So I decided to have a day-off today. I may or may not work tonight but right now, I think I’d update the blog.

Today’s news is the 6.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Negros at 11:49 a.m. earlier today.

Jette, Ivy and I had just finished breakfast (we had spaghetti). I was at the sink, rinsing dishes so I can wash them. I felt the earth move and though a truck was passing outside. But then I heard a noise like one of the airplanes landing at the near-by Sibulan Airport and the truck-passing-by rumbling of the earth intensified to a gentle side to side movement THEN to an intense rolling movement like the earth was trying to split itself open. Ivy watched the TV shake and Jette and I had grabbed the bathroom’s doorframe and waited for the earth to still.

It didn’t… for long, long, long seconds. The earth still shook and gave out that terrifying angry rumble which grew louder and louder. The cups were rattling, my dishes were rattling, the trees outside were waving like crazy and I could see PJay moving too. The sink and the doorjamb shook beneath my hands.

I really believed that somewhere nearby, buildings will collapse and a tsunami will ensue. It was that strong.

Anyhow, the earth gradually stopped shaking until, I guess, it was just me. We scattered to text family and friends to check how they were.

A tsunami alert had been raised, and apparently, a wall collapsed and a child died. News here. So far, we haven’t felt any more aftershocks after the first long, strong one.

I feel equal parts terrified, fascinated and humbled. Terrified because I have lived through the 1990 earthquake (I was ten. Do the math.) and remembered being horrified at how Baguio had looked like. Fascinated because I could imagine tectonic plates moving beneath my feet to form and reform. And humbled because mankind may be at the top of the food chain, but at the end of the day, we still owe our excistence to something far greater than we are.

God bless us all.

I remember playing an 8-bit version of the game on the PC when I was young, and I always ended up winning because of the “Bible” category. The computer game was saved on a diskette (the big, thin ones) and had five questions for all five categories so you’re really playing the whole game. I loved it and Wheel of Fortune and Family Feud.

Anyhow, I saw Ivy was playing it so I decided to start, for old times sake. I sucked haha but I noticed that I’m good at US history and geography. And then there was “Ranks and Titles” that I saved the best for last on my first game, thinking that I kinda know stuff about lords and ladies and dukes and duchesses. Wasn’t expecting this to come up but it had me laughing out really loudly.

Nanalo tuloy ako haha US Air Force FTW!

Anyway, audiobook is loaded, and eyes are droopy. Off to bed. Good night!

Anyway, earlier today I received my order (yay!) which included the following:

• Natural Moisturizing Shampoo with CREAMFoam® Technology
• Natural Moisturizing Conditioner
• Intensive Hair Mask – Gugo Bark & Avocado (Jasmine Scent)
• 100% Natural Tinted Lip Balm (Flame Tree)
• Body Butter – Goat’s Milk & Cocoa (Mango Scent)

I’m going to be a first time user of the most everything except for the Mango-scented body butter which I can guarantee is made of pure awesome. Aside from the fact that I love the mango scent, it also REALLY moisturizes the skin. I use it after baths and/or before I sleep. And I wake up to really soft, smooth skin. I really felt the difference the first time I used it. I thought something was wrong with my hand when I touched my arm. Plus it somewhat cured my mild KP (Keratosis Pilaris). And THAT should be a different review but hey! I really love the product. And the banana-scented Hand & Foot Salve

Okay, back to my hair experience. I was so excited to try out the new shampoo and conditioner, I immediately jumped into the shower.

The Shampoo
The original shampoo (which I reviewed here) had a jelly-ish feel. You know, when you pour it onto your hand it won’t run down the sides and would actually wiggle. The Natural Moisturizing Shampoo feels like your usual commercial shampoo.

I poured a small amount on my palm then latered my hair. And that was when I understood the “CREAMFoam” bit because it did feel creamy. You know when you put on shampoo and lather your hair, and the bubbles are everywhere until you get a white sudsy Afro? This doesn’t have that kind of foam. It’s like a milk foam in a cup of coffee rather than a Tide foam in your laundry. I like it. It feels like your shampoo is concentrated on your hair rather than foaming up for show.

And when I rinsed it, I was met with the familiar sqeaky clean feel on my hair. Yes, it actually squeaked when I ran my hands down in *sigh of contentment… for both me and my hair* It immediately felt lighter. And that may be in my head, knowing that I just washed down a couple of months-worth of chemicals from my locks. It also has the mandarin scent of the original shampoo which I appreciate.

The Conditioner
I’m definitely more excited about using the conditioner because… well, of this. I love the after-the-olive-oil treatment but I can’t exactly do that everyday, can I? My hair needs conditioning!

So after rinsing my hair, I immediately poured just the right enough amount of the Natural Moisturizing Conditioner on the palm of my hand. It’s richer than the shampoo, and has the consistency of lotion. So I rubbed it between my hands and lathered my hair. I ran it over my head and between the strands. And I kid you not, my fingers just went through the tangles right on the first pass. I thought it was because it had the product in it, so I shrugged and bundled my hair at the top of my head while I went through the rest of the motions of taking a bath. But when I rinsed it, my hair still felt soft and silky. I stayed under the water longer than I normally do because I thought I wasn’t rinsing the conditioner.

The next challenge is for how it would feel when my hair dries. I didn’t comb my hair after the bath and allowed it to air dry. I have curly hair so tangles are a normal part of life. I did break a comb once when I was trying to tame my hair, so yes, that really happens in real life. Anyway, I lost track of how long I sat, waiting for it to dry until I ran my fingers through my already semi-dry hair and encountered not one tangle.

I think I’m in love again.

So do I recommend this combo? Heck, yes. But of course you have to keep in mind that your hair might not react to it the same way as my hair did.

I can’t wait to try out the hair mask too. I’m thinking tomorrow. But since I already know that it works, having used the original scented one before, I just want to see how the jasmine scent works out.

So again, thank you Human Heart Nature for making these exceptional products.

Photo is from Human Heart Nature Facebook page.

I’ve been crying since 6 p.m., watching coming home videos, military honors and even performances of the national anthem. I swear, I cry at everything! But then again, I’m putting myself into a role in a book so allow me my eccentricities. Thank you.

When Jette came over for the weekend, she cooked up a storm and presented a gourmet feast of cream dory in red wine sauce, buttered baby potatoes and a pasta dish (penne with shrimps). Sabi nga ni Coco Martin: “yami!” (*hindi masarap na eskabeche at minatikilyahang pasta… ano kaya ‘yon?* – J)

We did have left over pasta so I poked my head into the pantry to see if we still had spaghetti sauce or something because I didn’t want all that leftover penne to go to waste. What was in there was a can of corned beef, a couple of cans of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup, a can of Nestle Cream and several cans of Carnation Evap. I did a quick search on the Internet for a carbonara recipe, and while I don’t have a can of mushrooms or bacon, I figured what the heck. Tira-tira lang naman eh.

Bumenta siya kay Des who already ate two servings of rice and pork steak bago pa niya nalamang nagluluto ako ng pasta sauce. I figured I can’t mess it up anyway kasi, individually, masarap lahat ng hinalo ko sa kanya.

I wish I had bacon bits though pero here’s what I mixed up for the sauce.

1 big can of Nestle All-Purpose Cream
1 can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroon Soup
1 small can of Carnation Evap
1 small can of Swift Corned Beef
1/2 clove of garlic
olive oil
salt

I just cooked the corned beef the way I always cook corned beef. Sautee the garlic in olive oil then add the corned beef in. ‘Yon lang. Then I put everything else in, milk, soup and cream. I added all the cream since we didn’t have anything else to put it on. Masisira lang siya kasi makakalimutan naming nasa ref pala siya. Anyway, stir, stir, stir, stir, check if it’s simmering, stir, stir, stir. Taste. Add a little salt and pepper for flavor. Then I dumped the pasta in.

And no, the way I wrote the above paragraph is not for lack of words to describe what I did but the lack of cooking knowledge. I don’t cook so how I wrote it is exactly how I cooked it :p

It’s not gourmet but it tastes like carbonara, and I didn’t poison my brother so yay for me!

In other news:

* Sira na talaga ‘yong DVD drive ni Ced. I’m hoping my baby lives until I can save up enough money to get myself a new laptop. Hay. Saka na ang bagong iPod Touch.

* My new schedule includes cleaning my bathroom. Parang SIMS Social na ang buhay ko.

* I also have to get a new pair of contact lenses and maybe a new pair of glasses. Mahabang proseso. Have to go to my eye doctor sa STI Mega Clinic, then to my other doctor sa J. Vinas sa Shangri-La mall for the actual contacts and glasses. I’m thinking sa Quiapo na lang ako bibili ng contacts para mas mura.

* I’m this close to getting my BPI Mastercard account current. Yay! Never will I skip payments again. It’s so not funny.

Ang mga accounts na iyon ay reader-made, and although may pahintulot silang maglaro, hindi sila talaga konektado sa akin at sa series dahil hindi po ako ang sumusulat ng script nila at hindi po ako ang nagpapatakbo ng mga accounts nila. Meaning ang nangyayari sa mundo ng role-playing ay hindi nangyayari sa mundo ko and vice versa. Ang mga kuwento po nila sa role-play ay hindi ko kuwento, at ang kuwento sa libro ko ay hindi po kuwento sa role-play. Hinahayaan ko po silang sumulat ng sarili nilang kuwento. Which is okay lang naman po sa ‘kin. Masaya naman ang mga kuwento nila at creative na mga bata po sila. Sabihin na po nating alternate reality sila ng Sentinels kaya po ang partners nila sa accounts ang hindi mga asawa nila sa libro.

Ang may account (pa) lang po na hindi OOC (out-of-character) at kasunod ng timeline (or as close as possible) sa actual series ko ay ang mga accounts na ito:

John Mackenzie Herrera
Bryce Fuentes
Cameron Joseph Herrera
Mallory Fuentes

Sa mga nag-re-request po ng actual accounts nila Russ, Edward, Francis, Jake, Gage at Baste, pag-iisipan ko pa po. Depende lang naman po ‘yan sa feelings ko in the future

After po ng post na ito, hindi na po ako susuporta o tatanggap ng role-players for any other Sentinel or any other character. And unless nasa friends list or naka-post dito, wala po akong alam sa mga kaganapan sa mga accounts na iyon (kung meron man).

Ulit, wala pong intensiyong magtaray o mang-away, at sana hindi po ako tunong nagtataray o nang-aaway (although kung ‘yon ang intensyon ko, malalaman naman ninyo dahil sasabihin ko, simula pa lang eh hehe). Paglilinaw lang. At respeto na lang po ulit sa may-akda.

Salamat

One of the tweets said that Steve Jobs has passed away.

I’m a solid Windows user since the start. I have experienced Windows 95, 2000, ME, XP, Vista and 7. And while I have been fascinated by how Macs look like, I have never had the inclination to switch to Macs until I bought, and fell in love with, my iPod Touch. Only recently did I seriously think of giving up my Windows 7 laptop for a Macbook. Actually, that was when they first announced OS X Lion and iOS 5. I was like, hmmm, maybe I should try it.

There are only two things that’s keeping me from getting a Macbook. 1) Money, which is also one thing that’s keeping me from upgrading my laptop haha, and 2) I’m so used to Windows that learning Mac seems like a daunting task. I remember blinking into my screen when a customer tells me that he or she had a Mac and needed me to troubleshoot their Internet connection. But I have to admit that I love how Macs look like, both hardware and software.

Now that I have told you that I am not a huge Mac fangirl, I cannot, for the life of me, explain why Steve Jobs’ passing has affected me the way it has. I scrolled down my Twitter feed, clicking links to news articles, looking for confirmation, hoping that it was just a cruel joke, but no. Steve Jobs had really passed on. And I cried.

And it’s ironic, or perhaps not, as President Obama had said, that I, and “much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented”.

I have never personally met Mr. Jobs, and to be honest, I only knew of him for the exact time that I’ve had my iPod. People will say that I shouldn’t be this devastated by the loss of someone I don’t know. But every time I touch my iPod, I feel a deep sorrow. I believe I shouldn’t have to have a reason for that except that he was an extraordinary person whose death deserves to be mourned and whose life deserves to be celebrated.

Thank you for shining your light and setting the world on fire. Thank you for allowing us to experience the future. You have put a ding in the universe, sir. Go and put a ding on Heaven.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

RIP Steve Jobs