huwag nang mag-atubili, bumili na kayo.

Well, hindi siya Astro Cigarettes. Pero ito na ang totoo: ito na yata ang pinakamasarap na sorbetes na natikman ko.

I chanced upon this flavor when I was looking for something to bring to a friend's birthday. I knew Selecta had a variant when I was in grade school, but their version was something like pale cheese ice cream with blueberry jam ripple and chunks of graham crackers. (It tasted like an uncovered cake left in the freezer with trapped water from the ice tray above it. ugh.) Since I was going to a party and was left with only vanilla and this blue one to choose from, I decided to take an adventure with the latter, hoping that Arce Dairy would get it right.

It did. Instead of a cheese-based ice cream, it was fruit-based (much like FIC's strawberry), with only a few hints here and there of cheese, tiny berry bits and dark graham cracker crumbs. And I must say it really tastes heavenly -- never mind if my tongue turns blue after eating a cup (and then some) of this sweet monstrosity. Goodbye healthy fruit yoghurt. I hit my 6-million target anyway so I think I deserve some sugar! Haha rationalizing na naman ang salbabida ko.

Pati tatay ko asked for more when I offered a tiny amount to cap his dinner (bwahahaha ang damot ko -- but he's diabetic!). That speaks a lot for someone who eats only ube ice cream -- or maybe it's because blue and purple are similar?

Promise, maghi-hiphop abs na ako this week para makabawi! :p

yes, i bought a china dual-SIM phone. no TV, though.

I didn't like the analog TV antenna on the other phones; besides, they were too bulky. More on this once I'm done tinkering with it =)

Nargalzius is a demon?

Ba't parang pakiramdam ko maraming makakabasa nito pag tinapos ko na 'to...

For the longest time, I've had the floating thought that the name "Nargalzius" had something to do with an evil character. I don't know where or whom the idea sprung from -- heck, even the guy who uses the name says he got it from a line Dan Akroyd said in a movie (diba Carlo?), but I felt OC-ed to verify it once and for all.

Of course, Googling "Nargalzius" would only bring you to Carlo's website and its many pages, or different discussion boards where he commented on. I tried to broaden the search to "nargal" and I found a few interesting information:

- in the World of Warcraft, there is an orc by the name of Nargal DeathEye. See him here.
- the Irish Druids (one of the subgroups of a pre-Christian Celtic priesthood) mentions an
allusion to "the crowing of Nargal" (wtf?) that is making my nose bleed. Try to understand
it here.

It gets warmer in the next find, where

- in the book The Return of the Serpents of Wisdom (see excerpt here), the term Nargal,
or Nergal, is the universal name of the serpents of Wisdom, and is also the Babylonian
equivalent for Vulcan, the underworld fire serpent. One of the most well-known nergals
is mentioned in the Bible in the book of Jeremiah, Nergal-sharezer, the "prince of fire".

Finally, searching for "nergal" brings me to a wikipedia page that mentions, among a
multitude of things, the existence of a demon named as such, even touted as "chief of
Hell's secret police".

So yun. Mali ako kasi walang demon na Nargalzius. Hahahaha. What a useless effort!!

uno, dos, tres, katorse!

Lulubusin ko na ang pag-blog habang tahimik pa dito sa bahay...

A lot of things happened during the last month of 2007. I was moving branches, helped out with P's family during his Lola's passing, had a bunch of relatives from Australia staying over well until the first few weeks of the new year, 4 Christmas parties with 4 different groups all in the same week, and the usual family Christmas/New Year dinners and lunch reunions.

Surprisingly, I didn't eat as much as I used to. I guess I was so caught up in the preparations of the numerous activities -- buti na lang!

I have a lot to thank for. Twas a shining year for Hangad, particularly with the success of the a cappella concert. Work-wise, all the long hours paid off as we met our targets for the year -- and even exceeded our goals! (sana ganun pa rin in 2008...)

I got to spend time with my family with our vacation in Boracay, and with my Dad in Japan. That was such a memorable experience! Here's to more trips and more laughs, and less stress for us at the household! :)

2007 also gave me new friends, and brought back old ones I haven't kept in touch with for the longest time. I found myself finally having time to have coffee and conversations with those I've been meaning to spend time with in ages. I never thought I still had the stamina to stay up until sunrise just to talk...hahaha it felt so high school!

Most of all, I'm grateful for the good health, good fortune and great relationships. P and I are on our 95th month together, and I pray we'll continue to keep each other happy :)

The first week of the new year has just ended. Akala mo pahinga na? Uupo lang sandali para matigil ang vertigo, but after that, let's keep the ball rolling! Now is the time! :)

Isang masaya, masagana, at masigabong taon para sa ating lahat!

:)

Show me FIERCE!

Here's a compilation c/o Migs of the recent Hangad Christmas party pics.

Am I glad I have a pro stylist for a brother ;p (thanks kuya!)

Too bad I had no couple shot with P. Kasi!!!!

another day, just breathe

And so begins my new life in the new year in the new branch.

Just got through my first three days, and how has it been?

Quiet. At least on the staff side -- in terms of the customers' side it was quite busy.

The branch people seem nice. My boss, of course, is a friend and my old boss from a couple of years back. I met my teammates during the Christmas party and they're ok. The tellers are completely new to me, smiling a bit then going back to their bill-counting; the back office staff are...well, polite. The wealth management officers are, surprisingly, the most talkative of the lot. It all was going well until I had this small chat:

WMO: So, they told me back at the old branch that you'll be transferring here, uh, what's your name again?
Me: (I point to my nickname in BOLD red on my ID.) Yes, in fact, I have transferred
already.(diba?)
WMO: Yes, of course! You're a singer, too, right?
Me: Uh, yeah, sort of. (I hope she remembers I'm a bank employee too.)
WMO: So, I guess you're still experiencing some kind of culture shock, no? I mean, coming from that area...nagpractice ka ba ng pagka-sosyal?
Me: Uh, no. I don't feel much of a difference in this area. In fact, I used to be in the
main office even before you were hired. (Practice?!? ano daw?!?)
WMO: Sure, you don't...hey, don't worry. You can be yourself naman here, ako na bahala
sa iba so they know you, ok? You don't have to be sooo quiet! We understand.
Come on, I'll introduce you to the others..

Nakakatawa diba?!? She barely talked to me when she was visiting in the old branch, I'm beginning to believe myself when I joked to the others back then that she thought I was probably an OJT trainee. I've heard stories about her notorious jolog-bashing, and I thought it was ridiculous at the time until now! But she's sweet. I think. Buti hindi ko sya boss :P

I was chatting via instant messenger with my old branchmates and they were missing me, hehe. They even sent a hilarious pic of me during the last summer outing. One of them wrote, "Wala ka na pala talaga dito. Iniisip ko na lang naka-leave ka." WAAAH! I went back to Commonwealth after office hours on my first day to buy them sundaes and fries and to ask how they were.

Kaya ko 'to. Kaya ko 'to!