"May I take your order?"
After surviving on leftovers, cup noodles and spam the whole of last week.
I told my sister let's just order takeout today.
Most of the numbers stored on my cellphone are take out deliveries of every kind of eateries.
So after much deliberation, we settled for Tapa king.
I ordered 2 Tapa Queen for lunch.
2 boneless bangus later for dinner.
I normally use my real name when I call for take out.
Otherwise the security guard downstairs won't let the guy up.
I was delirious with hunger so I didn't spell out my name.

Delta
Alpha
Papa
Hotel
November
Echo

Yes I use the international codes. Hehehe
Something I learned from taking that IATA course eons ago.
Guess how they spelled it out this time.
DHAFNIE

Signs
Saturday morning I was about to shut the windows close when I saw a tiny brown butterfly hovering on the window sill.
It fluttered its wings and flew to the right side of the windows.
I didn't know it was possible for a butterfly to fly that high.
All the way up to the 12th floor.
Well obviously they can. It was there.
I wanted to take its picture but by the time I go all the way up to get my digicam, I know it won't be there anymore.
Besides I was in a hurry because I was leaving for my parents' house.
Yesterday after a full lunch of home cooked meals, I wandered outside to water the plants when lo and behold I saw another butterfly.
It was the same color and pattern as the one on my 12th floor window sill.
If I didn't know any better, I would say it was the same one!
So I start to freak out.
You see I don't really believe in signs.
The last time I actually asked for one and got it, I cried for a whole week.
Well not the sign itself but the reason why I asked for it.
Oh I guess you get the picture.
No, I didn't ask for a butterfly. I asked for a blue rose.
So I stopped consciously or unconsciously to seek them out.
Now it seems everywhere I go ... I see butterflies.
On National Geographic when I was flipping channels.
On a website when I was researching for some technical stuff.
Even one on a junk mail in my mailbox.
And of course on my very own blog.
I wonder if it is indeed a sign.
A sign of what. I have no idea.
I didn't really ask for anything in particular.
Now I'm obsessed or rather I'm restless.
And when I get restless, I either cut my hair or dump boyfriends.
Yes! Indeed that's what I did/do.
But I like my hair the way it is right now.
And I don't have a boyfriend to dump.
I will just satisfy myself with html codes and scripts.
And scout for a new layout.
Naturally it would feature butterflies.

Expired Miles
I make it a habit to check my financial statements online on Fridays.
You know to see if my cheques have been credited.
As well as view with sorrow my dwindling bank accounts.
That way, I can schedule my expenses for the coming week.
But it has been a while since I checked my frequent flier accounts.
Well ok account I only have one!
Skywards from Emirates airlines.
I forgot and let 9,242 miles expire just like that!
Plus I have 500 miles expiring Sept. 30, 2004.
Yikes!!!.
My current available balance is 10,076 miles.
Not nearly enough to fly to the nearest sector.
I need 25,000 Tier miles to claim a free ticket within the region.
Zone 11 sector = China, Indonesia, HongKong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia.
Horror of horrors!
I was hoping I could go to Singapore this coming October for my birthday.
My sister and I are both October born.
She wants to watch them on October 18 at the Indoor Stadium.


I want to watch Mamma Mia, the musical which starts its season on September 21.
This got me thinking how ironic I am.
I can't afford to watch concerts here in Manila.
I absolutely wanted to see Sarah Brightman perform at the Ultra a few months ago.
But I was in brokeville.
I can't find anyone to accompany me watch Lea Salonga perform in Baby, the musical currently ongoing at the Meralco theater.
YET.
I'm willing to fly all the way to Singapore to catch The Eagles.
And soak in cultural artsy stuff like musicals at the Esplanade.
Silly silly silly me.
I guess I'll just stick to my original plan for my birthday.
Go to Subic Bay and watch the dolphins show.
Here's hoping I accomplish either one of my plans.
If not well it isn't the end of the world.
I'll live. :)

Rainy Days
Days like these, I'm thankful I work from home.
The last thing I want is to be wet, stranded in the floods, waiting endlessly for public transport.
I haven't taken public transport in ages.
But I've been through all kinds of situations involving jeepneys and buses.
Back in the days when there were no FXs, MRT and LRT. I remember one particular day.
I was still studying at UST. The university that transforms into a raging river whenever it rains. I took the red Antipolo bound bus from UST and got down at Sta Mesa.
My usual stop from which point I'd take the Boni-Stop&Shop jeep home. But it was a rainswept day complete with flooded streets. So even if I waited forever, I won't be able to find a ride. That was the time when we didn't have cellphones. Heck we didn't even have a landline at our house. So I couldn't call my father at his office to pick me up.
I had no choice. I had to walk. And boy did I walk! I walked in ankle high water from Santa Mesa till I reached the Lourdes Hospital. Here is where it gets interesting because the water had reached up to my waist. For someone as tiny as me, it was very frightening.
As I waded through the streets I truly thought I was going to drown!
By the time I reached Kalentong, the water level was chest high.
I told myself ok here we go: "I'm going to drown and die a virgin!" LOL
But I strived on till I reach Acacia lane, the water by now up to my waist.
I don't remember how long it took me to get home that day.
I was in the filthy dirty water in my white UST uniform with an umbrella, trying desperately not to lose my shoes, hungry, tired and very scared - the whole stretch from Santa Mesa to Boni Avenue near the Municipio!
So thank God I never have to go through that again, ever.
The flood control situation in this country is pathetic. Every year, we KNOW we will experience monsoon rains, typhoons and flooded streets yet our drainage system isn't up to par.
But then I watch CNN and see countries like Germany or France experience torrential floods as well. I am somewhat relieved that it isn't unique to the Philippines.

Arabian nights
Here I am on a very wet stormy night, the wind is howling and the rain is splashing against my windows ... But I'm going to post about the desert.
The Arabian desert specifically off the outskirts of Dubai.
The pit stop for this leg of the Amazing race.
It brought back pleasant memories.
Watching the teams race through one of my favorite cities in the world.
They did all the normal 'weekend' activities I'd indulged in Dubai.
Except of course for the sky diving.
I wasn't crazy enough to try that.
Desert safari, driving through the sand dunes, riding a camel as well as sleeping under the stars on the sands in a sleeping bag is so much fun.
Of course there are other nocturnal activities I can talk about which you can do in the desert.
But I won't go there. ;)
I won't incriminate myself. LOL
This episode made me miss Dubai more than I care to admit.
Anyways, I wished:
They locked Colin up in that African prison.
The way he treats Christie is really awful.
My God, what a jerk!!!
That the twins were the ones eliminated this week.
Instead of Mirna and Charla last week.
I hope they show more of Dubai, the city itself next week.
Now I'll go watch it again on AXN at midnight.
It's great that I can watch the Amazing Race several times during the week.
I always do. I love this show!

P.S.
I just want to add a few points I missed earlier:

The Burj al Arab hotel is spectacular in terms of design and architecture. But it is way too expensive and only heads of states and filthy rich Arab sheiks can afford to stay there. I personally think it is way too gaudy and too flamboyant for my taste.

Riding a camel is not very comfortable, the hump rubs against your back and you need to hold on tight so you don't flip over. The ride is jerky and it is only ok for short distances.

Desert Safari is not for the faint hearted. Those sand dunes are very soft and if your driver isn't experienced, the vehicle can topple over.

I prefer wadi bashing which is a drive through a valley. A 4 wheel drive vehicle is used to navigate through narrow passage ways leading to an oasis between the mountains. It can be quite shaky because you are driving over stones and pebbles. But it really rocks! Literally :)

Favorite quote for this episode:
Colin [at the police station in Tanzania] asks the officer:
"Do you speak English?"
The police officer replies back at him:
"Do you speak Swahili?"
That was hilarious!!! LOL

Que sera sera

"Que sera sera
whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see
Que sera sera"

I got this song playing over and over in my head.
I even sang it while washing the dishes after lunch.
All because I watched "In the Cut" last night.
Well early Tuesday morning. In the dark.
By myself while eating Nestle yogurt.
It was supposed to be a thriller/suspense type.
But I wasn't on the edge of my seat este couch.
Only thing that made it worthwhile was a naked frontal shot of Mark Ruffalo.
Well for me that was the highlight. LOL
I even paused the film and stared at his ehem.
Ok, I'm bad. ;)
It ended without fully explaining why the serial killer murdered those women.
And boy was I wrong about who the killer was.
I thought it was Kevin Bacon.
Or Meg Ryan's student, Cornelius Webb.
Meg Ryan in a more realistic role instead of the perky, too.good.to.be.true characters she has played in the past, did good acting wise.
I read that the director originally wanted Nicole Kidman for this role.
I believe it suits Meg Ryan more.
Nicole would be too much of a distraction.
I'll watch it again before I return it to the video store later.
Well not the entire movie, just a 3 minute shot of you know who! ;)

Toilet humor
Words of wisdom from bathroom signs. LOL
From my inbox courtesy of S, the king of forwarded emails.

Bad mood attack
I have a friend who only SMS me whenever she needs money.
No hi, how are you?
Just straight to the point.
She even specifies the amount.
Her excuses:
She used up her budget and needs to buy school supplies for her kids.
Or she needs to buy medicines for her youngest child.
I don't know how on earth she thinks I'm rich.
I don't even have a regular paying job for God's sake.
Yet she thinks I can produce money like magic.
Well I don't indulge her anymore.
But this morning, she was pretty insistent.
8 missed calls on my cellphone hounded me incessantly.

Then she gets angry and texted me:
Ganyan ka naman palagi, sasabihin wala kang pera pero nababakasyon ka sa Dubai, Bangkok at Singapore.
Translation:
That's how you always are! You tell me you dont have money but you travel to Dubai, Bangkok and Singapore.

Well excuse me!
Sure I can afford to go on trips.
I can go on shopping sprees.
I don't have tuition fees to pay.
I don't have children to feed.
This is my lifestyle.
I chose it and it's my money!
It's not my fault, she has 4 kids!
It's not my responsibility to assure her kids have school supplies or medicines.
Who told her to have kids when she clearly can't afford to provide for them???
How dare she lecture me on how I spend my money!!!
It ruined my mood the entire day.
It got my blood boiling.
I was totally pissed off!