Status Change

So as of December 26th, I'm not single anymore. Jason asked me to be his girlfriend and even though I feel like we're moving extremely fast, I told him yes. Mainly because I didn't want to say no. I know that doesn't make any sense, but it does to me. We've only been dating for 2 and a half weeks and he told me that when we're together, he feels like we fit. It was so sweet. I told him that I'll be his girlfriend but we need to slow down. I'm not used to having a boyfriend and he's one of those really attentive boyfriends. He always wants to see me and he calls/texts me all the time. I told him he needs to be less attentive because I'm not used to that. I'll get scared and be turned off. A lot of my friends didn't even know about him since we've only been dating a couple of weeks. So when I told Aprille and Jill, they both had the shocked reaction I was expecting. But they're both happy for me. He did passed the test. He was willing to drive to my house and pick me up. All the guys I've dated hated driving and would refuse to pick me up. He was willing to drive 2 hours in the snow to pick me up. And the other test was some my friends approve of him. Both Lisa and Aprille are still a little iffy. They noticed last night that he was really touchy feely with me. He kept putting his arm around me and he kept kissing my cheek. They both said that PDA was not me and I agree. So if all goes well and he does listen to a few of my demands, then we'll be okay. Damn I'm such a demanding girlfriend. It's no wonder I'm always single.

And last night was so awkward for both Aprille and me because Joe and Paul were with us while we're with our boyfriends. Joe is into me while Paul is into Aprille. So while we're all hanging out with them, Joe was texting me and Paul was texting Aprille. It's funny that even though we're with our boyfriends, these guys will still flirt with us.

Wet Christmas

I wanted a white Christmas and instead I got a wet Christmas. I love the rain but I wish it didn't come with wind. I hate the wind. So last night we celebrated Christmas at my aunt's house. This year, the older cousins decided to do secret santa so the aunts and uncles didn't have to buy presents for everyone. It took forever to distribute the presents. We didn't finish til 2am and by the time we got home, I was exhausted. It's weird coming home that late and it wasn't from partying at the clubs. It was fun watching the younger kids entertain us with their singing and dancing. It used to be a tradition where the cousins and I would do the same thing. We'd do a Christmas performance in front of the aunts and uncles then we'd open presents. It's nice to see the tradition being passed down to the younger generations. The highlight of the performance was my little cousin Zachary singing Chris Brown's 'With You'. He was really into it and I think he'll be the next PJ. I got mainly money from my Godparents but I also got a few good presents from my friends. This year has been a crazy year and I guess I'm ready for 2009. Mainly turning 25 in 09. That part I'm still bracing myself for.

Let It Snow

On Wednesday, Las Vegas had a snow storm. And it's not one of those where we just get snow in some parts of Vegas, it was one where everyone got snow. And it snowed a lot. My friend Angela's flight got canceled because they closed the airport. No one was leaving or coming in. I told her Vegas was preparing her for Michigan weather. I was so excited about the snow that I kept going outside during work to play in it. Eventually my boss sent us home early because he wanted us to get home safe. It took me almost 2 hours to get home where it usually takes me 45 minutes. It was bumper to bumper traffic so I had to go 10 mph the whole way home. Playing in the snow was amazing. I've never seen so much snow in Vegas. The weather people said the last time it snowed like that in Vegas was 30 years ago. And who would have thought that the kids would have a snow day and didn't have to go to school in Vegas.
This was also the day when Jason and I had our first date. He drove 2 hours to my house in the snow and rain to pick me up. I told him we should cancel it since it's snowing and it's dangerous to be driving in such conditions but he refused and came anyways. He was even willing to take me back to his place so we can watch a movie with our friends but I convinced him to just watch a movie in the theaters on my side of town since it'll take forever to get to his side of town. So yea, I'm seeing someone right now and we'll see where this goes.

You Probably Didn't Know

A lot of my friends have been doing a list of things we probably didn't know about them on Facebook. It's fun learning more about my friends. I decided to write some of my own.

1. My first name is actually Monica Anne without the hyphen but on my drivers license and credit cards, its hyphenated. I'm not sure why Americans think two names should always be hyphenated or dropped. And I always say my name in a Filipino accent when I am talking to family or family friends.

2. When I was in junior high school, I shot a commercial for inner city games, which is similar to summer camp but the kids meet for a few hours every Saturday during the summer. I don't even know if it even aired on tv.

3. I can't drink cold water in the winter because it'll give me a sore throat.

4. My friend Laura and I have the exact same birth date. We were both born near LA and both around 8am. We have yet to celebrate our birthdays together.

5. I've self diagnosed myself to having ADD. I have an attention span of a 5 year old and I sometimes can't keep still for too long. Some coworkers have pointed out that I'll just stare off into space during meetings.

6. I used to have a mole on my chin but on one of my many visits to the doctors for being sick, the doctor saw it and thought the color is a little off and suggested i should get it removed. It wasn't cancerous, and I don't miss it.

7. I always grow my nails out to where its so long that I have a hard time taking off my contacts and then I'll cut them. I like having long nails cuz it makes my hands look bigger.

8. It takes me forever to tell a story because I'll tell you every detail even if it has nothing to do with the story. Or sometimes it'll take me forever to tell a story that I'll forget where I was going at and I get irritated when people tell me to hurry up. Just listen or tune me out Rei! hahahah.

9. I used to be able to run a mile in 6~7 min when I was in junior high. I think my best time was 5 min and something seconds. Now I can barely run half a mile in 6 min. It sucks being out of shape!

10. I used to hate getting my picture taken cuz I hated my smile but now I'm a camerawhore and always have to get my picture taken. But I still hate my smile.

11. I have a low tolerance for pain. One time, I had to get two permanent teeth pulled out because of overcrowding. While the dentist was giving me my first shot in my gums my mom had to hold me down because I smacked her arm to stop giving me a shot. It also took her about 5 shots for me to finally not feel anything. My mouth was numb for the rest of the day.

12. When trying to figure out my nationality, everyone guesses Chinese or white and some other Asian country but never Filipino. It's cuz I'm light skinned huh?

13. I used to believe I should have been born a lefty. I do everything with my left had. I even tried writing with my left hand when I was younger. I still want to be left handed.

14. My dad chose my major in college and I guess chose my career since they are related. I didn't want to work with computers. But I think if he didn't make me take computer science, I'd still be in college trying to find my way.

15. The first time I rode on a plane was when I was 21 years old and it was to Seattle to look for a job. A couple months later, I was on a plane to Chicago for a job interview. I was so scared to fly alone that I brought my dad with me.

16. My favorite holiday is Halloween because I like to dress up. I'm sure my future husband will love that about me.

Sports Injury

I will know tomorrow if there is really something wrong with my thumb. I hurt my thumb back in March playing tennis. I'm not a tennis player but I know that it's a bad idea to hit myself with a tennis racket. But for some reason when I swung the racket, my other hand decided to move towards the oncoming racket and smack right into it. It's been hurting since March, but now that work isn't too busy, I think it's a good time to get it checked out now. Hopefully nothing is really wrong with it and that a brace will suffice.

100+ miles and 8 hours of sleep in 3 days

How many of you can say you drove over 100 miles in 3 days, slept only 8 hours, and stayed in your city? I'm really disappointed as to how much I drove over the weekend because I'm supposed to be frugal with gas nowadays.

Friday: jmarck. Holiday Party at Rei's house. I looked on my odometer and it was 30 miles one way! After his house, went to Green Valley Ranch for a suite party. At least it was on the way home.

Saturday: Planet Hollywood to go clubbing with some people from the Bay area.

Sunday: Every Sunday drive to the aunt's house for lunch and Boulder Station casino to drop off my mom to gamble. Then after picking my mom up and dropping her home, off to dinner at Mandalay Bay with some friends. Then a bar at MGM to hang out with the Bay area friends.

So yes, it was a lot of driving and of course a lot of drinking and barely any sleep. Being sleep deprived at work on a Monday is not the best feeling ever. I hate not being able to sleep after a night of drinking. How is it that everyone else passes out after they drink and I can't? I don't drink red bull anymore. So now I'm going to get ready for bed and sleep right after Gossip Girl.

Not My Cup of Rich

Last night, my friend Daniel randomly called me and invited me to a suite party. I was already at my own party I threw with JMARCK at Rei's house but he sold me on the idea of going to the party with two words, rich men. Daniel hangs around a lot of guys who have really high paying careers. So of course I told him I'd go and I'll bring my fellow wannabe gold digger friend Aprille along for the ride. We're just wannabe gold diggers because we just say we want a rich husband but it really isn't a criterea for a husband. By the time we got to the suite, it's was already late and almost everyone had left because security broke up the party. Daniel introduced me to his good friend George who was the richest guy there and was the one who got the suite. George was already trashed and Aprille and I were starving ever since the holiday party at Rei's house started. After a few shots of jager, we decided to eat at Fatburger. The whole time we were eating, George kept talking about how much he paid for that room and how he's going to get someone fired for breaking up the party. He also kept mentioning how the night before, a bartender wouldn't give him a straw so he offered her 5 grand as a tip if she'd only give him a straw. The whole night, all I could think of was this guy was flaunting his money and it's so tasteless. I have a lot of rich friends and they NEVER talk about how they just throw money away like George kept talking about last night. Aprille and I went to the bathroom and we were both ready to go home because we were tired and bored of this rich guy. He may be the richest guy I've met based on his stories of how much he spends, but by the way he flaunts his money, the only woman he'll ever attract are gold diggers. And rich guys complain why they always attract gold diggers right? I want to meet a secret rich man where I don't know he's rich until the 3rd date.

Just Cause I'm Nice Doesn't Mean It's a Crush

My coworker at work is going through a divorce after 13 years of marriage. I feel really bad for the guy so the past couple of months, I've been talking to him to make sure he's ok. Once in awhile, I'll compliment him on how he's a good catch just to boost his ego. On Monday, we were talking about relationships and he told me that I was a good catch. How I'm smart and beautiful and he even told me that a few guys around the office do notice me for my wonderful qualities. Later on in the conversation, he said we should have lunch sometime and I said I was free on Friday. His response? "Ok! It's a date!" I tried to not be too obvious that I didn't want it to be a date by saying, "uhhh, we can invite the guys. I'm sure they'd like to join us." Then he says that it won't be a date anymore. How can I be completely oblivious?! I tend to flirt on accident because when I talk to people, I'll touch them once in awhile. I even do it to girls. And clearly I do not like girls. It's just my way of showing the person that I'm really listening to them. So now it's awkward whenever I see him because I don't feel the same way. I once told my other coworker that I would never date a coworker, but lately I've been noticing this other coworker of mines. He's pretty cute and I'd break my rule for him.

Peace Out

I like to live life without any regrets because once something is done, there is no way to change the past. But these past couple of months, I feel like maybe I did make a mistake and that history is repeating itself. You got what you wanted and in the end you are still an asshole just like before. I seem to never learn I guess. But it's okay because I don't need you in my life. I'm tired of trying and we don't need to be friends anymore. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. If there ever is a time in the distant future that we start talking again, I'll keep you at arms length because there will not be a third time. Til then, peace out.

Just My Luck!

For the past month, I've been working 12+ hours everyday even on weekends, getting free dinner, and barely sleeping to prepare for my first G2E show as a game developer. And at the same time, I've been sick for 2 weeks. This cold lasted so long because I haven't had a chance to rest. Yes, I did take two days off when I first got sick but it wasn't enough. I started to feel better yesterday until the end of my shift and the beginning of my overtime shift. I got home around 9pm and rushed into bed because I couldn't get warm. I realized that I was running a fever and my whole body was aching. Just my luck! One day before G2E and I catch a fever. So today, I had to call in sick which today is probably the most I'm needed. I called my boss to see if my game loaded correctly last night but I felt awful for not being able to go to the show. I'm just glad my boss is very understanding especially since I've been working so much. My plans after G2E? Sleep, shop, and see people I havn't seen since I was too busy working.

Sleeping Through History

Yesterday was when America found out the next president will be Barack Obama. So where where you when history was in the making? Yea I was sleeping. I've been sick for the past two days and been sleeping my illness away. I don't even know how I got sick. I wasn't near anyone that was sick the past few weeks. The only thing that I think can cause this was the flu shot I got a few weeks ago. Regardless on how I got sick, this is just bad timing. I haven't been at work in two days and the show is in two weeks. I'm just thankful that I have a very understanding boss who is capable of filling my position when I cannot. I just hope I am well enough to function tomorrow because I can't miss 3 days in a row. I've been so bored here at home that all I've been doing is sleeping, watching tv, and eating soup. I hate being sick.

50 Dollar Chicken Wings and Pizza

For Julia's birthday weekend, she got a room at the Venetian so we can party at Tao without having to worry about driving home. Ever since the cruise, we've been missing that lifestyle of partying in the club and just walk downstairs into our room. We decided we were on 'vacation' and not worry about anything. We even came up with fake names and places we were from. We wanted to use ugly names so Julia's friend said she'll be Olga, without realizing that it was her friend Chris' mom's name. After eating at the Grand Lux, we pregamed in the room where we finally finished the coffee patron and the hennessy Aprille and I bought for my birthday. We got into Tao and kept drinking until 2am. Well technically it was 3am, but the clocks changed on us. We were starving but no place to eat so we decided to order room service. We were so desperate for food that we didn't care it cost 50 bucks for a medium pizza and 6 pieces of chicken wings. We tried to wake up Julia to get her to eat since she wanted chicken wings but she was too tired and said I could eat them. So we ate them, but left her 3. Next thing we know, she woke up and got mad for a brief second that we ate them. We ate almost all the food because it was 50 bucks. We never waste food when it's that expensive. Even though we spent so much this weekend, it was worth it. I can't complain since they spent about 500 bucks to go to my birthday. What's a hundred bucks for Julia's birthday right? Besides, with good friends, money doesn't matter. And this weekend was like the cruise, partied all weekend with barely any sleep. And unfortunately, we don't have a day off to recover, but it was worth it.

How Do I?

How do you comfort a friend who is doubting her marriage? How do you comfort a friend who thinks her husband is cheating on her? How do you comfort a friend who believes her husband will never change and is an awful father? Today Carrie and I caught up over donuts because she's moving in a few weeks to San Pedro with her husband. We were catching up on what was going on in our lives when she told me everything going on with her marriage. She confessed that her husband told her that while in Iraq he was contemplating a divorce. They aren't happy and they fight a lot. She told me he flirts a lot and that doesn't bother her but when she found picture text messages from random girls, that made her wake up. She wants to talk to him but whenever they do, they fight and he doesn't admit to his mistakes. All I could say was, I'm sorry and asked how long has this been going on. I feel bad because their marriage is on the rocks but I didn't know what to say to make her feel better. I told her that hopefully it'll get better when they settle in California. I asked if she'd leave him if he is cheating on her and she said she doesn't know. Even though she doesn't want to think about it, I told her that she needs to have a back up plan just in case it ever leads to that. It's so hard to see someone who is such a good person go through hell and you can't do anything about it. Pray that everything goes well.

Just a Waste of My Time

Last weekend was our JMARCK. Academy party and at the end of the party, everyone knew I liked Leon. He's the first Asian guy I liked in a long time. Julia's whole goal of the night was to get me 'pizza' from Leon. So everyone got the hint that I liked him. The next day, Eddie asked if anything will happen with me and him and I said of course not. I tried to get his attention the whole night and it didn't go anywhere. Towards the end of the night, I was bored with him. He wasn't catching the bait I was using and I know why. He doens't like Asian bait. He's into white girls and that sucks. I feel like a black woman when the black man she likes only likes white women. What's wrong with us Asian women huh? Anyways, everyone keeps telling me you never know. He might go for me even if I'm Asian. Well all I gotta say is he lost his chance, and it's just a waste of time trying to convince him Asian women are just as beautiful as white women. And plus, he's two years younger than me. I need someone who's either almost finished with school, or is already finished. I don't need to babysit a guy. That's what marriage is for right?

San Diego Adventures

Going to San Diego was quite a journey. Hitching a ride with my dad to Cerritos for Jason's baptismal only to leave 4 hours later with Marvin whom I've only met the weekend before at Tao through Aprille. Marvin takes me to San Diego where he tries to scare me with a story of the haunted freeway. It's off the Sorrento Valley exit on the 805 South freeway. The story is that a long time ago, there was an accident on that exit involving a school bus where there were either a few fatalaties if not all. And they say that the exit is now haunted by the children who passed away that fateful day. The exit is on a downward slope and at the end of the exit is a stop light. They say if you stop your car at the light and put it on neutral, your car will be pulled up the slope all the way to the top. As we exit the freeway, Marvin stops his car and puts it on neutral and low and behold, we go up the ramp! I'm so glad that it was daytime because that would hella freak me out even more at night.
Finally getting to Lyn's house, the girls take a nap to get ready to go clubbing later that night. The night was short lived because of some drama among their friends so we end up at Russ' house to party some more. I guess we were so exhuasted and drunk. We get to his house and laid down on the living room floor to watch some tv and the next thing we know is that it's 7 in the morning and we have blankets on us.
Aprille and I left Sunday with barely any gas left in her tank. We couldn't find a Cheveron so she said she could make it from San Diego to Ontario with very little gas. She promised me we'll get gas there. She exited in Corona looking for a gas station because we were on EMPTY. We circle around a shopping center looking for a gas station and no luck. Luckily for us, we miss our freeway entrance and we found a gas station just in time. Beggers can't be choosers when we're on empty. We had to get gas at Shell. A lot more happened in my one day stay in San Diego but these were just the highlights.

Let Me Go

It's so hard to grow up with traditional Filipino parents because they will always believe their grown children are still children and still treat them like they are children. It's so hard for them to accept the fact that their children don't need to depend on them anymore. This year has been the first time I've gone out of town with friends without them and they kept calling me to see if I was okay. They don't realize that I can take care of myself. I'm financially independent and am capable of making my own decisions. It's really annoying when they are constantly calling and reminding me not to travel at night. Yes the sun goes down. No I cannot control it. And if I have to travel at night, I am capable of driving. They need to let me go before they push me away and they'll rarely see me.

Open Book

I've always been able to tell people everything about me, both good and bad. I've come to realize that maybe being an open book is not a good thing. It can backfire and work against me. At work, I've been honest about my life and what I do in my spare time. With friends, I've told a selected few everything about my life including personal secrets about the guys I've been with. I'm not one to keep minor secrets about people . I'll usually tell someone who's not in the circle and will never run into the person the secret is about.

My current secret. I slept with my best guy friend and we told each other we'd never tell anyone about us. We'd pretend we're having a secret love affair. The day after, Aprille asked me if I had sex and I automatically said yes. The only reason why I told her was because she has never met him and probably will never meet him. Ever since the cruise, I felt like we can talk about anything especially about sex. Then I asked if she had sex and she sadly said no since Rod was out of town. But she did tell me they did when I left his house two weekends ago. I said thanks for waiting for me to leave because I really don't want to hear them having sex, only because Aprille says she's pretty loud. LOL.

Never Say Never

I've done something that I've told myself I'd never do and I'm not ashamed of it either. Fatigue played a huge part of our early retire not feelings of uncomfortableness. The only thing that crossed my mind was what took so long and when will it happen again. And I know nothing will become of it because it's been over for quite awhile now. It's just happening for the present benefits and I'm okay with it this time around. Don't judge me for being a hypocrite. Thanks.

Adventures With Monica & Aprille

A night is never boring when Aprille and I are together. For one, neither one of us can say no to the other. Last night was no exception. We began our night pregaming in the parking lot of the Venetian and then concluding the pregaming inside the Venetian with Eddie and Aprille's friend Marvin. After a few shots of Coffee Patron and Hennessy, we continued our night at Tao. I haven't gone clubbing since January so I was pretty excited. We headed straight to the bar of course and ordered some vodka redbulls then ran around Tao looking for Lisa. A few vodka redbulls later, we were having a good time trying to loose our cockblockers Marvin and Eddie. Aprille had the hiccups so we left Tao where she refused to stop by the bathroom to let me pee. We got to her car and she opened the two doors on her side and told me to pee in the parking lot. I've never done that before in Vegas, only in California. We both got in her car and she tried to convince me we can both just drive home. I told her that we're staying in her car until we sober up because we're definitely both trashed. She parked her car next to my car and we passed out. Everything after this is a little blurry.

I was told that Mikey and I were communicating at this point and he found us because we kept honking our horn for like 20 minutes. We knocked out in Aprille's car with the engine running when they reached us and they got into Aprille's car. They woke us up and she's convinced she can drive again so she pulls out of the parking space and she tried to make a left turn towards the elevators where we yell to turn right so she made a sharp right turn and parks her car where we passed out again. The next thing I remember is they woke us up and I convinced them to take my car to my house where we both pass out on my bed. Two hours later, the tables are turned and Aprille is the one trying to wake me up to get me to take her home.

Last weekend, I was waking her up at Rod's house to take me home after a night of partying. We both try to find a few things around my room including her keys. Apparently she was able to put her key on the key chain and there was money all over my room. Not sure why her money was everywhere. All I know was, last night was an awesome time and we're both going to California this weekend and I can't wait. Stay tune for the next adventures with Monica and Aprille! And of course, we never drink and drive that is why we were sleeping in the car. I know when I can drive and I'm really good at reading people to know if they can't drive either. I'm thankful Mikey was there to insist on finding us to make sure we were okay. I just hate how I'm never sleeping on the weekends now. But I realized that my bed was pretty busy this weekend. ;)

Camera Miracle

It's a miracle! I fixed my camera using every guy's method. Forcing the lens to close by hitting it against my hand. Once the lens were closed, I pushed the power button not sure if I want it to turn on or not. If it turns on, then I'll have no excuse to buy another camera. If it doesn't turn on, then I'll mourn the loss of a great camera. What happened? It turns on. Don't get too excited. It's not the same camera as it was two weeks ago. It turns on with the lens a little zoomed in and I can't zoom out any farther than that. It turns on to a blurry lens until you zoom in and out to adjust the focus. I've decided I'm still going to buy a new camera. Use this old camera whenever I go out to events that involves alcohol and use the new one for other things. So no more mourning my camera. It has resurrected from the dead!