Mr. Murphy's Been Busy

My, what a bleak weekend that was.

It's Monday and I feel like it's Friday already. I was working on this task that started Friday noon and did not get done till ~7am on Monday. I kid you not. I got 8 hours of sleep total over the weekend (on the sofa no less-- I deliberate chose not to let myself get too comfortable). I am not one to gripe about work but this was just one of those times when everything that could possibly go wrong, did. The only time we went out was when I had a haircut and when we grabbed Sunday dimsum brunch. Wouldn't you know it, we got a flat tire. Had to wait for the auto repair guy to come along and change it for us (*sheepish* - I don't have the confidence that I can do it right. Best to leave it to the experts).

Countdown to project cutover... Prognosis: Loooong days ahead.

Pinoy Sense of Humor

You gotta hand it to Pinoys.

I was, in turns--aghast, bewildered, amused, proud (???), ashamed, skeptical, fascinated. And now that I have burned through my week's supply of adjectives, I will let the video (and articles) speak for itself.

Background:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view_article.php?article_id=80481

PS My two worlds collide:

Reference: http://abcnews.go.com/International/Story?id=3415920&page=2

"Along with the security risk, Edward Latessa, professor and head of division of criminal justice at the University of Cincinnati, told ABCNEWS.com that the prisoners are not being rehabilitated."

Lighten up, dude.

Kitchen Wizardry-- or Not

Left to my own devices, I vegetate.

Cathy has been on a business trip for a week now. It wasnt so bad during the week (work keeps me busy). But weekends without her are always hard. It just so happened other friends were travelling or indisposed. Bummer.

Anyway, I had big plans: go hiking (something I cant see her doing), lose myself in some random city, or maybe go to a couple of local museums (been putting it off for a while). All plans fell through when I got hold of Harry Potter 6 and 7. Haven't read a book in a while (subscribe to a couple of magazines) TJ got me interested on the twists in the story. So got the books from her on Friday afternoon and started reading. Talk about marathon reading. I felt like I'm back to my old 12 y.o. self reading Dr. Who/Hardy Boys with only a flashlight for lighting. Finished Book 6 by 4am on Saturday and Book 7 by 11:40pm Saturday night. - What can I say, I am a geek. (Also, it doesnt hurt that it made for some very compelling reading. I have to say I felt the ending a bit simplistic.)

All the reading (and the suspense) kept me snacking. I ran through a bag of rice cake snacks, 4 slices of ice cream cake, 3 pizza slices-- on top of regular meals. Yikes, need to control that urge else I'll have a real disincentive to reading.

Nonetheless, was inspired enough to cook for myself (something I havent done in a while). Cooked two variants of fried rice: 1) bacon, ground beef, and peas (it didnt quite turn out as planned) and 2) Chinese sausage, shredded chicken, egg, carrots, and pineapple (pictured).


Can't wait till Cathy gets back!

Postscript: In my player: John Mayer - Heavier Things; Gary V (Greatest Hits), Beethoven.

Semi-Full Circle

Third Eye Blind (3EB) was my angst band of choice in college. Their songs -- noisy and catchy, dark and suicidal-- appealed to me somehow, though I was certainly none of those.

In any case, I couldn't pass up the chance to see them in person. That was how, on the last day of July, I found myself crammed amidst scores of screaming/sweating teenagers. Right, teenagers. (How they could relate to songs that became popular before they hit their tweens is beyond me.) It was in this cover of raging hormones, youthful exuberance abandon that I found my excuse to do some serious head-bobbing, jumping, and of course screaming along to their songs.

It felt like a part of my "semi-charmed" life (well the last decade anyway) has come full circle.

(Photos courtesy of Penpen Locarinas)