a little joy

while standing up or walking under a canopy of trees, a sudden gust of wind then a shower of leaves.

that is always something to smile and be happy about. ;p

a sudden calm

for the last two weeks that i have been down with breathing problems (which the doctor attributed to mild asthma) and icky feeling of weakness, as well as the stress over school requirements... the tension was palpable. my heart constantly beat to a rhythm faster that appropriate. then last night, a sudden feeling of calm.

i got home.
no one was there.
mom in the US. the helper in school. our boarder still at work.
an hour from then, a frisbee game i wanted to be in would start.

i took the cold adobo and three spoons of rice (i'm not a rice person) and heated them in the microwave.
i ate and went to my mom's room (where i have been camping in since she left), opened the TV to Ysabella, got my books out and started working on the easier assignment.

and then a sudden sense of calm.
i can do this. i can do my paper for school. i can do my presentation for work. i can do my other paper for the end of july.
i can take care of myself. i can be with people. i can be on my own.
i can have peace in the silence of my home.
i enjoy being with people. but i can be with myself.

a sudden sense of calm.
everything will be all right.
my family.
my friends.
my work.
me.

all will be all right.
a sudden sense of calm.
and the scent of something new.

i wonder.

but i will not linger on the thought.

blog rating

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

• kill (1x)

the cross-eyed bear only said one bad word? di siguro nila alam ang ibig sabihin ng paksyet at idjot. hmph.

to be or not to be... a woman. that is the question.

This entry has long been brewing in my mind. With the latest frenzy in my Davao clan of cousins getting pregnant, engaged and married, it seemed like a most opportune time.

Boys have to go through a single rite of passage, that’s it. A snip of skin, a short time in a skirt and that’s it. They would be left alone most of the time. Girls on the other hand have to go through a different kind of ordeal, one that is constantly over their shoulders their entire life. Women are expected to be certain things at a certain age. Boys, on the other hand, can be boys forever and the alarm bells wouldn't be as loud. Blame society, blame culture. But we are a nosy nation, enjoying our afternoons on showbiz gossip, and moreso the lives of the people of those around us.

Girls have to deal with questions at different stages of their life. And it is one thing most of us have learned to face with amusement, albeit with a hint (hint lang?!) of sarcasm.

What are these questions? Read on.

For the 7-18 year old.

Sinong crush mo? (Who is your crush?)

Follw-up advice/reply:
Between nine to twelve – Huwag ka munang magkaka-crush, bata ka pa. (Don’t have a crush yet, you’re still young!)
Hirit ko: Hep! bakit ka pa nagtanong?! (Why did you even ask?!)

Between twelve to eighteen - Crush lang ha. (Just a crush, okay?)
Hirit ko: Palalampasin kita. (I’ll let you be.)

For the 12-25 year old:

May boyfriend ka na? (Do you have a boyfriend already?)
Corollary question: In-love ka na? (Are you in love already?)
Follw-up Advice(s)/reply:

Between 12-17 – Bata ka pa! Huwag muna. (You’re still young. Not yet.)
Hirit ko: Again… Bakit ka pa nagtanong! (and my theory is, so they can actually lecture you that you are still young and that your priorities should be your studies… yadda-yadda).

Between 18-20 – Ah. Okay lang yan. Pero huwag muna masyadong serious. Bata ka pa. (Oh. That’s okay. But don’t be too serious yet. You’re still young.)
Hirit ko: May punto ka. (You have a point ). But there is a way to say this without sounding that you are interefering.

Between 20-25: Enjoy lang kayo. (Just enjoy.)
Hirit ko: Alangan namang hindi? (Of course!)

If you answer yes to stage 2 question, be also prepared to be grilled. It does not matter what age you are! Prepare for questions such as:

Who is he?
How old is he? An age gap of five years or more may possible undergo further scrutiny.
What school did he go to/is he studying in? A not very good sounding school will potentially raise eyebrows. A name of a good school will most likely merit pogi points. Except if you come from a clan of Ateneans/La Sallites and end up with a La Sallite/Atenean boyfriend. UAAP basketball games can get bloody.
What’s his family name? What’s his father’s/mother’s business/work?
Etc etc etc.

For those 25 - onwards:

Scenario 1: You have no boyfriend.
Question: Bakit wala ka pang boyfriend? (Why do you not have a boyfriend yet?)

If you answer: Wala pa akong nagugustuhan. (I don’t like anyone just yet.)
Follw-up advice/reply: Masyado yatang mataas standards mo. Masyado kang pihikan. (You might be too choosy.)
Hirit ko: Dapat lang no? Special kaya ako! (Of course. I’m special!)

If you answer: Wala namang nanliligaw. (Nobody is courting me.)
Follw-up advice/reply 1: Ayusin mo kasi sarili mo. (Fix yourself.)
Hirit ko: Hello. Kung ayaw niya ako na ganito, magdusa siya. (If he doesn’t like me this way, let him suffer.)

Follw-up advice/reply 2: Darating din yan. (It’ll come)
Hirit ko: Kung nakaharang ka sa daan ko, baka lalong di dumating. (If you stay in my way, it might really not just come.)

If you answer: Enjoy ako sa pagkadalaga/sa trabaho/sa aking ginagawa. (I’m having fun with my life right now.)
Follow-up advice/reply: Naku, baka masyado kang mag-enjoy, mapag-iwanan ka ng biyahe. (You might be enjoying too much you might just get left behind.)
Hirit ko: Ano to, karera? (What’s this, a race?)

Scenario 2: You have a boyfriend.

Question 1: Kelan kayo magpapakasal? When are you getting married?

If you answer: Wala pa sa plano namin. (It’s not yet in our plans.)
Follw-up advice/reply:
If you are still a young couple: Tama yan, enjoy lang kayo. (That’s right. Just enjoy)
Hirit ko: Again… alangan! (Of course!)
If you have been going out for some time: Tagal niyo na ah. Sigurado ka ba diyan? (You’ve been together for so long, are you sure with him?)
Hirit ko: Di nakipag-break na ako kung hindi. (I should’ve broken up with him if not!)

If you answer: Malapit na. (soon)
Follw-up advice/reply:
Kelan? Saan? Sinong entourage? Yada-yada. (When, where, what, how)

I often answer by snickering/smiling and then getting back to what I am doing.
Or kid, “magpayaman muna siya!” (Let him get rich first!)
Which would have the follw-up advice/reply:
Di naman kailangan talaga ng pera. Kakayanin naman yan once magsama kayo. (You really don’t need money. You’ll get through once you’re together)
Hirit ko: (sa isip lang of course) Di ako naniniwala sa love will keep us alive.
Pero joke lang din na kailangan niyang magpayaman no. I just say that to turn people off. Hehe!

Now Married stage: (wala pa ako dito sa rundown lang)

Kelan kayo magkakababy? When will you have a baby? Toni writes a good entry about this.

Once may baby na:

Kelan niyo susundan? When will the next be?
Hirit ko: Ano ako, baby machine? (What am I, a baby machine?)

Pag masyado nang maraming baby:
Di pa ba kayo titigil? Mahal na magpaaral ngayon. (Aren’t you going to stop? It’s too expensive to send them to school.)

Hirit ko: As if di ko alam yan no! (D-uh. I know.)

Such is a life of a woman, bombarded with questions at any given point of her life. Sometimes it can be amusing how people can be concerned about your life. And sometimes it can be downright irritating when you feel your privacy is being invaded. But you have to admit, it does make life a little more interesting. ;p

How about you? What questions have you been asked? And boys, is there any growing up rituals you face to? I can think of a few. Hehe!

my visual dna

finally, it's really mine.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

now that's marketing!

i was skimming through neil gaiman's journal when i saw a link sent in by one of his readers. this is definitely a creative, engaging and quite effective way to market a book (or any product for that matter)! it almost made me want to get the book online. except, oops! no credit card. tee-hee!

do do do check it out. even if you don't plan to get the book, it's very amusing. :)

cool!

igougo.com is a website where any individual can write travel reviews about any place in the world. my good friend, rowie, recommended it to me since she knows i love traveling. i registered 2005, but it was only this year that i actually started logging in entries.

they rate entries from one star (which is not a star but a pencil) to five stars, with five being the highest. my average is three stars, which is when they start handing out points. i've had four stars before, but i don't think i bothered reading about it on my e-mail until today.

i never realized how cool it was to get such an affirmation for doing something i enjoy! traveling and writing about it. see here!

Hi manlalakbay,

Journal Name: Davao: Touring the Home Front
Journal Entry: Kadayawan Festival

We just wanted to take a minute to send you a special "thanks" for contributing to IgoUgo. We're happy to award you one of our top ratings—and valuable GO Points^SM—for this phenomenal review. As a top contributor, you won't want to miss:

• The variety of great rewards you'll earn by writing more reviews like this one
• A chance to make your reviews shine even more (and rack up more GO Points^SM) by uploading your vacation photos
• The IgoUgo Hall of Fame, where our all-time top contributors are recognized for their travel expertise and superlative journals

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please don't hesitate to contact us directly. Thanks again—we look forward to reading about many more of your travels in the future!

Sincerely,

Your IgoUgo Editors

How great is that! Getting a four-star is really tough already, but I hope I can get a five-star soon. :)

spot the error!

while we were having lunch during our road trip to surigao del sur, sherwin noticed this calendar hanging on the wall. suddenly we burst out snickering. can you gess why? hehe!

hello.

buhay pa ako.
pagod.
pero buhay.

nagpaparamdam lang.

a new toy!

but it's not mine. but of the children's program (the program i am handling). which makes it as good as mine as long as i am employed by this foundation. bwahahahahaa!!!

'cept, i am getting it end of the month pa because it's sitting in the manila office waiting for somebody to go here or somebody to go there.

tasha (my near-decrepit digicam) will be having a little bit of rest in the meantime. or not. i love tasha despite her irritable quirks.

and look at this review. o-hah! (sayang di umabot sa baguio trip. tsk tsk.)

new toy, new toy! *grin, grin!*

confused (a stream of consciousness quickie)

just got down from the mountains. again. just returned to cell phone signal and contact with civilization.

i made grown men cry, including the st. peter barangay captain and some of his officials. many other women cried, including myself. it is the end of our support in our community there. and leaving is never easy. so many tears shed in three days. sigh. but there is something to be optimistic about. and i got to bring home two native bags, one native banig, one beaded necklace and two placemats. i might not have to buy anything from the stalls anymore. hehehe!

the moment we hit an area with a signal, i texted people about work. that's new. but it will be a busy month i think. so much to do.

got a message that there's another airfare sale going on. it's so hard to organize logistics this time. travel from davao is always difficult and expensive. grr. hopefully i can find a way. dunno how my boy is doing things on his end right now.

i hate having to stay over somebody else's house. i'd rather stay in a hotel and go about my life without being fussed about. this is not the kaamulan i imagined so far. hopefully things get better tomorrow and dove surprises me by showing up.

talked to my mom, but she refuses to say more. thus i'm not entirely sure if i can really plan many travels this year because there are more important things in life than adventure.

suddenly, i feel tired. and sad.

and this post hardly made sense.

uncle tom babauta's cabin

he is one of those people who has made me feel like an 80's child failure.

i've only come across him through conversations with jvp friends about the 80's, of which most of my stock knowledge are on bagets, hot shots and ninja kids. even dear heart and ps i love you are hazy memories. except for the fact that i clearly remember most sharon cuneta movies are shot in baguio.

pia, zaza, teacher mike and good old randle discuss about tom's (uy, close!) sarsi with egg commercial. and i have no memory of such but heard about the ad. i asked if tom babauta was his screen name. apparently, it's not.

so when jan and i spent time with his friends v-day eve, i made mention of tom babauta. to which mytch and andoy, both older than me, replied with blank faces (same response to randle's name. that is queer! i thought every ateneo high dude would know him. anyway...). i suddenly had doubts that he (tom, not randle) is merely a mass hallucination by people older than 27.

i completely forgot about that awkward moment of being the only one knowing something of the world. until i came across nostalgia manila's entry on 70's quotes. and lo! a mention on tom babauta.

and to completely verify his existence, i googled him (yes, wahaha! "i am in google, therefore i am. the new movement of philosophical thought has come!) and aha! a mention here and here. (but it could be that one plagiarized the other, or they are the same people who wrote about dear tom.)

still. HE IS REAL! HE EXISTS! Tom Babauta is not in the same league of the Tooth Fairy.

And what good does this knowledge have to do with my life? Absolutely nothing. Except for the satisfaction that my 80's Jologs Trivia has upped a notch. ;p

about last night

the original plan of action was to have dinner with jan's high school barkada. but within the day, two called in sick already, which just leaves jan and andoy. so when jan asked andoy whether to resked, andoy affirmed. thus we ended up watching "the curse of the golden flower."

and typical of chinese emperor movies, you can either brand it as shakespearean or telenova with high budget. i prefer the latter. it an interesting watch, with beautiful costumes and production design. nothing different about the story, as there are the usual elements infidelity, power-grabbing and deception. but it is nicely told, and chow yun-fat did great acting as emperor because you see the character and not the actor. but throughout the latter part of the movie, only one thing keeps going on in my head... "madami talagang tao sa china!" there were thousands and thousands of people (who i assume are really computer-generated) and you just have got to be amazed with their organization skills especially in warfare. ;p

and so the movie was done. jan gets a text from mytch that he is going to andoy's anyway. a call here and there, and we were on our way to jan's house to get the car so we don't have to worry about how to get home. finally, we were at the host's house. and it was just so amusing seeing old high school pals remember their crazy reckless days. and the funniest thing was when they were discussing how our changed plans ended up going back to square one. and oh, somebody else has been relegated to the status of snuffulafugus girlfriend.

around 1pm, we were ready to go home. well, not really, but andoy had to get to work and had an infant to take care of so the three of us decided to ease his suffering for the night by leaving. on the way up to ateneo (we were at barangka), mytch was suggesting that we have a quick look at the UP fair as he was in a nostalgic mode. it was all fine by me since we were in the area anyway.

so we went to UP. MYMP was playing their last song, which was fine by me. i don't really care much for them. though i was singing along with them despite. wehehe!

our quick trip ended up to be a one and half hour stay because mytch was able to get us backstage passes through mojofly. i think he directed their newest video, thus the power to drag two over-aged teenagers to concert.

by two o'clock i was sleepy. the bwah music of the UP bands wasn't exactly helping to keep me awake (yes, i fall asleep listening to metal. sorry, drin). but i was too nahihiya to leave without listening to mojofly because they were the ones who got us in. and mytch was enjoying himself. so. we decided to wait for mojofly to perform. thankfully, they got upped two slots so we can go home earlier.

it was great seeing ali alejandro on the drums. poging talaga. not my type, but poging. i forgot the name of the vocalist, but mytch was saying, "lasing na to." which made it more fun, because nothing beats listening to a pumped-up drunk band singers. the whole time, the kala vocalist was on the stage dancing to the band's beat. they were to be next anyway. he was an adorable teddy bear that i wish i could squeeze but my hands weren't big enough and i wasn't bold enough to approach him. but i was behind him while they were waiting for mojofly to get on stage.

even with my eyes going on auto shut off, i asked that we stay for kala's gig. it's just two songs anyway. so it was fun listening to rock baby rock and jeepney. while this was going on, out came four guys in baston. orange and lemons. only one of them wore shades, and a ten gallon hat with that. so it was kinda funny when he was putting on his guitar because his hat got knocked out. since everything was a haze, i dont know which orange this was.

we left after kala. walking to the car, they were playing panalangin. i'd have stayed for the song just to find out what their second song would be. but it was just too darn late for an old fogey like me and poor jan still had to drive everybody home. so i never found out what they sang.

and it has to mentioned that several troops of taytay boys were there. punks not dead talaga! haha!

inside the car, while i was on my way to dreamland, i had a little smile on my face. it's messed-up plans on nights like this that make life a little more exciting. on valentine's eve too!

saturday

it's saturday!

and i'm wearing my silly saturday sheep socks that sis gave me for christmas. just for fun!

have a whimsical weekend!

sockety-socks and cheese

and more more more from my Christmas loot. there was just so much fun stuff i've received this year. heeeheee.

so looky that sock on the left. let me describe to you what you can already see, just pretend i'm that obnoxious movie-goer that does a commentary on the film you are obviously seeing as well ("ay, o! napatay niya yung kalaban!"). it's a lavender and purple with sheep prints. and ooooh! a ball at the garter. heeeheeee!

but wait.

it's not just a ball.

it's also a sheep head. and see, that's how it looks on my feet (never mind the man-ankles). it even matches my bed sheet. which i did not choose by the way.

anyway, how cool is that, huh? nyehehehe!

thanks to my sister for the cutest pair of socks ever. i feel like i'm five again, getting ready for kinder school. hehehe! i was supposed to wear it today, but my pants won't allow the sheep head to peek, so maybe when i wear capris or a skirt. hehe! it's a saturday sock, i think.

sis didn't only give me this. she also gave me a pair of hoop earrings with bells (so it's like hearing tinkerbell everytime i move my head. i am peter pan!). and a pair of dangling peace sign earrings. wunnerful, wunnerful stuff!

* * * * *
on the more serious side of things, cheese escudero has filed his certificate of candidacy for the senate today. the first of either opposition or administration candidates to do so. even with all the rumors (or not) going around about who's running and what party, most of the people have pretended to be cryptic by answering, "i'll think about it" or worse, "i'm praying about it." now, let's not drag God in your mess, okay.

anyway, cheese definitely has my vote. it doesn't matter if he is an avid erap supporter. he has more brains that mike defensor, raul gonzales and angie reyes combined! though i may not entirely agree with escudero's beliefs, i could say at the very least that he mulls over his opinions and expresses them with conviction. he makes it sound that he really believes in what he says, or maybe he really does. unlike the crap that comes out from defensor's mouth, who clearly is an arroyo puppet. and flashes of PP1071 moments come into mind. blech.

he speaks well and explains well. at the very least, he knows what he is talking about. we need more people in the senate and congress who actually use their brain.

so, go escudero! one vote here.

it helps too that he's cute. ;p

looky!

I've been mooned last Christmas!

It's so cute that I was able to collect various gifts from friends that were representations of the moon. The cresencet one at that! Yey! I loooove the moon, especially when it's crescent.

(This may be attributed largely to "The Glass Menagerie", one of my favorite plays, where Amanda and Laura Wingfield make a wish to the tiny silver slipper of a moon. For those in Manila, do try to catch the show. Laurice Guillen is in it, and she does a wonderful, believable Amanda Wingfield.)

Anyways... my precious Christmas booty benefactors:
Mayette and Tristan - the dangling earrings and the clay pendant with the word "enlightenment" etched on it. (seems to be working so far. hehe!)
Tatit - "The Moon Is My Friend" book. One that I have been meaning to buy for the longest time. And make sure to really, really study the pictures, because they're soooo cute and witty.
Rowie - the moon sling bag, which matches the pendant to a T. hehehe!

Thanks guys!

And look at this!

The best softdrink in the world, Coca-Cola, advertises Vigan on its bottle. Beautiful, beautiful bottle! Good job, DOT. Good job, Coke! It's high time that products do the advertising for something else this time. Hehehe!

Hopefully, I can get hold of the other bottles. The waiter at Asian Fusion in MTS said that there's a Zamboanga bottle as well. I wonder what the other places are.

If you are able to get hold of a bottle and are not interested to keep it, get it for me, please! After Tat got hold of a Coke cd holder for me, I've decided to start collecting Coke stuff. In honor of my dear Father, who sent all his kids to school because of Coke (he worked there), and of the softdrink that just makes me awfully happy and satisfied with each gulp. Mmmmmm....

links and blinks

links

i am quite sure that at least once in our life, we have asked, "what is grimace?"

thanks to ordo, he leads us to an answer.

* * * * *
we take from mother earth, she takes back from us. (link c/o atty. chuckbong)


please remember, that we are merely here boarders. in the end, she is under our control, so let's show her we care.

* * * * *
blinks (meaning a quick one)

the frisbee game last night took its toll on me this morning. am feeling quite weak.

but.

i have to go on an area visit today. wah. i just want to sleep.

see you friday.

dancing an almost-obsession away

i have always loved dancing. especially back in the days working with jvp (as volunteer and as staff). during seminars, i'd be the first and the last in the dance floor, moving like someone possessed. and maybe i was... for during those times in dim-lit rooms, as the throbbing of the bass travels from the player to the ground to my feet to my spirit, i feel so free. all i have is myself and the music.

ever since i changed jobs and move cities, i have not danced much. maybe because i have trouble moving to trance and rave and whatever music is being played in clubs these days. the few times i have been in one, i feel lost and trapped, while the younger people move to the beat.

until today.

because of my silly obsession with the paunch in my tummy caused by the december food deluge.

it used to be that i can stay small by sheer will power. it used to be that i need not worry about my food intake, nor bother myself with exercise. my weight and size would only pendulum minus/plus three pounds.

this is not the case anymore. with the latest december festivities, i felt heavy. evidence is my jeans which has been with me for the last five years that now just barely fit. I DO NOT WANT TO BUY NEW JEANS! not for the reason of weight gain anyway.

i do not believe i'm fat, just to be clear. but my self-image has been built upon being average-sized for my entire life. i come from a family of big people, so it is a bit of a miracle that i have survived 28 years without hitting beyond the 120lb mark. and being a plain jane with rebellious hair, it is only my weight/size that i have control over.

thus, it has become an almost-obsession for me to work on getting rid of the paunch i have.

despite my lustful desire for coke (which is largely to blame for the tummy), i've cut down my intake. part of the reason why jan and i got the yellow cleats was to make sure i go to frisbee games whenever i can, because i already made an investment in it. plus during mornings, whenever possible, i do 10 to 20 crunches, plus lifting weights to firm up my arms (palikpik).

with 20 days into it, i woke up this morning feeling it was not enough. i even thought i should go back to eating cereals for breakfast, but that costs almost 800/month (because i only care for banana nut crunch or almond crunch).

then i realized, why don't i just dance! i loved doing it back then, i should still enjoy it now.

so today, i danced.

i stuck my pirated santana and referendum CDs, chose the tracks which would get me bopping, and danced. while facing the mirror, smiling at my reflection, i danced.

30 minutes and i was sweating as if i have been tossing discs for 15 minutes. and the best thing about it was, i felt the endorphin rush through my veins. like i had the energy to face the day.

hopefully, i get to do this on a regular basis. even if i don't get to lose my layers, at least i start the day with a dose of joy. ;p

* photos stolen from the internet, forgot the links though. sorry. hehe!

flash report

over the last three weeks of last-minute work rush, christmas break and slow internet connection, interesting stories have piled up. i still want to tell them, but i have not the time to narrate things in depth. so let me just run through them using photos. a picture paints a thousand words daw e.

maybe when things are less tumultous and more relaxed, the entire story may just be told. ;p

ASTRONAUT ICE CREAM

only ordo could have thought of bringing astronaut ice cream for pasalubong from the states. cool! it's ice cream that has no water and which is not cold (the process can be read on the second photo). the taste was hard to identify at first, only to discover it was like creamy milk powder. which is what ice cream is in the first place, milk. i pointed out that it tasted familiar. it took a while to figure out until that eureka moment that i finally realized it was much like our local hee-haw milk candy found in sari-sari stores. try and look it up. it's in green blue pillow pack with a cartoon of a swiss cow on it.

TIDDYBR

Jan's sister was cleaning up her closet (not the Eminem way though) last December and stumbled upon this cute little creature. The bear was all the Camkids toy back in '87, and was at war with a stuffed frog who is now lost in oblivion. He has no name so I asked a little four-year old kid hanging around in the office to give him a name. And he was christened, uhm, Teddy Bear. Since he was to go to Mindanao, i just named him Tiddybr instead. Tiddybr now resides in my bedroom.

WORLD PYRO OLYMICS

One of my greatest frustrations ever since I moved to Davao is fireworks. There isn't any there as it is against the law to even just have one lying around in your house. Duterte's Task Force Davao will come rushing to your hosue once they find out you bothered to light one.

Last December I tried to catch any of the regular pyrotechnic display all over the Metro, and even in Enchanted Kingdom. But I simply didn't get lucky. Before I left for Cebu, though, I caught an ad on the radio regarding the World Pyro Olympics which was to be held during my return to Manila. Whoopeeeee! And I caught it last Sunday. Instinctively, "wows!" kept escaping from my lips. How can you not love fireworks?! With fire flowers and fire hearts and fire willows and fire sperms (hehe!) and fire comets erupting in the air for 30 minutes every hour or so, the hundred bucks we paid was quite worth it. And I dare say, even the crushing throng of people was forgetten during the display.

YELLOW CLEATS

I actually didn't have any plans to purchase a pair since I wasn't sure if I can actually take ultimate frisbee seriously. And having a pair of cleats means serious playing. During my first game of the year, when the rains fell hard before our game, the field ended up quite muddy. Which made it difficult for me to run around in my three-year old cross-trainers. Twice or thrice I kept on slipping and sliding, almost twisting my ankles. My mind kept telling me, "I think you need cleats." But I still needed to purchase my waterproof jacket for work, so I had to put that thought aside. Only to discover last Thursday that soles of my cross trainers are quite ready to smile to the world and fall off. Thus it was a debate between getting rubber shoes or cleats. Cleats cost less, but rubber shoes are more versatile. I have two other pairs of rubbers which unfortunately are not good enough for frisbee use. Still, it was not enough of a motivation.

Until Jan and I saw this tweety bird blazing yellow cleats (as tatit appropriately described) in Nike Stadium at Greenbelt 3! And though I don't like bright colors much, this one just caught me. I like Brazil as a soccer team, but not enough to really make me get an item. But the cleats are just SO YELLOW that I fell in love and had to try it. It's actually kids' size, which still fit me. And fit me wonderfully. Yey! Jan offered to sponsor the cleats, which will leave me with enough budget to get my long-sought waterproof jacket. Heeeheee.

I'm going to test in tonight in a Frisbee game with strangers who have been at the game far longer than I. Who cares if I embarass myself playing? I'm wearing YELLOW cleats!!! My only concern right now is I don't have jogging pants to match. Heeeheeeeh.

BOW.