Painless

I wrote this back in 2008.  Recently, a friend talked to me about his dilemma. I would like to think that this poem best describes his situation. Sometimes, you just wish to feel nothing. Forget about being too much happy because sooner or later you will have to withstand the pain.  But as Zha would always tell me, "what cannot kill will only make us stronger". I have my own share of happiness and pain.  I am not that strong but I am getting there.  So there.  Read on and enjoy.

 

P.S I would like to change the title of this poem so if you have suggestions, send them in. Thanks!

 

Painless

 

Watching the sunset

As it casts a shadow on two

Creating silhouettes

Familiarity dawns.

Seeing the moon

As it smiles on me

Hiding in the shadows

Reality stikes.

As darkness envelopes me

And the cold night numbs my senses

 

Think Happy Thoughts (The Return of Ms. Maliksi)

Happiness is really a state of mind.  When you think happy thoughts, everything else just fall into their respective places.
 
I woke up from a funny dream this morning.  Let's just say that in my dream I was eating chess pieces made out of chocolates.  I don't know how to play chess but it seemed like I was winning because I kept on munching the pawns and the knights.  In my dream, I heard a door bell ringing only to realize that it was my alarm clock telling me to wake up.
 
It was five in the morning when I opened my eyes.  I checked if there were any leftover chess pieces. Sadly, there was none.  I got off my bed and prepared for work. 
 
I left the house at 6 a.m and got to the shuttle in a breeze.  After paying my fare, I dozed off throughout the travel.  It was a good one-hour sleep, which is a nice treat especially for someone who travels from Rizal to Ayala on a daily basis.
 
I clocked in 7:15. Ready to work? Hahahahahaha Not yet. Official time is 8:30 am so I still have a full 75 minutes for myself.
 
I happily settled on my work station and switched on my computer.  I prepared a cup of coffee while waiting for my computer to come to life.  I switched on my radio and tuned in to RX 93.1 Morning Rush. 
 
The first song I heard was "Knock You Down" by Keri Hilson ft. Kanye West and Neyo.  Now, that really made my day. *cheng stares at the ceiling and smiles*  If you haven't heard the song, Google it or listen to RX 93.1 or Wave 89.1  It's really nice.
 
Then Chico and Delamar (RX 93.1) were doing their top 10 for the day, "Top Ten Signs that You Are Not Yet Ready to Go Back to School".  The entries were so funny.  One said something like, "you're not yet ready to go back to school when you ride the jeep and say, 'Manong, isang Bora nga po'.  Plus Chico, Del and Suze of Radio 1 were speaking using this "sosyal" accent and some Spanish and French as well. 
 
After several laughing fits, I checked my computer time and sadly, it said 8:30 am.  I turned off my radio, checked my to-do list and started working. 
 
I was facilitating a lot of things this morning and I felt like I was Ms.Maliksi again. hahahaha The day went by pretty fast and as I am typing this, it's almost time to go home.
 
I just hope that I will never run out of good things to think about tonight so I will have a happy state of mind tomorrow. It's Ms. Maliksi all over again.

Exploring Eastwood City

Exploring Eastwood City

 

My friends (James, Eloisa, Jean and Sylvia) and I decided to hang out in Eastwood last night.  We had planned this last Sunday to celebrate two things: 1.) James new work as a professor in STI College and 2.) Jean's success in the recent board exam for Teachers

 

We decided to have dinner at Something Fishy.  We wanted to try out the dinner buffet but it was a bit pricey. (We should have gone there for breakfast or lunch).  Instead of the buffet, we ordered seafood platter, chopsuey, grilled pork and sizzling chicken. For a group of 5, we had a lot of food to munch. But we ate them all. Hahahaha 

 

Sadly, James had to leave early. So the four of us girls were left. We had Eastwood for ourselves. Hehehehehe

 

After dinner, we headed to check out Eastwood Mall.  But first, I brought my friends to Red Mango (located at the 2^nd level).  I had them try frozen yoghurt.  This is a recent addiction, thanks to my good friend and officemate Anya.

 

I ordered medium original fro-yo with blueberry, kiwi and sliced almonds. Jean got medium original topped with blueberry, kiwi and mango.  Eloisa tried topping her fro-yo with blueberry, kiwi and grapes while Sylvia had blueberry, choco chip and sliced almonds.

 

After we got our orders and secured a seat, we relished the heavenly dessert in front of us.  And remarked in unison, "So good".  For the next sixty seconds, none of us were talking because everyone was busy savoring the taste our own fro-yo creations.  After a while, we realized that we had to take pictures so we paused and smiled.  We had two photos because we didn't want the dessert to wait for long. Hehehehe

 

After dessert, we went down to the fountain area and watched as the waters dance to the tune of Dancing Queen and Buttercup.  So new wave. We took pictures and videos.

 

Then, it was time to go home.

 

We had so much fun and I had a great time hanging out with my friends.  I used to go to Eastwood with Anton but he's now in Canada.  He has to see the fountain area and try Red Mango.  When he comes back in December, we'll go back here and bring another good friend, Jho to experience Eastwood City.

 

It's fun to explore Eastwood alone, but it's best experienced with great friends!  Until next time.

  

Immortality

IMMORTALITY

 

I wait in the shadows

For your return

Thirsting

For the promise

Of immortality

I never fear the unknown

The mythical

Only of losing you

 

Sheltered by darkness

A noble in hiding

Awaiting death

and eternity

 

I will be indestructible

Yet a prisoner of your memory.

 

 

A Kiss So Sweet

Being a UP graduate has a lot of perks and one of which, is knowing the best places to dine in the campus.  Chocolate Kiss is one of the best.  This is located at the 2F of Bahay ng Alumni.  The moment I announced to my family and friends that I passed the UPCAT (errr, nine years ago), one of my friends suggested I should pay a visit to ChoKiss.  Hers was not a comment on terror professors, difficult exams; rather a very light-hearted advice to check out the campus' famed restaurant.  Since then, Chocolate Kiss became a part of college life.  Devil's Cake is a must-have and the signature Chocolate Cake. Heavenly.  You can try these cakes with their homemade iced tea or brewed coffee.  They also offer something like a sampler – three square cakes of your choice for only Php 70.  They also offer Italian, American, Filipino and Spanish dishes.  The ambiance is good for meetings, dining with friends or even a romantic date. UP life is not complete without Chocolate Kiss. And when you graduate, you will find yourself going back to this charming little cake house.

Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian

My friend and I watched Night at the Musuem 2 the other day. It is insanely fun. And through most of the screening time, we were holding on our sides because of laughter. It was the ultimate stress-reliever.

Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) had a grand time when he used to work at the Museum of Natural History as a night guard a couple of years ago. He found out that the Museum figures come to life at night through a magical tablet from ancient Egypt. He became their friends and their defender. (By the way, I didn’t get to watch the first one so I’m kind of retelling his past based on the second movie) But life took a different turn and he ended up becoming the CEO of his business, inventing new gadgets i.e the glow-in-the-dark flashlight. He stopped working as a night guard and focused on his career, in the process, leaving his friends behind. Without realizing it, Larry also lost his happiness.

One day, Larry visits the Museum and finds out it’s under renovation. It has been decided that the old exhibits will be replaced by virtual ones to give a ‘real-life’ feel. The rest of the lot will be turned over to the Federal Archives. Therefore, everyone is heading to the undergrounds of the Smithsonian Museum except for Theodore Roosevelt (Robin Williams) and the tablet is going to stay with him, or so they thought.

The conflict comes when Dexter, the playful monkey, steals the tablet and brings it with them to Smithsonian. Larry receives a call from his friends asking his help because the evil Kahmunrah wants to get the tablet and rule the world. Larry will have to save his friends, bring down Kahmunrah and eventually, finds the reason that will make him really happy.

With the tablet at Smithsonian, the whole museum comes to life as soon as the sun sets. Larry came face-to-face with historical figures like Abe Lincoln, Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon Bonaparte, Albert Einstein, Al Capone and the pretty Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams).

One of the conversations we loved is the exchange between Larry and Kahmunrah a few minutes before the fight scene:

K: They did not call me Kahmunrah the Trusthworthy.

L: Really, what do they call you then?

K: They call me Kahmunrah the Bloodthirsty who gets what he wants at the moment he wants them…

L: They call you that?

K: Yes, but it’s shorter in Egyptian.

In the end, Larry succeeded in getting back the tablet, hurling Kahmunrah back to the underworld and returning his friends back where they belong, the Museum of National History. Larry also realized that happiness is doing what you love with the people that really care for. So he decided to sell his company and anonymously donated the money to the museum with two requests: to open the Museum at night and all exhibits will remain as it is. Larry went back to being a night guard. Never been happier.

Directed by: Shawn Levy

Starring: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Amy Adams, Hank Azaria and Robin Williams