dnt dey nw hw 2 spl nwmr?

Eh?! Y'all are probably wondering what the hell I wrote as my title. By the end of my entry, you may be able to decipher it. When I was still in the Philippines in 1999, text messaging through cell phones started to take off. Verbal conversations over the phone were virtually obsolete as the whole country (lil' kids, lolos and lolas, students, professionals, balut vendors, you name it) exercised their thumbs to master the latest method of communication. I'm sure we know that each text message is limited to a certain number of characters; thus, we tend to abbreviate our words in the messages. With that in mind, I have come to believe that Filipinos have developed an informal text language of abbreviated Tagalog words that is universally understood by all (Filipinos). I assume that during the beginning of the text revolution, each texter had his or her own way of abbreviating and altering words. I had a friend who texted me in Tagalog and decided to omit almost all the vowels (and the Filipino language has a lot of vowels). For example, she texted: "hndi kt mntndhn (hindi kita maintindihan or I don't understand you)". Hmm...I don't understand you, either. It drove me nuts! As the text population grew, texters were having a difficult time deciphering abbreviations that the words eventually evolved into standard text versions. Did that make sense?

There's nothing wrong at all with shortening words. I do it all the time. I mean, the number of characters are limited. But please, pleeeese, save the abbreviations for only cell phone texts! I have received personal email typed in text language. You will find displays of this corruption of proper writing all over Friendster. Yes, yes...it is an informal site. I don't give a rat's ass what people write, but the fact that they can't spell correctly makes them lazy fools. My brother told me a story about a classmate of his in college. They were taking a midterm exam under the strictest instructor in the communications department. This lazy girl decided to write her essay in an altered text language because she was in a hurry. It goes without saying that that communications major failed the test.

It's a damn shame...

Since Last Entry...

Father's Day Dinner. Last Thursday, Sinta and I went to dinner with my brother. Yes, it was several days late, but it was the only day the three of us could meet, with our work schedules and all. Bro wanted to eat at Gumba's--this Italian restaurant in Sunnyvale. It's located on this tiny strip of a block on Murphy St, and on that tree-lined strip are other restaurants, coffee shops and small boutiques. It's a wonder that I haven't ventured outside of Gumba's and Fibbar McGee's next door. Murphy St. is a cute place to hang out during a warm summer day. Anyway, we had salad and shared a huge pizza with wine over talks of the NBA draft and karaoke at family get-togethers. It was a nice and relaxing dinner. Happy Father's Day, Mang!

I Love Me Some Rho Time. Because Sinta and Bro were at work on Saturday, I had the apartment to myself. There was no to-do list this time. I woke up early around 8:30am, and had some breakfast. Afterwards, I cleaned the apartment, and settled down for a light lunch before falling asleep in front of the TV. Afternoon called for some Harry Potter reading (yes, I'm almost done with "Order of the Phoenix"), and catching up on my Food Network shows. I also managed to do my nails, too. It was nice to have a day of no worries, no errands to run. Time was mine...

Sunday With Sinta. Sinta and I headed up to the city yesterday as it was a beautiful day out. Downtown, we were caught in the midst of the Gay Pride Parade. Well, not the parade, but the crowds. We had lunch at Blondie's Pizza, got our fix at Urban Outfitters, and sampled the perfumes and colognes at Macy's. We had an early dinner with Sinta's parents at Just Won Ton. Their won ton soup hit the spot. Afterwards, Sinta and I drove down to the wharf for sundaes at Swenson's. Yum yum! We were planning to walk around the wharf, but then we decided to watch a movie instead. Well, fatigue overtook us, and we decided to call it an early night after our Swenson's treat instead--a perfect way to cap a perfect day.

What's Your Theory?

Tonight, Bro asked me if I get a weird reaction from eating waffles with coffee. Odd question, yes? Why waffles? Why not toast or bagels or pancakes? He says that he becomes anxious and gets the shakes about an hour after he has that meal. I began to think about it more since I sometimes bring coffee and waffles to work for my breakfast. He's right. After about an hour or two, I would get the shakes, and I'd be unbelievably hungry before my lunch break. Take note, it never happens when I have a bagel, toast, or muffin. Just Eggo waffles. Weird...What do you think?

The Verdict

My blood test results came back late Friday afternoon via message on my machine from Dr. A. To summarize her wordy message, the cholesterol level dropped a measly nine points leaving the overall level still high. The good cholesterol drastically dropped, increasing my cardiac risk. Grr! "I'll call you when I come back from vacation and we'll talk about putting you on medication," Dr. A says. Double Grr! It will only be for several months. Sinta and I did a little research on low-cholesterol medicines on WebMD. Apparently, you shouldn't consume grapefruit juice while on medication. That brings up a whole set of questions regarding foods and medicines I can and cannot consume. Possible side effects include dizziness, headaches, nausea, bloating. Argh...More research is required...I'll be prepared to bombard my doc with questions.

From Veggie Burgers to Uh-Ohs!

Because I had to fast for my blood test today, Sinta and I had an early dinner last night. It was a beautiful afternoon out...We brought out our lawn chairs from Target, and pulled out and dusted off the barbeque grill. And because of the darn blood test, we grilled veggie burgers instead of the much-favored and much-flavored beef. It wasn't too bad--the ketchup helped a lot...lol! My brother joined us after a while, with all of us agreeing that our veggie burger isn't as bad as McDonald's. For dessert, the two had Oreo Uh-ohs--reversed Oreos with the vanilla cookies and the chocolate cream. They came to the conclusion that if the Uh-ohs were eaten layer by layer, it tastes like the original Oreo. But if eaten as a whole, it tastes nothing like it. Umm...okay Oreo Coinnesseurs.

It's Only Fair

So I wake up early this morning to see my doctor. I basically went to see her just to pick up a requisition form for my lipid panel test. Anyway, she let me go back to eating my rice again so that I can maintain my weight, as long as I burn it off. If my cholesterol level didn't improve, then she will put me on medication. And because these cholesterol-lowering meds may have side effects to the liver, we will have to monitor my liver. Great. I'll found out the results by tomorrow morning.

Confessions of a Dissatisfied Reader

I finally finished "Confessions of an Ex-Girlfriend" a couple of days ago. It was a so-so read. It's about this New York magazine writer who is dumped by her aspiring Hollywood script-writer boyfriend of two years. In a nutshell, she goes through the post-breakup weight gain and one-night stand, fears of rejection, dealing with drama at work, drama in her family, drama with her friends and their own sordid affairs. And we can't forget how she deals with her problems by binging on a pint of double mocha chip. In the end, everyone's lives are peachy keen. A rather predictible read, wouldn't you agree? This story is chock-full of DRAMA! I won't deny it. I like my usual dose of drama, but this girl is too much. I would never be able to read this book for more than fifteen minutes at a time because of her pathetic drama. It's as if the author wanted you to feel sorry for the main character, but sheesh...she has to get on with her life! Lol...you guys are probably thinking that I should've put the book down a long time ago; but, my pride speaking, I've never left a book unfinished (text books don't count, right?).

Excuse me while a continue "Order of the Phoenix"...

No One to Blame, But Myself

It's been three months since my last cholesterol check up, and I'm scheduled for my follow-up tomorrow morning. I don't think my level has decreased. I've been eating fairly healthy, though I easily give in to a slice of pizza and a bowl of ice cream. And I haven't been walking or running as often as I should, much less working out. I did lose a few pounds, but I don't think there is any correlation between weight loss and a decrease in cholesterol level. I almost want to postpone my appointment 'til next month, and put myself on a very strict diet, but I won't. This is what I should have been doing in the first place.

It's HOT!!

I guess it's safe to say that summer is already here. Yesterday was a real scorcher! City Boy kept saying over and over again, "It's hot! It's hot!" We have an outdoor weather/temperature reader tucked away behind a lemon bush, and the thermometer is inside the house. What I like about this gadget is that it tells you the highest and lowest temps of the day. Anyway, at some point yesterday, it reached 97 degrees! And that was in the shade! Later in the afternoon, Sinta and I sat out in the lanai and had our ice cream sandwiches--our pseudo-ice cream sandwiches made of soy. It was just too hot to do anything.

BLING BLING BOYFRIEND

I can't believe he pierced it!

Last Saturday...

I woke up around 8:00am or so to get a head start on my to-do list. By noon, I had already went for my morning walk, had breakfast of waffles and coffee, cleaned the whole apartment , transplanted the houseplants, and finished the laundry. It felt good knowing that I still had the afternoon ahead of me. I continued to read "Confessions of an Ex-Girlfriend", watched a couple of Food Network shows, and did my nails.

An Afternoon in the City

Yesterday, Sinta and I took advantage of Caltrain's free weekend service (They suspended weekend services for two years to work on the railroad. So to thank the riders for their patience, they provided free weekend services this past weekend, and will be providing free rides next weekend, also.), and rode the train to the city. Apparently, everyone from the South Bay and their sibling took advantage of it as well. We stood during the whole duration of the hour-plus ride. It wouldn't have been so bad, except that we were standing shoulder to shoulder with other passengers, shifting from one side of the car to the next as people alit and boarded the train. Babies and toddlers were crying as the air grew hot and musty. Halfway through the ride, Sinta and I managed fight our way through the crowd, and climbed to the upper deck where it was less crowded. When we got off at the last stop, a line of passengers for the south bound train snaked outside and around the station. Ughh...

We spent the afternoon downtown, had lunch and Blondie's Pizza. We each ordered an interesting slice that had chicken, jalapenos, mushrooms, and carrots. Carrots? Interesting. Regardless, there's nuthin' like pizza and coke. We did a little shopping, and I walked away with two tops and earrings. We also browsed around the Apple store (not Mac...lol!) to get Sinta's fix, and then afterwards to SF Center. By 6:15pm, we were at the Caltrain station, in line, waiting for the train. Good thing we were near the front of the line. What was messed up was that we were all lined up at the wrong platform, and everyone rushed over to the right one. When the doors opened, it was like a herd of cattle was let loose. Everyone was rushing, and Sinta and I ran, and I mean we literally ran fast as fast as we could, to the last car. We weren't going to stand again.

Memorial Day Weekend

This week went by fast. It seemed only yesterday that Sinta and I drove up to Sacramento to help his family move (last Friday night). Saturday, Sinta, his parents, and I started the day with breakfast at Coco's. There's nothing like having pancakes, eggs, bacon, and coffee for breakfast. Afterwards, we headed to the mall for a quick stop at the Mac store where Sinta bought a new toy. What a dangerous store for Mac users. That's like me and Target or Crate & Barrel. We spent the rest of the afternoon packing, and bringing boxes and small furniture over to the new house, for Sunday would be the big moving day.

Sunday night, after all the moving was done, we all headed out to Thunder Valley, a casino in the middle of nowhere. Literally. We had a nice filling dinner at a Chinese restaurant, and then we were off to do a little gambling. Sinta did well at the poker machine (as I was still learning how to play); he managed to double his money.

Monday, we relaxed...

"Immortality! Take it! It's Yours!"

Yesterday afternoon, Sinta and I took Caltrain (and then BART) up to Daly City for dinner and a movie. We decided to take the train just to try it out since it's only a couple of blocks from the apartment. Though we said we wouldn't see it, we went and saw "Troy". The reason why we were discouraged to see this movie before was because of Brad Pitt's "wonderful" acting abilities as presented in the epic's trailer. We heard, though, that the movie is actually pretty good, and it is. It's not the best, but now I want to read the "Iliad". And, Brad Pitt wasn't that bad...

Saturday To-Do-List

1. Clean the apartment.
2. Do laundry.
3. Finish reading either "Confessions of an Ex-Girlfriend" or "Kitchen Confidential".
4. Bills.

Thursday Update

*I have 41 minutes, 20 seconds left till I leave work.
*I'll be spending the rest of the day with Sinta.
*I'm having this ridiculous craving for dim sum.
*Finally, there's rice in the house.
*The stupid DSL at home is down.
*But I can survive without it.