The Moment of Frustrated Necessity.

The Moment of Frustrated Necessity - the moment, that is, where one is decisively certain that something SHOULD be obtained, without further reason other than the sensation of your stomach tightening (the gut instinct). I have just returned from such a moment. Clearly, in a universe such as ours, one must not underestimate the importance of human emotion.

The event that follows were completely out of our hands. The three of us go through such an out-of-body experience, a la Astral Traveling. This is what SHOULD have happened:

Sev, Dolly, and myself are at Tiendesitas, and we find ourselves at Fashion Village, standing inside one of the shops browsing their selection of (shocking, this) clothes. While the clothes are beautiful, none of us are really in need of new clothing. Especially for Dolly and myself, as we find our closets abundant with new dresses, the scent of their shops still lingering in the cloth, tags still in tact, all thanks to the recent celebration of Jesus' birth. We ask the seller for the price, brows furrowed, as we consider whether to purchase them or not. We shift our weight back on one foot, so that we may tap the other while in deep thought (yes, all 3 of us actually do this). Deciding to try them on, just for the fun of it, we all take turns as we admire the dresses the other has picked. After much flattery and laughter, we leave the store, finally deciding that we have no need for new clothing and we refuse to surrender to consumerism.

This is NOT what happens.

Instead, as we admire the dresses and flatter each other, we all decide that we DO need (and more importantly: want) these beautiful clothes. We look at each other, as if silently saying "yes, I am buying this. It is worth it. You should buy that for yourself too.", and nod in agreement.

Bummed that I tried to be my responsible self by not bringing my entire wallet and just enough for this one dress, I ask the seller if she would reserve another dress that I want for myself while promising to return in the morrow (which I will.) In all reality, I only brought enough money for the dress I saw yesterday, which is cheaper than the one I actually bought today (Damn you, Sev and Dolly). Since this plaid, black and gray dress was the last one in it's style, I weigh the possibility in my head of some other sucker buying it while chewing on my nails. The possibility is grand, and I am not a risk taker. Thank goodness to Ickle Ronniekins for bringing enough cash to loan me and Dolly (since she couldn't withdraw money from BPI). I guess he learned to always bring some in case Sev gets a craving.

The dress I got is beautiful; though I really have no occasion in which to wear it. Nevertheless, I love it. Besides, Sev gave in to consumerism too. She bought the blue and white trucker polo promised yesterday, plus a beautiful cream chiffon Lily Van der Woodsen-esque top, which Dolly and I strong-armed her into buying. Dolly bought another take on the coat which she received from Sev last Christmas in tan.

We all went home happy. Debts are paid. Pockets are empty.

What can we say? We experienced the "Moment of Frustrated Necessity". Sometimes, you just gotta trust your gut.

Sev's Trucker Polo

Sev's Chiffon Blouse

Dolly's Coat / Dress - Front


Dolly's Coat / Dress - Back

Voldy's Dress - Front

Voldy's Dress - Back

Some kind of sick joke.

I am appalled.

No, no.

I am filled with a sea of so many different emotions: nausea, for sure, the whole bile going up my throat but failing to come out so it just goes back down again. Laughter, of course, but oh so many different kinds of laughter - from the cynical chuckle with the matching "oh dear Lord" shake of the head, to the all-out, annoying laugh that makes people turn their heads to give you a "what the hell?" kind of look you usually give to noisy kids in the library. Frustration, definitely, is right up there; the whole wanting to scream "what the fuck are you doing, you imbecile!" at screenwriters who butcher books as they adapt it to the silver screen, only to fail their sorry asses.

Allow me to offer an explanation: John Mayer is a sad excuse for a musician. He had one, maybe 2 hits at the most, during his peak a couple of years back. He is a sycophant. He flatters actual musicians and calls them his "idols" and "influences" while adapting their music and making it his own. He should stick to his re-founded fame as Jennifer Aniston's boytoy. The man should not be allowed within 20 feet of a microphone. I look at my brother and share with him a "Sucks, huh?" look that passes between two people at a loss for words from such an experience.



For shame, for shame, do not embarass yourself further.

It's a dog's world.

As per routine, Sev and Ron invited me to have coffee at Starbucks, Julia Vargas with them and Angus today. We left the house at around 5, which is pretty early considering our haunts usually start at 9.

Before sitting down to some well-deserved coffee, we went to the Pet Village in Tiendesitas so that Ron can buy some pet fishies for "Angus" (by which, I mean Ron). Can I just say, there are WAY too many people buying fishes - is it going back in style? After finally deciding on getting an angel fish/ fishes, we headed off to Starbucks where Angus was harassed by almost every person we passed. Really, he is a star. Either that or these people have never seen a dog before (which is highly unlikely.)

We settled into our usual seats outside before finally ordering our drinks (2 Venti Coffee Frappes, and 1 White Chocolate Mocha). We (more Sev and Ron than me) finally completed the 4th Starbucks Planner card for Dumbledore! Yay for the coffee addicts!!! After going back outside with our orders, Sev realized that the Starbucks card was missing - and we don't remember seeing the Barista hand it back. Of course, Sev went back inside to inform the barista of this. I felt terrible for the barista, she was near tears! Since Sev and Ron are well-known in this Starbucks branch, all the baristas went crazy looking for this card. Luckily, the card was found between some tissues. All was well.

After much kwentuhan, the team decided to up and leave to go get the fishies. We walk back to Tien only to have the three reconsider getting the pets today. Sev and I wanted to go check the tiangge, so Ron decided to humor us. On our way there, we come across Vito, Ron's highschool friend, and his gorgeous pet Labrador, Leo. The duo were bored and alone, so they decided to tag along.

Our first stop was the Pet Village, to Pussies & Bitches - where we just found out that Ron and Vito's former classmate is the owner! Charlie, my dream lab, had already been sold so I found solace in Padfoot, this 1 1/2 month old male Akita. We stayed there for about an hour before resuming to walking the doggies. At 9, Vito and Leo had to go so they walked us to the Tiangge before finally parting ways.

At the tiangge, I bought new board shorts (which I love!) since the ones I was wearing got ripped while restraining Leo from the taunting dogs (yes, they ripped! Thank god I had a jacket on. I immediately removed it and tied it around my waist.) On our way back to the car, Sev and I passed by the store where she bought Dolly and my Christmas presents. They were on sale! Too bad Sev and I already used up most of the money we had on us. Nonetheless, we return tomorrow. Sev is buying this blue and white trucker polo shirt, while I'm buying 2 dresses. I also wanted my own trucker shirt, but they only had one left. Grr...

My New Board Shorts!

That's pretty much it for today. Now all we have to do is find a Starbucks branch where they still have the planners available. JV ran out of stock.

Hope everyone is having fun preparing for their Media Noches tomorrow!

The legend.

Since I'm still too lazy to edit the template, I'm just gonna put the legend here.

I'm not one to drop names, so from here on in, I shall edit the names of people I will mention into the nicknames I so fondly call them.


HIERARCHY.
Dobby - Sibling #1
Winky - Sister-in-law #1
Sev - Sibling #2
Ron - Brother-in-law#1
Ginny - Sibling #3
Harry - Brother-in-law #2
Dolly - Sibling #4
Dumbledore - Sibling #5

Do you notice a pattern? :P

New Season

... and I'm back.

Essa Pamandanan version 1, the dramatic version of myself going through the ups and downs of high school, frequented her keyboard daily, where she held forth on sundry subjects with great wit and aplomb. Same deal here, except without the wit and aplomb.

During the duration of the holidays, I started revisiting my first and original blog. In hindsight, reading what I wrote for the past 5 years has made me a little melodramatic (and by a little, I mean a lot). While the blog will always be special to me, methinks it is time to put that book in the shelf and start a new one.

As I said, my first blog will always be special to me. It is, after all, where I documented one (of many, I presume) of the most difficult times of my life - my highschool experience; the prime suffering years.

In the last 5 years, I have grown into what I hope is considered a better person and a better writer - again, this is merely wishful thinking. I leave the verdict to you. A lot of things have happened since then, and a lot will happen soon after.

So without further ado, I give you Essa Pamandanan v.2! A less serious, snarkier, funnier, wittyer, and many more "ers" version of myself.

Join me as I venture into this brand, spankin', new world filled with laughter, love, and food.