Guilty Pleasures

Yes, I am guilty, without a doubt.

I confess to the fact that I have several quirks which others may find eccentric while others may find endearing.

These guilty pleasures of mine I’ve kept hidden for such a long time. But since lately, a lot of friends have decided to come out, I guess it’s time for me to let you in on some of my quirkiness.

Peep hole: For security purposes, I’ve installed a peephole in my unit. But I use this tiny hole in my door to spy on my neighbors. Not that I have a lot of interesting neighbors. In fact, in my floor, only 2 units are inhabited most of the time. 3 units, including mine, are like transient houses. And the other one is not occupied yet. But everytime I hear some noise or commotion outside my door, I use this peephole to peek into the lives of my neighbors.

New books: Since I was small, I love smelling new books. Whenever I’m in a bookstore, I almost always try to smell the pages of the books. The feeling is euphoric, bordering on being high.

Google: Maybe due to boredom (or vanity and narcissism), I’ve had this habit of googling my name. I get a pleasure of looking at the hits and the search results. That’s how I found out that some of my friends have been writing about me in their blogs.

Photos: Again, maybe because of vanity and narcissism, I have several ID-size digital pictures of myself. Ever since I started taking these medications, and have started noticing physical changes, I’ve had this habit of regularly (maybe once a week) taking self portraits and saving them in my laptop. I now have a folder of self portraits and mug-shots which I look at every once in a while to assess if there’s improvement in terms of the physical side effects of my medication.

Late night show: I am naturally an owl, a night person. However, since I am not allowed to stay up late (long story), I’ve tried to hit the bed at 10 or 11pm. But since I don’t have cable tv in my unit, I’ve had to make do with the local tv stations. And that’s when I discovered this late night talk show with Jojo Alejar. For those of you who don’t know him, Jojo A is a teen star back in the days (late 80s), and has been a fixture in the now-defunct teen variety show, That’s Entertainment. Now, in his 40s, he still sports the same hairstyle and cracks the same jokes. I got hooked on this show for 2 reasons – it’s a very short show (30 mins) and therefore has a very slim chance of being boring, and because it has no advertisements (how many shows don’t actually have ads!).


Chippy: Everyone (or at least all of my friends) knows that I love Chippy. But only very few actually know that I love Chippy (red, original flavor) with vinegar. It’ll even taste better with ground black pepper. Yummy!

Adobo: Almost all Filipinos love adobo (a dish of marinated meat seasoned with garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, black pepper and bay leaf). Filipinos also love to cook their adobo with a twist, therefore claiming that their version is better than others. Others add coconut milk, others add sugar or star anise and even sugar. But I love my adobo with ketchup. Don’t ask why… I just do.

Horoscopes: I know it may sound baduy, but I believe in horoscopes. I used to read the newspaper starting with the horoscope page. But now that I am more technologically savvy, I use the internet. I am enrolled in a daily horoscope and inspirational article services (OM). And another friend regularly sends out inspiring quotes from ‘The Universe’.

Chick flick: I love chick flicks! My favorite is Love Actually. And I usually love watching these during special occasions. See my previous entry (Chick Flick).

Cool fluffy pillows: As stated in my previous entry (Little Joys), I love fluffy pillows. What I did not say is that I love rubbing my foot against a soft, cool and fluffy pillow. This makes me really sleepy.

I could go on and on but I think I’ve said enough. I know my friends will understand. But I’m sure there’ll be those who will squirm in their seats and will probably refuse to talk to me again. So I will stop. But I would love to hear from you.
These are my guilty pleasures. What’s yours?


11:45am
26 March 2008
Santiago City