lunch with blanch

after her trip to manila, my dear friend blanche
asked me to lunch

so off we went to pepe's on this 25th day
of march when it was hot and muggy

beef taco salad

gambas

callos

we really didn't have any earth shattering tales to share

but it really pays to connect with friends

even for an hour or two

so blanche dear, thanks for the time

that we spent the together

hope it doesn't contribute to another 5 lbs

to our hips and thighs

reflections

for the past two days, we did nothing except laze around the house and eat!!!!! i brought home a lot of my work but i had only glanced at the bulging bag since wednesday. i started working on it this afternoon but strayed and now i'm here blogging again. hahahahaha

after reading a certain ex-editor's website, i realized more than ever that being fashionable is different from having class and breeding. having the most expensive things in life, the "it" bag of the moment, the most fashionable dress, doesn't make you a better person. not that i didn't know about this earlier, but this was again emphasized after reading her blog.

i was also reading the effect of the high cost of gas and the glut in the real estate in the US and how it affects the average american family. when i was younger, i thought that everyone in the land of milk and honey is rich. as for us here in the islands, it seems that the much publicized and advertised economic bonanza affects only those people appearing on those ads, as for us average pinoy, we can hardly feel its effect. all i know is that our ninoy aquino can't buy as much as it used to.

so i am making a promise not to buy any designer bag for the moment..... since i already have a number and it didn't make me any happier.... not that i had turn into a reverse snob, i would still patronize designer bags but will limit my purchase FOR THE TIME BEING, hehehehehe

gossip

i recently discovered a website on local celebrities and wannabes. it has a vile humor and a tongue-in-cheek wit. i like it because it is very unpretentious and it even made fun one of its contributors who had not made the changes to its site as promised. it's hilarious reading their website because it gives you another side of the celebrities who im sure will be hidden by the guessing game in other publications.

their recent "topic" is an ex-editor who had a condescending tone when she asked if a woman attendee of a fashion show was the owner of an LV black multicolor tote she was seen carrying. intrigued, i had to look at her blog and i was very disappointed. i used to read the magazine where she was the editor and i couldn't associate the words that she used with the woman at the helm of that magazine. her choice of words were very inappropriate - "bawal kumuha ng peekchure" to mimic the accent of the burly guards? she even criticized someone's yellow teeth without attempting to hide the identity. i honestly thought i had wandered into the blog of a showbiz gay reporter, hahahhaha

normal is as normal as can be

a psychiatrist testifying in court narrates the manifestation of a psychologically incapacitated individual in the context of how it affects the person's capacity to perform his/her marital obligations, the picture she paints of the individual concerned sounds so much how the rest of us act to the point that the prosecutor even commented out loud if don't we all have personality disorders?

check this out:

“Individuals with Avoidant Personality Disorder (301.82), according to the world-renowned Psychiatrist, Prof. Glenn O. Gabbard, long for close interpersonal relationships but are afraid of them because of the fear of humiliation connected with failure and the pain connected with rejection. Their desire for relationships may not be readily apparent because of their shy, self-effacing self-presentation. According to the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV-TR), individuals suffering from this have the following:

“A pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four or more of the following:

1. avoids occupational activities that involve significant interpersonal contact, because of fears of criticism, disapproval, or rejection
2. is unwilling to get involved with people unless certain of being liked
3. shows restraint within intimate relationships because of the fear of being shamed or ridiculed
4. is preoccupied with being criticized or rejected in socials situations
5. is inhibited in new interpersonal situations because of feelings of inadequacy
6. views self as socially inept, personally unappealing, or inferior to others
7. is unusually reluctant to take personal risks or to engage in any new activities because they may prove embarrassing”

don't you think we have at some point in our lives exhibited some of the above traits? are we naturally dysfunctional?

i believe i have obsessive compulsive tendencies. i made that observation to another psychiatrist and he said that all of us have to a certain degree, OC tendencies. he said most professionals tend to have this because it what drives them to succeed.

i know a guy who counts his steps to arrive at his destination within a given number, or probably it's a toss up between an odd or even number. he retraces his steps if it doesn't jive with that number. i know someone who makes a sign of the cross at every church he passes by; i know someone who cleans up the mess even if the party ends up at 2 or 3 am.

as for me, at home, i wipe the bathroom sink and toilet bowl every morning and evening with a germicidal wipe, i mop the bathroom floor after each shower, i wipe all the faucets even if its 1am. when i see a frame hanging askew, even if i'm running late, i have to fix it. i arrange my clothes by colors, i even arrange empty hangers by colors. i fold dirty clothes and put it in the hamper by color. or when i hear a strange sound, i will not rest until i find its source. this last quirk saved our home from fire a few years back. daging and i heard a strange popping sound but couldn't find its source. everyone at home decided it was just our imagination. the next day, we had some guests over and they too, heard the strange sound and pointed to the ceiling. someone opened the ceiling and true enough, there was an open wire with sparks already at that point. if daging and i hadn't insisted, our house would probably had burned down.

is this normal? as dr g said, it's as normal as it gets. does it make me psychologically incapacitated, of course not!!!!! or i hope not!!!!!!