My feng shui for the year, according to Proastro.com

Yes, I am THIS bored. If other people were getting work, I'd be worried. But the other underbars seem to be as un-busy as I am, so I guess that's fine. What gives? So anyway...

Overview
Your sign is Pig.

Pigs would have experienced several life changes last year and these are likely to influence the outcome of this year. If you did change your job or move home last year, all you need to do is work with those changes and make the necessary improvements. There’s a lot of leisure or business travel in store for Pigs this year.

Famous Pig:
Hillary Clinton, Liu Xiang, Bryan Adams, Woody Allen, Julie Andrews, Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Maria Callas, Richard Chamberlain, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Glenn Close, Sir Noel Coward, Oliver Cromwell, Billy Crystal, the Dalai Lama, Richard Dreyfuss, Sheena Easton, Ben Elton, Ralph Waldo Emerson

Your reading:
Pigs would have experienced several life changes last year and these are likely to influence the outcome of this year.

If you did change your job or move home last year, all you need to do is work with those changes and make the necessary improvements. If you did get married last year and are now expecting a baby, what’s to worry about? These are happy occasions and you should celebrate and rejoice. There’s a lot of leisure or business travel in store for Pigs this year.

If the relationship you were in ended last year, make an effort to pull yourself together as soon as you can. However, if you neither ended your relationship nor do you have any plans of strengthening it by getting married, you should go all out to pamper your beloved and reinforce the relationship. This is particularly important because your last year’s luck will continue to have a strong influence over you during the first half of 2008. This implies that even though your relationship survived the stormy waters of 2007, it may crack under the continuous strain and the relationship could end. If the beginning of 2008 saw your relationship on the verge of ending, there may not be much that you can do to revive it.

There’s good news on the financial front though. You will get plenty of investment opportunities and you should capitalize on them. Pigs born in spring and summer should embark upon a career if you haven’t done so already. Next year will be too late. During the first six months of 2008 you may find it difficult to make the right decisions because of your emotional instability and the influence of 2007. You will be able to make a better judgment only in Lunar May, when last year’s influence has faded away. The flip side of this however is that your run of good luck is likely to last only till end 2009. If you want to get substantial returns on your investment, you will have to invest this year, but invest wisely and well.

You look all set to lose some of your belongings this year including your mobile phone, wallet or keys. Forewarned is forearmed. While you may not be able to avoid all the bad luck that looks set to come your way, you should take steps to minimize the loss by carrying minimal amount of money in your wallet, keeping a spare set of keys in a safe place and making a duplicate set of phone numbers.

A Tribute of Sorts

It's another lazy day at work. A lot of partners are still out on leave, so there's not much work to go around for the underbar slave population, since the big bosses who give orders are out on vacation.

So anyway, vain and conceited and self-centered as I am, I Google-d myself, my relatives and a few of my friends, just for whatev. Google-ability now sort of validates or confirms that a person exists. If your name doesn't appear ANYWHERE on the internet, it's just, well, weird. It's almost like the world has forgotten that you exist, or existed, and affected people's lives in some way, good OR bad. Many of the people in this list retired years before the advent of the internet as we know it, while some just aren't very fond of computers, or some other reason I don't want to think about. In any case, I would have wanted to write something more heartwrenching, but I guess this will suffice for the moment, lest I burst into tears in the office and gain a reputation as the crazy new hire.

So then, this is a tribute to the people who have made the most impact on my life, good or bad, for the people who have been in every chapter of my life, and who will always be part of me because I have never loved anybody more than I love them...

Carmen Veronica Brown del Corro, my grandmother, Mama, who in spite of her cynicism, her fangs and her razor tongue, loves us like crazy and reigns like the matriarch she is.

Daniel Jason Yenko Torralba, my only brother and sibling, JJ, whom I hope will come back to us when he's ready to face the world again with family by his side.

Susan Sofia del Corro Yenko-Adad, my only aunt, Tita Susan, my pet and my master, whom I am lucky to have caught up with before it was too late.

Sergio Mendoza Yenko, my grandfather, my Lolo, who was a great man once. I never really knew him, but I am his granddaughter in every way.

Danilo Lojo Torralba, Daddy, who tried to give us the best to make up for the worst.

Ma. Lourdes del Corro Yenko-Torralba, Mommy, who left too early but was never really gone.

We've all made our fair share of mistakes and wrong turns. We're all human, after all. That doesn't right a wrong, and it can't change how people feel about what we've done or what we haven't done, but I hope everything turns out great for all of us. Cheers.

From Rich: childhood privileges meme

Bold all that apply to you. Father went to college Father finished college Mother went to college Mother finished college Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor (all of the above) Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers Had more than 50 books in your childhood home Had more than 500 books in your childhood home (ranging from children's books to trashy novels to chem and physics and engineering and law, fiction, non-fiction, whatev) Were read children's books by a parent Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18 Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18 (ballet, when I was 5) The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18 (i STILL don't have one...) Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs (plus my scholarship) Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs (was on scholarship) Went to a private high school (de la salle lipa) Went to summer camp Had a private tutor before you turned 18 Family vacations involved staying at hotels (mostly other relatives' houses) Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18 (would get some hand-me-downs from cousins, aunts, etc... ) Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them (I wish!) There was original art in your house when you were a child (yeah, by myself and my brother, on the walls, floor, cabinet doors... my dad hated it, but my mom found it adorable that we were, uh, personalizing the house, and refused to have our scribbles painted over or covered with wallpaper.) Had a phone in your room before you turned 18 (yeah, for like two days. i hid the house phone in my room and refused to admit it was there. hehe!) You and your family lived in a single family house Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home (and they still don't) You had your own room as a child Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course Had your own TV in your room in High School Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16 (still haven't) Went on a cruise with your family Went on more than one cruise with your family Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family before age 18

Receipts please...

Hi guys. Just in case you have gas, parking, toll, or food receipts that you don't need, or bus tickets, dated November 2007 to present, pleeeeeeeeease please please, mine na lang? I have to substantiate our transpo allowance by the 15th kasi... And then I have to collect for the succeeding months. I'll forever be grateful. Hehe! Thanks! Text or email me, just in case. Or better yet, if you love me that much, please send all receipts tome at the office.

Raffle is on January 15. Hehe! Thanks all!

P.S. Please do not send me receipts from abroad.

How stressed are YOU?

http://www.personalitytest.net/funtest/stress.htm

Thanks for the link, Rich!

Stress Pictures

These pictures are used to test the level of stress a person can handle.

The slower the pictures move, the better your ability of handling stress.

Alleged criminals see them spinning around madly while seniors and kids see them still.

Check your level of stress...

Auld Lang Syne

Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne ?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my dear,

for auld lang syne,

we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
And surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine ;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine^† ;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

"Auld Lang Syne" is a song by Robert Burns (1759–1796), although similar poems by Robert Ayton (1570–1638), Allan Ramsay (1686-1757) and James Watson (1711) as well as older folk songs, use the same phrase, and predated Burns.^[1]

In any case, it is one of the better-known songs in English-speaking countries, and it is often sung at the stroke of midnight on the 31st of December, New Year's Eve. Like many other frequently sung songs, the melody is better remembered than the words, which are often sung incorrectly, and seldom in full.^{[citation needed]}

The song's (Scots) title may be translated into English literally as 'old long since', or more idiomatically 'long long ago',^[2] or 'days gone by'. In his retelling of fairy tales in the Scots language, Matthew Fitt uses the phrase “In the days of auld lang syne” as the equivalent of “Once upon a time”. In Scots Syne is pronounced like the English word sign — IPA: [sain] — not [zain] as many people pronounce it.

History

Robert Burns forwarded a copy of the original song to the Scots Musical Museum with the remark, “The following song, an old song, of the olden times, and which has never been in print, nor even in manuscript until I took it down from an old man's singing, is enough to recommend any air.” At the time it was very fashionable to claim one's own work was "traditional"; therefore one should take Burns' statement with mild skepticism. Some of the lyrics were indeed "collected" rather than composed by the poet and the ballad Old Long Syne printed in 1711 by James Watson shows considerable similarity in the first verse and the chorus to Burns' later poem. ^[3] It is a fair supposition to attribute the rest of the poem to Burns himself.^[4]

There is some doubt as to whether the tune used today is the same one Burns originally intended; but the melody itself is traditional in the purest sense of the words.

Singing the song on Hogmanay or New Year's Day very quickly became a Scots custom, which soon spread to other parts of the British Isles. As Scots (not to mention other Britons) emigrated around the world, they took the song with them.

Beginning in 1929 Band leader Guy Lombardo is often credited with popularizing the use of the song at New Year’s celebrations in America, through his annual broadcasts on radio and TV. The song became his trademark, and besides his live broadcasts, he recorded the song more than once, the first in 1939, and at least once later, on September 29, 1947, in a record issued as a single by Decca Records as catalog #24260.^[5]

However, he neither invented nor introduced the custom, even there. The ProQuest newspaper archive has articles dated 1896 that describe revellers on both sides of the Atlantic singing the song to usher in the New Year. Two examples follow:

• "Holiday Parties at Lenox" (1896) – The company joined hands in the great music room at midnight and sang “Auld Lang Syne” as the last stroke of 12 sounded and the new year came in.^[6]

• "New Year's Eve in London" (1910) – Usual Customs Observed by People of All Classes… The passing of the old year was celebrated in London much as usual. The Scotch residents gathered outside of St. Paul's Church and sang “Auld Lang Syne” as the last stroke of 12 sounded from the great bell.^[7]

[edit] Lyrics

As detailed above—auld lang syne literally means "old long since"—but a more idiomatic English translation would be something like "long long ago",^[2] "days of long ago", "in olden days", or even "once upon a time". "For old time's sake" or "to the good old days" may be modern-day expressions, in common use as a toast, that capture the spirit of "for auld lang syne."

Complete lyrics

Burns’ original Scots verse.[2]	Scots pronunciation guide (as Scots speakers would sound)	IPA pronunciation guide	English translation (minimalist)
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And days o' auld lang syne CHORUS: For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne. And surely ye’ll be your pint-stoup! And surely I’ll be mine! And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne. CHORUS We twa hae run about the braes, and pou’d the gowans fine; But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit, sin’ auld lang syne. CHORUS We twa hae paidl’d in the burn, frae morning sun till dine; But seas between us braid hae roar’d sin’ auld lang syne. CHORUS And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere ! And gies a hand o’ thine! And we’ll tak a right gude-willie-waught, for auld lang syne. CHORUS	Shid ald akwentans bee firgot, an nivir brocht ti mynd? Shid ald akwentans bee firgot, an ald lang syn? CHORUS: Fir ald lang syn, ma deer, fir ald lang syn, Wil tak a cup o kyndnes yet, fir ald lang syn. An sheerly yil bee yur pynt-staup! an sheerly al bee myn! An will tak a cup o kyndnes yet, fir ald lang syn. CHORUS We twa hay rin aboot the braes, an pood the gowans fyn; Bit weev wandert monae a weery fet, sin ald lang syn. CHORUS We twa hay pedilt in the burn, fray mornin sun til dyn; But seas between us bred hay roard sin ald lang syn. CHORUS An thers a han, my trustee feer! an gees a han o thyn! An wil tak a recht guid-wullae-wocht, fir ald lang syn. CHORUS	ʃɪd ɑld a.kwe̙n.tæns bi fɪɾ.ɡɔt, an nɪ.vɪɾ brɔxt tɪ meind ? ʃɪd ɑld a.kwe̙n.tæns bi fɪɾ.ɡɔt, an ɑld laŋ sein ? CHORUS: fɪɾ ɑld laŋ sein, mɐ dɪɾ, fɪɾ ɑld laŋ sein, wil tak ɐ kɔp o keind.nɪs jɛt, fɪɾ ɑld laŋ sein. an ʃir.li jɪl bi jʊɾ peint.stɔp ! an ʃir.li al bi mein ! an wil tak ɐ kɔp o keind.nɪs jɛt, fɪɾ ɑld laŋ sein. CHORUS we twa heː rɪn ə.but ðɪ brez, an pud ðɪ ɡo.wɪnz fein ; bɪt wiv wan.dɛɾt mo.ne ɐ wi.ɾi fɛt, sɪn ɑld laŋ sein. CHORUS we twa heː pɛ.dl̩t ɪn ðɪ bʊɾn, fre mɔɾ.nɪn sʊn tɪl dein ; bʌt siz bɪ.twin ʌs brɛd heː rɔrd sɪn ɑld laŋ sein. CHORUS an ðɛrz ɐ han, mei trʊs.ti fiɾ ! an ɡis ɐ han o ðein ! an wil tak ɐ rɛxt ɡɪd-wʊ.le-wɔxt, fɪɾ ɑld laŋ sein. CHORUS	Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind ? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne ? CHORUS: For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne. And surely you’ll buy your pint cup ! And surely I’ll buy mine ! And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne. CHORUS We two have run about the slopes, and picked the daisies fine ; But we’ve wandered many a weary foot, since auld lang syne. CHORUS We two have paddled in the stream, from morning sun till dine† ; But seas between us broad have roared since auld lang syne. CHORUS And there’s a hand my trusty friend ! And give us a hand o’ thine ! And we’ll take a right good-will draught, for auld lang syne. CHORUS

^† dine = dinner time

Most traditional use of the song involves only the first verse and the chorus—with the last line changed to "and days of auld lang syne".

[edit] Usage

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

"Auld Lang Syne" is usually sung each year at midnight on New Year's Day (Hogmanay in Scotland) in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong, and English-speaking areas of India, Pakistan, and Canada, and signifies the start of a new year. In the United Kingdom, it is played at the close of the annual Congress (conference) of the Trades Union Congress. In many Burns Clubs, it is sung to end the Burns supper.

In Scotland it is often sung at the end of a céilidh or a dance. It is common practice that everyone joins hands with the person next to them to form a great circle around the dance floor. At the beginning of the last verse everyone crosses their arms across their breast, so that the right hand reaches out to the neighbour on the left and vice versa. During the last chorus people might start jumping up and down. When the tune ends everyone rushes to the middle, while still holding hands. When the circle is re-established, everyone turns under the arms to end up facing outwards with hands still joined.

It is used as a graduation song and a funeral song in Taiwan and Hong Kong, symbolizing an end or a goodbye. In Japan and Hungary, too, it is used in graduation, and many stores and restaurants play it to usher customers out at the end of a business day. Before the composition of Aegukga, the lyrics of Korea’s national anthem were sung to the tune of this song. In the Indian Armed Forces, as well as the Pakistani Military, the band plays this song during the graduating parade of the recruits.

In the Philippines, it is well known and sung at celebrations like graduations, New Year and Christmas Day. Also, before 1972, it was the tune for the Gaumii salaam anthem of The Maldives (with the current words). In Thailand, it is used for Samakkkhi Chumnum (Together in unity), sung after sports.

In Brazil, Portugal, France, Spain, Greece, Poland and Germany this song is used to mark a farewell. It is also used in the Scout movement for the same purpose, but with lyrics that are a little different.

It has also been used on other occasions as a farewell. One occasion that falls in this category was in October 2000, when the body of former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau left Parliament Hill in Ottawa for the last time, going to Montreal for the state funeral.

The song is also the official corps song for the Kilties drum and bugle corps.

[edit] Melody

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

The tune to which Auld Lang Syne is universally sung is a pentatonic Scots folk melody - probably originally a sprightly dance in a much quicker tempo.

The English composer William Shield seems to quote the Auld Lang Syne melody briefly at the end of the overture to his opera Rosina - this may be its first recorded use. The contention that Burns borrowed the melody from Shield is for various reasons highly unlikely - they may very well both have taken it from a common source, however - possibly a strathspey called The Miller's Wedding or The Miller's Daughter. The problem is that tunes based on the same set of dance steps necessarily have a similar rhythm, and even a superficial resemblance in melodic shape may cause a very strong apparent similarity in the tune as a whole. For instance, Burns' poem Coming through the rye is sung to a tune that might also be based on the Miller's Wedding. The origin of the tune of God Save the Queen (q.v.) presents a very similar problem, and for just the same reason, as it is also based on a dance measure. (See the note in the William Shield article on this subject.)

Whatever its source, the Auld Lang Syne tune has been used all over the world in various contexts, for example:

In Denmark, the song was translated in 1927 by the famous Danish poet Jeppe Aakjær. Much like Robert Burns' use of dialect, Aakjær translated the song into the Danish dialect Jysk, a dialect from the Danish peninsula Jutland, often hard to understand for other Danes. The song Skuld gammel venskab rejn forgo ('Should auld acquantaince be forgot - Scots / Should old acquaintance be forgotten - English'), is an integral part of the Danish Højskole tradition, and often associated with more rural areas and old traditions. Also, the former Danish rock group Gasolin modernized the melody in 1974 with their pop ballad Stakkels Jim ("Poor Jim").

In Pakistan, the tune was played at the formal resignation of President Pervez Musharraf as the country's Chief of Army Staff.

In the United States, the song is used as a song of remembrance at 9-11 memorials and other memorial events. The University of Virginia's alma mater (The Good Old Song), and the anthem of Alpha Kappa Psi, the largest professional business fraternity in the U.S., are both sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne.

In India, the melody was the direct inspiration for the popular Bengali song "Purano shei diner kotha" (About the old days) composed by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, and forms one of the more recognizable tunes in Rabindra Sangeet (Rabindra's Songs), a body of work of 2,230 songs and lyrical poems that form the backbone of Bengali music.

In Japan, the Japanese students' song Hotaru no hikari (Glow of a Firefly) uses the Auld Lang Syne tune. The words are a series of images of hardships that the industrious student endures in his relentless quest for knowledge, starting with the firefly’s light, which the student uses to keep studying when he has no other light sources. As noted above (under usage) the melody is also played in many stores shortly before closing time.

The tune is used for the Dutch football song, Wij houden van Oranje (We love Orange).

In France, the melody is used with French words and the parting song is entitled Ce n’est qu’un au revoir ("This is only "until we meet again" (not goodbye)").

In Indonesia, the melody is used as a farewell song which is commonly sung during graduation or farewell parties.

In South Korea, the melody was used for the national anthem, Aegukga, until the composer Ahn Eak-tai composed a new melody to the existing lyrics.

In Italy, this melody is very well known by Italian football supporters since the 70's; It is often sung in stadiums during the matches, especially after the kick-off. Many Italian supporters of different regions and cities adopted this tune and arranged its lyrics according to their teams. These are the lyrics sung by A.S. Roma supporters: La nostra fede mai morrà/canteremo noì ultrà/e insieme a te saremo allor/forza Roma vinci ancor ("Our faith will never die/we,the ultrà, will sing/then we'll be with you/come on Roma, win again").

In Spain and in Poland, this tune is used by the Scouts movement for their farewell song at the end of summer camps or just to say goodbye after big events.

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• The song features prominently - under the name of The Farewell Waltz - in the film Waterloo Bridge (1940), starring Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor. It is arguably one of the most memorable and best-loved sequences of the film.
• The Triad Trilogy Infernal Affairs uses the tune in the second film when a triad has finished killing a gang boss. It also signifies the event of Hong Kong's transfer to China in 97, with the fictional eradication of many gang bosses.
• The American PBS television series Great Performances program titled "Garrison Keillor’s New Year’s Eve Special" 2006/7 had the audience sing an adaptation of the lyrics with a humorous last verse: "I think of all the great, high hearts I had when I was young / And now who are these sad old farts I find myself among?"
• Nobel Laureate Poet Rabindranath Tagore's poem Purano Shei Diner Kotha is traditionally sung in a tune inspired by the tune of Auld Lang Syne.
• The last line of the chorus is frequently mis-sung by crowds and untrained groups as for the sake of Auld Lang Syne. This is partly because the words themselves are not understood, but also because it has become common practice. It is rarely (if ever) incorrectly performed by trained choirs.
• The song is sung at the end of the Last Night of the Proms by the audience (rather than the performers). As such it is never listed on the official programme.
• The melody is also featured at the beginning of the Tom Waits song 'A Sight For Sore Eyes'
• The song is sung in many of the films produced by Frank Capra, including It's a Wonderful Life, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
• In the Samuel Fuller film The Steel Helmet, the film's main character, Sgt. Zack, requests that the song be played by "Fat Paul" on a portable organ. The group of American soldiers is shocked to find out, after a South Korean boy who has accompanied them recognizes and sings Korean lyrics to the tune, that the melody also serves as the national South Korean anthem.
• Dan Fogelberg recorded a hit song called "Same Old Lang Syne", on his 1981 album The Innocent Age. Interestingly, the song was about encountering an old lover not on New Year's Eve, but on Christmas Eve.
• In the 1942 re-release of the Charlie Chaplin film The Gold Rush with added sound, the song is sung at a New Year's Eve party. It is not certain if the same song was sung when the original silent film was released in 1925.
• The song is played in When Harry Met Sally, the New Year's party in which Harry states he never fully understood what the song meant and says "I mean, 'Should old acquaintance be forgot'? Does that mean that we should forget old acquaintances, or does it mean if we happened to forget them, we should remember them, which is not possible because we already forgot?"
• Cliff Richard sang the Lord's Prayer to the melody of Auld Lang Syne in his Christmas song "The Millennium Prayer".
• Sofie Fatale's cell phone ringtone is Auld Lang Syne in the film Kill Bill Volume 1.
• IDW Publishing has released a comic story arc using the Characters from Joss Whedon's Angel: The Series. This Series is called Angel: Auld Lang Syne.
• The melody to "Auld Lang Syne" is thought to be a strong candidate for the solution to Sir Edward Elgar's "Enigma"; that is, he said that the theme of his Op. 36 Variations was actually a countermelody to some other well-known tune, but he never revealed what the popular tune was.
• Near the end of Ghostbusters II, the people of New York City sing "Auld Lang Syne", which weakens the evil Viggo the Carpathian's power enough to be defeated.
• American guitarist Jimi Hendrix played Auld Lang Syne as the opening of his second set at the Fillmore East, December 31, 1969-January 1, 1970
• Irish rock group A.E.R use Auld Lang Syne as the intro and hook of their song "Time Goes By". Ironically, the songwriter had the idea of using it while thinking "What can we do that Jimi Hendrix didn't?". He only found out that Jimi Hendrix actually did, 3 days after recording it.
• This is the last song sung at every commencement for Fairleigh Dickinson University
• Friedrich Silcher, a German songwriter, born at the time when Robert Burns died, translated 'Auld Lang Syne' into German language ('Soll's alte Herz vergessen sein') which is probably the best translation of this song into a foreign language.^{[citation needed]}
• In both The Poseidon Adventure (film) and Poseidon (film), the ship's singer leads the crowd with the singing of "Auld Lang Syne", before the ship is capsized by a rogue wave.
• The University Of Virginia's alma mater, the Good Ol' Song, is sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne.
• The song Forever by HURT (band) references the Auld Lang Syne in its lyrics.
• A variation on the melody of the song is heard in the John Phillip Sousa march Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company.
• Every year, on his New Year television show, Jools Holland and his rhythm and blues orchestra play Auld Lang Syne on the bagpipes and the audience sing along.
• In the series The Best Years, Samantha recalls when she played on the piano Auld Lang Syne
• Canadian band Barenaked Ladies include a rendition of the song "Auld Lang Syne" on their 2004 "Barenaked for the Holidays" CD.
• Bobby Darin recorded a Christmas version in 1960, titled "Christmas Auld Lang Syne".

Get to know yourself better

Get to know yourself better

Thanks for the link, Malou. Take the quiz here.

Your view on yourself:

You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person.

The seriousness of your love:

You are very serious about relationships and aren't interested in wasting time with people you don't really like. If you meet the right person, you will fall deeply and beautifully in love.

Your views on education

Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

The right job for you:

You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life.

How do you view success:

You are confident that you will be successful in your chosen career and nothing will stop you from trying.

What are you most afraid of:

You are afraid of things that you cannot control. Sometimes you show your anger to cover up how you feel.

Who is your true self:

You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

Shopping weekend

I died and went to shopping heaven Saturday night. Anna and I went to the Christ the King Bazaar to finish our Christmas shopping. The slope was bad (gradual, but oddly difficult to traverse), and we kinda had a hard time keeping our balance walking up and down and up and down and up and down the two aisles but by far, I got the best deals ever. I basically busted MY ENTIRE SALARY on weekend shopping. I'll have to survive on Skyflakes for the next two weeks. Well, not exactly, but I can't splurge on dinner too much until the next suweldo. Hehe! Oh well. I have to lose weight anyway. I loooooooove everything I bought. This is the last of my shopping escapade extravaganzas, since I'll be belt-tightening beginning January next year. Read: saving up for a car, which is going to take quite a while, even if I get a hefty bonus... (Lord, please enlighten the minds of the partners of the firm and make them realize what a difference they will make in the lives of so many entrepreneurs if they give me a bonus... Hehehe!) So... My plan is to save half my net income (i.e. less taxes and other charges, rent and bills). The other half will comprise my monthly personal allowance. It's actually a pretty good plan. My "personal allowance" isn't too bad. So anyway,,, any shopping I'll be doing will be financed by my "personal allowance". The policy is N-E-V-E-R touch my savings unless I'm dying and/or in immediate need of surgery and/or expensive medication the cost of which cannot be reasonably borne by the disposable half of my income. (And yes, the reason I'm writing this is to psyche myself up.) So there. Three days and two rehearsals to making-a-fool-out-of-myself-day (a.k.a. the firm's Christmas party). Ladida...

It's the season to be not-so-jolly...

It's been a rough couple of days. And it has nothing to do with work. Well, save for the fact that we don't get any free cuts, or the right to say, "It's sleepy weather. I don't think I'll go to work today. I'll sleep this one in." I like my job and where I'm at. The past few days just haven't been very forgiving in terms of my psyche. I thought the week was going to turn out fine until semi-recent events sent me spiralling down into another downcycle. I won't elaborate. I don't really relish the thought of having to churn out actual words to describe how sucky it feels to not be so in tune with the so-called spirit of Christmas. And speaking of Christmas, I think the dreaded holidays are taking their toll again. The most obvious pop-up would be that I, together with dozens of other new hires from here and other firms, will be making a complete and utter fool out of myself dancing to the beat of songs I don't even listen to, all for the sadistic amusement of the powers that be. Give me physical pain any day of the week and I'll pay you for it. It doesn't make it any better that I actually have to organize the goddamned thing. But no, that isn't what toed the line. For one thing, I miss studenthood. I miss the so-called life I used to have, and the people I used to drag and get dragged by. I don't miss financial dependence, but I do miss being carefree, and being responsible only for myself.

On a different but not too distant note, my train of thought lately has been running in the direction of figuring out where I'm spending the two four-day weekends later this month. As most of my friends probably already know, Lipa is not a very good place to spend the holidays. I just want to see my dad and my brother, but I will not (Read: WILL NOT) spend a night there. I don't have very good emotional ties with the city or with the people there, particularly someone I will not mention but people already know. Not too many happy memories to be had. Personally, my default holiday hideout is my grandmother's, although it hasn't been very festive there since my uncles left for Houston. I want to be proven wrong though, for the sake of my nephews, who are now old enough to appreciate the difference between an actual celebration and one where we just sit silently around the dinner table. The option of spending the holidays in Baguio at my aunt's place, but I'm not sure if she'll be staying home or going to my cousin's place in Gumaca. In any case, anywhere I spend the holidays, the people I end up NOT spending the holidays with won't exactly be pleased with me. Which doesn't really leave any room for what I want. Ate Tina (my cousin) told me she would just kidnap me come the holidays so it wouldn't be my fault, and that she would take the fall for me, but, well, I don't know. It's one of those seasons when all choices presented to me are wrong for at least one relevant party. The complications of having equally dearly beloved family members, most of whom are the fiercely jealous types, spread all over the country...

More work just poured in after my two-hour respite from the world... I'm not complaining. I'm not whining. I'm a bit too numbed out at the moment for that. Just a statement of fact. The pains of being an adult and having to take responsibility for my decisions knowing that however I decide, I'm bound to run into a brick wall and break a few bones in the process. Thus the title.

Ohmigod I can't believe I'm so F-ING pissed.

The problem with this creature is that she thinks she can deliver offensive remarks with impunity because she expects people to take it as "so her". It's so annoying that it bothers me but man, it's been bugging me since yesterday and I want to rant, so to hell with everything else. I wouldn' t be writing about this if I weren't so F-ing pissed. Arggh. Word of advice, things said in confidence, are, as the word suggests, confidential, i.e. should not be blurted out in an attempt at being candid or half-cute. Duh?!! I sooooo hate that thing right now. Some people should really spend like an extra hour before even considering using their vocal chords. Note to self: smalltalk, period. And then dunk dog slobber on her head. Let her see if she finds it cute. What a hypo.

Wala lang, it's poem day.

Remember (Christina Rosetti)

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

And before I actually get to work...

THE MORE LOVING ONE (W. H. Auden )

Looking up at the stars, I know quite well That, for all they care, I can go to hell, But on earth indifference is the least We have to dread from man or beast. How should we like it were stars to burn With a passion for us we could not return? If equal affection cannot be, Let the more loving one be me. Admirer as I think I am Of stars that do not give a damn, I cannot, now I see them, say I missed one terribly all day. Were all stars to disappear or die, I should learn to look at an empty sky And feel its total dark sublime, Though this might take me a little time.

And the award for poem of the year goes to... (Drum roll...)

This one I got from Angie Zafra way back in college.

-----------------------

I shave my legs,
I sit down to pee.
And I can justify
any shopping spree.
Don't go to a barber,
but a beauty salon.
I can get a massage
without a hard-on.

I can balance the checkbook,
I can pump my own gas.
Can talk to my friends,
about the size of my ass.

My beauty's a masterpiece,
and yes, it takes long.
At least I can admit,
to others when I'm wrong.

I don't drive in circles,
at any cost.
And I don't have a problem,
admitting I'm lost.

I never forget,
an important date.
You just gotta deal with it,
I'm usually late.

I do watch movies,
with lots of gore.
Don't need instant replay,
to remember the score.

I won't lose my hair,
I don't get jock itch.
And just cause I'm assertive,
Don't call me a bitch.

Don't say to your friends,
Oh yeah, I can get her.
In your dreams, my dear,
I can do better!

Flowers are okay,
But jewelry's best.
Look at me you idiot...
Not at my chest!

I don't have a problem,
With Expressing my feelings.
I know when you're lying,
You look at the ceiling.

DON'T call me a GIRL,
a BABE or a CHICK.

I am a WOMAN.

Get it?... YOU DICK!

Now, you must forward this to at least 4 FEMALES or you will have a HORRIBLE streak of bad love life. Not that I believe the above, I just think you should forward this to at least 4 women so they can laugh too!

Another nice poem

I have no idea who wrote this. Troy forwarded this to me like three years ago.

-----------------------

You pointed to a crack
Where my heart failed to see,
Busy as I am, convinced, that my hands
Are molding the clay with which to fill the
Long-standing tear in my being.

I know not how to mend this,
To stop this vast ocean
wracked by swirling anger beneath
from drying through your eyes, while the sunset
lurks around your unreachable iris.

I see the crack, now, with my hands reaching
Across the distance and silence.
I see with the eyes of a fly, swatted
by the magnitude of the spectacle, looking as I am
With the scattered pieces of my being.

Now I have minted the crack in my heart,
Oblivious of what it means, but it's future meaning
for now, it seems, the crack is all I am,
the pieces exploding with the drying
Of your ocean.

I lift my head, squinting beyond the darkness
For a scent and an angel, a voice and a face.
time is the anguish in my heart.
The world is on the brink of implosion,
Shrunk to the memory of a painful conversation.

This is my doing, yet I couldn’t mend it alone;
I know not the tune of the plea
That would avail me your pity.
i see now, I understand how.
This I hold in my grimy hands to offer.

I have lost my temple and my feet
bleeds from walking the distance
paved with shiny invectives. All around
I look for someone calling me. Me whom
I can’t bear to recognize til it’s you I see

True true.

I got this from Joven a few months ago.

One Art

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster;
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

- Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like a disaster.

- Elizabeth Bishop

Slooooooowwwww...

Argghhh... The internet connection today is going as slow as my bar review progress. Hate it.

In any case... Thursday night was another major booboo. I kinda got really pissed and unleashed my wrath on a semi-innocent bystander. Hehehe! Annoying kasi, it's SOOOOO not a good time to be delivering bar jokes, e.g. that someone's going to flunk the bar (in addition to all his usual hirits). Gawd. So yeah, he's not so innocent. He deserved the me getting pissed part, but probably not the hissy fit that followed. Sorry dude. Didn't mean to go postal on you like that. Nwy, friends na kami ulit, I think. Kasi naman, he started our 11pm beer run that way, and two hours and five beers later, I was just about livid. So I threw him off the Dencio's Capitol railing, left him to nurse his broken bones, and stole his car. Well, that was what I wanted to do. Only he's much bigger than I, and I haven't driven a car in six years. I swear to the highest heavens, sometimes I wonder why I'm friends with that ape. Everytime we go out, something bad always happens. Talk about a non-match made in hell. I don't think we've ever gone out without fighting about something at least once an hour. Oh well. He was there naman during my lowest low point last year. I guess that counts. In addition to the free booze. And good laughs. Men. Can't peacefully coexist with them. The opposite is debatable.

Oh yeah, last week, for the first time ever, I witnessed a guy lying to his girlfriend over the phone. Exaj, ang galing niya magsinungaling! I swear, it's scary. It takes talent to lie like that. Personally, I'm not a very effective liar. I always get conscience-spooked. (Yes, I do have a conscience.) So you liar you, you're a bistadong sinungaling boyfriend dude. No hirits allowed anymore. Wala kang right. Sumbong kita. Bleh.

Anyway, gotta go. I'm going home for my lola's birthday. I'll upload the rest of my stash when I get back next week. Hopefully, both my review and the connection won't suck this bad then. I'm off to Neverneverland then. See ya guys.

Pitch to America

Toys that will never cut it, and other interesting inventions.

Il Divo on Jay Leno. Hottttttt.

Jay Leno interview with OJ, Clinton, George Dubya and Michael Jackson

Wahahaha!

Please kill me now.

Waaaaaah... It's almost mid-June, and I'm soooooo not progressing... Panic attack!!! Okay, breathe... Jumpstart brain...

Btw, Friday's my check-my-mail-and-procrastinate-online day. Well, I get two hours, anyway. So. Shit. Less than 3 months to go.

Postscript

By the way, please leave your name if you're going to post a comment. Just so I know who I'm theoretically conversing with. Wala lang.

On a Sunday

Today was expensive, but overall, pretty good. Well, aside from the potentially bad news I received this morning, which I choose not to divulge before Wednesday's confirmatory tests. And no, I could not possibly be pregnant, although from the rate my bilbils are growing, I wouldn't blame people for thinking that. Hahaha! I swear, everything I eat bypasses my entire digestive system and gets stored ASAP. Tsk tsk... Need physical activity...

Oh, by the way, I finally got around to making an Excel file for our bills. I was so obsessed about the 219 pesos I thought we were being overcharged, I took out all our bills since 2004 and read through each and every one of them. Conclusion: we weren't being overcharged. And two hours of study time down the drain.

In any case, I went to mass with my roommate earlier. I just have to say, that was one of the funniest masses I've ever been to. And then off to Red Ribbon to binge. And then to indulge my school supplies addiction. I'm so proud of myself, I only spent 375 on supplies this time. Yipee!!! Anyway, after Ngangi dragged me away from the pen section to the cashier, we picked up our takeout and went back to the condo. And the War of the Roses started. The heart of the matter? We 20-something-year-olds are ill-equipped to deal with teenagers. Particularly sensitive vain ones and their issues. Oh well. Teenagers. I didn't understand them when I was a teenager, and I don't understand them now. So anyway, Chi and I decided to jump ship. I decided to retrace my roots back to my freshman year study place: Coffee Bean Eastwood. My turf. Haha! (FYI, I don't actually call it that. It's an allusion to something someone we used to live with once called Starbucks Katipunan. Hehe!)

I don't actually have any life-threatening addictions, but the things I'm addicted to are pretty expensive. Word of advice, NEVER go on a grocery, bookstore or shopping trip with me. I swear, I'm bound to drive you crazy. I'll make you smell all the different brands of soap, shampoo, conditioner and lotion. And then I'll spend two hours browsing through the rest of the grocery items and randomly throwing stuff into the shopping cart, and the next hour trying to persuade myself that I don't actually need most of the things I threw in there. Same thing goes for National Bookstore. Although there's nothing to smell there. I do try out all the pens and highlighters and browse through most of the books and assorted supplies there. Bookstores, ahh... my heaven. Never let me near one if you know I'm close to broke. I'd trade good food for a good book any time of the day.

In the middle of studying, I decided to take a break and check if the books I ordered from A Different Bookstore had arrived yet (Day and Dawn (Elie Wiesel) and Grimm's Fairy Tales (the complete compilation, translated from the original). They hadn't. So I figured I'd browse through the rest of the books there. And chanced upon a copy of the best book ever---C.S. Lewis' A Grief Observed. LOOOOOOOVE IT. (We read it for Philo class in college, but I couldn't find a copy then, so I had to photocopy it.) Half an hour later, I couldn't convince myself not to buy it, so I decided to just go ahead and get it. That's one more book to add to my C.S. Lewis stash. Yay!!! And the store manager gave me a discount card. Woohoo!!! (10% off on cash purchases, 5% for credit card purchases) He was supposed to just give me 10% off for the book I was buying, then he said he was giving me a purchase tracking card (To get a discount card, one's supposed to purchase at least 12,000 or 6,000 pesos' worth in a year), and then he handed me a discount card. What can I say, nerds connect. My charms still work. Although I wasn't really using them. Hehe!

Anyway, I was so happy I decided to get myself a Swirl card from CBTL. Cost me another 125. But it came with a free drink, so... Yay!!! It's a pretty good deal actually. I get a 5% rebate.

The best thing about today is I was actually able to get some serious studying done. Although I had to go home at 9pm before I got frostbite. And I just got an email that my Ateneo Alumni Association card's ready. So now I get a discount from Fully Booked as well (same rates as A Different Bookstore). Yipee!!! If only I didn't have to review for the bar... And if only I was rich enough to buy all the books I want... Oh well. Long and short of it is, today was a good day. I guess the rosary in my pocket worked. I should go to mass more often. If only the masses at the Gesu were held every Sunday instead of just on the first and third Sundays of the month. So many if-only's.

So there. Back to the books. I'm going upstairs to the condo in a while. I hope the cold war is over. It's really tough getting caught in the middle of sisters (one of my roommates and her 13-year-old sister) fighting. Or at least not talking.

On the non-event called grad and other issues =p

Now that the readership of this blog has sufficiently waned, I think I can post a really personal rant.

So. How was grad? Horrible. Sad even. How else do I say that I hated it so bad it actually brings me to tears? It’s not that the general décor was, well, let’s just say very inappropriate for law school graduation. Very…impoverished. The chairs offered for the faculty (The handful that showed up, anyway. At least Sir Te was there. It was a complete boycott, I swear!) and the Chief Justice were dragged from the Law Library. I couldn’t figure out whether the banner thing was made of tarp or cloth, or whether it accidentally got torn into three pieces or was hanging from a loose rope. In any case, it looked horrendous. The Chief Justice’s speech was long. Really long. That’s just about all I can say about it. Dionne’s speech brought tears to my eyes though. Especially that part about family.

Overall, the non-event didn’t mean anything to me. Actually, I don’t think I’d have thought much of skipping the entire thing. Anyway, the people I wanted to be there didn’t bother to go. They didn’t even remember that I was graduating. Except for Tito Iggy, nobody from my family texted to congratulate me or to give the cliché “I wish I could be there, but…” speech. Basically, it was a non-event for them. I don’t understand how they can demand so much from me and not even remember my birthday and my graduation. Both from college and from law school. I invited them to both, but they flatly refused both times. All the “We’re so proud of you”’s? Lip service. You can’t possibly mean things like that if there’s absolutely no evidence to prove it. How taxing is it to call or to send an SMS for crying out loud? And yeah, they totally forgot about my birthday too. Same story. Not even a belated happy birthday a week, or even a month later. All of them. Well, except my dad, my cousin Shirley, and Tito Iggy.

So here I am two days later, sitting alone in a towel moping, wallowing. Cried myself to sleep last night. Cried in the shower this morning. Cry intermittently in between. And I hate myself for being such a crybaby. I just want to crawl into a hole.

Add that to the fact that I want to strangle the stepmonster. I had to invite her because I didn’t want to hurt my dad. He told me to invite her. So I did. He told me to confirm if she was going. So I did. He told me to ask her to go with us onstage. So I did. And now I’d really love to gouge her eyes out and feed them to piranhas. I could also skin her alive, douse her with alcohol, and then feed her to piranhas. Or death by a million papercuts. And piranhas. First off, she was more excited about getting her picture taken with the Chief Justice than anything else. Actually, that was all she talked about. All she wanted to do. Oh, and the jewelry set I asked if I could borrow for the ball that she said she’d sold because she was broke and had to make ends meet… Lo and behold, she was bedecked in the same diamonds and white gold yesterday. And duh, the jewelry didn’t even match her sack of an outfit. Of all people, I think I’d understand not wanting to lend stuff. Just don’t lie about it and offer some fake sob story. Duh. If you don’t want to lend your stuff, just say so. People will understand. Gawd, I hate her. The only thing I looked forward to was a quiet dinner with Tito Iggy and Tita Nini afterwards. And of course, she was there too. In all her elementary uneducated (not to mention f*ing ugly) glory. Talk about a damper. She goes out of her way to drop hints that my brother and I are not welcome in her house, that when we’re there, we’re visitors. That the house is hers and her son’s. I just want to strangle and maim her. But then again, she’s already disfigured, so scrap that. She took a good part of my parents’ stuff to her house too! Absolute separation of properties, bitch!!! No wonder you flunked the bar three times. If my dad (whose taste went gaga after my mom died) didn’t marry you, you’d be a single 45-year-old fat ball of cellulite from the middle of nowhere with nothing to boast of but a law degree you barely even deserved and having taken the bar thrice but never hurdling it. Even when I was in high school and clueless about law shit, I knew you had no idea what you were talking about. I swear to God, I’ll get everything back and more. I’ll leave her penniless in the gutter. She won’t know what hit her.

And although I love my dad, sometimes, I just want to slap some common sense into him. He changed his shirt OUTSIDE THE CAR. In the parking lot. I was so outraged that he didn’t get why I was so furious. Nobody does that! And he actually asked me if he had to go to dinner with Tito Iggy and Tita Nini with me. Dad!!! If someone sends your daughter to law school, the least you can do to thank them is to show up at grad dinner after you’ve refused dinners and lunches for four years!!! Oh, and by the way, they didn’t even bother to bring a camera. And all the stepmonster was worried about was that she wouldn’t be able to get her picture taken with the Chief Justice. I so f*ing hate her. And no, she didn’t even give me an old used and ugly leather wallet this time. (FYI, she gave me a really ugly pre-owned black leather wallet two Christmases ago. Last gift I ever received from her.) All she’s good for is that, and I didn’t get anything. By the time I got back to the condo, I felt like my head was splitting in two.

In any case, with a family and stepmonster as supportive as mine, I have to draw emotional support from somewhere. And yeah, it comes from the most unexpected people, like Nico’s mom. Since the two people I’ve been unloading most of my issues on lately (Sands and Nico) have since moved away, Nico back home to Las Piñas, and Sands to Sunrise, we don’t see each other as much. But when I felt my demons coming, I couldn’t fight the need to tell them. Sands told me not to mind them, that people can be really insensitive sometimes. (Amen to that!!!) Nico, since he didn’t know what to tell me, asked his mom to text me. So a minute later, I got a message from an unknown number. I won’t reproduce the text here, but I still have it in my inbox. Let’s just say that halfway through the text, I broke into a sob. Well, at least I have SOMETHING to be happy about. I swear, I hate my life sometimes. If I wasn’t scared of my head being underwater, I’d immerse myself in the tub a la Meredith minus the suicidal urge. I’m too much of a scaredycat for something THAT drastic. I can’t even get highlights or a really rad ‘do, for crying out loud. In any case, back to the books. I think I’ll skip the whole trip home this weekend. I may just get involved in an offense involving moral turpitude. I’ll save my emotional stamina for my trip home on election day when I’ll brave my demons and rein in my violent urges to exercise my right to suffrage.

Hay… Life… I guess people really don’t change. I just hate it when I start believing that they will and they end up disappointing me yet again and I have to rebuild the fortress after the onslaught. This week, while some people came to know how many people love them and support them, I came to the stark realization of quite the opposite. And it hurts. Real bad. I’ve never missed my mom and my brother more. Now that they’re both gone (one of them constructively), I’ve just about lost everyone. I love my dad, but he will never measure up to my mom. And my full-blood brother JJ will always come first. They’re the ones who should have been there at grad. And they’re the ones who should have been with me on my birthday. But I can’t change the past fourteen years. I swear, I would do anything to go back to 1993. I could stay there forever and never grow up. But I can’t. And it kills me that no matter what I do, I can’t bring them both back. Because none of this means anything if they’re not with me. Life. It would be great if I could escape. Go crawl into a hole or hide under a rock or something. Now I know what a certain blonde meant when she said the world was moving so fast but she felt like she was in slow motion. It feels awful. Like trying to move and talk underwater. Sometimes I just want to pack my bags and move someplace where nobody knows me. New life, fresh start. Clean slate. Start over.

In sum, my life pretty much sucks right now and I really hate it.

Downcycle

Yesterday should have been the height of my insanity. What with Balane midterms hanging over my head, i.e. 5 units I can't afford to fail lest I risk not graduating with my batch or taking the Bar this year. The latter part is another story. Anyway, yes, yesterday should have borne witness to the worst of my moods, but truth be told, yesterday was fine. But today, ah today, today was hell for me. Nothing happened really. I'm just in a foul mood. I hate the fact that the iron's broken, that I'm gaining weight like there's no tomorrow although I'm not pigging out, that I've apparently lost identity and become someone's keeper (DUH. I SO HATE IT.), that I want to get stinking drunk tonight but I have to be up bright and shiny tomorrow for OLA... I could go on and on.

I want to get my own place, but I can't afford to. I want to lose all the weight I've gained in law school but they're so damned loyal they refuse to leave me even after miles and miles of road covered. I want to go home but I have class. I want to go to Tita Susan's in Baguio and wallow in my misery in pine-scented air while sipping tea from the balcony, but I don't have enough time to make the trip worth the stress and the expense. ARGHHH... I want the ground to swallow me whole and not spit me out til I'm sane again.