Things I Love About the Rainy Season

June 3, 2010 at 8:14 pm | Filed under lists, shopping, the helga manual

Judging by the last few rainy days, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that the torturously hot El Niño months are finally behind us (and by us, I mean the Philippines). It’s La Niña this year, though, (according to PAGASA) and while never ending rainy days generally suck, I’m just (selfishly) happy that it’s cold enough again to cover myself in a blanket while I sleep.

Anyway, a list of things I love about this weather:

1) Bad weather is bed weather. Getting out of my bed/getting off my mattress has been a challenge this past few days making me start my mornings really really late. It’s all right, though, because without the heat to make me hate everything and everyone, I go about my morning routine faster. Plus, the cold has me in a good mood!

2) It’s cold enough for boots. And to “celebrate” this, guess who got a pair of new boots? This guy.

I hope to get them on Friday or Monday. I’ll still need a pair of rain boots, though. I’ll need to hit up the hardware store one of these days for plain black ones.

3). The rain gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling. I can’t explain it but the rain makes me really happy and giddy. Perhaps it’s because I can be a lazy kitty who equates rainy days = bed days.

4) Perfect weather for hot soup, hot coffee, cuddling, and hugging. <3

5) I can wear warm clothes again. Most of my wardrobe consists of long-sleeved tops and jackets. I can finally bring them out of their temporary retirement!

What about you guys? What do you love about this kind of weather?

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My Three Most Hated Places in the Metro

June 2, 2010 at 5:19 pm | Filed under bitchin' a ride, the helga manual, urban primadonna

1) MRT (Manila Rail Transit System) terminals/stations (especially at rush hour). Waiting for the train at the Araneta/Cubao station is always the most unpleasant part of my day. There is nothing I loathe more (okay, I’m exaggerating, I can think of twenty more things I hate more) than going up the escalator and seeing the throngs of people waiting for the next train. It doesn’t help that it gets really hot and humid at the stations and most women in the crowd (I take the ladies’ car) are inconsiderate stupidheads terribly in need of Acneticin who will unapologetically push you out of the way and step on your toes.

Unfortunately, taking the train is a necessity for me as cabs can get costly and I dislike city buses.

2) Greenhills Shopping Center. Once upon a time, I looooved Greenhills; in college, I would go there at least twice a month to blow my money on generic, inexpensive clothes. I would brave the crowd and I prided myself in being able to skillfully weave in and out of and through the swarm of people. And then I realized how ridiculous it was. Unless it is absolutely necessary, I stay away. I don’t care if it’s the more accessible bargain shopping mecca; if given the choice to spend a day at Greenhills or have afternoon tea a the chainsaw-wielding mentally-unstable d00d dressed in a snake costume/the devil, I’d go with the latter.

3). The walkway between MRT Ortigas Station and Guadix Drive. It’s a sidewalk right beside EDSA aka Metro Manila’s main highway. It’s not that long of a distance, thankfully, because I don’t enjoy walking beside city buses and their incessant honking and exhaust.

Photo credit: MRT Cubao station, Greenhills.

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I Will Be Good With Money

June 2, 2010 at 4:02 pm | Filed under the helga manual

Here is an embarrassing truth: I am bad with money. I have trouble saving and controlling my expenses. It’s the kind of thing that’s sort of okay when you’re, like, 17; it’s unacceptable, though, when you’re 25.

I was talking personal finances with lover last night and I laid out my priorities: fully pay off my credit card bill by August, save up for a new laptop, and then a new phone (maybe; I have three phones right now; one is with my dad and one just needs a new battery and a charger). I have a nice amount of money coming in soonish and I’ll be putting all of it towards my credit card bill (and can I just say that I am so excited? I was doing some manual mathematics last night while in bed— multiplication, addition, subtraction— and I got all giddy at the idea of being debt-free, it’s ridiculous) NO MATTER WHAT. I say “no matter what” because knowing myself, I’m bound to spend a little of that money on something else (like Lipofuze).

So I have a new mantra, one that I doodled all over my notebook last night and chanted to myself this morning: I will be good with money. I need to, I swear. So I can be decked out in bling and have a mouse dancing on my shoulder.

(I asked lover why he thinks I’m bad with money. He said it’s because there’s too many cute things in the world. True.)

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Shooting Stars and Interrobangs

May 31, 2010 at 7:00 pm | Filed under photos, the helga manual

Well, I’m 25 today. My mom called around one in the morning to greet me; she asked “How old are you?” I answered and she chided “When I was 25, I already had you.”

I’m old enough to have a baby this year, I guess.

(“Uh-oh,” my dad goes.)

Maybe it’s normal but I find it rather strange that I feel nothing about being 25. I guess people (myself, included) tend to glorify or romanticize birthdays, the way they do New Year’s: a time for changing! A time to re-assess who you are and what you want to be! A time to set new goals and check what you have achieved in the past year, five years, decade. I’m simply not in the mood. Today, tonight, and like many of the past May 31s— I would rather drink.

I barely got any sleep last night and I woke up feeling less than stellar at 730am. People who know me know that I usually don’t wake up before 9 in the morning. I carried on as usual: wake up, stare at my ceiling light, shower, coffee, internet. I felt that familiar icky feeling when you lack sleep. I also felt fat. I also hoped that the days leading up to my 26th birthday wouldn’t be spent like so.

Here is a photo:

And here is a song:

A With Living, Do Make Say Think

Happy birthday to me. I hope you guys have a good day or night. Tell the universe Helga demanded it so.

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My Happiness Platter!

May 31, 2010 at 12:48 pm | Filed under food, photos, the helga manual

This is what I call my Happiness Platter: hotdogs, Ma Ling (pork luncheon meat, a lot like Spam but yummier!), and eggs. I had this Saturday afternoon while nursing a hangover (as usual, I was in my couch watching old episodes of TV shows on my DVD player that I got from circuit city hrhrhrhr). Breakfast food is my comfort food; it’s terribly unhealthy but I can’t resist and it does make me feel better. Or at least less hungover. Ice cold Gatorade also helps me a lot.

What about you guys, what do you usually eat to cure your hangover?

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