gasp….my tummy is daaaaahying the past three days na!  massive acidity…hurts when i eat.  i hope the antacid works na or else clinic doc wants endoscopy raw.  eeeeew, no way!

Get well soon, Reyns!  Amazing recovery considering the bursting apendicitis.  Shocks, scary talaga.

With Kris having been elected as a provincial board member in Ilocos recently, a number of people congratulated/teased me for consequently becoming a “First Lady” as well.  They reminded/warned me that I should be prepared na.  Then, they started humming the tune of the Wedding March, implying the next step is for us to get married soon.

First, I want it to be known that I don’t like being called “First Lady.” I am me, Ria, not just the new “First Lady of Bokal Kris” or “Kris’ girlfriend.” I am already overshadowed by Kris’ successes and many roles; so I want to at least maintain my identity apart from him; thus, if titles are that important in the province, then sige, I’d feel better if they’d just add na nga lang the prefix “Atty” to my name.

Second, I throw back the question, how do you prepare to kiss-ass the higher ups and other politicians; to return the ‘plasticity’ of the so-called political friends (ooohhh, they can be pretty nasty polymers!); to act like most of the ilocos-politician-spouses I’ve become acquainted with — nose up in the air and/or act like decors; for more financial burden? Buti sana if I’ve got the luxury of time and a family who’d watch my back while I try to immerse myself in being in Ilocos alongside Kris.  Buti rin sana if the higher ups are encouraging, supportive, and appreciative of me doing things for them (***private matter). 

When I gripe this way, other people always counter that should have known Kris was “destined” where he is right now and where he is expected to be in the future. 

Yes, I know. You’ve been privy to some of my sacrifices, adjustments, and even excitement for his political career.

Then they add, start pa lang ito.     

Yes, I know.  However, truth be told, I don’t really know how life will really be now that we have the Ilocos factor. Moreover, with my accustomed way of doing things; my independence; my being too honest, emotional, and firm in my beliefs; my being a worrywart about finances and security….how could I possibly fit the opposite Axxxx-mold?  Then, for the longest time, I’ve been used to having my boyfriend/best friend nearby for companionship, assistance, and support. Now, I gotta bear the semi-‘abandonment,’ as well as the more-frequent-than-the-past-years lengthy travel to and fro ilocos.

Get by and adjust appropriately na lang…FIGHT!

Oh, as for the “tandandanan…”  Well, we’re so totally broke for that right now.  Yes, RRA and friends ‘carried’ Kris through the campaign/elections 2007; but of course, personal funds were also used for the unexpected solicitations and expenditures.  Hayayayay J! 

Buti na lang talaga pumasa na ko J…para may forever personal glimmer of happiness to (hopefully) carry me through this new chapter of our lives J

I’ve wanted to write to SM MOA regarding this blatant and irritating grammatical error in their parking ticket/receipt.

Kris said it’s not worth the trouble. 

Shey recently informed me that knows someone from the management of SM MOA; she’d point out the error and hopefully have this FIXED na J.

An excerpt from “Noli Me Tangere, the Musical” to commemorate today’s holiday.  A reminder that a number of Filipino men and women sacrificed their lives to fight for our country’s independence from colonizers —

Elias (after telling the young Basilio of the location of a buried treasure and just a few moments before dying):

Mamamatay akong ‘di man lang namasdan

liwayway sa langit ng mahal kong bayan.

Kayong sasalubong sa kanyang pagsilang,

batiin ang bukas, magpugay sa araw.

Alalahanin kaming nabuwal sa karimlan…

Thank goodness we found a plumber and helped us replace all the friggin water pipes last night!  Actually, Bets and I could have been successful with all the parts and tools she bought, but we kinda lack the arms/hands power to unscrew all the rusty pipes. 

Dang, let there be not a repeat of this disastrous episode in the casa.  I’m checking all other pipes in the house and will plan for their replacement as soon as I get out of this broke-ness (again) period.  Sigh, you’d think having a house and a car is a big load off already…but maintaining and insuring both are killing poor-government-employee-me!  But say it with me, people: God will provide J!

Finally, I finished the 2 seasons of the Japanese telenovela (Hana Yori Dango) Jax lent.   It’s a super copy of Meteor Garden 1 & 2, minus the dragging parts.  It’s like they just got the main story bits and the ‘kilig’ parts, then changed some stuff to relate to Japanese setting.  Overall, it turned out actually nice.  Downside lang talaga is, while the actresses looked great, the actors who portrayed the “Japanese F4” really looked ngefus L!   

Since I’m talking about my asian-telenovela-marathons again, allow me to present my Goong (locally known as Princess Hours) photo-ops:

For those who watched said Korean series, I guess you’d recognize these places in Macau (last episode, where the Princess was exiled and was visited by the Prince) — upper left is the library where the Princess came from before boarding her bike to pick up a box of egg tarts from the original Lord Stow’s Bakery (lower left); right photo shows the church where the Prince and the Princess got married again and the front courtyard where they also had their picture taken J.

Hehehe, the moment I saw the photos of these places in one of Macau’s tourist maps, I made sure with our tour guide we’d visit them.  To verify the authenticity of my location shots, we immediately had our photos developed when we got back in Manila and I compared them with the scenes in Goong (paused the DVD for a more detailed study).  They matched naman, except some plants in front of the Biblioteca grew taller already. Hehehe J.

And no, side trip lang the Goong sites.  Main purpose in Macau was to have a short post-elections R&R, and to jump off the 63^rd floor of Macau Tower and “fly” down in 20 seconds…..aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh:

MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS!

one of the g/f bathroom water pipes sprung a pesky leak. went to a mall hardware and bought the necessary replacement components. while installing, the metal pipe i am attaching the new hose to suddenly burst and broke into pieces. nyah!!!! the old pipe could not handle the pressure the new water hose can siguro kaya dang, water spraying all over and filling the bathroom (parang sa TV ko lang nakita ang scenario na ‘to ah)! wet to the bone, i tried to plug the remnant pipe with my fingers. disaster talaga!

and of the six plumbers i contacted, no one can make it to the house today! kris out of Manila pa.

sigh, where are guys when you need them?!

S.O.S.!

Hindi ko gets…

-          why little girls (or parents of those kids for that matter) nowadays wear high-heeled shoes/sandals.  What’s the added height for at such young age?

-          why some women deliberately wear black undergarments when wearing white or very thin tops.  Why make pa-obvious the underwear?

-          why most hamburger buns have sesame seeds.  Kawawa naman those with allergies to seeds and for people like me with high uric acid sa blood chem!

-          why now lang nila pinag-a-ayos ang South Service Road!  They are still not yet done with the Sales Bridge-Merville portion, they will close the Merville-Bicutan portion to south bound traffic na rin beginning today.

-          why and how bumalik si Andy9 sa “Good Times with Mo” (and consequently, how did they remove Maui Taylor?)

Hindi ko alam…

-          na may butiki eggs pala!  Hahaha, if not for Attys. Nang2x and Panops mentioning them kanina, I wouldn’t have known of their existence.  Hehehe, sabagay, I never wondered about reproduction of lizards before. 

-     ano gagawin ko sa mga pending cases ko.  I started with one, but stopped ‘coz records weren’t complete yet.  Thus, I started with another one given while I was doing the first one.  Then the records of the latter arrived, while the records of the second still didn’t.  So, I had to stop with the second and go back to the first.  Oh, and there is still a third one; with its records arriving recently na rin.    Ok, so which one na?  And dang, sessions have began — buhos na rin decisions from other offices!