… and I am who I am.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
My family, in-laws, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousin, husband and I gathered around the lunch table in my parents’ veranda on a balmy Sunday afternoon, cracking jokes and laughing out loud. These are the moments that make me feel supremely thankful and happy.

What is your greatest fear?
Losing loved ones always gives me the shivers. While I know life isn’t permanent, my love for them IS.

Which living person do you most admire?
Mama. She is my role model for strength, perseverance and sophistication. She succeeded greatly in her career and still managed to keep our home cozy and warm. As I grew older, I appreciated more and more the little and big things she did for us. I understood why she enrolled us in this school, why she told us to stand in the corner when we were young, why she trusted us so much. When I grow up, I want to be like her.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Backbiting, especially when the target has not done anything at all to them. “Panlalait” is more apt a word. I tend to keep quiet when the company I’m with engages in it. Sometimes it’s fun to listen to, and I occasionally have fallen into this that I hate most in others, but I try to stop myself. I just think, This person hasn’t done anything to me or my loved ones. Why should I fault them for wearing the wrong attire?

What is your greatest extravagance?
Extravagance is defined as “the quality of exceeding the appropriate limits of decorum or probability or truth.” My first answer was “books,” but the bookworm in me says one can never have too many books. So I am going with my Sims 2 games. I have almost all expansion packs and stuff packs. There’s a new one coming out soon and I know I have to have it. I justify this greatest extravagance by saying it is one of my greatest escapes too.

What is your favorite journey?
Marriage. My journey as a careerwoman is my own – while I have the support of co-workers and family, it is ultimately my own path. But marriage is a path for two. It involves more understanding and nurturing, and I have grown as a woman because of this journey of togetherness. And journeys are always more enjoyable when you have the best company with you. My husband is my ultimate companion.

On what occasion do you lie?
Husband: “Did you eat in the bedroom?” (looks at me, his gaze reminding me that I had set a rule for both of us NOT to bring food in the room, then looks back at the ants on the floor)
Me: “I did not! They must have come here because you brought your walking shoes in here!” (looks at him, my gaze reminding him that I had set a rule for both of us NOT to bring shoes in the room, then looks back at the ants on the floor)
After one day, I spotted a solitary Malteser under the bed. Oops. I had been snacking on it while bloghopping a few days before.

Which living person do you most despise?
Those who take the lives of others. How can one just take a life mercilessly? I cannot comprehend it and will never do and will never want to.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
“Yeah yeah!” I say this when I’m in agreement with someone, when I spot a good buy, when I’m enjoying a moment. I may use it too much, but that’s a good thing, right?

What is your greatest regret?
I regret not getting into sports when I was a kid. I keep wondering how fit I would be right now if I had been more outgoing and active in my youth. While there’s nothing stopping me from engaging in those activities now, I still can’t help but wonder.

Where and when were you the happiest?
Cuddling with my husband last night, with him kissing me on the forehead before we went to sleep. That is my ultimate send-off to slumberland.

What is your current state of mind?
“Easy like Sunday morning.” Right now I’m on relaxation mode. I’m feeling easy and breezy with the fan keeping me cool in the summer heat, my cereal of Nestle Honey Stars keeping me full, and the possibilities of an afternoon without plans exciting me.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Could I request for an order of aggressiveness, please?

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My career. I don’t think what I’ve achieved is that bad for a 30-year-old.

If you were to die and comeback as a person or a thing, what would it be?
I would like to come back as a Hollywood A-list celebrity. It would be interesting to experience all the perks they have, and I’d like to see what I can accomplish with that status in addition to winning Oscars and getting beautiful clothes.

What is your most treasured possession?
My wedding ring.

What do regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Nothing beats feeling like you cannot talk to anybody about your misery. And then you develop horrible allergies on your hands. I’ve been there. Since I was keeping all the negativity in, they must have wanted to come out of my body somehow. Emotional stress without a support group was the lowest depth of misery I’ve experienced.

Where would you like to live?
A home of our own. Can also include a medium-sized garden for Sunday BBQs, a study room/library, toy room, an average-sized kitchen with a kickass oven, comfortable rooms, a nursery, a laundry room. Set in a safe and friendly neighborhood.

What is your favorite occupation?
I had a very short stint as a greeting card creator for a friend’s business. It didn’t fly, but I enjoyed conceptualizing the cards. Since hardly anyone sends cards now, it would be great to take that online. And this doesn’t count as a formal occupation though it does occupy a lot of my time: blogging.

What is your most marked characteristic?
Positivity. I try to see the best in things. To quote John Cage:

“The first question I ask myself when something doesn’t seem to be beautiful is why do I think it’s not beautiful. And very shortly you discover that there is no reason.”

Life is more beautiful that way.

What is the quality you like most in a man?
The take-charge attitude. It stems back to the caveman days I suppose, when he’d go out with his buddies to bonk a dinosaur on the head and bring it home to his wife for dinner.

What is the quality you like most in a woman?
The nurturing quality. The maternal instinct shines through in everyone, even those who are not mothers. A woman cares like no other.

Who are your favorite writers?
e.e. cummings, my first favorite poet. Charles Bukowski. Louisa May Alcott. Stephen Chbosky. David Levithan. Stephenie Meyer.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Veronika of Paulo Coelho’s Veronika Decides to Die. I will not say why as doing so would give you spoilers!

Who are your heroes in real life?
Wowo, my grandfather. Mama. Daddy. Having heroes so close to home inspires you the most to become a better person.

What is that you most dislike?
I highly dislike clutter, but find myself living in quite a cluttered home. Then I realize it’s a matter of how you deal with that kind of negativity. So I highly dislike knowing that you live in cluttered negativity but not doing anything about it. *sends note to self*

How would you like to die?
Peacefully, quietly, causing the least amount of anxiety to my loved ones as possible.

How does your desktop look like today?

What is your motto?
“Live, love, laugh.” Your days will flow beautifully and happily with that in mind.

I don’t want to be
Anything other than what I’ve been trying to be lately
All I have to do
Is think of me and I have peace of mind
I’m tired of looking ’round rooms
Wondering what I’ve got to do
Or who I’m supposed to be
I don’t want to be anything other than me