My Desk

This is what my desk looks like, at least last Friday. I took this photo while I was trying to figure out how to use the manual settings of my camera. This photo was taken with the ISO setting at 50 so the photo shows more details. Take note that the desk calendar is already in June because I'm looking for a date when to make a booking to avail of the Cebu Pacific P1.00 fare promo. I've had the Jolllibee mouse pad since 2001 and it's the one for all my employment. The kikay kit is not mine - it is my officemate's who leaves it in my cubicle because it is nearer the comfort room. The blue mug with butterflies is a gift from my officemate in the Supreme Court. Nice.

Amici Last Weekend

Yeah, I know. I'm an Amici addict. I was in Amici (again!) with my college friends last Saturday. We ordered Piccantina Pizza (tomato, mozzarella, spcy salami, black olives, oregani and olice oil), though the pizza was not photographed - go figure! :) We also had Tagliatelle al Pollo e Prosciutto (the one with green pasta) which is composed of white sauce with chicken and ham - simple but delicious nonetheless. The other pasta we had was the Spaghetti "Mafiosi" which is spaghetti with anchovies, sardines, lemon Sicilian style. Yummy! We also ordered the steamed prawns which came with lots of rice, not your run of the mill and bland cream of mushroom soup - this one is tasty and creamy, and salad. We didn't get to order other viandas but apparantly, Amici serves Pinoy food during lunch. I didn't have ice cream this time but rather, I had Tiramisu which was really good as it was not too sweet and not too much liquor. The cappuccino was also perfect considering its price. Hay!

I might be taking some time off from Amici. But if someone asks me to go with him/her, I'll most likely not resist.

Dear Rocky

For those who have read my Date Dissecting and Postscript on Date Dissecting posts, I thought I ought to let you know that yes, I have already gone out on dates after that and I'm happy to report that one has become an acquaintance and the other, a friend, at the very least.

Let's talk about the "friend". I did promise myself that I would not blog about him as he may be reading this post right this very moment and I'd be certainly embarassed. And so, to be prudent, I will leave this message for him:

Hi Rocky (not his real name)! If you happen to be reading this post right now, promise me you will pretend that you have not read this post and you will not give me a "I know something" smile when we see each other again.

It took more than a year, one and a half year to be exact, before friends thought of introducing me to their single friends. I'm not complaining though as I was busy doing other enjoyable stuff and spent much of my time with dear, dear friends during that one and a half year. But let's talk about Rocky - he is a great guy. I must say at the outset that there is nothing romantic going on between us. So if you are reading this and expecting to read a love story, please direct your attention to the right column portion of this blog and check out my blogroll to find some other things worth reading.

Disclaimers having been made, I just couldn't help but make comments on how he behaved himself during the date. (I will not write any further though about the other time we saw each other as this post is really to illustrate an example of a good date behavior.) I know the stuff I'll write would seem to be normal and customary for others that they won't be noteworthy at all. But I'm writing this as a late bloomer who has never dated until after finishing post-graduate studies - so bear with me.

Rocky seems to be a guy who is learned in the ways of dating and it is really nice to discover that it seems that both of us have in mind that dating should be an opportunity to make new friends. Unlike that guy who got my number but never texted and the other guy who didn't even get my number, seemingly out of fear that I'll perceive that as him being enamored with me, Rocky got my number and sent messages after our first meeting. During the date, which was chaperoned by the way, Rocky was not merely talking about himself but he was asking me some questions too. I don't know if it was his style or it was true, but his earlier declaration of not being able to stay long and his later staying long afterall was sweet. Intentional or not, it was flattering to feel that my company made him change his mind about leaving early to do other stuff. Rocky of course, footed the bill. I thought this was normal and I didn't even offered to pay, but my friends said that in some group dates, every one shares in the bill. The next time we went out, and I was even the one who invited him, he again paid the bill even if I offered to pay (oops, I said I won't say anything outside of the first meeting, but oh well...). I guess there are no hard and fast rules on this. Going back to the first meeting, Rocky was attentive - he listens and he remembered when I said I like lamb and offerred it to me as soon as the meal arrived. We even had coffee after the dinner. As we parted, Rocky and I gave each other a cheek to cheek and he said let's meet again when he is in the area where I work. True or not, I consider that a nice gesture on his part. And he sounded really sincere.

I know, I know it seems strange to rave about the stuff he did that night and he'd probably say he was just doing what he was supposed to do but let's face it, real gentlemen are dwindling in numbers and guys who are confident, self-assured and attentive are sadly, hard to come by. True, there are lots of nice guys out there but while Rocky is nice, he didn't fall into the trap of treating me like pare and not a girl. Other guys who are out on a date sometimes swing to the other extreme of coming across as asexual by trying to be friendly. Rocky was able to pull off being a gentleman by making me feel like I'm a girl that we gained friendship that meeting without him crossing the line and becoming a potential, and I'm going to borrow this title - paasa king.

I remembered an old friend telling me that he felt like he and his guy bestfriend were so clueless with girls that there seems to be a manual which they don't have a copy of. And to think this old friend was really, really good looking (he has moviestar genes) to think of himself as being unable or incapacitated to get the girl he likes. And honestly, his style as he relayed them to me seemed like he has taken a leaf from a stalker.

Dating is really a tricky tricky game. But it is fun, when you know how it is played. Rocky knows how, that's for sure. For whatever it is worth, going out with him is a confidence building measure for me, reassuring me that I CAN behave like a girl and be treated like a girl, and that there are still nice, decent, normal, gentlemen out there. Being around him, I realized I have a tendency to always act like the bestfriend in the movies and not like the leading lady (of course, I got this from The Holiday). A dear friend who is now married likened Rocky to a guy she once dated who, even if they both knew it will not go anywhere near the altar, gave her the confidence to go out there and meet people. Without need to determine if there is or there isn't any future for us, I think Rocky gave me that confidence too.