memorial day.

One of the first things I check when I open up my laptop is Digg, particularly the top 10 items on the homepage. The picture isn't there anymore, but one of the top articles was a moving, bittersweet image of a young brother hugging his older brother as the older brother went off to fight in the war in Iraq, and another picture of the same younger brother kissing his brother's coffin when he came home. The sacrifice our soldiers have for our rights and our country blows my mind - I hope that on this Memorial Day, everyone has spent some time to reflect and remember our fallen soldiers.

happy mother's day.

Normally it's pretty tough for me to celebrate Mother's Day. Since my mom and I are separated by the Pacific Ocean, normally it's celebrated by sending off a sappy card (and it must be sappy, because they're her favorite), mailing her a gift, and of course, a phone call 13 hours before actual Mother's Day. Y'know, since Japan is 13/14 hours ahead.

Mother's Day doesn't seem as significant to me when I miss my mom all the time. I miss everything about her: her laugh, her adorable demeanor, the way she talks, her cooking, her smile, her advice, the list never ends. She was always the first to take in all my friends, and send them all home with leftover food in Tupperwares. (Well, Rubbermaid containers - those Tupperwares were 'spensive!) She was the one who knew when something was wrong. She was overprotective in a lot of arenas, but she was always supportive.

This post is dedicated to my wonderful mom, who I continue to learn more about and love every day. The little subtleties that make her unique are so dear to me. We share the same DNA - from our obsessive cleaning to our flat Filipina noses. But we're also different. For example, Mom will probably never see this post - she's not handy with the computer at all, and it's almost like pulling your hair out to get her to jump on Skype.

If you're familiar with HappySlip's videos, you'll see my mom in them. No, not literally. There are a few videos where Christine Gambito plays characters that represent different stereotypical Filipino family members, and the "Mom" fits my mother to a T.

So, for those of you who've never seen my mom, here you go.

Happy Mother's Day!

a different job.

I was browsing one of my favorite websites this morning and thought to myself - man, there are so many other things that I'm good at, maybe I should quit my job!

Okay, not really. Besides, a lot of these things that "I'm good at" wouldn't pay me a dime, but it's still fun to think I could make a full-time job out of some of these hobbies.

So, if they handed out college degrees for the following occupations, I'd probably be one happy, lazy, fat college graduate right now.

10 Other Jobs I Wouldn't Mind Having Right Now

1) Professional Web Surfer
Some people only hit up Facebook, MySpace, and Amazon.com. I hit up 10,000 other websites. You should see my bookmarks. It's embarrassing.

2) Professional Eater

I blame all the yummy food in this world.

3) Professional Smack Talker

No explanation necessary.

4) Professional Chapstick Hoarder

Or, if you want to be all PC about it, "Lip Balm Hoarder." I don't discriminate against any type of lip balm.

5) Professional Time Waster
I'd particularly like to employ watching movies, surfing the web and goofing off with Kyle as my favorite professional practices for this career choice.

6) Professional Receipt Collector
I'm really bad about doing this. I really should just be saving the earth and global warming and all that other hippie tree hugger stuff, but I find it more useful to save my redundant receipts from the Sam's gas pump.

7) Professional Over Reactor

No, not a nuclear reactor. They already have jobs. Far more important than a professional over reactor anyway.

8) Professional Target Clearance Aisle Shopper
Oh, don't even lie. You can't pretend you haven't been lured by those red price stickers.

9) Professional Trash Taker-Outer

Every Wednesday, like clockwork, I remove all the trash bags from every corner of the house to put them in the garage. (Kyle is the one who actually drags the giant trash bins to the curb) It's one of the few normal people things that I do, actually.

10) Professional E-Mail Addict

At least 20 times a day (discounting weekends) I check my e-mail. Okay, I'm sure there would be a lot of other people qualified for this job, too. Well, come to think of it, I'm not sure it's a job. I'm pretty sure it's more of a mental disorder and I probably need to seek professional help.

*EDIT*


A friend of mine pointed out that #9 is actually a real job: a janitor. Thanks, Garrett. You apparently need to be pre-screening my posts from now on. ;)

a little blurb from work.

I can't lie about it, I enjoy it when my boss and producer are on the road and out of town. The office is peaceful, quiet, and the lack of drama puts me at ease, especially on this particular Wednesday.

Not a ton of changes have gone on in the past few weeks, but some are noteworthy:

1) I can now park my car in the garage. Hooray.
2) Ultimate Frisbee has started up again. We're two weeks in, and it's awesome. Good friends & fun times.
3) I got my hair cut. I now look like Sabra Johnson's distant cousin.
4) Kyle has just left for Boston. It's my first time home alone in our big house.
5) I've started watching Social Brew on Revision3. I'm obviously attracted to show's content, but the graphics and music mesmerize me. I also like Irene from the Real World.
6) I'm really really really looking forward to seeing OneRepublic at Riverfest.
7) I want to go on a vacation. Really, I do. Somewhere that's fun and tropical and in the US. With no crazy kids running around. Wish me luck on that one.

There's the monthly update. Embarrassing, huh? I just now realized I've had this blog for over a year and have posted on average, once every millenia. Sad.