05:56PM 'Twas the Day Before Christmas
I didn't realize it until last night, but Christmas has crept up on me. I guess the biggest holiday of the year has a tendency to get lost when every day is a "holiday" because I don't have regular classes.

But anyway, my sister wanted to go jog this morning, so we got up early. Guess what? Other people also had the same idea. "Oh, we haven't had time all year, so now that it's Christmas Eve and a holiday, let's go jog and make up for lost time."

We walked/jogged around the university's Academic Oval about three times, and I sneaked a peek at the tennis courts. Christmas Eve and the courts were jampacked with people trying to learn tennis.

As soon as we got back home, I received a text message from my mom, who had gone to Greenhills to buy last-minute groceries. "It's chaos here. I'm going to Robinsons."

I just got back from chopping up veggies, and in a few minutes I'll be chopping up fruit. My sister will be producing some carbonara as well--as soon as the bacon defrosts.

I've always considered Christmas Eve a very relaxed part of the Christmas holidays. Every year, I could sleep in, lay about the house, and generally just wait for my relatives to make their way to our house to celebrate noche buena. I'm getting a completely different picture of Christmas Eve this year. Maybe this is how my parents spend it. Maybe this is how people with adult responsibility spend it.

Christmas Eve is still special. I just can't celebrate it like a kid can anymore.

04:23PM Off With Her Head!
My family seems to have gunpowder running through its veins. Oh, wait, I meant my family members tend to have hot tempers. Not necessarily short tempers, but once you've lit the fuse, there's no stopping the bomb from going off.

I frequently get figuratively dismembered: today I got my head bitten off. Since I was five years old my parents' high-pitched high-decibel remonstrations have replaced getting spanked, but boy does it still hurt every time.

What did I do? Oh, what I usually do: they ask me to do a simple something. I tell them I'll do it, but I don't do it right away. If I haven't done it yet by the time they ask me if I've done it, that's the time I get my butt handed to me on a plate.

You could say I could avoid all this by being more obedient. Obedience means doing as you're told the moment you're told to do so. Delayed obedience to my parents means disobedience.

But can you blame me for feeling heartsick every time they chew my ear off?

08:45PM Blabbing On and On
Do you ever get the feeling you've run out of words? It's what happens to me everyday when I post on message boards before I do anything with this journal.

Why do I write for leisure? It's not to air my opinions, good heavens, no. When I express my opinions in public, I make sure I have a good environment to do them in, i.e. there are people who share my point of view. They don't all have to, but at least I shouldn't be alone when I go out on a limb and say something.

You could say I say or write something because I love getting feedback on it. You could say I like hearing opposing views, but I don't like getting ganged up on. It's why nowadays I find message boards so rewarding, and this journal rather monologuish and dull. Here, I say something, and most people accept what I have to say (or disagree with it privately) without saying anything back.

I'm not begging for comments here; I'm just explaining my long absence. Ü That said, it's time to move on...

...to an update of what's been going on. So, I mentioned a trip to Subic Bay, right? For those who don't have a clue where that is, it's sort of an economic zone-slash-resort that straddles the provinces of Zambales, Olongapo, and Bataan on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. It used to be an American military base, along with Clark Air Base in Pampanga, until the Philippines decided "No More Foreign Bases." It was almost abandoned after the soldiers left, but the Filipinos who had worked there decided to grow it as a tourist attraction. Later on, as the Philippine government caught on to the money-making potential of the place, decided to market it also as a transshipment port for freight.

Of course, those things didn't really run through my mind when I was there. I've been there more than half a dozen times, and each time is different. The first few times, I was there for Subic's beaches. As Subic got more developed, I managed to stay away from the beaches and spent my time in front of a television the whole time. Yes, couch potato. Ü

This time, though, was a good meld between the two things. Don has some details (see his December 12 post), but that's from a guy's point of view. I might decide to post the girls' point of view, but right now, I've just run out of words.
08:00AM Feeling Pink
Have you seen Lacoste's Touch of Pink commercial? If you haven't, you've been living under a rock because it bombarded the airwaves early last month. In any case, since I need to get more hits on the site (teeheehee!), here are the full lyrics to the song.

Natasha Thomas - Let Me Show You (The Way)
Let me show you the way
It’s the game that we play
Or whether it did
So easy
Let me show you the way
Or just say what you say
So easily

The way of your touch is always heavenly
and I love the way that you are loving me
You wrapped me up in the colour of your love
you must be an angel high from above

In the game of the heart, you know I know that you are mine

Let me show you the way
It’s the game that we play
Or whether it did
So easy
Let me show you the way
Or just say what you say
So easily

Are you gonna be there when I need someone
And will I be always just the only one
I don't wanna have just another heartbreak
So tell me is your love true or a fake

In the game of the heart, you know I know that you are mine

Let me show you the way
It’s the game that we play
Or whether it did
So easy
Let me show you the way
Or just say what you say
So easily

One kiss, One love, One word,
one vow and nothing more

One night, one dream
gonna save it save it for me

Let me show you the way
It’s the game that we play
Or whether it did
So easy
Let me show you the way
Or just say what you say
So easily