August 31 2006 | Thursday | 10:11pm

"ORANGE SHOPPING"

     I have no classes today. Thinking about what to do since yesterday, I finally thought of shopping. So after watching the disappointing defeat of UST against UP on TV, I dressed up and went to SM San Lazaro. It was just a jeep away and it's the nearest shopping mall from our house. I didn't mind the clock if it was 5pm already. Who cares about going home late, anyway I'm a turned nocturnal kid already. Haha.

    I hate it having company when shopping because I don't get the freedom at most times. I really prefer to shop alone and so it did happen a while ago. I began to kill time at National bookstore. Since then, I've been wanting to read a new book. I bought "Vince's Life" which costs p150 only. Besides its cheapness, I find the book interesting because it talks about college life. I'm supposed to buy "Five People You Meet in Heaven" but I didn't have enough money. Well, my budget wasn't just for books alone. Hehe. I just told myself that I'll be back to grab that book.

    I went on walking. I looked for flip flops but unfortunately, nothing interested me. I scanned some clothes but nothing was pleasing too. Instead of buying stuffs for my body, I just thought of buying items for my room. I love to decorate and personalize my room by the way. So I went to the third floor. I bought a mini-trash bin. Well, I find it useful because as a student, I always end up having crumpled papers and food wrappers. What made my trash bin interesting is that the color is ORANGE. =) Kakatuwa. Later, I proceeded to the comforter section. I was supposed to buy either a Tigger or Spongebob comforter but man, the price is sickening. Pero gusto ko talaga nun. Siguro magpapabili na lang ako nun sa nanay ko. Hehe. Walks away from that section is the towel items. Bigla kong naalala na kailangan ko din ng bagong tuwalya kaya bumili na rin ako. Of course, ORANGE din yung kulay niya! =)

    Ewan ko ba, natutuwa lang talaga ko sa orange. I guess it's a personal preference because this color makes me happy. Minsan, kapag nalulungkot ako, titignan ko lang yung magkaka-kulay kong gamit (puro orange), nawawala na yung lumbay ko. Also, the color orange sets an identity for me. Kung si Ma'am Pereña ay may purple, at si Diah at may green, at si Jenny ay may pink, aba si Shelly ay may orange din noh! =)

    When I got tired walking, I decided to eat. At dahil mayaman ako kanina (haha), kumain ako sa Chef d' Angelo. =p I ordered Spaghetti with Chicken. Actually it was my first time to eat there and I found out that the price is worth it. Yummy Italian dishes indeed.

    After eating, nag-ikot-ikot pa ako ulit. Binilhan ko din ng pasalubong sina Schenly at Xianne. Just thought of sharing my blessings with others. So anyways, at around 8pm, I finally went home. I took the Lardizabal jeep while carrying several plastic bags with both hands.

    Pagdating ko sa bahay, si Ate Aileen ang nagbukas ng gate at nagulat siya sa akin. "Wow donya, mega-shopping!"

    I'm sipping an orange juice right now. Tsktsk. By the way, my sister's flying back from Dubai tomorrow at 10:30pm. As to my surprise, Gale (my sister's close friend) called here and she asked about the arrival. Sana may dalang I-Pod Nano si Yel. Hehe. =p

Happiness is by choice, not by chance nor by dictation.

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August 30 2006 | Wednesday | 11:01pm

"GETTING ALONG WITH MY PROF"

     We finally presented our extensive report on Circulations during Newspaper Practice & Management class. Of course, Djhay, Joan and I were quite excited to present it. Just imagine how much effort we spent on it. 

    Our presentation lasted for around 40 minutes. It's a documentary-type by the way. Some were amazed. Some got bored, maybe because there was less comedy. We took it quite seriously and if they only listened carefully, they could have learned something applicable to our course. Anyhow, what matters most is that I, myself learned from the experience. Alongside of course, is my professor's 1.0 grade for the report. Cheers. =)

    Ma'am Pusta was so impressed that we were able to get access from PDI. Perhaps she knows that it's slightly hard to interview people from there. After the report, she asked me how did our group got access. Suddenly, a classmate shouted, "Ma'am, PDI scholar po siya [pertaining to me]." I just got flattered from my professor's positive reaction. Nakaka-inspire nung sinabi ni Ma'am na: "Kaya mo yan Shelly, madali lang mag-maintain ng grades kung ganyan ka ka-sipag. Kung ano ka nung estudyante ka pa, ganun ka din kapag nag-trabaho ka na". Waah. >.< I feel so fulfilled a while ago. She's insisting for a copy of our work and told that our report is so leveled up. Hindi daw niya ma-reach. Haha, si Ma'am talaga. =p

    Simula kanina, parang gumaan na yung loob ko kay Ma'am Pusta. Lalo pa kaming nagiging close ngayon kasi ico-cover namin sa TomasinoWeb yung Faculty Sportsfest. She's one of the faculty members who'll join. By the way, Ma'am Pusta is a volleyball player like me. Cool isn't it? Weeks ago, she told me that during her college days in UP, she was a UAAP player. She shared several volleyball stories with me already and how I love it. I also tell my volleyball experiences and I can see that she really appreciates it. Perhaps it's the passion for volleyball that has kept me befriending my professor. It's seldom to share interests with someone professional whereas you're only an amateur learner.

    Suddenly, I remembered my high school teachers. Sina Ms. Tsaby, Ms. Faith, Ms. Mel and the rest. Nung HS kasi ako, sobrang close ako sa mga teachers ko. Siguro dahil palagi akong napapasali sa mga activities nun. Tiwala sa akin yung mga teachers ko. Somehow, I find Ma'am Pusta as one of them. A few may notice, but she's a nice and sensible person to talk with. Verity was absent a while ago and I had no accompany to Laon-Laan. It so happened that Ma'am Pusta and Luis were about to go home too and I found out that they would ride the Dapitan jeep in Laon-Laan. Sumabay ako sa kanila. Habang naglalakad, nagku-kuwentuhan lang kami ni Ma'am. Ang bait niya. Lagi niyang sinasabi na mas determinadong mag-aral yung klase namin. Na-kuwento ko din pala sa kanya na limang taga-UP yung kasama kong scholars sa PDI. Nakakatuwa yung advice niya, "Huwag kang mai-intimidate sa amin. Mayayabang lang kami. Eh di yabangan mo din sila!" Through her petty words, I get motivation talaga. Hindi mo i-ismolin yung tulad ni Ma'am Pusta dahil 'wag ka, Cum Laude siya sa UP. Hehe.

    * I'm worrying a bit with regard to our UAAP Volleyball coverage. Paano naman kasi, nasabi ni Sir Jun na wala daw lamang pictures yung digital camera na ginamit namin nung coverage! Harhar. There's a huge possibility that we'll go back to take pictures of the team again. Waah, nakakahiya. >.< Baka isipin nila na small-time lang yung TomWeb dahil pumapalya yung digicam. Well, I'm done with the write-up. But of course, without the photos yet, the article can't be published as well. Hay ewan. So dissappointing.

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.

(Henry Adams)

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August 28 2006 | Monday | 10:54pm

"PRIDE AND PREJUDICE"

     I worked with Queennie today for our TomWeb coverage of the UAAP Volleyball. Since we have no classes, we took our vacant time to check on the women's team.

    I was in a hurry when I arrived in school. Queennie texted that she was already in the gym along with Sir Jun (TomWeb webmaster). When I got there, Sir Jun welcomed me at the entrance. He told me that he won't be able to accompany us because of a meeting but then, he said that he already talked with the assistant coach and UST's team captain (which is Ging) about the scheduled interview. Sir Jun even mentioned that he was surprised to hear from UST's team captain, Ging, that we know each other. "Friends pala kayo ni Balse," Sir Jun told me. Tsk.

    So I joined Queenie right after Sir Jun's briefing. She was then handling the digital camera and I thought that she was taught by Sir Jun on how to operate it. Oh my. Kamusta naman ang pangangapa namin sa digicam na yun. Seconds later, Ging approached us. She was smiling at me and sat beside. So as not to waste her time, right away we began the interview. I was expecting that Queennie would be the one to ask the questions while I handle the tape recorder. To my surprise, Queennie was stunned to Ging (LOL) and she told me that she's shy to converse with "Mary Jean Balse". So it turned out that I did both tasks. Haha.

    Nagulat din naman ako kay Ging dahil nung una, sinabi pa niyang nahihiya din siyang magpa-interview! Pinapasa pa niya kay Denise (Tan) yung interview. Adek. =p Pinilit ko pa siya nang konti para pumayag. Naisip ko tuloy, taga-interview na nga ko, taga-pilit pa. LOL. But in fairness to Ging, we didn't have a hard time to get information from her. Despite her impeccable craziness for some time (HAHA), she knew when to be serious. I just remembered one question wherein I was asking for the names of their coaching staff. Adek ba naman, nautal bigla dahil nalimutan yung pangalan ni Coach Caesan. Pagkatapos nun, tumawa na naman siya nang tumawa. Hay naku, wala na naman sa sarili. HAHA.

    After speaking with the captain, we then approached UST's trainer for an interview as well. From his statements, I feel that the team has been preparing so much to bag the crown especially that DLSU will not be around. Both Ging and Sir Dela Peña (the trainer) said that FEU is their toughest contender. The same thing is my predictions since I've been involved in this sport for quite some time already. I just hope that the UST team will strengthen their floor defense because that's one cause of their defeat during the last season. I've been seeing how Che (Ging's younger sister) plays as their new libero. Waah, sana naman maka-receive siya ng maayos maski baguhan siya.

    Sir Jun went back to teach us on how to operate the camera. Paano naman kasi, ang arte gamitin. Haha. Medyo naasar pa ko kasi masyadong sensitive yung camera -- na kapag gumalaw yung kinukuhaan, nagbu-blur agad! What to expect from a volleyball training, it has a lot of movements di ba. Grr talaga. I experienced how hard it was to capture a perfect photo. Gusto ko kasi yung mga kuhang nasa ere yung spiker. Napakahirap. Tagaktak yung pawis ko at ngalay ang inabot ko. In fact, there was a time when Ging passed by me and joking around telling, "Pagod ka na?!" Adek.

    Stupid digital cam talaga, its battery begged off right away! Nasa open spiking drills na sila nang biglang mag-low batt! Badtrip. We had no choice but to settle with what we only got. Anyway it was enough but how I regretted that I wasn't able to take shots of either Vhen or Ging floating in the air! Paborito ko pa naman yung mga ganung kuha! >.<

    Ang mas masaklap pa diyan, dahil nga sa nag-low batt, hindi na-zoom out yung lense! Iuuwi ko sana yung digi cam pero dahil doon, naisip ko na lang na ipaubaya kay Joan (co-member at TomWeb and our classmate as well). Sa Asturias St. lang kasi yung dorm niya. Mas ligtas dalhin dun kaysa iuwi ko pa sa bahay.

    At around 8pm, we extended our thanks to the coaching staff of the UST Volleyball. By the way, Ging saw that I was about to go. Well, somehow I appreciated how she waved her goodbye to me. Nakakatuwa naman. Ewan ko. Tsk. Does this sound a forgiveness-and-forget-everything bell?

    Bago umuwi, dumaan muna kami kay Joan. Binigay ko yung camera at pahapyaw kaming nagkuwentuhan tungkol sa report namin sa Newspaper Mgt. Haha, na-excite naman ako sa kuwento niya. =p Later on, Queennie and I finally went home. We separated ways in front of BK Dapitan. As I reached home, I was quite tired but again, feeling fulfilled. Perhaps I'll just begin the write-up tomorrow. Haha, tinatamad pa kasi ako. I spent the night chit-chatting only with Ate Flo. I shared with her what happened in the gym. Then again, I was trying to interpret Ging's petty goodness to me for the past days. I appreciate it, really; but somehow there's still space for doubt inside me. Perhaps you might ask how come I'm still so bitter about the past that I cannot get over. That's the same thing that Ate Flo questioned to me. She even said words like, "Ang taas pala talaga ng pride mo She.." I don't know with myself either. Siguro ganun lang talaga ko. Mahirap para sa aking magtiwala ulit kapag binali mo na nung una. Puwedeng diretsuhin yung dating pagkukulang pero siguro, matagal at kailangang may mapatunayan muna ulit.

    Pride, pride. That's one negative word which you can throw on me but what's weird is that I'm not ashamed to show that I have it. Tsk.

It's tough to make a stand in this world where everyone expects you to be cool and in. But being who you are will not make you an ascetic. Rather, it's chance to make yourself standout.

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August 27 2006 | Sunday | 06:46pm

"THE HARD WAY TO LEARN EASILY"

    What week of torment it was for me. I've been pre-occupied with gigantic school works. Generally speaking, it was meant for our report in Newspaper Management. I hardly ate good meals, I never had a sounding sleep and deep inside, I was really fighting over physical illness. Now I imagine those several medicines which I drank for easy recovery. I knew then that it was not a time to get sick because there were so many things to do. Thank God fruits have been bearing from what I cropped for the passed days. Medyo nakakahinga na ko ngayon mula sa maraming gawain at kahit papaano, maganda ang takbo ng mga pangyayari.

    Here's what happened.

    Thursday >> No classes but it meant business for me to interview Mr. Simon Yap of PDI. Along with my groupmates, Djhay and Joan, we went to Pasong Tamo on an early 9am appointment. Sir Yap was late for 30 minutes and we just waited at the lobby. We were then planning for our report while waiting. Basically, we would want to present a substantial report on Circulations via documentary presentation.

    When Sir Yap finally arrived, he texted me to proceed to the conference room. As we entered, the three of us were evidently nervous but good thing Sir Yap made us feel comfy. He's kind and accommodative. Sir Yap requested for few minutes to study our questionnaires and while doing so, we just took some spills. It was a funny moment but we were all controlling our laughs because Sir Yap might get destructed. Later, we began conducting the interview. How I love what we were doing. Feel na feel ko yung pagiging taga-media. Hehe. Djhay and I took alternate roles of holding the camera and when his turn came, I was just jotting notes from Sir Yap's statements and asked questions too. Cool.

    After interviewing, we asked permission from Sir Yap to take shots at PDI lobby. Sinamahan niya kaming bumaba para kausapin yung gwardiya. So yun, pagkaalis niya eh nagsimula na kaming mag-shoot. Medyo nakakapagod din kasi paulit-ulit. It was quite hard to memorize lines and poise at the camera perfectly. Minsan may mga cause of delay pa tulad ng kaingayan, mga dumadaang empleyado at kung anu-ano pa.

    We finished before lunch. We went back to UST because at 1pm, Djhay and I had to attend the recognition. While waiting for the time, we dropped by TomWeb office to meet with Sir Jun. Well, we asked access to his brother, Beting Dolor, Editor-in-Chief of Bandera. So pretty much we were successful in getting his contact number. Joan took charge of contacting and scheduling the interview with Sir Beting.

    I texted my mom where she was already as I went to the Medicine Bldg. That was the venue for our recognition day. When I arrived, I was just in time while seeing some classmates falling in line outside the auditorium. Djhay told me that he already saw my mom inside the auditorium and so I didn't check on her anymore. It was an exhausting moment as we all waited to get our certificates. Mainit, nakakainip, nakakangalay dahil wala namang maupuan. Umusyoso na lang ako sa mga preserved specimen na tinitignan nina Jenny at Dez. HAHA, at na-enjoy ko naman. =p Nakakadiri yung isang specimen! May putol na paa tapos may malaking kulugo sa talampakan. Eeww. >.<

    Mas matagal pa yung hinintay ko sa labas kaysa sa pagpasok ko sa malamig na auditorium. As I received my certificate, we went out right away. Ayokong pulmunyahin dahil pawis na pawis ako. My mom was then again happy for me while walking. Well, I placed 5th in the Journalism batch with an average of 1.53. Kaya ganun na lang siguro kabait yung nanay ko sa akin, hehe! Isang yaya ko lang na sa Wendy's, pumayag na agad. So yun, bago umuwi eh lumafang muna kami.

    When I arrived home, I planned to begin reviewing for Literature prelims but I was just tempted to watch UAAP on TV! Waah talaga. But in fairness, my watching paid off. UST won against FEU by 2 points. Cool. In the absence of Jojo Duncil, Anthony Espiritu stepped up with a stunning 31 points! So anyways, after watching, my eyes began to decline and I took a nap. Haha grabe, 8pm na ko nagsimulang mag-aral. Tamad na tamad talaga kong magbasa.

    Friday >> We didn't have a Filipino class in the morning because of the Faculty Sportsfest Opening. So I used the vacant hour to study further in Literature. I head school at 3pm.

    Ma'am Pereña gave us an option on the type of test to take. The first choice was objective, but with no open-notes and the other was subjective but with allowed to open notes. Majority of the class decided to take the latter. Luckily, I was able to receive a satisfying grade. But the others seem to repulse their grades. Well, it's becoming an issue I must say. There were those who are innately witty but got a low score and yet there were some, who are not everyday receivers of a high grade, but got a higher grade than those who are brainy. Many people are really questioning its results. Ako din mismo, medyo nagtaka.

    During the break, I went out to fax the business letter to Sir Andrew Chanco, logistics manager of PDI. Well, we were planning to visit PDI's newspaper plant on Saturday night but I got the notice that we must first get a permit from our college. After faxing, I also came with Chuchie at Burger King to take out my dinner. Isang maulan na gabi.

    We did nothing during Spanish class. Well, Sir Obusan was late due to hard rain. He just gave out the prelim papers and told us to go home early as well so that we won't get caught in traffic or floods. Happily, I also received a satisfying score in Spanish. Thank God talaga. Noon kasi, kinakabahan ako sa subject na 'to. Kahit papaano, ligtas pa yung prelim grade ko. =p Hehe. So anyways, we stayed until 8pm in the classroom. Pinag-usapan pa kasi yung class project sa Feature Writing. I was assigned to sports and chosen as head committee by Cyrian and Gale. How I pitied Jenny who was organizing almost everything. Things are not yet fixed with regard to this project. Hay, ang dami talagang ginagawa. =/

    Djhay and Joan decided for an overnight at my place. We created our script and encoded the texts needed for the documentary. Pagdating sa bahay, nanood muna kami. Si Djhay kasi ayaw palampasin yung huling palabas ng "Sa Piling Mo". Hehe. An hour later, we went down to research in the internet. We were at the middle of our surfing when suddenly, we got curious about a certain blog. It concerns about a person who we all know. Napanganga talaga kaming tatlo sa mga nalaman namin. Para kaming mga investigative journalists ng nagkonekta ng mga impormasyon. =p At dahil sa pag-usyoso namin, 12AM na eh wala pa rin kaming matinong nagagawa! Haha.

    We went back to our business. Djhay finally went upstairs to transcribe our interview with Sir Yap while Joan and I remained in front of the PC to create the Powerpoint. Later on, Djhay joined us in creating the script. I was feeling the fatigue already. Ako din kasi yung nagluto nung midnight snack namin (pancit bihon, wuhoo!). Hindi pa talaga kami natulog. Hinintay na lang namin ang 6AM para ma-videohan yung mga nagtitinda ng diyaryo.

    Saturday >> We walked throughout the neighborhood early morning. It has been ancient when I last roamed around. We took several shots of people selling and buying newspaper. It was another grateful experience. I saw some people staring at us, maybe because they were curious on what we were doing. We reached up to Blumentritt. Gusto rin kasi naming makuhaan yung mga tindero ng dyaryo sa gitna ng kalsada. Nakakatuwa talaga. Maski luha na yung mata ko sa puyat at bagsak na yung katawan ko, nag-enjoy naman ako.

    Dalawang oras lang kaming nakatulog. We have to get up and prepare for our trip to Pasong Tamo again. So while Djhay and Joan were dressing up, I went out again to print and photocopy our script. When I got back, I took my time to dress up naman. Para di sayang sa oras, nag-shoot na ng ilang spills sina Joan at Djhay.

    We reached the Bandera entrance at exactly 2:30pm. Sir Beting wasn't there yet and so, we just waited near the guard house. Nakipag-chikahan na lang ako sa mga guwardiya. Nagtanung-tanong. At nalaman kong kakilala pala nila si Sir Roy Mendiola, yung imi-meet sana namin kinagabihan para i-tour kami sa imprentahan. He was referred by Sir Chanco by the way. Nagulat ako kasi sinabi nilang naka-assign si Sir Mendiola sa Kalaw (another office of PDI) at hindi doon. Tinext ko agad si Sir Mendiola para i-confirm. Haha, out of stress na rin siguro kaya madali akong nataranta. Things got settled and he confirmed that he would be there at 9PM.

    Sir Beting came and we went inside the Bandera newsroom. On our way, I saw the huge machineries, huge paper rolls and huge ink containers used for newsprinting! Lahat malaki! Haha. Kakatuwa. So anyways, we conducted the interview in a small room (kitchen yata nila yun eh hehe). As I noticed, I think Sir Beting gave a better explanation of circulations than Sir Yap who's in fact, the AVP for circulations. Haha. How ironic di ba. Nagbibigay kasi ng halimbawa si Sir Beting at mas madaling intindihin. =p Like Sir Jun of TomWeb, Sir Beting is a very kind person too. He even toured us around the plant! Luckily, we were able to take footages of the equipments and he even explained the process of printing. Cool. 

    Afterwards, we took a cab to go back in UST. Papasok muna kami ng Computer. Nagpalit ako ng uniform sa Burger King. At ZZZ, parang pinagsisihan kong umattend pa ko ng klase! Wala rin namang nangyari. Sana natulog muna ko dahil maski naglalakad ako, eh nakapikit na ko. @.@ we just used Sir Manalili's time to talk about our project in Feature Writing. I hardly coped up because my head was aching and my eyes were weary.

    Ito na yata ang isa sa mga nakakapagod kong sandali. Nag-civilian ako ulit at tuloy ang pagbabalik namin sa Pasong Tamo. While waiting for Djhay and Joan, kumain muna kami nina Madie, Anne at Tops sa Burger King. Nainggit ako nun kasi sinasabi nilang wala na silang gagawin pag-uwi nila at samantalang ako, mahaba-habang gabi pa. Tsk.

    I met Joan at the AB Pav and Djhay at the Catwalk. We took a cab at España. Muntik na kaming sumuko sa kahihintay ng taxi na walang sakay. Pagod na talaga kami. We hardly spoke each other in the cab because we were taking the chance to nap a bit. We arrived early in Makati and there was no traffic. Dahil nakalimutan naming bumili ng Mini DV (bala ng videocam), naghanap-hanap pa kami dun. Ang masaklap diyan, wala kaming nakita! Pumasok ako ng Shopwise pero walang ganun. Paglabas ko, biglang nawala sina Djhay at Joan. Hindi naman sila nagsabi kung saan sila pupunta. Grabe talaga, wala na kong lakas para hanapin pa sila. Naupo na lang ako sa isang tabi at alam ko namang hahanapin din nila ko. Maya-maya, narinig ko na lang yung boses ni Djhay. Hay naku, namili pala sila ng pagkain. Akala nila galit ako sa kanila pero sinabi kong pagod lang talaga ko.

    We ate at Chowking. Nagpaka-"chill" muna ko at kumain ng halo-halo. Afterwards, we walked our way to PDI. Kamusta naman ang simoy ng hangin, parang Pasko na. Haha. Hindi pa naman ako nagdala ng jacket.

    It took us time to wait for Mr. Mendiola. Sinabihan kami nung gwardiya na baka hindi namin abutan yung buong proseso ng pag-iimprenta. Buti na lang tinulungan niya kami at tinawag niya si Kuya Melchor (Circulations Supervisor) para siya na lang ang mag-tour sa amin. As we entered, I was so AMAZED!!! Really. It was an actual experience which I'll never forget. He demonstrated to us the ENTIRE process of news printing. Yung tipong mula sa newsroom hanggang sa delivery section. Kakatuwa talaga. Naisip ko tuloy, hindi pala biro ang isang diyaryo dahil mahirap din gawin. How I imagine the importance of a writer's article in print. It's like this: I appreciated even more my passion for writing. Then again, I thought about my scholarship at PDI. I hope the day will come that I'll see my name in print, being copied 300,000 times.

    We even had the chance to perform some stuffs in the plant, such that of carrying the bundles of newspapers from the sliding machine. It was so COOL!!! In fact Djhay and I were joking, "Maski taga-gawa na lang tayo ng diyaryo, okay na yun!" Haha! Our tour ended up after an hour. Huge thanks to Kuya Melchor talaga. Nabanggit niyang sanay na siya sa mga taga-UST dahil maraming Thomasians ang suki na sa PDI. Hehe. At saan ka pa, nabigyan kami ng libreng kopya ng Sunday issue bago umuwi. Kami ang kauna-unahang nakakuha ng kopya! Wuhoo. Ang yabang. =p LOLZ.

    We went home very fulfilled. We shoot the remaining spills in my room. Also, we began the minute-taking of the videos. Pero dahil sa sobrang pagod, sumuko kamin nang 12AM na. Idlip muna hanggang alas-dos.

    TODAY >> Joan woke me up at around 4am. Wala sa aming tatlo ang nagising sa alarm clock. Grabe. So hurriedly, we finished the remaining tasks. Djhay and Joan worked on the video minute-taking (to organize the scene sequences), while I went down to get some still images from the internet. Also, I edited the credits part and save it in my USB which I handed to Joan.

    What a yummy breakfast it was, courtesy of the piteous fellows at home. Haha. Naawa siguro sila sa amin -- puyat, ngarag, at GUTOM. =p Pagkatapos mag-ayos ng gamit nina Djhay at Joan, bumaba na kami para kumain. Uminom lang si Joan ng iced tea kasi nagmamadali. Sa Cubao pa ang punta niya para i-meet si Tito Jess na mag-eedit ng video. So yun, kami na lang ni Djhay ang kumain. Pagkatapos nun, umuwi na rin siya agad. Ang sarap ng pakiramdam na may karapatan ka ng matulog. I went straight to my room.

    I slept for 5 hours. Haha. When I got up, I felt so sick. My muscles were aching and my head was thumping. Nanood na lang muna ako ng TV. Nag-ayos din pala ako ng kuwarto. Medyo magulo kasi eh, hehe. Later, I went back couching to see UST's game vs Ateneo. At saan ka pa, nanalo UST!!! I can't believe it. To note, Ateneo was 8-0 before but right now, there's a slash of defeat already, courtesy of my team. =) I amaze them even more because in the absence of some main gunners (Duncil, Cortez and Espiritu), they still managed to outrun the Eagles. Ang galing talaga. Sana magtuluy-tuloy dahil gusto kong manood nang live na nasa Final Four ang USTe! Wuhoo! =)

    * At dahil sa pagkapanalo ng UST, may utang akong Jolibee lunch kay Madie! Haha! But also, Madie owes me an Ice Monster treat! Kamusta naman ang pustahan namin di ba. =p Kailangan pa talagang magpustahan para manalo yung kopunan namin haha.

Circulation is the life-blood of a newspaper business.

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August 23 2006 | Wednesday | 10:14pm

"MANAGEMENT"

    My Insomia has been killing me. I woke up late a while ago and so I was hurrying to head school. I had to meet with my Psychology groupmates before class and work with our experiment in order to catch up with other groups. Too bad we have to change our topic and Ma'am Bolaños required us to submit our new experiment tomorrow. So anyways, I hurriedly went to the Serials section of the library where I found Madie, Queennie, Jade and Jairuz who were working already. Good thing we found an easier topic and we divided tasks in order to finish what must be done. Pairing up with Queennie was so comfortable. We really worked as good partners.

    Around 3pm, we proceeded to the AVR. We attended Conrado De Quiro's talk titled, "The Rub in Writing". It was such an opportunity to listen to his petty advices. He's a regular columnist of Philippine Daily Inquirer and he has been noted for his fearless opinions. Anne was my seatmate during the symposium and we continuously exchanged thoughts on De Quiro's inspiring words. I really didn't let pass of the chance in asking some questions on him. During the open forum, I approached the microphone and asked on how to handle deadlines. Well, Mr. De Quiros said that writing is a learning process. He said that if we keep on practicing, there will come a time that we won't get pressured when it comes to meeting deadlines. Writing then will become a natural habit and it won't eat so much time already. He even shared with us that the only time he failed to meet his deadline was when he was in Europe. It was a funny story actually. At that time, he cannot find an adaptor for his computer and because of language barrier (he was in France), it took him time to tell when he wanted. I also asked Mr. De Quiros with regard to his writing habits. I found out that for a professional like him, he would also take an interval time to rest for a while before writing again. Akala ko kasi, sa sobrang galing ng mga taong tulad niya, tuluy-tuloy ang pagsusulat nila. Napapagod din pala sila. Hehe. In addition to that, he usually writes columns on mornings because that's the time when he's energized. He noted that for writers, health is wealth. I agree with him that it's hard to write and think when your body is not in the mood to work. Grabe, sobrang na-inspire ako sa mga sinabi niya. Bravo to Journalese for inviting Conrado De Quiros to talk in school. =)

    Ate Flo texted me that they were at the UST Carpark along with Carol. So after the symposium, I went to meet with them. We ate together at P. Noval as I took my break. I was really squishing my time for everything and everybody. I was battling to manage and balance my activities. So anyways, I didn't take long either. Alam ko namang naintindihan nila na may pasok pa ko at napadaan lang ako sa kanila. Off I went to come back in my building. Luckily I was just in time for Newspaper Management class. I even had a minute to avail ice cream. So as I entered the room, I wslowly munched on my dessert.

    My last class was quite lethargic. I was trying to get something from the reports of my classmates. But honestly, I really prefer that the professor discusses and we listen. Mas okay kasi yung ganun at mas marami akong natututunan. We were about to go when it had been requested to stay for 10 minutes to view the next group's part I report. At talaga naman, nagising ako. Kabog ang gawa ni Judy! Flash-based ba naman. Cool. Na-challenge tuloy akong pag-aralan ang Macromedia Flash dahil pwede din pala siyang magamit sa mga pagre-report.

    Next week shall be our group's time to report as well. Our topic is on circulations. We have been preparing for it. In fact a while, Djhay, Joan and I were joking that we have to level up with the animations presented. Haha, gawing paligsahan ba talaga. =p So tomorrow we'll head to Inquirer for an interview. I confirmed it already to Mr. Yap that we'll go there at 9:30am. Whew, sana maging successful. Also, I've been trying my best to get more interviewees. I'm contacting someone from Manila Standard, Philippine Star and MOD. Sa totoo lang, naaaliw ako sa mga ganitong gawain pero minsan din, nakakaramdam na rin ako ng pagod. Kung wala lang sanang ibang gawain, baka magawa ko pa yun nang mas maigi.

    Sumabay ako kina Carol at Ate Flo pauwi. Inabutan ko pa silang nakatambay sa USTe. Mga adek talaga, hehe. Pagkahaba-haba ng nilakad namin dahil hinatid pa namin si Carol sa Dela Fuente. Bagsak na talaga katawan ko ngayon. Gutom pa ko. Tsk. What a strenuous day but thank God, I was able to accomplish things.. so far so good.

"Write about things which affects you. Never touch on matters which you hardly know."

(said by Conrado De Quiros during his talk at UST)

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   August 21 2006 | Monday | 08:27pm

"PEACE OFFERING"

    This is then again, another volleyball story.

    Diah invited our tropa to watch their tune-up game since it was held at UST. Nagkita kami ng 1pm sa UST Carpark. I was with Carol & Ate Flo. As to my surprise, when I got there, policemen were surrounding UST hospital which was in front of the car park. In fact when I entered the Dapitan gate, the guards asked my destination and told me that I might not be able to come near the left side of UST. Later on, I figured out that PGMA was there. The newly extended building of the UST hospital was inaugurated and the President attended.

    When Ate Flo came, we walked our way to the gym. Muntik pa kaming hindi papasukin dahil sa adek na guard ng IPEA. Biniro-biro ko na lang at buti naman, pumayag. Hehe. Luckily, the game wasn't starting yet when we came in. We sat on the bleachers as we greeted our Letran friends. By the way, Letran's opponent was the powerhouse UST team. Actually this was their second tune-up.

    I was torn in between as I watched these two teams played. In my mind, I knew those players in blue and red are my friends but on the other side, it was my schoolmates who were playing in yellow shirts. Haha. At the end of the game, Letran got defeated, (3-2). Kamusta naman kasi ang tall line-up ng UST habang sa Letran eh si Diah lang ang malaki. Hehe. I can't deny the fact that Ging unleashed unstoppable spikes and Denise, as UST's setter, got better. Natuwa din ako sa mga palo ni Vhen. Kabog.

    At the middle of the game, I decided to buy a drink at P Noval and I happened to see Haoson (my classmate) who came from a basketball tryout. So yun, sinamahan niya kong bumili at umupo siya sandali sa gym. Napakilala ko siya sa mga ka-tropa ko tapos nakita pa niyang maglaro ng volleyball ang UST. Hehe. Astig daw. By the way, nakita pala kami ni Ging. Kumaway pa nga siya kay Ate Flo e. Sinundan pa yun ng mga flying kisses niya nung last set. Parang adek. Ewan ko ba, pinipilit ako ni Ate Flo na kumaway sa kanya pero parang ayoko pa din. Baka naman kasi iniisip niyang siya ang ipinunta namin dun, samantalang niyaya lang naman kami nina Diah na manood. Tsk.

    This day was also meant to meet Golda, a schoolmate from CFAD who happens to be Ging's huge fan. We have been planning to introduce her to Ging. How ironic di ba, ayokong makausap si Ging pero ipapakilala ko si Golda. Haha ewan. So anyways, I thought Golda won't be able to make it. Paano naman kasi, ang daming eksplanasyon sa pagka-late. Natapos na yung game, wala pa rin siya. Good thing she finally came while Ging was still in the gym. I welcomed her at the gym's entrance gate. Nagulat siya kasi sobrang tangkad ko daw at nahihiya siya. Hila-hila ko pa siya papunta kina Ate Flo at Carol.

    Later, Ging was about to go out when she waved at our place again. Ate Flo called her and as she approached, Golda was beginning to isolate herself. Adek, haha. So yun, kinamusta muna kami ni Ging. I was just looking at her while she smiled at me. In my head, I was trying to tell myself, "Learn to forgive and forget" and somehow, it happened. I began to plainly speak with her. In fact, we introduced Golda to Ging. Haha. The kid was so shy while Ging was so crazy to make Golda shiver even more. How funny it was. But really, it feels good to make someone [like Golda] happy by introducing her to the greatest idol of her life. HAHAHA.

    More unexpected things happened. Ging heard that we were planning to go to SM San Lazaro afterwards. I just got surprised when she said, "Sama ako, tara!". I thought then that she was just joking. But when I saw that she said goodbye already to her sister Che, I felt that she really meant to come with us. So yun na nga, kasama namin siya. Outside the gym, we stayed for a while since Diah and Ging were still joking at each other. I was expecting that Diah would come with us but she declined. Well, I found out that wasn't in the mood to come. Adek yun, nahiya daw kasi siya sa amin dahil ang pangit ng nilaro niya. Hindi naman eh. Hehe.

    Minutes later, we bid goodbye to the Letran people. We were trying to encourage Golda to come at SM but she insisted that she must attend Teatro Tomasino. Sayang nga eh. Biruin mo, yung idol na niyang pumipilit sa kanya. Haha. Nagpaalam na rin kami sa kanya sa tapat ng UST church. We continued to walk and surprisingly, I met Kristine & Ruben who came from Varsitarian. Haha, biglang bumubulaga ang mga tao. Sumabay si Kristine sa jeep.

    The world in UST is indeed small -- we saw Jenny and Pam in the Tayuman jeep which we were in too! Di tuloy ako magkanda-mayaw kung college friends o volleyball friends ang kakausapin ko. Haha. Pinakilala ko pala si Kristine kay Carol at pagbaba ng jeep, natanong ni Kristine kung sino daw ba yung kasama kong matangkad. I told her that she's Balse, UST's top spiker and as I expected, a non-volleyball friend like Kristine got amazed with Ging.

    Kristine separated with us as we entered the mall. I went back walking with my volleyball friends. Sinamahan naming magpagawa ng salamin si Carol. Pagkatapos nun, nag-ikot-ikot kami para maghanap ng makakainan. Walang gustong mag-decide kung saan kakain. Haha, mga adek. Kaya nag-CR na lang muna. Dahil di naman magsi-CR si Ging at parehong naiihi sina Carol & Ate Flo, sinamahan ko na lang siya sa labas (o di ba ang saya, tamang bonding tsk). Nakakahiya din naman kasing maiwan siyang mag-isa sa labas. Grabe, nakakailang talaga. Sinong mag-aakalang mangyayari na kasama ko siya sa SM di ba? Haha talaga.

    Finally, we all agreed to eat at Chicken Inasal. I just ate BBQ and a bottomless lemonade. That was when exchange of stories began. We laughed on several things, shared different experiences and I knew fresh stuffs from Ging. Well, I can say that I enjoyed her stories on Ate Rox. Haha, parang alam talaga niya kung paano ako pasasayahin. =p Little by little, I was beginning to let go of my ego and to forget about whatever she may have done on me before. I saw her efforts to bring back things, the way it used to be. I'm just hoping that she really meant what she showed in front of me and my friends a while ago. If it's so, who cares about the past and anyway everybody must be given the chance to make up. As I said before, I am not totally closing the chance for a recreated friendship.

    Pauwi, sumakay kami ng España UST jeep. Ayaw kasing maniwala ni Ging kay Carol na pwedeng mag-Lardizabal kaya napalakad pa tuloy kami ng malayu-layo. =p Bukod pa dun, ang piniling jeep ni Ging ay yung masikip! Adek talaga. Di mo alam kung nagbibiro o talagang seryoso. Tsk. So we split ways with her at España. We crossed the street as she told her goodbyes & thank you's with us.

    Natuwa sina Ate Flo na nakasama namin si Ging. Ako, nag-iisip pa rin. Hay ewan. Pero totoo, gusto kong paniwalaan yung sinabi ni Diah, "Bumabawi lang siguro si Ging sa iyo".

Why not open the door to someone who patiently knocks and looks for you?

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August 19 2006 | Saturday | 11:39pm

"CAKE"

    God bless this day. Really, I had wonderful experiences today, It seemed that it was a destined opportunity to make me realize that series of fortunate events do exist. Do you know what a dessert tastes like? Sweet.

    It was an early morning for me. I met with TropaPeepz at UST. We planned this hangout to celebrate Carol and Aileen's birthday. Before going to the meeting place, I dropped by Goldilocks to buy a cake for the celebrants. I bought Double Dutch. Hehe. So anyways, when we all got together, we ate lunch at P. Noval. I was with Diah, Carol, Ate Flo, Aileen and surprisingly, the long lost Ana. She really made herself present by treating our lunch (yihaa) as promised. While eating, man, exchange of stories had begun. Well, it's been quite a while since we met and talked as a larger group.  Before, I would only be with Carol or Ate Flo. This time, we were almost complete. Sayang nga eh wala sina Kim, Jean at Rhea.

    After filling our tummies, we walked up to Morayta to watch Home & Away League at FEU. The volleyball match between Lyceum and FEATI was quite boring (3 sets only). We got interest instead by the crazy company of Diah's FEU volleyball friends whom we met first time. They were all funny, especially Ann (Manalo) who's Diah's closest. So anyways, after the game, Diah continued to introduce us to the volleyball world. I finally met Ate She' (Carillo) whom I've been hearing from Carol, Diah and Ate Flo. She's nice and the rest of the Lyceum people are friendly.

    We decided to go back to UST at 3:30pm. The hangout wasn't yet over and I just decided to attend class first. Sinabi ko sa kanilang magpapakita lang ako sa Computer professor ko, tapos sisipat na rin ako. Hehe. Pinipilit kasi nila kong huwag ng pumasok pero dahil mabait-bait pa naman ako, tumuloy na rin ako sa pagpasok. Our vehicle ride was so whacky. Paano kasi, bukod sa siksikan na nga, mababa pa yung bubong. Niloloko namin si Diah na nakayuko na sa sobrang tangkad. =p Hehe.

    I left them at Asturias, in front of Nitro Hub. I was about to go when suddenly, we bumped at Karlos who was, I think, having his vacant time. Gusto ko pa sanang makipag-kuwentuhan pero lumakad na rin ako. Nagbihis ako ng uniporme sa Burger King. Hindi na ko nag-school shoes, masakit kasi yung kaliwa kong sakong. >.< So anyways, I passed by the lobby seeing the UAAP bball match between UST and NU. The Bulldogs were ahead when I left the lobby. As I entered the computer laboratory, ZZZzz! I regretted that I still came in. Nothing important happened. Same scenario: another useless meet-up because our professor doesn't teach! In fact, he didn't check attendance and only a few students came in. He only gave us an activity which was honestly, vague for all of us. From my understanding, we would grade ourselves and a classmate's webpage. I-email na lang daw sa kanya yung grades. Grabe talaga, nakakaloka yung professor namin. Kami-kami na lang nina Haoson yung nagpaliwanag sa klase. Ang nakakaasar diyan, nakita pa naming natutulog! Grr. It's such as waste to go schooling on Saturdays with a subject like that. (x.x)

    I requested from the professor to dismiss myself early. Walang kahirap-hirap, pinaalis ako agad. Tinuloy ko yung lakad kasama ang mga ka-tropa ko. They waited for me and met them at McDo UST Carpark. Too bad Ana went home already. So yun, nag-civilian na lang ako ulit. Actually, sayang yung uniporme ko dahil wala namang pinatunguhan yung pagpasok ko. Tsk. We went our way to SM San Lazaro.

    We watched, "Super X-Girlfriend" and it was really a funny film! Lalo pa kong natawa sa tawa ni Karol na parang adek. Generally speaking, the film was about a woman (Uma Thurman) who has super powers and to some point, she abused it to contain his boyfriend. Honestly, I felt that some events were unfair to the boyfriend. Nakawawa yung lalaki at halos sirain yung buhay niya dahil may kapangyarihan yung babae (Thurman). I didn't get enthralled with the plot. It was much of an intention to give comedy only. 

    After watching film, we went down at the food court to eat dinner. I had just eaten three waffles and a huge-sized iced tea but then I was forced again to eat! Aileen's dinner treat was so scrumptious. Thanks to Inihaw Express, I felt that I was eating at the seashore. I kept on joking, "Wow, kulang na lang talaga eh dagat at buhangin. Mala-baywalk ang hapunan natin." Hehe. Naka-double rice kaming lahat, sawsawang maanghang at sari-saring pagkain inihaw ang nakahain. Idagdag mo pa yung regalo kong cake. Dinner at its finest talaga. Busog kung busog. What a meal it was. =)

    Actually, my dinner became yummier when I happened to conversed with Ate Rox via text message. How I miss her! Luckily, Ate Rox wasn't busy by the time I texted her. Well, last night, Ate Flo invited Ate Rox to come with us but unhappily she told that her mom had just underwent an operation. She feels that it would be unethical to celebrate and to leave her mom. So anyways, I texted her to tell that I got the news from Ate Flo about her mom. Kinamusta ko yung nanay niya. Ate Rox told me that her mom caught a huge lump near the liver and so it needed to be removed by a surgery. I initially thought that her mom is still in the hospital. Plano pa sana naming dumalaw dahil maaga-aga pa naman (hehe). Pero sinabi ni Ate Rox na nasa bahay na pala yung nanay niya't nagpapahinga. I expressed my sympathies for her mom which Ate Rox had deeply appreciated. I told her that I'm with TropaPeepz at SM and how we wished she was with us. She expressed her apologies and even told us to take care as we go home. Kakatuwa naman, kasi kahit ang tagal na naming hindi nagkikita, di pa rin siya nagbabago. >.< And wait, there's more!!! Diah told me earlier about an alumni tournament which might include Ate Rox. So since I was speaking with Ate Rox, I confirmed it to her. Waah, nakakatuwang malamang kasali siya sa palaro ni Coach Jerry! I thought then that there will be no chance to see a Roxanne Pimentel play volleyball again! I promised Ate Rox to watch her. Maski saan pa yan o kailan pa yan, waah manonood talaga ko! =)

    We finished eating Carol and Aileen's cake with bloated tummies. Halos di kami makalakad haha. We rode the Lardizabal jeep and one by one, we separated ways. Si Ate Flo ang huli kong kasama at bumaba ako sa Welcome Rotonda. When I reached home, I was in force of my feet. I passed by my mom's room to tell about my day and shared some matters with regard to my PDI contract signing last Thursday. Buti na lang hindi ako napagalitan dahil gabi na ko nakauwi. Hehe.

    Minutes later, I went to my room, hurrying to see the replay of UAAP. Added to my great experiences, I was glad to know that my school won versus NU Bulldogs! Astig talaga. It was like a cherry on top, placed on a sweet dessert which I had tasted earlier.

    Passing by this kind of day simply made me inspired to go on fighting and smiling. I can taste that the next days at school will be tedious. Even so, I believe that God will always give a neutralizer. When there's bitterness, there's sweetness. When food is bland, there are flavorings available. Even though there are bitter days in life, one or two instances will spoon-feed you with sprinkles of sweet memories. =)

Life has many choices. If you can't have all, have some at least. If you can't be good, don't be bad. If you can't be totally happy, don't be completely sad. Enjoy life as it never leads back.

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August 18 2006 | Friday | 10:10pm

"WEEKDAY ENDER"

    It has been days that fast food chains are feeding me. The reason is a toss between being out of the house and having no time to eat at home anymore. In fact I had times when I caught appendicitis. As I end my weekday, I feel a little relief from my strenuous experiences, knowing that there's a weekend of rest. =)

WEDNESDAY >> We received our prelim grade in Feature Writing. It was a breather to know that I maintained a grade not below 2.0 but somehow, there's still frustration because I could have done better. My friends know how I struggle to please Ma'am Villadolid and I'm hoping that for the next activities, I can get higher grades. I feel that it's hard to play safe when there's still a long way to go. So anyways, the rest of the period was spent to discuss Intramuros. We'll write a travelogue about this historic place. It's just that, I felt some problem with regard to the activity. Well, it has been decided that only class officers will personally go with Ma'am Villadolid to Intramuros to take videos of the place. Then, we'll watch the video in class and use that as our resource to write the travelogue. Para namang ang hirap magsulat ng travelogue nun kasi hindi firsthand. I think it will be better if we'll see the places face-to-face.

THURSDAY >> We had no classes and I went to Inquirer. It was the day meant for my contract signing! =) So I went to Pasong Tamo at around 4pm. I passed by McDonald's to eat snacks. I was alone. Naramdaman kong nakakalungkot palang kumain mag-isa. Madalas kasing may kasalo akong kumain. Nung panahon yun, naisip kong hindi sa lahat ng oras may makakasama ka kaya kailangan mong masanay na mag-isa.

    Few walks away from McDo, I reached PDI. Right away I went to the receptionist to inform about my appointment with Sir Yambot. So she told me to proceed upstairs already. I was looking for Ma'am Cita (Sir Yambot's secretary) but I didn't find her at once. Naupo muna ako sa sofa, kinakabahan (haha). Later on, I saw Sir Yambot entering the newsroom whom I greeted. How I think highly of Sir Yambot but he's a publisher who's not hard to befriend.  He spoke with me by confirming if I was the scholar who haven't signed the contract yet. He then invited me to his office as he called Ma'am Cita to ask for the copy of the contract.

    I entered the publisher's office. I sat quietly. Sir Yambot was searching for the folder where he placed the contract but because of many paper works perhaps, he seemed to misplace it. Later on Ma'am Cita joined him to look for the folder. I was just smiling. Nakakatuwa kasi si Sir Yambot. He even joked that he must retire already since he's forgetting so many things. As I observed his office, well it was untidy but I guess it's reasonable enough that the owner doesn't have time to fix things anymore. We know for a fact that a publisher's task is tedious. When he got near my place, I was still smiling when I told him, "Sir, patience is a virtue! It's okay, I can wait". He smiled back and replied, "We'll follow the Bible scripture here: you'll seek and you shall find." So yun, tawanan. Hehe.

    Soon, both of them gave up searching for the missing items and they just decided to reprint the contract. While Sir was typing, he was also murmuring some data (about me). Later he asked about my place, La loma, especially the cockpit arena. He told about his experiences there, expressing that La loma is a happy place. Nung ma-reprint na, binasa ko muna yung kontrata. Grabe, kapag pala hindi ko na-maintain yung grades ko o tumnaggi akong magtrabaho sa PDI pagdating ng graduation, ibabalik ko yung mga sinagot nilang tuition, allowance at expenses. More pressure on me indeed. After signing, I was about to go when I decided to ask help from Sir Yambot for our Newspaper Practice & Management activity. We need to get information about circulations. Nagdalawang-isip pa ko pero dahil na-feel ko namang mabait talaga siya, kinapalan ko na mukha ko. Hehe. I asked advice of whose to interview. He then suggested Sir Sandy Yap, PDI's circulations AVP. Sir Yambot contacted Sir Yap to tell that a student wanted to see him. Before going to Sir Yap, I thanked Sir Yambot and he told me that PDI will just call me if needed.

    I went to the 2nd floor and waited for Sir Yap's meeting to be done. Naupo na lang muna ko. Nagmasid-masid. Maya-maya, narinig ko na lang na may nagsalitang, "Ikaw na yung estudyanteng naghahanap sa akin?". So we proceeded to a small conference room. I told him my purpose and tried to schedule an interview with him. Luckily, our schedules matched and it will be on Thursday next week. Di na rin ako nagtagal. Bumaba na ko sa lobby para hintayin si Ate Flo.

    Supposedly, I would be attending Katrina Legarda's talk on "News Stories" but I just got swayed with Ate Flo's invitation to hangout at Glorietta. Haha. Nun lang din kasi binanggit ni Sir Yambot yung talk ni Legarda at masyado ng late ang simula (8pm). Anyways, nagkita kami ni Ate Flo sa labas ng Inquirer office. We ate dinner first at KFC while waiting for Jean who decided to come with us too. Nagtipid ako nang konti at hamburger lang kinain ko. Hehe.

    On our way, we happened to sat in front of a cute guy who 'unfortunately' has a girlfriend (I suppose) sitting beside him in the jeep. Gwapo talaga haha!!! Nagku-kuwentuhan kami nina Jean at Ate Flo nang bigla na lang ako natahimik. =p So anyways, at Glorietta, we accompanied Jean to buy stockings while later on, they came with me to buy plain white t-shirt for TomWeb. Pauwi na kami ni Ate Flo nang makakita ako ng cute orange newspaper stand. Pumasok pa ulit kami ni Ate Flo sa Landmark para bilhin yun! Haha. Impulsive buyer talaga. =p

    Reaching the MRT station was quite far actually. We entered several malls first (SM, Ayala Center, etc..) before reaching the station. Because of that, we didn't help ourselves stopping by every store to go window shopping! Haha. But how I love it. With Ate Flo, it was a funny stroll around. I told myself that even though I have hectic days in school, I had the chance to unwind for a while with my friends.

    I went directly to my room as I reached home. Man, I was so tired. Ang layo talaga ng nilakad namin. Nakatakong pa naman ako!

TODAY >> I had my breakfast at Burger King. Namumulubi na ko pero wala akong choice dahil hindi nakapagluto agad sina Silven (our helper). I attended my Filipino class. Pretty much everything was typical -- we had a discussion, the class was noisy and wuhoo, we got dismissed early.

    During the break, I decided to get my Community Tax Certificate which PDI required me to get right away. I was with Anne (my classmate) in the jeep until Vicente Cruz. She went home to rest. So anyways, well, I decided to take the Dapitan route (instead of my usual Blum-Dimas route) because it's nearer to the Office of the Treasurer where I can get my CTC. When I got there, dood thing I need not to fall in line and I was able to get my CTC immediately.

    I walked on my home. Ang init. Ang sarap ng tulog ko. Muntik pa kong ma-late sa pagbalik ko sa USTe dahil hindi ako agad bumangon. Haha.

    During Ma'am Pereña's class, we discussed Japan literature. I didn't read the readings anymore since I've already recited, After her class, again, I spent money to eat. Nag-Ricecapades naman ako. Madie, Dez and Arene accompanied me at UST carpark. We also stopped by SanMig shop. Dahil wala naman akong bibilhin dun, sa labas na lang ako naghintay kasama si Madie. So yun, kuwentuhan kami ni Madie. Nasa kalagitnaan kami ng kuwentuhan nang.. dumaan si LAGAR! Bwahaha. Hanggang sa pagbabalik namin sa classroom eh wala na kong binibig kundi si Jake. LOL. I thought he already graduated. I just got surprised to see him. =p

    Nakakaantok nung Spanish class. I was initially listening but the noisy surrounding made my attention fly away. Later on, I caught myself laughing and chit chatting with my classmates already. Haha. I hardly understood the last few parts of the lesson. Good thing Sir Obusan dismissed us early and he didn't jump to the next topic yet.

    Pag-uwi ko sa bahay, ginutom ako. Nanlaway naman ako sa inihaw na baboy na kaka-bagong luto pa lang. Haha, salamat kina Ate Aileen para sa pag-ihaw. =p It was a satisfying dinner that didn't come from any fast food chain anymore.

Each day, we must learn to forgive and forget.

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August 15 2006 | Tuesday | 11:47pm

"WRITING IS MY BUSINESS"

    I came from school writing, and up to now I'm still writing. It has been a tedious Tuesday for me. What to expect from my course, there are tons of writing at stake.

    "Sana pinatay na lang tayo ni Ma'am kanina," (Cabigao, 2006). Haha. Vet may have spoken in an exaggerated way but pretty much, that was how to describe our feelings after Psych prelims. The exam was so hard because we were required to write detailed answers. It consisted of diagram-making, labeling items you've drawn and defining variables. May mga tanong pang mala-alien ang dating. Hay naku. Yun namang 30 terms na pinasaulo ni Ma'am eh hindi lumabas sa exam. Sala sa init, sala sa lamig. Kakaloka.

    It was another freezing moment during Sir Aldaba's class. Literally, in the sense that the air-con was so high! Figuratively, in the sense that it took me time to write what he wanted us to craft. Well, it was an exercise on writing Literary Journalism via police story. I was really trying my best to write a good piece despite distractions in my environment such as noise and coldness. Several of my classmates finished ahead of me. Somehow it gave me more pressure, thinking that I was slow in thinking and writing. Good thing I recalled my score from the past exercise which had inspired me. Oh yes, I got a good score. Finally. Tsk.

    I'm feeling sleepy already but I'm still not yet done with my business article. Rarr, I really have to be careful on my grammar, word usage and tenses. Mamaya eh sabihan nanaman ako ni Ma'am ng "improve your vocabulary". Kakahiya talaga. Tawanan ko man araw-araw, sa huli eh naiisip ko pa ring katangahan yun sa buhay. The pressure is really on. Grr, that's why I hate maintaining grades and watching our for every score I make. The more I decline when I do so.

    PDI called me up this morning. Ako na lang pala yung hindi pa pumipirma sa kontrata. So yun, pupunta ako ulit dun. Balak ko pa sanang mag-shopping sa Huwebes, naudlot nanaman. Hehe.

    I just got struck with what my professor told us a while ago, "Writing is your business. If you hate writing, you definitely don't belong in this faculty." I just nodded. The pen is within me and I'm really eager to learn more.

x`cez: Dez emailed me the copy of her article about me. =) Proud ako diyan, kasi 1.5 nakuha niya. Hehe.  READ IT!

Reading and writing are inseparable.

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August 13 2006 | Sunday | 09:45pm

"TURN DOWNS"

    I decided to work on my business article today. I chose dirty ice cream selling as my topic for the article. Well, I've also been curious about that business and so, I decided to work on it. My mom suggested that I go to that Maranan's franchise factory located at Isarog Street. So before going there, I just prepared questions and I set up my recorder. Aps, our driver, accompanied me to search for the place.

    Luckily, we were able to locate the factory right away. I went out of the car, carrying my notebook and recorder. I noticed that some people looked strangely at me. So anyways, I went on walking and I inquired from a lady. She immediately asked why. I told her that I would want to interview the owner of Maranan for my business article in school. I observed that she was in a bit doubt at me, but good thing she still pointed out the house of the owner. So yun, kumatok ako sa katabing bahay. Nakausap ko yung lalaking may-ari pero ayaw niyang magpa-interview. They thought that I'm a professional reporter already who might put their business into danger. As a background, they told me that before, one of their co-franchisees was televised. It brought bad image to the rest of the Maranan franchisers and so right now, they're being careful about interviews. No matter how I convinced that it's only for school purposes and it won't go to publishing, I wasn't able to get any information about their business. The man recommended me go to other ice cream dealers instead. So with that turn down, off I went to hope for Vergara Ice Cream.

    Pinagtanong-tanong namin kung saan yun. May isang matandang nakapagsabing parang wala na yung Vergara dahil namatay na DAW yung may-ari. He then suggested to go to Borromeo Ice Cream which is just located two houses away from Maranan. So we went back to Isarog Street. More people began to stare at me. The feeling was really uncomfortable. I went down the car again but this time I chose not to bring anything. I inquired from a group of people about Borromeo. I was calm in asking but surprisingly, a furious man replied to me saying that Borromeo won't allow me to get an interview. Man, I could still remember the words like, "Bakit? Mag-iinterview na naman kayo para ipasara yung mga pabrika!" Right away I recalled what the owner of Maranan told me about the dirty ice cream issue. Perhaps these men thought that I'm also going to publish things against ice cream factories. So I tried to explain again that I'm only an amateur reporter and my interview is to be submitted to a college professor only. Later on, they shared with me that a factory in Galas was closed down because of a reporter who wrote false statements about the dirtiness of the ice cream factory. Kaya ngayon, hindi na nagpapa-interview yung mga pabrika dahil takot silang mapasara nang basta-basta.

    Well, somehow I understood their sentiments. From their viewpoint, they think that I'm a nobody to be trusted right away. Nagpasalamat na lang ako sa mga taong yun pero inulit nilang hanapin ko yung Vergara. I confirmed from them that the owner is still alive and in fact, they gave me the exact address of the factory.

    Naghanap kami ulit ni Aps. Pinuntahan namin yung #46 Iriga St. at mukha ngang pabrika ng ice cream pero parang walang tao. Minutes later, I was about to give up when a man came to me and asked, "Miss, ano yon?" I was shocked when I saw that man. Why, perhaps you'll ask. It's because he's a familiar face! Who would have thought that the ice cream man from STC whom I have known for 11 years lives there? Haha. In fact, the factory owns to his cousin. What a stroke of luck indeed. Manong Bonnie seemed to recognize me as well. Tinanong ko pa nga si Ate Rosie eh, yung kapatid niyang nag-trabaho sa Salon namin noon.

    Sa wakas at may nagpaunlak na sa interview ko. Manong Bonnie saved the day. Haha. Nakuha ko yung mga detalyeng kailangan ko. Akala ko talaga eh mauuwi sa pagbabago ng topic yung business article ko. I think this will be memorable for me because I felt how to be rejected by people who had huge doubts on my journalistic purpose. I really got challenged on how to deal with grudges against journalists. Now I realized that when someone turns you down, don't give up and search for another one.

    Speaking of turndowns, another bad game it was by UST Growling Tigers. Parang nasayang lang panonood ko dahil bukod sa talunan, hindi na naman naglaro si Jojo. Kamusta naman yung apat na players ng USTe eh liban dahil sa lagnat at diarrhea?! Ano ba naman kasing pinagkaka-kain nila. Last time, si Japs na-food poison. Haha, teribleng mga athletes. Kung anong university yung may ospital (pertaining to UST), yun pa talaga ang may players na laging nagkakasakit. =p Aba, sulit ang libreng medical fees nila haha. But seriously, too bad talaga for UST basketball. Sa Season 70 na lang sila bumawi at sana huwag ng magkaka-kain ng kung anu-ano sa P. Noval. Haha.

To be kind is more important than to be right. Sometimes all that a person needs is not a brilliant mind that speaks but a patient heart that listens.

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August 12 2006 | Saturday | *01:04am

"HELPING HAND"

    I accompanied Franz in UST to submit her application form. Look how time swept away, Franz is about to graduate this March from STC already. We have become friends since her freshman HS year.

    Days ago, she called me up to ask favor to accompany her in UST since she haven't gone there ever. I know how it feels like to be an upcoming college student where there are worries in getting to the new world. Somehow I want to help my friend to reduce her worries. Good thing I was available a while ago and we had no Computer class (thank God lolz).  Mahaba-haba yung pila kanina pero okay lang sa akin. At least I've done goodness to a friend in need.

    After passing Franz' form, I toured her around campus. Naks, di lang ako butihing 'ate', tour guide pa. Haha! So yun, kumain kami sa Mcdo (sa may carpark) tapos tinuro ko sa kanya yung bawat building. Patuloy ang kuwentuhan habang naglalakad. Na-amaze si Franz sa lawak ng USTe. Hehe. Muntik pa kaming abutan ng ulan pag-uwi.

    I took a nap as I reached home. Maulan, kaya malamig ang kama ko. Ngayon iniisip ko nanaman kung paano makakatulog ulit at kailangan ko na yata talaga ng doktor dahil may Insomia na ko! Waah. Nung isang madaling-araw, 5am na, gising pa ko! Grabe talaga. I badly need a medical help. Sleeping pills, anyone?

    Kristine was in desperation about her webpage for Computer. She had been texting me since morning. She said that she had gone crazy because she cannot fix her page. Nung gabi lang ako naging bakante kaya pagkatapos ko manood ng 'Series of Unfortunate Events', nag-online ako para tulungan siya. Naayos ko naman yung pages ni Kristine. Nakakatuwang maramdaman na sobra yung pasasalamat sa iyo ng isang tao sa mga simpleng pagtulong mo. =)

    Have you ever wondered why our fingers are more than one? Why did God make it five per hand instead of only one? Simply, it's for the purpose of making us realize to help one another. A solitary finger cannot carry a heavy object if the other fingers won't grip an effort at all. Same as with everyday life, seize the day helping somebody who's in dire need. Who knows, when you'll need a helping hand, they will remember that for once, you had helped them.

We usually keep our problems and never want the world to know. Though we try to be stronger, we're weak inside. When that happens, always remember that I'm just here, like I've always been.

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August 11 2006 | Friday | 11:05pm

"FUTURE, PAST, AND THE PRESENT"

    Whoah, what an afternoon it was at school. First was an alien-like exam in Newspaper Management which really gave a head scratch! The exam was entirely essay-type but even so, it was hard in the sense that I wasn't confident of what I wrote. Grrr talaga. Besides that, I went bananas during the Spanish exam. Paano ba naman, may ilang salita na hindi ko alam i-translate sa Spanish! I tried to get leakage from classmates and it was really funny! Hindi kami magkaintindihan dahil pabulong ang lahat. Kakatawa talaga. Pero nung matapos ko yung test, hay, what a relief. Now what I only have to think about is the Psychology test on Tuesday and the business article on Feature Writing which will due Wednesday.

    So anyways, enough already of past sour-grapes. A while ago, Djhay, Erick and I happened to talk about the practicum. Since Erick (our irregular classmate in Journ last year) is a senior, he already took his practicum last summer. So he shared some of his experiences with me. Erick told me that he worked for two companies, namely: Abante and ABS-CBN (Studio 23 SPORTS!) I was so amused that he had his practicum at Studio 23 sports. My close friends know that to reach ABS-CBN SPORTS is my long-time dream. Suddenly, I was shaken when Erick told me that I might not be able to take the luck that he had since I'm already a PDI scholar. Well, initially I learned from him that for as long as you obtain a total of 120 hours of practicum, you can work in different companies. But he noted that PDI might require me to work for them full-time because they pay for my tuition and other expenses. *Sobs* Djhay joked me and he laughingly said, "Ate, sa plain black and white ka lang!" Waah. Gusto ko din kasing ma-experience yung ABS-CBN sa practicum. Huhu. How's that for my future?

    I reached home a bit tired so I lounged and watched TV. Later, I just thought of cleaning my drawer. My clean-up passed by old notebooks which have become very dusty and perhaps it was because I seldom touched them. I found out that these were my high school diaries and literary notebooks. As I read it, man, I laughed out loud on my own! Bukod sa mga mali-mali kong grammar at spelling noon, nakakaloka lang talaga yung mga pananaw ko dati. =p Going back to my past memories simply gave a tickle in my heart. I didn't expect that 'hey this was Shelly before'. Don't look now, I've gone so different today in so many ways. When Ayna called me up a while ago, I was sharing the same thing with her. In fact, I even read a few lines from my diary and Ayna simply laughed at it too. Haha.

    I've just finished watching 'Maalaala Mo Kaya'. The episode had a unique story and Roderick & Aiza's acting were commendable. Sa totoo lang, nakakagulat yung kwento dahil yung bakla at tomboy eh nagkatuluyan! =p Talk about present-day love stories -- quite odd but it happens. And perhaps the episode's imparting message is right that love is not measured by physical appearances and preferences but rather, it's more on the sincerity between two persons who wish to establish a good family. Asteeg talaga. Kanina lang ulit ako nakapanood ng TV show na mula umpisa hanggang huli eh pinanood ko. =p

Don't mourn over the past, neither worry for the future. What matters most is today, for in the present you can do something to fix mistakes from the past and improve yourself for a better future.

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August 09 2006 | Wednesday | 11:02pm

"WAITING SHED"

    How boring it was when we were waiting for the Feature Writing exams. Well, there was a miscommunication between Haoson (our class president) and Ma'am Villadolid with regard to the schedule. We expected to take the exam at 1pm without knowing that Ma'am Villadolid scheduled it 3pm onwards. Rarr. Sayang yung oras. I must have spent my precious time reviewing for Psychology and reading notes in Newspaper Management at home.

    So anyways, I just used my time helping out Djhay in his website. We went to the library. Afterwards, I decided to be left behind and review alone at the Music section. Pero maski tahimik dun, iba pa rin talaga kapag sa sariling bahay ka nagre-review. Umalis din ako agad. I went back with my classmates and spent the remaining time chatting with them.

    The exam was okay. It was a 5-question essay type of test. After the exam, I went home right away. I was really catching for time and I reached home past 5pm already. Good thing I was able to study the entire scope of Psychology exam in the evening. Sana makasagot ako nang matino. Waah. I wish myself luck for tomorrow.

    By the way, at the middle of my study, Ate Flo happened to call me. Initially, she was asking if I have an internet card. Later on, I just got swayed with the conversation and unnoticeably, I've forgotten about reviewing for a while. So yun, kuwentuhan at tawanan nanaman sa kung anu-anong bagay. She shared with me that she's waiting for her passport already. For the past days, she have been telling about her plans to live abroad with her boss. So that means she's about to leave some friends here in the Philippines which include me. Well, honestly, I really have nothing against her sudden leave. Kung tutuusin, ako pa ngang humihimok sa kanyang mag-abroad eh. Bukod sa maganda buhay dun, may pagkakataon pa siyang makita yung idol niya (si Ate Lani niya hehe). But there are times when Ate Flo shows that there's an undecided feeling in her heart. Dahil diyan, minsan, parang nadadala na rin ako sa kanya at para bang gusto kong sabihing huwag na lang siyang umalis. Personally, I will really miss her as my close friend. Naalala ko tuloy bigla yung mga panahong sinamahan ako ni Ate Flo sa pag-aaply ko sa Taguig, sa pag-eexam ko sa PDI, sa pag-gagala at sa panonood ng volleyball. Sa likod ng mga tagumpay ko, di nawawala yung suporta ni Ate Flo. Nagiging hectic man ako, di siya nakakalimot. Maraming beses na kaming nag-away niyan pero mas hindi mo naman mabibilang yung beses na napasaya namin ang isa't isa. Yung tipong kahit dalawa lang kaming magkasama, parang isang batalyon na yung taga-tawa. Malulungkot talaga ko kapag umalis na si Ate Flo, pero ayoko din namang manatili na lang siya dito kung sa ibang lugar naman eh puwede siyang umunlad.

    Life's somewhat like a waiting shed. There are times when you have to wait. Sometimes, you would discover that you waited for nothing but there are also instances when things are worth-the-wait especially when these are what you least expected.

I don't want to wait for our lives to be over..

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August 08 2006 | Tuesday | 09:13pm

"THE SPAN"

    They say that children have short attention span. Most often than not, they tend to jump from one activity to the other. I remember last night, Ayna and I were talking about teaching youngsters as a profession. It's not easy to supervise kids. Both of us agreed on the fact that it takes patience to maintain a kid's attention. But then, I said that we have to give room for exemption among children. They're kids. They have young brains and they cannot right away discover how to increase their attention spans. Definitely, this skill can be developed through the years.

    As we grow, the more we learn things. Our brain goes bigger, which I guess is in accordance with God's plan for us to have more room to fill in knowledge. I'm just wondering how come as we step notches on levels of studying, the more we get bored and lose attention. I'm now in tertiary level. It's my third year in college. As school years elapse, the graver it gets with regard to my attention span in studying. I tend to lose focus. I enjoy for some time, but there would come a moment to decline.

    Prelims has started. Uggh, I'm bored to death again with all the reviews and endless memorization. I really cannot put my full attention in studying. It's not that I'm inadvertently distracted but rather, I'd say I choose to be distracted. A while ago, I was trying to review for Feature Writing and Psychology. I feel so disgusted with my attitude of either turning the TV on or going downstairs to munch without finishing my review yet. Waah talaga. Dati, hindi ako ganito mag-aral at tuluy-tuloy talaga. Siguro nga nagsasawa na talaga ko sa kaka-aral. Wala na yung atensyon ko dun maski kailangan talagang pagtuonan ng atensyon. Grabehan.

x`cez: Happy birthday Carol! Too bad I wasn't able to join them at SM Manila. Sayang, libreng dinner pa naman sana. Haha.

Our trials are not the reason to give up but a challenge to improve ourselves. Our pain is not an excuse to back out but an inspiration to move on.

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August 07 2006 | Monday | 10:15pm

"TURNED EMPRESS FROM AN IMPRESS"

    I was welcomed this morning by text messages from friends who have read today's paper. My name was in Philippine Daily Inquirer along with 5 UPians and 1 from UE. Apparently, I wasn't informed that PDI would publish the scholars' names already and so I was quite shocked that other people knew about it ahead of me. Of course I felt flattered and yeah, what a way to start my day.

    As my mom arrived from work, I showed to her the article. As I expected, she can't help but smile and repeatedly read the A5 section of PDI's headlines. Later, she decided to go upstairs and I thought that she would do paper works already. I just got surprised when I heard that she was telling about the said article all the way to Batangas! Yak talaga, nahiya naman ako. >.< Ang aga-aga eh pinamamalita na ng nanay ko yung sa PDI. Nabasa na naman pala nina Tito Dadong yung article kasi araw-araw talaga silang nagbabasa ng PDI from cover to cover. Nakakatuwa din naman siyempre. Pinamalita din ni Tito Dadong hanggang Laguna at haha, bago pa makadating si Ate Aileen dito (na nagta-trabaho sa Megason Laguna), eh alam na niya yung tungkol sa PDI. Totoo ngang may pakpak ang balita at tila ba sing-bilis ng hangin ang pagdadala ng balita sa pamilya namin.

    More oddity came from my eager mom as I went back working on my computer. Dumungaw siya bigla at sabay tanong ng, "Gusto mo ng juice?" Haha, ewan ko ba. Hindi naman kasi araw-araw ganyan yung nanay ko. Maya-maya, tinanong ko lang kung anong pang-ulam. Hindi pa kasi ako nag-aagahan. Bumaba siya agad para ipaluto sa katulong namin yung inihaw na baboy (my favorite). At dahil matagal maluto yung inihaw, inalok-alok pa niya ko kung gusto ko daw ba ng biskwit. Napapangiti na lang ako. Well, I'm so touched about my mom's tender loving care. It's not that I'm saying that my mom isn't thoughtful. Let's just say that she has become more thoughtful today. She gives more attention to my needs and she would often grant my petty wishes. In fact a while ago, I wished to eat at Don Henrico's and poof, it came true. Perhaps it's true that when good fortune comes to you, so as good treatments. I feel like a queen in the house right now. Tipong your highness or your empress ba. Haha joke. =p

    Pero siyempre, di ko pa rin hinahayaang bumara ang kayabangan sa utak ko. I'm trying to control my happiness and be as humble as possible. In school, I tried to be calm and focused more in reviewing for the exams. Speaking of which, I took the Filipino exam a while ago and grr, somehow I was regretting that I didn't memorize "Ang Sinapupunan: Unang Silid-Aralan" because it was a 55-item fill in the blanks test. Tapos ang hirap pa nung ibang parte ng exam. Kainis. Hehe. Pero sabi ko nga kay Chuchie, "Past is past. What matters most is the present."

    I'm starting to review for Psychology. The exam is still on Thursday but due to its lengthy scope, I have to scan the chapters already. Again, why fall for the same mistake? I know that I should have done better in that Filipino exam but perhaps reviewing well for Psych will suffice my past regrets. I hope so. I have to impress myself. I can do this. Wuhoo.

x`cez: I'm thinking about changing my current blog layout Haha, naaliw na kasi ako sa ginawa kong layout para sa Computer class ko. VIEW IT for yourselves. =)

You cannot please everybody; more importantly, it's better to please yourself before pleasing others.

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August 04 2006 | Friday | 09:09pm

"ELECTRIC SHOCKS"

    My eyes are weary already and man, I'm starting to feel those mini electric currents crawling in my forehead. It has been a long Friday for me. Yet, I can say that I really had so much fun.

    I didn't go home anymore (for a usual nap) after Filipino class. We were dismissed earlier by Sir Ampil, thanks to UST laptop's viruses that corrupted PPT files that must have been presented. So anyways, as we planned, we watched "Sukob" at SM San Lazaro. Too bad Arene got sick and she wasn't able to come. Meanwhile, John thought of going with us to watch too and yes, our mall stroll became funnier when he came with us, Madie, Djhay and Dez. Kapag kasama mo talaga di John, di pwedeng hindi ka matatawa. He's one classmate who's good at electrifying you with laughter now and then.

    Sarado pa yung sinehan, nandun na kami. Haha. Good thing the supermarket was open already and we decided to roam around there. So yun, tumingin-tingin ng mga pagkain pero hindi naman bibili. =p Afterwards, we thought of eating snacks first while waiting for the 10:30am cinema opening. I ate a yummy jumbo hotdog while sharing random stories with my friends.

    Finally, I was able to watch Sukob. Haha, at talaga naman, wala akong masabi sa mga nakakagulat na eksena. In fact I barely stared at the horrific images. Well, I'm thinking that these things might remain in my memory and result to more sleepless nights. Haha. Di na nga ko makatulog dahil sa Insomia tapos dadagdag pa ang katatakutan sa gabi. Haha. Lalo lang mabubuwal mata ko sa puyat niyan. =p So anyways, with regard to the film's plot, I can say that it made sense. Generally, it was all about bad lucks. Sukob sa kasal -- kapag ang magkapatid ay kinasal sa parehong taon. Malas daw kasi nag-aagawan sa swerte. Sukob sa patay -- kapag kinasal ka sa parehong taong may namatay sa pamilya. Malas daw kasi nagtatalo ang swerte at malas. How I love the cinematography and sound effects! It really gave us a shock. Once in a while I stared at my friends and all of us had the same position: our hands were near our eyes for cover! I remembered what Djhay kept on saying, "Ate Shelly ikaw may kasalanan nito eh! Ikaw nagyaya dito sa Sukob!" Hahaha!!! We were supposed to watch it over again (since it was still early) but some noisy teenagers at our back annoyed us and we decided to go out of the theater already.

    We ate lunch at Greenwich. Ginutom ako sa kakatakip ng mata. Haha. Habang kumakain, siyempre kuwentuhan pa rin tungkol sa pelikula. Before going back to UST, we passed by National Bookstore and we happened to meet some 3jrn3 peeps there as well. Haha kagulo kami dun. I was supposed to buy a cute book (which Shiela had showed to me) but waah, the price was shocking. For a small and thin book, it costs 395php! Pero promise ang ganda ng libro.. ma-ORANGE kasi. Hahaha. Adek.

    Pagbalik ng USTe, grabe, dun ko naramdaman ang antok at pagod. We had a quiz and recitation during Lit class. Matapos nun, naisipan kong samahan si Madie na bumili ng donut sa may IPEA. Mawala man lang ang antok ko. Naglolokohan pa kami ni Madie na baka magkasalubong namin si Ging. Shocking moment sana yun, kaso ayaw yata ng tadhana at hindi natupad. =p So anyways, during Spanish class we also had a confusing quiz. Well, it was hard in the sense that our professor lacks skillfulness in teaching us Spanish. Kinakabahan tuloy ako sa Prelims. Di tulad sa ibang subjects, may iskema naman kami sa wika (either English or Filipino), pero paano na lang kapag lahat na ng salita sa test paper eh Spanish? Waah. Kakaloka.

    By the way, shocking as it can be, but I'm declaring that he's officially my newest crush. <3 I've been talking about him to my friends every now and then. Besides being an athletic and popular guy, he seems nice. Hindi siya sobrang gwapo pero tamang appeal lang para hangaan ko siya. =) I'm looking forward to see him frequently in campus. Haha. A while ago, I just thought of looking for his test permit at the Dean's Office since we were also getting our own test permits. Pinakita ko kay Djhay tapos tinawanan lang niya yung pangalan hmmp! =p Binalik ko naman ulit yung permit eh, at makakapag-exam pa naman siya. Haha.

    Besides John's "Katok mga misis, katok katok.." Last Song Syndrome passed on me, the electric shots of "perfect combination, love plus you and me." has started to penetrate in my head again. <3

When the right time comes, you'll suddenly feel that electricity which will simply enlighten and lighten up your life.

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August 01 2006 | Tuesday | 11:44pm

"CAREER MODE"

    Alam niyo yung feeling ng napagpagan ng balakubak ng ibang tao? Mula sa makating ulo ng isang lalaking kaklase, kinamot, tumalsik sa maputing Psychology booklet mo, tapos sabay pinagpag nung nangamot at napunta sa bughaw mong palda. Isang lang ang mararamdaman mo: KADIRI.

    Tawanan talaga kami nina Djhay at Shiela nung Psychology class. Hindi ko na nga masyadong naintindihan yung turo ni Ma'am Bolaños eh. Paano ba naman, may kaklase kaming kinarir yung pagkakamot ng ulo niya. Di namin alam kung bakit patuloy ang pangangati niya. How unhygienic. Dagdag pa diyan, matapos niyang mangamot, eh nag-nail bite pa! Just imagine the germs that might be on his hair and he was able to taste it! Eww. At meron pa, matapos ang masarap na pagkain ng kuko, hinawak-wakan niya yung buhok ng isang babaeng kaklase. The spread of germs was in the house. Haha! But seriously, oh common we're college people already. Is hygiene still a question among us? Do we have to act like elementary pupils who are fond of mess? I think it's a ridiculous idea. Two years from now we'll have our own career jobs already. Wala ng magdi-disiplina sa amin sa pangangatawan dahil malalaki na kami.

    Good news from Sir Aldaba that we won't have a prelim exam for his subject. He said that every pen-pushing activity which happens every meeting equals our prelims already. Speaking of activities, man, we had another writing exercise a while ago. This time, it was on "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" by Joan Didion. My mind got doomed. I wrote for 1 1/2 hours. Hindi ko na nagawang i-career yung mga sagot ko dahil sa readings pa lang, napagod na ko.

    When I reached home, I rested for a minute by chatting through YM. The long lost chatter Ate Rox happened to be online then. I thought that she was relaxing (by chatting in YM) but when I messaged her, she seemed busy. She told me that she was trying to accomplish some unfinished works. Hay naku, career mode talaga si Ate Rox sa trabaho niya! Haha. Gusto niya yatang maging Employee of the Year eh. =p Simula nung mag-trabaho siya sa NCCC, para bang na-indian na niya yung ilang bagay. Minsan gusto ko sanang itanong kung masaya ba siya dahil pinupukpok niya palagi ang sarili niya sa pagta-trabaho. Hehe.

Mind your own business.

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