Michael Jackson 1958-2009

I am deeply saddened by the news that greeted me when I opened my Facebook a few hours earlier - lots of people had posted "RIP MJ" on their status messages.

If there was one artist who I can say is my favorite without hesitation, it would be Michael. Forget the others - their stars pale in comparison and none of them had achieved the magnitude of stardom that MJ had reached. Michael was the consummate artist - singer, songwriter, dancer; when he performs, he commands your attention. I remember that whenever there was an MJ video on MTV, I would drop whatever I was doing to watch it. His videos were the gold standard others were measured against and can put many movies to shame.

Many times hubby and I would discuss MJ, how his music is so timeless and classic - it trascends all barriers be it race, genre, or generation. His music does not belong to an era; it doesn't sound 80-ish or 90-ish and its appeal stands even up to now. And he can make you sing/dance along or cry to his music. He can move you. I remember crying to Childhood and Heal the World and of course, Ben. His You Are Not Alone for me is the perfect cuddling song - so sensual and sad at the same time.

When I first heard he was going on a final tour in London, my brain started thinking of how to save up just to be there. I kept wishing that he would visit Asia to make it easier for me to see his concert. So imagine the disappointment and sadness that swept me when I heard the news of his death.

Thriller - the one that started it all

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOj5H5W9zYo

You Are Not Alone:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s9EAZa3aIQ

Scream - which holds the record for most expensive video of all time at $7M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s9EAZa3aIQ

Childhood - according to Michael himself, this is the most autobiographical song he ever wrote and if you want to understand him, listen to the lyrics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVJscGa5vbc

May you rest in peace, Michael.

Swine Flu - NOT

Hubby and I were just joking while driving to work yesterday morning that we might have gotten the swine flu from all our visits to UST (UST reported its first swine flu victim last Monday, and four have already been confirmed as of Wednesday night).

So, when I got to the office, passed the usual thermal screening and put down my bag, I thought nothing of the fact that I was having chills and shaking and my nails were turning blue. I thought it must be the effect of the thyroid hormong drug I was taking as part of my nodule suppressing therapy. I immediately discounted fever; after all, I had been through the thermal screening more than three times since I got there at 9, and was not stopped at all.

But around 2:30 pm, the chills got worse and my officemates told me I felt "hot" so I got back inside the building and boom! The temperature reading said 40 C. Had it rechecked three time, and the range never got lower than 39 so I was immediately quarantined, given two face masks, and told to wait while they contacted our company doctor.

You'd think swine flu was a deadly virus considering the way I was treated - I wasn't even allowed to get my things even with the nurse by my side, and I was left with no cellphone, no wallet, no anything, just my ID and my jacket to keep me warm while I waited two hours in the lobby until our nurse finally located my teammates, got my things (which my boss thoughtfully hid) which I scribbled on a tiny piece of paper less I forget to take something important with me.

A good thing I had already told my mom and hubby that I was having chills two hours prior to my quarantine. Mom already volunteered to pick me up as early as 1pm. So, as soon as my things were ready, two cars were also on thier way to pick me up and take me to the hospital.

Anyway, six uneventful hours sped by. I spent most of it sleeping on a narrow bed in the ER, waiting for my lab results. I missed my bed and wished I was curled up on it, with my flannel blanket and socks, eating soup.

So here I am, cleared of having swine flu, blogging from my bed with a Bioflu and a jug of water by my side. Thank God - at least I won't be quarantined for ten days. Imagine all hell breaking loose if I was sick in the middle of fiscal year-end closing. What would happen to Korea, Vietnam and Indonesia then? (Hehe, I'm not addicted to work, I just feel like wondering out loud.)

Independence Day Weekend

Saw these nice Filipiniana-inspired evening gowns on display at the SM North Edsa's The Block. I think they were worn by the contestants at the last Ms. Earth pageant. Some of them are actually nice, modernized but still reminiscent of what Maria Clara wore.

I'm not sure which one I like the most, though I like the white one with pink rosettes as well as the hot pink beside it.

Also on display was a big Philippine flag kakanin:

SM North Edsa - I Like!

I'm sure most of you still remember when SM North was the place where the yayas and the boys congregate on Sundays and unless you want to be labeled jologs or baduy, you'd rather not be seen there. The masa was so powerful they even invaded the way classier Trinoma mall right across the North Avenue.

Personally, I have abandoned all thoughts of shopping at SM North. One, because I now live too far; Two, the musty smell of the old building triggers my allergies and I end up sneezing the entire time; Three, it's too crowded and the last two times I went shopping there (which was about five years ago; although I did visit the annex last December but not to shop), my camera and my wallet got stolen. So, yes, I don't trust the people who shop there as well.

Last Saturday though, hubby and I had nothing better to do and decided to check out the newly-opened Sky Garden and the renovated annex:

Previously, the lot fronting SM North's main mall was an open parking space. But SM converted this to a covered bus/fx terminal and the SKy Garden occupies the 2nd level. I must say, what a nice way to make your business even more attractive and lucrative while at the same time, help the community. This way, commuters don't need to wait for buses and FX along Edsa or in the side streets beside the mall.

The Sky Garden makes moving to and from any of the three buildings (read: you can move from the Annex to the Block and avoid the Main Mall; hurray!) literally a walk in the park. It has fountains, ponds, and landscaped gardens with a Dome in the middle for events. And of course, what park would be complete without restos? Already open are Padi's, Marina, Ineng's, Inasal, and a host of cafes, with more to open in the next few weeks.

It also has a bridge connecting SM to Trinoma (double hurray!!) if your tired feet can still make the trek and you still have energy left to shop at another mall after covering the biggest mall in the country (yes guys, with the opening of the new annex, the SM North City has "dethroned" SM MOA as the biggest mall in the country, based on floor space).

And for the cool geeks who can't resist bringing along their laptops and wifi capable smartphones, there is FREE wifi at the Sky Garden and the Annex. I'm not too sure about the block though, since I didn't try there and there's no wifi at the Main Mall.

I just hope the management will be able to maintain the SKy Garden and pray the throngs of masa will not threaten to destroy it - which is something I'm already expecting since while we were there, I sat on used bubble gum, left carelessly on the grass by some eeky person!

That's me and my son, documenting our SM visit:

Sale Alert:

Been feeling rather stressed the past few days so as usual, I went on my favorite adventure: shopping. And since I love sharing good news, here's what I discovered:

Lifestyle Sale (think Aldo, la Senza, Bench and Kashieca) - Firday - Sunday 11am to 11pm. 3rd floor of the Dimensione Bldg.

Mango - ongoing sale. Jeans for as low as 1,500, shirst at 350 and dress at 800. Can you top that???

Adidas at Petron C5 - Ongoing 70% off on all items. You can come anytime as this is an outlet store and they usually sell stuff at almost 40% off.

Plains and Prints (all branches) - sale until June 20

You can never have too many clothes so better hit the stores!

Status messages

I am not a big fan or plurk and twitter; I don't even have accounts there. But I have accepted that some people find it entertaining and useful to some degree.

What I can't figure out is why some people have to post status messages like: "Taking a bath" or "Having dinner" or posting whatever it is they're feeling every ten minutes or so. I mean people, come on! Most people are not interested in knowing what you're doing every single minute or care about your emotional roller coaster for the day. Updating it three times a day is fine, but like every hour? I do seriously think people who do this are "kulang sa pansin," not knowing that they only clog up other peoples' inboxes.

Another thing that I can't figure out is when conversations have to posted wall to wall on Facebook. Conversations are supposed to be between concerned parties only, not for the entire world. And it only goes to show that some people spend their paid working hours just chatting or browsing the net. LOL. Use the personal message option people! Or use chat function, YM or even use your cellphones if you need to discuss anything, not post it on your walls for other people to see and again, clog up other peoples' inboxes - respect the fact that some people don't appreciate such mundane things.

It's too early in the day to be ranting like this, I know. But I can't help it, not when I opened my inbox and all I see are conversations between more or less the same people everyday. When the list gets so long, I have to look through several pages before I even found a post that is relevant or worthwhile.

Boracay, the 2nd time around

Went to Boracay with hubby and a few friends from our Varsi days and the incumbent/outgoing staff of the paper for their annual planning session (me, I'm just here to relax).

Unfortunately, the weather worked against us and for two days it rained very hard - I couldn't even see past our hotel room window and the one time we ventured out in the rain, we got drenched and I was shivering the entire time.

Hubby and I arrived Friday afternoon (June 5) and had this nice bangka all to ourselves. Yes - we didn't have to ride the fugly motorized thingies and endure the stink of everyone trying to fit in (fine fine, I'm a snob, or to be more accurate - I hate crowds, no matter what type).

We stayed at the Boracay Tropics - nothing fancy although I expected better since the price (at 4k for double and 6k for quad) is more or less same the for beachfront resorts. The Tropics was located about two hundred meters from Station 3.

Now Station 3 itself is not the better part of Bora - the beach is not as wide, a bit rocky and far from the hip places to eat and be seen. Station 1 is the most secluded part of the beach and this is where you will find the more expensive hotel resorts - this would be perfect for honeymooners and for those who just want to get away from the noise of city. Station 2 is the gimik place - you'll find D'Mall here and lots of bars and restos. The first time we visited Bora, we stayed at the Sun Central's VIP Suite, right smack in the middle of Station 2. The hotel itself is not much; it looked more like a run-down airconditioned cottage but I really loved our room and loved the free breakfast that came with it.

The heavy rains and winds prevented us from going island hopping as we originally planned (I didn't enjoy our first time as much as I would have if I wasn't pregnant then). But the sun finally shone on the third day.

These photos were taken from Station 2.

For those planning a trip to Bora, here are my suggestions:

• 
  
  book flights direct to Caticlan - this saves you at least four hours (two hrs one way) compared to Kalibo. Trust me, two hours means a lot.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Book PAL flights, if you can. I've had enough of Cebu Pacific - the service (web, call center, eveything sucks).
  
  
  
• 
  
  Get a nice room at Station 2. You don't have to stay at the Discovery; there are rooms right going for as low as 1k. Now, I don't really like the transient experience and would prefer a nice bed and hot shower anytime so my two cents' worth: google out Bora hotels to check on rates and reviews. I personally like Asiatravel.com.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Stay at least 4D/3N - one day to do some shopping at D'Mall and D'Talipapa, another to go island hopping and snorkelling, another to do some actual swimming, and another to just rest.
  
  
  

Have fun!

Waiting

I had my TSH, T4, T3 tests and thyroid ultrasound done yesterday and will be getting the results tomorrow. Then it's off to an endo for the diagnosis and based on the conversation I overheard from the two doctors who did my ultrasound, I think I'll be having a biopsy done later this week.

And the suspense is killing me.

I discovered my thyroid nodules and hormone problem three years ago but since I got pregnant with Joey soon after that, I decided to forego treatment (most thyroid treatments affect your reproductive system and might have adverse effects on babies) and never got around to seeking proper treatment until yesterday. I know I've been busy but still, it's my fault totally.

Anyway, had my blood extraction at noon and had to wait three hours for my turn at the ultrasound. A guy doctor attended to me and I'm no Einstein but I figured something was wrong when he left me and told me he had to get another doctor - his boss, to be exact.

They droned on and on about medical terms but who were they kidding? I've been reading medical books even before I entered high school and have a working knowledge of it. So when I heard them mentioning complicated nodules, I was not alarmed. But when they started with the tsk tsk and I heard complex nodule, I started paying attention.

See, a complicated nodule (thyroid cysts) sounds serious but its actually just water (or blood) and I believe in most cases, it's benign, even if its big. But for complex nodules (or tumors), there's big possibility of them being malignant, regardless of size.

Of course, the two doctors didn't read out the results - only my endocrinologist is allowed to do that. And now, I'm waiting with bated breath.

I remember having gone through this same predicament in my senior year at college - only it was breast cyst that time. I was so scared I'd have cancer I decided to host our class' Christmas party at my parents' house and attended another event right after my surgery --> I wanted to make the most of my "ignorant bliss."

At least I'll be buried up to my neck with work next week and would probably not have much time to worry about the results until I actually get them. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Sugar Rush

Hubby and I both had sugar cravings earlier tonight so we decided to go to High Street and do a little shopping and get dessert.

First stop: Hobbes and Landes. I seriously love the froyo. Hubby had kiwi, mango, and strawberry toppings while I had mango, peach and M&Ms.

After that, we went to Krispy Kreme and brought home a box. The kiddo like the Yahoo! purple donut (left most on the second row) - it looks like Barney.

Theory of Adaptation

Growing up an an SM Malls fan - SM is the most ubiquitous mall this side of the planet and for almost ten years I have lived within spitting distance of an SM Supermall - it's inevitable that it is the one I am most familiar with. Any other mall I go into would pale in comparison and I always find something lacking say, from Robinsons. I would go on a typical rant of "sa SM meron nito, better and cheaper."

Since my new home is closer to Market Market than any SM mall (until they finally build the SM Hypermart at the Fort) most of my grocery and emergency shopping sprees are done there and among the complaints I have:

• 
  
  Why do the bagger boys have to accompany you to the parking or the taxi queue everytime you go out of the supermarket? It's so hassle especially when these people don't hide the fact that they would rather be bagging groceries at the counter. As if I'd be stealing their metal carts.
  
  
  
• 
  
  The supermarket is so cramped with narrow aisles that you'd be lucky if you get out of there without bumping or being bumped into at least once.
  
  
  
• 
  
  The mall itself looks dugyot with all the stalls in the middle of its cramped spaces (a good thing they opened the new wing which is definitely more sosi).
  
  
  

It's only after I did the grocery at SM Hypermart today that I finally saw what SM lacks:

• 
  
  Imported goods - MM has the most extensive (probably next to Rustan's, though) array: think Thai fired chicken breading, Indonesian Nasi Goreng sauce, Japanese noodles, Korean mixes.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Del Monte juicers - you know those nice machines that squeeze the oranges right in front of you? As far as I know, only MM and Rustan's have that.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Fresh chicken - the minute I was within three meters of the poultry section, I sneezed uncontrollably: my eyes can be deceived, but my nose, they are infallible!
  
  
  
• 
  
  SM is too big but it basically just contains more of the same products, not really a lot of choices. Plus, people tend to flock to it that you end up missing what you need coz somebody else bought it.
  
  
  

Call me reklamador or what. Or maybe I have adapted to MM since it is now the more convenient place for me? Or maybe SM really is that bad?

One thing that I appreciate at SM though, are their kid-friendly carts. Obviously, MM can't have this because then, there won't be any space to walk around in.

I'm betting my little boy agrees with me.

Working on a Holiday

I used to be a workaholic. Used to because I have grown old and up and have realized that work doesn't really make the world go round. Work is just something that distracts you and prevents you from chasing your rainbows. Or maybe because I've grown jaded and lost my enthusiasm and my faith that I can make a difference along with a part of my youth.

Or maybe because I don't like what I'm doing?

It comes as no surprise then that I am building up this resentment as I woke up this morning and realized that I have to log on to my computer and finish some reports that are due at lunch today. Today - a holiday. And ten minutes upon waking, I have already blamed the unfortunate calendar - "why does the 15th have to fall on a Monday and why is the 12th of June a Friday?"

But of course, I should be blaming me instead. I should have stayed up two nights in a row to finish this report instead of: watching disney with Joey, attending the so-so year end party, or catching up on my reading.

Excuse me while I get to work. I am grumpy today. Perhaps later I will cheer myself up by going to Cubao and having a custom-made pair of shoes for me. Looks nice no?

The Problem with Options

As a rule, we humans prefer to have "many" than "few" - more money, more clothes, more of everything (to be blunt - we're all greedy) . But last night, I found that having too much of a good thing can be annoying.

Yesterday was our company's annual year-end celebration and 10th anniversary and since I can't decide which dress/accessories to wear, I brought them all with me to the office to let my friends decide. It's a good thing I already settled on wearing gold stilettos, otherwise, I would have ended up bringing an entire luggage to the office.

This was option number 1 - a black tube dress with satin "cape" at the back forming a cute little ruffle on your side. I like this dress coz it hugs me perfectly without showing off any unwanted fat (which I do have, to those who are quick to say I am impossibly thin).

Option number 2 was a bright red tube dress with ruched top - I think this one is to create the illusion of a fuller bust and also to hide the tummy. It's not as form-fitting as the first but is sure to attract more glances because of its distinct color.

I got both dresses from Tyler in one of those spur of the moment thingies when you're stressed and you need some retail therapy. The necklace (on first photo) is from the Pearl Market at the ground level of Market Market in Taguig.

I asked my teammates and friends to vote and the red dress won, so I wore it to the year-end bash at NBC Tent last night.

Which do you think I should have worn?