(when you think...) think of me

Oo nga. Alam mo ba, hanggang ngayon ikaw lang kilala ko na ganun ang pagkain ng french fries. Kaya naaalala kita kapag kumakain kami sa McDo.
- The Boys Are Back (Part II)

The mind associates things rather randomly. There will always be instances when a subject or two, when brought up, will automatically trigger our memory to connect said things to another person regardless of how conventional or weird their links are.

The people I know, alright two of them, associate the following with me:

CELIO. Back when my office was just a minute away from Greenbelt, my friends and I would stroll along the then-empty halls of the newly-built mall during lunch break. Or whenever we deem it necessary. Celio was one of the boutiques that caught my eye with its classy, yet trendy collection of polo shirts, casuals, and jeans. Since I had my magic cards back then, I ignored the absurdity of the items' prices. After all, when I shop the world gets better. And then it's not, and then I need to do it again. Until I am reminded of the bills, and the astronomical interest and charges that come with using the magic cards, that is.

AMERICAN IDOL. During the fourth season of American Idol, the girls and I had this tally sheet where we would post our comments on each performance and rank the finalists accordingly. Season highlights include Vonzell Solomon's "Best Of My Love", Bo Bice's "Time In A Bottle", and Carrie Underwood's "Alone". The four of us continued to make unsolicited commentaries on the suceeding seasons of Idol. All of us handpicked Elliott Yamin as season five favorite. However, our interest waned during Jordin Sparks' era. It was only the recent Archuleta-Cook showdown that triggered our interest in the competition once again. This show, along with Philam Idol, inspired our themed RedBox sessions, a tradition that we have had for the past couple of years.

REFILLABLE SODA. We love having dinner, or lunch, at Chili's and National Sports Grill and Fish & Co., and any of those restaurants along the stretch of Greenbelt 3. Is it because they offer refillable sodas? Probably. I'm really not quite sure. I don't drink soda anyway. Not for the past six, seven months anyway.

JESSE MCCARTNEY. He had me at Beautiful Soul. I don't care about the green eyes, nor the tousled hair, though I did had mine styled that way before. His music is so damn fine and his recent record just proves how truly talented he is. I love how he remains to be one of the few underrated gems in the music industry. It means that I get to have his sound, among other things, to myself.

"THAT IS SO FETCH!". I have professed, time and again, that I love Mean Girls. I have watched it so many times that I have managed to memorize some, most of, its lines like - "Vintage, so adorable", "If you're from Africa why are you white?", "Oh my God Karen, you can't just ask people why they're white", "I gave him everything. I was half a virgin when I met him", "I'm a mouse... duh!", "Irregardless, ex-boyfriends are just off limits to friends. I mean that's just like the rules of feminism" and one of my favorite "You cannot do that. That is social suicide". Tina Fey did one amazing screenplay. She should be venerated. And if I were part of the Academy, I would have given Mean Girls an award, or probably just Karen Smith for her fifth sense.

GOSSIP GIRL. Barring Supernatural, GG is the TV series that I'm currently into. It's also my most quoted show in recent months, hence the association. Otherwise, the following would trumped it: Charmed (A Prime), Smallville (Gracie) and Will & Grace (Striker). But hey people, I could still give you fifty reasons why you should give GG a shot. Though that's for another entry.

iPOD. It has been three years, Nano and I. I remember encashing my first last pay and hurriedly venturing to Greenbelt with a plan of buying myself a present, an Apple iPod Video. However, the sales lady offered me Nano instead. She said that it's more trendy and I'll be one of the first ones to have it. She had me at trendy so I purchased Nano faster than I can bid goodbye to my wallet's content. After a week, I returned Nano complaining about its defective earphones. Initially, sales lady refused to believe my word until she tried it herself. Apparently, I'm also among the first unlucky ones to avail of the merchandise's warranty. Last year, I bought an iPod Touch but I realized that touchscreen isn't my thing. This prompted me to switch back to my first love and since then, we have been inseparable.

MARIAH CAREY. Do I even have to explain this? Yes? Alright. It's simple. Mariah and I go back like babies and pacifiers.

VEGETABLES. I am neither a goat, nor a cow. Hence, the no love for anything that photosynthesizes. I guess that makes me a finicky eater. Then again, it's not uncommon. I know a lot of people who don't like their greens either. So until the day that I am influenced by someone to willingly chew and swallow and digest those icky things, I am sticking to my yummy meat.

SAKAYAN NG JEEP. Now this had me thinking. Is it because I take jeepney rides when I'm off to work every day regardless if some people say that it is quite unglamorous? Did I happen to sing it often (and bad) enough to make your ears bleed? Or did I sing it correctly (i.e. tamang pacute) that people thought I was actually Ms. Gil? Enlighten me.

I am surprised that several things were omitted even if I believe they scream "MakMak" more than some of those mentioned above. But, whatever. I'm getting cheese fries.

If you wish, you could comment to this post. Let me know the things that make you think of me and I will do the same for you. Afterwards, you may post it in your blog, with a bit of an explanation of course. Fun, I tell you.