A long war

I've been following the war in Lebanon pretty closely and it's devastating to see dozens of horrible images of dead bodies, mostly of children, buildings and homes reduced to rubble and survivors in hospitals with that haunted look in their eyes. I can't pretend it's not going on and obviously like many people, I don't know how to help. All I can do is read about it to remind myself that this is happening to the people of our time. And as much as everyone wants to do something, all our leaders are doing so far is talk and say useless things while people are dying everyday.

Last Friday, Washington Post published A Time to Act, an article written by former Secretary of State Warren Christopher. I thought he pretty much nailed the issue on the head with this piece and he criticized Condoleeza Rice's stance in the matter (she said that there should only be a ceasefire if it is a lasting and sustainable one). This is, and I agree with him completely, what he said should be done instead:

Such a solution is achievable, if at all, only after protracted negotiations
involving multiple parties. In the meantime, civilians will continue to die,
precious infrastructure will continue to be destroyed and the fragile Lebanese democracy will continue to erode.

My own experience in the region underlies my belief that in the short term we should focus our efforts on stopping the killing...

Now obviously it's easier said than done since Israel can't afford to look weak militarily, but calling for a ceasefire now and working it out afterwards is a helluva lot better than dilly dallying around the point. And the point is that people's lives are being destroyed, with hatred sown in the hearts of those who do survive. The Lebanese people are paying for what seems to be a popularity contest between the US and Iran.

He continues to detail his main point so read the rest of the article here.

Another end of the month

I've been plagued by something nasty in my piping for the past week. I had to take two days off work because I was beset with a high fever, vomitting, headaches (either from hunger or dehydration, how does one tell them apart anyway?) and, ahem, diarrhea (hey it happens to all of us!).

Mom says I have gastroenteritis. I stated that proudly earlier this morning to both Paula and Jackie because I have a name for my current condition. But they both drew back and looked like they wouldn't touch me with a ten foot pole. So I am hesitant to say that that's what I have. I'll just go with 'my tummy's a bit delicate at the moment'.

But I'm feeling much much better now. The clinic lady told me which foods to stay away from: fried, oily, dairy products. But those are EXACTLY how I describe my favorite foods! I was very conflicted but in the end I obeyed her. Well for a day. Then the next day the temptation was too great, so I gave in and bought myself some cheetos. Yay! I sure paid for it that same night. But dammit I'd do it again if I had to!

Apart from all that excitement, things are still relatively ho-hum. Well, Char and Oli set out on a trip to Tagaytay last Wednesday and returned with many tales of misadventures, one of which involved Char running up a mountain after a speeding tricycle with Oli still in it. They loved every minute of it.

Anyway so that marks the end of July. Provided that nothing too eventful happens this weekend. Oh and there's monsoon type movement happening in the south of the country. Chances are it's another typhoon. Whoop dee doo.

Hello Glenda

Welcome to the monsoon season. After Florita left, we had about two hours of sunshine stickiness until the next typhoon blanketed the country wet and grey. It has been raining intermittently all weekend. And how. I am the kind of person who likes walking in the rain and marvelling at raindrop behavior on windowpanes and in puddles but it's kinda hard to do that when they're pelting you full in the face making it impossible for you to breathe or see clearly, if at all. It has gotten to the point where I really wouldn't mind a day or two of dryness. Last night's and today's downpour have been so torrential that I'm beginning to worry whether I still have a home to go to later. I've become addicted to PAGASA:

Issued At: 5:00 p.m., 24 July 2006
Synopsis : At 2:00 p.m. today, Typhoon "GLENDA" was estimated based on radar, satellite and surface data at 140 kms northeast of Basco, Batanes (21.2°N 123.0°E) with maximum sustained winds of 150 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 185 kph. It is forecast to move west northwest at 17 kph. Southwest monsoon affecting western sections of Southern Luzon and Visayas.

Sigh. Well there's really not that much to report at the moment except that I had a wonderful and loud Saturday and then a rainy and very quiet Sunday. I'm meeting with C and O later after work. They just got up half an hour ago. They're the laziest tourists ever. Hehe. I'll come back when I've done or discovered something of a more interesting nature. Till then.

Ready Steady Go

I'm EXHAUSTED. I believe that's the first time this job has completely tuckered me out. And there's still a few more files left to be done. But I need to catch my breath.

So catch my breath I will.

Char and Oli arrived from London earlier this afternoon. I think they drove down in a coach from Warwick (where they both attend uni). They'll be going around the Philippines for 7 weeks. I had arranged for a car to pick them up at the airport and take them back to mine. Their flight was delayed. Had a bit of a worry for a minute there waiting to hear from the driver guy saying that everything was alright. But everything's cool. I'm meeting up with them and a few of my friends when I get off work, which is in an hour.

Mom was delighted I finally let her have her cleaning way with my bedroom. I got home and walked into my room last night and thought I was in the wrong place. The pile of dirty clothes on the floor was gone, ALL my books are on the shelf, my closet has space again and there was no trace of the general dusty atmosphere I'd gotten used to. I was not even out of my outside clothes when Mumsy let loose a barrage of questions. How was it possible that my skin allergies were not triggered by the several inch layer of dust under the bed and on the window sill? Why are some of the clothes inside out? Are those oreo cookie crumbs or souvenirs from non human creatures I've gotten friendly with? And so it went. Her eyes sparkled while she waited impatiently for my responses. When she was satisfied, I informed her that I was hungry and jokingly wondered aloud if I could have my dinner in my spotless room. She was indignant and said in a tone that brooked no room for negotiation, no your food will be prepared on the dining table and you will eat it there.

Hehe funny woman my mother. I guess we can call Operation Tumy a smashing success.

Okay I'm off to work some more now and I shall endeavor to post entries regularly for the next month and a half.

It's the end of the world and no, I don't feel fine

We're falling apart! The end is near!

I've been reading the news for the past hour and I have frightened myself to near tears.

From the Java tsunami to the crisis between Lebanon and Israel and how Iran has decided to get involved and how the US will soon too.

And here in the Philippines, the Mayon Volcano is getting ready to erupt. While the locals prepare to evacuate, the tourists are invited to come and watch. This is madness, madness I tell you! Save yourselves!

Placing third and other accomplishments

Guess what? The results of that logo making contest I mentioned here came out this afternoon. I was on break and took too long, as per usual, so I wasn't able to join the scheduled GA. Well I forgot about it actually and was too embarrassed to follow because everyone would have known that I didn't return on time and then they'll start thinking I'm becoming more and more of a liability to the company and eventually I'll get fired, so when I got to my desk, I stayed put. What happens during the general assembly is that all the employees convene and listen dutifully as announcements are made about any upcoming important changes in the company. We have GAs once or twice a month. But every month there is a performance evaluation...and an awards segment sometimes follows the announcements. Basically the teams and individuals who have excelled in their work during the evaluation period (I think the period is 3 weeks long...but I'm prolly making it up) are recognized and receive a piece of paper that says how amazing they are. But more importantly, they get rewarded with money which gets added to their next paycheck. So yes, very exciting indeed. Anyway, everyone eventually returned to their desks and some of them made a point of coming over to congratulate me. I had absolutely no idea what they were referring to since I am but a lowly pseudo-translator and no one cares about any of the translators' individual performances. And although we do qualify for the team evaluation, I doubted very much that everyone decided to single me out for an award that was got as a result of team effort. Apparently, and here it comes, one of my entries got third place in the logo competition. Haha that was a riot! Everyone wanted to see what I had done but I didn't know which one had won and anyway the files are in my comp at home. I think my colleagues were more pleased about the fact that I'd started showing interest in office events and participating voluntarily. The winning entry isn't stellar work but it's definitely a couple of notches above clip art. Any 3 year old's scrawls would be infinitely more interesting than clip art. And while we're on the subject, whoever decided to call it art anyway? But aaanyway, it looks like someone's getting her sports bra wish. Hihihi.

In other news, I'm finally done with one of the designs I've been working on. Paula and I have been revising it for a month now. I think that she'll agree with me that we both feel extremely relieved to know that it's finally done and out of the way. I'm sure you're all galvanized with excitement to see it, so I shan't keep you in suspense any longer:

It's a really interesting event and if you can, do attend one or all of the screenings, as there will be a local music group/artist musical scoring throughout the screening. I would go myself, but I work till 9 pm and all the films start an hour earlier. I've only seen The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and I totally recommend it. Some of you might remember that Red Hot Chili Peppers came out with a music video for Other Side a while back...well the video makes you think that this film had an influence on its cinematography.

So go watch the films! They're screening them this August in SM Megamall, every Thursday (except the first one, meaning August 3 -- unless they do decide to hold a related event on this date...any updates, Paula?). Check it out on the GI Manila site: Silent Film Festival schedule

TBK (The Brothers Karamazov) update: I'm in the middle of Book 3 of Part I. It's getting really juicy. Russian authors really know where it's at.

So yes, I'm feeling extremely pleased with today. And I'm home and in my bed, having the rest of my burger from this afternoon. With soggy fries. Yuuuuuummy!

2:16 am

Ooh I get to bed a few minutes earlier than last night. Well, actually I didn't go to bed until 4 last night...or this morning. I can't remember why, I think I was idling on the internet. Maybe I was excited about my finally-working dsl connection. But tonight dilly dally I did not, for I was busy rushing a 68-page presentation! Pshah! I rule! Raaawwr! Hihihi I'm feeling giddy, I'm not sure if it's because I'm very pleased with myself or I'm not getting enough oxygen. Maybe it's a little of both. Hey I still have a headache, but now it feels more like I've got someone twirling cotton candy on a stick in my head. Ever expanding.

Well alrighty then. I better cap the night off with that eerie but amazing hiking song again.

Halllllli, halllllo, wir faaaahren, wir fahren in die Weeeeelt!

Teehee.

2:55 am

Help! I need to find an apartment to rent for a month! I told C she could stay at mine for a week to give her and bf time to find one on their own. They can sleep in my room and I'll sleep in my sister's room. But that means I have to tidy up my room. I don't want to.

Help me help me I'm desperate! I'll do anything to get out of it. When I told my mom that she'd have to take in my dirty (well, just C really, apparently the guy is very clean) tourist visitors, she perked up at the prospect.

Mom: So this means they're staying in your room?
Me: Yes, I'll sleep in ate's room.
Mom: So...this means you'll need to tidy up a li--
Me (interrupting her): I'll find them a place to live before they arrive on Friday.

Hehe I've been singing this funny hiking song in German. In falsetto. I've given myself a headache.

Weather update: Tropical Storm Florita still hanging about

According to ever reliable PAGASA:

Weather
Issued at: 5:00 a.m., 16 July 2006
Synopsis: Southwest monsoon affecting Extreme Northern and Central Luzon. Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) affecting Mindanao.

For the past week, Florita has caused massive landslides in Baguio, threatened to tear the roof off our house, actually tore off the roof of one of my cab driver's neighbor's house narrowly missing my cabbie while he was milling about outside his own house, thrown me into a puddle of mud water (it's a long story) and, this is the last straw, forced me to carry around an umbrella, making me the object of my friends' ridicule. I thought we were catching Florita's tail end yesterday but it rained hard again early this morning. So I dunno what that's about. I don't know why I even bother trying to make sense of Philippine weather. I guess I don't like to be caught unawares and getting thrown into the mud.

I've been quite productive over the weekend, I met up with a friend I used to see or talk to every single day for 3 years but haven't seen a lot of since I changed jobs. We got a lot of catching up done over dinner and coffee and it was really good to see him again and hear what he's been up to. Also I got a lot of layout work done, managed to secure another tentative job quite by accident really and secured another one from this guy whose project I'm currently at work on. Oh yeah haha I was able to squeeze in a couple of logo entries for this contest at our office. It's for a sportsfest that's starting sometime in August. So this logo making competition went around and I really wanted to join since I found out but thought I didn't have enough time to get around to. Well apparently there's this amazing place close to my office that has free internet access (I am disclosing neither name nor location) and I was able to pop out during my dinner break on Friday to work on my entries and get some online work done. The deadline was yesterday. Hihi the prize isn't much, a couple of thousand pesos in gift certificates, redeemable at any sports shop. Cross your fingers for me, I want to get a sports bra.

A little bit of patience.

I have never been patient and am too impatient to try to learn how to be. But I need to be. Now.

It is 2 am and I've been trying to send a design draft for about half an hour now. Who invented dial-up anyway? It's a big tease with no sign of release coming anytime soon. Actually the dsl people came by last week and everything's good but I haven't had time to get my dad to adjust my computer's settings and I've needed to work on designs anyway when he did have time. So I'm stuck with this slow ass bitch of a connection until it gets sorted out. Send dammit!

Well I may as well try to pass the time quickly. Oh come on it's less than 2 mb!

Right. Hmm I think I may be trying to do too many things and not allotting enough time for any of them. Well I am germanizing more now and I think it's helping. Haha we were reading about Little Red Riding Hood last Saturday, Rotkäppchen auf Deutsch, and it was so good.

What I love about languages is that while you're learning a different way of saying things, what actually happens is that you learn another way of seeing them and you begin to understand where some people are coming from and then you learn not to be so quick to judge. Hey it sent!!!

Anyway back to Rotkäppchen. In English, fairy tales end with "...and they lived happily ever after." while in German, they end with "...und wenn sie nicht gestorben sind, dann leben sie noch heute", and basically means "...and if they aren't dead, then they are still living now". Hehe isn't it so good? Because I'm not used to fairy tales ending like that (or because I suck at German), it took a couple of rereads for the hilarity of that sentence to hit me. It seems absurd to me and even a little bit morbid (I love it!) yet that's the way they've always been in that language and to the people who speak it and when you really think about it, and they lived happily ever after is actually quite creepy. I mean, they live forever. Are they not human? Morbid as it is in German, as least they acknowledge the characters' mortality.

Anyway that's just one example of the many differences (the similarities are just as lovely) between languages that I love to uncover. French is really something too. It expresses itself in a way that requires you to involve all your senses in order to understand it. You taste the words, you smell them, they touch you and your body grasps their meaning. All languages are unique and beautiful. Now the goal is to fit them all in my head and keep them there!

Woohoo! I only had to wait a little bit (= absolute ages) and I get to sleep now! Goodnight!

Zidane: Absolute Legend

So Italy won. Oh well. That game was mad. I'm forever addicted to football now. Hihihi. I've been slacking off at work and reading post WC news for two days now haha. So it's done. My sleeping hours should be back to normal soon. Things are a bit too busy at the moment. I need to finish a design so I can focus on a new one and that promises to be very time consuming. Plus I need to go apartment hunting for a friend who is also one of my favorite drinking/party buddies. She is arriving in a week's time with her boyfriend. She says that she knows she hasn't given me much time but she promises that she'll more than make up for it with party nights. I don't know about that, I am a changed woman now and I've already decided to turn over a new leaf and become...well, old. But then again if I continue to go out, it'd be quite a sight:

"Granny, you party animal!" Teehee!

I'll try to be back later today to write more on that.

In the meantime:

Going for a sehr gut

Okay I've managed to get my room back to Phase I status. I don't want to commit to Phase II just yet, too many things are going on and I'm doing my best to keep up. But I think Phase II can involve sorting through years of sentimental junk and wtf junk.

Plus I've sorted out my laundry, I should drop it off at the launderer's tomorrow. I hope I don't forget, otherwise I won't have anything decent to wear next week.

Oh yeah I went to dinner last night with a friend. It had been long overdue. He sort of wanted to start something when we met (last year) but I was too distracted with new shiny things and then a situation happened, wonderful for me and unlucky for him. It got awkward then we were both relieved that I got busy and he got busy. We didn't get to talking again until recently. So it was good, we had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant. We sat outside and made pleasant catching up conversation while we shared a salad and a pizza, complemented by a bottle of wine while a storm raged on spraying us delightfully with rain water. Then our evening was over and we went our separate ways.

Good things came out of this:
1 - I no longer feel iffy around him. But there's definitely no romance going on.
2 - he needs design services!

Yay! So I'm rushing to finish a current one I've had for a while now, and all that's waiting for is the finalization of event sponsors. That should be sorted before next week ends.

But the main focus of the month is German. My finals are in August and while I've gotten consistently top final exam grades in the past (the institute issues a certificate that says sehr gut if you've been amazing and I haven't been of late), I'm afraid this time around I've missed too many classes and I really haven't been studying at all. So all this July I'm going to do the Mageremo! Also known as MAssive GErman REview MOnth. I'm going to replace the songs in my phone with German lessons, bring my German notes with me to read during my breaks at work, beef up on vocabulary, read a bit in the morning, study a bit before going to bed. The works. I can do this.

I'll start after the WC final match hehe.

Heyyyyyy Mageremo!

Twelve books, four parts

Work has been rather light today. Although there have been lots of files that needed to be issued and I've had to translate one document after another, I feel neither stressed nor exhausted (still feeling dizzy though, its cause still unidentified). There is a certain repetitiveness about this job that is both comforting and numbing. A delightful combination really. I mentioned when I first started working here that I took this job fully aware of its potential tediousness but because I had found myself with changing priorities, I felt it necessary to relocate myself to a quieter and stabler work environment with fixed rules and reliable hours, so I could think and figure out what I want to do next.

A friend rang me this morning to ask me if I was still interested in working in advertising (I asked him if they were hiring when I first thought of changing jobs), he said they need to fill a position in the creative department. I liiiiike that a lot. He's going to send me an email with more details.

An advertising job. Goodbye quiet introspective time and hello long hours. I've got another friend in advertising, she takes German classes too but at a higher level. She's hardly in class. Why? Because of work. But she does look fabulous. I want to look fabulous. I need to reflect on this further.

Oh yeah why the title? I started reading The Brothers Karamazov online. At work. I've been meaning to read that for about three years now. Hihi. I've finished the first book. It's not as long as it sounds. Well actually I don't know. So far, I've been introduced to a profligate father and his sons from two wives. That's always a good start to any story. Oh yeah and a rather extensive account about monasteries in Russia at the time. Maybe just a tad too much for my taste although Dostoevksy does write it in a lovely way. Not like the 20 pages (it felt like it) Steinbeck devotes on describing a goddamn tumbleweed in The Grapes of Wrath. Needless to say I did not get past the tumbleweed. Some guy I dated at uni gave me a copy in the hopes of educating me because according to him I behaved "like a stupid person". Whatever that means. Hee he was a character all right. Shit poet, but yeah a character. The book sits dusty on my shelf. Oh and apparently only the refined mind can appreciate Steinbeck. At least according to a professor I had years ago. I guess I don't make the cut haha. He was a bit of a shit too.

Setback

I've been feeling a little run down lately. I thought maybe I was still convalescing from two weeks ago. But I haven't been sleeping properly, I get myself to bed same time as usual but I feel too restless to drift off straight away. But I don't want to do anything, I can't concentrate on reading for more than 5 minutes. And I always feel tired in the morning even after sleeping in later than I usually do. I stopped running (and I wasn't even doing that regularly to begin with), my head feels bloated and fluffy, if that's even possible, which my mom insists are just hunger headaches. She thinks I'm not getting enough food. I don't know about that. And I've had this upset stomach for a while now.

I watch more than usual too. Last night I saw 3 House episodes one after the other. I used to be addicted to TV before but that was years ago and besides I'm hardly ever home long enough to find anything good to watch. I only watch television now when I'm not feeling well...or when I'm brooding about something. So whatever's bothering me could be emotional. Puzzling. I don't have anything to be depressed about. At least I don't think so.

Oh my sister comes home today, she gets discharged later this afternoon. She's staying at home to recuperate. Meaning I get kicked out of V's room, since she's got the most orderly room. Hihi oh dear. Operation TuMY phase II isn't going very well. Actually I haven't figured out what that phase involves. Amazing as my room is, it is still in shambles.

France and Portugal battle it out tonight. Hee! Come on Zizou!

Hah

Germany lost. Now I can study the language again.

Recovering

Last week I had a discussion with a couple of people who love partying as much as I do and have been doing it as often as I have for the past decade (give or take a couple of years). We sheepishly admitted to each other that our stamina for partying hearty just isn't what it used to be. We were amazed as we recounted how much energy we had: having too much to drink at bars and then some, embracing blissful inebriation, meeting random people and feeling like we found buddies for life, clubbing and dancing for hours at a time with abandon, scoffing rest and declaring sleep for the Unfun and staying out until what seemed like a million o'clock in the morning. We'd stay until the cleaners came out with their mops and trash bags, surreptitiously glancing at us every once in a while wishing we'd leave already. We'd have no problem staying out until the sun came up, glaring at us like a disapproving chaperon. Ravenous and still feeling partyish, we'd find ourselves in a 24 hour dingy diner-type place serving food of questionable sanitation, defying our bodies' need to recover and laughing at each other's silliness, knowing we had work, an early class, an exam or a paper due the next day.

Ah yes those moments are precious. And not as frequent nowadays.

I went out three nights in a row from Thursday to Saturday. That is on top of an 8 hour workday. I stayed out quite late and did have a little too much to drink (having had to ask my cabbie to pull over so I could throw up on Thursday night. Sorry Thursday. Puke Presence of Mind. That's the mark of an expert alcoholic.)

Nonetheless, those nights were a lot tamer. And I was not my chipper self the next day. I missed my German class on Saturday because I could not get out of bed at all. And I still needed all of Sunday to recover (to be fair, I was out till 6 am because of the Brazil-France match).

We agreed that back to back party nights have become very rare indeed. We can still do two nights in a row but the second night would pretty much be half-assed and would involve a lot of water-drinking.

I know it's saying goodbye to a chapter in my life and I don't feel devastated by the change at all like some have predicted, but I do get nostalgic for the endless parties and the wild nights and passing out in random places. But as my friends and I got ready to go out for the evening, we concluded that it's not all bad really, as quiet nights spent reading a book, writing, having good conversations with people important to us have become a lot more appealing of late. We're getting on in the cycle of life. Hehe move over, Deepak.

-------

Family news:

My younger sister was in surgery this morning. She was admitted last night. Everyone in the family is a bit subdued, sad and still worried but relieved to know that she'll be okay. My mom and I are going over to the hospital later this evening to see how she's doing.

Allez les bleus!

A couple of friends and I watched the England-Portugal match last night. It was a group divided. In the end it was down to a shoot out. Portugal's up against France next. Germany and Italy on the other side. I'm feeling a France-Germany final...

Then we headed on to a different bar for the 3 am game. There was a little situation outside with the bouncer who wouldn't let one of us come in because they had a strict dress code. They wanted to keep the place "upscale". It was 3 in the morning but he stood firm. Anyway we were able to sort things out just as the game started. It was a more exciting game but we were a lot quieter because we were just soooo tired. The larger part of our group left just as second half started. They got hungry. Two of us stayed on till the end. And woooooooooohoooooooooooo France kicked Brazil's ass out of the of tournament! Yeah! THAT'S for beating Ghana! Hihihihi alriiiiiiiiiight! Next up, Germany's going down for booting Argentina out. My heart was with those guys!

Allez les bleus! All the way to number one!

Crying for Argentina

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgghhhh! I'm running out of teams to root for. I was rooting for Germany too...until they beat Argentina! Hmph I will retaliate by not doing my German homework. Hmph. *arms folded across chest*

I've had a bad day today. In stark contrast to last night which was amazing. We celebrated J's birthday whom I hadn't seen in weeks. I always enjoy spending time with my AF guys but I had even more fun than I usually do. I should have posted about it earlier this evening, I had two hours of free time at work because we ran out of files to translate (pshah!) but I was too hung over from the night before to function more than the minimalest of efforts. I'll try to make time for that this weekend. Anyway I've had this migraine lurking in my head all day, biding its time to hit me with a big one. It's driving me nuts. I need sleep.

I was late for work.

I was supposed to meet up with an ex earlier this evening. We haven't seen each other since he left to become a marine...or navy guy...um I know I'm not allowed to get those two mixed up, but I really can't remember. Yeah anyway it's been like 7 years since I last saw him. But we kept in touch over the years, though not very regularly, and I can say we've become friends. He's the only ex I ever really talk to. So yeah I was actually looking forward to seeing him again.

Pff I got stood up. Luckily for me, Ed showed up. Thanks Ed! I asked a bunch of people if they wanted to hang out but everyone backed out at the last minute. I didn't mind so much, fully expecting Ex to show up, it's really surprising he didn't, uncharacteristic even. But then seven years is a long time and people do change. But that would have been a sad sad picture, me on my own haha. I wonder what I would have done haha it's funny to think about that now.

We watched the game. Argentina lost. So frustrating. I lost my anger sometime back and it has been a source of amusement for me. Following the WC tournament, I think I'm slowly finding it again. Very strange. There was a most unattractive lady, who was obviously a Germany supporter, dancing on the table in front of the screen...so one could not help but look at her. Ugh after the shoot out, she was, and I'm going out on a limb here, attempting what may have been a sexy dance.

I wanted to throw a shoe at her. I even imagined myself throwing it in a perfect arc and people watching it sail across the room and connecting with her obnoxiously large head. And her giving out a cry as she fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

I'm a bad person.

This is why Argentina lost.

Then I was unfortunate enough to get in the slowest fucking cab in Manila. We actually had to pull over once so he could check his tires. I'm not joking, I could have gotten out and walked faster than he was driving.

I forgot my key and had to wake someone up.

Grah I'm going to sleep.