this is all so true of me!! =)

You Are a Calculator

No matter what someone tells you, you're likely to focus on facts and data. You're a highly analytic person. You are only concerned with what you can know for sure. You look at situations objectively, and you have no problem approaching problems from multiple angles. You would make a good analyst or investment banker. You are confident enough to make tough calls and hard decisions.

What Office Supply Are You?

Your Birthday Predicts You're Adventurous

Ever since you were born, you've loved your life. You keep very busy without meaning to. There's just so many activities that you enjoy. Travel, friendships, an interesting career, and lots of hobbies fill up your schedule. You find so much joy in the world. You have a very rich life.

What Does Your Birthday Predict About You?

my new Lakbayan grade!

YESSS!! My new grade increased a notch! =) So what's Lakbayan? Click HERE. And before we go to my new Lakbayan grade, here's a rather longish backround --

July 2007 is what I consider my freedom month -- finally my formal education was over AND I WAS FREE!!! =) Six years of primary education, four years of science high school, four years of college in UP, four years of medical school and one year of post-graduate medical internship has taken a toll on my creative self. Mind you, 19 years of straight schooling (breaks during summer and Christmas vacations only) with good grades to boot is quite a creativity killer. I felt like an artist imprisoned and struggling to get out of the system and unleash my art on the world! Errmm, I'm not really an artist in the real sense okay?? Hehe!

Anyhoo, I realized in July 2007 that I just wanna loaf around for some time and not worry about what my parents will think about my life. You know how parents are, always worrying about their kids -- multiply that to infinity and you get my parents' worrying level ;-) I was set to take the August 2007 Medical Board Exam but my inner self kept on telling me to rest and nourish my soul. My inner self knew that once I'm a licensed doctor, my parents will not let up and will just pressure me to go into Residency (and then go into practice as a Specialist and so on) immediately. There would be no respite for me then =(

And so I put my foot down and "promised" that I will take the Medical Board Exam on February 2008. Of course, we all know that didn't happen coz Labsie and I announced our engagement that month and my parents were caught up in the excitement that their only daughter is getting married to think about my Boards. Hehe! ;-) Anyhoo, since I was off the hook and free to do what I want, I went traveling (with my family, of course). From October-November 2007, I was all over Luzon (Makati, Manila, Subic) and Boracay. I also spent time in the pretty Samal Island beaches with Labsie =) Then on December 2007, my family went to General Santos City (Gensan) and Lake Sebu. 

My Lakbayan grade is B!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan! Created by Eugene Villar.

Yup, that's my new Lakbayan grade above =) I was B- in mid-2007 and now I'm a B! Whee! All the traveling I did for about 6 months really made a difference. YEAH!! Aside from my late 2007 trips, I traveled anew early 2008. The plan was to have a road/sea trip from Visayas to Mindanao. Awesome huh?? My grandmas were very thrilled about it =) So on March 2008, we flew to Iloilo City (from Davao) then rode a barge to Bacolod City which belongs to the province of Negros Occidental that we explored. From there we drove whole day to Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental. The next day we rode a barge to Dapitan City in Zamboanga del Norte where we visited Jose Rizal's home and the awesome Dakak Park and Beach Resort.

Then we criss-crossed Mindanao to reach Kidapawan City, my grandmas' hometown. We passed by several cities like Dipolog, Ozamis, Iligan, Cagayan de Oro, and other places I'm not familiar with. Hehe! In April 2008 I went back to Makati/Manila to scour for cheap wedding supplies in Divisoria. Our family also went to cool Tagaytay and visited Manila Ocean Park + Malabon Zoo =) After that I was busy reviewing for my Boards and planning our wedding. My last trip for 2008 was our honeymoon to Makati, Manila, Laguna and Coron in Northern Palawan which was more than awesome!! I still have to blog about Coron so stay tuned for that! ^_^ How about you? What's your Lakbayan grade? How much of our beloved Philippines have you seen?

Chris Brown vs Rihanna

What's the real score?? I have been sympathetic to Rihanna's plight ever since the domestic abuse mess came to light. But her continued silence is really putting me of. I mean, what would all the girls looking up to her think? That it's okay to be abused and just keep quiet about it?? Argghhh!! Of course, until now, we're not 100% sure whether Rihanna was really the girl Chris Brown hit or that he really abused a woman physically. Still, I really hate their silence =( If it's not them, they could just give statement. If it's really Rihanna, condemn domestic abuse and say that she could not share more because of legalities.

It's more than a week after the incident and in Hollywood, a week of silence is eternity! At least Chris Brown has finally spoken out and apologized (Rihanna's "reaction" to it above). Though his apology is generalized and he did not really admit that he committed domestic abuse (who would? LOL). I hope Rihanna will speak out soon. What she's doing is really harmful to what the rights movement for women and children have achieved in the recent years. Also, I'm hating all the other Hollywood stars right now. All I've been hearing from them is that they're friends with both Chris and Rihanna, that he's a good boy, that they're "feeling" for Rihanna -- but there's 0% about domestic abuse! =(

Maybe all this is just much ado about nothing. I'm really hoping for that than think people are covering up a domestic abuse incident coz the involved are celebrities. THAT'S SO 1800s!! Ggrrr!

UPDATE: Here's Rihanna's battered face courtesy of TMZ.com -- sad huh? =(

Rihanna's "statement" about the incident with Chris Brown.

me and jinx are selling pre-loved books! ^_^

And it’s all very affordable! Promise! =) Some books are in mint condition (bought from the US by Jinx) while most are in good condition. I also have books without front covers if you’re into book mutilation, hehe! So why are we selling our beloved books? We are certified bookworms so it really hurts to sell some of our prized possessions. Anyway, it’s all for a good cause guys.. Umm, but it’s not for some charity ok?? Hehe! Here’s the rather longish background --

Late in the year 2007, Jinky (that’s her below) shared her dream to our high school barkada of nine – she wanted our kada to TRAVEL ASIA (backpacker style) while we’re all still single! =) Many of the kada were like, “I don’t have any savings, much less have money for travel..” or “Where are we going that we can afford?” Of the nine of us, only me and Jinky were really into it. Fortunately, the others warmed up to the idea as months went by. Warmed but not yet won over, huhum! =p

So why did Jinky wanted this? From what I understand, she wanted our Pisay barkada to be complete in a gathering (there’s always 2 or 3 missing when we meet up) and that we *finally* travel together. We’ve known each other for around 15 years but the nine of us never really travelled for fun together. Now is our chance – and since we all have strong personalities in the kada (save for 1 or 2, hehe), this dream trip would surely be a blast! I’m 100% sure our time together will make good reality TV, hahaha! ;-)

Anyhoo, Jinky wanted to travel by summer of 2009. By January 2008, I broke the news I’m going to be married by October that year. I will still go on with our trip though – but I won’t be single anymore. Hehe! Then late 2008, Jinky announced her own engagement! LOL! Now it’s looking more and more like a trip for married-girls-who-didn’t-travel-with-friends-when-they-were-single =p So again, the question, why are we selling our books? One sentence: TO RAISE MONEY FOR OUR TRIP! Hehe!

As I’ve said, there are nine of us in the barkada (HOVER over our pics above & see our names) but not all of us are blessed with a high-paying job like Jinky (hehe!!) or earning Singaporean dollars (Charo) and NZ dollars (Sophia). Three of us are in call centers (Mhe, Ceej, Pidja), one is in the beauty retail business (Penavi), one is a teacher (Chin; and we all know how small a teacher’s pay is) and I’m currently a stay-at-home wife earning online. Two thirds of us don’t really have a budget for travel – and this is where the money for our booksale will go to – so that we’ll all be together in the dream trip! ^_^

Jinky’s eBay store (books, beauty products) <-- click the links guys!

My eBay store (books, cds, dvds)

Cheap bestseller books (P80 and below)

Cheap romance books (P25-45)

Cheap non-romance and nonfiction books

my DavaoSale Items (summary)

this is why I don't drive

Women Drivers in Action!

Gawd, I wanna apologize to all the brilliant women drivers out there but this video is just darn so funny that I have to post it! Plus I can totally relate-- I'm such a klutz and would probably do one or all of the stupid things done by women drivers in the said video. Teehee! ;-) Guess my student permit won't be needed anymore. It's really bye-bye driving for me..

earn $$$ from TWITTER!

The reason why I finally joined Twitter are here: http://twurl.nl/1f4xx8 and http://twurl.nl/u7i4oj ^_^

And yes, it's all about the money baby! Hehe!

Follow me on Twitter ( http://twitter.com/cutieissa ) to stay updated on ways to earn $$$ online =)

WIN $120 CASH, 75,000 EC CREDITS and a lot MORE!

Pretty nifty huh?? What a great way to start February! =) To win the smashing stuff, all you have to do is blog about this contest and link back to Mira's Blog. Make sure you copy all the prizes and sponsors as seen below. Mira is doing this contest as she celebrates one great year of blogging. Twelve lucky bloggers will win so there's a good chance it might be YOU! =) You can read all about the contest HERE.

1st PRIZE
$25 - c/o Random Thoughts
Customized Blog Layout (blogger platform) c/o My Web-Blog Designs
1 Swarovsky Bracelet c/o Yen's Handmades [Click here to see the ITEM]
$20 + 2000 EC credits c/o Windmill on the Hill
$10 + 500 EC credits c/o My Life's Journey to Success
$10 + 500 EC credits c/o Things I Did Not Know Before
$10 + 500 EC credits c/o Unique Ideas For Your Beach Weddings
2000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Night Clicks
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o NetFreeSource
3000 - EC credits c/o Random Thoughts
1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Dashing Beauty
1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Tales of a Pinay Single Mommy
1 Photo Pop Art Make-over c/o Sweety Tots

2nd PRIZE
$20 - c/o Mira's Web Journal
2500 - EC credits c/o Mira's Web Journal
2000 - EC credits c/o A Moment to Exhale
20GB Web Hosting c/o http://angelic-melody.net + 500EC credits
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o My Countryhome
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Live Love Pink
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Samantha's Own
1 month 125x125 ad space c/o 1716 South
1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Garage Sale
1 Photo Pop Art Make-over c/o Sweety Tots

3rd PRIZE
$15 - c/o A Moment to Exhale
3000 - EC credits c/o Big Boys Have Toys Too
2000 - EC credits c/o A Taste of Both Worlds
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Kharlota dot Com
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o A Girl for All Status
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o A Fil-Am Journey
1 year text link ad c/o http://glamorous-heart.info
1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Symphony of Love
1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Sweepstakes Girl
1 Photo Pop Art Make-over c/o Sweet...Pretty...Naughty

4th PRIZE
$10 - c/o My Barefoot Journey
2000 - EC credits c/o Mommy's Little Corner
2000 - EC credits c/o My Online Paradise
2000 - EC credits c/o Kinda Life of Mine
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Just About Anything
1 month text link ad Thomas Travel Tales
1 month text link ad Great Finds and Deals

5th PRIZE
2000 - EC credits c/o Wife of a Warrior
3000 - EC credits c/o Life's Sweets and Spices
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Simply Irresistible
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o My Sweet Haven
1 month text link ad Work At Home Jobs
1 month text link ad Erlinda‘s Wandering Thoughts

6th PRIZE
2000 - EC credit c/o The Solitairy Love
1500 - EC credit c/o My Barefoot Journey
1000 - EC credits c/o My Kitchen Table
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Kalidadis
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Cooking is Fun
1 month text link ad CompTechGadgets.com
1 month text link ad Healthy Living and Lifestyle

7th PRIZE
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Simplement Belles
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Moi et mon univers!
1000 - EC credit c/o Scrappy Mommy
1000 - EC credits c/o Dashing Smiles
1000 - EC credits c/o Everything Plus the Kitchen Sink
1000 - EC credits c/o One at a Time
1 month text link ad Thomas Web Links
1 month text link ad Bohol Paradise

8th PRIZE
1000 EC + 1 month 125x125 ad space from My Daily Sunset
1000 - EC credits c/o My Kitchen
1000 - EC credits c/o My Life and Family Journey
1000 - EC credits c/o My Whole New World
1000 - EC credits c/o Definitely Maybe
500 - EC credits c/o I Thought So
1 month text link ad Batuananons

9th PRIZE
1000 EC + 1 month 125x125 ad space from Lovely Pink
1000 - EC credits c/o Small Side Bits
1000 - EC credits c/o In His Steps
1000 - EC credits c/o Moments of My Life
1000 - EC credits c/o My Crossroads
1 month text link ad Filipino Online Community

10th PRIZE
1000 EC + 1 month 125x125 ad space from Hobby and Such by Carlota
1000 - EC credits c/o My Life's Adventure
1000 - EC credits c/o Wonderful Things In Life
1000 - EC credits c/o The Joy of Life Forever
500 - EC credits c/o Life's Journey
1 month text link ad from Nita's Random Thoughts

11th PRIZE
1000 - EC credits c/o Medan Daily
1000 - EC credits c/o Wiehanne Lounge
1000 - EC credits c/o Simply WP
1000 - EC credits c/o Everything Under the Sun
1 month text link ad from Nita's Corner

12th PRIZE
1500 - EC credits c/o A Moment to Exhale
1000 - EC credits c/o My Barefoot Journey
1000 - EC credits c/o EastCoastLife

Pittsburgh Steelers win Superbowl XLIII -- what an amazing game!!

I've been never a fan of Amercian football. I only watch when there's a big game or there's nothing good on other channels. This morning, my reasons for watching Superbowl XLIII were both. And I'm sooo glad to have watched it LIVE! Superbowl XLIII was amazing, heart-pounding and just plain harrowing at the end!!! Whew! Nothing like a good adrenaline rush to inspire me to blog (the game just finished about 5 minutes ago), hehe! =)

A bit of background: Pittsburgh Steelers (5-time Superbowl champion) were playing against Arizona Cardinals (the underdog; first time to play the Superbowl) and they lead 20-7 until the fourth quarter. Around the third quarter, I got bored and channel surfed. I mean the last time the Steelers lost a game in which they lead 11-points or more was in 1988. I felt they had Superbowl XLIII in the bag, making it their 6th championship and making them the winningest NFL franchise ever.

Around 1045am, I stumbled on Solar Sports again and I was shocked with the scores -- Steelers was still at 20 while the Cardinals were at 23!! What happened in the fourth quarter?? What made the Cardinals go berserk and score 16 points in the last quarter?? Golly, I was HOOKED!! LOL! Maybe, just maybe, the Cardinals will spoil the Steelers' plan to be written in history this year. And so I watched..

At 2 minutes left in the game, the 20-23 score did not change. The Pittsburgh Steelers had the ball and made a play for a touchdown. However, the receiver wasn't able to catch the ball. At one minute (feel free to correct me with the exact times, hehe), the Steelers made another play and despite 3 players guarding Santonio Holmes (the game's MVP and that's him below, handsome huh??), he received the ball and made the touchdown!! That was the most amazing play I've ever seen!! Go search in YouTube for this video -- this will surely go down sports history =)

So now the Pittsburgh Steelers are leading 27-23 with 35 seconds left. After the Arizona Cardinals' dramatic comeback early fourth quarter, I wouldn't put it past them to score a touchdown and win Superbowl XLIII. However, that was not to be. The Steelers put up a very tight defense and the last 30 seconds was like a tug and war for the football possession. It was still very thrilling however -- will the Cardinals score or not?? At 5 seconds, the Steelers got the possession and that was it -- Pittsburgh Steelers win Superbowl XLIII!!