100 truths

1. Last beverage→ ensure chocolate drink
2. Last phone call→ mike
3. Last text message→ received and sent: mike
4. Last song you listened to→ song playing on michie's facebook video
5. Last time you cried→ dyahe... last sunday

SIX HAVE YOU EVER:
1. Dated someone twice → yes
2. Been cheated on? → yes
3. Kissed someone & regretted it? → no
4. Lost someone special?→ yes
5. Been depressed?→ yes
6. Been drunk and threw up? → yes.

LIST FOUR FAVORITE COLORS:
1. white
2. pink
3. red
4. hmm, blue

HAVE YOU:
1. Made new friends → yes
2. Fallen out of love → yes
3. Laughed until you cried → madalas
4. Met someone who changed you → everybody i meet changes me
5. Found out who your true friends were → yes
6. Found out someone was talking about you → yes
7. Kissed anyone on your friend's list -> yes
8. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life → mukang lahat naman
9. How many kids do you want to have→ 3
10. Do you have any pets → na-dead na silang lahat
11. Do you want to change your name→ no. i just don't like it that much if people pronounce it like "katerin" yung matigas ba.
12. What did you do for your last birthday → aaah! enjoyed a surprise birthday party in our zurich apartment :)
13. What time did you wake up today → 1am, 3am, 7am to drink meds
14. What were you doing at midnight last night? --> sleeping
15. Name something you CANNOT wait for → can't wait to heal
16. Last time you saw your father→ hmm, jan, 1999
17. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life → i love every nook, highway, and spot i've been through in my life :)
18. What are you listening to right now → a tricycle passing by
19. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom → yes
23. What's getting on your nerves right now? → nothing
24. Most visited web page → facebook, yahoo, blogger

1. What's your name→ catherine michelle
2. Nicknames→ caths, cat, katuting
3. Relationship Status: in a relationship
4. Zodiac sign → leo
5. Male or female or transgendered → female
6. Elementary→ st. paul college of paranaque
7. high School → st. paul college of paranaque
8. college → de la salle university manila
10. Hair color → dark brown
11. Long or short - long
16. Height → 5 feet, without osteoporosis hehe
17. Do you have a crush on someone? → hmm, parang wala ngayon
18: What do you like about yourself? → hmm, siguro yung hindi nalulugmok for a long period of time. mabilis lang tapos bangon ulit!
19. Piercings → ears lang
20. Tattoos → none, and i don't intend to have one
21. Righty or lefty → righty

FIRSTS :
22. First surgery → first - wisdom tooth some 3 years ago. my last was last sunday for wisdom teeth again!
23. First piercing → ears, was still a baby then
24. First best friends → hmm, the paranaque girls back in elementary
26. First sport you joined → volleyball
27. First pet → a dog named lucky
28. First vacation → i think it was mindoro with my mama and papa. i still remember my first memories of foamy beach water touching my feet. was fascinated back then. i think i was 4 or 5?
29. First concert - eheads at st. paul. high school days!
30. First crush → a guy named mark hehe

RIGHT NOW:
49. Eating → goodness. i haven't had a decent meal since sunday. ensure has been sustaining me. i tried lucky me beef and chow king lugaw but i am afraid something will go wrong with my stitches. hehe
50. Drinking → ehem, ensure and water
52. I'm about to → go to MOA. yes, despite swollen jaws. uso yan, boxing season
53. Listening to → electric fan hums
55. Waiting for → mama

YOUR FUTURE :
58. Want kids? - yes
59. Want to get married? → yes.
60. Careers in mind? → i want to have a business

WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX?
68. Lips or eyes → eyes
69. Hugs or kisses → hugs
70. Shorter or taller → taller. hello, may liliit pa ba sa akin?
71. Older or Younger → older
72. Romantic or spontaneous → spontaneous
73. Nice stomach or nice arms → nice stomach
74. Sensitive or loud → sensitive
75. Hook-up or relationship → relationship
77. Trouble maker or hesitant → hesitant - would mean he is exercising his brain. hehe

HAVE YOU EVER :
78. Kissed a stranger → no, and i don't i can
79. Drank hard liquor → yes
80. Lost glasses/contacts - not yet
81. Sex on first date → no. ehem.
82. Broken someone's heart → yes yata. or kebs lang sya. hehe
83. Had your own heart broken→ yes
85. Been arrested → not yet, but i've been to a police station in zurich for some trouble during october fest. mantakin mo yun! ni hindi ako nabarangay sa pinas!
86. Turned someone down → yes
87. Cried when someone died → yes
88. Liked a friend that is a girl? → like as in... attracted? yes, uso ito nung high school e. hehe

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
89. Yourself → yes
90. Miracles → yes
91. Love at first sight → no
92. Heaven → a big yes
93. Santa Clause → i used to
95. Kiss on the first date? → 'di ko pa nagawa ito, but i think i wouldn't mind a kiss on the cheek
96. Angels → yes!

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
97. Is there one person you want to be with right now? → yes
98. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time? → no. bad yun.
100. Posting this as 100 Truths? → yes

on science and miracles

i was watching national geographic while having breakfast earlier today. they featured a plane crash some years ago and the lone survival of a flight stewardess. there was an unexplained explosion which caused the head of the plane to disintegrate and the tail to dive to death.

at the crash site, rescuers were awed to hear screams coming from the stewardess. she survived - but all the rest did not make it. then they went on to give scientific explanations on how she managed to escape death.

(i can't recall the accuracy of the following medical/scientific details, but i will give it a shot...)

• while the tail was heading down, she was pushed to the far end of the tail, together with the food cart. 
• the same food cart pinned her to her safety and acted as a seat belt. 
• at the ground, after the crash, the temperature was less than 0 deg. this, experts say, helped to reduce the brain activity and further damage to her internal systems.
• prior to the flight, she was almost not given clearance because of a slight low blood pressure. but she flew anyway. they say this also helped reduce the damage done to her systems. 
• she woke up after 2 days. she had therapies. she went back to work.

and it still comes back to God being so great to let science do its work to help her survive! there is science, yes. but i believe that there is also God behind every wonder of science.

wow. haba ng kwento ko. for me, it's a miracle. ASAT - as simple as that. :)

i have also had my share of big miracles in my life.

it was dec. 1996. it was the time when dengue was at its finest. hehe. being the mosquito magnet that i am, i got the disease. i had typhoid at the same time. my platelet count dropped to critical level and this required white blood platelet transfusion. after consuming the first bag of the blood platelet, my body reacted to the transfusion. i had convulsion and was in a coma for some 8 hours. and then i woke up.

the other dengue victims in the hospital on my floor didn't make it. :( but i did and i am forever thankful for this second life. i believe this is a miracle!

wawin is another story. he has a congenital hole on his heart. it doesn't grow, but neither does it heal. it's just at a constant size and state. his doctors are amazed why he's still alive 'til now. he appears to be healthy. he's even stronger than i am! but there is still this undeniable fact that there's a hole on his heart!

doctors say that the hole is located in a very strategic location - it missed all the vital spots... so he lives until now. it doesn't mean he is immune to danger, though. because of this hole, his lungs are working double time to compensate the limitations of the heart. and this is the greatest risk: his lungs might collapse one day because it is under pressure.

for now, we appreciate wawin's every breath and every waking hour - truly a miracle!

chimni ulit

while kuya was still looking for work, life was easy for me. he did all the laundry. i didn't have to lift one finger to sort clothes and wash them. he also prepared dinner. when i get home, all i had to do was eat. life was easy.

today is kuya's first day at work. when i got home, 3 loads of dirty clothes are waiting for me. there's no food on the table for dinner.

so am i complaining? definitely not! :) i washed the clothes, i cooked sopas for dinner. now we go back to the routine of alternate turns in washing the clothes. i go back to cooking.

welcome back to the club, kuya! 

chimni na ulit ako. hehe. tapos na ang buhay prinsesita! bwahaha!

side A, side B

side A

watched side A concert last sunday with liza and michelle. super sulit ang SGD22 namin :) galing galing pa rin nila! nakakaindak. nakakaiyak. kasi ang daming love songs. at wala kaming kayakap. hahaha!

maraming pinoy sa event. nakita ko ang HS schoolmates kong sina katrina, che, at attila. ok din naman yung band sa 1st half ng show. sa dxo sila kumakanta everyday except mondays. o diba may recall ang schedule nila sakin? hehe!

naalala ko side A ang pinanood namin ng perslab ko. kasama namin si ecel nun. pagkatapos ng grad pic taking, derecho na kami sa concert. susme medyo may mga mekup mekup pa kami haha! 

sabi ni liza, nag concert daw ang side A sa la salle nung college. at nanood daw kami. pero di ko maalala :( shumoshonda na?

i'm in the mood for download mania -- for side A songs! i love them!

side B

after the concert, derecho na sa birthday party ni epril sa bahay nya. kumpleto and klassic court peeps. kumpleto rin ang friends ni april from city bank.

masarap ang food :) parang bonding moment na rin with housemates.

lumpia ang contribution namin. kaya lang namali ang prito. hahaha naging tustadong lumpia! hindi na rin nila inihain. pero ayos naman pala, naiuwi rin namin at nakain yung iba. hahaha!

happy birthday, epril!

unholy holy week

i don't feel that it's holy week at all :( last year was good. prior to the holy week, we attended a preparation retreat courtesy of lingkod. we also had visita iglesia on maundy thursday.

this week is really different. i didn't do preparations for the coming holy week. instead of fasting or abstaining, we had feast-y lunches since monday to either send off or welcome friends. no visita iglesia last night because it was april's birthday and we dined out. 

i was hoping we could go and do the church visits today. so i made a list of all the churches we could visit and i also searched for the stations of the cross prayers. when kuya and april arrived they suggested we just do the stations of the cross at the holy family church instead of the visita iglesia for 7 churches since it was quite late.

however, when we got to the holy family church, there was an ongoing mass - in mandarin - so we couldn't really proceed with the stations of the cross.

we ended up at suntec city. and i ended up having my new macbook! they have a promo for trading in old laptops. my old one is 3 years old and the battery is no longer in good shape. i guess it's about time to change it! but the timing is rather off. argh. sorry. promo is until april 12.

all the while, i thought churches have vigils on fridays. i was wrong. when we got to the cathedral for the stations of the cross, the church was closed. oh well. i guess i'll end up having my stations of the cross here on my bed tonight.

"i" stuff

i went to raffles hospital for x-ray today. i need it for the PR requirements.

i enjoyed dinner: pork chop - cooked by kuya; mushroom soup - cooked by campbell.

i have more good news: marlon also received his job offer! happy mood in the house!

i feel so tired because i haven't taken my vitamins for some weeks now.

i want to go home to have a wonderful, relaxing time at the beach.

i am annoyed at the moment.

i think facebook is like being an observer in your friends' daily lives! and i think this is cool!

i think the rule in the philippines about the driver being punished even if it was clear that it was the pedestrian's fault is foolish.

i had a quick chat with my HS teacher in facebook! she looks great!

i am sleepy but waiting for tayong 2 in tfc.

i think santino is soooo cute.

i am ending this post now.

all you need is...

spotted: clouds forming patterns of love in the sky! if this is what you see every time you wake up, then for just a fraction of the hours of the day, you feel worry-free and light and loved and just wonderful! a gorgeous way to start the day last saturday. :)

i love

i finally had my immunity syndrome with clinique 1-2-3. as in wa epek na sya! my whiteheads on the nose, chin, and between the eyebrows are enraged everyday!

time for a cool change! nagwewelga na talaga ang mga kung anu-ano sa mukha ko! ok, kalma kalma...

i tried st. ives apricot scrub and clear pore cleanser. they are, by far, cheaper than clinique. i remember trying apricot scrub in manila but i didn't like it. it made my skin dry. naturalmente, dahil i don't use moisturizer back then. aba, ikaw na ang kaskasin at hindi i-moisturize. ewan kung hindi ka matuyo! susme.

anyway, i am still consuming the clinique toner and moisturizer dahil sayang naman at marami pa. but i swear, the stubborn whiteheads are tamer now! i use apricot scrub every other day and use a good, generous amount of moisturizer. in fairness, 'di naman natutuyo masyado :)

dahil natuwa ako sa st. ives, naghanap na rin ako ng toner and moisturizer and i found very good reviews for st. ives collagen elastin facial moisturizer. yun nga lang, nilibot ko na ang lahat ng drug store at kikay stores na abot-tanaw e wala silang lahat nun. i'm really intrigued if it will work in the same way as others testify.

tawag ako kay ma, na nasa NJ ngayon, at nagpatingin ako. sana meron hehe. susme 'di naman ako masyadong atat. aba minsan ka lang makakita ng produktong mura na, effective pa! pati si mama na-intriga. ita-try na rin daw nya dahil sobrang mahal ng clinique. kapag wala pa rin, i-try ko bumili online. i've never been this desperate over something to buy it online!

wow healthy

sabado night, i was alone. kuya went to a birthday party and i wasn't in the mood to cook and prepare for a dinner for 1. i raided the stocks and i found century bangus in can and a campbell instant cup soup. voila. instant dinner! main ingredient: preservatives! woohoo!

it's good to dance once in a while

last friday night was a night out with liza and michelle. long, long time no see!

we agreed to have dinner at amici restaurant at holland village. thanks to adrian for taking us there. who is adrian? we saw him at buona vista station and we asked him for directions when we got lost. good thing he's pinoy. i don't want to recall the things we asked him and the types of conversation we had with him. it was just embarrassing. mantakin mong tanungin ko syang, "pwedeng magpa x-ray?" nang malaman naming radiologist sya. pagkatapos kong tanungin, naisip kong parang kakaiba ang tanong ko. bakit ko tinanong yun? ewan. gusto ko lang naman gumawa ng conversation :-S pero parang bastos...

well, disappointed kami ni liza. hahaha. single sya. liza asked for his name. he didn't ask for our names. somehow, liza fished that he is single. "pero marami akong pinapaaral" hahaha. ok kuya! we get it that you're not interested. hahaha. sayang "pwede" pa naman sya sabi ni liza. sabi ko nga, baka thizizit for you! pero torpe si kuya. torpe or marami lang talaga syang pinapaaral. hehe.

oh well. food at amici was great! i had tortellini pasta. i loved it. we somehow made our way to attica at clark quay. ang daming boys! hahaha pero ang shy at suplada naman ata namin. hahaha! susme makalandi lang kay adrian pero pag marami nang boys, tiklop na. haha natuod na! mahirap sumayaw kasi masikip sobra. mas marami pa atang moments na umiilag kami sa dumadaang tao kesa sa nagdadagrooves kami e. hahaha!

we felt we're getting older. mabilis nang mapagod. but it was a good night! siguro kahit 40s na tayo, it's still good to dance and loosen up from time to time :)

some good, some bad

i checked my last post. only a week has passed but so many things transpired. the past week dragged like crazy.

some bad
the closure of the project took its toll to half of the team. the remaining of us just got lucky, but we don't know how long luck will take our side. everybody's hanging on a thread. changes happen overnight. co-workers AND good friends have to go. the mood was, and still, that of loss and grief.

some good
kuya found a job. or should i say a job found kuya! after 5 months of unemployment, he will start on his new work on easter monday. and easter it is! the world comes alive again. minus one worry. i have always worried that i can't lose my job while kuya is still jobless. then the next day, i received my PR approval.

i believe there is balance in life. bad things happen and these are inevitable. but it can't always be bad. there is a time to mourn and a time to appreciate blessings. at the end of it all, i still believe that all things happen for a reason... that all these are preparations for God's perfect plans for us all.

my mom said she prayed for us 3: kuya, win, and me. i said God is so good. 'di pa man kami dumadaing, kumakalabit pa lang, nagbigay na sya. thank you po.

the next hope is for the recovery of friends and acquaintances who lost their jobs. i always say, tomorrow is another day - another day to wait for God's wonderful schemes for us all. He makes all things beautiful in His time!