Jeeesus F. Christ! I want to go back to the Philippines!!! My relatives are driving me nuts. As in! Fucking control freaks. They’re here from the Philippines too and we’re stuck in this one house in Burbank. I want to go to some places here but our host family are really old and quite lazy to even drive me to a rental car place. So yeah, stuck here and miserable. Broke too.

Mom and I will be going home earlier than planned because my sister is having a lot of difficulties without us around. She’s a mental case too. I don’t have problems with going home early because I’m so fucking tired with the relatives here. However, we won’t be going to Hawaii anymore.

I’m not sure if I can meet some of you guys I made plans with here. Things are really crazy. I want to rant some more but I can hardly go online anymore. I’ll do that probably when I’m back in good ol’ Pinas.

I might be internet-less for a couple a’ days since I’ll be moving on to LA later and my host family might not have net access. If that’s the case, I hope I can convince mom to buy us a laptop so I can go to downtown Burbank for the free wifi. Anyway, I’ll try to make this entry worth out while.

Almost didn’t go out today because mom wanted to spend the whole day trying to fix our belongings in prep for our flight tomorrow. Rose and I were able to convince her to have a day out and go to 17 Mile which is 45 minutes from this place. It was our first time there and we loved it. It’s like a rich white man’s playground with its numerous golf course, hills, and the seaside. The houses were HUGE but I found it too far from civilization. I guess I’m used to the city noise and all the city lights. I wouldn’t want to be stuck there once it gets dark. After Monterey, we headed to Cannery Row which is a really charming town. It has little shops and restaurants right beside the ocean and I think it’s really a tourist spot. It’s a predominantly white area and there were a lot of cute guys. We had dinner at Bubba Gump but that’s nothing new since we have that in the Philippines (sans the cute white guys). I was looking forward to having dessert at Ghirardeli but when we went there, the place was already closed. Super bummer. I guess most of the stores there close at 9 pm so unfortunately for us, we weren’t able to explore the place much. Definitely worth checking out again the next time I’m here.

Another uneventful day here. I woke up late because I had a hard time trying to wake my mind. I guess I got out of bed a little past 1 pm. Took a shower and had lunch and played with the kids here but I took a nap while they were watching the Berenstein Bears. Mom woke me up around 4 because she wanted to go to a grocery since my aunt’s baby ran out of milk. I didn’t bother dressing up or fixing myself. Nobody really cares if you look like crap here. I was just in a really short shorts and a t-shirt and never got any rude stares. I would be a laughing stock if I did that in the Philippines. Anyway, so I drove mom there and we ended up buying quite a lot of stuff we wanted to take back to the Philippines. I really love groceries here because they have everything! There are so many choices. After a $169 bill (mom paid for it), we went back to the house. I was planning to take another nap when my aunt called from the office and told me to dress up because she’s taking us out.

That happened. Sort of. We were supposed to watch a movie but we didn’t. Instead, my aunt shopped for seafood at the Asian grocery while the rest of us went to Factory 2 U store (they sell export over-runs). I saw a lot of clothes my size and they were cheap. I bought 5 pairs of jeans for just $5 each, bras for around $3.99, and shirts for around $4. If I remember correctly, my bill ran up to $79 and that leaves me with exactly $200 (I checked my wallet). After this, we went to Eastridge mall. I don’t know why we bothered because we stayed there for like 10 minutes. Still, I bought 4 bottles of pink hair dyes. That’s $21 which I charged to my debit card.

We went back to the house and Rose cooked the seafood she bought. We were starving because this was already around 10 pm. I didn’t want to go out anymore but the hosts wanted to hang out along Santana Row, a posh place here in San Jose, and drive around with their sparkling new beamer. I’m not into BMW’s so their car didn’t impress me much. If somebody gives me one, I wouldn’t say no to it though. I think we got to Santana Row past 11 pm so the cafes were closing already. They decided to call it a night so we went home after that.

Uneventful day but my entry is still long. Obviously, I still have money problems. I’m trying to figure out how to make the google adsense work. I’m also trying to figure out how to make my $200 last until June 25.

Nothing much happened today. Just rested in my aunt’s house and in the afternoon, we went to Daly City to have dinner with my mom’s high school friends who have migrated here over the years. I found the dinner boring but my aunt Rose, her husband, and their little boy were there so it was more interesting. After the dinner, we headed to the nearby Nordstrom Rack. I only got two towels from the store and mom paid for them. When we got back to San Jose, I went with Rose to her client’s house. Another boring affair which ended around 1 am.

So no expenses today but that’s because I didn’t do much at all! I am still trying to get some extra money. I even stooped so low as to tell my woes to Rose in the hopes that she will give me some. So far, that didn’t work. Bummer. Another thing, I joined google’s adsense. I hate ads but I really need the dough. I just hope that by putting those ads in my blog (waaaaah!) I would get some money.

I’m depressed due to financial predicaments. I’m down to my last $250 and it’s only day 5 of my trip. My pocket money for the whole vacation is $1,000 which is alloted for clothes, undies, shoes, and other necessities and non-necessities (ipod upgrade, a digital camera, books, or CD’s). If you’ve read my previous entries, I already bought some undies, a couple of clothes, 2 ill-fitting shoes, and my Coach bag and wallet.

Today I went to the mall and just barged into Torrid and bought a lot of clearance items. Also bought non-clearance pieces. Gave the store $200 and the $175 I charged to my credit card. So that’s $375 worth of clothing, enough to last me for a year or two. I also went to Circuit City to buy a camera for a friend. She gave me money for the camera so that didn’t affect my budget. Next time, remind me to charge extra for labor. Anyway, being in Circuit City made me depressed because it made me want to buy a digital camera and a much needed ipod upgrade. I wanted to take my friend’s camera and keep it for myself but I am not that evil. At least not yet. But woe woe woe is me! I need a quick fix for my gadgets addiction. I don’t have anything of value with me which I can pawn off. What if I steal from the relatives? That’s worth looking into. *insert sinister laughter*

Current time here is 12:30 am

Saturday was a very tiring day. Very.

We spent the morning in Gilroy to shop at the outlet stores. I’ve been there before but I never managed to look around the entire complex. More-so this time. If I was able to see 1/4 of the place when I was there the last time, yesterday I think I only went to 1/8 of it. Maybe even less. The first store we went to was the Coach outlet. My aunt has a thing for brands and I also wanted to get myself some branded items. I guess I overdid it because I got a bag, an ipod case, a wallet, a small pouch, and a jacket for my driver’s license. The bag and wallet, those were necessary purchases since I already planned on getting those to replace my old ones. The others, not really needed but they were on sale. Actually everything was (and still is) on sale since it’s the Memorial Weekend. The ones that really shook my budget are the bag and wallet. I really like them though.

Next stop was the Nordstrom Rack along…I don’t know. Not Gilroy but somewhere nearer to my aunt’s house. I just remember it as the road where the Kinokinuya bookstore is. Anyway, I was able to buy clothes there and a pair of trainers. The most exciting purchase for me there was the Betsey Johnson purse I got less than $50. Great find and my very first Betsey. Mom paid for everything cos I told her I don’t have any cash with me. That’s true by the way. So I guess those purchases are scott’s free purchases and wouldn’t affect my budget.

Last stop but an unexpected one was TJ Maxx. For those unfamiliar, it’s a store which carries marked down items of both brand and non-brand name items. They also sell garden and home decors and some electronics. So anyway, mom and I reluctantly followed my aunt. At first I was planning to just stay in the car but I’m glad I still went because I found 2 pairs of Irregular Choice shoes for only $30 each. They don’t fit my feet so well but what the heck! IC is one of my favorite shoe brands. The first one I bought (from a mall in Thailand) cost me around 4,000 pesos. Now I have three pairs. I only bought the shoes but mom bought me some panties. Hehehe. We were in the store for hours. Most of the time, I just followed mom around or sat on one of the chairs the store is selling. Hey, I have an excuse. My feet were killing me.
So that’s how my Saturday went. Insert meals in between store hopping and that’s it.

Sunday we woke up late. I woke up earlier than mom which is a surprise. I think I was up by 11 am but I just rested in bed until Rose (my aunt) told us to eat and prepare to go out. So I did the bathroom deeds and mom reluctantly rose from bed. We stuffed our faces with KFC not knowing that we will drop by a party afterwards. Rose just wanted to say hello to her in-laws but we ended up eating. Good thing I was so full that I only ate 1 lumpia. We were there for an hour, exchanging pleasantries and shit. After that we headed for our real destination. The boardwalk of Sta. Cruz.

I really didn’t know what to expect about the place since I’ve never been there and never heard of THE boardwalk. It was a long drive from San Jose but very pleasant. We passed by Los Gatos and bought gelatos. Pardon me but I would like to talk a little about Los Gatos. It’s a rich community with little quaint shops. It’s really charming but I would never feel at home there. That’s all. Moving on. When we got to Sta. Cruz, it was packed. We had a hard time finding a parking space but we ended up parking on the wharf itself! Lucky. Anyway, I didn’t bother to bring a coat eventhough it was chilly. The sun was up and there would be a lot of walking. On this boardwalk, there are rides and attractions. We went there of course but mostly just walked and people-watched. I didn’t notice any cute guys but there’s this butch who’s so pale and androgynous. I crush her. hahaha. Enough about her because I will never see her again.

While we were walking, I was just minding my own business when this white guy came up. He just suddenly asked if I smoke. I was a bit startled but I still asked him “why?”. He was muttering something but I forgot what. I told him that I do smoke. He was still saying something while counting his money. I was thinking that he wanted to buy some cigs from me. I don’t know what came over me but I rudely told him “No!” then walked away. Jesus F. Christ! I’m so fucking bad-ass. Fucking social skills. No wonder some people are scared of me. For all I know, that white guy is just dying to smoke even 1 cigarette but I ruined everything. Dementia, you are a loser.

After that, we strolled around some more and I went to the shoreline. The sand is awesome! I loved burying my feet there. I must have been a site while I was walking. An obese girl, in a black top, a long black skirt, black sandals, long black earrings, a loooong strand of black pearls (imitation), black bag, and a black leather enclosed white ipod. If somebody filmed me walking, that scene will belong in a comedic indie film. Or a poignant one. You choose.

We ate dinner there at 9 pm. The sun was just setting. It was colder this time but I got my jacket from the car. We just had dinner at a take-out seafood counter. Forgot the name of the resto. We ate shrimps, calamari, clam chowder, and fries in front of the resto and also in the car on the way back to San Jose.

I think the entry is long. Should I say sorry? Of course not!

Well I’m now here in San Jose, CA. after a god-awful 15-hour flight. It was torture. Really! Around 5 hours from Manila to Narita (stop-over) and I wasn’t able to get a wink because there was a kid who was crying all throughout the flight. Which is one of the reasons why I hate kids. Yes, I am still grumpy. Once in Narita, I bought myself a set of ear plugs. Expensive since it cost me 550 Yen but it was a wise investment since I was able to sleep soundly during the 9 hour flight from there to San Francisco airport. We got lucky during that flight because the airplane assigned had individual movie screens. I don’t think you get that often with North West airlines. So anyway, I survived that flight and I’m happy with my dinner and shower here. I was able to sleep for the rest of the afternoon.

Tomorrow we have outlet store shopping at Gilroy scheduled. I don’t know how that will go but we’ll see. I’m just itching to get myself a laptop, even a secondhand one so I’m trying to figure out how that will actually happen.

What else? Oh yeah. I’m so pissed with my cellular phone company. I paid for it to have roaming but up to now I couldn’t get a signal. Grrr. I’m having someone in the Philippines try to fix that problem. Hopefully I would get a signal soon because I need to call some people here.

Another thing. The internet here is super fast. Annoyingly fast because it’s a reminder that what we have back home is like dial up here. The Philippines has a lot of catching up to do. Fuckers.

I was invited to join a mailing list. I won’t mention what it is. Anyway, I used to hang out a lot with some of the members there but things went ugly and I backed away. I don’t know what possessed me to join the list but I’m there and I made my presence felt. I thought that would be good, like some sort of magic would happen and I would feel accepted in the group again. That’s not the case though. It’s a very active mailing list and some of my posts were ignored. So I’m feeling the outsider again, never going to fit in. It’s so fucking juvenile but I guess I’m desperate for company. I really hate it.I’m glad Taylor Hicks is the new American Idol. I think he’s really good and he can really work the stage. I didn’t get to watch the whole show because I fell asleep in the middle of it but I woke up just in time to hear the final outcome. So yay! The Scientologists didn’t win this time (I read that McPhee practices this).

Almost everything is packed and I’ll be on my way to the airport in 4 hours. Somehow I feel that I’m going to forget something. I also couldn’t find my iTrip so that’s pretty annoying. I don’t remember where I placed the damn thing.

I can’t say that I’m excited about the trip. There’s a small thrill alright but I’m not sure I’m going to have fun during this vacation. It’s just a hunch and my hunch is wrong a lot of times so I hope this is one of those times. But damn, I really don’t know what’s going to happen in this trip. It’s like there’s this huge gap in my life.

Fuck! I’ve been searching the net for gigs or concerts to watch in San Francisco during my trip to US. Much to my dismay, the bands I want to watch will be performing at odd dates (odd for me anyways). Here go the shows I’m going to miss:

Sleater-Kinney on May 2 to 3

Beck on May 5

Architecture in Helsinki on May 23

Mark Kozelek and Tarnation on June 3

Ditty Bops on June 3

I want to go to Bondage a Go-Go at the Cat Club but I don’t think it’s really safe to go there alone. San Francisco streets are scary enough as it is at night.

Possible bands I can catch are Eels, Mono, Elefant with Voxtrot, or Shoplifting with Erase Errata but I’ll probably end up watching some classical performance or a comedy sketch and that’s if I’m lucky enough. Great. I don’t even want to know what shows I’ll miss in LA. I have more chances in SF. Gaaah.