I woke up this morning taking my time to not do anything. I had work at 4 and was too lazy to make myself anything to eat. Eventually I get up, eat two bowls of cereal and start watching Paris Je'Taime on Netflix. Lily calls me up, I answer. She asks if I knew I was working today. I say yeah at 4pm. She says no. I'm supposed to be in by 11:30. It's already 12:30. I panic, apologize, hang up, sit up and stare at my wall for 10 seconds in shock before my body realizes it needed to start moving.

When I got out of the train, I briskly walk to the restaurant. Running is no good for me. My lungs can't take it. I quickly turn around the corner to Bleecker st, almost running into someone before I quickly step out of the way, but not before looking up. The man I almost ran into was Aaron Eckhart. He was wearing ordinary clothes and a baseball cap and I only had about 3 seconds to get a good hard look but I knew it was him. I was in such a rush that by the time I realized who it was I was already several paces past him and I didn't bother getting a second glance. Basta. Sya yun. Crush ko pa naman sya sa Thank You For Not Smoking.

yun lang. gusto ko lang-ishare.

I had a whole afternoon planned of Manhattan sightseeing only to spend most of it in Century 21. I traveled to Queens to pick up my parents then we headed to my restaurant for lunch since I wanted them to try what we can do with fake meats. My mom absolutely loved it. I'm serious, she totally loved the food and would have scarfed them all down if only Lily didn't give us extra freebies. My dad was like, "Imposibleng hindi totoong baboy yan," referring to the Vegan Roast Pork. They finished the plate of soy pork still shaking their heads that they couldn't believe there wasn't a single ounce of pig in there. Paul and Richard were nice and chatted my parents a bit. My parents were laughing at how Paul looked, walked and spoke just like the other Paul. Richard couldn't resist slipping a comment about my sisters being welcome to come anytime. I don't know if I mentioned it here before but everyone in the restaurant has a crush on my sisters since I showed them their photo.

This is a photo I took of mugger about to harrass my mom in the subway.

I brought my camera with me but I barely even used it. Papa's camera is filled of photos of them in the subway since it was their first time to ride it. Mama looked like she was going to have a heart attack every time someone would get close to her.

We headed downtown since Papa wanted to see ground zero (it was my first time too) then we headed off to Century 21 for cheap designer brand shopping. Mama, who was most excited for this part of the day, left with a single Nautica blouse. Papa bought 4 pairs of shoes and I scored a black DKNY trench and a Nine West faux snake skin pump. We spent more time in there than I originally alloted and by the time we got to Soho for phase 2 of shopping, my parents surrendered and sat down on the side benches at UNIQLO while I roamed around to shop some more. We left with my hands heavier and my wallet lighter. My parents have given up for the day so we headed back up to Queens where nana cooked sinigang for dinner. A bit of chatting after meals, planning of tomorrow's activities then I headed out to go home.

I've finished reading Coraline and have yet to purchase another book and I'm trying to resist picking up my copy of New Moon which I got on sale two weeks ago. It looks like resistance is futile until I buy myself some new material.

my boss is fantastic.

did I say that right? FANTASTIC.

Yesterday was a Saturday night, a night that had possible potential to be insanely busy like Friday was (we left at 1:30am even if closing time was 12mn). When I got to work , Lily immediately asked if my mom got in ok. I told her yes and that that the whole family (nana and tito ans from Syracuse, Poy, Ana, Cherish from Brooklyn, Miya from Rhode Island plus the Elabdounis from Queens) are having dinner last night. By 7:30pm, the restaurant was empty so Lily looks at me and tells me I can go and run to Queens for dinner. I was like, "Are you sure?!? It's Saturday night! We might be busy!" She said it's a long weekend and people are probably out of town and she doubts it will be insane like last night. I hop on the subway and head to Sri Pra Phai where they were all waiting. Lily texts me if I got to dinner on time and I thank her graciously for letting me go. She replies telling me to enjoy and that she understands. GAWD and swerte ko shiyet.

Dinner was crazy. We ordered waaaay too much food but it was nothing none of us couldn't wipe clean. We took nothing home. Afterwards, we headed to a greek cafe for coffee since all 14 of us wouldn't fit comfortably in Tita Chon's apartment. The two dogs, Liby and Lucy were picked up and brought to the cafe with us since Miya wanted to see them. The doggies are technically hers from Japan and are only with Tita Chon since she can't take them to Brown with her and Tita Susan was based in Korea for the past two years.

I failed to bring a proper camera since I had no idea I'd be joining them. These are all I have.

Mama was able to bring over most of the books I've been missing the past few months (Calvin and Hobbes! HP!). Tita Chon brought them over to the apartment straight from the airport. I made them breakfast and they got to see the apartment. Richard was kind enough to switch days off with me and I'll be off on Memorial Day Monday. I'll be taking the folks into the city since they both want to go shopping and see a few sights.

Bea sent me this MMS photo today.

Georgie has gotten HUGE. I miss him.

Bleecker St during my break.

Carmine and Bleecker across Father Demo Square.

Father Demo Square during my break. I sat in the sun and read Neverwhere while snacking on expensive espresso/pistachio gelato from Grom ($7 for a "supposedly" large cup!!!). When I noticed tan lines under my skirt, I moved to the shade where this photo was taken. Empire State Building can be seen in the background. This will be the most sun-baked I can get for a while. Spending an hour sitting here on my breaks.

Finally took the time to check out Bleecker Street Records where they sold cd's, vinyl and posters. I came to look for an Empire Strikes Back movie poster (my favorite Star Wars movie) and found none but I got this poster for $10.

I will try to refrain from checking Facebook 50 times a day. I have unlimited data on my phone and do it on the go so I will keep my Macbook use at a minimum. I've realized I spend my free time infront of my mac checking and rechecking Facebook and not reading mails that have piled up in my inbox.

This year, I will be a reader.

I just finished reading Wicked which Chriselle gave me when I stayed with her last September. I just recently finished The Graveyard Book and Tales of Beadle the Bard and I'm starting to like being able to have quiet time and read a book. I signed up for Barnes and Noble's yearly membership yesterday so I can get 10% off all purchases, both in store and online. I bought 3 books yesterday and all by Neil Gaiman. I got Coraline, Neverwhere and another copy of Smoke and Mirrors since I gave my first one to my darling ex-husband. I'm currently enjoying Neverwhere since it's been compared to an adult version of Alice and Wonderland and that is my favorite book of all time. I was contemplating on getting American Gods since I started reading Paul's copy back in 2006 and never got to finish it but it was such a loooong book and the plot felt like it kept going on and on and on so I opted for something else. I would, however, like to buy (if I can afford and find it) the entire series of The Sandman Comics. I have Fables and Reflections which Jammi gave me and I loved it and I want to get the rest. I might get the 4 volumes of the Absolute Sandman collection. They're awfully pretty in hard leatherbound and slipcases but at $65 a piece, I may have to wait a bit before dropping that much on books.

Now back to my book...

Met up with BabyG for lunch today. She treated me out on my birthday and I felt it was only fair that I returned the favor on her birthday. I took her for brunch at Cornelia Street Cafe. I pass this place on my way to work and I've always been curious if the food is good. I had eggs benedict (as usual) with smoked salmon and she had the smoked salmon platter. I think the egg benedict I had from La Palette is still the best I've had so far. I got coffee from The Grey Dog and we sat by the benches on the square nearby and chatted until my shift started. There are so many good places to eat in the west village and so little time (and so little company) to try them all. I miss having a regular food trip buddy. Niki! Come here quick! Mica is going back to Manila for 5 weeks by the first week of June and I can't imagine being alone here with no buddy to drag around with me. Crap!

My mom will be here by next weekend and I'm so excited! I don't know where to take her since she has this thing where she prefers to stay home rather than spend out but this will be a rare chance that she will be in NY and I don't want to waste it staying in. She can only be here for a week and so little time for me to go to Queens to see her. I can't take the entire week off since there isn't anyone else to take my shifts for me but Lily has been nice enough to grant me half day shifts on my full days.

Angel will be in Baltimore by the end of the month and I am so glad to have another friend within close proximity (and another name to add to my regular call list). She will hopefully be staying here fr the next few months as she tries to go back to school in Maryland. She promises to come visit during the summer the same time grace (from Rome) promised to come visit too. Sino pang bibisita? Punta na dito dali! I can only offer the couch but your lodging is already set! Come!

I was never a fan of the original series or the one with Patrick Stewart, although my grandmother did get me hooked on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine when I was London. I wasn't superhyped with excitement (like I am for the Transformers sequel or HP:Half Blood Prince) coming into the theater but I came out an instant convert. I want to watch it again! The movie was so much fun to watch and they made it so well that people like me who had no knowledge of the series could still enjoy it.

I didn't read anything about the movie before it was shown so I wasn't aware that Leonard Nemoy was cast as himself. I now totally understand why trekkies go crazy over him. His very presence commands respect. I briefly remember when Sheldon Cooper was near to tears when he realized he could grow his own Leonard Nimoy.

Mica now has a major crush on Zachary Quinto. Despite him playing Spock with a convincing bowler haircut, pointed ears and slanted brows, she goes,

WARNING SPOILER ALERT
"Hay Spock! Halika dito, anakan mo ako! Let's restore the Vulcan race together!"

She's currently cyber-stalking Zachary Quinto as I type this.

Mica and I went crazy shopping today after a morning of house cleaning. Went to Beacon's Closet where I got two tops and a dress. Then to Victoria's Secret where I availed their 5 for $25 panties. We dropped by Target where I got a bunch of toiletries and two bras since the P100 bras I got from Ruins in BF are waaay past their expiration date. We had no real things to buy in Trader Joe's but we went anyway and made out with a couple of useless food we don't need but merely want. I have a bag of pistachios I will snack on tomorrow when I host.

We got home and reheated the spaghetti sauce I made last Sunday and boiled pasta and had a quick and hearty dinner. I am almost at the end of Wicked and I'm kind of sad that I'm almost done. Wicked is a very good read and I've enjoyed every page of it. I don't know if I will ever watch the Broadway musical though. Nothing in the book and the way it was written screams musical potential to me and I think seeing the actors break into song might ruin it for me.

Sitting in the little square by Carmine and Bleecker enjoying the heat of the sun while reading Wicked on my one hour break.

From the brilliant mind that brought you Confessional comes Mangatyanan. I wish I was home to see this. Confessional will screen here in New York for the IndioBravo Festival and I can't wait to bring my friends here to see it.

Mica went to IKEA in Jersey today so I asked her to get me another shelf so I can add one more above my coat hooks. I was so excited to install them when I got home until I realized I forgot to cahrge the power drill and it was dead. I refused to let this little snag sway me from installing the shelves so I manually screwed them in. It took forever and I hurt myself a bit but aren't they pretty?

I took the stickers off the pint bottles of smirnoff ice that me and mica drank, bought two sunflowers and used them as vases. My chayote has now grown to about 2 and a half feet in length and had to be supported by chopsticks.

I continued reading Wicked while lying on the grass in Union Square Park before I met up with Rann earlier. Mica was running late so me and Rann met up at Joe's where I grabbed a capuccino and we sat on the benches in the park and chatted then he took me to Muji where I scored a mini calendar and a small acrylic frame (that was all I could afford). We met up with Mica at the center then Mica and I had dinner at a vietnamese place nearby while Rann went off to attend as SGI leader's meeting.

I'm a little excited come end of May. I've been convincing my mom to come visit me sometime around the 25th during her vacation and I think she's coming. She's getting me an autograph from Manny Pacquiao today since he's a passenger on her flight back to Manila from LA. SCORE!

The horrible rainy weather will continue for the rest of the week according to weather reports. However, it did stop just enough for us to enjoy a nice sunny afternoon watching the Yankees go against the LA Angels yesterday at the new Yankee Stadium. Rann's aunt, Tita M had two free extra tickets and invited me and Mica to come along. Me and Mica had very little knowledge on major league baseball but we were so excited to go. Mica was after the photo op, "Dali! Charge mo camera mo! Picture tayo! Sa sine ko lang nakikita toh!" I, on the other hand was after the experience of eating hotdogs, soda/beer while being able to yell and scream with everyone else.

aaahhh, cholesterol!

a sea of blue and white (with little flecks of red in the crowd)
we got good seats on the main concourse level
(just above field level)

Full album here.

Nevermind that I am so tired.
Nevermind that I've completely lost my mind...right Louiie?
Nevermind that I keep giving my services away for free and can't seem to save a penny.
Nevermind that I know nothing about baseball but will watch my first ever Yankees game tomorrow for FREEEEE!!!

I believe I deserve that after the last two weeks of stress.

I need to thank myself and chant. Sama kayo?