More MyMaria Please!: June 2009

As I walked into unfamiliar territory, curious faces darted some confused looks at me perhaps wondering what a lost soul was doing at a place that wasn't my usual haunt. The bar smelled of smoke and old leather furniture. I haven't been to that place for many years and shocked but friendly faces were perhaps eager to know why a silly-looking girl like me would come alone. Yes, I was just wanting a shot of my poison before I hit the sack. But when my phone beeped as I ordered a shot of vodka, the short message that was about to be read would change the course of things that night.

Initially, I just wanted to be alone -- to think. And perhaps to vent at the elderly bartender and mercilessly have him listen to me pour out my sorrows and despair. But the ominous message kept flashing on my phone so I opened the inbox to see what it was about. I almost choked as I recognized the number that appeared as I took a swig of my favorite drink. His name may not be in my phonebook anymore but I [subconsciously] memorized the 11-digit number for such a long time. It had been almost 5 years since I resolved not to see him anymore. Things were getting too complicated already. But seeing the numbers before my astonished eyes, I could hardly contain my fast-beating heart. Yes, he still had that effect on me. Like an adrenalin pump, he was.

I gulped when I read his SMS which was composed of only 4 characters. "WRU?" My hand started to tremble, and due to my bewilderment compounded with distress, I decided to reply. "@ THE BAR." His reply, after just a few seconds when I told him where I was, took me by another wave of surprise. He said, "I'll pick you up." My heart was on fire. Who does he think he is? And what does he think of me? But furthermore, if he did, how the hell did he know which bar I was at??? So many questions. I didn't want to bombard him with those, so I delighted myself in the sweet smell of alcohol which was embracing me then. Ahhh!!!

I downed 3 more shots when my phone rang. An unassigned ringtone! Could it be him already? I refused to believe it but my heart was pounding so hard that I had to pick it up to make it stop. It was him alright. His voice was crystal clear and sounded like music to my ears. It was a feeling I so long had forgotten. I sensed urgency in his voice and it was obvious that he was outside waiting for me. I paid my tab, surprising the regulars with my sudden departure. I know those dirty rascals in the bar were probably waiting for me to give them free lap dances or see me piss my pants when the spirit of alcohol takes over my body. Suckers! "You're so not getting any of those tonight" was what I murmured as I left a large tip on the table. The old bartender gave me a grateful smile and then my heart started racing so fast.

Was I really going to see him after all these years? Why tonight? Why of all nights did he want to see me tonight? And then I remembered what made me come to the bar in the first place. I had wanted to let loose. De-stress. And let my anger dissipate and drown myself with my heartaches in sheer intoxication. I knew it did not justify me seeing him so hastily. I could picture a trap... yet a very beautiful trap. Strangely, I was feeling somewhat blissful, in some ways it felt like coming home. I stood outside for a few seconds glancing at the parked cars, barely recognizing him in the dark, then I saw him open the door for me.

This was it!!! I was really going to do it. Seeing him after so long sent electrical shocks to my spine. I felt shivers. He must have noticed when he started the car and said, "Still not a fan of air conditioning." He knew me too well... and just then he adjusted the temperature. I caught my breath and relaxed a bit, then asked him where we were headed as we turned around the corner. He said, "I missed driving around with you." That's all? Surely he can do better than that! But he continued, "And I missed talking to you." Oh, come on. He expected me to believe that? But then he said, "Most of all, I missed you." That hit home.

My mouth was sealed shut, no matter how much I wanted to argue with his statement. He stopped the car under a lamplight and turned to face me. "It's been a while." We both spoke at the same time... We laughed at the same time and smiled. The tension disappeared. I felt 5 years younger all of a sudden. Still, words seemed to escape me. I wanted to ask him so many things, but his scent reminded me of the bittersweet, fun times of our clandestine love affair. I started to speak but he held my hand gently. I was once again mesmerized by those gorgeous eyes when he drew closer. I swore he must have heard my heart thumping like crazy! He sure had a way of keeping me quiet. Our lips touched; it was a shy kiss. But it felt oh so right. We kissed some more and it was like telling 5 years of our lives in a passionate locked embrace. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. The alcohol didn't do much, but he did.

He is STILL my perfect drug.

P.S. This fictional story I wrote is just a figment of my imagination. LOL! It didn't happen in real life.

⋆✌㋡ღ⋆ ia\m/^_^\m/ai 陳美西

9:25 PM
6 Comments

Havaianas: Filipinas 2009

2009

5:47 PM
13 Comments

Netbook? Or should I say low-cost small notebook PC?

apple

The recent news of Microsoft (MS) wanting to rebrand netbooks as "low-cost small PCs" got me thinking... WHY? Don't you think it's pretty long to keep saying the multi-syllable "low-cost small notebook PC" instead of just a two-syllable "netbook"? I don't know about you but I am so sticking to just "netbook". Here's a funny chart I found on what can be classified as a netbook:

I never intended to buy one... at least for myself, because a netbook is just a lightweight and small version of the traditional laptop aimed at Internet usage and emailing. Hey, I can do that with my phone and my Ipod Touch! But when my mom was constantly complaining at how my old laptop just dies on her when she's trying to type with it, I knew I had to do something, or in this case, buy a netbook. So when Mother's Day came, I told her I was getting her one, on the condition that it'd also double/triple as her birthday gift as well as for their [my parents'] 40th wedding anniversary gift. LOL!

Now, the big question. WHICH NETBOOK TO GET??? There's Lenovo, Asus, Acer, Benq, MSI, HP Mini, you name it... there are too many choices out there and with the same specs and prices!!! Accordingly, each model has its own strengths and weaknesses, but I can't really tell the difference myself. Netbooks though are not designed for heavy programs such as Photoshop or large image processing; they can, however, deal with most Office applications such as Excel and Word very easily.

The first thing I considered was the price. (Of course, who doesn't?) Good thing Thinking Tools, Inc. was having a Midsummer Madness Promo so I headed there to check out what they had... and my choices were trimmed down to the following:

Apparently, the new Asus EEE PC had the Mac-inspired chiclet keys! And it also had the new Atom N280 (1.66 Ghz) processor with 9.5 hours of battery life!!! Plus Wireless N!!! Sweet specs for a pretty sweet price tag! I knew I made the right choice as we've had it for almost a month now and I'm really impressed with the battery life! And it comes with Star Office so you don't have to install MS Office on this baby. Okay, so the netbook is slightly heavier and bigger than the others but you can't go wrong with its performance. My mom actually watched the entire 25 episodes of Boys Over Flowers on this little thing!

And so since it had the Macbook feel with it, I decided to tweak it a wee bit and now it looks like a Macbook wannabe!!! ^_^ Well, not even half the speed of Mac OS X but for a fraction of the price... I couldn't be happier!

Check out the pics below:

See? What did I tell ya? It's actually running on WinXP, by the way.

Now here's a stolen shot I took while my mom had her hair styled while using the computer. Shhh! I hope she doesn't read this blog. ^_^ Hehe! *Peace, Ma!

And here are more shots of her while she was happily playing with her new toy. Oh and do you guys know that last year, I got her a PSP because she was asking for one? HAHAHA! My mom is quite a techy senior citizen! My, my... I wonder who I got my gadget girl impulses from? Hmmm...

Bookworm (as well as other Popcap games) runs pretty smooth on the netbook. I think because I upgraded the RAM to 2 GB. Tee hee.

Alright, Ma!!! Are You Happy??? ^_^

Yup, I think she really is. :) I love you, Ma! ^^,

And thanks for letting me borrow it from time to time especially when I'm out...
Yet I won't even dare compare it, but really, this is the next best thing to a Macbook White. LOL!

⋆✌㋡ღ⋆ ia\m/^_^\m/ai 陳美西

2:35 AM
4 Comments

The Great Samsung Sale Concert!

brownman

10:54 PM
6 Comments

FOR SALE: Flipping for phones!

flip

The garage sale of my used cellular phones ain't over yet. Why? Check these TWO FLIP PHONES I'm also letting go of! Yes, TWO phones, not just ONE, but TWO!!!

Okay, I know you're asking... Why so many phones? Because I am MyMaria. LOL! That should be enough reason why I have so many. And that's why you're in luck if you get to own it. This is just my ego talking really. But seriously, these phones are in tip-top shape and performance level is still top-notch. Hey, I'm very picky with my gadgets and I only buy the best... but unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. No, it's not broken or anything, nor does it have any hidden defects. Haller?! Do I look like a con or scammer? ^_^

Anyways, I know you're also wondering why I'm selling almost all my phones now. Well, if you were in my shoes, you'll probably be asking yourself, why do I need so many phones in the first place? Let's just say, I'm finally coming to my senses. I'm letting go of not just the phones but also my immaturity and unreasonableness for everything electronic. *sigh* One must grow up, so to speak.

So without further ado... Here's a hard to find OPENLINE Red Nokia N76. Bought last September 2007; so there's no more warranty. Love this phone to death with its fast processor (like the N95); that's why it's hard to let it go. Pix below!

Specs as follows:

The Nokia N76 features a slim body and gorgeous internal display. The multimedia-centric smart phone is equipped with a fairly robust media player, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a 2-megapixel camera. Sound quality for calls and music is also good. This phones offers sexy looks and good multimedia performance.

Own it for only PHP 8,500.00!

But WAIT!!! There's more...

How about I tempt you with a 2-week-old Motorola V9? Comes with 3 months warranty left from Semicon. Actually, this was the replacement phone I got from them. Having had my Ferrari V6 Maxx repaired, they couldn't fix it so they sent me a brand-new Smart-locked V9 instead. I already got fond of it over the short period of time I've had it considering its HSDPA speed when using the Internet, but still I have no real use for this phone, so I'm letting it go. Scroll down for pix!

Specs as follows:

The Motorola Razr2 V9 is a fabulous-looking phone clad in steel and glass. It has HSDPA support plus a 2-megapixel camera, a music player, and good sound quality and battery life. This a great successor to the first Razr. It has an eye-catching design, solid performance, and an impressive feature set.

Make it yours for just PHP 8,500.00!

All phones are in 100% working condition. Hardly used considering I got so many. Some scratches on the N76 but you can just have the case changed. The V9 on the other hand is scratch-free. Tee hee. Also comes with box, charger, memory cards, cables & headset (for V9), headset (for N76), manuals, and CDs...

Come on, guys, help me out here... It's about time I let them all go. ^_^ And become the practical person that I should be. Hehe.

Text/call 0922-8216418 for any questions and for faster transaction.

⋆✌㋡ღ⋆ ia\m/^_^\m/ai 陳美西