February Roundup

I've been a very bad blogger over the last couple of weeks, neglecting to update my mouthpiece for the longest time now. I've been extremely busy juggling everything - workload, my social life and some extra-curricular activities.

Workload first - this is probably the craziest month I've had so far what with several projects overlapping each other. There's only Angel and I for the Marketing Department in our company and we've just been stretching ourselves too thin. I have developed a distaste for a certain superior for his being the world's biggest O.C. worrywart because of everything that's been happening.

Social life - I think I've just single-handedly burned the bridges with a potential valuable asset for my company. I'll let you in on the details some other time. Gist of the story: me + too much alcohol + pre-conceived notions = bad idea.

Extra-curricular activities - I've just been promoted to AVP for Education in Executive Toastmasters Club and the responsibility of making sure that there is a program for every meeting now falls on my shoulders. To top it off, I've pressured myself into getting my CTM with a June 30th deadline. Why June 30th? Toastmasters International recently had a realignment of their offering which has already taken in effect as of January 1, 2006. It's a long story that it deserves a separate entry. Recently, Cathy and I also got ourselves a tutor for Deutschkurs. It's going swimmingly well and I hope it'd help a lot in preparing myself for the FSO (Foreign Service Officership) Exam offered by the DFA.

So that's 1 whole month of my life in a nutshell.

Oh and before I forget, here are the remaining songs from 22 - 28 February.

Someone To Watch Over Me (Julia Fordham)
I became an instant fan of Gerschwin because of this song and I just love Julia Fordham! Too bad though that OPM artists have driven 'Love Moves (In Mysterious Ways)' into overkill :( Don't mind the seemingly male voice, that's what makes her Julia Fordham and what makes her stand out apart from her being a truly gifted composer and songwriter.

Never Is A Promise (Fiona Apple)
I've been following her music ever since she released her first single came out. She's just very refreshing to listen to - her lyrics are a mouthful but meaningful, her melody ranges from something trippy to a little on the heavy side. She's the type of artist that I would grow old with as her lyrics become even more mature (her lyrics were mature for her age when she started) with the passing of time. Her play on words and artistry is just awesome and yet her songs as a whole never loses their relevance.

Power of Love
I so love this song so much that I have all three versions stored in my laptop - Jennifer Rush's, Laura Branigan's and Celine Dion's. Out of all three, I favor Celine Dion's the most.

Muntik Na Kitang Minahal (The Company)
An OPM classic that I will never grow tired of listening. What I love most about the song is the way the group sings - a capella.

Butterfly (Mariah Carey)
It was a neck and neck race between 'Butterfly' and the a capella version of 'One Sweet Day' but it's the message of the song that does it for me. Mariah's really talented and all but oo bad that at the present time, she just can't keep herself clothed and dressed according to her age.

Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon)
The number one culprit for turning me into a Carly Simon fan was the film called 'Little Black Book.' It was included in Continental Airlines' roster of In-flight Entertainment - I think I was on my way to Newark International from Narita. I have this habit of picking memorable lines from movies that I watched and liked and most of what I got from this film is almost always intertwined with a specific Carly Simon song.

Pero Me Acuerdo De Ti (Christina Aguilera)
I liked her songs when she first came but thought of her a bimbo. It wasn't really her fault since during that time, all the female pop singers that came out on that span of time were blond (think of Mandy Moore, Willa Ford, Hoku). She was able to salvage herself in my eyes because this girl sure as hell has a great set of pipes and was fiercely independent. When I found out she was releasing a Spanish language album, I practically bugged my mom to buy it for me when she went to the States.