Mall

Forget about the recession gibberish I talked about in my previous entry. Lexi and I went to the mall today to watch Confessions of a Shopaholic and was totally surprised at how packed the mall was. I thought money was tight? Almost every store is holding their own sale and people are still buying. There are also a few new stores we've never seen before. Oh well, I wanted to do a little shopping but was turned off by the crowd. I don't do too well in a big crowd of people.

Anyway, the movie was OK. Popcorn was a bit dry, but what the heck, I enjoyed the day with my daughter!

And it goes down down down

Recession at it's finest. Massive permanent lay-offs. Businesses are folding left and right because people are afraid to spend money. Some giant chains have filed for bankruptcy (including my favorite computer and flash memory store, Circuit City). No one's safe anymore in this economy.

Homes values are on a steady decline. What's next for the US of A? They say it will get worse before it gets better. I hope to be here when that happens.

Tawa muna

Jokes na nahalukay ko sa email ng nanay ko hehe....

PEDRO: Niloko ko yung tindera kanina.
JUAN: Paano mo naman niloko yung tindera?
PEDRO: Nagpaload ako eh wala naman akong celfon.
******
INA: Anak, tawagan mo nga tatay mo sa celfon. Pauwiin mo dito.
[pagkatapos tawagan.]
ANAK: Nay, babae po ang sumagot.
INA: Lintik, sinasabi ko na nga ba, may tinatago yang tatay mo eh! Anong sabi?
ANAK: 'You only have zero pesos in your account...' hindi ko na tinapos nay dahil mukhang matapobre.
******
Nagbubungkal ng lupa si Erap para magtanim. Akala ng nakakita niloloko lang siya dahil wala naman siyang tinatanim.
BANTAY: Sir, wala naman kayong tinatanim ah.
ERAP: Bobo! Seedless ito!
******
STUDENT: Ma'am, pagagalitan niyo po ba ako sa bagay na hindi ko naman ginawa?
TEACHER: Natural hindi.
STUDENT: Good, di ko po ginawa ang assignment ko!
******
Si Erap nakabasag ng vase sa Museum, yung attendant nataranta.
ATTENDANT: Naku sir, more than 500 years old na po yang vase na iyan!
ERAP: Hay salamat. Akala ko ay bago
******
Sa Math Class...

Teacher: Banong, kung meron akong 1 piraso ng karne at hinati ko ito, ilang piraso na?
Banong: 2 po ma'am!
Teacher: At kung hinati ko pa pareho?
Banong: 4 na piraso po!
Teacher: Hinati ko ulit.
Banong: 8 piraso po.
Teacher: Hinati ko pa.
Banong: 16 po mam.
Teacher: Hinati ko pa?
Banong: 32 piraso na po!
Teacher: Kung hinati ko ulit?
Banong: 64 po! (nakangiti)
Teacher: At hinati ko pa? 2 beses ko pang hinati?
Banong: Ay susmaryosep ma'am! GINILING na po! GINILING!!!
******
Divorced father: Anak pag-uwi mo bigay mo sa nanay mo itong cheke at sabihin mo 18 yrs old ka na, huling cheke na makukuha niya for child support tapos tignan mo kung ano ang expression ng face niya.
Anak: Mom, sabi ni dad bigay ko daw sayo itong cheke, last support na niya ito sakin kasi 18 na ako. Pagkatapos tignan ko daw expression ng face mo.
Mom: Sa susunod na pagbisita mo sa kanya paki sabi salamat sa suporta kahit di mo siya tatay! Pagkatapos tignan mo expression ng face niya!
******
And now here's something to think about....

Kung totoo ang 'Darwin's theory of evolution' na ang tao ay nagmula sa unggoy, bakit may mga taong mukhang kabayo?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA Happy Monday everyone!!!!!!
--------------------------------------------
p.s.

what do you think about laptop memory upgrade? do you think it's worth it, or would it be cheaper to buy a new machine? for someone like me who has no talent nor the patience to tinker with computer hardware, it's a safer bet to buy. laptops nowadays have become really inexpensive, they're almost disposable.

Tid-Bits

Mom's travel agency in Germany quoted her direct-flight ticket to Detroit Metro Airport via Northwest airlines (where she's a frequent flier) for 1200 euros (about $1500). I know we can do better than that, and I was right. I found a direct flight online via Lufthansa for $968. I booked it right away. She'll be here from June 18 to August 26. First time niyang mami-miss ang birthday ng dalawang tsikiting. She wanted to come over April-May (for the birthdays) pero we thought it would be more practical and enjoyable kung nandito sya during the kids' summer break. I'll also take a 3-week paid vacation from work during this time. We plan on going to Canada, Washington DC, and Chicago. Gusto naman ni mommy bumisita sandali sa Cali. Hay naku, excited na kami!

Anyway, for those of you na citizen ng mga bansang hindi nangangailangan ng visa upang makapunta sa US, may bagong requirement ang department of Homeland security. You have to register online via ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization). Madali lang naman siya, and good for 2 years ang registration. Here is the website.

It's about time

I've procrascinated enough. I finally signed up for the 401K (retirement plan) offered by my current employer. The corporation I work for is one of the few companies that still offer the 401K match, dollar for dollar. That's free money I wasn't taking advantage of. I also signed up for the employee stock purchase plan. That allows me, through salary deduction, to purchase company stocks. I should have done this sooner, but it's better late than never.

Speaking of work, everything is Peachy! I am very fortunate to be in a professional yet fun environment. I love the people I work with, they're just awesome! Work doesn't feel like work at all. At home na at home ang lola!

Ang Bagong Kampeon

Panalo! Once again, we were at the edge of our seats during the annual spelling bee at JRE. I knew she had a really good chance of winning because she prepared for it. Big credit to hubs who never got tired of quizzing her with the spelling words (wala akong tyaga). She handled herself real well. The other finalist gave her a good fight. They had the face-off for about 20 to 30 minutes (a new school record). They were relentless.

But you know what struck me the most? Even when the competition was at it's fiercest, the students demonstrated great maturity through their sportsmanship. There was genuine friendship and support for one another. It was very refreshing. Not like when she won the BEE at her old school.

Oak Oak

I am so out of touch. I thought Oakley (the company) is strictly sunglasses (hubby has a few pairs). I was browsing online and happened to chance upon Oakley watches too. They even have shoes and apparel available to the buying public. I was curious so I decided to look it up. And here's what I found on Wikipedia:

Oakley was started by Jim Jannard in 1975 in his garage with an initial investment of $300. Jannard began by selling what he called 'The Oakley Grip' out of the back of his car at motocross events. His motorcycle grips were unlike other grips riders had seen at the time.

Although the grips were successful, brand recognition was limited as the grips were usually concealed by the riders' hands. In 1980, Jannard released a pair of goggles called the O-Frame. With the 'Oakley' logo present on the strap, onlookers began to recognize the brand. In 1984, Oakley introduced a pair of sunglasses called the Eyeshade, which were made of plastic and featured removable lenses. They were popularized by Tour de France winner Greg LeMond and other professional cyclists. Oakley continued to introduce new models of sunglasses, including the Blades, Razor Blades, Frogskins, and the Mumbos, which eventually evolved into the M-Frame series of glasses.[2]

Oakley signed a four-year agreement to manufacture eyewear designed by it and Fox Racing in September 2004. These products are sold as the Fox Eyewear brand.[3]

In 2006, Oakley acquired the Oliver Peoples group, a manufacturer of high-end fashion branded eyewear.

On June 21, 2007, Italian group Luxottica announced a plan to merge with Oakley in a cash deal worth $2.1 billion, and the deal was completed on November 15, 2007. Oakley is now in the portfolio of Milan-based Luxottica group, along with other brands such as Ray-Ban, Persol, and Vogue.[4]

Good Golly Ms. Molly! The $300 initial investment made baggillion gazzillion dollars for the Oakley creator! That's wayyyyyyyyyyyy more money than I can ever imagine having in my lifetime (err, make that 20 or so lifetimes)!

When is it going to stop

Oh summer, oh summer, where art thou? The ground hog saw it's shadow so it means 6 more weeks of winter for us. It's been a crazy winter so far. The farmer's almanac predicted it to be this way. We had a nice beautiful sunny day yesterday at 35 degrees fahrenheit. Today we're back to single digit. Crap! And when it's cold, all I do is eat. I guess my body needs more fuel this time of year. I took the day off from work today because Lexi has an important event at school at 1 pm. After that, I'll have the whole afternoon to myself. Maybe it's the perfect time for me to browse the stores at the mall and look for some weight loss pills, but not before stuffing my face with greasy fast food. heh.