I’m pretty much an impulsive buyer even if I am not exactly what you can call someone who can afford to splurge all the time. I do get the concepts of delayed gratification and saving for a rainy day, and all those sensible stuff, but when I’ve set my eyes on something, I usually manage to give myself extremely valid arguments on why I shouldn’t be denied. Which is why I can only bite my tongue when I feel that my sister is spending too much on things that she doesn’t have an immediate need for. Sometimes I can’t help thinking, if she can afford this or that, then maybe I shouldn’t be so lenient about rent and paying for groceries, and all that. I also can’t help thinking that I’ve set a bad example. But then again, when I think about that, it gets me wondering if my better examples have been largely ignored or are generally useless to anyone but myself.

Anyway, so my sister’s laptop broke – for a few minutes, it amazingly restored itself – and immediately we thought about a replacement. We both can’t live without a computer, so  I understood her pain. But, of course, she doesn’t want those clearance laptops, which she can easily afford. She’s already set her eyes  on a Vaio or a Mac. Sometimes, when I think about the things that we don’t have and the things that we don’t really work for to have, they can really get me down. But, really, dwelling on it is pretty much a waste of time. I guess the only thing I can do is assess my choices and see where I can make adjustments for the better. Then work on it. To that I tell myself, goodluck.

I had 5 coupons for P700 worth of food each at Barrio Fiesta. We were supposed to use them for our parents’ anniversary last January but their staff and I apparently didn’t understand each other when I called for a reservation so we came there at the time when the restaurant was closed for a private party. So what to do with all those coupons (Php3,500 worth of food and drinks)? My siblings and I (there are 4 of us) ordered as much food as we can eat, and more. Because the coupons are not valid for takeout, we just let them serve all the food that we meant to takeout and then had them bagged before we left the place. It’s far from wasteful, although you’d think I’ll buy food storage as well, because what I took home lasted the whole day that followed.

I don’t know if I’m just really bad with travel plans or if I just don’t commit to them enough, that’s why a lot of my so-called “plans,” usually with other people and other people’s schedules involved, tend not to push through.

My two sisters and I are scheduled to go on a trip on the 3rd week of March. We’ve already paid for the plane tickets — and they’re nontransferable and nonrefundable. I’m all set to scout for canon camcorders for the purpose of this trip, but things are looking rather bleak about this plan. Both my sisters are facing some possible scheduling problems, one work-related and the other personal. Except for my feeling of regret over the plane tickets, I’m not really that much bothered if we’ll have to reschedule or worse not go to our supposed destination at all. I guess I’ve become too used to this (cancellations, foiled plans). Or nothing really excites me anymore, which really sounds sad if I think of it. So for now I won’t think about it and just wait for the day to come.

I don’t want to complain again that I have no time for a lot of things. In fact, I won’t. I realized that I’ll never really get that time I can call “extra” because of the choices that I tend to make; it’s not even a bad realization, it’s just something that I have to accept or else accept that I need to make some adjustments. Again. The thing is, if I have, say, 1 month of free time when I can do anything I want except for work, I can imagine I would get so bored and that I’ll wish for it to be over after a few days; ok, maybe a week. What I’m sure though is that time, and what you do with it, will always matter. I’d like to believe that I’m using mine in the best way possible (although my use of time these days is making me increasingly in need of adapexin-p). I’m loving my work, and for now I don’t mind using the bulk of my 24-hour days for it. It may change, or may need to change, someday. But, for now, call me a workaholic.

I just came from my passport renewal appointment and I must say that despite some miscalculations on my part, which made the process took a little more time than I planned or expected, I am still happy overall with the way things went. The first time I applied for a passport was 2003; I didn’t have much use of it except for the occasional  need for a valid identification. There were already a huge number of people at the DFA’s office when I arrived. The good thing is, we’ve somehow caught up with the technological advances over the past few years so the entire process goes rather fast and smoothly compared with my experience before, thanks to automated number calling and computerized processing. There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but I’m a satisfied customer. The only thing I regret is leaving my iPod at home. I could’ve made good use of it, although I had a magazine with me and was able to read everything from apidexin reviews to entertainment and world news.

Home cooking is something I wish I have time to do, although that’s far from being the best appetite suppressant for women. I used to have a real interest in cooking, even though I only prepare simple meals because I have no patience for elaborate foods unless someone else will prepare all ingredients and stuff and all I’ll do is put them together. That sounds so lazy, but I don’t think I’m hopeless in this area. If I have the time, I’ll probably have the will to get into it. [Although that's just like saying I'll never learn to do some complex cooking.] I remember when I was in high school, I used to collect those recipes at the back of Del Monte products. I rarely experimented then, though, because I always worried about wasting my parents’ money if things go ka-boom. Maybe I’ll try looking for a recipe online one of these days. All things great start with small beginnings. Maybe all I need is a start, even I don’t turn out great.

There are so many things I want to do. I’m sure you do, too. Who wouldn’t want Branson Missouri vacation packages, for instance? I was watching Animal Planet and National Geographic back to back this morning, and I was thinking “I wish I had become a field biologist,” or something like that. On the other hand, the things I would not dream about doing are jumping off planes, bungee jumping, or any one of those death-defying adventures that involve heights. But I don’t have a list as of now. Maybe I should start making one so I can actually see them, or have the the motivation to make them, come true

Part of the reason why I would’ve wanted to have studied Psychology in college is because I’m fascinated by people. Ironically, I’m also easily annoyed by them. That comes with dealing with people (more times than necessary) who cannot be more different than you. If we’ll think about it, everyone is different. Others are just more like others than … well, others. I’d stick to fictional characters as examples, so these maybe a little extreme: I think I’d love to hang out with people like Dr. Temperance Brennan (Bones) and Olivia Dunham (Fringe). Not because I think I’m as brilliant or courageous, but because I get their countenance, the very same something that people who’d rather hang out with Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl) or  Rachel Green (FRIENDS) count as boring, uptight, and unnecessarily tedious. Again, this is a generalization – the easiest one to make – because it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to be friends with someone like Phoebe Buffay (FRIENDS). So what’s my point?: What’s cool to one person may not be what’s cool to another. I can say, for example, that I take acetyl l carnitine and some people will say, “Good for you,” while others will say “Why would you do that just to be thinner?” That’s people to you. Unfortunately, I sometimes have to remind myself of this fact.

Every time somebody asks me about my work, I almost always stop at “Editor.” Most will say, “ahhh you work for a newspaper”; because trying to correct that notion by saying, “No, I’m actually a science editor,” gives way to remarks like “Oh, you mean high school textbooks or dissertations in VeloBind?,” I sometimes lazily just return a smile. Not that there’s anything wrong with either of those two editing jobs, being a copy editor is sometimes just too tedious to explain to strangers. Well, maybe one of these days I’ll have the inclination to write lengthily about what it is I do. One of these days.

My inbox is overflowing with work. That’s not a rant. Unlike my question of do diet pills work? For the first time in a long time, I’m actually enjoying what I do. So I won’t be crying out “I have no life” any time soon, although that may actually be true. My life has taken a different turn this year so I’d dare call 2010 a landmark year for me. Which is quite fitting because I’ve been waiting for something like this for a decade now. Outside of my professional ventures, a lot of other things are happening in the periphery and I’m only hoping that I’ll be able to sort out my priorities and schedule to give attention to things that I have been neglecting for years. A couple of years ago, I wouldn’t even bother thinking about them because I’m too busy feeling burdened by all my so-called responsibilities. I realized that I’ve been avoiding writing about really good things  that happen because I’m too scared that they will go away or that I’ll jinx them. And I’m never one to be superstitious, or so I’d like to believe. But for now, I’m happy feeling things out. That I’m happy is a big deal and that alone is enough to make me trust myself a little more than I used to.