I am the last day of the year...

Thanks Joemama for the inspiration!

The year in retrospect
Been quite a year...here are just some of the things that stood out...

THE YEAR OF THE WEDDING
Cicely and I went to a total of 8(or is it 9?) weddings in the '04. Practically once a month. Her cousin Thad and Catherine, her kinda cousin Lindsay and Carlos, my cousin Kay and Jerry, Cheryl and Kyle, Roselle and Jino, Jen Jen and Rommel, just to name a few. She went to a few that I didn't, her friend Jean's, and I had to turn down an invite to one of them because it happened on the same day as Cheryl and Kyles. It was tie the knot time for real man. Not to mention all of the engagements...both expected and those that took us completely by surprise. A lot of new lives started together in 04, so congratulations to you all!

LOSS
Lots of Gambling this year. Several trips to vegas, hit up a casino in Montreal, and even while on the Ensenada Cruise...I lost somewhere around $1500 maybe? I would've been more had I not scored right before the cruise and scored bigger when we went for Cic's b-day. Whew. This year's resolution? Gamble more, lose less....ha ha ha.

INJURY
I don't think I have been injured more in my life than I was in 2004. It started right at the begninning of the yar during January, where I crushed my bursa sac while snowboarding. It ended up that I would need to go back to the ortho specialist several times for cortizone-steriod injections and it still has not fully recovered almost a year later. My back problems really started to get worse, when I was playing basketball a lot...probably because I was taking a lot of spills, but still. I started seeing a chiropractor and found out my back is in pretty bad shape, curve-wise and so we're working on restoring it to it's original form. Exercises and occasional check-ups are slowly driving those problems away. Of course, as always, still the constant problem w/ the tendinitis, can't run w/o a strap. I also sprained my ankle pretty bad this year, right before I went to the philippines...which totally sucked. All those injuries still don't amount up to Chris' broken leg, but nonetheless, it's annoying being so batterred and bruised. Here's to a healthy new year!

RELATIONSHIPS
This year, couples that I thought would never break up break up, couples I never thought would be..were...and in my own personal relationship, celebrated my one year anniversary w/ the beebs. We've had a great year and this will be our second new year together. Friendship-wise, friends have moved away, some have moved back, got closer to some, got to know new people, and even some where I have simply lost touch. Some friendships were questioned, some strengthened, and unfortunately some weakened. Lastly, I was able to visit my family in the Philippines. It was such a wonderful experience to finally have met so many of those that knew me as a 4 year-old, and to meet those that had never seen me. I saw my lola who is 88 yrs old and still going strong(she even rode w/ us in a boat!) Oh, I almost forgot... http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2134044573" target="new">here Those are the pics from my trip. Anyway, I loved seeing my family and really getting to know them. I definitely plan on going about every 2 or 3 years. So hopefully everything works out for me so I can do that. Unfortunately, one of my lolo's sisters...Lola Huling, passed away last night, on New Year's Eve out there....so sad. But the most important thing that happened to me on this trip is that my family, beyond mom pop jos london and those close by, materialized in front of my own eyes, and I distance I once felt disappeared in an instant. I wish we could've stayed longer...

LIFE
It's been a wonderful year, full of tears of joy...AND pain. And as most of us know, everything happens for a reason, and one day, I will be able to ask why. But that day is not today. Just keep on keepin on folks. Love your neighbor as yourself and all that good stuff :)

There is so much more I would like to write about, but like I said, those are the things that stood out the most during the time frame of the daily grind at work...

Happy New Year All!!!!

I am an empty wallet...

I guess if there was any bright side to working during the holiday season, whilst everyone is on vacation or at home, is the traffic. Or lack thereof, I should say. It takes me only 25 minutes to get to work. 20 if I can catch all the lights, which is pretty good. So at least i get to enjoy a traffic free world for a bit. Other than that...boooo. I'm gonna be working tomorrow...I think I will be the only one. Well, me and my coworkers of course, he he he.

We finally finalized our New Year's Eve plans. Going to Club A.D with the beeb and some of the eerbiners, might even see my best friend out there, we'll see. I was quite indifferent about what we were gonna do, it seems the the holiday season as a whole seems to have come in such a rush that I haven't had any time to really get excited or anything. But now that we DO have some set plans, it's pretty exciting. Never really been to a semi-formal type themed event for New Year's, so this'll be somethin new. I've been in NY and Vegas, and done the house party thing on numerous occasions, so partyin up in LA will be just another experience.

One more day....

I am the last opened Christmas gift...

As I sit here at my desk...at work unfortunately, in the wake of another Christmas gone by and in the path of yet another New Year, looming in the horizon...I think about what another crazy year it's been. Time moves so fast, I can't believe it's gonna be 05 already...before you know it, you'll wake up one morning and it'll be almost 06...sheesh.

Other people are off, not working, on vacation. Dangit, I'm so jealous of all you damn people who are still on vacation. Grrr to you all. You know what sucks, is that everyone has friday off, and work decided to give us MONDAY off...it'll be a nice alone day, I guess.

Recap
Christmas was awesome, couldn't have asked for a better one...well, there are some things that I think could've made it better, namely, that huge quake, but let's try not dwell on the negative. Plus Mother Nature-type things like that are totally out of our control, and we just gotta pray and deal w/ what's happened, but I digress. Christmas, seemingly gets busier and busier each year...but as always, filled w/ good times. Eve w/ the Fam and sister's inlaws was great as always. And as always, the Bermudez's were late... Day w/ Cic's family up in Santa Maria...another fun-filled day, marred w/ the Laker loss, but hey, it was X-mas, I got over it...kinda, he he he. And day after spent w/ friends from the old school, dinner and just hanging out. It was great. I hope everyone else's x-mas'es were good.

Anyway, in the aftermath of all the get-togethers and present opening and now, pop's b-day, my room as well as the rest of the house is pretty much a complete mess. So I want to clean at least my room before the new year starts. And I'm talking about CLEANING that sucker. I'm gonna pick up around the room and go through all my old things and trash things I don't need anymore, donate normal clothes that haven't been worn in the past 2 years, and special occasion or nice clothes that haven't been worn in the past 5 years, and send em out. It's time for my ritualistic cleaning...all the packratty stuff I've accumulated...those that are really not that big are goin into the trash...sorry. But the important things, those will remain. I'm kinda excited, he he he....yeah yeah, I know...geek, shiyat up. And after I'm done w/ the room, I'll move on to the other rooms.

You know what's funny about winter? I tend to wanna sleep more than normal. Like even when I sleep 7 or 8 hours, even 9, which is A LOT for me, I still feel like sleeping. During the summer and stuff, I can function fully on far less sleep, it's so weird. It's like my body is slowing down from the cold weather and stuff, so it just wants to do nothing but sit still. Kinda like how bears hibernate and stuff. And if you've ever looked at ants in cold weather, or even flies and stuff(if you can even find a fly in the winter), they all move slowly. Crazy how weather can affect the body. I mean, it could be that i'm just getting old...but I refuse to accept that. It's winter, he he he.

Well, it's almost the new year, only a few days away, and I'm workin on my resolutions list for the year. But I'll save that for another day. I hope the rain keeps on comin in, it only makes for better boarding days, woohoo!

Happy trails to you... :)

HAPPY 63rd BIRTHDAY POP!!!!!

I am a broken down old toy...

I must say, the last week and a half or so have been full of ups and downs. Doesn't really matter what specific events passed, because whatever they were, I think they happened for a reason. And they have caused me to really think about the relationships in my life: how I treat people, how I act, and just how I am. I think I sometimes classify people into certain categories insofar as how I deal with them. There are those that I keep in constant contact with and those I see or talk to every so often, and then there's those I rarely see. With people who are a constant or a regular presense in my life, things tend to be quite simple. You see each other often enough and little to no time passes where there is a lack of contact. Now in the third case, these rarely seen people are just difficult to get into contact w/ because of the busy-ness of our schedules, or simply a matter of distance. But when I usually talk to these people, it's as if barely any time has passed since our last conversation, or cup of coffee. Not all people are the same, and I guess I've occasionally run into situations where I thought the once-in-a-while-don't-talk to too often-but-it's totally cool when we DO talk-people were not in fact what I originally deemed them to be. But I guess that's the whole part of these various relationships in our lives, we have to figure them all out, and each one is different from another. Back in hs, I was called a friendhopper once, and I was initially offended. But then I thought about it... It's like a road network...One gets close to certain people as their paths cross in their lives...some cross many times, others, not so often. Some run parallel, some converge, and sadly, others diverge. It's just one of those things and we deal w/ it...but what's truly important is that it's what one does when the paths are close is what counts...because that is what will dictate what happens when those roads move away from one another. So it's a good idea to take a look in the mirror once in a while and make sure you're making the best of what you got...

Where did the time go?
Seriously...I can't believe it's already X-mas on Saturday. Maybe it's just me, becuase I was in the Philippines during Thanksgiving and I didn't really go through that "changeover" holiday thingy. Maybe cuz when I got back it was already in the middle of the x-mas shopping season. Or maybe everyone else feels it too. The time has been going by too fast lately... At least I'm practially done w/ my x-mas shopping, only 4 people to go, and then, it's wrap wrap wrap away!

You know those times, when you have so much you wanna say or write but just don't have the time to do it? Well, this is one of those times...and I know I'm gonna forget all of the stuff I wanted to say initially, so that totally sucks.... Here's to all the lost thoughts in my head...

In other news...
-Finally finished Alias Season 3...DAMN, I can't wait for the next season! Woohoo January 5th!!!!
-Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince comes out July 16th, 2005. DOUBLE WOOHOO WOOHOO!!

"If your happiness depends on what somebody else does...
YOU HAVE A PROBLEM."
-Richard Bach

I am an adjustment waiting to happen...

on the IR
If I were to get paid for every time I sustained an injury or had to go to the doctor, I swear I would be a millionaire. Add yet another injury to the ever-growing list. Now, my back. I landed on it last week or something during our Sunday league and I probably bruised it or something, but I tried to play again on Monday and hurt it even more. The thing about back pain like that is that sometimes, it takes a while for the injury to surface. I hate that. My supervisor recommended his chiropractor because he's been going to him for a long time, so I went to go see him yesterday. Pretty cool guy, went over the myths and stuff about chiropractic care, and after doing some extra research on my own, I've found that it's pretty good and not bad like everyone thinks it is. He took some x-rays of my back and seems that my back does not have the shape a normal healthy back should have...so I have to come in a couple times a week for about 2 months, and do these home exercises and stuff in order to restore my back to it's normal condition. Anyway, he's a cool doctor...really seems to know what he's talking about and very friendly. Matter of fact, I just got off the phone with him. There's rarely any care providers that you can readily call like that. I just hope works, he he he. It's $10 a visit, which is good, cuz I don't have to make up like 80% of cost or anything like that...but $10 a week a few times for 8 weeks can add up...so I better only go out to lunch like once every two weeks or so...I really should've gotten that flexible medical thingy at work...I'm probably exactly the type of person they designed that program for: people who get hurt a lot: me.

4-6 weeks
So I signed up for paypal so I could get this one x-mas gift from e-bay. It said that some deposit should be made to my acct in 2-3 business days...it has now been 3 days. Why do they give you windows like that when they KNOW they won't do it til the last day, or even later? For example, it was sunday when I signed up, so monday was probably the day it was processed and tuesday starts the first of the 2-3 days, which means it won't happen til Thursday. What is that all about? And, "...ships in 5-7 business days..." or "...4-6 weeks..." Won't happen til the last day possible, cuz they wait for the last possible minute to send it out, as long as it's within the "period." I swearm I think Cic runs all of these companies somehow...

Woohoo! I won this week's football pool! Hell yeah, woohoo! It surely is turnin out to be a good week, other than the fact I got hurt, of course. Cic finally got to meet my best friend Janelle, I have friday off, been a chill week, and I'm goin to Vegas this weekend! Woohoo!

"The only consistent thing you can expect is change"

I am buried alive...

Sometimes I feel like no matter what I do, it's not the right thing, or that there's nothing I can do about certain factors in my life. I hate feeling helpless like that. When you see people hurting and there's nothing you can really do to "heal," for lack of a better word, the situation. There's a scene in Smallville that stands out in my head: It's where they go into Lex's mind(either someone's reading the future, or it's one of his dreams or something) and they show him in a white suit, and everything is sunny and he's in a field or something. Then all of the sudden, everything around him begins to wither and die, until it's all gone. Not that I'm evil or anything, but I have to admit I sometimes find myself feeling like that...like I cannot do any good. And of course, it's all Murphy's law. It has to snowball into everything. And it's more than frustrating. And it's not one of those fall down on my knees and scream to the heavens and say, "Why God why?" It's just what it is...a feeling that comes in like a suffocating blanket when I see hurt all around me. And I don't think I suffer from some type of hero complex, where I wanna save the world, but it's hard to know people you love around you in pain and just accept it for what it is...
I do have faith that it all happens in God's bigger plan, but in the smaller plan, I can't help but be disgruntled.

Just one of those days...

I am a numb face...

What a difference a dentist makes
So I had to go to the dentist for a deep cleaning. Folks, take care of your teeth...deep cleaning isn't one of the most pleasant experiences in the world. Anyway, they can't do it all in one shot, so either they do it in quadrants(4 sessions) or just halves(2 sessions). My preference is to visit the dentist as few times as possible, so naturally I opted for the 2-session dealio. Two trips, two entirely different experiences. My first appt was on Friday, at 4:30PM. I think the office closes around 5 or 6. I get called in and seated, and I have to wait about 20 min. The doctor comes in, takes a look at my teeth, and gives me the lidocaine injections. He gave me a whole bunch of injections, and the ones on the inside(like on the inside-the-teeth side of your gums) hurts like a mother man...no joke. He waits for it to kick in, and checks his watch. My reaction? O - M - G. This guy's in a hurry. And he went to work...and boy did he go to work. He was so brutal man, no delicacy at all. I swear, even w/ all the numbness, I could still feel pain, they way he worked. Took about half an hour and I went home. That night, I felt horrible, I couldn't open my mouth and my teeth and gums were totally sore. He told me that'd happen, but I didn't expect it to be so painful. I couldn't really eat and didn't end up doing anything. With that experience in mind, I naturally gravitated towards dreading my next appt...which was yesterday. I guess they were busy yesterday because after they seated me in the room, they took an hour before they finally got to me, I even took a freakin nap... Anyway, different doctor this time. And he gives me like half the injections that the first guy gave me. I asked him, "You're not gonna numb the inside?" And he told me no, and that it wouldn't hurt really anyway. So I'm freaking out, because I'm expecting the same treatment as Friday. Nothing near the same thing. He was done quicker and I barely felt a thing...probably the most painful part was the lidocaine shot, but that's almost impossible to make painless(However, I did hear a commercial yesterday on my way home from the dentist about this guy who puts his patients to sleep w/ pills...sounds interesting, but also scary). Anyway, that same night, I was able to have a big dinner AND I even got to workout, and I felt just fine. The side they cleaned last week, STILL hurts right now more than the one they did yesterday... Well, now I can add one dentist to my blacklist...

I still have to post my pics and talk about my trip to the philippines...I haven't had much internet access lately, and I haven't been working in the office...so that'll come soon.