Nevergirl's

1. You think it okay to sneak in biblical commentaries in the middle of a Manny Pacquiao interview.

2. You then try to backpedal out of the ruckus your mediocre writing caused by demanding that foreign journalists Weir and Romero (who were merely picking up the information you dropped on the Examiner) apologize to Pacquiao, saying that they, as writers for USA Today and LA Weekly, should have better reading comprehension than you do.

3. You think it likely that Pacquiao, boxing wonder from Gen San, actually memorized Leviticus 20:13, can recite it from memory, and would actually recite it in an interview.

What I find really ridiculous about the whole thing is that people gave Ampong’s article much credence to begin with. Pacquiao can barely utter a complete sentence in English without supreme difficulty. And then he suddenly becomes an English-speaking bible thumper? That quotes the Old Testament at a moment’s notice?

Excerpts of Ampong’s article:
Pacquiao’s directive for Obama calls societies to fear God and not to promote sin, inclusive of same-sex marriage and cohabitation, notwithstanding what Leviticus 20:13 has been pointing all along: ‘If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.’”.

The word “detestable” alone would have Manny’s tongue in knots. I like Manny, by the way, though I find it painful to watch his noontime show. He speaks worse Tagalog than I do.

But I digress.

Going back to Ampong, this guy is proof just how ridiculous it is that now, everybody “writes”. Let’s forget Ampong’s politics for a moment and pretend this guy hasn’t always been consistently anti-Pacquiao. Let’s pretend that we don’t realize he just wants to show Pacquiao in a bad light in this article (because really, why on earth would the subject of gay marriage come up in a sport interview in the first place?). You know what I believe Ampong’s main crime to humanity is? At the simplest level, just really bad writing. Who on earth would think it okay to use this sentence?

“Engaging a radical shift as manifested by his insights shared during Bible studies which lasted more than one hour, around 10:00 p.m., with a song and his substantive prayer, Pacquiao counsels people to ‘just believe’ what the Scripture says.”

Okay, I’ll stop giving myself a coronary now, and just finish the book I was reading before I got waylaid by the Ampong brouhaha on Facebook. If I give this issue more brainspace, I just might end up dreaming later tonight of a future where Ampong’s writing has evolved into a science and scholars are having as much trouble deciphering jejemon as Ampongese.

I am ashamed to announce that Pinterest has taken over my life, and I honestly don’t think I’d be able to reclaim it any time soon. How bad is it?

Very.

I’ve done nothing these past 20 minutes except look at PlaytimeUS.com outdoor playground equipment. But no, that’s not even half of it. I looked at many other things, too. By the time it occurred to me to stop pinning, I saw the clock, and I shuddered. Four hours spent dithering, doing absolutely nothing other than moon over pretty things? Unthinkable!

If you haven’t tried Pinterest yet, please don’t. It’ll start out harmless at first but soon, it’ll turn into a vice, an addiction, a weakness. Look at me. I just entered hour nine of an overly dramatic sigh. I know I have loads to finish, but I just can’t stop pinning. If I end up wasting another week on this, I am so locking up myself in my room, with nothing but bread and water to sustain me.

There are three things I do really well. The first is speedread. The second is shop online (I kid not; my eBay account is proof I have a PhD in online shopping). The third is find all sorts of pretty things to trance out to.

This is what’s currently keeping me hypnotized: Nuffnang’s “My Zalora Wishlist” contest. The mechanics are simple: list down the five things on Zalora that’s currently making your heart go a’pattering. This, friends, family, and Google bot, is my list.

Why do I need these things in my life?

1. I’m Going to Paris. Again. – I went to Paris in February. In the middle of winter. When temperature dipped as low as -15! When going to the usual tourist spots meant trudging home with chaffed hands, bleeding lips, and blistered cheeks!

On the first day, we spent close to three hours in Pere Lachaise cemetery, getting hopelessly lost. Eventually, we gave up trying to find all the rich and famous buried there, and contented ourselves with simply writing on Oscar Wilde’s tomb.

Do you see the glass encasing? They put that there because women supposedly leave lipstick marks all over his tomb!

Now, I always thought I was a Parisienne in a past life, that I’d take to the language, the subway, the criminally late dinners, and the utterly chic bistros and cafes dotting the Montmarte like duck takes to water. But, no. Thanks to the freezing cold, I spent most of my time in Paris sleeping early, waking up late, and trying to spend as much time indoors as I could get away with. Like so:

Sure, I ended up in the Louvre, but purely by accident. I got lost. “Excuse me,” I said to a local. “What is that huge palace across this street?” “It’s the Louvre, madam,” the woman said, looking at me incredulously, as if I’d grown three foreheads right that minute.

This photo is proof I didn’t go up the Eiffel; I just stood maybe 50 feet away and had my photo taken.

I didn’t go inside the Notre Dame, too (hey, I was running late for a flight).

I never went to Versailles, the south of France where the wineries are, and just about every place on my guide book. Because yes, I got a guide book. But no, it proved not very useful at all because I am very talented at avoiding the cold.

If this trip pushes through, I intend to spend all my day outdoors, going from one museum to the next. I shall speak French so well they’d think I must have Corsican blood (I can pass myself off as Corsican, I think. They’re so much smaller than I am!) I shall even be very ambitious and try to do my rounds of all 21 arondissements! And of course, I shall do all these dressed to the nines. It’ll be summer when I get there so it’ll be no holds barred when it comes to dressing up. What could be more Parisian chic than the Alpha Black Dress, the Antoinette frock, and this decadently trimmed number?

2. I’m Going to Scotland - Think Whithorn in Galloway, St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, the Church of the Holy Rude in Stirling, Greyfriars Kirk (made famous by that Disney movie about the loyal dog Greyfriars Bobby, who guarded his master’s grave for 14 years), the National Museum of Scotland—holy macaroni, the list is endless!

I’m a medieval history nut AND a faithful reader of Barbara Cartland (this is embarrassing but I was in grade school okay? I really thought swooning went with kissing, and every good-looking guy is secretly a rake desperate for salvation. Ick!) so this trip is doubly exciting for me. I’m sure I’ll do a lot of walking, which is why these Buggy Lite sneaks are on my wish list.

I’ve never been the sneaker type of girl, but I’m sure sneaks would come very handy when I drag everybody I’m with to Urquhart Castle in Loch Ness, so we can go wait for Nessie to show up.  The Veronica skirt will be useful, too, for hiding all the deep fried haggis, Mars bars, Black pudding, and salt’n'vinegar I wolf down in Rose Street.

3. I Need Saving - I need to save all I can for these two upcoming trips. I can’t be spending all my money on pretty things, even though I did just get my order from Zalora. See what I mean about needing to save?

It doesn’t help that they make it so convenient to buy online. They accept Paypal, they offer free shipping on all orders, and worst of all, they offer such speedy delivery you can get your order within three hours of placing! I’ve no doubt that left to my own devices, I’d spend all my money on pretty clothes, and where would that leave me? In the unhappy position of being able to afford the trips only if I subsist on sunshine and water in the next four weeks. So really, Zalora would be saving me from myself by making this wishlist come true.

4. It’ll Be My Birthday Soon - I’ll turn 30 this June 25. I can’t think of a better present to myself. Unless, of course, somebody on Forbes’ 50 Richest were to suddenly keel over, suddenly and inexplicably leaving me sole heir to an unspeakably vast fortune. Think Manny Pacquiao will kick the bucket soon?

Incidentally, if you’re wondering what to get me, please give yourself permission to give me this. Hahaha!

5. It’s Not Easy Being Me - Yep, it’s not. I have all the attention span of a fly. For instance, I just spent the last three minutes reading up on apidextra (click here to learn more about apidextra but this is another blog post altogether!).I run into doors and furniture, and fall off stairways with almost psychopathic frequency. I get colors mixed in the wash. I lose keys, receipts, ID’s, and God knows what else so often I once thought of tying up all these little bric-a-brac and wearing them as a necklace. The first and last time I tried to fry something that didn’t come from a can, I ended up dunking it in so much oil I made myself dizzy afterwards.

Yes, it’s not easy being me. In fact, I managed to eat my first meal today only at 3pm because first, I had to google how to make omelet. And then, I had to look up how to dice tomatoes. And then, I had to go look for tomatoes. Given how dismal my life is, it’s really the little saving graces here and there that keep me from throwing myself in front of a speeding tricycle. What I’m saying is that in the grand scheme of things, pretty clothes may pale next to winning the lottery but until that happens, it’s one of the few pick-me-uppers there is that never fails.

A friend wrote once that everything tastes better with butter. I disagree. Everything tastes better with pretty clothes tossed in.

Right now I’m stuck in the metro where cars and trucks honk like crazy, and the heat gets so bad I sometimes open the fridge and stick my head inside. You know how I get by? By drinking boatloads of water, wearing as few (and thin) clothes as possible, and ogling all the pretty, shiny things I find online. If I get any more fixated on Zalora, I’d have to ask family and friends to stage an intervention. Such is the peril of being Achinette.

P.S: This is my entry to Nuffnang and Zalora’s contest. All Nuffnangers with at least one valid ad unit and a Zalora account are eligible. Contest runs from April 23 to May 23, 2012. If you haven’t turned in an entry yet, now’s the time to do so. You can get your wishlist fulfilled and get Php 5,000 credit courtesy of Zalora. You can read about Zalora here. Don’t forget to like Zalora’s Facebook Page and follow them on Twitter for updates.

P.P.S I really mean what I said about the satchel, friends and family!

Who loses sleep over clothes? Chin. I swear it gets so bad sometimes that I bite my fingers, chew on my hair, pace about, or hit the refresh button repeatedly in an attempt to convince myself the article of clothing I am going spastic over looks just a bit uglier with every reload. Sometimes, the strategy works. But sometimes, it doesn’t.

Today, this is what’s haunting me.

I’d get it in a heartbeat but it’s sold out. SOLD OUT.

I know the last thing that I need is more clothing, dresses especially. If I wear everything in my closet, I can go three, maybe even four, months without wearing the same dress twice. Yes, it’s that bad. But this is not a dress; it’s a top. And it’s oh so exquisitely detailed. And it goes with just about everything, from shorts to jeans to skirts to dresses. And I want it bad, bad, bad.

Oh this infernally girly life!