Monday, July 25, 2005 {home: daly city, ca} where did we leave off? I picked up the latest harry potter book two fridays ago (july 16 midnight). As I'm reading (and I'm only on chapter 3 or 4) I realize that I dont remember anything that happened in book 5! I've reread 1, 2, and 3 (watching the movies helped), but I vaguely remember book 4 and i'm blank on 5. do you remember what happened in book 5? * 11:04 PM * bernadette * *

Tuesday, July 19, 2005 {home: daly city, ca} our town people [filipinos in daly city] have always joked that daly city was "filipino" town because of the large population, and that the reason why it was so foggy is that all the filipinos in daly city had their rice cookers on. ;P but i've always wondered who john daly was, and why was a boulevard (and city, for that matter) named after him... so i used the trusty web, to find out the history. things i found out: - daly city used to be spanish land grants - many of the first settlers in the area were Irish - John Daly bought 250 acres near "top of the hill" to open a dairy farm - Daly opened the dairy farm to the 1906 earthquake victims who needed places to stay - the area developed as more people settled, and it was annexed as a city in san mateo county in 1911. - eventually developments (like westlake, broadmoor village, hillside, serramonte, etc.) popped up, and people like you and me now live here. neat-o. can we say "MOOOO"? * 11:19 PM * bernadette * *

Sunday, July 17, 2005 {home: daly city, ca} blog is older happy birthday to my blog. it is four years old! so many memories we've shared, lives we've touched, people we've met. ;) what a cool thing... blogging on to year 5! =) * 11:48 PM * bernadette * *

Thursday, July 14, 2005 {home: daly city, ca} the wedding post (well, sort of) i'm sure many of you have been wondering why i havent really posted about my wedding planning ("woes"). dont get me wrong, i'm REALLY REALLY REALLY EXCITED about the whole wedding planning and wedding. however, i've noticed that the trend in my posts has been all about my job. how i dont like my job. how i like my job. how i got "let go" from my job. how im looking for a job. there are a few reasons why i havent posted about wedding stuff and more about my career: 1. i need $$. if i dont have $$, i cant have a wedding, hence, the posting of job woes. 2. im waiting for us to develop our wedding website so i can blog all about the wedding stuff there. people can click and choose to read about that stuff. or not. 3. i want to keep my regular blog dedicated to everyday things, people would probably get sick of me just posting about wedding stuff. (ffb, if you will ;)) 4. not everyone needs to hear me mull over the different seamstresses/bridal salons/flowers/wrapping paper i/nico/we are looking at. that's what my bridesmaids are for. haha! yeah, sure, there will be periphery stuff that i talk about (like this upcoming post about the food tasting i went to last night), but i'll try to keep wedding talk to a minimum. now, on to the food... "it tastes like chcocolate with dinuguan" bev and i went to palm event center last night to taste the food from the caterer. nico was supposed to go, but he had a class [he missed the first class last week cuz he was in cabo]. when we arrived there (pleasanton), it was way hot. like HOT. it must have been 90 degrees! [i'm a daly city girl, i need air conditioning in the form of fog.] but as we stepped into the venue, the AC kicked in and we were all good. there were round tables set up with different center pieces (flower vendors that do the palm). i noticed that they set up dramatic uplights with different colors, to add drama to the place [i thought of this as a cool decor item, but after hearing how much it would be ($500), it was quickly dismissed. that, and bev said the place looked better with just the tealights they had already set up]. a bunch of buffet vignettes were set up throughout the event center. there was LOTS of food. i think they must have served everything on their menu. actually, no. they served EVERYTHING on their menu. bev and i didnt know where to start! finally after taking a seat at one of the tables, we decided to start with the salads, then the salmons, the meats, then the starches, then whatever else was left that we didnt try. we took okay notes, and even took pictures of the food items. i think after a while, things started to taste the same to me. however, we were digging on a lot of the appetizers and starches. heck, if i had it my way, my wedding meal would consist of 2 salads, 4 appetizers, and 3 pastas. but we have boys attending, so i think we should pick a meat, huh? some of the meat/fish entrees were okay, some dry - nothing too spectacular to mention (except maybe the one that tasted like chcocolate with dinuguan, which i think was the pork with mole sauce. we didnt like it =P) we did however, think that this thing called "rotisserie chicken airline breast with lemon pepper oregano crust" tasted better than it sounded, despite the "airline" [connotation to airplane food] in it. and some of the salmons were good, like the "grilled filet of salmon with roasted tomato caper sauce". but the prime rib was just okay, as was the tri tip. (sorry, when it comes to food, im not as descriptive as nico =P). it will be difficult to pick out a menu, especially since when i reported the findings to nico, he wanted MORE detail about the flavors, how moist everything was, whether each of the salmon were flakey, etc, etc. eek, i dont really remember, there was a lot! and we got full fast! i will just have to bring him to the next big event tasting in sept. =P * 1:17 PM * bernadette * *

Wednesday, July 13, 2005 {home: daly city, ca} exercise okay, let me just join the bandwagon too. after reading bev's blog about exercise, i feel compelled to force myself to get into some kind of routine. sure, we swim here and there, i play hockey once a week [except that i havent been for the last 2 weeks because the games have been late], but nothing's consistent. since i have the days free now, i am about to go to 24 fitness at least every other day during the week. yes, it's that place we pay membership to, but never go. but i will break that bad habit, darnit! you'd be proud, cuz last friday i went to sawyer camp trail with dawn and we ran 4 miles! the next day, my legs hurt, but it felt great! now the hurt wore off, i think i need to go get "hurt" again. haha! here's to a routine that i must stick to! (the goal is to lose some poundage before trying on the dress that i will be ordering for the wedding). * 10:11 AM * bernadette * *

Monday, July 11, 2005 {home: daly city, ca} the check is in the mail despite my job situation, i decided it was in my best interest to pay the last of my car. what's the point of saving if i'm still carrying debt? it'll feel good next month to not drop the $$ for the car. the few things i need to budget for this fall is 1) car insurance in oct and 2) two of my tires still need replacing before it starts raining again. you know you're an adult when you can get excited about replacing car tires and paying off car insurance. in the meantime, i got my first unemployment "continued claim" today. ah, the wonders of technology - i just filed last thursday, and i just received something to get "free" money. (not so "free", im sure i paid into this when i paid for taxes. =P) now if only someone could offer me a job that quickly, i can get on track with the wedding saving! ;) * 5:04 PM * bernadette * *

Sunday, July 10, 2005 {home: daly city, ca} urge to purge you'd be so proud. i went through my closet again and unloaded about 3 shopping bags full of clothes i havent used in the last 6 months. i also let go of two bags full of shoes. what's funny is that my closet is not that big to begin with, so i dont understand how i've accumulated a lot of stuff. im pretty proud of myself, esp since i havent been shopping lately. yay, me! getting rid of stuff you dont use should be routine. it always feels like an overwhelming chore when you have to do it once every year. i'm going to try to make an effort to purge more often. is it healthy to say im clothing bulemic? =P * 1:42 PM * bernadette * *

Friday, July 08, 2005 {home: daly city, ca} short commute now that im "working" from home, i noticed how my writing desk has accummulated lots of paperwork/magazines/random miscellaneous items. it's amazing because the last time i used this space, i was (haha) unemployed. i took a bit of time this morning to set up my workspace. i know i have to sort through the all items that i put to the side and throw stuff out at some point, but i had more email messages to write, more jobs to apply for. i know i sound really driven right now, but what scares me is that after a week or two of not hearing anything, i may feel my morale might go down. =P one thing's for sure, it's a nice break from having to deal with high-maintenance customers. =P * 10:18 AM * bernadette * *

Thursday, July 07, 2005 {home: daly city, ca} unemployment: day one (deja vu) i think the big difference between the last time i was unemployed and this time is that i am not alone. three other people are in the same predicament. what's cool is, i can take advantage of my rapport with these people and tap into their network. i dont feel like i'm at square one, because i already know what i am capable of, and what i want to do. at least, for now. i spent most of the morning making phone calls, emailing and returning phone calls from people at work (who still think i am there and care about data connectivity in one trailer that we just reconfigured). i feel a bit disorganized because my workspace at home is a bit cluttered. i know it'll take me a day or two to sort through stuff, but for right now, i need to make connections and apply to other openings quickstyle. i think this unemployment is good. look, im even starting to blog more! =) i miss that. * 1:06 PM * bernadette * *

Wednesday, July 06, 2005 {home: daly city, ca} i am prepared... this time i had just come back from a late lunch and was sleepily tapping away on my computer, finishing up an email, when the dept manager, let's call him MB [not to be mixed up with that direct supervisor that i blogged about two blogs ago, the one who doesnt know what he's doing - MB is above that guy]. "so, how's it going?" MB asked. "fine, thanks!" i said feigning cheerfulnees. i sat there and wondered, okay, something must be up, because he never comes to see me. i thought about what potential problems i have had on any of my jobs, esp this recent one. he sat on the chair near my desk. "well, your PO expired on June 30th. we did not renew it. dont worry, we will pay you up til today. but today will be your last day." i looked at him, nodded and smiled. "Oh! Okay!" he got up, made an uncomfortable pause, as if to say something more, but didnt. then walked out of the room. i continued to finish my email. and just like that, i was unemployed. my heart was beating. i was a bit in shock. but i was somehow elated that i didnt have to deal with that bullshit i was about to email. (some customer was complaining about how some of their computer stuff got stolen during a move, and i had to email security about my investigation. i dont think it got stolen. she just had way too much shit in her office to even know what she had that she thought she had an extra computer in her pile of crap. but i digress.) at first, i thought it was just me, that i was the only one they let go. after MB left, i sent my email, got up and walked over to my old boss' office. she was on the phone, but motioned me to come in. she got off the phone, and she said, "now that was just dogged." she too got the same "we didnt renew your PO, this is your last day" speech. as did two of my other co-workers. we were all on the same bill. well, i saw it coming, the writing was on the wall when we were re-organized. thank goodness i made an effort to plant the seeds, update my resume, and get some potential leads. this time, i am prepared. i learned a lot at this job in the 10 months i was here, it is now time for me to apply this knowledge elsewhere. the one thing im really upset about is that i am so close to paying off my car note, and of course the wedding to save for. this, however, is just a minor setback. yeah, you might say i got a bum deal. but i found so much joy in emailing/calling my customers (im in mid-project, mind you). "Hi, today is my last day. If you have questions about your project, please contact (insert big-head supervisor here)." he of course, knows nothing of the details of the project. how can he when he never talks to me, nor does he have the files? ;) im so mean. okay, enough with the bitter. haha, im moving forward! * 10:18 PM * bernadette * *

Tuesday, July 05, 2005 {home: daly city, ca} twinkle in the sky since the boys were otherwise occupied (jason had work, nico out of town), denise, zhari and i made our way over to foster city last night to watch fireworks at ryan park. denise wanted zhari to see fireworks, but not when it's cloudy/foggy/cold (like in the city/daly city) and all you could see is colored lit fog. we decided to go south a bit and foster city seemed like the perfect place. and it was! there were tons of people with their picnic blankets, little grills (the hot dogs/burgers smelled good!), baon, etc, but nees, zhari and i just went low-key, and just brought ourselves. we figured we'd be able to find a spot and be mobile since it was just us, and we were okay with zhari's teddy grahams and nees' leftover chestnuts to snack on while we waited for the festivites to begin. zhari was a bit cranky in the beginning, but eventually she was okay with people watching, and was entertained by the glowstick that nees bought her. after an hour of sitting and waiting, the fireworks finally began. it's funny to see her expressions. at first, she seemed afraid of the sparkle in the sky, she looked even a little stressed! hehe, but soon, she was enjoying by saying "wow!" and "nice!". she was so cute! she enjoyed the pretty colors in the clear sky. i was hoping to beat the crowded rush to the parking lot after the fireworks, but it wasnt too bad. we got out in about half an hour. i think foster city will be the fourth of july spot for next year! i swim because i ate a famous star so after the fireworks, we were hungry, so we went to carl's jr to pick up some famous stars. burgers, that is. okay, i know it's bad food to eat at 10pm, but dangit, i didnt have bbq or anything for fourth of july! and all those hot dog and burger smells really made us crave! so because i devoured my burger right before midnight last night, i decided to go swimming this evening with gary and bev. yay for 20 laps! now i dont feel that bad. hehe... * 11:21 PM * bernadette * *

Saturday, July 02, 2005 {work: berkeley, ca} hi! im still here. i didnt go to cabo with nico. i'll admit, i am just a bit jealous that he went away. vacations are cool, especially one near the beach where you can relax! his trip to cabo was planned about 8-9 months ago as a bachelor party for one of his friends that got engaged last june. then of course, another one of his friends (same group) got engaged this past january. so that meant, double the bachelor fun! ... and now that nico and i are engaged, it's triple threat bachelors! oh no!! (nico, be good!). ;P i really miss traveling. i try to make it a point to go somewhere big each year. granted we are going to hawaii this october for his sister's wedding, but i feel like it's soo far away! we also did a few getaways this year (Vegas, LA). i really have nothing to complain about because i could have planned something. but lately things have been so expensive (that, and it's really hard to get a group of people to go somewhere because of schedules), and also i'm trying to pay off the car and save some money for the wedding next year. i really didnt make it a point to go plan a getaway. that's totally my bad. in the meantime... i have myself to entertain for the next week or so. fourth of july totally snuck up on me. (hm, i think there's a surreal life marathon on VH1...) and, as you can see, i'm at work today. =P i think it's time to catch up on the blogging! ;) oh, and updating the gallery! (5 new albums!) enjoy! * 8:33 AM * bernadette * *