Bottled Sky

Kathy is a special breed of awesome. My weekend rocked something fierce, thanks to her love for Seventeen Magazine and her penchant for joining their contests. They sent Kathy, Ivy, Phin, Chrissa and me on an overnight stay at Taal View Heights and took care of everything so we didn’t have to pay a single centavo. We were chauffeured, overfed, and generally pampered. We even got new tankinis from SPF, “Filipinas” flip-flops from Havaianas, and loads of Freeman beauty products. I can’t speak for the others, but I for one had never been spoiled so rotten in all my life.

The best part was I finally got to spend several hours swimming under the sun. My sunny swim in TVH’s Zen-inspired infinity pool was no doubt a far cry from my freezing foray into the stormy seas of Subic. It still wasn’t enough to bronze me, but at least I’m slightly darker than I used to be.

Swimming wasn’t all we did, though. We played badminton and billiards, rode horses, and briefly visited the lakeside where we met the friendliest little dachshund. On Sunday morning Chrissa somehow managed to make jogging up and down the hilly venue seem like a good idea, but after only 10 minutes of wheezing and panting, Kathy and I realized that it really wasn’t. We also made our very own scary movie using the night vision setting of Kathy’s Handycam, squeezed under a single comforter while bonding under the stars, and consumed too many glasses of mais con yelo. Oh, and we took lots of pictures.

The only downside was that we missed Nas and Tin and wished they could have come, too. Other than that, I can definitely say it was the most fun I’ve had of late. Hugs for Kathy!

I seem to have the worst luck in going to the beach and getting a tan. I vacationed in Pagudpud with my family a few summers ago, and it stormed for the bulk of our stay. Then a couple of summers after that my high school barkada went to Punta Fuego. Sure it didn’t rain, but the sun didn’t bother to make an appearance the whole time we were there either. And only a couple weeks ago I traveled to Subic with some college friends–you guessed it, a typhoon tagged along (click on the photo for more).

While it was undoubtedly interesting to swim in the ocean amid strong winds and cold rain, I’m starting to lose the hope of ever seeing a sunny beach again. I should probably give up on that natural tan I’ve been coveting for the past several years and be content with being pale. At least I won’t have to worry about skin cancer

You’re going to have to excuse the whiny tone of this post. I normally make an effort to keep my entries light and entertaining, but these past few days I haven’t been feeling good enough about myself to be perky. Let’s just say it hasn’t been the best of weeks. Several recent incidents have shown me that I can be a bit of a self-absorbed bitch at times. Though I don’t really believe I’m completely to blame for the said incidents, it is obvious that I need a little attitude adjustment.

Ick. I feel weird posting semi-serious stuff here–clearly I’ve had more practice writing about the quirky and the silly–but I didn’t want to censor myself too much either, so I just let the words flow. Sometimes I do need to purge. Don’t worry about this becoming a trend, though. My life is cushy and uncomplicated; I have neither an excuse nor a desire to go all “tortured soul” on you. We’ll be back to regular programming by next post, I promise

If you have an abundance of positive energy today, send some over to my mom and my dogs, Oreo and TJ. They’re celebrating their birthdays this week

This week has been quite interesting so far, at least for me. I got to try a lot of new things, including riding a bike (I never learned as a kid) and getting a big ol’ shot in my thigh. Here’s a rundown of my week:

Monday. I spent the whole day with Chrissa, Sean, Eugene, and Marco at the Quezon Memorial Circle. I tried to learn how to bike but wasn’t very successful. Bike-riding Nikki-style goes a little something like this: 1) pedal left, 2) attempt to pedal right, 3) lose balance, 4) scream, 5) laugh, 6) repeat steps 1 to 5 until the rental hour is up. We then had the longest lunch in the history of Chicken Bacolod, eating for 30 minutes then spending the next 2 and a half hours chatting and drinking gallons of iced tea. We lay around on the grass for another couple of hours and made instant plans to go swimming at Eugene’s condo the next day. If one must bum around, one should do it with friends

Clockwise from top: Sean, Eugene, Chrissa, me, Marco

Tuesday. Even swimming during the hottest hours of the day didn’t give my legs and stomach enough of a tan, but at least I’m not as pale from the chest down as I used to be. (My goal is to get a little brown before hitting the beach at the end of the month.) Like true bums, we lounged around Eugene’s place after pigging out on pizza. I’m not sure about the others, but I ended up falling asleep, curled up in an armchair still in my suit. After showering we horsed around at the gym. I love medicine balls! They’re so big and round and bouncy! I want one for Christmas! Woohoo! Sorry, but I just had to get that out of my system

Wednesday. I saw Finding Neverland (which took forever to get shown here) with Tin, Albert, Chrissa, and Marco (who I think was getting pretty sick of me and Chrissa by then hehe!). I heart Johnny Depp. I love how adorably off-beat he and his onscreen characters are. Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean is still my favorite Johnny alter-ego.

Thursday. I went to UP to pick up my grades. I survived Journalism 121 under Prof. Chua! Woohoo! The previous semester was the most hectic and challenging one for me so far. It was so much work, but I had a good time, especially in my Advertising class. That class was very good for my “confidence and spontaneity” (i.e. kakapalan ng mukha). To celebrate my survival of the semester that I thought I would never get through, I bought shoes (of course) - the cutest pink, high-heeled, ankle-strap babydolls ever. Very practical *nods seriously*

Friday. My dog TJ accidentally nipped my index finger. The wound was very small, but I decided to have it treated for my mom’s peace of mind. I had to get two allergy tests and six shots in six different body parts, but it wasn’t so bad because I’m not afraid of needles. The allergy tests I got in my arm stung like nobody’s business, but the shot that hurt the most was the one I got very near the nail of my index finger. The nurse told me that the shot in my thigh should have been the most painful because it contained by far the largest amount of vaccine, but I surprised her when I said it didn’t hurt at all. Apparently, I’m the first patient to ever say that LOL. I still have to go back to the hospital four more times over the next couple of months to complete the series of shots. It’s quite a hassle for such a teeny wound, but it’s better safe than sorry. I also brought TJ to the vet for an anti-rabies booster. I’m pretty sure he’s healthy, but I’m still a bit worried about him.

Today. I’ve had enough excitement for a week, so I just decided to stay home and do nothing. I did blog, though