Dreamwalker

My husband's a redneck, and he says that I am the Filipino version. So here is a list of computer terms, defined according to a redneck's perspective. (Thanks to Jokepier .) BACKUP: What you do when you run over a skunk in the woods. BAR CODE: Theme’s the fight’s rules down at the local tavern. BUG: The reason you give for calling in sick. BYTE: What your pit bull dun to cousin Metro. CACHE: Needed when you run out of food stamps. CHIP: Pasture muffins that you try not to step in. COMPUTER TERMINAL: Time to call the undertaker. CRASH: When you go to Junior's party uninvited. DIGITAL: The art of counting on your fingers. DISKETTE: A female Disco dancer. FAX: What you lie about to the IRS. HACKER: Uncle Leroy after 32 years of smoking. INTERNET: Where cafeteria workers keep their hair. KEYBOARD: Where you hang the keys to the John Deere. MAC: Big Bubba's favorite fast food. MEGAHERTZ: How your head feels after 17 beers. MODEM: What yaw do when the grass gets too high

What do these three things have in common? TV. I am not big on TV. I see it merely as a piece of furniture. Yet in these past weeks, I have been turning that black box (well, silver in my case) quite often. I found out about Earth Hour on TV. I discovered American Idol, and yes, I have been following it weekly. I am now glued to the set as the first race of the F1 season is about to begin...there they go. I am curious - what makes you glued to your TV set? One last thing - it's not at all related to TV - I got tagged by a blogger buddy, Delaney . She really knows how to lift my spirits, even more than TV! This Friendship Tag, I am supposed to pass on. So I am tagging Vicki (we really should get together soon!), Avril (Koryu night this Friday?), and Livi (thanks for the pizza and spaghetti - keep it coming!).

I just read a post on Avril's blog about obsessing . Not that I am anywhere near her level of OC-ness, but I do know how to obssess, and when that happens, I normally do not stop until the obsession is satisfied. I am afraid that I am obsessing about these details in my life. Perhaps I am being too inflexible? Perhaps I am expecting too much out of life and people? I know I have it good, in a sense, but I can't help but wonder what it would be like if I had it better . Classic grass is greener way of thinking, huh? I think I'll be better off reading Clapton's autobiography. Maybe I'll start obsessing about something more realistic, like learning to play the guitar well or something.

These past few weeks have been harrowing, to say the least. Today, it seemed as if I wouldn't be able to get past the day without breaking down. I had too much on my mind. I felt as if I just couldn't function normally anymore. In fact, I have been sleeping in every single day of the week. I would think of all the stuff I have to accomplish at work: forms, grading, changes, meetings, dealing with people, etc. I would think of my responsibilities: family, my marriage, my bills, the truck, auto insurance , my debt.... I have been told that I think too much. I know that I have the tendency to take on more than I can actually handle, and that I usually end up living up to my responsibilities at my own expense. All these having been weighing me down so much. Do I need to let go of some of these things to feel lighter?

I don't feel like posting a joke today, and since I am in a "Carrie Underwood mood," I thought I'd post something inspirational. I really like this song of hers. It helps me put things in perspective. So Small Carrie Underwood What you got if you ain't got love the kind that you just want to give away It's okay to open up go ahead and let the light shine through I know it's hard on a rainy day you want to shut the world out and just be left alone But don't run out on your faith [Chorus] 'Cause sometimes that mountain you've been climbing is just a grain of sand What you've been up there searching for forever is in your hands When you figure out love is all that matters after all It sure makes everything else seem so small It's so easy to get lost inside a problem that seems so big at the time it's like a river thats so wide it swallows you whole While you sit around thinking about what you can't change and worrying

This post is long overdue. We've been back in Manila for two weeks, and the effects of our vacation have long dissipated into thin air. Anyhow, for those who might be interested in visiting Cebu City, the designated "Queen City of the South," here is some info. How to get there Cebu is perhaps the easiest and cheapest destination if you want to take Cebu Pacific. They always have promos and they have so many daily flights to and from Cebu. In fact, I already checked tickets prices for September (for our Moalboal trip) and it would only cost us a little over PHP1000 (roughly USD20) roundtrip. Once you get to the Cebu Airport (this is in Mactan Island), you can rent a car to take you to your hotel, unless you have arranged transportation with your hotel. We were going straight to the pier to go to Bohol so we had no choice but to take the rental car. It wasn't that bad, PHP280. We were also lucky with our driver, Mang Jun. He was very pleasant and even agreed

This is one desire that I never seem to turn into reality. Year in and year out, I would talk about exercising and getting fit. After a few weeks (even days!) of trying though, I would soon forget about it. Last weekend, Jerry and I were watching Sports Unlimited, and we saw a feature about Moalboal, Cebu. Apparently, they also have good a good beach there - perfect for snorkeling. Even more beautiful was this mountain river tour, which we now want to do in September. In order to do this, we have to both shed a considerable amount of weight AND actually get off our bums. We're starting - we bought "healthy" food at the grocery store yesterday. I am going to ride my bike today. I am also looking at other exercises - maybe the Kettlebell exercise ? We have roughly 5 months to do this. I am very excited about the trek, I hope we can condition ourselves so as not to die while engaging in "real" physical activity. :p

March is Women's Month so here are some jokes for you wonderful women out there. One day my housework-challenged husband decided to wash his Sweat- Shirt. Seconds after he stepped into the laundry room, he shouted to me, 'What setting do I use on the washing machine?' 'It depends,' I replied. 'What does it say on your shirt?' He yelled back, ' Liverpool .' And they say blondes are dumb... ----------------------------------------------------------- A couple are lying in bed. The man says,'I am going to make you the happiest woman in the world.' The woman replies, ' I'll miss you... ' ----------------------------------------------------------- 'It's just too hot to wear clothes today,' Jack says as he stepped out of the shower, 'honey, what do you think the neighbours would think if I mowed the lawn like this?' ' Probably that I married you for your money ,' she replied. ----------

Bohol is best known for being home to those little critters called tarsiers and the Chocolate Hills. For me, though, it will always be the place of mind blowing beaches. So how can you enjoy this experience yourself? Getting There There best and easiest way to get there would be to take a plane straight to Tagbilaran City, the capital. Do not be surprised, though, as the city isn't much to look at. It looks like a run down town, but since you will not be going there for the city anyway, it does not matter. Cebu Pacific flies to Tagbilaran from Manila twice a week, and their fares are usually the cheapest. I think Philippine Airlines is offering affordable fares nowadays, too. An alternative way of going to Bohol is to fly into Cebu City, and take a fast craft (ferry) to Tagbilaran. This is actually what we did, since I bought our airplane tickets to Cebu in December. Our original plan was to go to Camotes Island off the coast of Cebu, but this fell through, so we decid

I was planning on writing something more comprehensive about the trip we recently went on but time seems nowhere to be found. So here, just take a look at the pics and enjoy! The sign welcoming us to Tagbilaran City - about 20 minutes from the beach. I couldn't wait to get out of there! My first glimpse of the ocean. The water was so beautiful and the sand so powdery soft! Heaven... "Our" table. See Koryu with Jerry? I got me a starfish...don't worry, I returned it to the water. Done for the day. See the size of that piece of tiger prawn? Very nice pool in front of our cottage. After dinner drinks with Marc from Belgium. Next up... how to get to Bohol and what to do there.

Seems like today is the day of discovering online shops for me! Earlier this evening, I found out that Apple has a store in the Philippines. I mean, I know they have Apple Centers in some malls but I didn't know that we could actually buy the official stuff online. Pity I threw away my credit card this morning! Actually, that might have been a blessing. Otherwise, I might be in more debt by now. And since I seem to keep finding these stores, next thing you know, I might stumble upon a cheap lingerie store online. Or maybe another travel web site that will entice me to go back to the beach in the very near future? Online shopping...whew!

I'm back!!! My blog has been inactive in the past week because, try as I might, I was not able to spend that much time online while at the beach. Oh, I did spend at least a couple of hours each day but I had to deal with other commitments and my personal blog had to "suffer." I did update my Twitter every single day - several times a day, in fact. Anyhow, before I post my "mandatory" vacation posts, I thought I'd write something about my new discovery - the online store of Power Books . I discovered its existence through an ad which I saw on Facebook. I checked it out this morning and I liked what I saw. I was only really looking for George R.R. Martin's 2nd book (Song of Ice and Fire Series) but I stumbled upon Eric Clapton's bio, and I couldn't pass that up. I was afraid that the charges would be astronomical but take a look at that screenshot - not bad at all! I think I have found an online store that I would be frequenting a lot. I a

I discovered this a wonderful song while watching American Idol last weekend. This pretty girl sang a very happy tune that made feel lighter just listening to it. Naturally, I had to search the Web for the artist and the song. As it turns out, the song is Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae. This song has been playing in my mind ALL week. Maybe it's my subconscious trying to keep me sane. Here's the video. I hope it makes you feel happy - it never fails to brush away the claws of depression trying to get a stranglehold on me. Lyrics below. Three little birds, sat on my window. And they told me I don't need to worry. Summer came like cinnamon So sweet, Little girls double-dutch on the concrete. Maybe sometimes, we've got it wrong, but it's alright The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same Oh, don't you hesitate. Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite song You go ahead, let your hair down Sapphire and faded jeans,

Got this in an e-mail...I don't really like cats but this picture sums up things pretty well. Two more days...

March is not really vacation time, is it? I had the chance to book dirt cheap tickets to the beach for this weekend, though, so I didn't think twice - just got them. Now I am counting the days till I can leave the city behind and bask in the warmth of the sun...on the beach...with a nice cold glass of [whatever drink]. Going on a vacation is not that simple though. I gotta go to the mall and get stuff that we need. Quick checklist...meds...sunblock...slippers... UGG boots (lol, how'd that get in there? They have nice slippers, though.)...travel toothbrushes...lotion...facial tissue...facial wash...more meds... I wish I had taken Friday off so I could have more time to prepare!

There's a long list at Cool Funny Jokes . Here are my top picks. We got off the Titanic first. We get to flirt with systems support men who always return our calls, and are nice to us when we blow up our computers. We can be groupies. Male groupies are stalkers. We can cry and get off speeding fines. Taxis stop for us. Men die earlier, so we get to cash in on the life insurance. We can hug our friends without wondering if she thinks we're gay. We can hug our friends without wondering if WE'RE gay. If we forget to shave, no one has to know. We can congratulate our team-mate without ever touching her butt. If we're dumb, some people will find it cute. We can talk to people of the opposite sex without having to picture them naked. If we marry someone 20 years younger, we're aware that we look like an idiot. There are times when chocolate really can solve all your problems. We have enough sense to realize that the easiest way to get out of being lost is to ask for di

The new Eastwood Mall has been opened since December but I had not really taken the time to check it out. I don't like "malling." For some reason, I felt "adventurous" today so I asked Jerry if he wanted to go there for lunch and maybe go around a little bit. First stop was Mr. Kurosawa , which Ren said had really good food - plus, I hadn't had Japanese food in a while so the craving was starting to kick in. Now get ready for some of the most mouthwatering Japanese dishes I have ever had! For the appetizer, we ordered bowls of miso soup with clams . Unfortunately, they only had one serving left so we had to share, which was a pity because the soup was so good! I have had miso with fish but never with clams. I like the latter better. For PHP108 , it was very much worth it! I also ordered some sushi. They call it Spicy Tuna Ledger . It was your basic roll of sushi, fried, with raw chunks of tuna on top and a pretty slice of fried potato. I have to s