On the 6th Day of February

On the 6th Day of February The Secret gave to me: A mountain of hope and adversary.

Title: Not Everyday is A Lovely Day

Real climb with no one I know. Seriously. If there is a chance to be really friendly and all, this has got to be it. Went to Mt. Maculot in Cuenca, Batangas for a dayclimb (no setting-up of tents and all) and bask in the view from the Rockies overlooking Taal Volcano and Batangas.

It is love.

MORAL: It is good to check on yourself once in a while. Not check as in "check out" but check like gauge how good or not you are once in a while.

On the 5th Day of February

The magic that is Friday.

Title: It's Going to Be in History

Friday's the day of our 2nd History long exam and I came home late last night, plus had to do some org-related stuff. My mind was already dead from the day, being in school from 9am to almost 10pm, had Philo midterms and 2 quizzes. Plus, SciTech Cluster meeting and yes, the consultation.

What to do? I still need to read some heavy 7 chapters of good old American and Japanese occupation stories. The sad part is that the more I read, the more I learn, the more I grow hopeless with the Philippines. Really, heavy politicking even from the past? False pride? Why don't we ever learn?

Anyway, how was Friday? I tried to study/read the book but around 4am, I suddenly fell asleep on the couch. I woke up around 6am and was on a hysteria because my exam's at 1:30pm and I still got over a hundred pages to read, plus 3 more articles and 5 powerpoint presentations to run through. Then when I got to school, I asked around and turns out I was the only one who read the book, as they all just read the notes. Okay.

Admiral Kichisaburo Nomura FTW!!! If I were an American then, I would've probably slapped him because of his nationality but I wasn't. Nomura was in the right place at the wrong time with the right intentions. I pity him.

One more thing: Last day of filing of candidacy for Executive Board in the Management Information Systems Association. :)

Someone just pulled a "Mei Ong" political move in MISA. Hahaha.

And yes, there are others who take in a lot of pride in themselves. Honey, that won't work. Wait till your gas runs out.

MORAL: People, would never cease to surprise you - be it in a good or not so good way.

Platform: Be Ready for the Stage

Candidates asking me about my regrets as an organization president.

My current slogan is "No regrets. Live a life with no regrets."

If I answer it right now, that kind of sucks.

Funny how they can get information from someone. Taught them well. Haha.

If I were president again, what would I have done?

Did I have any regrets?

I want to answer. I think I have good answers for those questions.

I want to hear from you, guys, first. :)

MORAL: Politics is everywhere. The one that can adapt wins.

On the 4th Day of February

Title: ET Experience

Philo Midterms, PM quiz, and Theo quiz.

The amazing part here is that Val and I did a marathon from CTC313 to BEL311. Yes, that's from Point A to Point Z. It is this --------------------------------------------------------- FAR. It's almost 2:55pm (our class starts at 3pm on the dot) and we were just dismissed. So what to do? Val and I decided to run and were hoping to catch a tricycle on the way. Suddenly, a blue tricycle was zooming as well, Ateneo E-Trike!!! Manong was so funny and supportive because I asked him, "Bellarmine po?" while running. He stopped and asked us to get inside and he did drop us at the footsteps of Bellarmine, even stopping in the middle of the road just so we can leave right away and not be late for class.

My ET (E-Trike) Experience is awesome. Manong E-Trike Driver is awesome. And yes, I believe I did well on those three endeavors for the day.

I led the prayer for PolSci class (my first class) by the way. So maybe that prompted the good things that happened to me. 9am-9pm on a Thursday. K. When our teacher was looking for some people in our class (because usually people don't show up), "Where is ____?" I point to my heart. Cheesy. K.

Thanks to STC people who let me drink freaking brewed coffee ("Kuya yung pinakamatapang niyo.") with no sugar and all. Argh.

MORAL: ETs are friends. They do not destroy the environment and are easy on the eyes.

On the 3rd Day of February

I somehow forgot to post yesterday that my "claim number" was 888. Triple 8. So, when you get your picture and a frame that comes with it, your claim number will be posted there. I got 888.

So when people ask me, "What's that? And what's the number for?"

I tell them, "It says 888. I won in a raffle and I get a free framed picture of someone I don't know. How cool is that?!"

I get blank faces in return, so I'm not sure if they found it cool. I know I did. :)

Title for the 3rd Day: Fries Quickly

Project iPod Shuffle. Oftentimes, those with mp3 players whose memory are in GB (gigabytes) stock-up on truckloads of music just because they want a lot of music in their players! The result? Tumultuous hours spent on choosing and selecting a song to listen to. What's my proposition? Since these music are handpicked anyway, the owner most probably synced music s/he likes. Therefore, SHUFFLE is the best way to do it! Play all songs in shuffle or random mode, and don't hit the "next" button. Play out all of the songs and finish your library.

This day is frakking tired. I got the surprise of my life. My Saturday climb buddy just bailed on me. Guess who's not talking to someone for quite some time. Yes, I'm that immature at times. I hate it when people do that. Anyway, I went to the preclimb alone and yes, it was an awesome view and experience. Can't wait for the climb on Saturday.

Some nerdox stepped on my foot. Tamang "OUCH" lang. When walking, look at where you're going.

Downed 2 Quickly for today. One from mother, one from brother.

Here's the real thing, after how many years of loathing, I bought fries from KFC. I thought I was going to be poisoned by the crew.

But the most traumatizing moment of my day:

I was on my way home from McDonald's Katipunan when I saw a group of pre-teens. They don't look "gangster" type to me, but more like IP-lost-in-Manila. Some of them were searching/hitting the shrubs and when I was about to pass by, their leader or at least the one who's in front, threatened to poke me with a barbecue stick. WHAAT! I don't know why but somehow at the back of my mind, I knew she won't do it. I was NR (no reaction) the whole time, thanks to earphones. Next wave, two other fellows who were behind her were taunting me, pretending to surprise me or touch me. They were saying something but I wasn't able to hear, thanks to earphones. I didn't have any reaction to all their actions but afterwards I really felt awful. WTH?!

MORAL: Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and everyone else. I don't want to lose hope in humanity.

On the 2nd Day of February

Title: Wake Picture

THIS DAY IS SO GLOBAL WARMING HOT. And I mean it! Earth to People! It's SOOOO FRAKING warm now, stop exhaling or stop burning those plastics. Carbon monoxide and dioxide suck!

On the second day of February The Secret gave to me:

My graduation picture, arm warmers, a new anti-virus, a responding French seatmate, and Tuna Ban. Quantity day.

I'm still on with my 12 Days of February thing, in case you're wondering. What I'm planning or not planning (life, surprise me) is that I would have/do/experience something different on each day of February, for (DUH) twelve days. The first week looks pretty good - good here means something different is going to happen whether I like the event or not. Proposal defenses are part of the "something different" but they are not desired, wanted, or wished for. Haha.

So, how's my second day?

I got my graduation picture which I hauled the entire day (my only break was lunch time so I don't have any choice). I like my picture and I'm not complaining. Now I have something to put on my wake. OH YEAH. (Please do not take this as an invitation to salvage me or do anything threatening to the betterment of the world.)

I've successfully replaced the monstrosity that is my old anti-virus. I've been using it since Alexander (my old laptop) was born. Now, I have free anti-virus which according to Mr. Tee (hi, JM!) is very useful. Thank you, Windows!

French seatmate. In our BPR (Business Process Re-engineering, I know our subjects sound really cool just don't ask me to explain it to you) class, we have a WHOLE LOT of French classmates. Since I'm doing my 12 Days of February, I did the most convenient thing to do: talk to my French seatmate. I didn't care if he was feeling shy or quiet but I talked to him anyway. We talked about my bag with French cartoons which I claimed I have no idea what my bag just illustrated and all I knew was it looked nice, about fastfood industry in France, about people having "Ong" as a surname, and other stuff. Yes, we talked while our teacher was discussing and we were just seated on the second row. Kids, don't try that in school. (Hi, Alex, if you're reading this, WTF are you doing in my blog?! Joke.)

And to top it off, there's a Tuna Ban being implemented already. Yay, fishies! No to endangerment! (My comment to the picture above: FISH ARE FRIENDS NOT FOOD! Tofu is good.)

MORAL: Now I think of it, after all that I have typed, maybe I was just counting my blessings and looked at events with more appreciative eyes. Well, these are things I don't do/experience everyday anyway so YAY 12 Days of February still kickin'! I think I will volunteer to say the prayer in our last Theology class. Hrrrrmm.....

On the 1st Day of February

Real Title: Ostrich Cowboy (The title of the untitled song of Barbie Almalbis. Yes.)

On the First Day of February my true dreams gave to me:

A backpack and an old dream.

And all the while I thought my first day of February would suck because I have to do thesis (death) aka Project Management (PM) aka IT Management (ITM).

February 1 is a surprising day. Let's recall!

January 31 was supposed to be my last day of being free, because the next day would be the start of what would be the Month That Never Sleeps (because of all the responsibilities to do). And so, knowing that we're going to do thesis on an Atenean Holiday (Feb 1 is President's Day), I know my 12 Days of February would be a total bull.

I somehow read and found out that Barbie Almalbis would be playing somewhere in Katipunan. ALL HAIL BARBIE! She's going to freaking save my day! I've been in love with Barbie since....CRAP I can't remember! Even though my friend bailed on me, my sister is there, glad to accompany me as long as I treat her.

Okay. I think I have done a productive work for our PM meeting while Mikey (my groupmate) fed us like it was our last supper. Full of ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, orange juice, fish crackers, brownies, pasta, chicken, and salmon. Who's the pig now? Then I hitched a free ride to TriNoMa and found my trekking bag which I gladly bought. I was wearing my gangster hoodie which I have named "my Jason Ivler jacket" when I was able to see the bag. Now I have something to use in my adventures.

I knew it. I'm in for a big day.

And the rest, is Barbie time (of course, I'll post the picture taken with a slow shutter speed just because I like the hazy light effect). And yes, that's a blue iPod shuffle sitting pretty in her guitar. I like the place, the music, and the vibe. I finally became a certified fan girl (because life is too short to regret opportunities you threw away) and had a picture taken with her (I treated my sister to free food, music, and transpo so that picture is quite expensive). Her voice is really for the praise-and-worship material, soothing and all. Good for calming one's nerves. It's my tranquilizer or my stress ball. Bottomline:

Barbie is LOVE.

MORAL: Jesus loves you, yes I know. Wasted on a Monday night. Woo!

12 Days of February

Hello, February! It's been a long time. I'm not really excited to meet you because it means a lot of things.

My term as a servant leader is almost over.

I'll be older and definitely smarter, wiser, and better in a few days.

Exam days are coming up...again.

Sleepless nights...forever.

My days in Ateneo are almost over.

My parents' birthdays are coming up. February 7 and 12.

I'll be as busy as a CCTV.

Stress galore. So how are we going to do this?

12 Days of February. 12 days of something special. Something out of the ordinary, out of my routine. Take that.

I know I'm awesome.

MORAL: Life's too short. I'm telling you that.

My Days Hiding At Home Are Over

I told myself before and I guess a lot of people usually say it, too, "I want to travel." I want to go to a lot of places, whatever my intentions are - shopping, adventure, food tripping, sight-seeing, looking for Yamashita's treasure, meeting new people, I mean whatever. Sad part is that most of the time, no one gets to be anywhere but where they were when they said it. Little by little, you'll get to it.

Dreaming of backpacking across Europe and keep on telling yourself, "when I get to save enough money I will do it." HAHA is my message. Enough money is never enough. First, you didn't even think of an amount. How can you save enough? How much is enough? Try doing it in your homeland first. And if you decide you can't continue, you could always ride the first bus back home (easy way out!). Another is, "I will buy a DSLR for my escapades." It costs too much if you don't really want to buy it. You can't travel yet because you don't have that bulky camera? Get a digicam and set it to the maximum number of megapixels available.

That destination will always be too far if you don't want to go.

I tell myself I want to experience nature.

Guess who's saving money for that Mt. Pinatubo experience.

Guess who's still carrying the Pentax and Canon digicam.

Waterproof is good. Ixus is good.

MORAL: The first step to travelling is to go out. Well, unless you want the type of travelling wherein you stay at home, better curl up and read a book, or do some astral meditation. Life is an adventure as they say. I say, life's too short to be doing what you don't want to do. Find the "holy" in things and Max Scheler would be so proud.

I still love staying at home and sitting on each one of our 300 chairs btw.