When I was younger, I remember that I've always asked myself, "What's the big deal with gambling? Why are people so addicted to it?" I have always had this discomfort with spending money on odds, and then at the end getting nothing out of it. In other words, ayoko mag-tapon ng pera! I get nervous from even those small betting debacles with friends, example:
FRIEND: Patay na si Alanis Morisette!
ME: Ulol! No way!
FRIEND: Oo nga! Wanna bet?!
ME: Ahhhh... ayoko.
If you know me very well, then you'd be aware that I am the Ms. Kuripotest of them all. I mean, I can have a pa-kunatan showdown with all you kuripots out there. I swear. For instance, for me, shopping can only be done on SALE season. My favorite shop is a thrift-store here in BF, where they sell very good quality dresses at P100 a piece, jeans at P120, and tops at P50. Good deal, eh? I'll tell you where it is when you ask me, basta kailangan ma-tiyaga ka. Walk about 5 laps around the shop and I'm sure you'll find some good buys.
Anyhooo... the thing that triggered this post is my latest favorite activity. Christmas eve, (actually Christmas dawn at 12am) my bestfriend (Jen) texted me to tell me we're going to the Resort World Hotel Casino. I was like "Casino? Sige sama ako but I will not spend ANY MONEY. Manonood lang ako."
Lo and behold... when we got there I couldn't resist. The gambling energy was so damn infectious. Soooo... I bought P500 worth of chips, and we played this game called "Big and Small". It's basically a dice game and you bet on the numbers. Hirap explain dito, but the game's pretty easy to play even for beginners like me.
After about 30 minutes, naubos ang chips ko. Damn! I told myself... no more spending. P500 is enough. I wanted to drink instead but a bottle of beer costs about P190... RIP-OFF! Jen was on a roll (well, she spent P1000 on chips). I was inggit with all the energy so I told myself, okay... I'll buy another chip (lowest bet is P100. See? not that scary after all). So I had one chip worth P100 and I waited and waited for that magical moment when my heart would skip a beat and tell me, "Bet that chip, Kuripot!"
I put the chip down and bet, and cheered all the way until I won another chip. Then I bet again and won another chip. Long story short, out of spending P600, I got P2500 back! I felt like a teary-eyed contestant on Wowowee! By the end, I had to control myself and Jen had to pull me out of the casino.
Needless to say, I will be coming back. As they say, "Beginner's luck!". I say, "Luck exists in the leftovers!" (Uy, sumegue sa blog title ehehe)
Here is a picture of us after claiming our winnings. (Don't worry, hindi ako ma-adik dito. I am still a kuripot at heart)
Is it bad that I have had the same new year's resolution for three consecutive years now? My resolution: I resolve to quit smoking cigarettes... and for the past three years I have broken my promise and have fallen back into this nasty nicotine habit. What a shame.
So, the year is ending, and here I go again. The only difference now is that I am starting a little earlier this year. I've started cutting back on smoking around mid-december, so that hopefully I can quit by the 1st day of the year 2010. I've been resisting the urge to chain smoke, and at times that I really, really have to... I allow myself only one cig a day. Actually, the usual number of cigarettes I have in a day is around 7-10 sticks... and that is hardly what anyone would call chain smoking. Regardless, though... quitting smoking altogether is H-A-R-D. I know non-smokers don't get it and are probably thinking, "Dude, if you can cut back, then just quit already. How hard can it be?" Well, it's H-A-R-D. You should be in my head. All I keep thinking is "Iza, you need a cigarette. You haven't smoked today. You haven't smoked. YOU HAVEN'T SMOKED!" It can get a little crazy. Just take my word for it, and I am speaking on behalf of all fellow smokers out there.
Yesterday, unfortunately, my willpower failed me. I smoked about five cigarettes. Today, I've had two.
Still, I'm hopeful. Cutting back to five sticks in one day is not bad. So, maybe, quitting smoking altogether is actually... doable (GASP!). 2010, be good to me. You just might be THE year.
Okay, okay, okay... I'm exaggerating. This is hardly what you'd call aging. I only turned 27 this year. (Yes, I'm only 27... Shut up!)
Seriously, though... I'm getting older. One downside of aging, among many things, is the slowing down of one's metabolism, and therefore gaining weight that is just so freakin' hard to get rid of. I, for one, have been trying to deny that I am now a participant in the metabolism game... yesterday morning, however, I had a rude awakening. Let me break it down to you...
You know your ass is getting bigger, when your favorite pair of jeans (actually, the only pair that fits you nowadays) rips at the butt area when you sit down hurriedly because you are running late for work.
Well, that's what happened to me. Note that it wasn't just a small rip that could easily be hidden under my long shirt (the kind of shirt that disguises a protruding beer gut). The rip starts from the right butt cheek right down to the "kuyukot" (only a word as nasty as this can make me blush) - that area below the bum. The clincher? I didn't notice it at first, so I did my errands (passed by the bank and the drugstore), and walked the busy BF Paranaque street, clueless that everyone behind me would be enjoying a free peep show featuring my ass. The only time I noticed that my ass and my underwear was exposed to the world was when I finally felt the "air-cool" feeling. Needless to say, I had no choice but to go back home and change my pants.
You know that feeling when you come home and notice that your fly was open the whole time you were outside the house? Multiply that feeling by 50... and that's exactly how I felt.
On the upside, I finally have a legitimate reason to shop for new clothes. =)
Obviously, thanks to the title of this blog post, I have a few confessions to make. No, these are not the explosive and controversial types, so please lower your expectations my friend. If those are what you're looking for, then please, for your own benefit and mine, STOP READING.
Oh, you're still here? Well I guess I better start yapping. Here goes...
CONFESSION #1
This realization came about after seeing this website... and after reading this reply to that website.
I'm not very good with grammar. I mean I'm good, if what we mean by good is just knowing and having internalized the basic rules, e.g. tenses, subject-verb agreement, proper use of pronouns, etc. But... and this is kind of embarrassing, especially since I just recently spilled my guts about an impending career shift this January... I just think it's impossible (for me, at least) to be familiar with, let alone absorb all 10,000 of them grammar rules. Am I right or am I right?
However, to write something like that ad and upload it for everyone to see is just downright pretentious. I am totally with Zafra on this one, it's okay if you want to show the world how snooty you are... just make sure you are also perfect.
So, and it goes without saying, I am not perfect. I must admit though that there are some common grammatical, pronunciation, and diction errors that still manage to irk me quite a bit, such as... (ahem... bato-bato sa langit, ang tamaan... mabubukulan)
"With regards to" - Ditch the s in regards and just say, "With regard to".
The common misuse or lack of apostrophes, like interchanging the words "you're" and "your", "they're" and "their", etc.:
1. "Your a douche!"
2. "Their coming!"
The mispronunciation of the words:
1. Due - Djoo ("Your past djoo bill" or the double whammy, "You're past djoo bill", please make your life easier by just saying "doo")
2. Menu - Me-nu (people, repeat after me: me-nyoo)
3. Verbatim - Verbahtim (read: ver-bay-tim)
There are many, many more, but of course I am unable to remember them all.
What was I saying about snootiness and perfection? Never mind. Let's just move on to...
CONFESSSION #2
"I like 'art films'."
Oh, god... I cringe every time I hear anyone say "art film".
As they say, every human being is innately creative, and art is a product of human creativity. What's more, art is relative to the person creating it and the person appreciating it. Yes, totally. What's art to me may be a piece of crap to you. On the contrary, what's art to you may be (insert politically correct remark with a somewhat negative connotation here) to me.
In the same argument, then what defines an "art film"?
I say just stop calling them "art films", and call them simply, "films". Isn't film another form of art anyway? So, saying "art films" is exactly like saying "art paintings", or "art music", or "art literature". It's so redundundundant.
Anyway, hearing this just makes me assume that the person talking has never seen an "art film" (CRINGE!) in his lifetime. Next thing I know, the next twilight movie will be called an ART FILM.
Know what, go ahead say it... Twilight is art... as I said, art is relative anyway. Just don't say ART FILMS. Goddammet.
***Just my two cents. Peace. Happy Holidays!
It's the most wonderful time of the year... with the kids jingle-belling and everyone telling you be of good cheeeeeeeer... It's the most wonderful time of the yeaaaaarrrr!
