the last hurrah.

currently listening to: halfway home/jason mraz.

today is a huge day. so is tomorrow. and the day after that.

i won't give too many details yet--but tonight officially marks the end of a year and four months of hard work. and tomorrow (and the ten days after that) is when we celebrate.

this is it! my last hurrah! (although it's not like i'll have work waiting for me when i get back. but anyway.) i'll see you all on the 6th. i promise you there are many more "i'm broke" and "i need to find work" posts to come when i get back!!!

take anything you want.

currently listening to: the zuiikin gals.


what happens when the japanese want to save time?

they exercise and learn english at the same time!

wenk shares her secrets.

currently listening to: starfish/sister hazel.

editor's note: all friends mentioned in this post are broke.

my parents have been seeing me leave the house almost everyday this week, and fully aware of my "financial situation" (or lack of it), they asked why i kept leaving the house if i had no money. my answer would always be that i was going to my friend's house, where i wouldn't have to spend.

it was only today that i think my father realized how serious i was about having a cheap "night out" with friends. i left the house today armed with a bingo set, a bingo "tombiola", taboo, and boggle. i went to my friend's house, only to find that my other friend had brought along her monopoly (which we also played the other night), the friends game, and scrabble. the host (oh gracious host), was kind enough to supply us with softdrinks and cookies, and even offer to pay for the pizza.

so anyway, i just wanted to share a secret with you. it's a plan i devised early this evening. a plan that guarantees to touch your parents' hearts... and hopefully, it's a plan that will reach straight into their pockets and wallets. so here it is:

wenk's 6-step plan to gaining your parents' sympathy... and getting allowance, at least for the night.

#1. comment over lunch or dinner how poor you are. remember to wear tattered clothing! it might help! don't comb your hair either!

#2. casually mention sometime after the meal that you're going to a friend's house "so that you won't have to spend". remember to mention that your friends are also unemployed.

#3. leave the house carrying board games (like i did!), and make sure there are a LOT of games! have them stacked up high, then cradle them in your arms. make sure that at least one of the parents are around when you leave the house.

#4. as the front door is about to close, turn around and say, "oh no! i forgot something! please hold the door open!"... then go back into the house and disappear into the kitchen.

#5. come out of the kitchen, carrying not just the games, but crackers! (although unverified, i think "sky flakes" are the logical choice).

#6. as you really leave the house, put on your sweetest, most sincere "puppy dog eyes" as you look at your parents and say, "i'm bringing the crackers, it's potluck kasi".

** bonus tip: if you still can manage what you're carrying, bring your own thermos of water: it might earn extra "sympathy points"... and hopefully extra cash.

my goal with this plan is simple: to touch the lives of those just like me. i hope it works. please do send me feedback as to the success of my scheme. i'd love to hear from you.

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i have the most supportive friends in the world. i'm nothing but blessed. nothing but blessed, i tell you. thank you, guys :).

bop.

currently listening to: the lss i will never reveal.

it was quite the interesting day. although i won't go into details (i DO need to save face), let's just say that there was a lot of walking, eating, and lots of cheering "gutter" alongside congratulatory hugs... oh! and even more "bopping" til we were "dropping"... ah basta.

it's days like this one that remind me how blessed i am to have such fabulously strange and deluded family and friends.

no regrets.

currently listening to: let me be the one/blessid union of souls.

i was speaking with someone i just met today about the fact that i graduated recently and that i've more or less been "on vacation" ever since. then i got asked the million dollar question.

what have you been doing with your time since you graduated?

i gave some lame, half-baked answer--that i've been going back to school to finish the final yearbook plans, and that i had somewhat delayed looking for work because my family had made plans to go to vietnam.

don't get me wrong, there was truth to my answers. yes, the yearbook is still a big part of my "vacation", and although the trip to vietnam was a convenient excuse to put off looking for work--i really did go with my family.

but now, hours later, i've had time to think about it, and i realize that i really want to change my answer. please allow me to do so.

what have i been doing since i graduated?

well, on the surface, i've been finishing up the remains of my graduation money. i've been playing lots of poker online, and a little bit of real poker. i've been watching lots and lots of movies, dvd's, cable shows, and series. i've been going drinking. i've been traveling with both friends and family. i've been chatting. i've been eating a whole lot. i've been trying things that i don't know how to do-like ice skating and playing billiards. i've been going shopping. i've been going to coffee houses at different times of the day. i've been going to successful birthday bashes, and going to failed surprise ones.

yes, i sound like the bummest of bums, but there's so much more to it than the bum-miness that it sounds.

over the past few weeks, i have made mere acquaintances from high school into actual friends. i've shared the (lack of) enthusiasm for job hunting and realizations that we're actually getting old with college friends. i've been able to experience all sorts of new things with both family and friends--may it be a new country, province, mall, or hobby. i've cried over nothings, and i've laughed at almost everything. i've had a lot of "me" time, and i've begun to finally like who i am. i've made new relationships that look nothing but promising and make me nothing but happy. and somehow, my best friends from years back are now even best-er friends.

so there. my answer has changed... and i'm 101.79% confident that i can start looking for work knowing that my vacation was NOT a waste (but i'm still not going to look!). and if i may add, there's still so much to do and so much to look forward to--and i can't wait.