A few years ago, there was this controversy regarding stem cell research.  From what I remember, stem cells are undifferentiated cells.  So it pretty much doesn’t know what it is yet.  It can become neural cells, cardiac cells, bone cells, etc.  It is mainly because of this property that makes it very useful.  Just imagine, if you have a failing liver with no donor in sight, then having access to stem cells would be really of much use to you.  These babies may be programmed to become your liver cells.  Talk about fulfilling dreams of immortality!

Of course this would only work on you, and possibly on your blood relatives.

At that time, the only sources of stem cells known are aborted fetuses, and umbilical cords.  Here is where the controversy began.  You know how people get about abortion and fetus discussions.

C'elle, however, is saying something different about this whole stem cell business.  So according to their website, stem cells may be “harvested” from the woman’s menstrual flow.  Definitely, a much better source than the other options I just mentioned.  The website offers information About the Science of this whole thing.

The gist of it all is that you get a C’elle kit for non-invasive collection and transportation of the specimen, then the center preserves and isolates the cells until you need them. 

The C'elle Kit

The whole thing is not as impossible as it sounds; it does deserve some going over.  Maybe you can check the C'elle Client Testimonials about it too.

This might make me sound like a bad preschool teacher, but I prefer little girls to little boys.   I know it is awful to play favorites, but I love the sugary spice and everything nice bits more than the snips, snails and puppy dog tails.

I imagine when I have a kid, I’d most probably wish for a little girl more, too.  Not that I’m against having a boy; I have always loved the whole big brother concept.  However, it is so much more fun to buy things for little girls: the dresses, the shoes, the dolls and other toys, and the cute little baby cribs you can froth with pink.  Yeah, I’m crazy about pink, and pink does not suit boys so well.

Just like pink travel cots. 

Easy moving in style!

I also found some pretty highchairs, one with sweet flower patterns perfect for the baby girl.  It comes complete with a harness so baby wouldn’t fall off, levels to make it height friendly, and a reclining thing, so when she naps after eating, which would probably be not good though.  So, the napping, possible on the chair but maybe at another time.

The highchair.

Aside from the pretty things that go with having little girls, they are also much easier to manage.  Girly games are much more sedentary than the boys’. 

What about you, which is your preferred gender?

b4uing1

I'm bored, therefore, I photoshop.  My latest thing now is photoshop make up magic. 

Ok the the grinning like an idiot, not cute.  But it was the easiest picture to use.  First pic is obviously the original, second the photoshopped one.

Changes include:

slightly clearer skin minus the crinckles and eyebags, lipstick, blush, faint eyeshadow (it's daytime, so it's supposed to be light right?), fake lashes, tweezed eyebrows (I have no idea how to shape eyebrows so..), removed white strap, and futile attempt to highlight hair with red (highlight didn't really show, I guess my hair was too dark).  I also tried to clear off the stray hairs.  I still haven't gotten the hang of using the healing brush tool, so I mainly used clone stamp.  Smudging was also pretty tricky, I didn't like how the skin on the arm turned out.  It looks dirty.  I need to learn how to blend better.

I want to practice some more but I don't have alot of quality pics I can use.  Maybe when I get my hands on some.  Share?

Friday night was spent with friends in MOA for the Coke Bloggers' Party, part 2.

with Grace and Ed

plus Az

Free food, free beer, camwhorage, and a random creepy shit with stranger (ask hotchiqqa about this last bit, it's all her fault!).

This were the appetizers: a small cut of pizza, baked mussel, and i-forgot-what-the-other-thing-was.

The baked mussels in Taste Asia was love!  Same with the chicken and fish fillet.  The shrimp, not so much, I'm particular with my seafoods.

So we weren't really paying much attention to the the people talking in front.  We did find out later that Azrael's vid won first place.  New plasma tv! *woot*

Obviously, this is what I have been doing the whole time we were inside.

Meaning taken? hm..

the love for the night

Pictures courtesy of Azrael and Hotchiqqa.

Yesterday was not a good day.  Did not start off as one anyway. 

Patient cancelling while I was already on the road do not make me happy.  Ex did say that at least I got paid to wake up (yes, we're talking again.  And yes, things look good for now.  I just don't know how this good thing will last, but this time I'm actually keeping my fingers crossed.).  True, but the whole thing still pissed me off.

Then my ATM broke.  Of course banks are closed on a saturday, and inter-bank withdrawal is not possible.  Sucks to be broke.

Things did look up right after lunch.  Bottles of beer, yummy foodie goodness, crazy/funny conversations and some more crazy/annoying singing later, and I was feeling pretty good.  Can't say the same for friend who perked me up, but at least I hope it was fun for him too.

Got to taste fried ice cream, which I think is a misnomer.  It was two scoops of ice cream wrapped with the batter thingy you use for crepes.  The batter was fried.  Maybe that was what it meant. Hm.

And because it's a sunday, I have picture to post!

Sample shots of what you see in my planner

I know I look like I have tons of free time in my hands to have the time to come up with shitz like this.  In all fairness, I actually do.  I just have sucky time management skills.  When not working, or in between work, time is spent reading and watching and plurking and attempting to blog and going on food trips which leads to the often broke-ness and late night conversations with the ex.

I need more productive hours.

And better things to write about.

Being in my profession, I am expected to think about whether or not I want kids of my own someday.  Given how much I like what I do, I guess, I honestly would want to have some.  Let us not talk about the when though, that I cannot answer.  If I say: when I become financially secure and in a decent relationship, we might be counting centennials.  So, let us stop with “I want a few someday”.

There was actually a point when I thought I'd want one, but not from me, meaning, I'll adopt.  My biggest fear is the pain.  Seriously, there is a reason why we describe the pain assessment scale 10/10 as the pain you feel when you are in labor.  Sure, there is caesarian section; but the bad things outweight the good.  Aside from the pain, there is also the flabbiness around the tummy that I'd hate to have.  I'm slightly anorexic, I'm sorry.  Then, again, I could hopefully get a tummy tuck, and voila! excess baggage gone.  I know that there's some slight scarring involved with getting one, but I heard you can have it cut in the bikini line; so, problem solved.  I thought at first tummy tuck and liposuction are the same, but no, they are not.  When the skin gets stretched, as with pregnancy, it doesn’t usually revert to its previous state; or it takes a while for it to go back.  So for a short while, or possibly forever, that excess skin stays there.  Long story short, while liposuction deals with the fats, tummy tuck deals with the excess skin.

One good thing about getting pregnant though is that the boobs get bigger.  For someone with almost non-existent boobs, that will be a yey.  Good-bye, non-existent chest; hello, cleavage.  Without the hormones going overdrive, except for possibly getting breast augmentation, the possibility of this happening is nil.

While we’re at it, I also want Jude Law.

Want to know how easy I am?

Things are good.  Let's hope it stays there.

I couldn't think of a picture to post this sunday, so I came up with this:

Meet the puppy:

guess the line

I've been trying to work on midterms exams for hours, and this is what I came up with.  So dead.

This whole weekend has been pretty pointless.  It feels like it's just hours and hours spent waiting for monday to get here.  He's changed a little you know.  Not sure why, and if it's going to be good for me, but he's starting to act more like the guy I wanted him to be all these years.  I wonder what brought this about.

I hope it doesn't mess with my head again.

One of my favorite past times is watching movies.  I usually prefer action, suspense, sci-fi and some comedy; but rarely romantic movies.  I like a few of course, but it is not really my thing.  The fun thing about romantic comedy/drama movies are the pick-up lines you get from there.  There are some lines though that you surely would not want to use.

Loretta Young: "I hate being pawed."
Lyle Talbot: "Maybe you've never been pawed properly."
(She Had to Say Yes, 1933)

Claudette Colbert: “You've got a name, haven't you?”
Clark Gable: “Yeah, I got a name. Peter Warne.”
Claudette Colbert: “I don't like it.”
Clark Gable: “Don't let it bother you. You're giving it back to me in the morning.”
(It Happened One Night, 1934)

Cary Grant: “I was bored to death. I hadn’t seen one attractive woman on this ship since we left. Now, isn’t that terrible? I was alarmed. I said to myself, ‘Don’t beautiful women travel anymore?’ And then I saw you, and I was saved - I hope.”
(An Affair to Remember, 1957)

Cary Grant:  “Do we know each other?”
Audrey Hepburn: “Why, do you think we're going to? Because I already know an awful lot of people and until one of them dies I couldn't possibly meet anyone else.”
Cary Grant: “Well, if anyone goes on the critical list, let me know.”
(Charade, 1963)

Paul Newman: "You came back to this bar to see me tonight, didn't you."
Charlotte Rampling: "What if it wasn't you I came here to see tonight?"
Paul Newman: "Well, ya’ got lucky."
(The Verdict, 1982).

Nicholas Cage: “I really wish that you'd come home with me. You're so cute and I'm really good in bed, believe me. You smell good, too.”
(Leaving Las Vegas, 1995)

Ralph Fiennes: "Swoon. I'll catch you."
(The English Patient, 1996)

Tom Cruise: “We live in a cynical world. A cynical world.  And we work in a business of tough competitors. I love you. You...complete me.”
(Jerry Maguire, 1996)

These lines are definitely not getting you a Victory Hair.  According to some random sources, Victory Hair is supposedly when two equally pretty people hit it off.   Don’t ask me why.

Now here is a little thing to play to check your flirting prowess.  Try playing Extreme Style by VO5's Ultimate Flirting Championship game.

I’m really bad at it, but maybe you can do better.

I love how we never run out of things to say. 

I love how you manage to keep up with my 10-second attention-span and general randomnes.

I love how you're trying more now.

I love how you make me feel like I make sense even when I think I don't.

I love how you never really leave.

I love how it feels like when you hold my hand.

I love how your stubbles feel against my skin.

I love how you let me get away with things, but not everything.

I love how you never bore me.

photo courtesy of simplethoughtssimplewords

Let me introduce you to the latest crush.  Meet Chuck:

cute. I meant someone alot younger.

That's CHUCKY.  I did not say not human! 

  She's gorgeous I know, and while I love her too, I meant someone of the opposite gender.

HIM!

Chuck Bartowski is a twenty something computer guy working as part of the Nerd Herd in Buy More.  A Stanford kick-out who had the (mis)fortune of receiving a program that saved top secret government information in his brain.  So of course, being the holder of important information, he needed protection.  He was assigned with an agent from CIA, Sarah, and an agent from NSA, Casey.  For those who know Firefly, Casey used to play Jayne.  His cahracter here is pretty much the same: the muscle; only much, much better than Jayne will be.

Why I like him?  Cos he's nerdy and shy and sweet and funny and seems perpetually lost but very bright.  The episodes are a lot of fun.  Light, fast-paced, and interesting.

Well, if you're still not too sold with Chuck, maybe she'll spice up your interest:

now think Annie (from Shaider) whenever she flips over the counter to battle the bad guys in that uniform!

(on things that might make your eyes cross)

Yesterday, la familia decided to hit the hot springs in spite of the steady rain.  It's been 2 years or more since I last stepped in a pool, so I decided to go.  Also, there were alot of food, so I had to join them.  Yes, that easy.

And because I was tripping on the camera, I may have overdone it with the sepia.  Bah!  This is called experiment.

In spite of thhis weather, we have decided to go

in the car, where i couldn't stand the blaring 50s music in the radio

Me and my dad

finally here!

One of the pools

Finally a swimsuit that looks a little more decent, just not so much the back lol

(you don't have to)

I think I know now why they say "love" is from the heart.  The hollow thing you feel around the chest area whenever you think of your good byes, it would be stupid to think it's cos your lungs are broken.

Also if it's from the lungs then you'd be breathless, not numb.

This isn't coming out as funny as intend it to be, i think.

Flirting comes in two ways: verbal and non-verbal.

Verbal flirting would be the usual dropping of lines we use to let the other person know we’re into them.  You know, something along the lines of, “How you doing?”  Do these lines actually work except maybe for Joey?

While this is important, I think most of the game is all about the body language.  I tried checking on sites to know what they say exactly about this, and all of them suggest ways on how you’re supposed to take a clue.  Let me give you the two most common flirting styles.

First and most common is always eye contact.  Look, but don’t stare, they say.  While looking may be cute, staring would be creepy.  Maybe it helps if you count 1 to 3 then look away?  Seriously, though, when is the cutoff for looking?  How do you know you’ve gone beyond look to the stare part?  Also, helpful hint, stare with a squint would probably mean other person has really bad eyesight.  I’m just saying in case you’re that obtuse.

“My look”, probably coming of as scary

The second is touching.  No, I don’t mean the creepy touching you associate with dirty old men, just a few light touches here and there while you’re talking.  I think I exaggerate on this part though.  I’m a little touchy when I talk, I slap/hit you kind of touchy actually.  So I’m not quite sure if that falls under flirting, or abuse?

Check out how you score, and try Extreme Style by VO5's Ultimate Flirting Championship

So lately I've been trippin' mostly on zombie movies.  I know it sounds absolutely stupid, and for the most part it is.  But if you're looking for a no-brainer (cos they eat your brains, yo! and practically everything else) stupid fun, then zombie movies are the way to go.

This sudden interest began one night on my way home, while in the fx.  No, i did not sit beside a zombie, nor did the guy beside me smell like a flesh-eater.  I was minding my own business when my eyes drifted on the ipod screen of the guy beside me.  He was watching a movie where there's a bunch of people looking military-like inside trucks being followed by crows.  Then all of a sudden, crows started attacking the group of people.  Then, one of the guys stood on top of the truck and blasted fire all over the crows.  Fire was suddenly made bigger by some girl who stared at it.  Knowing nothing except that description, I narrated the whole thing to stupex, and he told me it was prolly resident evil 3.  Danggit!  Boy was right!  So off we went to Metrowalk, and bought all 3 dvds.

Zombie marathon flicks now include:

• Resident Evil
• Resident Evil: Apocalypse
• Resident Evil: Extinction
• Zombie Strippers
• Shaun of the Dead
• Fido

(The synopsis)