Same Resolution As Always

So it's that time of year when everyone prepares to make their typical New Year's resolution. You know, the 'I'll get fit', the 'I'll stop smoking', etc types of resolutions. Well my resolution is pretty much the same thing. I believe 2008 will be a great year. I definitely learned a lot about myself in 2007. I've been through a roller coaster of emotions and I think I've grown up a bit this year. So my New Year's resolution for 2008 is:

- Get fit & healthy. I always say I'm going on a diet, but this year, I'm not calling it a diet. I will be getting healthy.
- Fix skin. I haven't had clear skin since puberty and I'm tired of it. Lots of people still have acne after their teen years but my skin seems to be more severe then others. I'm tired of touching up my pictures but the positive part is I'm getting better at photoshop. I'm going to a dermatologist or maybe a medspa to get it cleared. I just hope it works.
- Find love. I want to prove that there are decent guys out there in Las Vegas. I don't want some random hook up. I don't want to date around. I want just one guy out there to prove to me he's not like any other guy in Las Vegas. I think I'll try and give most guys a chance this year instead of being so picky.
- Travel. I want to at least travel out of the country once this coming year. Even if it's Mexico. I learned that a vacation really does wonders.
- Love my job. I want to be able to love my job even if it's not my current job. If an opportunity knocks at my door, I will consider it instead of saying yes then backing out. I did that a lot this year and I'm sure I missed out on a lot of great opportunities.
- Less drinking. Okay, maybe this one will be harder especially when a lot of my friends strongly disagree on this topic. I think instead I'll say, I'll drink less then I usually do when I do drink. Instead of drinking 5 shots, I'll drink 3 shots. This will help my liver too.
- Private life. I've been known to never being able to keep things a secret either if it's my personal life or other lives. If there's drama in my life, I tell everyone. So here's to keeping my mouth shut in 2008. I don't need to tell everyone about my personal life. Only the selected few.

I'll let you know next New Year if I succeeded in any of these resolutions. I'll see you next year!

Not Our Typical Christmas

So this year was the first Christmas without my grandparents and is officially the first year we broke our Christmas tradition. Ever since I could remember, my whole family on my mom's side would spend Christmas together under one roof. And it takes a big roof to house us too. My mom had nine brothers and sisters and each sibling has at least two children. So you do the math. Christmas was never quiet. Even though we all weren't together this year, it was still a loud Christmas. While 90% of my family members were in California celebrating Christmas, the few that were left behind in Las Vegas came over to my house. And if you know my family, the holiday was spent gambling, eating, and singing. It would have included alcohol but the majority of the people at my house were under aged. Instead my cousin brought over a bingo game and we gambled instead. I even walked away with five bucks. Everyone had a singing contest to see who could get the highest point on the magic mic. You are not Filipino if you don't have a magic mic. But the best part was watching my godson Angelo open up his presents. I bought him this K'nex building set and he was so excited that he opened it up right away. The cutest part was that while he was building away with his hands, his foot was holding the manual open. My godson is only six years old and he was able to build all sorts of stuff.

Not So Subtle

My friends and I concluded our party hopping night at Griffins which is a local bar in downtown. Everyone was in the back of the bar sitting and socializing with the birthday girl and her graduate boyfriend. My friends and I wanted to hang out by the bar for easy access to the alcohol. As you can tell my friends and I love our alcohol. We have to be near it at all times. But anyways, seven girls near the bar can sure attract some attention. This drunk guy came stumbling towards our group and started talking to us.

Kathrina: Hey what's your name?
Drunk guy: My name is Robert. Yours?
Kathrina: [points at me] Her name is Monica. [grabs our friend Angela] Ok, we have to go.
Me: Ohhh my gaaawwd.
Drunk guy: Why did she do that? Does she think I'm cute?
Me: She wants me to get some action.

At the end of the night, Angela ended up hanging out with Robert more then me and I ended up hanging out with Robert's friend Nick. And none of us got any action which is okay with me because I'm not like that. I wait till the second meeting for some action. I'm just kidding!

He Looks Gay With His White Buttons Anyways.

So my sister and I were baking gingerbread men when we couldn't figure out how to store them. Their frostings haven't dried yet so we decided to just lay them in a tupperware. We had one more man left and couldn't find a place where to put him. We called this lone man Afro man because he was the only one we made with an afro. We don't discriminate here man. There was only one place to put Afro man. On top of another man. And my sister yelled out, 'No not Afro man! He's not gay! Here take him. He looks gay with his white buttons anyways.' Oh my God. I thought I was going to die laughing. I was on the floor laughing. Ladies and gentlemen....here is the lovely couple hiding in the corner.

Flip Cup

Drinking games suck! They are so fun but in the end, you will lose. Last night a friend of Kathrina's was throwing a house party and she said that it will be a little reunion for us. So we decided to go to the party. A lot of the people there were at a Halloween party we went to back in October. I didn't remember a lot of their names so I ended up just calling them by what their costumes were. After reintroducing ourselves, the fun began when someone mentioned flip cup. Flip cup is the best game ever! But you get wasted so fast. Everyone was using beer for the game and since I hate beer, one of the guys I met before made me a Pepsi and vodka concoction. About 4 games in, I ran out of alcohol so he gave me orange juice and vodka. By game 7, everyone was buzzed and I was feeling good. And of course my team won. But don't you just hate when alcohol just creeps up on you and you suddenly get really drunk really fast? Well that's what happened to me and Kathrina had to help me in the bathroom while I threw up. Not once, but multiple times. And I think by the fourth time, I asked her if we could leave. Since she was the driver, we ended up at her house and I passed out on her bed for two hours. And now I have this lingering headache that's a reminder of last night's festivities. This is the price I pay for having people make me my drinks without me watching them. I don't know how much alcohol was in those drinks but it must have been a lot because just last week I was playing king's cup and I had a lot of vodka without any consequences. Whoever invented drinking games, I hate you! Okay, I'm just kidding. Maybe.

I met this guy last night who was able to finish the rubik's cube in mere minutes! I was really amazed or maybe I was just really drunk that it looked cool at the time.

What Do You Really Want To Do?

Is there really anyone out there who really loves their job? I mean, really LOVE their job. My friend Apple and I had a conversation about careers and school and why we're in situations where we're not happy. She's currently going to school majoring in Biology but doesn't really want to go into the medical field. I finished college with a degree in computer science and don't see myself working in this industry for the rest of my life. So then I told her my dream was to go back to school, preferably culinary school. My dream is to be a pastry chef and make all these creations you can only imagine. The foodnetwork is constantly playing in my room while I mentally take notes on the various techniques the chefs show us. I told my parents my dream of being a pastry chef and they just ignored it and convinced me to just finish school with a degree. Apple understood why I finished school with a degree I didn't want to have. Growing up in a traditional Filipino family, school is very important and you need to finish with a practical degree. That's why she's finishing school in Biology with her dream on the back burner. I wonder how many people give up their dreams for the practical route. One day I'll definitely go back. I'm thinking fall semester I'll take a class or two. It'll also be nice to meet new people. Working in an office isn't meant for me. I need interaction with people, not email. One day. I hope.

Estimated Completion Date

What is your definition of estimated completed date? Do you think January 2008 is a good estimated completion date? Apparently it's not. The jackass coworker gave me a lecture in front of everyone with his high almighty voice that it's too open ended. But that's what estimated completed date is. It's suppose to be open ended to allow flexibility. Whatever. Someone has a stick up their ass. I'm pretty much ready to just throw in the towel and call it a good run. On my way home last night, I was preparing a 2 weeks notice speech for my boss. I'm tired of him. I've put up with his crap for a year and a half now and I'm not getting paid enough to deal with his attitude. I've tried to stay out of his way. Tried being nice. But after his little fit today, I was ready to go off at him. He has more mood swings then a girl on pms. I need to update my resume asap.

I Wasn't an English Major

If you've been reading my blog, you can tell English wasn't my best subject. You know that saying. You're either an English or a Math person but not both. Well I'm a math person. I understand numbers. I enjoy formulas. That's why I became a Computer Science major. More math, less English. I was always docked for not fully commenting my programs even though they worked perfect. Since I was the newest employee at the time, my boss decided I should be in charge of documentation. I know! My worst nightmare! I have to make sure that all our documents are up to date with the latest procedures. Since the addition of the newest members, I've delegated some of the documents to them but not all.

Today, I asked my coworker if he could review something before I assign it to a manager because I know my wording wasn't that effective as to what I was trying to say. And his response was to just take responsibility and accept the consequences if it's incorrect. Talk about team player. And then he had to bring up the subject of my documentations. I thought my documents were well organized and very professional. I made them less wordy because no matter how professional you are, no one wants to read a 50 page document when it can be done in 20 pages. Is it my choice in words? Just because I don't have a big vocabulary doesn't mean that my documents should be called less then acceptable. I'm sorry that I wasn't as well educated as you. Oh wait, you didn't even graduate with a degree! This jackass coworker always seems to find something wrong with the way I do around here. It's because of him, I know I will not be here forever. I would love to find a job where everyone is willing to help. My other coworker is the busiest person in our department and he is always willing to help out. I've always been told our department works as a team by my jackass coworker, but leaving me high and dry to fend for myself doesn't show teamwork. If you're going to play like that, then game on!

I'm Trapped!

At work, in order to leave, you have to push the exit button and push the door open. So on my way out, I pushed the exit button and pushed the door. It didn't open. I figured I didn't push the button all the way so I pushed the button again. Nope. I'm still stuck inside. Craaaaap. So I tried the button again and this time I pushed the freaking button harder and the door even harder. Nooope. I'm shaking the door and in my head I'm yelling, "let me out of here! I don't want to be stuck in hell!" Good thing someone was killing their lungs outside. They scanned their card on the scanner and the door unlocked. Thank God Almighty! I'm free! You can lock me out of the office but please don't lock me in the office.

Google Is Hiring

Every time I open my gmail account to check my email, there's always an announcement that Google is hiring. Right now, I'm pretty content with my job. It's not really exciting, but is there really a job where you look forward to going to work? I like my coworkers and the job isn't too difficult. But of course I'm searching for that one job where I look forward to Mondays. Where I can say I want to hang out with coworkers outside of work. No offense to my coworkers, but they are out of my age range. It's really hard to find something in common with them. I want to be able give a more interesting answer then 'eh' when someone asks me 'how's work?'

So I went to their website to check out the type of job that's available. 30 minutes later, I want to work at Google. I've heard so much about how Google is currently the best company to work for. How Google really takes care of their employees, but is it really true? Do you get all these benefits because you work long hours? I wonder how many hours they work in a week. And the food! Everyone knows I love food. But Google takes it to a whole new level. They offer free gourmet food. FREE!! Oh man. If I worked there, I would never have to learn how to cook. I'm just kidding. But seriously, when I hear free food, I get excited.

So am I going to send in my resume and apply for a job? Probably not. I'm at a point in my life where I'm not ready to drop everything I'm familiar with and leave. I want to be able to afford a good life if I leave Las Vegas. So for now, I'm stuck at my job. Maybe in a year after I've saved up all my money, I'll apply at Google. For now, I'll just have to daydream about the free gourmet food. Maybe one day I'll end up at Google.

I Might Really Be Addicted

Okay, so I think I really am addicted to Vick's vapor rub. Since I've been sick the past few days, I've been bringing Vick's to work. I'd take a good whiff of that bottle to rejuvenate my nasal passages. Aaahhhhh! That's what it feels like when I inhale that stuff. Well I'm completely devastated that I left the bottle on my desk at work. I was even tempted to buy another bottle but I glanced at my fuel gauge and it's either that menthol scent or work. And believe me, it was a tough choice. I almost did go to the store but I decided that I still have nyquil at home. Once shot of that and I'll be knocked out for the rest of the night.

It's That Time Again

Sore throat, runny nose, coughing, and the fever. You know. The symptoms of the winter cold. Or just an excuse for me to get addicted to cough drops and Vick's vapor rub. I love inhaling Vick's vapor rub when I feel congested. It sucks that I can actually pinpoint the exact time I got sick. It was yesterday. Such a nice day. I was feeling great then all of a sudden at 12:30 pm my throat felt scratchy. Then I felt a sudden chill. Oh crap, I'm getting sick. I had Tylenol in my purse so I quickly took a dose but the chills did not go away. I drank some hot chocolate. Still feeling cold. That's when I knew it was going to be a long day. On my way home I picked up some Nyquil to help me sleep. I did not know that I needed to be 18 to buy medication! I guess it makes sense since the bottle indicated that Nyquil had 10% alcohol. I actually do take my Nyquil like alcohol, chase it with some juice. Ah, the start of the winter season.

You Know...

Your family is full of alcoholics when at Thanksgiving you test each other on the ingredients in various cocktails. Yeah we tested each other just to see if we could stump each other. We always look forward to get togethers so we can just sit back and have a few drinks. My family loves playing drinking games. One Thanksgiving, we were in the backyard playing BS and if you got caught telling a lie, you gotta take a shot of hennessey or jack. After a couple of lies you'll be goooone! Ok, maybe my family likes to drink a little too much, but it seems like that's what our generation is known for...drinking. At least we'll all be in AA together one day.

Chocolate in Candy Form Please

My nephew's birthday was on Thanksgiving and they had chocolate cake. Everyone was eating the cake and admitting how much they love chocolate cake. My cousin handed me a piece of chocolate cake and I politely refused the slice because I had to admit it. I don't like chocolate cake. Everyone was shocked as if I committed a sin. Don't get me wrong, I love chocolate. Chocolates are my weakness. But I'll only break my diet at the sight of chocolates when it comes in candy form. Please don't hate me when I confess that I don't like brownies, chocolate cake, and even chocolate ice cream. What's funny is that I will not have a chocolate shake if it has chocolate ice cream but I'll have a chocolate shake if it has vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup. And I can taste the difference. I know it sounds weird but that's how I like my chocolate.

Thanksgiving Rules

Thanksgiving to me means to be surrounded with family and lots of great food. It's rare to have my whole family together nowadays because we're all busy now but Thanksgiving is one of the holidays where my whole family is under one roof. Over the years, we've established some unwritten rules that we live by in my family during Thanksgiving.

1. Survival of the fastest. It's tradition that everyone brings at least one dish and once that dish is set on the table, you better get a portion of it as fast as you can. You blink and it might be gone.

2. Once you find a seat (which is rare), you better not stand up. Your seat will be occupied once you stand up. So I'm thankful for my cousin's boyfriend for standing up so I can steal his chair since my cousin stole my chair.

3. We start the Thanksgiving at noon and eat all day until the food is all gone.

4. Even as adults, the saying 'finders keepers, losers weepers' still goes. If you pack food to take home later, you better hide the food. It doesn't matter if it has your name on it. If someone finds it and likes it, they will eat it.

These rules may sound crazy to you but that's what I love about my family. We take food serious and we love to eat.

What I'm Not Thankful For

I know I should be thankful for everything but what I am not thankful for is the fact that I have to work late on Wednesday while everyone in the company gets to leave early. Granted my coworker stayed behind as well, but I just found out that I could have left early if the damn managers took some responsibility and fixed this OS 6 days ago when the fix was available. Instead, they waited until the last minute as usual to release it to me and of course there were issues. Issues that could have been prevented if they took someone's advice and fixed it. Their excuse to not fixing it earlier was because they weren't sure if this fix will break something else. Well at least they would have had 6 extra days to find another fix if the OS broke instead of making me stay behind the day before a holiday. It sucks how I have to suffer for someone's irresponsibility. I definitely need a vacation after this. I'm leaving early on Monday just to make up for my time tonight. I hate being salaried.

Life Doesn't Slow Down For Anyone

Wow! I can't believe Thanksgiving is coming up in a matter of a few days. Life sure doesn't slow down for anyone. You blink and you can be left behind. I can still remember the beginning of this year like it was yesterday. Next thing I know, it'll be New Years and I'll be ringing 2008 the same way I rang it every New Years eve. I remember when I was young, I couldn't wait till I was an adult. Now that I am an adult, all I want in life is to slow down. I'm really tempted to quit my job and travel around the world for a year. Am I having a quarter life crisis? If only I was brave enough to just pick up and leave. I think just the idea of quitting my job requires more bravery then picking up and leaving. My goal in 2008 is to at least travel somewhere, anywhere. I hear Europe is calling me for the summer. We shall see...

This is Just a Taste

So Town Square just opened up near the airport on Wednesday and I was really excited to check it out. They've been working on the project for some time now and it's near my work so I see the construction workers building stuff all the time. Wednesday morning, my friend leaves me a comment on myspace asking me if I want to check it out. I wasn't prepared to go shopping but I suggested we go during my lunch break. The best part of being salaried is that no one watches your every move. It's so relaxed. So it's 11:45am and Kathrina picks me up and we head off to Town Square. We were pretty much just walking aimlessly and taking random pictures. This has got to be the best lunch break I've had in a long time. Random shopping trips are the best especially when the weather is nice and you have great company. The moment we walked into H&M, I fell in love with the store. I couldn't buy anything since I had to go back to work, but as Kathrina said, "this is just a taste of H&M. We will definitely go back and do some damage." I did go back later that night and did some damage to my credit card in H&M. I guess so much damage that my credit card company called me the next day to make sure it was me who actually charged the clothes to the credit card. Glad to know that my credit card company monitors all the charges.

We Won How Much?

When my friends and I first turned 21, we would always go to this ghetto bar for their cheap drinks. Even thought it was ghetto and creepy guys always hit on us, we kept on coming back. What better way to celebrate a reunion then to drink up at Ellis Island Casino. After lots of shots, we all headed to Tangerine for some drunk dancing. My friends Aprille, Julia, and I were tired so we decided to wait for the rest of our group in the casino so we can rest our feet by sitting at a Wheel of Fortune slot machine. We were minding our own business by gossiping and taking pictures with one another when some random guy came up to us and asked what we were doing. We thought he was trying to hit on us, so we said we were doing nothing and continued on with our conversations. He then said, "do something useful, here's $8. Go gamble." So Aprille told me to put in 5 bucks while she was pushing the buttons. Being drunk, we didn't know what we were doing. Aprille decides to see how much 'max bet' was by pushing it. We realized that it's 4 bucks down the drain. Or so we thought. We watch the screen light up 'bonus, bonus, bonus' and in the center of all the machines was a gigantic wheel that started spinning.

Aprille: Holy crap we are spinning the wheel!
all: Wow! x400! What's x400 come out to with 5 cents?
Me: 20 bucks?
all: Yay we won 20 bucks!

The screen showed otherwise. It showed that we won 100 dollars!

all: Holy shit! We f*ckin' won 100 bucks! Quick cash out!

As we're taking pictures of our $100 ticket, the guy who gave us the money walked over and asked us if we won anything. Aprille being the sly one takes the ticket and hides it while I being the quick thinking one said, 'Oh, we're just putting in the 3 bucks right now.' I'm sure he heard us say we won since the three of us were loud, drunk, and 100 dollars richer. As we showed him we lost the 3 bucks, we left him to find a cashier to cash the ticket.

How Much Did I Spend?!

So a few days ago my friend Angela asked me how much I spend on a monthly basis every month. My response. 'I have no idea and I don't want to know!' I seriously didn't want to know because I know I spend a lot more then I want to. I try to keep a budget but everyone knows budgets are made to be broken. I like to call it my flexible budget. Anyways, for the month of October, she spent over a grand, which was shocking because we didn't even see each other at all. So our conversation got me curious as to how much I spent almost 800 bucks on food and entertainment. Just to let you know, I still live at home with my parents so I don't even pay rent. 800 bucks isn't that much. It's when I saw the month of June. June was pretty much an evil month. I spent almost six grand! I paid off my car around that month but it was only three grand. Not sure where the other two grand went! It freaked me out. I need to start keeping track of my money. This just makes me more stressed then I really am. Great. Thanks Angela!

In other news, I can't wait till Thanksgiving. It will be nice to see the family together for the first time since my grandmother passed away. It'll be different this year but at least we're still a close-knit family.