FB-ing

As soon as I get home, I check my emails and visit my apartment at Yoville. I log into my so called Cyberlife. I go to work at the Widget Factory. I log in at least twice a day to work so I can buy furniture to decorate my one bedroom apartment. Then, I do a virtual dance with friends, send them hotdogs or flowers for gifts and share jokes with one click of the mouse button. (at FaceBook).

My family is hooked on FB too. Me, mom and Micmic are members of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Farm Town. We send each other trees (banana, apple, orange…) and farm animals (rabbits, horses, cows and pigs). On some lucky moments, our avatars get to chat online. Funny but our avatars looks so much alike too. Family of farmers? (ingon pa)

My sons are into farming too. (as well as into Yoville, Mafia Wars, and Restaurant City).

Advantage: My kids prefer to stay home over the weekends and spend time updating their farms and apartments and they ask me for virtual gifts (which does not cost me moolah, just one convenient finger tap and I make them smile)

Disadvantage: ADDICTING!

Yes, Facebook has consumed my nights with crazy diversions.  I keep a list of the seeds that returns more earnings for my farm. I get excited to see new items sold at the Home Depot (i gotta have those). I enjoy giving gifts and receiving them. I do jobs for the Godfather (feeling Mafia Princess).  And opened Maria’s at Restaurant City.

I have not stopped harvesting and planting, nor have I stopped re-decorating my little apartment at Yoville. (I have a routine to make sure I don’t miss my factory and farm work) I want to have the blue curtains. I want to own a mansion for Lupang Hinirang (my farm) . I want to grow my Mafia…always this constant wanting for more…

It never stops. The quench to outdo another farm, to out decorate another apartment, to outfight another mafia. It is diversion for me. It keeps me awake while watching or is it listening to TV. and I enjoy teasing the kids with my acquisitions. (bad lagi ko)

Chelo is right, she warned me about FB taking me away… I got reunited with people of my past and we have been reunited at a ‘friend list’ level. As my friends list grew, I found I spend more and more time getting updated with their life. (Catching up! Exchanging hellos) and visiting them on this virtual farms and communities.

What next? This has got to stop I realize. Sleeping past midnight to beat my 10 year old son’s score at Bejewelled is insane I know. (Fa-et)

Me thinking…what to do?

On the upside, however – I am happy that my family is into FB. I know where to find the kids. I know where to find mom and Micmic. and my former boss is now my neighbor sa Yoville.  Oh yeah, I now keep a very busy Cyberlife but a “so so” real life. Pathetic me. =(  Realizing I am off balance. (better late than never)

My Hair Affair

I grew up believing that girls with straight shiny hair had every right (and the only ones allowed) to grow their hairs long.  So having been born with wavy naturals limited me to only have short hair. It was only last year when I succumbed to the other side.(when I met Allan (a hairstylist) who introduced me to hair rebonding).

I had my hair at its longest beyond shoulder length, spending heaps for chemical treatments to keep it straight – plus products to repair the damage. And regular visits to Allan’s parlor who turned me into a believer and suki. (He knows how to make me feel beautiful).

When I came to Auckland, I couldn’t keep up with the upkeep. It was expensive to use treatments and being mayor doma of a household nga gubot,  did not allow me to spend time in front of the mirror and take long hair pampering showers.

I tested different kinds of shampoos and conditioners only to find out that I damaged my frizzies even more. (for vanity’s sake lagi) My tresses was all over our place. It was dry and brittle and dead. And so, as a new year’s resolution for 2009, I decided to give my hair the attention it needed.

A chinese lady plus cheap cut plus a less than 3 minute trim equals DISASTER. (I did not mean to be racist here but she must have had training with a mower before she held scissors)  Our current budget did not allow me to spend much for vanity, so I curl my lips as my heart weeps seeing my hair worsen day by day. I did not want to have my pictures taken, and passing by a mirror only hurt my sensibilities. Yes, talk about my hair and I will pounce on you ala Manny Pacquiao. It grew side ways despite the falling hairs plus I see silver streaks when I flip it to the sides. When it comes to hair, I don’t have the patience. And I feel ugly and unkept and stressed over it.

I did not want to go back to my short hair days. I felt so OA being on a crossroad as to going back to short short dodong cut or letting it grow back to its Allan days. I have gone to long and don’t want to return and start all over. My boylets swear I look better with long hair. I believe them… but the ordeal of getting it to grow back is killing me each day. If only I had the patience to save enough & just get it chemically treated here. nah! I only have myself to blame for seeing Ambrosia Lee, the chinese grass cutter kay new year lagi, new look, new hair. Dah GABA! Big Time.

SO, 3 hair trims after and savings enough for a hair treatment, I found Danny who gave me a short bob cut and shiny flattened strands. I found a new Allan.

I am uber happy! This is a good start. It will grow back but I have time. I will have to take care of my crowning glory because I made a decision not to return to short boy cuts. This will definitely be a long hair affair. I am loving the bounce and flipping it back when I walk to the bus stop does not enduce migraine. When the winds blow, it returns to its shape and it does not tangle. I don’t ever want to wet my hair for fear it will start curling up again. (OA lagi ba). Only Danny can touch my hair from now on. (and he is Korean)

Manang Therese, your wish is my command. Dili na ko delinquinte. =) I finally found a topic to blog about. And I’m brushing my hair while I’m checking for typos here, feeling girly girl, feeling igat. It has been a long time since I felt this way. So pasencya sa akong indulgence everyone.

April Blooms

April starts the 4 days work week for me (due to cost cutting at our company), yet April still has given me so much to be thankful for

* my one year anniversary at work was last April 1 (April Fool’s day, how can I not forget) – yoohoo!

* the beautiful people born on April. Popoy, Karen, Therese (of Kusina Habana fame), Abet Yap-Lam, Walter Ng, Merlo E., Tata Bengua-Silva, Grace Yap, Tonette Pasay, Uncle Boy Labitan, Meream (Ms Bored and Crafty), Rose Suarez-Leano. I wish them heaps of blessings.

* my article comes out of the Maya Newsletter in May (hookay, can’t wait for May to announce it). Unfortunately I can’t put the link here as it is not yet ready as well.

* a short bob cut despite the boys disapproval. the more they ask me not to cut my hair, the more I itch to get it done soon. sometimes I feel they know me too well to even suggest anything.  i don’t know if i am feeling gaga over the way my hair looks now or because i defied them. (feeling rebelious and naughty). 

* birthday surprise from AYEN (i will never stop thanking her for the surprises she sends my way, she has the gift of making people crazy happy). I thank the Heavens for her.

* farm animals and trees sent by farm town neighbors as gifts over at facebook! yes, this makes me happy. (i am cheap and totally addicted to farming now) . Mango trees, cows, apple trees, keep them coming neighbors.

* comments left on my blog despite me not updating it from people who I have not been in touch for quite a while comes as a super wonderful surprise. BEM, i hope i will give you enough reason to stalk this site.

* the quick baranggay chat at yahoo that was organized by Zarlynn. i hope we could do it more often. it is good to chat with old friends and picked up on where we left off. Thank you, Zar, Lloyd, Mar, Sallie and Indo. Hope Roland, Bata and Vanessa could join us next time. (a violet party is now a constant in my dreams)

* pregnancies, births, new blogs, weddings, beautiful photographs, family reunions that happens for the people i stalk and pray for. May it always be that way forever…

* and for Therese who keeps this blog alive. =) Thank you, Manang. I will always be grateful for this and many more of the surprises you help me pull off for my family in Cebu.