random ramblings

well, well. if it isn't the fourth post here this month. i don't think i've blogged as much as i've had in the past years. but as i always like to say, out of the overabundance of the heart, the fingers speak. a lot. and i really do have a lot to say. it's just that when it's time, i clam up. even my fingers refuse to type the words i needed to say. so whatevs. this would be just like the few previous posts (with the exception of the one before this). feels just a bit forced. i don't even have a topic to write about; just blabber on with some brain farts for good measure. 

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salamat, shopee! 

so i've just made my first-ever purchase at shopee last week. even with my trepidation and impatience with the somewhat messy interface of the app (that's just me, don't judge.), i went ahead and bought myself a zero gravity lounge chair. what brought this about, you ask? well, the weather was so good last week, i just had to bask in it. especially last saturday. it was so sunny but cool as well due to the nonstop breeze. i also love the sound of the wind rushing through the leaves so yes, the great weather made me do it. 

the delivery took just two days to complete, and i was so happy it came in wrapped to death in bubble wrap!!! others take their knitting to their favourite spot in the house; i pop bubbles on my spanking brand new lounge chair just feeling the breeze in the middle of the garden. 

two things: 

1. someone's competing for a chance to use my chair: my pa. it's just so funny to see him so excited about the chair because he's the type to just fall asleep anywhere. well, i can't use the chair in the daytime anyway since i had to work, so i let him happily use it any time he wants to. 

2. i did mention that i bought it because of the great weather we're having, right? well, i had to wait for an extra day to be able to use it outside since it freaking rained on and off all day yesterday. but good things come to those who wait and earlier this afternoon i was able to finally feel the cool breeze i was longing for. 

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ano? ano? pakiulit nga?

these are the words that i kept hearing while on the phone. wearing a face mask and a face shield on top of it makes phone conversations difficult. i had to speak louder than the usual and even then i couldn't be understood by the person i was talking to. better to text instead. 

wearing a face mask and face shield is mandatory now. just couldn't help but feel inconvenienced since it's warmer now around my face. i mentioned on last sunday's post about not feeling that awesome breeze on my face because of the face shield. the other day i went out on a longer errand and even if the mall had airconditioning, my face felt really warm all throughout. 

now i feel bad for feeling inconvenienced when our frontliners in the hospital are working nonstop in the heat of not only their face masks and shields, but their PPEs as well. if these little things are worth using for the sake of everyone's health, then let's use them. 

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i've always been quite proud of not feeling sick while riding on any transportation. the few times i felt carsick is when the driver keeps on braking especially in a traffic jam, or when i'm on a bus. i eventually got used to riding the bus when i started working. it's those oft-used brakes in cars that drive me to the point wherein i feel nauseated. 

for some reason, riding in cars lately make me want to puke. not because the driver is not good, but i think that not being able to ride in any vehicle for weeks on end is the culprit. i really had to buy some mints to help alleviate that feeling. 

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macaulay culkin recently celebrated his 40th birthday and to commemorate it, he tweeted this: 

for some reason i just imagined 10-year-old mack saying that. 

happy 40th!

LSS: Scarlet Thread by JJ Heller

I am a mess of stitch and string

There is a scarlet thread woven through me

When everything's unraveling

There is a scarlet thread woven through me.

- Scarlet Thread, JJ Heller

Lyrics: 

I am a tapestry

Life left a stain on me

Where would I be, if You're not with me?

You see the beauty in broken things. 

I am a mess of stitch and string

There is a scarlet thread woven through me

When everything's unraveling

There is a scarlet thread woven through me.

Beneath the flaws and worn-out heart

You're turning tangles into a work of art

Where would I be, if You're not with me?

Where would I go? I don't wanna know.

I am a mess of stitch and string

There is a scarlet thread woven through me

When everything's unraveling

There is a scarlet thread woven through me.

Bind the broken places

Fill the empty spaces

With Your peace

All I need is You

I am a mess of stitch and string

There is a scarlet thread woven through me

When everything's unraveling

There is a scarlet thread woven through me.

I am a mess of stitch and string

There is a scarlet thread woven through me

When everything's unraveling

There is a scarlet thread woven through me.

There is a scarlet thread woven through me

There is a scarlet thread woven through me

There is a scarlet thread woven through me.

of deliveries and other stuff

can't believe that it will be september in a week's time. these pandemic days have just bled into weeks, and weeks into months in such a sly yet vicious manner that before we know it, it's already 2021. 

it's been more than five months since i've been working from home and while i am not new to this, this is a whole new kind of different in the sense that i cannot move as freely as i had years ago. there's always that underlying dread now that if i go out even with all my protective gear on, i would somehow catch the virus or worse, be asymptomatic and pass it on to my loved ones. 

guess it's just God's grace that i am now able to handle the situation much better than in the first couple of months into lockdown. several adjustments have been made especially when we have to get much-needed food supplies. 

since i have no car nor do i know how to drive, so the best thing to get groceries is via delivery. and when i crave for my favourite foods? delivery. the only thing that's nonnegotiable would be my folks' meds, fresh meats, and produce. i actually tried vegetable deliveries but four out of five times, there's always veggies or fruits that are not that fresh so i had to request for a replacement which takes extra time. for this old girl it would be really better if i can actually see them.

what i like about grocery deliveries is the convenience it brings. i don't need to get out, wait for my turn outside the grocery to get in, then wait in line again to the cashier. the time i spend waiting in line to the cashier are just as long as the time i spend in traffic going to and from the grocery in the good old days. as my cousin said, grocery day is a half-day engagement made even longer if we wipe everything off before putting them in the pantry. at least this time, all i have to do is to wait until the groceries arrive, then i wipe them off. hahaha

so far i have tried four grocery delivery services: metromart, waltermart, all day, and grab pabili. among these, metromart is like an online mall of sorts: one can choose among a selection of groceries, pet shops, and drug stores. there's even a wet market (farmer's), flower shop, and a winery. waltermart and all day, thankfully have thought of creating an online version of their stores so i am able to get what we need in one go. grab pabili is good for smaller-scale grocery shopping. this i've only tried once so far and it was okay. i would have to explore grab pabili further should the need arise. 

pros: 

1. very convenient. just a few quick taps or clicks and you'll just wait for your groceries to arrive. among the four services, it's only with grab pabili that i got what i need on the same day since one only has to buy a few items. the others offer delivery schedules in which you'll just have to choose from. metromart offers several time ranges within a day, waltermart next-day delivery with one time range (9am-6pm) for the whole day; and all day offers same-day delivery when orders come in before 2pm. in my case, though, my groceries from all day were delivered the next day even when i put in my orders just before lunch time. they did inform me though, so it was not a problem at all.

2. the staff is very accommodating. for metromart and all day, they make sure to call if the item that you want is not available and will suggest a substitute for it. in the space of an hour i've gotten several calls and texts from the shopper for suggestions which to me is a big, big plus in their service. waltermart's app and website offer a feature where you place notes in specific items for substitutions, thus eliminating the need for the shopper to contact the buyer. the riders of these three services are also okay, as are the grab riders. they are only too glad to assist in helping to bring in the groceries in since i cannot carry them all in one go. 

i'd like to say there are cons, but in reality they're just minor inconveniences, like the service fee that metromart charges on top of the delivery fee. i do understand that, which is why it is best to buy with them in bulk. if you only need a few things, then grab pabili is the way to go. 

there's also the matter of delivery time but they do manage the expectations of their customers. at least on my part, that's what they did so yeah, not really that much of a con. and i don't know, maybe it's just me, but i think i've become more understanding of people when it comes to these things since everyone is in a different boat in this storm. all we really have to do is to be kind.

so yes, with all these deliveries, a month went by without me having to wander off to the nearest grocery store even with all the intense little cravings i get. and the sad thing about that is i never even noticed the time fly by. 

on an unrelated note, thank goodness i had some energy today which is why i hied myself off to the store and bought some stuff. how i relished the noonday sun beating down on me and the wind rushing by. i actually spread my arms out and took a deep breath... unfortunately, i only inhaled the fibers of my face mask, and my face couldn't feel the fresh air thanks to the face shield i was wearing on top of the mask. 

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bless this mess... not

i've always prided myself for not being all over the bed while sleeping. most of the time i turn to one side before i sleep and when i wake up, i'm still in a sane position with all of my bed stuff still on the bed. rare are the times when i knock a pillow or a blanket off. 

lately though, i've noticed my bedsheets are out of place come morning, especially the part near my feet. these are fitted sheets that fit the cushion perfectly, so i find it strange that they're always a mess upon waking even when i put them back in place the night before. it can't be because of nightmares since i rarely have those.

one thing that i can think of to solve this mystery is to mount a camera in my room and record myself sleeping. which i'm too lazy to do, so scratch that. and yeah. my imagination is already creeping me out of this idea as it is. 

so until i simply glue the sheets onto the cushion, they will continue to be a mess in the mornings to come.

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salamat, shopee! 

one hobby i've gotten into as of late is playing the games on shopee. this is the app that's by far the messiest to deal with, what with all the online shops that abound in there. and since i'd rather play than go shopping anyway, games it is then for this old girl. 

games, and those tie-ins with eat bulaga and wowowin namely shopee shake and shopee catch. haha!

smooth (?) escape

howdy from the city with the longest lockdown in the world! 

from gcq, good old metro manila was placed back in modified enhanced community quarantine. i'm not even going into the gory details on how it came to be. as i've mentioned in previous posts, not a day goes by where we don't get any news that would actually help uplift people's spirits in these trying times. each day is just one head-bangin' time and no, i don't mean doing that while listening to rock music. it's just all so frustrating that i find myself looking for things to escape into. 

definitely not books, much to my own great surprise. i haven't so much as opened one book ever since the beginning of the pandemic. the last book i held and read was the graveyard book by neil gaiman if i'm not mistaken. alexander mccall smith's retelling of jane austen's emma has been sadly gathering dust on my desk for months which is a big boo! it's literally sitting on my desk that also serves as my night table and it's just there, looking at me, looking at me as if i've done it a great disservice. and i know i have. 

especially since i did finish one online book a couple of weeks ago, something about a billionaire... 

but that's just it.

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music and movies have been my main sources of escape since march. music more so than movies, of course, but movies also do have that effect of drawing the viewer in, making them forget all their troubles even for just a couple of hours. i know watching home alone 1 and 2 had that effect on me. memories of christmases past just came crashing down on moi and of course those idyllic moments of childhood when you didn't care about anything else but play, go to school, watch cartoons, eat, sleep, play some more. rinse and repeat. sister act 1 had the same effect too. 

i used to say that i liked my childhood but i don't feel that wanting to go back to it. but in these times? i never wanted anything more than just that. heck, even january and february of this year seem like they happened years ago already, even if they themselves hadn't been a bed of roses either. 

so thank goodness for cable and the movies that allow me to forget. props to ready or not, that creepy movie where the protagonist has to survive the night playing hide-and-seek since her new in-laws would make surviving impossible for her. the dark humour there is enough for me to cringe in choice parts which is of course the intention of the filmmaker. i also like the premise of the movie. it reminds me of a twilight zone episode i watched as a kid where there was a boy or girl being chased by evil children. the kid was cornered in a hallway and if my memory serves, he or she falls out of the window and dies. i don't know why that particular episode stayed with me all these years and now i'm wondering how could a five-year-old been left alone watching tv shows not meant for kids. 

anyway, another movie that stuck with me was instant family, which is a true-to-life movie about the director's own experience in fostering siblings and eventually adopting them. i love how the story was told in this movie and it just cuts straight to the heart. another reason why this resonated with me is because i would like to be able to foster kids myself some time in the future when provisions would allow. fostering kids is not that popular in the philippines although there are some organisations here that promote it. i would have to research more on how this works here. 

one fun fact about instant family: the girl who played the eldest sibling also portrayed dora in that dora the explorer movie. haha! yeah, yeah, so i also watched that dora the explorer movie, which was aired a few months before instant family. i knew that girl looked familiar.

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in the realm of music, kat edmonson reigns supreme. i have discovered new music that made it to my 2020 playlist, revisited more oldies but goodies in the recent months, but kat lords over it all. it's really amazing that she produces her own live show on facebook straight from her living room! even now that she's moved from brooklyn to upstate ny, she and her partner aaron manage to put out a show every week for her fans, with something new almost every time. i think it's great that kat has guests in the show in addition to her singing her great songs and others from the great american songbook. it's also awesome how kat interacts with her fans, how she really makes an effort to remember requests, and of course the people who come to her show every sunday night (monday morning in my time zone). i haven't missed a show yet although i've been late to a couple since i fell back asleep after turning off the alarm that i set specifically for it haha!

so i sound very much like a fangirl here and no, not sorry at all. been a fan of kat edmonson since 2014 when i first heard her song lucky in the movie admission. i also wrote a bit about this song in this post. i think it's very sweet of kat to sing it every time someone requests it. 

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good night!