Soundtrack Sunday: You Get What You Give

Sunday is here once again, and you know what that means- another episode of Soundtrack Sundays.

Our featured song for today is You Get What You Give by the New Radicals.

Rewind to 10 years ago. I'm still in college. It was a Saturday night (or Sunday morning already to be exact), I am in bed watching TV. I couldn't sleep yet and nothing's on except... (Baduy alert!) Walang Tulugan by Kuya Germs himself. Haha! Too bad if you're not Filipino because you wouldn't know this multicolored-tuxedo-wearing-starmaker-slash-TV host. He's been in show business for like a thousand years, and the time slot of his TV show (usually starts at midnight, I think) is an indication of where he is in the popularity meter.

Anyway, one segment of the show featured a music video (complete with lyrics ala karaoke) and that night it was You Get What You Give. I like this song because I think it gives out a very practical message. Nothing will happen to you unless you get up and do something. I remember feeling that the first 2 lines, 'Wake up kids, We got the dreamers' disease', were being sung to me. As usual, I was wishing and dreaming of great things happening in my life but have not necessarily taken concrete steps in achieving them. What's new?



So that was my memory of this song. What's yours?

P.S. I don't make a habit of watching Kuya Germs' show, ok. Just to make it clear.

Introducing: Soundtrack Sundays

For lack of anything new to do and write about, I've decided to start Soundtrack Sunday. Every Sunday, I'll post songs we've not heard for the longest time, and I'm hoping you guys share your memory of it.

I came up with this because I noticed that every moment of my life has a particular song associated with it. Whenever I hear a song, I remember where I was (literally and figuratively) when I first heard it and all the fond memories associated with it. So I thought, why not reminisce and write about old times through song?

Ok, so to start off, I'm posting here Solveig Sandnes' Marie. I remember I was 13 or 14 when I saw her video on MTV. It was the 90s and at that time MTV was the biggest thing. I remember I watched MTV for almost the entire day and I knew all the Top 10 songs by heart. Anyhoo, Marie was one of them and I remember hearing it always made me smile. It was, and still is, my song for my sister.



I tried to look for the original video, but apparently not a lot of people remember this song, so I couldn't find one.

So if you're one of the cool people who have heard Marie, 'Where were you when this
song was famous?'

The Great Procrastinator

Here I am at quarter to midnight, with the laptop on my bed, trying to compose an essay on why I want to become a Foreign Service Officer and why I should be one. And as usual, when presented with an all-important task, I get stuck and I procrastinate.

This always happens to me. In college, when we were required to turn in term papers, I usually spend hours and hours in front of the computer just to finish a one-page essay. Why? Because after every few sentences, I stop to play Solitaire. My excuse was that I need to take a break in order for my creative juices to start flowing. Whatever. I knew I was only kidding myself.

So now, I find myself in the same predicament, but with an all-new diversion: the Internet (well, more specifically Facebook). My excuse now is that I need inspiration. Total Lame-o, I know. But not totally un-true as I'm trying to dig deep and find the real reason why I'm doing this.

Anyhoo, so in my mindless FB browsing, I came across an old message a friend sent me. I think re-reading this brought me more distraction than inspiration. Just read on.

If A Man Wants You
If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away.
If he doesn't want you, nothing can make him stay.

Stop making excuses for a man & his behavior.
Allow your intuition to save you from heartache.
Stop trying to change yourself for a relationship that's not meant to be.

Slow is better.
Never live your life for a man before you find what makes you truly happy.

If a relationship ends because the man was not treating you as you deserve, then heck no, you can't be "friends."
A friend wouldn't mistreat a friend.

Don't settle.
If you feel like he is stringing you along, then he probably is.
Don't stay because you think it will get better.
You'll be mad at yourself a year later for staying when things are not better.
The only person you can control in a relationship is you.

Avoid men who've got a bunch of children by a bunch of different women.
He didn't marry them when he got them pregnant, why would he treat you any differently?

Always have your own friends separate from his.

Maintain boundaries in how a guy treats you.
If something bothers you, speak up.

Never let a man know everything.
He will use it against you later.

You can not change a man's behavior.
Change comes from within.

Don't ever make him feel he is more important than you are... even if he has more education or in a better job.
Don't make him into a quasi-god.
He is man, nothing more nothing less.

Never let a man define who you are.

Never borrow someone else's man.
If he cheated with you, he'll cheat on you.

A man will only treat you the way you ALLOW him to treat you.
All men are not dogs.
You should not be the one doing all the bending.
Compromise is a two way street.

You need time to heal between relationships.
There is nothing cute about baggage.
Deal with your issues before pursuing a new relationship.

You should never look for someone to COMPLETE you.
A relationship consists of two WHOLE individuals.
Look for someone complimentary... not supplementary.

Dating is fun... even if he doesn't turn out to be Mr. Right.

Make him miss you sometimes.
When a man always knows where you are, and you're always readily available to him-- he takes it for granted.

Never move into his mother's house.
Never co-sign for a man.

Don't fully commit to a man who doesn't give you everything that you need.
Keep him in your radar but get to know others...

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Just an update. I have not finished what I was supposed to write until now, and it's already past 12:30am on my watch. See? Even this post took me almost an hour to write. Sheesh.

Fave Song of the Moment

This song makes me smile in the mornings and want to skip along on my way to work. Imagine that!

Sinking Feeling

Lately, I've realized that I've been looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. I've always thought that everything's fine with the world and nothing could go wrong. Call it naivete or plain stupidity, but I thought that if you don't think of or face a problem, it doesn't exist.

So when reality bit me, it bit me hard in the ass. This rude awakening felt like I was helplessly falling into this sinkhole...



I really don't know how I'm going to get out of this mess, but I'm praying I get out of it soon. Hopefully unscathed and much stronger.

Why May 27 Was a Good Day

This is one of the reasons why my 30th is officially the best birthday ever!

Now, off to an intense 2-month review session...