I’ve punched in late twice this week, and while that may be partially my fault, I still can’t help being a little pissed off at the circumstances surrounding my tardiness. (This is also known as the pass-the-buck defense. Ü)

THURSDAY MORNING: I left the house at 8:20am but was confident that I could be at work by 9am sharp. After all, I was going to use a route that by that time would not be an exhaust-choked parking lot for fuming drivers. Or was I?

I sped along merrily and was in the general area of my office building by 9:55am. All I had to do was make one u-turn at the intersection of Ortigas and Roosevelt and I would be home-free. And that would take what, three minutes tops?

Some genius (note the sarcasm) thought it would be great to lay cement on Santolan Road and block off an entire lane during rush hour on a weekday. This caused the traffic to back up all the way to my little u-turn, and it took me a friggin’ 20 minutes to get from one side of the road to the other. I was stranded right in front of my office roaring in frustration because I could have turned the engine off and made a mad dash across Ortigas to punch in.

THIS MORNING: Only a few of you may be aware of this, but I’m required to report for work on Saturday mornings. This morning I took my damn sweet time getting ready because my mom had checked us in to Crowne Plaza, a mere 10 minutes’ drive to the office. Of course, I forgot to factor in unexpected delays, like the slowdown in traffic on EDSA because part of the road was closed off for cementing. I timed in a mere 2 minutes after the grace period for lateness expired, which is more irritating than being a clear 15 minutes late.

I should learn my lesson (and it’s a painful one because I’m gonna get fined for being late). More road-blocking road-building projects from incumbent officials looking for reelection are inevitable. While roads being closed off may be out of my hands, at least I can spare myself some stress by giving myself some lead time getting to work.

Tags: Late, Workplace Woes

Over the past week, a number of Fitness First Philippines branches launched the newest Les Mills group fitness program releases. My favorite program among them is BodyJam (as if my regular readers didn’t already know), and last month I wrote a preview for the latest release, BodyJam 39.

I did say I’d hold back on judging the quality of this newest release until I’d seen it in full. Last Wednesday was the first time I did the complete release, at the Fitness First SM North EDSA branch. It was a pretty jampacked class (pun may be intentional) since the only other branch that had launched it earlier was the Fitness First Plus branch in RCBC, where regular members couldn’t enter. In fact, it was so crowded that I kept stepping on other people’s toes and couldn’t quite get full extension on the armlines. I also attended a launch class at the ABS-CBN branch last night, and while not as tight for space as Wednesday’s launch, the crowd response was just as favorably strong, if not even more so.

Some impressions of each block of choreography and music:

Warmup
• Canned Heat – Jamiroquai: Gets you into the dancing mood with retro-disco moves using choreo quite different from the two previous releases.

Isolations

• Buttons – The Pussycat Dolls: Not only sexy, but it really isolates and warms up those shoulders and hips.

BollyJam

• Mundian To Bach Ke – Panjabi MC / The Power Of Bhangra (vs. Motivo) – Snap!: “We’ve taken Bollywood and put it into BodyJam. The result — BollyJam!” This was a fun first cardio block with very energetic choreo taken from Indian dance. I only wish it were longer!

Reggaeton

• Hips Don’t lie – Bamboo – Shakira feat. Wyclef Jean: Starts off very simply, but with a tricky heel-toe combo toward the end, I like the challenge this track presented.

Latin

• Boom Boom – Chayanne: Middle-of-the-pack choreo, rather forgettable. Previous Jam releases had much stronger, more memorable Latin tracks, but I guess with a program nearing its 10th year (the upcoming BodyJam 40 marks that anniversary), BodyJam is bound to have a dud or two sometime.

Recovery

• Deja vu – Beyonce feat. Jay Z: Recovery? What recovery? You could take this one easy, but with hiphop choreography this good I just had to break out. Ü

Dance4Life

• Mesmerized – Faith Evans / Sexy Back – Justin Timberlake / S.O.S. – Rihanna / London Bridge (Oh Shh) – Fergie / Dance4Life – Tiesto feat. Maxi Jazz / Love Sensation ’06 – Loleatta Holloway: Great cardio block! The choreography is challenging enough if you want to push yourself and your heartrate through the roof, but it’s broken down very well. Best of all, it doesn’t seem like a workout, but rather like a dance party. I still hate the London Bridge portion though, but maybe the hootchie roll will grow on me.

Groove Down

• I’ll Do 4 U – Father M.C.: After smashing yourself doing the Dance4Life block, the groove-down will be a welcome relief. It’s a bit too simple for my tastes, however, because at that point I still feel like dancing and there’s just a lot of stretching in this track.

Overall, it’s a great workout that’ll challenge fitness levels, but that’s why I like doing BodyJam: it gives me an opportunity to dance my heart out while helping me reach my fitness goals. Ü

UPDATE: I’ve recently gotten hits for BodyJam 40, which is three months down the line for us here in the Philippines. However, it’s launching sooner in other countries, so here’s the sizzler/teaser for BodyJam 40.

Tags: BodyJam, Dance Workout, Fitness First Philippines, Les Mills

I forgot to text you, but were you on some dating show on the radio last week? — a friend’s text message

Yes, embarrassingly so. Ü It was the premiere episode of “Dateless and Desperate” on RX 93.1’s All Access from 3 to 6pm on Fridays. I don’t know what possessed me to agree to call in and join it, but in doing so I became the first searcher for the segment, which Rico and Gelli had resurrected. (Useless piece of trivia: one of my old high school batchmates Georgina was also a searcher on the show back when Jude Rocha used to host the afternoon block.) Little did I think that it’d have so much entertainment potential. At least, for me.

I wasn’t looking for a date that Friday, actually, but I thought it’d be interesting to get my voice on the radio. To get people to call in, Gelli asked me to give out my Friendster profile information so people could search for me; within minutes, my Friendster profile began receiving hits from people all over the Philippines, and I was getting friend requests and messages from people I didn’t know (naturally).

And then when the searchees started calling in, oh Lordy! With no face to put to the voices, naturally all we had to judge them was on what they said — and how they said it. I was on an instant messenger service chatting with someone and we just couldn’t help ourselves, being the Mean Girls we are.

On Searchee #1 (sa Fil-Chinese guy from Florida spending three months in Manila):
Noelle: ayoko dito
Louise: fake accent
Louise: poser
Louise: yak
Noelle: call center agent!
Louise: talaga!
Louise: he just woke up!
Noelle: he just woke up pa nga!
Louise: agent nga nga nga!
Noelle: ahahahhahaah night shifT!!!!!11111lolololol

I don’t have a problem with call center agents and the accents they learn because it’s part of a very decent job, but I do have problems when I think people are claiming to be what they’re not. Particularly when you can’t decide whether your accent is Californian or Texan.

On Searchee #2 (a magazine editor working in Ortigas):
Louise: not this one, dude
Noelle: of course not!
Louise: magazine editor?
Louise: that’s a tragedy
Noelle: he’s better at writing than speaking and listening
Noelle: defecultes in layf [difficulties in life]
Louise: shyemay
Noelle: bye bye searchee #2

OK, so I’m picky with accents. Sue me.

On Searchee #3 (works for a corporation in Ortigas):
Louise: oh noes
Louise: waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
Noelle: hehehehehhe
Noelle: oh oh oh
Louise: bor happing [bar hopping]
Noelle: hahahahah
Louise: what’s that?
Noelle: cheeell [chill]
Louise: barok
Noelle: mosti en eeestwud [mostly in Eastwood]
Louise: paano yan, ate?
Louise: kadiri all three
Noelle: he dated a commercial model daw.
Louise: pf syndrome!
Noelle: fatay tayo dito
Noelle: I would prefer to pack in my chest?!
Louise: lutong ng vowels.
Noelle: weT?
Louise: what the?!?
Noelle: sabi nya “wet?” for “what”
Louise: fibe
Noelle: sheeeeet
Louise: cober voi [cover boy]

Hopeless, right? So when Gelli asked me which one I’d pick, I said, “Do I really have to choose? *sob*”

So I picked the one with the accent I think is fake. Maybe he’s NOT a faker or whatever. We’re supposed to talk between the two of us and set a date. I told him I was busy over the weekend. I don’t know if he’s going to call me again, and the truth is I don’t really care. I’m not desperate. Ü

I’ve been reading over my posts from the first half of 2006 to avoid the recency effect when I start writing about how my year was. My 2006 can actually be divided into two distinct halves.

The first half of 2006 was all about introspection: what I’d do after school, then deciding to find a job, and finally figuring out my qualifications.

The latter half of 2006 was all about doing: I discovered a passion for dancing that I’d never thought I had, and found that auditioning and performing was the perfect cure for my stage fright. I also got my first job, and am quickly realizing that I don’t want to be just behind the scenes.

I learned a lot about myself last year, and am truly curious about what God has in store for me, based on the above developments. I hope I can recognize the steps to take so I can find God’s true calling and purpose for me; I know that when I start pursuing that, I’ll also find happiness.

SELECTED NEW YEAR’S POSTS FROM MY LINK LIST: Chinchin makes personal fashion resolutions for 2007, Jong and Ganns redesign, Ade makes some retarded resolutions, and Brownpau and Gelli leave us on the edge of our seats for their promised future posts. Ü

What did I do over New Year’s weekend? Ü

Tags: New Year, 2006 Personal Retrospective

I’ve already written about how I bought a bag from a friend’s Multiply site, but I rarely mention my other bag purchases here. It’s strange because I love bags; I’ve loved them ever since third year high school when we all started trying to bring smaller and smaller bags to school, choosing to bring armfuls of books instead of lugging about a chunky backpack. I think that trend peaked when my classmate Carisse brought a backpack the size of a wallet. Ü

These days my bags aren’t ridiculously small. However, I still hate enormous bags that make people look like it’s the bag wearing the girl and not the other way around. That’s why I love bags that are roomier than they look on the outside.

When I switched to Fitness First gyms earlier this year, it was around the time I realized I had to replace my ratty gym bag. So, for my birthday I bought myself a Kremlin Body Bag (pictured here) from the Banana Peel outlet in Greenhills Theatre Mall. I thought at first that I had made a mistake and gotten one that was too small, but over time I learned to pack my gym things more efficiently. This bag can hold a change of clothes and shoes, a bath towel, a pair of flip-flops, shampoo/conditioner and facial soap, cologne, a wallet, and a cellphone, with room to spare for other miscellaneous items. I can even slip my water bottle into one of the belt loops outside the bag. This little trooper has seen me through countless daily workouts and intense practice sessions, and it’s only given out on me once — when I really overstuffed the bag and caused the lining to tear slightly near the zipper. Ü It was a steal, too, at a little over P500.

I also found this cute Avenue Hobo Bag at Banana Peel, going at a 30% discount. I was carrying a very roomy bag one workday when on the spur of the moment my friends invited me to go out later that night. I needed a smaller bag to minimize the hassle of bag searches at malls and establishments. Although it looks small, this bag can hold two cellphones, a bottle of eau de toilette, comb, lipgloss and eyeliner, a big wallet, keys, and a large hair clip (!!!). I love it!

I definitely can’t survive without a bag because I don’t have pockets and usually drop stuff I carry in my hand. With these bags, I can just drop my things into them and go. Ü

Tags: Bags, Shopping

I got drunk on Christmas morning.

No, this wasn’t a liquid breakfast. After noche buena we popped open a bottle of Freixenet spumante for everyone. That’s sparkling white wine with a 12% alcohol content.

I rarely drink; in fact, the last time I had more than one glass of an alcoholic beverage was back in June at Coco Beach, when I attempted to take on a margarita and a rhum citrus cooler in one sitting. I stop when I my perception of the world changes, which is usually 2/3 of the way through my first drink. I also can’t hold my liquor: instead of starting to act loose and unhibited, after one drink I start to feel lightheaded and sleepy. And since I drive myself whenever I go out with friends, I can’t take the chance of being impaired at the wheel.

Well, we celebrated Christmas at home, and among family I felt safe to conduct a little experiment. I wanted to see how I might act should I get drunk. So, after announcing to my sister and cousins what I was planning to do, I polished off a glass of spumante in 15 minutes then poured myself another one. And another.

I noticed that I had the tendency to run my mouth, although since at the time I was analyzing my own reaction to the alcohol I kept talking about myself. Meanwhile, I started to feel like my head was balanced on a stick and likely to get knocked off at any time.

I excused myself to go to the bathroom, and after I’d relieved myself went to go sit near my sister on one of our throw rugs in the family room. I was already feeling drowsy at the time, so I decided to sleep some of the alcohol off.

By the time I woke up, our relatives had just left and I felt like I’d missed out on the rest of the party.

So, that’s it; that’s the last time I drink that much. I may not be a happy drunk or an amorous drunk or a nasty drunk, but being a sleepy drunk is just as bad. Ü

Tags: Alcohol Consumption, Drunk, Experiment

‘Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Well, not this house, that’s for sure. Ü Christmas Eve celebrations in this extended family are drawn-out affairs, with the requisite chatter, laughter, and food consumption that goes with trying to keep awake until 12am when tradition dictates a noche buena feast be had. Nobody here waits until morning to distribute and open presents, either. Last year and this year I played party host and in-house Magus, handing gifts around to their recipients.

Occasions like Christmas, New Year, and when the grandparents are in town are the only times we all really come together under one roof, and last night I realized that we all haven’t been seeing each other as often as we should. The proof lies in my receiving clothes I can’t wear because they’re too big. It hadn’t registered with them how much weight I’d really lost over the past six months. (I could joke that I’ve lose a whole toddler’s worth of weight, but it doesn’t sound wholesome. Ü)

We used to have bigger parties, but as nuclear family units moved to distant provinces and the grande padre y madre de familia moved to Bacolod to take care of my bereaved uncle’s children, the celebrations haven’t been the same. They’ve become less about making merry and more about getting re-connected with the rest of the family. Every Christmas I am reminded that family is a gift. Every year, the people are the same, but one year older. My aunts and uncles have wrinkles! My younger cousins are growing up! I’m of a marriageable age!

I’ve got so much to be thankful for; this whole year, with its highs and lows, has been a gift in itself. I learned so much about myself in such a short span of time, and that’s never a bad thing. Ü The New Year is only seven days away, and since I won’t be around that weekend, I’m going to sit here right now and write, off the top of my head, what I have to be thankful for this year.

• Losing weight. Woohoo! I cannot believe it actually happened, but I am so grateful that it did. I still have ten to 15 pounds to go and a slight tendency to yo-yo, but it’s such a weight off my shoulders (pun may not be unintended) and a boost to my self-confidence to be in shape after trying so hard for such a long time.
• Graduating. After 19 years, I finally got out of jail school. I’m still not sure what these degrees are for, but I’m sure God will put them to good use in his own time. Hopefully, next year.
• Landing my first job. Although I miss having free time, I suppose I should be thankful that I’m now a woman with sort of independent means and that I’m not just mooching off my parents. I think that having this experience has helped me get honest with myself about what I really want in life, and it’s made me think deeply about what I am willing to do in order to get it. Passion is key in succeeding in and enjoying anything we do, and if we don’t have that, what’s the point? It’s like prisoners moving rocks from one end of the yard to the other, and then back again.

I hope and pray for God’s blessing for all of us in the last days of this year and in the coming year. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to us all!

Tags: Christmas, New Year, Greetings

Ganns is one of my favorite bloggers. Writing about topics from music to movies to simple family joys, each post of his shows an infectious joy in Christ that’s hard to resist.

Every year Ganns posts The Superblessed Christian Blog Award Winners, a list of the Christian blogs that have blessed him. This year, I was surprised to open my Bloglines subscription page and read my name and blog link in one of Ganns’s posts.

Most Enjoyable Female Filipino-Christian Blog.
In My Pocket. Noelle has been a favorite of mine for years, and this particular year, I’ve seen her grow so much in her faith and her life that I naturally can’t help but be encouraged. I know God will use her even more as He molds her, and In My Pocket will detail that growth to encourage and satisfy other Christian believers. Good job living that life, Noelle.

I’m flattered and humbled to know that my posts, fluff or not, are read and enjoyed by someone I respect not just as a blogger, but also as a person. Thanks, Ganns. Ü

Just a while ago I was in Promenade in Greenhills during my lunch break. I seem to have missed some sort of teenager bulletin (no surprises because I haven’t been a teenager in four years) that required all the kids to converge in that one small edifice. The holiday break seems to have started already, since these kids weren’t in their school uniforms. They were, however, still in some kind of uniform as they all seemed to be wearing retro-80’s clothing. Tights under skirts, short tops over long shirts, flats and Converses, stripes, polka dots, Day-Glo colors — I couldn’t help feeling a little un-trendy in my denim capris, spaghetti top, and sandals.

I can’t blame the young’uns for taking advantage of any opportunity to wear street clothing instead of their usual staid uniforms. (I used to do the same thing even though it meant looking like a fashion victim most of the time.) It’s just a happy coincidence that these kids are all in their 80’s-inspired wear on the same day that Magic 89.9 is throwing an 80’s-themed concert at Eastwood City, with Gary Valenciano as the marquee performer. Part of the event’s gimmick is a costume contest that challenges people to come in their best 80’s clothes to win some swag; if those kids are planning to take their duds out to party tonight, Eastwood City would be the place. The funny thing is, none of them were alive yet when the clothes and music making a comeback were in vogue.

I grew up in the 1980’s but I don’t really remember much of the music distinctly, aside from songs by Gary V, Michael Jackson, and Jem and the Holograms (hahaha). My parents were more of the classical-music people. I only heard Madonna, Debbie Gibson, the Miami Sound Machine, and others while watching Classic MTV and films from the decade, although now that I’m hearing them played on the radio they do seem very familiar; I think I’m familiar with them through osmosis. At least now I’m getting to experience some of what I missed back in the day.

But yikes! I am old if a fashion and music era I lived through is coming back around.

Tags: 80’s, Gary Valenciano, Friday Madness

Up until last Saturday, I looked like this:

Today, though, I look like this:

Why the change, you may ask? (And it’s a pretty drastic one to transform from Andy Sachs of The Devil Wears Prada into Betty la Fea.)

I got green colored contact lenses for my birthday last July and had no problems with them until October, when the left lens suddenly developed a deformity on its curved surface, irritating my eye. I got a replacement for it, but the same thing happened three weeks later. I got a different kind of colored lens (same brand though) four weeks ago, but the problem reoccurred. Frustrated, I decided to give contact lenses a rest. I also needed a new pair of eyeglasses, so I went out and got these. Supposedly, dark-colored thick plastic eyeglass frames are the in thing this year, but God help you if you are ugly girl you are prone to making silly faces or have a naturally goofy grin.

I’m giving up on the colored contact lenses, but I’ll have new clear disposable contact lenses by next week. Meanwhile, my officemates, family, and friends may enjoy having Noelle La Fea around. I don’t mind getting laughs out of this look. Ü I can always show them that I can look like this (read more about this picture at the Man Blog):

Tags: Contact Lenses, Eyeglasses, New Look