After doing my chores, I crawled to my bed, Oishi’s Choco Plunge on hand, and relaxed by popping in a DVD of the first season of Drake and Josh in the player. I bought it months ago but never had the chance to watch it. If you are not familiar with it, it was produced by Nickoledeon for Nick Jr and featured Drake Bell and Jonathan Goldstein on the title roles.

image from Google

Drake is a cool guy whose Mom marries the father of Josh, who is the ultra-dork guy. Miranda Crosgrove (way before her iCarly fame) also stars as Drake’s sister. Basically she makes life hell for the two stepbrothers. I love this show! And Drake is super cute! Anyone here who knows this, or might have even watched an episode?

I have already seen some of the episodes on Nickoledeon already but the show still does not fail to make me guffaw. I think I first saw it when I was in college? And look at me now, I am already 19 23 but I still enjoy it. It brought me to a post of Andhari’s from waaaaaay back. She made this list of things she is already too old for. For those of you who watch How I Met Your Mother, this Murtaugh List was inspired by one of its episodes. I have yet to see a single episode but I’ve heard that it’s also good, I must get a DVD as well! Anyway, I commented to her post, asking if I can do my own list as well, and then I kinda forgot about it so I never got around to making mine. Thank you, Drake and Josh, for reminding me!

So, on with my list.

Murtaugh List (Things I Am Already Too Old For):

- I’m too old to believe in Santa Claus. Would you believe that I am already eleven years old when I accepted the fact that Santa Claus is really my Tita (my mom’s sister. Kinda like my aunt, only she’s not old so I am not comfortable calling her an aunt haha) Jean in disguise? I remember writing really good letters to Santa on Christmas Eve and putting them in my prettiest sock that I would then hang on the balcony (because we didn’t have a chimney). I remember wondering why Santa always leaves me money when I specifically asked for Barbie dolls!

- I’m too old to like Miley Cyrus. Really, I don't understand how tweens can like her. I mean, if I were a tween right now I know I still won’t like her. But yeah, live and let live right?

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Okay you guys. I can’t do this. I have been concentrating on the blinking cursor for too long now, racking my brains, but off the top of my head I can’t think of anything else I am too old for.

So maybe it’s time for another list, yes?

My Un-Murtaugh List (Things I Will Never Be Too Old For):

- I will never be too old to believe in faeries. Didn’t you read and/ or watch Peter Pan? Didn’t you know that every time someone stops believing in faeries, a faerie (gasp!) dies? So repeat after me, “I do believe in faeries! I do! I do!” (I actually cried in that scene from the Jeremy Sumpter movie.)

- I will never be too old for Skittles. More than anything else, Skittles has been and will always be my happy pills. When I am sad, Skittles are my comfort food. They bring more cheer to me than a Sneakers bar with vanilla ice cream does. Whenever my Tita Jean arrives from abroad the only thing I ask for are boxes of Skittles, and she obliges me. I was depressed when they discontinued Skittles here when I was in college, and I was ecstatic when it was brought back to the market (but P10 more expensive).

Good to see that I still have a lot of stocks to tide me over.

- I will never be too old for my Grandma’s cooking. Whenever I go home to my parents’ house for my rest days my Grandma always prepares my favorite dishes. Lauya, chicken afritada, pork adobo, beef mechado, spaghetti, chicken soup, champorado (chocolate porridge), arroz caldo, sigh, my Grandma is the sweetest. My Mama is a good cook as well but she only has specialties, unlike my Grandma who cooks a wide array of good food. Likewise, I will never be too old to be taken care of by my Mom. Dole Pineapple Chunks. And Sunkist oranges. And seedless grapes. And Fuji apples. Yuuuum. These are all prepared by my Mom. She is aware of my being ehem, domestically challenged and knows I do not get all the nutrients my body needs whenever I am here in the apartment so she stuffs me full of fruits when I am at my parents’ house.

- I will never be too old to say my prayers at night before I sleep. I will also never be too old to make the sign of the cross every time I pass by a church, even when I am in a vehicle. This habit was taught to me by my father, and this is something that I wish to pass on to my future children.

- I will never be too old for dress-up and simulation games. Read previous post to see my point.

- I will never be too old for bedtime stories. Thank you, Neil Gaiman, C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling and Hans Christian Andersen. The worlds you created are the stuff my dreams are made of.

- I will never be too old for stuffed animals.

I also have two big stuffed bears at home. A white bear with a red scarf is named Milkshake, the hot pink bear with the pink ribbon is named Strawberry.

- I will never be too old to need my friends in times of heartbreak. I love you my Sinister Sisters (who are Mean Girls but are really softies), my friends from KKK and JARN (who have been with me ever since I was eight years young), my bestfriend Jerome (who is the only person who can tell me stuff I need to know, even though it may hurt me), my Skittles Ed (who is my sunshine-in-a-box and who made me realize that the person who broke my heart should only be a part of my pink world and not be it), my Seventeen Sigaw sisters (who are the best online friends a girl could ever hope to meet), my friends from the workplace who are the best-people-a-girl-can-ever-wish-to-have-as-officemates-in-her-first job, special mention to Sasha, Asther, and Ruther (who have been honest when I needed them to be and who became my strength during that awful thing I experienced last year), Mich (who reminds me whenever we’re shopping that enough is enough and who has the most funny quips ever), Watcher (who stays true to himself and is one of the most genuine persons I know), Frank (who reads my blog, thank you!), Dane (who colored my world, made it dark and dreary, but looked back and colored it again, even better this time), Justin and Ian (who are probably the most intelligent and philosophical persons I know), and Mommy Terry (who is one of my truest friends and who, with her daughter Steph has one of the best Mother-Daughter relationship I have seen). Likewise I will never be too old to get guidance from people I have considered as my mentors: TL Arjay (who is always there to laud my fashion wins and rescue my pink heart from being de-pinked), TL Julius (who stayed with us, cool, calm and collected during Typhoon Ondoy. I consider him my big brother, literally and figuratively!), TL Jimmy (who has been my supervisor for more than a year now and who is serious when you need him to be), and Ms Mariel (whose posts have always inspired me and whose emails I will always treasure).

- I will never be too old for the 90s. I love the era I was born in! I am from the MTV generation and proud of it. I know a LOT of songs and artists mainly because I used to buy a lot of song magazines and read them from cover to cover! I love boybands, no matter how cheesy their songs and videos were (want to challenge me to a sing-off? Lol), I love the Spice Girls, I love Tagalized animes like Ghost Fighter (Yuyu Hakusho), Little Women II (Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott), Princess Sarah (A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett), and The Von Trapp Family Singers (Sound of Music), and I will always love Britney Spears.  Check this site for more cool stuff from the 90s and take a trip down memory lane!

- I will never be too old to be affected by movies and books. I know it is perfectly acceptable to cry at The Notebook and Sex and the City, but crying while watching Pink Panther is just plain silly! XD

- I will never be too old for Barbie dolls. My Barbies - all 26 of them including my Barbie diner, loads of clothes and accessories, and a Wedding Barbie I haven’t opened yet – perished in a big fire that ravaged our neighborhood on January 1, 2001. When in Watson’s in Singapore on 2004 and all my teammates for the Discovery Travel and Adventure day for the Sunburst Youth Camp were all buying toiletries, I bought a Barbie doll. She is now displayed in my room in my parents’ house, still unopened.

- I will never be too old to believe in the power and beauty of love. And candy-flavored kisses. Because I’m cheesy like that.

- I will never be too old for lists. So I am going to update this post from time to time. Feel free to make your Murtaugh or Un-Murtaugh Lists as well!

Cheers to candies, chicken soup and a childhood that never ends!

*This is my 25th of 30 posts for the 30-Day Blog Challenge.

I am in a slump.

I was in 2^nd year high school when I realized I want to be a writer. I was a geek and a conscientious student but more than any other subject it was our English classes I looked forward to. I immersed myself in the beautiful world of literature and weaved stories of my own that I wrote in my journal. I loved that my classmates and friends loved (or so they said) the stuff I wrote. (Maybe sometime I can share some of them to you guys. -Ü) I was rewarded by getting high grades and was even recognized as the Best in English among my graduating class. I continued that streak when I studied in college; I loved all our subjects but my favorites would have to be English Proficiency Instruction, Intensive English and Critical Writing. I got high grades in these classes and was also praised by my professors for the writings, reviews and what-have-you’s I presented to them. I still have those, compiled and tucked as some of my prized memories from school.

I may have some lapses when it comes to grammar so I make sure I reread my drafts before I publish them. Once published and there is something that does not sound right when read aloud I edit it immediately. You can say that I am my best and worst critic.

What is the point of this? I don’t know. Maybe because someone said something not so good about my blog? I don’t exactly know this specific someone and the information was just relayed to me by a friend who got told of this by this someone. I pour my heart out when I am writing my posts and this blog is an extension of myself so it was like a blow to my personality as well.

I don’t even know why I am affected when a universal cliché already exists that “we cannot please everybody.” Maybe it’s the PMS talking. And yes, I also got the red proofreader marks in some of my projects for school, and it’s fairly easy for me to brush off criticism and use it to improve myself but this is the first time someone said a criticism on my work in that way. Maybe it’s not so much as what was said as to how it was said? I guess I just need to feel sad for a while. I am sure I will be bouncing back in no time. Meet you tomorrow when I am back to my pink positive self!

*Photo stealthily taken by Ruther on 12 February 2009 in Tagaytay. While they enjoyed the scenery, I laid a mat on the grass and scribbled on my journal.

*This is my 22nd of 30 posts for the 30-Day Blog Challenge.