng mga salitang binitawan sa hangin, dadalo ako sa isang libing.

Matagal na ang lamay na ito. Pero bumabalik pa rin ang alaala ng sakit. Parang sugat na nilapatan ng band-aid. Andiyan pa rin ang peklat, na ipaaala sa akin na andiyan, andiyan ang sugat, huwag mong kalimutan.

Oo, medyo magaling-galing na ako. Pero ang mga multo ng alaala ay mahirap hulihin. Ibabaon ko ang singsing, trahe, mga larawan. Wala nang silbi ang mga ito. Matagal nang lumisan ang pagmamahal sa tahanang ito.
Hahayaan ko na lang tumulong muli ang mga luha. Matagal na rin akong hindi umiiyak. Hindi ko na lalabanan ito. Minsan nakakapagod rin ang palaging nagpapakatatag. Tatahan din ako.


At bukas, ang kandilang sisindihan ko ay kandilang panlibing.

Abo sa abo . At halaw sa bennu, babangon akong muli sa pagkamatay na ito.

shoe whore cravings

background music : fiance by fossil


i'm in a semi pissy mode. i finally realized that not only have i lost the pair of custom-made pearl earrings that my lola gave me, i also lost a pair of pumas from my trip to california earlier this year.

it sucks. i've only worn that pair all but twice. i know i have 6 excellent pairs of pumas left, but still. sigh.

i went to this snazzy site. pretty cool huh? you get to create your own puma sneakers! sweet. i designed my very own pair.





the cost of these babies is $130. kinda pricey for me, but since i "designed" it, i guess it's okay. hmmm, gotta save up for this pair for christmas. noo-ni-noo-ni-noo.

the night durga got her ass whooped

background music : one angry dwarf by ben fold's five

my morning began normally enough. by 8 am i was at j's front step to pick her up for an hour's walk down and up this park...





j had her torturing session which was quite long for me, i got back to the apartment by 12:30. took a nap at around 2, woke up at 5, tidied up a bit, showered and geared up to go meet up with the soccer crew.

jersey roads are so poorly lit. even with glasses on i had a hard time driving to the park. good thing gps amy was handy. i ignored her instructions anyway. took one wrong turn, but made it to the park by 8:10 just as the kiddie league was wrapping up their practice.

the field was beautiful , astro turf baby!





so anyway, coach ernie's team seem to be really serious. i was nervous of course. it's been what, 16 years since i played soccer, and now i remember why i stopped. oh, yeah, i suck at it.

half the time stupid me was switching between basketball and soccer mode. i keep running after the ball with my hands and trying to catch the ball with my arms. sigh. see, if this was a basketball practice i wouldn't have such a horrible time. the only problem is -- i am too short. well, at least in this side of the world.


okay fine, i wasn't that bad, but 45 minutes into drills, i was done. i didn't even wait for the scrimmage. i had to go before i have a heart attack. but that work out was very good though, i dunno if it was the bodyshop's peach body butter dripping down my back or grease, i mean oil, i mean sweat. i think i might come back for more next week, or i might try to find another team closer to my town. the 30 minute drive at 10 pm kinda unsettles me.

this is my after half-practice shot. lookit my dork gear...



let's see how much it'll hurt to get out of bed tomorrow....


p.s.

the online purchase came in the mail today. screeeeeeeee!!!! happy happy joy joy!

happy birthday, big kahuna

jonah walter wells turns one today. cool auntie joffin could not wait to give him his present so i made a quick trip yesterday to personally deliver it (and be excused from wrapping it, hehe.)

i was trying to get a kiss from the cutie, but he was very busy playing with his learning table.




look at that face! and those eyes. yeah, i'm pretty much this kid's bitch too. when moonshine and i do our walking, he can drop his sippy cup 48 times and i'll pick it up every single time, how can you say no to these big green eyes. sucker.


there! i got one.



happy birthday jonah! i'll see you on your luau this saturday.

low batt morning

of all the days to feel blah, i choose today. and then i thin i just lost a pair of sneakers. argh. i particularly liked that pair because it had velcro strips instead of shoe laces.

hooray. some weekend.
more coffee?

screee!!!!

living in north nj rocks because we get to benefit from other people's holidays. tomorrow and friday we have no school in observance of Rosh Hashanah.
a four day weekend. yeah baby!!!!

ramdom updates :


no soccer last night. coach said we did not have enough peeps to scrimmage. first soccer practice slated tomorrow.

never drink more than 6 fl oz of coffee while driving, especially if your destination is more than 3 miles. durga made a quick 180 after being stuck waiting for the 67,0000 train cars to finish passing through.


my aborted trip to modell's save me approximately $20. because i was so pissed at myself for pissing so often, i forced myself to hunt my shin guards and tube socks. now my closet is a whole new mess.

thanks dad for the lovely logs/ calves. with my shin guards, i look like freakin astroboy in drag. oh well, i may have use for these babies yet.

coach ernie tells me he wants me to play my first game next thursday. first, i told him he hasn't even seen me run and when he does he might change his mind. then, i told him i may sit that one out. i still have work on friday, plus the long drive to MD so, yeah, i think i might want to be alive until then.


scored a few knit tank tops from j this afternoon. i must've looked pathetic in my old navy baggy jeans, but cute H&M top.
j is bent on making me her exercise bitch this fall. it's all good, i'm up for that. first there's soccer, then she wants to walk down and uphill the park by the hudson river, then she wants to do tae-bo. arrgh. i want to be fit, not die of exhaustion!

anyway, i really liked the top and skirt she gave me. it's not something i would pull out of the store, but when i put it on, i like the chick in the mirror smiling back at me, by god, i am a girl!!!


i ordered something online last night. i can't wait to get it!!!! joffin the dork is so excited.

i chose to buy an aquaman t-shirt instead of a cute isaac mizrahi dress from target. i feel kinda stupid or course, but i figured dresses can come and go, but an aquaman t-shirt? gotta have it.

moonshine, bizarre love triangle is shaping up pretty well. i might even play it for the big kahuna before the guests arrive on saturday.

alright, let me drink my freshly brewed coffee to start my weekend.

random ramblings

i don't know what hit me but man am i tired. i slept well enough but i feel like i've been through a college org initiation all of a sudden sans the random tasting of red hot chilli peppers.

must be the running around trying to find r's blasted soccer field last night.

speaking of soccer, i'm supposed to go to my first practice tonight, but i can not find my tube socks anywhere. maybe i can go w/o shin guards today? yeah, that's smart, my logs will be riddled with bruises. nice.
i'm too lazy to go over to modell's before practice. brat. brat. brat.


oh well

or maybe i'll just go on thursday and buy the socks later.


godiva hazelnut vanilla coffee with lots of unsweetened soy milk tastes so good.

happiness: i found guitar chords to frente's version of bizarre love triangle. it's quarter before 6 am and i am strumming epi (my hand me down epiphone) like crazy.

haay, another day of school. and here i am thinking of cutting. i'd drive down river road, find a shady spot and watch the ferries pass to and fro manhattan.

or maybe i can find that magic secret passage to los banos, play with shaq,listen to my mom talk about her students, have tea with my grandma and annoy the hell out of my brother, jp.

or, i can get my ass off this chair, take a shower and get ready for school.

growl.

the jerry springerization of greek mythology

background music : song for the dumped by ben fold's five



i'm one big mythology fan. love love love it. i can go on and on for hours just talking about why i like reading and teaching it.

my students also observed that i am "nicer" and "more fun" when i teach a unit on mythology.

i have three classes -- three different levels. the first one is the most motivated . the second class is more difficult to motivate, but workable. and the third one, my smallest class (7 students) is a challenge.

this class hates anything that has something to do with work. they are not dumb kids, they just learn differently. i had 6 of the 7 when they were in 6th grade, and those 6 were quite the troublemakers in class. they act up when they get frustrated. and they get frustrated easily.


well, challenge schmallenge. i'll do what it takes to make them at least like mythology. i'd even buy that stupid grass skirt in party city just to get a laugh out of it. heck i dyed my hair pink once and that got my students' attention for a good month.

anyway, i tried to make the stories more "relevant" to them. instead of making them read the chapters silently, i gathered them around and read and rephrased the text for them. i felt it working.


fast forward to the greek creation myths, and zeus and his philandering ways -- the class went wild. here is what the discussion sounded like


b : dang! those gods are crazy!
h : zeus marrying his sister, that's nasty man! that's jerry springer right there!
me : wait 'til you hear about zeus' girlfriends
o : how many has he got?
me : a lot
s : more than hugh hefner?
me : hugh hefner's an amateur
b : dang ms. a, pardon my french, but that zeus is a manwhore!!!

i laughed out so loud, i almost fell off my seat.

h : if i was zeus i'd get me a paternity test, man. you don't know what these bitches be sayin, oops, my bad ms. a, didn't mean to use that language in front of you.

me : it's okay, just try not to say it again. oh they did have some sort of paternity testing then, hera would know if the demigod is a son of zeus



the bell rings and for the first time i was met with groans and complaints instead of "woo-hoo!"

b approaches me on her way out and says, "you alright, ms. a, i think i just might enjoy your class and them crazy gods. all you had to do is bring it down a bit, and we cool."


that made my day.

thanks jerry springer, i think i may just teach these kids something.

the karmic cycle of ms. baril

background music : middle of my life by sun 60


in junior year in hs, i managed to persuade my math 4A classmates to join me in a prank against our teacher, prof. gapud. we all turned our chairs facing the back wall of the room, our backs to the blackboard. it was funny the first 10 minutes, but when i heard that our teacher cried and when i was asked to talk to my adviser, prof. umali, i felt really terrible. i apologized to my professor -- in all sincerity. that was a shameful thing to do.

fast forward to 2007, first week of school and i find myself mulling over the fact that i've been teaching for a decade. dang! how the heck did that happen?


i thought i was going to be a kick ass lawyer. send bad people to jail. be a hero.


instead, a month before my college graduation i was offered a job to teach in my high school alma mater.

it was a big joke really. what can a 21 year old foul-mouthed blabbering fool teach a bunch of wide-eyed 14 year olds? what do i know about african and asian literature? apparently, with numerous hours of cramming, a lot of bs, plenty of guts, puta red lipstick and lots of silver jewelry, i was able to do a pretty good job.

seriously, i was as ignorant as my kids. i did not know squat about classroom management. i did not write any lesson plans. i was the US educational system's nightmare. i would give surprise quizzes when i did not have time to study for my lesson or when our band had a gig the night before. my final tests were riddled with stupid irrelevant bonus questions such as "who is more supreme, voltes V or voltron?" or "who is your favorite superfriend and why?" i was disorganized, irritable, impatient and wickedly sarcastic. being that my school was independent of the national dept. of ed, we prided ourselves with "academic freedom" i taught whatever i wanted. asian lit? here, let's read a chapter from the kama sutra. emergent lit? here, let's learn about philippine gay literature. but you know what? bless my two former prinicipals and bless prof. uri for giving me complete control of my classes.


my first homeroom class - katmon





senior class final presentation - no final exams, a skit and song and dance number which i thoroughly enjoyed watching - how often does a teacher get to see her students dance?





the general music club - escape from the boring music class, we jam and goof off on fridays, yey!



the sophomore batch of 1997 is my first batch of students, and they will forever remain special in my heart. they were my "training wheels" of sorts. sometimes i feel that i have short changed them being that i was only 21, a fresh grad. but it worked out pretty well, a few of them can still quote my bs verbatim. i make it a point to see a bunch of them everytime i come home for a visit. i still talk to a few of them on ym. heck i even call overseas just to chat with them.



when i migrated here in jersey, i was up for anything. i even went to beauty school but then i quit when i got pissed at my teacher for expecting me to have hair cutting skills. i thought my little adventure here in the states would pretty much open my mind if teaching really is for me.


well whoopy do. it seems god is bent on making me a teacher because all the little jobs that i got were related to education. teacher assistant, pre-school teacher, substitute teacher, and finally, an english teacher. i guess i got that question answered loud and clear.

man, 10 years into teaching, and i feel very fortunate indeed to be in a profession that i love. most of the time i don't feel like i'm working. it's always play time for me.

next month, i will take a brief ( i hope) reprieve from teaching. but i do intend to get myself back in the classroom. i'm just taking a time out. i'll be back.

from the instigator of classroom pranks to being the teacher, i'd say karma bit me back big time, but this is good karma for me.

play time

r and o are hanging out with me in the apartment. i was supposed to tutor their mom, but something came up and i had to keep them occupied for the next few hours. r and o have grown so fast. it's really quite incredible how i started tutoring them when r was just 4 and o 3. r is taller than me now but still the affectionate teddy bear. o has grown tall, skinny and talkative. it makes me proud to be their tutor and sometimes part time mom. here are pics of our goof fest....



me and r look how tall he is now!



and this is me an o. she's really a cutie no?



these two love hanging out in my apartment. i dunno why since their house is hhhuuuugggeee. i guess they love the sense of clutter around my place. these two are begging for filipino food. should i feed them? noo-ni-noo-ni-noo.

sliding doors

background music : don't think twice, it's alright by bree sharp


today, seven years ago, i passed by the sliding doors of the ninoy aquino international airport and said goodbye to my life of 24 years. i was off to a great adventure, thousands of miles away.

i will always remember the frenzied last week before i left my beloved los banos. i barely slept. friends kept calling left and right. have a drink with us? coffee before you leave? can we say goodbye? i said a lot of goodbyes. 24 years, one has got to have a lot of people in one's life. my former students came calling. co-teachers, high school classmates,bandmates, girlfriends, college brothers and sisters. it was a happy kind of goodbye.

coming here via northwest airlines was a long trip. 19 hours. the first time i rode a plane, it was a mere 2 hours. i crossed many a sliding doors. i came in one, and went out of another. passport and visa stamped. welcome to the united states.

funny how i am still here 7 years later. i was supposed to just study here, go back home and continue teaching. but life took its turn and i am still here.

i almost gave up on finding friends here. i spent most of my weekends on the phone chatting with friends back in los banos or manila. my first winter was quite an experience. it can really take a toll on a homesick mountain girl. christmas is so different here, but every year it gets less and less lonely.

fast forward to seven years later, i look back at my old self, smirk and keep walking.
no regrets. there are many more sliding doors to pass through.

back on the chain gang

background music : back on the chain gang by the pretenders

how first day back to school?

freakin' fabulous!


i got to the parking lot pretty late this morning since i had to go back home because i forgot my lesson plans. i had to park at the back lot, right next to s's car. there was a lot of excitement going on. i was very happy to see my old colleagues. they were very warm and welcoming to this old and somewhat ex-wounded soldier. i was met with a lot of smiles and ooing and aaaing. i forgot i haven't seen most of them for two months and i've lost some weight.


k, b and s were there. so was m. i didn't get a chance to chat because of our crazy sched, but i'll find them one of these days. s got me a pack of bic purple pens which started my morning on a good note. i am pen whore as well as a post-it whore. a pack of purple pens excite me. yeah.


the kids were good. i had to answer some questions i'd rather forget. "i thought you were moving to canada?" i thought so too. a few of them were so cute -- they thought i'd gotten married because i was mrs. k, not ms. a anymore. i laughed it off and explained that i will be their substitute for the next three weeks.


i felt good going back to work. it rejuvenated me, in more ways than one. i love the smell of the dry erase marker on the white board. i love the humming of the copy machine. i know this job is only temporary, but at least i know that school is where i would want to be.


come late september i will working at a totally different place. i am excited at the prospect of meeting interesting people. crazy, drunk, and probably incomprehensible folks. but hey, at least that's something to write about.

i'd better go study for tomorrow's lesson.

later,

j

first day of school

background music: wind it up by gwen stefani


i overslept. i had intended to nap at 7pm and fold my laundry. that didn't happen. i woke up at 4am.
someone's excited to go back to school.
i haven't picked out an outfit for the first day. that might take a while. my bed would probably be a war zone in an hour or so.
i have mixed emotions about going back to my old school. i am very happy to see my colleagues again, but at the same time sad because i'm not really there for the school year.

but, i'll make sure to make the best of the next three weeks.

brace yourselves 8th graders, i won't be babysitting you.

Mundy Monday

background music : hey baby by no doubt

in buckingham and willingham's graphic novel series fables, mundys are what the fable folks call humans.
my day today is as mundane. i mostly ran some errands, cleaned up a bit, and later i will have to face a pile of laundry from the maryland trip. so domesticated. (jane her rolls eyes here)

my friendly neighborhood quizno's has been getting too comfy for me. as soon as the clerks and cashier see my shadow, they know that i will be getting the chopped roasted chicken salad with flatbread on the side, no dressing. at one point in time, this elderly mahadera cashier had the nerve to ask why i keep ordering the same thing every single time. i would've wanted my head to turn 180 degrees mala linda blair and spew some disgusting green ooze at her and tell her to go scratch her eyes out, but since she's elderly and an elderly manang at that, i just smiled at her and bit my tongue. that hurt. a lot.

and so today i decided to visit my local farmer's market and try to take back my kitchen. the kitchen and the stove have been pretty much out of commission for a while. i don't cook anymore. i usually buy prepared food somewhere. but i still use the sink for the occasional plate, utensils and glasses.

from the farmer's market i bought baby bok choy, broccoli, and bean sprouts. i made a short trip to the korean supermarket across the street to get some salmon fillets. i think four months of chicken is quite pathetic.

and so, durgita worked the kitchen and produced a yummy plate of home cooked meal. her home economics teacher would be so proud.


.

in other news, i just opened the email of the english teacher that i will be subbing for. damn, she's very meticulous. hmph. i guess i'd better read up now. i have 40 freaking pages of lesson plans to prepare for!

oh well, i'll read her documents after reading a new graphic novel. i promise.
snap. there's still the laundry to be done.

noo-ni-noo-ni-noo.

steam

background music : silent all these years by tori amos

it takes me awhile to digest certain bits and pieces of verbal duels. i am pissed off two weeks after a particular one. it is briggs who takes me back to that conversation.

my blood is simmering. nostrils flaring. eyebrows arched to high heavens.

i think of karate kid's wax on wax off strategy to ward off this impending explosion. jane tells me it is not worth it.


x is sad because he can't find anybody to talk to the way he talks to me. nobody intelligent.


well here's $20, go buy yourself a decent non-alcoholic conversation.

jerk.

i'm not your cheerleader anymore.

in the nile

Noooooo!!!!! Arrrrgh!!!!! O HHHHIIIIINNNNDDDDDEEEEEE!!!!


is tomorrow really back to school?! sigh. this means i have to go back to work now. no more eraly morning chitchats on ym. no more listening to no doubt, the pretenders and heavy metal music (shhh) and dancing and hanging out at home til the late morning.

no more messing up my apartment. no more playing around with my action figures.


sigh. iron work clothes. tidy up my desk, heck my whole apartment. i think i'm gonna cry. goodbye summer. sniff. sniff.


but i've still got today.


whatta brat.


in the nile

picture perfect labor day

warning : if you are sick and tired of looking at my pictures, go read something else because this is a picture laden post, k?


background music : on a sunday afternoon by a lighter shade of brown

this year's labor day weekend has got to be the best one on my list. i attended my first real barbeque and i loved it!


l, r and i were invited over to j and e's house for sunday barbeque. l brought her specialty chicken marinated in secret herbs and spices. it was yummy. this is l and r on our way to the barbeque


l and i went on kikay mode, and jane wore a dress (gasp! what?! no jeans?!) this is us, before drinks.



and this is us after two cups of edrick's wicked sangria and a bottle of beer each.what lushes.



there were about 16 people (err, adults) in the barbeque, mostly made up of couples who are friends of e and j. they guys enjoyed a round of drunken golf




and drunken football.






ayayay! boys will be boys. it's a good thing nobody barfed on the lawn.

n and v came in a little later, but i was so glad they did. n is so the life of any party. i dunno what she's been drinking, but look at this crazy girl camera whorin'



well, if you can't beat 'em...




there were also two baby boys in the barbecue. this one is little frederick with his mom, j


and this one is little logan (great name!) with mom, g




the group also played an amusing rowdy and fun-filled game of poker



oh, of course, the food was excellent!