Because I Am Nearing 50. (Part Three)

1. I started to watch the series 'Suits' and 'How To Get Way With Murder' both of which the daughter recommended. Both are in season breaks now. So I miss Harvey Spectre. I dread to watch the succeeding episodes of 'How To Get Away With Murder' because they killed the character of Wes in the series, and I loved Wes. 

2. I worship the scripwriters of 'The West Wing'. 

  3.  The best movies I ever saw were: 'Heneral Luna'; 'Tadhana'; 'Tanging Yaman'; 'Sa Yo Lamang'; The Mistress'; 'In Pursuit Of Happyness'; 'Stepmom'; 'In Time'; 'Whiplash' and 'The Judge'.

  4. I started to read books early on: went through the phases of Nancy Drew, Mills and Boon, Sidney Sheldon, John Grisham and Nelson DeMille. I stopped reading actual books after discovering how to work my tablet. But there is none compared to reading 'real' books, that smell of the ink and paper. I attempted to read 'The Rainbow Comes and Goes' by Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt via a reader from ebooks. It did not feel like 'reading a book'. 

5. A Dean from the school where I started my MBA (and never finished) made me aware I can 'write', so she mentored me. How I write now, I owe her. I don't know if that is a good thing. 

6. I sleep with my head opposite the headboard, always. That allows me to put my feet up, not necessarily to get the blood flowing but to take photos of my socks.

7. There are only two people in the world who can take out the ingrown  nails in my toes without having blood splatter all over the place.

8. I like bathrooms clean. At home, we try our best. 

9. I cannot understand rich people who do not take care of their teeth, really.

10. I sleep at the back of any vehicle I ride, regardless of who owns it, when I travel long. And that means, I lie down, with pillows and a blanket. That means, too, most of the time, I travel alone. 

11. If awareness of what constitutes sexual harassment was pronounced as it is now twenty years ago, I was a victim several instances and I didn't know.

12. There is no greater gift in life than having children, I strongly believe that.

13. I used to have short, short hair. 

14. I love shoes. But I love bags more. And I love slingbags and pouches mostest. 

15. I drink coffee twice a day, morning and a mug which will last for the whole day. 

16. In any place we lived as a family, we had almost all repainted and decorated with blue as the main hue. 

17. Whenever I intend to sleep nowadays, I plug in my earphones. 

18. At times when I know I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, I ask my assistant not to let people in my office, you know, because I just might explode about some silly matter. I don't want that to happen. So when I tell my assistant: 'I don't want to talk to anyone.' when I arrive, they all know that it is going to be a looooong day.

19. I hate it when texts and especially calls go unanswered. There is a reason the phones are called 'mobile phones'. Right? If the intention of bringing mobile phones to the office is to put them in the drawer and let it ring for forty-eight years, then throw the thing away. There are landlines. 

20. My kids introduced me to spoken word poetry. I now enjoy watching pieces of Sarah and Phil Kaye or Rudy Francisco. If there is one thing common among us (me and my kids) it us our love for words beautifully sewn together by poets. 

21. I form bonds with my family and friends, through food. Eat, eat, eat, while speaking with our mouths full. 

22. I eat cheesecake everytime I have a chance to, knowing fully well that cheese is a migraine trigger. 

23. I like to eat buttered brocolli. Just brocolli. 

24. When I saw Kiltepan Peak in Sagada, I had to catch my breath. Not only because I climbed several steps towards view. It was beauuuutiiiiifuuulllll. I did not shout 'Ayoko naaaaa.', like in the movie, though. I wanted to, just to feel like Angelica Panganiban, but there were other people there. 

25. I think that Pinoy Big Brother is a legitimized form of vouyerism. I cannot comprehend why people do watch it?

26. Facebook helped me in many ways. I mean, how would I know, for instance that my grandchildren with my niece, Roxanne, are adorable, if not for her posts? Or if my staff went to the mall instead of to the barangays? (Sometimes they forget that location is part of the posts.)

27. I am partial to OPM (original pilipino music). Of course everyone knows I will kiss the ground upon which Bamboo walks. But I also like artists in the country as well.

28. I am not a fan of the present set of foreign artists as much, though. I respect Sting, Madonna, Michael McDonald and Bryan McKnight. 

29. My kids influenced me to like Ed Sheeran, The Chainsmokers, ColdPlay, Sud, Hoziere, who put angst out there with class. 

30. I have only two playlists: one, for OPM, and two, for my 'fave foreign artists'.

31. I pray the rosary. 

32. On my wedding day, the wind from the beach knocked down our cake.

33. I dress for comfort first, then style. I only wore heels once in my life: when I got married. 

34. My make-up set consists of an eyeliner in black, a mascara in black, an infalliable foundation and pressed powder, and a tinge of lipstick. I put on blush on and eyeshadow, only on special occassions. 

35. Only one cd plays in my car stereo: The CompanY and their greatest hits, forever.

36. When I eat chocolate for one straight week (Cadbury is my fave), I expect to suffer migraine for three days after. 

37. I have a son oozing with sarcasm. 

38. I have a daughter who is only slightly sarcastic and who laughs loud with her mouth open.

39. Our pet dog Winky is needy and clingy. She needs to be hugged everytime. And needs to swallow one piece of hotdog, no chewing, everytime she sees me. Brat. 

40. I used to like Teddy Locsin, Jr. I feel the same way for him now as I feel for Sen. Manny Pacquiao.

41. Sleeping is my refuge from all my stresses. Which means I sleep most of the time.

42. I hate the politics in government service, but it is part of the territory so I deal with it. 

43. There is more to life than money. 

44. I have a lot of gay friends. I feel strongly for the LGBT community, not against.

45. I still watch Looney Tunes, and laugh at the same material as they had decades ago. 

46. I dream a lot. I never had a night with zero stories I recall having in my dreams. 

47. I use my ipad until I doze off to sleep at night, so most of the time, the tablet lands on the bridge of my nose. 

48. I use green or blue to sign official documents. My signature has been scanned once on a document, so I had to take 'precautions'.

49. I drink C2 as often as I drink soda.

50. 'Walk This Way' by Carlos Celdran, a tour of Intramuros, is one of my most unforgettable experiences.