My Amnesia Girl

I love, love this movie!!! Great story, great characters... and a perfect ending... Top 10 quotes from the movie "My Amnesia Girl" ... they may sound "corny" but I love them all!

1. "Maging cactus ka man, handa akong masaktan... mayakap ka lang."
   
2. "May lason ba ang mga mata mo? Kasi nakakamatay ang mga titig mo."
   
3. "Ulan ka ba? Kasi lupa ako. Sa ayaw at sa gusto mo, sa akin ang bagsak mo."
   
4. "Kung ikakasal ka saan mo gusto? Ako kasi sa tabi mo."
   
5. "Para kang alak... ang lakas ng tama mo sa akin."
   
6. "Alam mo, para kang tae... Hindi kasi kita kayang paglaruan."
   
7. Apollo: Magdala ka ng salbabida.
   Irene: Bakit? Maliligo ba tayo?
   Apollo: Hindi, baka malunod ka sa pagmamahal ko.
   
8. Irene: Sino ako?
   Apollo: Ikaw si Irene ko. Ikaw ang mapapangasawa ko. Photographer ka.
   Irene: Mali. Pulis ako. Ikaw kasi ang most wanted ko.
   
   And my 2 most favorite!!!
   
   
9. Apollo: Tumatangkad ka ba?
   Irene: Hindi, bakit?
   Apollo: Kasi dati hanggang balikat lang kita, ngayon nasa isip na kita.
   
10. Apollo: Lumiliit ka ba?
    Irene: Hindi, bakit?
    Apollo: Kahapon kasi nasa isip lang kita, ngayon nasa puso na kita.
    
    

It is inevitable...

Time flies. My son will be finishing Grade 8 and my daughter is finishing Grade 5 this June.

Soon it will be prom nights, dinner and dance, and dating... It is inevitable...

And soon it will be time to get them high school rings and then college rings... It is inevitable...

Then they will move out to be on their own... It is inevitable...

Then they will fall in love and start planning on getting married and starting their own families... It is inevitable...

Oh my, I should stop thinking ahead of myself... everything will come in its due time... there's really no rush into thinking about the future because it will happen, whether we like it or not.

Zumba

I recently discovered the Latin-inspired, calorie burning fitness dance called Zumba. And the first time I've tried it, I loved it! I used to dance when I was young, and the day I stopped dancing, I kept on gaining weight. Now, I'm hoping that Zumba will make me lose more weight.

Since the start of tax season, I have stopped going to the gym. And till now, I am still not in the mood to go back. I blame it on our rainy weather this whole week.

When we decided to buy Xbox and Kinect, I also got myself the Zumba disc and has been doing Zumba in my own living room.

The only difference with Zumba @ home and Zumba @ the gym is that I get a really great work out at the gym. I get inspired to work harder because of the people working out around me. And until the one hour is over, you just have to keep on going.

Working out at home alone is not as much fun. I stop whenever I feel like stopping and I continue when I want to. There's not much discipline on my part. And this isn't a work out at all, it's more like having a good time. But the combination of both should get me back into shape, right?

There's going to be a Zumba party at one of the nightclubs downtown, and I've been meaning to go with some of my Zumba buddies. If this pushes through, it will be my first nightclub in Canada!

Patrick's cash

"Growing old is mandatory, acting old is optional."
On my son's last birthday, he was so happy to received gift cards and cash from family friends. And combined with his Christmas gifts, he got a total of $260 in cash.

Normally, I would let him spent about 30-40% of the cash and the rest goes to his bank account. But this is the first time that I am letting him decide on the whole amount.

His wish list [in no particular order] --

• A collector's Lego set
  
• An Ipod touch
  
• An Iphone 4
  
• PS3

When my kids found out that I could lose my job. They decided that they will pay for the Xbox and Kinect. But I have to pay for the taxes. Now, all of us are enjoying the kinect. Yes, I said "all of us" because now, I get to do Zumba at home too.

So this is what it feels like

You've worked with a company for 9 years and they just decided to lay you off because you are a part timer and they decided they wanted to keep the full time who has less than 1 year experience in the job.

I've worked at the airport for 4 years and now they're laying me off too. There's a chance of re-call, but they don't know when. This sucks! I've been so down that I find comfort in food. I already gained 4 pounds. And I already bite off all my nails. Yikes.

Onychophagia or nail biting is a common oral compulsive habit in children and adults.

I should find motivation to go back to my gym regularly again. Or else, all my effort will just go to waste. I should get myself together too, I can't be falling apart now.

I know I could get a much better job than the airport, but unfortunately, it is hard to find a job where my schedule will fit into my kids' schedule.

The good side of it is that I can go back to full time blogging again... so am hoping to be able do a lot of blog hopping again. And hopefully make a few more bucks here and there...

Townhouse or single detached homes

One reason why we decided we wanted a townhouse instead of a single house, it the maintenance. At least with the townhouse, the condo board takes care of the maintenance outside.

My friend who bought a single house has to deal with shoveling snow and mowing the lawn and picking up fallen leaves. They needed to buy a good and heavy duty snow blower and ariens zero turn mower. And these are not cheap at all. It is a good investment because it ease up the work that they had to do.

Big or Small

After months of using my kids' netbook, my husband finally got his own laptop today. His laptops are always company provided, and since the laptop he got right now from his new job is a big one, he didn't want to bring it home everyday since he is only a commuter. So he ended up using our kids' netbook which only got 10" screen.

As soon as my son saw his new laptop, he is now asking for a bigger one too. Netbook isn't really good for playing games since the screen is too small. He is begging to have one of those gaming computers that he keeps on seeing at the store. He will just have to save up for this one. Unfortunately, he just spent his savings on an Xbox just 3 days ago.

Karma

"You can sugar coat your story, you can sugar coat your lies -
but when it melts because of the heat, the truth shall be revealed."

I don't understand why some people are really good at twisting stories. Why do you want people to think you are more superior when you are not? Why do you want people to think you are well-off when it's obvious you are not?

Remember that people who lie, often times, trapped themselves with their own lies. They can't distinguished the first time they told the story... or the second or third time after that. And with every "repeat" of the story, it is impossible to tell the story the same way since it's all a lie!

You can twist and bend the truth as much as you want to make yourself look good, but we know the truth, and we believe in karma! And if you think we believe every single thing you said, think again. We are not stupid. We just wanted to make you think whatever you want to think.

"A liar is worse than a thief! Stuff that's stolen can be replaced
but once trust is gone, it's gone!"

Another dream come true!

It wasn't planned. It was just random. I just wanted to find out the trade in value of my old car... but the deal was too good to pass... Despite it not being on the budget, I am loving it! It's keyless and I love the bluetooth feature!

Thanks to my husband who didn't talked me out of it. He knew this is a dream come true! Budget will be tight the next 6 months, but after that, we will be okay again. ",)

Now, I don't have to worry about any repairs to my old aging car. It comes with free oil change and filter. And its tires needs to be replaced before next winter. But other than that, all else is in perfect shape. So I'm sure it's new owner will be very happy with it.

Happy Birthday Boss!

Today could have been your 51st birthday... but GOD took you away from us. We all missed you and we will never forget your kindness.

You've traveled to Hong Kong, Beijing and the USA. Your next trip would have been Canada. Sorry that it took us too long to plan for this one, and now it's too late.

Boss' favorite things -- Coke, ice, stork candy, 3-in-1 coffee mix, black pentel pen and tons of paper... he loves to party... he loves to sing... These simple things makes him happy.

He never missed a single simbang gabi... he was always on time on mass and would sit behind the choir... he was part of the choir... he never complain about anything even in pain! His favorite phrase "wala problema" [no problem].

Francis [Boss] Lim
May 14, 1960 - May 2, 2011

Happy Birthday Boss! We love you!

My teenage boy

My son is really a teenager now. He is going away for a school field trip next week for 2 days. It's going to be his first time away from home. I just hope and pray that he will be able to take care of himself.

He is also into music and hip hop clothing. For now, he is NOT YET interested in girls or dating. Whew.

T-shirts and Jeans

When I was growing up, I was most comfortable with just t shirts, jeans and sneakers. I am not the type of person who needs to buy what's in fashion. And that is the same type of clothing I still wear up to now.

And would you believe if I tell you that I've had some t shirts way back in the 90s that I still wear up to now? Same goes with some of my jeans. I guess the more worn out they are, the more comfortable it feels.

Video conferencing

Last year, when I took my online Corporate Tax course, I was impressed at how easy it is now to take courses to upgrade one's credentials. This was my first ever online course, and though it was hard to do a lot of self studying, I like that I am able to do it on my own time and in my PJs. The other great part about this is that the introduction was carried out using a MegaMeeting video conferencing software. All I have to do is log in on a pre-determined date and time, and the overview and outline of the course were explained by a trainer based in USA. Cool, isn't it?

Miss Material Girl

The number of Filipinos working with me at the airport is growing. And with that, whenever somebody celebrates his/her birthday, we can afford to purchase bigger items by putting in at least $15 per person. It all started this year though. First celebrant got a Coach hand bag with matching wallet... second celebrant was a Boss headphone... third celebrant a Sony Digicam. I was in charge of buying these gifts and I am so glad to say that they all loved it!

Ms D is the "material girl" I wanted to blog about. Last February, I decided to host a Chinese New Year party at my place. And knowing that it is Ms D's boyfriend's birthday the next day, I decided to buy him a small present and a cake just to celebrate it.

Later that week, Ms D plan a surprise birthday party for her boyfriend but didn't invite our group at the airport. She said "but we already celebrated it at your place." And I said, "that's my party, not yours." Anyway, I/we decided to dropped the topic.

And with her boyfriend's new job, we would joke around asking for a treat because he got a higher paying job. And her reply? "No. There's too many of you, it is going to be very expensive."

Back to the gifts, she would always say "don't forget to get me something nice for my birthday too." Every time we would collect funds, she would ask me what am I planning to buy, and once she knows what it is, she would always make a comment like "I want one too for my birthday"... anyway, she's next in line, her birthday is in July, same month as me. She wanted us to celebrate together and have it at the park. Yesterday, we talked about the venue and menu. I told her I will bring at least 3 main dishes and ask her what she would bring. She said she'll be in charge of the drinks and paper plates and forks. Duh? So I told her she should at least bring a dish too and suggested burgers with cheese. And do you know her response? "That's going to be too expensive!"

What the hell is that? You expect nice gift for your birthday and yet you are not willing to treat people??? And you want it to be a joint celebration, but you are not contributing??? I hate people like her. One day, I am really going to tell her what I think of her... right now, I am trying my best to keep my mouth shut coz I don't want to hurt her feelings. But enough is enough...

Happy Mother's Day to all!!!

Mean Moms [author unknown]

"Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the meanest mother in the whole world! While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too. Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them. She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.

We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do. She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds. Then, life was really tough!

Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16. Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for any crime. We never did drugs, stayed out all night, or a million other things the other kids did.

Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be "mean parents" just like Mom was. I think that is what's wrong with the world today. It just doesn't have enough mean moms anymore."

Freedom!

Last day of tax season was quite boring! The line-up I was expecting didn't happened. In the previous years, I would have done 40+ return during the last day of tax season. This time though, I only did 14 and got to relax in between clients. My numbers were down from last year but I believe that my commission is up. I'll know in 2 weeks time.

Tax season is over! I can now go back to my normal duties at home. It ended though with a bad news that my husband's uncle pass away in his sleep. Thank God that He didn't prolong his suffering.

First things first, I need to clean the whole house. And then tomorrow, I am scheduled for some pamper time, I booked an appointment for a hot stone massage and would probably get a haircut after that.

This weekend is going to be very busy though since Friday is party night. One of my best friend will be celebrating her birthday. And on Saturday, it's family carnival day at my daughter's school and at night, it's a gathering of 4 families to watch the Pacquiao game. And on Sunday, it's Mother's day celebration.

The pain of a mother

One of my regular tax clients always comes in during the last week of tax season. This year though, she came on the very last day. During the interview process, I told her that she should not be bringing in her kids' taxes anymore. They should learn to bring it in themselves because they are over 20 years old. Then she started crying and opened up to me.

It was a very bad year for her and her family. Her son was in a mental ward for a period of time as a result of a car accident injury that happened 4 years ago. Her daughter, on the other hand, is going through therapy and is enrolled in drug treatment programs for overuse of drugs and alcohol.

I can see that my client is in so much pain. She's trying to hold on and keep her family together. Be strong M, God will not give you something that you can't handle.

As a mother, I can only pray that my kids would grow up to be good kids and be surrounded by people with good influence.

RIP - Boss

The phone rang while I was cooking dinner tonight. My sis-in-law was on the other line, crying. I couldn't understand her at first, and when I finally did, she gave us the bad news that my husband's uncle just past away. He died in his sleep.

We all call him Boss. He is very thoughtful. He remembers everybody's birthday and even wedding anniversaries. He make sure he calls people he loves every morning just to say "good morning"... and then again at night to say "good night". It's a ritual for him.

May you rest in peace, Francis Lim. We will miss you.

Died May 2, 2011, Manila Time.

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A pat on my back

One more day and tax season is over! Last chance to file your taxes is on Monday, May 2.

I am so looking forward to resting and back to my old routine. I missed blogging. I missed going to the gym. So far, I was able to maintain the weight I've lost despite not going to the gym for 3 months! But after Monday, I can't wait to go back to my Zumba class.

My chart with my doctor is on a downhill too. So my diet is working as well. Just need to keep it up. It just goes to show that I don't need liponox after all.

Fancy gift

It is so hard to be always in charge of buying gifts for the birthday celebrant. If I am in charge, I try to buy something that will suit the celebrant. I'm not the type of person who will just buy gift cards. I prefer to personalized my gift. But sometimes, it is just way too hard to think of the "perfect gift".

Right now, I need to buy another gift for a friend and she is into the fancy lucite beads. The only question is how much of these items would she need around the house? I think she got too many of these all over her living room already.