I am broke, but I still spend

After getting an iPod nano, numerous impulsive buying of clothes, bags, and other things, succumbing to my growling stomach almost everytime, and having a beach getaway with my friends, I am broke.

But with Google giving away free $10, I cannot resist the temptation to spend. I originally wanted a top from Aeropostale, but they do not ship to the Philippines. Heck, all the other shops do not ship to this country. And if they do, the shipping would cost me five times what the actual product costs.

Fortunately, my friend Jamie is currently in New Jersey. So I asked her if I could ship the item to her, and she naturally obliged. You're a savior Jam.

Now, I got hundreds of products to choose from. But being the greatest friend that I am, ahem, I chose a Kingston 1 GB SD Card. Now I searched for hours to find a retailer than can ship for free, but sadly I didn't find any. After deducting the free $10, the memory card would cost me Php 375. The same memory card can be purchased for about Php 750 at CD-R King, so I was happy with my purchase. Yet, it drives me nuts that I have to spend Php 375.

That amount of money is big for a struggling student like me. That could have fixed my mobile phone, which yet again refuses to cooperate by not responding to my incessant presses at the number 8. To my friends: if I haven't responded to your messages the past few days, that means I cannot find a way to reply without using the letters t,u, or v.

Being broke, the engineer inside of me started to work. I opened up my mobile, which alone took me some time, and did everything I could to try to fix it. That is, wipe and blow away the dirt, and pray that it will work. After several repetitions of opening it up and dusting off the dirt, I did what most people do - place a piece of paper, and again pray that it will work. Fortunately, it did. I was so glad not because I got my phone fixed on my own, but because of the idea of saving up Php 250 on repair.

But that is way out of what I was previously talking about. Going back, I'll get my memory card when Jamie gets here by the last week of June. Only to go back to New Jersey by September. Ah, the hassle of getting that Green Card.

Seeing that this post is long but really about nothing, I could now say that my writing skills have officially deteriorated, not that I was a good writer to begin with.

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Awful writer

Reading back my previous posts, I realized that I am a bad very bad writer. Awful. I sound like a 13 year old tween posing as a twenty year old man.

Is this what all those engineering subjects have done to me? I seriously need to start reading a lot more. Or anything that would stimulate my artsy fartsy side, if I still have one.

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Chew

My dog Tim is such a mean chomper. The first time we bought him a rawhide dogbone, he devoured it within an hour. My dad's vintage sunglasses was destroyed after he left on a table in our garage. My dog has chewed on slippers, wood, and whathaveyou.

My dad and I play table tennis almost everytime, and inevitably, a pingpong ball would be lost every now and then. Minutes later, we'll see it shredded into a million pieces.

Just a few hours ago, we lost another pingpong ball. I don't know how but it suddenly occurred to me to let my Tim search for it. I got another ball, let him smell it, and voila! Within a minute, we found our missing ball.

I never really realized how smart he is. Now if only we could stop him from chewing on everything.

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My dad says the darndest things

Last Thursday, while watching American Idol:

Dad: Ang tagal na palang kumakanta ni Celine.
Me: Bakit?
Dad: Bata pa si Elvis diyan e.

I just love my dad.

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Google Checkout

I already have a PayPal account. I've used it once to buy Topman on Ebay. I saved around Php 500.

And now, I've got a Google Checkout account - with $10 free. Thing is, I cannot find a store that can ship to my address. Will my $10 go down the drain? I hope not.

I will have to find something after my quiz finishes.

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Left behind

Puerto Galera
Originally uploaded by joshbousel.

My high-school friends are leaving for Puerto Galera tomorrow, and naturally, I cannot join. I have summer classes on Engineering Economy, which I cannot totally understand. Reminds me why I took up Engineering and not Accounting.

Even though they are not really my closest friends, I still wanted to go. I haven't seen those guys, in what, 3 years? Since our high-school reunion actually, which was held less than five months since we graduated.

They say we'd have our getaway at Boracay next year. Uhm, is anyone willing to pay for that trip?

Sigh. To quote Sandwich, I just wanna be on the beach.

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Beach break

My friends and I originally planned to have drinks after our last final exams last Monday. But my friend Nikki suggested we rather go to Puerto Galera instead. I've never been to Galera (sad I know) so I was excited, but a bit doubtful. For the past 3 years we've known each other, we've never made a trip out of town. A scheduled trip to Enchanted Kingdom was did not materialize, and I even had to beg them to have afternoon snacks at Serendra. No, that did not push through either.

But being the beach bum that I am, I was determined for this trip to happen. I've never been on a trip with my friends, college or highschool, unless it was a scheduled school activity. I handled reservations. It was not easy - I had to work with everyone's budget, including mine.

We finally settled with Virgin Beach, where my family and relatives took our own beach break last year. Sadly, Milenyo damaged the town of Laiya and left the beach dirty and unruly.

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Despite several setbacks - a friend cannot make it - the trip was on. We met at 6 AM and started our almost 3 hour journey. But when you're with your friends, you certainly won't feel the trip to be that long.

There were only six of us, but we were determined to have fun.

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And so we did. We played cards and frisbee.

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Took photos.

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Good thing the beach this time was truly virginal. It was refreshing.

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We embraced our inner child by playing 7-Up. All of us lost and ended up having sunblock on our faces.

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We had lunch at the pavillion where the view was amazing.

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We took some more photos.

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And attempted to create a silhouette photo, but in vain.

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We tried snorkeling, but we saw nothing but sand, rocks, and a few small pieces of trash here and there. Good thing this little starfish got lost and joined us.

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It was time to go home. And this trip has definitely left a mark on us.

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My VisualDNA

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

What's yours?

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Manny Pacquiao and Final Exams

Can Manny Pacquiao record a song that does not have the word laban? The novelty is wearing off.

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I took my first final exam today. It went okay, I think (and hope and wish). Four more to go. Ugh. Was it a mistake to study in La Salle? Was it a mistake to take engineering?

Why am I asking these questions when I'm a few (hopefully) terms away from graduating?

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I need a shrink

Just a quick pre-Finals Week and post-Holy Week entry.

I think I have the Infohoarding. Ah, so that explains everything.

Are you an infohoarder as well? Check this out.

Now, back to study mode hell.

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