Bisdak Babbles

It’s been more than a month since I’ve posted my last Thursday Thirteen. I’m glad I’ve got the mood to write my list again.

I’ll reveal some of the steps I’ve taken to battle off an enemy for over a decade: acne. I was so desperate (and still am), that I even did some idiotic unique things just to get rid of it.

(1) I’ve been using Shiseido’s Pimplit for a few months. So far, so good.

(2) I heard from a friend that Cutina, an over-the-counter medication here in Japan, is effective. But I guess it really depends on some physical factors, because I think it made my acne worse.

(3) When my father was still working in Saudi Arabia, he often brought home Magic Cream. But my father’s now retired, I ran out of supply, and it became hard to find that certain brand (I forgot the brand name).

(4) Natural Living’s Aloe Vera Jelly was also effective and I can’t remember why I stopped using it.

(5) A friend from college used Chin Chun Su beauty cream. In a way, it helped minimize the pimples but it made my face and my neck skin abnormally lighter than my arms’ and it felt weird so I stopped using it.

(6) San-ing Cream also had the same effects as the Chin Chun Su.

High school days…
(7) I also tried applying aloe vera THE plant. I can’t remember if that was effective, but growing aloe vera wasn’t easy.

(8) Of course I sought the help of the dermatologists but no medication seemed to work!

(9) I think I’ve tried scrubbing my face with every kind of Eskinol. It helped only a little. After all, it’s only a cleanser.

(10) Queens bathe in milk, you say? So I’ve tried washing my face with fresh milk, then leaving it on overnight. It made no difference, aside from the unpleasant smell and the sticky feeling.

(11) Perla soap. To those who are not from the Philippines, Perla is a laundry soap. Many claimed that washing your face with it then leaving it on overnight could eliminate those uglies. But all I got was the burning sensation in my face, sometimes in my eyes!

(12) Face mask from egg whites, then leave them on overnight. How I hated the smell and my scary look when I wake up.

(13) The craziest of all: my mother brought me to an albularyo/folk healer! I was 13 years old at that time and I was made to believe that “curses” might have caused my pimple outbreak! To prevent more outbreaks, I had to wear an amulet! Yep, wear an amulet to prevent pimples. haha! (This is really embarrassing but I can’t help laughing at my stupidity when I think about it. All for acne’s sake!)

Jazevox of Honestly Fresh tagged me with this one:

The rules:
Link to the person that tagged you. Post the rules on your blog. Share six un-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. Tag 6 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. Let these random people know that they are tagged by leaving comments in their blog. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Now, the 6 things that I consider weird or even bad things about me:

1. If I really like an anime or drama series, I couldn’t sleep soundly until I finish watching all the episodes!
2. I don’t eat the brown/black part of fish. Some people say it’s delicious, but for me, it tastes bitter.
3. My mother used to put raisins in her macaroni salad, but my siblings and I take the raisins out and set them aside. Now, there’s not a single raisin in my mother’s macaroni salad.
4. I’ve got hard-muscled arms (such an ugly sight!). When I was a little girl, I was fond of arranging and rearranging things at home and in our little sari-sari store. Those activities involved lifting furniture, all by myself!
5. My white/gray hair strands started appearing when I was 9 years old. Now, at 28, I think I badly need to color my hair.
6. I couldn’t bring myself to cook another dish without eating everything that I’ve previously cooked, even if it means eating the same dish for 6 consecutive meals.

I am tagging no one in particular. If you want to reveal how “unique” you are, please, feel free to do this.  Thanks!

I’m feeling a bit blue these days, so to cheer me up a little, I got to evaluate me! Got this tag from Jon:

Rules:
- Pick your birth month.
- Bold the 5-10 that best apply to you.
- Copy to your own journal, with all twelve months.
- Tag 12 people from your friends list.

JANUARY:
Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people’s flaws and weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking and productive. Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make others happy. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loves children. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very stubborn and money cautious.

I’m not tagging anyone this time, so if you want to cheer up a little, you could do this.

JANUARY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people’s flaws and weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking and productive. Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make others happy. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loves children. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very stubborn and money cautious.
FEBRUARY: Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.
MARCH: Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decors. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.
APRIL: Active and dynamic. Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving. Motivates oneself and others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way that only their lover can see.
MAY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.
JUNE: Thinks far with vision. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends. Able to show character. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious. Executive. Stubborn.
JULY: Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people’s feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.
AUGUST: Loves to joke. Attractive. Suave and caring. Brave and fearless. Firm and has leadership qualities. Knows how to console others. Too generous and egoistic. Takes high pride in oneself. Thirsty for praises. Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered. Angry when provoked. Easily jealous. Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly. Independent thoughts. Loves to lead and to be led. Loves to dream. Talented in the arts, music and defense. Sensitive but not petty. Poor resistance against illnesses. Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic. Loving and caring. Loves to make friends.
SEPTEMBER: Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people’s mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.
OCTOBER: Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to take things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn’t pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence. Loves children.
NOVEMBER: Has a lot of ideas. Difficult to fathom. Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciate praises. High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic. Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities. Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions. Unpredictable.
DECEMBER: Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egotistic. Take high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions. Loves to joke. Good sense of humor. Logical.

Siani’s Pot-Pourri tagged me with this cool meme:

Here are the rules: When tagged, you have to link to the person who tagged you. Post the rules just before your list, then list eight random facts about yourself. At the end of your post, you must tag and link to eight other people.

1. I was 5 years old when the youngest sibling was born. One time, I was playing with my walking doll but suddenly, that doll tripped and the doll’s face fell exactly on my then 2-month-old sister’s face! My baby sister was so terrified that she didn’t breathe for a few seconds. I can’t remember what my mother did to my sister because I panicked, but I can still remember the scolding I got.

2. When I was 6 years old, I was very eager to go to school so my mother made an arrangement for me to become a class “visitor”. At that time, a child who won’t turn 7 on the first half of the school year won’t be accepted as a first grader. But my teacher said I was “ready”. So in the school records, October 9, 1979 was written as my birthday, instead of January 1980. This was changed to the real birthdate when I was already in sixth grade.

3. I first noticed the white/gray hairstrands in my head when I was still 10 years old. I don’t know where I got this or how. They said that it’s heriditary but no one in the family has the same predicament. Perhaps in 3 or 4 years, I’ll dye my hair to cover these up. *sigh*

4. Since fourth grade, I’ve always preferred to sit in the front row because my vision was already bad. I had my first pair of eyeglasses when I became a highschool freshman. There was this seating arrangement made by our teacher and I was often seated five rows behind.

5. I love fiction books! I started out reading every Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys in the library when I was in highschool. Then I shifted to romance novels when I stumbled upon Barbara Cartland. For me, she’s the best romance novelist ever! Now, I’m into fantasy and mystery books.

6. The last time I checked, I’m still afraid of mascots! Whenever I come close to one, I couldn’t suppress the fear that he/she might do something terrible. Why? Maybe because I haven’t seen “their kind” when I was still a child? I grew up in a rural area, after all! But maybe now I’m no longer afraid of them…

7. I’m ok with those tiny, helpless, have-difficulty-standing puppies. But full-grown dogs? No way! I just couldn’t stand them licking my finger. I’m afraid they’re gonna bite my hands off! You see, I was bitten by our first dog pet when I was 9 years old and that dog died 3 days after it bit me. I had to endure eight (8) consecutive anti-rabies injection around my navel! And I couldn’t bear another set of those.

8. I had a professional driver’s license but didn’t drive and still couldn’t. I enrolled in a driving school and I’m pretty sure that I forgot everything I’ve learned from there!

Done!
I hope it won’t be such a bother… I’m tagging Charlotte, Florence, Rose, Sun Jun. And my new friends: Levian, Rey Ian, Rollchan, and Erra.

Image taken from Red Mountain Bank.

Just another boredom rant…

Surrounded daily by women who bring their complete sets of make-up, then proficiently apply them while on the train… I’m impressed! But the “lady” (??) in me sometimes can’t help but wonder… how plain do I look compared to these “decorated” ones? Often wearing just a t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of sneakers… what cosmetics can one expect from me other than a lip gloss?

Why shouldn’t I try it? What? Wear make-up… daily? Nah… I’m too lazy to add this to my daily physical maintainance. I don’t even know how to correctly apply blush-on and eye-shadow. Let’s just say, I’m not up to it yet…

And guess when was the last time I wore makeup? It was during my college graduation - more than 6 years ago!

My first blog was about my daytime sleepiness and it became worse over the past few months due to my inability to sleep early. I usually fall asleep at around 3:00AM even if I’m already in bed at 11PM. Hot shower, milk and hot tea did nothing to ease this predicament. But then I recalled the time when I drank wine, it made me really sleepy. Wine might help me get back my beauty sleep!

But it’s not that easy. You see, due to family history, I have developed this strong resolve not to meddle with any alcoholic drink. But I could no longer battle my insomnia so I gave in and bought this wine (in the picture). Indeed it was really effective! I already consumed everything but when I went to the supermarket to buy another bottle, the anti-alcohol me won. I ended up not buying anything… and here I am again, trying to fall asleep.

I came across this article from Kerygma Magazine and I am posting it here perhaps to convince my self that it is OK to moderately drink wine…

Drink for More Brain Power
Research reveals that there are many ways of how we can improve our brain performance. In the advent of Alzheimer’s and other degenerative brain diseases, that’s welcome news indeed.
According to Time magazine (January 23, 2006 issue), physical exercise, daily meditation, a regular dose of caffeine, more fish in the diet, ample sleep and doing mental workout keep us mentally sharp.

But did you know that drinking alcohol can also help keep your brain healthy? In a study that involved 12,000 elderly women, researchers discovered that those who daily imbibed one-half to one drink of wine, beer or even spirits tended to have the mental agility of someone about a year and a half younger than those who didn’t drink at all. They were also found to have fewer chances of memory loss and fading mental powers as they aged compared to teetotalers.
“We know it is beneficial to have a drink a day for your heart. This says there is an additional reason to follow that guideline — it can protect against cognitive decline,” said Marilyn S. Albert
of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The study didn’t find any additional benefit among women who took more than a drink a day.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s drink to that!
(Source: washingtonpost.com, Time magazine)

There are a lot of things I have been doing back at home that I still do here in Japan but for different reasons…

• At home, I would chain my bike to something stationary, or else I wouldn’t see my bike again. In here, I chain my bike to something stationary for fear that the city government will take it for illegal parking
• I always made sure that I don’t leave my bag open and guard it with my life or else I would walk my way home. In here, I make sure that I keep my bag closed for fear that others would have a glimpse of the chaos inside. I just dump everything inside my bag.
• At times, I had to walk because of traffic jam. In here, if I don’t have my bike, I just walk because there’s no jeepney and the taxi fare is so expensive!
• At home, I don’t just leave place my things in an extra chair at a restaurant or somebody else would claim it. In here, I don’t leave my things in an empty chair so that others could use it.
• At times, especially when in a hurry, I just leave the counter without waiting my change of 0.25 centavo. In here, I have to wait for my change even if it is 1 yen or else the cashier would call your attention… it’s embarrassing!