Dear Brush,

We are not prepared for this. Spending Christmas without you after eight years is hard. I overheard Mama and Papa talking the other night, wondering where could you possibly have gone. Theories from maybe someone had catnapped you or you have gone away with the other neighborhood cats for a journey we have no idea of have been discussed during family meals and occasional movie marathons. But one theory that we all seem to deny somewhat made sense and ridiculous at the same time:

Our dear Brush is dead.

I remember your first day here at home. We just transferred at this newly-built house after living in Pantok for eighteen years. We were never allowed to have pets at the old house because the space was too small for all of us that we wouldn’t have enough room for a pet dog or a cat. So imagine how happy the three of us were when Mama and Papa decided to adopt one of Ninang Naida’s kittens. I found this picture of you the first day you came here. You were so terrified that you kept of running away from us and your tail would resemble a bottle brush whenever we tried holding you. After almost an hour of chasing and thinking of the perfect name for our first pet, you gave up, took a nap and we named you Brush. We knew you have a lot of character when we saw how this picture turned out. Look at how you placed your cheeks on one of your hands while you sleep. Mama said I sleep like that too when I was still a baby.

Mama recounted the last days you've had before you left. She said you never joined the other cats when they eat their meals. You've also had been very clingy because you spent most of your time cuddling anyone of us while we're watching TV or just reading a book or just sitting at our kubo.
We are all aware that you had been really sick lately, not being your usual playful self. You’ve been like that before, but we never realized that this time it was the very worst until now.
Another theory that we had that made us all sad and touched at the same time is that you left because you do not want us to see you in that state; that you will soon leave us. You knew we couldn’t bear it, especially Mama.
We are not giving our hopes up. We know you are still out there, finding your way back. I know you are scared of firecrackers so I believe you would rush home come the 30th and the 31st.

But if you are really gone, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the eight fun years you’ve spent with us. Thank you for always sleeping beside me or beside my left foot especially on those nights when I feel sad or frustrated. I realized just now that you always know when to be there, like you felt how I am feeling and would come to comfort me in ways you know best.

We will always miss you, our dear Mommy Brush.

Love,

Bel

Hot Pink Pumps

It’s almost Christmas. Wish lists aren’t really my thing since I’ve learned that I will not always get what I wish for when I was younger. I am sharing without any bitterness because it’s a reality. Don’t get me wrong, my wishes are always simple and not as grand as having a reservation at any of the extravagant Toronto hotels. But yesterday’s trip at a local ukay-ukay at Las Pinas changed that.

Dear Santa,

I want a pair of hot pink pumps, size 5 please.

Love,

Bel

I was really excited to get this pair from the rack and to try it on, only to find out that it 2 inches bigger than my size. :((

Was a bit heartbroken, but I know Santa’s listening. *wink*

Sell Books Online

I am ashamed that I only manage to read seven books this year. Yes, seven out of the fifteen new books I purchased between twelve months. Most of the books are bought online. It was only recently I learned about the convenience of purchasing books online. Not only that, readers can also sell books online too. I should know since most of the books I bought online are second hand and in good condition.

Speaking of selling books online; I am thinking of selling some of my books online. I read most of them and sorted out the ones that I might not be reading in the future. I found a website where one can sell their books online and not worry about the expenses when sending the book to the buyer. Deal includes the website shouldering the mail expenses for the book’s shipment.

All I have to do now is list the ISBN of each of the books for me to get everything started.

Planner

I am swamped with blog tasks for two weeks now and only had the time to write and research about them yesterday. I traded my movie marathon time to write and finish everything so I'll have time to wrap Christmas gifts for friends and relatives later today. I started two paragraphs on auto accessories and needed to write six more.

Anyways, moving on; my brother handed me this earlier

I didn’t know he was a coffee drinker until today 0_o. Might not be using this though since I am not a planner-kind-of-person. Giving this to Mama later.

Trading Chucks for Louboutins

In my dreams. that is. Browsing through the catalog of these lovely Christian Louboutin shoes is making me droll. The brand is known for its patented red soles. Celebs nowadays are fond of wearing them especially on cocktail parties and red carpet events. I thought the famous designer shoes only cater to events like that, but I was surprised that they also do shoe designs that would fit a pair of everyday jeans and a white tee.

  

I’d normally go for sneakers with jeans and tees, but I love this wedge that i would definitely trade my Chucks for a pair Louboutin platform wedges for a change.

My Girl

Tuesday is my least favorite day of the week. Everything seems to be moving at a slower pace, still gearing for the coming days but not as productive. Well that's for me at least. So to add some excitement to make this day a little interesting than the usual, I'd be watching My Girl 2 after I wrap up my research on Dolan Designs. Been working on some outlines for the client and hopefully will kick off the real case studies in the coming days. In the meantime…playing this movie in three, two….

Mayon, You Are Alayb

How many times I have been asked to write something about mounts? That I cannot remember. But the news about the Mayon volcano emitting smoke and lava right at this moment made me stop my research and listen to the news on the radio instead.

 
O hai there, Mayon Volcano. Please do not get too giddy and excited for it brings us immense fear. I know you’ve been asleep and have been chillin’ for the longest time, but I just hope you spare us and not again ruin that once perfect cone of yours.

Love,

Bel

Playlist For Papa

So Papa asked me to fix a playlist for him. He became interested with the fact the we can download a whole lot of music -- his favorite music, that is -- from the internet. I was able to get a total of 14 albums of his favorite bands and artist and is now compiling it into one DVD. Expecting dark eye circles for long hours of creating covers and creating copies of the playlist for his friends are part of the agenda tonight. He’s so excited to give the DVDs as Christmas present to his friends first thing tomorrow that he requested to get it all done tonight.

Papa’s playlist has Hagibis, Hotdog, Cinderella, VST & Company and Asin and 10 others that I am not really familiar with. We tested and played one of the five DVDs that we burned. It’s funny seeing and hearing my father sing along with the songs because he has stories with almost all the songs that we played.

Car Accessories

I remember the first time I've ridden a car. It was a vintage type that my Uncle drives around the neighborhood every Sunday. The smell of old leather and the sound of the roaring engine meant it's another fun morning with my favorite uncle. He would start with sharing how his week was, what things he got tweaked with his car and what he plans to do with his day with his favorite niece (that would be me, hehe).

Years have passed and he is still the car enthusiast uncle that I knew. Being the nice niece that I am, and now that I have my own job, I thought of buying him some nifty car accessories fit for his new car. It’s an Isuzu Trooper, by the way. He bought it from a second-hand car dealer and it needs some upgrading with a lot of things like the floor mat and exhaust system. I am thinking of getting him new mats for Christmas.
I found this really nice mat from http://www.carid.com/, a car accessory online shop.



The online store has a wide range of car and truck accessories fit for cars manufactured by almost all known car companies. Their website is very user friendly because you can easily search for the accessories you like by clicking on its picture and then selecting the car’s manufacturer, model and year. Shoppers would never go wrong when looking for the accessories that will suit their rides. Also, would-be online shoppers will not have a hard time when it comes to paying for their orders as they offer different modes of payments; you can pay either by credit card or wire transfer.

I can imagine the big smile on my uncle’s face once I give him my Christmas present. :)

For more information about this online store, visit http://www.carid.com/

Still Gaining Weight

Yup, I still am. That's a Yay for me and not a Nay which is for most people. I haven't checked my official weight but judging from how my t-shirts and jeans getting more and more difficult to wear are signs that I added body mass yet again. Maybe its time for me to read some tips on how to lose belly fat, haha.

Anyways, enough of the body weight talk. It’s my mom’s birthday this coming Sunday. I got her a thermal bag and a box of chillers for her birthday. I thought it would be great since she always get frustrated whenever it’s time for her to go back to her dorm and not finding something to put her medicines in. Some of Mama’s medicines, especially the insulin tube and the one she’s taking for her kidney maintenance has to be kept in a cold temperature at all times, or it will get spoiled. She and my father would scramble our refrigerator for ice cubes or buy ice at a nearby store. The size of the bag is just right for her to carry around and the chiller, as the saleslady explained it, can last up to six hours so that’s enough for the long travel from here to San Mateo where she spends most of her days to teach.

UdD at Greenbelt

All that Puma stuff got me drooling. I just got home from Up Dharma Down's gig at Puma store in Greenbelt 5. The gig is for their Create Your Own Style campaign. The night was interesting not only because Armi, Pol and Ean played four songs earlier and totally rocked it, but Puma also held a contest where attendees can win 20K-worth of Puma goodies (which meant anyone who bagged it can take home those pricey Ferrari stuff, wah). Thought I share this photo from the gig with you before researching about outer banks vacation rentals for a client and officially ending the day. I got this from Toti Dalmacion's Tumblr:

Flicksssss

Disney and all the cool movies from the '90s are on queue on my desktop. Some of the titles have been on my DVD rack for the past so-so years and will only have the chance to watch it now. The reason? Don't even ask. Haha. Might drop by the drug store and buy eye cream for dark circles since I'll be spending a lot of sleepless days to watch these films:

• My Girl Part 1 & 2
• Sleeping Beauty
• Pinocchio
• Now and Then
• Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs
• She’s All That
• 10 things I hate about you
• Never Been Kissed

Rock The Riles 2009

It's that time of the year again when Rock Ed Philippines sponsors a huge event that is Rock The Riles. Your favorite OPM Bands will be gracing MRT stations from North to Taft Avenue and play a free gig to raise awareness for this years theme: to push for justice for the innocents slain in Maguindanao.

The lineup is pretty much the same as last year, but there are a few new names on the poster above that avid attendees of this event would definitely enjoy like The Charmes, Not Another Boy Band, Techy Romantics, Zach and the Action Pact to name a few.

If you want to be a part of this musical event, visit an MRT station on Saturday Sunday, December 06 at around 3pm (2pm is the start of the event, but being there last year, I suggest you came in a later time).

Exhibits and film showing will also be hosted (Q.Ave and North Stations respectively) for those people who's not really into bands.

Lezgow!