Narcissistic Questionnaires

K, since am bored today, here are some narcissistic questionnaires I've actually spent time answering..

QUESTIONNAIRE 1


1. DO YOU SNORE?
Wouldn’t know really. Unless I asked someone who was around while I was asleep. Hehe.

2. ARE YOU A LOVER OR A FIGHTER?
Both. :P

3.WHAT'S YOUR WORST FEAR?
The deep. Dark waters.

4. AS A KID, WERE YOU A LEGO MANIAC?
Nope. More like a Barbie-doll girl and playing with little houses or scale models of it.

5. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF "REALITY" TV?
I enjoy watching Amazing Race; and Simon Cowell being tortured by candidates in American Idol. Hahaha!



6. DO YOU CHEW ON YOUR STRAWS?
Nope.

7. WERE YOU A CUTE BABY?
I don’t think so. I had very little hair. I was one ugly baby. :P

8. IS THE SINGLE LIFE FOR YOU?
It’s for anyone really, until they meet the person who would drive them crazy.

9. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR KEYBOARD?
White on my Mac notebook at home, black for my IBM for work.

10. DO YOU SING IN THE SHOWER?
Nope. Too tired, sleepy or disoriented. :P

11. HAVE YOU EVER BUNGEE JUMPED?
No.

12. ANY SECRET TALENTS?
None.

13. WHAT'S YOUR IDEAL VACATION SPOT?
In the Philippines: undeveloped beach in Panglao, Bohol or any other island in the Philippines. The less tourists, the better.

Would like to see the following though:
- Transvaal in South Africa
- Rio in Brazil
- Chile
- the Grand Canyon during winter
- Himalayas
- St. Petersburg
- somewhere where I’ll see the northern lights and get to take pics of them
- the rest of the natural world.

Calling Lonely Planet/Globe Trekker…. Haha!

14. IS JAY LENO FUNNY?
i don't watch his show.

15. CAN YOU SWIM?
Yes.

16. HAVE YOU SEEN THE MOVIE "DONNIE DARKO"?
I have and I don’t remember if I finished it.

17. DO YOU GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE OZONE?
Yes I do.

18. HOW MANY LICKS DOES IT TAKE TO GET TO THE CENTER OF A TOOSTIE POP?
Wouldn’t know nor care.

19. CAN YOU SING THE ALPHABET BACKWARDS?
Tell me, what sort of questionnaire is this?????

20. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON AN AIRPLANE?
Yes.

21. ARE YOU AN ONLY CHILD?
Nope.

22. DO YOU PREFER ELECTRIC OR MANUAL PENCIL SHARPENERS?
I like the manual one. Hehe!

23. WHAT'S YOUR STAND ON HUNTING?
None.

24. IS MARRIAGE IN YOUR FUTURE?
I would think so.

26. WHAT ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO?
Prissy people. Man or woman.

27. WHAt WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Chicken.

28. IS TUPAC STILL ALIVE?
Nope.

29. DO YOU CRY AT WEDDINGS?
Nope.

30. HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS?
Sunny side up

31. ARE BLONDES DUMB?
This is not good. Am really wasting my time here am I? hahaha!

32. WHERE DOES THE OTHER SOCK END UP?
Huh? Seems like am really wasting my time, or yours with this.

33. WHAT TIME IS IT?
To finish replying to this silly questionnaire. Hahaha!

34. DO YOU HAVE A NICKNAME?
Well yeah…

35. IS MCDONALD'S DISGUSTING?
No.

36. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE IN A CAR?
Yesterday.

37. DO YOU PREFER BATHS OR SHOWERS?
Shower.

38. IS SANTA CLAUS REAL?
Yes. :P

39. ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?
Sometimes. :P

40. WHAT ARE YOU ADDICTED TO?
Music. Books. Travel. Photos. Magnolia Chocolait drink. Smint mints. Granny Goose tortillas. Bad Badtz Maru. Spain.

41. CRUNCHY OR CREAMY PEANUT BUTTER?
Crunchy!!!

42. CAN YOU CRACK YOUR NECK?
No.

43. HAVE YOU EVER RIDDEN IN AN AMBULANCE?
No.

44. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BRUSHED YOUR TEETH TODAY?
Once.

45. IS DRUG FREE THE WAY TO BE?
Yup.

46. ARE YOU A HEAVY SLEEPER?
Yes. I sleep in on weekends til noon. Whole afternoon if I had a late night out or just came back from an out of town trip. :P

47. WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR EYES?
dark brown

48. HOW DO YOU SNEEZE?
How does anyone sneeze? Duh. Hahaha!

49. DO YOU LIKE YOUR LIFE?
At the moment, yes.

50. WHO'S BETTER: STONE COLD OR THE ROCK?
This is so 90s?

51. ARE YOU PSYCHIC?
No. Are you? :P

52. HAVE YOU READ "CATCHER IN THE RYE"?
Nope.

53. DO YOU PLAY ANY INSTRUMENTS?
All my siblings had music lessons except poor little me.

54. CAN YOU SNOWBOARD?
Haven’t tried.

55. DO YOU LIKE CAMPING?
I like the idea: bonfires, stories, just chilling out… and unless you got a tent big enough for me to walk around in and not have to crouch, then no. hihi!

56. DO U SNORT WHEN U LAUGH?
Nope.

57. DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?
No.




QUESTIONNAIRE 2


1.Last place you've been to:
- central business district

2. You are:
- someone I’d like to think who works hard and plays hard.

3. They say you are:
- ask them.

4. Yesterday:
- I spent the whole day at work and then hanging out with colleagues.

5. Last person who texted you?
- a friend

6. Last person you called?
- someone at work

7. Last name in your received calls?
- a friend’s

8. How old are you?
-

9. What music is playing?
- Desde que Despierto by Juanes (iTunes)

10. last drink you had?
- coffee

11. Last thing you bought for yourself:
- a fiction set in Madrid

12. You want to:
- go on vaca for a week at least maybe next year.

13. You really like:
- to finish this

14. You have a crush on:
- many people… jk!!

15. You really hate:
- the last Star Wars film, actually all the Star Wars films after the first three

16. Who is the last person you talked to online?
- a buddy in Brazil

- HAVE YOU EVER -

1. got wasted?
- sort of

2. had ur heart broken?
- mmmmmmm

3. cried when someone died?
- no. Was too young when grandparents passed away. And have no loved ones who've died since...

4. broken a bone?
- luckily, no

5. cried in school?
- I don’t recall.

- WHO'S -

1. your good luck charm?
- family and friends.

2. person u hate most?
- mmmmmmm

3. makes u laugh d most?
- friends, dad…

4. makes u smile?
- friends, pet dogs


- SO -

1. do you get jealous easily?
- if right in front of me, yes, I think so… haha.

2. what have u been doing these past few days?
- working my a_ _ off..

3. what are you thinking about now?
- that this questionnaire will be over soon….

4. what did you do last night?
- hang out with buddies, go online, read, sleep

5. what did you last say to a friend last night?
- take care, have a nice weekend and see you..

6. when will you get married?
- when am good and ready. :P

7. When did u last receive a gift?
- about two weeks ago

8. when did you last drink alcoholic beverages?
- 3 weeks ago.. blue margarita.

9. what was your greatest bet ever made?
- none

10. is all fair in life?
- yes, think so.

11. most romantic words?
- too many to mention.. jk!!

12. would you give up your career for love?
- will see…


QUESTIONNAIRE 3

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
- I need a moisturiser.

2. How much cash do you have on you?
- 2.1k ++

3. What's a word that rhymes with "TEST"?
- rest

4. Favorite planet
- earth.

5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell?
- my dad’s

6. What's your favorite text you still have saved on your phone?
- a funny new year's greeting

7. What shirt are you wearing?
- striped cotton one for home.

8. Do you "label" yourself?
- Smint freak

9. Name the brand of your shoes you're currently wearing?
- not wearing any

10. Bright or dark room?
- bright

11. What were you doing at midnight last night?
- coming home after hanging out with buddies

12. What did your last text message you received on your cell say?
- ei, girl, thanks..

13. Where is your nearest 7-11?
- a ride away from my house, near the village gates/guardhouse

14. What's a saying that you say a lot?
- sweet.. cool.. duh.. syettt.. fuck.. haha!..

15.Who told you they loved you last?
- secret.. hahaha.

16. Last furry thing you touched?
- my pet dogs

17. How many drugs have you done in the past three days?
- how boring

18. Favorite age you have been so far?
- None.

19. Your worst enemy?
- Myself and my doubts.

20. What is your current desktop picture?
- at home, one of the photos I took of some colorful structures in Venice, Italy
- at work, a friend’s photo of early morning on some highway in the mountains on his way to work, in Italy.

21. What was the last thing you said to someone?
- Did you see where I left my cellphone?

22. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to change a major regret?
- no regrets.. so a million bucks wins. :P

23. Do you like someone?
- Yes. Enough said. :P


QUESTIONNAIRE 4


How do you like your eggs?
sunny side up

How do you take your coffee/tea?
COFFEE: with milk, cream or and sugar.. no whipped cream.
TEA: with sugar or honey

Favorite breakfast foods:
continental
or greasy food that's bad for you but yummy!!

Peanut butter:
Yessireee

What kind of dressing on your salad?
vinaigrette

Coke or Pepsi?
Coke... Pepsi when am feeling rebellious. :P

You’re feeling lazy. What do you make?
nothing.. means am not hungry either...

You’re feeling really lazy. What kind of pizza do you order?
any with pineapples or mushroom in it.

You feel like cooking. What do you make?
Pasta

Do any foods bring back good memories?
Yes..

Burger and fries from Cajun which used to be at the Food Choices at Glorietta. With the pesto dip. Friends and I used to order this whenever we watched movies at Glorietta (pre-Greenbelt 3 days....)

Streetfood: fishballs, peanuts, bean curd/taho.


Do any foods bring back bad memories?
Nope

Do any foods remind you of someone?
yes...

Is there a food you refuse to eat?
Liver, paksiw

Is there a food that you hated as a child but now love?
yes.. ampalaya

Is there a food that you loved as a child but now hate?
none really

Favorite fruit & vegetable:
FRUIT: strawberries, grapes, coconut

VEGETABLE: most veggies except cabbage and eggplant

Favorite junk food:
Granny Goose Tortillas.. Nachos.. Panalo. :P

Favorite between meal snack:
None.

Do you have any weird food habits:
None I think.. I don't like to eat the gooey fat in pork or fish. I like my chicken dry.

How spicy do you order Indian/Thai?
Not too spicy. But can always try anything once.

Favorite dessert?
Chocolate cake. Leche Flan. Fruit Salad. Coco pandan. Enough said.

The perfect nightcap?
tea

Bored...

Feeling bored today. So here's an equally boring blog entry.. haha!

Maybe one day, I'd.....
- move to Spain.
- get my own place near, or at Serendra.. :P
- get my own place somewhere far but near the sea, in Bohol
- have a hammock hanging at our garden at home
- have my own nifty little SUV

I know that..
- am not cut out to do call center work
- I don’t mind being a barista at a coffee shop. :P
- I don't really enjoy wearing jeans all the time or everyday.

I love..
- being by the sea, watching it or listening to it
- animals, especially dogs, dolphins, birds and even hamsters
- running, walking and swimming
- travel


- photography
- trains
- culture
- hanging out with friends
- spending time at home
- music
- dance
- my blog
- to try new things even once
- Magnolia Chocolait drink
- cocktails or wine, not beer
- C2 apple green tea
- apple juice
- pineapple juice
- the coconut served by the locals at Pamilacan Island in Bohol
- sea and stars
- Via Appia Antica outside Rome
- old Granada in Spain
- Galicia, Spain
- the road trip to Portugal from Galicia; actually, any road trips.. hehe..
- Florence, italy
- Gypsy Kings
- Juanes

Things to be Thankful For 2

1. Family and friends
Some people come and go, but these ones never do. =) No matter how you sometimes get annoyed by them or irritated by them, etc, in the end, they'll always be the ones who'll be around for you whether or not you want them to.


I am thankful that I have these people who encourage me or knock some sense into my head even when I least expect it (you guys know who you are..); who helped me find my first flat when I needed one fast; who's up for dinner, drinks or a movie at the drop of a hat; who keep me sane when things are just getting crazy; who make me laugh and appreciate my day even while they're far away; who make me miss them and our times together and thus appreciate life more; who remind me even indirectly that God always is looking after me and to everything there's a reason; who make me learn from them just by being their sweet, bitchy, honest, funny, crazy, outgoing, quiet, singing, dancing, partying, sleeping selves, etc.. haha. And my dad for looking after me especially while my mom is away.

2. a good job
- where my interests lie, am challenged, and that makes me grow but at the same time pays the bills, and other extras besides, hihi!; where colleagues are very professional and yet know when to let their hair down and have fun

3. weekends
- when am free to do what I want or just rest at home

4. my pets Whitey and Basti
- who help me de-stress just by always welcoming me when I get home, by being sweet, and letting me stroke their pretty little heads (though Basti's might not be that little anymore sooner or later) haha.

5. having had the chance to go to Santiago de Compostela and the Vatican

6. people I met during my travels: strangers and non-strangers (especially in Madrid, Barcelona, A Coruna, Lisboa, and Rome), who assisted me, accompanied me, looked out for me, shared with me, spent time exchanging stories with me, etc.. This is one of those times when you really believe that there really are angels in this world. hehe!

7. that am still healthy

Book Update

I don't think I'll finish reading The Fountainhead anymore. Have no interest in finishing it or even picking up the book and continue where I left off... Anybody wanna buy it from me? hehe! :D

Got a new book though, Thomas Friedman's "The World is Flat: a brief history of the 21st century". It's a bestselling business book by a Pulitzer-Prize winning author who also happens to be a veteran journalist writing a column/s for the New York Times. It's the sort of book you'd find in the economics section at the bookseller's. Our Europe practice director in Paris recommended it. He said that things are happening in Asia and if you're not part of it, you'll be like left behind. And that it helps explain the direction our office/organization is going... Hmmmm....

Then with The Historian book by Elizabeth Kostova that I got last year, in English: well, as I was rummaging through my Europe stuff, I found this promotional bookmark with Spanish words in it which I got from Casa de Libros in Madrid and saw that it was for The Historian book. But of course, in the bookmark in black with some gothic design, it read "La Historiada por Elizabeth Kostova". Cool.

I still have several books I haven't started reading yet. :( But I think I'll start with the latest one "The World is Flat". Am sure it beats reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand anytime. hehe.

Updates

Finally posted links to my other photoblogs at the links section on the right. These other photoblogs are:

- Europe photoblog
- Spain photoblog
- Madrid photoblog

I am not even done with all of the above yet, and still have some more to create, for Italy, France and Portugal and other cities in Spain. Arrgghh... Not sure if I can ever get to start those at all even.

Things You Won't Read or See in My Blog

In this blog, you won't know much details regarding my private/personal life, and that includes:

• my full name
  
• full names of family
• full names of friends
• full names of other people I know
  
• lots of photos of family
  
• lots of photos of friends
• photos of other people except if they're celebrity
• the names of places where I worked/work
• the full names of colleagues and ex-colleagues
  

Why?

• because I like to keep things simple
• because I want to avoid headaches
  
• because I like keeping my private life just that, private
• because I am not narcissistic enough to want all and sundry to know everything about insignificant 'ol me
  
• because I respect the privacy of my family, friends and others I know (even when they don't ask for it. It's already by default.)
  
• because I want to avoid any hate mail
  
• because I don't want to regret or be embarrassed about having talked here about or posted photos of things I shouldn't have, and for public consumption, in the first place
• because I don't like for snoopy people who aren't my family or real friends -- with unfavorable hidden agendas -- to know more than am comfortable to let on

Basti

Got a new pet, a puppy of akita breed. Not exactly sure about the breed but that's what it's called.

I suggested naming him Hershey, for his color. But my dad and my brother immediately reacted and said it's a girl's name. haha! Puppy is a male one. And my brother thought to name him Battista, after this wrestler. Since this puppy is going to grow very big, the name has to fit him. Lol! We call him Basti for short.

Basti at the backyard

He's nice and friendly. When he arrived, he and our other pet Whitey (a siberian husky/cocker spaniel mix) hit it off well right away. They started playing as soon as Basti arrived and they got near each other. I hope he'd be just as friendly when he grows into this big old adult akita dog. hehe.

Books I Just Read

Currently reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. It's kind of boring. Must be because of the setting, or the dialogue itself. With characters so pretentious. Am in the middle of it.

And I just finished reading The Purity of Blood by Arturo Perez-Reverte. That was more interesting and enjoyable to read. I had not realised that the Plaza Mayor that I went to several times in Madrid used to be where the Spanish Inquisition held their auto-da-fe where they hung or burned their so-called heretics at the stake with the presence of the king and queen of Spain. It's quite horrid really. I can't imagine being in a society like that now. hehe.

But as to the Fountainhead, it's the sort of book where I want reading it to be over and done with. Fast. It can't be soon enough.

Christmas Pics

Cool Christmas trees near my office. Photo by my Aussie colleague, Mike E. :)

This interior of a cab (above) I found quite funny as I got in the cab on the way to work one morning this December. These six cute little santas, swaying and bobbing over the cab's dashboard. I almost laughed out loud upon seeing them as I seated myself.


Office Decor:

office decor 1: dog over my computer monitor

office decor 2: upside-down bear

office decor 3: funny-looking little stuffed toy

Ian Wright's Paintings on My Door

poster with Ian Wright's autograph

That's a poster hanging behind my bedroom door. It's a collage of paintings of travel destinations by Ian Wright. And he autographed it, for me. :P Ian Wright is the wickedly fun and cool host of the Lonely Planet/Globe Trekker travel/adventure TV series which I used to catch on cable. He autographed it while he was in Canada on a publicity tour. This guy has become quite popular he now has an entry in Wikipedia. Lol!

Scenes Outside the Window

Here are a couple of photos taken during the course of a month-long training I underwent at work. Training was by people of different nationalities. And the shots are of scenes outside the window taken during breaks... hehe!

rainy day

my ride, just landed on the helidpad,
come to pick me up (as if... hehe!), rotors spinning...

Hey, wait... It just left me! haha! :P

building maintenance...
And like in the Pepsi TV ad: Don't worry, there's no sugar...

sun, light, behind the clouds, behind the window shade

Books

Got the following books on my shelf, still unread:

- The Purity of Blood/Arturo Perez-Reverte
- The Seville Communion/Arturo Perez-Reverte
- The Historian/Elizabeth Kostova
- The Fountainhead/Ayn Rand
- 5th Harry Potter book/J.K. Rowling
- The Name of the Rose/Umberto Eco

Last Books I Read:
- Captain Alatriste/Arturo Perez-Reverte
- Queen of the South/Arturo Perez-Reverte
- Nautical Chart/Arturo Perez-Reverte

My Spain Photo Badges

The following are photo badges of pics I took in Spain. All are found in 3 corresponding flickr.com sites I created for each.


1. Madrid, Avila, Toledo, and Galicia (A Coruña and Santiago de Compostela)



2. Barcelona

Shots of Antoni Gaudi architecture (Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell), Las Ramblas, etc..


3. La Alhambra in Granada

Shots of La Alhambra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

My Flickr.com Badge of Philippine Photos

Here's a badge of my pics of the Philippines in flickr.com.

The shots are a combination of urban and miscellaneous pics, and scenes from trips out of town to the beaches/islands/resorts (Bohol, Puerto Galera in Mindoro, Coron in Palawan and Boracay), colonial churches, the Banawe Rice Terraces, and other regions of the Philippines.

This is What Extreme Boredom Can Do

Storm made a virtual disaster out of Manila for some days now since the 28th, a Thursday. No power at home 'til this morning (Saturday). Nada. Zip. Ergo, nothing much else to do.

But what did I do that first night of the storm with no power? Took some pics of the lighted candle on the dining table of course. :P

normal shot in macro

used negative effect setting on my Sony
Ericsson mobile phone camera for this one. Nice!

So there was no work last 28th 'cause of the storm. But had to do some reviews in the afternoon, for work, while there was still light. Saw and heard the wind and rains lashing outside my house... out on the street... whipping the trees bad on the lot beside my neighbor's...

Next day Friday, got back to the office. And saw the aftermath of the storm on the way to work. Lots of felled and uprooted trees being cleared from the roads; some big ones too at the central business district.

And learned from my Swedish colleague that he saw the roof of the parking lot across our office building hit the glass walls of our building's lobby as he went down there to get a cab going back to his hotel. Freaky. hehe! And my teammate who was supposed to fly out to Europe last Thursday evening had her flight postponed to Friday.

Then, since the Swedish colleague is going back home to Shanghai today Saturday, we went out to lunch. But lunch was a rather awful experience 'cause the restaurants we preferred were closed, and the ones that were opened, had no AC, and only had pasta available from their menu. Bummer! So in the evening, we dined at a Japanese restaurant at Greenbelt. Streets were quite dark going there. Heavy traffic too. But, we were glad that Greenbelt had AC. And we finished the stormy weekend with great dinner and drinks and pics too (which I can't post here for privacy reasons... sorry! :P). Seems no storm can stop us from getting a bit of a good thing out of it.

It was really dark on the ride home. Practically no lights on the streets and major thoroughfares except for those from the headlights of motor vehicles. And it was raining a little too. Good that there were no floods though. Now that would be hell. Hehe!

Ahora

Right now:
- am downloading another mp3 file (I love Limewire, haha)
- it's raining very hard
- am listening to Juanes off my iTunes
- am uploading some pics I shot in Barcelona to my Flickr site
- am reading a friend's blog
- am thinking of getting my own domain for this photoblog
- it's taking forever to batch upload the Barcelona photos
- am thinking if I should still subscribe for a DSL or faster Internet connection considering that my job might have me work overseas for months at a time before the year ends (hence, such an account might be virtually unused for months too)
- I just finished reading Arturo Perez-Reverte's La Reina del Sur/Queen of the South
- am about to have dinner

Ciao!

Restaurant Interiors and Lights

Inside a newly-opened restaurant across my old office in 2005...

lights hanging over the ceiling

what's on the table

wall and light

At the Central Business District

These photos I took pre-2005.

shot taken at dusk

rush hour traffic at Paseo de Roxas/Ayala Avenue intersection on a rainy night

the same Paseo de Roxas/Ayala Avenue intersection on a clear day that was a public holiday

Binondo Church

These are pics I took of Binondo church. That big old 400+ -year-old church in Manila. I miss churches this old and big. hehe!

viewed from a building nearby

church interior during "simbang gabi" or Christmas mass

Intramuros Pics

The following are some photos I took while in Intramuros (old Manila):

1. San Agustin Church

a hallway in the centuries-old Philippine church,
established when the Philipines was still a colony of Spain

ruins on the church grounds;
a remnant of the heavy bombings Manila suffered during WW II


top view of the church interior

candelabra over the staircase

2. Puerta Real Gardens

one of the tunnels going in or out of Puerta Real

Puerta Real Gardens lighted up for some event

3. Another Intramuros Scene

evening shot of the moon over what remains of an old structure (of the National Archives?)