dream about to come true?

i have a feeling that one of my dreams is about to come true......

but first i need to take care of some paper work.....no, scratch that.... first i need money for that paper work....

hmm....

packed and ready to go!

bags are packed.
check-in stub. ok.
camera + lens + extra batt + extra sd card. check

i'm all set!

now i need to go back on my reading.

please tell me i'm not the only one..

"argh"
"why are you not working"
"that's it, i give up"
"grr"
"what the!"
"what class definition not found?"
"why, why, why are you doing this to me!"

those are just a few of the most commonly things my cubicle is emitting and you'll hear it if you're cubicle is sitting next to mine or you happen to pass by..............

i have a habit of talking to my codes or my computer when i'm working........... now i think my co-workers think i'm crazy :P

one time one of my male co-workers stopped by my cube (on his way to the break room) to ask me if everything's ok when he heard me say "oh shoot, i forgot", lol..

please tell me i'm not the only one....hahaha....

to go home or not...

the more i think about it the more i'm leaning towards postponing my trip to the philippines to next year........ i realized that by that time i have my tax refund, i have saved enough moolah and i have saved enough vacation leaves.... and if i'm lucky i might also get a chance of spending a day or 2 in japan....


p.s.
my computation also tells me that going on a european trip is almost the same, if not less expensive, than going home..... can you believe that? now, that's another something to think about.....

change of plans....

looks like i need a change of plan...... i talked to our controller (HR) just this morning and asked her how much available leaves i still have..... her answer?

2.

damn.

yeah, i remember taking a 2 days off because i got sick (read: tinamad ako, lol)....... another day off because i had to go to center city to take care of legal documents..... and another day off for something else..... i can't afford a 10-day leave without pay..... how on earth am i going to pay my rent? and i need atleast $2k to go home (1,200 is only for the airfare)........ and i just recently bought a camera and stuff for my apartment so i really dont have much on my savings account.......

that's messed up......

i wish travel factor could loan me money for my airfare.....LOL....but then again we'll go bankrupt if they did loan me money, hahahaha....

damn.

i'm still sad.

change of plans....

it's one of those time of the month again...

one mood swing coming around the corner....
one mean pms coming....

you've been warned....

lol

p.s.
and i want my pizza and chocolates...

p.p.s
i hate it when im like this....
i just get so irritated easily....
and i already have 3 4 victims since yesterday...*sigh*

i want a...

i want a dog...i want a dog... i want a dog!!!

but to get one i need to pay $500 security deposit as part of towers at wyncote policy-- and i'll never get it back.......... then i need to pay additional $50/month for my rent............. plus who would take care of my dog when i'm at work? what if my doggie starts getting bored and would keep on yapping, i don't want to get sued......... plus i don't want to leave my dog alone in my apartment, my dog will feel lonely...... don't get me started on the dog hotel or dog daycare or whatever you call it, i'm not rich, ok....... but i still want one.......

i want, i want, i want a dog! specially those that are of toy poodle mix..... like a petite labradoodle or a cockapoo or peek-a-poo or a golden doodle! for more poodle mix breed click me....hayyyy!

that picture there is a cavapoos, a mixture of a cavalier king charles and a toy poodle.....

silent thoughts

we hope to make the days into years
calloused with doubts, joys and fears
but the heart has to sigh the test of time
and bear that not everything will always rhyme

meanwhile let's share the dawn
and continue to hope that it will go on
let's share the laughters
and hope it won't falter

but if the night falls and goodbyes call
and fate separated us once and for all
remember that once there was a girl from the islands
who asks a lot of questions and loves to hold your hands...
that she's still thinking about you wherever you are
because in her heart you'll always be her star...

- @ (aug 17, 2007)

eagles, flyers, 76ers and philly cheesesteak, what's up with that?!

when you say philadelphia there are a lot of things that you can think of associated to it......... the eagles ......... the flyers ........... and ofcourse the 76ers

but as much as i enjoy sports, my interest lies more on how i would satisfy my palate and what would make my tummy happy...... you have heard of philadelphia creamcheese....... not sure if you have heard about tastykake -- something that i'm getting addicted to (cmon, you know i have an extreme case of sweet tooth, lol)......and ofcourse you definitely have heard of the philly cheesesteak!

there are several places that people go to when it comes to authentic cheesesteaks........ there's rick's, there's tony lukes, jim's and lot more but there are 2 really famous ones...... there's GENO's ....... that's geno's at night (pic left) and their controversial "no english no service" policy (pic at your right)....... click the photo for bigger view......

and there's PAT's..... pat’s is the oldest, passed down from the original pat olivieri who invented the chopped steak sandwich on a bun back in 1930........ geno’s is more recent, started in 1966 right across the street, with flashy neon lights...... so which one of this two do i prefer? PATS!!! handsdown! it's tastier compared to geno's...... the first time i tasted geno's i was like, "how come philly cheesesteaks are so famous? it tasted bland....... i like the philly cheesesteak i order from sidestreet vendors (at market street, near independence blue cross) better, even if they chop the meat to molecular size" .......... and then i tasted tony luke's, geno's way better than tony luke's........... but when i tasted PAT's, mmm-mmm! competition is over (for me atleast)! PAT's wins by 1,000 pogi points......... and their cheese fries, omg, just heaven! btw, thanks to joy for that photo....... i was so busy munching mine that i forgot to take a picture of my own philly cheese steak, haha.....

BUT, there's more to it....... you don't just go there and point....... there's a specific way of ordering philly cheesesteak...... here goes.....


phillycheese steak ordering 101.001 :

when ordering a cheesesteak, the idea is to let the cashier know
a) that you would like a cheesesteak,
b) what type of cheese you want (american, provolone or cheez wiz.....me love cheez wiz), and
c) whether or not you want fried onions.

you have to be as concise as possible while doing so......

locals have become so adept at this practice that they basically have it down to three words: saying “one wiz with” to the person behind the counter means that you would like one cheesesteak [denoted by the “one”] with cheez wiz as your choice of cheese [denoted by the “wiz”] and with fried onions [denoted by the “with”].

similarly, saying “one provolone without” would secure you a single cheesesteak [one] made with provolone cheese [provolone] and without fried onions [without]. and saying "three american with" will get you three cheesesteaks, each with american cheese and fried onions.

got it? now book yourself a flight to philadelphia and come here and let's test out your ordering prowess for real....... your philly cheesesteak is on me......

darn, now i'm hungry....

what's the fuzz about philly cheesesteak, heh?

when you say philadelphia there are a lot of things that you can think of associated to it......... the eagles ......... the flyers ........... and ofcourse the 76ers

  

 

 

but as much as i enjoy sports, my interest lies more on how i would satisfy my palate and what would make my tummy happy...... you have heard of philadelphia cream cheese....... not sure if you have heard about tastykake, something that i'm getting addicted to (cmon, you know i have an extreme case of sweet tooth, lol)......and last but definitely not the least!  the philly cheesesteak!

there are several places that people go to when it comes to authentic cheesesteaks........ there's rick's, there's tony lukes, jim's and lot more but there are 2 really famous ones......  there's GENO's ....... that's geno's at night  (pic left) and their controversial "no english no service" policy (pic at your right)....... click the photo for bigger view......

and there's PAT's..... pat’s is the oldest, passed down from the original pat olivieri who invented the chopped steak sandwich on a bun back in 1930........ geno’s is more recent, started in 1966 right across the street, with flashy neon lights...... so which one of this two do i prefer? PATS!!! handsdown!  it's tastier compared to geno's...... the first time i tasted geno's i was like, "how come philly cheesesteaks are so famous? it tasted bland....... i like the philly cheesesteak i order from sidestreet vendors (at market street, near independence blue cross) better, even if they chop the meat to molecular size" .......... and then i tasted tony luke's, geno's way better than tony luke's........... but when i tasted PAT's, mmm-mmm! competition is over (for me atleast)!  PAT's wins by 1,000 pogi points......... and their cheese fries, omg, just heaven! btw, thanks to joy for that photo....... i was so busy munching mine that i forgot to take a picture of my own philly cheese steak, haha.....

BUT, there's more to it....... you don't just go there and point....... there's a specific way of ordering philly cheesesteak...... here goes.....


phillycheese steak ordering 101.001 :

when ordering a cheesesteak, the idea is to let the cashier know
a) that you would like a cheesesteak,
b) what type of cheese you want (american, provolone or cheez wiz.....me love cheez wiz), and
c) whether or not you want fried onions. 

you have to be as concise as possible while doing so......

locals have become so adept at this practice that they basically have it down to three words: saying “one wiz with” to the person behind the counter means that you would like one cheesesteak [denoted by the “one”] with cheez wiz as your choice of cheese [denoted by the “wiz”] and with fried onions [denoted by the “with”].

similarly, saying “one provolone without” would secure you a single cheesesteak [one] made with provolone cheese [provolone] and without fried onions [without]. and saying "three american with" will get you three cheesesteaks, each with american cheese and fried onions.

got it? now book yourself a flight to philadelphia and come here and let's test out your ordering prowess for real....... your philly cheesesteak is on me......

darn, now i'm hungry....

 

good things come to those who wait..

the date was May 6, 2007....

the date i moved out from the old apartment in new jersey to my new apartment in philadelphia............... the date i finally had to stop sharing an apartment with 3 male co-workers (1 from india and 2 from pakistan)........... would you believe that? me, a female, a filipina under the same roof with three men......... well, they are nice people......  2 of them are married and one is single............. they would cook food and they would make some for me too....... they would give me tips on interviews and stuff................. but still, it's an uncomfortable set up...... oh yes, welcome to the life of a *FOB consultant.....

whenever my friends had to ask where i live and if i'm living by myself, i used to joke around and tell them: "yeah, i have 3 live in partners", LOL........... they thought i was still doing OK inspite of the uncomfortable set up but what my friends didn't know is i would cry like a baby at night and on weekends when there's nothing to do but stare at my window, stare at the falling snow........ i never hated weekends as much as i did that time............. it was during those times that i would ask myself again and again what was i doing in this country when i have a very good job back home........

i know what you're thinking........ that i should feel blessed.............that some people would move heaven and earth to go  to the U.S while i literally didn't do anything except post my resume online..............  but it's not all sugar and spice and everything nice when you get here........... to start with, living with 3 male strangers from different races is already a big adjustment for me, it's tough............ i don't have relatives in the U.S. and the nearest i have is in Canada.......... and let's not forget that i'm living on a meager $200/month allowance for 3 months because i don't have a client yet............ good thing though that the apartment is free and my employer provides us with groceries and our office is just a block away.............. plus! it was a good thing that i have saved enough money back home that would last for 3 months.............. enough to pay bills and have food on the table for my family (yep, a bread winner here)........... whenever i call home, my dad would ask me how i've been and i would always say i'm good....... ofcourse it's a lie, but i don't want to make him worry.......

whenever i have technical interviews or technical exams and i would fail--miserably....darn, i would always feel like i'm the dumbest of the dumbest java programmer........ and it doesn't help that my employer would ask me to "cook" my resume just so clients would take notice of me........ what the heck do i know about hibernate? spring? faces? i'm sorry i don't have jboss experience, i told you that a million times!...... worst is they expect me to learn that in a day..... nice.............

do you know what keeps my mind from falling into depression? i run...... there's a trail behind our apartment and i would just run and run until i'm exhausted enough that when i get home i won't have time to think and i'll just fall asleep........

may 6, 2007........ i finally moved in to my apartment......... 

i was told that i'll have to go to philadelphia for an interview..... i had to wake up at 4am that monday to prepare and catch the first bus (6am) that would take me to princeton junction.......... from princeton junction i need to take a train to trenton and from trenton station i had to take a septa train that would take me to suburban station in philadelphia, where my client's building is.............. i had to be there at exactly 8:00 am............. i remember seeing philadelphia's cityhall for the first time........ such magnificent structure, i've always been fascinated with architecture......... then i started walking finding the building i was so supposed to go to......... i even got lost but it didn't bother me......ah, new places really gives me adrenalin rush........... the next day (tuesday) i got a call that the client likes me and that they want me to start the next day (wednesday)................ it was a whirlwind, who would have thought...........

my client took me for initially just a 3-month contract but God is good, i was extended for another month then for another 2 weeks, then another 2 weeks...... darn, i didn't know weekly extensions are possible....... and then one day a guy from fort washington sent me an email telling me that he got my resume from phillyjobs.com (i swear, i didn't post my resume on that site but i did posted my resume at craigslist) and telling me about how he thinks i fit their requirements and that they want to see me for a face to face interview............ i had to take a half day off for the interview which was well worth it....... i started working for my new employer november 2007 a week after my contract with my client expired......

now it's May 14, 2008.........

i had to leave my first philadelphia apartment (i moved out december 2007), too many sad memories plus the commute going to and from my new work is killing me........... now, i have a cute apartment........... little by little i was able to buy some furnitures and appliances................. i have a permanent full time job and thank God i no longer have to worry about technical exams and technical interviews........... pramis, pag anaps ang nagi-interview, dudugo ang ilong mo at kung ano-ano pang pedeng dumugo! by the book sila magtanong! tsk! pero pag puti ang interviewer ko, dun ako pumapasa e..... yep, first client was puti and my current job is puti too......

God is good and to think i almost thought of just going home..............it's true what they say--  good things come to those who wait..........

kaya to my good friend in ?? who's in the same boat as i was before, just hang on..... hang on, hang on......... i'm just a ym message/phone call away and HE is just a prayer away........

*FOB = fresh off the boat

p.s.
oh! and no, i dont have to "cook" my resume for my previous client and my current employer...... when they found out i'm java certified that's it, i guess i got lucky....... with God's help ofcourse.....

 

 

short term lease: condo/apt

may mahahanap kaya akong ganito?
na tipong papayag ng 1 month ko lang ire-rent?
pero around 10-15K lang?
plus 10 days lang ako total magii-stay sa apt/condo kasi i'll be travelling so i'll be staying there in between trips lang... but i'm willing to rent it for a month basta within the budget lang.....

pag may alam kayo sa makati, mandaluyong, manila area or basta malapit sa makati email nyo ako ha.... sweet_sentiments@yahoo.com

thankies!! mwah!

p.s.
excited ang lola, nagre-research na, LOL

happy-joy-joy!!!!

i asked for a 3-week vacation and my boss's fine with it....yep, approved!

i thought i should ask permission as early as now so i won't break any of our project's schedules.......... can't wait to see my niece!!! can't wait to see batanes and el nido... wooohoooo! and if i'm lucky maybe bantayan island.....

p.s.
eps! nobody mention any dates.....
my cousins are reading my blogs...
i'm surprising my dad and i dont want any leakage, intiendes? :P

i fear that I will always be, a lonely number like root 3...

I fear that I will always be
A lonely number like root three

The three is all that’s good and right,
Why must my three keep out of sight
Beneath a vicious square root sign,
I wish instead I were a nine

For nine could thwart this evil trick,
with just some quick arithmetic

I know I’ll never see the sun,
As 1.7321

Such is my reality, a sad irrationality
When hark! For what is this I see,
Another square root of a three

As quietly come waltzing by,
Together now we multiply
To form a number we prefer,
Rejoicing as an integer

We break free from our mortal bonds
And with a wave of magic wands
Our square root signs become unglued
Your love for me has been renewed

very interesting poem.....i first heard this when i saw the movie Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay and after a bit of googling i found out that the author of this poem is david feinberg, a computer science teacher....

 

i'm an addict...

an addict to your love, i mean, to pinky:st dolls :P

my new pinky:st dolls arrived wednesday & thursday (see above pix)........i'm still waiting for a few more and still bidding some at ebay........... the picture to your left is another sacchin but in a different set of clothes and different eye color (sa-cheen, is how i name her now) and the one next to her is the wild arms series......... i decided to get that for the shorts....... i love wearing shorts and it's only fair that my sa-cheen should have one too......LOL, i know i'm acting like a grade schooler, haha......... darn, i didn't know this could be so addicting.......... i wasn't like this when i had my barbie doll when i was little.........

anyway, below is my pinky box.......... never mind the socks, i was using that to make sa-cheen some bonnets (the one she's wearing) and i don't want to throw the remains of the socks right away because i might still have use for it....... so in that box i have there some accessories that you can't see (it's hidden inside a tiny ziplock-like plastic because they are so small and easy to loose), some socks, the tops, the legs, the skirts, sa-cheen (in full attire for her chicago trip) and extra heads (sue,reina, maki, extra sacchin... i have ako but i gave it to joy)

below is my mini studio set and those are my girls......... i'm having a hard time taking their photos using my macro lens so i used my ever favorite 50mm prime lens, works like a charm........ for more of their group photos visit ---> http://lilsacheen.multiply.com/photos/album/5/Pinky_Group_Pictorial

the yellow river

missing philippine radio...

i'm missing chico and delamar...... so for those missing 93.1 monster rx, tadaaaa!

http://www.xs4all.nl/~epox/liveradio/

what? you know about this already? hmpf, why didn't you tell me? i'm dying here because i miss pinoy FM radio broadcast 'no? susme! :p

thanks peng for the link!!

the more expectations you have...

expectations could kill a beating heart.

"the more expectations you have, the more disappointments you'll get"

.... a blocked tear duct sounds good

my lil sa-cheen

my travel gnome, err, pinky's site:

http://lilsacheen.multiply.com/

migraine alert!

i've been getting a lot of migraine attacks lately, not good....... i'm not sure if this is stress but i don't like taking advils (or any pain reliever) all the time but the throbbing is just so annoying that i have no choice but to take meds.....

i was supposed to post pictures of my friend joy's visit here in philly but my head's killing me.... grrr!

i'm going to bed early.... as in in 10 minutes....

migraine alert!

cooking moment : adobong paksiw

ok...have you heard of paksiw na pata? if you're pinoy i'm sure you do..... and do you know what umba is?

that dish to your left is sort of a cross between the two....why? because this won't pass for paksiw na pata because there's pata in sight........this won't pass for an umba either because this has potatoes..... so how do we call it?

this is one dish that we frequently cook back home.....we call this at home as adobong paksiw........ it's like your umba plus the potatoes and my favorite dried lily flower (which is more commonly known as bulaklak ng saging).... this is actually very easy to cook..... it's like cooking adobo with a twist.... here's the recipe..... texts in red are my additions.....

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds pork, cut into large cubes (i combine mine with chicken)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 bay leaf
pepper corn
potatoes
dried lily flower (bulaklak ng saging)

Trim fat from pork and cut into large cubes. Put into a heavy saucepan with remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; then lower heat. Simmer until pork is tender. Serve with rice.