Well Heek

Yes, dapat hell week yan pero dahil super duper ultra gasgas na ang term na "hell week" o yung linggong hindi mo alam bakit pero nagsabay-sabay ang lahat ng requirements at exams mo, "well heek" na lang. Dahil by that time, tagilid narin utak mo, at hindi ka na makaisip nang wasto. Good luck naman diba!

Medyo madami akong gagawin. "I really don't know (in Heads and Shoulders accent)" why pero talagang madami eh. Last week, may cumulative akong 4. Hindi yan QPI, pero 4 hours lang ang tulog ko nung pa-Monday, 3 hours nung pa-Tuesday, at 1 1/2 hours pa-Thursday. Walang silbi ang suspension of classes, kasi sa unang suspension, nagtrabaho kami for PM, samantalagang sa pangalawa naman, eh ganun din. Monday may hands-on at may ISA, Tuesday may Theo, at Thursday may Philo.

This week naman, kadiri rin. Monday, PM defense plus org meeting. Tuesday (yesterday) CompSim midterms plus R Stat. Wednesday R ulit plus Immersion meeting ulit. Thursday, Theo paper, CompSim prototype, cluster meeting, IC for org, ay sus. Haha. Friday, dapat may PM midterms ako, pero dahil cool ako at ang galing ng timing ng Immersion ko. Schweng! Go lang.

ARAL: Pray. Wala kang karapatang magreklamo kung hindi ka ako. Oh yeah.

Mang Inasal

Britney Spears's (there's an apostrophe s) song is Heaven on Earth. Yet, even if I listen to it, I'm still feeling otherwise. Yes, it's my 3 (and possibly even 4) weeks of living death, of agony, of pain. (Lenka and She & Him are playing while I study. I can't play songs I know the lyrics of because I won't be able to study. I'll just be singing the songs all night and day and night.)

Monday, August 17, 2009

I went to school early to study with my blockmate for our hands-on exam (the only exam in the lesson of R Stat) in Contemporary Database. Afterwards we'll be having our Information Systems Administration Long Test by 6pm. Then I'll be having my Theology midterm oral exam in the morning of Tuesday, plus some other extra-curricular commitments.

I thought our exam would be from 6-9pm, so I asked my dad to pick me up around that time. Turned out the exam was scheduled until 8pm only. We finished our long test almost an hour before the time so I just asked my dad to pick me up at the LRT station instead of the idea of withering out while waiting for him. My mom was there, so she treated us to the newly opened Mang Inasal near Puregold. Yeah.

When we were there, my mom was about to call the server. She was saying, "Kuya," when I corrected her, "Ma, ate 'yan." So she repeated, "Ate, ate, para saan po ito?" pointing at the dark orange stuff which turned out to be chicken oil, used to flavor your rice. The server told her, "Ma'am, lalaki po ako." Tralalala.

On our way home, my mom told me, "Anak, ok na sa akin ang maliit na bahay basta malaki ang lawn (but she mispronounced it as LOAN)." "Ma, gusto mo ng malaking utang? Loan?"

"Fine. Yard na lang."

Just now my sister asked me if I know our mom's new pet Garutay.

"Garutay?! Who's Garutay?" My mom was referring to our neighbor's dog, Kiray.

"Ang ingay ingay naman ni Garutay."

Now I'm so sleepy. I love my family.

MORAL: First day is still pretty much okay but sooner or later I'm going to run on zombie mode. I almost screamed to my horror when I saw dark puffy LV bags under my eyes. And I have no plans to sleep tonight (but a nap is highly considered) because I'm going to do my Theology which is not in my best interest. Really, Theology? I'm so sorry.

CDs From Heaven

Taylor Swift didn't release her first album here in the Philippines. Also, the album she released here is the international version - with a different cover, of Fearless.

However, I have a nasty trait that I tend to always want what I don't have (well, I think it's in our nature to want what we don't have). And at the first release of Fearless in the US, I wanted to have a copy of it. I really like Taylor's curly voluminous hair so I got to have the first version she released (and this is the lamest excuse I think I made). Since I'm a good girl, I got my wish. Aside from that, I got a copy of her first album. Yay! (Yes, when I have the first album, I've got to have those released before it. I'm just plain wicked like that.)

Eversince my blockmate Ave introduced The Hush Sound to me, they have been part of my music diet. I don't know if I'm just limited to the few record bars in my vicinity, but I can't seem to find the albums of the artists I listen to (yes, I admit I download a heck lot of music but I buy their stuff so there you go). Well, can't blame them, not yet mainstream or something. Gah. So, manna from heaven arrived and I got the three albums of The Hush Sound. Hurrah!

Last manna from heaven is Kate Voegele's first album Don't Look Away. The sad part here is that she just released a new album and well, there's no way I could get a copy of it but from the Internet (Amazon and the likes). This is sad. Oh well, I'm happy with what I have right now. When I finally got the six CDs, I thought I was going to cry. When my sister told me when I woke up one afternoon (YES I'm not a morning person!) that my CDs have finally arrived, I was super excited just like those kids you see in movies all excited to open their Christmas presents. "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy (repeat until the parents just rip the gifts open so their kid would shut the heck up)."

MORAL: I still thank God I'm not hooked up with all those online purchasing. The power to spend your money with just a click is so tempting.

Stress ^ Next Level

Haha. This is going to be the best August-September of my life. I have done a lot of things I shouldn't have done. The words "prioritization", "responsibility", "role model", and "time management" have been sucked by a blackhole.

I'm so stressed on anticipating my death that I think I won't survive. I want a diploma, schmuck!

Crapolla! I watched 2 seasons worth (that would be around 26 episodes, and a whole lot of hours) of some TV series I shouldn't have been watching. I bought stuff wherein I should've been saving money (saving for nothing really). I should've been studying for the most neurotic 2 weeks of my life, but I didn't. I should've been starting a report that would engulf me alive but I haven't. I should be reading and stuffing ideologies in my hippocampus but I haven't done so. I shouldn't be downing 3 cups of brewed coffee (I only drink decaf and I'm more of a tea-person), but I just did because I'm in love with an inanimate object - the coffee maker. I seriously must look for decaffeinated coffee beans.

Now, my innards are all shaking because of stress, agony, anticipation of failure and death, and have I mentioned stress already? (Don't worry, I won't mutilate myself anytime soon.)

Thing is, I won't start reading/studying until the second bell rings. Really, I'm supposed to be engulfing academics right now but I just typed this entry. Great, eh?

MORAL: There are things you hate about yourself and things you really like about yourself. Like, I'm happy with my hair, my non-existent sense of humor, my stomach, and a few more things. Though I really hate one part of myself that when in crunch time, I float away. I suddenly think of theories of everything, I jot down stuff in a notebook, and I contemplate on life, wherein I'm supposed to study about how Aristotle lost his hair while strolling around figuring how a data center could produce a statistical analysis whether or not people want to buy insurance, all while believing in integral evangelization.

I always, always, always, (really) always wait for the emergency alarm before I get out of a burning building. I already noticed the smoke, but I won't go out.

I know it's a ridiculous thing and it's very irresponsible, but the thrill I get when I survive is out-of-this world (no, I don't do drugs). Tragic part is that when I'm stuck, I have no one else to blame but myself.

Midyear Salesperson

Everyone's experiencing mid-something. Midterm exams, midyear progress report, midlife crisis, and the likes. There's a midyear sale in all of the shopping malls at the moment. August 14-16, because it's payday.

I told myself I need a bag. No seriously, I need a bag. My sister has truckloads of bags and I always borrow from her, so I seldom buy a bag. Well, August hits the seldom time so I planned to buy a bag in the midyear sale period.

Just one bag. I thought.

Of course that wouldn't happen if there was a sale. All of the prices just drop dead! So, in the end, I was able to buy a book, 2 pairs of jeans, and a bag. I resisted from buying a CD, because it wasn't on sale. I would buy the CD some time soon, just not now. I'm sure Marie Digby can wait. And I'm reluctant to buy just released CDs because repackaged or re-released albums are just plain painful for me to bear.

MORAL: Leave your credit cards at home when going to sales. Bring cash so you know when to stop. Well, whether you want to stop or not, you're going to be forced to stop because you have nothing to give to the cashier. Unless you brought IOUs that aren't really accepted by anyone.

Bastos Infinitum

My sister buys and reads magazines like it's part of her monthly life. She doesn't subscribe or something, she prefers to scour in all the convenience stores, bookstores, etc. to buy the latest issue. From Candy to Seventeen (I think my sister cried blood when Seventeen released their final issue), Meg to Chalk, and Preview to Cosmopolitan, my sister catches them all.

One time, she left her Cosmopolitan magazine featuring Katrina Halili in the front cover lying around the couch. (This is now possible since my sister really just stays at home all the time.) Then my mother happened to see the magazine. Katrina Halili caught her eye so she picked up the magazine. Then she saw the title of one article, "Penis Files."

She held the magazine and said, "Ang bastos naman nito. Ang bastos, bastos, [...] bastos [...], bastos, bastos nito." And she thought she was looking at FHM.

MORAL: My mom wished there was Cosmopolitan in her generation.

Cast A Machete

Yahoo! printed this as "The Big Surprise - 'Machete': Weirdest Cast Ever?" and now I'm reposting what they have posted and react to it just like the way I do. The block quote I'm about to paste makes this entry a candidate for "More Words Copied Than Typed Blog Entries."

"It started as a joke, but one of the fake trailers from 2008's "Grindhouse" is becoming a real movie. Robert Rodriguez, the director of "Desperado," "Sin City" and the "Spy Kids" trilogy, has begun work on "Machete," which began as a preview that ran before his "Planet Terror" segment of the double-feature he made with Quentin Tarantino.

For the full-length movie, Rodriguez has assembled one of the most eclectic casts ever: Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, Don Johnson and Lindsay Lohan. They will join the stars of the original trailer: Danny Trejo, Jeff Fahey and Cheech Marin.

In the movie, Machete (Trejo), a former Mexican Federales, is hired to assassinate a corrupt senator (De Niro). But then he is double-crossed and pursued by a government agent (Alba). Lohan plays a gun-wielding socialite who comes to Machete's aid, and Seagal plays a drug lord from his past. Filming has already begun in Austin, TX, and it will most likely hit theaters next year."

Wow. That's Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Alba, and Michelle Rodriguez combined in one movie! That's like an amazing feat! Three of my 1,298.36 (figures are 67% accurate) favorite people on Earth are jampacked in one feature film. I don't want to say I told you so, but yeah, I just posted the whole thing from Yahoo! Copied text covered this whole entry.

Okay, Steven Seagal is part of the cast and that gives the movie a minus for me, though I'm sure it'll make my dad happy. Steven Seagal, seriously? Oh well, just celebrate good times and good life. It's 3 in 1 (just like coffee)! Michelle Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, and Lindsay Lohan. There's action (c/o Michelle), comedy (c/o Jessica), and horror (c/o Lindsay). This film is going to be legendary!

MORAL: If you think it isn't possible, think again. Maybe you need to seek professional help because you always start thinking negatively. Sheesh. Grow up and acknowledge it. Oh, Lord, difficult times for a student are coming up! I can feel it now. (The last sentence is totally out of place.)

PAASCU Tuesday

Forget about UAAP, IKR, OMG, OIC, and DLSU. PAASCU is the most buzzed acronym for the week. Uh-huh.

When a maintenance personnel stops you in the middle of your afternoon-I-don't-have-class-yet stroll to ask you "Have you noticed anything different?" randomly, and you can't seem to muster the courage to retort if it's a trick question or a joke, you know something is going to happen. When the restrooms smell like flower gardens (well at least in the morning they do) and the liquid hand soap holder is filled at maximum capacity with blue hand soap that actually emits a fresh fragrance (hand soaps smelling positively is more important than knowing if it can actually kill bacteria or not), and the floors are all so polished heavily that you can see your reflection while taking a pee (hello, CTC and SOM restrooms), AHA! Someone's going to visit Ateneo! Seriously, floors in SEC are so polished I was just waiting for the time I would slip and have a brain contusion. I could be like Michelle Kwan in a month.

A few weeks ago doors which could still withstand a few more banging were mysteriously replaced with new ones, and the department secretaries and other personnels started wearing a collared uniform sporting a patch of the Ateneo's logo. There has been speculations if aircons would be installed at rooms with open windows (read: no aircon). Haha, that's so much wishful thinking.

So the real question is, would cafeteria food taste better because of PAASCU's 2-day visit?


MORAL: First day of accreditation stress and pressure is just about to start and I bet everyone can't contain themselves. PAASCU people would see Ateneans, faculty and staff, looking oh-so-stressed-out and I don't know if that would be a plus. Go, Ateneo! Get that level 4 (again)! [3 out of my 4 classes today were visited by PAASCU accreditors. Wow.]

Kups and Cons

There was an interesting exchange of (few) words a while ago after our earth-shaking, mind-atomic-bomb-blowing Contemporary Database class. DJ*, Ryan*, Karen*, and I stayed for some time after our ContempDB class. I kind of forgot what was our topic but things went like this:

DJ: Kupal talaga oh!

Karen: Tsk. That's a bad word!

DJ: Eh kupal talaga eh!

Ryan: Wow! Alam na ni DJ meaning ng kupal!

Karen: How about conyo? Do you know what's conyo?

Me: Conyo? Conyo is Karen.

Karen: *straight face* --> ._.

Ryan and DJ: HAHAHAHA!

MORAL: There are days like this and days not like this. Most probably, after a hardcore lecture and gut-wrenching class on Contemporary Database, expect more of this. Hmm, wait, DJ (not his real name) is not even our classmate. Where did he come from?!

*Names were changed to protect the innocent, lovely individuals.