Chicago Notes

Since I didn't have a pen and paper handy, I was pretty much clickety-clacking away on the Notes section of my iPod Touch. I totally forgot about my notes until minutes earlier when I was cleaning up the random notes I've saved up.

• While waiting for the Chicago-bound train to arrive, everyone inside the station were nose-deep in their smartphones. No human interaction of any kind. Not a timid smile, a nod of acknowledgement, a good morning, nada.

• Everyone was also sitting ridiculously spaced out enough that no person can sit in between. A bench that would have sat 8 people has four people (and their bags) sitting comfortably. Tsk tsk.
• No man offered a woman a seat. Even when that woman was standing next to a man who was sitting with his legs crossed.
• As the train was rolling by the scenery, I saw a plane land. The sight of it made me feel trapped. I need to be somewhere other that where I am and what I am right now. I need to finish this year the right way so that I can breathe again. So that I can feel like (at the very least) have the option of soaring again.
• We passed by a cemetery and I saw a car driving slowly inside. I'm sure he's going to visit a loved one. It made me feel really sad for him. I hope he's happy now.
• I've never had to retrieve legal documents before. I walked inside the Daley Center (which used to be the Chicago Civic Center) and everything was fast-paced and everyone was walking with a purpose. It gave me such a headrush! I wanna be part of this kind of setting! It would probably get too intense for me but I guess I work best under pressure.
• While in line, I saw a guy donning a pair of Dr. Dre Beats Headphone. What a bad-ass. I'm jealous. Those babies cost AT LEAST $300.
• To celebrate my successful Chicago Adventure, I stopped by a bookstore that had a sale going on. I got two books for a dollar each, so.. SCORE!!

•  They say never buy groceries when you're hungry, and all I can say is "True Dat!"  What was supposedly a quick lunch from the McDonald's dollar menu turned out to be a $12 tasteless lunch from the Corner Bakery. I'm sure it's not that bad, but this particular sandwich I got was horrible. -blech-
• I wish I had a real camera with me (not a digital camera, but a digital SLR camera), because there were a lot of things that warranted a decent photograph and all I had was my handy dandy iPod.

    Now that I am semi comfortable with going downtown by myself, I can't wait for summer to arrive! I can go to the museums anytime I want to, Chinatown, even just chill at the lake or Millenium Park. Chicago and I are going to have a very good relationship this summer year.

Thriving Under Pressure

    I had to run an errand in the city and since I'm not a very good city driver, and I figured I should do something I've never done before, I decided to take public transportation to the city. I parked my car at the trains station that's less than a mile from my apartment (I should've walked but it was raining and I didn't have an umbrella). En route to the city, I was pretty content with the book I brought and the music in my iPod.

     I ended up taking the long way because parts of the streets were under construction. I got to the place nonetheless only to find out that I was in the wrong establishment. Good thing the ladies at the building were kind enough to direct me to the right direction. Lesson Learned: When they say Blue Line, it doesn't mean the bus. It means the subway. Me=Idiot. But I didn't let that deter me, because I try to learn something new everyday.
    I got to the right building, did what I had to do and left the building.. only to find out that I had walked the opposite direction of the train station! I ended up on Michigan Avenue, and thinking I was lost, I phoned a friend (no, really I did). But by the time I got on the phone with her, I saw the Art Institute and found my way. I was actually tempted to go in but I need to catch the train and go to the post office to send the paperworks I got.
    I made sure I was back at the Union Station with plenty of time to grab something to eat. And before you know it, I was already 

back on the train and on my way back home in the suburbs. Side note: My leg cramped up while I was on the train and I had to make sure my face and body language didn't give that away because it might make me feel like a newbie. All that one day of walking downtown and I cramp up on the way home.. Sheesh!
    All this time that I was making my way to, around, and back to the city made me feel really good about myself. I had a specific itinerary but I was thrown off the loop. That obstacle didn't stop me from composing myself, regrouping, taking a deep breath and figuring something out. My little city adventure showed me that I can get through small or big things alike. I wasn't fazed, I didn't panic, I didn't let the hustle and bustle of downtown Chicago eat me whole. This may sound mushy, but the city made something out of me that day. I feel a little more confident in myself knowing that I get get past any hurdle thrown my way.. because little did I know that I can be a bad-ass like that.

The Best Monday Ever

I went to work today with nothing special in mind. All I was thinking was that if I can just get through today, I'll be set, because I have the next two days off. What do I find on my desk when I walk in the office?

A bunch of lovely and colorful flowers and balloons.. and a strawberry shortcake! Not only did this very sweet gesture from my coworkers make my day, it totally made my week! What a wonderful way to kick off my birthday week! All afternoon at work, I kept looking at the flowers and I couldn't stop smiling. I've never been given flowers by anyone other than a boyfriend. I gotta say, receiving flowers unexpectedly from someone that is expected to give you flowers and receiving flowers unexpectedy from the people you would least expect to do so.. well, they're both awesome feelings but it's all two different feelings. I'm still giddy from my little surprise. I guess, what makes it even giddier is the fact that my coworkers didn't think I was working on my actual birthday (which is three days from now) so they decided to give me an early birthday surprise.
    The best thing about it is that my birthday greetings have already started pouring in! I don't want to sound vain or anything, but birthdays are my absolute favorite holidays! Yes, they're holidays to me. It's the one day of the year when a.) I can get away with almost anything, b.) people are extra EXTRA nice to me, c.) I get to be the center of attention for a little bit, and d.) on the off-chance that people decide to be generous.. well, I get to unwrap presents! Oh, and one more thing, the most important one, e.) it's the one day of the year that I can hang out with all the people that I love all in one room.. or something like that.
    Anyway, that is all for now. I have to wake up extra early tomorrow for my downtown mission. Here's to hoping I have a rockin' adventure tomorrow!

Kick Off.

In less than eleven hours, I have to be at work.. which means I should be sleeping already. But my mind is bombarded with random thoughts and ideas that need to be tackled before the month ends. So to make life a little bit easier for me, this are the three things that I need to tackle when I wake up first thing in the morning:

• Look around for cars that are under $700. (Impossible? Let's hope not!)
• Apply for jobs.
• Balance two monthly floor plans for work.

    After all these have been done, preferably by 11:30 am, life will be beautiful and I can start my weekday on the right track.

You're Fat.

    So I've been on the hunt for shoes and dresses these past few weeks for my birthday weekend celebration. But I never found the right combination. I'd have the shoes, but no dress to match. I'd find the dress but no shoes for it. Anyway, I settled (or so I thought) for the gold dress I bought at Forever 21 late last year and I finally found a nude-colored strappy heels to match with it. But I think I'm pulling back on my options again. Why? I'll tell you why.
    KC told me to try on what I'm going to wear for my birthday. When I walked out of my room, Kuya Quartz laught and commented, "Ja, who's the daddy?", insinuating that I look pregnant. Hey, okay, I know I've gained weight through the years and all but this is the first time someone actually laughed to my face about it. And even though I was laughing along, I was crushed.
    So then, KC trying to mediate, asked me about this floral dress I bought that was supposed to be for my birthday last year. Long story short, KC realized that I didn't wear that dress because Roger laughed at me too. She said, "Why do you even let these stupid boys get to you?" and I go, "You know me, *shrug*, I let everyone get to me."
    I've been trying to build my confidence for a long time now, and for some reason, thanks to my so-called friends/family/roommates, my confidence is shot again. Never have I been laughed at or made fun of to my face for how I look, and my weight and body type. Now, I'm not confident about my gold dress. I have to find something else to wear.

my last word on rebecca black

   i’m just throwing it out there but, why is everybody hating on rebecca black’s friday? okay so it may be the worst song ever, it may be the worst video in history, it may be the worst anything of everything. but after watching the video, watching the mass responses, reading articles, comments, and (yes, i did go there) her wikipedia page.. i gotta say, this has really got to build this girl’s character.
    i feel bummed for the rest of the day if someone even comments on my outfit (or something like that), and i don’t think i’ll ever get back to the embarrassment, humiliation and throwing of stones that people are doing to this poor young girl.
    is it really her fault that she wanted to go after her dreams? from what i know (i stand corrected), she sang a prewritten song. ark music factory took care of everything. her parents paid $2000 to give their daughter the experience of being a music artist. why are we frowning down on her for it? it’s bad, so what?
    at least she has the balls to address the issue instead of breaking down. she has gotten the nastiest comments i’ve heard (so far) like “go cut yourself and i hope you become bulimic maybe you’ll be prettier” type shizz.

    ..wait, so people are buying her songs in tunes to make fun of it more?!? she’s number 39 in the itunes top 100, even surpassing the bieb. if i wanted to make fun of a song, i’d go on youtube or something. guess who’s the winner there? rebecca black or the millions of people who viewed and reviewed (and showed their friends) the videos and bought the songs?
    yep, i think so.
    we made her famous. think about it. all it took was ONE PERSON. and when you add all those “one persons”, then you get 17,505,934 views on youtube. i can’t believe this generation has taken to collectively ruining a young girl’s life.. what, just because of her bad singing, bad video, bad lyrics, etc.???? which, by the way, is all just a matter of opinion.. expert or not. ashlee simpson has a weird voice, so does miley cyrus.. yes, even justin bieber. SO FRICKIN WHAT??
    is this what we do now to young adults who wants to chase after their dreams? instead of encouraging them to do better in life, we throw rocks at them and won’t stop until they’ve fallen to the ground? i have younger siblings and i’m worried to send them off to the real world if this is what they’re gonna have to face.
dear rebecca black,
    go out there and chase your dream. kudos to you for not letting your detractors win. god knows who still have a good heart in this world. keep that good heart of yours and don’t let anybody bring you down. take this experience as a lesson and a reminder that people will always try to bring you down, and only you can make yourself get back up again.