Life Goes On...

Encountering Swedish "Problems"

2007-06-14T17:55:00.000+08:00

A month ago, I ordered some Swedish grammar books and a dictionary from Amazon.com as I am trying to learn some basic Swedish by myself. My order was separated into two shipments. The first one arrived promptly
two week after I paid the order, while the second shipment seemed to disappear. I don't know what happened. I
kept on waiting for it to arrive, until this afternoon when I checked my mailbox, there was a notice sent to me from
the postal office telling me to claim a package at the post office. The notice was dated on June 04, 2007. I was
really frustrated when I saw the note. When the first package arrived, the apartment security guard received it for me when it was delivered, but why not the second package too? I was like..."Oh no...I don't know how to go to the said post office. What do I do?" I immediately phoned the post office and luckily, the personnel told me that the package is still in the post office and that I should claim it as soon as possible. Oh well, in the end, I had to ask my mom's store employee to claim it for me as I don't want to get lost on my way there :S

Well, I hope I get it tomorrow. I'm really excited to start reading the books :P This language is getting more and more interesting as I further explore it haha Good luck to myself!

MyOpera Blocked

2007-05-28T18:56:00.000+08:00

About a week ago, Trudy, my Chinese online friend told me that she cannot access MyOpera and
asked me if I could access it. I tried it, and it worked perfectly well, of course. I thought maybe it was only Trudy's internet that is experiencing internet, but it turns out that the issue is not as easy as I thought it was. Stomyr, another of my online friend from my opera blog told me that http://my.opera.com has been banned from China due to some offensive contents. OMG! I can't believe that. I had no idea how offensive a blog can be that it led China to ban access to the whole website. That is just so unreasonable.

I think until now, China is still very conservative on criticisms casted upon the government by other people. I don't know why they should react so violently when it was already a known truth that China is still not completely democratized. Oh well, I'm sad to say that Trudy and all other Chinese bloggers of the MyOpera community wouldn't be able to log-in or access the websites ever again :/

This might have been good news to Blogger or any other blogsites out there lol As my friend, Trudy, has just moved her blog here a few days ago and will continue her blog here from now on. I hope Blogger don't get banned too haha

I'm back?

2007-05-23T20:07:00.000+08:00

I am actually thinking of posting on this blog again. I kinda missed this place hehe

Well, yesterday I was really bored so I thought I might as well come back here and do some customizations to my blog then I discovered this really nice new feature of blogger. It now offers a new customization tool where you can actually sort out the side bar and add extra stuff to your side bar without the hassle of having to edit the html. All you need to do is drag the side panels across with the mouse. As you can see, I've managed to replace my heading with a picture, which I edited yesterday using Adobe Photoshop CS3. I hope it didn't look so bad :D As for the background, honestly, I think it does not match my template, but anyway, I did use a lot of time editing that picture. It's a picture I originally downloaded from deviantart, but I changed the color :P

This should serve as my "welcome back" post lol I'll be posting more soon, I guess.

Hi to all!

2007-02-18T14:23:00.000+08:00

Wow it's been another month since I last updated this blog. Really, I don't see much life in this blog anymore...It's like a dead sea, that's why I get more and more discouraged to write here.

Hmm since my last update, there'd been only like 13 visits...hahaha My total hits now in my opera blog has already reached 2700 hits, and its only been 2 months since I started it. I'm thinking of deleting this blog...or just leave it as is until it disappears one day...without even any of you knowing. Please do visit my new blog at http://my.opera.com/winterdawn Thanks!

See you there...!

Wow! It's been a month!

2007-01-20T11:48:00.000+08:00

Unusual for me, isnt it? To not write here for almost a month! haha Actually,
I've been writing still,but not posting it here. I've recently registered a new
account in Opera blog. The URL for my second blog site is
http://my.opera.com/winterdawn Please visit it :D Thanks! Why?
Because I noticed that hit rates are surprisingly a lot higher there
than here. My blog here is so desserted,there was not even one single hit within the month I wasn't able to write anything. Unlike in Opera,
anonymous people came and comment on my blog, which makes me feel
that there is always someone out there reading my blog contents, encouraging
me to write more. I don't know what happened to some of my readers and
fellow bloggers here, seems this blog-writing heat had cooled down a bit.

A few updates of what I've been doing for the whole month since December:

1. Christmas eve dinner in the mall
2. Watching three out of five days of Pyro Olympics (UK was the champion)
3. Studying for school (since it started January 8, 2007)
4. Been busy practicing piano everyday (done with 3 songs in 1 month :P)

That's all! Hope to see you guys soon. Bye!

Mega Reunion :D

2006-12-21T23:13:00.000+08:00

Today, December 21, 2006, as we've planned earlier, my friends and I are to go to the Mall of Asia to have fun

Well,we planned to meet at the LRT station at exactly 9:00, Solomon and I were the earliest to arrive there at approximately 8:30. Ok, so we bought our train tickets and waited for the others to come. Nikko kept texting us, updating is with the whereabouts of the others. On 5 minutes before 9:00, Nikko finally arrived, then came Lisa and Stephanie. Now, only Joanie and Dianne have not yet arrived.So, where are they? It's a mystery.The two of them were supposed to meet up and go to the train station together. A few minutes later, Joanie sent Solomon a message asking what Dianne's cellphone number is...Oh my God!I can't believe these two people actually talked about meeting each other without getting each other's contact number first! Not just that, after a while, we received another text message, this time its from Dianne. She asked us where Joanie is...All of us we're like...O K A Y...what the hell are you two doing??? LOL If the two of you do not know where the other one of you is, how will we know? My my...what are they doing? In the end, we had to wait for them at our destinated station and continue on our way to the mall. haha

We got there at about 10:00. We walked a bit, went to IMAX theatre to buy our tickets for the 3D movie T-REX and then we proceeded to the ice skating rink to buy our tickets also in advance.We went straight to Teriyaki Boy to have our lunch because Joanie accidentally used her ice skating ticket and had to get back there before it expires after an hour lol Finally, after lunch, we went on ice skating. Ah...how nice to skate again... Skate, skate, skate...Unexpectedly, I fell 5 times today! haha Normally, I don't fall, maybe its because of too much excitement that I can't wait to skate fast. Alright, at my 5th fall, I managed to bump with a stranger who almost fell down with me. Luckily, she stood still and held me tight enough to make me sit right on the floor. My gosh! That was painful. I immediately stood up and rushed to the sides. At that moment, I felt a slash of pain through my index finger. I took a look at my finger and saw two straight lines of slash marks caused by the skating shoes. I didn't realize till then that the stranger had her skating shoes on my fingers when I fell. Now it started bleeding...I went out of the rink and asked for a band-aid. Ok, after that, my friends also got tired of skating because their feet are starting to ache, so we stopped and went to Starbucks to have some drinks, talked a bit, and even met our long-time-no-see high school friends. It was fun! We took a lot of pictures and laughed a lot.

At approximately 4:25, we left Starbucks and arrived at the IMAX theatre at about 4:30 and proceeded into the theatre to wait for the movie to start. The movie was quite good, since it's with 3D effect. The story is nice. It's about the discovery of dinosaurs and alike. The movie ended after an hour and we went to Powerstation and started playing arcade games. After 2 long hours of nonstop dancing and drumming,we went to Pizza Hut to have our dinner and finally, going to BreadTalk to meet up with Lisa's mom and dad, who would be driving us to our respective homes. How pleasant...I haven't been this happy for quite a long time now. Indeed, the more the merrier, we were the noisiest group of people wherever we go

After I got home, there was another surprise waiting for me. I logged-in my Yahoo messenger and guess what? My friend Dorin is online! I'm so surprised, I can't believe it was actually him. I haven't talked with him for 4 long months!It was really nice to chat with him again and to know that he is doing fine.

Ok...that is my diary for today. Quite a long post, I suppose. Please bear with me, as I've realized that I'm becoming more and more of a talkative person now Haha! Sorry about that... Well...umm Happy Christmas! Have fun byebye!

Basically, this is just a copy-paste version of what I've posted in my Opera blog account. I'm too tired to write a new one about the same happenings :D enjoy!

Storm gone and sun comes...

2006-12-13T19:25:00.000+08:00

At last, after three full months of hard work and endurance, it is now my time to relax. Freedom at last! Today was the last day of our final exams. The details of the exams, I'm not gonna further explain, but it did went well :D Right now, I felt as if Christmas is only an arm's length away. I'm so excited! Christmas has always been my favorite holiday every year, nothing more can make me happier than during the Christmas season.

One reason, of course, is I get to receive gifts haha Another is, I get to give gifts. Sounds funny? Well yeah, it is. But I always find the joy in giving my thoughts and best wishes to my friends in this season. The best part is when I'm choosing gifts for my friends. I don't know, I just like it. Some people say that choosing presents for others is the hardest thing to do coz they do not know what their friends or relatives like. As for me, I always notice the small details in my friends' daily lives and take note on what they would wish to have as a present. Hmm it might be very painful for my wallet, but its worth it. After all, this season only comes once a year.

How I wish I'd be in another country, somewhere in the Scandinavia, during Christmas. I'm sure it would be a whole lot of fun-- different customs, festivities, and culture. Considering also that I'd be able to see snow...WOW that's one of my wildest dreams. I heard that the Christmas trees used in Europe are real ones that people cut from the forest. Lucky! We only have plastic ones here, which is kinda weird, but white ones look really nice :D

After today, my Christmas vacation would officially start, until the second week of January. Hmm what can I do during this three-week break? Umm play a lot of tennis, I'm sure, and maybe go to the mall and go to my friends' house. I suppose it would be good. This is the first Christmas I'm going to have since my university/college life started. Ah well, I'm excited, very. Besides being my first Christmas since college, the adding up of new friends--college friends or online friends to my life is also one thing that is worth my celebration and excitement.

Can't wait for the Christmas to come! I still have a few gifts to prepare. No worries, on Friday, I'm going to the mall with La Reina and Jessica to relax ourselves and to start Christmas shopping :P Okay, my post ends here. Happy Christmas! (In advance haha)

Is linguistics for me?

2006-12-09T23:28:00.000+08:00

I keep wondering...
Would it be better if I took a liberal arts/literature course rather than taking up a business course? I think I feel more comfortable writing stuff then solving math problems. But why? Before I used to force myself to excel in math, to make myself believe that I am better in maths than in literature. So stupid of me, were I just tricking myself into believing something that is not true? Or......

Recently, I've been chatting with a Swedish friend. If you read my blog frequently, you would know who I'm referring to. Before I started having online friends, I was not very aware of the country Sweden. I mean, of course, I knew that it is somewhere in Europe, but I had no idea where its exact location is. Now, after seven months of chatting with this friend named Jocke, I was able to learn a lot of new things about Sweden and Scandinavia. Now I know how beautiful Sweden is. Now I know what Sweden is like. It is strange, but I've also become interested with the Swedish language. It sounds nice, truly. It sounds really foreign, but good, better than any other languages I've heard of.

I tried searching on the internet about the Swedish language. Of course, Jocke did tried to teach me some Swedish, but I feel it is not very appropriate to waste another's time in teaching me Swedish. It's not easy to learn. It was not so easy to get websites that teach basic Swedish either. Fortunately, Nikko managed to find this really good site--> http://www.ielanguages.com I got there and started reading. Wow! I saw "ä", "ö" , and "å" Cool! I didn't have the slightest idea that such characters were used in this language. Before I used to use these characters for making my text more creative LOL It looks nice I suppose, not that if you really knew the meaning of each of the letters and its pronunciation.

I've been trying hard to learn Swedish. I find it not so hard to start slowly, learning one by one, from the basics to the harder parts, if I could still manage to do so. Well, I don't know why, but I always find languages easier that maths; perhaps it is because that I only have to memorize the words, unlike math, where I have to twist and turn in my mind the fundamental stuff I've learned to solve more complicated problems.

Is linguistics for me? I'm still in a doubt, till now. I suppose it could find its place in my list of leisures... No harm done in learning a new language, is there? :D I believe I will have to continue working hard with Swedish. I have to at least know some useful basic stuff. It might help when I get the chance to visit Sweden. I must say that Scandinavia is certainly worth the visit, especially Sweden. Even if it is in the opposite side of the world, I would do all my best just to be able to get a glance of the lifestyle and people in Sweden. Good luck with my goal...:D Hej då!

Another MOA Marathon

2006-12-02T18:40:00.000+08:00

December 1, 2006

As was planned a week before, we, the usual quadro, would be going to MOA today again to watch "Happy Feet" in IMAX, the 3D theater. Until the last moment before the movie started, I still thought that this movie is going to be shown in 3D, but to my disappointment, it was only shown only in 2D. I wasted twice the price for the ticket of a normal 2D cinema movie. *SIGH*

Before the we watched the movie, which is to start at 15:30, we went ice skating. This time I'm happy to say that I've quite improved a lot, at least in my own opinion. I could now glide a bit, across the rink and near the sides. Although I fell three times, which was quite embarrassing, as people were crowded near the sides when I fell, I managed to get up and continue skating. I'm confident that I'd be able to do better next time. It's a shame that DK didn't arrive on time just to join us on our skating marathon haha I hope to see her skate soon >:)

After skating, while Steph,Nikko, and Solomon headed to the Powerstation to dance, I went rushing to find my mom so we could go shop for my corporate attire that I was required to wear on our day of report for english research class. While on my way to meet with my mom at the Sunset Avenue, I received a phone call from DK asking where we are, so I had to go meet her first before I go to my mom's. I saw DK, had a brief talk and I hurried away to find my mom. After an hour, I went to IMAX entrance to meet up with the others so we could go in the theater altogether.

I was full of anticipation, until the film started playing and that I discovered that it was not 3D, as Nikko told me it was earlier. Too bad, but I still enjoyed the movie, anyway. It was a nice, relaxing, funny 3D animation about a story of a tap dancing penguin, that was cast away by his fellow emperor penguins and had later found residence and new friends in another community of penguin of different kind. I don't think I'd want to spoil the movie here, so that's about as much that I can say about it. You should watch it yourself :P

After the movie, my mom and I had to continue shopping for my corporate attire. It took us more than 2 hours before we were able to find the right one that fitted me. We dined there and drove home afterwards. It was already 20:30 when we arrive home. I turned on my computer and started writing this post. Well, lately, I haven't been able to come up with interesting stuff to talk about. Maybe I'd have more inspiration when Christmas comes ;) See ya!

M.O.A. "PARTY" !

2006-11-26T22:45:00.000+08:00

Well...I haven't had such a great day for so long, ever since I started university life. My high school friends had been inviting me to go malling with them, but sadly, all I can do is refuse their invitations. I don't have a choice but to do so, I'm really sorry guys...I didn't mean to, but I'm too piled up with projects and reports that I do not have anymore spare time to go malling.

Today, as was planned a week in advance, was the day for my second birthday blow-out, as I call it. The first one was with my university classmates, as I've mentioned in my other post earlier. Today, the second one is for my high school close friends. I'm really excited.

On approximately 9:45 in the morning, Steph and Nikko arrived at my house and we waited for my mom to get ready and drive us to the Mall of Asia(MOA). DK can't come and Solomon will be meeting with us at MOA. We left home at 10:50 and arrived there at 11:30, then we went to have our lunch at Italiannis. After lunch my friends went dancing :D (dance maniax)

Finally, my chance has come. My friends are going to teach me how to skate on ice. Oh my God! I was so nervous at first. I didn't know what to do at first. Steph told me to always stand with my feet in "v" shape. "Okay...easy...easy...just calm down and you'd be able to get things right." I keep telling myself. I was really scared- afraid to let go of the skating rink edges. There were several times when I almost slipped and had to grab either Steph or Nikko just to keep me from falling. I made it a point to not slip evenonce, before I stepped in the skating rink. I don't want to get my pants wet and look funny... :P

After almost 3 hours of struggle, I finally managed to "skate" slowly by my own. At that moment, I felt as if I've accomplished something impossible. I was really happy. Ah...like Steph and Nikko said, skating is addictive. I want to try it again next time, and hopefully be able to glide a bit. Thank you so much for my teachers/instructors, Steph, Nikko, and Solomon, who did nothing but take pictures and scream when detergent bubbles were being sprinkled on the rink LOL

Right after our ice skating session, we immediately went to Powerstation to play Dance Maniax. All the three of them we're like crazy, "dancing" and laughing. I was amazed when I saw how fast they were able to follow the dancing machine. ADDICTS! I can never be like them haha They're too expert and I'm too novice lol ( whats with the grammar?) I "danced" a bit too and I found it hard even if it was just mild level with slow speed. Oh well, I might as well need a lot of practice and money before I reach their level :S

That was it. We had dinner after and then went straight home. This was one crazy day. I'm looking forward to go malling with you guys again! haha I'm already very tired by the time I got home, but still had to study for the test in physics tomorrow :( Sleepy...sleepy... Got to go. Bye! :D See you all in the Chrisrmas break! >:)

Grattis på födelsedagen!

2006-11-22T00:16:00.000+08:00

Novermber 21, 2006

Belated happy birthday to myself!

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a really happy day. Jocke was the first to greet me happy birthday :D I think this was the longest time we've chatted ever since a few months ago. He's always been busy, but yesterday, I'm really thankful that he came to chat with me on my birthday. Thank you, Jocke! :P

*I woke up really early yesterday at 4:00 because my aunt had to go back to General Santos, her flight was to be on 7:00 so I had to accompany my mom and drive my aunt to the airport, so my mom could drop me at the university on her way back home.

The next to greet me was my university friend, La Reina, she sent me a text message greeting me happy birthday early in the morning. After La Reina came some more greetings from my friends, both new and old friends. I am really happy. I never expected that so many people
remembered my birthday and even took the time to greet me, either through text messages or in person. Thank you so much! :D

Today, I treated the whole class at Pizza Hut. I was really glad when almost all of them came, except four, in which one of them was not feeling well, and the others accompanying him. Too bad they weren't able to come, but I appreciated the time they took to sing me the birthday song.

When we're almost done eating, the waiter suddenly came out holding a cake with a candle on top. I was very surprised. I didn't what to say. At that moment, I wondered, "when and who bought the cake?" Then Joyce told me that the cake was from her,Ira, and Jessica. That was the reason why they disappeared suddenly while I was ordering the food--they went to Red Ribbon and bought me a chocolate mousse (my favorite!) :P I blowed the candle and my classmates started singing me the birthday song again.

The song goes like this..."Happy birthday SHIR! Happy birthday SHIR!" It sounded awkward and funny haha Keane (one of my friends) told me that the whole class had been practicing the song since Saturday, when they were on their way to BASECO (the venue for their community service). Awww I was so touched. I did not expect that they would remember my birthday, after all, I'm not that high-profiled in class...but at least I maintain an equal and neutral relationship with everyone :D I guess that was helpful haha

After this day, I can't help but make this day the best birthday I'd ever had. Thank you everyone for making my first birthday since college a happy and memorable one!

This Sunday, don't forget to come to my 2nd "party" in MOA, Nikko, Steph, Solomon, and DK :D I'm excited to learn ice skating :D I also wanna go to Powerstation and play dance maniac hahaha Good luck to me! Once again, thank you everyone for everything. I love you all!!! *hugs*

A Trip to the "Wild"

2006-11-09T19:15:00.000+08:00

November 08, 2006 7:00

Everybody in class was excited about our trip to the Muslim mosque. Well, I'm neither excited nor interested because I'm sure I'd see things that I do not want to see. The exciting thing about this trip is that we're going on a car pool. My friend, Joyce, will be driving us to the mosque. I'm curious on how she drives, since she'd only had her driving lessons last summer. Ah yes, our professor will be driving his car too.

Our trip is scheduled at 14:00.

Same day 14:00

"Where are the others?" Our professor asked as he came to our assembly place at the Brother Andrew Hall lobby. "Sir, we do not know. The others do not seem to know that we'll be meeting here." I said. Well, we had no choice but to sit in the car and wait for the others to come.

*tick* *tick* *tick*

15 minutes had passed...
Still, there are some of my classmates who had not yet arrived. Joyce is becoming more and more impatient with each passing second. Even the others in the car are starting to complain, including me. Sitting in Joyce's car are Ira, Lareina, Jessica, and I.

Another 15 minutes had passed...
Finally, our professor started his car engine and we were on our way to the mosque. Since its rush hour, there was quite heavy traffic, with our professor's car ahead consistently changing lanes and stopping to wait for the others' cars to catch up.

After 10-15 minutes, we finally arrived at the mosque.
The surrounding was terrible...like an abondoned marketplace with fierceful looking people everywhere :S So this is how a Muslim place looks like...dirty and scary. Its a total stranger place to me. I've never been to anywhere place like that and I didn't even know that Manila has a place like that. Oh my God! All the people in there were looking at us like they've seen aliens emerging from the UFOs. To tell the truth, I'm really scared. Never had I had this bad a feeling before. I feel so insecure, I feel that something bad might just happen to all of us there; maybe its because the impression I had on Muslims---scary, violent, aggressive, and wild that gave me such wild imaginations :D

The speaker welcomed us and started telling us about the Islamic religion. He started telling us stories about Allah and the prophets. O...K... I was like "Whatever...I don't care a thing about what you say. Jesus is not just a prophet, He's the one and only God." Everything the speaker told us sounded so ridiculous. When the time for their mass came at 15:00,we were allowed to stand outside the mosque and watch them pray inside the room.

I noticed something, no women inside the prayer room. The women were off-limits, even the women visitors. DISCRIMINATION!!! Oh well...the Muslims are well-known for that. But when one of my classmates asked the speaker about the women being not allowed in the prayer room, his answer was shocking and ridiculous at the same time. He said it is because that the Muslim women are regarded as jewels, once they break, the men can never put it back together again. Come one, who would believe that kind of cock-and-bull story? /:) He also said that there is a secluded place for the women to pray. What the hell? What a stupid excuse!

Damn it! I'm getting really really bored and irritated, especially when this talkative classmate of mine who keeps asking nonsense questions that might even offend the Muslims. In the end, all of our classmates were asking her to stop, thats when she stopped. Thank goodness, we were finally able to leave that hellish place.

Now, we have to face the problem of the possibility of getting lost on our way home because our "caring" professor left us in the mosque and returned to the university himself :S Anyway, thanks to the strangers that we asked, we managed to find our way back.

Whew! That was one tideous day. I was already very very sleepy when I got home. Got to slept early at 23:00 after I finished doing some reading for my English research class. I also got to chat with my ever-so-hard-to-catch Swedish online friend on msn haha Lucky me!

******************************************************
So that's it for today. See ya guys next time! Bye :D

Into the world of magic...

2006-10-31T19:56:00.000+08:00

October 31,2006 12:10

My friends and I were in a taxi cab steadily on our way to Glorietta 4 cinema to watch the new move titled "The Prestige." We've planned this trip a week ahead, so when we received the news that we're to have only half day of class today, we were all so excited to watch this movie. This movie is about two magicians, one working hard to show everyone how well he could do magic tricks and the other fighting hard for fame and the pleasure of receiving applause from the audience after every performance.

October 31, 2006 14:15

After having our lunch, we headed our way to the cinema to watch the movie. Trailers...commercials...then finally, the movie! Wow! The movie starts with suspense, giving all of us some confusions. There was never a moment that I took my eyes off the big movie screen. I was so enticed with the movie that I could hardly talk with my seatmeat if she asks me something. I tell you, if you intend to go in the cinema to relax and maybe get a while of sleep, this movie is definitely the last I would recommend you. Put down your concentration for just a second and you won't be able to catch up for the next hour. This movie, like some detectives/action movies, is full of mysteries. You really have to think while you watch to be able to understand what the movie is trying to tell you. You never know what happens next, everything comes so unexpected.

Some magic tricks were revealed and now I know just how easy they were. I also realized how hard it is to be able to excel in a specific field of profession, especially as a magician. You have to pretend that you're a wizard and make things that are impossible come true. Through this movie, I also learned that life is not always complicated. There are always easy ways to solve problems, it depends only on your way of thinking. Sometimes simpler minds tend to be able to sort complicated problems out through a solution that you would think that's obvious or stupid. But the question is, why haven't you thought of it in the first place if it was obvious?

October 31 , 18:10

Finally, after enjoying some arcade games after the movie, my two friends and I headed on our way home. Okay, here goes the problem, this is the first time we're going to ride MRT (another train line) , we haven't had the slightest idea as where to buy tickets and where to ride the train. Fortunately, a classmate of our's directed us to the ticket booth and we're also able to find the entrance to the waiting platform after a few moments of thinking and deciding. Oh well..it was fun. I've never travelled by the MRT before, the scenes flashing past the windows are new and nice to me as I've never really seen the night time Manila while riding the MRT/LRT. After three stops, we transferred to the LRT and that's when I felt secure. Even if its already nighttime, at least I knew all the stops and stations of the LRT, so I'm not nervous anymore.

My mom fetched my friend and I at the station by car. After we drove my friend home, I arrived home at approximately 19:00. Whew! That was quite an adventure...a long journey :P Now, I could go to Glorietta next time just by commuting YEY!!!

I love this day!!! This is the first block outing we had that I joined. It was fun, with almost all of our class present and watching the same movie, sharing opinions, at the same time. Many of my classmates didn't understand what the movie was trying to tell us, but gladly, I did. I would say that I haven't watched a movie so good as "The Prestige" for so long and I'm really glad that I convinced myself to join this block outing this time. I am hoping that there will be more to come :D

No classes tomorrow!!! YES! (Coz its holloween's day :S) Well...we don't really celebrate holloween here, but visiting the passed-aways is nevertheless inevitable. Good thing I didn't have any dead blood keen here in Manila. I hate the cemetery. I do not like the feeling everytime I go there :) HAPPY HOLLOWEEN"S DAY!!! :D 'Trick or treats!!!!'

Magnificent, is it?

2006-10-26T16:50:00.000+08:00

I know this came a bit late, but I can't find time to take pictures of the university I'm studying in now. Until a week ago, I finally had the opportunity to shoot some pictures of the school amphitheater, quadrangle, the yuchengco building, and the study hall(conservatory). Its just a fews shots, I hope you like it. I've come to appreciate and love the environment of the school. Though its not so big, its still got very nice gardens everywhere inside the campus :D Its always the best place to sit under the big mango tree or the stone chairs near the mini fountain to study or merely to just chat with my friends :P

Winner in Heart

2006-10-22T00:04:00.000+08:00

Well well...today was our official closing ceremony of the ROTC week. We had sports fest today as our last battle with the other units in military training. The sports included are the basketball, volleyball, soccer, chess, and the game of the generals.

We have members assigned to each sport, but the soccer came unexpectedly. The officer-in-charge informed us that there will be a female team OMG! I was forced to join... :S I haven't played for years and how am I gonna play well without any practice? Oh well...there's nothing we could do but to play even if we knew nothing about it. The problem is, the opponent consists of well-experienced members, including a varsity player. Oh boy, I see the big letter "L" ahead, waving at me. I played forward in the first game and goal keeper in the second game. Our score in the first game was 0-10 (we lose) haha and the second game was 4-5 (we lose again), but this time its not so bad a loss. Thanks for my good blocking and kicking skills >:) Kidding! haha

Besides soccer, we lose in all other sports!!! OMG! I can't believe that! Our unit was supposed to be the best, but we lose!!! Except in the Game of the Generals, we won. Our officer was very disappointed, but he said that at least we did our best. We will get our revenge next week, in the silent/fancy drills competition. God bless!!wohoo!

Although we lose, we're happy. I enjoyed the game, so are all the other members of the battalion. It was a hell of fun!!! Therefore, I say, we're winners in heart, even if we lose all the games.

Lasallian Recollection

2006-10-18T15:58:00.000+08:00

Lasallian recollection, what is it? Well, it is a day when the students in La Salle will be assigned to attend a mini retreat on the designated place behind the university campus. It is also the day when we confine ourselves to find God, as Christians quote it. Yesterday, the whole class attended this retreat. The scheduled time was to start at 7:30 and end at 16:00.

All of us, of course, haven't had the slightest idea of what people do on the Lasallian Recollection day. As usual, I was the earliest one to arrive the hermitage at 7:10 in the morning. The hermitage the place where the retreat is going to be held. 15 mins later, a few more classmates came and we started taking pictures using the digital camera I brought with me while waiting for the others to come. My classmates were all very vain LOL They would pose whenever they see a camera. But I like people who are willing to join the "pictorial" hehe :P Another 15 mins passed and alomst all of my classmates had arrived. We started with an orientation by the volunteers from the pastoral office of the university. One of the volunteer, named Jay, told us to keep quiet when inside the prayer room because that is the rule. We said "Ok.We'll keep quiet."

We entered the prayer room after we removed our shoes. We were all kinda excited when once we're inside the room. The candle-lit room, together with a mini electronic waterfall on the right side, and the holy music drifting across the room, gave me a feeling of peace and calmness. The facilitator was seated on the left corner of the room, beside the stereo, meditating. There were 37 pillows on the floor for us to sit on. I chose the pillow situated on the right side corner by the wall and sat down. Well, since we're all so excited, we started talking and laughing once we've sat down, totally forgetting what Jay told us about having to maintain silence in the prayer room. After a few minutes, the facilitator quietly stood up and started writing on the white board. He wrote: "If you do not know how to keep quiet, please arrange the pillows and go out of this room and come back only if you know how it is to be in a prayer room." We obediently did what he said, went out of the room and waited outside for ourselves to quiet down. After a while, we went back in quietly and the facilitator welcomed us and asked us to write how we feel about being asked to go out and what lesson have we learned from that. I gladly wrote down that I feel bad and sorry for failing to acknowledge the importance of silence and discipline when inside the prayer room.

The facilitator, after having welcomed us, started talking. It turned out that he was not that bad at all. He was a humorous and cheerful guy. He was only frustrated because we didn't know how to behave ourselves properly inside the prayer room. After that, the retreat started. The facilitator asked us questions and told us stories about God and later, asking us to write our reflections on the paper and read it out loud so everyone could hear. After 2 hours, we were going to have breakfast, finally. We had pasta and punch for breakfast, it was delicious. 15 mins later, we went back to the prayer room and the volunteers assigned to us an activity. We were to find a partner, preferably one of the opposite sex, get 2 ropes with loops. We were to connect the first rope across the other rope and have both of our hands inside the 2 loops of each rope. The objective is to free each other from the knot between us in a limited time without removing the loops from either of our hands. It was really hard. My partner and I did so many trials, but with no success. Finally, after a while, there were 2 pairs who were able to free themselves from each other. It was fun. Then the facilitator asked these 2 pairs to demonstrate to us how they freed each other. The solution turned out to be really simple. I can't believe that it could be done even when sitting, all you need is to insert a loop to the loop of the rope of your partner and there you go, you're freed. The purpose of this activity was to let us know that sometimes, things doesn't have to be so complicated. There are problems that can be solved just by simple solutions, without having to think too far away. How ironic. At least, I learned a lesson from that :D

2 hours later, we were to have our lunch break. The lunch was delicious too. It was something of pork and some vegetables. After the lunch, we all rested for a while, took some pictures, and later went back to the prayer room. It was then that another activity was assigned to us. It is called the "Game of Life." It was a very strategic game. All of us had to travel across to the other side of the room and inside a rectangular area enclosed by the tape. We have to travel without leaving any boxes of the "bridge" that will lead us across empty. We have always to have at least one foot stepped on the tiles. If anyone violates the rule, he/she will be dead. He/she will then be directed to the "graveyard" and wait for someone to rescue them there. It was fun, suspensory, and at the same time, unnerving. The first chance we had, we lost. We were unable to complete the designated task within the given time period. On our second chance, we became more serious and started planning what to do and who to go first. In the end, we won. All 37 of us were able to fit in the small rectangular area without falling out. The purpose of this activity is to show us that we do not have a second chance in life. Every experience is different, it will never happen again; therefore, we must make good use of every chance we have in our life.

After the fearful "Game of Life," will be our mass time. The priest came in the prayer room and started the mass. I was kinda lost at that time, as I'm neither a Catholic, nor a Protestante. The fact is, I don't have any religion, but I believe in the existence of God. All I did was to follow what my classmates were doing -- singing, reciting, and listening. The Christian songs were really nice. Every song implicated the meaning of life and the love of God for all of us. After the mass, we will be leaving, and the retreat shall end.

I feel so relaxed and happy after the retreat. I didn't expect it to be this enjoyable. I think that a retreat was only all about sermons, but it was not. I was in fact, very interesting. Through activities, we realized what were rights and wrongs were. Through activities, we learned how to make ourselves efficient and help ourselves in the future. This day will be one of the most memorable days of my university life. After this year, there will come 3 more Lasallian Recollection days. I hope I would equally enjoy them, as I had with the first one.

What gives us the most happiness?

2006-10-16T18:09:00.001+08:00

"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved." -Victor Hugo

When I came across this quote while I was browsing websites, it made me thought of something very important. Don't people always say that one should tell his/her feelings for another person while they have the chance, for we don't know what might happen in the next moment of our life? I think it is very true, but sometimes, there are just feelings, mixed with complications and barriers that made them so hard to say.

Many people die with regrets. Some were not able to tell the people they loved that about how much they'd loved them. There is no harm done when one could be courageous enough to shout his/her feelings out loud. We should never ask for any return from what we say. Some people were not able to confess because they fear that that person would reject him/her or that it would be very embarrassing. Well, in that case, it would be the pride problem. Even sometimes, we'll have tob end our pride a bit only to realize that the world would be a completely different one if we could express our feelings and thoughts freely.

I could tell you that there's nothing to be embarrassed of. If there's something you have to say, then say it, so you will not die in regret. Again, emphasizing the quote by Victor Hugo, the feeling of knowing you are being loved is very wonderful. It gives you motivation and will to live and be with those people whom you love and loves you. Dreaming is inevitable, yet even dreams can be achieved, provided that you believe in yourself and know that your loved ones would always be there for you, supporting and encouraging you.

Right now, I feel happy and contented. I have loving parents, family, relatives, and friends. What more could I expect? I don't know, maybe a successful career and a wonderful family in the future. These are part of my dreams and I am positive that I could attain them someday in the near future. I fantasize a lot and often find myself caught in the midst of these unfathomable dreams. But knowing that there'd be someone to catch me if I all, I am not afraid to fulfill my dreams anymore. That is the kind of love and trust I feel from the people surrounding me. Vice versa, I'd also be there to help them when they need me. There is always a return for everything you take from others.

Thank you Lord for all the things I have now. I am sure I will make the best out of it. For those people who have not told their loved ones their feelings, you better do so quickly. We never know what's gonna happen next. Besides, isn't it great to let the people you love know that they are being loved and cherished?That way, all of you would be happy. Stop being shy or suspicious and start acting :P God bless! ;)

Late Night Post

2006-10-15T21:52:00.000+08:00

*Yawn*
I'm bored from studying Economics for tomorrow's midterm exam. I don't know why, but the "powers" I used to have in this subject back in high school seemed to decline. Well, Economics is the only subject where I get A's in high school and I am damn proud of it. But I don't know why, I'm having quite a hard time keeping up with my grades in Economics in university now. Is it the professors' problem? Or was it mine? I think my high school Economics teacher is far better than this university professor I have now. I can't believe it when I get the results for the tests we had -- barely passing grades! Oh my God! That's something that has never happened in my records in high school economics. Curse the prof!!!! >:(

Whenever there's anyone in class who questioned the professor, his answer would always be "maybe"or "could be." What's that suppose to mean? A professor should always be sure with his answers. Seriously, I doubt that this prof would qualify to being our mentor for basic economics. I think we deserve a better teacher, for basics are always important. The other class handled by the same prof has even more students failing than in our class. Anyone I ask who is a student of this prof had the same answer-- "That prof doesn't know how to teach. I learned nothing from him." See? I'll really have to EVALUATE him carefully when we're given survey forms from the university asking us to evaluate our professors.

Tomorrow is my judgement day. If I still don't get an A in the test tomorrow, I'm gonna have a hard time in getting at least a 3.0 general average. *yawn again* I'm done with reviewing now, just hope that everything I studied would cover the test, or else, I'm doomed :( Ah well, never thought economics would be this "hard." I'd rather have math, if we continue to have professors like the economics professor. For two terms, we've had irresponsible teachers. "Ursula"( computer teacher) was certainly one of them, who was fired from the university because of her lack of respect to the parents and students.

I'm sleepy...but I don't wanna sleep yet. I'm afraid that there'd be something in economics that I missed. As always, I'm having another dilema. Well, I guess I'll have to see which would prevail, sleepiness or responsibility.

Apart from studying for the test, today was quite a nice day. My dad and I went to Robinson's Place to buy my headset, some hardware, and have lunch. After searching all around the mall, I finally lose hope in finding the headset I wanted-- the logitech premium notebook headset. In the end, I chose another model of headset. I had no choice because I am desperate in getting a mic. My laptop has a built-in mic in it, but its hard to talk with it. After that, we went home. I immediately plugged the headset in my laptop and started finding someone to test my mic. Fortunately, Nikko was there. I "called" him through msn and we started talking. It was awkward at first, but then I got used to it. Nikko suggested that I summon Jocke so we could all talk together, but Jocke just wouldn't talk in the mic. He said that its strange to talk to himself :( I was disappointed and had gotten quite unreasonable, although I apologized afterward.

Anyway, after Nikko and Jocke "left" coz they have things to do, I told Trudy that I got a mic. She was delighted and told me that she would "call" me after she's done bathing. Then, after a while, she called me. I was nervous...lol I dunno why, but I just feel strange. It was awkward at first, we didn't know what to say. I was controlling myself so hard not to laugh HAHA But later, we started talking. I must say that Trudy speaks very fluent Chinese ( the standard northern accent) and quite good English too. She's a bit shy with her English, but it was alright. (Good job, Trudy!) ;)

Well, thats all for today. I'm getting sleepy. I think sleepiness has prevailed after having an enormous battle with responsibility LOL *Yawn* *Yawn* My eyelids are drooping...I better go sleep. Hej då (goodbye in swedish) :P

Enjoying Freedom

2006-10-11T19:46:00.000+08:00

Today is the official day for my freedom!!!

Yesterday, my mom left Manila for Xiamen, China to meet my maternal grandparents flying in from USA. They haven't seen each other for more than a year. They must have really missed each other, like how I miss my mom when she's not around.

Tonight is my grandmother's birthday. My mom is holding a party tonight for the birthday celebrant. I suppose it would be really wonderful as my grandmother's old friends were going to be invitedto attend the party. I hereby, wish my grandmother happy birthday! May she enjoy every moment of her life from now on.God bless!

Well, as I had mentioned earlier, I am now officially free. Why? Because my mom had left for China and I am left to my dad's care. My dad is not very strict compared to my mom. Of course, he has his own rules that I have to follow, but he was always busy with work, so I'm kind of free from the consistent bombarding of my mom's what-to-do's to my ears. Ah...how pleasant...

I didn't mean that I do not like my mom's presence, in fact I missed her a lot, but sometimes, its just hard to keep myself from getting irritated with what she say everyday over and over again. Examples of what she says all the time are "Why are you home so late?" "Turn-off the computer and go to sleep." "I want you to sleep at 22:00 tonight." Damn! I can't help it when I have to use the computer for researching and doing my assignments. I have told her several times that I do not have a choice but to finish my assignments before I go to sleep. If I can't sleep early, then be it, I don't want to fail my subjects.

Parents are always like that, don't you think so? They don't want me to sleep late, saying that the health is more important than anything else, but when I get low grades, they would say that I did not study hard enough. What do they expect of me? I mean, I can't have both two, so why not weigh the importance and choose either one of it. Oh well...its really hard to understand what parents think, what they want, and what they don't.

Above anything, at least I am enjoying freedoom now, even if its only for 10 days. Now, I don't have curfew anymore because I sleep in my own room and my dad doesn't know what time I sleep. During MWF, when my classes would start at 7:00, I would usually wake up between 5:00 and 5:30 to chat with my online friend, who is really hard to catch :P Only in the early morning of Manila time would he be online. But anyway, I am getting used to waking up early. It would make me feel really sleepy if I sleep another hour more, during my schedules of 8:00 class.

One disadvantage of my mom not being here is that there would not be anyone to cook delicious food for lunch and dinner for my dad and I. My dad cooks, but rarely. While I never had the talent in cooking. I would either get the food overcooked or burned. Good thing my mom cooked us some microwavable food before she left, so we could heat them up for lunch and dinner.

10 days...10days...
A time with both pros and cons. If I have this, I won't be able to have the other. *Sigh* that is life, I guess. Although its not a very special day today, I just felt like writing a new post. There is nothing interesting I could write about, but only diaries of my daily life. We're having our midterms next week, by the way, I hope I would get high grades :D Wish me luck!Thanks! :P

Choices and Purpose in Life

2006-10-02T17:50:00.000+08:00

Life is hard, as we all know. Life is full of choices, with each choice leading to a different path of life. I have to be careful always in making decisions, for a tiny mistake I make might lead me to a life beyond my expectations. While if I make right choices, I might in the end, get what I truly desire. But the question is, how do I know which choices are right and which are wrong? The answer lies within my heart, for only I would be able to hear the voices deep inside me and know what I want. I have my own dreams. What values for me might just be a trifling matter for another. On the other hand, what values for others might just be something I would never have thought of in my whole life.

Do I have a choice of when and where I want to be born?No, for everything that happens on and around me follows a path, like a train following the rail. True as it is that I can change that path chosen for me and start with a whole new road, a whole new life. But, do I have the courage? I don't know. I am afraid of what might come to me when I start down a road that had never been familiar to me. I might as well try to overcome that fear and prove to myself that nothing is impossible, but as I said, unknown dangers lie beneath the dark forest that I'm about to walk through. Whether I see a path of light in the end and find my way out or not all depends on my own doings. I could either chicken-out and run back the path and take the road intended for me, or gather my nerves and strive till I success.

Alas!Life is so complicated. I feel that I'm lost, lost in the woods, never knowing when I will find my way out. I might need the help of the wise, who could direct me towards the right way. If not, I might have to once again, make a decision, whether to go forward or go back. I want to explore more of the world, yet life is full of uncertainty. I could never know what will happen in the next second. But taking risks is an essential part of the human life. Only through taking risks could I come to a step closer to my goals. I hope to find my main purpose in life and head my way to accomplishing it someday because I believe that God has his own purposes for every life He brings into this world.

'Xangsane'

2006-09-28T21:11:00.000+08:00

Today, all classes were suspended, including mine due to the arrival of tropical storm, 'Xangsane'. At first, I was glad that classes were suspended, and that I could stay at home and rest. Then came problems... :(

Last night I was really tired, so I went to sleep at 22:30, which is a new record for my recent bedtimes that are at least 12:00 or onwards. It felt so good to sleep early, and wake up the next day not too late. But then, my sleep was interrupted by the sound of whistling and wooshing sound of the wind outside the windows, then I realized that the typhoon has came. Reluctantly, I went back to sleep, but was again awakened by my mom's loud-speakered voice talking to my grandpa on the phone. No choice, I had to get up, fix myself breakfast, and start the day.

The sound of the wind was really disturbing, and its somewhat creepy, like the sounds of ghosts you see in horror movies, only it was in broad daylight, so I guess its not that scary. I turned on my laptop and started my daily routine of checking mail, checking friend invites and stuff while having my breakfast. Everything was going okay, until I heard my mom shouting to me the rooms are flooded. I went in to check. Oh my God! Water were pooling below the windows and all over the room. Damn! My school bag and notebooks are all wet, even the bedsheets are too :S I can't imagine we would have these problems, especially when we're living 22 stories above the ground. It did took us a couple of hours to get everything cleaned up.

Following the flood was the black-out. Why does this day have to be so bad??? It was 11:00 in the morning, in another while, it would be lunch time. Guess what? We hadn't cooked anything yet, so we're not having anything to eat for lunch. The electricity didn't came, not until 18:00, so the first time ever, my mom and I had to ate cookies for lunch, since food delivery were not available...LOL I like the feeling though, its as if I was only having snack and not lunch. The good thing was that I managed to finish a novel and get to relax a bit. I guess all things have their pros and cons.

P.S. My life has always been a chaos, with things constantly turning upside down and taking place beyond my expectations. I have never wanted to live a life with so much hardships, but is that my decision to make?No, for all of us undergo hardships, in order to obtain success. Failure is always a key to success.

Dream Come True

2006-09-26T19:59:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I finally got my gift from my mom for being in the Dean's List in my first term of stay in La Salle. Wohoo!!! I asked for a Prince O3 White tennis racquet and my wish was granted. I'm so glad to finally have my hands on this racquet that I've been longing for ever since the moment I set my eyes on it.

Today, I tried it at home by hitting the tennis ball at the wall using my new prince O3 white and I must that I'm really impressed by its performance. The tension on the strings was just right for me, so it adds up to the power of the racquet. This racquet is easy to maneuver and lightweight.

Tomorrow, I'm going to try it out in the tennis court. I'm sure it would be even better than just trying it at home. I'm so excited. I hope this racquet would be able to help me improve my skills and speed. I think the coach is going to let me and nikko play a match again tomorrow...lol...made me remember the first time we had a match. Both of us got screwed in the service(if not fault, then double fault lol). I'm sure it would be a lot better tomorrow. A chance for me to make good use of my new tennis racquet too >:)

See you tomorrow Nikko >:) Last time, I was the winner, how about tomorrow? You wanna get your revenge? Come on! Lets have another match! bwahahaha :P

A "Nightmare"

2006-09-23T15:04:00.000+08:00

I mentioned that today was our hell day in military training. I arrived at the university football field at 5:35, with the sun still hidden beneath the dark rain clouds. With the damp air smelling of rain from the night whistling across my face...I felt as if something bad will happen today. I don't know what is waiting for me ahead. I have imagined myself in the worst situations. I even drained by brain coming up with all kinds of harsh exercises that the officer would make us do.

After 5 mins of sitting on the stone chairs beside the football field "dreaming,"our batch representative called our attention and ordered us to form and squat. We were ordered to squat first thing in the morning, oh my God. I haven't quite waken up from sleep, my eyelids are still heavy from lack of sleep. Is it me who's the one too punctual, or is it the other cadets that are too late? I was one of the few who arrived either earlier or on time. 10 mins later, some more cadets arrived, too bad they were already late, so they were punished. Punishments include doing push-ups, squat rush, pumpings, and jumping jacks.

In another 10 mins or so, our officer came and commanded us to take out the charcoal we brought and to my astonishment, rub it on our arms and faces. Gosh, we were only given only 5 mins time, I didn't even have the time to complain. All I can do is to crush these charcoal and start rubbing the powder on myself. In just a matter of few minutes, our originally clean faces turned into faces like apes that escaped from the forest. Oh well, guess there's nothing I can do but to follow instructions.

Our warm-up exercise started with 30 jumping jacks, 30 pumpings, 30 squat rush, and 30 push-ups, which are 3 times of everything we do on training normally. Whew, very tiring. Later, when we were asked to form in the football field, we were made to do some more exercises ( the usual ones). After making us run 2 laps, we were ordered to lie on our backs, then stand on our feet, and lie on our bellies continuously for 10 repetitions. Well, that was emm...kinda fun, we're like kids playing on the mud. After that, was crawling and rolling across the field. Any exercise is alright with me, but after we're done, all of us were like apes coming out from the sewages. We smell like the grass, with an additional odor of stagnant water because the grasses on the field were still wet from the rain last night. My shirt and trousers are all wet with grasses sticking out my hair, my arms, and face.

After another 2 laps, there are many more exercises that we did, which I'm not going to mention anymore. At approximately 9:00, we proceeded to the lecture room and had our military lecture on naval terms and parts of a ship. The officer gave us a short quiz afterwards and we're off to go, and back to the fields. Exercises we're again, done and at 12:15, we were finally able to rest a bit while our batch representative and marchers prepare for our BODDLE FIGHT. In case you wonder what a boodle fight is, I'm gonna explain it here, don't worry :P A boodle fight is when we put food on top of banana leaves and all of us should finish the food together using our hands in a limited period of time. The food was nothing special --- sardines and rice :S It looks a lot like cat food :D After that was our "dessert" time (ewww the worst nightmare) Why? Because we were given ONE chocolate coated cookie, and were ordered to eat up the cookie by passing it around the platoon and eating up a bit of it at a time. The first round was only to eat up the chocolate coating, then the second round, the cookie. All the girls were like "YUCK! I can't take this anymore!" We'd rather do push-ups than eat up each other's saliva. After the cookie was a bottle of juice, drinking it with the same procedure with the chocolate cookie :S So many people were looking and laughing at us, including the new recruits of our unit. *sigh* What a "heroic" sacrifice...LOL

Finally, we're dismissed! Wohoo! Guess what? I survived, without fainting or even the least bit of bad feeling. Everything went well, and I didn't expect it to be that "fun." Everything was fun, except the disgusting cookie-and-juice part. Well, I sure am glad that this day has finally arrived and left. Enduring the hell day is like enduring the hardest part of the training. Now, we're officially welcomed to the model battalion and were promoted to midshipmen/women second class, and we're to roll up our sleeves the next time we have our training. YEY!!! It didn't turn out that bad, at least as bad as I imagined. Luckily, no one in our platoon fainted or fell, all of us won this battle together. Through this, I realized how important unity and cooperation are. Without them, we wouldn't have this far today.

Now this is what I call a LONG post, considering that there are still details that I did not mention. Well, I got to go sleep now. I know that its still very very early ( 16:00), I am too tired now to stay in front of the monitor without constantly dozing off ( like Nikko). Since when have I developed this bad habit? *sigh* Uh oh...my brain is not working anymore, and I feel dizzy. Bye bye I guess. Hope you enjoy this post, I know its not very entertaining. I would really appreciate if you took time to read it. Thanks!

50th Post

2006-09-22T20:20:00.000+08:00

Ah yes...this is my 50th post. I noticed that I've been posting a lot these few months. Maybe there is just too much I want to say, but no one to talk with because my friends are always busy. Oh well...today's post is about my hell day tomorrow in military training.

Call time: 5:45( that means we'll have to be there on or before 5:30)
Venue: university football field
Attire: type B (military uniform without the long sleeve jacket thing on top,only the t-shirt)

When the email with the requirements for the hell day was sent to me, I thought that its either my eyes that were malfuntioning or that there was error on the message because I can't believe that the call time is 5:45!!! That means I have to wake up 4:30 and get on my way at 5:00. Damn it! The call time alone is unbearable! The call time for other units is 6:30 (the usual time). Lucky for them :S

First, hell day is a military training day in which exercises and activities are two,three,or even four times the usual exercises. Whoever overcomes this day shall get promoted to the next class. Now, we're just midshipmen/women third class, so if we get promoted, we become midshipmen/women second class. My fellow cadets, are all whining and nervous at what's going to happen tomorrow. I want to get over this stupid training day as soon as possible. After I'm done with this day, then there's nothing more to fear in the military training till I "graduate" this "course."

Our officers said that tomorrow is going to be fun (for them, of course,coz they'll be making us suffer). Personally, I've experienced hell day back when I was in high school. It wasn't so bad, just very exhausting. But this time its in university, more serious this time. *SIGH* Considering that I was even hoping to get exempted through joining the varsity team, too bad I wasn't qualified. Maybe I'm just destined to endure this day once again.

Because of this, I was not able to attend my best friend's 17th birthday party. I really feel about that...I'm so sorry Steph. I'd get a failure mark if I don't show up tomorrow in ROTC. Happy birthday, Steph! Hope you all have fun tomorrow ;) See ya guys around!bye!

P.S. Tomorrow is my judgement day. I don't want to faint during the hell day as I've not have much sleep these days :S

Who loves photography?

2006-09-17T12:54:00.000+08:00

Who loves photography?
ME! (and all the photography lovers out there, of course) :D

When did I start practicing photography?
Hmm well...I can't really say when, but I was being taught how to take pictures by my mom and dad since I was eight or nine. They taught me basics and eventually, I developed a huge interest in photography and started reading,learning, and practicing by myself.

The first ever camera I had was a Fisher Price camera for kids. It was great, looks cool too. The problem is, it's got a kind of film that is really hard to find in stores. I took the camera anywhere I go and would snap anything that attracts my eyes. Before, taking pictures for me was merely for fun, but now I think my interest in photohraphy has exceeded my goal of merely having fun with picturetaking. As I grew older, I started understanding the true meaning of photography for me. Capturing special moments with a camera makes me feel good; it makes me think that I have once again captured scenes that will not anymore be seen in the future. It's kinda hard to explain... I know I have something for photography, and I know I can do well with it in the future. I'm not flattering myself, but I've got a good sense of proportion and composition when it comes to framing(what you do before you take a picture) and picturetaking. I could also pretty well find the suitable scene or view that will be best for the picture.

There are a lot of fields in photography. It can be digital photography,landscape photography, architectural photography, skyscape photography, waterscape photography, etc. Specifically, I concentrate more on landscape photography and in anything involving the nature, such as the waterscape and skyscape photography. I love nature.

Although I know that photography is definitely not my field of career, I would still want to make the best out of it even if its just for leisure. That was it would make my life a more colorful and wonderful one, like the beauty of the pictures I had taken.

Surely, people who does not like photography will not be able to understand what I'm talking about. They wouldn't even read it in the first place. But maybe they would understand the meaning of art, which is closely related to photography. I do hope the photo enthusiasts out there would also share their insights about their love for photography ;)

First Day of Class

2006-09-11T21:09:00.001+08:00

Today is another fresh start...
It is the first day of class of our second term in university.

The first time ever, I woke up at 5:30 on weekdays!!! I never woke up that early even back when I was still in high school. Still sleepy, I quickly got ready for school, had my breakfast (not forgetting to check out if Jocke is online, and surprisingly, he was.) then went on my way to school.

I was somewhat excited to see my classmates again after 2 weeks of "holidays." It was good seeing them all again, well except some of them who didn't qualify for the second term because of failures in math and english. Ah well...the first subject was TREDONE( religious studies), all of us were already present and waiting for the teacher to come, while constantly glancing at our watches to see if the 20-min marked has been reached, so we could have our free cut HAHA :D 2-minutes past 7:20, when we were all about to relax and go out of the classroom, the professor suddenly came >.< Damn!

Fortunately, the professor was quite emm...how should I say? Weird. At the very first moment he spoke, I immediately knew that "you know" was his favorite words. He would just go on telling us what to do while unconsciously saying "you know...you have to this and do that...you know....(blablabla)" But well, he was okay. Not so bad, not too serious. Our next class was ECONONE (economics one-microeconomics), the professor came in the class without any of us noticing him. He looked like a student...O_o It was when he started writing his name on the board did we know that he will be our economics professor. This prof's a funny one. He tried to act cool, but was not at all cool. He asked us what rules we want to set for our class...and what percentage breakdown we want for our general average of the subject...(hmm that's a plus to him) Now, I really do think that young professors are always better than the old ones :P

After a 1.5 hour-break, it is time for our physics class. The worst science subject ever!!! Never had I understood anything in physics, considering my one full year of physics class in high school... it still not working on me. Anyway, the prof was nice too, she was somehow lenient and considerate. It seems to me that she is a very approachable and considerate person. So, I guess today was not a very bad day at all. The professors were okay, and the subjects are alright too, but tomorrow, I don't know what will happen, as we're having out KASPIL1(Filipino class) Oh boy...this is gonna be tough.

We were dismissed 1.5 hours earlier than expected time of dismissal, which was supposed to be at 14:20. Know what we did? My friends Jessica and Joyce, and I went to Robinson's Place, went to National Bookstore to buy some materials needed for school. Then we accompanied Joyce around the mall searching for a suitable birthday present for her friend. After Joyce, we went to Powerbooks because Jessica is going to apply for a membership card there. Ah yes, I also went to Data Blitz (computer cd store) to look for Norton Internet Security 2006 ( the original version) and checked its price...not very cheap, its gonna cost me 4095php, but I have no choice but to buy it. Can't always work with pirated/fake/cracked versions softwares, can't I? I guess thats the only way to solve my computer problem, and keep it secure from virus threats. The problem is, I forgot to bring money T_T besides its another 4095 off my savings money NOOOOO I'm sure my mom's not gonna buy it for me, coz she does not understand the importance of it. Oh well...I'll have to go there again, maybe sometime this week. Hope it won't run out of stock hehe

I'm bored, I don't know what else I can write. These are just daily happenings of my life in university...not very interesting, coz you don't go to the same university as me. Hmm, surely I've got to think something interesting to write about to keep my blog-readers entertained, else they'd go away...who would wanna read a blog full of trash? Oh well...oh well... *thinking* Maybe it will be in my next post. DUNNO! I'm so not in the mood. Bye :P

Last Day

2006-09-10T17:48:00.000+08:00

Today is the last day of my first term break. The second term will start tomorrow... I feel strange. Part of me wanted this break to last forever, so I could just stay home and do whatever I want. The other part of me wanted classes to start because I'm too bored. I don't know what else I can do to keep myself occupied and entertained.

Even though the 2-week break is boring, I feel relaxed, refreshed, and ready to start the new term tomorrow, and go back to being the "industrious," "workaholic" me. Ah well...its not so bad, except that my class schedule will be totally different from the one I had on the first term. My classes will now start at 7:00 MWF and 8:00 TTH and end at 11:30 and 14:30. *Sigh* I'm sure that I'll be sleeping very late again everynight, at least later than 12:00 midnight. Before I could sleep late but wake up late too, now, I have to sleep late and wake up early.

On the second term, I'll be having TREDONE ( religious subject) and KASPIL (Filipino class)... my weaknesses, damn it! I hope, I just HOPE that I would get fair grades in these two worst subjects ever. I really wish I could maintain my Dean's List position throughout the whole school year and even in my whole 4-year stay in the university. PRAY PRAY PRAY...and I guess praying's got something to do with TREDONE O_o

I'm not gonna be able to post here often...but I'm sure I'd be able to think about something better and more interesting to write about. Ah well...I guess that's it. A very short post compared to my usual posts.

Five Short Chapters

2006-09-07T16:03:00.001+08:00

FIVE SHORT CHAPTERS
From There's a Hole in My Sidewalk
by Portia Nelson

I
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost...I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It taked forever to find a way out.

II
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place.
But, it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

III
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in. It's a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault. I get out immediately.

IV
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

V
I walk down another street.

Grades

2006-09-05T22:42:00.000+08:00

Finally, I got my computer grade for the first term after 5 days of waiting. I got a 3.0 (4.0 is the highest score).

All of my grades are alright, except math that I only got a score of 2.5 ( the ultimate subject that pulled down all my grades)

The score of my other subjects:

Psychology 3.0
ROTC 3.0
Political Science 3.5
English 4.0
PE 4.0
Chemistry 4.0
Lab 4.0

That's all...I'm happy that I got in the Dean's List with a general average of 3.36, I think that's the qualifying score for 2nd honor dean's list. If only my grade was 0.04 points higher, I'd have gotten the 1st honor dean's list. Damn! That was so close, if it weren't for Ursula ( our evil computer prof) who gave me a score of 3.0 :( But anyway, I kind of didn't expect to be in the dean's list, so I'm contented with my grade. I hope I could maintain my grade throughout all the upcoming terms.

No title

2006-09-05T22:08:00.000+08:00

Today started out like the usual days... I woke up late in the morning, had my breakfast, then lunch, then tennis training.

Time passes by so fast, a few days ago, my mom and I were still driving to the airport to fetch my aunt and cousin flying in from General Santos City(Southern Philippines), and now, in just a blink of an eye, they're about to leave early tomorrow morning at 5am. It was Sunday when they came, and now, they're leaving tomorrow. We went to SM Mall of Asia yesterday to give my relatives a tour in the famous mall.

We arrived there just in time for lunch. My mom and aunt decided that we choose a unique restaurant to dine in. While walking around the mall choosing for "the unique restaurant,"we came across Italiani's, so my mom suggested that we dine there. That restaurant was known for serving delicious but expensive Italian food. After eating, I felt that the food was worth the price. Everything in there was good. For people who eat a lot, they definitely should go there, because the servings there are so big.

My aunt went to shop for a pair of new shoes and clothes for my cousins. I could pretty well say that we used up a very big portion of our time walking around and finding shops. At night, we went to dine in Mini Shabu-Shabu, a Japanese restaurant that offers individual stoves for each customer to cook his/her own food. It was fun eating there; I was like "Cool! I can cook, for the first time in my life." lol (Coz I'm really bad in cooking hehe) We then went home after dinner, but because of the heavy traffic near Finance Road, we only got to arrive home 2 hours after we left Mall of Asia ( The trip was originally a 40-min ride from our house).

I got home and hey, Jocke was online. Good thing it was still early, so we talked for a while and later, Jocke left. I played o2jam and managed to get myself to lvl 11 (finally!!) After a while I got bored with o2jam and heard from my classmate that the US Open is now showing in Solar TV. I turned the tv on, it was a henin-hardene game, and some more other women tennis players that I recognize as Dementieva and another I do not know of.

Dementieva's got a style in her playing, which I find really interesting. I tried imitating her forehand play today in my tennis training and it worked. My forehand became better and I could hit lower and more powerful shots. Thank you Dementieva haha :P My tennis instructor said that I did a great job. I had a very great time today, felt really relaxed after I finish playing tennis for 2 hours.

Well, I guess I'm saying nonsense again. Sorry, but I was just trying to write as if this was my diary :D Forgive forgive....hehe

Pictures from the reunion... :D

2006-09-02T22:54:00.000+08:00

My first time to post pictures here in my blog :D
Hope you enjoy it ;)

Me, Solomon, Nikko Behind us is the booth of Fullybooked :)

INDIVIDUAL PICS

Solomon
Hey, whats making you smile like that? /:)

Nikko
smiling like he's seen a ghost haha

Finally its me :P

P.S. Nikko got more pics with him...wait till he uploads them ;)

Reunion

2006-09-02T22:23:00.000+08:00

Today was really a happy day...

Remember I mentioned about the international book fair last time? Well, today, Nikko, Solomon, my mom, and I went there. It was my second time to go there. The place was good. The books are way cheaper and more complete. I found a lot of books that I can't find in any other bookstores.

We roamed around...looking for books...and taking pictures haha The trip was really nice. We laughed all the way there and home. So good to see them again. Never felt this relaxed before...I was always conscious of what to say and not to say in front of my new classmates in university because I don't want them to think that I'm weird or something, but in front of my old friends, there's nothing we do not talk about haha

We went to have lunch at Blue Wave branch of Pizza Hut. Delicious food and funny friends...ah so nice... hehe Too bad DK and Steph wasnt there. Seeing Steph yesterday was really good though. With her hair straight and long, Steph looks really different :D It was so fun to talk with her about all the recent happenings in university. We laughed and reminisced ( as nikko would call it), while having our snack in McDonald's. Nikko and I went to tennis training after we got back from the book fair. FUN!FUN!FUN! Tennis to me is like cigarette to smokers and drugs to drug addicts LOL I just can't get enought with it :P

Nikko, do not forget to upload the pictures, by the way >:) (especially the long-lost "twin" of "you-know-who" LOL!!!!) Too bad I didnt have my camera on by that time, or I'd have uploaded it myself :P

All in all, the trip to the book fair was good. I bought 8 books in all, including the ones I bought the last time I visited. Gosh! Great discounts...of course I'd have to buy some stocks for me to read on my free time. Reading books has always been my pleasure...my way of relaxing.

Another post about my scores coming up soon...if only I get my computer grade tomorrow.That damn Ursula...go to hell! hahaha

Uncertainty

2006-08-29T19:59:00.002+08:00

So short a time, yet so many recollections and moments...
So short a time, yet so many was gained and lost...

It was only 3 months time since university started, but I felt as if a year has passed. Even until now, I still feel amazed how smooth and rough things can be. I never expected college life would be so...so...unpredictable yet fun, at the same time. I didn't know that people would still be so nice in college, just like in high school. I've always assumed that people in college would not be that friendly as compared with people in high school, but I was happy to know that I was absolutely mistaken. Instead, I feel that my classmates now in college are far far better company than my classmates before. Sad to say, but true.

I remember before when I was still a new student in grade five, some of my new classmates treated me as if I was an alien, as if I'm an outcast. I don't know why and I really hate it. I hate the feeling of being isolated, just because I was new. I hate the way they look at me as if I had wings on my back or horns on my head. Am I that peculiar just because I came from another part of the country? I don't think so. Maybe its them who are peculiar. That is what I think of all the time to keep me from hitting or beating the crap out of someone.

How I got to find very very nice friends?I don't know. I guess its destiny. I believe that everything that is going to happen, happens; there is no other way to prevent it. If it weren't for a Chinese Chorale contest held in the school, DK, Nikko, and I wouldn't be close friends today. The question is, if it weren't because of destiny, I wouldn't be chosen to join the competition. Why me? Why not others? As for Steph, we were seat mates, and we both share some same interests, so I guess that's what kept us close. For the others, the same reasons apply.

Now in college, I feel that I have to start everything from scratch. I have to search for people whom I felt comfortable with. I have to find people who share the same interests as me. Apparently, I've found a couple of friends from our class in this 3 months time. I knew that we could be friends the moment we had our first conversation, but that is still a very big uncertainty. I guess its like what Steph said in Nikko's post, time will tell. How I wish I could find friends in college that are like my high school friends. I don't know if there is that possibility, but I will try my best to. As I never know the result when I haven't even tried it.

Luckily, I find myself very comfortable now with my classmates in university. They are very sociable and supportive. We often have lunch together; it was really fun to have lunch with a big group of people. Anywhere we go, we become the noisiest group in that place. I definitely enjoy the freedom in college. There is nothing I cannot do, not inside the campus, of course :P

As for my studies, I can say that my study habits had changed a lot. Back in high school, I was the happy-go-lucky type of student. I never really review my lessons in advance; all I do is cram. Now in college, I decided that I have to stop being carefree and concentrate on my studies, because I realized that knowledge is the key to achieving my goals. I must say that the transition period was a bit tough. I'm not used to studying lessons in advance, or doing projects weeks before the deadline. Well, after about a month, I was able to cope up and finally, loosen up a bit.

Now, its the end of the first term and the second term shall start after 2 weeks. I've gotten my final grades of PE and psychology, it turned out well. I got a 4.0 for PE (the highest grade) and a 3.0 for psychology. There are 6 more to come, and I hope the grades will be satisfying. This is fresh start for me, so I hope everything would go smooth. I also hope that things will happen like what I planned and expected them to.

"Life is like a boat..." (lyrics from a song) True, life is like a boat, because you never know what will happen next. What if a storm comes? What if the boat sinks? You could float and sail till eternity, but you could also disappear in just a split second of carelessness. Like our lives, we face challenges and obstacles all the time. It is in our decision whether to overcome them or surrender to them.

Booklovers

2006-08-29T12:06:00.000+08:00

For those booklovers who want to get a catch of rare books, there will be an international book fair at the World Trade Center from August 30- September 3, 10am-8pm. Please tell me if you want to go, because I'm finding for a company :D Thanks! I'm on yahoo or msn anytime of the day, or you could send me a text message. See ya!

FREE!!!! (finally :P)

2006-08-24T20:28:00.000+08:00

Today was our last day of classes for the first term. We had our final exam in computer today. The test was weird...all about the shortcut keys of ms word,ms excel, and ms powerpoint lol That kinda froze me, I never use shortcut keys. Last night I only scanned the shortcut keys part of the reviewer given to us. CRAP! I made guesses all throughout the exam and guess what? I got a score of 20 out of 30. I passed! LUCKY! lol I do hope that I get a general score average of at least 3.0 hehe

For the first time since classes started...I could finally slow down to my usual pace, even if its just for 2 weeks. My friends, Jessica and Joyce, and I went to Robinson's Place after the exam. The trip was good. We went to Powerbooks, bought some books, and went to BreadTalk afterwards. I haven't been able to shop in a mall feeling so relaxed ever since classes started. After strolling in the mall for 2 hours, we went home :)

On August 28, we have to submit a written report of our debate in Chemistry class just before the exam week. On August 31, course cards(score/report cards) will be distributed to us. I hope I could be in the Deans List--my goal for the first and the incoming terms. Well, of coure if I could, I would try to aim higher :P

After August 31 till September 10, we'll be having our term break. Wohoo! Finally! Ah well...the real term break was only for 10 days *sigh* Why does DLSU have to be in such a hurry to start classes??? :( Anyway, I'm also excited to start the GOOD class schedule I have for the second term. My classes will be starting 7am until 11:30am. No classes in the afternoon! haha

So...that's it. Term break will start soon, so I'm sure I'm gonna be able to post a lot of new posts here hehe :P

Happy Birthday...to....

2006-08-22T16:46:00.000+08:00

Happy birthday to my dearest MOM!!!

Today is my mom's birthday. Tonight we're going out to celebrate weeee :D God bless!

Would you also greet my mom? hehe Thanks! :P

Important Notice!!!

2006-08-22T12:44:00.000+08:00

Two weeks before, my laptop got infected with backdoor trojan. It malfunctioned a bit. First, my start-up applications does not work anymore. Second, the windows error notice pops out saying windows failed to initialiaze a certain application. Third, I cannot anymore run some of my prgrams, like Yahoo Messenger and MSN.

Luckily, when I told my friend about my problem, he told me to download Kaspersky Internet Security because it could detect trojans and delete it immediately. However, Kaspersky can only be used for a month for it is the trial version; therefore, you need the McAfee VirusScan or McAfee AntiVirus for long term protection of your computer. The Kaspersky is available in www.kaspersky.com and the McAfee AntiVirus is available in www.torrentspy.com You just have to go to torrentspy.com, key in McAfee AntiVirus in the search box and download. You also need a shareware( Shareaza, Kazaa, Imesh, BitTorrent, Bear Share, etc.) to be able to download. The package comes with a keygen and activation code, so you could activate it and use the full version.

For those who are having such problems, maybe using my solution could help because that is exactly what I did. Good luck! and Good day!

P.S.If you need clarifications, just drop by and tag me, I will be able to reply your message as soon as possible ;)

Nothing...read if you want haha :D

2006-08-21T21:59:00.000+08:00

I Wish To Reach You

I wish I could reach you,
I wish I could see you,
I wish I could hear you,
I wish I could touch you.

I want to know where you are,
Yet I don't know where to start;
I know you're far away,
Yet I feel as if you're beside me.

I see you wherever I go,
Every word you said to me,
Marked on my heart,
And it will always be there.

I remember your smile,
For it always lightens my mood.
I remember your face,
For it always calms me.

When I feel lonely,
I would think of you;
Looking back to our memories,
I still feel the sweetness in between.

You promised me to come back,
Yet you made me wait till now;
It was so long ago that you left,
And still, you did not return.

Often times I wonder,
Have you ever thought of me?
Do you still remember me?
Am I not more than a stranger to you?

I will wait till you come,
No matter what happens,
I will always be there,
Waiting for your embrace to come.

Maybe you would wonder why I would write something so weird so suddenly. Well, to answer that question, I was inspired by the romance novels I was reading recently. These novels enclose so many wonderful stories that made me want to express my feelings on reading these books. I thought maybe writing something down and sharing with others would make me feel better lol :P Hope you guys like it...if not, emmm I'll try to write something cooler next time HAHA Well, I guess this is what you would get from a blogger who love to read romance fiction. DK, maybe you could relate with what I'm writing?LOL We used to share our opinions about these novels with each other :D

Is online friendship good or bad?

2006-08-20T13:05:00.000+08:00

"Is online friendship good or bad?" This is the question I often ask myself. I've always wondered whether my decision to meet friends online was right or wrong.

I think the most probable reason I started finding friends online was because of curiosity. I wanted to meet people all around the world and get to know their cultures' similarities and differences with my culture. I want to know what they think about matters that I think are important. It would be fun to hear various opinions from different kinds of people.

How I started meeting friends online? Well, it all started when I was 13 years old. I saw in tv people using some programs like ICQ,MSN, Yahoo chatting with people they have never met. I was curious so I went to the internet and downloaded the ICQ. There, I met some new friends and eventually, I became more and more interested with the way people could chat and talk about anything when they haven't even met before.

I did meet a couple of nice people. There was a girl from Ireland, whom we became good friends, but later we lose contact because she disappeared. I don't know what happened to her, but she stopped e-mailing me, and if I mailed her, she does not reply anymore. Another was a guy from Belarus, whom we still keep in contact till now. We only talked again not until a few months ago because I stopped using ICQ when I reached 14 years old. I got bored, and also due to heavy school work, I had to stop and devot my time to my studies.

It was on the summer break after I graduated high school that I thought again of contacting my old friends in ICQ and try to meet some more new friends. I tried going to ICQ chat room and started chatting with people there. After some time, I found some new friends that are cool and nice to chat with. Though there were so many I chatted with, only a few were able to remain in contact with me till now. Its been almost 5 months since I went back to chatting in ICQ chatroom.

I was on my summer vacation, waiting for my university classes to start, so I was so bored that I went to the chatroom everyday and spent every minute I'm awake staying there, talking nonsense and sometimes watching other people chat LOL

Now, to answer my own question...I think online friendship is not at all that bad, except that it eats up all your leisure time, but wholly depends on how you manage your time. It is always good to interact with other people to widen your knowledge about the world. The one thing I got from having online friendships is having my English writing and speaking skills improve a lot. Before, I felt so hard to express myself on words, especially in English, but now, I feel a lot easier to talk and write. I do not anymore need too much brainstorming before I start writing something because I could easily organize my thoughts and write them down properly.

Once, if you remember, I mentioned that our psychology teacher asked us a question --"Do you have online friends?" Of course my answer was yes, but most of my classmated answered no. Their reasons were, "My mom said that I should never talk to strangers." , "I prefer meeting people in real life because online friendship degrades the meaning of friendship." Well...they are right in some way, but isn't that a bit childish? I mean, you do not degrade the meaning of friendship by having online friends because like friends in real life, you talk about your interests and daily happenings, the only difference is that you do not see each other. For me it is alright not to see the person because is does not matter as long as I know that the person I'm talking to also exists in real life, except that he/she lives in a different of the world.

So...what do you think? Is online friendship good or bad? I know many of you would probably say "I don't know because I haven't tried." Then try now! haha I'm sure you'd be interested ;) There's nothing bad to try, besides, online friendship exists only in the virtual world, so there's nothing to lose if you fail. Right Jocke and Nikko? haha :P

Friday...one more week

2006-08-18T20:12:00.001+08:00

One more week and its term break!Wohoo!!!

Next week is our finals exam on math and computer. Oh well, I really have to study hard for this last struggle. I need a 96% in math to get a 3.0 in my general average :S (Coz my I screwed up my 4th math quiz and got a 49% out of 100%) Crap! I did not expect that grade...but I think I deserved it coz I was too occupied in doing the assignments of the other subjects that I did not have time to review for the math quiz :( The moment I got my test paper, I almost went numb. I can't believe what I'm seeing >.< I swear I'm gonna study hard for the finals exam to pull-up my low quiz average *sigh*

HELP!!!!! Matrix inversion...Cramer's rule...cofactor...Gaussian Method...NOOOO I'm so confused. This is the worst part in algebra @_@

Tomorrow afternoon I will have to go to the university to attend a make-up class in which I can earn extra credits and I'm going to skip the morning make-up class of Ursula ( our computer professor..Ursula is the sea witch in The Little Mermaid LOL). She will have to live with the name for the rest of her life. hahaha >:)

Next week...next week...forgive me if I'm starting to become redundant. I just can't get my mind off next week. Besides the final exams, I have also to submit a portfolio for English, a written report for the Chemistry debate, and a photo collage for psychology. So many things to do, yet so little time...God help me! :S

P.S. Thanks to all of my friends out there for their continuous support and encouragement that I was able to overcome every challenge I met in my new university life. Thank you! I love you all! Thank you also for always visiting my blog and giving me valuable comments that helped me in my writing here :P

Free at last!

2006-08-13T14:26:00.000+08:00

After almost 3 months of enduring the harshness of military training, yesterday(August 12,2006) was finally the last training day for the first term.

Yesterday was the commandant turn-over ceremony of the military organization of the university. It was really boring. We had to stand at the football field for almost 6 hours under the heat of the sun. The first 4 hours, we had rehearsals for the ceremony. After the 20-min. break, the ceremony was to start. Our officer told us that we had just to stand for 30 minutes without moving, but later, when the ceremony started, it turned out that the ceremony took over an hour to finish.

There was the old and new core commander delivering their speech. The speech of the new core commander was boring. He was telling a weird story, which I don't understand. I had to try my best to keep my eyelids from coming down. I had to try hard to stand straight, despite my aching shoulders and arms. While the ceremony was being held, I kept saying "faster faster faster!" , praying that the speakers would talk faster so we could dismiss earlier O_o

After over an hour of standing without moving, my legs went numb. I felt as if I was paralyzed LOL I can't even feel the pain anymore. When the officer commanded us to scram out the field within 10 seconds, I was surprised that my legs can no longer run and my knees cannot anymore bend >.< With the voice of the officer counting down beside...I tried my best to "run" HAHA

I was happy that I was one of the few who withstood the heat until the end and was still able to get out the field without fainting LOL Many cadets from our platoon fell and had to be carried out the field to rest. Our officer congratulated us, "survivors," for being to able to stand till the end. I felt good about that, considering that my arms and legs still hurt till now :P

But, at the same time of triumph, there was also a bad news waiting for me. Remember my tennis tryouts? The assistant coach told us that he would send us a message when the results are out. I haven't received the message till now, after the tryout 3 weeks ago. Since I am really running out of patience, I asked another girl who also went to the tryouts yesterday whether she had received the message or not. Her answer was "yes." At that moment, I immediately knew that I did not pass the tryout, for the girl I asked was the same girl whom I mentioned before who played like a pro. CRAP! I want to curse myself for not playing well during the tryouts.

In order to have my outburst, I went to play tennis yesterday afternoon for almost 2 hours, putting out my full strength. I felt so relaxed after the 2 hours because I haven't practiced tennis for a month, which is as long as a whole year for me. I also invited Solomon to play tennis. The coach told me that I need more strength to increase the speed of the returned balls, so I decided that I could need a bit of help from weights. Later today, I am going to SM Mall of Asia to buy weights, just the light ones coz I don't want to get big muscular arms @_@

Oh well, I guess I'll have to practice more so I can join the tryout again on the third term. I've decided that I would pass the varsity tryout no matter what. Thanks for the incoming 2-week term break this August 28,2006, I could go play tennis everyday or at least thrice a week. I hope I could improve faster.

Friends out there, whoever wants to play tennis, just tell me. We could go to the tennis court together ;) I'm a member there, so we could play anytime. Welcome! See ya on my next post! :D

So near...yet so far

2006-08-10T23:40:00.000+08:00

University life in DLSU is so fast-paced. In just a blink of an eye, almost 3 months had passed since the first day of classes. Next week is the activity ban week of the university--meaning no activities or quizzes should be held on that week, as it is the week before the final exams, it will be used for reviewing our past lessons.

So near...yet so far...August 28th seems so near, yet its still more than 2 weeks more time. August 28th is our last day of classes for the term, then we will have a 2-week long term break. YEY!Finally, after 3 whole months of pressure and stress, I can now rest and relax. Well...I'm starting to plan the things I'm going to the in the 2 weeks of break. Maybe I'd go practice tennis everyday and I'd also be able to have more time to practice piano. Currently, I'm working my way out of a piece entitled Sonatina. It's a lively piece, which means that it is also very hard to get the timing 0_o

Remember the gun firing I mentioned in my last post?I forgot to mention that our officer wants us all to write a reflection paper about that day. I don't know what to write...maybe something like what I did with my last post? >:) hmm That military training is really a pain in the ass...GRR Why oh why? The results of the tennis tryouts aren't out yet..I'm getting impatient. Really. I've tried all I can do to contact the assistant coach, but he either leaves his cellphone unattended or is away :(

Next week...
We're going to have a debate in Chemistry about environmental issues that will serve as a portion of our final grade. I haven't debated for years! I wonder if I could still remember the rules >.<>

Next next week...
Final exams week. Luckily, we'll only be having final exams for Math,Chemistry, and Computer classes. I'm, I must say, excited, even though I should be nervous LOL I hope my dreams would come true -- become a deans lister. Now that I knew that the military training grades is not included in the computation of grades, I feel more relaxed now. Because all I fear now is that my grade there would pull down my grades in other subjects.

Well...thats it. ^_^ Though these are all very normal things occuring on a normal teenager's life, I wish that you could get to know me better through these posts. Here in my blog, I could express all my thoughts without any constraints, so believe me, what I write here are all facts ;)

This is so fun!!!

2006-08-05T19:20:00.000+08:00

Thursday and Friday...
Due to my fever these two days, I wasn't able to attend my classes except for PE class because we're having a quiz and a fitness test. Luckily, the quiz was easy :D

Saturday...
Today, we will be having gun firing in military training for our final exam. At first, I can't decide whether to attend or not because I've just recovered from the fever and heavy training and severe exposure to the sunlight might worsen my condition. If I didn't go, I'd surely get a failure grade for not attending the exam. Finally, after a long time of thinking, I decided to go.

Well, my decision turned out to be right. We assembled in the university campus on 6:30am and due to some delays, we departed at approximately 7:45am. That was almost 2 hours of waiting inside the non-airconditioned bus. After about 20 min. of bus ride, we arrived at the Fort Bonifacio Marine Camp. This is where the camp of the Philippine Marine Corps live and train.

Some battling demonstrations were shown to us. It was all nice, but the one thing I felt excited and nervous about is the gun firing/ familiarization firing. We were permitted to tour around the marine vehicles. The problem is, we were to right a reflection paper after our visit in the camp :(
After that, we went to a lecture room to watch some marine videos showing us information about the Philippine Marine and its achievements.

After the movie presentation, we went to have lunch. Then finally, the moment that we've all longed for has arrived--GUN FIRING. After some brief instructions regarding the precautions and proper usage of the rifle, we were to start the first round firing. All of us positioned and START! The 1st round was a trial round with 3 shots. I was really nervous. When I fired my first shot on the target, I almost went deaf and the recoil of the gun was quite a big impact to my shoulders. The sound of the gun was so loud that it temporarily "paralyzed" my ear. Ignoring that, I continued and delivered my 2 other shots. Then we were asked to check the target and luckily, I got 2 out of 3 shots in the circle, but not the bulls-eye :(

Now, after the 3 trial shots is our 7 final shots. I positioned myself on the ground again, then aimed on the target and fired. Because almost all of us fired at the same time, my vision was blurred by the noice and smoke. Without any choice, I focused and tried to shoot again. After some struggles, I finally managed to shoot out. The shooting continued until all the 7 shots were used up. Putting down the m-16 rifle, we went to look get our target paper. On my target paper, I had 5 shots on it, and the other 5 shots are nowhere to be found LOL All in all, I only got 2 shots out of 10 in the circle and the other three outside the circle, while 6 of my fellow cadets( 3 females and 3 males) were able to hit the bulls-eye and earn incentives :(

I guess my vision has a great effect. My left eye is 200 and right eye is 100. Oh well, at least I got to experience the fun and excitement. The squad officer told us that as long as we have a shot in the target cirlce, we could get a passing grade, so I'm satisfied with my performance. After waiting for my other fellow cadets to finish their turn of firing, we headed back to the bus and rode back to the university campus.

This day is the best training day I've had so far since the opening of school. But after 2 long hours, my left ear had still not recovered from the previous "shock" caused by the rifle. Besides that, everything went well. No accidents happened. I was glad that everyone followed instructions carefully :D

I figured out that shooting is addictive. Shooting once makes me wish for more. I hope I'd have another chance to shoot again, but hopefully, using a different rifle model.

Today was a tiring day and I'm glad that my health was able to sustain the heat of the sun and the coolness of the rain afterwards.

Next time...next time...I want to try again!!!

P.S. We were permitted to keep the empty bullet shells of our amunition. WOW! A once in a lifetime remembrance :D

Life without internet is like hell!!!

2006-08-03T19:54:00.000+08:00

Last Friday, when I got home, my mom told me that the phone was out of order. I almost went crazy especially when thinking that I won't be able to do homework and chat with friends for I don't know how many days.

Finally, after six long days, we got the phone repaired by calling up the phone line company. We called them the day after the phone lose dial tone, but thet only came after six days! OMG! I have loads of pending homework waiting for the phone to be repaired so I can search in the internet.

Life without internet is like hell! I felt as if I was isolated from the world , without being able to read news and chat with my friends,even if it was just for 6 days. I became so bored in the last few days. I do not know what to do, then I thought of reading novels, which I havent done for 2 months. I decided to finish a novel within 3 days, and so I started reading. The novel was by my favorite author, Judith McNaught. It was a very very nice novel. One of the best I've read. Thank God that I always have new unread books in stock for "emergency," or else I would have went crazy or sick LOL :D

Today, my mom sent me a message telling me good news, that the phone has been repaired. I almost jumped with joy, if it weren't only for my math class that I was still having. But, sadly, only the telephone extension in our dining room works, but the one in my room is still out of order. *SIGH* At least I get to use the internet, only that I have to move my laptop to the dining room.

Oh well...out of topic. I dont know what else to say. I just felt saying my bad feelings out loud :P See you on my next post :D

Schedules Mixed-up

2006-07-24T12:05:00.000+08:00

I was happy to know that classes today were suspended. The only problem is, my schedules for today are messed-up. I have a lot things to do today yet due to the suspension of classes, I'll have to reschedule everything to another day.

I was supposed to have my interview in psychology today about my online friendship, but now its canceled. I can't spare any other time in the week for the interview. Tuesday-- my lunch break is only 40mins. Wednesday--its the U-break plus another 2-hr break, but I have to do research and attend my piano lessons. Thursday--half day, my class starts at 1pm and ends at 4:10pm, which means I won't have extra time either. Friday--after PE class, there's a 40min-break, but its barely enough for the interview and my lunch. I guess the interview will have to be changed to next Monday -_-;;

Well, I was happy too because I got an extra day to finish my computer class reaction paper about the movie "A Beautiful Mind." This movie was nice. It is about the life of a genius mathematician and economists who was infected with schizophrenia. He has eveything imagined, including someone named Charles whom he claimed to be his bestfriend and room mate. Sheesh! This movie is a bit confusing, but really interesting. He never got over this disease, but he started ignoring the existence of his imaginary friends and concentrated on doing his work again-- formulation of the equilibrium. He was later awarded the Nobel Prize because of his theory of equilibrium.

Our objective in the reaction paper was to relate the life story of this genius named John Nash to our life as an economics student. I wonder where and how should I start... Anyway, I just thought of writing this new post. It somehow serves as a warm-up for me to write my reaction paper later. It makes my mind work lol -.- :D

Sorry, but I'm not trying to turn my blog into a diary. I just write whenever I feel like writing. That's all. Once again, thank you for those who read this boring post. HAHA My next post would be different, I promise :P

A Boring and Happy Day

2006-07-22T21:50:00.000+08:00

Military training today...
It was so boring. We were taught map reading and gun firing( with no bullets). Before the training ended, there was a platoon picture-taking. The training ended at approximately 1pm.

I was late for my meeting with Nikko and Dianne(Kamote). We were suppose to meet in KFC at 1pm to have lunch, then go to Rizal Sports Complex to play tennis. I was so impressed with the tennis courts there that I excitedly invited my two close friends to play tennis there. The floor was made of asphalt and the court boundaries were properly set. Everything seems to be so organized. The dressing room and bathroom was clean.

After lunch, we made our way to the Rizal Sports Complex and arrived there at about 1:55pm. We paid for the court fee and hired a ball boy, then quickly started our tennis practice. How I miss the days we play tennis together...Its been months since we've seriously played tennis. At the start, it was a 2 vs. 1 situation. Nikko vs. Dianne and me. The practice didn't start well LOL We had balls flying in every possible open space. We kept on laughing. We laughed at one another about our services and forehand strokes. >.<

30 mins. has passed, but still, we weren't able to play properly. I tried to be serious, but I just couldn't haha! I control myself from cussing everytime I get a fault in my services. I almost got crazy with my damn services. I can't get the balls across the net whenever I serve. After multiple trials, I managed to get a few balls across net. Most of the time, we start the rally informally. It turned out well, especially when our time limit is almost over. We tried to cool down and played peacefully, luckily, we managed to rally for a while. The ball boy suggested that we start a match and we did as he said. Guess what? We gained points from the faulty services of the opponent LOL! Believe me, serving the ball across the net is not as easy as it seems. I have to pinpoint the exact location where I want the ball to hit and control the timing and power applied to the ball. If I were not mistaken, I could only serve a good ball out of 4-5 trials T_T I really need more practice to increase accuracy.

I won the "match" in the end only because my friend did more faulty services than I did. HAHAHA Dianne laughed so hard while she watched us play. Even the ball boy couldn't control his laughs O_O Our score was 6-5( or 5-4) lol :P

It was really fun to play tennis without a coach who keeps talking beside. I could play in whatever style I want. It gives me more chances to test some new "inventions." Who knows?Maybe someday I could discover a new playing style just for myself >:)

After we finished playing tennis, we went to Starbucks to have a drink. We were all drained. We all need some refreshments to regain our energy. I ordered a Vanilla Cream Frapuccino, my favorite. Creamy, sweet, and cold-- all I need after 2 long hours of tennis practice. Afterwards, we went home by LRT. It was raining on my way home. It really feels good to feel the cool wind hustling beside my ears while we walked to the LRT station. By the time we got up the train, it was already 5:30pm. Rush hour...but I managed to catch the train with not so much people in it. LUCKY! :D

I got home at about 6:00pm. Though I felt tired, I felt relaxed at the same time. Its as if I'd shed a load of pressure and tension from my shoulders and my whole body. The reason why I like playing tennis is that it gives me the ultimate relaxation I need after a week's stress in class. Right now, I'm going to train even harder to improve my tennis playing skills and increase my stamina. I could endure a 2-hr tennis practice, but now I'm aiming at a 3-hr continuous play. I know I can do it if I am determined enough.

Well...I guess that's for the day. I hope it does not bore you too much haha :P Sorry readers...my recent posts are all about my personal encounters and happennings. I'm so bored that I had to write posts to keep me preoccupied. I promise I will write about something more relevant and interesting. Unlike my best friend, I haven't got the guts to try to write a romantic short story. I guess its better for me to focus on writing things happened in reality :P See you guys around. Post on your blogs too. Always remember that I visit your blogs everyday ;) Bye!^_^ Happy reading! :D

Relief

2006-07-19T19:11:00.000+08:00

Today, as I said earlier,was the day of my tennis tryouts for DLSU varsity team. As usual, I had my lunch in Animo with my friends. At about 12:00pm, I bid my friends good-bye and went to McDonald's to wait for Solomon, who was going to the tryout too. We agreed to meet there at 12:15pm, but when it reached 12:15pm, Solomon was still no where to be seen. I saw some of my blockmates sitting in McDonald's, so I joined them while waiting for Solomon to come.

I called him and sent him messages, but I received no response from him. Afraid to be late, I called his mom, then luckily. it was Solomon who answered the phone. He told me that he is still in his mom's store. I can't believe that he is still not on his way to McDonald's. 10 mins...20mins...has passed, yet he is still no where to be seen. His mom asked me on the phone if I had already met with Solomon, but I haven't. Another has 30mins passed, I looked at my watch and noticed that we were terribly late for the tryout. The tryout was supposed to start at 1:00pm.

Finally, after another 5 mins, I saw Solomon walking past McDonald's holding his mobile phone in his hand. I quickly went to met up with him and then we started on our way to Rizal Sports Complex, where the tryout was to be held. Later, I asked Solomon where he'd been and he said he was in McDonald's all along, yet he couldn't find me. His mobile phone was having some errors, so he couldn't send a text message to me to tell me that he's already arrived.

Well, what's done is done. I have nothing to do if we're late. We arrived at the tennis court at approximately 1:30pm. I was surprised to see so many people crowded on the benches. I approached a girl there and asked her if this was the place for the tennis tryouts and she said yes. I was surprised. OH MY GOD! I didn't know that so many people knew about the tryout. I started to tremble HAHA I was thinking of giving-up and going back to school, but I thought, I would never know the result if I didn't try. Braising myself up, I stayed and registered.

After another 5 mins, I was asked to rally with another girl player. I was really nervous. She started the rally, OH MY! she is too good for me. She plays like a pro. I was cursing myself. Crap!How am I suppose to get qualified if I can't catch-up with her fast and powerful serves? I tried my very best to put out my best and apply all what I have learned. After a while, another girl came and approached us, she asked my partner if she could join our rally, so we let her join. She was a beginner, like me, thank goodness! At least there was someone like me, I'm not the only beginner! HAHA :P

The rally turned out to be a mess LOL because its really hard to catch-up with the my pro play partner. Luckily, she was later called by the coach to play with another guy, so only the other beginner was left to play with me. It turned out well. After all, we're all beginners. I must say that I was glad that I've met yet another new friend hehe :D We played and enjoyed the rally. After 30 mins, the coach dismissed us and told us that the results will be released next week. He told us not to be nervous. (How can we not be nervous? haha) But all in all, it was a relief to me. I have finally shed my nervousness now that I've already tried out. All I have to do now is to wait for the results. If I qualified, then that would be the best. If not, its alright, I could try out another time. Maybe by then, I'd be a better tennis player.

I noticed that I was very very late for my math class. I hurriedly changed my clothes and went to DLSU with my 2 friends. When I reached the classroom, it was already 10 mins. before the class ends. My classmates asked how was my tryout and I said it was okay. My professor smiled at me. I knew someone told her about my tryout, so she was not very angry :P Luckily, I talked with her and she agreed to only mark me late and not absent.

So that was my day. A day expected to be terrible, but turned out to be not so terrible HAHA :P RELIEF!!!!! I feel relaxed now. Tomorrow, I'm going to attend my tennis lessons-- my usual Thursday routine before going to school in the afternoon. *SIGH* I'm going to have to report to my instructor what happened today LOL I hope he does not get too furious because I did not perform well. >.<

Another diary page........from my human brain notebook :P Happy reading :D Thanks!

Conflicting Emotions >.<

2006-07-18T20:12:00.000+08:00

As I've promised, this is the other post I've mentioned in my previous post. hehe

Well...today is the last day before the tennis varsity tryouts tomorrow. I'm really nervous. My heart thumps really hard whenever I thought of my tryouts tomorrow. That is my last chance to escape from the harsh military trainings and tiring PE classes.

I'm afraid that I'm the only beginner who is going to the tryout. I'm afraid to fail. I'm afraid that I would not be qualified. As I've said, I'm only a beginner looking forward to qualify in the tryouts to escape military training.

Though my mom and friends tell me that I should not be nervous. My mom told me that it is alright if I fail, I could tryout again next time. And if I pass, then its the best. I thought about that and believed that what she said was right, but I can't bear to go back to the harsh military training. I'd rather put my extra time on training my tennis skills than in military training.

Shall I go or not?My brain tells me to just chicken out and do what I got to do, but my heart tells me to do what I truly want to do and not worry about failing. What am I to do? I wish there'd be someone who could give me his/her very honest opinion, whether I should go or not. I think the possibility of me going is higher because after all my anticipations and excitement, my pride will not allow me to just give-up without even trying.

At least tomorrow, I'm not alone. Another friend of mine is joining the tryout with me. He was one of my close friends back in high school, who was also a student of my tennis instructor. A fellow beginner...hehe If he was brave enough to join the tryouts, why should I back-out? I think I've made up my mind. No matter what happens, I will go. I just pray that it will not rain tomorrow and that I don't get lost on my way to the tryout venue haha :P

P.S. Just another page torn out from my human diary to post it here hehe :D Hope you didn't get sleepy while reading this post because I know its boring haha :P

A Very Bad Day

2006-07-18T19:04:00.000+08:00

Today...
Was a really bad day...

I woke up late this morning because I was able to sleep not until 1:30am because I was studying for the Chemistry midterm exam today. 150 pages...3 chapters -_-;; I started preparing for my classes and was able to arrive DLSU at approximately 10 minutes before my first class starts. My chemistry midterm exam starts at 8:30am, which is also my first class of the day. I walked to the building entrance and swiped my ID on the bar code sensor and guess what?My ID didn't work. The security then asked me if I had left my ID yesterday, if yes then I'd have to go to the south gate then to the registrar to revalidate my ID.

Crap!I said to myself. I didn't know that DLSU has such a stupid policy for students who left their ID at home. And my exam is going to start in another 10 minutes time. How am I suppose to go to the south gate then back to Brother Andrew Hall where my exam will be held, in just 10 minutes of time? Imagine that...I have to walk OUTSIDE the campus along the main road just to get to the south gate. It took me more than 5mins to reach there, considering that I was walking as if I was running. That was what I did too yesterday when I left my ID at home.(Its such a tiring task.) When I got to the south gate, the security guard there gave me a pass and told me to go to the registrar. On my way to the registrar office, I got lost, and had to go back to the south gate and ask the exact location. OKAY...the registrar was at the farthest end of the isle leading to the quadrangle. I went in there and had my ID revalidated. Now, I have to walk all the way back to Brother Andrew Hall to take my exam.

I arrived at Brother Andrew Hall after a while and was so lucky that the elevator was empty. I was already 10 minutes late when I got in the classroom. Good thing it was only 10 minutes, or else I would have been deprived of the right to take the exam. *sigh* What a relief...at the same time, what a day! >.<

I got the questionnaire and started answering the questions. After what we were told to study, the test was only over 25 ( 25 items). Well, at least i didn't forget what I reveiwed. The questions are easy to answer, but I have some answers that I am not very certain of. After 15 minutes, I've finished answering and passed the test paper. When I walked out of the classroom, my other classmates who've finished earlier were all panicking and worrying about the test.

Later, we got the answer key for the test questions from the professor. All were excited to see the answers and we ended up quarelling about the answer key LOL :D I got to see the correct answers and was relieved to see that I only made 3 mistakes, which is equivalent to 22/25( 3.0 is the final grade, and 4.0 is the highest) LUCKY! hehe I'm contented with the score because I'm not very much after my Chemistry score, I'm just aiming to get a score of at least 3.0 so I can be in the deans in the end of the term :P (I got a 3.8 in english, sadly, it was rounded down later to 3.5 because our teacher does not round up 3.5 and above score to 4.0) -_-;;

I had a classmate who said she would always have bad luck on tuesdays. She call tuesday her "bad luck day" because on this dayt, something bad would always happen to her >.< I hope this does not become my bad luck day too....O_o

Anyway, that was it. I have another post coming up after this hehe JUST WAIT >:) :P

A Passage...or a poem? "I know not."

2006-07-13T18:01:00.000+08:00

No classes today...

I encountered a passage when I was browsing the net. This passage caught my attention.
The following is the passage I mentioned:

"Once, there was a guy I met.
He was nice, he was polite,
He was sweet, he was funny,
He was courteous, he was humble.
He was everything a girl would want in a guy."

"We talked with each other day and night.
I enjoyed every moment spent with him.
Memories and happennings,
Hobbies and interests,
Dreams and desires,
We talked about."

"I feel happy when he is there,
I feel sad when he is away.
Time by time,
He does not talk with me that much anymore.
He is always busy.
I started to miss him,
But there is nothing I can do."

"Oh Lord!What is this?
Like something inside me,
Aching to be freed and released.
Is this love?
I know not."

"I rarely get to see him,
If I do, I don't know what to say to him.
I feel happy to see him,
But depressed,
When I thought of how short his stay will be,
When I thought of how long will I be able to see him again."

"Time after time,
Days after days,
My feelings for him,
I can no longer control.
It is like the flowing water of the river,
That never finds it way back."

"I am willing to sacrifice my precious time,
Just to be able to see him and talk with him.
To feel the vibration of his voice beside me,
To feel the look of his humorous eyes."

"All my secrets and feelings,
I share with him.
Had I had problems,
He would always be there to soothe me out of my fears."

"Never had I had this kind of feeling.
I wonder how long this feeling will last.
Would it be for eternity?or not?
I know not."

"I wonder,
Does he feel the same way I do for him too?
Is he aware of my feelings for him?
I know not."

"I wish I could be his angel,
Who obeserves him in silence.
Even if he does not feel my existence,
Seeing him alone is enough."

After I read this passage( or is it a poem?), I felt the sadness of the author. It was a nice passage, in which feelings have been clearly expressed. I wish the author good luck in her friendship with this guy she so emotionally mentioned.

I was bored. I can't think of anything to write. Tomorrow, classes will resume (*sigh* another quiz in basketball in PE class :S ). This post is just another thing I want to share with you guys hehe :P Meant nothing of importance. I hope you enjoy reading. Please do post a comment or tag on my tagboard if you feel the need to. Thanks! More upcoming posts, just sit back and wait. HAHA :P

NO CLASSES! wohoo :P

2006-07-12T14:22:00.000+08:00

Every Wednesday is the U-break(university break) of the university, when every class regardless of course or schedule, have lunch break at the same time from 1:00-2:30pm. Normally, there would be well-known Filipino bands invited to perform in the amphitheater, but today we're experiencing heavy rainstorms here in Manila, so the event was cancelled.

As usual, I got up at 7:30am and started to get ready for my first class at 8:50am. It was raining when I left home. There was heavy traffic. Imagine, it took us ten minutes to reach my former high school by car, which only takes 5 mins to reach by feet. I was thinking that I'd be late for my class because there was heavy traffic all the way to DLSU(De La Salle University) . Gosh! When finally, we reached the Manila City Hall, omg the traffic was even worse, the flood was making the traffic worse. Finally, after another 10 mins, we reached Taft Avenue and luckily, there was no traffic there. Whew!

It was ten minutes before 8:50am that I arrived in school. I was glad that I made it lol Good thing our English professor was not very strict with our attendance, so it was okay to be late, but I always made it a point to go early. The bad thing was, the air-conditioning system of our classroom was again, having some problems. *sigh* its so hot in the classroom.... >.<

My first class ended at 10:20am, then we have our break until 2:30pm. My friends and I went to have lunch in a Japanese restaurant, then we planned to go the conservatory( study hall) to review our lessons for Chemistry for our midterm exam tomorrow. But suddenly, another friend of mine came to us and told us that the afternoon classes will be suspended due to the forthcoming typhoon ( tropical storm/cyclone). All of us were like..."WOHOO! We can study for Chemistry!" (sounds nerdy? lol no choice coz of the midterm exam :P)

We were all so excited (hah!) because according to our English class professor, DLSU rarely cancels classes during typhoon seasons, unless it reaches signal #3. But the good news came so suddenly that left us all smiling and laughing all the way home.

Thanks to the typhoon, I could finally have some time to write a new post. It was strange, I suppose there is a typhoon coming, but the weather now is sunny >.< AH!I don't care as long as we don't have classes lol I hope the typhoon would not last until tomorrow, so our midterm exam would be cancelled. I'm not ready to take the exam yet @_@ I never liked Chemistry, although it is a lot better than Physics.

Well, got to go now. Back to reading the 150-page coverage of the Chemistry exam( i'm dying! lol) Sorry for once again, writing another senseless post. LOL I'm really not in the mood to think of something "deep" to talk about :P No inspiration!!!! haha

What is this feeling?

2006-07-04T22:40:00.000+08:00

Ever since I started university, I couldn't sleep early every night not until 1am. Loads of homework and projects were given to us every day. I came to a point that wherever and whenever I am, my mind is fully loaded with the things I have to do. Even in my dreams while I was sleeping, numbers, phrases, and the faces of the professors appear. Are those nightmares??? I always dizzy when I wake up, with the school works still stuck in my head.

So I could relax, I often turn-on my msn and yahoo messenger and chat with my friends while I do my homework. I would also turn-on windows media player and listen to music again and again until I finish what I'm doing. These are the only ways for me to relax and relieve myself from stress. I have a lot of friends, including online friends from different parts of the world. I thank them for entertaining me when I'm bored and tired.

Recently, one of my friend whom I chat with most often found a summer job. For almost two weeks now, I could rarely see him online. We could only chat once a week. He is really nice to chat with. He never fails to crack jokes to cheer me up. *Sigh* I don't know why, most of my online friends have all gone busy. Few were online to chat with me. I was really bored...but well it's ok as I could finish my homework faster haha

Even my friends in real life were all busy. They all have their own things to do, so of course, they would not have time to chat with me. I miss them...all my friends, including my online friends. How I wish I could see them again soon. How I wish I could talk and laugh with them again. Now that I'm in university, I kind of wanted to go back to high school and stay in the small and secure environment, together with my friends. While I was still in high school, I had wished every day to quickly graduate and start a new life in university... ( I really feel uncertain of what I truly want now.)

Tomorrow, I will be having my first piano lessons after two years of not having lessons. I'm excited and nervous too LOL I haven't had time to practice, so I hope I'd be able to do good tomorrow. I want to give a good first impression to my piano teacher haha :D Wish me luck! :P

I can't take it anymore...do I have an option?Yes!

2006-07-01T23:37:00.000+08:00

I am starting to get used to the busy university life now, but the military training, I don't think I could bear it anymore. For 3 training days (3 weeks, once a week), I've been trying hard to endure pain and control myself from collapsing under the sun. Today is the worst day ever.

Last week, we got our military uniforms and had to wear them today. Long sleeves and combat boots! Its sooooo hot! I was perspiring like a water fountain and can't even wipe them out. As usual, we were made to run laps, do push-ups, pumps, and many more exercises. It was okay with me, but its different today as we were all wearing heavy clothings, so it makes us really hard to move.

Good thing a classmate of mine was a baseball varisty player of the university, so I asked him some incentives he gets from joining the varsity team. Through him, I now know that ahtletics are exempted from military training and PE classes. I was like "WOW!Finally, I could get off that stupid military training!"

I decided to try-out the tennis varsity team. I asked the tennis coach if beginners could join the try-outs and he said "yes" WEEEE I'm gonna go for it lol :P The try-outs will be on Julyl 19, I'm really excited now. If I get qualified, I would be able to be exempted from military training and play the sport that I truly like.

Two of my friends are also going for the try-out. One of them is to avoid her PE classes, which is judo class lol :D My PE classes are alright, its basketball. I like basketball, but I don't like the written exams, so I'd be happy to get away from it too haha :P

TENNIS!!!!!!!! God help me! ^^;;

I don't know what I'm saying...sorry if there are some grammatical errors hehe

Check this out! :D

2006-06-27T21:53:00.000+08:00

Last Sunday( June 25, 2006), my mom and I went to the SM Mall of Asia. Knowing me, the first thing I would do is to rush in the nearest bookstore and start finding books that I can buy :D While I was browsing the bestseller section, I came across this book entitled "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective TEENS" (some of you might already have read this book) by Sean Covey. The title was very eye-catching. I took the book and read the summary on the back cover and found the book interesting. According to the opinions of some popularly ranked psychologistsa and researchers, this book has helped hundred thousands of teens found their way to success. One of the opinions was "If the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens doesn't help you, then you must have a perfect life already." quoted by Jordan McLaughlin, a teenager. This quote is very convincing. Something inside me is telling me to buy this book and surely it would help me, but at the same time, I was thinking that I might not have time to read it. At the end, I bought it, partly because my mom said that it might help me in my college life.

I turned the pages, reading first the author's introduction to his book was somewhat interesting. He started the introduction humorously. The starting was interesting and funny. Here is the main part of the book :

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens
Habit 1: Be Proactive
Take responsibility for your life.
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
Define your mission and goals in life.
Habit 3: Put First Things First
Prioritize, and do the most important things first.
Habit 4: Think Win-Win
Have an everyone-can-win attitude.
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
Listen to people sincerely.
Habit 6: Synergize
Work together to achieve more.
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
Renew yourself regularly.

The author said that one way to understand what the 7 Habits are is to understand what they are not. (warning: the following post is going to be long, but it is interesting :P)
The funniest part of the book is this:
The 7 Habits of Highly Defective Teens
Habit 1: React
Blame all of your problems on your parents, your stupid teacher or professors, your lousy neighborhood, your boy- or girlfriend, the government, or something or somebody else. Be a victim. Take no responsibility for you life. Act like an animal. If you're hungry, eat. If someone yells at you, yell back. If you feel like doing something you know is wrong, just do it.
Habit 2: Begin with No End in Mind
Don't have a plan. Avoid goals at all costs. And never think about tomorrow. Why worry the consequences of your actions? Live for the moment. Sleep around, get wasted, and party on, for tomorrow we die.
Habit 3: Put First Things Last
Whatever is most important in your life, don't do it until you have spent sufficient time watching reruns, talking endlessly on the phone, surfing the Net, and lounging around. Always put off your homework until tomorrow. Make sure that things that don't matter always come before things that do.
Habit 4: Think Win-Lose
See life as a vicious competition. Your classmate is out to get you, so you'd better get him or her first. Don't let anyone else succeed at anything because, remember, if they win, you lose. If it looks like you're going to lose, however, make sure you drag that sucker down with you.
Habit 5: Seek First to Talk, Then Pretend to Listen
You were born with a mouth, so use it. Make sure you talk a lot. Always express your side of the story first. Once you're sure everyone understands your views, then pretend to listen by nodding and saying "uh-huh."Or, if you really want their opinion, give it to them.
Habit 6: Don't Cooperate
Lets's face it, other people are weird because they're different from you. So why try to get along with them? Teamwork is for the dogs. Since you always have the best ideas, you are better off doing everything by yourself. Be your own island.
Habit 7: Wear Yourself Out
Be so busy with life that you never take time to renew or improve yourself. Never study. Don't learn anything new. Avoid exercise like the plague. And, for heaven's sake, stay away from good books, nature, or anything else that may inspire you.

Though it may seem long, but isnt it funny? What do you think? Check the book out. I'm sure it would help you a lot. What I've posted is only a little part of the book. Aside from principles and paradigms, this book is also stuffed with cartoon illustrations, great quotes, clever ideas, and incredible stories. I'm sure it would help you a lot. Try it out now! You won't regret it :P

SAMSUNG E870

2006-06-26T21:28:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I got my belated grad gift FINALLY! In my last post, I said that my parents are going to buy me the Nokia 6280, but when I went in the mobile phone store and looked at the Nokia 6280, I immediately changed my mind. It was too thick and bulky. I like slim and light mobiles phones.

I went out of the store and went in another to look for other models that can be better than the Nokia 6280. Luckily, I found one -- the Samsung E870 :D It was really slim and small. It is a flip flop type of phone. The color is white. It has two 1.3mpixel cameras ( which is ok for me), an mp3 player, miniSD memory card slot, usb,bluetooth,1000 phonebook storage, and lots more fun features. The only problem was the battery life. Compared to Nokia phones, Samsung phones have relatively low battery lives. My old Nokia phone could stand by for a week without having to recharge the battery, while the Samsung E870 could only stand by for 2 days max.

Well, I guess everything has its pros and cons. Battery life is not very important for me as I would only have to recharge it as soon as I get home. What I find for in a mobile phone is its portability, accessibility, and special features. The price of the phone is approximately 17,500 pesos( almost 330 dollars) not very expensive for a phone with such good features.

I never expected to find a phone that I liked so much :P
Anyone out there searching for a new phone but can't find anyone that suits your needs yet? Samsung E870 might be the one for you ;) Go ahead and see for it yourself, I'm sure you'd also get attracted with its appearance and features :D

Tennis Makes Me Happy

2006-06-24T22:50:00.000+08:00

It is the Manila Day today, so I did't have military training. I was really happy to hear the news because I could finally have time to practice tennis after two weeks. It was really hard for to not play tennis for two weeks. I was excited to play, but approximately 2 hours before my scheduled time, it rained--raining like a typhoon has occured. I can't believe that...why does God had to be so cruel to me? I can't play tennis anymore.

Finally, the rain stopped after 2 hours waiting. I happily packed up my things for tennis and went on my way to the tennis court. When I reached there, the coach told me that the court cannot be used yet because it was too damp. At that moment, I didn't know what to say. I've waited for 2 weeks and all I get is this? CRAP! I asked the coach if the court could be ready after an hour when it dries up a bit and the coach said that we'll wait. I asked the coach to call me when the court is ready, as I'm going to go to my friend's shop and stay there while I wait.

I went to my friend's shop and luckily I found him there with one of his new classmates doing some class presentation for Monday. I also met another friend there who I haven't seen for a month. We talked about our university lives recently and I was really happy to see them again. An hour later, I asked the coach if the court is ready or not. I was overwhelmed when he said I could play. I rushed to the court and started practicing tennis. I felt myself improve--my forehand shots faster and lower, my backhand shots more powerful, and my volley and service quick. I was really glad when I was finally able to serve properly because normally my serves are either out or fault LOL :P It is really hard to control the hit sometimes.

After 2 hours of tennis playing, I felt my hands, wrist, and arm relaxing. It feels really good to play tennis. I was still thinking of playing more, but it was already 18:00, it would be too late for me to go home afterwards, so I had to stop. Anyhow, 2 hours is enough for me, although I could still play for another hour. Everytime I play tennis, I feel like I'm doing better and better. I think all I need now is a little bit more power to increase the speed of my topspins. Maybe the Prince O3 OS Tour tennis racquet could help....>:) I'll have to persuade my mom to buy it for me LOL If I get qualified to the DLSU tennis varsity team, I'd be exempted from ROTC...WEEEE :D

Tomorrow would be another happy day coz I'm going to Mall of Asia for the 2nd time (Nikko has gone there for more than 5 times i think!OMG) I'm excited :P I'm gonna get my high school graduation gift from my mom(it was kinda delayed though--3 months lol), which is a new NOKIA 6280 mobile phone :D Tonight I'm gonna stay up late, until 2am maybe...or 4am >:) RELAX! I've finished my homework! lol

Happy :D

2006-06-20T18:59:00.000+08:00

Today( June 20,2006), we had a free-cut on our morning class of Chemistry and Lab because the professor didn't come. LUCKY! :P I was still so nervous of the graded recitation that we're going to have in Chem today because I wasn't able to finish reading the assigned chapter, but fortunately, the prof didn't come so all of us were like..."Whew!That was close."

My next class was in 13:00 afternoon, so I had almost 4 hours of break and I didn't know what to do with the time. Then one of my friend suggested that we go to "The Venue"(a restaurant with billiard services), so we went there. Well, some of my friends and I didn't know how to play billiard, so we had no other choice but to just sit aside and watch the others play. After a while, when we were going to order for our lunch, another friend said she wanted to drink beer and asked me if I would also want to, then I said "Ok, sure but just a bit." (Nikko, don't scream LOL:P)

All my other classmates there was shocked when they saw my friend drank a full whole bottle of San Miguel Strong Ice... They said that it doesn't look like her to be such a bad influence LOL( they didn't know that she drinks) I drank some too and mixed up some beer with my ice tea hehe It turned out that the combo tasted good. It feels so good to drink beer first time in months. Good thing my face didn't turn red :P but the side effect was that I felt sleepy later in class >.<

After dismissal, my friend and I went to the Sports Development Office of the university to inquire about the varsity team recruitment. My friend wants to join the volleyball team, while I, the tennis team. The try-out training for tennis hadn't started yet, but the coach told me that even beginners could join the varsity. I was so excited when I heard that because all I want is to be able to train and not to be able to join competition, but of course, if I would be qualified to become a regular team member, then it'd be best :D I was really overwhelmed to have finally found a chance to practice and learn tennis that will not be a conflict to my normal class schedule. I'm also hoping to have some exceptions in PE class and the military training >:)

Well, that's all. Those are the events that made my day a better day. Tomorrow would be another day, I hope everything else goes smooth. The political science prof wants us to watch the movie "Gattaca" but it is nowhere to be found :( I hope I'd be able to understand his lesson tomorrow without being obvious to him that I didn't watch the movie lol :P

After hardships come success (part 2)

2006-06-18T13:21:00.000+08:00

Ah finally, I got enough sleep to recover the energy I've lost in the military training, but my joints and muscles ache like hell. Okay, now I'm going to continue my unfinished post yesterday.

As I've said, after hardships come success, the training would be nothing for me if I could learn and perform well because that's my sole purpose of joining the training. I hope I'm not doing too bad in the training hehe :P

I've seen other cadets of higher ranks than us perform during morning flag ceremonies and I must say that they are really good-- perfect timing and perfect stance. I want to be like them too when I graduate the training program. Like me, they'd undergone harsh trainings too and succeed in the end, so I hope I could also perform as well as they did.

There is one close friend of mine who also took up military training, but in another university. While we're being trained to marines and being taught naval commands, my friend will be trained into an air force unit. I must say that he's really lucky because his military training will start at his junior year in university, unlike mine that started at my freshmen year, so he gets to enjoy his freshmen year more than I do. *SIGH* He gets to choose his own PE class too, unlike me, which is the school that chooses for us.

Oh well, I have nothing more to say hehe :D Enjoy reading and I'd like to see your comments or tag. Thanks! :)

After hardships come success

2006-06-17T14:18:00.000+08:00

Since it is required to choose a service program, either military training(ROTC) or community service(CWTS) in university, I chose military training. I'd had military training on my fourth year high school. At first, I disliked it and found it too hard continue the harsh trainings given to us, but later, I got interested when we were taught silent drills (rifle drills). I've always wanted to learn how to perform using the rifle. One year time was not enough for us to be taught all kinds of rifle drills and tricks.

Now in university, I chose again the military training to continue to learn more about the silent drills. ROTC was divided to 5 special units, namely the model battalion unit, who performs during ceremonies and performances; the security patrol unit(SP), who is in charge of security in the school premises; the navigators unit, who read and interpret the maps; the medics unit, who aid the wounded cadets, if any; lastly, the MOCC unit, for cadets who want to become officers. I joined the model battalion unit because of the silent drills they offer.

From the name of our unit, the model battalion unit serves as the model to all the other special units. The cadets in this unit should endure harder trainings and should possess skills higher than the others. We have very strict officers who wants to make our performances close to perfect.

This morning, like all saturdays, I woke up at 5:00am and started getting ready for my ROTC class at 6:30. Today's training was unimaginable. Our commander made us do push-ups, pumps, squat rushes, and made us run laps around the standard-sized football field in the campus under the boiling sun. It was so hot that several of my mates fainted and had to be brought out of the field. We were taught how to march--something very hard to perfect. Under the sun, my arms and hands were like bread put in the oven, even my face turned so red after the training. I got tan lines on my arms that were so obvious >.<>.<

to be continued...(cant stop myself from dozing off, got to take a nap :D)

Understanding or memorizing?

2006-06-16T18:54:00.000+08:00

Back in high school, when people asked me what my favorite subject is, I would always say that math is my favorite subject. Although I find math interesting, I don't get really high grades on it, just average. Throughout the four years of high school, we were taught algrebra, advanced algebra,geometry,trigonometry, and calculus. For me, algrebra and calculus were the best.

Now in university, algebra was taught again and I found it surprising that I still remembered all the formulas of the special products and the methods of factoring. Strange...back when I was taking up algebra, I almost went crazy of memorizing the formulas, but now, I don't know why but they seem to pop-out from nowhere. I was surprised, but happy too :D

One funny thing was, when my professor was lecturing in class, she kept calling the attention of one of my classmates. The first time was because he was not around when she checked the attendance (He was late.) Second time was when the guy kept talking with his seatmate when the professor was explaining some math problems. The third time was the same with the second one (imagine that...O_o being called twice) The last time was when she called on him to answer a special products equation on the board and he didn't know how to answer the very basic and simple question. Finally, the professor erupted and said "See?You didn't know how to answer because you're not listening to me. I thought you were too good that you need not listen to me anymore." At that time, I can't believe that a student who originally came from a famous private school would not know how to answe a simple math problem. I said to myself "Good thing I was not talking with my seatmate and was listening to her, or else I would have been the one who were embarrassed in front of the whole class.

Last friday, we had a quiz on special products and factoring. The test was quite easy but my classmates were complaining after the test. They were saying that the test was too hard. After three days, the test results was announced and surprisingly I got a 83%/95%, which is approximately a 3.0-3.5 score. I was like..."WOW! Is this really my test paper?" I can't believe my score LOL I thought I'd get a red mark. More than half of the class failed the test, some of them only getting 30%/95% so I was really thankful that I got a passing mark :P

I think stock knowledge is really important. It doesn't matter how well you do in class as long as you understand the lessons and can use it appropriately when the need arises. I used to cram in school but now I'm trying very hard to correct this very bad habit and I'm happy to say that it's working a bit now...hehe

I guess that ends it. These days, I'm running out of topics to post in my blog, so I'm really sorry if my recent posts sucks >.<> I'd like to see your opinions hehe THANKS!

P.S. I will continue, oh my God, to do all my best for the love of you. Saint John Baptist de Lasalle, pray for us. Live Jesus in our hearts, forever. In the name of the God and of the Son and of the holy spirit, Amen!

-The Lasallian Prayer(university prayer)

BORED

2006-06-12T17:32:00.000+08:00

Today(June 12) is our National Independence Day. I don't have classes starting Saturday until now. I'm so bored and I don't what to do. Normally, I'd have loads of assignments waiting to be finished by now, but strangely, this weekend there was no assignment to be done. I stayed on the internet all day, chatting, surfing, and blogging. Even in blogging, I ran out of topic all the time >.<>

I'm sure my shopaholic classmates are all out shopping in Mall of Asia, Glorietta, Greenbelt, or any of the high-class malls available here and some might be partying now. All of them seem to have infinite things to do to keep them occupied. I thought of practicing piano for my first piano lesson that will start on June 28, but I'm not in the mood for it. I've finished listening to almost all of my music cds, I've slept 12 hours a day, and I don't know what I could do next -_-

My parents and I were supposed to be going to the Mall of Asia this morning, but the plan was canceled due to my dad's sudden appointment with some clients. I thought maybe I could practice tennis a bit, but the weather is hot. Playing tennis directly under the sun tires me easily. I did't want to feel exhausted for my classes tomorrow, so I just sat in front of my laptop all day, chatting with my friends. My friends come online and go offline, at the end, I was the only one left online 0_0

I wish this day would end. Even if I don't like going to university, it is always better to be with my friends :D At least there's someone I can talk to and there's somewhere I could go. Even if the daily process of going to the university then back home is very exhausting, but I enjoy it. I enjoy seeing the faces of the strangers that travel in the LRT(train) with me. Some of them are sleepy and some are in a hurry. When the train reaches a station, people push in and push out the train with worried and sometimes, angry faces.

Another post of nonsense haha! I hope you don't mind reading it :P Thanks!

What is education?

2006-06-11T23:30:00.000+08:00

Education is important. Education is essential. The problem is, does everybody feel the same way? People of different race and culture have different opinions on the importance of education and where it can lead them to.

I remember when I was young, my parents used to tell me to study hard and get high grades. They said that nothing is more important than education. Without education and knowledge, I won't be able to survive this competitive world. As a child, I have good food, good clothes, and good environment. I have loving parents and relatives. There really is nothing to worry about, so I don't understand what my parents wanted me to do.

One day, I came across a story about two men, one a rich man with poor education and the other a poor man with knowledge. The rich man had everything he wanted in the world. He had what everything money can buy. While this poor man, he had to worry about his three meals and shelter every day. The rich man would often make fun of the poor man and say that the poor man's knowledge is useless without money. He said that he does not have a very high education, but he is rich and that's what is important. Then it occurred that a typhoon arrived in the place where they lived. Everything in there were washed away by the flood. Fortunately, both the rich and the poor man managed to survive, but the rich man's properties and wealth were all gone, nothing was left for him. The poor man also lose some of his things, but he did not lose his knowledge. With his knowledge, he could start eveything all over again.

This story taught me a very important lesson. Money can disappear anytime, but the knowledge you had will always be there. Since then, I understood why my parents wants me to study hard and get good grades. It is because they don't want me to suffer poverty due to lack of knowledge in the future. No one can be sure of what one has now will always be his. But knowledge for sure will not disappear and cannot be stolen from you even when you die.

People knew the importance of education, but not everyone of them values it. In Chinese culture, it is our tradition to study hard and aim for the best. People in China nowadays are very serious about their education. Having a collegeate education is not enough for them for they would get eliminated once their not as good as others, so they aim for masterals and PhDs. I feel that it is really hard to live in such a competitive society. Only the strong will survive. Bearing this in mind, people would strive even harder just to survive, thus pressuring their lives and making them miserable.

Maybe in other countries, people do compete, but not like in China. I have a Swedish friend whom I asked before " What are you planning to study in university?" then he said "I don't know yet. Maybe I'll work for a couple of years then decide what I'm going to study." Hearing his answer, I though "COOL! Such decisions do not always occur in high students' minds here. Maybe it's a good idea to work and experience more first before going back to the dull school life. Maybe slowing my pace would give me more time to really know what I want to do with my life. " Another friend answered me differently when I asked him the same question. He said "Since I have money, I could rest for one or two years after I graduate high school and enjoy my life before I continue my studies in university." This is another unusual answer, who would want to waste his precious time doing nothing? If I were him, I'd want to go to university immediately and finish my studies.

Here in Philippines, people who could afford the university tuition would definitely go straight to university after high school without thinking twice. It occured to me the idea of working first before continuing the studies is unusual, but it's normal in western countries. Maybe Westerners knows how to enjoy their lives more, as they tend to do what they feel like doing without worrying the effects, unlike Asians who value the future more than the present.

I envy people who could do they what they want to do without being stopped by circumstances. How I hope I could be like them, but living in a different community as them, it is hard for me to slow down my paces for if I do, other people would surpass me and I would get eliminated. I don't want to live a life of a loser. I have dreams that I want to pursue, like photography and travellling around the world, but due to circumstances and societal influences, I have no choice but to let down my dreams and continue on my studies. >.<

For those who read the post, I'm sorry that it was another long post. I wonder what would be your opinion of education. Surely, we would have a different point of view as we have different goals and dreams in life. Do you want to share your opinion with me? I'd be most willing to read it. ^_^

Dreams are sweet.

Dreams are untouchable.

Dremas are hard to achieve.

Dreams are unrealistic.

Dreams are beautiful.

Life is full of mysteries...

2006-06-11T01:24:00.000+08:00

One never knows what will happen in the next second. Life is very unpredictable. Perhaps that's what people call destiny...no one has control over it, all we can do is to value every second of our lives. Everyone's life is a mystery...we may undergo the same stages of life, but not with the same experiances and the same people involved.

I can't believe that I'm already in university for the third week in just a blink of an eye. I never thought that college life would be so harsh. I'd thought that it would be tough, but not like what's happenning to me now lol :D I'm expecting a lot of assignments, but not as much as 4-5 research papers for every weekend. Over the last 2 weeks, I almost collapsed because of these endless assignments. Gladly, this week, I'd have some more time to sit back and chat or watch some tv.

My college professors teach well, but the problem is, they don't explain the lesson very clearly. They prefer to group us together and leave it to us to do research about a certain subject and report it in front of the class. Doing researches and reports are okay with me, but sometimes I get grouped with lazy groupmates who doesn't help but sit and talk about nonsense. Often times, I'd have to tolerate such ignorant behavior and concentrate on doing the research.

There was one professor who likes asking us questions we'd never encountered, then later, contradicting our answers and sometimes embarrassing us. That doesn't sound so good, I didn't expect college professors to be like that...>.<>

The new college environment is quite unusual. It is very much different from the small community of students with almost the same culture and race in a high school, instead, college is like a salad with all kinds of vegetables and fruits. People in the college came from different countries, different cultures, and different traditions and practices. Often times, you'd find your opinion towards something very different from someone who is of a different race from you. Many people in college smoke, drink, and party a lot( Something that is very very different from high school, where everyone is as pure and clean as an unused bond paper.) This is because college gives more freedom to the students. As long as one does not violate the rules, one can do whatever one desires.

College forces students to be active in organizations therefore, public relations is very important. You have to know how to communicate with others in order to make people know you. Public relations is one of my problems, sometimes when I get nervous, I'd forget what I have to say >.<>

Besides from meeting weird professors and seeing and feeling the first time for myself the college life, I had met some new friends too. I've talked to all my new classmates and got to know more about their personality. There was a group of them who would always invite me to go to the karaoke with them and another group who would always invite me to go shopping or watch movies in the mall. Every time, I had no choice but to decline their invitations because I find myself hard to blend with them. I have interests on other things that they don't find interesting. I have more responsibility than they do for I'd always think of duties before pleasures. People might say that I'm a nerd, but I'm not, I'm just doing the things I have to do and if I'm done, then I'd let myself relax. College, unlike high school, is very fast-paced, so I'm trying my best to manage my time properly and efficiently. I'm aiming to do as much as I can in the shortest period of time :P

Once, I felt so stressed that I almost felt like crying. I know its funny to cry over such things, but crying, for me, is a means of releasing my stress. I'd feel better after crying and would be able to concentrate again on the things I'm doing. When college had just started, I had sought for my friends' help several times for my assignments, asking them their answers,reactions, and opinions toward certain problems. For those who helped me, thanks a lot! You're the best! :D Anything you need from me, just feel free to tell me and I'll be there for you. ^_^

One of my friends had started on her daily routine of boyhunting LOL I laughed to hard when I first heard her say. I can't believe she would still have the time for boys with the college days being to tough. My another friends' advice to her was "books before boys" and I found it really convincing :P But she just neglected his advice and continued on her search for the "man" of her dreams. After a few weeks, I heard the news that she had finally found the one. Now, she had a crush over the guy. X_X LOL I laughed again( I don't mean to be rude...its just so unbelievable!) I wonder if the same thing would happen to me too...but I doubt it, since I haven't seen someone who could catch my eyes yet :P

So far, I'd found some friends that share the same interest as me. They are nice and helpful, funny and sociable. ^^ Great friends! I hope to get to know more about them in the coming days :D

Alright, so much for the nonsense. Thanks for bearing with me, I know it is a very long post. I appreciate your patience and to that, I thank you again :D Please post me a comment if you don't mind. Thank you so much! ;)

P.S. Friends come and friends go, but I'm one who would always be there for you in times of need and joy.

A TOUR

2006-06-10T15:26:00.000+08:00

Yesterday ( June 09,2006) , my classes ended at 16:40 and my parents fetched me at university at 18:00 >.< Since it was friday, I suggested that we go to the Mall of Asia to take a tour and look around. Over the past few weeks, I've heard my friends and classmates talk about the mall, of how beautiful it was and how luxurious it was.

Just a few days ago, my friends, Nikko and Nicolo went there. Nikko told me that it was really beautiful and yeah, I saw it for myself yesterday. It was breathtaking, especially the view of the Manila bay. I didn't know the horizon would be so charming--- a mix of red, orange, yellow, violet, blue, and white... I wish I had my camera with me LOL The place was so big that it would take me more than half an hour just to walk from the north side the to south side. Near the bay, where there was a place for entertainment, I saw SAME, a band formerly known as MOFFATS. People were flooding and lining up just to get their autograph. Too bad I didn't have SAME albums, or I'd have lined up there and asked for their autogrpahs too :D

While taking a walk in the first and second floor of the EM building, we came across Powerbooks and I was able to find a book that I've been searching for almost half a year(LUCKY!), a book by Nora Roberts titled "Red Lily." We then went to dine. There was a whole lot of choices of restaurants lined up in the first floor and it was difficult for us to decide which to dine in. Finally, I saw Teriyaki Boy and I immediately told my mom and dad that this restaurant serves delicious Japanse food, then they said "Ok, lets eat here." But there were so many people dining in the restaurant that we have to wait for 15-minutes to have our turn to dine. The food was delicious since any Japanese food is delicious for me :P After our dinner, it was already 22:00, we went to the HYPERmarket (a very weird name for a supermarket lol) to buy some grocery and quickly drove home. Many stores are not yet open. Most of them are going to be open on June 30,2006. Hopefully, by then I'd have time to go there again. There was still so many places I haven't gone to--- the iceskating rink, the main entrance with the playing grand piano, and all the other restaurants and stores there. I don't shop much, but I love windowshopping :P I would also like to go to Timezone or Powerstation to play dance mania >:)

It was almost 12:00am when we reached home. I was so tired, but I managed to stay up late till 2:30am to chat with Nikko and Jocke despite of my ROTC class (military training) at 6:15am O_o When I woke up at 5:ooam, I had a hangover and I have to skip my military training class >.< ( Hope I don't get too much deduction :S)

I was planning to invite my close friends to go to the Mall of Asia next Monday. Since it was our Independence Day, I don't have classes. But all my plans are useless, my professor in university gave us assignments enough for us have something to do on the holiday(GRRRR). I really miss seeing my friends :( I wish I'd have time to spend with them. The new friends I met in university are never the same with the friends I had in high school. @_@

P.S. Just another day taken from my human diary. LOL

Friendship...does it last?

2006-06-05T22:23:00.000+08:00

Frienship...a very common word, some people just did't know the true meaning of friendship. Why? Often times, friendship is easy to understand but hard to establish. I have met so many friends before, from elementary to high school, and now university. I have seen so many kinds of people and experienced so many kinds of "friendship." I've witnessed many best friends who became enemies in the end. What could be the reason that could tear their friendship apart?

I have two friends in high school. One was often known as the "computer genius" and the other was known to be the "Chinese fanatic." They were both my close friends and the two of them were always together, so we all thought that they were best friends. Sometimes when I don't see them together, I'd asked "Where is your best friend?" ans he would often say "Who is that?" then I'd say.."Who else aside from (name of the friend)?" then he would say "Yuck! We were never best friends." (Why do they always deny the fact that is obvious to the public?)

Time after time, they remained to be closed friends. Eventually, the "Chinese fanatic" tried to avoid the "computer genius."He didn't want to let his friend know what he's been up to or what his recent activities are, and his reason was he didn't want his friend to imitate him. He said he hates copycats. I don't understand, isn't it good to have someone who share the same interests with you? I wonder why he'd be so angry with his friend. If I were him, I'd be very happy because there is actually someone who wants to follow my foot steps and be interested too with what I'm doing. There was once when the two of them, another friend, and I decided to play tennis. "Chinese fanatic" was so angry with "computer genius" because he said that this friend of his is trying to imitate him again." He got even more angry with him when "computer genius" invited some more friends to play tennis( I admit that I'm angry with him too because of his friend invitations :P). After that, they had a cold war and never talked to each other ever since >.< (It's terrible how friendship could be so weak sometimes. I really don't understand.)

Some of us, "Chinese fanatic's" close friends, tried to tell him to forgive "computer genius" and go back to being friends again. I told him once that to have a friend is better to have an enemy. It's makes one happy also to forgive someone, but he just wouldn't listen. I guess there's no hope for them anymore. He said he doesn't care about "computer genius" anymore now that he's got a new set of friends. (>.<)

I don't know why a 4-yr friendship could be torn apart so easily...I had best friends in elemetary who were still in contact with me even if we haven't seen each other for six years. I'm truly happy that my childhood friends had never forgotten me and that they still remember every bits of memory of what we shared together. I don't know how long will my friendship with them last, but I hope its forever :P

What is love?

2006-06-04T21:28:00.000+08:00

What is love? Some say that it’s blind and others say that it’s indefinable. As for me, I don’t know because I had never experienced that kind of feeling :P

Just a month ago, I started playing Ragnarok Online again, but in the private server this time. I was recruited to a Spanish speaking guild and I was like… “Wow! How am I suppose to know what’s going on if I don’t understand Spanish?” Good thing there was this guy in the guild who speaks fluent English, so he became my translator >.< LOL

Eventually, we became friends. He's a Venezuelan but living in India now. He told me about his life there and stuff. He said that there was this Indian girl that he loved so much. They'd gone out a few times and everything seems to be pleasant. But one day, this girl's family is moving to place far from where my friend lives. He was upset because he wouldn't be able to see her frequently. One time, he tried to ask her out on that weekend and the girl was to tell him her decision that night, but after long hours of waiting, she didn't call. My friend tried to call him a couple of times, but the phone was under repair. He was both happy and sad at the same time. He was happy because the phone was the reason why she hadn't called him and sad because they couldn't go out on that weekend. He'd waited for 2 long weeks for the date, but what happened disappointed him a lot. I said "Don't worry, you'll get to see her soon." and he said "Yeah…I guess." Then, I keep thinking...is this really love? Is this what I see all the time in romance novels and movies?

Well, my suspicions were quickly solved for this friend of mine came online today in msn and told me that he'd went to her house today. I said "Ohh nice..you finally get to see her after 3 long weeks of anticipation." "How did you get her address?" and he said, "Her mom took me to their house today after church." WOW! I mean that's a very good sign LOL :D Mothers are supposed to be like "Don't get near my daughter." but today, she took him to her house. Does that implement something? Well...I don’t know :P He said "I felt like I'm in heaven." "God! She looked so beautiful today." "I'm gonna tell her that I love her the next time we meet." Then, a question came to my mind and I asked him "Do you plan to marry her by any chance?" and to my surprise, he said "O_O I SURE WOULD!!!!" "I DO!!!!! XD" I said "But isn't it too young for you to marry?" then he said "I could wait...I've waited for a long time, no harm done." Then I said "What if she said no?" he said "I doubt she will...she obviously felt something for me because she was shocked when she saw me in her house." I thought for a while, maybe this girl do really loved him.

It’s really good to know that they felt love for each other. As a friend, I felt happy for him.
Like I said, what is love? Can someone tell me? LOL @_@

Good luck, my friend!^_^ Tell her what you gotta say!

Crazy :P

2006-06-01T21:37:00.000+08:00

Well I have this Swedish friend( I'm not gonna say his name,coz he might kill me>.<)who's created a blog recently. I could say that his posts are...very...negative and...funny LOL In his blog, he's trying to make himself as eveil as possible O_o I didn't even know if that was his true personality or not @_@ :P If you're interested, please visit http://swedenblog.blogspot.com :D and don't forget to comment.

OMG!University...

2006-06-01T21:07:00.000+08:00

Time flies by so fast...I can't believe that I'm already in university now and starting a totally new life with my college friends and the new environment.(That does not mean that I'd forgotten my old friends.^^)
The first day of class was somewhat terrible, but also fun. The new building that we're having our classes is still under-construction. Being DLSU(De Lasalle University), it has always been called the university for the "classy" and "rich" people(LOL!not true) , I can't believe that our classrooms are not air-conditioned and that the elevator is always so crowded that we had to take the stairs instead(damn! that was sooo exhausting!). Despite of the elevator and air-conditioning system, we also had to deal with unreasonable and weird professors @_@ Each of them had their own rules and regulations that needed to be followed in their class or else you get sent to the discipline office O_o (scaaaaryyy) We already had assignments in the first week of class...with the professors teaching nothing. >.<
The good thing about the first day was that I got to know a lot of new friends. They were all very nice and fun to be with. Its strange how people with different cultures could get along so well in such a short period of time :D I'm really happy to start my college life earlier than my other high school classmates. I've heard people say that college is a lot more fun and interesting than high school, now I know what they meant about that :P We had a lot of free time in between our next classes, so it was really fun to wander in the campus grounds and explore lol
All in all, college was fine so far. I think i'm gonna enjoy every single bit of the time I spent in DLSU. I have a lot of expectations and plans for my 4-yr stay in the university. :D

Enchanted Kingdom

2006-06-01T20:57:00.000+08:00

It was early 8:00am in the morning when we departed for Enchanted Kingdom. This was my first time to go to an amusement park in Philippines. I was really excited because this is an outing together with my friends ^_^.The ticket outlet was already crowded when we got there at 10:00am. The place was way beyond my imagination. It looks like a toy kingdom with different kinds of rides in it. Our first ride was the bump car. All my friends enjoyed driving the bump cars except me, the one I was driving just keeps turning around, it can't even go straight. It irritated me. After the bump cars, we went to the balloon ride. The moment the air balloons started moving, I felt dizzy. I feel as if I'm about to faint; all I can do is close my eyes and try not to think about it. After a few minutes, the balloons stopped. Thank God it stopped or else I don't know what's going to happen to me next. Meanwhile, my friends were all enjoying the ride, they even took pictures during the ride. They're really tough!Next, the Flying Fiesta. I felt dizzy already just by watching the peoply riding on it. My friends took the ride and for me, I just sat at the bench and wait for them, but I enjoyed taking pictures though. ^_^ After my friends came back, it suddenly started to rain so we went directly into the 4D Theatre. The movie we watched was a horror 4D movie. We all wore 4D eyeglasses and while watching the movie, everything that happened in the movie, happened to us too. It was really cool!The next ride we went to is the Space Shuttle. I didn't take the ride because unlike my friends, I was scared of the roller coaster. I was thinking if the coaster would fall down or something, so all I can do is sit beside the bench and wait for my friends to come back from the ride. After a while, they're back and to my surprise, they actually loved the ride and even wanted to take the ride again(IMAGINE THAT!). Oh boy, that was really brave! We went to the arcade afterwards and I won a teddy bear, which I later gave it to my friend, Diane. We then went to the restaurant to have lunch.After the lunch, we went to the Realto. The line was so long that we had to wait for a half hour just to get it the theatre. The Realto was not very fun, but at least it was new to me. ^_^"Then here comes the climax of the day, the LOG JUMP!!! The line was even longer than the on Realto, we waited for exactly an hour to have our turn to take the ride, but its worth the wait. The ride was exciting. I felt as if I was going to fall out the "log" when it slid down from the highest peak with water splashing all over us. It was really fun! It was the best ride I had on that day.No more fun after that because my friends when to ride the Flying Fiesta again, but at least I get to take pictures, which was the part I enjoyed most. I love taking pictures. My friends were getting irritated because I kept asking them to take pictures lol ^^Well, that's all for now. I enjoyed the outing though I felt really tired after I got home. After all, going out with friends is fun. ^_^

Romance Novels

2006-06-01T20:52:00.000+08:00

I like romance novels very much. Although most of them are erotic, it’s just the authors’ way to make their novels more interesting and amazing and to express their characters’ feelings more clearly to the readers. I’ve read many romance novels showing undying passion and forever love. This is why I like romance novels. These novels are usually idealistic; therefore, giving me a place to have my imaginations and wonders roam around freely. Well, some people may find these romantic stories boring and common, but I find them enchanting and delightful, for it is hard to have these events happen in one’s real life. Every time when I feel stressed or tired, I’d engage myself in reading romance novels so as to relieve my senses and relax my nerves. Believe me, it is really an effective way of relaxing and a nice way for spending your leisure time. From all the novels I’ve read recently, the authors I like most are Jude Deveraux and Judith McNaught. They’re novels are nice and pleasant to read, not too erotic or dull either. Jude Deveraux’s novels are humorous, romantic, exotic, and enticing. Her novels usually start with a “boy meets girl” style, then a “lived happily ever after ending”. Almost all of her novels show feminism. The woman in her story would most likely be someone who is brave, intelligent, independent, and strong enough to live her life joyously even without men. Another thing is the woman and man in Jude Deveraux’s novels were always beautiful, handsome, and charming with shocking and mysterious personalities that would urge the reader to finish the story immediately so they can find out what happened in the end. That happens to me all the time too. Wild Orchids, Always, and A Gift of Love are some titles I like most from Jude Deveraux.Judith McNaught’s novels are much more erotic than Jude Deveraux’s. Her novels are cheerful, amazing, and mysterious. Every male character in her novel has somewhat a weird personality and a sad past that would later be remedied and be influenced by the girl he meets. Her novels are so fine and so unique that I often find them irresistible. Excluding the erotic parts, I can say that her novels are perfect. I had never read something so astonishing and intriguing stories in the past few years of my life. The events in the novels are ones women and men nowadays would want to happen in their real lives----sweetness, tenderness, warmth, and security. Try reading Tender Triumph and Something Wonderful and you’ll know what I mean.Reading romance novels is something truly nice. That’s all I can say for now, for these novels of the two all-time-bestseller authors, Jude Deveraux and Judith McNaught, beggar my descriptions. It’s all up to you to figure out the mystery and secrets hidden beneath these wonderful and magnificent novels of the century. You will surely be attracted with them. ^_^

似水年华

2006-06-01T20:47:00.000+08:00

青春
春天的花儿
盛开、凋落
只因命中住定
花儿
随风飞舞
花香
随风飘扬
飞向蓝天白云
欢乐、悲伤
只因渴望永恒
青春无限
命运
近在眼前
梦想
遥不可及
一切
尽在手中
徘徊