Tales as old as Times Square.

Two of my closest cousins, my favorite Aunt and my grandfather are coming over to visit 4 days from now. They've been very adamant in asking me about what I would want for them to bring over / things they could buy for me from home, but I can't seem to think of any. Goods from the Philippines aren't as difficult to find here as one might think. All it takes is one trip to the oriental store! The only request I had for my cousin was that she brought me back some of my Sweet Valley books. I told her to gather up everything she could find in my old room and take pictures of them so I could choose what I'd like to get. I completely forgot that most of my collection was lost in the fire we had back in 2000 (*sadface* if only we had home security ridgeland back then / which reminds me, I need to check this site out : Localtv-Satellite.com ... anyways *end sadface*), so all she was able to retrieve back were the books I read during grade school (SV Kids, Goosebumps, Full House) and the silly ones I swore I could "relate to" in middle school - junior high (Love Stories <3, SV's The Unicorn Club), lol. football gift

I FEEL SO NOSTALGIC, HEEHEE! <3

Ooh, also, here are some more pictures from the time we went Karaoke-ing (with Kari, Hero and Bryan) 'til 4 in the am, chyeaaah. There are also some taken from when we strolled around Times Square and inside The Disney Store & Forever 21, and one stolen shot of me while we ate dinner at Tad's Steaks.

When celebrities tweet back.

I know some of you have joined the tweeting world for one reason alone : to gain access to the minds of these Hollywooders. I stand corrected, make that two reasons : to interact with them as well.

A lot of my friends have asked me for tips on how to get their favorite celebrities to tweet them back. Lol no, I'm kidding! Nobody has ever asked me. But see, if they had, maybe they'd get responses from Kevin Wu, Mohan Gumatay, Leah Remini, and (my favorite comedian) Kathy Griffin - like I've had, heh.

Here's a foolproof trick to get celebs to reply to you ... act like you don't need them! Stop sending them ridiculous messages like this --- someone posted a "you go girl" for Lindsay Lohan. Really? What is she supposed to do with that? If you want to hear something back from them, leave them something interesting; something to get their attention. I got Mo to reply to me when I told him "If you were a booger, I'd pick you first."

That being said, my Twitter handle is @nadinearraiza ... so follow me, whatevs. Guess that's it for today, I have to continue reading these home owners insurance reviews now.

Just in! It's snowing in NYC ... again.

I've lost count - what is this, the ninth one now?

When it snows in New York, it's absolutely beautiful ... for about 2 hours. And then it gets dirty and the waste doesn't get collected for days, ugh. Yeah, it's all sorts of disgusting on the sidewalks at the moment.

In my recent entry, I forgot to (write about myonox and) mention that aside from treating myself to two awesome movies over the weekend, I also "splurged" out on drugstore cosmetics ... and by that I meant raiding CVS for their much talked about Clearance Sale.

Here's the loot :

It wasn't much because most of the stuff in the store had already been picked on. Man, girls are really savages when it comes to makeup! I'm really happy with the stuff I got though. Oh, and here are my savings ---

• L'Oreal Gel Liner & Physician's Formula Mineral Powder (originally $16 each w/ 75% off) = $4 each
• Covergirl LipSlick (originally $4.44 w/ 50% off) = $2.22
• Revlon Age Defying Foundation (originally $9ish-something w/ 40% off) = $5ish
• L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara (which I actually paid full price for) = $8

Amazeballs, isn't it?!?

The next thing I know, we're down at the cinema - we're sitting there, you start kissing me. What's that about?

I rarely went online back in the Philippines; and during the times I did, it would only be for checking my Friendster account or to search for the safest diet pill loljk. Upon moving here, I fell in love with the internet and all of its perks. The thing I like the most about it is that it lets me watch movies without the hassle of actually going to the theaters and spending for tickets/snacks. I remember having marathons that sometimes ran up to seeing 5 per day ... for a movie buff, that was awesome!

I kind of had to put that indulgence in the backseat when life (ugh!) took over. But when I visited Mary in Philadelphia and we watched a film a night [Inception, 127 Hours and Black Swan] before going to sleep, I realized that I missed it & that I wanted to get back into the groove.

Last week was really stressful for me because of work so I rewarded myself with two movies over the weekend : The Roommate and It's Kind of a Funny Story.

It's OK.

... to wear the same pair of pajamas four days in a row (it's freezing here & not a single drop of sweat has erupted from my pores down there, okay!)

... to finish a pint of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough while having a "The Simple Life : Interns" marathon

Before I end this pointless entry (I need to read up on people that have managed web hosting loljk), let me post some pictures to make this less boring (?)

EWW!

CUTIEPIEEE!

<3 <3 <3

Wish I was this creative!

The weirdest body clock...

I can haz it!

My whole schedule has been off today. Since I didn't have work (extended vacay time), my usual sleepytime of 1:30 am was replaced by 3:00 from doing gosh knows what online. If I woke up 8 hours later (because for some reason my body still thinks it's a child), I would have been fine ... but since my Mom's home (she also got an extra day out from work), I needed to wake up at the time normal people did or else suffer the wrath of her mouth.

So I got up at 7, fixed breakfast around 8 - I made (the best lulz) seafood vermicelli, and had my first meal by 9. After clearing the table & doing a little bit of picking up along the way, I plopped my tushie in my personal vortex, my computer chair, and surfed & surfed & surfed. I ran out of sites to visit by 12 so I decided to watch the newest John Lloyd movie : My Amnesia Girl (blah, but baby Lloydie was adorbsicles as always!).

Since we're both free today, I asked my Mom if she wanted to go to the city so that I could finally buy her my Christmas present for her. She has been wanting those long-chained pearl necklaces since forever! My first choice was to drop by Tiffany's (my first time to go inside the store, zomg; I felt so Hepburny) but after seeing their heart-breaking collection ($500 for cultured freshwater pearls were simply unjustifiable!), we just went with the second option : which was to get one from a much smaller jewelry chain (widely known for having the nicest customer service representative workers, jkjkjk) along Madison Ave.

Long story short, my Mom is now the proud owner of a 30-inch South Sea pearl necklace with gold lobster clasps, hee. It's sooo pretty! *I'm such a good daughter*

Oh, oh, oh! I forgot to mention about tagging my godmother along with us. Yeah. We promised her a birthday treat at her restaurant of choice and she picked The Oyster Bar. It was a very early dinner - I had the yummiest New England clam chowder with calamari & fries - so were back home by 7. After only having 4 hours of rest, and because my tummy was overloaded with scrumptiousness, I just had to doZZZe.

I woke up three hours later ... and here I am, boring you with my mindless, pictureless (promise to post some when I find my camera cable) chatter... ...

When the weather outside is frightful.

Exactly one week ago, New York was engulfed by a blizzard so strong it could give Dairy Queen a run for its money. Lame-o joke, meh. But seriously, we did get hit horribly by what we could now refer to as "The Great Snowstorm of 2010".

Positively speaking, it was a perfect, magical one - the season's first heavy snowfall; arriving the day after Christmas. But my woefully unprepared city was like a deer caught in headlights... everything that could go wrong did go wrong, and so for the next 2 or so days, we were figuratively crippled (like Acid cigars submerged in water).

Here's a little pictionary timeline I cooked up for you.

A peek at how Manhattan & Queens looked like after the 15-inch Snowmageddon.

My not so silent cries of despair on Twitter.

 

When in doubt, take yucky webcam photos.

And if all else fails, succumb to time-wasting Facebook apps.

I get a shot right through into a bolt of blue.

How many romantic movies have you watched? What about those that made you wish you were the one living in that story? I think, ideally, most of us aspire, have been inspired and would want to use romantic plots to lead thee perfect life. But when we've watched and memorized too many cheesy lines, we automatically expect our partners to be super sweet and head over heels in love with us. We wait for the singing under the pouring rain, kissing beneath a mistletoe or a Murray Feiss lighting, running after us in a big party, shopping for us in a store we can never ever enter had it not been for them, allowing us to "be in two places at once!", naming a star after us and the most romantic thing : dying together, at old age, in love.

What makes a lasting relationship then? In my opinion, it's not doing everything together or bonding every chance you get -- nobody likes someone who cannot be happy on their own. It isn't about the lust or the erotic-filled romance, either. If there is anything I've learned from observing the many relationships I've seen through my life, it's the decision to remain committed ... to renew your love everyday. More than anything, and I know this sounds so cliche, I believe friendship is crucial. Because when the physical beauty has faded and the sensual drive is already down, there will be nothing left but utmost love that will eventually turn into friendship. Companionship. Selfless, unconditional love.