It’s the third week into the new year and my blog still hasn’t been updated. Sorry, very busy with…stuff. Ok, tis the time to make resolutions again. First, here’s a review of my 2006 plans and how I fared:

• Debt-free 2006 – Check. I’ve managed to fully eradicate my credit card debt. Wipee! Thanks to my super supportive boyfriend! Well, I still have some balance left, but that’s because of Christmas shopping and nothing else.
• Manage my finances well – Check. I’ve been frugal, buying only the things that I needed. And NO MORE ONLINE SHOPPING! CD Japan what?
• Study for JLPT level 1 – Not accomplished. I did try to study for the JLPT but I stopped even before March.
• Be a better penpal – Not accomplished. Sad.
• Take good care of my health – Check. I’ve been eating healthy and exercising whenever I can. I walk, walk, walk a lot.
• Find a new job. Not accomplished. Bren-duh was the reason why this item was in my to-do list last year. But she was fired so I never looked for a job.
• Go back to grad school – Not accomplished. Never had the time or the money for it.
• Get part-time jobs – Small check. I guess you can count my CD business as a part-time job.

For this year, I’d be keeping those that I wasn’t able to keep last year:

• Remain debt-free and keep on managing finances well
• Study for JLPT level – I already am!!
• Be a better penpal – I’ve already started with Miho and Ji Hye and I hope I can renew ties with my other penpals…if they still remember who I am
• Stay healthy
• Go back to grad school
• Continue to find ways to earn money – Translation, tutorials and what-have-you. I really think I should start earning money for the crafts I do. I can also enrol in seminars for home industries (I’d really like to learn sewing. Not just dressmaking, though. I’d like to learn how to sew bags, hats and other everyday items).

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OK, it’s official: I’m going to start studying to be a Japanese teacher starting this year. ^_^ Wipee! Schatz and I dropped by the school on Saturday and we were able to discuss stuff with Betty-sensei. The teacher-training course is a 2-semester course aimed at enabling teachers to teach lessons 1-20 of the Minna no Nihongo series and with this, lesson plans, teaching methods and others. I’m really nervous, and excited at the same time. I found out from Sensei that Gail is going to be my classmate again. Hehe. After so many years, we’re reunited in the same class ^_^ Oh well. 一生懸命頑張ります！

our first year anniversary is coming up in 3 weeks. i’m SO excited! we still haven’t decided what we’re going to do, but i know it’s going to be really special.

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my 2006 new year’s resolutions:

i don’t use to make resolutions. i figured i can always make and break them anytime, without waiting for the new year. but for the heck of it, i’ve come up with some concrete resolutions that i want to achieve for this year and i want to make good!

• take good care of my health: eating healthy, working out. but i can’t be a vegan, no matter how hard i try. i love kfc so much. and i’m a peta online subscriber at that. i know,i guess this makes me a hypocrite.
• debt-free 2006!! goodbye, citibank!
• be a better penpal – i miss them all…
• study nihongo harder – 1kyuu, here i come!
• go back to graduate school – i’m only going back when schatz graduates from his degree
  program and he’s going to graduate this year, i’m positive of that. ひさちぶり、dlsu！
• take care of my finances – so far, i’m doing good. i’ve never bought anything online in 2005, and that’s saying a lot, because i used to be really addicted to online shopping. ebay, jpqueen, yesasia, mandarake, cdjapan. you name it! i’m on first-name-basis with the ‘add to cart’ button.

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jax has resigned and i’m happy about that. i won’t miss him much. i admit we did have somerifts, especially after joey left. i didn’t like how he work and i was not satisfied with his contributions to the team. it’s as if he’s not trying hard enough. all he would do the whole day is to chat (ym and msn) and browse through forum sites (mostly about toys and wrestling). oh well, i hope he does better in his new job.

i will terribly miss carla, though. it’s funny; i never thought i’d say this but yeah, i like her now. back when i was still a newbie in the company, i was quite scared of her. i thought she’s masungit and she actually makes faye (my former manager) look like a saint. haha, even jerome noticed! but eventually, i learned she wasn’t so bad. in fact, i really like her now. she’s funny, madaldal, and always finds something nice to say about everything. sabi ko nga e, i want to transfer to the consulting office kahit na sabi nila boring daw dun. sabi ko naman, andun naman si carla so may konting ingay pa rin. e sino na ang maingay ngayon dun pag wala na sya??

kakainis naman…pag si jerome ang nag-resign, i will leave the company for good! jax’s replacement is supposed to come on board feb 1. well, i hope she’s better and i will make sure she won’t become a kampon ever. as in, kampon ni andre b (please make me smart and
pretty).

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another pet peeve: these call center people who are so loud and so full of themselves that they think it’s alright to shout invectives at each other in public. hello? you don’t own the building, you don’t own ministop, you don’t own starbucks. learn some manners before you learn accents. my sister worked for a call center before, but she didn’t feel like shouting ‘hoy bakla, p**yeta ka, libre mo nga ko sa ministop. t*ngIn* mo’ everytime she sees a colleague. what’s wrong with them, anyway?

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ok, i’m totally hooked on full metal alchemist, and i can’t get the laruku song out of my head. oh yeah, i have different versions of the song (courtesy of cdjapan): ken – ready version, yukihiro – ready version and tetsu – ready version.

READY STEADY GO
2nd Opening Song ~ Full Metal Alchemist/鋼の錬金術師 (Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi)
Performed by L’Arc~en~Ciel
Lyrics: hyde
Music: tetsu
タ イ ト ル名: READY STEADY GO
アーティスト名: L’Arc?en?Ciel
作詞者名: hyde
作曲者名: tetsu

READY STEADY CAN’T HOLD ME BACK
READY STEADY GIVE ME GOOD LUCK
READY STEADY NEVER LOOK BACK
LET’S GET STARTED READY STEADY GO

吹き飛んでゆく風景　転がるように前へ
苦し紛れでも　標的はもう見逃さない
あてにならない地図　焼いてしまえば良いさ
埋もれた真実　この掌でつかみ取ろう

夢中で-早く-駆け抜けて来た
うるさいくらいに張り裂けそうな鼓動の高鳴り
響いて-呼んで-いる君の声
ここで立ち止まるような時間は無いさ
READY STEADY GO

数えきれない傷　抱え込んでいても
ちょっとやそっとじゃ　魂までは奪わせない
あの丘の向こうで　君に出逢えたなら
何から話そう　そんな事ばかり思うよ

夢中で-早く-駆け抜けて来た
うるさいくらいに張り裂けそうな鼓動の高鳴り
響いて-呼んで-いる君の声
ここで立ち止まるような時間は無いさ
READY STEADY GO

READY STEADY CAN’T HOLD ME BACK
READY STEADY GIVE ME GOOD LUCK
READY STEADY NEVER LOOK BACK
LET’S GET STARTED READY STEADY GO

心は-走る-あの空の下
空回りする気持ちが叫び出すのを止められない
君まで-届け-きっと後少し
熱く日差しが照らすこの道の向こう
READY STEADY GO
PLEASE. TRUST ME.

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