naivete's notes

Confessions of a non-Shopaholic Mom-to-Be

2011-11-02T18:13:00.007+08:00

I never really enjoyed shopping. I know a lot of people love the process of finding the perfect outfit at the best bargain but... not me... I find shopping way too complicated because there are so many choices and it takes so much time - not to mention money. I was so happy when I was assigned to our manufacturing plant and had to wear a uniform everyday!

For an anti-shopping first-time mom-to-be, the shopping-for-baby experience has been overwhelming. And I'm not just talking about the different designs (butterflies, fairies, flowers or princesses? pink? purple? yellow?)... The first challenge is figuring out what and how many to buy. But it's not as simple as going through a checklist. The other day, I came across a shelf of pacifiers. The questions: Do I need a pacifier? (It's not on "the list" but I know my cousin's son loves his pacifier) If I do, do I get latex or silicone? Rounded or orthodontic? What kind of handle is the "best kind"? Multiply those questions for the other things that are being sold for newborns (crib, stroller, diaper, etc.) and one ends up with more questions than purchased items.

The only major decision my husband and I have made is to breastfeed our baby for at least 1 year. That answers at least some questions (I think?!) but whether we'll breastfeed exclusively and for how long is another topic altogether. As my husband says when he sleeptalks: Ayayayayay!

Thank goodness for supermoms sharing their experiences:

My college professor Rowie Azada has a blog called Pinoybaby and she posted this checklist: http://www.pinoybaby.com/2008/11/list-of-essentials-to-buy-for-baby.html
The Y! group Newlyweds@Work has all sorts of tips, research results and stories
We're also taking a childbirth preparation class and appreciate the things that our teacher (Rome Kanapi - Tel: 4361757; Mobile: 09175415114; Email: romeinquiry@gmail.com) and classmates share. We're not yet done with the class but the last few sessions will cover newborn care (the first few sessions are all about pregnancy, labor and delivery)
And thankfully relatives and friends are all just an SMS/email/FB/call away :)

Any tips, suggestions, advice, other resources are very much welcome!

To Be or Not To Be Insured... That is not the only question

2011-10-05T20:16:00.009+08:00

While researching on life insurance, I found a helpful article by John Miele with a funny-but-close-to-my-reality anecdote:

...the topic came up about my promise to take care of (my wife)... I said something to the effect of, “Well, I have started an investment account for you and I’ll buy you a few hundred thousand dollars in life insurance.”
(Wife) said, “You ARE NOT going to die!!!!”
I responded, “Ummmmmm… Don’t think I’ll have much choice when the time comes.”
Followed by her retort, “You are not ALLOWED to die!”
What else can I say but, “Yes ma’am, you are right.”?

I got a life insurance plan around 3 years ago when I was 22 y.o. They say that it's better to get insurance early on because the premium will increase as one ages (or if one's "insurability" decreases -- this happens if a person becomes disabled or contracts a terminal illness. In the latter case, the person might not even be insurable). So I signed up and have been paying my premiums diligently since.

But I didn't really understand life insurance plans at the time that I decided to get my own (believe it or not, I actually ended up getting TWO!). The only questions I had then was how much do I have to pay, how often, and how much do I get when I die... I didn't even bother asking myself if I really needed Life Insurance in the first place. It sounds silly but I *think* I've managed to learn a little more - so allow me to share what I've learned, and please correct me if you spot any misconceptions.

WHY LIFE INSURANCE?
The beneficiary of your life insurance plan will NOT be you*. It will be your dependents, the people you leave behind to fend for themselves in the cruel world... This is on top of whatever they inherit from you. BUT just like inheritance, there are times when the death benefit is taxable because it is considered as part of the "estate" you leave behind. Hopefully there's still something significant left after taxes! ABS-CBN news has an article entitled "Four Reasons for Buying Life Insurance" - read it here

*Generally speaking. However, there are certain policies that will pay you when you reach a certain age like 90 y.o. instead of waiting for you to die.

TYPES OF LIFE INSURANCE
There may be others but so far I'm just aware of two main types:

Term. Term life insurance means that a person is only covered over a specified term. The term can be one year*, 10, 20 or 30 years. Person pays a premium (regularly?) and IF that person dies within the defined term, beneficiaries receive the death benefit. If person stays alive, the policy expires and the premium/s are never seen again. How expensive term insurance is will depend on the likelihood of the person dying within the defined time period. Some plans have a provision called guaranteed reinsurability which allows the person to renew a policy after the term expires without needing to submit proof of insurability (e.g. proof that you didn't fall terminally ill). Some plans can be converted to permanent life insurance but with certain provisions (like you can only convert it before you reach a certain age).

Permanent. Permanent life insurance covers a person until his/her inevitable death. So person pays a premium and WHEN person dies, beneficiaries receive the death benefit. This is usually more expensive because person will die sooner or later and the insurance company has to make sure that it has earned enough to cover for said person's death. Under permanent there are different types but I don't really understand the nuances anymore. I do know that there's one kind where the death benefit is fixed (doesn't change) while there's another kind where it's variable (it decreases/increases based on the performance of the fund you choose).

*Accdg to Wikipedia --
Because the likelihood of dying in the next year is low for anyone that the insurer would accept for the coverage, purchase of only one year of coverage is rare.
(Nai's note: but I would assume that it would be really cheap?)

WHICH ONE?
Of course the answer is "it depends" - on how much you're willing to pay and how much you need to leave behind.

I know people who prefer to get term insurance to ensure that their family will be compensated in case of untimely death only. So after the kids all graduate from college, the assumption is that they will be financially independent already and will not need the death benefit as much. As mentioned earlier, this is usually cheaper than permanent but it depends on the defined term - the longer the term, the more expensive.

On the other hand, other people prefer to leave more than inheritance behind to ensure that things like medical/funeral expenses are covered without having to touch the inheritance. And for those who opt for the variable permanent life insurance plan, there is a chance that the death benefit increases - sorta like an investment... However, Merkel notes in his article that "Most policies don't start to build respectable cash value until their 12^th year, so ask yourself if the (investment) feature is really worth it."

Of course one may also just choose NOT to get a life insurance plan! Allow me to say that this is a valid choice especially if you feel that you can invest your money elsewhere in order to achieve the main objective of a life insurance plan which is to ensure that your death will not drastically impact the financial situation of your beneficiaries (e.g. ability to pay for college).

RELEVANT TRIVIA

According to index mundi:

Philippines - Life Expectancy at Birth (so this doesn't factor in lifestyle choices like diet, smoking)
Total Population: 71.66 years
Male: 68.72 years
Female: 74.74 years (2011 est.)

The Philippines has an Insurance Code. Thankfully Sec 12 says:

The interest of a beneficiary in a life insurance policy shall be forfeited when the beneficiary is the principal, accomplice, or accessory in willfully bringing about the death of the insured... (hehehe)

LINKS
Wikipedia! Life Insurance , Term Life Insurance
Life Insurance in the Philippines by John Miele (for Live in the Philippines webzine)
5 Pointers When Getting a Life Insurance Policy by Garry de Castro, a SunLife Phils Insurance agent
Insurance Code of the Philippines from the Chan Robles Virtual Law Library
Philippines Demographics Profile 2011 by Index Mundi
Life Insurance: Putting a Price on Peace of Mind by Steven Merkel

Whew! Hope this helps.

P.S. I am NOT selling insurance. At least not yet ;)

I'm Back!

2011-09-21T22:48:00.005+08:00

Welcome me back to blogging :) Not sure how regularly I'll be posting but it sure feels nice to have time to jot some thoughts down.

Today's discoveries:

1. A round rainbow encircling the sun is called a solar halo (thanks Rene for this trivia!). I saw one while looking out the car window this morning along Ayala Ave.

Isn't it pretty? Even magical. It's supposed to be pretty rare.

2. Oakley service center will repair Oakley shades FOR FREE if no parts need to be replaced (i.e. in our case, the frame on one side got slightly bent) and it was repaired in just a few minutes. We didn't have any warranty documents but it was still accommodated :)

MEERA Enterprises, Inc.
8062 JASRA Building,
Estrella Street corner St. Paul Road,
San Antonio Village, Makati City 1103
Phone number: +632 890 - 0228
Service Center Hours: Mondays-Fridays 1-5pm

3. Passport renewal doesn't need to be painful! Here are a couple of tips:

Set an appointment using the online system (www.passport.com.ph). It's pretty intuitive. The ideal timing to renew one's passport is 6 months before its expiry date. We set the appointment 1.5 weeks before our preferred schedule. During peak season (not sure when that is...), I heard you might need to set it at least 1-2 months in advance!
Make sure you arrive on time which is 30 mins before your schedule - and at the right venue! The office is now located at Macapagal Ave. cor. Bradco St., Aseana Business Park. It's beside an S&R.
Have all requirements with you already. NSO copies are easy to obtain online (https://www.ecensus.com.ph/Secure/frmIndex.asp). Also don't forget to photocopy your requirements beforehand - they do have a photocopier inside but the line is pretty long. Plus don't be fooled by the sneaky people claiming that you need to bring a passport-sized picture (and of course they're offering their photo services for a fee) -- your picture will be taken inside.
If you have upcoming travel plans and the new passport might not be ready before your departure, you can request to keep your old passport first. Just write a letter explaining the reason for your request and attach your e-ticket/details. If you do this, you cannot have your new passport delivered. Instead you will need to personally return to the DFA office (they will give you an appointment schedule) in order to surrender your old passport and pick up your new one. They will invalidate your old passport and return that to you.
Even though you have an appointment, there will still be a line so bring a book to help you pass the time :)

4. Sadly not everything from S&R is fresh. I bought some mangosteen and none were edible :( I wonder if I can get a refund?

Update: S&R agreed to exchange them for a different item. Yay!

5. Last but not the least...I've managed to acquire a lot of books. From Sweet Valley Kids and Nancy Drew to classics and romance novels. I need more space so I might sell or give some of them away...

5 discoveries :) Not bad for my 1st day back!

2010-06-06T23:06:00.003+08:00

Technology -- never ceases to amaze doesn't it. There's the internet which has revolutionized our access to information, medical advances that have allowed doctors and machines to "extend"
life, planes/jets that make going halfway across the world so easy.

On a more trivial note... here are some cool stuff that have caught my attention:

My fiance gave me a really wonderful handheld electric bug zapper. There was a mosquito annoying me while I was sleeping ... I wasn't actively trying to kill the pesky blood-sucking insect, I just held it in front of me because it was too dark to see anything anyway. And then ZAP! Problem solved. Although there was a bit of a burnt smell for a few seconds. >_< I feel rather guilty about causing death by electrocution. How to put a WARNING HIGH VOLTAGE sign?

The other day at work I discovered a gadget called the thermal gun. No need to go too near an object or touch it and earn a burn if it's too hot, just point the laser pointer and find out how hot it is!

In the office, the printer is also a fax machine, photocopier and scanner. But what really got me was the auto-stapler feature @_@ Wow.

And there's another interesting office equipment -- the CD Shredder. It was so inconspicuously part of the paper shredder machine that I almost didn't notice it. Maybe I shall look for an old CD at home to try it out ;)

Little things I guess... but I will wait for the invention of the teleporter.

Color Accent: Black & White + 1 Color

2010-05-16T21:31:00.005+08:00

Call me a slow learner/discoverer but I just found out how to do those pretty shots where everything is black and white except for one color! Ala Schindler's List's girl-in-red. I've seen pictures using this feature before but I thought they were achieved through photoshop or some other photo editing software.

Anyway, for those who also want to try this for themselves:
Instructions to make your own color accent shots -- http://www.flickr.com/groups/canonpowershotsd870is/discuss/72157604109793277/

My unsuspecting first victim --- Summer's toy dino. I say first because I predict I'll be using this feature rather frequently :D

My Votes

2010-05-09T11:21:00.003+08:00

National Candidates
President: Aquino, Noynoy

Vice President: Roxas, Mar

Senators:
Acosta, Neric
Bautista, Martin
Biazon, Ruffy
Drilon, Franklin
Guingona, Teofisto
Hontiveros, Risa
Lacson, Alex
Lao, Yasmin
Osmena, Sergia
Remulla, Gilbert
Roco, Sonia
Tamano, Adel

Party List:
BH (124)

Makati Local Government Candidates
Mayor: Mercado, Ernesto
Vice Mayor: Pena, Romulo Jr.

1st District Representative: Locsin, Ma. Lourdes

1st District Councilors:
Bondal, Renato
del Rosario, Monsour
Enciso, Glenn
Estrella, Ferdie
Hilario, Virgilio
Ison, Eddie
Umandap, Verong
Yabut, Ichi

Upcoming Elections ... Future Elections

2010-03-14T17:03:00.007+08:00

There has never been and there will never be a perfect candidate (presidential/senatorial/gubernatorial/etc.). Like an Amazing Race detour, each will have it's own pro's and con's. Camp A of loyal followers will always argue that Camp B is turning a blind eye to candidate B's shortcomings and ignoring candidate A's obvious merits.

I would like to believe that no one is intentionally blind or ignorant. We choose based on what we value and we do not always value the same things. One might value past accomplishments, another might value intelligence and another may value something else altogether. And based on past experience or information available to them, people who have the same values might not choose the same candidate!

So what is the point of this essay? Personally, it's me thinking out loud, figuring out what I can do to help. And maybe this is already part of what I can do - to remind, to challenge, to get people to start thinking about what they can do. Here are some points:

Respect each other. Each of us have the right to choose. We can debate and present arguments in favor of the candidate we support but we shouldn't force our choice on others. What are we doing to give all candidates equal opportunity to present his/her case?

Keep the electoral process clean. Let's do our part to make the elections results unquestionable. What are we doing to free our fellow countrymen from the temptation to sell their votes? How are we ensuring that there will NOT be a failure of elections?

Accept the winners and the losers. After the results are announced - Surprise! There will be candidates who did not win. It can be candidate A... or candidate B... or candidate C... it can be any of them. There may be polls that reveal a particular candidate's popularity over another but the polls don't count. At the end of the day, what's counted and what counts are the votes.

And most importantly,

[ALL of us should] Fulfill our duties as patriotic and law-abiding citizens. Tuparin natin ang ating mga tungkulin bilang mamamayang makabayan at masunurin sa batas. We must not just depend on one person (i.e. the president) à la Bernardo Carpio to lift us out of poverty or fight corruption or improve the education system. The president and other leaders, as patriotic and law-abiding citizens, should fulfill their duties BUT we also need to fulfill our duties as citizens. After all, voting is only one of many rights - and duties - that we have as Filipino citizens. Are we putting systematic checks and balances in place so that no one can be above the law?

This will only work when all of us do it TOGETHER. The future does not only depend on the youth. It depends on all of us, including the youth, including you... and me.

In our national anthem we sing that it is our joy to die for the Philippines when it is being oppressed (Aming ligaya na pag may mang-aapi, Ang mamatay ng dahil sa iyo). We're not being asked to die but what are we doing to free our country from the oppression of poverty and corruption?

The winner of the upcoming and future elections will matter - so always vote wisely.
But what happens during periods in between elections matter too...

2009-11-26T22:34:00.002+08:00

Just want to share -- the ff. reflection is from "Our Daily Bread." Entitled "Discovery," it's super relevant on a personal level, in more ways than one!

It was written by Julie Ackerman Link. I found her on Facebook and was going to ask for her permission to post it but she sent me this link so...

Read it at http://www.adb.odb.org/devotionals/our-daily-bread/2008/12/17/devotion.aspx

2009-10-21T22:53:00.002+08:00

5 months since my last post! Not really too busy - just preoccupied with other things :)

Work - quite a lot but not toxic (am I speaking too soon?). I'm supposed to go on a business trip next week but everything depends on the usual red tape (rather, red seal letter). I like the idea of asking myself "what does success look like for me today?" before the start of the day so I'm focused on delivering that one thing instead of trying to do a lot of small things but not finishing any of them. The last month sped by so quickly because of two back-to-back corporate events and then the whole Ondoy experience. Hope I get to accomplish a lot more this month... even though it's almost over already!

Work Out - believe it or not, I've been going to the gym regularly since April! My officemates tell me I look like I've lost weight so that's all good :) In reality, I didn't really lose weight but according to those hi-tech gizmos, I have less fat! :D *proud of self* it all started because of a wellness fair I led (yes, apparently my wellness interventions really work!) - I was able to get Fitness First to join and offer a pretty good deal to employees... so good that I decided to nibble and voila! Daph is now a gym-goer. I try to go twice a week and then I exercise a bit outside gym once a week. If anything, I feel healthier.

Outside Work - where do I start!!! So many things have changed and are about to change - and so very quickly too! A little bit daunting but definitely exciting... Stay tuned for a very detailed download coming soon ;)

2009-05-15T01:04:00.008+08:00

Just Watched: Slumdog Millionaire (I like!) and Angels & Demons (I liked the book version better)

Just read: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire and The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling

Both books were light reading. I'm presently collecting receipts from Fully Booked to get a discount card. Help me think this through - should I just go ahead and pay P700 for the discount card or continue to collect receipts? If I accumulate P15,000 worth of receipts, I technically have to spend P1,500 extra to get the card (because the card entitles bearer to 10% discount). Right now, I just need P6,609 more... This is complicated. I'll figure that out next time I decide to buy another book. But if you don't keep your receipts from Fully Booked - may I have them? ;)

Last weekend, I attended the Landmark Forum. Francis already took it 2 years ago but he decided to take it again with me.

Dry description: It's a philosophical discussion (Socratic inquiry) that helps participants examine how they view and consequently react to the world (perception as reality). It promises a transformation.

What I got:
1) Better relationships, particularly with my dad. I hope this lasts (and I'm confident it will).
2) The "possibility" of an extraordinary relationship with Francis. A possibility that is already real :)
3) More courage - to make decisions and speak up.
4) A deeply spiritual experience (although the forum is by no means a retreat).
5) A better understanding of the significance of Integrity.

From WeTheChange.com:

The Landmark Forum is a 3 or 4 day adventure where you are literally locked in a room with 100+ strangers and forced to experience the passing moments. Each day is 12-14 hours long and the format is purely conversational (there is no physical activity). Sound good so far? Landmark Forum leaders give attendees promise of enlightenment, clarity and transformation by the end of the course—and they deliver! Landmark is a truly incredible spiritual growth platform that provides unique insight into the true nature of our thoughts and perceptions and overall is a very rewarding experience.

Would I encourage you to join? To be a participant, one must save up to afford the P25,000 fee. Ouch. However, remember that the Forum gave me access to priceless things. So I would encourage you to join - but in the end, it's your decision :)

How to join: Call 02-8976800, 09178218088, 09178218090

2009-04-13T00:14:00.002+08:00

Just read: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. I'm so glad. I was beginning to think that I'd never finish reading the book. Took me a good 3.5 months! And it was an interesting read - almost trivial if it weren't for the philosophical inserts. The book was written in 1877 but there are so many feelings, thoughts and actions that still hold true until today, that is, 130 so years since.

Allow me to share a few parts:

On marriage -
Only then did he understand clearly for the first time what he had not understood... He understood not only that she was close to him, but that he no longer knew where she ended and he began... he felt like a man who, having suddenly received a violent blow from behind, turns with vexation in a desire for revenge to find out who did it, and realizes that he has accidentally struck himself, that there is no one to be angry with and he must endure and ease the pain. -Part 5, XIV

On living for something -
...the innkeeper lives for his belly. That is clear and reasonable. None of us, as reasonable beings, can live otherwise...And suddenly the same (Fyodor) says it's bad to live for the belly and that one should live for the truth, for God, and I understand him...! And I and millions of people who lived ages ago and are living now...the poor in spirit and the wise men who have thought and written about it...- we're all agreed on this one thing: what we should live for and what is good. - Part 8, XII *emphases mine

At first, especially during the first few chapters, I was wondering why Leo Tolstoy is considered to be such a great writer. It is only after I finished reading the book that I understood. In the same way, perhaps, it is only after we finish our own books that we will understand :) For now, maybe it's enough not to understand but to agree on what we should live for and what is good.

Angkong (1928-2009)

2009-02-22T18:25:00.004+08:00

Taken from a post dated April 2005:

Angkong: Do you love me? (Chinese)
Me: Of course!
Angkong: Really? (Chinese)
Me: Yea
Angkong: Why? Why do you love me?
Me: I dunno...
Angkong: Do you know that I love you? I love you very much (Chinese)
Do you know why?
Me: Why?
Angkong: Because you are my granddaughter (Chinese)

Di si gua e soon.

I was close to my grandfather... I was his princess. I remember him sitting on his big red reclinable chair and me sitting on the soft red rocking chair while examining the little trinkets in his wooden cart - vicks, tiger balm, his comb, the mirror, the fan...

Miss ko na sya.

He told me that I should bring all the boys who come to see me to his room. And then he won't say anything. He'd just nod and I'd know if he approves or not. He's not going to say anything.

Angkong: If I die...
Me: Di pa, tagal pa noh
Angkong: If I die, will you cry? (Chinese)
Me: Of course
Angkong: Truly? (Chinese)
Me: Yes, a lot.

My grandfather, a really truly great man, died last Monday February 16, 2009. He was 82 and had lived an amazing life. As my cousin said, to live just 1/4 of the life he lived would already be something.

I'm glad I was able to say I love you and goodbye to my Angkong before he passed away. For this I have Francis to thank and I'm happy that I was able to introduce them to each other.

I kept my word Angkong, I cried. I'm so proud of being your granddaughter. Thank you for everything I enjoy, rest well now knowing that you have given your family more than enough. I won't forget you.

Gua ya tia di.

2009-01-24T20:20:00.002+08:00

Watched World Without Thieves last Wednesday at Shangri-La Mall as part of the 2009 Spring Film Festival. It's a terrific film, a different kind of romantic film with just the right dose of action and even philosophy.

Couldn't read the subtitles the whole time because of the white background but this only happened twice or thrice.

If you haven't seen it, you can still catch it - for only P100.

Jan 25, Sunday
2:20-4:00 World Without Thieves

Jan 26, Monday
4:25-6:05 World Without Thieves

January 27, Tuesday
6:15-7:55 World Without Thieves

They're also showing other Chinese films. For the complete schedule and other details, go here.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Watched Underworld last night... I didn't like it - maybe because the lead actress isn't Kate Beckinsale anymore or I've forgotten the first two movies or the story was just really flat and predictable. But I like the way they portray vampires - liked it a lot better than the Twilight movie's version of the bloodsucking immortals ;)

2009-01-10T17:53:00.004+08:00

Still reading Anna Karenina... and Freakonomics and Outliers (alternating, depending on my mood). I'm afraid it's going to take me a while to finish any of the three books.
Just read: Firing Up Commitment during Organizational Change

Just watched (Friday night): The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Benjamin Button is a fantastic, amazing movie. It's about 3 hours long but I didn't notice the time fly by. The film pulls you in and makes you wonder if it could somehow be based on a true story. I won't spoil it ... go and watch.

This movie was based on a short story (of the same title) by F Scot Fitzgerald. A copy of which may be found at http://www.readbookonline.net/read/690/10628/ -- Watch the movie first before reading the text.

-------------

There is much to be happy about and everything to be thankful for :)

2009-01-03T01:22:00.002+08:00

Below is a survey I got from Ystacey. I think it's a good New Year's post :) Welcome 2009!

Where did you begin 2008?
- at the hospital (dengue)

What was your status by Valentine's day of 2008?
- single

Did you have to go to the hospital?
- see answer to first question. Also to visit angkong, Tep.

Did you have any encounters with the police?
- nope

Where did you go on vacation?
- Ilocos, HK, US

What did you purchase over $500?
- my first ever little black dress :)

Did you know anybody who got married?
- Yup! Attended weddings of Poe, Dave and Eloi

What sporting events did you attend?
- watched the UAAP Ateneo-La Salle games, P&G Tennis clinic, and P&G Basketball games
- supported the Milo Marathon & Run with Pringles participants
- joined the Robinsons Fit & Fun Buddy Run and UNICEF Walk

What concerts/shows did you go to?
- Hairspray, West Side Story, APO Hiking Society, The Company & Mitch Valdes, Chimelong circus (Guangzhou)

Where do you live now?
- still in my grandfather's house

Describe your birthday.
- simple dinner with parents at Tony Roma's
- chocolate cake from HR officemates, roses and plate from MS, flowers and cake from CYCLE, book from Fish

What's the one thing you thought you would never do but did?
- get to watch Wicked!

Any new additions to your family?
- yup, Coby

What was your best month?
- December I think

Who was your best drinking buddy?
- I like hanging out with Tanya and Tots the most when the CBD guys go drinking

Made new friends?
- Yup

Any regrets?
- some

What do you want to change in 2009?
- my being more open to trying new things

Overall, how would you rate this year?
- 6-7 over 10
- compared to the year before (when I was 21), it's a bit pale

Get a new job?
- nope

How old did you turn this year?
- 23

Did anything embarrassing?
- sure but nothing particularly memorable

Get married or divorced?
- nope

Be honest - did you watch American Idol?
- nope

Start a new hobby?
- nope

Are you happy to see 2008 go?
- well, looking forward to 2009

Drank Starbucks in 2008?
- yup! discovered classic hot chocolate with 1 ice cube

Been naughty or nice?
- I would say...naughty

What are you wishing for in 2009?
- something extraordinary

Lost someone?
- yup, taima

Cut class?
- nope

Was involved in something you'll never forget?
- Magsaysay scholars workshop, CYCLE, SUTA

Visited a different country?
- yup

Cooked a gross meal?
- nope

Lost something important to you?
- can't remember

Got a gift you adore?
- a letter and my Ateneo jacket

Tripped over a coffee table?
- nope

Dyed your hair?
- nope

Came close to losing your life?
- nope

Went to a party?
- lots in December :|

Read a great book?
- re-read Count of Monte Cristo

Saw one of your favorite bands/artists live?
- yup

2008: ALL ABOUT YOU

Did you change at all this year?
- yup

Did you change your style?
- growing my hair

Were you in school?
- nope

Did you have a job?
- yup

Did you drive?
- haha driving school!

Did anyone close to you give birth?
- yup! Tep

Did you go on any vacations?
- yup

Would you change anything about yourself now?
- smaller eye bags ;)

2008: WRAP UP

Was 2008 a good year?
- yup

Do you think 2009 will top 2008?
- yup :) i know it will :)

2008-12-24T21:56:00.002+08:00

Reading:
Anna Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy

Merry Christmas everyone :)

I'll be enjoying the Christmas break in HK (as usual). Can't wait to have dimsum at City Hall!

P.S. I know I haven't been posting often. Recently I've been using my offline diary more.

2008-11-23T20:54:00.005+08:00

Just read:
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

I was first intrigued by the character of Dorian Gray because of the film - The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I liked the film so much that it became the topic of one of my English class projects. I digress. After watching, I impulsively decided to buy the book (The Picture of Dorian Gray) when I saw it on a shelf in Natio. And on my bookshelf it sat for about 5 years.

Much like the painting, my book looks older than when I first bought it! I finally finished reading it today. Passing the first part proved to be a real challenge. I even found myself skipping a lot of parts in the middle. Too many words, too little action - I guess that's a good way of describing books I DON'T like. Articles are okay for discussing ideas but to read about a philosophizing character in the middle of an increasingly interesting story isn't my cup of tea. (This blog entry sounds so... English...)

As you may have noticed, I'm experimenting with the Amazon Associates program.

ICAn stars in Award Winning Musical - Hairspray Nov 28

2008-11-01T21:27:00.002+08:00

The acting bug bit her when she was in the 7th grade. Madel's love for performing in the shower prompted her to try out for the Children's Theater club. Since then, she hasn't looked back. In High School, she became a member of the prestigious Dramatics Guild (DG) where she learned to love theater in its entirety - helping out as prod, being a performer, and feeling fulfilled during curtain calls. With such deeply-rooted passion, it's not hard to imagine how much energy she brings with her on stage.

In college, her story continues. She joined Ateneo Blue Reportory and was part of the High School Musical production. That was her opportunity to work with Ma'am Chari (Arespacochaga) who encouraged her to take voice lessons and audition for the role of Tracy Turnblad. Madel recounts, "It really was my first professional audition, so...It really took a lot of courage for me to try out pero naisip ko, hey, if I don't get the part, it'll be a learning experience. Luckily, nakuha ko naman!"

Madel's why-not attitude makes it easy for her to relate with her character's positivity and spirit. She especially connects with Tracy's belief in a small-town girl's ability to make big-time changes. And no wonder - she's iCAN.

Madel Ching (ICA 2006) will be starring as Tracy Turnblad in the award-winning Broadway musical, Hairspray.

For TICKETS to the Nov 28 show, contact Daph Uy (09178913589) or Ria Go (0917-8867968 / 09234526309). A regularly updated copy of the seat plan is available at http://tinyurl.com/hairspray118

BUY NOW!

2008-10-19T23:00:00.004+08:00

Since my last post, I've celebrated my 23rd birthday. Very quiet get togethers - with the family, barkada, and the executebs. Should be quite an interesting year ahead.

Jane, one of my closest officemates, has been reassigned abroad. I was crying more than she was during her despedida! Such a cry baby.

I also have a new boss now. Very different style from my first and second bosses. I like how she's really taking me through things one step at a time. It's easier to take many little steps than few leaps and bounds.

CYCLE, the extra curricular org I've been spending some time on, is moving steadily enough. I'm not quite sure if it is what I'm looking for but I'm having fun and learning a lot so that will do for now.

Taima, the matriarch of the family, died last August. I'm not quite sure how much that will change the dynamics of the "clan." Maybe not so much since for the last how-many-years we haven't even been allowed to enter her room (they fear we might bring germs in with us). According to the older ones, she's the last from her generation.

My cousins and I decided to be semi-entreps so... I'm selling tickets to Hairspray! November 28, 8pm show. The lead role will be played by Madel Ching. Having seen her in action, I know she'll be a terrific Tracy Turnblad. Tickets are priced at P600, 800, 1000 and 1200. Seat plan is available at:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pRJZWsjFNG6Nj37hOpcHtBA&hl=en

Speaking of cousins, my cousin just gave birth to a healthy baby boy. They say he's a splitting image of his dad, my cousin's husband. Can't wait to be able to play with him.

Summer is as fiesty as ever. Last night she refused to sleep because we forgot to bring her bed inside the room. She went straight to sleep as soon as we got her bed for her hahaha

And speaking of bed, I think I'll go to bed myself :)

2008-06-22T10:21:00.002+08:00

Last week one of our colleagues died. He was only 24. I wasn't very close with JP but I do particularly remember one night at the office when he was asking for some relationship advice, a very future linked concern. So it really came as a shock that he passed away already. During the wake, his father was also saying how he never imagined that it would come to this. Life really is unpredictable. Have to make sure that we worry about the things that really matter.

Priorities and values vary from person to person. I've attended / sat in workshops recently that asked for mine and I think my top 3 are: brilliance, relationships and happiness. Not necessarily in that order.

Brilliance
Being brave enough to stand out, stand up and fight for something that one values by being creative and resourceful.

Relationships
Recognizing that everyone and everything, no matter how small, are inextricably linked and leveraging on that powerful truth to make things happen.

Happiness
Using presently available information to make just in time decisions and act for the benefit of long term dreams.

What are yours?

2008-06-04T23:09:00.002+08:00

Fast forward to the present.

Almost one year and happy to say I'm still loving my job. It's scary sometimes because the expectations are so high and I've never even attempted to take on such a large-scale project. Celadon, with its 600 members and strategic partners, was tiny in comparison! But if there's anything they keep telling me to do - it's to start with the end in mind. So I shall. And I shan't look at how high the mountain still is.

Yesterday, Erik Weihenmayer gave a talk. Who is he? He's the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Yeap, you read that correctly. It's hard to believe but he actually did it. Not only that, he has climbed corkscrew rock formations, scaled frozen waterfalls and even gone skiing down mountains. That's what impossible is nothing means. You can read the wikipedia entry about him and visit his website.

2008-04-20T15:47:00.003+08:00

From Neil:
Share 8 things that your readers don’t know about you.
Then at the end you tag 8 other bloggers to keep the fun going.
– Each blogger must post these rules first.
– Each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
– Bloggers who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
– At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
– Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

I disclose a lot to my readers so I'm not sure if these are all new. But they're random facts and habits.

1. In my father's side, all of my cousins (including my brother and I) have two first names.
2. On my google home page, I subscribe to Garfield, Calvin & Hobbes, BBC News and Yahoo! Odd News. I exchange odd news with Borgy a lot.
3. I used to be a Pepsi fan. ]I was somehow converted and I now prefer Coke. I still like regular Coke. In my creative college grad pic, I'm holding an open Coke can...
4. I often find myself craving for Zaragosa sardines (mild hot), KFC fun shots, Nissin beef noodles, and chewy Chips Ahoy.
5. I only eat orange, green or yellow jelly. I only drink orange gatorade. Grape juice (I like grapes when they're not made into juice), strawberry and/or raspberry remind me too much of medicine syrup. When The Body Shop had their raspberry craze, I couldn't stand in/near their store.
6. I used to have braces. And way back (I don't even remember), I had to wear corrective shoes too - but I still have two left feet.
7. Typing fast and accurately without looking at the keyboard are skills that I learned with the help of mIRC triv bots. I can accurately type about 88 words/minute.
8. I have a one-hour massage every Tuesday night at home.

Tagging:
Lainey, Borgy, Charlotte, Julie, Luj, Sheena, Pinky, Shinyi

2008-03-30T16:49:00.003+08:00

It's been one year since graduation.

Since then, what have I been up to? I've been blogging less, obviously, but that doesn't mean there's less to blog about.

I didn't get to go to London but I did quite a bit of traveling.

Locally - we went to Dos Palmas (Palawan), Taal Volcano and San Pedro Cutud, Pampanga. I also had a month in the field at Antipolo for work.

Outside the Philippines, I got to go to Europe for the first time. Exquisite France, marvelous Rome, intriguing Vatican, magical Monaco, scenic Switzerland, quaint Austria, gentle Germany and memorable Netherlands. I'll be back, count on it. Then there was my Dragon 100 tour at Henan, China. That trip gave me unforgettable memories and priceless friends. So I was very much excited to meet up again with them in HK last November. I was also given the opportunity to see the Singapore Dragons when I had to attend a training for work. Singapore was another first for me.

Definitely another big change that happened since graduation is being employed.

Most of the things I've handled were exciting in their own way. And so different from each other. Had to speak with retirees and make the children of employees happy, had a crash course on how expensive healthy eating is and have spent time with the kids in our Gawad Kalinga villages. Diverse, much?

Stress, yeah sure, that's there. But not the horror-story stress that some people would expect. Did you know that there are two kinds of stress? Distress and eustress. In a nutshell, not having any kind of stress is bad too. Golden mean, everything in moderation.

I've almost been with the company for 10 months. 2 more months until the first year ends. Time flies so quickly. Before I know it I'll be old and gray.

Am I happy as a clam? Can I imagine myself having similar experiences in the coming months, maybe years? For now, I think so.

2008-03-19T22:13:00.002+08:00

Did you know that...

St. Patrick's Day is generally celebrated on March 17. But the date of the feast is occasionally, yet controversially, moved by church authorities when March 17 falls during Holy Week; this happened in 1940 when Saint Patrick's Day was observed on April 3 in order to avoid it coinciding with Palm Sunday, and happened again in 2008, having been observed on March 14. March 17 will not fall during Holy Week again until 2160.

Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Patrick%27s_Day

Historical. Unfortunately, I find out about this after the fact. Whatever. Everyday is a reason to celebrate life. ~*~

2008-03-16T14:59:00.002+08:00

I ran yesterday but the nike+ device stalled towards the end of my run so the data wasn't captured. Anyway, that was about a 50min session. Running 10 and walking 1. It's intimidating to think that a 42.2km distance will probably take me 7.5 hours to complete.

Yesterday, a finance team prepared an easter activity with the GK kids. It was really fun to see them paint the eggs and then go on a hunt afterwards. I'm still figuring out how to make the program more sustainable, without taking the fun away.

Between work and running, guess one could say that I've been busy. I've also been reading in my spare time. The last book I finished was Lauren Weisberger's The Devil Wears Prada and currently I'm halfway done with The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.

But I have yet to find something that will spur the same passion I had for Celadon...

3 years or forever.

2008-02-29T15:01:00.002+08:00

Happy Leap Year!

I don't get to do this every year :D

2008-02-10T13:30:00.000+08:00

Was busy mulling about a couple of no-closure hopes (unanswered prayers?) just a while ago when I read the April 4, 2008 entry of Our Daily Bread, a daily devotional book (I just flipped the book open to a random page).

It was a story about a little boy who threw a tantrum in a shop so that his mom would buy him a certain toy for Christmas. In the end, he got what he begged for. BUT his older brother told him that their mom had originally bought an even better version of the toy. She had it exchanged when he begged for the smaller one.

That struck a nerve haha

Random Trivia: I made at least two blog entries per month from November 2003 until December 2007.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2007-12-24T22:33:00.001+08:00

2007-12-03T00:08:00.000+08:00

I miss having blond hair. Dark red doesn't work as well, even if more people say they like it better. In Psychology, we're taught not to believe all the pop psych sayings, many of which contradict each other anyway, unless tests have been conducted. For example, "absence makes the heart grow fonder" vs. "out of sight out of mind" (latter won) and "birds of a feather flock together" vs. "opposites attract" (former won). No scientific test was conducted but both my brother and I agree that "blondes have more fun." But I won't have my hair dyed again soon. Next project: long hair (yeah, I know I just had it cut a few months back... I'm bored with it again).

CAUTION: HELL MONTH AHEAD

2007-11-25T11:13:00.001+08:00

"It's surely the height of vanity to assume anyone will want to read about your petty, unimportant little life a hundred years from now."

- Phantom by Susan Kay

2007-11-10T21:37:00.000+08:00

The opposite of chronologically.

Was supposed to have dinner with the angels tonight but it didn't push through so I was free to do nothing this afternoon and evening. It's a welcome respite. I even declined watching a movie with Elaine, not exactly because I want to do nothing / I don't want to. I just need a rest, that's all... which means that I've been surfing/chatting since this afternoon.

Omg. I know I'm usually in front of the computer (duh) but I only realized now that when I'm at home, I don't do anything else. What else is there to do anyway? Sure I play with Summer for a few minutes. Or... I go and have lunch/dinner. Or I sleep. Agh fine, I'm going to.... scrapbook. Change the pictures in the frames? But that's hardly something I can do everyday. Fie. I should learn how to cook. But I've tried that and I don't think it's particularly challenging to follow recipe cards. Here I am, inventing excuses eheheh

Moving on. Today was Day 3 of the basketball tournament. Picked the nurse up, went to Urda, bought milk for Summer, bought ice (in case there might be any injuries that require ice treatment), went back to Urda, took pictures during the games, ordered lunch for me and the nurse, took pictures during the games. Well yeah, that was how half of my day went. Special treat was Macy visited the court. At least I got to see one angel today (out of ... ilan na ba yung andito pa...). And just so I capture this, today, someone asked me "may asawa ka na ba?"

The past week was spent preparing for Christmas. I am not kidding. Everything was about Christmas. Sure there were some car and software concerns but bulk was Christmas. ~~So much~~ Too much time spent on it. I promise to concentrate on other things in the coming week. Like that's going to happen. I spent a whole day preparing the email and FAQ's for the Christmas events. At least I got to go to the interns 06 dinner at Italiannis. Mico planned it over a month ago but only 5 of us could make it - Virge, Mico, Eloi, LA and myself. Still glad we didn't cancel it altogether.

Monday evening was the start of the new season of Amazing Race. I actually waited for the replay at midnight since I missed the 8pm run. I'm not sure which team I'm rooting for but I'm not sad about the team that got eliminated.

Went to HK over the weekend. It was supposed to be a trip with mom's aunt/s but their trip didn't push through. Mom was just looking for an excuse to visit my brother haha and I was willing to go along so I could meet up with the Dragons.

We arrived Friday. Encountered a very rude visitor from Mainland China. He wanted to be served first by the immigration officer but he was behind me! I was so tempted to snap at him (Dude, what is your problem). Anyway, went to Justin's dorm, helped him tidy up a bit and then took a bus to Central. Met Sauwai at a Starbucks there. He wanted to meet earlier than the rest because he had to attend the birthday party of his piano teacher's kid (what a long winding excuse hahaha). I was surprised that the Starbucks didn't have seats at all. I find that amusing. Anyway. Got to go up the Bank of China building - it's the cool looking building with angles. Afterwards, we had nothing else to do to kill time so... someone smart (not me) decides.... that we would WALK to Causeway Bay. So that's how we spent an hour and a half.

Arrived at Times Square just in time to meet Katie, Man Yin and Winky. We hadn't decided where to have dinner at so we settled for a small cafe at the 2nd floor of a random building. It was pretty good but nothing special. The drinks were interesting though. There were 5 more who joined us: Ariel, Bel, Clive, Joanne and Catherine. Prof. Paul was at an event and Dickei was in London but I got to speak with the both of them on the phone. We ended past midnight already - yes, this explains why I got sick haha

The next day, I had lunch with Ariel at a dimsum place and then I just slept during the afternoon. I got to buy 2 pairs of pants though. Had a quick dinner at Genki Sushi (because the other more popular sushi place was packed!) and then I finished reading Stardust by Neil Gaiman. Sunday was basically lunch at Lawry's (mmm prime rib and cream corn) , a short stay at D-E's place and then we were once again at the airport. I was recalling that the last time I was at the airport was for the Dragon program...

The day before we left for HK was the family's annual trip to Manila Memorial. Or should I say the nation's annual trip to the cemeteries. We go to visit my grandmothers and my great grandparents. For my dad's side, the only guys who went were from the Sy family. There wasn't much to do - I just read an Archie, listened to some music and watched card games. And eat of course. That was Nov 1.

October 31 and 26 were the Halloween parties for both sites. Though far from the amount of planning needed for Christmas, that took some time and effort too - even got me walking around Divisoria to look for prizes. Wacky the host from Strings of Fun was a BIG help. Jollibee staff were, honestly, rather useless. But the children loved the mascots. Anyway, there were approximately 120 children *whew* I will see them again in a month or so.

The Wednesday before... so the 24th I think, went to Rockwell to watch Stardust with Eloi. I enjoyed the movie! That's why I borrowed the book from Nis. Which version did I enjoy better... I haven't decided yet. I do know that Claire Danes was not the best person for the role. They could have picked someone prettier!

This post is long enough as it is. Good night.

2007-10-21T20:17:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was a wasn't-home-the-whole-day busy. That's why I wasn't able to post earlier about what happened on Friday.

It was a normal enough Friday. Except for having breakfast at Circles with my mom, brother, grandfather, aunt and cousin. Yum, did you know that drinks are included already? I just walked over to the office afterwards.

There were a lot of things to finish for the week. I had a meeting until noon so I ate lunch a bit late. The HR people wanted to eat at Glorietta but I brought lunch so opted to stay in. I had just finished eating when... { shudder } The building gave a strong shake. Honestly the first thing that came to mind was: Godzilla is coming. Only my boss seemed as concerned as I was which made me feel that my reaction was valid. In psychology, the reaction of other people during an emergency matters a lot (see bystander effect). Soon enough it was confirmed that there had been an explosion at Glorietta. We could see a bit of smoke near Gerry's Grill from the pantry window. By then we had to make sure everyone was accounted for.

Mom already SMS'd to ask if they were calling off work for the rest of the afternoon. At first, the explosion was supposed to have been caused by an LPG leak so everyone went back to work, albeit slightly rattled. It was too close for comfort. After a few minutes though the police trashed that explanation and said that it was a bomb. So we got permission to evacuate. Dad YM'd me to say he was picking me up and we were walking home. By then traffic was already building up and they weren't letting any cars enter the area. And that's how dad got to tour around the newly renovated floor.

Mom wanted to have dinner out so we went to La Nova. Justin was able to join us after his Rockwell gimik. And that was Friday.

Yesterday (Saturday) started early. On the way to Baseco, we passed by a dead body on the road... creepy. And then we got to be part of a candidate's election campaign parade. Definitely an eventful ride. The kids were at the Sibol school instead of the youth center so I had to go pick them up. We had storytelling, coloring, trick or treat and a few parlor games with the children. It was tiring even though there were a lot of volunteers and only 60 kids. We toured the village after lunch.

After an oxygen-tank-refill errand, I was at Ateneo for the Exceladon sports fest. I'm really amazed at how the project has grown. It used to only be at the Greenhills West courts (3 courts?) and now it's at the cov courts (6!). We had participants from all the AFICS schools playing basketball, badminton, volleyball and dodgeball. Yes, they got me to play dodgeball - can you believe it? It was an EB vs. managers game, just for fun. The organizers did a really good job. Many alumni like Chinatown, and most of the executebs went, even someone who was losing her voice (ahem)! Got a chance to listen to what's been going on and what the plans are for the next semester. Hope everything goes well.

Comach won the volleyball match while UP took 1st runner up. Ateneo didn't have a team! But Terry, Char and Ted played just for fun. I stayed to watch the basketball finals game between Team B (Xavier team) and Sexyback (Gelo and Micah's). I'm a big fan of the latter team so I'm sad they lost. I'm still a fan! :)

Headed home to shower and change my "costume" for dinner at Gai's. Got lost on the way because the village guard gave wrong directions. I was expecting many of the angels to be there but I guessed wrong. Oh well, the food was delicious, especially the siomai. Plus I got the chance to catch up with schoolmates I hadn't seen in months - particularly Dar, Lynds, George, Kiki, and Wes. It's so weird that most of us are working already. The students can't wait to graduate while the employees miss college days. Such is life - the grass is always greener on the other side. I left before cars turn into pumpkins but I slept a bit later because I was busy... I can't even remember what I was busy with!

Today started early too. Went to divisoria to buy prizes for the Halloween party on Friday. Aside from that, I got to buy two blouses, from a stall with a nice store owner (some are real characters). I had wanton mami from the food court but I still ate again at home. I'm surprised that I haven't lost or gained weight since starting work. Everything cancels each other out I supposed. Then I fell asleep until 5pm. That's how I've been spending free afternoons recently! I remember that that's how I spent freshman year afternoons as well. Guess I just need to adjust to the new normal brain temperature for working me. C'est la vie.

2007-10-13T12:55:00.000+08:00

It's Saturday! Time for another post from yours truly. Really, why do you bother to read my blog? For the bored, for the curious, for the random surfers, these posts are for you.

The week's theme was "We're getting old."

It started last Saturday at the barkada dinner. We invaded my friend's office (The Picture Company) and welcomed ourselves to a pop photoshoot. Of course in doing so, we remembered the last time we did this. Aside from the usual barkada picture for the yearbook, we also went to the exact same studio and had our pictures taken. It was ages ago! We even had a yellow background. Moving back to the recent, we had fun choosing props and being shuffled around the floor, coached to strike certain poses, some more difficult than others. By a stroke of luck, we were all wearing different colors that day. There was red (me), orange, yellow, green, blue, pink and gray. Hopefully when Ther and Tinee get back we'll get another shot at being shot at (by a camera, ok).

Then on Sunday, my family ended up discussing the Ninoy assassination and how strange it is that our parents remember that period in history! hehe My aunt even recounted how she intentionally ran up the bridge outside our house to wave goodbye when his funerary procession passed. These are things we only read about. And what would our kids say next time when we tell them we were alive when EDSA II happened? From there it moved to the "Do you remember... / Naabutan mo pa ba yung..."
1) Records
2) Rotary dial telephones
3) Beepers
4) Typewriters. Believe it or not, I still took typewriting classes when I was in 3rd grade.
5) Touch N Go correction fluid
6) not having remote controls
Technology sure moves quickly. Faster than a speeding bullet.

My cousin and I are also thinking about attending the ICA homecoming. It's been 5 years (for my batch)!

At work, the story's about how was this particular project executed before. Of course my key resources have to be the folks who've been with the company for a while. And last week I discovered that some of my colleagues who don't look like moms are actually moms already. Must be Olay.

Then I had a spur-of-the-moment dinner with Celadon alumni. Can't believe we're talking about work / med school / post-grad studies.

Yesterday (could be a song), mom and I watched the APO Hiking Society perform at the Music Museum. They've been performing for 38 years already and that was their 2015th concert! A lot of jokes about needing a makeover from Ricky Reyes and needing to bring their sound to the new generation. It was a really fun show. If you're lucky, you can still get tickets for their concert tonight (still at the Music Museum). Do you know that they're from Ateneo? I just had to say it.

As we were slowly making our way down to the parking lot, I heard this lady say that she watched Bituin Escalante (who opened the show and promoted her new album) in "Once on this Island" two years ago. I watched that same show. Has it been 2 years ago already??

And just to prove, without a doubt, that I'm getting older, I'll be attending the 1st birthday party of my colleague's daughter later. I'm attending children's birthday parties... Yeap.

2007-10-06T10:47:00.001+08:00

I'm still reading The Athenian Murders. I hope to finish this weekend so I can start with The Thirteenth Tale.

Notice that I've been blogging on Saturdays only. I don't really have much time to blog during weekdays. Anyway, what went on over the week.

One eureka moment I had last night: although I have this new world in front of me, the past continues to exist! OK, so that's a no-brainer but I just wanted to call it out. The week was about seeing Ateneo / Celadon peoples, whether over lunch or just accidentally. For the past few months, I didn't really go out during the week so the people I would see are colleagues. New friends, of course. But it's still comforting to know that there are old friends around the neighborhood. (Weirdest place I bumped into TWO Ateneans - at the lobby of Gold's Gym.)

Next week will be pretty hectic. I have to share a powerpoint, meet with...
Purchasing
Christmas Party Group A
Halloween Party Team
Wellness Team
at the very least. Too many meetings-la! When will I have time to actually work hahaha

One problem I keep having is planning and holding meetings. I'm used to holding meetings for Celadon which I'm totally familiar with. After all, I had a lot of time to learn its in's and out's. Now though I'm still struggling to remember historical data and numbers. I hate having to flip through my notebook or look for an obscure file during the meeting. It makes me look unprepared. And in all honesty, I don't even have time to prepare. While it usually takes me an evening to make sure everything is covered in the agenda, I can't afford that luxury now. So I really feel that meetings (the ones I hold) are very inefficient. Darn it, I miss Celadon so much.

Later today I'll be meeting up with Dragons! Aww I miss them. Surreal experience, that one. Then I'll be having dinner with the Angels. But we won't be complete because at least two are in China. I'm excited about the week after next - Celadon time! haha wala na ba akong sinabi kundi Celadon. I don't recall being this attached to the past before.

2007-09-29T20:47:00.000+08:00

Reading: The Athenian Murders by Jose Carlos Somoza

A lot of my friends went to the office today to take one of the qualifying exams. Here is how one friend described the experience:

friend: i couldn't answer anything
friend: parang i knew how, pero i just couldn't concentrate because of the time pressure!
friend: so i ended up just guessing the answers

Funny enough, that's exactly how I feel about my job... so I guess it makes sense that if you pass the test, you can deal with the job. Theoretically.

Physically, let's see. Last night my fever was as high as 39.5 C! I haven't had that high a temperature in a long time. It's my body telling me to rest... So I did. I slept from 6:30pm to 12nn. And then again from 4 to 6 today. I'm taking "doing nothing" to a different level.

2007-09-22T14:36:00.000+08:00

Oh shit. *Jellyfish*

2007-09-16T22:08:00.000+08:00

I had a very musical weekend. On Friday night I attended a small party. I was impressed by how smoothly the event ran because everyone was pitching in, everyone knew what to do/bring. There was a sound system, microphones, amplifierS, musical instruments... I loved it. OK maybe I felt a little out of place and more than a little bit shy. Thank goodness Harry was there to keep me company. Anyway, my feelings weren't the point of the evening. The performances were just wow. Who woulda thunk? I really saw another side of people that I didn't really expect. I left at 11 already but that's not even late compared to the next day.

I started Saturday early - because I had to go to Gawad Kalinga. Mico's a dear for leading the visit even though it was his birthday! The rain had us worried but thankfully everything worked out well. The volunteers were amazing - they taught the kids how to make lanterns (that look complicated!) and rosaries. Even the younger kids were able to make paper boats and airplanes. I was a bit scared that they wouldn't be able to follow the instructions. Tsk Daph, thou shall ask not why but why not. The children are so independent. Makes me remember that yaya's are a luxury, not a basic necessity.

Moving on, I watched Avenue Q with mom, Lu Jean, Elaine, Mic, Da and her friend. I knew that Vincent, Hannah and Richard were watching the same show but even Momer, Tungyu, Bianca, Poe and Paul were there. What a small world. The play was great!! It was funny but meaningful, liberal but not vulgar. The songs are so creative! I can't decide which one is my favorite although I really enjoyed Joel Trinidad's performance as Trekkie Monster/Nicky/Bad Idea Bear. It's a bit different for a musical actually. I'll quote from The Daily Tribune:

Honestly, this is the only show on Broadway that is playing right now, that you can bring anyone, especially those who are virgins when it comes to watching musicales. You can bring them to watch and I can guarantee that they will laugh their heads off and they will have such a good time. That is why I picked it out of the so many plays to take my boyfriend to. He had not seen a Broadway musicale before and he is straight, he is into basketball and the rest of the macho stuff. I was really scared that he would not like it and it would hurt me if he does not enjoy musicales because I am such a musicale buff, right. So, I decided to take him to the show and he just loved it!

Oh, and the lead guy (Felix Rivera) is hot, at least on stage. Lyrics here, sample of songs here.

Luj, mom and I went home to watch the ADMU-NU game. Mic, Lainey and Da followed afterwards. That was one frustrating game. It's more fun to watch with fellow Ateneans than to watch alone though. Then again, it'd be more if we won. Oh well, at least there are ADMU-DLSU games coming up! Those are always fun.

I was late for a dinner I planned because the game went into overtime. It's a good thing the restaurant (Polu Kai) didn't forfeit my reservation. Dinner was great, I hope that even Jason and Tristan liked the food. Mong came! I haven't seen her in years!! She gave me "Happy Birthday To You!" by Dr. Seuss. I wish I could give gifts that were as meaningful and unique. I also hope that Mong and Luj didn't feel too out of place with my Celadon friends. We shared the mango cake that Tang, Fuzz and Tristan bought (at Conti's!) and were surprised when the waiters suddenly brought some ice cream with banana and syrup. Free dessert for birthday celebrants, they explained. Who's complaining? Just the health-conscious guys haha To top it all off, Luj bought me cupcakes from Cupcakes by Sonja. Is this some sort of conspiracy to make me gain more weight? Just kidding :)

After dinner we walked around at Bonifacio High Street. It's only my 2nd or 3rd time to be there. We bumped into Geof and Tiff! Even BriDee, Gab and Nats were there. All of those are Celadoneans LOL We just talked about whatever came to mind until Joyce fetched Julie. Then we (Mic, Lainey, Borgy, Mike, Da, Jason and I) just stood on the sidewalk and resumed talking. I'm not even sure anymore how much time we spent there. By around 11 we reached Fully Booked and looked around. It was my first time to enter the big multi-level shop. It reminds me of the large Barnes & Noble stores in the US. Will that model work here in the Philippines? I wonder. Right now they're giving a discount card for a P2000+ single-receipt purchase. I didn't buy anything but the others did. I got home by midnight already (thanks Mic!).

So that I don't have *too much* fun over the weekend, today was a lazy day. Spent a lot of time uploading pictures to my multiply account. Aside from picking up food from Conti's (for a really delicious Salad-Salpicao-Lengua-Mushroom and Shrimp Pasta-Choco Overload dinner) and then showering at MPC (almost no water here at home!), the highlight was watching High School Musical 2 with my cousins. Some scenes looked silly but what else can you expect from musicals - people have to break into song every so often. But some musicals are able to make the songs come smoothly instead of awkwardly interrupting the story. Nevertheless it was nice and made me miss being in school (and having breaks during the year!!). But as the Ave Q song goes:

NICKY:
But if I were to go back to college,
Think what a loser I'd be-
I'd walk through the quad,
And think "Oh my God..."

ALL:
"These kids are so much younger than me."

2007-09-10T22:54:00.000+08:00

It's been a wonderful year. The past 12 months went by way too quickly. There was

ATENEO

Having grad pics taken, working on the thesis, horror film class,

Shakespeare in performance, immersion

Blue Roast, graduation.

2006 UAAP Finals Game 1 Ateneo vs UST , 1st ADMU DLSU game for 2007 UAAP and yesterday's game vs. DLSU (thanks for the early birthday present Chris! haha)

COA*
Being with brilliant people who are passionate about changing society. The Halloween party and super project, even KSDC (which never pushed through), are always fun to remember.

CELADON*

The executebs, worrying about the MidAutumn Gratia / Gratia on d'Ice, LDP, preparing for re-accreditation, preparing for COA/LS awards, the Celadon Ball. Movie outings!!!

P&G
Getting the offer, starting work. Immersion - for a month (a lot different from Ateneo immersion)

EUROPE
Enough said - although I would've liked to visit the UK.

DRAGON 100 2007
Surreal. Was the Dragon 100 program just a dream? That's what I thought when I woke up in the plane on the way back to Manila last Aug 31. I did not expect to have so much fun and to make so many new friends!

If anything, I was worried that the trip would be b-o-r-i-n-g. Back in May, I had no idea who else applied for the program. Since the application period just started a few days before my trip to Europe, I even had to ask my cousin to help me collect some documents from school. I also knew that I'd be working already and that I'd be skipping work... Besides, everyone knows how bad my Chinese is.

Now I know that those worries and inconveniences were all worth it. I have no regrets that I joined the program. I had the best, craziest group (Lam sek! - blue), my seatmates helped translate what the tour guides were saying for me and Nieke, I got to visit amazing places like the Longmen grottoes, six-horses royal cart museum, and _the_ Shaolin monastery. And a bit of icing on the cake: accommodations, transportation and food were all covered by the Dragon Foundation!

It was quite an ego-boost / humbling experience to be with so many accomplished people. And they were not the least bit boring (which was another worry)! Delegates came from all over the world - HK, Taiwan, UK, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Canada, US, Japan, even Peru (he was just there for a few months). But what we all had in common was our Chinese ancestry. So it was cool to visit the Yellow Emperor's temple. I still remember my grandfather telling me that I'm a princess because my last name comes directly from Huang Di. Yea, we even visited "my" river haha (Yes, I know that ALL Chinese people are descendants of Huang Di).

My crazy group
The blue group is actually comprised of two teams: 7 & 8. We got coach 3 to ourselves while the other coaches carried 3 teams each. We bonded so much that we had a hard time remembering that we were from two different teams. In the bus, we played cards (Big 2 is the English name for Pusoy Dos apparently), sang songs (Disney did a good job because only Disney songs were familiar to most/all of us) and national anthems (they said that the Philippine anthem is so happy), taking pictures of people in the other buses, or just talking about our different lives. Oh and we listened to the tour guide too... sometimes hehe During one dinner (water banquet), my tablemates and I were sooo noisy. I was laughing so hard at the comment Kathy made about the sea cucumber (guess...) that I was laughing soundlessly and my cheeks started to hurt.

*jellyfish!*

There was one time when Shinyi and I wanted to be less cliquish so we decided not to sit at the table one of our groupmates chose. Other groupmates ended up sitting with us anyway (while others sat at the other table I mentioned earlier). That happens when a group is composed of 26 members hahaha Of course I got the chance to interact with other non-Blue dragons, many of whom are friends of Blue dragons anyway. By the end of the trip we had even adopted some non-Blue dragons already.

Goodbyes
After only spending a week and a half together, we were all teary-eyed at the HK airport when it was time to say goodbye. Mic compared the experience to his Taiwan study tour and how they grew so close that they went to each others' proms, and still get-together every so often. The significant difference between that and the Dragon program I guess is that, even if we Dragons do bump into each other again, it will be almost impossible to get everyone reunited. We're from too many different worlds. Our little Dragon bubble helped us pause our lives and forget everyday worries but that was our little Dragon bubble. We don't have that luxury anymore :( Welcome back to the real world.

Keeping in Touch
Now that I have friends from all over the world though, I've changed my opinion about traveling. I used to complain that my family goes to HK much too often but now I'd jump at the opportunity to go and meet up with Ariel, SauWai, Bell, Joanne, Queena, Dickei and Clive (if they haven't left for some other country yet). Singapore wasn't very high on my list of places to visit but now I do want to visit Gui Deng, Chuan Seng and Zishuang (aside from Charles, Patet, Jaryd, Ryan, etc). I also didn't get to visit Indonesia when my uncle was stationed there but at least Nieke's there! I've always wanted to go to Australia - now, Adelaide's on my must-go-to's so I can see Yuan and Neil...Lainey/Vern, will visit you guys too hopefully haha The same is true for the US. If my family's visiting Justin next year, I really will make it a point to have time to visit some if not all of the American dragons - Jia, Toni, Derek and Shinyi (if she's still there). UK is still definitely at the top of my list. If I didn't mention someone, it's not intentional >_< Main point is, can't wait to see you guys again - visit the Philippines!!

In the meantime, I've downloaded MSN. I'm also happy that I got Facebook prior to the trip. At least I was able to tinker around with it already. I still prefer Multiply for media sharing because FB has a maximum of 60 pix per album.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Net, I had a really fun year. This will be one of the best years ever (along with the time I was 16) Thanks so much everyone. Hope 22 is another good year.

Dragon100 2007 - The Dragon Foundation

2007-09-02T22:56:00.001+08:00

I miss the Blue Team so much :(

2007-08-18T15:42:00.001+08:00

Aggh there's that sinking feeling again. Do you guys know what I'm talking about? I feel I should be doing something. Other than staying right where I am...So many great great people did so many grand things before they hit 18. Mozart started composing at the age of 5.

I feel so restless but lazy at the same time.

-- November 19, 2003 post (slightly edited)

What can I accomplish, what legacy can I leave.

2007-08-17T23:28:00.000+08:00

Reading: Letters to a Young Gymnast (Art of Mentoring) by Nadia Comaneci

So I've been working for two months. Half of that time was spent on the field. As expected, being in the office is a totally different experience. For one, I think a lot more. It's not just thinking about what to do but thinking about how to say that I'll be doing something. It takes me extra long to make sure that an email I'll be sending to some big boss is purrr-fect. Because welcome to the world where the hierarchical order of things matter a lot (even when they're not supposed to). Actually, it hasn't been this important since adolescence. My first days were better because I had no idea that I was talking to a big boss already. As I got to know that so-and-so is the god of this and that department, well, things become a little more complicated than "I'm sorry, what's your name again?" And that's been my favorite line lately.

Unlike my internship, I have to know more people, remember their names and faces longterm, and recall what they handle. My favorite way of meeting people is in the elevator on the way down after work. That way I have some time to memorize what the person looks like. I know I'm supposed to be good at memorizing names but in Celadon I had the benefit (?) of manually encoding those RecWeek application booklets - and I had digital pictures to help me.

I'm getting along fine with some people but I'm having a hard time penetrating the more seriously busy looking folks. Perhaps it's because I'm so used to being the more/most serious and then now I'm surrounded by more serious peoples. Twilight zone!

Another queer experience is not experiencing the happiness that suspension of classes used to bring as a student. There's no such thing as work being suspended because the policies are so principles-based. I mentioned that in one of my intern-time blog posts. Simply put, employees can choose to go home if they feel that they're safety will be compromised if they don't. Employees can think for themselves kinda reasoning. It makes sense but I live just around the corner from the building so I can't really say that I'll get stranded when the others aren't going home and they live much farther!

Actually I don't really know how hard the rain is when I'm at work. At home, I know it's raining cats and dogs outside because I'm not shielded by uber thick glass windows. It's a good thing we rescheduled our GK outreach. There's a chance that it will still be raining this hard tomorrow morning. Yes, it's typhoon season - two months late.

Electricity is fluctuating right now. I think I should go to sleep.

2007-08-10T21:05:00.000+08:00

Eating: Chips Ahoy! Chewy
Just Read: Every Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot (Thank you Ther, I enjoyed it!)
Just Did: Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath (practically sold out)
Still unfinished: European Tour scrapbook (but I just bought some material to use as background)

Yesterday, Andrea B. was born. Congratulations to her parents! Maybe she and Ira S. will grow up together and become best friends. Anyway, I hope you grow up to be a beautiful, intelligent and good person.

Andrea and Ira are respectively the daughters of the truck driver and salesperson I spent a month with during my immersion. Along with the other crew members, we talked about a wide range of topics. Ten examples:

God - from Martin Luther to Iglesia ni Cristo
grammar - I'm impressed by the way they memorized definitions of nouns, adverbs, etc. Conversed about proper vs. common nouns too.
geography - Mayon volcano
girls - basic initial questions to ask a girl that you're interested in (can be done more subtly but subtle is not recommended): "may boyfriend ka ba?" and "ano yung ginagamit mong number?" (I assume the latter question is a guard against girls who give random numbers or a number she doesn't use)
guys - how there's no such thing as "torpe;" and it's not enough to have a job, what's more important is "may mapapakain." This is probably because jobs in the Philippines do not guarantee enough money to be able to support someone else.
gold - I don't know how I feel about their perspective: if everyone's rich, who's going to do manual labor? Everyone will be a "senyorito".
gratification (immediate) - "mahirap magtipid," "basta nabibili yung gusto"... an observation that is consistent with my Ateneo immersion experience
group - it's so important for them to say "kain tayo" even when they don't really have much to begin with
guillotine - well not exactly, but we did discuss the death penalty in passing
Ginebra - what is it with guys and drinking? It wasn't Ginebra they drank, I can't recall the brand. I do remember that a fly decided to do a deep dive and drowned inside the half-empty bottle.

I still hear from them occasionally, which is why I know Andrea was born yesterday. Anyway, "G" has no significance. I just thought it'd be cute if all of the items started with G. Like God, gold and glory were the reasons the Spaniards decided to colonize the Philippines.

Moving on, today I gave my very first presentation (not counting presentation as an intern). I'm excited!

-- distraction--
Haya... mom carried Summer up even when the trainer told us explicitly to stop spoiling her. Summer's having an identity crisis - she doesn't know if she's a dog or a little girl. She's so cute.
--end of distraction--

As I was saying, I'm excited. I'm not sure if I'm stating that because I know that the cognitive dissonance will get my mind working to cover up for any discrepancies. You see, perception may not be reality but it's real in its consequences. At least I'm starting to bond with my colleagues, something I missed when I was on the field last month. I appreciate how accommodating they are despite their busy schedules.

Two days ago I ate lunch outside the office with two strangers (officemates actually but they wanted me to write that). Of course I brought my packed lunch with me (saving money? haha!). It was raining but we managed to cross the street when it semi-stopped. I also had dinner with some nice people last night. Congratulate me for that burst of spontaneity. And my chatmate for actually getting me to go. Apparently they eat there every Thursday night... that's frequent enough to enjoy a 10% discount. I had fun, even if I don't drink. I'll have to get used to being with a lot of drinking people.

Tomorrow I'll be back on more familiar ground - Celadon territory! Gosh I really miss the org feeling. I also miss the AIVs because it's Debed's birthday today so I greeted him via email and he replied with a link to the australs 2008. It looks very well-planned. I think what I liked most about the AIVs project was being able to handpick my team members. It's great to work with people one trusts. Although I didn't handpick the executebs, we had to work double time to develop trust among ourselves. At work, the rigorous screening process and the big deal trust is given assures me that everyone's trust-worthy. And rather crazy in the same way.

It's 10:30pm and I'm sleepy. I'm getting old or something.

2007-08-04T22:35:00.000+08:00

Hello weekend!

Yesterday was great grandmother's 100th birthday so a big happy birthday to her. It's so easy to know if a Chinese person's birthday is being celebrated. Red, ya know.

I was supposed to have dinner with the ex-interns but of course family first. It was unfortunate that they decided to leave early since I made the effort to get them to eat at Banana Leaf Curry - the same restaurant that COA0607 planned to have dinner at. If they didn't leave so early, I would have attended the COA0607 dinner and I wouldn't have missed the ex-interns dinner. Sneaky but at least I wouldn't have had to make horcruxes of myself...

But the COA0607 dinner was interesting. We were a mix of people in different worlds. One is a stressed law student/DJ, another travels to Bohol and Boracay for the family business. One teaches college students - and has appeared on TV to talk about lightnings and iPods, another teaches pre-school kids - who sing "The Coconut Nut." One works for Company X while another works for the competitor of Company X? Private banking, advertising, the list goes on! In a way, a diaspora.

Today was spent with the angels4lyf. We were supposed to meet at 11 but as usual, everyone was fashionably late. It was nice to hear what everyone's been up to also. I'm glad I was free to join them today because I had missed the last get-together. One more miss and they'll probably be mad at me already. Thanks Ther for the transpo :) We had lunch at Dencio's then we split up. 3 of us watched License to Wed while 4 watched Ratatouille. L2W was a bit too hard to relate to, very American, liberal. It was still sweet though. For a Robin Williams film, I was disappointed by the lack of real laughs. Cutesy patootsy.

Until next weekend I guess. Not much excitement slated for tomorrow anyway. The week ahead? Busy-ness as usual.

2007-07-29T23:47:00.000+08:00

I had a feeling that it would be harder to update my blog when I start working because a lot of working friends also don't update their blogs as regularly as they used to. Maybe it's because work takes up a lot of time and thinking power or because there's nothing new to write about. An inhibitive blogging policy is understandable but it is also another reason.

July 27, 2007 - Welcome to the world Ira S.! I hope you grow up to be a beautiful, intelligent and above all good person. As your dad can personally attest, hard work pays off.

After work I went to Ateneo to join the Celadon HR and Externals night. Congrats Jasper, I'm really proud that you're handling the project overall now. You did a great job last year and I hope the next 3 nights turn out well.

Many managers and the visiting oldies invaded Shakey's afterwards. We were introduced to the game Jungle Speed, the objective of which is to get rid of all your cards while preventing others from getting rid of theirs (like Speed and Uno). It's fun and potentially violent but it requires concentration, alertness and speed. I had been awake since at least 5am that day so those weren't exactly my strong points. Apparently it's the other game aside from Mahjong that they currently play at the new C Room.

I gave up my seat at the game table so that the younger ones could play (one round was enough for me) and I transfered to the longer table - where most of the food was served and conversations were taking place. It's great to be back with college students. Made me feel younger!

Everyone has concerns that feel serious at the time but it's different when one looks back. Like a 4 year old can be concerned about not having a blue crayon (for the sky/clouds!) but an 8 year old knows that there are bigger problems to deal with. While it took some effort to adjust to college life, there were other people who were adjusting at the same time with me. Right now it's pretty much just me the newbie and, although there's a process, it's more learn-as-you-go. Better grow up, think quick and learn fast.

Saturday morning - Gawad Kalinga time. It was organized chaos. What else would you expect from 120+ kids? The day before was nutrition day for them so that fit in nicely with our healthy topics and activities. I had to rush home, shower and then go to Rockwell for the 2:50 Ratatouille showing. I arrived just in time (although they left my ticket at the cinema entrance already). We had fun - more fun because it was Vince's treat! It was great to hear about what everyone's been up to.

It's also becoming a tradition to call someone and put them on speaker phone. Last time we called Trina to greet her a happy birthday and Vince to bug him while he was at work. This time we called Za to greet her happy birthday in advance. I can't wait for our next get together. As I mentioned in my Multiply post, it takes some effort to coordinate schedules but it's really worth it to go through all the trouble. These things are planned at least a month in advance and even then, not everyone can make it.

I was asleep from 1-5pm today! Immersion's over so *maybe* I won't be so tired. Let's see... for all I know, working might be even more tiring. My calendar's already filling up. Hopefully I'll be in Henan, China in a few weeks from now. I just have to get my visa! This isn't for work so when I get back, I'll have to move fast to catch up. I'll be swamped... I just pray that my decision to pursue this isn't a foolish one.

2007-07-24T23:02:00.000+08:00

I know I should be sleeping (really I should take my own advice sometimes) but I feel that I've neglected my blog. It's been 10 days since my last post (sounds too much like it's been x days since my last confession), not because there's nothing to write about but because none of the topics seemed to be motivation enough for me to actually stop and think. The flow of this entry will be runny and jumpy.

HP7 was great. While reading, I found myself remembering Jose Rizal, the Bible, and even some of my own life experiences. Thus for me the book is a strong mix of classic and personal. I'm happy to say that the ending did not disappoint me as I expected it would (the opposite of Animorphs). It's been a long time coming and HP has made its mark well in this world. Always nice when something exceeds expectations. So how does one balance setting high standards but not having unrealistic expectations?

Such as: don't expect me to look the same after my month-long immersion. I'll talk more about immersion next week. I've grown several shades darker because of it and because of yesterday's MILO marathon. I didn't actually run but I was part of the support group making sure that the runners had what they needed. Some new things I learned:
1) When buying running shoes, get one size larger than your real size.
2) Put petroleum jelly everywhere especially on body parts that rub against each other or against clothing.
3) Have extra socks.

Dare I join the marathon next year? Balk. It would be nice to run again though. How about 10k. Who am I talking to.

2007-07-13T22:38:00.000+08:00

Did you know that today is Ernő Rubik's birthday? I heard that bit of trivia on the way home from work a while ago. He was the inventor of the frustrating cube that I've been trying to figure out for some time now. I was wondering why Facebook suddenly offered a Rubik's cube "gift" ... took me long enough to figure that one.

Anyway, since I mentioned it already, another toy I've been playing with is the popular social networking site Facebook. I stumbled upon its Wiki article (I'm not sure when/how/why since I frequently Wiki-hop from one topic to another) and decided to try it out. While Friendster focuses on testimonials and Multiply has a media-sharing approach, Facebook capitalizes on networks/groups. Sadly, Ateneo can't get a network since students don't get an ADMU email address. I guess faculty members can create a work network though. I like the events feature, complete with RSVP tracker. Can't wait for the first "Facebook" group movie outing tomorrow although only a little less than 10% of the people attending actually used the site. I wonder if/when the Ateneo orgs will start using it to promote projects. Last school year, we had discovered that publishing a list of attendees' names prior to the event can boost attendance (LDP participation increased by 40% compared to the previous year!). I'm hoping I can attend HR Night but that'll depend on what time we get back from Antipolo on that Friday.

We ended by 5:30pm today, which is normal. Thursday was a surprisingly light day - I was home in time to watch the 4pm ADMU-UP UAAP game (yey we won). I'll post pictures of my immersion experience next time, maybe at the end of the month. Suffice to say, my body clock had to adjust a lot. I have breakfast at 5:25am, have lunch at around 11:30 or 1:30 (depends). Dinner is at 7 if I'm lucky but I've had to wait until 9pm like last Wednesday when I decided to drop by the office after immersion for some important matters. Crazy. At the end of the day, I really feel happy to see Summer waiting for me by the front door. She's a lot bigger now but still very playful. Have to remember to buy her food.

Anyway, I'll go sleep now. Yey I don't have to wake up early.

2007-07-06T19:46:00.000+08:00

What have I been up to? Work, of course. I've been coming home early these past few days (earlier than 6pm) but am more tired than usual. That's because I'm on immersion. This involves being at Pasig by 6am, riding a delivery truck to who knows where, checking stores, selling, getting orders and delivering products to sari-sari stores. It doesn't sound so bad but the heat makes it exponentially more difficult. Thank goodness it was cloudy today. Remember the Mary Poppins saying I love to quote? In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. Today I found the fun - pagbabasta! Plus, I made my very first sale without Kuya Ferds' help. It also feels great to meet/exceed the targets. Wahoo.

Ateneo ALTP? Immersion? Fiddlesticks haha This experience really taught me to respect blue-collared workers. I don't think I can complain about work ever again without feeling guilty. After all, this is something I'll be doing for only a month while they've been at it for 5-10 years! They work 6 days a week, 8-12 hours a day, starting at 6am. I'm glad that my IM isn't requiring me to work on Saturdays too. Types of communication? Psych persuasion techniques? They don't need a college degree to learn something best taught by experience. Kudos.

Three more weeks. I'm already looking forward to another round of pusit at the nipa hut carinderia we went to last Wednesday. This time though I'll remember to wait for the RC before I attack a viand bathed in chili (a.k.a. baby carrots) sauce.

2007-07-01T12:23:00.000+08:00

It was an exciting week. I met a lot of new people whose names and faces have blurred together. Pero wow I've learned so much in such a short time. Like how to bite an apple hanging by a string without the help of hands? That and a lot more. Playing what-does-that-acronym-stand-for with my mom when I was younger is a big help! Even the Transformers movie gives this sound piece of advice: Keep up with the acronyms.

Yesterday was the wedding of Winston and Stephanie. My cousins and I agree that this wedding felt different. Steph is just so much nearer to our age compared to our other married cousins (I hope they never read this). It was pretty much an all-day affair since I had to have my hair, makeup, and nails (I love my nails) done in the morning and then arrive at the church early because I was part of the entourage. Although the church had air conditioning, it was still a bit warm cause there was so many people. My parents' wedding was held at the same church 23 years ago.

Achi Sarah couldn't be the Matron of Honor because she just found out that she was pregnant. Superstition dictated that she couldn't participate in the wedding because the baby and the married couple would be fighting for good fortune. Ria took over the role of maid of honor. Rachel was complaining about having an itchy gown. I remember hating being a flower girl myself. Itchy gowns should be outlawed.

We had a short pictorial in front of the American cemetery and then proceeded to the reception at Crowne Plaza. Basically, I was at that hotel for more than half the week since I attended a convention there from Wednesday-Friday. There were around 100 tables and we had the usual Chinese menu. The noodles were too hard - Sam thinks they were undercooked. Jacob loved the three desserts - fruits, banana balls? and red beans.

David Pomeranz (Got to Believe in Magic, Born for You) attended the wedding and reception and sang a never-before-publicly-performed song for the newlyweds. That wasn't the only starstruck moment of the week though. Last Tuesday, Paeng Nepomuceno and Nadia Comaneci gave a talk to the company about how they managed to achieve so much. I super love Paeng! You can read more about him here. Wow. His speech really deserved a standing ovation. We got autographs from both star athletes and will be receiving a copy of our pictures with them. Also saw Richard Gutierrez at Max Brenner when we went to have dessert there a while ago.

Transformers was a great movie! It was funny, it had action, it didn't have a cheesy romance (although this is sometimes good), and it didn't require prior knowledge. I still remember the Optimus Prime toy that my cousin used to play with. I wonder where that is. Did you know that the voice actor for Optimus Prime also does the voice of Eeyore? haha Perhaps I liked it all the more because it didn't try to sell itself as a start of a trilogy although I hear that the next 2 films are being planned already. My brother and his best friend say it was clearly Chevrolet (Autobots) vs. Ford (Decepticons). Of course I didn't notice but I think it's another fun tidbit to add to this entry. Ah, I thought the Hoover Dam was boring when I went there many years ago on the way to the Grand Canyon.

I wonder when new movies of other rather old but missed shows will be made like Jem and the Holograms and G.I. Joe. Maybe even Rainbow Brite, He-Man and She-Ra, Shazzan and the Wacky Racers (and Penelope Pittstop). Speed Racer will be released next year according to IMDB.

Tomorrow will be the start of another week. It's also the start of what promises to be a tiring month for me. Wish me luck and pray it doesn't rain so much.

2007-06-25T22:09:00.000+08:00

What. a. Monday. It's not a bad Monday, just a very busy one. Meetings, meetings... one meeting was rescheduled but I managed to plug in two spur-of-the-moment meetings. Don't get me wrong, it beats thinking by myself. There's just so many things to think about! Information overload. But right now, just to get it over with, let me say this: I love my job.

Had lunch with Ace, a cup of Starbucks with BD and dinner with the "imported relatives." So at least my social life isn't dying. I had Starbucks with BD... Ok my social life is kinda bad haha jk Christian is so cute! He can talk now but his favorite words are Yah (like a German), Why? and Train. We brought him to Timezone and he was still too short for most of the games. That didn't stop him from hitting the crocodiles, bopping the bulldogs and shooting some hoops. Maybe he'll grow up to be an engineer. He was connecting his straws to see if he could drink milk with a 3-straws-long straw (findings: no, he couldn't). "Why?"

Tomorrow's gonna be a long day. I'm bringing my mom's bathroom scale to work. Show and tell. Just kidding. But I was serious about the bathroom scale. And the dining room bell. Will actually miss my cousin's bridal shower. Some cousin I am.

Yes, I love my job. If I had a great Monday, then Friday should be terrific.

2007-06-24T15:01:00.000+08:00

My mother's side had a family reunion today at Century Seafood near Sheraton. It was a big gathering but it was still incomplete. Just to give you an idea of how large their family is... my grandfather has 8 sisters and a brother. Each are married with at least 4 children. This means my mom has around 50 cousins. Most are already married. Many have children - some are older than I am while others are still babies with their yayas. It was interesting but there wasn't that much interaction. Each family had their own table/s so it felt just like an ordinary Sunday lunch. With abalone.

Next week will be another large gathering (wedding). Brother and one cousin already arrived and more relatives will arrive in the next few hours. I'm excited to see them but I'm also aware that I can't maximize my time with them because of work. The next three weeks are going to be tiring but I'm looking forward to learning a lot.

Summer starts "school" tomorrow. I'll be paying for 40% of her "tuition" haha She's still so cute even though the haircut she had last month lightened her coloring. My hair color has also changed. Mom wanted it darker for the wedding so goodbye ash blond, hello red-violet! I enjoyed having a light hair color, thanks Birdie! I know I wouldn't have done it if it weren't for your offer.

Growing my nails long is such a chore. Pero minsan lang naman. Feeling Cat woman. Rawr.

2007-06-18T20:29:00.000+08:00

Past few days were a blur. I've officially started work. Today was my "second" day. Second is in quotation marks because, as I mentioned in my last post, I already had a transition meeting before my first day of work - which was Friday (the 15th). It was in that meeting that I found out I had to work on Saturday (the 16th) but more on that later.

On the first day, I chose a workspace beside a window. For lunch, we ate at CPK - mm..salad, pizza, pasta and dessert - and then everyone speed-walked back to work. I attended a training for trainers (sorry about that) which was interesting because of the personal experiences that the speaker added to make his points. The day ended with the interns' graduation night. I didn't stay anymore but I got to speak with Dr. Macapagal (the new Psych chair) before I left.

I had to leave because I had a dinner and sleepover with the executebs (Celadon EB 0607)! Dinner was OK at Everything at Steak, even though the service was really bad. We all ordered what Peter got (T-Bone), but chose different side dishes. Anyway, the night wasn't about the food - it was about the company! Allow me to quote Char, "It's really very very nice seeing my friends and feeling like I'm back in college once again (minus the acads)." We spent a long time just catching up and talking about life after college so far.

I already told them before that if I had to start my own business, I would like to start it with them. The diversity of interests and a nice mix of working styles allowed us to have fun while working with each other. I think fun is a super important part of working. Important part of anything actually. The others then played with the squeaking pigs while I got ready for bed (sofa to be more accurate). I had to sleep early because I had to be at Makati by 7:30 the next day (urk)... so I missed around 2 hours of kwentuhan :(

I arrived a bit early but the (very good looking) expat and his (equally beautiful) girlfriend arrived soon after. We had to wait for a few more people before we could meet the others outside Manila Hotel. After a very quick breakfast, we finally got to Baseco, Tondo. Imagine the usual Ateneo outreach, only with 120 kids. And that's why I had to work on a Saturday morning, with less than half a week's notice. There was storytelling, arts&craft and games. I think the children had fun although I've forgotten most of their names and faces already. I know it will take time to get to know them so I'll excuse myself first.

I was supposed to go to Greenhills for lunch but the local leaders wanted to give me a tour of the village. I got home later than I planned and so missed Tang's birthday treat :( I got back to GH by around 4:30 already. The others were still playing with the squeaking pigs haha We bought tickets for Fantastic 4 at Promenade. It was the first weekend so most of the good seats were already taken. We got 8 seats on the 4th row from the screen and 3 on the 3rd. Each ticket was P180! It was unfair the way the film's sound was damaged at the start and the screen wasn't aligned. I was halfway to the exit to complain when the screen just blacked out. When I returned to my seat, the mischievous EB decided to say aloud, at the count of 3, "Ang cute cute ni Vince!" whehehe We didn't have anything better to do anyway. The movie wasn't very nice. The visual effects were good but the story was lacking and cheesy. Plus they were destroying London!! hmph.

When the movie ended, we walked to Kamay Kainan for the alumni dinner. It was great to see the others. We occupied around 2 and a half long tables. Even Jared, Sherwin and Mark King attended. I was also happy to see Chok, who's been busy with med school. Twin, Mic, Borgy and Jacky went too! Rensi just passed by at Che's house to get his pasalubong (and to see me haha). I gave everyone the Swiss chocolate I bought at Luzern and they said it was good even though they were already melted (after staying in the car for most of the afternoon...).

Yesterday was Fathers' Day. A belated Happy Fathers' Day greeting to your dads! We celebrated at Peking Garden where I saw Borly, Rensi Pua, Ryan Chua and even Leanne Tan. I spent the afternoon asleep.

Today was tiring too but I was able to meet with my immediate manager and talk about what I'll be doing over the next few months. Honestly it sounds like a lot. There are essentially two main things so I can just think of it as similar to having (1) acads and (2) org. Hopefully the time management skills I developed at college will suffice. Helpdesk also got my tech stuff running today! For now I'm glad I don't have any homework. Let the fun begin ;)

For corresponding pictures, go to my multiply or Peter's.

2007-06-14T17:07:00.000+08:00

OK maybe I'm a little bit excited. I had a meeting this morning (even though work still officially starts tomorrow) and one of the projects that I'll be handling is something I'm really interested in. In fact, I took an internet introduction course about it way back in 2003 and just recently attended another talk about it at the Ateneo School of Business. Coincidence?

I love the way life can be so... ordered. I didn't even have to ask and it was assigned to me. Some say it's a matter of perspective (i.e., Life is beautiful IF you look for its beauty). Some attribute intelligent design to a grand architect, yes God. Maybe others will look at it as some sort of pre-destiny. I guess all of that's true for me although I never once felt that my free will was being limited because I was pre-destined to do something I didn't want to do.

After the meeting, I visited the LS campus. The Celadon room last year is the new ADS room. The old SPEED room is the new Celadon room. This means more space and a nice view! It'll be the last time in a long time that I'll be able to visit school. Geo-ann, who I regard as my batch's most outstanding individual (actually, she was officially recognized as most outstanding individual during the LS awards), is now working for OSA. I was able to see Ate Sabs, Ma'am Mhir, Ate Ginger and Ate Julie too.

Since my last post, I already watched the Heroes season ender. It was so disappointing! I'm halfway done with the Harvard Business Review. Also, I'm not quite sure how to proceed with my scrapbook. I don't know what background to use for the title page of each country. Jacky gave me great ideas for the other pages though. Dad should be done processing his pictures by tomorrow and I can have the ones I like printed already. That's about it for now. Tomorrow is another first day of the rest of my life!

2007-06-10T23:06:00.000+08:00

I'm enjoying myself far too much to be in a hurry to start working. Can't stop the inevitable though so I'll use what time I have now to soul search and release pent up creativity.

Soul Searching
Maybe not my soul exactly, just my psyche. I'm a very high monitoring individual - acting and debating are two hobbies high monitors can excel in since they require much flexibility. While I'm all for doing the "right" thing and not caring about what other people think when I do so, doing the un-right thing or even an I'm-not-sure-if-it's-right thing bothers me a lot. I hate not knowing the correct answer and it irritates me when I'm forced to say "hindi ko alam!" Although of course no one has all the answers.

But there are field experts, key resources, that I can extract invaluable information from. There is the direct method of ASKING them. For example, I love consulting with Aims about the appropriateness of doing something or failing to do something. Then there is the indirect method - modeling. For example, I associate the word thoughtfulness with Ther and CharLao. Now, being thoughtful is something I want to be, something that I think is right. That's why I try to guess what they'd do if they were in a similar situation and do it myself. The same concept applies to the popular "What Would Jesus Do" (WWJD) motto. In both cases, who I ask/model is hinged on how much I like someone. Naturally, I don't want to be someone I don't particularly admire.

Bottomline is, I'm trying to be more patient (and failing miserably) and more thoughtful/generous (a little progress?). Maybe I'm fighting a genetic battle... let's see though. To be able to dictate what I am (e.g. thoughtful person) is a very "Sartre" framework.

Creating
"Wala kayo magawa sa watermelon 'no?" That what Ivan said when he dropped by the house a while ago to give me the last three episodes of Heroes Season 1. (See my multiply). It wasn't anything that required a lot of unheard of materials. I just noticed we had a watermelon and decided to give it a smiley face. It was fun, a little bit messy, but fun.

I'm also in the process of making a scrapbook. Key words: in the process. I've finished... 4 out of 30 pages. I got the idea from CH's blog. She wrote about other people not understanding her hobby. It seems like a fun pastime! No wonder we were in the yearbook board together. Being serious about it is a bit expensive if all the acid-free rules are to be followed but it forces me to be more resourceful. As a last resort, I guess there's always archival spray.

Last few days before work will be dedicated to catch-up lunches and dinners with friends, spending time with the extended family from out of town, and finishing the scrapbook!

Besides those, there are things I want to strike out of my list soon... such as the Harvard Business Review I bought in HK... Yes, I know it sounds geeky but so far it's a good read. A bit heavy to digest everything in one go but it's expensive enough to make me want to finish it from cover to cover. The book I borrowed from Polo, the Heroes episodes, some DVD's I bought (like Babel), ... hm. Whoa I didn't realize I have so much to do! Wheee

2007-06-06T23:18:00.000+08:00

I'm elated! I just watched Ocean's 13 with Mic, Elaine and Jacky and I loved it! We had a pizza "party" at my place before going to Rockwell so that set the mood well. It's the best movie I've seen recently. Better than Ocean's 12 but just a little less brilliant than 11. It was funny too. Go see it, you can read the rest of my long blog entry afterwards.

Warning: Greenbelt 3 tickets now cost P180-190 (depends on the cinema). I know because my parents and I just watched Shrek 3 there. Definitely not as good as the first and second part. It was a bit annoying how the characters were giving pep talks. And the frog king having to die three times? As Ocean's 13 said, don't run the same gag twice. Although stealing from a casino... sounds familiar doesn't it? Money talks, which is probably why there are so many trilogies in the first place.

Another third of a trilogy. I liked Pirates too but the story was too twisted for those who've forgotten the first two installments. I was the only one in my family (whom I watched with) who more or less understood the story. The love thing between Calypso and Davey Jones was off-tangent. While we missed the post credits scene (which I got to watch via YouTube anyway), we were just relieved that the cinema didn't play a dubbed Cantonese version (the trailers were in Cantonese). Free tickets made me think that there must be something wrong, wouldn't you? But the promo was legit - and extra sulit because the film ran for almost 3 hours.

It would make a great in-flight movie since it'll make 3 hours go faster. During my flight to and from Europe, I was able to watch Blood Diamond, Charlotte's Web, Music & Lyrics, The Pursuit of Happyness, even Aladdin and The Lion King. I'm just sad I wasn't able to catch The Holiday.

Blood Diamond reminded me of Lord of War and Titanic. Lord of War because it's a political film, Titanic because Leonardo DiCaprio [spoiler: dies].

Charlotte's Web, hm, we all know that story. Nothing fantastic.

Music & Lyrics was great! I missed the film when it was showing in theaters but I forget why. Made me wanna rhyme... all the time... maybe earn a dime... or maybe not. I'm not a big fan of Drew Barrymore but the movie made me forget my bias against her.

The Pursuit of Happyness was another rags to riches inspirational true stories. I'm glad that it emphasized the importance of both numbers (technical knowledge) and people (emotional competence). Personal competence was present but implied. I think this is also why Rubik's cubes are so popular these days. I got a small one for free (I'm such a sucker for freebies) and I plan to figure out how to solve it. Allan's blog has a how-to-re-sticker your rubik's cube tutorial in case the colors are fading.

The Disney movies are old Disney movies so the magic's still there. Incidentally, it was the Hakuna Matata cap that I brought with me to Europe. Weh I know I haven't started working but I'm already wondering when I'll be able to get back to that continent. I'm not as bad a workaholic as everyone else might think hahaha I put "don't be a workaholic" on my status message for Borgy cause he's been doing a lot of overtime. Here's what I get:

enzote: are you talking to yourself? haha
charlenecamillalao: ahhhh kala ko ur telling urself not to be a workaholic
bjdy: sino kausap mo sa pagiging workaholic? sarili mo?
frids2002: are u talking to urself?

Some people know me too well.

2007-06-03T00:47:00.000+08:00

I'm back :) I won't bother to write about my trip in detail since what I wrote in my notebook is too long to transcribe. This is where we went:

create your personalized map of europe
or check out our Barcelona travel guide

France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican, Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Amsterdam!

Some highlights:

Got to enter the Louvre
Got to visit Notre Dame cathedral and Anne Frank's house
Were at Cannes on the first day of the film festival
Chanced upon a fireworks display at Austria
Got a FREE picture in a traditional Dutch costume
Won 160 tokens at Monte Carlo

Don't wake me up, I'm still dreaming.

I did miss my dog and my laptop (ah Daph's priorities). I should take them with me next time ;) But "next time" might be years away... What are dreams for.

2007-05-26T18:28:00.000+08:00

At Boppard right now (Germany), just got off a Rhine River cruise. Am immensely enjoying the tour and although I'm still here, can't wait to return again! Missing you all :)

2007-05-05T21:35:00.000+08:00

Oh wow. I dunno what it is with this year but I'm very thankful. It's been one cool experience after another. You know how they say, "you're so low, you can't go anywhere else but up?" Maybe that's what happened so I'm dreading the next turn of the tide. For now though, I'll soak up the warmth of blessedness.

After receiving a call from Company X because they got my resume from Ateneo and Jobstreet (I submitted my resume last year!), I decide to just go and have that preliminary interview (besides, I love their products). It goes well but I do feel a little bit guilty. A few days afterwards, I get a call from the office telling me that I'm needed sooner than they thought - and that I'll be working in Makati (instead of at Cabuyao). Aims might even work at the same building! Although I was almost resigned to working in Laguna, I was still praying... And there you go, prayer answered :) Goodbye Company X, sorry for the inconvenience. I look forward to saving the world soon. Too bad there's no comic book I can follow.

Aside from rushing to complete the pre-employment requirements before I leave, I went to an angels4lyf dinner last night. The main topic was their recent trip to Boracay. It reminded me of the summer camp days - we talked about it for weeks after the trip, recounting every detail, everything that was said and done. Uh oh, trip to memory lane, again. Let's stop now.

Here's some nice lyrics... It's from the soundtrack of a movie my mom and I just watched, "Flicka."

"My Little Girl" by Tim McGraw

Chorus:
Your beautiful baby from the outside in.
Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again.
Go on, take on this whole world.
But to me you know you'll always be, my little girl.

Verse 1:
Gotta hold on easy as I let you go.
Gonna tell you how much I love you,
though you think you already know.
I remember I thought you looked like an angel wrapped in pink so soft and warm.
You've had me wrapped around your finger since the day you were born.

Verse 2:
When you were in trouble that crooked little smile could melt my heart of stone.
Now look at you, I've turned around and you've almost grown.
Sometimes you're asleep I whisper "I Love You!" in the moonlight at your door.
As I walk away, I hear you say, "Daddy Love You More!".

Verse 3:
Someday, some boy will come and ask me for your hand.
But I won't say "yes" to him unless I know, he's the half
that makes you whole, he has a poet's soul, and the heart of a man's man.
I know he'll say that he's in love.
But between you and me. He won't be good enough!

I've been watching a lot of stuff lately, especially since I've been keeping my 4-year old cousin company while her family's out of town. Dekada 70 was such a big disappointment even if I cried a bit. I'm not wondering why it didn't work. Also caught the Amazing Race All Stars marathon. Can't wait for the final episode. I'm rooting for the Beauty Queens! I don't want Chmirna to win simply because Charla annoys me. I re-watched Devil Wears Prada too. I want the unpublished HP! The QT's predict I'll become a Miranda Priestly in the future. Who knows, maybe I'll chuck my cellphone in a fountain too.

Like the blog's new look? I'm still not totally sold. Stay tuned.

2007-05-02T11:20:00.000+08:00

Last night was another big movie outing for Celadon (+ family & friends) but it wasn't able to break the record. 22 of us watched Spiderman 3 at Rockwell (occupied 2 and 3/4 center rows), 9 people short of the 31 who watched Narnia last year. Nevertheless, thanks Vani for organizing the gimik, Jic for reserving the tickets, & Mic for the ride home :) More interesting movies are coming up so there are still many opportunities. Some of these are Pirates of the Carribean 3, the sequel of Fantastic 4 and Shrek 3! Notice that a lot of movies coming out are sequels. Transformers will be out in the US on July 4. Does that mean it'll be out by June 12 here? I'm just being cheeky.

Dinner was at the restaurant of choice for most (kids): McDonalds. That was for half the group. The others opted for Kenny Rogers. And the three who decided to have dinner at a later time almost didn't eat because the stores were closing by the time they felt hungry (everything was closing earlier since it was Labor Day). It was Jollibee for them!

I'm planning to have a haircut in the next few days... either at Razzle Dazzle or Tinette. I think I prefer Tinette's more conventional cuts but the former is known for its "Hong Kong hairstyle" specialty - simply because Sir Louis is from HK. The hair I have now, minus the color c/o Birdie, is a Razzle Dazzle product. Anyway, I'm not after any particular style, I just don't want to have a hard time with my hair during my upcoming trip. Hmmm. As for color, I really would like to have it a little bit more red (not Ferrari red!) but mom wants it darker (back to original). I'm fond of the light color now though - even if it makes me look pale? My cousin requested that I keep it the same color for her wedding in June so that might be the deciding factor. Shoe shopping for that stint will have to take place before the 8th.

Speaking of which, I can't wait for my relatives to arrive! I miss Lotta most but seeing 4-ko, 2-ko, Uncle Ben (like Spiderman!), Achi Liana, Christian, Ahya Joe, Achi Mitch and Alex is always a treat. The rest won't be coming :( One's studying in Spain right now - if only we could visit! :)

My VL re-organization plan is almost complete, I guess. I received 130 replies (thank you!) but I've only added 36 people... because I'm still trying to figure out what categories to use! I don't want too many categories, but I don't want too many people in one category either. My problem actually are the ICAns who are Ateneans who are Celadoneans (they belong to too many categories) and the IRCer who is Xaverian who isn't Atenean. Blimey. So for those who haven't received the notification requesting permission for me to add you to my list, I probably still haven't added you. hehe. I'll figure it out, eventually.

My digital photos are more organized too so I've been adding the "naligaw" photos to their respective albums. I've been lazy to do backup via an external hard drive (cause I don't have one yet) so I've been using Multiply. I'll get around to it soon... Sheesh all this procrastinating is really bad. I need to muster up enough discipline to actually accomplish something worthwhile. Remember the sinking feeling I mentioned back in 2004? Probably not but it's there again. So many younger people have accomplished so much more than I have.

Summer news... she can now climb down the stairs on her own and climb up from the second to the topmost step. She's due for 2 more vaccination shots before she can venture outside.

2007-04-24T22:21:00.000+08:00

From 28% full, my gmail account is now 0% full! From 102 Yahoo groups, I'm now only part of FIFTEEN. From almost always "Almost full," my cellphone only has 60 msgs. From 380+, my YM list now has 0 contacts haha

Friends, please message me with your full name, email address, cell# and birthday (with year). It's part of my virtual life re-organization :)

I'll add those who message me by Friday I guess. So far 50 people have replied! (thanks for making me happy!)

Other things I've been occupied with...
Visa matters. Went to the Swiss embassy yesterday for the interview. Accompanied grandfather earlier to pick up his Schengen visa. The UK visa is a lost cause already - guess that means I'll get there later rather than sooner.

NUTS! by Kevin & Jackie Freiberg. Dad wants me to read and summarize a book that a friend lent him. It's a fun read!

Food stuffing. Yesterday was Ama's death anniversary so we ate at Gloria Maris. The day before that, we ate at Gourmand for Jesi's grad (3rd in her batch!). And before that, we ate at Conti's for dad's birthday.

Summer! I took her to the vet last week for vaccination shots. Guess who we encountered... haha I was too starstruck to remember to ask if I could have a picture with them - Lucky and Flo! They're quite big but more playful than intimidating. Summer also got her first haircut before she was injected.

KSDC. If you know any 4-12 year olds who have nothing to do yet on MWFs of May, invite them to register and learn a lot of fun things. Website is at http://summerdaycamp.reallyrules.com

Monopoly. I've been playing with my cousin and whoever else is bored enough to agree to play with us :p Uncle Wes will be playing over the weekend! Message me if you want to join us.

Quotable (at Palawan)
Aunt: Wow Carrie look so many stars! Can you count them?
Princess Caroline: No, there are so many!!
Aunt: Can you try?
Princess Caroline: Maybe 12!

2007-04-19T21:52:00.000+08:00

RIP Sabie Wong

God looked around his garden
And he found an empty place
He then looked down upon this earth
And saw your tired face
He put his arms around you
And lifted you to rest
Gods garden must be beautiful
He always takes the best
He knew that you were suffering
He knew you were in pain
He knew that you would never
Get well on earth again
He saw the road was getting rough
And hills were hard to climb
So he closed your weary eyelids
And whispered "Peace be thine"
It broke our hearts to lose you
But you didn't go alone
For part of us went with you
The day God called you home

I don't know who wrote that poem but it was the same one I recited during my grandmother's wake 7 years ago. I don't want a repetition of that year (2000). Please lang po.

Updates about Sabie

2007-04-18T22:06:00.000+08:00

can be found at this forum.

At this point there are a lot of if only's. Anyway, there was some discussion about choosing a public hospital in Singapore and a private one in the Philippines. Those who live here will undoubtedly prefer being treated in a private facility. However, I learned that in HK (not sure if the same goes for Sg), only public institutions can afford the more expensive hi-tech equipment necessary for critical operations. How funny - I'm surprised by government-run hospitals that are running well.

As Julia Campbell (the peace corps volunteer whose body was found just recently) put it, we live in a world that's baliktad / topsy turvy. Her blog here.

Thy will be done. Thy strength for everyone. Daph rhymes sometimes.

2007-04-16T10:38:00.000+08:00

Gummy worms. Shelves. High school batchmates. Yellow shoes? Dreams can be bizarre. And lately, I've been remembering a lot of mine, maybe because of the extra sleeping hours. Do you know that one of Mark Twains' works is a dream journal entitle "My Platonic Sweetheart?" I also remember reading about a book whose author dreamed up the story. Suffice it to say that there is a commercial interest in other people's dreams.

I've been planning my London tour - scouring the internet for discounted ticket prices. I'm excited to say the least :) It's a good thing we're going during the off-peak season because otherwise everything's more expensive. What worries me right now is our visas. I hope we get them on time else all my planning will be in vain.

My break hasn't turned boring yet. Just came back from Palawan (darker me again), been busy doing the Kids Summer Day Camp website* (but that's pretty much finished already except for some of the writeups that I'm still waiting for), and playing with Summer. I still have to go to Rajo's tomorrow for first fitting and then take Summer to the vet for her vaccination shots. Summer, by the way, receives more visitors than I do haha

*Learned something new! I just discovered that FTP is possible through IE. Is this old news? No matter, it's nice to think that my brain is still active haha

On a more serious note, we're all hoping that Sabie will be okay. She underwent an open heart surgery at Singapore last Thursday and right now... it doesn't look good... Would appreciate your prayers for her and her immediate family. Pray for a miracle.

2007-04-09T00:06:00.000+08:00

on a whim, i downloaded irc again, connected to irc.skyinet.net and looked for the old chatrooms. they're gone.

even The Heart at Cybertown has been demolished. It's been replaced by "Spirit."

a lot has changed in ICA too. And Ateneo has at least one new building coming right up. good bye to the Psych dept I know.

my home hasn't changed though it wasn't always beside a train station...

In My Life

There are places I'll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all

Senti huh. The mood was caused by a monopoly game with Gibbs. And just to show how some things never change, I won haha just kidding

Time to let go of a lot of old things.

I don't know when, I don't know how
But I know something's starting right now
Watch and you'll see, someday I'll be :)

2007-04-07T22:13:00.000+08:00

Got tagged by Julie-la and I don't really have anything better to do. Tomorrow's Easter!

Each player of this game starts off with 10 weird things/habits/little known facts about yourself. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 10 weird habits/things/little known facts as well as state this rule clearly. At the end you need to choose 10 people to be tagged and list their names. No tag backs.

1. I "flick" continuously when I'm nervous. (index finger and thumb form a circle then I release my index finger)
2. I sleep with my eyes partially open.
3. When I'm bored, I rub the bridge of my nose.
4. I tilt my head when I type.
5. Before I leave for school, I run a mental checklist of five must-brings: my wallet, my watch, my phone, my ID, my hanky. And I still forget to bring my ID sometimes haha
6. Since I can't eat rice alone, I make sure the viands don't run out before I finish my rice.
7. When I was in first grade, I did NOT know how to use a skirt hehe
8. I cried when I watched Dumbo, not when I watched Land Before Time.
9. Used to hide in my grandmother's attic and pretend I couldn't hear them looking for me.
10. I do "cold shoulders."

Tag - Lainey, Mic, Hannah, Jacky, Mike, Charlotte, AL, Luj, Hal, Cu

2007-04-06T14:03:00.000+08:00

It's Good Friday. I just got home from Polo (one of the very few places open today) after having merienda with the family of one of my dad's business partners. After living in San Diego for a couple of years, the company transfered him to Manila along with his wife and two sons. His wife and elder son will be having horseback riding lessons (they already know how). I should like to join them but their lessons are more advanced. I might at least persuade my dad to finally allow me to take a beginner's class.

Time to write about the Celadon Rouge - last Celadon project of 2006-2007. It was a blast! Great way to end the fantastic year :)

12 Plaques for the 12 executebs: special CFA treat to commemorate the year

I had planned to go to Valle Verde early to help setup but I couldn't leave Makati without the EB plaques (had them made at Angel Arts). And of course I crammed making the awards and special citations ehehehe Suffice it to say, I actually landed in V6 at 4:30pm already. The decorations committee had just finished painting - next challenge was to find a way to make the styro pieces stand, nothing that can't be solved with a LOT of tape and extra styrofoam.

The food catered by Amara (our sponsor) was great, the chairs had pretty yellow ribbons, the lights added to the fun factor and the sounds matched the mood (although the microphones could be less sabog). Madel finally hosted an org event haha I interviewed her during Recruitment Week and knew she'd be great but she was always busy with BlueRep or had other priorities.

Claire's video really brought back a lot of the year's memories. Especially the EB dance during the 1st GA... Mikes and Gino gave a great performance. Bands don't usually fare very well with the Celadon crowd but they're the exception. The dance troupe revival was a success! Welcome back ballroom dancing! (watch their performance)

They gave me a dozen roses!! That was so sweet - thanks everyone ^_^ The night ended with the induction of the EB members 07-08, a lot of picture taking and even some dancing.

I still have a bit of paperwork left to do. I still PLAN to update and print a copy of the YES report and have it hardbound. Para cute. And then there's the matter of going to Child's Play and picking up our group pic. Whee Celadon Celadon Celadon. I'll miss working with the executebs, one of the more cliquish EBs haha We have our plaques, the photoshoot, lunch at Heat, our pouches,... and a whole lot of memories. All our efforts to address "the needs of the group" paid off! Thanks OGSM.

Anyway, good luck CEBo! Am excited about what you guys have in store for the org. Am also looking forward to hearing about MISA and AJMA next school year under the leadership of Yvette and Queen respectively. Your plans look very solid and promising so I wish ya'll a lot of strength and luck! :)

Palm Monday

2007-04-04T11:03:00.000+08:00

This is a fictional story that takes place on the day after Palm Sunday. Its main character is the donkey that Jesus rode on when He entered Jerusalem.

The donkey awakened, his mind still savoring the afterglow of the most exciting day of his life. Never before had he felt such a rush of pleasure and pride.
He walked into town and found a group of people by the well. "I'll show myself to them" he thought.
But they didn't notice him. They went on drawing their water and paid him no mind.
"Throw your garments down," he said crossly. "Don't you know who I am?"
They just looked at him in amazement. Someone slapped him across the tail and ordered him to move.
"Miserable heathens!" he muttered to himself. "I'll just go to the market where the good people are. They will remember me."
But the same thing happened. No one paid any attention to the donkey as he strutted down the main street in front of the market place.
"The palm branches! Where are the palm branches!" he shouted. "Yesterday, you threw palm branches!"
Hurt and confused, the donkey returned home to his mother.
"Foolish child," she said gently. "Don't you realize that without him, you are just an ordinary donkey?"
Just like the donkey who carried Jesus in Jerusalem, we are most fulfilled when we are in the service of Jesus Christ. When we lift up Christ, we are no longer ordinary people but key players in God's plan to redeem the world.

Taken from http://dailywisdom.gospelcom.net/archives/old/1999/03/dw-03-29-99.html

The story above was shared by Pastor Steve last Sunday and then I shared it during my opening speech at the Celadon Ball. Our recent achievements can mean a whole lot to us now, and I'm sure it will continue to mean much on a personal level, but time has a way of mellowing down the significance of some events. Newer accomplishments will overshadow the old.

I was chatting with a friend the other night about the world records. When they report that a person just broke a record, they never report the person whose record was broken by the person whose record was just broken. OK, that was too wordy... person C hold world record. Person B broke person C's record. Person A broke person B's record. Person C will not be remembered anymore --unless he was the first to do something (like Armstrong being the first man to walk on the moon). Accomplishments mean little as a static statistic but they mean a lot as a dynamic motivator - always do your best, and all for Someone time does not have an effect on.

Do you like these kinds of blog entries? Let's do a bit of market research.. Please answer the following questions by leaving a comment:
1) Do I know you in real life? If yes, how?
2) Do you prefer stories about what I've been up to or thoughts I've been thinking?
3) If you have time, go through the archives - which entry is your favorite? (you can choose a month and pick one entry from that month) Why is that your favorite?
4) How long is a "the length is just right" entry?
5) How often do you visit my blog?
Extra: if I know you and my page isn't linked to yours, please leave your blog URL :)

2007-03-31T18:16:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I graduated from Ateneo. Wow. The graduation ceremony was fun, even though it was 3 hours long (thankfully not 4!).

The day started early with the baccalaureate mass. Mom, Char and I went together - reminiscent of the time we took the UPCAT! The mass was in Filipino so I didn't appreciate it very much. During the Lord's Prayer, mom didn't want to hold the hand of her seatmate cause he kept on sneezing hahaha Besides, she says holding hands was already outlawed.

Practice afterwards was dragging. At one point, almost the whole of SOH left (we weren't dismissed yet) - some students were called back while others ran away and hid when they noticed that they were being asked to return.. We ended after 12 so Pinky and I just drove thru McDo and proceeded to the parlor (Indigo). Pinks still had to have her hair done and both of us had our makeup done there. Yes, before graduating, I had to face the curlash yet again haha We were delighted to see Bam and Ericka at the same parlor!

I'm so happy I got to sit beside Pinky and Bianca. Sadly Ronnel was seated at the last seat of the row in front of us :(

Our commencement speaker Emily Altomonte-Abrera, Chairman of McCann Worldgroup, gave a very relevant speech on "The Problems of Success." Or something that sounded like that. She challenged us not to fear failure since success only comes after a lot of failure (and vice versa). Of course she had to mention Coke while we were all so thirsty. She was excellent, we were clapping for a long time after she spoke.

We were the third to the last course to be called so it was a loooong wait. At the end of it all, we were just happy that we survived. I think that's the last time I'll see many of my batchmates in a long long time. Others, I'll still see during the Celadon ball this Monday :) Don't forget to RSVP if you're going! Batchmates, go na, last na rin, FREE pa! :)

Nainggit ako sa picture ni Glenn with the other debaters - cause a lot of them are in SOSS too... 6 out of 7 Celadon executebs are in SOM/SOSE! haha The angels are in SOM too, except for KLee I think but she's in SOSE anyway. Yeah grad would've been more fun with them but it was fun nonetheless.

My parents, grandfather and I ate at Circles. Raffy Ignacio, Sharms, Ging and even Rudy Ang were having dinner there also. Since we were reserved for the second seating, we got to take some pictures around the lobby while waiting for them to clear the tables.

CONGRATULATIONS ATENEO 2007 :) Congrats Leloy, Luis, Pao, and Ronnel especially :) Congratulations also to everyone's parents! :)

Armed with an Ateneo diploma, who needs super powers?

2007-03-27T21:26:00.000+08:00

Please pray for Justin Ong, who recently died due to a car crash. This is the third death in the 2006 batch of Xavier School, Greenhills. Howell Yao, Dec 2006. Thomas O., Feb 2007. Justin Ong, Mar 2007. Let us pray for their eternal repose, and for the safety of their batchmates still with us today.

That was a message a friend sent via YM. Creepy stuff huh? That's my brother's batch. They were born in the year of the dragon pa naman! Although shoti was too excited - he was born before the Chinese New Year.

2007-03-26T00:29:00.000+08:00

Yey for regularized body clocks. Summer sleeps for 4 hours then she has to go to the toilet as soon as she wakes up. She's a darling. Much more active than she was when we first took her home.

The last few college-related activites...
March 26 - dinner with Fr. Joey
March 28 - Blue Roast
March 30 - Graduation
April 2 - Celadon Ball

It feels weird to be leaving Ateneo. I don't remember very much how I felt when I left ICA. Anyway, I was fixing some stuff and found my offline diary haha... Let's take a peek at the days gone by (some excerpts):

"Grad practices were really boring. They insisted that we sit and stand up at the same time."

"KatPu, Aidz, Son, CharLao, Diane and I went to have lunch at Jollibee Katipunan where we bumped into Theresa. Then we went to McDonalds to have dessert. So lunch done, we headed over to Ateneo - Xavier Hall to reserve our slots." -- wow, I don't even remember this anymore. Has it been this long?

"I'm officially a college student, I've deleted mIRC, I've made a lot of new friends - well, acquaintances whose names I keep forgetting. Still my mind is troubled."

"Earl is a Xaverian in my English block." hahahaha

"What else have I been up to? I joined 3 orgs: Celadon, BlueRep and AJMA. Celadon's interview was fun. BlueRep...well, I went to that 1st GA last Friday then the workshop yesterday (and I'm going to the one tomorrow). Talent night is this Saturday. Celadon GA is this Friday. I just had my AJMA interview today and I'm glad (sorta) to say I passed. The 1st GA's on July 25 at the Cov Courts."

"Got my first zero in college! Filipino of course..."

"Wow I'm almost writing regularly! It's just because I don't really have much to do in college." bwhahahaha

"Friendster is an online community that connects people." really now? I write the most mundane things.

I haven't written in my offline journal since February this year and I can feel my handwriting slowly deteriorating LOL. At least I can type fast :D

2007-03-18T21:25:00.000+08:00

I feel re-born.

Not because of any spiritual exercises but because... Internet's back! And just to illustrate how bored I was, I taught Summer how to sit before eating (semi-reliably), I finished Blood Ties (the Queen Mary/Elizabeth novel I mentioned), and I also watched until the 17th episode of Heroes already (Mic recommended I wait until April 20+ to watch the 18th so I don't get too impatient).

Some thoughts. The scarier bad guys are those who are sure that they're the good guys. Actually, I think majority of bad guys think they're good guys. Good defined in different ways of course so it's a question of good for whom/what? And those with nothing to lose are the strongest.

Elaine, Mic and Doggie visited yesterday - feels so nice to sit at the living room again and just talk about anything. Topics ranged from studying at the C room, eating techniques to dating norms (to open the door or not to open the door)... I don't laugh as much as I used to but they say I don't look so harried anymore. They look happy where they are too!

Ah the quest for happiness. I remember Pippin and how he wanted to be someone special... "Don't you see I want my life to be something more than long?" Will mine be something?

To Celadoneans and alumni (even non-Celadoneans): mark your calendars - the ball will be held on April 2 (Monday) at Valle Verde 6. Also, there's an AAA networking night on March 26. Everyone's so busy during the pre-grad break hahaha

I'm not quite sure what I'll do before I start working. Hmm I have an odd job for the last week of April and first week of May - just ask if you want a bit of extra income. I better sleep... the other day Summer woke me up at 4:30 to go to the potty (fancy word for garden) >_< but her body clock is better lately so hopefully she sleeps through the night already.

2007-03-15T01:49:00.000+08:00

Words of wisdom from our friends, the ~~Geeks~~ Greeks.

Love And Marriage

One day, Plato asked his teacher, "What is love? How can I find it?" His teacher answered, "There is a vast wheat field in front.. Walk forward without turning back, and pick only one stalk. If you find the most magnificent stalk, then you have found love." Plato walked forward, and before long, he returned with empty hands, having picked nothing.

His teacher asked, "Why did you not pick any stalk?" Plato answered, "Because I could only pick once, and yet I could not turn back. I did find the most magnificent stalk, but did not know if there were any better ones ahead, so I did not pick it. As I walked further, the stalks that I saw were not as good as the earlier one, so! I did not pick any in the end. His teacher then said, "And that is LOVE."

On another day, Plato asked his teacher, "What is marriage? How can I find it?" His teacher answered, "There is a thriving forest in front. Walk forward without turning back, and chop down only one tree. If you find the tallest tree, then you have found marriage". Plato walked forward, and before long, He returned with a tree. The tree was not bad, and it was not tall either. It was only an ordinary tree, not the best but just a good tree. His teacher asked, "Why did you chop down such an ordinary tree?" Plato answered, "Because of my previous experience. I had walked through the field, but returned with empty hands. This time, I saw this tree, and I felt that it was the first good tree that I saw, so I chopped it down and brought it back. I did not want to miss the opportunity."

His teacher then said, "And that is MARRIAGE. You see son...Love is the most beautiful thing to happen to a person, its an opportunity but you don't realize its worth when you have it but only when its gone like the field of stalks. Marriage like the tree you chopped, it's a compromise; you pick the first best thing you see and learn to live a happy life with it."

-------------

Fast forward a couple thousand years... you know, they say that arranged marriages are the happiest marriages (Gupta & Singh, 1982). They are the people who learn to live a happy life with someone they expect nothing from. So from there, love, whatever it is, grows. There is also no mention of "exits." It's funny but accurate in my experience - I feel braver, bolder, more sure when no other options exist. If there's a way out, doubts will linger because there is a choice. Which means there is a chance of making the WRONG choice. Ah the dilemma of freedom (sir Bobby Gev's term).

2007-03-14T10:51:00.000+08:00

So much has happened since my last post...

For one, we have a new Shih Tzu puppy! Her name is Summer, she's 7.5 weeks old. Right now, she's sleeping haha Sleep-eat-play, she really still is just a baby. I'll use what I learned in Cog to teach her a few tricks :D Yes, I don't have too many things to do :)

And I have to say it, forgive me for making this bold, CELADON WON COA ORG OF THE YEAR! I wasn't expecting one much less two distinctions... kaya tuloy, speechless... I gave a very lacking speech and I knock myself on the head whenever I think about it hahaha so here I'll say THANK YOU and CONGRATS to the executebs, to the managers and members for doing your part. Thank you COA, OSA, OAS and the administration for supporting our projects. Thank you P&G for teaching me a lot during my internship there, I look forward to learning a lot more soon. And THANK YOU to my mom, dad, shoti, angkong, uncles, aunts and cousins for putting up with all my Celadonspeak at home and during family gatherings.

Congratulations to all the finalists and winners, to all student leaders, student athletes, theses and organizations! Let's all keep doing our best and doing our share. You know, in the end, it's really about finding identity that matters. There are so many things that can be done but others can do those things better. So we have to know our own strengths, focus, develop and capitalize on them. What of our weaknesses or points for improvement? We have to be willing to learn from the field experts, as much as we'd like to be the best in everything haha And you know, I think Ateneo did a pretty good job of allowing me to discover what I'm good at and what I'm bad at.

Last Saturday, we watched 300 at Rockwell. It was a nice movie and I heard it's also the first blockbuster of the year. However, I am bothered by the underlying message it's trying to send... basically, it supports the concept of Hitler's Aryan race. No room for imperfection. If the movie setting were WWII, people will cry foul. Of course the winners are the ones who write history. I like how the Spartan queen was portrayed in the film. She was very regal. Yup I like her. Thank you doggie-la for dinner :)

I stayed two nights over at VV to sleep with Carrie while her family was away. As a 4 yr old, she's very eloquent. I guess it comes with being part of a relatively large family. It's interesting how kids always try to correct adults. We'll invert the deal or no deal actions and she'll get frustrated haha And Jacob will correct us when we say da-ya-per, it's supposed to be pronounced as die-per.

During my stay with her, she made me into a pony named Kimono while she was Mysteria, another pony who liked to race and win trophies. I love kids' imaginations. I used to do a lot of role playing with my cousins too. Yeah, we were princesses ;) But aside from being a pony, she also managed to turn me into a pig (she was a fairy this time) but she turned me back into Achi Kim before I left for school :p

And at school, the role playing continues haha Previously, they usually make me a BS Psychology major but now they decided that I look more SOMish and turned me into a BS Management student hihihi But I love being in AB Psych and I recognize that it's so much harder to have a BS course. Just the other day, we had the SOSS open house. It's rather sad that we didn't have an SOSS open house when we were freshies. So the different options and opportunities were discussed quite thoroughly and they can plan their academic workload better.

Looking back (and looking forward), I don't really make super informed decisions haha I trust too much... maybe I should be more cautious and inquisitive. I'm not uncritical but I don't always go the extra mile to review other options. Will work on that.

2007-03-09T19:38:00.000+08:00

I'm hesitant to post particular names of people who helped me through college. I don't want to miss mentioning anyone :O So maybe I'll work with categories. Let's start with...

My family whose support has been a source of encouragement and stability. Without you, I would not have accomplished much and I would not even have my laptop (kababawan).
The unnamed barkada... even though we don't see each other, we rarely remember each other's birthdays, we aren't always sure what's happening in each other's lives, we're still a part of each other (yaaack cheesy... let's move on to greater heights...)
angels4lyf - we were the group that didn't really have a group but we took Journalism class by storm eh? That was back in high school. Most of us landed in Ateneo and I'll always remember the semester that gave us a common lunch time and our out-of-town trip. Thank you for the concern and trust and girlie fun. Thanks for always reminding me of my worth ;)
The QTs and our extended family (woof!). Now if any group really helped me through college, it's you guys... oo, kahit iniwan niyo ako :p I can't begin to express just how thankful I am for the opportunity to have met you. You forced me out of the house every once in a while, and I guess that's good for my health haha
Celadoneans awww my love, my life, my soul... teka, di pala Shakespeare class 'to. It's funny how I never meant to be active in the organization. But now I can't imagine not being a part of this wacky group. Whenever I enter the Celadon room, I know I'm in my home away from home. Thanks for listening to me and trusting in me with your concerns and stories. Special mention to the executebs - wheee I rest assured that we must've done something right!
My chatmates for giving me a virtual life that I can flaunt to people who think I don't have a life... well OK I don't really have a life but they don't have much of a virtual life either nyenye LOL
To COA for the sheer brilliance of the people who are part of it. For giving me a reason to be idealistic, for inspiring me to be more and do more (magis haha).
My fellow Psychology majors, for each being a little bit crazy. We all fell in love with our course and I know (psychic kasi ako) that our stat, biopsych, I/O, testing, expe, and thesis experience will always be something to remember. I'll special-mention four people: Anielle, BJ, Ronnel and Pinky... and Block C1 (kahit di ko kayo block hehehe).
To my classmates in various classes for dynamic discussions (only when applicable) that kept me awake. For the bonds we formed while ranting about unreasonable requirements and readings that never did make sense. Thanks especially to my groupmates for agreeing to go all the way to Makati for group meetings hehehe
My teachers for the new perspectives you gave me, for finding a way to bring complicated things down to the level of Daph. For challenging me to know why and how and, of course, why not?
Administrators and staff for patience and just being there, recognizing efforts and making an effort to make our stay in the university as comfortable and safe as possible. Thanks for remembering our welfare always.
Thanks also for the smiles. Kahit di tayo magkakilala / di na tayo nagkakilala, your smiles brighten up the day!
Shall I thank Ateneo? haha fine fine, thanks Ateneo ;) For allowing me to be an Atenean haha How's that for school spirit.

And I have a friend I want to thank... His name is Jesus...Jesus, Jesus, friend of mine! ;)

Oh OK He can be your friend too haha

Bukas Palad - I Will Sing Forever

2007-03-04T12:22:00.001+08:00

2007-03-01T23:48:00.000+08:00

"You're free," sir told me, and that was it! I had my last exam this morning at 11am. Tomorrow will be the Psych conference and seniors send-off but I don't need to prepare anything for that.

Senti-ness

After the film showing at the MVP Lobby, Glenn (Shakespeare in Performance prof) gave me the DVD (Midsummer Night's) since I was the only senior who bothered to still go to class. Nakakatouch. He even bought us Figaro! (bragging time: 8-time Palanca awardee yung prof namin! haha) And then when Niel showed me our bound thesis a while ago, she also gave me a senti letter. Then I felt sad so I texted Rio whose reply made me even more senti. Haha I guess many of us are feeling different kinds of senti...

Oohh read the latest Guidon - the article on intermarriages LOL

2007-02-28T13:31:00.000+08:00

So near yet so far.

I'm going to be a whale by the time I start working, especially since they're not yet sure when I'll actually start. The other day, the Celadon (old) EB ate at Pizza Hut (for wala lang). We finished the pizza that we had ordered for the latecomers... And now mom has some gift certificates and consumables that she wants to use up so we ate at Italiannis yesterday and then we went to Polo to have lunch a while ago. Between the two of us, we ate two thousand plus pesos worth in two days aaaack. She plans to go back to Italiannis with dad tonight since the GCs expire today.

But anyway, the food was good. We had a seafood pasta and fish fillet. A little too much pepper for my taste but I never was a very big fan of pepper. The smoked salmon club sandwich was good. It was the first time I ordered that. The chips on the side need more taste. Daph writes as if she knew how to cook. Ah I didn't even mention the snacks I've been munching on - peanuts, pringles, noodles and krinkles. The last one was for a good cause anyway, the Celadon freshies were raising funds for the preservation of Philippine eagles!

For March, I already have two odd jobs lined up - writing and transcribing. And I'm meaning to start watching Heroes since the Celadon people are really addicted to that show. It sounds interesting so I'll give it a shot. Then I want to finish the book I've been reading since forever but just didn't have the time. Right now I can't even remember the title anymore haha but it's about Queen Elizabeth I at the time of Queen Mary's reign and how her mother's reputation as a witch is being used against her.

I wonder how often I'll be visiting Ateneo in March. I got my clearance form today and collection of signatures starts tomorrow. But what will I do in Ateneo anyway, just hang out at the room... The two second-hand couches has increased seating capacity so it's so full of people lately. But contrary to what one might imagine, it's not always noisy. Yesterday the seniors wanted to accomplish the impossible before graduating (to STUDY at the room) so they made that rule up (P10 penalty for every noise made). Well, I heard they successfully got everyone to not speak for an hour and a half -- what a feat! haha And it's an innovative fundraiser too :p

Academic news...

I had my best final exam experience yesterday for leadership class. Hardwork really does pay off. She mentioned that one of the test types would be enumeration so I memorized as much as I could. It's a good thing too because one part asked us to enumerate all the steps of the cybernetic circle and another required 10 out of 11 characteristics of optimists (that sounds lame doesn't it haha). Buti nalang she didn't require us to give all 21 points for team management... Thanks Casper and Kaye for helping me get it all in my head.

Dare I make another forecast... I'm just apathetic right now. I am not hoping to get any higher, neither am I in any particular danger. Aaron said it's just about maintenance. I suppose it would be nice to maintain rank but I don't care so much about that. Besides, the ranks don't really take into account the difficulty of one's course.

Psych thesis posters are already displayed at the SEC B Foyer. If you visit it, will you give us feedback on ours? I don't think it has a chance to win best poster though haha

2007-02-25T11:58:00.000+08:00

Remember I said that my most recent list of TTD was going to be my last? Scratch that. Here's another last list of TTD for college...

Monday 1pm - Philo orals
Tuesday 10:30am - Psy115 written finals; 1:30pm - Shakespeare paper
Thursday 11am - Theo orals; submission of detailed outline
Friday 3:30pm - Psych conference; submission of bound thesis

We're actually a finalist for best thesis. It's rather surreal because it's been an uphill battle. We were getting 2's and 6's (over 10) last semester!

Gratitude is necessary... and I am really quite unsure how I should go about recognizing the people who have made my life in Ateneo complete. I will attempt to do so after Friday....

Before I forget, congratulations to the winners of the recently concluded COA elections (esp. Clark, Hector and Raffy!) :)

2007-02-20T16:41:00.000+08:00

Malapit na! Gah I can't wait for this to all blow over and end.

I'm still waiting for my grad pix. A lot of people who haven't gotten theirs are frustrated by the delay. I guess I'm also impatient. At the same time, I think I also understand Aegis' side. It's not easy to please 600 members much less the whole senior batch. I got to talk with Elaine yesterday and she mentioned that her batch got theirs in March already (during the break between seniors' finals and grad). So I think the yearbook staff made the right decision of releasing the pictures that are ready already instead of waiting for everyone's to be ready and then releasing them all together. Still, I wish they could hurry up :p

I can't say I'm excited but yes I'm also looking forward to saying, "It's the first day of the rest of my life!"

2007-02-17T20:52:00.000+08:00

OK so my adventures have finally taken their toll on me. I really should learn how to be more healthy. Last week was Celadon Week (creatively dubbed SyncIT!) and in the middle of that was the Valentines Rose Sale (Mr. Yu's Garden). My corniness is rubbing off on the organization it seems (orange you glad you joined Celadon? hehe).

The Celadon elections was held from Feb 13-15. First day, there were 149 voters. Second day, we reached 235. By the end of the last day, a total of 320 votes were cast! Hooray for a successful voting period. And as part of our duties as a partner of sorts to the Chinese Studies Program, 10 of us EB members went to the opening of the SPRING film festival at the Gateway Cineplex last Thursday. It's not easy to pass up cocktails and complimentary passes. I Not Stupid was an interesting movie about Singaporean students in the opposite of an honors class (shall we say academically challenged). I found myself crying in some parts :( but other parts were funny like finding out that the main character's name is Terry and hearing lines such as "Don't be so ke po." Dialogue was in Singlish, Mandarin and Hokkien.

After the movie, we went to my house to count the votes. Our system consisted of one reader/announcer, two talliers and one encoder. The other COMELEC member served as sub and as checker. We finished counting the votes at around 3:30 and slept by 4am (I don't think Terry slept since he had a paper due and he had already left by the time I woke up). It was a very close contest between the two presidential candidates. The results are as follows:

CELADON EXECUTIVE BOARD 2007-2008

PRESIDENT
Ted Angelo Chua 162
Cheryl Lu 146
Abstain 12

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Trina Coleen Ong 292
Abstain 28

VP – COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLICATIONS
Angela Eliza Lim 270
Abstain 50

AVP – COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLICATIONS
Retcher Hans Ching 225
Vince Elly Peña 47
Abstain 48

VP – CORPORATE & FINANCIAL AFFAIRS
Kenelynn Vassy Ng 250
Abstain 70

AVP – CORPORATE & FINANCIAL AFFAIRS
Bea Czerina Yao 259
Abstain 61

VP – CULTURAL AFFAIRS
Elfrida Tan 284
Abstain 36

AVP – CULTURAL AFFAIRS
Eunice Tsai 269
Abstain 51

VP – EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Adrienne Gopoco 267
Abstain 53

AVP – EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Jeraldine Tan 268
Abstain 52

VP – HUMAN RESOURCES
Roverne Eliza Chiusinco 280
Abstain 40

AVP – HUMAN RESOURCES
Ivan Lester Caw 244
Abstain 76

Goodluck nEwBies :) I'm sure you'll take Celadon to even greater heights next year! Just remember to stay true to the vision and unique identity of the organization and you'll be fine. Work together, trust each other, don't forget to have fun and do everything for the glory of God :)

Most of the executEBs were already feeling senti during last night's culminating event. The cultural show was great! The weather was very cooperative and the tents were easy to keep. It's sad that not that many people really visited the SEC field during the week - honestly, if I had a choice, I would not have because of the intense heat. Still, the coin bank making activity of Tzu Chi was good and so was the fortune telling booth. I really have qualms about fortune telling because of my grandfather's experience. He had his fortune told once upon a time and the events that were foretold really happened. It even predicted that he would die in 1996. He got sick that year and hasn't recovered since (his children had the book burned). If I did have my fortune told, I wonder what she would've said... Sometimes I think we all know what will happen in the future, perhaps it's just a matter of not denying certain realities.

The lumpia night (Celadon's first ever), an idea suggested by Hershey Ang, turned out pretty well I suppose. Not that many people attended so we had leftovers but the food was delicious. We didn't really plan to have a culminating dinner but CFBC requested to meet school officials so Jasper and James were assigned to prepare the event. In the end, CFBC didn't show up! Tzu Chi members were there though and so was Gabay, the org-beneficiary of the Dragon Shoebox project. The alumni watched Ghost Rider I think but I was too tired :| I ended up sleeping by 10! (After Sana Maulit Muli)

This morning I was late for my PolSci class because I opted to sleep in. And even when I arrived in school, I went to the pav to have my toga measurements taken first. Nakakatamad na kasi. Had lunch (California Chicken sandwich is really good) at the SOM Mall with Maan and her friends and then with Aimee and "the gang." Rehearsals for MidSummer Night's was OK. On a good note, my voice is lower than usual so it's easier for me to speak with a guy's pitch. The rest of the day was spent asleep. And right now I feel like sleeping again.

Wednesday night/Thursday will be a real pain.

2007-02-14T23:38:00.000+08:00

Valentine's Day. Some love it, some don't. It still happens every year anyway. When I was a freshman, I remember watching a movie with the Celadon peoples (Birdie and Mic were still single back then!), right after an ROTC session (it fell on a Saturday). For second year... I assume that I was busy delivering flowers and helping the choir with harana. I vaguely recall practicing "I'll Be" with Colynn and the others at some classroom in SOM. Third year was spent packing stuff up at Matteo for the move to MVP. This year was more of the same: Celadon! I love delivering to Kostka but it really is an effort to deliver to the Comm Dept / Bellarmine.

This year, we planned to get orders from DLSU to ADMU but the opposite opportunity presented itself. The cross-campus floral delivery still needs a lot of work! But the market is there.

Because of Celadon Week and running around campus today, I have grown several shades darker in a span of 4 days. I hope tomorrow and Friday aren't so hot but I don't want it to rain either...

"Fake love never dies."

2007-02-09T23:49:00.000+08:00

Click here! I just thought that an email promo with a reference to Shakespeare was too much of a coincidence so I'm putting it here hehe

My mom's ticket won sa last round ng MEA Tropico Bingo (trip to Bohol)!!! But I lost sa Jack n Poy :( Sorry mom haha TJ won!! Celadon pa rin :D The night was really fun, thanks Chongky :) Definitely a major milestone - the first time I held a winning Bingo card haha Bonding with Char on the way home made the night even more worthwhile. It's been a long time since we last carpooled cause we often forget to compare our schedules... we used to carpool regularly for ROTC. Those were the days.

2007-02-08T18:23:00.000+08:00

To know means...

To understand means...

To believe means...

To be...

Happy :)

--------

Today was the first time I was able to rehearse for Midsummer Night's. It was confusing at first cause we were using the old method - the one Shakespeare and his company actually used way back when. We didn't have a complete copy of the script, only the last three syllables of the lines preceding ours, and we didn't know whom we were addressing our lines to (Glenn explicitly told us NOT to read the entire script). But it was also very fun trying to figure out what was happening. Midsummer Night's is very mischievous, with characters from the fairy world trying to interfere with the love lives of the Athenians. Lysander, who I am playing, is really in love with Hermia but then Puck messes up his errand so that he ends up chasing after Helena, who likes Demetrius. However, Demetrius likes Hermia too so he attempts to steal her from Lysander but she'd rather die haha. That's how we understand the acts so far. Honestly I'm not sure how the complicated love rectangle (?) ends but since it's a comedy, I'm guessing all's well that ends well.

Puck's apology for confusing the audience:
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended
That you have but slumbered here
While these visions did appear.

How can we not forgive him? haha Besides, I find that it's easier for me to deal with problems if I sleep first before facing them. To pretend that problems are just dreams, that would make life easier. But that would also make life such a bore. I know there will be problems, obstacles, challenges straight ahead or around the bend but Lord give me the strength of character to face them, knowing that You're there with me. Or, trying to be more profound, "not I, but Christ."

To wed the secular with the religious. How weird that Vatican II should support integral evangelization wherein the Church involves herself with the different aspects of human life while governments push for a greater separation of church and State. Kinda like Lysander trying to tell Helena that his intentions are pure (how should you think that I should woo in scorn?) while Helena thinks he's full of... #

2007-02-07T20:03:00.000+08:00

your vote counts!

Miting de Avance
Feb 9 | 4:30pm onwards
SOM 202

Voting period
Feb 13-15 | 9am-5pm
SEC Field

2007-02-07T00:23:00.000+08:00

During the group sharing at class a while ago, we were so distracted by the thought of graduating that our discussion was dominated by rumors about commencement speakers, venue, pictures and all that jazz. We were still able to touch on the reading and the report went well so I guess it's not a problem. Shall I make my last list of TTD for college? Eep. Here goes.

Feb 7 - thesis consultation, theo group meeting
Feb 8 - Theo quiz
Feb 10 - Psych Director's Dinner 3-7:30pm
Feb 11 - Interview for Psy115
Feb 15 - Theo Long Test
Feb 19 - Thesis Final Draft
Feb 20 - Shakespeare paper
Feb 21 - Thesis poster submission
Feb 22 - Psy115 interview paper, theo reporting
Feb 27 - Psy115 finals
Feb 26 - Poster Week

TBAs: Philo finals, Theo finals, PolSci finals, Shakespeare play, Shakespeare journal

The last stretch! Not so much. Orgwork is what makes my life spicier.

SOM 202 | 4:30pm onwards

2007-02-04T16:04:00.000+08:00

A reflection and an article about Muhammad Yunus

2007-01-31T21:01:00.000+08:00

I never really realized how easily it is for me to lose respect for someone. Parang "Appear, disappear." Just like the phrase I popularized with the kids during my immersion. Si Olga kasi, mangangalabit tapos magtatago. But I've always known that it's hard for me to learn to trust that person again. I remember the director of the play I was in (well, I've since forgotten his name but I remember what he said): trust cannot be demanded, it is earned.

Time to speak less of bad and more of good.

I know it can't last forever, but do you sometimes feel that the world is alright? Or that everything will be alright. I think this is what they call the idealism of youth. I can't help it. It's like there's this overall nice happy feeling that as long as I do my best, everything will be okay. I'll hold on to this feeling for as long as I can.

When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

-The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho

2007-01-21T23:09:00.000+08:00

Immersion was a very enlightening experience. Actually, we had it pretty easy... Sure I had a difficult time taking a shower (tabo), the wooden bed gave me a couple of bruises (I still slept like a log), and I had to contend with a big fat lizard (there was a mouse too but it was more cute than gross), but our house had electricity, a sink (with water), a toilet bowl, even a TV set that is bigger than the one in my room. We stayed with the Laxamana (don't you think the spelling is interesting) family - Nay Azon (short for Corazon), Joanna [14], Shamay (sha-mei) [11], Joy-joy [9] and Joella [5]. Their dad is in Tagaytay working as a bulldozer operator. The youngest has leukemia so she's undergoing chemotherapy. The thought is sadder because she's so lively and smart. They're all smart (and sweet) actually. I grew especially fond of Joy-joy who's very patient and thoughtful. I will miss those kids. It was a replay of childhood with games like touch ball, monkey in the middle, rock-paper-scissors, and even the one that goes "Sasara ang bulaklak/Bubuka ang bulaklak/Dadaan ang reyna/Ang saya-saya."

One observation is the preference for immediate gratification. Bahala na ang bukas in other words since the future is uncertain anyway. It was the answer to the question I sought to answer prior to going on immersion: Since x has a job, why does he seem to take it for granted (being absent or late often)? It may be that he's lazy but the observation gives an alternative reason.

Another observation is the "boredom." In the midst of the hustle and bustle of city life, here are people who seem to live in a special time continuum, one that moves a lot slower. Much time is spent watching the television or sleeping. Actually I had to fight off my drowsiness when I first arrived. I didn't like the thought of just napping the afternoon away... so I thought of something we could do. And that is why we straightened the picture frames, removed the thick dust from the furniture and even stacked the books in the shelf neatly so they would be easier to find. If only the same cleanliness bug would bite me while I'm in my room.

Plus, there are so many kids. So and so is a cousin, another is a niece while she is an aunt or a cousin twice removed. Maybe it's also a function of boredom but another possible explanation is the jackpot mentality. A lot of people text to join those TV promos just to win big and the same is true when it comes to having kids. If one child just so happens to be brilliant, he can save us from our situation. It's difficult to imagine this from succeeding because of the strong bonds among the extended family members. The whole clan seems to live in the area so it's easy to ask and expect financial assistance from each other. Only a wall divides one's living quarters from another's. Trivia: the wooden bed I mentioned earlier and the neighbor's pig pen are only separated by a wall.

Last night, the family watched the Sana Maulit Muli marathon. And that is why I am now hooked to the telenovela haha A new reason to watch TV!

That's it for now. It's going to be a hectic week.

2007-01-16T21:06:00.000+08:00

After spending days and nights doing the YES report... Ho hum. I'm too lazy to do anything productive. I'm so proud of that report and am especially proud of the EB, managers and members who made all that we've accomplished this year possible. I can't wait for the remaining projects!! Especially the dragon >>>>>>>}> imagine that's a dragon smiley :p

Even though things are piling up... I love the semester. My Shakespeare class is nice even though the teacher's too nice. I will play Lysander in MidSummer Night's Dream. But I'll have to start memorizing lines soon. This week, the FA students have their thesis presentations and I'm trying to find the time to watch. Hold that thought. Dr. Intal's class is okay but it really depends on one's openness to the teaching style. I'm very much inspired by the various case studies. PolSci is alright I guess, I wonder what kind of articles are part of the book. Theo and Philo are great! I'm actually having eureka moments. The last time that happened was... 3 semesters ago. Not that last sem's Philo was bad, it just wasn't as rich, I guess? (Theo is a whole different story). Summary: my profs this sem are spoiling me. And yeap, I'll say it again: I'm loving it hahaha

And then... there's thesis. Thank goodness the results are significant and they're significant enough to be exciting. You know, we've never had a real stay-the-night-to-work-on-thesis night. There was just this one night that accidentally turned into one cause we had to re-work the conceptual frame. Otherwise, Bj insists on going home... even at 2am. Well to each his own! I love my group cause we like doing different parts - Niel does the writing, Bj does design while I do the stat. Stat can be very tedious but there's nothing like the rush one gets when the results are significant (nerd alert...). And the features of SPSS are so cool!

Maybe I should start studying. What if I just bomb the quiz tomorrow. Gah okay grade consciousness lang pala kailangan to get me started. After years of studying, I am able to explain the inexplicable. This bit of self-discovery is made possibly by... school. And now, back to our show.

2007-01-01T01:33:00.000+08:00

The pond was covered to prevent the gun powder from poisoning the poissons. And mom watered her grass so that it wouldn't die *too much*. The windows were closed so the smoke wouldn't go in. The cement blocks, garden hose and end of the bamboo stick were prepared. It was time for the fireworks!

Tonight reminded me of nights long ago when New Year's Eve really was a loud celebration. There used to be feathers and horns and lots of small fireworks (like watusi, my favorite firecracker). The neighbors prepared some of their own this year! It's such a blast cause we'd answer each other and try to out"shine" each display. Last year (and many years before that) we had to contend with a house pretty far away. Now there were more of us! It's a whole lot of fun, I wish the Florida and Singapore people were here.

*BOOM* (from neighbor's backyard)
shoti: Maganda?
dad: Naging bright lang yung sky... with green stuff.
It's okay to be competitive sometimes...

Already way past midnight and I can still hear fireworks exploding (dudes, wrong timezone). 2007 received a noisy welcome. Last year the fireworks only started at 11:30 and ended five minutes after 12. This year they started sounding off while we were still having dinner at San Juan - that was around 8pm. I wonder why, is it because people have more money to (literally) burn? My aunt had some cash converted and the exchange rate was at P48.80 : USD1. Remittances are keeping this country afloat.

I've been reading some discussions about Saddam's execution (shaky video without censorship c/o Popoy). Many say they condemn his actions but disapprove of the hanging. Others insist that he deserved the punishment that was carried out since he killed thousands of innocent people. I wonder about that argument. Is doing nothing to help those who are starving not equivalent to condoning their conditions?

I guess that's why I felt uncomfortable in my seat after watching the pre-movie call for donations by UNICEF the other night. It's not exactly about children starving but it was about Filipino kids having to walk 6km to school everyday. Actually, from the nine out of ten students who enroll in first grade, only four complete high school, and only one will finish college (Velasco, 2005). Does one peso matter? As idealistic as it sounds, I think so. It does matter. A single butterfly in China can change the way the wind blows in America.

The movie that showed after that trailer (if you can call it that) was Mano Po 5. I remember watching Mano Po 1 together with a whole bunch of aunts and cousins some years ago. Medyo gasgas na. Only mom and I watched this time around (dad doesn't like watching Filipino movies). As usual, the Chinese Filipino family was portrayed as living a luxurious lifestyle. The heroine was some sort of poor little rich girl. Poor little rich girl in love. In terms of relevance, the previous Mano Po films were better. In terms of humor, this one doesn't match up. I guess I can't say that the issue it addressed is unique to Chinoys - forbidden love is actually a classic. Anyway it made me cry.

Went to the ladies' room afterwards and saw Hannah (Of course Richard was waiting outside)! Then Jen (debate) walked in. So many people in Greenbelt. Bumped into Marts before entering Capricciosa and inside the restaurant were some Englicom people! I swear I know the son of the owner of the place. He even waved at me. Darn, someone help me identify him... white Chinese guy haha big help. The resto btw was good, I remember Eizelle mentioning it once. Italian. Two pastas and a pizza for P1800. I still prefer Cafe Puccinni.

And with this let me wish everyone a very happy 2007.

P.S. I was lucky at Black Jack a while ago... hm.

2006-12-31T00:06:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time in China... Hong Kong actually,

Monday
What did I do today? Ria slept over to keep me company, we slept past one and woke up by five. She told me about a friendster-like net service founded by a certain Terence Pua called eskwela.com. It's uniqueness lies in the way it categorizes accounts according to school. Not only will it tell you that so and so is from the same university, it will also distinguish your coursemates, schoolmates and batchmates. Neat-o since graduation is just around the corner.

The plane ride was okay. Tristan and Cassie were on the same flight. Shortly after takeoff, I agreed to switch seats with one lady so she could sit beside her husband and daughter. It's not exactly a selfless move since the chair beside her was vacant.

Met dad at the hotel but he was having lunch with some friend so met mom and the rest of the family at Maxim's, City Hall (the dimsum place we go to every visit). A few hours later, my parents, grandfather, cousin and I got a massage treat. It's a place near the fire station at Hennesy Road. They have blind massagers trained in an accupressure technique. It hurt at first but I somehow managed to doze off. Talking about it afterwards, I learned that the others couldn't sleep because of the pain. Oops. Trust me to fall asleep anyway. Maybe I'm just really tired.

Dinner was at another usual restaurant, Yung Kee. Its known for its duck. Tomorrow is the start of a new HK experience. Ready or not, here it comes.

Tuesday
Island hopping doesn't quite summarize what we did today although it basically is what we did. At 11am, exactly on schedule, we boarded a private 70ft boat. Partly a Citibank treat, it only costs HK$1000 for 8 hours (5 hours with the motor on). Angkong is thinking of renting it every time we go to HK. Now I know what tabloids talk about when they report about some celebrity celebrating on a yacht. It's so country club.

First stop was Lamma Island. There were so many dogs roaming around! As can be expected from most seaside towns, their specialty was seafood. While they were preparing the meal, we explored a bit and came across a little park. In the little park was a crooked tree. The grownups, feeling nostalgic, wanted to climb it. They chide us for not knowing how to climb trees... when coconut trees are the only trees in our lot! Whereas there were all sorts of trees for them to climb at Pili. So back to describing lunch. Imagine a cafeteria with little ambiance serving expensive delicacies like lobster and abalone. It was a lot more expensive than dinner last night. Dad identified one particular dish as being one of the critters in his saltwater aquarium. And this explains the short marine biology lecture he was giving when I took the picture below.

After lunch we road the boat to the family mansion. The Disney family mansion I mean. Alright, it was the Disneyland hotel. We didn't stay long, just long enough for wacky pictures, a short chat with Santa and a quick browse through some of the items at the Disney store. I wanted to see the gardens but we had to leave already.

Dinner was at Arirang in Times Square. Everyone went their separate ways after that and I decided to... check my mail! When I got to 2-e's apartment, Thelma told me that there was an earthquake only a few minutes ago. I guess we all didn't feel it because we still felt (and I still feel right now) that we were on the boat. It was a cool walk back to the hotel, reminds me of just walking around, the kind I used to do in school, when I still had time. Clears the head a bit, or at least gives enough space for one's thoughts to run about.

Wednesday
Macau Day. We had to take the MTR to get to the pier then it took us an hour to reach our destination. When we arrived, a guy approached us and offered to give us a tour. He had the proper ID and was willing to drive us to the karting place so off we went. We went to a plaza, the Ruins of St. Paul (which was devastated by a fire), and a temple.

The highlight I guess was the Macau tower. As soon as I saw the SkyJump poster, I knew I wanted to try it. So... after many please's... dad said bahala ka and mom said okay. I didn't really feel nervous since I was feeling much too excited. The guy making arrangements asked me if I was from Korea. When he found out I was from the Philippines, he said "loko loko ikaw." He said it so fast I couldn't understand him at first! He hooked me up to the line, gave me instructions, counted down... and then, I stepped off. At around 6 feet down he told me to turn so they could take my picture. It's hard to turn. Then it was time to drop. I didn't have time to think about falling. There were passers-by at the bottom of the tower who asked me if it was worth it. Definitely! On the elevator up some other foreigners were whispering about my getup, probably thinking I couldn't understand English. Anyway, I told them they should try it. The next on my list is to try Bungy (not Bungee) Jumping! I wonder when I'll get to do that...

We went to the race track so Justin could do some laps. He said the kart didn't have any breaks. For someone who thought the SkyJump was dangerous - well.

We had lunch at Wynn. The waitress was a Filipina. The food was alright. Fried rice costs HK$65.

Back at HK, dinner was at Wing Wah, yet another restaurant we frequent. Then I hurried back to the hotel to meet up with Tristan and Julie. I was supposed to meet Ther the night before (at Lan Kwai Fong) but she decided not to go. Anyway, we just circled around until we landed back at the hotel. After ice cream, we just talked away until 1am! It's great to remember the funny moments when they were still in school and to talk about what they're up to now. So really, do guys ever grow up? Psych people call it the Peter Pan syndrome.

-----------------------------

So that was basically my trip. I also encountered Bruce and another guy from the Celadon basketball team. My cousins' other side of the family arrived the day before we left. Really, why is HK such a popular destination?

The journey home was not without incident. While there were no plane problems, we did have a car problem. Had to switch cars before reaching EDSA! I remember that Toto used to welcome us home...

Early the next morning, at around 1am, as my brother and I were about to go to bed, his friend called saying that their batchmate's house was on fire and that they couldn't find him. The next day, we learned that their batchmate, his mom and younger brother died the night before. It's depressing to think about. My condolences to the family and friends they left behind.

Other news: Saddam Hussein is dead. That was pretty quick.

2006-12-24T15:51:00.000+08:00

No rhythm, partial rhyme.

Let me recall, lest I forget
It's been a while since we first met
There were many long afternoons
Just sitting on a chair
You were quick to jump up
And spend your nap there

Though quiet and quite serious
You were ready for adventure
While Trix hesitated
You were always so sure
That's why you got a bone
On your teeth, it got stuck
Brought you to the vet
Who unstuck it with luck
Many a night you pretended
To have a limp cause of a fight
Just so you could sleep upstairs
Since we took pity on your plight
Then there was Steph
Who wanted to eat you
She was just joking
But I thought it was true...
And so I cry now
As I cried before
I'm glad I got to play with you
One last night...thank you

I remember those times
I remember those days
Loved you,
Love you always.

2006-12-22T18:27:00.000+08:00

Today was spent shopping with Macy at Rockwell. Naturally, she did the shopping. Shirts, make-up... the usual gift items. It was the first time I noticed some stores. She explained the specialties of each while we walked. I will try my best to remember them. We were supposed to go with Aimee and Cassie but that was canceled owing to last night's excursion. Afterwards we just ate crepe - it was heavy, now I don't know how I'll manage dinner later on. At P106, it was sulit in the sense that it wasn't small but it was much too big.

Earlier I met John Andrew! The newest member of our family. To think I was just part of Auntie Annabelle's entourage last year... Debate ensued over my being just an achi or already an aunt. He's so small! Two weeks old. He has gloves so as not to scratch himself since his mom's still scared to cut his nails. Gosh he's precious.

These days it's just one party after another. It started of course with the wedding last December 3. As usual it was held at GGC. The theme was old Hollywood so the style of the dresses was circa 1920s. Very nicely beaded and hand-painted. I think the latter is what made it unique compared to the other gowns. Unlike Rajo's designs, the fit was not suffocating. I also heard that the price was not lethal... I don't like the way he crammed the job though. I got my hair accessory right before the wedding itself! It was beautiful anyway. Auntie Emily's gown was just splendid. What a word to use. No other word will suffice. Of course Rex could do a little more smiling... he looked too serious for a groom. Hehe I hope he never finds this blog.

The next weekend was the TWTCI party at Laguna which also served as the inauguration of TransWorld's big new warehouse. A lot of the oldies were teary-eyed when they presented the mosaic of the TransWorld logo - the small tiles were the company's employees. Angkong has done so much in his life... he had to go through the war as a guerilla, sell and carry sacks of coal (up four flights of stairs). In the end though, he started his own company and made it, made friends with Italians and Japanese, Germans and so on. (Did you know my cousin met her German husband through one of my Angkong's friends?)

I wonder what it would be like if he weren't sick now. They said that he used to host a lot of house parties with diplomats and all. On the one hand, it sounds so frivolous, on the other, I know he really cared about the people who worked for him. Take for example Mang Greg and Mang Medong, he even took care of their children's education. Modern practitioners would say that employees who refuse to leave a company are too secure... I think it's a sign of loyalty and love for the organization. I digress.

Of course Gratia on d'ICE took place last December 15. The 19th was the Christmas party here at home. Nothing new, the Celadon choir + some alumni (ahem, oldies) performed. I love the note holder that the girls gave me. It even has a Celadon icon haha I owe them a lot, they're the sisters I never had. It's sad that there are less and less of us every year... one is in NY, another is in Singapore, one was in Baguio and the other's in HK. Diaspora.

Then it was time for Celadon's Christmas party. Very simple but very enjoyable. It took place at SS280, guest starring Beckham, who decided to sleep beside the door halfway through. It reminded me of the ICA Christmas parties where the chairs would be arranged in a semi-circle so that there'd be enough space in the middle for games. Naturally we had kids' games too. After that I hopped to the MVP Roof Deck for AMS's ChrisMATH party. I even brought something for the exchange gift. Neal, what did I get in exchange?

I couldn't stay long because of the COA Christmas outing at Kublai's. Mongolian dinner. Originally P228, but I got it down to P171 cause of the Celadon discount card. There were not very many of us but the less people who go the better bonding experience it is in my opinion. An ME group popped up for a while but they left soon after. Then girls in gowns and guys in penguin suits started appearing. Why they chose to hold their event in Kublai's is a mystery. So there, currently it is the record-holder for this year, three events in a single evening.

Last night was the Christmas party of my mom's side of the family. It's so hard to fill the kids' stockings with everyone running around. I filled my own as usual haha The highlight of the night was A-kim's steak from Santis. Mmmhmm. The kids performed... Jes and Cor already play the piano so well! And M is now a rapper. He has an accent already c/o IS Indonesia. And by the way, he has a girlfriend. Aye. The youngest boy beats the older ones in HK. The Celadon choir performed also. Thank you family for being very supportive. Peter gave a very special performance, wow-ing us with his musical talent. By the way P3, my uncle's asking if you can teach haha

Then it was off to the twins and George's post-birthday bash at Wack Wack. I was surprised by the setup since I was expecting something like last year's party at Greenmeadows. Macy was there! So I finally was able to give her her Christmas present haha Bonding with Earl and KO also since I haven't been in touch with them at all. It's great to be with old friends. I was actually surprised to see some people there too. ShaKho and Patty I hadn't seen since.... way back when. Ch, it would've been a good time...

And then there was tonight's party at San Juan for my mom's extended family. Barbecue and hotdogs as always, with pancit and chicken too. Uncle Wes is always fun to be with. He's only a year older than me but calling him uncle is so much more fun than using ahya. It's the correct title anyway :D

Earlier we were able to catch some Glorietta fireworks. Dad estimated they spend at least 40k for every show. Imagine that. Then there's another one in Greenbelt. I haven't had time to catch a full show yet this year though I mean to. When we get back maybe. The heart-shaped one is still my favorite but the star was just as captivating.

Tomorrow is reserved for caroling. I'll be home alone for the most part, to work on that YES report supposedly. Grabe. Nobela. This is what I get for not posting regularly. How short is this though compared to my December 2004 entries? The chronicling of my college life is almost complete.

2006-12-22T10:32:00.000+08:00

Me: Ma, is my Sun with you?
Mom: Yeah it's on my table

After a few minutes, Daph goes to her mom's room... Mom is using the Sun phone.
Me: Ayaw pakawalan... Mom, you need a Sun na.
Mom: Oo nga e, no one wants to buy one for me.

Alright mom, you win.

2006-12-18T23:51:00.000+08:00

A new watch, exactly like my old one please.

I'm not that big a fan of change although I like new experiences every now and then. When I try something new and I like it, it's easy for me to get hooked. Who isn't comfortable with familiarity? But it can also become the source of rigidity and predictability. What's wrong with that. I don't like it all the time.

2006-12-16T23:09:00.000+08:00

My friend described it as an emotional roller coaster. I couldn't agree more. Buhay Coke, Sound of Music (SoMu), thesis, Gratia, caroling, and, of course, Christmas-ing. I'm alive, I can still smile and that's all that matters.

So let's start at the very beginning. I only knew that the Buhay Coke was pushing through last Saturday. I had two days to prepare. Honestly, it did NOT go well. I'm wondering if biting was such a good idea... It certainly was an added load.

By Monday, there were still 590 SoMu tickets left. 800 tickets total... not good right. But I'm happy to say it picked up speed during the week *whew* It's not over yet. I wonder how well it'll turn out tomorrow. Please let there be no surprise super typhoons.

For thesis... we needed 60 respondents from each school. While we distributed hundreds of copies, there weren't enough returning. And that is why I decided to cut my Thursday morning class and beg AHS' APSA to let me distribute more surveys. So I stood in the middle of the AHS cafeteria asking all the guys in blue if they were in fourth year. In fairness, it was the most successful survey distribution "gig." We did it in ******, only fifteen came back. In *******, only THREE were willing to answer. Fortunately, I encountered a group of students from one section who were kind enough to help me catch all the seniors entering the caf. They even escorted me to the fourth year classrooms. I got 58 completed surveys in an hour and a half! Thank you N-boys.

And after hours of encoding the responses, we were rewarded by significant findings. That's a very nice much-needed bit of encouragement. Lord knows our thesis grades have been discouraging thus far. Made me forget about sleep at least. Which may be why I'm so cranky today.

Gratia! Tapos na rin.... The mass was okay although I had hoped that the sermon would be about faculty appreciation somewhat. Oh well, the priest was okay. I decided to sit in an earlier class so I could skip my 3:30 class. Wow, I've been cutting left and right. And they call me responsible.

Peter made a video which can be found here. Fr. Ben was there, Dr. Cuyegkeng was there. Fr. Cruz and Dr. G were there too! I love Fr. Cruz, even though he was never my prof. He said my welcoming remarks were good!! Wheeee I'm so happy, as you can imagine, I had a LOT of time to tweak it. I'm disappointed that Fr. Dacanay did not attend but at least Ma'am Jopie did. I think Mr. Rudy Ang was also there but I can only remember seeing him very briefly. Maybe he just passed by. The cafeteria was lovely. The members were great!!! Thanks everyone for helping us move all the tables and chairs (in Ken's words: wrecking the caf). The usually normal place looked wonderful last night. I also think (hope) that everyone who attended had fun. I did win myself a hopia and a keychain despite not being able to stay at my table (thank you Sherleen for being my proxy and winning me more cool prizes!). Naturally no one took a video of the raffle winners because it was Peter who won haha Luto raw!

The night wasn't over quite yet... still had to go caroling! Of course I hadn't been able to attend practices at all. Was fumbling and lip synching quite a bit. But I always have a good time with the choir. I even got to bond with Ystacey and Yas (and Alvin and Leonard although they were quiet) on the way home. Thank you to those who have volunteered their houses / their family friends' houses for us to carol at! At least the choir's efforts are paying off. I collapsed exhausted last night.

Then I still had class earlier so I couldn't sleep in. It's a good thing our prof isn't very demanding. I actually enjoy his discussions. This polsci class is the first 3-hour lecture-type class I've had in my whole college life. Buti nalang magaling siya.

After that it was thesis time yet again. We thought we would end earlier than 5. We ended at around that time. And I'm still awake. Why? Guess.

And that is why I haven't felt Christmas-y at all. I've given gifts to some of my friends. But not all of them. The others I'm going to have to run after this week. 8 more days til Christmas.

2006-12-12T21:46:00.000+08:00

Two weekends ago, someone was seated beside Mr. & Mrs. K. As luck would have it, Mr. K stood up and re-introduced the newcomer.

2006-12-11T20:16:00.000+08:00

They find joy in the most unusual places.

I recall a song that my friends and I wrote for our 5th grade English class. We had to make a presentation about the environment. We didn't actually create a new tune, we took a pre-existing song and changed the lyrics. In typical C. Mendoza fashion, it was hilarious. The song was "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing." As I said, it had to be about the environment.

The original:
I'd like to teach the world to sing
In perfect harmony
Grow apple trees and honey bees
and snow white turtle doves

The new song:
--disclaimer: some may find it disturbing--
I'd like to wreck the world my home
And burn it to the ground
Crush apple trees and honey bees
and roast the turtle doves

Ah well. We were teenagers. Or pre-teenagers. Whatever. We were supposed to be the top 3 students of the section. Suffice it to say, our class terrorized the teachers quite a bit.

Drats. I can't find the manila paper we wrote our masterpiece on.

2006-12-04T14:06:00.001+08:00

Wheeee Wifi at MVP is love :)

2006-11-29T13:32:00.000+08:00

Who would believe that Daphne went shopping today? It's quite true. Recently she realized that her younger cousins have started wearing more fashionable clothing and thus thought to purchase something more than what she would consider a "normal shirt" (i.e., the shirts she prefers). Snubbing shops that sold normal shirts for more than P990, she settled for a nice brown blouse with a lace collar that cost less than P900. Shopping is such an extravagant sport.

2006-11-17T00:09:00.000+08:00

So I changed my blog's layout after 3 years...honestly I was thinking of just deleting the entire thing but my sentimental side decided against that.

Earlier today, I got to talk with Sir San Andres. It was my first conversation with him and I found it very interesting and thought-provoking. He claims that our societal problems, especially the crab (talangka) mentality, stem from our colonial history. In order to illustrate this, he cited an actual group activity that showed different results when conducted in the Philippines and when conducted in Malaysia (among Chinese Malaysians). Bottomline is, instead of focusing on the objectives, the Philippine teams end up trying to "kill" the other. What I would like more than conversations that make me think are those that are backed up by actual proofs. The dialogue becomes more powerful that way. I am excited about the upcoming talk he'll be giving on Saturday during Celadon's 2nd GA.

The Leadership Development Program is only 36 hours away! I really hope it will be life changing. Maybe I'm not hoping for the kind of change that totally alters one's course in life but just the kind of change needed to motivate the participants to become student leaders.

I'll be watching Gary V's concert tomorrow night with mom. I hope it's more fun than his OnStage gig last time. For now, I still like watching Martin's shows more. I forgot who said it but I have also noticed that Martin can establish rapport with his audience very well - perhaps the reason why he's called the Concert King.

That's it for now.