Today's the Day

Man, today is going to be a L-O-N-G day.

First of all, it's 3AM and I'm still up working.
I'm running some queries on SQL and I want to make sure they are all running properly. I don't want to just let them run in a job when some of them may have some sort of error, which results in the job not running at all!

Secondly, I naturally have the rest of the day for "normal work hours."

Thirdly, I have my private Acting lessons in the afternoon - for which I have yet to practice in front of the mirror (per my teacher, Harry!). We have been doing really well, by the way. Harry is an awesome teacher. Very constructive, a brilliant director, I can tell, and he has such a deep understanding of the text... I am learning so much from him.

Fourth, I'm going to watch the ACO's production of Guys n' Dolls at 7:30pm.

Fifth and last and definitely not the least... It's Harry Potter Time at midnight. I CAN'T BELIEVE the time has come. I am a-shiver with excitement.

Still, I have no idea how I'll survive!

HP Madness-Overload-Excitement

It's amazing how I have resisted the urge, thus far, to gush about the upcoming release of the final book of the Harry Potter Series. I will be up late, late, late tomorrow evening to attend the Harry Potter Book 7 Midnight Launch Party at the nearby Barnes and Noble. And of course, I've reserved my copy.

Forgive me this one indulgence:
I CAN'T WAITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!

Thank you. :)

P.S. I can't resist the urge to analyse the book cover for a moment. Does it not look like Harry is summoning something (or someone?) that is making Voldemort step back, perhaps in fear? Look at all those destroyed pieces of wood. I wonder if that in some ancient wizard colloseum of some sort. Eeeep! I'm so excited :D
P.P.S. I wonder if Rowling will continue to write. I know she mentioned previously that she is not going to write anything Harry-related after the series is finished. She is *such* a talented writer, it would be such a waste if she chose to stop! Also, she is such an inspiration. After all the obstacles she's encountered... wow, look at where she is now. It's astounding.

Acting Lessons

Today I started my private acting lessons with Harry Blundell, the Theatre Director at the prestigious Arts Center of the Ozarks. It was fantastic! He said I did a really good job at reading, especially for the first day of class, that I have great facial expressions, a beautiful tone of voice, and that he was glad that he was finally teaching someone who really appreciates the text. Haha! I just need to work on projecting my voice and studying my character and what she means to be saying. For this week long class, I am reading two monologues by Portia, from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.



My first two days of class, I will be practicing on the below speech:

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:

'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes

The throned monarch better than his crown;

His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,

The attribute to awe and majesty,

Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;

But mercy is above this sceptred sway;

It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,

It is an attribute to God himself;

And earthly power doth then show likest God's

When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,

Though justice be thy plea, consider this,

That, in the course of justice, none of us

Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;

And that same prayer doth teach us all to render

The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much

To mitigate the justice of thy plea;

Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice

Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.

I must memorize all this tonight. Yikes!

Dear Blog...

I just wanted to say I love you...

You listen
You subject yourself to my quirks, both great and small
You share that faraway part of me to the world without judgement
You never forget my secrets
You always bring a smile to my face whenever I see you
You grow with me, change with me
You're always there for me, provided there are no system maintenance events going on and that I have access to the internet.
You keep my memories close to you.

And so I thought I'd just give you some love :-*

*Grin*

On a serious note, I really am loving my blog. It does always cheer me up whenever I see it or think about it; it reminds me that there is always a way for me to express my thoughts without holding back in the vast void that is cyberspace. Writing is always something to look forward to.

Good night, for now.

Pictures from Chicago

I apparently managed to amass 183 media files within 3 days and 3 nights in Chicago. I'm impressed :)

The Luckiest Friday the 13th

Wow. What a great day. And for some reason, I was afraid that today was going to be "unlucky" for me. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I was going to either possibly miss my flight because I wanted to cram so much in today or spend one hour in a boat on the flowing river. But nope, today was a *great* day!

Here's why:
1. I attended some meaningful workshops during the Conference's last day and met more really cool people
2. Got to spend some bonding time with two other Pinays working in the same industry
3. Got a couple of really exciting reads on the Retail Industry and got to have the other one autographed by the author
4. Got to say goodbye to a couple of the P&G gals I liked so much
5. I managed to get on the acclaimed Wendella Boat Ride Architectural River Tour. It was great. The tour guide was very, very knowledgeable, and I got some really nice pictures!
6. "The Jenny that makes me crazy (in a good way)". That's what my cabbie called me. My cab driver was super nice and called me a "beautiful lady" several times (he was Lebanese and we exchanged some French and Arabic greetings). Granted it was a little bit creepy at times, but it's always nice for a lady to hear such a complement several times in a short amount of time.
7. I got a really cool Chicago memento :D
8. I got to help a person in need
9. I got to catch up and bond with a friend who is no longer with our company :(
10. I got to talk to Brad and give him a really good update
11. I met the VP of a very well known and leading poultry company (who offered me a job, which I respectfully declined and instead offered her our services ;)). We exchanged cards. She seemed really cool.
12. And of course, today was the day I got my bonus. Haha! That always helps! ;D

More details and pictures up soon. The days before today went FANTASTIC, as well. I am so tired and need to catch up on sleep!

I heart Chicago.

Good night!

A Wickedly Good Time

Today was my lucky day. I happened to sit with the folks from a really well-known and respected CPG company (Pam, you rock!!!) who also happened to be planning to go to one of the biggest hits on Broadway currently: Wicked. I was rather upset because I thought that it would be quite impossible to snag a ticket last minute due to the show's astounding popularity. We had dinner at this upscale Italian restaurant called Cafe Spaggio and rushed over to the Oriental Theater to catch the 7:30 showing, having bought the tickets a measly few hours ago while in the Conference.

I'll do a review and post pictures later on, plus one for OOTP, the movie. Suffice to say, I plan to watch Wicked and OOTP again the next chance I get. For now, I must try to catch up on sleep. It's been a busy past couple of nights!

Ciao.

The Exceptionally Windy City

I gotta put this down before I burst. I got my Quarterly review today, of which I was particulary nervous because I was being graded against my new job.

I must say that I am exceptionally pleased with the results! Hahahaha! Woohoo! :D

I'm leaving for Chicago today to attend a major retail conference and see my friend Rachel, Maan, Tiffany, and hopefully Sarah, if I hear from her. And I'll get to see HP 5 tonight!!! I'm very excited!

I don't know what I did to deserve all this but once again, I am very humbled. Thank you so much, God, for blessing me with all this. I'm totally undeserving but you keep on blessing me... THANK YOU!!!

If a Nomad Were to be A Homeowner...

That Nomad would own no ordinary home. Here is a look at the would be ceiling, as it were, of that home ------------->

Pretty, isn't it?

I guess my childhood through adulthood sailing excursions with dad made quite an impact on me. I miss Sweet Pea, my dad's old Hunter Sloop. I've felt quite the pressure to purchase a home for awhile now. Not that I can already afford one, but all the financial experts seem to agree that owning a home is the best purchase or investment one can make. And a lot of them believe that money spent on rent is money simply wasted. So, you must buy a house as soon as you can! I've learned that that is not necessarily the case. In fact, if you move a lot, like me, it might be a pretty bad deal. For one thing, it doesn't make you very mobile; for another, the costs are much more than meets the eye. Renting allows you the freedom of calling your landlord whenever there is a problem with the property. If you own the place, you'll have to do (and pay for) it all yourself. I don't think I'm financially stable enough yet to do that. I also don't want to buy a home for the sake of buying one. I want to get one when I feel that I've found a place I can really call home. Although, I will admit that having my own house will give me a tremendous sense of satisfaction, I am sure.

For now though, I see myself owning a sailboat and making it my home. I would love a catamaran (the link also showcases Greece. Ah. Greece + Catamaran = Heaven). I can take it anywhere with me (thank goodness 75% of the earth is covered with water :)) and it will give me a wonderful excuse to spend time in the ocean. Oh, I love the ocean. I love sailing. I love the sea. Watch me gush! Plus, it's something I can choose to keep if I decide to own a house inland. I really think owning a sailboat is consistent with my own personality or self-perception... that I am an explorer, a traveller, a nomad who finds her home in her friends, a "skydiver", as one of the personality tests assessed when I was back in University.

I just have to share this funny anecdote from today. I made dinner of rice pilaf, roasted chili corn, and pan-seared tilapia. Naty finished about 1/3 his plate. About an hour later, he starts to rummage in my fridge and asks what I've got to eat. I say I have an oreo cookie left. He takes it. He wants more. I suggest yogurt and strawberries. He just wants the strawberries. He finds he's still wanting. Apparently, that wasn't dessert by any stretch of the imagination! By this time, I'm out of utensils, having served the whole family dinner. I find one last clean spoon and let him try the yogurt. He likes it! Unfortunately, his brother Noah wants some, too, but with cereal. Naty wishes he had the strawberries with the yogurt. I give Noah the spoon as it's a bit more challenging to handle cereal with yogurt. Naty finds an ice cream scoop that he willingly volunteers to utilize. He actually is able to use it quite impressively! It so cracked me up, eating his yogurt hungrily with an ice cream scoop and a regular bowl. Afterwards, he even decides to clean his plate by licking it clean: "watch out," he says, "you can't escape my tongue." His mom and I agree that he will be the ultimate ladies' man/heartbreaker someday ;)

I will bid you adieu tonight with a potential view of my back/front yard:


Now that's what I call bliss.

Antsy/Angsty

I walked around the neighborhood today for about 20-30 minutes. My legs were killing me all day from yesterday's adventure, but I was just feeling antsy. And so, I walked. I don't think my legs are any happier, but at least I got to let out the restlessness I was feeling for most of the day.

I'll have to look into the leg cramps issue. I really think it has something to do with me being top-heavy. If only I could walk on my hands and arms :)

Ooh ooh, before I forget, I finished the text of Taming today! On to Merchant :)

HP Fever :D

In a few days, I am finally going to see the "real life" D.A.

Can someone just say "EXCITED"???

Running Toward the Light

I ran and brisk-walked about 3 miles today. Yay! And you know what? I feel great. Even if I had to endure some leg cramps in the process, I feel great. The music helped a lot.

A couple of weeks ago, Carrie and I discovered this scenic walking/hiking trail up north in Bella Vista. We took a trek on it that time but were not able to do so very long because it started raining heavily. This time, we nearly reached the end of the trail, but had to turn back earlier so that sundown didn't catch up with us. Amazingly, I was able to run part of the trail. I suppose I was determined to make the most out of my work out, though I can hardly call it that. I'm almost tempted to call it an adventure - like meandering through the cobblestone streets of a foreign town. The sights were simply gorgeous! A thick forest of trees and swift running streams greeted you at each corner, bugs and birds abound. The air was delicious and richly scented. Ah. That's definitely something that must be done again. It was extremely refreshing to a body that did not find itself active, lately. It's so tempting to acquiesce to sluggishness or wanting to stay at home when you work at home and see all the house work you have to do. I've actually been wanting to go out and expend all my pent up energy for a while now, and I'm glad I finally did.

This time, the whole family was there: Carrie, Legrand, Noah, and Naty. I think Naty is getting to be real close to me. He's become very protective and even more affectionate with me. I kind of feel bad because I love them both and don't want Noah to get jealous; it's just Naty is a little more showy with his affection, and so I respond in kind. I do consciously try to give Noah a lot of attention as well, though. For the most part, they are really good and loving to each other, and I would be extremely blessed if my children treated each other the same way when I have them someday.

I think work-wise, I'm a bit burning out. It's not that I've been overworked and overstressed. It's more of I just need some time away for awhile. I still love what I do but I think I just need a break. I'm sure I'll get that break soon enough. Our business has been gaining some momentum here, though, and I am really glad. We have about 4 promising prospects out there, with one client signed already. It's awesome. I even got a very wonderful present from a few special people. Click here to find out what the present was :D Carrie and I used it the first time this 4th of July holiday and it worked great, only it's a pain in the patootie to clean!

I also got a suprising phone call from my gran today. She called because apparently, my mom wrote her a letter complaining I haven't written to her nor called her, not even for Mother's Day. I tried to explain the situation to my gran. I'm still not comfortable building a relationship with her just yet. I still can't find the will to trust my mom entirely... I am so scared to fall into that pattern of use and abuse again. I know I love my mom so much but I really am afraid that she'd break my heart again. I understand and really tried to empathize with my gran, though, but I couldn't help but feel a bit guarded because I really am not comfortable with external interference from people who don't really understand where I'm coming from. *Sigh* I love my gran, but I think I'll need some space for awhile... I spoke to my brother immediately after it to vent and he totally understood like I thought he would. Poor boy naturally got disturbed by it too, though.

Next week is something to look forward to. I'm leaving for Chicago Tuesday afternoon for a conference and that night, I am going to meet up with a friend I hadn't seen in ages from University! Rachel and I are going to have dinner and then proceed in all haste to watch the most important premiere of the year. That's right. Harry Potter 5's midnight showing. I am SO excited, I can't even begin to tell you how I feel! (Though I guess I just did :P)

After Chicago commences my week-long intensive private drama class with Harry Blundell, Director at the ACO. I am very excited. We will be using text from The Merchant of Venice (Portia's lines), and then I should be ready for my first auditions here for the play the Taming of the Shrew. I am so excited!

Tomorrow, I can hopefully start practicing my solo at Church. Lourdes, our Music Director wants me to do a Filipino song! Keeping that in mind, it's 10:38am and I have to be in Church by 9:30 tomorrow. So, I'll end it here for now...

God Bless, good night, and have a good weekend!